Disclaimer: I do not own any of the songs that are mentioned or performed in this chapter. All rights belong to their original owners.
Note: Edward's outfit for Open Mic Night: http:/i44 . tinypic . com/24dq1ar . jpg
Bella's outfit for Open Mic Night: http:/i41 . tinypic . com/xx6ko . jpg
Chapter Thirty Seven – (A Little More Than Friends)
EPOV
It's been a few weeks since Bella performed at the school talent show and I haven't been able to get that image out of my head. I've never seen her so elated and confident. It made all my feelings of love and adoration for her flood through me so strongly I wanted to jump up on stage and assault her with kisses. We've continued to try and remain being friends before attempting anything more, and everything has been so great between us during this past week. It's starting to feel as though nothing bad even happened between us.
When I found out Bella and Jessica had made up and become friends again, I'd never been so happy in my life. It made everything between all of us so much easier. I swear, those two girls are about as stubborn as each other. Jessica confided in me about being gay after her fight with Bella at Jake's party. She told me how Bella thought there was something going on between Jessica and me and that I seem to care about Jessica more than I care about her. I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my lips at the crazy thoughts that run through Bella's mind. This just caused Jessica to place her hands on her hips and narrow her eyes at me. I could see the hurt and longing in Jessica's eyes. She needed her best friend back and that's why I insisted Bella speak to Jessica to sort out their drama.
It's amazing how far people can come sometimes. A few weeks ago Bella and Jessica were constantly glaring at each other and at each other's throats. And now they're the best of friends, putting the past behind them.
x.X.x
It was a rare sunny day in Forks so Jessica, Bella and I decided to have lunch outside. Alice was busy running around somewhere and Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper were all cramming for their final S.A.T's. I was helping Bella catch up on all her Biology work while Jessica read her book she had to study for English. Bella eventually ended up getting frustrated and agitated about how far behind she was with all her work and kept insisting that trying to catch up was just pointless and she's just going to have to end up repeating. Jessica let out a heavy sigh before closing her book and glancing over at Bella.
"Bella, you're going to be fine. Stop freaking out," Jessica assured her.
"You don't know that," Bella insisted.
"You're just making things worse by over thinking everything," I told her.
"Well, it's not my fault nothing is staying in my head," she complained.
"I thought Tanya was helping you too?" Jessica asked.
"She has been, but everything is just going in one ear and out the other."
"Are other things bothering you? Is that why you're finding it hard to concentrate?" I asked.
"You could say that," she murmured.
"What's wrong?" Jessica asked concerned.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," Bella replied. "Anyway, what's going on with you and Tanya?" she added slyly, causing Jessica to blush furiously.
"Uh. What do you mean?" Jessica asked softly.
"Don't play stupid," I joked.
"Yeah. I know something is going on between you two," Bella said, laughing lightly.
"Argh, I don't know?" Jessica said exasperated. "I've never even had a girlfriend. I don't even know what I'm doing."
"Well, even I can tell she's into you," I told her.
"So you two should just hurry up and get together," Bella teased.
"Should we now?" Jessica quipped.
"Yep," Bella replied, popping the P for emphasis.
"Well, maybe I think you and Edward should hurry up and get together," Jessica said mischievously.
"Edward and I are friends," Bella said pointedly. This caused me to chuckle lightly, in which, Bella responded by glaring at me.
"Mhm, whatever you say. We all know where this is heading," Jessica remarked, gesturing between Bella and I sitting closely together.
"And we all know where you and Tanya are heading," Bella responded, trying to hide the blush that formed on her cheeks.
"You are such a pain!" Jessica exclaimed, swatting Bella on the arm playfully as the laughter overtook her. Bella and I joined in with her soon after before turning back to our Biology notes once again.
x.X.x
I feel my lips automatically turn up into a smile as I think of the memory. It's amazing how so many things can change in such a short time. I pull my cell phone out of my pocket and scroll through my contacts until I find Bella's name. I press the green call button and put the phone up to my ear, waiting for her to answer.
"Hey," she greets me cheerfully.
"Hey, you. What are you doing today?" I ask kindly.
"I was just going to catch up on some more work."
"That sounds like no fun at all."
"Jeez, thanks for the encouragement," she replies through a laugh.
"I'm taking Vicki and Riley out for a picnic. You should come," I tell her.
"I'd love to, but I really need to catch up, Edward."
"What you need is to get out of the house and away from all that work," I insist.
"How am I meant to keep myself from repeating if I don't do the work?"
"You're concentrating on all of it too much. That's why nothing is sticking with you."
"Fine," she mumbles, letting out a heavy sigh.
"I knew you'd give in."
"Did you now?"
"Yep. You just can't resist my charms," I joke.
"Don't I know it?" she mutters. I laugh lightly.
"Come over in an hour?" I reply, stating the sentence as a question.
"Okay."
"See you then."
"Bye, Edward."
I have a quick shower before changing into a clean pair of black jeans and pulling on a navy blue button down shirt with my leather jacket over the top. I slip on my black vans before grabbing my car keys and shoving my phone into my jeans pocket.
I call into Jasper's room on the way downstairs.
"Doing a bit of light reading?" I ask as I walk into his room. He's sitting cross legged with a bunch of books and revision notes sprawled across his bed. He glances up at me and rolls his eyes.
"Ha-ha. Just you wait until you have to go though this next year," he says.
"I'm just gonna wing it," I reply nonchalantly.
"No, you're not."
"How would you know?"
"Because I know what you're like," he scoffs. "And Dad would murder you if you just threw your education away," he adds seriously.
"Whatever," I murmur.
