AN: I know, I know… I'm a horrible person. A month and half between updates. Trust me I've tried, hard, to get this chapter out. It's undergone many rewrites, a few major overhauls, and an extreme case of writers block.

Standard Disclaimer applies (I don't own anything).

(EPOV)

A million thoughts were going through my mind as I followed Bella into her apartment; what was I doing? Why did I care? What would Emmett say if he knew some of the thoughts that were going through my mind about his cousin?

Emmett.

It seemed that my best friend was going to be slightly problematic. He was extremely protective of Bella, as was evident in his behavior towards James, and had told me not to make a move on her.

Did I want to make a move on her? No. Yes. Hell, I didn't know.

I could hear Alice chattering away about something, Jasper hanging on her ever word. It was almost funny, except I knew I was acting the same way with Bella. I wanted to know everything about her, and I listened to her talk like I was a deaf man who had only just begun to hear.

"Do you guys want something to drink?" The question pulled me from my thoughts, and I turned my attention to Bella. She was looking between Emmett and me, her hand raised towards the kitchen.

"Sure Ella, you got anything alcoholic?" Emmett made his way towards the kitchen, making himself at home.

"Probably not, we're only 19. But help yourself to whatever you want." She laughed as she turned towards me, adding a threat over her shoulder, "just stay away from my lucky charms."

I raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Her favorite cereal was lucky charms. It seemed fitting.

"I'd give you a tour, but I'm sure you've seen these apartments before." A light pink was creeping up to her cheeks, and I couldn't help but smile.

"None that were decorated as nicely as this one." I was impressed, to say the least, at the quality of the furnishings. The couch was black and leather, with cream and gold pillows and a crimson blanket draped over the back. A glass topped coffee table sat in the middle of the room, with books and magazines scattered across the surface.

The entertainment center was in the corner by the window, with a dozen picture frames lined across the top. I stepped closer, trying to get a closer look at the photos. Most of them were of Bella and Alice, probably taken during their last year in Forks.

While Bella was smiling in almost every picture, I could tell that she was uncomfortable being in front of the camera.

One picture stood out from the rest. It was a candid shot, taken when neither Alice nor Bella were paying attention to the camera. They were sitting on a beach, staring out at the ocean, Alice's head resting on Bella's shoulder. A genuine smile was spread across Bella's face, and Alice was laughing, her eyes squinted together. I immediately wanted to know what was so funny, so I could attempt to be the reason for that smile.

"That's a great picture, isn't it?" Alice said, walking up behind me. "It's one of my favorites."

I nodded in response. Hopefully she was tell me the story behind it.

"That was the day we graduated from high school. Our entire senior class went down to the beach to celebrate; we had a huge bonfire and everything. It was the last night we were all going to be together as a group."

"Sounds like a fun night." Alice just smiled.

"Oh it was. Right before this picture was taken, some of the boys in our class had decided to go skinny dipping in the Pacific Ocean. True, their decision was affected by alcohol, but it was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen." Alice was laughing at the memory, and I couldn't help but laugh with her.

"Guys will do stupid things to impress girls." It was true. I'd go skinny dipping in frigid waters if it made Bella smile like that.

"You want to see some more pictures?" A mischievous smile played across Alice's face, and I couldn't help but wonder if I should say no.

In the end, I merely nodded, unable to pass up the opportunity to learn more about Bella's past.

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(BPOV)

It must be National Pick on Bella Day. Or at least that's how it felt.

Alice had brought out her old photo albums, which were filled with embarrassing pictures of me when I was going through my 'awkward' stage.

And then her and Emmett started on the stories.

"And then… there was this time…" Alice started, barely containing her laughter. "We were leaving the school parking lot, and this car stopped in front of us. We were stuck in a line of cars, and the guy in the car behind us, Tyler, came up and knocked on Bella's driver's side window. We were driving Bella's hideous truck, so she had to manually roll the window down, and she politely asked Tyler what he wanted. And get this; he wanted to ask her to the spring dance." She was unable to suppress it any longer, and was laughing loudly.

