So things are picking up!! They're together and all is swell. But I don't want you guys to think my story is over. Far from it. Remember, the title is called Best Friends or Lovers and things tend to tilt back and forth when you try to balance such extremes. Oh and there's some new drama…big news…character development…

Read on. I'll catch you at the bottom, as always.

SM OWNS TWILIGHT.

BPOV

"Wrench."

I pulled my eyes away from the newest chapter I had written and dropped down to hand him one. Hauling myself back onto the kitchen counter, I resumed skimming over the jumbled words I had just typed.

"I almost got it." I heard Edward murmur from under the sink for the third time. I imagined him at work, his tongue jutting out of the corner of his mouth as he wrestled with my broken faucet.

"Okay how does this sound…" I said, reading him a line I had just revised.

"Why with all the metaphors?"

"Too much?" I said, glancing down at his legs, now the only part of his body that was visible from where I sat.

"No, its just your writing never sounds so exaggerated. It doesn't sound like you."

"You're right." I said, busily trailing a line of red ink through the sentence. I fixed it for the fourth time.

"Okay what about now." I said, rereading the same sentence.

"hmm…"

I exhaled a breath of frustration and glanced up at the refrigerator.

"What now?"

"No it's getting better…I liked the last part…but…" he trailed on.

My brow scrunched in irritation. It blew my mind how easily people could spit out books yet here I was struggling with simple sentences.

"Okay, give it another go." He said giving me a thumbs up. I knew he wasn't talking about my story and my hands reflexively moved to turn on the sink for the third time.

Surprisingly, pure, clean water jutted out.

"You're amazing." I said, pausing long enough to let him hear the fruits of his labor.

"I tried to tell you." He said, standing up and whipping his hands off with a towel. I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to my paper, not allowing myself to get trapped in the endless landscapes of his body. My nose crinkled as I wondered how yet another line of cliché had managed to creep on to the page.

I felt Edward bump against my knees and without looking at him, I quickly adjusted so that he could wedge himself in between my legs.

"Bella," he said

"Hmm?" I said, still not looking up. Instead I watched mindlessly as another blotch of red ink swiped through the page.

"Bella" he said again, pulling at the edges of the paper.

I brushed his fingers out of the way and gave him a quick glance before killing another run on sentence.

"Okay, listen to this…"

I started reciting another jumbled paragraph but was immediately silenced by the intrusion of his lips. I smiled and kissed him back. And as our kiss deepened, my legs wrapping around his waist, his hands pulling through my hair, I began to wonder if stopping was an option my body could handle.

Unfortunately, I quickly learned that it was, as Alice picked that precise moment to waltz into the apartment. I smiled into his lips and pulled away. He went back to washing his hands and I went back to editing. It wasn't as if we didn't want anyone to know about our newly found relationship. In fact, we had decided on breaking the news at the next Cullen dinner. I figured it was better that way. It meant that I didn't have to tell the same story fifty-six times and it would give Edward and I a chance to just be without outside pressures.

"Hey Alice." Edward called as she walked into the kitchen.

"Hey guys," she said absentmindedly flipping through some mail. Her eyes quickly darted to the sound of gushing water.

"Edward, thank God, you fixed it!"

"Piece of cake." He shrugged, leaning against the counter.

"Piece of cake, my ass." I murmured as my mind raced through the past two hours of watching Edward fumble his way to success.

He smiled and winked at me.

"Oh Bella, Jacob was asking about you." Alice said, diving into the refrigerator and grabbing a coke.

I pretended to be suddenly immersed in my paper before replying.

"Oh really.." I said, trying to ignore Edward's side-glance in my direction.

"Yeah, he wants to know if you're free Friday night."

Suddenly I was very aware of the tension in the air that Alice was completely oblivious to. Of course she didn't know of our current condition. In fact, I was pretty sure the only reason she even mentioned Jacob in front of Edward was in an attempt to make him jealous. I would have to remind myself to thank her for her "cleverness" later on.

But the fact that Jacob was still trying despite our several terrible "dates" made me feel bad. Apparently I had absentmindedly strung him along in the midst of lusting over my best friend.

I let out a breath of air and flipped to another page.

"I'm not", I said, desperately trying to get this conversation over with.

"Why, what are you doing?" Alice asked, not willing to drop the subject as easily.

"Watching a scary movie at Edward's. Like I do every Friday."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward smile.

"I think Edward here understands," she said, gesturing to him, annoyance ringing in her voice.

"Nope I think Jacob will have to understand." He said, walking over to me and kissing me lightly on the forehead.

"I'll see you guys later." He said, flashing me a crooked smile before walking towards the door.

Alice rolled her eyes and gave me a disapproving look.

"What?" I shrugged, taking a swig of her coke.

"You know what" she said and then left me to contemplate how the hell I was going to rid myself of Jacob Black.

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The rest of the week went by quick. I spent most of my time at Edward's. Alice asked few questions even though I could tell she didn't exactly believe in our sudden miraculous recovery.

