Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
A/N: First, you all really just amaze me. Continuously. Thank you for loving this story as much as you do, for staying with it as long as you have, and for putting up with my inability to stick to a schedule. The last chapter received the most reviews, and I was really surprised to all your reactions. Like I said before, it was a chapter a long time in the making for me, but I'd never really thought about how it would be received. Even when I throw you all for a bit of a loop with something not really expected, you amaze me with how you take in and then let me know what you thought. I really appreciate you all sharing your own insights about the story and characters. You are all a bigger part of this than you know!
I heard from new readers and old readers a like with the last update. To those of you who've been with me from the beginning...thanks for making it this far! And to those of you have recently joined this journey, I'm amazed at your ability to make it through those thirty chapters and catch up. I'm so happy to have you along...thanks! To all the people who reviewed last chapter, or previously, thank you! You have no idea what it means to read your thoughts/opinions/suggestions. I really do appreciate every last word you write. I always respond to all the reviews, it sometimes takes me longer since things are so crazy. But I will get back to every single one of you; I love being able to get to know you all better! To those who haven't reviewed, I love having you along as readers and you deserve every last bit of thanks for hanging in there, as well. If you ever feel compelled to leave a review, I'd love to hear from you. You can tell me anything you'd like in your reviews...I don't mind the hostility about my lack of scheduled/regular updates; I hate it, too! Let me know your favorite parts, if you want to see more of Jasper, or if you want to take guesses about how Carlisle and Esme will react to the name change and tattoo!
Finally, it just goes to show that you really can't trust me. I said I was going to put all of Seattle into one chapter, and here I am, giving you the third part. I know that I'm just updating after a bit of a break (to say the least), and I'm sorry. I'm constantly working on the next chapter and I do update as soon as I can, but things have been very crazy lately. It may not seem like it, but we are starting to get the home stretch. (I know what some of you are thinking...FINALLY, after 31 chapters!) We've still got quite a few chapters left, but we're at that point where I need to make sure I'm covering all my bases. So please, just bear with me.
Now, after that extremely long note, that most of you probably didn't like, ENJOY...
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Best Definition of Good Intentions
32 – Illuminate the Exit Signs
Hailing a cab was difficult in the weather they were currently suffering from. Finally, they made it the ferry just moments before it pulled away. The storm was only getting worse as time went on. Unlike the rain they'd gotten caught in earlier in the day, this wasn't a shower and showed no signs of passing over quietly. Thunder and lightning were alternating, shaking and lighting the sky. Edward and Bella collapsed onto the first two open seats they found, trying to catch their breath and wring the water from their clothes. The crowds around them were loud, but to both, the din was merely a dull roar as the past few hours caught up with their bodies. The adrenaline rushes and excitement their decisions had caused and the pain that had caused their decisions had taken a toll on their bodies. Sinking low into their seats, they were both quiet, as they reserved their strength and energy for the rest of the day.
Half-way across Lake Washington, an announcement rang out over the ferry's PA system. "Due to extreme weather conditions, the ferry will be making one last pass to the west side of the lake. It will not return to the east side until the storm has passed. Please be aware that you will be unable to return via ferry once you exit the vessel."
Bella turned and, with a scared look in her eye, looked at Edward. He reassured her as thunder clapped over the dark water, "By the time the concert is over, I'm sure the ferries will be open again. If not, we'll just catch cabs or call the car service."
Bella nodded before settling back into her seat for the rest of the journey. What seemed like moments later to her, Edward stood and helped Bella to her feet. He followed closely behind, with one hand on the small of her back as she led him through the crowds. The rain was still coming down hard as they left the shelter. Everyone around them was hurrying along, trying to seek cover as quickly as they could. When Bella lifted her head after pulling her hood on, she saw Alice towering above the crowd through the rain.
"Alice!" Bella screamed. Edward followed her gaze in time to watch Alice climb down from Emmett's shoulders and hurry towards them. Once again, Edward fell in step behind Bella as the two groups converged, struggling to stay together through the mass of people. Alice, tiny as she was, danced among the people as Emmett's bulky frame had much more difficulty.
"What are you guys doing here?" Bella asked, having to shout to be heard about the storm. She didn't want for an answer before trying to brush past Alice. "Come on, let's get out of the rain."
"Bella, wait!" Alice shouted after her, reaching out to grab her best friend's wrist.
Twisting around, with the pain evident on her delicate features, Bella cursed under her breath. "Alice, let go."
