Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

A/N: It seems like everyone was pretty happy with the last chapter and hopefully this lives up to your expectations. As always, let me know what you think. Enjoy…

-perfectshadeofdarkblue

Best Definition of Good Intentions

16 – You Can Change Your Mind, You Can't Change Your Heart

Although Bella had kicked the covers off her bare legs, she made no further move. Internally she debated whether or not to go up to Edward's room. As much as she wanted to accept his offer, she couldn't believe he would really offer such a favor. How could he be okay with her coming up to his room when she couldn't sleep? At the same time, Bella could tell Edward was the kind of person who wouldn't make such an offer if he didn't mean it.

After five minutes she finally made progress by taking the next step. She stood and shivered as the cool air hit her bare shoulders. She grabbed a jacket, zipping it up as she tiptoed down the hallway and up the stairs. Nearing Edward's room, she slowed her pace, listening to any sound, any hint, that Edward was awake. She strained her ears but couldn't make out the slightest of noise.

She approached his door, pressing her ear against the wood panels. Through the slit under the door she could see a sliver of dim light escaping into the hallway. Believing that he was just in bed, Bella prepared her hand to knock. For the first time, she heard a noise from Edward's side of the door.

With a sigh and a click, Bella's hopes were crushed as the light under the door disappeared.

She quickly retreated, making her way back down the stairs, without a thought to the noise she was making.

Inside his bedroom, Edward heard the soft creaking of the stairs under weight. He waited a moment, expecting his door to open any second but when it didn't he turned his light back and went to open the door himself.

Turning the corner at the bottom of the stairs, Edward could just make out the slight figure. Even with her shoulders hunched, the figure was too tall to be Alice.

"Bella?" he whispered into the darkness.

She whipped around, embarrassed when she had to grab the banister to steady herself after almost losing her balance. Self-consciously, she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"Hey," she whispered back.

"What's going on?"

"I…uh,…" Suddenly, Bella doubted her judgment of Edward's character. Of course, he wouldn't want her to keep him awake. What a stupid plan, she thought. She hurried through her explanation, quick to excuse her behavior and be on her way. "…I wasn't really tired so I thought I'd see if you were awake. But your light was off and I don't want to keep you awake. G'night."

She turned back around to go back to her room.

"No, wait!" Edward called back, louder than a whisper now.

Bella only turned her head in response. She raised an eyebrow to his proclamation.

"I'm not tired, either. I only turned my light off because I figured I should be sleeping. Come on." Edward held his door open for her.

Without hesitation, Bella walked through the open door and stopped short at her first look at his redone room.

"I take it you haven't been up here since the redecorating?" Edward asked with a laugh.

"No, I haven't." She crossed the large room to peer out the wall-sized window. In the moonlight, she could see past the creek that ran through the Cullen's property and into the woods beyond. She turned her back on the window and looked out into the room.

The entire open space that had once been the large loft was now Edward's bedroom, although it looked more like his own apartment. Moving her eyes slowly across the room, starting at the door where Edward was still standing, Bella took in every aspect of the room.

Just off to the occupant's side was a large grand piano perched in front of a wall where a built-in stereo system made its home. Bella quickly counted the six-plus speakers at various places around the room, providing the optimum surround sound experience. On large, wooden shelves, painted black, surrounding the stereo hundreds of CDs were neatly arranged.

Behind the CDs, Bella could see that the walls of Edward's room were the only walls in the entire house not painted a subtle shade of white. Most of the other rooms were variations of a white-on-white theme. The only exceptions were the bedrooms, though their walls were still white. Edward's walls the color of a dark green-teal, reminiscent of a peacock's feathers. The black floor trimming and crown molding matched the shelves as well as the posters of the bed.

On the wall opposite the queen bed, which was perfectly made with golden sheets and comforter, was a black leather couch, flanked by two black bookcases. The black-teal color combination gave the room a very sophisticated feel, but still appropriate for a teenaged boy.

"You play?" Bella asked after the few minutes of silence that ensued from her appreciation of the room. She made her way over to the bench, pulling it out and sitting down.

She ran her hand over the shiny white surface of the piano. Even more attention fell to the piano because of its contrast with the dark room.

"I do," Edward said with a nod.

Bella pushed down on the keys in no distinct rhythm.

Edward winced at the unharmonious noises and went to sit on the couch. "Do you play?"

"I don't think playing is the right word." Bella laughed. "My mom made me take lessons when I was a kid for awhile. Thankfully she gave up on her dream of me being a renowned pianist pretty quickly."