"What are you doing today?" he asks curiously.
"Taking Vicki and Riley out on a picnic by the falls."
"Cool. That sounds like fun," he says longingly.
"Yeah. Bella's coming too."
"And how are things going with you two?" he asks genuinely.
"Good. I mean, we're doing pretty good at this friends business, I guess."
"Have you thought about when you're gonna be ready being more than friends?" he asks curiously.
"Yes and no. We're just gonna see where things go, I think."
"You know she wants more than friendship though, right?"
"Yeah. So do I, but we're not gonna rush into anything." He quirks his brow at me, causing me to roll my eyes at him. I let out a sigh, running my hands through my hair.
"Well, whatever makes you happy, man," he says sincerely.
"I should probably head downstairs. She'll be here any minute."
"You're so whipped," he says, chuckling lightly.
"Shut up," I murmur, flipping him off before turning my back on him to walk away.
"Have fun," he says, still laughing.
"I will," I reply cheerfully. "Have fun with your mountain of revision!" I shout after I'm out of his room.
The doorbell chimes just as I make my way downstairs. I rush over to the door, opening it widely to see Bella standing on the other side.
"Hey," I greet her kindly. "Did you wanna come in or do you wanna head off now?" I ask.
"Oh, I don't mind. Whichever is fine," she says sweetly.
"Well, let's go then," I reply, stepping outside and closing the door behind me.
"Okay," she replies softly, smiling sheepishly at me as I take her hand in mine and lead her to my car.
That's another thing we've automatically been doing whenever we're together. I don't know what it is and I don't know if that's normal procedure for friends, but I just like the feel of her hand in mine. I open the car door for her before walking around to the driver's side. Bella looks through my CD's as I drive down the winding driveway that leads to the highway. I glance at her and smile kindly as she finds the signed Linkin Park CD and pops it into the CD player.
"I hope you've been putting this to good use," she glances over at me and quirks her brow, a hint of a smile on her lips.
"Of course," I respond, grinning. She laughs lightly before breaking our gaze and looking out of the window.
"So, how is everyone?"
"Who?" I ask confused.
"Rose, Emmett and Jasper," she replies, in a tone that says I should know who she was talking about. "I don't see them much anymore," she adds sadly.
"That's because they're too busy cramming for their last set of SAT's."
"Yeah. That must suck."
"That's going to be you and me next year," I tell her sourly.
"Ergh. Don't remind me," she murmurs. "I can't believe I let you talk me into coming out today. I should be catching up on all of my work," she adds unhappily. I chuckle lightly, causing her narrow her eyes at me.
"I'm serious," she says grimly.
"Would you relax? You're hardly even behind anymore. You're practically completely caught up on all your Biology work."
"That's because you've been shoving all your notes down my throat every afternoon."
"Exactly. So you deserve a break," I say triumphantly.
"What am I meant to do about Trig and History? I'm still behind in them," she grumbles.
"When their SAT's are done, Rose and Jazz will help you," I tell her.
"Why is Rose even in my Trig class anyway? She's a senior," she says confused.
"Something about extra units or whatever."
"Right."
"Isn't Jess in your Trig class? Get her to help you."
"She has been… But let's just say Jessica gets distracted when she's at the cottage."
"Tanya?" I ask, pursing my lips to keep myself from laughing.
"Yes," she says bitterly. I can't stop myself from laughing, which causes Bella to snap her head in my direction. "It's not funny!" she exclaims.
"Yes it is. I can just picture Jessica trying to concentrate while Tanya teases her."
"Don't forget about Jessica getting all flustered because of it. That's usually where I lose her."
"Then Tanya drags her to the bedroom?" I ask mischievously, waggling my eyebrows.
"You would not be laughing if you knew what I go through."
"They're happy, Bella. They're in their own little world."
"Yeah, well, they don't have to go flaunting their relationship around every chance they have," she mutters, folding her arms across her chest.
"Are you jealous?" I tease.
"What?" she asks confused.
"Are you jealous of their relationship?"
"No?" she replies, stating the word as a question.
I let out a bellow of a laugh before glancing over at her. Her eyes are once again narrowed. I reach across and gently run the back of my hand across her cheek. She rolls her eyes, the corners of her lips turning up into a smile as I entwine my hand with hers.
"We'll get there eventually," I tell her, squeezing her hand lightly.
"Really?" she asks breathlessly, glancing up at me through her lashes with hope clear in her eyes.
"Well, I'd say we're already halfway there," I reply honestly, smiling softly at her. She returns the gesture before placing her other hand on top of mine and closes her eyes, letting out a content sigh.
Vicki and Riley are no longer in the hospital. They were deemed fit to go home and surprisingly, the foster home Riley was placed with lives on the same street as Vicki and her mother. They're both an only child so everything worked out perfectly. Even though Vicki is four years older than Riley, those two are always having sleepovers. Vicki has taken Riley under her wing as though he's her real little brother. It's a beautiful thing to see.
When I pull up to Vicki's house, I notice Vicki and Riley playing in the sandpit. Vicki glances up at the sound of mine and Bella's doors closing, a wide grin on her face.
"Bella!" Vicki exclaims, tossing her spade as she runs towards Bella. She flings her arms out in front of her. Bella leans down and catches Vicki in her arms, hugging her tightly before releasing her.
"Hey, Vicki," Bella says sweetly.
"I didn't know you were coming today," says Vicki.
"Neither did I," Bella replies humorously.
"Oh, hi kids. I didn't know what time you were coming," Mrs. Damon greets us as she walks out of the front door, smiling politely at Bella and me.
