Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters etc, and I wish that Stephenie Meyer didn't own them either.

Chapter Five – She Gets a Surprise

Rain pattered softly on the exposed windowsill, a fresh breeze blowing through the tiny opening left to let the clean smell of cedar cleanse her mood. Snuggled in her ratty quilt and one of her dad's old Forks Police Department sweatshirts, Bella was toasty warm despite the draft. She burrowed deeper into the cocoon she had created for herself, leaving exposed only the very tips of her fingers that were necessary to hold her book in its place. Despite these favorable reading conditions, she had not turned a single page in over half an hour.

The rest of her school day had been a disaster that she'd been reliving since she'd stumbled from Alice's car and managed to make her way back inside the sanctuary of home. Her dinner preparation had been mechanical and simple – fried fish, salad, and baked potatoes – but she'd barely been able to eat any of it. Charlie's worried glances only made her feel more pathetic, so she'd called up a blush, stammered that she wasn't feeling very well, and fled upstairs.

For hours she'd just lain there, idly flipping pages she knew that she would have to go back and re-read later, because all she could think about was the disaster her day had become. As bad as the morning had been, it looked like fluffy bunnies and sunshine compared to the aftermath of her confrontation with Jasper.

It made her shudder just to remember it. She'd wanted to flee but was too paralyzed. Instead, she'd completely crumbled, following him like a dog into the building and back to their lunch table. Alice hadn't said a word. She hadn't even made eye contact, instead staring resolutely at the last remaining cheerios in her bowl and batting them about with her spoon.

The ringing of the bell had at first seemed like a blessing, but it ended up being a curse. She'd wandered to Biology, glad that for once she would finally have class to herself. She couldn't bear Jasper's glares or Alice's worry or Edward's frustrated sighs. It was too much.

But fate's a bitch, and when she'd swung open the door to the portable, the only seat in the room that had been empty now contained a familiar face sporting its heart clenching crooked smile. And that seat? Right next to her own. She'd wanted to cry, but knew it would only make the situation worse. Instead, she'd sat silently, ignoring Edward's confused looks and, later, his hurt glances and annoyed glares.

She couldn't talk to him. She had no right. She'd pledged her allegiance long ago, and those emerald eyes – so full of fire and life – weren't going to make her sacrifice her secrets. She wasn't going to become a laughingstock just to see if running her fingers through that hair would feel as amazing as she'd imagined.

Hours later, the feeling of absolute defeat had not waned. Jasper knew he had control now, and she knew she lacked the strength necessary to defeat him. She was, as usual, at his mercy and she loathed it. And him. And herself.

A glance outside revealed an inky black sky, the usual cloud cover obscuring any hope for her to see the moon. The wind increased in intensity and the branches of her tree made tiny clacking noises as they were buffeted against the rain soaked window panes, but she couldn't be bothered to get up and close it. She heard the rain picking up and closed her eyes, willing herself to be lulled to sleep by the familiar sound.

Just as her eyes were drifting close, a loud thud caused her to sit bolt upright, panting for breath. She crawled to the foot of the bed and stared in awe at the window. There, barely clinging to the worn, slippery wood of the windowsill were those unmistakable white fingers, the black polish on the nails already chipping. She watched in horror as the hands slid for a second before finally getting a sure enough grip to keep from falling. Bronze hair appeared followed by a pale forehead, intensely green eyes whose color was only enhanced by the lack of ridiculous makeup, and a scowl.

Edward stared at her blankly for a minute, breathing hard, before rolling his eyes.

"Jesus, Bella, are you really so afraid of having to live a life of your own that you're just going to let me die?"

She stared at him in confusion for a long minute before comprehension dawned. Her first inclination was to just let him fall but she knew that any accidents would just have to be explained later. As quietly as she could, she slipped from her bed and padded across the floor toward the window. She tried to get a grip on his forearm, but he was soaked from the rain.

"You're too slippery," she huffed. "I can't get a grip."

"Grab a hold of my belt," he grunted, straining to keep himself held up.

