This was originally going to be a little different, so if this doesn't seem to flow right from beginning to end, that's why. Something happened midday that altered my mood dramatically, and it turned out more emo than the way I'd planned when I started it. I apologize. But it's not without hope :)


Penname: kyla713
Creative Original or Derivative Fiction: Derivative

Rating/Warning(s): T

Disclaimer: All copyrighted, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.

Prompt: Dialogue Flex: "What the hell were you thinking?" he shouted.

At that moment, he could have cared less if he got a hundred speeding ticket or about the late hour of her call, or even the fact that it was pouring out. The only thought in his mind was that he needed to get to her, and fast.

He'd been lying awake in his room when his phone rang on his bedside table with her name illuminating the screen. The instant he heard her tear-filled voice coming through, he shot up immediately and was already halfway down the stairs by the time the three most heartbreaking words left her lips.

"Edward, I'm scared."

Driving down the poorly lit road, his eyes scanned through the blinding rain, searching for any sign of her.

He slowed when her trembling form appeared on the side of the road, her dress clinging to her body in its drenched state. Pulling over, he stopped in front of her and leapt out of the car, and they both stood silently staring at each other.

At the beginning of January of their senior year, she had abruptly ended their two-year relationship when she received her acceptance letter to Yale – her father's dream for her. She explained that expecting him to follow or wait for her was completely unfair, as this would take her to the other side of the country. His family, his friends, his life, was here in Forks. And she also thought it would be unfair to them both to continue their relationship until then and allow them to get in deeper than they already were.

"If it's meant to be, we'll find our way back to each other, Edward," she'd said with tears streaming down her face.

And now as he stood there staring at her, unable to decipher the tears from the rain, his arms still ached to hold her.

"Jessica bailed tonight without me," she finally spoke with a shaky voice and trembling lips. "So I tried getting another ride home. But he dumped me out here. I didn't know who else to call. My dad would be pissed and I'd never hear the end of it. I'm sorry."

"What the hell were you thinking?" he shouted loudly, taking off his jacket and walking over to her quickly to wrap it around her. "You should have just called me in the first place."

A sob wracked through her body as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest, her shoulders curling against his warm body. He swept her up into his arms, carrying her shivering form to the car and setting her in the passenger seat to get her out of the rain. She kept her eyes in her lap as he got in and made a U-turn on the deserted road and began driving back toward Forks, her tears never ceasing.

"I didn't think you'd come," she whispered suddenly, breaking the silence of the car. "We've barely even spoken since January. I didn't exactly feel that I had the right to ask you for a favor."

He glanced over at her briefly, watching as she pulled the jacket tighter around her body. Returning his eyes to the road, he reached over to the switch for the heater and turned it up another notch to take the chill from the car for her. "Bella, you were my friend before we were anything else. Never feel that you can't call me."

Her eyes slowly moved over to him, watching his glaze over slightly and his jaw tighten as he concentrated his focus on the road. "I wasn't sure you'd even answer. You haven't responded to so much as a text in months. Let alone a phone call at midnight on prom night."

"So who did you end up going with?" he said tensely, attempting to sway the conversation away from himself.

"Edward, don't do this," she whispered, shaking his head and pinching her eyes closed. She could hear the heartbreak and jealousy in his voice even after all these months.

"Don't do what? Just having a conversation, Bella," he replied sharply, resting his elbow on the windowsill and driving his hand into his hair.

She averted her eyes to look out her window, hugging her arms around herself, partially against the still present chill in her body and partially in comfort for herself. She missed him with every fiber of her being and seeing him every day in school was heartbreaking. She wished she could tell her father how she really felt and go with her heart, but she knew that was impossible. Charlie would never approve of her sacrificing her education for love, especially if she received the full scholarship to Yale. "I didn't go with anyone."

Her soft simple statement caused his hand to lower from his hair back to the steering wheel. He knew he shouldn't have felt relieved, but the thought of her dancing with someone else, laughing with him, being in his arms, caused his heart to ache.

"I couldn't," she continued after a prolonged silence, turning her head to look at him. "I didn't do this because I wanted someone else."

He shifted the car into park in front of her house and sat silently for a moment, staring at his hands still gripping the steering wheel. As she reached for the door handle to leave, he finally spoke. "Then why did you?"

"I already told you, Edward. Four years is a long time. It was unfair to ask that of you," she sighed, her eyes falling to her lap again.

"No, you want to know what's unfair? You making my decisions for me and never once asking me what I wanted," he retorted, then opened his door to move around the car to to hers, pulling it open and looking down at her. "Why couldn't you have just asked me?"

She glanced up at him, the pain and confusion-as well as the anger-clearly written on his face. It continued to pour down on him, causing his hair to fall onto his forehead and his eyes to squint against the rain and the drops falling from the strands. She stepped out of the car and stood in front of him, staring up into his eyes as she slid his jacket off her shoulders and tossed it into the car. "Because I knew what your choice would be, that you would have followed me without question. Regardless of what sacrifices you had to me. I don't want you giving up everything for me."

"So you just get to decide that? Decide what's best for me?" he replied as she moved past him toward the front walk of her house. He quickly followed her up onto the porch, catching her arm with his hand and turning her to face him. "You're right, I would have followed you without question. Because that's what you do when you love someone. You make sacrifices for each other's dreams and ambitions."

She closed her eyes, holding back more tears that were threatening to fall. When his hand fell from her arm, they opened again to find him making his way back down the steps toward his car. "Edward!"

He paused in his steps on the walk, taking a deep breath before turning back to face her. "Yea?"

Her lips trembled as she gazed at him, folding her arms over her chest to shield against the raw dampness. "Do you still love me?"

"I came to get you tonight, didn't I?" he replied non-committally, and she tilted her head in question. He sighed heavily, shoving his hands in his front pockets. "Nothing is going to change that, Bella. Even if you had slept with him tonight, it wouldn't have changed anything."

She walked down the stairs toward him until they stood face to face. "Will you kiss me?"

"Bella," he sighed, closing his eyes in response and shaking his head.

"Please just tell me you love me again. Please?" she cried softly, lowering her chin.

His finger hooked underneath it to raise her eyes back to look at him. "I do love you, Bella. I've never stopped."

"Would you still want me if I asked?" she asked nervously, her eyes flickering as she blinked away the rain.

"I don't know, Bella. That's something we'd need to talk about. It's not just a question of wanting you. It's not that simple. There's a lot of things I'd need to know, and we'd need to discuss, before I even thought about putting myself back out there again."

"Will you come inside to talk then?" she asked, gazing up at him.

"It's almost one in the morning," he reminded her and shook his head. She sighed heavily in defeat and nodded, turning back toward the house. "If you decide in the morning that you still want to talk, come by my house. I'll have coffee on."

She turned back around quickly, seeing him already at his car and stepping in. Waving as he pulled away, she nodded. "I'll be there."