BPOV

I'm just being a good friend. I'm just being a good friend. I had been chanting this to myself the whole ride to the Cullen house. I had received texts last night after the party from both Alice and Emmett. Some siblings they were, they both stayed the night at their significant others house. I was just going to swing by and make sure Edward was okay and, if he wanted, give Edward a lift back to his car. I know he didn't like leaving his car some place, especially with so many drunk individuals around, not to mention a pissed off James. I took a deep calming breath and knocked quietly. After knocking a few more times and more forcefully I let myself in. The Cullen's had always had an open door policy when it came to any of their children's friends.

"Edward," I called, not wanting to take him by surprise. No response. I headed up the stairs, wondering if he could possibly still be asleep. The door to Edward's room was wide open. He was lying on his stomach, sprawled out on the bed. His back was bare and his hair was sticking in every direction. I smiled to myself and headed back downstairs, unwilling to wake the beautiful sleeping boy. I made my way to the kitchen and pulled out a few more Ibuprofen and another glass of ice water. I took them upstairs and placed them on Edward's night stand, taking care to be extra quiet.

Since Edward was still sleeping, I grabbed my book from my bag and curled up on the couch. I was just getting into it when I heard movement upstairs. I could hear rustling, then the sound of the shower running. Twenty minutes later, a freshly showered and clean clothed Edward came gracefully down the stairs.

"Hey," he called, reaching the bottom step. He seemed surprised to see me. "What are you doing here?"

I shrugged, "Ali and Emmett both told me how they didn't come home last night. I thought you could use a lift to your car."

Edward took a seat next to me on the couch.

"How are you feeling this morning?" I asked, reaching to touch his injured lip. He instinctively pulled back.

"It's fine," he muttered, suddenly seeming uncomfortable.

"So, dare I ask what the fight was about?" I chided, trying to change the subject.

Edward shrugged, looking uncomfortable again. "James was just being an ass." He paused for a moment, then looked up to look me in the eyes. "Do me a favor Bella, stay away from him." He was deadly serious now.

I had known of James for a few years and he was a complete jerk. Promising Edward I would stay away from him was no problem. "I promise." I said, smiling at him.

Edward shook his head, "Enough about the ups and downs of my night last night. How did you enjoy the party? You seemed to like talking to Jake and the guys from the basketball team."

"Yeah, it was okay. Jake is . . well, he's Jake. And the basketball team guys were nice." I muttered, my face already heating up.

Edward's brow creased, "Are you going out with any of them?"

I couldn't hold in the snort at Edward's comment. "No, I'm not going out with any of them. Jake is my friend, always has been and always will be. Nothing more. And those basketball guys, well, the attention was nice . . . but I think I'd rather have someone listen to what I have to stay instead of staring at my chest the entire time I'm talking."

Edward choked on the water he had just taken a swig of. "Well, yeah, I guess that's an important part." He seemed to contemplate something, then looked up again, trapping her in his gaze. "Okay, I'm not trying to defend the guys here by any means, but why did you let Ali dress you up like that if you didn't want them looking at you?"

Ahh. . why did he have to ask that question? Of all people, I really didn't want to admit my low self-esteem issues to the god that is Edward Cullen. He was so gorgeous, there is no way he would understand this. He'd never have to. I looked down at my hands, fiddling with the bookmark tassels on my now closed book. Not looking up, I decided to tell him the truth. "I guess it's nice to feel pretty every once in awhile."

I could hear Edward's sharp intake of breath. He reached out to me, putting a finger under my chin and forcing me to look at him. "Bella, you have never been merely pretty. You are absolutely gorgeous. I don't care if you are wearing your jeans and t-shirt or the short little skirt my sister forced you into last night. You are gorgeous." He said it with so much conviction he took my breath away and I swear my vision started to blur from the potential tears.

I stared at him, knowing I wouldn't be able to make a coherent sentence, so attempting to speak was out of the question. Edward slowly leaned towards me. My eyes fluttered shut just as his lips met mine. His lips were soft and gentle and his hands moved so that one was cupping my cheek while the other went around my back and tangled in my hair. I was in Heaven. Absolute Heaven.

