A/N: So who loved that there were four chapters posted at once? *raises hand*
Who wants Edward and Bella to finally talk? *raises hand*
Who is excited that I posted another chapter so quickly? *raises hand even more enthusiastically*
Who wants some serious aggressive make up sex? *notices melferd and mmwalker raising their hands* Patience my dear friends.
Okay, so this is my longest chapter ever I think. I wanted to split it into two, but as I wrote it out, it just seemed better as one chapter. There are answers to several unanswered questions in this chapter (although some people *cough* bacmel79* made a good guess as to some of it).
Thanks again for all the awesome reviews, as per usual. My readers f'in rock! Yes, Bella and Edward are being stubborn and stupid, but that's the joy of writing first time teenage love, at least in my opinion. They have no frame of reference and are both extremely childish at times, but ah well! LOL
I know you won't all love every aspect of this chapter, but everything happens for a reason. Meghan Bailey, I think I love you. Don't tell my husband though! LOL
Oh… FIC REC ALERT… go check out Alphabet Weekends by the-glory-days. Awesome story of fun filled smut and sweet romance. Two updates this week alone, which is great. It's listed as one of my favs on my profile.
I don't own twilight but I do own the game 'Elefun' which is not nearly as much fun as it looks.
*** Happy Mother's Day to all the other moms like me addicted to both Twilight and Fan Fic***
BPOV
"What are you doing here?" I asked in shock as Rosalie stepped into the living room behind me to see who had just knocked on our door. She usually forewarns me if she is expecting Emmett, but this was not the case today. It had only been a week since I moved in, but it had been a long and strenuous week. I had to go through my freshman orientation, pick up my schedule and all my books. I had even had to apply for various part time jobs around campus to help supplement my income. I had a received a few scholarships, but unfortunately Columbia was not a cheap school and most of that money had gone to tuition.
"Your mom gave me your address," said Jacob with a nervous grin. He had changed considerably in the past few years. He had grown at least a foot and now towered over me more than usual and his hair was a lot longer. I couldn't say that I actually cared for it. He looked better when he was a gawky fifteen year old. "Can I come in or do we have to do this in the hallway?" He didn't wait for my response though, instead opting to slide his lean body between myself and the door. "Jacob Black," he said casually as he extended his hand out to my confused roommate.
"Rosalie Hale," she replied politely as she shook his hand nervously and stared at me angrily. "I'll leave you two alone."
"No," I yelled out anxiously. I desperately wanted her to stay mainly because I didn't feel comfortable with Jake anymore and also to cover my ass if Edward and I did reconcile and he found out about this. Although, I did plan to tell him at the first possible opportunity. I looked at Rose, practically begging her with my eyes to stay. She finally nodded her head and sat down on the couch to await the fireworks. "You never answered my question Jacob, what are you doing here? I certainly hope you didn't fly all the way here because I wouldn't see you in Forks."
"I live here Bells. That's what I wanted to tell you back in Forks. I'm taking Architecture at the Parsons School." My mouth dropped open as he spoke, I was in complete shock. I looked over at Rosalie and she still looked confused, then again, I was too. "Remember that house my dad and I were building for my mom out on the rez? Well when she died, it sort of became my dad's mission to get it done for her, and I helped. I fell in love with every aspect of architecture while building that place. Rebecca lives there now with her husband and my dad."
Jacob was absolutely beaming with pride as he told me the story and even Rose managed to crack a smile.
"What does this have to do with me?" I asked curiously, although I was certain I sounded very rude.
"I just hoped that since we were two kids from Forks living in New York City hat we could become friends again. I know I hurt you by just dropping off the face of the earth and all that, but I missed you." I took in all the information that spilled from his lips, but I still felt uncomfortable. "Maybe we can go out for coffee or dinner."
"I don't think that's a good idea Jake," I remarked as Jacob immediately grew sad and embarrassed.
"Why not? Renee said you weren't dating anyone and I just wanted the chance to talk to you about home, school and the three years were didn't talk. We used to talk all the time Bella. Hell, sometimes I was closer with your family than my own." I nodded slowly in agreement with his words. It was true; there were times when we were growing up that he spent more time with us. Hell, he even came on vacation to see Grandma Swan with us one time when we were ten. But we're not ten anymore.
"It doesn't matter if I am dating someone or not Jacob, I don't want to date you." Wow, I sounded harsh, but I didn't particularly care. I didn't want to be with Jacob, I wanted to be with Edward.
