Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
A/N: A warning, if you will, or maybe a reminder. The rating for this story is T, but up until this point, it's been pretty tame. While still within this rating, I thought I would just give you all a heads up. There's nothing over the top, just a touch of coarser language and a bit more of an adult theme. This one's a bit longer, too. Apparently, I have a tendency to get caught up in the writing and then I realize what I've written wasn't planned at all. Enjoy…
-perfectshadeofdarkblue
Best Definition of Good Intentions
20 – Stay Out All Night, Forget Tomorrow
Alice couldn't stop the smile that broke out across her face at the site of Bella jumping down her porch steps and hurrying to the awaiting car. Allowing herself to let go of the railing once she'd made it down the steps and was sure of her balance, Bella raised a hand in a wave, wearing a matching smile.
Waving back, Alice celebrated in the happiness of having her best friend back. Although she'd never tell Bella she'd told her so, Alice rejoiced in being right; it seemed that all her problems would be better managed once she'd worked things out with her father. Alice could barely comprehend having such a tragedy strike and shutting out the only other person who wholly understood everything you were going through. Despite Bella's difficulties the night before, everything seemed to have worked out marvelously after a good night's sleep.
Alice watched carefully, looking for any sign of a crack in the façade, as Bella made her way closer to the car at the end of the drive. In an effort to save time, Alice had merely idled the car in the street. Determining that Bella was not trying to simply save face, Alice felt herself relax, the weight rising from her shoulders. She knew Bella well enough to know she'd consider herself a burden to the Cullen's after her indefinite stay, without even the slightest hint from her host family. No matter how much Alice thought returning home would be the right thing for Bella, she didn't want her best friend to feel unwelcome in her home. After all, it really was Bella's home, too, and a person should always feel comfortable at home.
Case in point, Alice thought. Bella needed to feel comfortable in her "real" home, aside from all the "home is where your heart is" garbage. Bella's home was here, in this house, with her father. And how could Bella possibly feel comfortable here if she wasn't living here?
Pressing down on the unlock button as Bella made her way toward the door, Alice saw her eyes furrow in confusion.
"No Edward?" she asked sliding in.
Only a hint of disappointment leaked through, but it was still enough for Alice to detect. Anyone else, however, would have been fooled because they were listening for it.
With a raised eyebrow, Alice invited Bella to explain the feeling behind her words. When met with no answer, she shrugged and offered an explanation. "He and Emmett only just got back when I was getting ready to leave. But they're going to meet us there; apparently Emmett's friends had the same idea for the night – except they're planning on staying at First Beach and partying."
"Huh."
Alice waited for the rest of the response, but instead Bella stared on the window, an amused look on her face.
"What?" Alice couldn't wait any longer to hear what Bella was thinking.
"Oh, just trying to figure out how what excuse Jessica will use to convince us to stay at First Beach with the seniors instead of going back to her house."
Laughing at the revelation, Alice joined in the game. "I'm more curious as to how she'll convince the boys to let her stay."
Howls of laughter echoed throughout the car as Alice's and Bella's paralleled each others, remembering Emmett's friends' opinions of Jessica.
"She'll have us with her, though. That'll count for something," Alice reasoned.
Nonchalantly, Bella agreed. "Oh, the spoils of having an in with the popular seniors. What a rough life we live."
After gaining control over her amusement, Alice flashed Bella a look of shock. "Bella…"
"Yea, Alice?" she said, waiting for the punch line of the latest joking thought.
However, Alice's intentions were far from humorous.
"Bella. They're not seniors anymore."
Rarely, did Bella not follow Alice's train of thought, but now she was lost. Her face half-turned with eyebrows furrowed, Bella urged Alice to explain.
"Emmett and his friends – they're not seniors anymore. Do you know what means?" Alice couldn't hold her excitement it and the pitch of her voice progressively climbed.
"WE'RE JUNIORS!" the girls shouted together.
