Sorry this took so long to update! I got distracted this weekend and then the VMA's came on last night and I was busy switching between being pissed off at Kanye West for being a complete douchebag and taking away Taylor Swift's moment and squealing like a little girl at the New Moon trailer. It looks effing amazing...is it November yet?

As always thanks for your reviews, I wish I'd get a couple more, but seriously, thank you: lyndons angel of light, PsychWardSiren (sorry for the spelling mistake last time), i-heart-music-is-life, kairikh2, NeenaTH, 123appletree, and winternow for your reviews! They make my day!

The amazing Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, and the new New Moon trailer owns me.

----

BPOV

"He fucking kissed you, Bella?!"

I stammered, "That is...none of your business, Edward."

"Like hell it's not, Bell, why the fuck do you want to shut me out? I'm going fucking nuts. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I feel like my head is going to implode at any minute and I don't know how the fuck to make this pain stop."

"I feel terrible that you feel that way, I do, but I have to do this."

Why am I arguing? I de-Edwardized my room for a reason.

So why is it he's still here?

"I think you need to go," I sneered.

"Come on, I'm sorry, please talk to me," he begged.

My phone beeped again. Edward still held it in his hand, knuckles going white from squeezing it so hard. "That better not be that fucker again, Bell. Tell him to fuck off. You're spoken for."

I reminded him, "No, Edward, you're spoken for. I'm single."

I snatched the phone from his hand. It was just Rose saying goodnight.

I snorted, "If anybody is going to speak for me in the future, besides my own damn self, Edward, it would probably be Jas-"

I stopped myself, I was trying to hurt him then and I immediately regretted it. I don't want to hurt him, I don't want to make him jealous.

But I also want him to know that there is the possibility of Jasper.

"Don't you finish that sentence. Don't you dare tell me that. I thought you loved me, Bella? You're awfully quick to jump to a new relationship, huh?"

"Get the fuck out, Edward! We were never in a relationship! There's a big difference. Stop trying to manipulate this situation like always. I told you I need space from you, now give it to me!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Nothing I am saying right now is coming out the way I wanted it to."

He reached for my hand but I shook my head no.

"No, I'm sorry. Not this time. You need to go."

"Bella-"

"Please, don't make me call Emmett."

"I never told her I loved her, Bella."

I sighed, "That doesn't really change anything does it, Edward? You still lied to me."

I blinked away the tears, not wanting him to see my cry, "You know, I thought back to the past couple months and a lot of shit makes sense now. All the excuses you were making to me about not being able to hang out, they were because you were with her, weren't they?"

He nodded solemnly.

His presence was making my resolve waiver. I wanted to punch him and kiss him all at once.

"Bella, I don't know what the fuck was or is going on in my head. I can't believe I treated you the way I did. You don't deserve any of it. You deserve the absolute best. I'm terrified to lose you in my life and I go to extremes to make sure no one takes you from me."

I rolled my eyes for the millionth time.

He's saying all the right things, but his actions prove that nothing has changed. It's everything Edward's way all the time. I ask for space, he climbs my fucking tree to get to my room. Even if he were telling me the truth right now, if he really felt the way I feel, it still wouldn't matter.

I want us to be together because we both make the decision mutually, not because he's scared to lose me.

What if he gets into a relationship with me to keep me away from Jasper, then changes his mind? I couldn't take that. It would ruin our friendship and above all, my friendship with Edward was the most important thing in my life. I needed to get over these feelings for Edward and get our friendship back first and foremost. We had to live life separately, or at least more separately than we had been.

"Are you going to date Jasper?"

"Edward, that's neither here nor there. Come on."

"I broke up with her, Bell."

"Stop it, right now, you're saying that shit just because there's a threat to what you deem to be your property. You're not going to pull me back in. So just stop. You told her you loved her! You don't just stop loving someone in a matter of hours!"

