Friend Boy

by Teeny Tiny Twilight

As if starting a new school away from her friends and family isn't enough, she has nuisance/captain of the football team Edward interested in her. “Hello, I’m Edward Cullen.” She took my hand, shaking it, “I’m not interested.”AH/AU Bella has better balanc

12. First Date

First date

Teeny Tiny Twilight

I made my way quickly to my first class, way too early. I put my books on my desk, dropping my head onto my crossed arms, trying to fight off the self pity as I glared at the board.

I wasn't the only one early to class.

Angela came in, trying to balance her massive pile of books. I jumped up quickly and caught the top half of the precarious arrangement as it started to slide to the left. She smiled at me thankfully, her head tilted at an angle that made me think she was embarrassed by all the books that she had. My eyes flickered down to the novel on top, Pride and prejudice. I smiled a little at her, "Good book." I put it along with the rest of the small pile on her desk, beside mine.

She nodded, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "It's one of my favourites." She said in a soft muted voice, smiling shyly.

"Same." I laughed a little embarrassed, my cheeks heating, "I must have read it six of seven times already."

She smiled kindly at me, resting the rest of the books on the desk beside me. "Are you okay?" she asked in the same muted voice. I looked into her eyes and finally saw the concern that was etched there. I realized that she must have seen something wrong all along.

I grimaced at how easy to read I was. Why couldn't I lie like Edward? "Kind of." I muttered, sitting down in my seat.

"Want to talk about it?"

I smiled wearily at her, "Thanks…" I was about to finish with 'but no thank you' but I wanted to talk about it. I wanted to get an opinion from the outside. I hesitated, and then decided that it was probably better if I didn't. It was after all, my fault.

But before I could speak, she guessed right, "Boy troubles?" she smiled in a knowing way. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." She apologized immediately after.

"No, your right." I forced a laugh. "But I brought it all on myself, so I shouldn't complain."

She sat down too, waiting patiently for me to continue. I bit my lip, "I thought I was helping a…friend boy of mine," I smiled a little at that name again. "And apparently, I wasn't helping him at all, and then my other friend found out and he got angry at me." Angela was trying to control the confusion on her face. I gave up. "Edward Cullen. He likes this girl, and I wanted to help him, because I thought that he really likes her. But then my other friend, Jared, on the basket ball team. He found out and got angry, because, well I guess you know Edward's reputation. I just thought…you know." I sighed giving up on trying to defend myself.

Angela looked at me a second, her wide brown eyes wise. "Does he love her?"

I hesitated. The bell saved me from having to answer the question, and then the students started to file in. I paid them no notice, too caught up in what Angela had said. That was the whole problem though, wasn't it? If I knew the truth, then I would be able to be sure in my decision to help Edward.

I paid little attention in class, thinking about what I was going to do. I didn't see any other way around it. I would have to confront Edward on it, and then decide from his answer if what he said was true, or if I was just being used.

The clock on the wall was moving faster then it should have been.

When the bell rang for first dismissal I still hadn't figured out what I would say to Edward. I hurried to Spanish, hoping to beat Edward there. But of course when I got there Edward was already in his seat, watching the door as I came in. His welcoming smile lasted about three seconds before he registered my expression.

I dropped my books a little harder then necessary on the desk. I looked at Edward, fighting with myself. Seeing him in person made me question my previous doubts. I realized I trusted Edward, everything he said. If he told me that he loved her, Mrs. X, then I would believe him. This wasn't going to work.

Edward shrunk down into himself as I watched him. I tried to feel my expression from the inside. And I realized, as I towered over his sitting form, that I was glaring at him dangerously. I took my seat finally, glaring at the board instead.

Edward hesitated, and then moved his chair a little ways from me, guessing I needed my space. All through out the lesson I could feel his eyes on me. "Edward?" Mrs. Springett asked. "Cuál es tan interesante sobre Ms. Swan?" she asked.

Edward's head snapped to the front, "C'est rien." He answered. I raised an eye brow at him. That was French, not Spanish. He shook his head, trying to clear it, "No es nada, continúa por favor."

She seemed impressed with his slip up. I wish I could slip up like that.

He shot a glance at me out of the corner of his eye, questioning. I looked away again. Not ten minutes later Mrs. Springett was talking to him again, this time in English. "Edward Cullen. Move to the front of the class please, you can sit beside my desk. Maybe then you'll be able to keep your eyes of Miss. Swan." The class giggled lowly.

Edward grimaced, but he gathered his books under one arm, taking his chair with the other. A girl with long blond hair turned around to look—no, to glare—at me. I had a startling moment of Déjà vu. The mean blond from the party. Oh, wonderful. How could I not have recognized her? She pouted at Edward as he went by.

"What's so interesting about her? Is she growing a moustache on the side of her face?" she asked innocently when the teacher had gone out into the hall.

Edward stopped, and then slowly turned to face her. She saw his expression before I did, and she wasn't stupid. She immediately dropped her gaze, looking at her work sheet. Edward answered her anyways, "No, she's just worth looking at." He hissed at her in icy tones.

Mrs. Springett, who had stepped out to grab a desk for Edward for the rest of the period, came in then. "Really Edward?" she asked.

He took one look at her, and then sighed walking back to put his chair back beside me wordlessly while Mrs. Springett signed a blue note on her desk. She handed it to him, "We'll try again tomorrow, hmm?" she asked.

Edward grinned at her wearily, "That's fine, Mr. Greenie has probably missed me anyways." He winked at her then disappeared through the door. Mrs. Springett blushed a little, before clearing her throat and returning to the lesson. Unbelievable.

Outside the door of our English class Edward was waiting, smiling calmly at me. I squared my shoulders for what I new was coming next. Slowly his smile faded as I came closer. I recognized, a little late, that I was supposed to smile back. "I'm sorry." He said immediately when I was in ear shot.

