A/N ~ I just did the most rapid final edit to update extra early for a very specific reason. My apologies to Shug if I've disgraced her skillful edits by messing anything up in my haste. ;) See you again after the chapter.

True Love Way

Chapter 3

Part of our plan for the twins' birthday was to fool them with two celebrations. The first one was on their birthday. As promised, I woke Rosalie with by jumping on her bed at 6 am. She then beat me with a pillow until Jazz came and rescued me. We made a fort with her bed sheets like we used to do when we were kids and told dirty jokes. Much more sophisticated than the knock-knock jokes we used to tell.

The three of us, along with Bella and Emmett, drove to Port Angeles after a family lunch and caught a concert on the pier. That was perfect. I could lose myself in a crowd if I didn't stand out. I wasn't self-conscious there at all. There was an all-ages club nearby, so I was the purse-and-drink-minder in our booth while the four of them danced. I didn't grumble and tried not to look bored. This was their idea of a good time, and it was their night, not mine. They returned to the table after about an hour, red-faced and sweaty, to announce that we were going to hit up Cosmic Bowling next.

This bowling alley switched to neon and strobe lighting after 11 pm and blasted the music. I hadn't bowled since Jazz and Bella began dating, but I had to admit I kind of missed it. I was much more relaxed now, and so I made the most of my bowling inadequacy by being a clown. There were three alleys between us and the nearest group, and it was dark. They were too busy doing their own thing to be bothered watching us anyway. I bowled left-handed and backwards. I took granny shots from between my legs. I walked the alley like a plus-sized runway model, and finished the game off with my version of a Cosmic raver. Bella had tears on her cheeks from laughing so hard. I loved that I could make her laugh in a good way.

The next day was trickier – this was the big bash with all of their friends from school. It was the one I dreaded. I did not want to go. I was already thinking of ways to get out of it. I had done my part in the planning, and I would get them to the beach somehow, but I honestly didn't know if I could make it through that sort of party.

I was doing some editing on my computer when an email from Bella came through.

'Dude – Charlie went and made plans to go fishing on his days off. His friend has a boat. I don't want to go! And he doesn't want me leaving and coming into the empty house late. WTF? What am I gonna do?'

Just seeing her name in my inbox made me smile. I typed out my reply.

'Simple. Tell him you'll stay with us. I'll clear it with my mom. Tell him you're doing a sleepover with Rose for her birthday.'

I got a smiley face response and went out to gain my mother's approval. She called Charlie at once and invited Bella to spend the night with Rose.

'All systems go, B. Get yer butt over here!'

It was going to be harder to get out of the party with Bella here – I didn't want to fake an illness and not be around her. Then again, it may be easier since she would be here to actually get them to the beach. In the end, I didn't have to make the choice – my sister did it for me.

"Hey, you. Can I come in for a sec or are you doing something important?"

I closed my Word files and waved her in. "What's up?"

"You've got a new message. Who's emailing? Have you got a girlfriend?"

I rolled my eyes at her, but blushed just the same. "It's Bella. Her dad's going fishing for a couple of days. Mom invited her to stay with us."

Her eyes widened. "Cool! But why is she emailing you about it instead of me?"

Think, think! Don't blow it! "She hit the wrong 'Cullen' with her first sent message. I guess she didn't want to be rude and blow me off."

My sister took a seat on my bed, spinning me around to face her. "You know, I think Bella is the best thing the three of us ever had come into our lives. She's great for all of us. I love that you two are particularly close. It's like you have this unspoken bond. You can be yourself with her and not freak out. It's so great." Her smile extended to her eyes. I could tell she was holding back tears. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about actually. Thank you for last night. It was so much fun! Do you know that my best gift ever was not only having you come out with us, but having the real you out there with us. Jazz and I know how cool you are, but you don't let others see that – last night, you did. That made me so happy, Edward. I want you to be happy. I want you to have fun and be crazy with us. Can we do that again? On a regular basis? It doesn't have to be in Port Angeles, but I really want to spend time with you before we all go off to college."

So much for getting out of the party. There was no way I could disappoint my sister that way.

Bella and I cooked up a plan after dinner. She initiated it.

"I feel like S'mores. Like, I have a really mad craving for them."

Jasper jumped right in, as we anticipated. "We've got chocolate. I don't know about those cracker things though."

"We can crank up the fire pit out back if we do," Rose suggested.