He grabbed my arms, not forcefully, but passionately, "Exactly, Bella, exactly! You love me, don't you? Just give me another chance to prove I can be that guy for you. I promise you I never told Tanya I was in love with her. She was just trying to hurt you. And make me mad. She's just jealous of you, she always was whenever I would talk about you. I think she knew more than I did what my feelings towards you really were."

"What the hell are you talking about, Edward?"

He didn't answer me.

Instead he pulled me to him, crushing my lips to his.

I pushed him away as hard as I could.

"That's it, Edward, I'm calling Emmett."

"I've never been more serious, Bella, I lo-"

"Don't say that to me. Not when you don't mean it. Not when you're saying it just to make sure I don't date Jasper."

"Bella, I'm not! I'm telling you I realized it today! I just about had a heart attack when I read that message from him."

"Exactly, Edward, because you think you own me. You think you have the right to dictate my life!" God, he was infuriating.

"Why didn't you tell me you guys kissed?"

"You would have taken that news well?"

He shook his head, "No, probably not. But that's hiding something from me. It's the same thing that you're mad at me for. Lying to you."

"That's so different. Jasper and I weren't in a relationship. And I was allowed to kiss him, I wasn't dating anyone! You've always come and gone as you pleased, Edward. Done what you wanted, dated who you wanted, without me forbidding it."

I stood there not sure what else could really be said. Here he was trying to grasp on to this last hope of keeping me under his thumb and here I am for once not believing anything that comes out of his mouth.

He sat down in the rocking chair, elbows on his knees, hands in his hair, "What am I going to do without you?"

"It's not going to be forever, Edward. How many times do I have to ask for just a little time? Whatever pain you're feeling, mine is double that. In my mind, I'm losing my best friend for awhile and my coulda been, ya know?"

"I never lied when I said you were my heart, that's forever, my Bella," he said sadly. God this was so hard. I had to keep reminding myself that he's just scared. This is about being myself for once.

He stood up slowly, grabbing me in a hug. "I'll give you your space only because I know you'll resent me for it if I don't. I do want you to feel independent and find yourself, but I'm not giving up. I'm going to show you that I mean everything I say. And if you decide to give Jasper a chance," he shuddered, "and he hurts you, I'll break his fucking face."

I laughed softly, "Don't I know it."

"When will we go back to normal?"

"The whole point of this is to stop being the way we normally are. We're friends, but we need space. We don't owe each other explanations anymore, okay?"

He looked torn, like he wanted to give me what I wanted, but he just didn't know how.

"It's not forever. I'm still going to be here if you need me, you know that Edward. I can't pretend I don't care about you."

"Just promise me you'll be careful, Bella? Promise me you won't do anything reckless. Think things through before deciding anything."

"I promise."

He looked as if he wanted to say more but he just smiled sadly, kissed my forehead and walked out the door.

As soon as my bedroom door closed, I let the tears fall freely.

I know this is right. So why does it feel so very, very wrong?

----

When I woke up the next morning, I cleaned the house and did all the chores that I had been neglecting. Rose and I went to my favorite music store and got angry chick music like she said. I told her about Edward's visit and surprisingly she took it okay.

"I knew you would cave, but it's okay I'm not mad. I understand. He can be quite the con artist." And that was it.

We spent the rest of the day watching awful, sappy chick flicks and eating popcorn. When she left for the night she told me that tomorrow she had a surprise for me and that she was picking me up in the morning. What could that crazy bitch have planned?

I hate surprises.

Edward didn't call one time while Rose was over and I figured it was only a matter of time before he did. Charlie and I ate dinner together, mostly in silence as usual, but I decided to watch whatever game he was watching with him while I did my English homework.

Around 9, I told Charlie I was getting a shower and calling it a night.

Edward never called. The thought made me sad and happy. He was giving me what I wanted but that small part of me wished he would call or show up, telling me he wanted to be that guy for me again. Then I realized just how confusing that was and squished all parts of it down. This was going to be a good thing, I know it. I just have to stay strong.