"You don't even know what my problem is." I said, surprised. I tried to inch past him into class. He wasn't having that.

Edward stepped in front of me, blocking my path, "I know, I've just learned that it's better to apologize with girls."

I was a little agitated that he actually thought that would work. "That doesn't work with me." I told him sharply, looking past him into the class room.

He sighed, "Nothing ever does. So what's wrong?" he asked in a contradictory soft tone.

Both my hands were busy holding my books and there was a piece of hair that was falling into my eyes. I blew it out of my face twice, stalling. He reached over and tucked it behind my ear. I grimaced as my heart reacted accordingly. "Do you really like her?" I asked, looking down.

He hesitated, "Yes." He knew who we were talking about with out my having to tell him.

I looked up into his eyes, I could feel the intensity emanating out of mine, trying to force the truth out of him. I knew he was hiding something, not lying, but not telling the whole truth. "Do you love her?" I question with precise slowness, searching his face.

He seemed captured by my gaze, locked in my stare. "Yes." He whispered, "More then you could ever know, Bella."

I relaxed, he was telling the truth, I would swear on my life. If Jared doubted that, then that was his problem. I sighed, smiling in relief, "Good. And sorry you got in trouble."

He shrugged, "What were you thinking that got you down like that?" he grinned.

It was my turn to shrug, "A friend of mine…questioned your motives."

His eyes narrowed. "Really? May I know the name?"

I ducked around him, into class, he followed, "No," I said, taking my seat.

"Hmm." He said curtly, taking his seat too. I could see he was weighting whether it was a boy or a girl, and which was trying to knock him down through me.

The teacher walked in then, smiling. I was started to get worried. Teachers only smiled like that when they had a 'fun' assignment planned. I could feel my lips twisting into a grimace.

"So to kick off our creative writing unit, I thought we should start with something fun. You are all to draw a mythical creature, and then give them a story, a legend, and this is supposed to be creative so I don't want to see a Dracula bio. Understood? This creature can have a religious background, like an angel, a devil, a god, or a deity. It can also be based on a different legend, like nessie, a unique vampire or werewolf, witches and wizards are acceptable."

I made a face. Fun.

Edward was making a face too, "When is it due?" he asked.

"Next Friday, you have all week to work on it. You'll get four in class days next week, all period. If you can't make the due date, please come to me two days in advance. I will not take excuses the day of." He told us. Then took his place behind his desk, letting us get started. We all went up to the front of the class to get the rubric for the project, along with the paper we were supposed to use to draw on for our good copy, and a couple of smaller blank sheets for our rough copies.

Edward got back to his desk before I did. When I sat down he watched me curiously. "What are you thinking of doing yours on?" he asked, stalling. He rested his pencil on his desk, leaning back in his chair.

"I'm not exactly sure yet, but I think I'll be doing it on something supernatural. Or natural. Defiantly not religious though, I'd be too afraid of offending people." I was more thinking out loud, but Edward was still attentive. "What about you?" we weren't the only ones talking. People had moved desks to talk to their friends; Mr. Banner allowed this, probably thinking that we would be planning out ideas together. I doubted it, but I didn't speak up.

He sighed, "Not a clue."

I grinned at him. "Good luck." I turned back to my work, chewing on the end of my pencil while I thought. I started to mark down thoughts. I decided it would be a mix between something supernatural and natural. As I wrote out ideas Edward, very slowly and deliberately leaned across his desk to see what I was writing.

My lips twitched up into an amused smile. I turned my paper so he could read it. He grinned up at me, and then bent his head over my page. "Aren't you worried I will copy your work?" he asked playfully, still reading.

"Nope." I said, leaning my head against my hand as I watched him read.

He nodded, looking thoughtful after he had read my ideas. "That's a good idea. Do you want to help me now?" he asked hopefully.

I laughed at him, "Sure. As soon as you learn how to teach me math." I smiled, "I sense you and me think on completely different wave lengths."

He nodded sadly. I patted his arm affectionately, "There, there. It's not as hard as you think. I bet you're making it harder then it needs to be. Just look, look anywhere, for inspiration." I gestured grandly around the room.

He huffed, turning to look out the window.

I squeezed his arm, "Edward, I'm serious. Just look and you'll find something that inspires you." I was kind of hopping he would get my hint and think about Mrs. X. Maybe let me see who it was. Was she in the class right now with us? Instead, he turned to look at me curiously, and then slowly, the slight down turn of his lips turned into a smile. He made a square with his fingers, and then with squinted eyes framed my face with them. I laughed, shaking my head, then returned to my work.

After I had sketched the sad excuse for a dog, I looked over to see how Edward was doing. He was sketching on the rough paper; I was only able to catch the top of the page. There were clouds with a break in them for what I imagined sunlight to filter through.

I didn't want to disturb him, but I was curious to see what he was doing for his project. I craned my neck, trying to see over the way he had positioned his arm, blocking my line of sight.

I hadn't thought this was deliberate until he looked up to see me trying to peek at his page. He gave an apologetic look before sliding the picture away from me.

"Oh," I tried to push the hurt from my face. It was replaced by a brilliant blush that heated from my hair line to my neck. "Sorry."

"Nothing personal. It's just really stupid." He assured me.

"I won't judge, show me." I leaned in, trying to peek again.

And again he moved the page out of my sight, "That's what scares me." He murmured quietly. I looked up, shocked by the vulnerability of his voice. I looked up to see it again in his face. So I wasn't the only one that put too much trust in people. He smiled then, hiding the look away from my shocked eyes. "It's stupid." He repeated more happily now. "I'll probably fail the whole assignment." He laughed. It sounded a little forced to me.

"Or not. You could pass with flying colours like I'm starting to suspect you always do." I narrowed my eyes playfully, "And maybe it isn't stupid. Maybe it's deep and brilliant." I didn't lean forward this time, already suspecting the way he would fold the paper, still unseen by me, and hide it in his bag.