"It's not my fault Mr. Banner ran out of gas in the middle of the parking lot!" I said, my face turning bright red.

"Come on B… It was hilarious." Alice said between gasps.

"Oh, how about the time Bella broke her arm because she was trying to climb the tree outside my parents house, and she barely got three feet up it before falling?" Emmett chimed in.

"The branch broke!"

"Or how about that time her and Jake…" Alice started, before abruptly stopping.

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence, Mary Alice." I threatened, glaring at her. The last thing I wanted was her bringing up Jake.

"Aw, come on Bells. I want to hear this story. You and Jake always managed to get into trouble with the chief. I'm surprised he didn't get arrested." Emmett said, throwing his arm around me.

"Hey Em, you remember that time we tried to flood your parents basement to make an indoor swimming pool?" Alice asked, trying to change the topic.

"Yeah, that was great Alice. Bella, why won't you want to talk about Jake?" Emmett said, turning to stare at me.

"Hey Emmett, weren't you going to go see that Rosalie girl?" Edward suddenly said, making a show of checking the time. "It's already 11:30. If it gets too much later it'll look bad."

"It's 11:30 already? Shit." Emmett said, jumping up from the couch. "I was supposed to go over there at 11:00. Shit." He was checking his phone now, walking towards the door. "Don't think this conversation is over Ella." He said, pointing at me before walking out the door.

"I'm sorry B…" Alice started, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry about it Alice." I said, giving her a small smile. "And I'm sorry for using your full name."

"You mind filling us in on what that was about?" Edward asked, leaning back on the couch. "Apparently I just saved you from an uncomfortable conversation. Who's Jake?"

Well crap. Maybe I wasn't sorry for using Alice's first name.

"Oh, look at the time. Hey Jasper, you want to go for a walk?" Alice asked, jumping up from the couch. I glared at her again.

"Mary Alice Brandon…" I started, trying to pull her back down.

"Isabella Marie Swan…" she said back, pulling her arm away from me. Jasper was already standing beside her, looking down at Alice.

"You guys are avoiding my question." Edward said from his seat on the couch. I turned to glare at him.

"Don't wait up for us!" Alice called as she grabbed Jaspers arm and pulled him out the door.

I groaned. She was going to make me have this conversation with him. I turned to look at Edward, who was still looking at me. His expression caught me off guard; he looked curious, but that wasn't all. Another emotion was evident in his face, looking like a cross between annoyance and jealousy.

Yeah, right, like Edward would be jealous of anything that had to do with me.

"Are you going to tell me?" He asked, starting to get up.

"Jake is my ex-boyfriend." I said, throwing myself back onto the couch. This was not how I had envisioned this evening going.

'What did you expect, for Edward to throw himself at you and declare his love for you?' My inner voice asked. Great, now I was talking to myself again.

"And why didn't you want to talk about him?"

"Because I just broke up with him." Might as well be truthful, there wasn't any point in lying.

"Was he the one you were talking about in the library the other day?"

"Yeah, that's the one." Of course he would remember that.

"Why did you break up with him?" He asked, sitting back down. His expression was once again curious, all traces of annoyance gone.

"Because I realized that I wasn't the girl that he wanted me to be. I couldn't be what he wanted me to be, and I couldn't bring myself to hurt him anymore then I already was."

"What girl did he want you to be?"

"He wanted me to move back to Forks, to marry him. I told him I wanted to travel, have a career, and he basically accused me of throwing everything away because of a stupid career." I felt a little silly, explaining all of this to Edward. He was still practically a stranger, and I didn't know a whole lot about him.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to travel, and have a career. He has no right to tell you that it's stupid." Edward said, running a hand through his messy hair. "Are you okay?" He looked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It hurts, yeah, because we were together for so long, but it also feels good. I know this sounds horrible, but I'm actually kind of relieved." I looked down, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"It doesn't sound horrible."