"It's just coffee Bella, we don't have to date. Seriously, two cups of caffeine riddled coffee. I know how you are addicted to caffeine." I glanced over at Rosalie, who seemed to be getting just as frustrated as I was at him.
"She doesn't want to go Jacob, so why don't you leave and call ahead next time before you just drop by. Okay? Bye Bye" snarled Rosalie as she stood up and motioned for him to leave. I was starting to like her more and more.
"Listen, I'm not leaving until Bella says she wants me to leave." I couldn't ever recall Jacob being this persistent before, and it was driving me nuts. Then again, when I knew him, he wasn't the kind of kid who would pursue a dream like going to the Parsons school. He had clearly changed, and I wasn't sure it was for the better.
"I want you to leave Jacob," I said confidently as we both walked to the door and I held it open for him to leave.
"I'll call next time Bella. I still want that coffee date," he said assertively as he stepped backwards from the door and walked right into Emmett and Edward who were standing there looking rather shocked. My hand flew up to my mouth immediately and my heart melted as I saw Edward standing beside his older brother, looking almost as gorgeous as I remembered him. His face and arms were still tanned, which made me wonder if the rest of him was too. His eyes were tired and he had bags under them, but I expected that because I looked the same way. Lack of sleep will do that to someone. His hair was all over the place and I just wanted to run my fingers through it and kiss his lips and then yank down his pants and ride him, in front of everyone.
I took a deep breath and remembered where I was. Jacob and Edward gave each other the once over and suddenly all hell broke loose.
"Jacob Black," he said calmly as he extended his hand to Edward who took it eagerly, shaking it way too hard for a casual meeting.
"Edward Cullen," said Edward as his grip on Jacob's hand tightened and I saw Edward's free hand come up and punch Jacob squarely across the jaw. This was not good.
EPOV
I had spent the last week in my room sulking after I found out that Rosalie and Bella had been assigned as roommates. I practically stared daggers at Emmett every time I saw him because he had touched Bella more recently than I had, and I was jealous. In fact, he had actually grown quite fond of her and I noticed he was spending more time at their place than ours. Thankfully, Jasper was as depressed as I was because he was missing Alice, so at least I didn't have to suffer in silence.
"Are you guys coming out with us tonight?" asked Emmett on Friday night. Apparently there was a floor party at Bella's dorm and Emmett was inviting us because he was going with Rosalie. Of course, I knew better because I could tell he just wanted to get me and Bella talking again. I wasn't feeling up to it though.
"Sorry dude, you're on your own tonight," said Jasper as he patted my arm. "Edward and I have a busy night of playing 'Halo' ahead of us." Ah, thank god for my partner in misery. I simply nodded my head as Emmett shrugged his shoulders and walked out, but not before he got one more cheap shot in at my expense.
"Bella's gonna be there Edward. I don't know if I'll be able to stop every guy from coming on to her, but for you buddy, I'll try. If she goes home with someone else, you can't blame me though." Fucker, I muttered to myself as Jasper punched me lightly on the shoulder.
"He's just trying to help, really. He doesn't like to see you like this anymore than I do," said Jasper as he handed me the controller to the Xbox 360 and turned on the console.
"You're going through the same shit Jasper. Why isn't he giving you grief? I'm tired of listening to him tell me how Bella made them all dinner, or how she walked out the bathroom in some shorts that practically showed her entire ass to him. You'd think he would know better," I said as I threw my head back against the couch.
"First of all, I'm not going through the same shit. Alice and I are only physically apart. I am still dating her. In fact, she's coming up next weekend, and I am forewarning you know, she said if you hadn't at least talked to Bella by then, she would make your weekend a living hell." Jasper laughed and I groaned because I knew Alice was a devious little pixie who would do whatever she could to help or harm us. "Secondly, I think Emmett is just saying that shit to piss you off and smarten you up. I've only seen pictures of her dude, and he's right, she's smoking, but she won't wait around forever." I nodded in acknowledgment of Jasper's words. We had both screwed up and I wanted to fix it, or at least talk to her. Maybe there was no way to fix it anymore. Bella had made an attempt by sending me the photos, but then she said the ball was in my court, and I hadn't done anything about it. That was six days ago.
"What should I do Dr. Phil?" I asked Jasper as he turned towards me with a serious expression on his face.
