A/N: Welcome to my first Sunday-update. As I promised, I won't make you wait a week in between chapters anymore. At least not until the angst is over and done with. I'll probably update every five days for the next few weeks.

I need to send a very big thank-you to my betas EdwardsMate4ever and evelyn-shaye for making my writing so much better. You ladies are wonderful. Thanks a lot as well to my friend and prereader Vampgirl79. You rock, hun. If you still find mistakes, please don't hold any of them responsible because I added some stuff right before posting.

No, I'll let you witness how The Shit Hits the Fan. See you at the end.

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Thanks for sharing your characters with us.

******POMH******

Chapter 27 – The Shit Hits the Fan

I didn't want to go to dinner with Jake. It felt wrong. I shouldn't be going out with any man other than Edward. But he'd basically told me to go. Since I wasn't able to come up with a good reason not to, I accepted Jake's invitation. He insisted on picking me up and driving to the restaurant together in his rental car instead of having me meet him there. I thought it was stupid and unnecessary, but since Edward had turned all cold on me the day before, a great deal of my usual strength had left me. So I agreed to Jacob's request without putting up a fight.

At seven p.m. on Thursday night, there was a knock on my door. I looked into the mirror one last time, still not sure if I had chosen the right outfit. I was wearing black skinny jeans with medium-heeled boots and a pink blouse with the first few buttons undone, careful not to show too much cleavage. My hair was falling free down my back, and I had only put on a light day makeup.

I sighed once, wishing the evening was already over, while I walked to the door, grabbing my coat and purse on the way. Opening the door, I saw Jake standing in the hall, a single red rose in his hand.

He looked me up and down before he held the rose out to me, greeting me, "Hi, Bells. You look beautiful."

I flinched slightly when I heard him use the word that was Edward's pet name for me. Trying not to show my discomfort, I forced a smile, replying, "Hey, Jake. You don't look so bad yourself." He was wearing black slacks with a blue button-down shirt and a gray leather jacket. He really was handsome, but he didn't do anything for me.

True to everything I'd told Edward a while ago, I didn't want to let Jake into my apartment. So I took the rose from him, lifting the blossom to my nose to smell it quickly. "Thank you, Jake. This really wasn't necessary," I mumbled as I placed the rose on the table next to the door before locking up the apartment.

"This is what I should have done eight years ago, and I want to do it right tonight." His expression showed determination as we walked to the elevator side by side. His words as well as his actions made me apprehensive about the rest of the evening.

He took me to a fancy, obviously expensive restaurant. I didn't feel too comfortable there, and not just because I wasn't dressed appropriately. Feeling out of place and in the wrong company, I was glad when the ordering part was over and the waiter served the wine Jake had chosen.

"To do-overs," he said as he clinked his glass to mine. I wasn't so sure if that was what I wanted to drink to, but I didn't object.

"So, have you been here before? On a date, maybe?" he asked after savoring the first sip of his wine.

"No, I haven't. I mostly go out with Alice, and this isn't really our style." I put my glass down after tasting the dark-red liquid. I knew it was as expensive as everything else on the menu, but I'd had better.

"I was told this was the best restaurant in town. I'm surprised that no one has ever taken you here." I was reminded of the one time Edward had taken me to La Taverna Vecchia. The little Italian restaurant was so different from this pretentious place and yet so much more perfect. Although Edward had insisted that he wasn't taking me on a date, it was the most wonderful date I'd ever been on. Okay, I didn't have much to go on, but it was wonderful nontheless.

"I haven't been on many dates," I admitted, trying to sound nonchalant.

Jake looked at me, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I don't usually go on dates." I busied myself inspecting the bottle of wine.

His brows furrowed in bewilderment. "Why? You're beautiful and intelligent. Men must be beating a path to your door."

"If that's the case, I haven't noticed. But it's okay. Let's talk about something else, please." I didn't want to go into detail. I didn't want to tell him that he was the reason I'd turned down every man that tried to come close. And I didn't want to tell him that, with Edward, for once everything was different.

He shook his head a few times before he changed the subject.

****POMH****

The wine loosened me up a bit, and after Jacob dropped the matter of my dating history, the rest of our dinner was actually quite nice. During the whole three courses, we talked and laughed, sharing memories of our childhood, funny stories about our parents, and other anecdotes. Time flew by, and before I realized it, we had finished our dessert, and Jake was driving me home.