She hesitated for a second, trying to formulae the best way to grab him without falling out the window herself.

"Any time now," he snapped.

"Maybe," she replied lightly, leaning out the window at his side to loop her fingers through his belt loops, "if I'd had some advanced notice of this little stalking incident, I might have come up with a better plan for getting you in my room."

"Or maybe," he grunted as she began to pull, "if you'd been paying attention to all the shit I threw at your window, you could have just talked to me while I sat in the damn tree."

"Or maybe –"

She never got to finish her thought. Just as she began speaking, Edward came sliding through the open window. His momentum combined with the force with which she had been pulling him sent them both to the floor in a heap.

"Oh mother fu- "

"Shut up," she hissed. "My dad is downstairs."

Sure enough, about a minute passed before she heard Charlie. "Bells?" he called groggily up the stairs.

"I'm fine, dad! I just tripped."

"Ok, kiddo. Be more careful, ok? I don't feel like a trip to the emergency room in the rain."

"I will," Bella called, shooting Edward a death glare as he muffled his laughter in his hands.

"Accident prone?" he whispered, once he'd gotten a hold of himself.

"You're completely soaked," she said, ignoring his earlier comments.

"That's what happens when you sit out in the rain for an hour."

"An hour?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, an hour," he said. He ran his fingers through his wet hair before shaking it out like a dog.

"Give me your clothes," she said, grateful for the dim light as her cheeks flushed.

"What?" he asked, visibly startled.

She was already heading to her dresser. She yanked open a drawer, digging around before she found another of Charlie's old sweatshirts. Some more digging revealed a pair of exercise shorts.

"You put these on. Your stuff needs to get put in the dryer."

His mouth was open in shock and he was giving her a blank look.

"You can go change in the closet," she said, helpfully gesturing to her tiny walk-in.

It only took him a few moments to take the dry clothes and disappear into the closet to change. When he emerged, she choked on a laugh. His legs were unnaturally pale and the shorts that were much too big on her were almost too small on him.

"I'll just go put these in the dryer," she laughed, catching the wet clothes he threw at her in obvious annoyance.

Quietly, she snuck down the stairs into the utility room. Charlie was snoring softly on the sofa, the TV glowing in the background. She tiptoed down the hall, walking slowly to ensure that she stayed upright. As she was checking the labels of Edward's clothes to make sure she wouldn't ruin them, the full magnitude of her situation finally dawned upon her.

Edward Cullen was in her room.

Edward Cullen had spent an hour in the tree outside her window.

Edward Cullen had jumped from her tree through her window.

Edward Cullen was in. her. room.

Her breath caught in her throat as she turned to head back up the stairs. It was slowly occurring to her that she should be pretty creeped out – that Edward's behavior was pretty inappropriate. As she pulled a towel out of the upstairs hall closet, all she could think of was the fact that she wasn't bothered in the least.

As soon as she opened the door, he jumped. He'd situated himself at the foot of her bed and was wrapped snugly in her fleece throw. She tossed the towel at him. As he rubbed at his hair, she stood with her arms crossed, staring. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally met her gaze.

"Well?" she demanded, her eyebrows raised.

"Well, what?"

"Why the hell are you jumping in my window in the middle of the night," she asked seriously. "And insulting me as you do it!"

"I didn't insult you."

"You did."

"Ok, maybe I did, but – "

"No buts, Edward. I want to know what the hell you are doing in my room, and I want to know right now."

"If you'd just stop talking for five seconds and let me – "

"You're like some crazy stalker, aren't you?"

"No! It's not like that!"

"So what? You act all weird at school today and decide the cherry on top of your sundae of strangeness would be to climb the fuck through my window?"

"You want to talk about strange?" he demanded, his green eyes sparking as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "You spend all day staring at me, talking to me despite the fact that you have psycho friends, and then you fucking ignore me in Bio. And then, as if today wasn't already going to be the day from hell, someone keyed my damn car."

