To start off, so sorry about the delay! School has started and it was a bit harder to find time to write than I anticipated. That being said, I'm pretty sure I'm going to drop back to updating every other week. I will still be posting on Tuesdays though, that won't change.

Thanks go to the wonderful Cara, who has almost won her war of the commas, and my lovely Shae for prereading.

Also, due to my being full of fail, I realized I have never said this. THANK YOU ALL so very much who review! Your reviews mean so much to me, knowing that people are reading this AND liking it is amazing to me, and it makes me smile every time my phone vibrates with a review alert email. So, again, THANK YOU ALL!

If you aren't familiar with the flash I reference in the beginning of the chapter the link is at the bottom.

"Ok, just tell us what happened ..." Rose was saying, a soothing note to her voice.

"In English, too, preferably," Alice interrupted, shooting Bella a quick smile.

"Yes," Rose quickly agreed, "in English. Take a deep breath and start at the beginning. You were having coffee and talking to Mike when Edward came in. Everything else was just one big jumbled rant."

Closing her eyes, Bella took a deep breath, and then pulled in another for good measure. Feeling reasonably calm again, she opened one eye to peek out at the two girls standing before her. After another second she let out all the air in her lungs, opened her second eye, and began. "Ok, basically he comes in all 'WTF, mate?' and spazzing because I'm out with Mike, but turned him down. Apparently, this is just unfathomable to him."

"Well, from what Emmett and Jasper have said, your turning him down was a first. Even you can admit that his behavior isn't completely unexpected given that," Alice told her.

"Ok, yes, that's true. Doesn't make it any less obnoxious though," Bella answered with a roll of her eyes.

"Never said it did, sweetie. Anyway, back to the story."

"Right, well he was busy being the kangaroos in Australia, and ... what, Alice?" Bella began, before noticing the confused look on Alice's face.

"The kangaroos in Australia? What the fuck does that even mean?" Looking to Rose, she continued, "Does that make any sense to you?"

Shaking her head at her friends, Rose said, "It does, but only because I'm familiar with the End of the World flash. I'll show it to you later, but the part she's referencing is, the world gets blown up by nukes and everyone's dead, except Australia, they're all 'WTF, mate?' It makes no sense out of context, just go with it."

With both eyebrows so high on her forehead they were in danger of disappearing behind her bangs, Alice merely nodded and motioned for Bella to continue.

Laughing slightly at the look she'd just been given, Bella finished her story. "So, I then told him that his usual tactics wouldn't work on a girl like me, who saw though his bullshit. I think I said something to the effect of his not getting anywhere with me didn't preclude anyone else from doing so, which he apparently took as a challenge and declared his intention of 'winning' before turning and leaving the shop. It was both the most bizarre and most infuriating conversation of my life. The boy is a moron."

"Aren't they all?" Rose said with a laugh. "Actually," she continued after a pause, "I don't know how much of his stupidity is real, and how much of it is that you've basically put him in left field and he's struggling to figure things out. Not that it's any kind of excuse, but if he only knows one thing, being girls falling all over him, your not doing so has to be really bizarre to him and he probably has no idea what's going on right now."

"Mm, yeah that's a good point," Alice said, head nodding ever so slightly. "It's kind of disgusting to watch, but at the same time he is the prince. Of course every girl, except you of course, who's presented with the opportunity is going to jump at it."

The face Bella made at her prompted Alice to say, "Granted most of the girls he usually goes after have less sense than this counter top, but the point is, they all fall all over him and that's all he's ever known."

"Ok, yes I see your point," Bella said with a huff and a roll of her eyes, "but seriously, it's not going to happen because he'll never change. I really hope he figures that out quickly."

As Bella looked down into the mug she'd poured her latte in upon getting home, Alice and Rose looked at each other, a short, silent conversation passing between them.

"So, if he were to change," Rose began, a thoughtful look on her face, "would you give him a chance?"

Looking up, eyebrows furrowed in thought, Bella asked, "What do you mean?"

"If he grew up a bit, because really I think that's all he needs to do, what then? I don't think it's some serious character flaw. I think that ... everything has always come easily for him. He's a spoiled rich kid, which isn't surprising as he's the prince, who's accustomed to getting his own way because, really, who's going to tell him no?"