We didn't break apart until we both absolutely had to have air and even then Edward leaned back to gently kiss my lips. Once. Twice. He was so soft and gentle. We sat there, arms around each other and staring into one another's eyes, just in our own little world. The chirping of my cell phone broke us both out of our daze and back into the real world. Silently cursing whoever had chosen now to send me a text message was a dead person.

I flipped my phone open. 'Thanks for getting E home last night. Call me when you get home from work. –Alice' It wasn't until then that I realized what time it was. "Oh god, I'm going to be late for work." I jumped up and scrambled to put my stuff back into my bag. Edward followed behind me, running a hand nervously through his hair. I got to the bottom of the porch stairs when I realized that he wasn't behind me. "What are you doing? Come on!" Apparently he didn't need to be told twice because Edward grabbed his keys from their place on the table inside the door and was instantly running after me.

We didn't speak on our way back to his car, neither of us sure what we should say. I pulled up next to his car and he hopped out, but not before leaning over and kissing my cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow Bella," he whispered and I'm pretty sure my heart skipped a beat or two in there.

I'm not sure what I did at work beyond daydreaming about Edward. I couldn't believe what had happened this morning. It still seemed so surreal to me.

I made it home after seven and was completely exhausted. Charlie had ordered pizza, knowing I wouldn't be home in time to make him dinner. I grabbed a piece and immediately went up to my room to take a shower and get ready for bed.

It wasn't thirty minutes later when my cell phone rang. Alice. Shit. What was I going to tell her about this morning? Was she going to be mad at me?

"Hello," I answered tentatively.

"Why hello to you too," Alice joked. She seemed to be in a good mood. We talked for almost an hour about random things, never broaching the subject of Edward. Alice had to go on and on about how much everyone loved our costumes from last night.

"Alice, I have to talk to you." I stated suddenly when she stopped to take a breath.

"Okay . . " she seemed a little apprehensive.

I took a deep breath, unable to calm myself. "Edward kissed me. Please don't be mad. I couldn't take it if you were mad at me."

I continued to ramble until Alice screeched my name. "Yeah?" I said, my voice cracking.

"Finally." Alice stated. She waited for a moment before she continued. "I'm surprised it took him this long. I'm proud he finally got the nerve to do it. And at least it was this morning and not last night when he was drunk."

I was speechless. "You . . you're okay with this Ali?" I choked out.

She laughed at me. My little pixie best friend laughed at my hysteria. "Of course I'm okay with it. I love my brother dearly and I know he'll be good to you. And I love you too, and I know you care about my brother and not just his looks or our money. You'll be good together."

I sighed, filled with relief. "Thank God. I really thought you were going to be mad at me."

Alice laughed again, "Just be good to him Bells, and make sure he's good to you."

"Ali . . I don't know about all of this. I mean, we kissed, but then I got your text and realized I was late for work, so I rushed off and we didn't exactly talk about it. What if he was just caught up in the moment? What if he doesn't want to have anything to do with me?" I let out all my fears and frustrations that wracked my brain while I was at work.

"Bella, kissing you wasn't something that just occurred to him this morning. Trust me." Alice was so confident a small part of me couldn't help but believe her.

"Thanks Alice. I don't know what I'd do without you." And with that we said good night.

"Bella!" Rosalie screeched, running at me full force as I put my books in my locker. "What did you hear about the fight at the party the other night?" She demanded.

I shrugged, unsure where this excitement was coming from. Rosalie was usually pretty calm and collected. "I don't know. Edward wouldn't tell me."

Rosalie looked shocked. "B, you're the talk of the school today. Apparently James and some of the guys had a bet going about who could get in your pants first. They made the mistake of asking Edward if he wanted to join the wager and that's why he beat the shit out of James!"

I didn't know what to make of this information. For a moment, my insecurities got the better of me and I wondered if that was why Edward had kissed me. My heart plummeted at that thought. But I knew Edward, and he wouldn't do that. It wasn't just that it was me, Edward was old fashioned and I couldn't see him betting on that over anyone.

"He . . . got into a fight . . . over me?" I stuttered.

Rosalie grinned from ear to ear. "Yep. I told you he was as crazy about you as you were about him."

I blushed crimson as Rosalie skipped down the hallway.