I shrugged, pretending not to be hurt by his show of distrust. I realized with a jolt that this wasn't the first act. He wouldn't trust me with Mrs. X either.

"Why don't you trust me?" I asked, trying to make the words sound natural. The words instead, came out laden with hurt.

The bell rang just as he opened his mouth to answer. He got up, waiting for me with a torn expression. I got up, stuffing my work in my binder. I tucked my books under my arm and pushed in my chair, all the while watching as he formed words in his head, trying to find a way to explain.

"I do trust you." He muttered so quietly I had thought I might have mistaken what he said. Very plausible since he said it just as we stepped out into the crowded hallway with other confusing conversations interrupting ours.

"What?"

He smiled down at me, "I trust you by coming to you for advice for her. Mrs. X." he rolled his eyes at the name. Despite the constant way he always made a face when ever he said it, I had a feeling he liked the name.

"If you trust me, then tell me who she is." I didn't have much hope that he would. He shook his head. "Fine," I sighed.

He spun, stepping in front to face me while he started to walk backwards. "I'm sorry, Bella, but you have to understand that I'm already putting myself out there to be hurt by one person. Do I really need to make that two?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Edward, everyone is going to hurt you sooner or later. You just have to decide who's worth the pain." I pushed past him, walking faster. He let me by.

I sighed aggravated when I felt him walking beside me again. His long strides had made up the distance, I had tried to make between us, easily. Then, he surprised me by gently brushing the back of his hand against mine, before shyly taking it in his.

I looked up at him with unconcealed shock. He wasn't looking at me; instead his face was smooth, looking ahead. It took me a moment before I recognized this face. He was preparing himself for the constant rejection I gave him.

If I was being honest with myself, I liked the way my hand felt in his. Warm and small but very safe. I squeezed his hand. His eyes flickered down to mine hopefully. I grinned at him, "See? I'm not as much as a harpy as you think. I have a heart."

He snickered, "Rock hard and cold as ice, but its there." He squeezed my hand back.

I made a face at him, shaking his hand off. He was still grinning hugely. "There, now that you know how to take a chance, why not ask Mrs. X on a date?" Even though this was more of my retribution I back peddled when I saw the panic in his eyes, "Just a small one." I assured him. "A walk in the park, a star lit dinner." I was only guessing on these dates from all the romantic comedies I had watched before. "What are you doing spending all your time with me when you should be trying to be with her?"

He sighed, "I'm working on it."

We walked into biology together.

The whole rest of the day passed slowly until the end of gym when I saw Jared. He walked up to me, glaring daggers at Edward who stood beside me. "Maybe you should go." I murmured quietly to Edward as Jared stalked over.

"Is that who was on your case about me?" he asked quietly back, ignoring my request entirely. His expression made me think he thought it was comical. Funny how he was able to make that leap. Never mind that Jared had always been cool towards Edward.

"Yes. Now skat, get out of here." I hissed, bumping him roughly with my shoulder. In response, he quickly picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. "Hey!" I cried, struggling to get down. "You stupid dummy! Let me down!"

Edward snorted, "Stupid dummy? What merciless words play havoc on my tender heart?"

I thumped my fists as hard as I could on his back. The sound they made was hollow. Probably similar to the sound my fists would make on his hollow head. "You're a horrible Shakespeare."

I couldn't see Jared because Edward was facing him. This meant that he was getting a lovely view of the seat of my jeans. I could hear him though, "Can I please have Bella for a moment? I need to talk to her." Jared asked in a restrained polite tone.

"No." Edward answered coldly, making no answering pretence. "She's mine."

"Like hell I am!"

"Oh, you're angry now. You actually said a bad word." He teased, bouncing me on his shoulder. He spun me around, making me dizzy, while also making me laugh. Mostly nervous laughter since I was absolutely positive his grip would slip and I would go splat against the wall. Edward would get his way then. The only way Jared would be able to talk to me is if he found a spatula to scrape me off the wall with.

Jared heaved an impatient sigh. "Put Bella down."

"Umm…" Edward pretended to think through Jared's request. "No."

I sighed heavily, "Edward, I know you're a little peeved, but this is just childish. Put me down."

Jared sounded really annoyed now. "Whatever. I just came to tell you that Tyler is trying to get the coach to kick you off the team. Just wanted to give you the heads up."

"What!" Edward snarled, dropping me back on my feet. "Why? Where the hell is he?"

I stumbled over to Jared, a little dizzy with the sudden drop and the spinning. "Why is he so angry?" Edward had already asked my first questions. Minus the curse.

Jared crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes still unhappy, "Because he wanted to be captain, for one. And you weren't even at the practice yesterday."

"Your captain?" Edward asked, voice awed instead of the surprise I was expecting.

I ignored him, "Let's go talk to coach. I'll explain what happened to both Coach Clapp and Tyler." I saw Jared's eyes drift over to Edward. They narrowed.

"I hope you're happy." He growled at Edward. "It is your fault that she's in trouble now. She made history yesterday. She was the first girl captain of a boy's team in the history of this school. Now she's going to lose that." After his fierce—and unfair—accusation he took my hand, leading me out of the gym.

I had to jog to keep up with his furious pace. "Jared, I'm sorry. Edward can be a bit of a douche bag sometimes. He really is a good guy though." This didn't seem to be enough. He still looked livid. "I talked to him about the girl. I swear to you Jared, he loves her."

"Really?" he asked angrily, "I couldn't tell with the way he was flirting with you. It looks to me like he has a wandering eye." I could see his eyes softening despite his tone. He trusted my judgement almost as much as I trusted Edward's.

"That's just Edward. He thinks he's funny." I rolled my eyes to show him I didn't think so.

He caught the topic of our discussion suddenly walking beside me, "I am funny. You just don't know it."

Jared stopped, instinctively spinning me behind him in a defensive position. "Go away. Seriously, you've done enough."

