A/N: Thank you all for your kind words so far, you guys are amazing! I'm glad you all like it. And don't worry, of course I'll be continuing. I've been up for hours writing this, and then taking stuff out and putting it back in! So I hope you like it! This is going unedited, so excuse the mistakes. It is now 4:09AM my time and now I am off to bed! Enjoy this chapter! :)
EPOV:
"Edward, man. What the hell is your problem? A chick talks to you, and you talk back. A hot chick, I might add. And what? You're a jerk to her at the last minute!" Emmett yelled at me as soon as we got back to my place.
"Emmett," I sighed. "You saw the way she looked at me. Like I was The Elephant Man or something."
"Edward, she was shocked. Big deal! Wouldn't you be if you were in her position? You looked just like anybody else. How was she to know. Don't judge her by this. Bella is only human." Jasper said
"But still, the look on her face! What if I see her again? I don't want her sorrowful eyes looking down on me." I huffed.
"Stop being so damn stubborn! Bella doesn't even seem like that. God forbid you two meet again, you better not speak to her like that. Edward, you are my brother and I love you. But did you honestly not see how your words affected her. She looked like she had her heart ripped from her stomach -"
"The heart is located in your stomach." I interrupted Emmett.
"Whatever. The point is that you can't keep doing this to yourself. You can't keep shunning people away, and lock yourself in this little hole you've dug yourself into. You need to get out and explore the world. Last night was the first night you got out, and then when you met Bella – you actually enjoyed yourself! Life doesn't always have to be clouds and rain."
I sighed to myself. He was right. My brother was so right.
Bella seemed like a genuinely nice person, and I was rude to her. Like I had been rude to all the girls in my classes who who overly nice to me.
But Bella seemed different from those girls. I don't know what it was, but she seemed much more special.
It was probably an illusion I conjured up. Bella was the first person I had met who didn't speak to me like I was a baby.
But that was before she saw that I was disabled.
"It doesn't even.. matter. Not now, anyway. I will probably never see her again." I grumbled.
"And if you do see her again?" Jasper asked.
"I don't know." I sighed.
BPOV:
I laid down in my bed that night, and only one name consumed my thoughts: Edward.
Edward. Edward. Edward.
I left cafe as soon as he left, finding no reason to stay.
Alice knew something was wrong, so naturally I had to tell her everything that had happened.
And she had told me the same thing that she always told me when things went wrong; Things Will Work Out In Their Own Time.
I understood what that meant, but I didn't see how it had any significance to my current situation.
I didn't bet Edward's number, I didn't even get Edward's last name.
Maybe I would never see him again.
But, God, I wanted to see him again. Except for the fact he didn't look like he wanted to see me again anytime soon, if not ever.
So maybe it was a good thing if we never ran into each other again.
I woke up the next day not long before midday.
I hadn't been able to sleep last night, due to my overly concerned thoughts about the Edward boy.
I walked out of my bedroom and into the kitchen, hoping to get some coffee before Alice drank it all.
When I walked in the kitchen, she was already chatting animatedly with a woman I had never seen before.
She had long golden hair like Rapunzel, a body to die for. And her face.. where do I start? She gave Aphrodite a run for her money.
"Hey Bella! You're up late," Alice smiled.
"Yeah," I said, slumping into the kitchen still in my pyjama's. "I couldn't sleep well."
"Bad dreams?" She asked.
"No. Just.. thinking."
She nodded in understanding and I went to pour some coffee for myself.
"Bella, this is Rosalie. We met this morning while shopping. She was adoring these Gucci shoes that she just had to have but she was worrying they wouldn't look good on her. Which they obviously do!" Alice laughed.
"Alice, only you would meet a friend while shopping. You should really stopped talking to strangers. One day, it will get you in trouble." I laughed back.
"Oh, well I'm not any trouble or anything. I promise you, Bella. It's very nice to meet you by the way." Rosalie smiled.
"You, too."
I sat down at the table across from where Alice and Rosalie were sitting.
"So, Bella. I was just telling Alice about this party that my boyfriend is hosting. It's mostly to get his brother out from his hole, but it would be great if you guys would come."
"Oh, I don't know. Parties aren't really my thing."
"Oh, Bella! Don't be a spoilsport you have to come! Pleasee!" Alice begged.