Shocked, Alice loosened her grip and looked down at where her hand wrapped around Bella's wrist. Peeking out from beneath the sleeve of her jacket, Alice saw the white bandage, dark from rain, that gripped Bella's wrist. "Bella! What happened?"
Much like Alice's, Bella's eyes were focuses on the bandaged. Quickly, she pulled her hand away and covered the bandage with her jacket sleeve. A bright blush flushed her cheeks as she lied. "Nothing."
"That's not nothing, Bella. Did you hurt your wrist? What happened?" Alice was nothing but concerned. She hardly applied any pressure around Bella's arm, but it had obviously hurt badly.
Bowing her head, Bella stammered, "Nothing...it's noth...don't worry about it."
Swiftly, Edward stepped between them, covering for Bella. "She fell earlier and hurt her wrist. But it's really okay, she'll be fine. It was just a scrape."
"Oh," Alice's face fell. Just a simple explanation, why wouldn't Bella have just admitted it? It wasn't like it was uncommon for Bella to injure herself. Alice's eyes danced from Edward to Bella, who was still staring at the ground, and back to Edward. "Is that why you were late?"
"I sent you a text. I told you we were going to be late," Edward tried to change the subject.
"Like an hour ago! We've been trying to call you for the last half hour, to tell you not to come. The concert's canceled because of the weather," Alice explained.
"Canceled?" Bella repeated as Edward pulled out his phone. Sure enough, three missed calls. He shrugged them off, assuming he wouldn't have heard them because of the loud storm. "What are we going to do now?"
Jasper, after having finally caught up, stepped forward. "How about we decide on the ferry, since, you know, this is the last one? I'd rather not get stuck here."
The others all nodded in agreement and moved toward the vessel, allowing themselves to get swept up in the current of the surroundings. The inside of the ferry was crowded since everyone was avoiding the inclement weather on the upper and outer decks. Following Alice, they descended the stairs to the sub-level. It wasn't as crowded down there, but they still couldn't find enough room for the six of them to sit together. However, on opposite sides of the cabin, there was enough room for them to split up into two groups.
"Come on, Bella. I want to hear about your day!" Alice gushed, pulling Bella and Rosalie to one side, leaving the other to the guys. Bella turned back while being dragged away, helpless. Edward just shrugged and hoped Bella would be able to deflect the questions about their whereabouts that day.
Alice stared across the aisle until she saw Emmett crack a joke that caused Jasper and Edward to laugh. They were effectively lost to the world around them as they fell into easy conversation. Alice turned toward Bella, who was sitting between her and Rosalie, and said, "Spill."
For a moment, Bella was quiet. Then she realized Alice was talking to her. Uncomfortable with the attention, she blushed. "Spill what?"
"What were you and Edward doing today? How'd you hurt your wrist? What's going on with the two of you?" she asked at rapid-fire speed.
"I hope you realize I can't answer all those questions at once," Bella said annoyed. She knew Edward didn't want the others to know that he'd gotten a tattoo or that he'd changed his name and Bella certainly didn't want them to know that she'd gotten a tattoo. That was just too much attention she would be purposefully calling upon herself. How was she suppose to avoid this conversation?
"Stop stalling and spill," Alice demanded, without a hint of humor in her voice.
Bella turned to look at Rosalie, hoping she could offer some help. Rosalie offered a sympathetic smile and said to Alice, "I thought we already knew what happened to her wrist. Edward said she fell."
"Oh, please," Alice said with an eye roll. "Edward was covering for her; it was obvious! Even without words, Bella is a horrible liar. Now, spill: what really happened?"
Rosalie smiled again at Bella, hoping to tell her she tried, but Bella's head had fallen forward. She'd taken her hair down to dry when she'd removed the hood and now it fell over her face. Neither Rosalie nor Alice could the see the panic in her eyes or the blush on her cheeks as she tried to figure her way out of this one. Not having enough time to come up with a new story, Bella stuck to Edward's words. "It was just really much more embarrassing than Edward made it out to be. He just spared the details."
When her words were met with silence, Bella looked up to Alice. She looked unsure whether to believe Bella's embarrassing or not. It was like Bella to fall and be embarrassed, but there was still something there that wasn't being said. Could it be that it was just a mortifying situation she'd rather not retell?
Sensing Alice's hesitation to believe her, Bella sacrificed herself. Mentally, she promised herself that she would make Edward pay for this. "I was just so embarrassed he saw."
And thus started Alice's incessant chatter regarding the budding relationship between Bella and Edward.