The girls broke into hysterics as Alice pressed her foot on the gas pedal, the engine roaring as they gained speed, flying along the abandoned road. They celebrated loudly, dancing in their respective seats as Bella played DJ, selecting their favorite songs on Alice's iPod. Halfway through one of the latest pop hits, Bella changed the music to a song that coincided more with their musical tastes. Acoustic guitar chords floated through the speakers reaching their ears. Following suit of the calmer music, they settled down and sang along smoothly when the lyrics began.
Suddenly, silence overtook them. Bella looked to Alice for an explanation and saw that Alice had used the controls on her steering wheel to turn the radio off.
"I'm dating a senior," was the only explanation Alice offered.
Bella wasn't about to let herself get lost twice in the span of an evening with Alice. She racked her brain, searching for a connection. She was about to give up and ask Alice where that stray thought came from when it hit her – the song reminded her of Jasper. The song reminded Bella of Jasper, too. In fact, Bella was sure she could find Jasper's rendition of the very melodic notes on Alice's iPod if she looked closely enough. It was one of the very first songs Jasper had felt comfortable enough with to play in front of people. Bella remembered hearing the song back when she was in middle school, at the talent show. It wasn't until she'd gotten to know the older boy better through Alice that she'd begun to really connect it as a perfect match for his calming personality.
Proudly, she joked back sarcastically. "And we all know that's the reason you're dating him."
With a smirk, Alice broke eye contact with Bella and focused intensely on the road. "Oh, please. We all know the real reason I keep him around is because of the sex."
For a few minutes, Bella laughed alone. It wasn't until she'd realized it was only the vibrations of her laughter reaching her ears that she stopped.
"Shut up."
"What?" Alice asked coyly.
"You did not." Bella's mind flipped back and forth, trying to determine whether Alice was kidding or not.
"I didn't what?" Alice asked with a laugh that gave her away.
Losing control in the dire need to know, Bella shouted. "You had sex with Jasper!?"
Nodding her head earnestly, a content smile found its home across Alice's face.
"Seriously? When? Why didn't you tell me?!" Bella quickly ran the calendar through her mind. Alice and Jasper had gone out last night before his departure this morning, but Alice had ended the date early in an effort to help Bella. She'd only been home from her family vacation for five days – the same five days that Bella had been living at the Cullen's home.
Alice only continued to nod, her smile growing larger at the memory.
Bella smacked her arm, bringing her back to reality.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.
Sighing, she answered. "I just never had the chance."
Realizing she was going to have to pull the information out of Alice, Bella posed the questions one by one. "When?"
"A couple night before I left for vacation."
"And…"
"And what?" Alice asked. Bella answered with a defiant look, meaning she wanted details. "Okay, okay. His parent's were gone for a conference that week and he had this whole romantic dinner planned. It really just made me realize how much I love him and one thing just led to another."
"'One thing just led to another'?" Bella repeated. She's always imagined having sex for the first time was the sort of thing you planned out. The act of giving yourself, your entire self, up to another person, wasn't just something that could be fallen into lightly. "Really?"
"Really, Bella." Alice willed her happiness to mark its territory in her words. Even though losing her virginity hadn't happened exactly the way she'd pictured, she couldn't have been more pleased with its outcome. Besides, how often did things actually work out the way a person wanted? "I love Jasper more than anything. I feel so lucky that I've found him, so lucky that he loves me. He's the one for me. One day, I know we'll be married."
"Married? The one for you? Since when did you turn into such a sappy romantic, Alice?" Bella played it off as though she were joking, but she was merely trying to veil cynicism in her voice.
"It's corny, I know, but that doesn't affect it's truth," Alice responded wisely, unfazed by Bella's attitude.
Aware of her words' consequences, Bella backtracked. "I'm sorry, Alice. I wasn't doubting your relationship with Jasper. It's just….you're 16. People supposedly wait their entire lives searching for what you claim to have. How likely is that you've found this elusive soul mate?"
"Not doubting my relationship, huh?" she laughed, poking fun at Bella's tactful words before turning serious. "I don't know, Bella. And maybe I haven't. But if that's the case, then I can't imagine how wonderful it will be when I finally find my soul mate. 'Cause with Jasper, it's pure bliss."
The same content smile crept back across her lips.
"That good, huh?" Bella laughed, allowing all serious to dissolve in the air around them.
