Author's Note: I'm sooo sorry it has been so long between updates. I've been wrapped up in my Christmas plot bunny and haven't gotten much written on this. It's probably too because we're getting close to the end. I never want to let my stories go, so I tend to drag out completing them sometimes. At any rate, here is the chapter, full of more drama after the bubble popped for these stepsiblings. My plot bunny is only about ten chapters long and will be done before New Year's so I promise new chapters once that's in the bag both for this and Return of the King!

Thanks to my beta, AgoodWITCH who I seem to keep up to her eyeballs in chapters these days. Love ya baby! Now on with the update!

Chapter 20

I skipped my first class of the morning thanks to Alice glomming onto me as soon as I walked in the door, making me so late it wasn't worth the trek. Instead, I texted Edward and told him I'd walk with him to the class we shared at 1pm. He teased me a bit before stating it would be an honor.

I felt a bit anxious as I tugged my coat on, wrapping up my neck with the long, soft scarf and tucking my hands into the warm, neoprene gloves Edward had given me in my stocking to keep my hands warm during snowball fights. I could see my hand trembling as I reached for my book bag. By the time I reached the lobby, I felt as though my legs were made of jello.

That off-kilter feeling lasted for all of ten seconds until I saw Edward leaning against the wall by the door, watching me intently. He too was bundled, but his sea glass eyes practically glowed in my direction. I smiled and met him at the halfway point in the lobby.

"Hey there. Long time no see," Edward mumbled, taking my bag to sling over his shoulder before curling me into his side. I sighed hello, happily curling my arms around his waist as I snuggled in and let him lead me out in the biting cold.

We didn't even garner a second glance as we made our way across campus. Between the anonymity of a campus as large as UDub, and the yards of fabric we were bundled in disguising our identity, we were considered nothing more than another couple in the crowd.

When we reached the classroom, it was a little less comfortable as we shifted to holding hands upon entering the building, and continued that way until we reached our seats. A few of the people in this class were in classes with one or both of us the semester before, one actually being Gianna, the flirty girl from Edward's music program that couldn't keep her hands off him at the restaurant a few weeks before.

Several people tried to steal confused glances, but Gianna chose not to hide her dismay before her eyes narrowed in accusation as Edward offered to help me shed my coat and hung it on my chair for me. I was so grateful to be able to gaze right back at her. We had nothing to hide, and now I could stake my claim, as I hadn't been able to do the time before.

I took my seat, crossed my legs, and reached over to grab Edward's hand without ever taking my eyes away from the girl. She huffed, her nostrils flaring before she spun back to her books so fast her hair smacked her in the face. I snorted before I heard Edward chuckle beside me as his thumb drifted across my knuckles.

"Are you done staking your claim? 'Cause I need to get my notebook out before class starts and I can't do that with you white knuckling my hand, love."

I glanced over at our hands, grimacing as I noticed how tightly our fingers were bound. I looked up in apology before releasing his hand and reaching down to grab out my own notebook, forgotten in my need to claim my territory.

A few seconds later, we were settled and ready to take notes. Edward reached over to take my hand again, lacing our fingers before bringing them up to his lips. He leaned in close to whisper in my ear.

"I have a feeling that if we come up against a problem with anything, it will be either that chick or Tanya. Nobody else will care, but Gianna's been flirting since before Tanya. I don't think she's going to be happy that she got usurped again."

I giggled, rolling my eyes in his direction. "Usurped? I never realized landing you was like gaining the royal crown. Should I ask for a scepter too?"

He crinkled his nose at me as he nudged me with his elbow. "Alright, smartass. Class is about to start. Time to pay attention."

I picked up my pen and put the date in the top right corner before leaning in close as the prof approached the podium up front. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to have difficult focusing while sitting next to you, especially after last night. I'll never take another shower without thinking of you."

He stiffened before shifting in his seat as I smirked, drifting my finger up his arm before moving it to my lap so he could pick up his pen and write. He cleared his throat and whimpered before leaning in to whisper back at me.

"You're going to pay for that, Bella. Mark my words."

I looked up at him with innocent eyes that falsely claimed innocence as he glared back down at me. "Nice try, but you are a little vixen."

I smirked up at him with a wink. "What, you don't want me to do that again? And again? And again…?"

He shifted again, licking his lips as he let out a loud breath. The professor began to drone in monotone as I focused on the front of the room, trying to suppress my evil grin as I whispered, "Please, you know you love it."

My smile grew wider as he leaned into my ear. "Hell yeah, I do," he grunted before shifting in his seat to start scribbling on the page. I suppressed a giggle when I noticed that most of it was gibberish.

When class was over, we got a few more wary looks as we chatted while putting on our coats. Edward insisted again that he carry my bag for me. I was arguing that it wasn't necessary when Gianna flitted by, clipping me in the shoulder. I ignored her, but had a harder time ignoring her words.

"Watch it, sicko. Incest is the worst sin you can commit." Some of the people around us gasped and stared at us with big eyes.

My lips narrowed and my nostrils flared as I turned to bolt after her. I wanted to rip her ugly hair out by the roots and use it to weave a noose for her to hang from, but Edward's strong arm around my waist kept me from going after her.

"Don't let her get to you, Bella. We're not wrong here, baby. You know that. I know that. That's all that matters."

I melted against his chest with a sigh, resting my head against his shoulder. "I know. I know. She just makes me so mad…little floozy with her over processed hair and fake everything. Ugh!"

Edward chuckled against my head as he kissed my hair. "Just think of this as training for when we have to go back to Forks again."

I groaned before taking his hand and leading him toward the door. Two girls stared at us with wide eyes as we passed. "He's my STEP brother, as in we have no blood relation whatsoever. There's nothing wrong with that!"

