Just want to say thanks to the reviews; it really gets me writing. This chapter was originally longer but I thought it was best to cut it off. I'm slightly unsure about where this is going so I wanted your feedback on this chapter before I added the second part.

Also, a warning- Edward is being such an asshole in this chapter. I even wanted to bunch him. Hmmm, I wonder why he's acting this way? Muhahaha.

Now on to the most awkward dinner ever...

I took a deep breath as we entered the dining room, not sure which Edward I'd be greeted with- "affectionate brother type Edward", "aloof Edward", or "furious Edward".

We stepped in and my eyes immediately went over to his seated form. Slowly his eyes met mine. Ah, this was a new one as well. Repentant Edward.

Alice slipped into the chair across from Jasper and sat me down next to her. We were on Edward's side of the table but further down so he couldn't see us and we couldn't see him without straining our necks. For a moment I was disappointed; yes, I didn't want him to see me eating again or attack me again but I loved viewing his face. Then I caught sight of Alice's grin. Uh-oh.

"Tanya's not coming, Eddie?" Alice asked nonchalantly, reaching over for a helping of mashed potatoes.

"No," he almost growled. I couldn't see his face but I imagined his expression was something like how it had been earlier- dangerous.

"How come?" she asked innocently, winking at me as she poured on the gravy.

"We're not together, Alice."

Alice snorted. "Right."

I played with my food, hoping someone would intercept and change the subject. This was not a conversation I wanted to hear.

"So, Bella," Carlisle said as he slipped into his chair, "tell us more about this London internship."

Have I mentioned how much I adore Carlisle?

Smiling, I shifted and looked at him. "I go there the last day of classes and… it's more than likely I'll be there for the spring semester, too. It all depends on my work."

Carlisle smiled. "Well, then I'm sure you'll be there for the spring semester. Alice tells us how competent you are."

Blushing, I looked over at Alice. "Alice is too kind."

"Why do you want to go to London?" Edward asked, his voice dripping with disdain. What the hell did he care?

"Why wouldn't she?" Alice asked, grinning at me.

"A change every now and then is good," I mumbled.

The truth was that I'd been debating not going for a long time. I wasn't sure if I was brave enough to go off on my own. But now, after things with Mike and Edward, I realized I needed a change. My life had been stagnant; I'd be more than complacent with how things were going. I saw now that I was just going with the flow instead of making my own ripples. I was tired of being overlooked, of being cast aside. It was my time to shine and I thought what better way than to go off to London? It would be a fresh outlook that I so desperately needed.

And I'd be able to escape from whatever was going on between me and Edward.

"I'm so happy for you but I'm sad I'm going to be so far away from my best friend!" Alice looked over to her father pointedly. "Oh, what I would give to be able to visit you!"

"Smooth, Alice," Emmett laughed. "I wonder if Dad caught on…"

We all laughed at that; Carlisle always saw through Alice's plots.

"I don't think Bella's going to like it there," Edward said. Our giggles died down.

"Oh, Bella, you can adapt to everything," Esme said quickly. I knew she was trying to diffuse the tension that had descended upon the table. It wasn't working.

"I didn't say she couldn't adapt, just that she wouldn't like it there."

"Edward, drop it," Carlisle said in a firm voice. His face was stony and severe. I'd never seen him like that.

"I'm just being honest," Edward said. His words were somehow harsher since I couldn't see him. "Bella is… how shall I put it? Fragile. She's going to be off on her own in a foreign country for a long period of time. That's a lot to take in."

"Edward, what the hell do you know?" Rose asked, shooting him the scariest glare I'd ever seen. "You've barely left our town. And stop talking like Bella's not in the room." She looked over at me and smiled. "I think it's amazing what you're doing."

"Thank you," I said quietly, forcing a smile.

Edward's opinion mattered to me the most, however, no matter how much I wanted to deny it. It hurt that he thought I couldn't handle it. He was voicing all my own fears which, in a way, confirmed them.

"You're going to be home in a week, Bella."

My throat tightened. Why was he being so mean? Why did he keep insisting I was going to fail? Was he really that repulsed by the night before? He didn't seem angry this morning… What had inspired this change? Had he given it more thought? Did he blame me now? I certainly blamed myself.

My thoughts were interrupted, however, by a loud banging sound. I looked up and saw the cause; Carlisle had slammed his fist down on the table.

Whoa.

"Enough, Edward. Bella is practically family. I will not have you berating her like this, especially at the dinner table. If you can't control yourself, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Fine!" Edward shouted, throwing his fork on his plate. "I'll just-"

"Stop, Edward," Esme pleaded softly. "Please. It's Thanksigiving."

"Guys," I interjected, "it's really no big deal. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Let's just eat and be thankful I haven't tripped yet today, okay?"

Everyone except Edward and Carlisle forced a smile. The tension was severe and I was growing more uncomfortable by the second. I saw Jasper staring at Edward, seeming to be communicating something to him with his eyes. Weird.

I caught Emmett kissing Rosalie's cheek and got inspired. "So how are you guys? It feels like I haven't seen you in forever. How's married life?" I asked them, desperate for some sort of topic change. I wanted the awkwardness to fade now.

Bingo. They both grinned and looked at each other. I nearly sighed at the love and adoration in their eyes.

"It's amazing," Rosalie said seriously, looking back at me.

I smiled at them, more than happy at their joy. They deserved it.

"When are you going to find a decent guy and get hitched?" Emmett asked me.

I grimaced and tensed at his question. I definitely did not want to discuss this right now. How could he be such an oaf? Looking over at Alice, I expected a look of compassion and concern. Instead, I saw a satisfied and happy expression on her face. What the hell?