Bella scrunched up her face. "Fire pit S'mores are not the same. They have to be done on the beach. Right, Edward?"

"The fire pit is less sandy," I replied with nonchalance. We agreed that if I looked eager to go, it would tip them off.

"The store's still open. We can pick up the stuff on the way!"

"Beach S'mores…" Rose moaned as she rubbed her tummy. "Let's do it!"

"Seems like a lot of work for chocolate marshmallows," Jasper jeered. "I'm kinda comfy here. You can bring me mine when it's ready."

Bella gave him a slap from one side, and Rose got him from the other. I laughed at their teamwork.

"Don't be so unmotivated, Jazz. You'll end up like me."

"Being you is not so bad. I could handle being you for tonight. I'm dog-assed tired, man. Hook me up with a pillow and a laptop. I'll chill while you all make S'mores."

"I'm not making S'mores in the backyard," Bella insisted. "And you're not sitting here on your ass while we go to the beach." This was unexpected. Jazz was up for anything at any time.

"Of course he's not," Rose declared. "He's coming. But I'm not going unless Edward comes with us."

"Shit, Rose. I hate the beach!" I couldn't give in too easily.

"It's getting dark already. You won't get burnt. Come on. Get your shoes on!"

"I'm in my sweat pants. At least let me change –"

"Nope! You'll back out. Or throw yourself down the stairs or something. You're coming just like that."

Bella covered her mouth to stop a laugh. I had on my fat pants. Seriously. They were years old and purchased when I was at my heaviest. They hung on me now, but I loved them for their comfort. I NEVER left the house in them.

"Come on! It's dark. No one will see you!"

We picked up our supplies, as well as Emmett, and headed to the beach. Bella snickered at me as I mumbled about not being around for their nineteenth and burning these pants when we got home.

"Damn, the beach is packed tonight! What the fuck?" Emmett acted like he was surprised by the crowd and Bella and I played along until my observant siblings began noticing how many cars they recognized. Their friends had also constructed a huge '18' out of driftwood near the blazing fire. They were rushed as soon as they got out of the car, but Rosalie hung back to talk to me.

"God, Edward! You did this! You knew! And I made you come out like this… I feel so bad. You don't have to do this."

I smiled at her with all the love that I felt. "Yes, I really do. Don't you know yet? I'd do anything for you. Happy birthday, little sister. Now you know how much I love you."

More determined than ever to make Rose happy, I did my absolute best to blend in and not need them to rescue me. It helped having four of them to wander around with, and I still disappeared for short stints when I got overwhelmed. All in all, it wasn't too bad.

"Ed, any time you want to go, just let me know. I'll take you home and come back. It's not a problem."

I shook my head at my brother. "I'm fine. Just go and have fun."

He gave me his unsure smirk, watching my body language closely. "It's not that I don't want you here. I do. This means a lot. I just don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"I'm in my comfy pants, Jazz. Couldn't be any more comfortable." I snapped the extra-large waistband for comedic effect. "I believe your girlfriend wanted S'mores? I'll go get the stuff from the car. You get Bella."

There had to be fifty kids on the beach, and half of them joined us at the fire. When we ran out of graham crackers and still had two bags of marshmallows, someone suggested a challenge.

"Chubby Bunny?" Bella appeared beside me. "What's that?"

I chuckled. "You have to try to say 'chubby bunny' around marshmallows in your mouth. The person who can get the most in and still say it, wins. Our mom would never let us do it because it can be a choking hazard."

"Doesn't sound too difficult."

"I say we do it!" Jasper wrapped an arm around both of us. "We're legal now. Well, two of us are." He winked at Bella. "I'm gonna do it. You in, Bella?"

"It's disgusting." She made a gagging face that made me laugh. "But okay… if you guys are, then I will."

Jasper motioned for me to step aside. "Dude, I don't know if it's a good idea if you do this."

"What? You think I'm gonna choke, don't you? Christ, Jazz… put on a skirt and an apron. You're a little Mom."

Normally, he would've punched me as brothers do. He didn't punch me and he didn't laugh. He just looked concerned.

"I promise I won't choke. I'll quit before I choke. I've got a huge mouth anyway. I'm made for this game."

The moment I joined the challenge circle, I realized why my brother had been hesitant to let me do this. There were snickers from the onlookers and the comments began in the dark.

"Cullen came in his chubby bunny pants."