I looked up at him, smiling.

"Thanks. Alice said the same thing."

"Alice didn't like him." It was a statement, not a question, and it took me off guard.

"How could you tell?"

"If she would have liked him, she would have been a lot more sensitive to the nature of the breakup, and not left you alone. Emmett didn't like him either."

"No, she didn't particularly care for him. How did you know about Emmett though?"

"He told me a few days ago. He was telling us all about you, and mentioned you had a stupid boyfriend from back home." He shrugged, his voice light.

"Well, I'm glad Emmett was sharing all my personal information with you." I said, crossing my arms across my chest. That was annoying.

"He cares about you." Was all Edward said.

"Well, since you know so much about me, why don't you tell me something about yourself? It's my turn to play twenty questions now." I said, leaning back on the couch.

"Ask away."

"Where are you from?"

"I grew up in Chicago, but I moved to Eugene when I was a teenager."

"Why Southern Oregon?" I asked, using the same question on him as he had on me.

"Because it's small, more intimate, then other universities in the state. And tuition is lower. My parents told me to choose whatever school I wanted, but I didn't want to be that big of a financial burden on them. And honestly, I fell in love with the campus when I came on a tour. It really is quite beautiful."

"It is, isn't it? I didn't come on a tour, but when I came for early registration I completely fell in love with the campus. I had just finished taking my math placement test, and when walking down the stairs in front of the computer science building, the beauty just kind of hit me. I realized that this was where I wanted to come to school."

"That's a lot better of a reason then wanting to go as far away from home as you could." He said with a smile.

"I suppose. What's your favorite band?" I wanted to get a feel of his personality, and the best to do that was through music.

"I like a lot of bands, from a variety of different genres. I'm going through an indie phase right now though, so Modest Mouse, Brand New, bands like that."

"Oh, I love Brand New. Deja Entendu is my absolute favorite. It usually helps me calm down, especially when I'm driving." It made me smile, knowing I had something in common with Edward. "What's your favorite TV show?"

"House, MD. I know that sounds cliché, because I want to be a doctor, but it really is a good show."

"I know. Alice and I watch it every Monday. What's your favorite movie?"

"I don't have a favorite. There are too many movies out there to pick just one. I like most of the movies that come out just before Oscar season though; they're usually the best."

"Why do you want to be a doctor?"

"I want to be able to do something to help people. It's all great to make a ton of money, but what's the point if you're being completely selfish about it? I want to share something with the world; I want to help others who can't help themselves." His green eyes were sparkling with excitement. "The feeling you get, when you know you've done something good, it's the most amazing feeling in the world."

"What kind of doctor do you want to be?" Suddenly I wanted to know everything about him.

"I want to take care of kids. I'm not sure if I want to go into surgery or just be a pediatrician. I'll have a few years of medical school to figure that out."

"Why kids? It's so much harder when they're younger." I said, looking intently at him.

"Because kids are so innocent. Wouldn't it be hard to help an adult who is a thief, or a rapist? Kids need the most care, and I want to do what I can for them."

"You're an incredible person, Edward." I said, looking down again.

Trying to keep myself from staring at Edward, I shifted my gaze from the floor to the clock hanging above the TV. It was well past midnight.

"Won't your girlfriend be mad that you're staying so late at some random girls house?" I asked, trying to be discrete in asking if he had a girlfriend.

"No, she won't, because I don't have one. And you're hardly a random girl, Bella." He said, flashing me his perfectly crooked smile.

"How am I not random? I'm practically a stranger; you've only known me for a week." I said, trying not to focus on the smile. His smile had the ability to render me speechless.

"You're Isabella Swan from Forks, Washington. You're an undecided freshman, although you're leaning towards criminal justice, probably because your father is the chief of police in Forks. You spent most of your life living in Phoenix, so you hate rain and cold. You're nineteen years old, your best friend is Alice, and you are single. Anything I left out?" He was smiling again, and had somehow managed to slide closer to me on the couch.

