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

Chapter Thirteen – She Realizes It's a Risky Business

Bella walked into Mr. Varner's classroom a few minutes early after ditching her first two periods, dropping Edward's hand as soon as they entered.

"Um, Mr. Varner?"

"What can I do for you, Miss Swan?"

"Well, I'm really sorry about the last few days. I find Alice to be super distracting during class, and so, um, I was hoping I could just switch seats with Jasper?"

He paused, leaning back in his desk chair as his eyes shot in Edward's direction. "Are you sure this isn't a thinly veiled attempt to sit next to your boyfriend, Miss Swan?"

"No," she said quickly, shaking her head vehemently. "Even if you don't let me sit with Edward, I don't want to sit by Alice anymore. Or Jasper."

"Alright. I'll switch you. But!" he said, as she moved to sit next to Edward, "Any more problems from you and I'll rearrange the whole seating chart. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," she replied, slipping next to Edward who immediately placed his hand on her knee.

She flipped open her notebook and slid her textbook in front of her. Her pencil tapped against the deck, and her eyes focused in on each tiny tap of her pink eraser against the dull black surface of the desk. Everything about her was tense as she refused to look at the clock…refused to count down the seconds to her doom.

Edward's hand slammed down on the pencil. "That's annoying as hell."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Chill the fuck out, Bella," he replied as she jumped in her seat when Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley stomped into the classroom.

"Can it, you," she grumbled, hunching over and letting her hair fall to either side of her face.

Instead of the clever comeback she expected, he simply stared at her and frowned. His fingers buried themselves in his hair as he inhaled heavily. Suddenly, she felt awful.

"You're right, and I'm sorry," she sighed.

Her hand had just reached for his when the door opened again. Edward stiffened and Bella automatically flinched, not even having to look to see who stood in the doorway. Jasper and Alice approached her side. Jasper wore his usual uniform and usual scowl. Alice, though, was head to toe in black, from her knee high boots, black tights and pencil skirt to her shredded black peasant blouse and black leather jacket.

"You're sitting in my seat," he said, staring down at her.

At first she froze, her mouth hanging open as she tried to remember what to say. A small squeeze of her hand was enough to remind her.

"Mr. Varner switched us," she said, grateful that her voice had only trembled a little bit.

"But why?" Alice asked.

Meeting Alice's eyes was easier. It was easier to feel anger and betrayal than it was with Jasper, pathetic though that was. "Because you're a distraction," she said, simply.

"You are such a – "

"Mr. Hale, that is enough. Take your new seat with Miss Brandon."

"What if I can't see the board?" Jasper asked, placing his hand on the edge of the desk and leaning on it, still not looking away from Bella.

"Then I'd be happy to relocate you to another, closer seat, Mr. Hale. However, considering you voluntarily sat in the second desk to the back, well…"

Alice tugged on his arm, glancing nervously between Mr. Varner and Edward, both of whom were staring him down. Bella, however, kept her eyes resolutely forward.

"Fine," Jasper agreed, standing and stalking to her former seat, collapsing into it in a huff.

"All right, let's move on to Chapter Thirteen. I'll be lecturing, you'll be listening. Any problems and, well…let's not have any more problems today, ok people?"

The class snickered, even Edward, as they all sent darting glances between Bella and her former friends. She felt her entire face flame up as she ducked down into her seat. As bad as this business with Jasper and Alice was, it was even worse when they were playing it out in a fishbowl.

For the entirety of the hour long class, Bella took notes, answered when called upon, and only looked Edward's way when he was diagramming a problem she didn't particularly understand. Never once did she turn to look over her shoulder, despite the eyes she felt boring into her back. But she wasn't going to let him affect her. For a split second she wished that she'd had Edward switch seats with Alice, but it was better this way. She couldn't see him unless she looked, something she refused to do. Instead, she stayed as calm as she knew how and had, quite possibly, the most normal math experience yet. Not until the bell rang did her focus stray from her books. Confidence restored, she slipped on her coat and allowed Edward to guide her out into the overcast afternoon.