"It's the only place he does come!"

"You all should give up. Cullen's had lots of practice shoving in food."

"But not talking!"

Jasper looked at me for my reaction. There was pity in his eyes. Taking a deep breath, I spoke out. "So who's starting this thing?"

Bella took my arm and gave it a little squeeze. The game began on the opposite side of the circle. Five jumbo marshmallows was the top count when it got to Jasper. Mike held the title so far – in truth, we were pretty much the same build except I was taller. I wasn't the only chubby bunny in the pack.

Jazz managed four before gagging, and passed the turn to Bella. She was laughing so hard, she couldn't get the third one in. Then it was my turn. A slew of thoughts ran through my mind: Please don't let me choke. Just be normal. Everyone else got laughed at too – it's part of the game. Just be normal for once. Be normal for Jasper. Do it. And don't choke!

I took one long breath through my mouth and popped the first one in. "Chubby bunny."

Two. "Chubby bunny." No problem. Bella giggled beside me.

Three. "Chubby bunny." This was so my game. I was owning it.

Four. "Ch –" I stopped to poke the others aside further. "Chubby bunny."

"You look like a hamster!" Bella was in stitches beside me.

"He looks like a giant blowfish!" A faceless voice called out with cackles following.

My heart pounded and I could feel the sweat beginning on my forehead. Just do it! Don't listen! Don't be a pussy! I snorted, thinking that anyone who played this ridiculous game was a pussy – I wasn't alone in that. The marshmallows moved with the snort. Okay. No snorting. That's not good. I used my finger and tongue to push them around and squeezed in the fifth. "Chubby buddy."

"That counts!" Jasper called out. "Mike wasn't exactly clear on his last one either! Tied at five! Go, bro!"

I managed a good breath through my nose, hoping it would work like my breathing exercises did to ease anxiety. The sixth, and so far winning marshmallow, was in my hand. I managed to get it in, even managed to utter something closely resembling 'chubby bunny' and then it all went wrong.

"Bet he's had a lot of practice with his mouth full."

"And the white shit dripping down his chin!"

I gagged as Jasper handed me the next marshmallow. I hated putting him in this position yet again. He was always ready to pounce on anyone who upset me, but at the start of high school, I'd specifically asked him not to make a big scene out of it when people teased me. I didn't want to come between him and his friends, nor did I want to be a bigger spectacle. I was better at ignoring them, however. I could tell my brother wasn't having an easy time with it tonight.

"Ohhh, Cullen prefers salty over sweet by the look of it!"

The laughter was different. It wasn't the same camaraderie the game had for everyone else. I'd known it all along, but now it was unbearable, as was the look in Jasper's eyes. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. My nose just gave up trying and my instinct was to gasp for a breath. Melting marshmallows shut that airway down. I coughed and sputtered in an attempt to get any air at all. I refused to choke. I wouldn't choke, dammit! My only other option was to expel. I turned my back to the circle and let the marshmallows fall from my mouth. They didn't seem to be coming out fast enough and my body was still struggling to get some air into my lungs. In the middle of it all, my glasses fell from my face. I felt hands on my back, and Jasper's soothing voice telling me to relax and breathe slowly through my nose. He plucked my glasses from the gooey pile in the sand.

I tried to breathe, and the remaining marshmallow mush slipped back towards my throat. I gagged it out and attempted to expel the remainder with my tongue. It worked a little too effectively and suddenly I was full-on vomiting. Fuck! Why did I have to be the first to upchuck?

"It's better than choking, dude," Jasper reminded me as I wiped my mouth. He was holding my shoulders but I could still feel hands lightly rubbing my back.

Oh god… it was Bella. Bella was watching me puke marshmallows. Another heave came from deep within and was violently expelled. Tears came with that one. The tears pissed me off so much that I forgot to do the deep breathing and I was headed for a total anxiety attack. I stumbled around my mess and dashed for the cover of some boulders a little way down the beach. My legs were shaking furiously and I was choking back sobs. I needed to be alone, but my brother was right there, holding me up. He knew where I was heading. Bella went to my other side and together they rushed me towards my hiding place where I collapsed, struggling to breathe and gain some control.

Jasper asked Bella to go to the car and get me some water. If I could breathe, I would've kissed him for sending her away.

"I… I'm sorry, Jazz."

"Shhh. Nothing to worry about, man. You'll be okay. I'm right here."