The girls jerked back as if they'd been slapped as Edward groaned and pushed me toward the door. "Come on, grouchy-pants. Let's get you back to the dorm before you attack every person that glances your way."

We walked hand in hand through the campus and back to the dorm. Nobody else seemed to care. It appeared that only small pockets of the world were going to be an issue for us, to everyone else we were just another couple walking down the street, which had me seriously considering talking Edward into transferring next year…maybe somewhere on the East Coast. There were some amazing music schools out there. It would be so much better than what he had settled for here. Knowing now how he's felt about me all along, I had a sneaking suspicion that his choice of school was led as much by my choice as by anything else.

Edward happily followed me to my room where we settled in to work on homework on the beanbag loveseat, sneaking kisses every few minutes. We stayed there until evening when supper time came, forcing us to return to the trenches in search of sustenance. We walked hand in hand to the elevators, keeping our hands clasped as we rode down to the cafeteria.

As we walked in, conversation stopped as all eyes turned our way before a low murmur began to rise across the room. That was bad enough, but my blood ran cold when my brother stood up and stomped toward us, his eyes burning with anger. I felt my heart sink at the fact that his amnesty had already expired.

When he reached us, he towered over me, his shoulders hunched, his hands balled into fists as he glared at Edward. I'd been so focused on his anger; I hadn't even noticed the paper balled in his fist until he shoved it into Edward's chest.

Edward looked at the crumpled ball before carefully reaching to take it from Emmett's grip and unfurl it. I heard him gasp seconds before I saw what was on the page. I groaned and leaned against his arm, feeling a tension headache beginning in the muscles of my neck and radiating up behind my ears and eyes. It had only been a few hours. I couldn't believe this had happened in that short amount of time.

Emmett was leaning down in Edward's face, poking him in the chest as Edward took it with a pained expression in his eyes.

"You promised you were going to protect her. Look at this shit, and all because you two just HAD to fall in love. Geez, E! That bitch is painting her out to be a perverted prostitute."

I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh, trying not to cry and make things worse, but really, nothing I could do would really make that big of a difference. The sign had apparently already made it all over the dorm and maybe even the whole campus. I had no doubt in my mind that it was the handiwork of Gianna and most likely Tanya as well. It was quite an inventive piece of work, touting a big picture of me in the middle hugging Edward, my teeth blacked out in front as all around it the word INCEST was printed in bright neon colors. Underneath a nice little blurb about how I seduced my brother away from his loving girlfriend outlined a highly revised history of the rise and fall of his relationship with Tanya, blaming me completely for the demise. It was cruel, entirely incorrect, and apparently being bought hook, line, and sinker by the student body at large, judging by the looks of disgust we were getting.

Emmett continued to growl at Edward as I stared down at the paper. So much for Billy's theory that it wouldn't even be a blip on the radar. We were practically the new Woody Allen and Sun-yee. I wanted to cry, then I wanted to scream, followed quickly by the desire to run and hide, but once the emotional rollercoaster stabilized, I was left with anger and determination.

I didn't even look at Emmett and Edward as I turned away from them to grab the nearest chair at the nearest table and turn it, stepping on it before stepping to stand in the middle of the table, ignoring the complaints of its occupants. I held the sign in my hand above my head and yelled out to get the attention of the room.

"Excuse me, sheep of the University of Washington, but I have something to say. This sign is a malicious attempt to malign the character of my boyfriend and I out of a combination of jealousy and complete insanity. Please let me take a minute to set the record straight. Yes, I am involved with Edward Cullen. Yes, he is my STEP brother. No, we are not related by blood and by no means are committing incest. No, I did not steal him from Tanya Denali, his psycho ex-girlfriend who faked a pregnancy to try to keep Edward when he realized she was bad for him and was going to break up with her. No, he did not jump straight from her bed to mine. The truth of the matter is, Edward and I have been in love for years, but resisted it due to the small minds of people like the ones who made this banner and the ones who bought it and now think what we have is sick. You can think what you want, but know the truth. I am completely in love with Edward Cullen and there is nothing wrong with that. You can either like it or lump it, but whatever your opinion, keep it to yourself! Oh, and if you don't think that we won't be looking into legal action for this stunt and any that might follow, then you are dead wrong. That is all. Sorry for the disruption and please go back to your dinner."

I balled the paper up and threw it into the trash can a few feet away before turning to step down from the table to find Emmett and Edward both gaping at me with wide eyes. When I fumbled trying to get down they both snapped out of their shock and rushed to offer me a hand on each side. I took them and let them help me step down before hugging myself to Edward's chest.

"I'm not really feeling hungry anymore. Can we go back to my room?"

Edward kissed my head as he stroked my hair. "Sure, baby. I'm not hungry anymore either."

I felt Emmett lean forward to kiss my hair and tell me how proud he was of me before walking us back to the elevators. He gave me a small hug before the doors opened and watched as they closed, blocking us off from the hallway. Once the doors closed, I melted against Edward and bawled. Edward did his best to comfort me, but this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

When we got back to the room, I melted into Edward's side and sobbed. I felt so torn. In a way, I didn't want to stay. I wanted to transfer as soon as possible and never look back, but another part of me, a bigger part of me, didn't want to be run off by the ignorance of others. I liked living this close to home and being at the same school as my big brother. I had friends here and a life. I didn't want the malicious acts of a few jealous, small minded people keep me from being where I wanted to be.

I drifted off to sleep debating our options and wondering what Edward would think, but never gathering my courage to ask him. All I did manage to finally whisper out was, "Well the bubble has definitely burst."

Edward snorted before shaking his head. "And has it ever!"