"It was unbelievable, Bella. And that's what makes me believe how right things are for Jasper and me. Shouldn't it have been awkward? Weird? Not good? Two virgins, together for the first time – it should have been bad. But it wasn't. It was perfect."
"Alright, lovebird. Time to party," Bella announced as Alice parked her car in the First Beach lot.
Side by side, the girls followed the boardwalk along the side of the parking lot till it the met the rocky beach. As their legs brought them closer and closer to the expansive Pacific Ocean before them, they grew silent in awe of the view.
Once the soles of their shoes hit the more compact sand rather than the rocky shoreline, they called out to the group of friends gathered closer to the water. It had been one of those rare days in Washington where the air temperature actually made a person believe it was summertime. Not only had there not been a hint of overcast, but at midday the temperature had been near 80 degrees, 10 degrees warmer than the usual high. It was nearing eight o'clock and the western sun was still higher in the sky, allowing the group of friends to catch up before it descended beyond the distant horizon.
Further up the beach, several boys were still dressed in their shorts, savoring the last moments of warmth the sun was affording them. Bella could not tell their shapes apart and only assumed it was Mike, Tyler, Eric and Ben, who were throwing a football lazily around. Not far, Angela was sitting by herself on old log, admiringly watching the boys, or rather, Ben, joke around. Thrown onto the mossy, decaying bark, were piles of jackets that the boys had probably discarded in their hast to enjoy the sun.
Closer to Bella and Alice was the larger group of their friends. In the middle of the group, Jessica and Lauren were talking the loudest, directing the conversation. In a wide, expanding circle were several others girls, faces concentrated in gossiping; there were even several faces that Bella hadn't been expecting. She brushed them off as more of Lauren's friends, with whom they didn't usually socialize.
Exchanging a look, Alice and Bella chose to make their way to Angela first rather than subject themselves to the eclectic crowd Jessica had gathered for their homecoming.
"Angela!"
They watched as the girl politely turned toward her name. The slow movement made it obvious that she didn't like to remove her gaze from her beloved boyfriend, but once she saw who had called, her entire face lit up. She stood, hurrying over and meeting them half way.
"I've missed you guys so much!" she gushed, pulling Alice into a tight hug. "You have to tell me all about your vacation!"
"Oh my gosh! It was amazing! I love Italy! I'm trying to convince my parents that there's no point in having that villa if we don't use it more often! Hopefully, one of these days I'll convince them to let take you there!" she gushed, returning the embrace.
Next, Angela enveloped Bella's petite frame, holding her tightly. In a town as small as Forks, it wasn't a miracle that the news of her parents' separation had traveled, but Angela understood that it wasn't an invitation to say anything to Bella. Instead, she settled on conveying her support through the gesture.
"I missed you, Bella," she whispered sweetly as Bella hugged her back. Pulling apart, Angela offered a sweet smile and tucked her hair behind her ear.
Bella smiled sadly back, catching the meaning and hating the reminder. She knew Angela was just being kind, it was the only thing she could be, but it didn't stop Bella from wishing that everyone could forget it.
The completed trio took seats on the log and spent a few minutes filling the others in about their respective summers thus far. It was long before the guys noticed the new additions and joined them around the log: Ben quietly sat behind Angela and she fell into his chest as he offered Bella a knowing smile; Eric mumbled greetings before heading back to the larger group; and Mike and Tyler lined up to hug Bella tightly, welcoming her back.
Alice tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a laugh. Bella hadn't gone anywhere yet they were acting as though she'd just return from a year long trip around the world. Neither boy was gutsy enough to say anything specific, for which she was grateful. For a moment she wished they would – it was surefire way to get Bella to deck them, something she'd been longing to see forever.
Over the course of the next twenty minutes, Mike and Tyler competed for Bella's attention as they worked to prove themselves. Finally, as the sun was drawing nearer and nearer to water, they heard a commotion back towards the parking lot. Upon closer inspection, they noticed more cars pulling up and saw some of their friends head back that direction.
Deciding to see what was happening, Mike and Tyler were the first to run off towards the noise. Bella, Alice, Angela and Ben followed slowly behind, savoring the reprieve from the prattling boys.