"Ruined… I ruined it… your party…"

"Nah. My party was last night. This is a gathering of buffoons. Of which, you are the clear winner."

I had to laugh at that one. He joined me. The problem with laughter and me is that sometimes my body doesn't accept it. Sometimes, it rejects the giddiness and converts it to sobs. I could be such a girl. So I sat there on the beach, with marshmallow vomit on my chin and my brother holding me like a moron while I sobbed and snorted, hiccupped and laughed, and just tried to fucking breathe. It was ugly. It got uglier when Rosalie came upon us.

"Edward? What's wrong?"

Jasper replied for me. "Behold, the Chubby Bunny champion."

She let out a gasp and began pelting our brother with slaps. "You're such an idiot! Why did you let him do that?"

"Hey, hey, hey! Relax! It was his choice. Chill out!"

"Chill out? What the fuck happened?"

I had to speak out for Jasper. This was ridiculous. I pulled my shit together and sat up straight. "I panicked. I couldn't breathe and I panicked. That's all."

"And then he –" He made a gagging sound that set my stomach off again. My body knew it was time anyway – I had reached that point in my attack. I leaned to the side to dry heave while my sister moved in to hold me. She was better at it than Jazz, but it was just as humiliating.

"It's like Six Flags all over again," Jasper quipped, trying to lighten the situation.

"Shut up," Rosalie hissed. "This is not cool. You took this too far."

"Shit, Rose! You need to stop acting like Mom and let him grow up. Yeah, it sucks that it turned out this way, but it was fun until that point. Didn't you have fun, Ed?"

Another retch was my unwanted reply. Aside from my hollow spews, there were no other sounds from my siblings. They were in silent mode. At that point, I just wanted to get home. I couldn't take their silence and pity. I wished I had my malachite stone with me. If I hadn't been in my fat pants, I would have it. I always kept it in my pocket with the lemonade cap when I went out. At home, it was either beside me on my desk, or under my pillow. I drew strength from it, and at that moment, I needed all the strength I could get.

~ 0 ~

"That was the first anxiety attack in a long time," I professed to Aro. "I've been doing better."

"You have, I agree. What concerns me is what brought it on. I tend to think it had more to do with the environment than the – what was it that you called it? Cute Bunny?"

"Chubby," I corrected sullenly. "Chubby Bunny. Look, my brother has spent eighteen years babysitting me – making sure I was comfortable and whatever – in every situation. For once, I wanted him to just have a good time without worrying about me. It all went wrong. I messed it up for him."

Aro remained silent while he studied me with pursed lips. He disagreed with my statement.

"Okay, I'll save you the trouble. I know that it's not my responsibility to make things right for him. Or my sister, for that matter."

"Do you honestly think that they believe you're a burden to them, Edward? Do you think they feel as though they're taking care of you? What about turning those thoughts around? What if they genuinely want you around in whatever capacity you're capable of? What if they enjoy you as you are?"

So many questions. Ugh. I sighed as a response.

"Let me tell you what I see, okay? I see a brother and sister who love you just as they love each other. I don't think they're doing anything more for you than they would each other. And I don't think they expect anything from you that makes you unhappy. I believe they want you to be happy, Edward. That's all."

"And I am when I'm just with them!" I insisted.

Aro nodded. "I believe we've reached that conclusion. And you know what that says to me, don't you?"

I nodded, sullen once more.

"Edward, social anxiety is not uncommon. I'm proud of you for making the attempts you have to conquer it. I feel certain your siblings are proud as well. I truly believe that we've reached the point where we should try out some medication. I know you're reluctant, and I would never insist on it, but I truly feel that you would have success at this point. We'll continue working on it together, and you've shown that you have the desire to be more involved socially. It could help you to feel more at ease. It would benefit you with school about to begin as well. What do you think?"

"I'm fine at school. I don't have a problem there."

Aro raised an amused eyebrow.

I arched mine in return. "I don't. People leave me alone there, just as I like it. I don't have a problem presenting in class. I ignore them, they ignore me. It works just fine."

"Wanting to be ignored is an indication of social anxiety, Edward. I would never force you to do something you're not comfortable with, but I would like you to consider it. We can talk about it again whenever you're ready."

When our session ended, I was surprised to see Jasper parked in front of the building. He was leaning against the car, waving at me. "I'm here to rescue you. Mom was on her way and talking about a mother/son evening." He pretended to hang himself.