I wanted to say goodbye to him downstairs in the car, but he insisted on walking me to my door. After all, he said, this was the date we should have had before everything went wrong with us. The effect of the wine had worn off, and the use of the word date made my feeling of unease return. But I'd agreed to this do-over. So I sighed internally and let him do what he thought was expected of him.

When we had reached the door to my apartment, I stopped and turned around, looking up into his dark-brown eyes.

"Thank you, Jake. This was nice," I said, showing him a little smile.

"You're welcome. As I said about a hundred times tonight, this was what it should have been like back then. This is what it would have been like if I hadn't been too stupid to see the obvious."

My eyes were still locked with his, and a strange expression crossed his face. I didn't know what to make of it, although in hindsight, I should have. When he started to bend down, slowly closing his eyes, my mind went blank. His lips touched mine, and my eyes closed reflexively as he slowly and tenderly moved his mouth over mine. I was thunderstruck, unable to move. Jake's arms went around my waist, and he pulled me to him. I didn't participate, but I didn't actually stop him, either. There was no spark, no arousal. It felt just like I imagined it would feel to kiss my brother, if I had one. All of a sudden, Edward's face came to my mind. The image made me gasp, and regaining control over my brain and body, I pushed Jacob away from me.

He opened his eyes, confusion the most prominent emotion on his face.

"I'm sorry, Jake. I can't," I said in a quiet but urgent voice.

"Bella, this time I know what I'm doing. It's nothing like before. This time, I know that I love you and that I want to be with you. I've loved you for longer than I can even remember. I would do whatever it takes to take back what I've done to you in the past, but I know that I can't. I know I hurt you more than I can even imagine, but I want to do right by you now. I want to make your every wish come true if you only give me a chance." He was looking at me pleadingly, and I knew that he meant every word he'd just said. But it didn't matter. It didn't mean anything to me. I didn't love him anymore.

"Jake, it's too late," I whispered.

"No, we can still make things work. I love you so much." He was begging then, and it pained me to know I was going to hurt him, but there was no way back.

"Jacob, it's too late. There's someone else." A small smile made its way to my lips as I realized that, for the first time, I'd told someone other than Alice, and that made it so much more real.

"It's him, isn't it? I knew it Saturday night, but you kept denying it. So I hoped it wasn't true."

"It's not official." I felt the need to explain why I might have given him the wrong impression.

Defeated, he looked to the ground, taking a few deep breaths. "He loves you, that's for sure." As he looked up at me again, he had a bittersweet smile on his lips. "At least we're friends again. Bella, I wish you all the best. I want nothing more than for you to be happy." He kissed my forehead and let his lips linger a moment longer than was appropriate before he finally pulled away. "I should go. Good night, Bella. See you tomorrow?" His eyes were slightly hopeful.

"See you tomorrow. Good night, Jacob."

He turned around, and with hunched shoulders, he walked to the elevator.

****POMH****

"Bella, what's wrong? You normally don't call this late." Alice sounded worried when I phoned her as soon I'd closed the door behind me.

"Hi, Alice. Nothing's wrong, really. I just need to talk to you. I was out with Jake tonight." I knew she was about to scold me, and I was waiting for it to happen. I knew I deserved it.

She seemed to be confused rather than angry. "You went out with Jake? Like on a date?"

"When he asked me, he insisted that it wasn't like that. He said that he owed me the dinner he never gave me back then. I didn't feel good about it and asked Edward. You know, we're not officially together, and I shouldn't have to ask his permission, but I felt the need to. He's been acting so strange since he came back from his trip. So I beat around the bush, saying that it wasn't a date but that I didn't know if I wanted to go anyway. He ended up telling me I should go if I wanted to. So I did. And it turned out to be a date, after all." By then, I'd talked myself to the edge of a panic attack.

"What happened? How was it a date?" Alice sounded calm and composed rather than hysterical like I was.

"Well, he took me to the most expensive restaurant in town. He tried to talk about my past relationships, but I refused. Then we shared some memories, laughed a lot. He took me home, and before I realized what was happening, he kissed me at my door." I was breathing heavily as I felt on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"What did you do?" she asked more urgently, but still trying to calm me down.

"Nothing!" I shouted, panicked.

"What do you mean, nothing?"

"I mean that I was paralyzed at first, but as soon as I came to, I pushed him away. He told me he loves me and that he wants to be with me, and I said that there was someone else." I was quiet, waiting for her answer.

Alice's voice was composed, knowing if she kept it together, I might relax a bit. "How did he react?"

