A/N: Ok, so I'm not entirely thrilled with this chapter, but it effectively moves things along, so I shouldn't complain right? Thanks to everyone for the awesome reviews. Everyone has been more than supportive of all my stories and I appreciate it more than I can probably express. I'm trying to ease them into liking one another and I really hope it's working. I'm sure you will all let me know if there is trouble.

*I don't own twilight, but I do own a lot of Depeche Mode CD's*

EPOV

You have got to be kidding me, I thought to myself as I started heading up the stairs against my better judgment. I didn't even bother to knock on the door, I just barged in and found Bella sitting on the couch with her face buried in her hands. At least she wasn't crying.

"What the hell Bella, eavesdrop much?" I asked angrily as I stood before her awaiting her response. She was silent for a moment, before she raised her head and looked at me with an expression of complete fury.

"Excuse me, but you're the one telling people I'm a raving bitch and that you don't like me," she said in frustration. As I looked down at her, I felt both exasperation and guilt, even though I had done nothing wrong.

"That's not what I said," I replied, trying to clean up this mess anyway I could because there was no way I was going home now. Not to L.A. and definitely not to Forks.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter."

"First of all, it was Emmett on the phone and Alice told him you were here, so now he knows we're both here together, so rule number six is fucked because he knows." Bella sighed and leaned her against the back of the couch. She seemed as upset about this revelation as I had been. "He promised not to say anything, but he assumed I was staying because of you and that I liked you in a romantic sense. I was simply explaining to my idiot brother that I didn't like you that way."

"But I'm still a raving bitch right? Wasn't that the term you used?" Damn she was maddening. I let out a big sigh and tried to pull my foot out of my mouth.

"I said that you had been acting like a bitch for the past few days, which we both knew was true. You aren't acting like one now though. You were actually somewhat pleasant earlier today and stupid me, I actually asked you to spend time with me. If you're not interested in dinner or the movie, don't worry about." I said as I walked from the room and back downstairs to the kitchen. I quickly pulled out my bottle of Jamesons and took a shot greedily. I continued working on dinner, but my heart wasn't in it anymore. I tossed the chicken into the oven and pulled out my iPod which I connected to the sound system and searched through my playlist, looking for something appropriate for my mood while I sipped my glass of whiskey. I settled on some Bon Iver and sat back in the leather club chair, to enjoy the music.

I heard footsteps down the stairs, but then there was silence. Part of me was hoping Bella had packed her bags and was about to head back to Seattle.

"I love this CD," she said casually as she sat on the couch and looked over at me. I opened one eye and then closed it again, trying to focus on the music.

"It's not a CD, it's my playlist and it has almost all of their songs on it. Well all the ones I own anyways, I'm sure there is some rare tracks out there somewhere I haven't managed to track down yet, but I will," I said confidently as I kept my head against the back of the chair and my eyes closed.

"Can we please go back to our truce?" she asked anxiously as I opened my eyes again and found her pulling on her fingers, like she was trying to crack her knuckles or something.

"Only if you promise to be more reasonable in the future," I said with a grin as she nodded her head silently. "Dinner's in the oven and should only be about twenty more minutes."

"Thanks," replied Bella as she stood from the sofa and headed into the kitchen to make herself a tea. "I really am sorry about the confusion. I'm not usually like this, honestly. I think once I get things figured out I'll be back to normal."

"Listen, I've already forgot it happened, so don't worry about it. You should be focusing on getting better anyways." I finished my drink and Bella came over with the bottle, offering up a refill which I gladly took. She sat down on the couch and looked over at me expectantly. "What?"

"I have a proposition for you?" she said quietly and my interest was immediately piqued. "I think we should just admit to each other all the fucked up things in our lives and then we can give each other constructive criticism or positive suggestions, whatever the hell we want." I nodded my head and continued to listen to her intently. "We are obviously VERY honest with one another, so I think it would be good to have a different perspective on our respective lives."

"Are you sure you're ready to open your closet and let all the skeletons fall out? I mean, if we do this, I will ask you every single question about your problems that you probably don't want asked. will look like H.R. Pufnstuf compared to me," I said with a laugh because Emmett and I always joked that Dr. Phil looked just like H.R.