I chuckled at the demonstration. "I owe you."

"Great. You can pay for the pizza. We're kidnapping you."

We? I noticed Bella in the car for the first time. She smiled and gave me a wave before climbing over the seat to let me in the front. It was the first time I'd seen her since the night of the party. She had stayed over, as arranged, but I'd locked myself in my room with a migraine.

Feeling the need to prove myself not only to Jasper but to Aro as well, I went along. I merely picked at my food, not having much of an appetite. We headed over to the bowling alley after dinner, meeting up with Rosalie and Emmett.

"I told you I was going to bring back bowling night!" Bella taunted me with a smile as we waited to get our shoes. The other three had taken off to the arcade, leaving us to sign out shoes for everyone. "How is therapy going?"

Her question caught me off guard. She blushed furiously as my head turned towards her.

"Sorry! If that's too personal, I understand. I was just wondering. I know you said months ago that you liked being alone after your sessions, and here we are, kidnapping you. Is this okay?" Her words came out in a rush, putting me at ease immediately.

I offered her a grin. "It's okay. You just surprised me. No one really asks… except my mom." I paused while we were handed five pairs of shoes. I took three pairs and headed towards our reserved lane. I could have avoided the topic altogether, but for some reason, I was drawn to opening up with her right then. "So, my therapist wants me to discuss medication with my doctor. He feels it would help with social anxiety."

I looked down at her feet as she kicked off her sneakers. She was wearing striped socks in loud colours. Catching me staring, she laughed and wiggled her toes. "Laundry day. All my normal socks were dirty. You don't even want to know what kind of underwear I had to resort to."

I felt my face burn red just thinking of Bella's underwear. I had to look away.

"Medication, huh?" She returned to the old topic casually as she laced her shoes. "How do you feel about that?"

"Pretty shitty. I was on something when I was younger. They thought I had ADD or something. I hated it. It made me act completely different, and I had no control over what I was doing. I don't ever want to feel like that again."

"I thought it was supposed to make you calmer," she remarked.

I nodded. "It is. I'm a freak. It had the total opposite effect on me. I was all edgy and doing shit I'd never do. Then when they took me off it, I got really sick. All I wanted to do was sleep. I couldn't eat. I just felt… numb. I hated that, too."

"I can see why you're not so eager to try something else." Her words and gentle smile showed me that she understood. "It might be different now. But I'd be afraid to try it, too. Your therapist should come out with us sometime, and see how you are with our group. I think he'd be surprised."

I was surprised by her statement. I thought for sure she'd see my efforts with them as forced and unnatural, mainly because I spent most of our time as a group trying not to stare at Bella.

"Edward, I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure," I mumbled as I bent to tie my shoes. The blood rushed to my head, and bending knocked the wind out of me. I tucked the laces in quickly rather than tying them so I wouldn't tip over. Standing was better.

"I was really worried about you last week. After the party. Does that happen to you a lot?"

"What? Someone worrying about me?" I chuckled. "Sure. I make my family worry all the time."

She swatted my shoulder. "I'm being serious for a minute. Was that an anxiety attack?"

Chewing on the inside of my lip, I nodded. She may as well know the real me. "It used to happen more often. Not so much anymore. I'm sorry you saw that. I don't like freaking people out." I wanted to tell her that her gift had kept me from several episodes. Anytime in the past couple of months that I felt it about to come on, I'd turn it over in my pocket, running my fingertips on it until I was soothed. I didn't get it out before the others joined us and our game began, thereby ending my little discussion with Bella.

We played two games before the arcade beckoned my siblings back. Bella and I stayed back while they had their rematch. I was teasing her about her socks as we approached the shoe counter.

"Ah, this couple has a size seven. Good timing!" The man at the counter accepted our return and handed Bella's shoes over to the couple who were waiting.

"I don't know if it was the shoes or my funky socks, but I was on fire!" Bella laughed as she addressed the other couple. "You may wipe the floor with him tonight! This guy had no hope." She pinched my side, rubbing my nose in my loss good-naturedly. All I could think about was how she hadn't disputed the assumption that we were a couple. It felt damned good.

Feeling bold, I tugged on Bella's arm, pulling her towards the snack booth. "Loser buys the drinks," I quipped as I pulled my wallet out.