The crowded ferry ride took longer than normal. Wary of the rain and choppy waves, the captain slowed their speed. Bella sat with her arms crossed, left wrist carefully blocked by her right arm to prevent any one from getting a glimpse at the covered tattoo. She was eyeing Edward across the aisle. People moved into her eye's path, but she didn't dare move her head. She was getting enough grief from Alice and Rosalie as it was.
"Give it a rest, Alice. There's nothing going on between me and Edward," Bella said, closing her eyes and sighing.
"I don't know, Bella. You guys seems to just be drawn to one another." Alice looked to Rosalie for confirmation.
Before Rosalie could say a word, Bella spoke. "Don't be ridiculous. Neither of us wants to feel like a third wheel to you guys. That's why we always end up together. It doesn't mean anything."
"But he invited you to go with him today! There has to be a reason."
"There is: we're friends. Besides, I didn't want to go shopping or look at cards – he was just being nice by inviting me alone."
Rosalie mumbled, "That does make sense."
"No, Rose!" Alice protested before turning back to Bella. "Just because there's nothing going on now doesn't mean there won't be. You do like Edward, don't you, Bella?"
"We're just friends, Alice," Bella said turning her head, hoping Alice would take the hint that the conversation was over.
"That doesn't answer the question."
"I don't know what you want me to say. Yeah, I think Edward's gorgeous and sweet and nice. But there's noting going on between us. Edward doesn't like me like that." Bella had given up and decided giving in to Alice's interrogation was easier.
"But you do like him like that." It wasn't a question. Alice was good at reading between the lines.
"Ugh. I wouldn't – okay, so I won't be opposed to the idea."
Alice squealed and clapped her hands, attracting the attention of the nearby passengers, including the boys. "I knew it! That's so exciting! I'm so happy for you, Bella!"
Rosalie, noticing how the stares were causing Bella's cheeks to burn red, quieted Alice but still smiled excitedly at Bella.
"Alice!" Bella chastised. "There's noting to be excited about! There's nothing going on between Edward and me."
Content that Bella had at least admitted her feelings, Alice finally hushed and sat back in her seat, pulling her legs up underneath her. Immediately, she launched into a description of everything she'd bought that day. Bella tuned out the majority of her best friend's words, reveling in the relief that they weren't talking about her anymore. Across the aisle, she felt Edward's stare and looked up to meet his gaze. He furrowed his eyebrows in concern. Bella rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly to let him know no harm had been done. He smiled back – a soft, sad, sympathetic smile that nearly broke Bella's heart because of the true care behind it.
Bella turned her head back to her friends when she felt Rosalie kick her leg away from Alice's sight. Blushing shyly, Bella tuned back into Alice's description of the dress she bought in preparation for the homecoming dance in the fall after Rosalie offered an encouraging smile.
Saving Edward from embarrassment, Bella had turned before she caught sight of Jasper observing their silent exchange. He whispered to Edward, "You've got it bad."
Edward's only response was to neither confirm nor deny Jasper's allegation, but to hang his head in his hands while he waited for the ferry to dock.
It was still raining when the group exited the ferry and rushed to hail cabs. Their hotel wasn't too far from the ferry station, but they didn't want to be out in the poor weather anymore than necessary. It was expected that Carlisle wasn't in, but Esme wasn't in sight either. Instead, Emmett found a note on the counter and read aloud his parents' dinner plans while everyone else was drying off and changing.
"I guess we're on our own for dinner tonight," Alice said coming out of her room with the other girls, all dressed similarly in sweats.
"Can't we just order a pizza or room service or something? I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to go back out in that weather," Bella complained, stretching out on the couch next to Alice.
"Actually, it looks like the rain is starting to let up," Rosalie said as she peered out the window to the Seattle streets below.
Alice jumped up from the couch at the possibility of going out. "We can go to Revolution! Remember that ad we saw, Jazz?"
Jasper nodded his head. "It actually looks pretty cool. Just down the street and I think they usually have a bunch of bands or events going on every night – kind of like a local House of Blues, Hard Rock type place."
"Sounds pretty cool to me," Emmett said with a shrug, pulling Rosalie onto his lap as he sat down. Rosalie nodded her consent. "Edward?"
"Let's go!" he said enthusiastically.
"Alright," Bella sighed. "But first I'm going to take a shower."