"Just tell her how you feel. Tell her how you felt when she admitted the lie to her and try to work through it. You might have to go back to phase one and invite her out for lunch or coffee or something, but you have to try. If you love her at all, you need to try."
"How did you get to be so smart dude?"
"Cosmo. Alice subscribes and it's the only magazine in her bathroom. I've also learned the best sexual positions for multiple orgasms, but that was probably an over share huh?" I nodded my head and laughed at him for a moment, before realizing he was doing this stuff with my little sister.
"No more sex talk between us," I said anxiously as Jasper grinned at me.
"Can I ask one quick question then?" I nodded my head again and suddenly became scared about what he was going to ask. "Was she good? She looks like she would be excellent."
"Fan-fucking-tastic dude, you have no idea, and you will never know."
Emmett rolled his drunken ass into the apartment the next morning around nine, and he was grinning from ear to ear. "Have a nice time did you?" asked Jasper as he poured himself a large glass of orange juice. Emmett walked over to the kitchen and took Jasper's orange juice and drank it all in one gulp. It was disturbing.
"Yeah. The guy who lives across the hall from Bella and Rosalie is a fucking riot. He somehow got a keg into the dorm and we spent most of the night over there with him quoting virtually every single Will Ferrell movie. Did you know Bella loves 'Old School'? She can practically quote it verbatim. Garrett tried to convince her to go streaking across the quad. You guys should have come."
"Who's Garrett?" I asked curiously. I was trying to remain calm but it was hard when Emmett mentioned his name, because I was now furious and jealous.
"He's the gay dude that lives across the hall. He got the keg. Hilarious motherfucker, really." Emmett let out a big sigh and sat down on the couch, resting his feet on the table.
"Feet off the table," yelled Jasper in his best English accent, mocking the Weasley Twins from Harry Potter. Emmett and I both laughed quietly as he slid his feet off the table and began to remove his shoes. He then looked over at me and smiled from ear to ear.
"She misses you dude. Go see her."
"What?" I asked incredulously as he continued to smile at me.
"Every single guy that hit on her last night was brutally rebuffed. It was funny as hell. I won't give you the specifics because you'll probably burn down her dorm and every guy in it. I even overheard her tell one guy at the end of the night that she was taken. She wants you Edward… bad." I sat in silence for a while as I contemplated Emmett's drunken conversations. He had continued for at least another hour talking about things Bella had done and said at the party, and every single word he uttered reminded me of how much I missed her.
Six hours later, Emmett walked from his bedroom looking clean and sober. He looked like a completely different person that just a few hours earlier. "I'm heading to Rose's. We're going out for an early dinner. You guys want to come along?"
"I'm coming," I said as I ran to my room and grabbed my shoes. "I need to talk to Bella." I was a fucking nervous wreck from the moment we left our apartment. As we waited for the elevator to their floor, I thought about turning around and running home but Emmett was gripping my arm so tightly there was no way I was going anywhere.
"You can do this. Just tell her you miss you, you're sorry you didn't listen to her and then take her into her room and fuck the shit out of her."
"Thanks for the advice, but I think I can handle it," I lied.
As we walked down the hallway to their room, a door suddenly opened and there stood Bella, my Bella. She looked as beautiful as ever in a pair of cotton shorts and a blue halter top which I had seen on her many times in Europe. My eyes immediately fell to her wrist where I noticed my bracelet was still sitting and my heart practically soared. At least it did until some tall, tanned guy walked out and backed right into Emmett and me. What the fuck was he doing at Bella's was my first thought. Which of course was followed immediately by my second though, who the hell was he?
"Jacob Black," he said casually as he offered his hand to me. I took it in mine quickly and started to shake hands with him, probably a little too hard. This was the guy who had emailed Bella during our trip and was desperate to see her in Forks when she got home. He had followed her to New York City because she probably had refused to see him, just like she told me she would.
"Edward Cullen," I replied to him curtly as I squeezed his hand tighter in mind and thrust my free hand out to meet his jaw. He was not getting anywhere near my Bella.
BPOV
Thank god for Emmett. He intervened immediately and only one punch ended up getting thrown. I could only imagine the trouble that would have went down if Emmett hadn't been there to pull them apart.
"What the hell man?" shrieked Jacob as he reached his hand to his jaw to try to soothe it. "What did I ever do to you?"