"No way! You bought the pizza. Drinks are my treat. It's the least I can do after making you suffer through a night of my electric socks and Disney underwear."

Disney? Good lord… My hands went into my pockets, instantly finding the lemonade cap in one and the stone in the other. In an effort to distract my mind from her underwear once more, I thought up the look on her face during our earlier conversation. I liked how she displayed concern more than pity. She should know she put me at ease just by being her. "Bella, I have to say something…"

"I'm too old for Disney panties, I know."

I chuckled and took our drinks off the counter. I decided to keep my thought to myself. Bella was in a silly mood, and I really liked that too.

She took a long swallow of her Coke. "What were you going to say?"

"I really like your socks. I think they're cool."

Bella cracked up. Her whole face lit up as she giggled uncontrollably. "You're crazy. But I'll add these to my usual sock rotation in your honour, because I think you're cool."

~ 0 ~

I was regretting my decision to remain med-free on the first day back to school. My stomach was in knots seeing everyone for the first time since the Chubby Bunny incident. My siblings were at odds with each other on how to handle me – Rose kept assuring me that it was forgotten, while Jasper insisted that it would be better if she'd forget and just drop it. I knew from experience that some amount of teasing would be heading my way. My preference was to get it over with.

I had to wait until lunch for the inevitable. Jasper had some athletics meeting, so it was only Rosalie and Bella with me at a table in the corner. If the girls heard the snickering and whispers, they didn't acknowledge it. I was super aware of it anyway. Some clown actually brought a bag of marshmallows, and they waited until Rose left the table to begin tossing them at me. The first one hit my shoulder and landed on the table. Bella turned around and scowled before sliding her chair closer to me. Another one narrowly missed my head.

"Ignore them," I muttered, staring at my plate. "You don't have to stay here with me."

"I'm not letting them ruin our lunch," she stated firmly before changing the subject to our two shared classes in the afternoon.

"We should just go," I suggested when they continued to lob marshmallows in my direction.

"No. It's not right. You're just sitting here, not bothering them at all. They're the jackasses. Don't let them chase you off, Edward. Besides… you haven't commented on my attire. I dressed especially for you today."

She was wearing a Metallica t-shirt and jeans. Nothing stood out as being 'for me'. Grinning, she kicked off a shoe and held up her socked foot. They were different from the bowling ones, but just as wild. These ran from deep purple stripes to electric blue, with various purple and blue tones in between.

I grinned at her. "Awesome. Where did you find those?" A handful of marshmallows flew our way. Before I knew it, Bella's striped sock was off, and she was digging at one of the mushy blobs on the floor. "What are you doing?"

"This is so totally weird, but when I was a kid, my aunt, my gran and I used to have toe challenges. I lived with them before I moved back here. I don't know if you know that… anyway, we'd have challenges to see who could pick up what and walk with it between our toes. I've never attempted a full-sized marshmallow. Only minis."

I stared at her incredulously before turning my gaze back to her foot. She was working hard at getting it pinched enough to wedge in. "This is so weird!" I couldn't help but laugh.

"You're not the only one who knows marshmallow games," she retorted.

"I'm not playing with you, just so you know."

She huffed and then beamed proudly as she lifted her foot to the table. "Success! Someday you'll play the toe game with me. You know it. Ew! Look how dirty this is!" She plucked it from her toes and flung it over her head, just as Mrs Cope walked by. I dropped my head to the table, never wanting to be invisible more than at that moment.

~ 0 ~

"Twelve years," I whispered to Bella after school. "You managed to earn me my very first detention in twelve years."

"You're welcome," she whispered back with a snicker. We both glanced up at Mr Douglas. He had the newspaper spread open on his desk, but his eyes were closed. He clearly didn't care what we did in detention. "So, yeah, I lived with my gran after we left my dad. I guess Renee, my mom, didn't really factor in how much Charlie actually did for me. I was too much work for her on her own. Once we were settled in with Gran and my Aunt Katie, she took off."

"She left you?" I asked, full of interest. I'd had many conversations with Bella over the past year, but she'd never said anything so personal before. "Why didn't she just bring you back to your dad?"

"He couldn't have done it alone either… not with his job. It was fine. It was actually the two best years of my life until now. My mom is very unsettled. I think she had me too young. She's still trying to grow up. I don't think I ever want to have kids. Do you?"

I stared at her. I'd never imagined a future with myself involving kids. "I don't know. I figured I'd kind of have to have a date before I'd start thinking of procreating."