"I'm here to explain. And to kick Tyler's ass. But that's beside the point."

Jared stood up straighter, "Tyler is mine, and if what Bella says is true, and you actually have one decent bone in your body, then you would get lost. I actually like Bella."

I stiffened. Jared turned around to look at me, his hands shoved nervously into his pockets. "I really like you Bella. I see things this joker doesn't." Edward rolled his eyes, leaning his weight on one leg to wait out Jared's speech. "I know that you're smart, and caring. I know that you're brave and that you stand up for your friends"—he shot a dark look at Edward—"No matter how nauseating they are." His eyes were soft, understanding. He hesitated, like he wanted to confess something I was positive I didn't want to hear.

I held my breath as I caught the murderous look Edward was giving Jared. I was saved from crushing my friend's heart, however by a deep grumpy voice, "Bella Swan. Where were you yesterday?"

I turned towards coach, feeling my stomach turn nervously. "I—"

"She was helping me. I was sick yesterday, and she was kind enough to let me stay at her dorm when I wasn't able to get back to my own. She wouldn't have missed practice if it wasn't for me sir." Edward told my coach, respectfully pleading. I blinked at Edward, surprised. So this is what Rose was talking about when she said Edward was loyal.

Coach Clapp pursed his lips unhappily, "After giving you such a high spot on the team, Bella, I expected more of you. You're lucky I do understand why you couldn't make it yesterday. I want to make this clear though. You are not to miss another practice. I don't need to give anyone anymore reason to try and take you off the team. You're a good kid." He grumbled something along the lines of 'other then distracting the boys.' Before he walked off.

I gave a relieved sigh. Then I saw Tyler walking out of the coach's office. He glowered at me darkly before walking off in the opposite direction. Both Jared and Edward went to follow him. "Hey." I said, grabbing both of their shirts. "Neither of you are to hurt him unless I give specific instruction to do so. I can take care of myself anyways."

Jared stepped closer, then, hesitantly wrapped his arms around me in a hug. "'Kay. Sorry about yelling at you this morning. And I hope you don't mind my saying what I did…before. I just wanted to let you know that I'll always be there for you. Even when I'm angry. I'll always be you friend…maybe more, if you want." He didn't let go, and I guessed he was nervous about my reaction.

"Jared…I don't think—" I started but Edward separated us, keeping one hand on Jared's shoulder.

"That reminds me." Edward said pleasantly. He pulled his fist back, and then let it snap forward into Jared's Jaw. Jared staggered backwards, shocked.

"HEY!" I cried, putting myself between the two of them. "Stop that!" I glared at Edward. I waited until he stepped back, disengaging himself. He shrugged easily, not troubled by my furious expression. Stupid guys and their stupid Y-chromosome.

Jared eyed him harshly. Rubbing his jaw. His eyes flickered to me quickly, then away. I hadn't needed to finish my sentence. He already knew what was coming. I didn't think that would stop him for long though, and if he was taking hints from Edward's in with me, he was going to try for annoyingly persistent.

Edward took my hand, pulling me with him as he left. "Bye bye Dick wad." He called joyously, waving goodbye to Jared. Jared huffed angrily, glaring daggers into Edward's back before waving goodbye to me. I tried to wave back but Edward was pretty much dragging me down the hallway.

When we rounded the corner, I ripped my hand out of Edward's, crossing my arms angrily. "Jerk. What's wrong with you?"

He shrugged, smiling. "I'll call you later. I have to do something." He went to walk away, but I grabbed his arm.

"No hitting anyone else, understood?" I glared at him still angry, and wanting him to understand what I was saying.

He put his hand over his heart, "Promise. I'm going to get some courage and ask her on a date. Hopefully." He didn't look sure when he meet my eye.

I pursed my lips, letting my arms fall to my side. "Good luck then. Oh, here." I snatched a pen out of my bag, writing my number down on a scrap piece of paper from an old test. "Just so that you don't have to run over to tell me what happened." And so that I can have a break from you for tonight so they don't find you savagely murdered in the morning.

He grinned hugely, "HA! YES! I have Bella Swan's number!" he cried, punching his fist into the air victoriously.

"SHH!" I hissed, slapping his arm. Too late. I would probably only get twenty years for that though…right? They didn't have the death penalty in Canada.

He grinned at me, "Talk to you later Bella." he waved goodbye, still chuckling. I couldn't help but grin as I watched him go. Stupid, annoying, testosterone fuelled man. But you had to love him.

------------- --------------------- ------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ---

I didn't know how I got myself into this.

Playing truth or dare with Alice was like offering yourself up to the gods of embarrassment as a sacrifice. "My turn!" she squealed. Apparently this is what sisters were supposed to do, and since she had never had a sister she would settle for me. I was sure she got this off of crappy sitcoms. "Truth or dare?" she asked excitedly.

This was the hard part. Do something outrageous, or admit something outrageous. What made it worse was that I couldn't even cheat in truth. I was too horrible a liar. "Dare." I muttered, wincing.

"Okay…hmm. I dare you too…" The phone ringing cut her off. She made a face, as I went to get it. I tried to drag my feet, to make my pace look sad that I had to interrupt the game. Truthfully I was so happy I wanted to kiss who ever had called.

"Hello?" I asked in to the receiver. My voice came out reverenced.

"Hey, this is Edward. Is Bella there?"

"Speaking. How did it go?" I asked, sitting down on the couch, ready to drag this out as long as possible.

"Horrible. I chickened out." He groaned. I looked at the clock on the wall. Jasper was supposed to be here in less then half an hour. Alice was still trying to convince me to stay and play truth or dare with them. It was either going to get nasty or awkward.

"Hey, Edward, I hate to ask you this, but Jasper is coming over soon. I"—I hesitated—"I wanted to know if I could crash on your couch?"