"So you spent an hour sitting in a tree outside my window to accuse me of keying your car?" Her voice came out in a squeak, and she almost grimaced. His appearance at her window had made her forget Jasper, and remembering him sent her into a panic.

He raised a brow at her, and she noticed again how much different he looked now that the eyeliner was gone. "I know who keyed my car, Bella," he said simply. "And I couldn't care less. My dad's mechanic is coming out tonight to fix the damage. I didn't come here to accuse you of anything. I came here to apologize."

She snorted, hoping to hide her fear long enough to formulate a plan. "You're doing a super job."

"Well maybe if you weren't the most exasperating person alive…"

She just stared at him.

"You're right. That was uncalled for. I'm sorry. I don't know what I did – "

"You didn't do anything," she interrupted, and immediately wanted to suck the words back in.

"I know I didn't."

"Why are you here?" she whispered, collapsing into her rocking chair, suddenly too exhausted to stand.

"Hell if I know," he replied, and again his hand went straight to his hair. "I've never done anything like this before."

"It is a little creepy," she said, smiling tentatively.

"Yeah," he agreed, his eyes sliding shut as he tilted his face toward the ceiling. "But I figured if I wanted to talk to you without getting my ass kicked drastic measures were necessary."

"Can we please not talk about that?"

"Talk about what? Talk about your abusive protector and your self-centered best friend."

"Get out."

Her response was immediate. Her voice sounded dead even to her own ears, but she tried to be firm as she stood and pointed resolutely at the window. She'd spent all night ignoring thinking about Jasper, and the last thing she wanted to do in her mood was be forced into defending him after the horrible things he'd said to her. A fight was the perfect way to get him out of her room before she was allowed to forget herself again.

Edward stood, but made no move to exit the window. "My clothes aren't dry."

"I don't care."

"I do. I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes you are."

"So make me."

"My father is downstairs. He's very protective of my virtue. He's also heavily armed and the chief of police. I don't think it would be hard," she said, a mocking smile contorting her features.

"So do it," he said.

"I'm counting to three," she warned, her heart starting to race as he took a step toward her.

"And I'll still be here for four."

"One," she said, and he took another step toward her. She wanted to step back but she was practically pressed up against the slope of her ceiling already.

"Two," she whispered, and again he took a step closer. His eyes had tiny sparkles of topaz flecked around the irises, making the green seem to glow.

She didn't get to three. As soon as her mouth opened, he took the final step, his lean body pressed up against hers. One set of long fingers wove themselves gently into her hair as his other hand found its way to the small of her back. Her breath came in gasps as their gazes remained locked together. He bent down and paused, green eyes searching brown. She knew he was asking permission, knew that he didn't want to scare her.

When she didn't flinch, his eyes fluttered shut as he pressed his lips tentatively to hers. A tiny tingle ran through her whole body, and her hands found their way into the coarse locks she'd been longing to touch since she'd seen him that morning. As his kiss became more insistent and she found herself melting into his arms, she couldn't help but marvel that she'd only known him a day – that she didn't really know him at all.

Screwing up her courage, she pulled away from him. "Oh my God," she whispered, her fingers touching her lips.

"Yeah, pretty much," he agreed with a worried frown.

Her back fell back against the wall with a thump. Slowly, she slid downward, collapsing into a heap on the floor. "Oh my God."

Edward, still looking concerned, came and fell gracefully at her side. With a finger under her chin, he tipped her face upward. "Tell me what you're thinking," he said, searching her face.

"I'm thinking Oh. My. God."

"You're wonderful."

"I'm horrible."

"You aren't."

"I'm an awful, selfish person. I can't believe I just let you do that." And she couldn't. Especially when she would have to go back to pretending he didn't exist the next day.

"I can," he said, moving his hand to lay it gently on her cheek.

"Oh, thanks," she scowled.

"Hey." He put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a small shake. "Don't do that. I meant that you let me do it for the same reason that I did it. There's something about you…about us...I don't know what it is, but it's something."

"But – "

"No," he interrupted. "Don't say it. Please don't"

"Edward – "

"God, I couldn't stand it if you said…I'm going to go." He rose quickly to his feet, moving toward the window.

