Disclaimer: Twilight and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Alice had had another afternoon class, so she dropped Bella off at home after lunch. She locked up her car and then headed towards the campus on foot, while Bella made her way up the stairs to her waiting bed. Still wearing her clothes, she crawled under her covers and took a long nap.

The sun had set by the time she woke up. Streaks of light from the streetlamps below snuck in through the blinds. Without leaving her bed, Bella felt around for her phone. She used it as a watch in most cases. When her poorly attempted search came up short she remembered that she had left it in her purse. She left her bed with a groan, flipped on the light switch, shielded her eyes from the harsh fluorescents, and located her phone in her bag. It turned off immediately after she turned it on. It was dead.

Grabbing her iPod, she shuffled into the kitchen to make dinner. She almost didn't hear the knocks coming from the front door over the music. She was surprised to find Edward standing there but didn't let it show. She did let him see the huge smile that covered her face. She noticed he was talking before she ripped the ear buds from her ears.

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked.

"I said can I come in?" he laughed.

Bella laughed too and then moved out of the way so he could get by.

"I'm making dinner. Are you hungry?"

Edward picked up the discarded music player from the counter where Bella just left it.

"You have an iPod? You eat basically ramen noodles, spaghetti, or peanut butter & jelly sandwiches every day, but you can afford an iPod?"

"No, it was given to me. And how do you know what I eat?"

"Someone just gave you an iPod?"

"Well, I refused it at first, but you know Alice."

"Alice gave you an iPod."

"Yeah."

"You have friends that just give you iPods."

"Look, Alice always has to have the best of everything. When a new something or other comes out, she has to have it. So, she passes down the outdated something to her friends. Rose had already gotten her previous iPod, so Alice claimed it was my turn. Actually, the other day Rose just got Alice's video one… when Alice upgraded to an iPhone."

"You have a whole section of Zydeco music on here. Zydeco music? Really?"

"Seriously, are you going to ridicule me all night about my music?"

"Perhaps. I am still curious about your secret Zydeco obsession."

Bella leaned over and snatched it from Edward's hands when he was too busy scrolling through her music folders.

"It's not a secret. I just don't go around telling everyone, because most people don't even know what Zydeco music is, ok? I like to listen to music. Sometimes I like to match it to what I'm doing. Like I listened to a lot of Tchaikovsky violin pieces while reading a novel concentrated mostly on the violin. And when I cook Cajun food, I like to listen to Zydeco. It's just what I do."

"Can we stop saying Zydeco now?"

Bella and Edward both laughed. Bella went back to stirring the pot in front of her, so Edward leaned over to get a look.

"What are you making?" he asked, just because. He already knew since the ingredients were right in front of him. He took this time and her proximity to study her profile and move her hair behind her shoulder.

It didn't escape her that what she was making was one of the things he listed off earlier in their conversation, and she smiled. "Spaghetti…"

Bella gathered some plates and utensils and placed them on the kitchen table. Edward wasn't sure what to do, so he just followed her to the table, took a seat, and watched her move about. When it was done, she didn't serve him. She just placed the pots on some worn oven mitts to let him help himself.

The table was used and gaudy and only had three chairs that didn't match. It was alright though, because it fit perfectly into the little alcove in the kitchen.

They ate mostly in silence. Both of them were feeling pretty awkward. Edward was wondering why she was being so calm and reserved. He wanted to know why she didn't call him back. Bella was trying to act like this was normal and not like a crazy girl who didn't know what the hell was going on.

When they were finished eating, Bella grabbed both their plates to take to the sink. Without dinner to distract them from the overwhelming tension, they were both pretty antsy. Edward was bouncing his leg repeatedly while staring at the scratches on the wood tabletop. Bella added the plates and silverware to the collection of dirty dishes in the dishwasher. When she was done, she just leaned against the counter and studied her nails.

Edward was tired of this. He never felt so ridiculous and spastic with other girls. He didn't understand. Bella was so easy to be around. She was pleasant. So, why was it so hard for him to talk to her? His internal struggles made him laugh out loud, which made Bella look up at him.

He removed himself from the uncomfortable chair and closed the distance between them. He gathered her hair in his hands to smooth it down behind her neck and then hugged her. She reached her arms up to return it. As he leaned down to trail the kisses from her cheek to her mouth, the front door opened to a very vibrant Alice.

Alice spotted the couple through the kitchen archway.

