All characterizations, plot lines, backgrounds and details belong to the author. Plagiarism is theft. No copying or reproduction of this work in any language is permitted without the express written authorization of the author. Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. Thank you. April 2010.
Thanks as ever to the brilliant xrxdanixrx. Much love to you, hun!
Thanks to all those reading, reviewing, and recommending. As ever, let me know what you think.
On with Bella…
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BPOV
Chapter 13
"Seriously, Rose! We've been around the block four times already. There's a ton of places to park. Just pick one," I growl. I know from the way Rose and Alice have been acting, since they got to my place tonight, that they've been scheming again. I also know from experience that this is not a good thing.
"I'm just trying to find a good spot, Bella," Rose says, smirking at me.
Rose finally pulls into the lot directly across from The Den and turns the car off. "Ok! Let's go," she says all chipper and eager and very un-Rose like.
I narrow my eyes at her and get out of the car, waiting for Alice and Jasper.
"Oh, look! There's Mike!" Rose says, trying to sound shocked and failing miserably.
"Are you guys kidding me right now? Mike is what you've been stalling for the last ten minutes?" I ask, cocking my head to the side at them.
"What? You knew he was coming," Rose says, sauntering across the parking lot, making a beeline for Mike.
"You guys are pathetic," I say, glaring at Alice.
"Oh, come on, Bella. It's just one night. What could possibly happen?" Alice asks, leaning into Jasper. I think Jasper looks as uncomfortable as I feel.
"What do you say, Jazz? Should we bail on these two?" I ask, linking my arm with his. Alice issues him a death glare.
"I think that would only make things worse, Bella," he says, smiling back at Alice. "Come on, let's go." He rolls his eyes and starts across the parking lot towards Rose and Mike.
Mike looks like he's won the lottery or something, standing all wide eyed, staring at me with his mouth gapping open. Pathetic is the word that comes to mind. Pathetic and not Edward.
I've had more than enough time to think about my rash move with the flowers today and worry about his reaction. The fact that I've not heard from him says it all, I guess. I'm sure he thinks I'm insane. I don't actually know if he'll even still do the painting. God, I'm an idiot. What if he changes his mind about donating something for the auction? There's no way we're going to find something to replace it. I feel horrible, because now, my ridiculous psycho bitch move could really end up hurting The Foundation. I need to talk to him.
"Earth to Bella?" Rose waves her hand in front of my face, looking annoyed.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about something," I mutter.
"Wow, Bella. You look really great," Mike says, raking his eyes down me. I don't know why he looks at me the way he does. It's only a black sweater and jeans, for God's sake. It took me all of ten minutes to get ready. I manage to smile at him while Rose and Alice exchange looks.
Rose checks her Blackberry and then gets that evil smile I know all too well. "We should get inside, before it gets too busy," she says. Like Rose has ever cared about how busy a bar is before.
Mike motions for me to walk ahead of him. I shake my head and follow Rose towards the door with Mike right on my heel like some sort of trained but annoying dog or something.
God, I hate techno music. It's spilling out onto the street while we walk right past the line up to the front door.
A few of the women in line, who are dressed in tube tops that are way too tight and who are clearly anxious to get drunk, begin to shout their complaints. They are quickly silenced by the patented Hale Glare.
The oversized bouncer at the front door nods his head at Rose and then lets us all into the bar. There's never been a time when Rose has been turned away from getting into a bar before the poor souls who are lined up and have probably been waiting for God knows how long.
While we walk into The Den, Mike's hand immediately moves to the small of my back, and I stiffen under his touch. I hit Rose in the back, harder than I should, but she deserves it.
Mike is right away trying to coax me towards the dance floor. Clearly Rose hasn't shared this little piece of essential information with Mike. Now, I'm officially pissed. Having to endure Mike for the night is one thing, making me dance is quite another. I'm going to have to have a talk with Rose and Alice…set some ground rules and remind them of what I'm willing to go along with.
I whip my head around and glare at Mike. "I don't dance, Mike, so if that's what you came here to do, you'll need to find someone else." I know I sound like a bitch, but quit frankly, I hope he thinks that's exactly what I am. I'm in no mood to deal with Mike.
"Sorry, Bells. I didn't know. That's ok. I'm not much of a dancer anyway. I'd rather just sit and talk. Why don't we find a seat?" he asks, looking optimistic. Oh, now I feel sorry for him, and I feel even more horrible because Mike is actually a nice guy.