"Hey, Mrs. Damon," Bella and I reply simultaneously.
"Please. Call me Heidi," she says kindly. I smile politely at her.
"Where are we dowing?" Riley asks, tugging on my shirt and raising his arms, indicating he wants me to pick him up. I reach down and pick him up, placing him on my right hip.
"It's a surprise," I tell him.
"Do you know where we're going?" Vicki asks Bella.
"Victoria, don't go trying to get information out of Bella like that. Your innocence act isn't fooling anyone," Heidi scolds her playfully. Vicki places her hands on her hips and glares at her mother.
"Don't. Call. Me. Victoria," Vicki says, annoyance clear in her voice.
"Sorry, honey. I'm as clueless as you," Bella chimes in, tapping her index finger on Vicki's nose.
"Why do you never tell us where we're going?" Vicki whines, turning to face me. I chuckle lightly as I walk over to her and Bella, placing Riley back down on the ground next to Vicki.
"Because it's more fun that way," I tell her.
"Because he's a pain," Bella says, grinning mischievously. I roll my eyes before smiling at her.
"Whatever, baby." I smirk at Bella as her eyes go wide. No doubt from me using my old pet name for her. She blushes furiously, biting her bottom lip and smiling sheepishly before breaking our gaze.
"Uh. Yeah, well, should we head off?" she sputters.
"I'll see you guys later. Have fun kids!" Heidi says cheerfully, laughing lightly at Bella's expense.
I chuckle softly, taking Riley's hand in mine and slinging my arm across Bella's shoulders. Vicki takes a hold of Bella's hand. I plant a kiss on Bella's forehead as we walk back to the car.
I turn west on Highway 110 and park at the Third Beach trailhead. Everyone jumps out of the car and takes something out of the trunk to carry. Since it's the heaviest item, I take the picnic basket. I make Vicki and Riley walk in front of me and Bella, directing them on where to walk and which trails to take.
We walk in silence for a few minutes until Vicki turns into a narrator and fills us in on how school has been for her, Riley chiming in to add that he also goes to the same big school as Vicki and that they always sit together during lunch. Vicki's voice develops a sad tone to it when she tells us about a few girls who bully her sometimes about the scars on her arms and neck. This makes me see red and I would have broken the picnic basket handle if it wasn't for Bella placing her hand in mine and squeezing it lightly.
"That's silly. You're beautiful, Vicki. Don't listen to them," Bella assures her sweetly.
"What are their names?" I ask Vicki, the tone of my voice seeping with rage.
"Why?" she asks hesitantly.
"Because I want to talk to their parents."
"You can't do that! That will just make things worse!" she replies hysterically.
"Well, they can't get away with it," I reply incredulously.
"Edward," Bella addresses me softly. "You can't do anything anyway. You're not a legal guardian."
I glance over at her and she must see the anger on my face because she places her index finger between my eyes and smoothes out my frown, smiling sadly at me. I close my eyes and let out a shaky breath before meeting her gaze again, smiling thankfully at her. I quirk my brow at her when she releases my hand. I take her hand back in mine as we continue to hike our way to the falls.
The trail to the falls begins to turn inland, directing us up Goodman Creek to the high tide line where Goodman Creek can be safely forded. We spot the falls as we walk across a small bridge. Vicki exclaims excitedly before running ahead, Riley following behind her.
"Be careful and watch where you're running!" Bella exclaims worriedly, running after them. A laugh escapes my lips as I shake my head in amusement. It's amazing how fast Bella became attached to the kids.
When I walk around the bend, I see the three of them standing at the railing, astonishment on their faces as they take in the beauty of the waterfalls. Bella turns her head and meets my gaze, her expression filled with elation. She grins and makes her way over to me as I throw the blanket out on the ground so it's up against a big oak tree. She pulls everything out of the basket and places it on top of the blanket. Vicki and Riley stay at the railing and watch all the different kind of birds fly around, the sound of their excitement and laughter traveling over to me as they watch the birds zip through the waterfall.
I lay down on the blanket and place my arms behind my head, closing my eyes as I let out a sigh of content. I feel Bella lay beside me no more than a few seconds later. I turn my head in her direction, opening my right eye to glance at her. She turns to face me and smiles softly. I smile in return before reaching out my right arm to move the hair from out of her eyes and tuck it behind her ear.
"Come here," I say quietly, pulling her arm towards me. She scoots over closer to me and rests her head on my chest as I wrap my arms around her.
"I don't think this is what regular friends do," she says softly.
"How do you know?" I ask playfully, laughing lightly as I continue to play with her hair.
"Oh, you know, it's just a hunch I have," she replies. I feel her lips turn up into a smile against my chest.
"I think we've already established we're a little bit more than just friends."
"Have we? I can't quite recall that conversation."
"You think you're funny, don't you?" I quip, tickling her on the ribs. She thrashes around, giggling hysterically. She sits up and doubles over on her knees, curling in on herself as she tries to escape my grip.
"Stop!" she squeals. "AH! – Edward! Okay! OKAY, I remember!" she exclaims.
I stop tickling her and laugh to myself as she crawls away from me and sits there panting, trying to catch her breath. She begins to glare daggers at me until she finally caves in and laughs with me. She scoots back over to me and smacks her hand down onto my chest for good measure.
"You're evil," she says as she continues to laugh. I smirk at her and shrug my shoulders nonchalantly.
"Edward," Vicki addresses me sternly. I glance at her to see her expression filled with disapproval. "You can't tickle people like that," she adds seriously.
"And why's that?" I ask.
"You tould hurt her," Riley says sadly.
"What?" I ask astonished, laughing lightly.