But really, that's what it was. We were better than the old Edward and Bella. The inside jokes continued to roll, but the overall tone of our relationship had changed. And I realize that being in a relationship that was no longer platonic (not that it ever really was) involved a major shift in direction, but it was still something that was hard to explain. It was like opening a secret compartment to something you thought you knew so well.

But then again for so long we had both been holding back. Experiences, although blissful, had always been short lived because they didn't contain every emotion possible.

But now things were different. I was finally able to completely give myself to Edward. Every inch of myself I lied out onto the table each day. And everyday he took it.

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EPOV

"I think Alice knows." Bella said, tripping over a pair of shoes as she walked into the bathroom.

"Why?" I asked as I raised the razor back to my neck, shaving away morning stubble.

"The way she looks at me. It's like I have it written on my forehead."

"You probably do." I said laughing at the worried expression on her face and the idea of Bella keeping a secret. She was practically an open book. You knew a lie was forming even before she spoke it.

"What? I think we have been doing a great job at keeping our secret." She retorted

"It doesn't matter, they'll know soon enough". I replied, rinsing the rest of the shaving cream away.

I turned to face her and I couldn't help but stare. She was gorgeous. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. But that was it. She was gorgeous in just jeans and a t-shirt. No makeup, no elaborate hairstyle that I was used to seeing girls wear on campus. Nothing but Bella. And there was something so comforting about that.

"What?" she said leaning against the door, a wisp of her chocolaty hair falling into her face.

I walked over and tucked it neatly behind her ear.

"Nothing I just can't believe how lucky I got." I said more to myself than to her as I found myself, as usual, getting lost in her eyes.

She smiled, brushing her lips against mine. "You are so cheesy."

And maybe I was. But really I couldn't help it. After so many years of just fantasizing about her, it was hard to believe that any of this was real. The fact that I could hold and touch and feel her without crossing any lines was something I was still getting used to.

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Fifteen minutes later, we were in my car on our way to another monthly dinner at my parents.

Bella laughed as she answered her phone, which had begun to vibrate for the second time.

"Alice wants to know where the hell are we." She said smiling at me.

I looked up at the dashboard and noticed that we were indeed twenty minutes later. It seemed as though time flew whenever I was with her.

"We'll be there in ten." I stated confidently.

The rain continued to pour as I pulled into the driveway exactly ten minutes later. I shut the engine off and glanced at Bella who was silently drumming her fingers against the console. Or rather if you looked closely you could see the bare beginnings of Fur Elise sprouting from her fingertips. It still amazed me how she remembered it after all this time. I had taught her just the first measure of the complex song when we were in middle school…almost eight years ago.

I hadn't noticed it at first, but gradually my eyes would drift to the erratic yet dynamic flow of her hand every time she was nervous. After awhile, I recognized what she was doing and it made me smile. At first I thought it was just my ego reacting to the fact that I had taught someone something about music that actually stuck. But as time went on, I began to recognize my reaction towards her habit as more than just pleasure. Because it seemed like even subconsciously we were connected. Even subconsciously Bella thought about me, or at least did things that stemmed from us. And everything about that made me smile.

"Why are you nervous?" I said, placing my hand on top of hers.

"I'm not." She lied giving me a weak smile.

"You're such a bad liar."

"No really," she said, entwining her fingers in mine. "I'm actually kind of excited. I mean this is what I have wanted for so long. It just doesn't feel real, that's all."

I smiled and leaned over to kiss her forehead.

"This is real. I'm not going anywhere."

That seemed to somewhat balance her nerves and before I knew it we were walking hand in hand into my parents foyer.

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BPOV

"UGHH. They're here. We can eat." I heard Emmett say as soon as we entered the house.

We rounded into the kitchen, which was alive with the smell of Moroccan food. Emmett, Carlisle, and Jasper were soaring through the air as another person scored another pointless touchdown while Rose and Alice were busily chatting away.

"Oh hey guys what took you so--"

And that's when Esme's eyes fell to our entwined fingers. Her lips curved into a wide smile and she simply nodded.

"Nevermind." She said, returning her attention to the bowl of steaming vegetables in front of her.

I felt Edward chuckle as he squeezed my hand.

Okay, I thought, one down, five more to go.

I wasn't really worried about Alice's reaction. I'm pretty sure she figured it out the moment I decided to hide it from her. Which meant that Jasper also involuntarily knew. And I'm pretty sure that if Esme was in on it the whole entire time, then Carlisle couldn't be that far behind. And of course Emmett knew. So really the only person who would be somewhat surprised was Rosalie, who up until now was probably oblivious to any of our situations. But even while my brain raked through countless rationalizations, I still found myself nervous as ever. Which was weird because these weren't random people who were all suddenly looking at me. They were my family.

"Well it is about…damn…time." I heard Emmett sigh from the sofa once he finally took the time to pry his eyes off of the television.