"Guess some things never change," Angela joked, earning a laugh from each of her friends.
"Seriously, Bella. You wouldn't have believed the change in their personalities over the summer. They were both so much less annoying," Ben added.
"Good to know I bring out the best in people." Bella rolled her eyes.
"My only question is…what on earth did you ever see in Tyler?" Alice reprimanded.
"Excuse me! If I remember correctly, you were the one pushing me to finally give in – saying we could double!" Bella shot back.
"Oh yea, I forgot about that. Good thing we never did, though, Jasper probably would have punched him if he was that annoying." They stopped in front of the parking lot, their backs to the water, as they laughed at the image on calm, cool, collected Jasper hitting someone.
"You guys are so weak!" a booming voice raced across the almost-night sky, followed by the sounds of banging metal.
Following the boardwalk they'd walked barely an hour ago, Alice and Bella watched as Emmett carried a large, silver cylinder towards the beach.
"Hey Emmett!" Bella called out.
"Bella! Alice told me you'd be here!" he called back, taking his time to reach the beach, despite the added weight.
"Emmett…is that a keg you're carrying?" Bella asked incredulously.
"Why, yes, little sis, it is," he answered nonchalantly.
"Where did you get…" Alice started before she felt Bella's hand on her shoulder.
"Don't bother asking, Alice. You'll just end up wishing you didn't know. Plus it'll make it easier to lie to your parents later. Okay, well it'll make it easier for me to lie to your parents later," Bella explained.
Alice shrugged and skipped, with Bella in tow, towards her brothers' car to see what else he'd gotten his hands on. His monster, open-door jeep was parked in the first line, headlights illuminating the beach.
"Hey Alice, Bella," Rosalie greeted happily as she climbed out of her own car, next to Emmett's, although backed in. As Bella and Alice walked toward her, Rosalie popped the trunk and fumbled with things the other girls couldn't see.
"How much stuff did you bring that you and Emmett had to drive separately?" Alice asked, shocked and disbelieving.
Rosalie laughed. "We didn't have to drive separately, but there was no way I was going to ride in a car that reeked of beer. It worked out pretty well, anyway; Emmett likes the system I installed in my car better than his."
Alice and Bella could finally see what Rosalie was doing. Inside the trunk of her BMW, she'd installed a massive stereo system complete with state of the art subwoofers and speakers; it even had multiple iPod docking stations, like a six-CD-changer.
And so on down the row, car after car pulled in almost the entire graduated senior class joined the party at First Beach. Each car in the front line left its lights trained on the beach, to be useful when the sun finally set.
Bella and Alice lost themselves in the commotion as the older group set up, getting ready for their own evening.
"Bella! Alice!" They turned hearing their names called from behind them, seeing that it was Jessica and Lauren, waving them over.
Happy they'd made in this far in the evening without subjecting themselves to their torture, Alice and Bella reluctantly made their way back towards the boardwalk.
"Bella!" a much more pleasant, male voiced called out, again from behind her.
Both girls turned their heads at the sound of one's name and they saw Edward jogging toward them.
Unknowingly, a smile broke out across Bella's face, happy finally to see Edward, but nervous to talk to him. She knew they wouldn't be able to avoid the subject of her situation for very long, but she prayed that he'd have enough sense to wait, at least until they were alone.
"How was football?" Bella asked, hoping to keep the conversation in the direction she wanted.
"Good. Emmett's friends are a lot of fun. But I'm told I'm supposed to be hanging out with your friends tonight. At Jessica's?" he asked, checking his accuracy on the name.
Pulling on his arm, Alice dragged him towards the beach. "Come on, we'll introduce you to everyone!"
Jessica and Lauren met them at the edge of the boardwalk, admiring their new friend.
Lauren was the first to speak and she did so in a rather threatening tone. "Hey, Alice, Bella. So nice of you to say hi when you got here."
"We were distracted," Alice replied coolly, as equally irritating. Bella was wondering why Lauren was even there. Typically she thought of herself as too high to hang out with this particular group of friends, only if she wanted something did she slum this badly. But what did she want? Bella wondered.
