Disclaimer: Twilight and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Alice and Jasper made their way back to her place. Alice had forgotten a text book that she needed for her next class.

"Seriously, I love cheese. I am that girl that stands in the kitchen hogging the cheese tray. I may or may not use wine to help wash it down, but that is beside the point. But come on, Jasper, nuts? They are just nasty!"

"Hazelnuts? Almonds? Pistachios? Really… you hate all nuts?"

"I wish I was allergic so I could use that as an excuse. People give me such a hard time around the holidays, too, because they make these weird pies, like pecan pie, and they get mad at me for not trying it...and they have bowls of nuts in, like, every room."

"What?"

"So, I'll be the girl at the party hogging the cheese tray, while you stand there laughing at me while popping nasty nuts in your mouth."

"That's what she said!"

Alice just rolled her eyes.

Alice and Jasper weren't quiet as they entered the apartment. They were smiling and laughing too much to even notice the door was unlocked at first. When Alice looked down to the keys in her hand, it clicked.

"The door wasn't locked," Alice said with a slightly worried expression. "Bella!" she called.

Alice wasn't really nervous. No one expects the worse initially. She was just being cautious.

Even still, finding Bella waking from her cozy bed, Alice had to let out a breath she'd been holding. Then, she immediately sucked in a lung full of air when she got a good look at her.

"Jesus, Bella! Are you ok?"

"What?"

"You have like, dried blood on you…wait…are you naked?!"

Bella was still half asleep. She was exhausted and sore. After being woken by loud shrilling noises, she wanted to throw a pillow or a punch. Things started to slowly make sense. Reluctantly, she felt the empty side of the bed. There was nothing there. Bella quickly dodged the question.

"What time is it?"

"Bella…dude, you look like shit. Seriously… what is going on?"

Bella gave Alice a pointed glare and repeated her question. "What time is it?" Alice took a second to look at her watch. "It's 9:30."

Bella jumped from the bed with the sheet wrapped around her. "Shit! I was supposed to be in class a half hour ago." She stumbled towards the bathroom, knocking pillows onto the floor and tripping over the sheet wrapped around her feet.

"Bella, you are starting to freak me out. Since when do you not set your alarm? Since when do you sleep naked? Why was the door unlocked? Why do you look like you murdered someone?" Bella halted her pursuit for the shower.

"Alice, really, I'll explain everything. It's not as weird as it looks. But I really needed to be in class a half hour ago. I am pretty sure there was going to be a quiz today, and I can't fuck with my scholarship. Please let this drop for now."

Alice sighed and motioned with her hands for Bella to continue towards the bathroom.

Bella washed as fast as she could. She remembered to scrub her neck when her thoughts took her back to when Edward traced the smudge with his fingers.

Exiting the bathroom at full speed, she was accosted by Alice, who stuffed her into a dusty peach colored pleated top and brown, cuffed pants. Her hair was still damp when she dashed past Jasper on the way out the door. They both had given each other a toothless smile, but she was too tardy to stop for pleasantries.

She had been late to class, but luck was on her side. The professor didn't pass out the quiz until the last half of class. Bella walked in just in time. The professor gave her a disappointed look but didn't cause a fuss.

Her stomach was grumbling when she was done. No embarrassing sounds, just achy hunger pains. She decided to head to the café near the Student Union building. She usually ate at home because it was cheaper, but she was too hungry to wait.

Bella had never seen Edward on campus before, so she was jolted when she noticed him on her way to the café. It only took her a moment to notice he was consoling a girl… no, not any girl - Jane. She seemed to be crying. He didn't seem upset at all. She felt extremely guilty, all of a sudden, and a little worried. She would never want to be the girl to receive bad news from Edward Cullen and pitied any one that did.

That made her think. How long would it be until he tired of her? Until he was telling some other girl that Bella wasn't "really a girlfriend". Because she wasn't. They hadn't even gone on a date before she slept with him and in principle, that could be it. The last she heard from him. He had made no promises.

