A/N: Okay, I'll be quick since I made you all wait so long. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys are amazing and keep me laughing and motivated. Lots of Love to Edwardrocksmysocks for making this work readable! You rock girl!

You all know Stephenie still owns Twilight, right? Good. Now Enjoy.

Chapter 10

Something to Talk About

BPOV

"So that's what happened," I explained looking up towards the mirror to see my two best friends staring at me with completely different expressions.

I had spent the last twenty minutes filling them in on my conversation with Edward last night. They had stayed surprisingly quiet throughout most of the tale.

Alice had been fixing my hair for the rehearsal dinner while Rose sat on the bathtub shaving her legs.

I sat quietly examining their faces waiting anxiously for one of them to say something.

Alice looked crushed while Rosalie's face wore a mixture of disgust and amusement.

"He's got some nerve," Rosalie said with dripping disdain.

"Yeah, I guess," I mumbled quietly. That wasn't exactly how I had viewed Edwards's words.

"It was really more sad than anything else. I mean I know how good things were between us and I still know him well enough to know how he's feeling. He's being genuine. He really is sorry," I sighed.

"So what," Rosalie said loudly. "What good is it that he's sorry now? How can he expect you to just get over it?" She clearly wasn't as eager to forgive as she thought I was.

"I don't think it's like that. He didn't expect me to just flip a switch. He understood my hesitancy. He was just putting his feelings out there," I defended lightly.

"I think he made his feelings perfectly clear, three years ago. You're better than this Bella. You deserve better than this, than him," Rose said not looking up from the shaving cream on her legs.

"I know that Rose," I said trying not to clench my teeth.

I don't know why her words bothered me so badly but they definitely struck a nerve. She was only voicing thoughts that were already in the back of my mind but a weak part of me—that I didn't want to show—did not like her talking negatively about Edward.

"I'm not giving him another chance okay? You asked me what happened and I told you," I said.

"Okay, okay," she sighed raising her hands in defense. "Alice you've been awfully quiet. Don't you have anything you want to say?" Rose questioned.

"Um, not really," she sighed.

"That's a first," I mumbled.

"I just don't want to get in the middle of things between my brother and my best friend," Alice said with a shrug.

"Since when?" Rosalie laughed.

Alice took a deep breath before speaking.

"Fine, if you want to know what I feel then I'll tell you. I'm really surprised that, after everything that you just told us, you're not going to give him another chance," Alice said quietly as she pulled my hair back away from my face.

Rosalie and I both gaped at her for a minute before she defended herself.

"I'm just saying, clearly he knows he made a huge mistake. That is obvious. Are you really going to punish him and yourself for the rest of your life?"

"Excuse me?" I asked as I swatted her hands away from my head and turned to face her.

"Look, I'm not saying you don't have a right to be upset. You do. What I'm getting at is you know you are meant to be together. He's finally realized that and opens up to you and you're just going to deny him out of spite." Her tone was gentle even if her words weren't.

"This has nothing to do with spite, Alice. I don't know that we're meant to be together. He had his chance. I'll be his friend but how can I trust him again?" I asked with venom saturating my voice.

"She's right, Alice. He's an asshole and he doesn't deserve her. If Emmett just up and left me without a word we'd be done, end of story," Rosalie said.

Alice laughed darkly to herself.

"What?" Rose demanded.

"That's rich coming from you, Rose. Didn't you just walk out on Emmett over some stupid argument? When would you have come back to him if he hadn't gone after you? You left him once Rose and he forgave you," Alice said stepping closer to her.

"It's not the same thing," Rosalie and I said at the same time.

I tried to ignore the implication that things may have been different now had I gone after Edward. I didn't know if Alice intended for her statement to come out like that.

"What's so different then? People make mistakes, it happens. How is this any different?" Alice asked loudly.

"I wasn't gone for three damn years!" Rosalie yelled.

"Hey, everybody calm down," I demanded.

"Do we have a problem here ladies?" Alaina's head peeked into the bathroom.

"No ma'am," Alice and I mumbled. I sat back down to let Alice work on my hair as she shot me a somewhat apologetic smile but I could tell she didn't regret what she said.