"You could break her ribs or something," Vicki says. I can't stop myself from laughing. "I'm serious!" she bellows.
"Vicki, honey, I'm fine. It was just a bit of fun," Bella assures her.
"But you were twying," Riley says.
"Yeah," Vicki agrees.
"I wasn't crying because I was sad or in pain. I was crying because I was laughing too hard," declares Bella, pursing her lips to stop herself from laughing.
"Oh," says Vicki, the tone of her voice filled with confusion.
I've completely lost it by this point and can't stop myself from laughing riotously. Bella glances over at me, her demeanour finally breaking as she bursts into laughter with me. Vicki and Riley look at us in confusion for a few seconds before the corners of their mouths turn up into grins and they laugh along with us.
Man, kids come up with some crazy scenarios sometimes.
After Vicki and Riley finish eating their lunch, they ask if they can go play. I pull the soccer ball out of the back pack Bella carried on our way up.
"Stay where we can see you," I tell Vicki as I hand it to her.
"We will!" she calls over her shoulder as she runs away, Riley hot on her heels.
"So how's life after the talent show? Are you a big star now?" I ask playfully.
"No," she scoffs, rolling her eyes.
I scoot backwards so my back is leaning against the tree and open my arms out to her. She smiles softly before crawling over to me and laying her back against my chest. I wrap my arms around her waist and she rests her hands on top of mine, circling patterns on the back of my hands.
"Well, you should be. Because you were great," I tell her honestly.
"Thanks," she murmurs, laughing softly.
"How'd you record the songs, anyway?"
"Emmett and Jasper helped me with some computer program."
"Oh, so the instruments aren't real?" I ask intrigued.
"The piano is. I'm playing the piano in them."
"Whoa. Really?"
"Yeah."
"When did you learn to play?" I ask curiously.
"I told you I used to have lessons when I was younger, remember?" she asks, laughing softly.
"Oh. Yeah," I murmur.
"Kate helped refresh my memory when I was in California," she says, turning her head sideways to face me and smiles softly. "And do you remember the day you played for me and I sang?" she asks tenderly.
"Yeah."
"The minute you starting playing it made me want to learn it again," she confesses. "I wanted to be able to play something for you one day," she adds quietly.
"You're beautiful," I respond, leaning down and giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek.
"It's the truth," she says, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. "Anyway, how's Jacob?" she asks.
"He's good. Still a bit pissy at his dad."
x.X.x
Jacob has been fighting with his dad a lot lately because Charlie spends most of his time at the reservation – which makes shit tense and awkward when Bella and I go down to see Jake; Jacob doesn't understand why his dad is still associating with someone who physically lashed out at his own flesh and blood.
"Jacob, you shouldn't assume things about people you know nothing about. Charlie has been through a lot in his life," Billy reprimanded him.
"And what may those things be, huh? What's he been through that would ever make him hit his own child?" Jake asked angrily.
"It's not my place to say and it's none of your business anyway," Billy chastised.
This caused Jacob to lose his temper once again.
"You're crazy, old man, do you know that?" Jacob asked incredulously. "Don't ever expect me to be polite and charming towards Charlie whenever he's around," he added angrily before storming out of his house and heading down to his homemade garage.
Bella was completely gobsmacked by the whole ideal because a) she never even knew Charlie was friends with Billy and b) she never thought Jacob would ever come to her aid like that. Let's just say her opinion of Jacob was completely changed that day and they're now pretty good friends.
x.X.x
"Who can blame him?" Bella scoffs, snapping me out of my memory.
"Well, I can understand Billy's point –"
"What?" she asks shocked, cutting me off.
"He's been friends with Charlie for years, Bella. Can you really blame Billy for defending him?"
"Are you serious right now?" she asks astonished, sitting up abruptly and turning around to face me.
"Bella…"
"Do you not remember who Charlie is? What he's done?" she asks sadly.
"Of course I remember. But Billy's never seen that side of him."
"That doesn't give him the right to do what he did!" she exclaims.
"Bella, are you okay?" Vicki asks, concern written all over her face. She's breathing heavily so I can tell she ran over here. Bella glances over at her and smiles softly.
"Yeah. I'm fine, Vicki," Bella says softly.
"Are you sure? Because I looked over at you when I heard you shouting and you looked really upset," she says. "Are you guys fighting?" she asks sadly.
"No, honey. We were just having a heated discussion," Bella assures her.
"So you guys are okay? You're still friends?" Vicki asks hesitantly.
"We're fine, Vicki. You don't have anything to worry about," I tell her. "Look, Riley's waiting for you to go play with him," I add thoughtfully.
"Okay," she says quietly, smiling softly and me and Bella for running back over to Riley.
Bella closes her eyes and lets out a heavy sigh.
"Everyone makes mistakes," I tell her, continuing our conversation.
"He hit me, Edward. That's not something that can be forgotten." Her voice breaks and tears start to well up in her eyes.
"I know," I reply soothingly. "Bella, come here," I say softly, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards me. She crawls over and sits on my left side and places her legs over mine, resting her head on my chest as I place my arms on her legs.
"I know I can't really talk because I've made mistakes and done some horrible things that I now have to deal the consequences with," she says. "Especially to you," she murmurs.
"Hey. We're sorting that out, okay? We're getting through it."
"I know. But you say things like 'everyone makes mistakes' and 'everyone deserves a second chance.' It makes me feel horrible because you're giving me a second chance," she murmurs. "But I can't see myself doing that for Charlie because I just can't see myself forgiving him for what he's done," she adds sadly.