Alice taps me on the shoulder and leans over, smirking at me. "Edward is here." What the hell? "I suggest you take the plan up a notch," she says low enough so Mike can't hear…I hope.
I panic for a moment because truthfully, I'm not at all comfortable with Alice's plan to confuse Edward. I think I've done enough confusing for one day, thank you very much.
Alice nudges me towards Mike, throwing me off balance slightly, and I steady myself on his shoulder. "Sorry, we should probably sit down," I say. He apparently thinks I'm trying to get closer to him because his smile widens further, if that's possible.
I scan the bar looking for a place to sit. It's packed, mostly with women grinding away on the dance floor or looking like they want to. It's a virtual meat market in here. I make a mental note to make sure to have a headache the next time Rose suggests this place.
And then, through the arms waving in the air on the dance floor, I see Edward, sitting in all his glory at a table with Emmett. He has a dark blue button down shirt on, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his hair a raunchy mess, his patented smirk already playing across his lips. My breath catches for a moment. Jesus, he's beautiful. He locks eyes with mine and tilts his beer bottle towards me.
What the fuck is this? He's challenging me? I quirk an eyebrow to him.
"Oh, there's Emmett," Rose says, trying to sound all shocked that he's here. "Come on." She takes my hand and leads me around the perimeter of the dance floor to the table.
"Edward! I didn't expect to see you here," Rose says. I roll my eyes.
"Rosalie," Edward says, grinning at her. Oh, wait. Is he in on this? No, there's no way. I can't imagine that Edward would agree to something like this. My stomach turns, and I feel the overwhelming need to get the fuck out of here right now.
"Sit down, Babe," Emmett says, holding out a chair for Rosalie. He kisses her softly, and she sits down beside him.
Edward shuffles over to the far side of the bench. "There's plenty of room. Sit down, Bella," Rose says. I hesitate, but then slip into the bench beside Edward while he glares at Mike. Oh shit! Mike. He's still here, and he's now white as a ghost.
"Come, sit," I say, patting the space beside me. Mike looks between Edward and I warily, and then sits beside me.
"It's good to see you again, Mike. How is the restaurant coming along?" Edward asks, passing him what looks like a martini. I resist the temptation to swipe it from him and gulp it back. I could really use a drink right now. The buzz from the bottle of wine that we split at my place seems to be wearing off, and I'm fairly certain I'm going to need that buzz if I'm to make it through a night like this.
Mike looks at the martini questioningly and then takes it from him. "We're on schedule to open in a few weeks," Mike says. "You should come." Oh right, that's just exactly what Edward should do.
"We should all go. What do you think, Bella?" Edward asks, staring down at me. I peek up at him, his eyes dark, his jaw flexed like he's reining in some raw emotion that's threatening to spill out of him.
"That's a great idea," I say quietly. Oh God, this just couldn't be any more awkward, and where the fuck has Alice gone? I scan the bar quickly, finding her and Jasper beginning their intimate sway on the dance floor.
"I think I'll get a drink," I say, pushing up from the bench.
"Oh, I'll get it!" Mike says, looking eager. "What would you like?"
"A vodka cranberry. Thanks, Mike." He smiles down at me and then disappears into the crowd at the bar.
"Well, thank fuck for that," Edward mutters.
"What was that?" I ask, whipping my head around to him.
"Nothing," he says, cocking an eyebrow to me.
"Rosie, let's dance. I've been waiting all night to get you out there," Emmett says, pulling on Rose's arm. I shake my head as they wiggle their way onto the cramped dance floor.
Edward lets out a heavy sigh. "So, I got an interesting delivery today," he says darkly.
I finally look back up at him and he looks…I don't even know…confused, hurt, pissed off?
"Yeah, about that. I should really apolo…" My voice trails, because now, Edward's eyes are clearly transfixed on something that is obviously much more interesting than I am. He's staring at the bar, his mouth dropped open slightly, his eyes narrowed. I follow his gaze and see exactly what he's looking at.
Of course she's some thin, beautiful brunette in a low cut white dress that hugs every single curve on her body. I shake my head. I don't even know why I'm trying here.
"Edward?" I say, waving my hand in front of his face.
"Yeah, sorry," he says, taking a sip of his beer.
"See something you like up there?" I ask, lifting my head to the bar.
"Just someone I used to know," he mutters, running his hands through his hair.