"Yeah we do," Rose said calmly. Alaina breezed into the thankfully large bathroom followed by my mother and Esme.

"What seems to be the trouble girls?" Esme said as she sat a bottle of opened champagne on the sink next to me.

I greedily picked it up and drank from the bottle. I didn't care that it was only three o'clock. I'd have a glass of orange juice when we got done and call it a mimosa.

I heard Renee click her tongue at me but I ignored her.

"Edward told Bella he wants another chance to be with her," Rosalie stated. She ran the razor up her shin and raised an eyebrow at her mom who was now sitting on the edge of the tub with her.

For the first time ever I managed to get a word out before Alaina.

"Guys, I'm sure Edward would not appreciate me discussing this with everybody," I sighed.

"Who cares?" The women chimed together like some type of creepy cheerleading squad.

"Are we still talking about this? You two are not Ross and Rachael. This will they, won't they,stuff is wearing on my nerves. Listen honey, I know the boy is sex on legs but seriously you can't waste anymore time worrying about him. You know the old saying; there are a million dicks in the sea," Alaina said in a serious voice.

I couldn't help but laugh watching Renee hit Alaina in the arm as the women cackled together.

"There might be, but have you seen that boy? If I was younger and single…" Renee said dreamily.

Ew

"Ew," Alice said, voicing my own thought out loud.

"Hey, that is my son ladies; can we clean it up a bit?" Esme said with a laugh.

"You're no fun," Alaina pouted.

Esme just shot her a smile.

"Excuse me can we focus on the issue at hand?" Rosalie begged. "Edward sent this relationship straight into the crapper, the end. There is no going back," she finished as though her word was law.

"Ow," I yelled as Alice's grip on my hair tightened painfully.

"Sorry," she said quietly.

"Ah, to be young enough to be unforgiving," Renee sighed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rosalie asked, her defensive nature was coming out quite a bit today.

"It means that at your age it's easy to get hung up on failures and shortcomings. You expect perfection and demand that every relationship fit into some cookie cutter image of what you expect it to be," Renee said as though she was talking to a child.

"I do not-" Rose began before Renee cut her off.

"Everyone screws up. I'm not defending what Edward did. It was wrong, but sometimes we have to forgive things for the greater good. In this life, you can either be right or be alone. Is there a woman over thirty-five in this beautiful decorated bathroom who never got mad enough at her husband, if only for a moment, to consider leaving him?" Renee questioned.

The women all looked at each other and none of them spoke.

"My point exactly. You might be justified in not talking to Edward anymore but would you rather be without him and be justified and safe or would you rather be with someone who loves you and take the risk?"Renee asked gently.

My mother's words pummeled me and I found myself more confused than I already was.

"I…don't know," I mumbled like an idiot.

"Bella, Edward is my son, but if you didn't still love him I would tell you to flip him the bird and move on. But honey, you do love him. You two have been destined to be together since you were children. That doesn't just go away," Esme smiled.

"Who says we're meant to be together?" I snapped at the entire room.

"Because we were best friends when we were kids? So what, this is Forks. It isn't like I had a huge selection. Is it because we were high school sweethearts, so to speak? How many people do you know that are still with their young loves. Is it because our parents are friends so you all just want us to be together out of convenience? If so then that's just…just…Bullshit!" I said loudly.

"No!" Alice yelled with more force than I thought her body could muster. I jumped loudly at her explosion.

"It's because he loves you. He called me every day the first month after you broke up to ask me if you were okay. He was young and scared and knew he made a mistake. It's because you love him. Have you seriously dated anyone else since you two broke up?" Alice asked loudly with her hands on her hips.

I didn't answer. I just stared at her reflection in the mirror.

"I can tell every time we talk about you going on a date that you compare whoever you're with to Edward even if you don't come out and say it." Her voice was beginning to crack and I was torn between hugging her and slapping her to snap her out of her rant.

"I…" I tried to interject.

"You're meant to be together because you two know each other better than anyone else. If you weren't supposed to be together, why would this still be so hard on you this many years later? He still carries…you know what? Never mind. God you are both a mess!" Alice threw her hairbrush across the counter and stormed out of the bathroom with tears in her eyes.