"Where do you want to eat?" he asked.

"Well, we have to stay on campus. We already blew off English and History."

"Whose fault was that?"

"I needed a game-plan!"

"And what an excellent game-plan it was," he said, hugging her to his side and kissing the top of her head. "You were amazing in there."

"I acted like a five year old faced with the bogeyman."

"Maybe at first you did," he chuckled, "but you hung in there. You should have seen Jasper's face. I thought he was going to deck me!"

"Deck you?" she questioned. "But – "

"He's blaming me. No way does he think you'd be able to do this all on your own."

She stopped mid step, tugging him to a halt as well. "I wouldn't have. You know that right? If it weren't for you, for us, I'd still be sitting at that table and I'd never have tried any of this."

"Don't be ridiculous, Bella. All of this? It was a catalyst. You made it happen."

"Can we eat lunch in the library?" she said, needing the subject changed before her whole face lit up pink. "I'm not quite ready for any kind of a showdown."

"Absolutely," he said, taking her hand again and following her to the tiny room that had become their hiding place.

When Edward swung the door open for her, he did a double take at the small table in the room. Bella's gaze followed his eyes, and she sucked in a breath when she saw Alice sitting there, lunch spread out, waiting for them as they stepped into the room.

"Um, I thought maybe we could talk this out over food. I brought your favorites," she said, gesturing at the avocados, mangos. and assorted other treats Bella adored but was too frugal to treat herself to. It was a dirty trick.

"Something tells me that talking to you would spoil my appetite," Bella scoffed, trying to let none of her shock at what had just left her mouth show.

"You don't mean that," Alice whispered, shrinking down in her chair.

"Yeah, I do."

"But, Bella – "

"Don't you start that with me, Alice. Don't you start!" Bella exclaimed, stamping her foot.

"I didn't – "

"Yes you did! You know exactly what you're doing. You're pouting and acting all sad and defeated to make me feel guilty! I'll feel bad and stupid like I've hurt you and then you'll get me to agree to whatever you want! You don't feel bad. You don't feel anything! You don't want to work anything out! You want things to go right back to how they were before!"

Alice slapped her hand down on the table. "And? And what if I do? What exactly was wrong with how things were before?" she demanded.

"Oh, Alice," Bella sighed. "Everything was wrong with it. Everything." She turned away, reaching for Edward's hand and pulling him in the direction of the picnic table out front.

"Um, Bella, it's raining," he said, pulling up both their hoods.

"I know."

"And, um, the table is occupato."

"I know that, too."

"So – "

"Hey, Jasper!" she called, letting go of Edward and jogging over to his soaked form.

Edward hovered a few feet away, and she held out her hand for him.

"What?" Jasper asked, not opening his eyes or making any move to sit up off the table top.

"Nothing. Alice is in the library waiting for you."

His forehead crinkled. "She said she was having lunch with you."

"And I told her she wasn't. See ya."

She was about to start walking away when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Bella?" Jasper asked, his voice stone-dead sober.

"What?" she asked slowly, cautiously.

"I need to talk to Edward."

"No," she said immediately.

"I promise not to hurt your boy toy, B," he said, eyes narrowing.

Her mouth opened in preparation for another denial when Edward spoke up.

"I'll be fine, Bella," he said, tossing her the keys to his Volvo.

She caught the keys with a frown. "If he's talking, I'm staying."

"Bella," both boys spoke, one exasperated and one pleading. They shot each other annoyed glares.

"You can play with the toasty-ass feature, ok?"

"Fine," she huffed after a long pause. "I'll wait in the car."

She backed away slowly, thinking that she'd wait in the car and then Edward would tell her every word that was said. She continued to walk backward so that she could see them. When it became clear that neither was going to start talking, let alone look at the other, until she was safely ensconced in the Volvo.

Closing the door with the click and starting the engine, she immediately turned on the wipers so that she could try to see through the drizzle obscuring her view. Her fingers tapped anxiously against the dash as she leaned forward, watching. It was probably better that if those two were going to have a chat, it was when she had the power to supervise them – when she knew they wouldn't get into a fight.