Of course he used to know her. He probably knows half the women in here.
"Can you just give me a minute, Bella?" he asks, not even bothering to look at me.
"Yeah, sure," I mumble. I watch as he gets up and heads to the bar, stalking over to Little Miss Tiny White Dress and tapping her on the shoulder.
She turns around and her eyes grow wide. She's clearly drunk and very, very happy to see him. She squeals; I can hear her over the crowd and the irritating music, and then she throws her arms around his neck, curling up on her toes and grinding her perky tits right into him. I feel nauseous and jealous.
Whoa, wait. Jealous? I don't know what the hell is wrong with me. I have nothing to feel jealous of. Oh, why does he have this affect on me?
While I watch Edward and this white clad fem bot engage in some riveting conversation, Alice and Jazz make their way back to the booth.
"Where's Edward?" Alice asks.
"He's hitting on some girl at the bar," I say, rolling my eyes.
"What? Why did you let him go over there?" she asks. She sounds like she's scolding me.
"I didn't let him do anything, Alice. He wanted to go talk to her. Apparently, she's fascinating or something."
"Bella, get over there," she practically hisses at me.
"Alice, I'm done. I'm not doing this anymore. I don't even know what I'm doing. He's clearly not interested, and I'm at my limit of making an idiot of myself."
"You can't give up that easily, Bella," she says.
Jazz rolls his eyes behind her and shakes his head, looking at me sympathetically. "I'm going to go get us some drinks, babe," he says, turning and walking to the bar.
Alice slides into the booth beside me, and wraps her arm around my shoulder. "What do you say to some shooters then, Bella? I think maybe we could use some. Loosen you up a bit," she suggests.
"Sure, sounds good," I say, knowing that nothing good can come from Alice and her shooters. We've been down this road more times than I care to remember…actually I can't really remember much from Alice's famed Shooter Saturday's that we used to have.
Alice looks giddy as she bounces in the booth and then leaps from it, practically running to the bar.
And so I sit here, by myself, watching. Watching Rose and Emmett grind on the dance floor, their bodies tangled, their eyes locked. Watching Alice as she runs to Jazz and he slides his hand up her back, kissing the top of her head and listening as she rattles on, no doubt about her insane shooter requests. Watching Mike smile widely, a vodka martini in both hands, making his way eagerly back to the booth and looking hopeful. And watching Edward, while he stays riveted in his engaging conversation with the fem bot, wishing I was her.
I feel myself slipping, thinking once again that I'll never be worthy; that I'll always manage to screw it up deliberately, it seems.
Mike reaches the table and smiles warmly. "I got you two. I hope that's ok?" he asks, setting them both in front of me.
"Thanks, Mike," I say. I raise one of the glasses to him and down the contents quickly. Hmmm, it tastes like a double. That's a good thing right now.
He laughs, and I quickly finish off the second drink while he watches me closely.
"Do you want to talk about it, Bella?" he asks, sliding his arm up along the back of the booth, his fingertips resting on my shoulder.
"No. You know what? I don't want to talk about it. That's actually the last thing I want to do," I say, staring back at him.
He nods and twirls one of the empty glasses on the table nervously. Jasper and Alice arrive back at the table with a massive tray of some delightful looking shooters.
Alice waves her arms, getting Rose's attention on the dance floor, and motions for them to join us.
Rose smiles widely and pulls Emmett back to the table. "It's not even Saturday, Alice. Are we starting a new Friday shooter tradition?" Rose asks mischievously.
"Yes, I think we are," Alice says.
Jazz passes around the shooters and then holds his up in the air. "To new traditions," he says, nodding at me.
We clink our glasses and I down whatever shooter this is, slamming the empty glass back on the table. Mike practically spits his out, because apparently his alcohol tolerance level is lower than most sixteen year olds. We all laugh loudly at him, but he doesn't really seem to care. He picks up another and winces as he drinks it down.
Edward is still oblivious to the fact that we're now on the second round of shooters. He now has his hand on the skinny chick's back, and is rubbing it up and down.
I reach for another shooter and gulp it quickly, not even bothering to wait for the others to join me.
"What's the rush, Swan?" Emmett asks, raising his eyebrows to me.
"Why wait?" I ask, setting the shooter down beside the tray and picking up another one.
Mike picks up another glass and clinks it with mine. "To not waiting!" he yells as he swallows it, and then proceeds to cough and hack, trying to keep it from coming back up.