"Wow, dramatic much?" Rose questioned as she continued shaving.

All of our heads snapped toward her.

"What? What'd I say?"

oOo

EPOV

"Eight ball, corner pocket," Jasper called as he leaned across the pool table in the game room.

He sunk the ball and effectively won his second game in a row against me.

"Dude what the hell?" Jasper asked with a laugh as he took a long pull of his beer. "You suck"

"Thanks man," I said with an eye roll.

"Anytime. So you want to talk about?" He asked as he began racking the balls for another round.

"Depends, are you going to braid my hair and tell me who your celebrity crush is?" I joked to distract him.

"Ha-ha, funny man. So I'm taking it things didn't go so well last night," he said as he handed me a new beer.

"Better than I had any right to expect in all honesty," I said.

"Well-" he began but was cut off by my cell phone.

Jasper raised an eyebrow as "Big Poppa" by Biggie began blaring from my iphone.

I just smiled. It was Tanya's ringtone. She hated it. She was constantly trying to steal my phone to change her ringtone to something with "more class."

"What's up T?" I questioned with a smile as I stepped outside of the game room. I figured the call would be about business so I walked out into the front yard and sat down on the porch swing.

"We have a problem Edward," Tanya said sounding pissed.

"What do you mean a problem?" I asked nervously. I was instantly running through all my accounts in my head that I did not want to lose.

"I came over to your place today to water your plants and drop off you dry cleaning. When I got here your door was cracked open and I know that I locked it when I Ieft the other day," she said in one agitated breath.

"Okay, and…" I hedged.

"Well I wasn't going to go in there because you know I didn't want some robber to shoot my ass, but then I heard a female voice. I thought 'what the hell, I can take some random chick.'

"Tanya," I growled slightly. My apartment was being broken into and she was dragging this story out.

"Easy tiger, I'm getting there. So I walk in and follow the annoying voice all the way to your bedroom and who do I find? Freaking Jane rummaging through your stuff rambling about finding the invitation to Emmett's wedding. So I tackle her and she tells me that you invited her to the wedding but forgot to give her the address. I knew the skank was bat-shit so now I have her tied to one of your kitchen chairs and I just wanted to know if you wanted me to call the cops," she said nonchalantly.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath. What the hell kind of life was this? I didn't know what to do. I started pacing around the yard trying to decide the best course of action for this ridiculous situation.

"Don't call the cops, Tanya. Seeing as how you tackled her and tied her to a chair, I don't need you winding up with charges also," I sighed.

"So what do you want me to do?" She asked with irritation.

Before I had time to respond my stomach was shoved hard from a low force and I stumbled back, simply from the surprise. Alice stood over me fuming. Tears were streaked down her cheeks and her eyes were squinted in anger.

"Just take care of it please Tanya. I'll call you back later. Be sure to have someone change my locks. You'll get a bonus when I get back. Thanks, I owe you," I said quickly before hanging up.

"You really are a jerk, Edward. You know that right?" She spat.

"Yes," I said with firmness.

"It's all your fault. You two were supposed to be together and you had to go and hurt her the way you did. You realize you're lucky she's even speaking to you, right?" She asked still looking down at me.

"Yes."

"Do you have a plan to fix this?" She asked, in a slightly calmer voice.

"Yes," I said with some honesty. I had a couple of ideas I was hoping I would have the opportunity to execute but I wasn't entirely sure how I could pull it off without pressuring her or coming off as an ass.

"Good," she said with a huff before she turned and stormed back into the house.

I picked myself up off the wet grass and carried my ass back inside to join the rest of the men in the game room. My life sucked; if I could even call it a life. This is not the first time some woman I picked up has tried to force herself into my life.

It should have been clear to me a long time ago that the reason I still avoided any real relationship wasn't strictly fear but the idea that none of those women were the one that I was supposed to be with.

With an irritated disposition I let myself back into the game room to see all the men were now gathered around the pool table with matching brown bottles in hand.

"Something wrong?" Emmett questioned as I returned. I gave him half a smile and went to grab a drink.

"Just my life," I mumbled as I downed half of my beer.