"Sometimes the thoughts that run through your head don't always match how you really feel. You may think you'll never be able to forgive someone but your heart might surprise you."
"Is that how you felt about me?"
"You saw first hand what I was like when you came back."
"Yeah. I know," she mumbles.
"And look at us now," I tell her.
"We're friends," she responds, laughing lightly.
"Friends who are in love," I add, smirking at her.
She glances up to meets my gaze and smiles softly before scooting closer to me and resting her head back on my chest. She closes her eyes and snuggles in closer to me. I can feel the smile on her lips against my chest.
Bella and I relax together while we watch Vicki and Riley play together. That is, until Vicki steals Bella away and makes her play with her. Riley sits in my lap and we watch Bella try to teach Vicki how to do a cartwheel. You'd think Bella wouldn't be able to handle that kind of coordination being the accident prone klutz she is, but she's surprisingly really good at it. Vicki becomes really excited and asks Bella if there are other things she can do. Bella responds by doing two walkovers in a row. Riley and I begin to laugh quietly together as we watch Bella try to help Vicki attempt a walk over.
Bella ends up kneeling on the ground, clutching Vicki's legs for dear life in her left hand and supporting Vicki's back as she flips over with her right. As Vicki swings her legs over she loses her balance and crashes right into Bella, causing both of them to fall to the ground. Both of them burst into laughter as Riley and I get up and make our way over to them to help them up.
We head home not long after that because the kids look exhausted. I drop the kids back at Vicki's house before dropping Bella home. I walk her to her door and plant a chaste kiss on her cheek. She smiles sheepishly before embracing me in a hug. Bella is still standing in her doorway as I begin to drive away. She gives me a small wave of goodbye before slipping inside.
When I get home, Alice almost knocks me over when she charges down the stairs towards me.
"Why haven't you been answering your phone?" she exclaims, looking down on me with her hands on her hips as she stands two steps above me.
"Because it's been off all day."
"Why would you turn your phone off?"
"Because Bella and I wanted no distractions while we were with Riley and Vicki."
"Well, I've been trying to call you!"
"Why? What's going on?" I ask hesitantly.
"There's an open Mic night in Port Angeles tonight."
"And?" I probe.
"And," she mocks. "All of us want to go. I was trying to call you so you could just bring Bella straight here because Jessica and Tanya are going to meet us there," she adds, annoyance clear in her voice.
"Well, shit. Sorry," I respond sarcastically, laughing lightly. "I'll give her a call and tell her about it. I'll just pick her up on the way," I add, rolling my eyes which results in her narrowing her eyes at me. I plant a kiss on her cheek and ruffle up her hair when I walk past her. I jump out of her reach and run the rest of the way up the stairs when she begins to swat at me.
As I make my way back to my room, I stop in to see Jasper again. He's sprawled out on his bed, his eyes closed with music playing softly in the background. He's got all his revision notes packed away and piled neatly on his desk. Looks like he's done with his studying for the day, I think to myself. He sits up abruptly, his eyes snapping open in shock when I jump onto his bed.
"Fucking hell, dude. You scared me half to death!" he says breathlessly as he lays back down. I chuckle to myself which gets me a wack in the face with a pillow.
"How come you're not in your study cocoon?" I tease.
"Alice practically came in and threw herself on me and told me I needed to take a break."
"Ergh, I did not need that visual."
"You asked," he states, laughing. "How was your day?" he adds sincerely.
"Good. Pretty amusing," I reply, a smile forming on my lips. "Bella was teaching Vicki how to do cartwheels and walkovers," I add.
"Oh, dear… How bad did Bella hurt herself?" he jokes.
"She was actually really good it," I respond honestly.
"She didn't fall on her face?" he asks amused.
"The only one who did the falling was Vicki," I say humorously.
"I'm glad things are getting better between you and Bella, man," he says humbly.
"Yeah. Things are getting to the way they used to be before she left."
"That's good."
"Yeah. I mean, everything is finally starting to fall back into place. So it's good, you know?"
"When do you guys think you'll take the next step?" he asks honestly.
"Both of us know where the other stands and I think we're finally on the same page," I run my hands through my hair and meet his gaze. "So fairly soon, I guess?" I add, the corners of my mouth turning up into a smile.
"What about tonight?" he asks.
"What do you mean?" I ask confused.
"Why don't you sing to her? I mean, she's sung to you," he says. "And I know you've composed your own songs about her too," he adds pointedly.
"You think I should?" I ask hesitantly.
"You love her; you want to be with her. It could help warm you guys up to take the next step."
"Okay… But what one should I sing?"
"What about 'Love How It Hurts'?" he suggests.
"I wrote that when she left. We're trying to get past that, so I don't wanna bring it up."
"Have you written any new stuff?" he asks.
"Yeah. I wrote one recently called 'Ghosts'."
"Come on, then, sing me a bit of it," he says.
I climb off his bed and walk over to his closet, grabbing his acoustic guitar out and head back over to him. I sit back down on his bed and play a few chords to make sure it's in tune. Jasper gives me a pointed look and quirks his brow as if to say, 'did you seriously think it wouldn't be in tune?' I roll my eyes, shaking my head in silent amusement before I begin to play the first chords of the chorus. I sing the chorus softly and glance up at him when I'm done.
"You definitely need to sing that," he says encouragingly, the corners of his mouth turning up into a grin.
I call Bella as soon as I get into my room and tell her about the open Mic night at Port Angeles. She says she doesn't know if she'll get up and sing, but she's really excited about seeing me perform. I tell her I'll pick her up around 6:00 PM because it takes just over an hour to get there and you have to put your name down before 7:30 PM.