"Fine, but it works both ways."

"Fine, when do we start?" I asked impatiently. I think I was just as eager as Bella was to get over our own issues. It's not like I was going to get the privacy I initially came here for anyways, so I might as well tell her everything. Plus, I could get a little insight into the brain of my sister's best friend.

"How about we wait until tomorrow? I should be feeling a lot better by then and more willing to talk about everything." I stood from the chair and headed to the kitchen to check on dinner.

"That's fine with me. You better get a good night's sleep then Bella; I am a very curious person." I laughed as I pulled some carrots from the fridge and began to grate them for the salad I was making to go with our lemon chicken. Thankfully the rest of the night went by without incident. Bella wasn't particularly talkative during dinner or the movie, but I didn't complain. I hated it when people talked during movies, even if I had seen them before. Emmett and I hadn't seen a movie together in almost two years because he babbled on like a 15 year old girl on acid. It was absolutely the most annoying thing in the world.

I let Bella lay down on the couch to watch the movie and I got comfortable in my father's big recliner. I stopped drinking after dinner and did my best to relax and enjoy the movie. It was almost done when I heard Bella snoring lightly on the couch, completely asleep. I finished watching the movie in peace and then picked Bella up in my arms again, carrying her up to my old room to put her to sleep. I ignored the random words she spoke in her sleep and pulled the blanket tightly under her chin before I turned off the light and walked out of the room.

I turned everything off on the main floor and headed to bed, but my sleep was very restless. I found myself staring at my alarm clock at 3:12 in the morning. I sat up in bed and tossed my earbuds in, turning my iPod back to Bon Iver as I reached over for my book and flipped on my light. Perhaps reading a chapter or two would help me fall back asleep.

I wasn't focusing on my reading though. I was thinking about a girl sleeping fifty feet away in my comfortable bed. I thought back to earlier in the day when I confronted her about what she had heard on my call with Emmett and couldn't understand why I would feel guilty about what was said. I had even felt sad when I found her on my couch with her head buried in her hands. My first instinct had been to comfort her, not to yell at her like I had done. Why the hell was Bella affecting me the way she was? I wonder if I can ask her about that tomorrow during our conversations about our shitty lives. So Bella, lately I've found you very attractive and I couldn't sleep last night because I was thinking about you. What do you think about that? I doubt her reaction would be one of elation; it would most likely be one of utter confusion, which is how I feel about it all. Completely confused.

I ended up sleeping for about two hours and when I finally stumbled downstairs to the kitchen at six in the morning, I made myself an extra strong pot of coffee and sat down in the living room to relax. I was about to take my first sip of coffee when Bella strolled down the stairs looking a lot healthier and rested than yesterday.

"You're up early," I said casually as I let the hot coffee burn down my throat, waking me up slightly.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep. I ended up taking a bath an hour ago and getting dressed. When I smelt the coffee, I figured the coast was clear to head downstairs." I gave her a simple nod and she helped herself to a cup of coffee and settled back in her usual spot on the couch.

"You look a lot better, how do you feel?"

"Other than tired, I feel fine. The cold or whatever the hell it was is gone, thank god," said Bella with a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry I fell asleep again, it's very uncharacteristic of me. I love movies, so I was disappointed in myself when I realized I hadn't seen it all. You probably won't offer to watch another movie with me huh?"

"It's fine Bella. I don't mind that you fall asleep, although I don't think my back can handle carrying you upstairs to bed again," I said with a laugh as I grabbed my back in mock pain.

"Whatever, I weigh like one twenty soaking wet. I'm sure you can easily handle me," she said with a grin. I of course started to immediately think of other ways I wanted to handle her, but I shook my head to empty the indecent thoughts I was having about her. "Everything good?"

"Yeah, just a little tired too," I said with a chuckle as I took a sip of my drink. "Ready to rid ourselves of some personal demons?"

"How about we get some breakfast in our bodies and we have a shower and we can then start deconstructing each other?" she asked with a curious expression.