"Oh, it could be very soon. Bella and Jake, the new guy in Edward's band, really hit it off today. He's really cute." She winked at me animatedly. God, how could she bear being so perky?

Emmett quirked an eyebrow and looked at me in amusement. "You sure move on fast, Bella."

I rolled my eyes.

"She sure does," Edward said under his breath. "Anyway, he's not Bella's type," Edward said, leaning over to look at me. "You usually go for pieces of shit, right?"

Silence once again took over the table.

"Edward, what's with you tonight, bro?" Emmett asked him, shaking his head. "You're being a prick."

This was turning into the Thanksgiving dinner from hell. Dinner with Renee or Charlie would have been heaps better than this.

Thankfully, the conversation moved completely off of me, thanks to Esme's efforts, and Edward didn't get the chance to make any bastardly comments.

I thought all of the frustrating awkward moments had passed but I was too hasty. I had forgotten we still had dessert to get through.

Esme and Carlisle went into the kitchen to prepare dessert. They'd insisted we stay out here and chat, leaving us in an uncomfortable silence. Honestly, I think they just wanted to get out of the room.

Jasper perked up after they left and grinned over at Edward. "Are you still going this weekend?"

"What's this weekend?" Alice immediately perked up. "Where are you going?"

Jasper smiled sheepishly. "Shit. I was going to surprise you."

"Jazz…" she said warningly, "if you don't tell me now, you'll be sorry."

He grinned wider. "Promise?"

"Ew," Rosalie muttered, shaking her head at me. "I know Em and I get shit all the time for the PDA but Alice and Jasper are such freaks."

Alice glared at her but pressed on. "What's going on, Jasper?"

"We've been invited to go to a cabin this weekend."

Alice's face fell. She was not pleased. Really, what was Jasper thinking? This was a girl who ran from bees and detested gardening because it got dirt under her fingernails. Sleeping in a wooded area with no mall and no 4 star hotel would certainly not appeal to her.

"We're going to be staying in our own bedroom. Supposedly the cabin is enormous and luxurious." He raised his eyebrows suggestively at her. "We'll have tons of… privacy. What could possibly be wrong with that?"

Sighing, she shook her head and smiled. "You're so weird, Jazz, but that's why I love you. It sounds like a nice plan but I'm not going anywhere without Bella."

I frowned. Why was I permanently the wet blanket? "I'm more than happy here. Really. I have Rose and Em to entertain me." I grinned at them. "I'm sure they'll be entertaining me."

"I don't care about you, Bella, I care about me and how I miss the shit out of you."

"You miss Jasper, too."

"Yes, but if we stay here I can have the best of both worlds." She grasped Jasper's hand tightly.

Jasper smiled at me to let me know he wasn't upset.

"Wait," Alice practically screamed, her face vibrant with excitement. Shit. What was the evil fairy planning? "Can't Bella come along?"

Jasper looked uncomfortable. I snuck a peek at Edward and my heart dropped to my feet. He looked furious.

"Uh… well… I'll have to see since, you know…"

"Oh, right!" Alice exclaimed, slapping her forehead. "You said someone invited you. Who? Anyone I know?"

Jasper looked at Edward with an expression of sheer horror. What the fuck was going on? Edward cursed under his breath and came over to sit by us.

"Tanya invited us." He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "I don't want to go."

Alice looked over at me. I was surprised to see that she looked upset. Sure, my heart was breaking, but she didn't have to feel lousy over it.

I quickly said something before she had any chance to. "Alice, go. Don't worry about it."

"Dude, you kind of already agreed…" Jasper said lowly to Edward.

Edward grimaced at his words while Alice seethed.

"I think it's funny," she hissed at Edward, "that you claim to not be with this girl and yet she's coming over for afternoon sex while we're all out in the living room and inviting you to her cabin on the weekends."

His eyes flared with anger. "I didn't have sex with her this afternoon."

"Yeah," Alice snorted, looking over at me, "right."

"I'm being serious."

"You're being an asshole."

"We… made out, yes, but I'm not that disgusting as to have sex when friends are only a few feet away."

Alice chuckled darkly. "I wouldn't put it past you, oh dearest brother of mine."

"Guys, forget it," I cut in, not liking where this was headed. Their expressions were disturbing me. "It's a nonissue."

"Jasper, we're not going," Alice said firmly. "I'm not going to give up my free weekend to go hang out at a stranger's house, especially one that belongs to one of Edward's sluts. Thanks for the thought and the offer but I'd really rather stay here."

"Hey," Edward growled, standing up to tower over us, "first of all, don't call the girls I hang out with sluts. Second, stop treating me like some degrading asshole. Third, she asked us to come when we were still hanging out. I don't even think the offer still stands. And finally, we're no longer involved. She hung out with me today, yes, but I didn't do anything more than kiss her. Not that it's any of your business, anyway."

"What the hell is going on with everyone tonight?" Rose whispered, looking utterly dismayed. "We usually have such nice family dinners… What happened?"

I know it sounds egotistical but I couldn't help but feel it was all my fault. It wasn't right that Edward was taking it out on everyone, however.

Carlisle and Esme stepped out with some coffee mugs. As though they could taste the discomfort in the air, which considering the extent of it I wouldn't be surprised, they stopped and looked at all of us.

"Is Edward being ungentlemanly again?" Esme looked at him worriedly.

Edward slammed his fist on the table now. "Why do you automatically assume it's me? What is this, attack Edward day?"

You're right, Edward. It's me.

"Good one," Emmett said sarcastically. "And it is you. You're being an ass. Sit down and drink your coffee."

"Shut up, Emmett," he hissed. He sat down anyway.

His eyes met mine and practically sizzled with fury and… something along the lines of hatred. My heart leapt up into my throat and stopped.

Cracking his knuckles, he looked away and scowled.

This was a nightmare.