I have a shower to wash away all the sweat and grime I collected from the hike and shenanigans that occupied my day. I stretch out my muscles as the water cascades down my back, releasing all the tension in my body. By the time I get out of the shower, it's five o'clock. I put on a clean pair of briefs before slipping on my black jeans and throwing on my navy blue button down shirt and leather jacket. I grab my guitar, putting it in its case and placing it on my bed.
Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett have already left. I call Alice and ask her what they're doing for dinner. She says they're calling into a restaurant to have dinner together and didn't know whether to invite me and Bella along because they didn't want it to seem like a triple date or something. She says the venue will have food there so Bella and I can get food when we get there or we can go out to a restaurant by ourselves like Tanya and Jessica are doing. I let out a hefty sigh before telling her we'll just get dinner where the open Mic is.
When I was spending the day with Bella today, I noticed that she was wearing a Pandora bracelet. I go to my desk and pull out the box of the charms my mother left me after she passed away. Bella already has a treble clef, the letter B and a Bell from her friends in California. I pull the diamond heart charm out of the box and place it in a little jewelry gift bag before slipping it into my pocket.
I call Bella and let her know I'm on my way. I tell her how everyone left before us and have all gone out to dinner. She tells me she already knew though because Alice rang her and apologized. I tell her we can either go out for dinner before going to the diner or we can just grab something to eat when we get there. She decides on the latter. When I arrive at the cottage, I walk to the door and knock on it softly. Bella swings it open almost instantly before stepping out. She's wearing a short sleeve light blue dress that buttons up to her chest, a bow situated at the middle of the collar and aqua heels.
"You look beautiful," I tell her.
"Thanks," she murmurs softly.
I smile politely at her and plant a kiss on her cheek. I entwine her hand with mine and lead her to my car, opening the car door for her. We drive to Port Angeles in a comfortable silence, occasionally conversing with each other.
"What song are you going to sing?" she asks curiously.
"I'm not telling you anything," I reply chuckling lightly.
"Why not?" she whines.
"Because."
"Please?"
"No."
"Ed-ward," she whines. "Just tell me. Pleeeeeease," she pleads, batting her lashes and pouting at me. I smirk at her, shaking my head with amusement.
"You can wait," I tell her.
"You suck," she mumbles, sitting back in her seat and letting out a huff of frustration. I reach out and entwine my hand with hers, bringing it up to my lips and placing a kiss on her palm. She glances over at me and quirks her brow.
"No fair. Stop trying to charm me."
"What do you mean stop trying?"
"I hate you."
"No you don't," I respond, laughing lightly. She shakes her head at me, rolling her eyes as the corners of her mouth begin to turn up into a smile.
Everyone's already at the diner when Bella and I arrive. We head over to the sign up table and write down my name on the sheet. I'm number four on the list. Bella and I walk over to the food counter and order our dinner. The woman behind the counter hands us a little metal stand with a number on the top. I entwine my hand with Bella's as we walk over to our table.
"Hey guys," Alice greets us cheerfully, a grin forming on her face when she glances down at our entwined hands.
"Hey," Bella and I reply simultaneously. I roll my eyes at her.
"About time you two showed up," Rose complains.
"Well, excuse us. Who are the ones who left without us?" I retort.
"Who were the ones that left their phones off all day?" Alice states.
"Whatever, it's called having privacy," I reply.
"Anyway," Tanya chimes in. "Who's going up tonight?" she asks, looking over at Bella.
"Oh, hell no. I'm not getting up there," Bella says.
"Why not? You rocked the talent show," Jess says.
"Because I'm quite happy sitting back and watching this round," she replies.
"Are you gonna sing, Edward?" Tanya asks.
"Yeah."
"Oh. What are you singing?" Alice exclaims.
"You can wait and find out," I tell her.
"It's gonna be great, though," Jasper says.
"Why does he know?" Alice whines.
"Because I told him to sing in the first place," Jasper replies.
"Baby, just tell me," Alice pleads with him, pressing her body closer to him and pouting her lips. He gives her his lopsided smile and I know he's nearly done for.
"Don't you even think about it, Jazz," I tell him seriously. He glances over at me and smiles apologetically.
"Sorry, man, I can't help it," he says.
"Be strong, dude," Emmett chuckles, patting Jasper on the shoulder. Rose punches Emmett in the arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" he asks incredulously.
"Do you know as well?" she asks annoyed.
"No!" he complains.
"Oh. Well, sorry," she replies, rubbing his arm before kissing him on the lips. He grabs her by the hip and pulls her closer to him, returning her kiss passionately.
"Gross. Get a room, guys," Jess complains.
"I concur," Tanya adds.
"You two can't talk," Bella says, laughing lightly.
"Hey, at least we do it at home. Behind closed doors," Tanya says.
"Not all the time," Bella mumbles.
I chuckle to myself as I sit down on one of the stools, my hand still entwined with Bella's. She closes the distance between us and leans her back against my chest. I wrap my free arm around her waist and pull her closer to me, lifting our entwined hands and kissing her fingers. She turns her head to look me in the eyes. I smile softly at her just as she leans forward and kisses me on the cheek before breaking our gaze and conversing with the rest of the gang again.
The night flies by pretty quickly. When the waitress brings our dinner to our table, Bella and I eat while still conversing with everyone. There was a girl a few years older than us that sang a few songs up on stage. Apparently the open Mic night is a competition as well as a charity event. A few of the employees will walk around the place with a bucket for people to make donations in while someone performs and whoever pulls in the most donations wins.
"Edward Cullen, you're up." My head snaps up to the stage at the mention of my name.
