A/N: Don't have much to say these days beyond Christmas cookies and gingerbread houses, so let's just get on with it, shall we?

Chapters 33 & 34

Characters belong to S. Meyer. Major plot line belongs to J. Austen. I'm just blending both worlds.

The following morning, Bella once again went for a morning jog around the wooded path of Madrona Park. Jake and Leah had left at five in the morning to get a head start on their Black Friday shopping. They'd invited Bella, of course, but she'd quietly bowed out. Getting trampled on by hordes of people looking to save twenty bucks on the newest Xbox was not her idea of the perfect Thanksgiving weekend.

As she jogged on, her thoughts went to Alice, in New York. She wondered how she'd spent her first Thanksgiving away from her family. Bella was gladdened to know that she at least had Emmett with her, and knowing Emmett, he'd made the holiday as cheery as possible.

Lost in all these thoughts about Black Friday and her sister, Bella was startled when someone jogged up beside her, and even more so when she looked over and found no one other than Edward, dressed in a white t-shirt and shorts. Her head jerked back in surprise.

"Good morning, Bella." The greeting was spoken solemnly, perhaps even a bit uncomfortably.

"Good morning, Edward," she responded in the same solemn tone.

"I heard Jacob mention last night that you all would be going Black Friday shopping early this morning."

So Edward had been planning a nice, leisurely jog around her track and now she'd messed it up for him, Bella though to herself.

"Jacob misspoke if he included me in his plans," she responded, eyes glued ahead of her lest she trip over some invisible object at this most inopportune moment. "I jogged around this track yesterday morning and I'll probably jog around it again tomorrow and Sunday mornings, until I head back to school," she added, so he'd know to find himself another track if he wanted to be alone.

Silence.

The early morning birds sang their curious songs.

"How is your family this morning?" Bella finally inquired, more to break the suffocating tenseness than out of any real concern.

"I suppose they're all well. I haven't seen any of them yet. My cousin Peter sleeps in when he's home from overseas."

"I suppose he would," Bella mused, her voice softening. Peter was the only one of Edward's relations she cared to hear about.

The period of silence stretched out even longer than the previous one.

Bella had to think of something to say. Her heart was racing with discomfort; she could feel beads of sweat trickling down her forehead, moisture building under her armpits. She could not let Edward Cullen see her this way! It would just give him all the more to ridicule about her. Not that she cared what he thought of her either way. But still.

"Boy, you guys really left Forks pretty suddenly over the summer. Jasper must've been surprised when you all showed up in New York right behind him. How are they, by the way? Jasper and his cousins," she clarified.

"They're fine."

She realized – after another awkward silence – that this was about the only answer she'd receive. Gazing out at the fog rising over Lake Washington, she added,

"From what I hear Jasper has no plans to return to Forks or Netherfield Estate."

"I honestly don't know one way or the other, but either way, he probably won't spend much time there in the future. Jasper has a lot of friends and I know for a fact he enjoys socializing with them all."

Bella nodded absently. "Then he should think of ending his lease on Netherfield, that way someone who does plan to stay permanently may have a chance at leasing or buying it. But I suppose Jasper won't base his decision so much on what would be better for the neighborhood as much as what's best for him."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he were to give up the lease as soon as possible."

Bella made no answer out of fear that if she kept talking of his friend she'd end up saying something she'd really regret. And being that she'd begun every topic and had said more than enough to Edward for one morning, she decided she'd leave any other possible topics of conversation up to him if he so wished.

Edward took the hint. Within view of Jake's house, he began with,

"Jake's house seems very comfortable. From what my aunt tells me she helped him pick the designer for it."

"Yes, he may have mentioned that once or five times. I'm sure she could not have bestowed her advice on someone more grateful than Jake."

"Jake appears to be happy with his choice of a fiance'."

"Yes, I suppose he is. His friends and colleagues should be pleased to know that he's found one of the few sensible women who would ever pay him any mind. Leah is usually a pretty smart girl – though I'm not sure I'd consider agreeing to marry Jake to be one of the smartest decisions she's ever made, but she seems content with her decision. I guess if you look at it objectively, they make a good match."

