Hey guys =] Sorry I'm not updating as frequently as we'd all like, but with work and my other Fic (If you haven't done so already, please go check it out – it's a little... different than this one =P) on the go, it's hard to manage the time.

Never fear though, we shall get there in the end!

Chapter 13:

Ok, so after much contemplation, I had two possible options to choose from. The first consisting of black skinny jeans and a purple checked T-shirt; a casual but smart option. Unlike the latter, which lay delicately across my bed, and practically had the word DATE written all over it.

But every time my eyes clocked it, I had Alice's voice screeching through my head like a siren. 'What's the point in owning a dress if you don't even wear it!?' … Or, 'it is your birthday Bella, you are allowed to dress up you know!'

I sighed and slumped down onto my bed. Maybe Alice was right. Since when were there rules about dressing up!? What you wear shouldn't matter. Its how you behave around each other that determines whether it's a date or not.

So with that in mind, I decided to take a chance and go with the dress. I would lock my paranoia away tight in my closet, and grab a hold of some confidence… that was the theory anyway.

By 7pm the doorbell rang, and my heart almost skipped a beat. I stood at the top of the stairs holding my breath, as silence filled the space around me. Finally taking shaky baby steps down the staircase, I approached the front door. My heartbeat was now drumming in my chest, like a megaphone to my ears. I don't think I'd ever felt this nervous about anything in my whole entire life.

Clamping my hand around the doorknob, I twisted and pulled…

It was his smell that hit me first of all, a sudden waft of fragrance; that intense sweetness that was so very refreshing struck my senses…He even smelt expensive. Before my blurry eyes focused in on his face. He stood there smiling at me.

"So, are you going to let me in or, are you just going to stand there staring at me all night?" he laughed a little, his mouth turning up into a smug sideways grin.

"Right, yeah, sorry. Come in," I stumbled over my words a tad, as I stood to one side to let him in. My cheeks felt ablaze as he brushed right passed me, and I had to forcefully remind myself that it wasn't a date. Despite how much it was starting to feel like one.

"It's alright" he said as I closed the door behind him. "If I was opening the door to me, I'd probably do the same" he smirked, and I couldn't help but grin back, the pink on my cheeks no doubt intensifying.

"I'll just get my bag and then we'll head out" I said before rushing back up the stairs; trying my best not to trip in the process. By the time I made my way back down, bag in hand, he was no where to be seen.

I eventually located him in the living room, where he stood beside the fireplace, looking at my family photos. Ordinarily I'd consider that awfully intrusive, but I was secretly delighted that he was showing an interest.

He turned to glance at me as the floor creaked under my footing, announcing to him of my presence. "You haven't changed a bit" he said lightly; holding onto a photo of me and my dad, taken some ten years ago.

I forced a feeble smile. "Yeah, thanks" I answered sarcastically. Not entirely pleased about the comment, but I'm sure he meant well.

He placed the frame back onto the fireplace and turned to me with a smile. "I like your dress" he said as I watched his eyes glide over my body.

"Thanks" I blushed through my smile for a 3rd time, as I glanced down at my ensemble. "Alice bought it me for my birthday. I figured I should get at least one use out of it," I tried to lighten the mood, before feeling awfully exposed as he just stood there staring at me.

"Ar..are you ready then?" I asked, to which he simply gave me a nod some seconds later, before heading out. I swallowed hard and followed along, mentally preparing myself for experiencing some major levels of awkwardness…

………………………………….

The drive up was hardly a pleasant experience. There was a sting of tension in the air, in which very few words were exchanged. The only ones consisting of, 'how about a little music?' as he'd gone to turn the radio on, and, 'well at least the rains kept away' made a brief appearance. I only prayed this night wouldn't turn out to be one mega huge disaster.

As we'd entered the arena however, it was starting to feel much less like a date, and more like a children's playground. I suppose I should be thankful for that, it minimised the level of awkwardness and encouraged for a lighter atmosphere. I did however feel rather out of place in my party dress. In fact, I felt very much like the elephant in the room, but I tried my best to avoid my self-centred thoughts, and focused my mind on the task in hand… finding our seats.

"Wow, talk about hyper" I said as we became swamped by scurrying children dressed up in various Disney costumes. Several dashing straight passed us, clearly hyped up on sugar … and the level of volume was almost excruciating. "I'm thinking we should've brought earplugs" I raised my voice so he could hear me. "I've never seen so much excitement before. It's insane!"

"Oh I dunno. I bet Alice could give them a run for their money" he smirked into my ear, as I felt him latch onto my arm. I grinned to myself like a dork as we trudged our way towards our row, trying our best not to trample on little children as we went.

Finally we took to our seats, thankfully we were near the front, and the candy and merchandise stalls were in the opposite direction, which meant for a moment or two, we'd be spared from the majority of the noise, at least until the show started anyway.