I drink mine and bang the glass back onto the table. Mike looks like he's going to throw up. Oh, you have got to be kidding me?
"Um, I'll be right back," he says, steadying himself, and then making a run for the door.
"Lightweight," Rose mutters, gulping back her shooter and putting the empty glass on the tray.
"Hey, where's Edward?" Emmett asks.
I point to the bar, knock back another shooter, and he turns his head. "What the fuck? Who is that?" he asks. Rose hits him in the chest. "No. I didn't mean it like that, Rosie. It's just, she's not part of the plan," Emmett says.
Silence takes over the table while they stare at me and wait. Rose looks beyond pissed at Emmett. And I am, I realize, beyond drunk. Damn Alice and her shooters. This always happens. An innocent looking tray of tiny drinks…they look like water…what harm could they really do? I should know better, or at least, I should pace myself. Oh! I suddenly remember I'm pissed off.
"The plan, huh?" I ask, raising my voice. "I knew you guys were up to something. What the fuck did you think was going to happen here tonight?" I pick up another shooter and drink it back. It burns a bit as it goes down my throat. I push up from the booth and hang on to the table. Things are starting to look a bit blurry.
"Bella," Alice starts, but I'm drunk and pissed off. Not a good combination for me.
"Don't Bella me! Why can't you guys just drop it for fucks sake!" I know my words are starting to slur.
Rose glares at me. "We're just trying to help, Bella. Sometimes you can be so stubborn, you don't even see what's right in front of you," she says.
"I know you're just trying to help, but please, do me a favour and stop. Ok? Just stop!" I press my finger into her shoulder and sway slightly. OK, this is not going to necessarily be the most graceful storm out ever.
"Bella," Alice starts.
"Alice, just let me go, ok? I'm going to check on Mike," I say, steadying myself before trying to navigate around the dance floor. It's at this moment that I see Edward leading the mystery woman in white towards the door. Of course he is.
I dart my eyes to the floor, which seems to be spinning slightly. I don't really want to watch Edward leave with some random pick up. I know I'm loosing my composure really fast right now. I need to keep it together long enough to get the fuck out of here without falling down.
I raise my eyes to door, and am grateful that Edward has disappeared with his fuck for the night. At least one of us is getting laid. I get turned around a bit and wander mistakenly onto the edge of the packed dance floor. I feel the blood racing in my veins, warm bodies bump into me, setting me slightly off balance, and I fight not to loose it. The pulsating rhythm pounds in my ears, the lights strobe around me, making me more dizzy. I can feel the tears welling up, threatening to spill over as I stumble towards the door.
I push the door open and breathe the night air in deeply. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to calm down. Once I'm sure that the tears are gone for the time being, and I am in fact not going to pass out, I scan both sides of the street, remembering that Mike is out here, probably hurling the contents of his stomach onto some unsuspecting pedestrian or something.
I decide to search for him, wandering down the street to the right of the bar, away from the line up that is still waiting to get in. I know I'm not walking in a straight line, so I try to steady myself, keeping one hand on the side of the building. To crash down right now, would not be a good thing. I can feel the bruise on my hip pulsate and complain at the thought of another fall today.
Jesus, I hope no one sees me right now. How pathetic am I? Seriously? I've let Edward get to me…again, when it's so painfully obvious that he's not interested. Even as drunk as I am, I can see that. I trip slightly over nothing, I'm sure, and stop for a moment, leaning against the side of the building.
I shake my head and try to remember why I'm out here. Oh yeah. Mike! I take a look down the street and try to stop it from blurring in front of me. Focus, Bella! You've survived Alice's Saturday Shooters, this is nothing. Oh, hold on, I think that's him!
"Mike?" I call out, seeing a male figure leaning casually up against the corner of the building. It looks like Mike, but honestly I can't really be sure. What I am sure of is my head feels fuzzy, and I really wish I was at home right now.
"Mike? Mikey, Mikey?" I giggle a bit louder as I get closer to this guy. Ok, so I think Mike had a jacket on like that, if I remember correctly. "Is that you? Are you playing hide and go seek with me, Mikey?" I laugh loudly and finally stop in front of him, swaying slightly.
"I'll play whatever game you want, pretty lady."
Oh, fuck. Definitely not Mike.
Chapter End Notes
Oh, no…
Up next, EPOV.
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