I took a seat on a bar stool and watched Emmett and Jasper play a round of eight ball. They were about halfway into a new game when Emmett's phone rang.

He glanced at his cell and handed his pool que to me. "Here can you play for me?"

I nodded as he walked toward the corner of the large room to have his conversation.

I wasn't eavesdropping until I heard something that caught my attention and caused me to miss my shot.

"Yeah Bella will be there," he said with a laugh.

I tried to not look at him and focus on the conversation Charlie and Carlisle were having about the Mariners' season while Jasper took his shot.

"Yeah man. I'll see if I can help you out. I'm not sure how interested she is in a relationship, but you can talk to her. Yeah everyone will just meet up here around eight for us to head out for the party." His voice had lowered and I wondered if it was because of me.

"Well you know if you want a little more time to talk to her then you can come to the rehearsal dinner," he chuckled.

"None taken, trust me. Okay I'll see you at nine man," he chuckled again before hanging up.

He came back to reclaim his place at the table and I handed him his que without a word. It seemed fairly clear that this was an attempt to try and set Bella up. My own brother was trying to set someone up with the woman that I still had feelings towards.

"So uh…who was that on the phone?" I asked trying to sound casual.

"What?" Emmett questioned looking around. He was clearly buying himself time to come up with a lie.

"Who were you trying to set my ex up with?" I asked hiding my anger, poorly.

"It was Mike Newton. Do you remember him from high school?" He asked warily.

"Mike? Mike Newton?" I laughed loudly. I suddenly felt immense relief. There was nothing to be worried about. If memory served Mike wasn't a concern. He was a greasy faced, nerd with body odor and a lisp.

"Yes. What's so funny?" Emmett asked with a huff.

"Dude, why would you even attempt to hook Bella up with Mike? I mean she deserves better than that," I laughed again.

"Oh and you know what she deserves?" Emmett asked, far from teasing.

"As a matter of fact, I do," I defended angrily.

"Look man, I'm not pushing Bella into anything but if they take a liking to one another then so be it. She deserves to be happy. Besides, before you start laughing to hard I'd expect you of all people to understand how people can change over time," he said seriously.

I guess I deserved that. Clearly Emmett was not as open to Bella giving me another shot as Jasper had been. I'm sure Rosalie had something to do with his anti-Edward stance.

"Yes, I understand and I have changed. Since I've been home everything seems so different. I realize now what I want and what I need. I want Bella to give me a second chance; I need her in my life," I said pleading for him to understand.

"Over my dead body," he mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" I asked, standing a little straighter.

"You heard me. Edward you're my brother and I love you but who do you think you're kidding? I've heard all of your stories over the past couple of years and I have a pretty good idea of who you've become. You expect me to believe that in the span of a couple days you have changed your entire outlook on life. Get real, man," he said coldly.

I wasn't sure if I had been more offended in the entire time I had been here. I felt like the air was knocked out of my lungs. I expected the support of my own brother.

"Yeah as a matter of fact, I do. Why would you think I'd lie?" I asked.

Emmett took a deep breath and ran a rough hand over his face.

"Edward, I'm not saying you're lying. I'm saying that you may think things are different but maybe it's just the geography. What happens in a couple days when you're back in New York and Bella is in Florida? You're going to go right back to the old…new…whatever Edward that you were a week ago. She deserves better than that. She deserves better than you," he said sadly.

I didn't know what I was supposed to say. I couldn't argue that Bella didn't deserved better. She deserved the world. I refused to believe that what Emmett said about geography was true but the fact that it was something that hadn't entered my mind did throw me for a small loop.

"You don't know what you're talking about," I mumbled like a buffoon.

"Dude sometimes if you love something you set it free," he said and then nodded at his own thought.

"And if it was really love it'll come back to you," I finished for him.

"What? No. You let it go because you know it's better off without you. What good would letting it go be if it was just going to come back to you? I don't know where you get this stuff man," he said while shaking his head as though there was something wrong with me.

I couldn't help but laugh at him as we rejoined Jasper near the table. We carried on with our fun without any more discussion of my love life.