"Well that was an experience and a half" he laughed, amused. "So I'm guessing ten years ago you would've been one of those kids" he gave me a nudge, before he sat back into his chair and cocked his leg up.

I smiled back. "I doubt it; I was probably cowering in the toilet knowing me… Emmett on the other hand, absolutely! … Talk about a massive ball of energy. Nothing could rein him in".

He smiled back at me fondly. "You're pretty close to him, huh?"

"Emmett? … Yeah I guess. I mean I don't really have much in common with him anymore. He's all into the night life nowadays. But, he's an awesome big brother. He's a teddy bear really".

He nodded back at me, his face still smiling, and a brief pause in the conversation had me recalling the day's events. And without another moment of contemplation, I found myself wanting to explain…

"Listen, I'm sorry if I sounded ungrateful before" I angled my body towards him, placing my hands in my lap as I spoke to him. His face twitched in confusion. "You know at school, when you said about my birthday being a big deal… I do appreciate everything Alice does to make me happy. It's just…" I looked at my hands, "I've never really been fussed about celebrating it. Why would anyone choose to celebrate another year of themselves getting older…" I smiled at him weakly. "Well, that and … its times like this I think about …"

"About what?"

"My mom… well, my absentee mom" I braved a look at his face, he was watching me intently, I could tell I had his full attention. "I always wonder what it would've been like if she'd stayed. Birthdays would probably be a big deal because the whole family would celebrate it together. And I doubt my dad would be such a workaholic with my mom around…" I sighed. "When I go around for Alice's birthday, they have this huge meal her mom cooks for us; theres flowers and candles. It's so nice and just… complete, you know. Like, whole? I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't really like celebrating it, because it always reminds me of what I don't have...

…But then I feel selfish for being ungrateful for what I do have" I gushed in a sigh. "It's impossible really" I shook my head, laughing half-heartedly.

"Does, that make sense?" I tried to analyze his expression; he looked extremely thoughtful as he responded.

"It does" he said simply, offering me a small smile of support, before the lights went down and the show began … from then on, neither of us spoke a single utterance until the interval.

I'd never told anyone that before. Not Alice, nor my dad… it would only upset them. But for some reason I felt the need to tell Edward… I trusted him. And I felt better having vented.

…………………………..

I found myself shivering not five minutes into the show; the breeze in the atmosphere sparking goosebumps to bubble across my skin. If only I'd worn a longer sleeved cardigan.

I tried to relax myself and sank back into the chair, concluding that if I let go of my tension and loosened up a bit, then maybe the cold wouldn't bother me so much. But to no avail, and my arms automatically covered my chest to preserve some heat.

Not long after I felt an arm stretch out behind me, and a hand touch the top of my bicep, as Edward placed an arm around me. I was frozen for a moment, failing to breathe as I feared any slight movement would make him recoil.

But thankfully he didn't, and his arm remained stationary. He seemed pretty content in fact, so much so that he spent the entire expanse of the show playing with my upper arm. His finger tips stroking my skin, drawing patterns and making tender circles with the pad of his index finger. And then he turned to my hair, and I can't describe the pleasure I received from just the simple action of him twirling my locks around his fingers, a gentle tug at the roots every so often only adding to my internal excitement. To say it warmed me up was an understatement.

I couldn't concentrate from then on, and despite my eyes being fixed solely on the display before me, my mind was always elsewhere. I'm fairly certain I didn't stop smiling from start to finish, his fingers tickling me, unknowingly making shivers ripple through me with delight. It definitely made my Disney experience that extra bit special, and I was disappointed when the lights came on and his arm quickly retracted.

I suppose it was rude not to clap though. And Edward was, after all, a gentleman… his cheekiness was never far behind though…

"I think Jasmines giving me the eye over there" he smirked, leaning into me slightly as the skaters formed a line to take their bow.

I grinned wildly, "Yeah, you wish" I said as I continued to clap.

"No. She wishes" he gave me a wink, his head bobbing pretentiously, before I turned back to face the ice, inhaling a deep breath.

"Whatever" I shook my head in amusement. "I thought you liked Belle anyway?"

He shrugged in response, "I like to keep my options open".

I smiled in response, my eyes tracing his profile as I looked at him, before something churned in my stomach causing my happiness to waver, and those pesky nerves re-appeared with a vengeance. I had no idea what to expect for the rest of the evening. Two options came to mind. The first being that he'd suffered enough, and would inevitably cut the night short by just driving me straight home. We'll call that option A! Option B led us somewhere else entirely, to a place where we could be alone and spend more time together.

I guessed he'd probably go with option A, although my heart willed it to be B.

Following minutes of slow-paced, follow-the-leader-like shuffling, we trudged our way back through the crowds.

I feared for a moment I'd lost him, that he'd been swept away by the sea of people. But a hand sliding into my own with total ease, connecting like a puzzle piece, our fingers entwining as our two palms became a whole, told me he was there. Standing behind me.