When I played the song for Jasper, I did it with my acoustic guitar. I'd actually written the song with the melody coming from a piano and drum set. I asked Jasper if he would get up on stage and play the drum melody while I play the piano. He said he'd do it so we practiced for a few hours before we had to leave. We didn't have much time, but Jasper is a fast learner and I already know the piano melody by heart. I meet Jasper's gaze, nodding my head in the direction of the stage. He stands, a grin on his face.
"Good luck," Bella whispers. I look at her to see she has an encouraging grin on her face. I smile politely at her before kissing her on the cheek.
"Yaaay, go Edward!"
"Hoo-Hoo-Hoo!"
"Come on, Eddieeee!" Tanya, Emmett and Jessica cheer simultaneously. I shake my head in amusement as I make my way to the stage.
"Wait, why is Jasper going up?" Alice asks confused.
Jasper and I walk up to the stage, pulling the piano out from behind the black curtain. I hear everyone's intake of breath at the shock of someone playing a piano. Once the piano is in place, Jasper goes and sits behind the drum kit. He hits the pallets a few times to make sure everything is in tune. I do the same with the piano. Once everything is in check, I adjust the microphone and speak into it.
"Uh, hi, my name is Edward Cullen and behind me is my brother, Jasper. We'll be playing an original song that I wrote for a special someone."
I glance over at Jasper and nod my head slightly, giving him the signal that I'm about to start. He grins in return.
I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly as I close my eyes and press my fingers down on the keys, playing the first notes of the song before singing.
"This conversation is moving faster than I thought it would." Jasper starts the drum beat. "An indication, something I thought I'd lost long ago."
I lose myself in the song as I sing the second lines of the first verse.I glance at Jasper to see that he's putting every bit of concentration into his parts of the melody. He's doing a really great job considering we only practiced for literally three hours. I look back into the crowd, my eyes automatically locking with Bella's before I begin the chorus.
"Cause I don't want to feel without you, so tell me you believe in this too. Hide with all the ghosts in your bedroom, they will keep you awake. We can esca…pe, esca…pe. We can escape."
The corners of her mouth turn up into a smile as she watches me sing to her. I can see the love and pride radiating in her gaze. I smile back at her, keeping my eyes on her as I begin to sing the second verse.
"This conversation is moving faster than I thought it could. I'm chasing shadows as they surround you in this empty room." Her eyes go wide at the hidden meaning of the lyrics. "It's just like running a maze; you never know what you can find, tonight. But as we're here now, every-thing in me, wants to try."
I smirk at her as I repeat the chorus. I close my eyes and put everything I can into the melody as well as the lyrics. I know Bella and I have been through a whole lot of shit together and we still have a few things to work out, but I hope this song helps her grasp how much she really means to me and how much I still love her.
"When I was younger I would dream of this moment, and how I thought it would never come. Now we're older, I will dream of this moment, the city puts a ghost in us." I sway from side to side, leaning over the keys and not missing a beat while I carry on with the song.
"We could chase this feeling, but I just want you..." I snap my eyes open and look straight into Bella's eyes again."Because I don't want to feel without you, so tell me you believe in this too. Hide with all the ghosts in your bedroom; they will keep you awake..."
Jasper and I stop playing, creating a freeze in the melody before starting up again.
"We can esca…pe, esca…pe. We can esca…pe, esca…pe," I sing the same phrase repeatedly before heading straight into the bridge again. Bella's doesn't break our gaze as her eyes well up with tears and her lips turn up into a smile again.
"And now we're older I will dream of this moment, the city puts a ghost in us. We can escape."
Bella's soft smile breaks into a full blown grin when Jasper and I stand after finishing the song. Everyone in the crowd is cheering and shouting with praise. Jasper and I walk back down to our table. Alice runs into Jasper arms and kisses him passionately.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going to help him?" she exclaims, a grin on her face and her expression filled with love.
"It was a surprise," he replies, shrugging nonchalantly.
When I finally make my way to Bella, she closes the distance between us and wraps her arms around my waist. I hold her close to me, kissing her lightly on the top of her head.
"That was amazing," she says softly, leaning her head back to look up at me. "When did you write that?"
"Fairly recently."
"It was beautiful. Whoever it's about is a pretty lucky person you feel that way," she jokes.
"Yeah. She's pretty beautiful herself."
"Is that right, huh?"
"Mhm," I chuckle, resting my forehead against hers and smiling softly at her. She grins back, laughing softly before resting her head on my chest and hugging me close to her again. I lead us to one of the sofas that are next to our table, pulling her down next to me. She snuggles in close to me and rests her head on my shoulder as we watch the other people perform. I see Bella begin to yawn and her eyes drooping with tiredness.
"Do you want to head home?" I ask softly. Another yawn escapes her lips as she shakes her head.
"No, no. Let's stay until the end; there aren't many more people to perform."
"Okay," I reply nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders. She scoots down lower and rests her head on my chest as we watch the last few people perform.
When everyone has finished performing, the owner of the diner gets up on stage and pulls out the 10 buckets of donations. Each bucket has a contestants name on it. Mine's in the middle. The woman begins to pull out the money, counting it with her assistant and writing the amount down on a sheet of paper before placing it into one bigger bucket. The lady walks up to the microphone at the front of the stage with her clipboard and begins with third place.
"In third place, with raising fifty five dollars is, Maia Anderson." Everyone erupts into applause as a short, slim, blonde girl walks up on stage and accepts a gift voucher. She thanks everyone before walking back to her crowd of friends.