There was a long silence. I grimaced. "Bella, as much as I would love for you to spend the night with me…there are two guys that live here. It's not exactly clean."

I rolled my eyes, "I don't care. I change with guys in a smelly, dirty locker room with stories on who bagged who on the weekend. Not-exactly-clean is the story of my life."

There was a sigh on the other side of the phone, "I'll come by and show you where I am. See you soon. Oh, and I need to ask you something when I come." There was a click on the other side.

"Bye." I muttered into the dead receiver before placing it back in its cradle.

Alice was already sitting on the arm of the couch, smiling happily. "What does he want to ask you?" she asked her eyes shrewd.

I shrugged, narrowing my eyes at her. "You shouldn't eaves drop on peoples conversations." I could now see the other cordless phone cradled—half hidden—in her lap.

She smiled, "That's what my mother told me. Back to our game. Your dare is you have to agree with whatever Edward asks you."

I groaned. "Alice! The game stopped. And what if he asks me to do something horrible? Like rob a bank with him. Or maybe he'll ask me if he thinks Mrs. X is too good for him. I'll crush his little heart."

Alice shrugged, still smiling widely, "I have a good feeling about this Bella."

"Yea, right." I muttered, but her and I both knew it was an admission.

She helped me pack my bags, throwing in silly things like an uncooked bag of pop-corn, a blanket—not so silly since I didn't know what was safe to touch in Edward's room—and a deck of cards. I didn't stop her, instead I threw in all the clothes that she didn't make a horrified face at into the over night bag.

There was a knock at the front door. "Come in!" I yelled from my room.

"Ow! That was my ear, Bella. I needed that." She muttered.

"Oops." I mouthed. Edward knocked on the door again. I impatiently blew a piece of hair out of my face. "Fine, fine, Edward. I'll open the door" I mumbled. I hurried down to the front door; overnight bag zipped up and tossed over my shoulder.

The second I opened the door I had a bouquet of flowers thrust into my face. "Will you go out on a date with me?" he asked hopefully as I took the flowers from him.

I looked at Edward surprised, "Huh?"

Edward shifted uncomfortably, "Technically they're for Mrs. X, but I chickened out. And I thought that, maybe, you could show me how to act on a date with her. So…" he took a deep breath, "What are your plans for tonight?"

There was a scream of delight, and then Alice all but jumped on my back, "Yes! She wants to go on a date with you!" She was so happy she was shaking with pleasure. I vibrated under her. She leaned around my shoulder to get a whiff of the flowers, and then her eyes rolled back into her head in absolute ecstasy.

"Alice," I tried to calm her down, "It's not a real date."

"Doesn't matter." She sang.

I sighed, "Sure Romeo. A date."

Edward grinned relieved. "Thanks. I was actually expecting you to slap me."

I rolled my eyes, closing the door after waving goodbye to Alice. "Oh right. I forgot, you expected that because I'm cold hearted." I smirked.

"No. It's because you always slap me." I opened my mouth to defend myself but he held up a hand, "I know, I know. I deserve it most of the time."

"I'm sorry I hit you so much then." I held up the flowers. "Thank you for the flowers by the way. I don't understand why you didn't give them to her though." They smelt wonderful. I inhaled deeply, enjoying the stolen token more then I should.

"Because I was absolutely petrified. By the time I was outside her door I wanted to run away screaming." He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I was so close to telling her too. Every time it seems like the perfect moment to say something, to tell her how I feel…" he shook his head. Then he turned to me, smiling a little, "I feel like a girl talking about all this."

My first instinct was to slap his arm, but I held back. "Girls like men who are sensitive. Now don't get that confused with boys who are sensitive. You need to be mature about it."

I watched the bronzed leaves get scattered across the grass by the wind as we pushed out of the doors of our building and into full blown fall weather. Thinking about what I had said he touched the back of his hand to mine again, like he had in the hallway. I thought briefly about feigning cold and putting my hand in my pocket.

"I have another idea for a lesson." I said instead. He pulled his hand away, and I felt a tug of guilt for rejecting him. I had to make my position clear. I was his friend. That was all.

"Let me guess, something about maturity." He grinned at me. I could see the tiniest hint of embarrassment in his eyes.

Again the feeling tugged at my heart. "No you're plenty mature." I assured to make up for hurting him. "This lesson is about touching. It seems a good a time as any seeing as we're practicing for a date." I put an emphasis on 'practicing'.

He scowled at the trees. "Fine, how do I touch? Since I, apparently, don't do it right."

"You're fine Edward, really. Just…think of subtle ways to touch, ways that say I love you without making her uncomfortable. Can I drop my stuff off at your house first?"

"Sure, this is my building." We both looked up to the nearly identical towering brick buildings all lined in a row. There was an abnormally large crack, I saw in mine and Alice's building compared to all the other nearly perfect towering structures. Ours must be the oldest in the row. Edward's looked much newer.

"Spiffy." I said, walking towards the towering double door entrance. Edward pulled my bag off my shoulder, setting me off balance. I stumbled into his side. "Hey!"

He righted me easily, hitching my bag up on his shoulder. "What?" he asked, opening the door for me. I stood outside in the wind, staring at him. What was all this? He raised an eyebrow at me, "We're practicing small gestures that say 'I love you' right?"

I huffed a piece of hair out of my face, walking hesitantly through the doors, almost expecting him to let them slam shut on me with a 'gotcha!'

His lips turned up into a crooked smile as he read my expression. "Bella?"

I turned, waiting, "Yeah?"

He closed the doors, walking after me. "You're beautiful." And then he just walked by me, my bag still up on his shoulder his gait smooth, his shoulders relaxed. He turned when he reached the bottom of the stairs, "You coming?"

I blinked off my shock, trying to figure if he had actually said anything. "Yes, just….Yeah." I hurried to catch up, shaking my head.