"It must also be good for her to still be so close to home."

"Close to Forks, you mean? It's over a three hour drive," Bella snorted.

"Three hours isn't much, especially when it's all mostly highways. Yes, I'd call it a very short distance."

"Well, I would've never considered the fairly short distance to be one of the advantages of their relationship. I would've never said, 'oh, well, at least she's close to her family,'" Bella exclaimed in an obviously sarcastic tone.

"That just proves your own love of Forks. Anything beyond a half-hour car ride would seem far to you, I suppose."

Bella knew he was mocking her again; mocking the small town she came from; insinuating that she had a small-town mentality. That she couldn't think or see beyond Forks.

'I don't mean that a woman needs to be living near her family. On the contrary, what's far from family for one may be not far enough for another. It depends on the circumstances. And I suppose when you can travel around the world at your whim and have no real responsibilities, distance becomes inconsequential. But as for my friend Leah, I know her well enough to know that she won't be able to play the stay-at-home Stepford wife for long, and then she'll be craving her friends and family, in which case, a three hour drive each way will seem too long."

Edward was suddenly so close to her; close enough that there forearms touched every few seconds as they jogged on. He leaned in even closer and said,

"It's a shame that you'll have to get used to being all the way across the country from your family when you finally settle down."

Bella stopped jogging.

"I just meant," Edward blurted, his face suddenly red from all the exertion, "because you'll be going to grad school in New York soon. I'm pretty sure I heard that mentioned by someone while in Forks."

"Just because I'll be going to school in New York doesn't mean I'll settle down there. And just because I'm from Forks doesn't mean I'll end up there, either. I'm a young, carefree, woman, and though I may not be filthy rich, like some, the world is my oyster, as they say. I can do whatever I want."

"I'm sure you can, Bella." Edward's voice was suddenly so low, and though Bella searched his green eyes, looking for the insincerity in them, they looked open and earnest. A shudder ran up her spine.

"Are you cold" he enquired.

She shuddered again. "Yes. Yes, I suppose I am."

Jake and Leah pulled up in their car, and Bella realized that she and Edward had jogged all the way back to Jake's house.

"Hey, Edward!" Jake called out, stepping out of the car with boxes and boxes of items piled onto his arms. "I just bought an Xbox! Want to come kill some zombies?"

Edward answered thanks, but perhaps another time, and without another word jogged off in the opposite direction.

OOOOOOOOOO

Leah teased Bella for the remainder of the day, after having spotted her and Edward jogging together.

"I think Edward is in love with you!" she called out in the way that silly preteens tend to do. They were cleaning up after dinner.

Bella rolled her eyes.

"I doubt that highly. He looked pissed off to find me jogging on the trail, and then it was like pulling teeth to get him to say one word to clear up the tension! He probably just wanted to get away from his aunt and lovely bride-to-be," Bella snickered.

OOOOOOOOOO

It seemed like a likely explanation, except that later that afternoon, both Edward and Peter dropped by Jake's house. Now while Peter talked and laughed and joked around with everyone easily for hours, Edward seemed to just sit there, barely saying more than two words unless asked a direct questions. And though from what Bella gathered from the stories Peter told, the two cousins were very close, Edward appeared to scowl Peter's way for most of the night, especially whenever he came near Bella. Bella could only suppose that he wanted to make sure that Peter didn't associate too much with someone of Bella's lower social standing. Why Edward had bothered coming at all, Bella could not comprehend.

OOOOOOOOOO

It seemed like either bad luck or purposeful spite the next morning when Bella met up with Edward again on her jogging trail, despite her having warned him the morning before that she'd be there the next morning! He honestly seemed to be punishing not just her, but himself, because not only was it another awkward, tense greeting where afterwards each could have gone on their merry way, but he actually seemed to think that he was obligated to stick with her throughout the whole five-mile run; he sped up when she sped up, slowed when she slowed, turned into the woods when she turned! Throughout the entire run, conversation was difficult and stunted at best. And the questions and comments he did make were strange and unconnected. He asked how she was enjoying the neighborhood, he commented on her love of jogging, he asked her opinion on Jake and Leah's probability for happiness, he enquired on her opinion of large houses.