The thought had her sinking back into her seat and burying her face in her hands. It was beyond ridiculous to even think about such a thing. She knew Jasper was scrappy, but she seriously doubted Edward was the type to engage in a physical altercation, especially over a girl – especially over a girl he'd only known a few weeks. The idea of getting out of the car, marching up to Jasper, and punching him in the face herself was becoming more and more appealing all the time

When she looked up, Edward was walking back toward the car, head ducked down, hands in his pockets, and a frustrated grimace twisting his features. Bella turned her attention to Jasper just in time to see him smirk and head back inside. The door opened and Edward collapsed into the driver's seat

"Well?" she demanded.

"I'm not supposed to tell you," he said, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the headrest.

"Like you give a shit what he said."

"Why do you?"

"Because I know it was about me."

"If I asked you, right now, to forget about it, come home with me, and eat some baked goods…"

"I'd say sure. Minus the forgetting part."

His hands buried themselves in his hair. "He told me that if I hurt you he'd run me over with my own car."

Bella gulped. "He said that?" she asked, her mind igniting with possibilities.

"Yeah, he said it."

"Oh. Ok."

"You know he's trying to start shit right? You know he's fucking with your head."

"Yes," she whispered.

Jasper was fucking with her head. He was fucking with her head because he knew that Edward would tell her what he'd said. He knew that she'd made a stand and he was trying to undermine it. Bella was well aware that Edward knew all of that, too. She also knew that Edward had no idea that Jasper would never have come up with the idea if he hadn't already been contemplating it.

"He is such a fucking manipulative prick," Edward groaned when he met her eyes. "How can you…"

"How can I what, Edward?"

"Nothing."

"No, not nothing. How can I what?" she demanded.

"I don't want to start a fight, Bella. I'm sorry."

"Not telling me what you were thinking is going to start one! I don't get that luxury!"

"How the hell can you stand up for yourself with me and not him? It's fine to pick fights with me…to make me feel like an asshole, but your sainted Jasper just gets a pass?"

"That's not fair, Edward!"

"No shit!"

Her mouth pinched into a thin line. She stared out the window, taking several deep breaths before moving her hand to the door handle.

"I know it doesn't make a difference right now, but I warned you that this was going to take time. I tried to get you to wait before we jumped into anything because I am still so screwed up over Jasper. I'm getting better, and I owe so much of that to you, but it takes time. And you can't do it for me…some of it I'm going to have to come to myself."

He sat in stony silence, not even looking at her.

"I knew he was messing with my head all on my own, you know. And I could have figured out the manipulative asshole stuff on my own too if you hadn't had to jump in. I pick fights with you because I thought we were comfortable enough – open enough – with each other that I could be myself and tell you how I felt. I'm so sorry that's not true…that I can't be the Bella you want me to be."

She didn't hesitate to pull the handle and push open the door. She shut it with a quiet click, shouldering her bag and walking back toward the school. When she glanced over her shoulder, she saw him with his head resting against the steering wheel. She wanted to run back to the car and hug him and tell him she was sorry and she'd forget about Jasper because he was worth it.

God, he was worth it. She knew he was worth it, but that didn't mean she was going to stick herself in the same situation she'd been in for the last four years. She'd been right in the car, she knew it. Edward was trying to fix her, and that did no one anyone good. She had to figure out the entire mess on her own if she had any hope of ever getting over Jasper and being sure of her decision again.

Biology was almost empty when she walked in, and the growl of her stomach reminded her that lunch wasn't quite over yet. She dug through her bag for her only slightly squashed peanut butter sandwich and ate it slowly, eyes glued to her desk. Even though she knew she was right, she felt badly for her reaction to Edward. She'd been right, but that didn't make what she was putting him through any more ok.