"Didn't Bella say she didn't want to see you?" yelled Edward as he stepped back a few paces from Jacob. Edward looked furious; it reminded me of how he looked when he broke up with me at the airport.
"How did you … oh, you must be the ex-boyfriend Renee had told me about," said Jacob as light went off in his head and he began to smile. I laughed though because as he tried to smile, his mouth hurt from where Edward had hit him and he couldn't smile. "Listen dude, we're just friends. There's no need for any ruckus to break out. I'm gonna go, but Bella call me if you want to do coffee sometime."
"Not likely Jacob, but good luck at Parsons," I yelled out as he turned away disappointed and I looked up at Edward. "Hi."
"Hi," he replied shyly as I noticed him rubbing his hand. It probably hurt like hell from punching Jake.
"Do you want some ice for that?" I asked nervously as he shook his head. I couldn't recall Edward ever being this shy before, and it was a little disconcerting. He stepped into the apartment with Emmett at his heels and I guided him into our kitchen.
"Rose and I are going to go out for dinner. Do you think you kids can play nice, or do I need to call Garrett over here to keep an eye on you two?" laughed Emmett as he wrapped his arms around Rose's shoulders and led her towards the door.
"I think we can manage not to kill each other," said Edward as he glared at his brother. God I hoped this wasn't some setup and Edward didn't know where he was going.
"I didn't make him bring you here, so I hope you're not mad at me," I said sweetly as I handed Edward the towel filled with ice and he put it on his hand. God I wanted to touch him, even just for a second. It would be better than never touching him again.
"No, I came because I wanted to. Balls in my court and all that shit right?" I nodded my head absentmindedly and we walked towards the couch, sitting across from each other instead of beside, which made my heart ache a bit. I couldn't stand being this close to him, yet being so far away. "So, how are you?"
"Eh, I've been better. From the looks of the luggage under your eyes I'm assuming you would say the same?" I asked casually as he reached up and ran a finger under his eye. Yeah babe, you look like shit too, I thought to myself.
"Yeah well, school and living with Emmett will do that to you." He was being more quiet and reserved than I remembered, but right now I would take it any way I could get it. "How are your classes?"
"I don't know. I start on Monday. This past week was all syllabuses and prep. Nothing exciting really. If it wasn't for Emmett and Rosalie I would have been bored out of my mind." I watched as Edward just nodded his head in agreement. This was getting to be more awkward than I imagined. If we started to talk about the weather, I was going to kill myself. "I'm sorry."
"Me too," replied Edward as he ran his fingers through his hair nervously. I was shocked that he seemed to be apologizing. "I'm sorry I didn't let you talk to me and I'm sorry I listened to Alice who was the one who suggested we not worry about being apart. That probably scared the shit out of you and made you even more reluctant to tell me. I'm sorry I over reacted."
"Yeah, but it's all my fault. I was the one who was too scared to tell you in the first place. None of this would have happened if I had just been honest to begin with." I let out a long sigh and then Edward and I sat in silence for a few minutes as I watched him hold the makeshift ice pack against his knuckles. I forced out all my courage and moved over to sit beside him, grabbing his hand in mine and holding the ice down for him. "Does it hurt?"
"Not anymore." God I wanted to kiss him so badly, but suddenly he pulled his hand away from me and stood up.
"I am so sorry. I totally forgot I had somewhere to be tonight," I looked over at the clock and saw Edward grimace and mumble 'shit' to himself. I knew I was frowning now; there was possibly even a little pout. "Can we talk again later? I promise I'll call" I just nodded my head and watched him run from the apartment. I threw myself back down on the couch and buried my head in my hands. I was pissed and sad at the same time. I wanted answers, so I grabbed my coat and purse and practically ran out of the dorms, hailing the first cab I could find to take me to Edwards. When I knocked on the door, I was nervous I was going to catch him on a date with someone else, but there really hadn't been enough time between our conversation and me getting to his place. I waited patiently at the door and could hear the muffled sounds of a conversation going on in the room. When the door opened, I wasn't greeted by Edward. The guy was tall, fairly well built with blonde hair and was very attractive. He had a phone glued to his ear and I thought I was at the wrong apartment for a moment.
"Hi Bella, I'm Jasper. Come on in," he said as he held the door open wide for me and then held up one finger, signaling for me to hold on. My first instinct was to question how he knew my name, but if Emmett had seen photos, than Jasper surely had too.
