Chapter 5- What Lies Beneath

I exhaled slowly, finally closing my eyes. Trying to get Edward to reconsider his date with Jessica was going to require a lot of energy. Calling reinforcements was necessary. By tomorrow night Jessica would have her dream date. Then I could enjoy my boyfriend's company. I groaned as my alarm rang loudly. I wanted to cry of aggravation. I barely got any sleep but no time to mope around. I had a mission.

I peeled my myself unwillingly from my comfy bed. I showered quickly as I practiced my speech. I straightened my hair and let my bangs fall freely. I slipped into a blue strapless summer dress. It ended right above my knees. I put on a black sweater that ended right under my breast. I took a deep breath before leaving the dorm.

I walked the halls with determination. My mission was to track down Edward Cullen. I stopped immediately at his locker. He was flirting with a girl who was throwing herself at him. I walked over and stood just inches away. "Edward. I need to speak with you." I stated. Edward looked away from the obvious bimbo and glared.

"Is this your girlfriend?" She asked slightly concerned. "No, but I just wanted to warn Edward." I answered quickly. "Warn me about what?" Edward asked bluntly. A sudden impulse took over. "That you might have crabs." I lied cleverly. The girl shrieked as she ran off disgusted. Edward became angry as his stare became more deadly. I smirked and placed myself in front of him.

"I'm sorry about yesterday." I apologized. Edward raised his eyebrow as he studied my face before speaking. "I forgive you." "Oh." I replied surprised. I figured he'd put up more of a fight. "But I don't forgive you for the crab comment." He reminded me. "I just needed her to leave." I pleaded innocently.

"And you couldn't just ask her?" He asked countered. I became nervous as Edward waited for a reasonable response. Problem was I didn't have one. "I'm here to tell you to reconsider your decision about Jessica." I said as sternly as possible. "So you got all dressed up. Scared off a girl just because you want me to take Jessica to the ball?" He asked in disbelief.

"You were the one who wanted to go with her in the first place." I reminded him. "Problem is I already asked Lauren to go with me." He grinned. "What?" I yelled. "No, Edward you have to take Jessica." I demanded. "Sorry Bella. No can do." He smiled. Edward closed his locker and walked off leaving me stressed and in disbelief.

How could he be so incentive and completely stubborn? I sighed leaning against his locker. "Hey, how did it go?" Victoria asked. "This is going to be harder than I thought." I bluntly stated. I quickly filled Victoria in on the dance situation. She stayed optimistic and positive we could convince him.

"I was pretty surprised when you called me last night." She revealed. "I didn't know where else to turn." I answered truthfully. "So how did you become involved with Edward Cullen?" She asked puzzled. "He's in my English class and the professor assigned us an assignment. Edward was my partner." I continued as we walked aimlessly around the school.

"During the following weeks we had to get to know each other for class. At first everything was fine he seemed sweet. But once I started dating James he changed. He was rude and arrogant. And told me that I didn't know what I was getting myself into." I explained to her. Victoria became thoughtful as she took in the information I gave her.

"Bella. It seems to me that this is a simple case of the blues." She shared. I stared at her in confusion. "Edward liked you and then you started dating James. Now from what you told me seems they have some kind of history. And not a good one." She added. I giggled at her theory.

"And I'm really a CIA agent." I scoffed sarcastically. "Fine. Don't believe me." She smiled. Victoria was insane if she thought Edward had feelings for me. I mean from the five weeks we spent getting to know each other, taught me one thing. Edward Cullen cared only about his Volvo and his ego. "Time for Plan B." Victoria announced in a dramatic voice.

We searched the halls for Lauren A.K.A. Bimbo. I didn't know why she bothered me so much. But all I knew was I needed to steer her away from Edward. I smiled in excitement as I spotted her flirting with Mike. "Showtime." Victoria whispered. "Can you believe she gave Edward crabs?" I said loudly.

Victoria gasped as she acted disgusted at my comment. "I heard you could catch them just by touching them." Victoria cringed as she glanced quickly at Lauren. "She's buying it." Lauren bit her nails as she gawked at us. "Lauren." Edward called out as he headed our way. Victoria grabbed my wrist and pulled me around the corner. "Hey." Edward greeted smoothly.

"Edward. I'm going to the ball with Mike." She blurted out. "What?" Edward said with a hint of anger in his tone. "Yeah. But maybe when you get that problem checked out. You can call me." She stated. I giggled as Lauren left with Mike by her side. Edward stood there in shocked. Victoria jetted before I noticed someone grabbing my wrist.

"Bella." Edward said with a hint of suspicion in his voice. "Did you talk to Lauren?" He accused. "Nope." Well sort of, I technically didn't speak directly to Lauren so it didn't count as speaking to her. I smiled inwardly impressed with my new found scheming abilities.

Edward continued to grip my wrist as he stared at me with a blank expression. He let go of me instantly and stormed off. What the heck was wrong with him? I stared after him alone once again. I knew there was more to Edward's bad boy routine. I was almost certain there lied more of a caring sweet person then he led others to believe.

"Hey Babe." James smiled kissing my cheek lightly. I became startled as James pulled me out of my thoughts. "Oh hey." I replied automatically. James held my hand as we headed toward the plaza. I couldn't stop thinking about Edward's reaction in the hall. Did he really like Lauren? Was Victoria right about him liking me?

Who was I kidding? Didn't take a rocket scientist to know that Edward and I had no chemistry nor connection to one another. I blushed slightly at the thought of Edward having feelings for me. I shook my thoughts away as I looked up at my boyfriend.

Reality was James and I had a strong connection. I smiled happyily knowing that for once in my life everything was exactly how I wanted it to be. And no one could take that away from me.

A/N: Please review =)