I probably could have put in the time and effort to talk to Emmett and convince him that I had finally pulled my head out of my ass and realized Isabella Swan was it for me.

I could have told him about how a day had yet to pass where she didn't cross my mind.

I could have convinced him that it wasn't the familiarity of this place, but rather Bella alone that was making me completely reevaluate my lifestyle but frankly I didn't care anymore.

I knew there was some serious opposition toward Bella and I being together in this house but the only concerns that mattered to me were Bella's. My only concern was to make sure that she knew how much I care about her. I wasn't worried about convincing Rose, Emmett, or even my father that I was not the same person who had arrived here a few days ago. Bella was all that mattered.

"Oh guys, I…um...well I forgot to tell you. There has been a change of plans," Emmett began nervously.

Jasper and I both stopped our conversation about the new corvette and turned to face Emmett.

"We're not going to a strip club." He said quickly.

"What? Why?" Jasper whined.

I couldn't help but laugh at him. I know he loves my sister more than life but he is definitely a guy.

"Well, with doing the rehearsal and dinner tonight, Rose and I didn't think we'd have enough time to make it to Seattle so we're just going to hit up some of the local bars in Port Angeles tonight. Besides, in all honesty I have yet to see a stripper at any club that compares to my woman," Emmett said with pride and fear of our reactions.

"So we're going with the girls for your bachelor party?" Jasper asked with some cheer.

"Um…yeah, sorry Eddie," Emmett said quietly.

I was thrown off for a minute then I realized how differently I felt about things now that Bella was back in my life. Had Emmett told me he was forgoing a traditional bachelor party for a joint night out with his wife and her friends a week ago I probably would have bitched and moaned about him being whipped and how badly this would suck.

Now, however, all I felt was excitement and relief.

"No worries, man. Sounds like fun," I smiled.

He looked at me like he wasn't sure he had heard me correctly, before continuing.

"Okay, well then we had better go and get ready for the rehearsal." He clapped his hands to punctuate his sentence. We all headed upstairs to our respective rooms to begin getting ready.

As I showered I thought over the plan that I had formed last night to try and make Bella mine again. I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to put it into effect. Part of me really just wanted to respect her wishes for friendship and hope that eventually it grew to be more. Another part of me was anxious to have my heart back.

Hopefully—if all went well over the next two days—we could gain some of what we had lost.

I tried to push away thoughts of the future and focus on tonight. We were going bar hopping with the girls for the bachelor and bachelorette parties.

I would be put in a situation that involved alcohol, dancing, and Bella. This could go one of two ways.

It could either end beautifully or with my complete and utter humiliation.

There would also be another man there vying for the attention of my girl. That thought did not sit well with me so I simply envisioned the Newt getting a bad case of adult chicken pox.

Once I had showered and caught some updates on ESPN, I headed downstairs clad in the dress pants and long sleeve button up that my sister had laid out for me.

In the hour I had been upstairs the house had become overrun with caters and a few extra guests.

"Edward you look great." My mom smiled as she made her way over to me.

"Thanks. So do you." I kissed her cheek and sat down in the living room next to Reverend Cheney who would be officiating the service in two days.

"How have you been Edward? We've missed you at church," he said with an elbow to my arm.

I laughed knowing he was mainly teasing.

"I've been good. I've been living in New York," I said to make conversation.

"That's what your Mom said. So the prodigal son has returned home for the wedding." He laughed.

"How do you like it there?" He continued with a smile.

"I like it well enough," I said with what little enthusiasm I could muster.

As soon as the words left my mouth I caught a glimpse of Bella coming down the stairs. Her hair was pulled up in some sort of twist and she was wearing a beautiful black dress that hung on one shoulder. She was a vision as always.

"Although, I'm starting to realize there is no place like home." I smiled.

He followed my gaze then gave me a knowing smile.

"The skyscrapers in New York are nice, but it seems like you have a fondness for the scenery here."

I gave a sheepish smile at being caught and excused myself to greet Bella.

Emmett had woke me up early while Bella was still asleep to go run a few wedding errands and this was the first time I had gotten to speak to her all day. This had been one of the longest days I could remember.

"Is it alright if I tell you that you look beautiful?" I smiled. I wasn't sure if I was crossing the line or not but it needed to be said.