"But, your clothes!"

With a frustrated groan he turned back around. "All right."

Bella didn't say anything as she awkwardly climbed to her feet, hurrying from the room with her eyes on the floor. The breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in came out in a whoosh as her door clicked shut behind her. She plodded down the stairs to the utility room, swinging open the dryer door just before it buzzed, and she sighed in relief. The clothes were still warm, and it took a surprising amount of effort not to bury her face in them. Instead, she hugged them to her chest.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Jasper could just – she paused mid-step as a startling revelation occurred to her. Jasper had never told her to keep away from Edward. In fact, the only promise she'd given was not to tell him about the car, and she didn't have to. Hell, she didn't even have to feel guilty about not telling him, since he so obviously knew who it was.

With a careful briskness, she began her trek back up the stairs. She didn't even bother being quiet, so deep were Charlie's snores emanating from the couch. When she finally reached her bedroom again, she eased the door open to find Edward standing in the same spot she'd left him, staring out the window. He tensed with her approach.

"It's stopped raining," she said, stating what he must have been aware of since he'd just spent at least ten minutes staring outside.

He took the clothes she offered to him without a word, and her heart inexplicably sank in her chest. She could feel tears forming in her eyes, and she hurriedly brushed the offending drops away. She should have known better. She should have known that she couldn't have it both ways – that she could never, ever win.

Her stomach churned as the door to the closet opened and he emerged. Edward froze at the sight of her.

"Oh fuck," he said, moving immediately to her side. His hands cradled her face. "I'm sorry. I don't…I can't…Jesus."

"You have no idea," she sobbed out. "I just – "

His lips silenced her, and again that strange feeling of absolute serenity flooded through her. Perhaps if she could just keep kissing him all the time, the confusion would stay away forever. The thought was appealing for all its impracticalities. As a tiny moan escaped him and her very bones turned into absolute mush, she thought that maybe somewhere beneath all the confusion he had brought into her life was the answer to the question she'd been asking herself for ages.

She whimpered as he pulled away, and he cradled her to his chest with a gentleness that took her off guard. His scent was comforting, and she let herself relax. He'd seemed so rash, so dangerous from the very first moment she'd encountered him, but – demanding though he might be – he'd shown a strange amount of care with how he treated her.

"We don't have to talk about anything, yet," he murmured. "I think we both need some time to figure out what the fuck is going on here."

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Have lunch with me tomorrow," he said, pulling away and forcing her to meet his gaze.

"I don't know," she hesitated, wishing his eyes didn't seem to understand so much.

"I don't either. All I know is that I can't come eat with you now, not after my grand experiment proved so successful."

"Grand experiment?" she asked, confused.

"It's a long story." He paused, his eyes alight with mischief. "I'll tell you at lunch tomorrow. It's a one hour window of opportunity. Take it or leave it."

She frowned. "That's not fair."

"I want you to eat lunch with me tomorrow," he said, completely unrepentant.

"And I want to eat lunch with you," she replied, realizing how true the words were as she spoke them.

"I'll save you a seat then," he smiled.

"It's more complicated than that, Edward, and you know it."

"So uncomplicate it."

"I wish I knew how to do that," she sighed.

"Look, Bella, I want you to eat lunch with me. And I want you to want to eat lunch with me, so I'm not going to pressure you. There will be more than enough room for you at my table. If you join me then you join me, and if you don't…I'm going to keep trying."

With that, he bent down and placed what could only be called on affectionate kiss on her forehead before climbing out the window. He'd pushed himself away and leapt to the ground before she could say anything else. She heard a dull thud and, gasping, hurried to lean outside and glance around. Relief rushed through her when she saw Edward's lithe form jogging toward the front of the house.

She stayed that way, half of her exposed to the elements, long after he'd disappeared from her sight. Only when the rain returned did she finally pull herself back inside the window. Though her room had dropped significantly in temperature, she couldn't bring herself to close it.