"Hurt. And he asked me if it was Edward. When I said that it was, he wished me happiness and left, saying he was glad we're friends again, at least. Alice, I feel so bad. I feel like I cheated on Edward, although we're not even together. And he's been so distant this past week. What if he doesn't love me?" I was crying silent, desperate tears.

"You didn't do anything wrong. You stopped Jake. And Edward told you to go. I'm sure he's been acting strange because he's jealous of Jacob. You need to talk to him, tell him that you love him. He's probably as insecure about the two of you as you are." Alice's confidence calmed me down a bit.

I sniffed noisily. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

I felt way more at ease by then. "Okay. I will talk to him tomorrow night. I can't wait any longer. I need to tell him that I love him. Thank you, Alice, for listening."

"You're welcome, hun. Any time. Now, go to bed. Tomorrow's a big day."

"Okay. See you tomorrow, then. Good night."

"Good night, Bella."

As I closed my eyes a bit later, I knew what I had to do, and there was no way I would postpone our talk again.

****POMH****

The next evening, I arrived at the party early. I didn't want to waste any time. Just like every year, Alice had let her inner decoration demon come out to play, and the whole house was covered in greens and reds, with a big Christmas tree in the middle of the living room, mistletoe hanging from every door frame, and holly all over the place.

Just as I'd expected, Edward wasn't there yet when I arrived. After greeting Alice and Jasper, I had to get my mind off of Edward and what I was about to do. I sat down at the bar, ordering myself a few glasses of liquid courage.

When I'd downed a couple of drinks, and Edward still wasn't there, I decided to go look for Alice again. Maybe I could help her with something to distract myself. I couldn't find her, and instead, I ran into Jessica, who talked my ear off about her new boyfriend for a good fifteen minutes.

After I had finally left her to babble to someone else, I walked back into the living room that was now filled with people. I noticed that Jake was there but forgot about him as soon as I spotted Edward, sitting at the bar, a glass of whiskey in his hand.

I took a few steadying breaths before I walked over to him.

"Hi, handsome," I greeted, smiling as I leaned against the bar, looking at him.

His eyes wandered from his tumbler to my face, and I felt like someone had knocked the wind out of me. He had at least two days' worth of stubble on his face. His eyes were blood-shot with dark circles underneath. His stare was cold and hard. He didn't look like the man I knew and loved.

"Don't call me that," he hissed, looking at me with his eyes narrowed in what seemed like anger and disgust. "What happened? Did he walk out on you again after you let him fuck you?" What was he talking about? I felt like I'd been transported into some bad movie without having read the script.

"And now you're thinking, 'Let's go back to Edward. He's stupid enough, he won't notice'?" His words were like knives, stabbing my heart. I felt wounded and bleeding.

"Or did you think that I wouldn't mind? After all, I've done my fair share of fucking around, too." His chest was heaving with agitation, and his voice was full of venom. I stood open-mouthed and shocked, unable to look away from his burning eyes.

"I saw you two last night, and you said it yourself, it's what you do. You hook up. And I was stupid enough to think that we had finally moved beyond that. I actually believed that you might have changed. But no. You're still the same old Bella, fucking random guys to forget about your fears." He was fuming. I wasn't able to form a clear thought. Just like a deer in the headlights, I was unable to move under his glare as I was struggling with the tears that were stinging my eyes, desperate to be shed.

"You broke our deal. No one else, remember? You agreed. But why care? You know, maybe you were right all along, and I was wrong. Maybe you really are cheap!"

I was breathing erratically. I had no idea what was happening. The only thing I knew was that he'd just hit me where it really hurt, and I had to get away from there.

I refused to cry in front of him and this room full of people. I had once vowed to myself that I would never again cry in front of a man. But I knew that I couldn't hold back the tears for much longer. There was nothing for me to say. Edward had basically called me a slut. The only thing left for me to do was leave with what dignity I had left. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much he'd hurt me.

I took a last look into his furious eyes before I slowly turned around and left without a word.

********POMH********

A/N: *peeks up from hiding behind the couch* So, the shit finally hit the fan. Was it the way you expected it to happen?

Next chapter, Edward will get the chance to explain what made him go off on Bella like that. The whole chapter will be in his POV. Here's a little preview:

… "You're wrong," a quiet voice said, audibly laced with anger as well as defeat. …

Who is the person telling Edward he's wrong? I promise to tell you on Friday. Until then, tell me what you think here or join us on FB in the group Payton79's Fanfiction.

See you on Friday.