This time I really was speechless. I stared at him, trying to focus enough to formulate words.

"No, I think that about covers it." I said, my face turning bright red.

"I have a good memory." He said, tapping his right index finger to his temple. "And as I said before, I wanted to get to know you."

"Yeah, you did." I said, still staring at him.

"Is there anything else you want to know about me?"

"I want to know everything." I said without thinking. My eyes went wide, and I knew that my face now closely resembled a lobster.

Crap. Did I really just say that out loud?

"It seems like we have a lot in common, Miss Swan." He said laughing as he leaned closer to me.

"Hmmm?" I said, unable to form a more coherent sentence with him so close.

"I want to know everything about you too."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(EPOV)

It seemed so natural for me to be sitting here talking to her, telling her things about myself that I had never told anyone else.

Most girls I had dated were only interested in the physical aspect of the relationship. I would be lying if I said I didn't mind, but at the same time, I always felt like something was missing.

And as I sat listening to how Bella had met Alice during one of her summers in Forks with her father, I found that missing piece.

Bella was someone I could talk to; a girl I could hold an intelligent and interesting conversation with. I wanted to know her thoughts, hear her dreams, and do everything in my power to make them come true.

And that scared the living daylights out of me.

First of all, I'd just met the girl. I'd only known her for a few days, and while it seemed like I'd known her forever, there was still a lot I didn't know about her.

Second, Emmett would kill me. And I'm sure it would be painful. He had been livid with James after the incident at the party last week. If he responded that way to a complete stranger, I couldn't imagine how he would handle his best friend; especially after he told me how he felt about my past relationship experience.

I wasn't sure I was ready for this.

"Edward, are you alright?" Her voice pulled me from my thoughts, and I immediately looked into her eyes.

"No. I'm fine." The more I stared at her, the harder it was for me to stop myself from leaning forward. It would be so easy to kiss her right now, and I was extremely curious to know how her lips would feel against mine.

"You seem like you're mind is miles away." Her words startled me; I hadn't realized she was that observant.

I could feel my control slipping, and I found myself caring less and less about what Emmett would think of, or do to, me.

"I assure you, I'm right here, with you, on this couch." I leaned in a little closer, closing the gap between us slowly, savoring the moment. If I was about to kiss this girl, I wanted to do it right.

Of course, fate had other plans.

The buzzing of my phone against my leg caused me to jump back, and it was quickly followed by a vibrating on the coffee table.

I groaned, slipping my hand into my pocket to pull out my phone. Perfect timing. Leave it to Emmett to cockblock by text message. I pressed the button to view the message.

E, where the f r u? Its 3 am. U better not be Ella's still.

How was it 3 am already? And why was Emmett already home? My phone buzzing in my hand told me I had another message, this time from Jasper.

Ed Em's been callin every 2 mins. Alice and I can't keep stalling. He's gonna kick ur ass man. Get out of there.

I looked up at Bella, and then back down at my phone. If I knew Emmett, I probably had five minutes before he decided to come over and drag me out of here. And if he found out I was about to kiss her, well, I would probably be missing a few days of classes.

"Bella, I have to go." I didn't give any other explanation before walking out the door.

If I valued my life, not to mention my friendship with Emmett, I had to ensure that something like this never happened again.

I couldn't let myself get any closer with Bella Swan.

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AN pt dos: As I said earlier, I'm so so sorry this took so long to get out. I really don't want to give up on this story, but it's becoming difficult for me, especially knowing that I'm basically writing a story that has been done a million times, with the only difference being the location. I'm trying very hard to come up with something original, but I'm sadly coming up short.

Don't fear though; I really want to see this through to the end. I have a few later chapters written, and some ideas for later ones.

It also doesn't help that Alice and Jasper keep trying to make me write their own story :/ Too bad for them I'm not a very good multi tasker.

Again, so sorry for the extra long delay… and hopefully you guys will review and give me some motivation to force myself to write a little faster.