"I'm glad you guys are back!" Jessica pulled each into a hug, unable to separate the best friends are two entities rather than one. She was also unable to bring herself to be so openly rude in front of such a gorgeous stranger.
"I'm Jessica!" she exclaimed, extending a hand towards Edward.
In turn, Edward stole a look at Bella and Alice as if asking if this girl was for real. He extended his hand and opened his mouth to speak, but Alice beat him to it.
"Jessica, this is Edward. He's….." Words failed her.
"I'm her cousin," he opted for the easiest route, rather than explaining how his dead father, may he rest in peace, was good friends with Alice's father and that in the event of his parents' deaths, may they both rest in peace, he moved in with the Cullen's. "I just moved here."
"It's so nice to meet you, Edward!" Jessica moved closer, eagerly taking in Edward with her eyes. She admired his tousled bronze hair, partially covering his shimmering green eyes, sparkling against his creamy pale skin. She admired his dress – how he looked put together with torn jeans and an un-tucked button up, yet not as though he'd put too much effort into his appearance.
As she took a step closer to Edward, hoping to engage him in more conversation, Lauren intervened.
"And I'm Lauren," she said, batting her eyelashes. "I'm surprised I haven't seen you around yet. You haven't been spending all your time with these two, have you?"
Edward smiled politely and wrapped his arm around Bella. "Come on, let's go get ourselves some drinks."
He knew it was only a matter of time before the conversation turned ugly and he was sure that Alice could handle the final throwing of insults. There was no way either of his only two friends at Forks High should be friends with the girls he'd just met and he hoped Alice would convey that as he pulled Bella away. He guessed correctly that she wouldn't be a fan of the mud-slinging insults and wanted to give her an out.
"Nice to meet you," he called, sarcastically over his shoulder. He tightened his arm around Bella's shoulder as he pulled her in closer to speak quieter. Before he could get a word out, Lauren called Bella's name.
From the evil coating her voice, Bella knew she was going to regret turning around. For a second, she debated pretending she hadn't heard, but it was too late. Edward had already stopped in their tracks and was slowly turning both of them around.
"Yea, Lauren?" Bella called back as lazily as she could manage. Willing herself to not be bothered by whatever insult Lauren threw her way. She knew it had pissed Lauren off when she walked away with Edward's arm around her. She'd made it clear in that five second introduction that she'd wanted to take a crack at the new meat, and even if it hadn't been, it was hard for Bella to imagine a person not appreciating Edward's beauty. Her thoughts were racing and she didn't have time to censor her thoughts, correcting herself for calling Edward beautiful.
And why should she? He was beautiful. That much was simple fact. She was distracted, not thinking much on the coming embarrassment, and was blindsided.
Lauren plastered the fakest apologetic smile on her face before answering. "I just wanted to apologize, Bella. I can only imagine what horrific it was to walk in on your mother fucking another guy."
With those few choice words, Bella went numb. She felt Edward's grip around her shoulder tighten and she reached hold, hoping to steady herself against him. Slowly and carefully, he turned them back around and continued to walk, hearing the beginning of Alice's assault.
He leaned in close to Bella, brushing against her hair with his nose. "Don't listen to her, Bella. She's not even worth the energy."
Edward ushered Bella away from her offender, not letting her thoughts linger on the unpleasant encounter. Emmett and Rosalie's conversation quieted as they watched Edward and Bella make their way towards them. Neither said a word about the look of pain on Bella's face, assuming that Edward was taking care of it. Every member of the Cullen family, including Rosalie and Jasper, were so careful around Bella now, careful not to say the wrong thing, careful to always focus of happy things.
Emmett leaned in to kiss Rosalie's temple. "I'm getting a drink, baby. You want something?"
Rosalie nodded and Emmett turned toward Edward for company, hoping to get a chance to talk to him.
"Bella?" Edward offered, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Huh?" Unaware of what question he was asking, she simply agreed. "Sure."
Bella settled into Emmett's place next to Rosalie leaning against the fence. Rosalie waited for Bella to speak, but was only met with silence. Stealing a glance out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Bella had once again drifted into la-la-land.