He laughed, "You look like I insulted you." He told me, climbing the stars awkwardly. Trying to balance my bag, talk to me, and dig his keys out of his pants while he climbed the stairs.

"Just took me off guard." I muttered. His hair was messier then usual because of the wind. I hated to think what mine looked like now that I was painfully conscious of what I looked like.

He finally managed to dig his keys out of his pocket. He looked distracted, looking through the individual keys for the one for his room. "Don't people tell you you're beautiful?"

"No. Well, my mom, but that's different."

We were standing out side what I guessed was his room. He looked frustrated, trying to find the right key. When he did find it, he shoved it smoothly into the lock, "Huh," he said, he looked like he wanted to say more but couldn't.

He dropped my things on the floor by the door, and threw the flowers on top, then closed it quickly, before I saw what his place looked like. I rolled my eyes, "Edward, seriously. I don't care about what it looks like, I'm just happy I have somewhere to sleep."

He shrugged, taking my hand. "C'mon. We'll get dinner and then I'll show you something even you'll love about Canada." He smirked.

He dragged me to one of the restaurants on campus. It wasn't fancy, or expensive, for which I was grateful. I already felt awkward about the flowers. The waitress taking our orders acted as I expected. Overfriendly to Edward, coolly polite to me.

"Can I get you anything?" She asked Edward, dropping her pen. "Oops," she giggled in embarrassment, and then leaned down, picking it up. I watched the way her shirt revealed her chest and grimaced, looking away. If the waitress had been younger, I would have been convinced it had been on purpose. I'm pretty sure this time it was because her hands were shaking.

Edward sighed, and when I looked back at him, he had his head leaning on his hand, facing away from the waitress. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at his aggravated expression. "Burger and fries." He muttered. "And a coke, or Pepsi. Whatever you have." He was blushing.

I smiled warmly at the waitress now, enjoying the pre-dinner entertainment. "I'll have the same please." Once she let I let the laughs I had been choking on go.

Edward glared at me menacingly, "Don't look at your date like that." I chided through my laughter, "But you defiantly pass the no-flirting-with-other-women test." I snickered again.

"She was older then my mother Bella." he shuddered.

"I bet you could hardly contain yourself." I snickered. A girl at another table turned to give us a look. Obviously we were being too loud. 'Sorry' I mouthed apologetically, waving gleefully.

He rolled his eyes; "Was it that obvious?" his sarcasm was just that much funnier with the melancholy tone. Then he grinned darkly, "Were you jealous?" he winked, "its okay Bella, you can admit your undying love for me. I'll understand."

I reached across the table, stifling a grin, and took his hands in mine. "I actually do have a confession to make Edward." he sobered immediately, squeezing my hands to continue, though I was sure I saw his lips twitch and I knew he was in on my plan. Due, no doubt, to my poor acting. I changed what I was going to say for truth, "As annoying, as pig headed, as absolutely intolerable you can be most of the time,"—I squeezed his hands—"I think you have to be my best friend."

"Aww."

Both our heads snapped around to see the waitress from before, holding her note pad to her heart, smiling at us. Once she saw us looking her cheeks flushed, "And here are your drinks." She said briskly, and then hurried off.

Edward got up and switched sides of the table so he was beside me, then he wrapped me in a hug. "I'm so excited! Maybe we can make each other friendship bracelets later. Oh, BFFs!" his voice was high, and insultingly female.

"You're a jerk Edward, I don't like you anymore." I tried to push him away but he laughed holding me tighter.

"I'm kidding Bella. That means a lot to me, thanks. I'd reciprocate the feeling, but Emmett would come at you with a pick axe."

I giggled, "For stealing his friendship bracelet?"

He chuckled, letting me go. "I love you, Bella." He blurted out.

There was a long awkward silence. He stared at me, looking like he wanted to kick himself, set himself on fire, and jump off a cliff into a pointy things convention. "Like…friend love?" My voice sounded more confused then surprised.

I wasn't sure, but it looked like he bit his tongue. "Mhmm." He agreed, moving back to his original spot opposite of me.

"Then I love you too...I wouldn't do this on your first date with Mrs. X, just a heads up."

He pursed his lips, nodding, "Thanks." There was another long uncomfortable silence. I shifted in my seat, looking at the other people eating, talking, and not wanting to run out of the restaurant screaming. "So…I'm sorry for scaring you. That's not what I initially intended to do."

I smiled, holding in laughter. "What was you initial intention then?" I asked, leaning forward.

He laughed uncomfortably, "Actually, I was going to say that I liked your shirt, but then I thought that was kind of stupid."

"So you said you loved me instead?"

He buried his head in his hands. "Yeah. That happened to be stupider."

I grinned, "Oh well. It's a memorable at least. This will be the story I'll tell my children one day. We'll all ridicule you then."

He chuckled, "Oh well then, if all I'll get is decades of humiliation…" He shrugged.

The waitress came back, "Here you kids go." She smiled warmly at him again, sparing me a kind glance, then wandered off to another table.

"If you ordered what I ordered, does that mean you eat like a man?" he asked, pointing his fork at my meal before spearing a French fry.

"If your eating what I'm eating, does that mean you eat like a woman? And who eats French fries with a fork? They are the international finger food."

He made a face, putting his fork down. I grinned, picking up a French fry with my fingers.

The rest of the evening was mostly jabs at each other's eating habits. He couldn't find much with mine other then I ate French fries with my fingers. Apparently that made me barbaric or something.

After dinner Edward led me down to the lake. He made me lay down in the grass bellow a towering maple tree, the leaves all the colours of fall that I never got to see in phoenix. Reds, oranges, yellows and some rich browns all set alight from the dazzling sunset.

"See? Pretty right?" he asked, smug as I watched the reds in his hair catch fire from the last of the sun's light.

I sighed contently, leaning back in the grass. "Yeah. I never got to see this when I visited Charlie in the summers." I murmured.