"I don't know. I suppose he'd have to find a way to prove to me that it was legitimate interest. That he wasn't still pursuing me because I was the only one who said no. That I wasn't a conquest of sorts, or something to prove, you know? Because, he is attractive. I can admit that. Right up until he opened his mouth last night, all I could think was 'Holy fuck, who is that?' Course, then he ended that quickly enough. But if he was genuinely interested in me, for me, I just might." After drinking some of her latte and looking out the window for a minute, Bella added, "The thing is, when I say I'd give him a chance, I mean more than I'd fuck him. That's part of the issue. I think he just wants to have sex, and I'm not about to put out on the first date. He'd have to prove he's interested in being with me and not just being in my pants."

"Well, honey," Alice said with a small smile for her, "in order to figure that out, you're going to have to spend time with him. You have to give him the chance to prove himself to you. And most importantly, while you need to stand up for yourself, you cannot fly off the handle at everything he says. It's a fine line, I know, but you have to learn what to let go, and what to tell him off for. And like I said, you can't figure that out if you won't spend any time with him."

YNK

Edward was pacing back and forth in his living room when someone knocked on his door. After a minute, the door to the room opened revealing his butler, who informed him of the arrival of his friend. Expecting it to be either Jasper or Emmett, he nodded his assent to their being let in. Dropping onto his couch and letting his head fall into his head hands, he said "I may have fucked up," when he heard the door close.

"I think it's more than may have, but I also think you can fix it. Which is why I am here."

Flying up from the couch, Edward turned quickly, seeing not his friends as expected but instead Mike standing in the room, and let out a soft growl of annoyance. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Listen, before you decide to kill me, there is something I think you should be aware of," Mike told him, not moving from his spot by the door, feeling that the better part of valor in this instance was not putting himself closer to harm. "I'm not interested in Bella. Not the way you are. She's lovely, certainly, but she's not my type. And I do not believe she is at all interested in me that way either, so you have nothing to worry about from me."

Edward stared hard at Mike for a minute before letting out a grunt of acknowledgement and turning to flop back on to the couch and resuming his previous position. "Ok, then what?"

"Like I said, I believe you can fix it. But, I am not going to help you until we talk, and only if what you say is what I want to hear." Mike told him, finally leaving the door, and coming to sit in an armchair near the couch Edward was occupying.

"What?" Edward said, turning his head enough to see the other man.

"It's simple, Edward. She is an amazing girl, and she does not deserve to be submitted to your usual bullshit with woman. If you're only interested in getting her into bed to prove that you can have any woman you want, I won't help you. However, if it was something more that you wanted with her, well now that is something I believe I can assist you with."

"You honestly think I would be this upset over last night if I was just interested in the sex?" Edward asked, sounding offended.

"Given your track record, do you blame me?" Mike answered with a smile. When Edward didn't answer, Mike said, "Edward, you're not known for your successful relationships. If anything, you are known for not having relationships. You take a different girl home every night. You have never been seen with the same girl twice. Ever. That speaks pretty loudly. You must see that."

"Ok, fine. Yes, you have a point," Edward said, reluctance obvious in his voice. "Bella, though, she's different. It's not about the sex with her, I don't think. Don't get me wrong, I definitely am interested in the sex, but this morning Jasper and Emmett ate breakfast with her and her two friends, and I found myself rather jealous that they had spent time with her. That she had cooked for them. I want to get know her, beyond the superficial why she's here, what she is or did study at university stuff. I want to know the story behind that scar she has on her wrist, what her parents are like, I want to hear her laugh. I want to be the one making her laugh. It's ... I don't know really. I've never experienced this before."

Smiling, Mike told him, "You like her. And, you respect her. That is the difference. She's special, and you recognize that. I am glad that you do, because if you had not, I would not have helped you."

"So, you will then?" Edward asked, sounding hopeful.

"Oh, yes. I find myself quite fond of her, and I think you could make her quite happy, but like she said this morning, you are going to have to change tactics with her. Also, I suspect you are going to have to prove to her what you just told me, but through actions rather than words. They do speak so much louder after all."

"Anything," Edward said, "Tell me what to do and I'll do it. How do I prove myself to her?"

"I am warning you, here and now, before we set out on this, it will not be easy, but then, what worth having ever is?"

Flash Link: http:/www(dot)endofworld(dot)net/