"Well Bella, I generally prefer to shower alone, but if this is part of our therapy, I'm all for it," I said with a laugh as she looked at me in shock. "I was kidding."

"I knew that Edward. I guess I need to be more selective in what I say around you. So let's try this: How about you make me breakfast and then we can each have our own shower and then we can discuss why you can be a sweet guy one second and a complete moron the next?" I laughed at her acerbic wit and stood from my chair.

"Touché Bella. How are pancakes for breakfast?"

BPOV

Breakfast was a boring affair. I cut up some melon while Edward made pancakes, from scratch I might add. He didn't even need a recipe, he just threw some stuff into a bowl and next thing I knew, I was eating some of the most delicious pancakes I had ever had. While I cleaned up after breakfast, I made Edward go and take his shower. I didn't really need once since I had a bath at five in the morning when I couldn't sleep. Edward was sneaking into my dreams at night and it was thoroughly confused about it. Yes, I definitely thought he was attractive, but there was no way I could even consider getting involved with my best friends older brother, who just happens to live in L.A. Not gonna happen, I reminded myself as I put the dishes into the dishwasher and went to relax on the couch.

Edward's iPod was sitting beside the stereo so I plugged it in and slowly searched through his music. It wasn't half bad. I actually owned quite a bit of the bands and singers he had, but I was even more pleased when I stumbled across one of my personal favorites, Depeche Mode. I turned on their playlist and let the music fill the house while I walked around and started to tidy things up. Edward came down about half an hour later, singing along to 'Policy of Truth' and smiling like he had just won the lottery.

"Good choice, I was actually feeling like some Depeche Mode this morning myself." I simply nodded my head and finished wiping down the counter in the kitchen, while he fetched a big glass of orange juice from the fridge. "You should drink some juice; it will probably make you feel better."

"I'm feeling fine , so stop worrying about me," I said sarcastically as he looked over at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You have way too many Oprah references. I'm guessing that's part of Alice's influence huh?"

"Yeah, something like that. When she lived with me for a few months we used to watch it every night on the TIVO. I did learn some things though like what jeans make my ass look good and how to make a decent bouillabaisse, so I shouldn't complain." I swore I heard him mutter something about my ass looking fine, but I shook my head, determining that was something that Edward wouldn't say to me.

"I'm glad to see Oprah hasn't corrupted you," he said with a grin as he took a sip from his juice and headed into the living room. "So, are we going to talk or what?"

"Eager to get this over with Cullen?" I remarked curiously as 'Walking in my Shoes' came on the stereo and I sat down on the couch, looking at him with interest. "Who goes first?"

"How about we play 'rock, paper, scissors' for it? The loser goes first," he suggested as I let out a small laugh.

"That's very grade seven of you Edward, but okay." I held out my hand as he moved closer with his hand outstretched in front of him. We shook our hands three times and both ended up with paper. We chuckled genuinely and repeated the motion. We both had rock. I looked up at him and we tried again. I ended up with scissors and he ended up with rock, so I got to go first. Lucky Me. I went and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before returning to the couch to make myself comfortable. "Should I start with my work life or personal life?"

"How about you start with whatever topic you are more comfortable with?" I thought for a moment and then decided, work life it is.

"I hate my job," I said succinctly as Edward looked at me with wide eyes. "I hate reading other people's books and stories. It's honestly one of the most mundane things I have ever done. I preferred my job at Starbucks when I was in college compared to my job at the publishing house. Sure, I get paid good money, but I hate it, so what's the point, right?"

"So, why do you do it?" he asked curiously as he stared at me. I felt like I was sitting in a psychiatrists office and I should lie on the couch and pour my heart out to him.

"I thought it was what I wanted to do with my life. I got great grades and graduated at the top of my class at UW and then I got the job offer right out of school. I sounded so perfect at the time. Now I think I just like the comfort it affords me and I can't be bothered to do anything about it."

"Do you want to be 65 years old and having suffered through a crappy job for 40 years? Do you think you will regret it if you don't change?" Edward had claimed he would get personal with his questioning, but he hadn't. If anything, he had asked all the right questions.