He raised an eyebrow at me, and I realized belatedly that he didn't know much about my parents. It surprised me, mostly because I felt like I had known him for much longer then a week. Huh, a week today actually. "Happy one week." I said grinning, holding up my hand for a high five. He made a week with out getting thrown into a lake.

He pulled his hand out from behind his head to high five me. "Like an anniversary? And you're distracting me," his eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Is Charlie your boyfriend?" He made a face, and I could see all the instant prejudices he had against him in that one look. Probably all accusations would be based on his name until he got more information.

"Yes, like an anniversary…kind of. And ew, no. Charlie is my dad. My parents got divorced when I was really young, so I used to visit Charlie in the summers, in Forks. I think Washington weather is similar to Canadian weather…just wetter."

"I'm sorry." He told me. I could see his hand reaching for mine, to squeeze it comfortingly, though in all truth I didn't need to be comforted, but he stopped. "Aren't you supposed to be teaching me right now?" he asked.

"Oh! Right." I stood up, waiting for Edward. He looked up and me, then sighed, standing up. "Please bear with me for this one. I'm not much of a touchy feely person…and I've never had a boyfriend to try this with." I mumbled the last part nearly incoherently.

"And you've…what?"

"Never had a…guy to practice this on." I shrugged, looking away. What would the all dating Edward think of that? The man who oozed sex when all he did was smile. I expected him to laugh.

And he did. "What? Seriously?" he barked another laugh.

"Just to let you know, you sound like a drowning bear when you laugh." I snapped, embarrassed. "Anyways, I don't need a man to define who I am." I sniffed.

He grinned hugely at me. It was really starting to get dark, but even so I could still see with vivid clarity the exact shade of Edward's eyes, like he glowed. A brilliant light that shone from inside him. A deeper emanating beauty. Like he needed that. "Good for you. Never let a guy make you feel like you need to be defined. And if any of them try, call me. I'll deal with them." He winked, cracking his knuckles.

Just for that I was going to go after the biggest, scariest body builder I could find, just to scare the hell out of Edward when I called him. Crack your knuckled then tough guy. "Focus Edward. Touching. This could be like in the halls at school...or where ever you walking past her. Go to walk past me." I started to walk towards him, feeling a little self-conscious. I didn't really know what I was talking about. I really hoped it didn't show.

He chuckled as I reached out for his arm, "This feels more like a dance then—" he stopped talking as I passed, gently running my fingers down the inside of his arm, over his wrist, the pads of his palms until I touched his fingers. Then I held on with a loose grip—like I was trying to keep him with me, but knew I couldn't—and let my fingers slip off.

I turned around quickly, to see his reaction. His hand was shaking. He stared at me, eyes huge. I couldn't see much else on his face too know if this was a look of awe, or a sarcastic look. The light was too poor. "Did that seem stupid?" I asked, biting my lip.

"No. That was shockingly…intimate. That defiantly says I love you." He saw my disbelieving expression and chuckled sheepishly, showing me his hand, "It's tingling. That's a good thing."

I finally smiled back; relieved I wasn't going to get fired from my job as 'teacher'. "Good. Because that's all I've got."

His eyes narrowed in shrewd speculation, "Can I try?"

"Sure." I shrugged, walking towards him again. This time his fingers traced down the sensitive flesh of my inner arm, setting them aflame with heated pinpricks. It seemed like—for a fraction of a second—he was going to take my hand, until he continued over my palm, then held unwillingly released his grip on my fingers. To finish it off, he glanced down at me from the corner of one luminescent jewel like eye to give me a soft look.

Everything about it said I love you.

I had to swallow hard before I could collect myself enough to turn around to face him. You're projecting Bella, personifying, I told myself sternly. I grinned at him, "Nice. That was perfect."

Edward captured me in his arms after a brief smile. I shivered in his arms, embarrassingly because I wasn't cold. Despite the chill this morning it was a warm evening. Eventually I had to push him away. All my muscles were relaxing, letting me melt into him. I had the most absurd thought, that if we stayed here long enough, we would blend into one being. Skin onto skin, bone onto bone.

He didn't look all that put out from my rebuff, he was more focused on his accomplishment, "Really?"

I smiled grandly, "Really." Then I sighed laying down on the grass, watching all the points of light in the sky.

When he lay down beside me he sighed contently. "Sure that's all you're ideas on touching? No other thoughts?" he asked, looking at the sky as I did. His eyes flickering between the stars.

"Sorry," I mumbled, "When I come up with more I'll tell you."

"Kay."

There was a long silence. I could here the crickets chirping in our silence, some of the frog calls from the swamp a ways from where we lay drifted over the water to us. I closed my eyes, listening to the sounds of night.

"So I have a question." Edward said after the peaceful silence, "What if I want to kiss her on the first date?"

I pursed my lips, thinking. I tried to think about that, would I want to be kissed on the first night? If it was my Edward? Yes, probably, but at the same time, I didn't think so. "I don't know. I wouldn't recommend it, but I won't say not to either."

I saw him nod thoughtfully out of the corner of my eye. "Okay, so if I can't kiss her—"he saw I was about to object and rephrased, "—okay if I shouldn't kiss her, then what can I do to? Intimacy wise?"

I grinned evilly, "I hope you can endure celibacy Edward, because you're going to have to wait a long time. Unless she's not a virgin, and she wants to."

"She is a virgin." He responded immediately, defensively.

I got up on my elbows, "I didn't mean anything by it Edward. It's fine if she's not."

His eyes flickered open to see me, then slowly they closed again, it reminded me of the lazy, trusting stare of a cat falling asleep in your lap. "She's a virgin. And if she wants to anyways?" he asked, absolutely confident.

I wrinkled my nose at him. "I would still give it a lot of time. Mostly because of your reputation. If you move too fast, even if she wants to, it would be too easy for someone to convince her that she's only a play thing." I'd seen that happen before. It was a complicated mess to get out of, especially if old girlfriends holding vendettas got involved.