Waking up the next morning, I had a bad feeling about my day.

Rose and surprises, I shuddered.

I got ready for school quickly, making sure I had all the books I needed, and walked into the kitchen to grab a granola bar and make coffee for Rose and I. I left Charlie a note on the table telling him I loved him and that Rose was picking me up for school. I also told him I had fun watching the game with him, because l did. Charlie had to work doubles a lot, there wasn't that big of a police force in Forks and he was the Chief, so I didn't see him as often as I liked.

Rosalie's horn scared me out of my thoughts. She was quite the cranky bitch in the morning. Hence the coffee.

What the hell could she be surprising me with?

I opened and closed the door quickly but carefully, the last thing I needed was a trip to the E.R. for coffee burns, eager to get the whole damn thing overwith. As I walked towards Rose's car, I saw Edward walking towards his car at the same time.

He looked so tired and sad. Maybe I should go over and check on him.

No.

Keep going Bella, you can do this.

I shook it off, looked to the ground and got in Rose's car before Edward and I could make eye contact.

Slamming the door with a huff, I handed her her coffee.

"Oh my God, thank you. I'm pretty sure I need a coffee I.V. today."

I huffed, "Well? What's this cryptic surprise?"

As she backed out of the driveway and started the drive to school, she pointed to her legs, "Do you not see the fucking $10 Wal-Mart sweatpants on my legs, Bella? I mean they are hideous! I look like a cow!"

I laughed. Really hard.

She really was the best friend I could ever ask for. She knew I would feel nervous to start this Edward separation, so to ease the tension she actually wore the sweatpants.

Rosalie Hale in sweatpants.

I took my cell phone out of my bag and snapped a quick picture because I was sure I wouldn't see this again. I didn't even expect her to wear them for real in the first place.

"You actually went to Wal-Mart and bought them?!"

She chuckled, "Please, Bella. Don't be ridiculous," she shuddered, "I swiped these from you when we were de-Edwardizing your room the other night."

I giggled, "You know you're my favorite person ever, right?"

"I better be. I look like a fucking bum."

The sad part was. She still looked like a supermodel. Not frumpy at all.

Bitch.

She pulled into the parking lot, parking in a spot near where Edward usually parks.

"You do not, you look gorgeous. Knowing the girls at Forks, I guarantee they see you in those and they'll all be wearing them tomorrow." I shook my head because honestly it was true. Jessica and Lauren may have started off despising Rose, but now they follow her around trying to dress and act just like her.

"So, how are you?" she asked as she turned around to pull her books from the back of her car.

"I'm okay," I answered honestly. "I mean once we get to school and I have to talk to Banner about switching partners, then I'll probably be nervous. Do you think Edward will hate me for it? I really don't want to make him mad. I don't like hurting him."

Rose frowned, "He has no problem hurting you. Intentionally or not, he still did. This space will be good for you two. Give you a fresh start on your friendship eventually."

I nodded, "Okay, enough Edward talk, do you want to do something after school?"

She looked away quickly, watching from her window as Edward pulled into the parking lot.

"Uh, sure, what did you want to do?"

"I don't know. I have to go home and make a meatloaf for Charlie to put in the oven but that won't take too long."

Rose kept looking around the parking lot, not paying attention to me at all, "Yeah, meatloaf, I'm there."

What the hell is up with her? I decided to mess with her.

"Yeah and then after we eat we can go lingerie shopping. I want something that will make Jasper's eyes pop out of his head."

"Yep, you got it, Bella, real eye popper," she went on ignoring me.

I was going to complain but Emmett's Jeep pulled up and Rose was out of the car before I could say bitch.

Well, that was rude.

I debated on whether to follow her or not, deciding I was far too lazy.

I locked Rose's car doors and made the trek into the school, hurrying so Edward couldn't catch up to me.