Of course, she didn't regret a moment of it. Even if he confronted her and broke her heart, she wouldn't… couldn't. You don't go, "Oh, no, I don't want you to break my heart." You say, "Hell yeah," and run with it. You cherish it. You savor it. You think back on it when you are old and grey and thank the lords you weren't too chicken shit to take a chance.

But, poor Jane, she thought. She could sympathize. She was pretty sure she would be in those shoes sooner or later. She stuck in her ear-buds and turned on her iPod. She wasn't a huge fan, but Dolly Parton's Jolene kind of fit the mood. She changed her mind and redirected her course. A nice, warm bowl of soup in bed sounded pretty damn good.

Bella's plans were ruined when she walked in the door. Alice was waiting for her, and it wasn't long before she was pulling her back out the door, refusing no for an answer. Alice wanted to take her out for lunch and make Bella explain the morning in full detail.

Edward checked his phone again for the hundredth time. She hadn't called, so he figured she was still sleeping. After breaking off whatever it was he had with Jane, he made his way to Bella's place. His knocks were left unanswered. He tried the door just out of curiosity, but found it locked. Someone had to have locked up after he left. He never had to worry about stuff like this before, but he couldn't help but worry a little now.

He shook it off and figured she must have had something to do, and he'd catch her later. He located her number in his phone and pressed send. It rang straight to her voicemail. He left her a short message telling her he was at her place but no one was home, and he would catch her later.

Bella hadn't turned her phone back on since before class. With Alice's constant questions, she hadn't even thought about it.

"So, he gave you a ride home. He freaked out about Mike, who had been rough with you, and you did not tell me about it. He beat up Mike. He came back to our place. You fixed him up, and then he slept over? And you said this wasn't weird." Alice glanced down at Bella's wrists that were now exposed. "Oh, Bella." Alice wanted to cry, but didn't want to upset her friend any further.

"I didn't want to say anything. I was going to take care of it. Everything always gets blown out of proportion."

"Bella, that shit isn't blown out of proportion. It's messed up."

"Why do I always have to be involved in some crazy drama? I just want simple." Bella sighed and then leaned back into her seat.

"Have you heard from him?"

"No, you saw. He wasn't there when I woke up. I don't know when he left."

"Well, I meant Mike… but now I am even more pissed." Alice started to raise her voice and stand, but Bella beckoned her with her hands to calm down. "He just left!"

"Alice, please!" Bella's eyes were huge and pleading.

Alice regained her calm and sat up straight. She continued her torture on the straw wrapper that rested before her. "Bella, did you do more than just actual sleep with him?" She kept her voice as calm as her body language.

Bella had been flipping through the drink and dessert menu that was always left on the table. "Yes," she whispered. Bella looked up to meet Alice's eyes. "It was amazing."

Alice went from outraged to confused. "Amazing…" Alice repeated.

"Yes, but I don't want to talk about it anymore." The waitress showed up and placed their orders in front of them. When she left, Bella continued. "Like I said. I want simple. Please, please don't make a big deal out of this. Jasper and Edward are friends, and I don't want things to get weird."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. I'm not going to get all crazy or act like a friend if that's what you want." Bella started to say Alice's name but Alice kept talking. "I'm going to drop it. Just this once. But I swear to God, if I see Mike I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. I'm not going to intentionally seek him out or anything. I'm not going to confront Edward, either. But I just want you to know, this pisses me off."

Bella gave her a halfhearted smile. "Thank you."

They both started eating and between bites, Bella decided she wanted to say one more thing.

"I really like him, Alice. I always have. He didn't do anything I didn't want. I am just as curious to see what happens as you are. If he acts like it didn't mean anything, so be it. Yeah, I'll be upset, but it wouldn't be his fault. I'm hoping things don't play out like that though. So, thank you for backing down."

Alice just nodded.

Sorry for the delay. My fault.

Finally saw Remember Me, which was totally a fanfiction on the big screen.

Jessica is a peach. Not only a high-class pimp, but also beta's this hella fast.