"Oh hey, Edward. What's up?" Alice asked. She then made eye contact with Bella. "Bella, you need to get dressed." All Bella could do was look confused.

"We're going out," Alice replied with a deadpan expression. Like it should be obvious.

"Alice, it's a school night. I have class in the morning," Bella argued.

"So?"

"So, I have responsibilities in the morning." Bella made sure to sound out each syllable when she said responsibilities.

Alice just stared at her like she was crazy. Bella felt crazy. She also felt wide awake. She had slept all day. Bella took a step back from Edward and made eye contact. "Are you going?"

Edward wanted to say no. He wanted to stay here with Bella, just Bella, but he could see the persistence in Alice's eyes. "Sure."

Bella sighed and then walked to her room to change. "Do I have time for a shower?" she called over her shoulder without looking back.

"Yeah, a quick one. Jasper will be here soon to pick us up. He's driving tonight."

"Wow, Jasper is driving?" Edward asked. He was still standing in the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm drinking tonight. It's his turn to drive." Alice was nonchalant when she said this, and Edward released a puzzled, "Huh."

"What?"

"Well, it's just… Jasper is never the designated anything because he's usually too drunk or too stoned. It's… Jasper."

Alice made a sound like a tsk and marched past Edward to scrounge around in the refrigerator.

Bella got ready in a hurry. She hated to rush, but she hated making people wait even more. She was never one to dress up, but she wanted to do a little more tonight knowing she had Edward's somewhat attention. She put on a black cotton shirt that was semitransparent. It was incredibly comfortable, but still rather sexy because you could sort of see her black bra through it. She paired it with skinny, dark-wash jeans and flats. She never wore heels unless it was a special occasion. She left her hair down. She noted that Edward always touched her hair, and she liked it.

Edward and Alice were still chatting in the kitchen when Bella returned. Edward's eyes went immediately to Bella's breasts. The scoop neck dipped down enough to show her collar bone, but was still tactful. He couldn't help but notice her creamy skin contrasted with the silky cotton. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to trace a finger down the black strap that only just peaked out from under her shirt on her right shoulder. He put his hands in his pockets instead.

"Hey, Bella, you ready?" Alice asked.

"Yep," Bella replied and smiled at the troublesome looking Edward. She wondered if it was because Alice had been giving him a hard time.

"Yeah, well I am going to take off then."

As soon as the words left Edward's mouth, Bella's smile faded. She wanted to ask him where he was going. She had thought he was coming out with her. Alice noticed Bella's confusion and stepped in to straighten it out.

"Edward drove here, so he's going to go home to change and then meet us there."

"Oh," Bella replied. She fought the smile that wanted to take over her face.

"Yeah, I didn't want to leave without saying bye first. So, um, I will see you later then." Edward was only talking to Bella but made a point to look at Alice as well. He wasn't sure if he should kiss her or hug her or what, so he copped out and waved a little before he headed out the door.

Jasper arrived moments later. He didn't meet them upstairs. He just honked the car horn alerting them that he had arrived. He didn't realize that this would piss off Alice. She let him know as soon as they got in the car. He took his punishment by ordering her a fruity girl drink as soon as they walked into the bar. He hated telling the bartender he wanted a Sex on the Beach. Alice knew his disdain for ordering such cocktails, and she didn't even like that drink. But she drank every last drop with a smirk on her face.

I'll be working an expo next week in Orlando and don't know how much time I'll get to write/post then. I'm going to try to have the next chapter ready for Monday, but everything seems to be conspiring against me lately. Right now I have no internet at home, which is giving me withdrawal symptoms and making me want to pull my hair out. So, even if the chapter is ready over the weekend I have to wait till Monday to email it to my lovely beta friend.

I did want to say that the whole cheese/nut convo last chapter should be credited to Jessica0306 as well. Since it was a conversation that the two of us have had.

Also, maybe no one has noticed, but I wanted to clear up the whole dorm/apartment thing. In college my "dorms" were apartments. Four girls in a 2Bed/2Bath apartment. (I was an RA, so I was lucky and had my own room.) I just didn't know if you were picturing what most standard dorms looked like… two twin beds in a closet sized space... and found my descriptions confusing at all. I just take from what I know.

BTW – My iPod was given to me or I wouldn't have one.

I'm not religious, but I am super happy I get a day off tomorrow. Thank you, Jesus. I hope everyone else enjoys the holidays.