"No, of course not. I don't want to regret any of the decisions I've made in my life."

"So quit your job. Do you have money saved up?" I shook my head in disagreement. "Okay then, stay at your job until you can find something you like better or until you have some savings to carry you over for a little while. Ooh, here's a better question… what do you really want to do?"

"I think I want to write," I said confidently as I looked over at Edward who looked surprised. When I originally went to school, that was my passion, writing. The more I got into my classes though the more I found editing was an interesting path, and I followed it, much to my dismay now. "I'm an English major and I took a ton of creative writing courses. I want to write stories, not review them." I released a big sigh of relief as the words came from my mouth. I hadn't spoken them to anyone before except my high school guidance counselor.

"Okay, so write something. Start the great American novel or the next Harlequin romance, whatever you want to do, you can do it Bella." Everything sounded so easy when Edward said it. "Do you have your computer here?"

"Yeah, I do." I said with surprise when I realized what he was suggesting. I looked over at him and he looked pretty smug with himself for his proposal.

"You have 10 more days here; maybe you will be inspired to write something and then maybe your publishing company will want to print it. After all, you do know what makes a good story, right?" Edward was just as good at dispensing advice as Alice was. It was nice that Edward was detached from the situation so that he could be impartial. Alice would have told me to follow my heart, but I probably wouldn't have listened to her. I simply nodded my head in agreement with Edward and smiled. "You can always continue to work until you've finished your book. Then, try to get it published. Once that's done and you've signed a contract, you can quit your job. Makes perfect sense to me. You get the comfort of having the job, yet the satisfaction of going after your dreams."

"I'm sorry I treated you like shit, you really do have valid opinions," I said sweetly as he took another sip of his juice as the opening of 'I Feel You' filled the room. I let out a low chuckle at the song choice as Edward cocked his eyebrow at me in curiosity. I always thought it was a great sex song, and here I was discussing my screwed up life with a very attractive man and all I could think of for a moment was the song.

"Don't worry about it Bella. You shouldn't give up your dreams because you value the comfort and security."

"What is your dream?" I asked curiously as I watched him run his fingers through his hair, making it just as messy as before. He let out a big sigh before he took a big gulp of his juice, which was now almost empty. I glanced over at the clock on the mantel and realized we had been talking for over an hour.

"My dream was to open my own advertising agency, and I did that two years ago." He didn't seem too convincing to me. He looked a little forlorn as he spoke. If this was his dream, he should be happy about it, shouldn't he?

"Nice try. That may have been your dream two years ago, but what is your dream now?" He looked up at me with a nervous smile.

"I just want to get out of L.A." He actually seemed upset when he said these words, like it was breaking his heart to consider a move from California.

"What's keeping you there?" I questioned. He had finished his juice and put the drink on the coffee table and leaned back against the chair, his eyes staring at the ceiling.

"My work is part of the reason I haven't left. I like what I do and I love running my own company, but I don't see a move in my future." That was such a copout answer, I thought to myself. If he owns the company he should be able to move it anywhere he wants.

"Are you just staying because you don't want to disappoint Emmett? He is your business partner right?" Edward nodded his head slowly and all the pieces began to fit. He didn't want to upset his older brother by moving. Emmett had a nice life in California and Edward didn't. "You need to talk to Emmett and let him know what is going on. I would guess that since he's a Cullen, he's probably pretty reasonable, like the rest of your family. If he knew you weren't happy in L.A., he probably wouldn't force you to stay."

"Emmett doesn't want to leave L.A."

"So, who gives a fuck what Emmett wants? You can do your job from somewhere else right? If I was a writer I could live anywhere in the world. Why can't you do it if you are the boss of the company?" Edward released his grip on the arms of the chair he was sitting in and sat upright, practically staring at me, but he was smiling.

"I'm gonna call Emmett," he said as he stood from the chair and got his cell phone from the kitchen.

"So, where are you going to move to?" I asked with a grin as he dialed the phone and waited impatiently for his brother to answer.

"I'm going back to Seattle."