She blushed as she nodded slightly.

"You look stunning, Bella," I said as I kissed her cheek. Her skin felt warm beneath my lips and I reveled in the sound of her intake of breath. Yeah, this woman owned me.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Edward," she whispered.

We stood still for a moment looking at each other. Neither of us seemed entirely sure as how to proceed given our conversation last night.

"Okay everyone it's time to begin," Alice chimed loudly.

We all headed outside to where the ceremony would take place. There was an arch in place but the chairs had yet to be delivered.

The next hour was spent following the directions of Alice and the Reverend. We ran through the rehearsal a few times before Emmett's stomach dictated that it was time to eat.

Dinner was filled with nothing but talk of the wedding. All throughout dinner it seemed that neither Bella, nor I could keep our eyes off of each other. I would glance at her. She would glance at me. I would smile sheepishly, looking down at my food when she caught me while she blushed her signature red when I caught her. Our little exchange began to fuel a little glimmer of hope that I could possibly have another chance with her someday. I just needed to show her I could be trusted again.

Once everyone was feeling overly stuffed, the younger generation headed upstairs so we could all change into more appropriate bar attire.

I changed into jeans, un-tucked my shirt, and rolled up the sleeves to my elbows. It didn't take long so I got online and returned a few work related emails. I made it out of my room just in time to see Bella walk out of the bathroom.

If Bella had looked angelic before she looked like some type of sexy she-devil now. The black dress was gone replaced by a pair of painted on jeans and a black corset. Her hair was down in thick waves, probably caused by the up do she was wearing earlier. Her make-up was darker and sexy as hell.

It was amazing that I noticed any of this considering the heels she was wearing. My mind went from love to lust with the changing of her clothes.

She smiled at me as I offered her my hand. I was ecstatic when she accepted it and, together, we made it downstairs to join the rest of our family and friends.

Everyone was itching to go out as we waited for the rest of our group. I recognized a few of the faces as they staggered in.

Angela and Ben Cheney showed up first. They were a couple we had gone to high school with and apparently Angela now worked with Rose.

We were also joined by Eric and Tyler, some guys that were also from Forks. I'm pretty sure that Tyler and Rose had dated at one point but I wasn't sure. Since we weren't going to be going too far most of Rose and Emmett's friends in Seattle wouldn't be making it to the party.

When the limo arrived we all decided to head outside and wait for Mike before we left. Douche couldn't even show up on time.

It was almost ten after by the time we heard an engine coming up the drive. Yeah he made us ten minutes late.

My eyes widened a bit at the sight of the 883 Harley Custom Sportster that pulled into the drive. The driver dismounted and pulled off his black helmet securing it to the handle bars before turning to face us.

I stared at him as he walked towards us. This was not the Mike Newton I remembered from high school. Not by a long shot.

"Damn," I heard Alice mumble before Jasper elbowed her lightly in the arm. Whatever, so he was good looking. He had already blown it with Bella anyway. She was a stickler for punctuality. She would always lecture me about how rude and disrespectful it was to make others wait.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Mike said as he rushed over and shook Emmett's hand.

He unzipped his leather jacket to reveal an AC/DC t-shirt. Great, Bella's inner rock star would love that crap.

"I saw Mrs. O'Leery's car on the side of the road and stopped to help her change a flat tire.

"Aww," the girls cooed in unison. Freaky shit.

"Bella, it's so good to see you again. You look great," he said sounding like…I don't know, something annoying.

"Thank you Mike, you look great too."

I resisted the urge to tackle the jerk when I watched him bring her knuckles up to his lips and kiss them. Bella smiled brightly at him.

I do not like Mike Newton.

"Alright, let's get this party started," Emmett cheered before climbing into the limo.

My plans for the night seemed to get shot to hell in an instant.

A/N: Okay, Okay, I know there wasn't a whole lot of B&E drama in this chapter but I had to get things set up for the next chapter! For you ladies who have been begging me to up the torture on Edward, get ready, it's coming. (btw Edward is not to happy with you)

So what do we think of this chapter? Hit that review button, you know you want to. You get a teaser...