"Yes Alice, Bella is here… No Edward isn't here. I don't know if they have talked Alice. Listen, I love you and I'll call you later okay babe?" Jasper was silent for a few more minutes before he finally hung up the phone and tossed it on the counter.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt, I was looking for Edward," I said casually as Jasper sat down on the couch.
"He's not with you?"
"No. He was, but then he ran out like a bat out of hell and I kind of wanted to talk to him." Jasper looked at me sympathetically. He had probably been caught in the crossfire of Edward and Alice for the past few weeks and I instantly felt bad for him.
"You can stay and wait, I don't mind. Do you play 'Halo'?" I glanced over at him in confusion and realized he was talking about a video game.
"Um, not really, but I'm a quick learner." I sat down on the couch beside him and quickly took the controller he offered and he showed me which buttons to press to do certain actions. "So, do you know where Edward went?"
"He actually had to head to some concert hall or something like that. It's for his music appreciation class I think. I tried to remind him before he left, but he seemed a little eager to go see you," laughed Jasper as he showed me how to maneuver the figures in the game.
"He punched out an old family friend tonight," I admitted ruefully. Jasper didn't seem too shocked by this revelation though. I felt such an easy rapport with Jasper, that before I realized it, I had confessed virtually all my sins to him. He sat there, focused on the game, and spewing out advice like Oprah. It was liberating to talk to him about it because he was the closest person to Edward, other than Alice. "Does he still love me?"
"Oh hell yeah he does. That never went away, trust me. I watched him while we were home and it was eating him up to be without you." I sighed from Jasper's words and then looked over at the clock, it was almost ten. "I think he's supposed to be home soon. Why don't you go wait in his room?" suggested Jasper as he pointed down the hallway to a lone door.
"No, that's okay. Thanks for the help and the game," I said as I lifted the controller before putting it down on the table.
"Really Bella, go wait in his room. He won't be too late. He never stays out late anymore. He's not exactly the same guy who left for Europe two and a half months ago." I nodded my head reluctantly and walked towards Edwards's room. If he didn't show up soon, I would just sneak out while Jasper was distracted by his video game, I told myself as I cautiously turned the knob. I was kind of hoping it was locked so I could just run home, but I was also relived it was open because I was certain the entire room smelled like Edward and I had missed that.
I turned on the main light and shook my head in disbelief at his room. Sure, it looked like the usual college boys room, a decent bed, a couple of pillows, a desk, laptop and all that shit, but covering every square inch of the walls in the room were the maps Edward had picked up during our trip. I walked closer to the wall on the left hand side of the room and immediately noticed the map of Hamburg near the bottom of the wall, with the map of Copenhagen above it. Where the city of Copenhagen should have been located though was a picture of us that we took together on the beach. I walked towards another wall and looked at the map of Paris, where I happily smiled at the picture that was taken of us at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
I sat down on his bed and felt a little overwhelmed. Jasper made me come into the room specifically so I could see all of this. See that Edward still loved me, and always loved me. There was never any 'past tense' like he said at the airport. I laid down, my head getting comfortable on his pillows and glanced towards his nightstand where I saw a picture of me sleeping in a small pewter frame. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding and felt my heart flutter. All I could think about was how he still slept beside me every night, except now it was a picture in a frame, instead of my actual body. I pulled off my sweatshirt and my shoes and got comfortable on his bed. I was definitely not going anywhere until we talked. Unfortunately for me, I fell asleep before Edward came home.
I could hear muffled voices outside of the door and they woke me from my peaceful sleep on Edward's bed. I could definitely hear Jasper and as I was about to get off the bed, Edward suddenly walked in, looking very surprised.
"What are you doing here?" he asked nervously as he looked up at one of the walls and then over to me.
"I wanted to play 'Halo' with Jasper for four hours and then pass out on your bed. What do you think I'm doing here? I wanted to talk to you." As the words came out of my mouth, I suddenly sounded very pathetic.
"I'm really sorry about running out earlier. There was this thing I had to go to for class."
"Yeah, Jasper told me," I said casually as I sat up in the bed, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. Edward sat at the end of the bed and just stared at me. I figured since I was the one who came all this way to talk, I should go first. "I miss you and I love you. I want you back; I want us back to the way we were. I know I screwed up, but I want the chance to make it up to you. Only you."