I smiled and rolled my eyes. I knew he wasn't talking about the fact that he could finally eat now that we were here. And I also knew that that wasn't the only thing I was going to hear from him. He was just getting started.

Jasper gave me a wink as we filed into the kitchen and took our seats.

"So it looks like we have two announcements tonight," Carlisle said as the salad was passed around.

I gave him a questioning look. My eyes darted around the table to everybody who looked just as equally confused until I landed on Emmett and Rosalie. They neither looked confused nor worried. In fact they looked rather happy.

I watched as Rosalie poured Emmett a glass of water. And that's when I saw it.

Suddenly I was hiccupping water all over the place while fighting back colorful words. I felt Edward swat at my back a few times, a worried expression on his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked as I finally maintained enough energy to inhale.

"Emmett can I speak with you." I whispered across the table, ignoring his question.

"Ugh, sure." He said looking almost as uncomfortable as I felt. Rosalie and Edward gave me questioning looks as we excused ourselves and walked towards the foyer.

When I was sure we were out of hearing range, I turned and socked him in the shoulder. Hard.

"One month!" I spat.

"Bella you don't-"

"You proposed to her after only one month. Are you crazy!"

I was on the verge of screaming.

"Bella, I'm happy for you and Edward, why can't you be happy for me?"

"Oh please don't compare you and Rosalie to Edward and I. It's not the same and you know it." I said, holding back laughter, profanity, and screams all at the same time.

"I can't believe how judgmental you're being right now Bells. I would think you of all people would understand how I'm feeling right now."

"You don't even know her Emmett." I spat, running my hands through my hair.

"Yes I do and I want this Bells. I want to settle down and be happy and have kids. Hell, I want to have her kids."

Hearing this come from Emmett's mouth was laughable. My brother was a walking, talking frat boy. One that thought kids were annoying. One that hooked up with random girls all throughout high school. One that was irrational and immature.

"How can you want to have kids with someone you barely know." I said hitting him again. I usually wasn't such a violent person but when it came to my nonsensical brother, I needed as much emphasis as I could get.

"I know that I love her. I know that every time I look at her, I see my future. I know that I love the way she looks at me. I know I love the way I feel when I'm around her. And I know that it hasn't been fifteen years but dammit I know she's the one."

I was taken back by his words. Again, this was not normal dialogue leaking through Emmett's lips. I'd never heard him talk about a girl other than how elongated their legs were or how doable they, themselves were. It was weird. And suddenly I was angry for different reasons entirely.

"Why didn't you tell me? We tell each other everything Emmett. Why am I eating dinner and seeing a ring flicker on her finger? A ring that I knew nothing about."

"I don't know Bell… I just I don't know. And for the record, you didn't tell me about you and Edward either."

I couldn't hide the guilt that was now flooding through my body. And when it came down to it, I was more jealous than anything. It took Emmett, an irrational, boneheaded Emmett, a month to do what took me fifteen years. He confessed his love in a way that meant everything, and Edward and I had just said the three little words.

I know it was childish but I felt way behind. Emmett was doing everything that I couldn't do. And it was pissing me off.

"Are you sure." I said, ignoring his last response.

"What?" he asked glancing towards me with the confused expression that I had grown familiar with.

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yes." He said. It was a short answer but it held power. It was confident and definite and all the things I wanted to be.

"This is not going to be easy Emmett," I said, my resolve weakening, "And plus I don't even know her. And if I don't like her, then you know it will be hell for y-"

"You know for years, I never understood why Edward would look at you the way he did." He said interrupting me. I frowned and gave him a questioning look.

" I mean don't get me wrong," he quickly advised after seeing my expression, "You're a beautiful girl, and even as your brother I can say that but I never understood until now. I never understood how he could dedicate so much of himself to just one particular person when there were so many other willing girls flocking him."

Again, I gave him a raised brow. He was beginning to piss me off all over again.

"Just listen." He said, grabbing my shoulder.

"But now I get it. I get how he could stay and hang out with you all day instead of going to parties. I understand why he would rather sit in bed with you, risking a cold while you were sick instead of sneaking off with Jasper and me to drink. Bella, Edward did those things, and probably still does those things because he loves you. And when I look at Rose, I see myself wanting to do all those things and more."

"Since when did you become so philosophical?" I said after awhile, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I love her Bella. And I'm doing this." Again, his words were short but final.

"Okay…just go slow." I said. It was the only response that felt like I wasn't giving in. Because really, I completely understood where Emmett was coming from. That craving to be around someone so much that you'd do just about everything and anything. In fact I was probably the walking poster-child for that craving. But as the over competitive sister I also was, I couldn't let him know that.

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Okay what do you think! I definitely wanted my story to be centered around something big such as a wedding. But I also didn't want it to be predictable. I kind of like the fact that Rosalie has some work to do to be accepted in Bella's eyes. So the next couple of chapters should be interesting. Oh and more Edward/Bella drama of course. Review