"You haven't said much about your mom," Edward observed, watching her tinker with the keys. It was only a statement, no question attached, but still, Edward waited for an answer.

"Let's not talk about that." Without giving him any time to respond, Bella changed the subject. "You've got quite the music collection."

"Don't be fooled. They aren't all mine."

Now Bella left the piano and went to take a closer look at the CDs.

"Let me guess. 'Essential Mozart: 32 of His Greatest Masterpieces' isn't yours." She held up the case.

"No, actually, that one is very much mine. And if you keep looking you'll find volumes one and two of 'The Great Piano Concertos' as well as 'Violin Concertos' and 'Sonatas.' And if you really look, you'll find the 'Piano Sonatas.'" He walked over to her and started pulling the five CDs from the shelves.

He pulled a sixth case out and quickly put the disc in the stereo, turning the volume on low. He quickly skipped to a specific track and soon the music of strings instruments floated through the speakers. For a few moments they were quiet as they listened to the music.

"What's this?" Bella asked, taking a seat on the couch.

"Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons.' This is 'Summer,'" Edward answered. He replaced the CDs he'd shown Bella and grabbed two others. He handed them to her as he took the seat next to her.

"The Beach Boys and Billy Joel?" she asked incredulously. "You've got a very wide range of interests."

Edward laughed. "Whereas that might be true, it wasn't what I was implying. You were looking for CDs that didn't belong to me. Those two were my mother's favorites."

"Did everyone in your family love music?"

"They did, but no one else really played. My mother especially loved music and she really loved when I played. She was the one who convinced my father to get me the piano. It was a gift for my sixteenth birthday. In fact…" His voice trailed off.

"In fact…what?" Bella asked.

"And if I said I'd rather not talk about it?" He spoke softly, but his eyes bore into Bella's.

Hurt, Bella answered politely. "Then, of course, you don't have to."

Really, Bella was disappointed. She'd always opened up so much to Edward, without really even meaning to and he'd barely said a word about the things that plagued him. Was it only refusing because she'd refused earlier? Why didn't he feel comfortable sharing with her?

The disappointment was easy to read in Bella's eyes. Edward didn't want her to think it was something personal; he would rather just not talk about his parents at all to anyone. He felt bad about how he refused, and quickly explained.

"In fact…for the eighteenth birthday, my parents were planning to take me to New York. We were going to go to a concert at Carnegie Hall. But now, we'll never go."

"When's your birthday?"

"In just a couple of weeks," he answered, thinking of the trip that would never be.

"I'm so sorry, Edward. I can only imagine much you would have been looking forward to that."

With a wave of his hand, Edward dismissed the conversation.

"Are those your parents?" Bella asked pointing to the photo across the room.

"Yes."

Picking the picture up to take a closer look, Bella could see the distinct resemblance Edward shared with both his mother and his father.

"My mother was beautiful, wasn't she?" Edward asked, taking the picture from her and looking at it himself.

"Yes, she was," Bella answered truthfully.

Edward set the picture back down on his nightstand and lay against the pillows on his bed.

"So what do you and Alice usually do for fun around this place? I'm starting to get pretty sick of staying in this house."

It was clear that he was trying to steer the subject away from his parents, finally. Bella gave up trying to get him to open up to her and let him control the direction of the conversation.

"There really isn't much to do in Forks. Most of the time we just hang out with our friends from school. There are a few beaches you can go to though. First Beach is down on the Quileute reservation, but it's a really popular place to hang out. That's usually where the kids from school throw their parties. I'm sure there's one coming up soon. If you're interested, let Alice know. She'll figure out all the information."

"Not you?"

"Not me," Bella said definitively. "I've never been much for the party scene. Don't get me wrong though – I go and usually I have a good time. But I would be just as happy hanging out doing nothing."

For a few more minutes, they stayed like that, talking and joking around until Edward yawned.

"You're tired," Bella accused.

"No, really, I'm fine. I'd rather stay up talking to you."

"I'm not going anywhere, Edward. We can talk more in the morning. Besides, I should be going to bed, too. After all, I've got a big day tomorrow."

Edward gave her an inquiring look.

"I'm having dinner with my dad tomorrow night," she explained, heading for the door.

He reached out to grab her arm, turning her around to face him.

"Don't be worried about that, Bella. It'll be fine. You'll be fine."

Oddly enough, the tension that Bella hadn't realized she'd been carrying around dissipated. She felt strangely calm, comforted by Edward's words. She couldn't help herself from believing in them.

"Thanks. G'night." She disappeared down the stairs as Edward watched her retreat before retiring to bed himself.