She smiled at me warmly. "You'd have really cute babies. But that's not a good enough reason to procreate. I think you'll have more than one. You're so close with Jasper and Rose – I can't see you only having one kid. You'll give them best friends to grow up with, like you've had."

"I don't know about that." I shook my head, laughing softly. I couldn't imagine anyone ever having sex with me, let alone doing it more than once.

"I know why my parents didn't have more – they shouldn't have even had me – but I sure wish I had a sibling or two. It would take the pressure off. My mom's been bugging me to go back to Phoenix."

My jaw dropped. The thought of Bella leaving drove a knife into my gut. "What?

Her eyes dropped to the desk in front of us. Her hands folded together as she cracked several knuckles. "Gran is pretty sick. She has Alzheimer's. It's advanced really quickly. Mom and Aunt Kate are both there to tend to her now, so they're not putting her in a home or anything…" The knuckle cracking ceased, but she began chewing on her lip. "I'm thinking they don't figure she'll be around much longer. At least, not the Gran I know."

I hated the idea of Bella leaving. Hated it. "How do you feel about that? Do you want to go?"

She sighed heavily and took a long time to respond. "I honestly don't know. I don't want to leave. I feel like I've just settled in here. I feel like I belong here. I'm comfortable with Charlie, and I love your family. I've never had a boyfriend before Jazz. I don't want to leave him now." She graced me with a small smile, even though her eyes welled with unshed tears. "I don't want to leave any of you. I also don't want to miss my last opportunity with Gran. Renee says she calls her Bella. She's already that confused."

"Or you mean that much to her," I suggested in a soft voice. The pools in her eyes finally rolled out, and she squeezed her eyes shut. "I meant that to be consoling, Bella. I didn't want to upset you more. I'm sorry."

Suddenly, her arms were around me, and her head nestled in against my neck. "You're making it even harder for me to want to leave," she whispered and then snorted wetly. I stiffened even more, unsure of what to do with myself. One arm reached around her shoulder and patted her. A few more snorts and she released me, now in control of her emotions. She wiped at her nose and smiled at me. "Thanks for listening, Edward. Please don't say anything to Jasper. I haven't told him I'm even considering it yet."

"I won't say a word. You can tell me anything, Bella."

Mr Douglas folded his paper, leaned back and yawned loudly. "I think we're done here, folks. No more food fights – do we agree?"

Bella and I stood, grabbing our books with enthusiastic nods.

"I can give you a drive home, if you want." The school had emptied out, and I was enjoying my time with Bella so much, I didn't want it to end.

"Thanks, but I think I'll wait for Jazz. He was meeting with the coach. He should be done soon."

I shuffled my feet, nodding. "Okay. Well, I guess I'll see you."

"Sorry for making you get detention – ruining your perfect record."

I chuckled. "Detention with you isn't nearly what I thought it would be. Make sure you wash those toes really well. They've got to be sticky."

I expected a laugh, what I got was another hug. Her arms wrapped around my middle and she rested her head against my heart, squeezing me briefly before running off towards the gym. I didn't move until she was out of sight. In my car, I practiced my breathing exercises before attempting to drive. She couldn't leave now. Could she?

A/N ~ Hi again! Was my hasty edit a trainwreck? I had another chuckle at my Canadianism that got eliminated in this one. Does anyone else refer to graham crackers as wafers? Am I alone on this? LOL No, that's not the reason I've updated super early, I just get a kick out of little things like that.

So here's the deal - I'm not on Twitter or Facebook, 'cause I'm totally lame. This is my only way to pimp out a fic, so if you're not into fic pimping, see you next chapter. :-)

If you want in on a great read, the awesome ladies at tehlemonadestand(dot)blogspot(dot)com have noticed my favourite fic and I am super excited about it! msj2779 prereads for me for a reason - I LOVE her writing! I am such a fangirl. Truly. I also have the honour of prereading her newest, that is currently on TLS poll, Consign Me Not to Darkness. I'm hoping TLS will bring her more readers and now, I'm pimp, pimp, pimping in my own little way. It's in my faves if you want to go directly to the story, orrrrrr, better yet, check out TLS and follow their link to many great reads, along with msj's. If you agree that this is the most underrated fic of the year thus far, show her some love!

Much love to all of you, too. As always, thanks for reading. XX ~ SR