"You alright, Bella?" she asked, concerned. Over the past week, Emmett had kept her filled in on how things were going for her. Although Emmett hadn't since yesterday morning, his family had explained what happened in his absence the previous night, only to claim it hadn't mattered this morning. In turn, he retold the events to Rosalie, who'd not only taken on the job of comforting Emmett but had taken a special interest for Bella's sake.
"What? Yea, I'm fine, Rosalie," Bella dismissed her.
"Quit the crap, Bella. Edward practically carried you over here. What's going on?" Rosalie pried.
Bella snapped. She may not have been able to stand up to Lauren a few moments ago, but that was simply due to shock. This behavior from Rosalie wasn't shocking, in fact, it was expected, but that didn't mean Bella had to allow herself to be walked all over for others' enjoyment.
"Why should I tell you?" Bella asked harshly. "Why do you care? You don't like me. You don't have to pretend for anyone's sake."
Rosalie sighed. "Bella…"
The younger girl heard the change in her voice and looked up, waiting for her to continue.
"You're right. I'm sorry, Bella – I didn't like you. But it had nothing to actually do with you. I never even took the time to get to know you. It was a dislike completely based on principle." She spoke with such earnest, Bella couldn't not believe.
"What principle?" she asked softly.
"Oh, Bella, and that's just it. You don't see it." Rosalie drew in a deep breath as though she were steadying herself from her emotions.
"See what?" Bella said louder, not understanding.
"You don't see what you have. You don't see how much people love you – not that you take their love for granted, because you don't, you just don't see how deep that love is."
"Rose, what are you talking about?" It was the first time that Bella had ever used the nickname for Emmett's beauty of a girlfriend, but somehow it had just seemed the natural choice. Their entire relationship was changing from this one conversation. There had never been this much honesty between them.
"I was jealous, Bella. Jealous of you – and what you have with the Cullen's. They all loved you so much right from the minute they met you; you fit in so flawlessly with them, all of them. I was jealous of that love they had for you. Sure, I had my own place within the group, but I never felt I had the same love that you had. I didn't want them to love me because I made Emmett happy, I wanted them to really love me, because they couldn't not love me." Once she'd admitted the truth, she couldn't stop the words from coming. Finally, she slowed down enough to breathe before continuing.
"I was jealous of you from the very beginning; you had what I wanted. And you didn't even realize it – which made me want to hate you even more! But I couldn't bring myself to actually hate you, not when Emmett cared for you so much." Rosalie shook her head, dispelling the tormenting thoughts. Gathering the long, blonde hair that would make Barbie doll jealous, she swept it across one shoulder and looked Bella in the eyes for the first time since she'd started speaking.
"Slowly, so slowly, I began to get to know you. I saw in your every action what it was that made the Cullen's care so much about you. I saw what made me care for you so much. Something you never see in yourself. You're such a kind person, Bella; others can't help but gravitate toward you. You have such a reassuring, unassuming nature. But you never let yourself believe in everything you have. You don't take it for granted, because you can't – you don't let yourself believe it even exists."
As a lone tear cascaded down Rosalie's high cheekbones, Bella became aware of her own tears.
Brushing away the moisture before staining her cheeks, she spoke, "Rosalie –"
"You don't need to say anything, Bella. I just felt that you deserved to know. I'm just annoyed at all the time I wasted when we could have been great friends. But maybe now, we can be. Maybe it'll be easier while I'm at school, not having your perfection rubbed in my face all the time."
Bella laughed at the absurdity. Rosalie calling her perfect. "If we're going to be such good friends, you're going to have to learn to stop complimenting me so much."
"Oh, you better get used to it!" Rosalie laughed, pulling Bella into a hug. "If only I'd gotten my act together soon, the five – now six of us with Edward – could have had so much time together."
They pulled apart and settled back against the fence, their eyes traveling to Emmett and Edward working their way through the crowd. Every few feet, they stopped as Emmett introduced Edward around.
"Speaking of Edward…" Rosalie started, a sly grin taking its place.
"Not you, too!" Bella threw her hands up in surrender.
"Alice already said something? Good."
"No, not good. You guys are way off base."