His eyes opened again to give me a hard look, "I would never give her any reason to doubt me. She's is a goddess, and will be respectively treated like one." I nodded, satisfied with his answer. Also a little afraid.

I sighed, loving the cool feel of the night air, saturated with water blown off the lake by the warm winds. It had gotten so dark too fast. That didn't seem fair, that my night with Edward was coming to a close.

He groaned, "Bella, I need to touch her. Even if it's just simple, like what you showed me before."

My lips twisted to the side as I thought. Then I leaned over him, still balancing my weight on my forearms. "Then tuck her hair behind her ear." I couldn't actually put Edward's hair behind his ears; it was a little too short for that. That didn't stop me from tracing my fingers over the hollow behind his ear, then down the line of his jaw to his lips.

I couldn't help myself, last night on the couch, when I had felt how soft his lips were was flashing back into my mind with violent force. I ran my thumb over his lower lip gently. I snatched my hand away once I realized that I might have crossed some line I wasn't supposed to. Edward didn't look troubled though as he raised himself to touch my shoulder, trying to make me lay down under him.

I did as he wanted, and he repeated the gesture back to me, even running his warm thumb over my lower lip. My heart thudded painfully in my chest and my lips burned.

It was wonderful.

My heart had finally settled down when Edward looked playfully over at me, "Want to go for a swim?"

"No."

"Okay," he said easily, and then stood, pulling me up with him. The second I started to struggle he threw me over his shoulder.

"No! Edward put me down, my shirt is white!" I continued to struggle, getting more desperate the closer he got to the end of the dock. "Please Edward." I begged as we stood at the end of the dock. I had stopped struggling.

"What colour is your bra?" he asked me. His voice was easy, like he was asking for the whether forecast.

"What?" I gasped; trying to sit up do I should see his face. He moved us closer to the end of the dock. "Green! It's green."

"Is the material thin?" he asked, moving us closer to the water while I tried to remember exactly what it had looked like when I had put it on this morning. I hadn't actually been paying attention to trivial things like this, and suddenly they were important.

"I don't remember." I started to struggle, my heart pounding in my ears. He was going to throw me in, that's why he wanted to know, to see if my bra would go see-through.

"I guess we'll be finding out then." He laughed darkly. I couldn't hear the soft chirping of the crickets anymore, and I wondered if it was because we were making too much noise, or if my heart was pounding too loud in my ears to hear them.

I made an abrupt decision. If I was going in, I was taking him with me. He pulled me of his shoulder, about to toss me into the water as if I were a rag doll. Instead, I stiffened and twisted my body at the same time. He lost his hold on me, just slightly, but it was enough so that my feet touched the ground. I planted myself firmly, and then swung my bodyweight around so he was set off balance. Pushing him in was too easy.

There was a cry of shock, and then a splash. Water sprinkled my skin. I waited until his head came out of the water, then I knelt as the edge of the dock.

It was all too funny; his hair was black in the wet and the night, treading ink black water as he stared at me in shock. "How do you do that?" he asked, partly in shock, partly frustrated. "I can bench press your weight."

I smiled innocently, "What colour is you bra Edward? I hope it's not thin." I giggled at his furious expression. My laughing stopped short when he smirked, then disappeared under the water. "Uh oh." I mumbled, taking a step away from the edge of the dock. After almost a full minute of him not resurfacing I started to panic.

"Edward?" I asked to the dark water. It was smooth, dark. I couldn't see him, "Edward!" I threw my shirt off, kicking my shoes off and dove into the water. I searched in vain through the dark water until my lungs screamed for air. I surfaced, splashing around the cold water. "Edward!"I gasped, spinning around, hoping for something, anything.

When I saw him, my eyes pricked with tears.

I was pissed.

"How long have you been there?" I cried at his dripping figure on the dock. "I didn't even see you get out of the water."

"I got out over there." He pointed to the miniature beach like area a good ten feet from the dock. His voice was staggered. "I was about to push you in but you jumped."

I glared at him, trying to ignore the relief saturating my every breath. "I called your name twice before I jumped. Why didn't you answer?"

"Because that would have given me away." He grinned, slipping down into the water with me. I swam over to him, my legs and arms pricked with the cold.

"Scared the crap out of me. I thought you were drowning."

He smiled innocently, wrapping two surprisingly warm arms around me. "Shocked the hell out of me. I was about to push you, and then you stripped and jumped into the water. I thought you had seen me for a second until you started to freak out."

I stopped. "Oh…my shirt." I said flatly.

He hugged me tighter, "I only saw your back. No worries." He sighed into my hair, not letting go of me. I didn't mind, I was warm.

I grinned, pulling away from him, "I finally made good on my promise. I threw you into the lake."

He barked a laugh, but it sounded like I had pulled him away from another train of thought. "Penny for your thoughts?" I asked, swimming blithely on my back as I watched the sky again. Once you were in the water, it wasn't so cold. Well once your arms and legs went numb and you lost all feeling it wasn't so cold. Kind of refreshing.

"Just wondering how we're getting you out of the water." He told me, his voice still far off. My eyes had adjusted enough to see more then just the green of his eyes. I could make out the outlines of expressions.

"Why can't you just turn around while I go up the beach?" I asked, stopping to look at him.

He was grimacing, "Because I recently discovered some people smashed beer bottled on the beach. I almost stepped on a piece of glass. I was wondering if you could pull your self up onto the dock instead."

"I'll try." I said eyeing the dock doubtfully. The dock was built a good two feet above the water, I didn't know if my arms were strong enough to pull my whole body up.

Edward made an irritated noise in the back of his throat. "Sure, you have the muscle to push me into the water, but not to pull yourself out." He shook his head in mock disappointment.

I made a face.

This was going to get interesting. The look Edward was giving me said he was thinking the same thing.