Edward panicked at Bella rose from the couch and was about to disappear into her room. He didn't want to call her out since Bella didn't want anyone else to know about the tattoo yet, but he didn't want to risk her forgetting she couldn't take a shower yet. Thinking quickly, he said, "Is a shower really necessary? You're just going to go back out in the rain. Besides, I'm hungry, let's just go now."
Bella turned around, shocked at Edward's rude words. He made a show of calling attention to his wrist, inconspicuously, so Bella understood what he really meant. "Oh, I guess you're right. I do need to change out of sweats though."
"Me, too!" Alice called out and followed after Bella, Rosalie hot on her heels. "I'll help you pick out something to wear, Bella!"
Once they were safely inside their room, Bella ignored her two friends, glamorous even in sweatpants. Instead, she rummaged through her bag in search of something more appropriate to wear.
"Red?" Rosalie asked, holding up a revealing shirt to Alice. Bella kept her head down as she pulled her favorite pair of jeans from the bottom of the bag.
"Too flashy," Alice dismissed and held up a babydoll tank from her bag. "What about green?"
"I like green. What do you think – with this sweater?" Rosalie placed the sweater on the bed next to the tank top which earned a series of claps from Alice, who gathered both items in her hands and turned to Bella.
"Here, Bella, put this on. You'll look so cute – oh, Bella! You look great in that shirt!" For the first time since they'd entered the room, Alice and Rosalie paid attention to Bella.
Her jeans still lay on the bed, a pile of twisted denim, but she'd traded her oversized night shirt for navy blue v-neck tank. The wide straps gave way to a loose ruffle over the neckline, accentuating her pale skin. The shirt clung to her curves, stopping an inch above the low-rise, baggy sweat pants.
"I'm so impressed, Bella," Alice beamed, handing Bella her jeans.
"You know I am capable of dressing myself. I was doing it everyday before I met you, Alice. Now, want to tell me why you and Rosalie are so keen to dress me tonight?" Bella first looked to Rosalie who just shook her head. This was a matter between best friends and she didn't want to overstep her boundaries, considering her friendship with Bella was still relatively new and somewhat fragile.
"For Edward, of course! Now's your chance, Bella. You can see how he feels about you. Here, wear this over that." Once Bella had replaced the sweats with the jeans, Alice handed her the same sweater Rosalie had matched with the green tank top the duo had originally picked for Bella.
Without complaint, Bella slid the soft cream cardigan over her shoulders before disappearing into the bathroom. Her hair fell softly around her shoulders in gentle waves as she tugged the brunette strands free from the elastic. "Alice, really, just leave it alone."
"I'm just saying that I don't think it would hurt to flirt a little!" Alice was now pulling the green tank, once meant for Bella, over her head. She looked over to Rosalie in the corner, changed and touching up her makeup, for reassurance. Rosalie still shook her head, her blonde curls dancing around her face, refusing to get involved.
Bella turned, exasperated. "Please, just let me do this on my own."
Bella wanted nothing more than to let the entire situation with Edward diffuse. She'd never meant for Alice to really learn about her growing feelings for Edward when she'd only just begun to recognize them herself. They couldn't possibly have reciprocal feelings for one another – not when they were both so broken. They were friends. And while Bella appreciated every second of friendship Edward awarded her, she could never hope for something more to grow from it.
After a quick concession from Alice, the three girls made their way back to the living room where the boys were waiting. A short walk later, they were seated in a round booth in Revolution Bar and Grill, just as the first act was taking the stage. A Battle of the Bands event was taking place which engrossed Jasper, Bella and even Edward during the meal while Rosalie and Emmett whispered among themselves, bored. Alice was left alone.
Knowing better than to disrupt her boyfriend when he was in the music zone, Alice reverted to stealing the attention of Edward on her other side. Bella was only vaguely aware of the two talking but she was just as excited as Jasper about the bands and music about couldn't be bothered to get worked up about all the possible stories Alice was weaving, designed to show Edward the light in regards to his love for her. A couple of sly glances during set changes and Bella was convinced it was just a friendly conversation, filled with laughs and smiles.
At the end of the night, the group was exhausted from their long day. They made their way back to the hotel, where Carlisle and Esme were asleep on the couch awaiting their return. Emmett and Alice shook their parents awake, encouraging them to go to bed and that they would talk over the arrangements for leaving in the morning.
A/N: This chapter titles comes from a song by Matt Nathanson – "Detroit Waves." Again, I'm so sorry about the absence. I'm doing my best to finish this story up. I'm never giving up on it, please trust that. Thank you.