"Don't forget who you're talking to, Bella. There's no way you can play this one off – it's so obvious. And I haven't even spent that much time around the two of you – this is all from Emmett's mouth." The devious grin showed no intentions of disappearing so Bella really gave in.
"What's so obvious?" Now that this was the third person to plant these ideas in her head, Bella was hoping that Rosalie would offer more insight than the others had.
"How perfect you two are for each other!"
That was not the answer Bella had been expecting. That they were spending a lot of time together and they were getting close, now that made more sense. The shocked look on her face said it all for Rosalie to progress. Although it seemed as though she were talking more to herself than anyone else.
"Of course you don't see it, I should have expected as much. I doubt he sees it either. You both get so wrapped up in these tiny fractions of the world that forget to look outside of it. But don't you see Bella?" she asked, gesturing to the boys who were once again stopped, talking to friends. As Bella's eyes found them in the crowd, Edward looked up and he flashed a smile as their eyes met. "He's got it bad for you. And from the way it looks, you've got it bad for him, too."
"Rose, no. He does not have it bad for me," Bella annunciated, hoping to drive the point home.
"Yes, he does! Have you not noticed the way he treats you? Unlike anyone else. He's always thinking about you, putting you before anyone else, always coming up with a way to help you. It's like he feels forever indebted to you for and he's just trying to make it up to you. He worships you, Bella." Rosalie ended her rant, simply summing up her entire observation in a way Bella could understand.
Bella thought for a moment, trying to formulate an appropriate response, trying to come up with question that would give her all the right answers. Before her mind offered any philosophical genius, Emmett and Edward turned away from the guys they were talking to and started walking towards Rosalie and Bella. Bella admired Edward's every move, hoping for a sign, a feeling, something to be conveyed in those tiny movements.
She watched the loose gravel spray across the tar as his steps brought him closer and closer to her. The increasing wind was working against him, whipping the torn threads of his jeans. The exposed skin of his knee peaked through as the slash opened wider. His shirt was still lazily un-tucked, yet now stretched across his chest, displaying his prominent muscles. The sleeves were rolled and pushed up to his elbows, veins and muscles bulging in his forearms as he carried two drinks towards her. Two buttons were left undone at the top, exposing his throat and clavicle. Part of the collar was popped from the force of the wind, through hardly visible under the mess of unruly hair the wind now had control over.
Bella watched as he turned his head towards Emmett, his emerald eyes sparkling in the sun's dimming glow. Laughing heartily, he threw his head back, displaying his perfect white teeth. At the moment, Bella was overcome by his beauty. She was overcome by the amount of feeling she was harboring.
"Whatever you say, Rose," Bella said, giving up hope of getting her answers.
The lower crescent of the sun was now mere inches from the glistening water from her perspective. Her eyes darted from the newly-realized breathtaking sight walking towards her and the equally-breathtaking natural beauty of their created world. With the sun's own glare and it's reflection off the water, the bronze tint to Edward's hair was more apparent than Bella had ever seen it.
Painstakingly, she tore her eyes away from him and turned her entire body in concentration at the sunset. Checking her watch, she saw that it was only a few minutes until the weatherman's estimated sunset time. Eyes on the beach, she watched as everyone gathered at First Beach then quieted and turned toward the same amazing phenomenon.
Guessing that Edward was only a few feet away now, Bella promised to have her answer, or at least her question, by the end of the night. She vowed to pay attention to how Edward treated her, and to compare it to how he treated others. There was no way she could believe he could feel any differently about her than he felt about any other girl there. Maybe they were a little closer, but that was only due to living under the same roof for a short period and to sharing common tragedies.
As Bella promised these things to herself, she saw Alice dance along the beach, completely submersed in a childish game. Lastly, Bella pledged to live more like Alice – carefree and whimsical. Starting tonight, Bella Swan would take more chances, would have more fun.
A/N: I really was planning on continuing to the end of the party, but I already have 15 pages and would have at least another 8 till I get there. So unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of Edward in this chapter, it's coming! Please let me know what you think! The chapter title "Stay Out All Night, Forget Tomorrow" is a line from Anberlin's "Haight Street."