He was the very last student to walk into the room, and he dumped his bag next to her. His seat was pushed as far from her as possible, and she couldn't help but frown. She had things she was sorry for, but she wasn't going to go groveling to him – that was something she hoped she'd never fall into the habit of again.

The period passed in strained silence as Bella took tedious notes. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she packed her books up at the bell – if nothing else, she'd ace her tests that month. From the doorway she could see Edward traipsing to the library but she didn't follow him. Instead, she headed back toward the gym and spent the last hour of her school day trying to read the book she and Edward had selected for their project in the bleachers. The ease with which she kept her focus was a pleasant surprise, and by the time the hour was up, she'd almost finished. As she returned the novel to her bag, she froze.

Edward had driven her to school that day, which meant that she would have no ride home. Bella momentarily considered calling Charlie, but, having never met him, he was already leery enough of Edward. There was no need to make it worse when she inevitably had to explain why he had left her stranded at school. She exited the building resigned to a walk in the rain, but stopped short when she saw the silver Volvo waiting for her by the curb. She hesitated for a second, but ultimately ducked her head and jogged over, jumping in as quickly as possible.

He didn't even acknowledge her presence. The drive was silent, and it became clear very quickly that he had no intention of talking to her. It was the most uncomfortable time she'd ever spent with him, and she seriously regretted not just walking herself. Never before had she been so glad to pull up into her driveway, and she was out into the rain like a shot, running up toward the door. She hadn't even made it to the porch when she heard tires squeal as Edward raced up the street.

Kicking the door open and dropping her things, she stomped into the kitchen. She yanked the fridge open, downing several gulps of orange juice straight from the bottle. She made her way back to the living room, flopping onto the couch and staring up at the ceiling with a scowl.

Ten minutes of angry pouting later, she bolted upright, racing for her shoes and keys.

She hurried out the front door and into her truck, berating herself the whole way. She'd been right earlier when she refused to apologize to him. And she'd been right that she couldn't be a doormat anymore. But that was exactly what she'd been. Sitting around and waiting for Edward…it was exactly the way she behaved with Jasper. If she wanted to deal with this and talk it out, then, fuck him they were doing it.

For the second time since she'd gotten the truck, she cursed its turtle-like-speed. She couldn't help but grin as she remembered that the first time had also involved Edward. When the imposing white house finally came into view, she rejoiced that the Volvo was still there. Parking directly behind it, preventing any attempts at escape, she bounded up the porch steps. Just as her fist was about to hit the door, it swung open.

"Bella! What a very pleasant surprise!"

"Hey Esme," she said, stepping inside and slipping off her shoes as both of her cheeks were kissed. "Where is he?"

"Pouting in his room," Esme confided, slipping her arm around Bella's waist as they moved toward the stairs. "Please go talk him out of his little funk. I don't need his tantrum spoiling my delicious bouillabaisse."

"Yes ma'am," Bella agreed, winking as she headed up the stairs alone.

She tiptoed up the final flight of stairs, pausing outside the door to Edward's room. From inside, she could hear the loud pulsing of classic rock music. Easing the door open, she almost choked on a laugh. There, with his back to her and wearing his socks, boxers, and his blue flannel was Edward, sliding around on the hardwood and shaking his butt. With a push, the door swung silently, revealing Edward's schoolbag open in front of his couch, a notebook open next to it, and his pants and shoes in a pile in front of them.

He spun around. "Start playing old time and – "

She knew immediately when he saw her doubled over in silent laughter from when his spin had revealed his wayfarers.

"Hey there, risky business," she laughed.

He was already halfway into his jeans, hustling around as he dumped all his books back in his bag and hurried over to his radio.

"How long have you been standing there?" he demanded, his face redder than hers had ever been.

"Long enough," she smiled, walking toward him, all her anger and righteousness and the rest of it evaporating instantly.

"Yeah, well, who the hell let you in?"

"Your mom," she replied as she sidled up to him.

"I'm mad at you."

"That's pretty stupid."

"Well, um, you can't just – "

"Edward?"

"Yeah?" he whispered.

"Shut up and kiss me."