My day went on pretty uneventfully after that. Edward did as I asked for once. He didn't pester me in the hallways to talk to him, he didn't slip me notes demanding I pay attention to him, and he also didn't show up for lunch, opting of course to play piano instead. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Was he playing the piano so he wouldn't bother me? Or was he playing because he was really upset?

Either way he wasn't around and I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

I left lunch early to talk to Mr. Banner about the old lab partner switch-a-roo. Newton was okay with me being his partner because I'm sure he thought it meant something else. I had to convince myself it was all for the best at the thought of working side by side with Mike for the rest of the year.

"Ms. Swan, how can I help you?" Mr. Banner asked nicely.

Nice, he's in a good mood, "Uh, Mr. Banner, I was actually wondering if I might be permitted to switch lab partners for the rest of the semester?"

"What seems to be the problem, Ms. Swan? Why would you need to switch partners? Mr. Cullen and yourself have the best grades in the class."

I froze. What the hell do I say to that?

Another voice, full of velvet, broke me out of my panic, "Yes, Bella, please enlighten me as to why I'm being ditched midway through the semester."

Edward, that dick, was totally cockblocking my partner switch.

"I just...needed a...er," I stammered. Why the hell did Edward show up now?

"Bella and I just had a little argument. We'll work through it, sir, sorry to bother you."

Banner nodded, excusing himself, saying he needed to grab some things from the library before class started.

I stomped to my seat, throwing my stuff down in the process.

He followed, sitting next to me with a smug smile on his face, "You cut me out of every other part of your life, Bell. I had to do this."

"I didn't cut you out of my life, Edward, I asked for space."

"You gave me back anything and everything that I've ever given to you in trash bags, Bella. You don't say hi to me, you don't call me anymore, you didn't even tell me Charlie was working a double the other night. You were there all alone all night!"

"And I survived, didn't I?"

He smirked, "Yes, I guess you did."

"See, progress. We can do this. We don't have to spend every minute together, even if you weaseled your way into staying my lab partner."

"I don't know about that. Word on the street is Banner's assigning a huge project today. Supposed to be worth a third of our grade or some shit. Looks like we'll be working long hours after school together."

I was shocked and angry, "Did you pay him to do this or something? Seems awfully convienent, Cullen."

"I'm completely innocent," he affirmed. "I was just as surprised as you were. I may be a little more excited about it then you but I didn't have anything to do with it. Dumb luck, I guess."

"Unbelievable," I muttered. Could my life get any messier?

Banner eventually came back in with a stack of papers and kids began to trickle into the classroom.

The project was a two-week research assignment on the heart. A two week research project with Edward Cullen about the one thing of mine he owns.

Awesome.

Thanks Mr. Banner, shouldn't be hard at all. Jasper is coming here soon, which should really complicate things, Edward and I really aren't on the best of terms and Rose will be all on my ass about not being assertive enough and using my "womanly" assets to get what I wanted from Banner. This should be great.

The bell rang and Edward hung around while I collected my things. "So, when did you want to get started? Today after school?"

"It's not due until the beginning of next month, Edward."

"I'm anxious to find out all about your heart, Swan."

Before I could think of anything witty to come back with, Rose waved me over as we walked out of the door of the Biology lab. Edward walked right along with me apparently forgetting the whole not hanging out embargo.

With a snort Edward asked, "Are you wearing sweatpants, Hale?"

She threw a look of death his way, "Yeah, I was trying to make my best friend smile, some dick made her cry, Cullen."

Edward's face grew red and I jumped in before Rose threw a punch, "Okay, okay, I'm right here. What's up, Rose?"

"Let's skip this period. It's only gym and I can't take another hour of wearing these god awful pants."

My face lit up as Edward put on a scowl, "That's the best idea I've heard all day. Let me go to my locker real quick and then we're outta here."