"Bella, you seem like a nice girl and with all the girls that are going to be at this thing – it would be nice just to have one normal at this thing. So please, come for our sake, if not your own." Rosalie added.
"Fine," I sighed.
Alice and Rosalie both grinned, and I had a bad feeling I was going to regret saying yes.
"Remind me why I agreed to go to this thing again."
"Because you love your best friend very much, and you need to get your mind off of this Edmund guy." Alice said, practically dragging me through the streets to the address Rosalie gave us.
We were dressed casual. Well, I was.
I was wearing a pair of jeans with tennis shoes, and an ordinary black Led Zeppelin t-shirt with my denim jacket.
Alice, on the other hand wore a cute, strapless pink dress with a pink cardigan. Pink heels, also.
Pink, pink, pink.
Alice Brandon is Barbie's best friend.
"Fine, but remember that I am only staying for one hour max. If I get bored, I'm going to go home."
"Fine, miss stubborn." Alice laughed, skipping along the pavement.
Within ten minutes we found the complex and took the elevator up to the apartment.
Alice knocked on the door and we were greeting by Rosalie who gestured for us to come in.
"Wow, Rosalie. There are a lot of people here." I said nervously.
"Yeah, lots more people came than I intended. But, hey, the more the merrier. Come on, I want to introduce you to my boyfriend!" She said, grabbing our hands and running through the apartment.
"Emmett! I want to introduce you to two friends of mine!" Rosalie said brightly, placing both of us at either side of her.
Emmett? I knew an Emmett.
A big man was standing in front of us, and it felt like slow motion while he was turning around.
My suspicions were correct. It was Emmett from the cafe.
"Sweetie, this is Alice and - "
"Bella!" Emmett interrupted, smiling brightly.
"You guys know each other?" Rosalie asked, slightly cautious.
"Yeah, this is the Bella that Jasper, Edward and I met at the cafe yesterday!"
He told Rosalie about me? God, how many other people know about my most embarrassing moment to date?
"Wow, small world. Rosalie is Alice's friend. And you guys are together. Wow.." I chuckled nervously, trying to steer the conversation away from the obvious.
"Yeah, it is. This party is for Edward, you know." Emmett mentioned, in a not so casual tone.
"It is?" I gulped.
Rosalie and Emmett both nodded and I froze.
"Is he.. here, by any chance?"
They nodded again, and I felt like I was going to pass out.
"Don't worry, Bella. Edward promised to be on his best behaviour." Rosalie said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
"Bella!" Came the familiar Texan accented man.
"Hey, Jasper. Bella is Rosalie's friend. Small world, huh?" Emmett said.
"Wow, it is!" Jasper laughed.
"Yeah, actually I think I'm gonna -"
"You can't leave, Bella! You promised you would stay for one hour." Alice said firmly.
I sighed, nodding.
I was trapped in a web that I couldn't unweave myself from.
I looked at Jasper and noticed that he seemed to be in a trance, staring at Alice.
And shockingly enough, Jasper was the same.
He walked towards Alice and whispered something in her ear that made her giggle, and they both ran to the dance floor.
"Seems like Jasper and Alice are hitting it off." I said, and I noticed Emmett and Rosalie had both vacated.
So I basically talked out loud to myself. Perfect. I was going crazy. What next?
I casually walked around the apartment, trying to find some way to entertain myself for the next 56 minutes.
I briefly considered sneaking out, but I knew Alice too well. She would find out and torture me with ongoing rap 'music' throughout the house.
I was browsing the drink area, when I saw his face.
He was sitting alone near the window, all by himself in his wheelchair.
I immediately felt sad for him that he was alone.
No one deserved to be sitting alone, wandering one's own thoughts.
The sadness on his face was clear, and I wanted to take it away.
He caught my eyes, and I found myself unable to tear away.
It entered my mind that he had caught me staring, but I didn't care.
Now he was the one staring back.
I just stood there, motionless, unknowing of what to do.
And then what happened next surprised me : he smiled.
I couldn't help but return the smile.
He raised his hand and beckoned for me to come forward.
Caught in the maze of this ventriloquist, I obeyed.
"Hey, Edward," I smiled when I finally reached him.
"Hey, wanna sit?" He motioned to a white plastic chair.
I nodded, and sat down.
"Enjoying the party?" He asked.
I smiled. "Not really. Parties aren't really my thing. Alice physically dragged me to this thing because she's friends with Rosalie."