"In second place, with raising seventy dollars is, Adrian Read." Again, everyone erupts into applause. I don't remember seeing him perform. He must have been on before Bella and I arrived.
"He was really good," says Tanya.
"What did he sing?" Bella asks curiously.
"He sang some 'One Republic' song," Jessica says.
"No way as good as Edward, though," Alice says.
"There's no way I'm going to win, Alice," I respond, laughing lightly.
"Don't be so modest, Edward. You were really good," Rosalie says quietly, my eyes go wide with shock at her compliment.
"And in first place…" says the lady, catching our attention again. "With raising one hundred and ten dollars…" she keeps us hanging on for a while until someone shouts out to 'get on with it.'
"Is Edward Cullen!" she announces.
Everyone around me shouts and cheers, someone; who is most likely Emmett, slaps me on the back as I sit there in shock. No way did I just win, let alone raise one hundred and ten dollars. Bella places her hand on my arm, causing me to look at her. She has a grin on her face and her eyes are filled with pride.
"Go," she whispers before kissing me on the cheek. I snap out of my stupor and stumble my way up to the stage.
"Your song was really beautiful. Did you write that yourself?" The lady asks, giving me a kiss on the cheek before handing me a small trophy and a fifty dollar gift card to a music store.
"Uh, thanks. Yeah."
"Is the lucky lady here with you tonight?" she asks softly, peering into the crowd. The corners of my mouth turn up into a grin as I lock eyes with Bella.
"Yeah. She's just there," I reply, pointing to Bella. Bella smiles sheepishly and gives me a small wave, the blush rushing into her cheeks.
"Well, congratulations," the lady says politely, smiling softly at me. I return the gesture before walking back down to Bella and everyone else.
We head home almost straight away, after a few of the other contestants come up and congratulate me and tell me they thought my song was beautiful. Bella says goodbye to the girls, and Jasper and Emmett before walking back up to me. I entwine my hand with hers, leading her outside to the Volvo. I open the passenger side door for her before walking around to the drivers seat and pull out of the drive way. I glance at Bella to see her eyes beginning to flutter close once again. I lay my arm across her shoulders and pull her close to me. She rests her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes, another yawn escaping her lips.
I play with her hair as she sleeps the whole way home. I pull up to her cottage and park the car, opening my door and walking around to the passenger side. I open her door quietly, crouching down in front of her and kiss her lightly on the temple. She stirs awake, smiling sheepishly as she glances down at me.
"Hey, sleepyhead," I greet her, smiling softly.
"Did I sleep the whole way home?" she asks, her voice thick with sleep.
"Yeah," I reply, laughing lightly.
"I'm sorry," she groans.
"It's okay, you were pretty tired," I assure her, brushing the hair out of her face. She unbuckles her seatbelt and stands out of the car. I walk her to her front door.
"I have something for you," I tell her, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a little jewelry box. Her eyes go wide with shock as I take her hand in mine and place it in her palm. She opens it gingerly, her free hand flying to her mouth in shock.
"Edward… It's beautiful," she says softly.
"I noticed you had a charm bracelet so I wanted to give you something from me to add to it. This was my mothers; she left a whole bunch of them to me after she passed."
"Oh." She says shocked. "Edward, I can't take this…"
"You can. I want you to have it. I know we've been through a lot and we still have a fair bit to get through. But I love you and I want us to get back on track."
"What do you mean?" she asks hesitantly, hope clear in her eyes.
"I'm ready to go that extra step in our relationship. If that's what you want too."
"I'm still not sure I'm following," she says confused.
"Bella," I say, laughing lightly as I cup her face in my hands. "I'm saying I'm ready to hear your reasons for leaving because I want to be with you."
"You want to be with me? As in you want us to be boyfriend and girlfriend again?" she asks breathlessly.
"That's exactly what I'm saying," I say before crushing my lips to hers, she kisses me back passionately, wrapping her arms around my neck as I slip my arms around her waist and pull her closer to me. I keep her face in my hands, my eyes locking with hers when we break apart.
"I love you so much," she whispers, closing her eyes. I kiss her softly on the lips again before resting my forehead against hers.
"I love you too."
"Thank you," she says, her eyes snapping open.
"For what?" I ask amused.
"For loving me, for not giving up on me, for wanting to listen to me… For everything," she says softly, her voice thick with emotion and her eyes filling with tears. I wipe them away with thumbs and smile softly at her.
"I told you all I needed was time." She smiles softly as I kiss her on the cheek. She wraps her arms around my waist and rests her face against my chest. I plant a kiss on the top of her head before she pulls out of the embrace.
"Come over tomorrow?" I ask.
"Okay," she replies. "So we can talk?" she asks softly.
"Yeah." I smirk at her and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "You should go get some sleep."
"Okay. I'll text you when I'm on my way over," she replies.
I lean forward and kiss her chastely, and she smiles against my lips.
I glance over my shoulder as I walk back to my car. Bella is leaning against her front door. She smiles softly at me as I climb into my car. When I pull out of her driveway, she gives me a small wave of goodbye.
I have a grin on my face the whole way home.
Hey, guys. I know it's late and I'm really sorry, but I've just been so busy with work and I've had no time to update. I'm still working on Chapter 38, so that will most likely be posted late as well.
Thank you all for your continuous support and kind words about this story. It really means a lot to me. I never thought I'd get so much positivity for this, that I've been getting. It really warms my heart.
Thank you for adding this story to your alerts and favourites and for reviewing. When I see them notifications in my Inbox it always puts a smile on my face.
Thank you to my amazing Beta, Jenndur. As I'm sure, without her, this story would be insanely annoying to read.
natalee-x