We rounded the corner, Edward still in tow asking when we could get together for the project, and my jaw dropped.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that.

Rose smiled so bright I'm pretty sure you could see it from space.

Emmett barrelled down the hallway, panting, and yelling, "Did I miss it?!"

Edward's eyes both popped out of his head and narrowed all at once.

And I just about fainted right outside of Senora Goff's classroom.

Jasper Hale was standing at my locker with a dozen roses.

"You didn't really think that your surprise was sweatpants did you, Bella?" Rose whispered before I could say or do anything. I locked eyes with Jasper and he smiled so adorably I couldn't help but smile, too. As I started to walk towards him, Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him.

"What the hell is he doing here, Bella?"

"I have no idea, Edward, I'm just as surprised as you. Please don't make a scene, okay? We'll talk later. We have that project to do, right?"

I turned and walked away before he could say anything else. I jogged over to Jasper and tackled him with a hug. "I can't believe your here!"

"Monday, Thursday, what's the difference, right?" Jasper smiled. I nodded, "Right."

I pulled him into another hug, "It's so good to see you. You have no idea."

I heard the distinct sound of someone punching a locker before I pulled away from Jasper and saw Edward out of the corner of my eye storming down the hallway.

If Jasper saw it, he didn't acknowledge it and it felt good to not talk about Edward and his tantrums for once, "Same here, sugar. You ready to roll though?"

I squeaked, "Definitely," as I grabbed my stuff from my locker and slammed it shut.

Rose and Emmett walked over to meet us and we all four walked towards the exit. "Emmett you should go out of the back door, you're big ass can't be stealthy enough to skip out the front." I joked.

"Uh, Bella, if you haven't noticed, I run shit around here. I'll tell Coach I needed some rest before practice and he'll be fine with it."

Jasper chuckled, "I think I'm gonna like it here," as he put his arm around my shoulder.

It felt like Jasper would ease right into our group and I was happy for that, but I couldn't help that nagging feeling I had that this was unfair to Edward. I didn't want him to feel replaced in our group. But a small part of me, that I'm not proud of, felt free. Free to make my own decisions and mistakes without fear of an Edward meltdown. This would be good for us.

For all of us.

As we headed towards the parking lot, Rose tossed Jasper the keys to her car and said she would ride with Emmett back to my house. I noticed that Edward's car was already gone and my stomach felt a little uneasy at the thought. Was I doing the right thing ignoring him?

Jasper and I got in Rose's car and drove home in an awkward silence, which was unusual because Jasper and I always found something to talk about. I just couldn't shake the feeling I had that something was off.

As we pulled onto my street I saw that Edward's car was already in his driveway and so was another car. As we got closer to my house I saw that the car was a red Mustang.

Tanya.

He said he broke up with her.

Rose and Emmett pulled up and were getting out of the Jeep at the same time as Jasper and I. We all four noticed movement in the Mustang. A very distinct movement.

"Oh my God. Tell me that's not-" Rose started.

"What a fucking dumbass," Emmett growled.

Jasper not having a clue as to why any of us were shocked said, "Damn! Somebody's knockin' boots in there, huh?"

I stood frozen to the driveway, unable to tear myself away from the scene in front of me.

The movement in the car stopped. After a minute, a very disheveled looking Tanya climbed out of the backseat, Edward in tow.

Tanya looked smug, with her lip gloss smeared all over her disgusting lips, and Edward looked completely ashamed of himself.

It was like someone reached into my chest, pulled out my heart, and stomped on it.

That last bit of hope I was holding on to that Edward was serious about me dissolved into dust.

I grabbed Jasper's hand and pulled him towards my front door, "Come on, I owe you a dinner tonight."

As I held the door open for Jasper, Emmett, and Rose, I snuck a look at Edward. His eyes met mine and I didn't recognize him.

With a glare at Tanya, I flipped them both off before effectively slamming the door on Edward and his skank, literally and figuratively.

I'm done.