My dorky grin once again returned as he held onto my hand, his other one now touching my stomach, keeping me close to him at all times. I now cared nothing for the mass of people in front of me. I had never experienced something quite so intimate. The only hand I'd ever held was Alice's some 10 years ago, as we'd skipped our way to school one morning. But this felt different, I felt protected, warm and safe. Feeling as if no harm could come to me with Edward by my side…

We eventually made it to the front doors before coming to a halt.

"Great" I heard him mutter, before his soft sarcastic laugh shook through our connected hands.

I sighed, my eyes scanning the area ahead, as the sheet of rain covered the now barely visible car park. I wasn't mad though, how could I be as I held contentedly onto Edward's hand. "So much for the rain staying away" I spoke; the spray of the water being swept up by the wind, now hitting my legs, and I started to shiver. "You must have jinxed it" I looked at him with wide smirking eyes.

He turned his head to look at me, his face smiling in amusement. "You seem to have a habit of doing that" I added, grinning back with a cheek.

"Yeah, so I'm told" he nodded back at me before smirking. "Oh well, not to worry ... If you want, I can get the car and pick you up from here?" he asked. Kindly offering to spare me from the rain. But I was having none of that!

"What are you kidding!? No way! If you're getting wet, then, so am I".

"Bella, its fine, I don't mind the rain. You'll only get hyperthermia, and you've been dithering all night as it is" he said as he looked across at me.

"I don't care. I'll be fine! A little rain never hurt anyone". I wasn't giving up on this one. I could be a stubborn git when I wanted to be.

I watched as he rolled his eyes. "Fine. And how exactly are you going to run in those shoes?"

I looked down at my nemesis. I was so used to walking in flats, that even an inch and a half of a heel proved a challenge for me, even on dry land. I was sure to land flat on my face given the slippery surface. And even Edward saw that one coming. "I … I'll be fine" I answered hesitantly. The lack of confidence in my voice did nothing to help.

He muttered the word "Women" in disapproval as he shook his head, before our hands unlatched and my feet were suddenly dangling in mid air, as he'd swept me into his arms.

"Whaa!?" I exclaimed something unfathomable, as his actions suddenly startled me; my breath hitching in the back of my throat at the unexpected proximity of our faces.

"Wow, you're lighter than I thought" he smiled amused, as he hitched me upwards to ensure a better hold. No other seconds were then wasted, and he was already brisk walking across the car park with me in his arms.

I swear this would've been the best dream in the world, if it wasn't for the fact that I was shaking uncontrollably from the cold, and my eyes feeling like I had grit in them from the heavy rain drops as they mixed with my eye shadow.

Some 3 minutes later we reached the car.

I didn't have time to moan at the sudden lack of contact as he placed me back onto my feet, as he unlocked the car door and practically pushed me inside. He joined me in the driver seat not long after and the door slammed shut behind him…

"Wow…" I gushed without thinking; the only sound heard was the splatter of the rain on our windscreen, as it hit it hard.

My hair felt like a mass of wet knotted seaweed just plonked on my head; water droplets trickling down my back. It was like I'd just taken a shower and forgot to take my clothes off.

I ran a hand through the strands, turning to him with wide and disbelieving eyes. He mirrored my expression of bafflement, before his face erupted and he burst into musical laughter. He was probably laughing at how bad I looked no doubt, as I sat there beside him like a drowned rat, but there was no point in feeling embarrassed, and the moment led me to laugh right back.

"Well I certainly won't be forgetting this birthday in a hurry" I chuckled, before the sound of a rumble of thunder abruptly shut me up.

"I..I think that's our que to leave" he looked at me worryingly, and I nodded my definite approval; that smirk never leaving his face though, as he hurried in starting the engine.

I didn't complain as we made our way towards the exit of the arena car park; I wasn't such a fan of thunderstorms. And I shivered at the thought of being trapped in one.

He must have noticed, as he flicked the heater switch on not a moment later, and angling the fan into my direction. I smiled at his level of awareness. "Better?"

"Much. Thanks" I smiled, rubbing a hand up and down my one arm to create some friction.

"So anyway, do you, fancy coming back to mine for a bit? … I could, make you a drink or something?"

I felt the smile on my face reach new heights. "Sure" I chirped through my excitement, sounding much like Alice did on a bad day. "Sounds great… but, won't your parents mind?"

"Nah, mom's out of town and dads working the night shift. Rose might be there, but the odds are she's out with her friends. Don't hold me to that though".

"Oh ok… cool." So 'option B' it was, and I smiled back, considering the many possibilities for the upcoming hours, as I sank back into the chair, just allowing for the burst of heated air to warm me up a treat.

A/N: Thanks again for reading and please leave your thoughts! They give me a happy =D! xxx