A/N: Wow. You guys are my favorite story audience. If any of you have stories, I'll advertise them for you, like .Cucumber does in her story, on one condition: If you leave a review asking me to advertise it, you also have to review my story. And please, not too many. It's first come, first serve.

Four

Ice Cream or Coffee

BELLA

I was in pain in a number of different ways. I was hurting physically because the multiple bruises Mike had left on my arm were starting to turn black and purple, the most gruesome of which was the one he'd left the day Edward had first offered to close for me. Now, despite what you might believe, the emotional pain I was enduring was a thousand times worse.

In my mind I saw Edward, frustrated with my stupid mood swings, quitting furiously on the day Mike had left. And I did not blame my mental image for hating me, nor for abandoning me. I did not deserve to be with Edward, much less to be his friend.

But he refused to leave me, like I said he should. Not only did he manage to avoid blowing up at me, but that same day, he told me a secret that would make that afternoon one of the best in my life.

"Bella?" he said cautiously, tiptoeing into the kitchen after allowing me ample time to cry in peace.

I quickly made an attempt to clear my face of tear-streaked mascara. "Sorry for taking all that out on you, Edward," I apologized, hating myself for hurting him.

"It's no big deal," he assured me, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. I bit back a gasp.

"But it is a big deal," I argued, after catching my breath, of course. "I was a jerk. You don't deserve to be accused like that. It's my fault." He crossed his legs, sitting down beside me, Indian style, against the door.

"Don't apologize to me, Bella," he whispered soothingly. "You needed to take it out on someone. I just happened to be around."

"But-" I started.

"Shhhh… Listen, I need to tell you something important," he interrupted. I nodded silently.

"Some time or another, everyone's going to have that moment where they just snap due to all of the overbearing pressure they are balancing. You have an unusually high load to bear, Bella," he explained, running the tips of his fingers down my arm lightly. I shivered at the touch. "Actually, I'm quite glad I got to witness this little tantrum," he continued, his voice a bit more teasing. "It was fairly cute."

"Cute, huh?" I asked, giggling childishly. "You're ridiculous, Edward Cullen."

"Well, if it makes you feel better…" He grinned sheepishly. I stared into his topaz eyes, bobbing my head up and down.

"It most definitely does."

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EDWARD

It was comforting to know that Bella was going to be all right or at least that I'd temporarily made her feel better. But I could do nothing to ease the dull aching in my chest that had come as a result of knowing that Mike had won the battle. Bella was still his. And if Emmett and I didn't figure something out, she always would be.

"Closing time!" I exclaimed for no particular reason, clapping my hands together and rubbing them against each other enthusiastically.

"Yay!" Bella yelled, dropping the cash back into its respective slots in the register. "Finally! I can go home and get some studying done."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Bella, Bella, Bella," I said in a tsk-tsk-tsk type voice. "No one studies on Christmas break! It's illogical, unthought-of… Why, it's unethical!" I continued with mock frustration.

"Well I plan on continuing my college education, and to do so, I must make some sacrifices, therefore…"

"Ooohhhh no!" Emmett roared, bounding through the front door, which, to our dismay, still had a sign hanging in the window that read 'Open'.

"Crap," Bella mouthed inaudibly. I smiled, reassuring her with my eyes. Emmett wasn't going to be around for long.

"I did not just hear you say that you were going home to study, Isabella Swan!" he protested.

She sighed. "I'm never going to get any work done with you two around, am I?"

"Absolutely not," Emmett agreed. "Edward, take this woman out, and fast!"

"Bella?" I asked, looking to her for permission. She nodded slightly, after much consideration.

"All right, Edward. We can go somewhere. But… coffee or ice cream, okay? Nothing crazy."

I grinned, and it probably wasn't the reaction she wanted. "Why, of course, Bella," I said, feigning innocence. "Why, how could you even imagine anything else?"

"Yeah, whatever," she muttered, grabbing her white, knee-length trench coat from the rack behind the counter. "I must be crazy."

"Don't worry, Bella, you'll like this place," I said, trying to sound comforting, as soon as we were in my Volvo, speeding down the four-lane. She was still gazing uneasily out the window, trying to figure out where we were headed. I doubted she knew.

"If you say so," she mumbled.

We pulled into the parking lot, which was extremely familiar to me, but probably not so much to Bella, about five minutes later.

"Where are we?" Bella demanded, stepping out of the passenger seat as I held the door open for her.

"Less talk, more walk," I ordered, leading the way into the fancy Italian bistro, with glistening chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a crisp, white tablecloth covering each and every table, matched with a flowery, purple centerpiece.

"Edward," she let out in one, slow breath.

The hostess smiled at us-well, more at me than at Bella, and asked if we preferred a table or a booth. I requested a booth, and she winked at me and said "whatever you like." I laughed at Bella's envious expression on the outside, but inside, I was rejoicing for the tiny feat.

"You shouldn't have done this," she said, once we were comfortably seated in the booth of our choice. "This is too nice. When you said out… I thought you meant more like…"

"Ice cream or coffee?" I offered, using her earlier reference. She smiled halfheartedly.

"Yeah, ice cream or coffee," she whispered, her smile reaching her eyes at last.

Maybe this could turn out good after all.

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BELLA

I could not say for sure how long Edward and I sat and talked that night. It could have been hours, and it could have been a few minutes. We had no reason to keep track of the time we spent, it seemed. We were indulged in conversation, each of us revealing something about our past, present, or hopeful future over and over.

There was an endless amount to tell. And though the conversation was pretty equal, I felt like I was doing all of the talking. It was just that I felt so at ease with Edward, a feeling that I sure as heck didn't share with my boyfriend. So we could finally be considered friends. And, believe me, I was more than willing to move past that awful, awkward stage.

"I can't imagine you doing that, Edward," I admitted, grinning at the thought of him, standing on top of his school, shouting insults at the teachers passing below.

"I told you, Bella. It was a dare." As if that was a reasonable excuse! "I might have been smart in high school, but I was no chicken."

I laughed incredulously. "Unbelievable."

"Well, what about you?" he pressed. "You must've done something embarrassing in high school. I mean, you being so…" He blushed a beautiful crimson color. It was magnificent in contrast to his lovely, pale skin.

"Clumsy?" I offered. He nodded. "Well, you're right. High school was just one huge embarrassment for me. This one time, a janitor was pushing a trash can down the hallway, and I walked straight into him. Long story short, he ended up quitting after I 'so rudely' knocked him over, and I ended up face-first in the garbage can. Good times, good times."

"You really mean that?" he asked, as the waitress cleared away our nearly untouched plates.

"Umm… no!" I almost-shouted. But it didn't matter, because we were the last in the restaurant, I noted. "I wouldn't go back to the awkward, adolescent years of high school if someone paid me to."

"So you think you're better off now?" he asked quietly, looking down at his feet. I considered the question.

"No, I guess I'm not," I agreed. "But I'm lucky to have met a friend like you, Edward."

He grinned yet again. "And I wouldn't trade your friendship for the world. But Bella, there's something I've been meaning to-"

"BELLA!"

Oh, no. that voice could only mean one thing, and as sure as the sun would rise tomorrow morning, I knew that this would not turn out good.

A/N: Okay, I got a review on the last chapter that was not mean in any way, but I wanted to address in nonetheless. .Cucumber, I wanted you to know that this story is in no way intended to be a knockoff of yours. I know you didn't mean that, but I didn't want anyone else to get that notion either. I've been planning this for a while, so I hope you didn't think that just because Mike is the bad guy, I was trying to steal from you…

On an entirely different note: REVIEW! Much love,

C.J.