"She is? Huh. Small world." He mused.
"Yeah, that's what everyone has been saying all night." I chuckled a bit.
We sat in a moments comfortable silence before he began to speak again.
"Bella, I want to apologize for the way I acted last night. It was highly uncalled for and -"
"No, Edward. Really. It's my fault. I should have been more aware. I guess I just don't pay attention to the world around me enough."
"I'll say." He said dryly.
"Edward," I sighed. "I don't know what you saw in my eyes, but it wasn't pity or anything like you mentioned. I was just stunned. I didn't look down on you, not for an instant." I said truthfully.
He looked into my eyes for a moment, searching for something. And he must have found it.
"I'm sorry for those words I spoke to you, Bella. It was cruel of me, I was a jerk. Of course it was not your fault, I'm just not.. used to people's reactions. People around me are always trying to help me and they only talk to me for pity. I just.. thought you were the same." He admitted.
"But I don't talk to you for pity, I don't talk to anyone for pity. I really like talking to you, Edward. For you. Nothing else. And you being in a wheelchair doesn't change any of that."
"Really?"
"Really." I smiled.
"Thank you, Bella. You don't know how refreshing it is to meet somebody who actually speaks the truth and listens to me."
"So, can we at least be friends now?" I asked.
"Friends.. well, I'm not the easiest friend to have. But, I would love nothing more than to be friends with you, Bella." Edward smiled.
"Friends?" I offered my hand.
"Friends." He said, taking my hand and kissed the top of it.
"So, why did you decide to have this party anyways?" Once I got my hand back.
"Emmett thought it would be.. best if I got more sociable. So he decided to invite the entire population of Forks here. And surprise, nothing changed." He sighed, and I frowned.
"I'm sorry, Edward. I know what it's like when you're forced to go to things you don't want to." I joked, trying to uplift the tone in some way.
"It's okay, Bella. You're here now, and you have no idea how much you have uplifted my mood."
I smiled at that thought – it was nice to feel that I could make someone's mood better.
I didn't want to ever see or hear of Edward being unhappy.
EPOV:
Bella and I were friends. Friends. The very word sounded joyous to my ears.
I felt a strange pull to Bella; everything she said I took in, and realized just how unique she is.
She had a different take on the world to others, and with each question I asked.
We talked until the early hours of the morning.
When she asked me questions, she asked them very carefully.
So as to not upset me, I assumed.
We stayed on safe topics like music and books.
We both had the same taste in those things. I thought I was the only person that I knew who listened to Debussy.
This woman intrigued me more and more.
Soon, it would be time for her to go and I was trying to work up the courage to ask her t 'hang out' tomorrow.
Okay, Edward. It's simple. Just say 'Hey, want to go for a stroll around the park?'
On 1, 2,3 .. no I can't do it. She'll say no!
"Hey, Bella. We better head home if we want to get any sleep tonight!" Bella's friend called.
Bella glanced at her watch. "It's going towards 4AM? I didn't even realize the time!" She exclaimed.
I smiled to myself; at least Bella wasn't the only one losing track of time.
"I'm sorry, Edward. But I better go if I want to get any sleep tonight." Bella said, putting on her jacket.
I frowned. I really didn't want her to leave.
She noticed, and it looked like she wanted to say something, but decided otherwise.
Okay, Edward.. ask her.. now!
"Uh, Bella?" I asked as she stood up.
"Yes, Edward?" She asked curiously.
"Could I.. uh.. have your number?" I blurted out.
She threw her head back and laughed. Such a wonderful picture.
"Sure," She smiled, grabbing a pen from her pocket and writing on her number on my hand.
She saw the look I gave her when she produced the pen from her pocket.
"Safety reasons. You never know when you'll have to poke some guys eye out." She smirked.
I threw my head back and laughed. A laugh I haven't laughed in a long time.
"I'll see you later, Edward," She said, and kissed my cheek.
I watched Alice and Bella exit my apartment, and when they were gone – I lifted my hand to my cheek.
The kiss she left was burning.
I wheeled to my bedroom smiling all the way.
Jasper and Emmett helped me get ready for bed and tucked me in.
They didn't say anything, for fear of breaking the smile on my face.
I knew they would corner me in the morning.
But for now, I could go to sleep for once in my life with one thing I haven't had in a long time:
Happiness.