"I suppose there's something to be said for them - extra space and all that," Bella conceded dryly. "Though forgive me, but your aunt's house feels more like a museum than a home to me. It's very…cold and impersonal. I'd get lost in a house like that."

Edward snorted. "Don't worry. Next time you come and stay there, I'll give you a tour of all the rooms so that you don't get lost."

It was comments like that one that made absolutely no sense to Bella. Why in the world would she ever stay at the Senator's house? It wasn't like she was her family or anything.

Saturday evening, the two gentlemen stopped by Jake's house again, and the night was spent in basically the same manner as the previous one: Peter laughing and joking with Bella, Edward scowling their way. Upon their departure, they conveyed their aunt's invitation to come to her house tomorrow for a late brunch. It would be the end of the holiday weekend, and the Senator planned to close it down with grandeur.

OOOOOOOOOO

Sunday morning, Bella was enjoying her last jog around Lake Washington when her cell phone vibrated. She stopped to answer a text from Alice. They'd been texting until very late last evening. Bella could tell by the tone of the texts that Alice was still down in the dumps over Jasper. So Bella was texting away furiously when she heard a sound and drawing in a deep breath, prepared herself for the sight of Edward. When she looked up, she was surprised to see that it wasn't Edward, but Peter headed her way.

Bella finished up her text quickly and put her phone away. "I didn't know you jogged this trail."

"Oh, Edward and I always jog this trail when we're visiting our aunt, but this year I figured I'd give my cousin some…space."

Bella furrowed her brows and picked up her jog again. Peter stepped in beside her.

"Space for what?"

Peter kept his gaze straight ahead. A small smile twitched at the corners of his mouth, but he didn't respond.

"So you're going back to school tomorrow morning?" Peter asked instead.

Bella nodded. "I'll go straight to class from here. Probably stop by my dorm first to drop off some stuff. And you? When are you deploying again?"

"I'm on leave for another week, and then I have to get back. But Edward and I will probably also leave Seattle tomorrow. At least I think we will. I'm not sure. I leave all those plans up to him."

"Ah, yes. Edward is always the one in control, isn't he?"

"He likes to be in control, yes," Peter laughed, "I won't deny that. But don't we all? He just happens to have the means to be in control – most of the time, that is." Again, there was a slight twitch of Peter's lips, as if he were in the middle of some internal joke. "I speak as a military man, of course. In the military, we're not always the ones in control."

Bella smiled at him kindly.

"If that's true, then I suppose traveling with Edward wouldn't be such a hardship for you," she teased softly.

Peter chuckled. "Edward's a good guy, Bella. A bit stiff with those he doesn't know too well, but he's got a good heart underneath it all."

Bella didn't want to argue with a man who'd done so much for his country, so she didn't try to contradict him.

"And what about his sister, Rosalie, what's she like?"

"Why? What have you heard about her?" Peter asked abruptly, the mirth in his eyes suddenly gone.

"Nothing bad," Bella shook her head. "As a matter of fact, from what I've heard she's got to be one of the most talented women in the world! At least that's what Tanya and Irina believe. I think I heard you say that you know them?"

"Ah yes, Irina and her wonderful sister, Tanya. Cousins of Edward's good friend, Jasper."

Bella snickered. "So you have met them. And yes, Jasper is apparently a very good friend of Edward's. Edward seems to take very good care of Jasper.

"He does, actually," Peter snorted. "From what I've heard, Jasper's a good guy, but tends to need some guidance from time to time, especially in the ladies department. He's a bit naïve, from what Edward tells me; easily taken in by a pretty face and a greedy grin. As a matter of fact, from something Edward told me the other day, I think Jasper probably owes Edward big-time for getting him out of a sticky situation." All of a sudden, Peter shook his head vehemently. "You know what? Never mind. I've got no reason to think that it was Jasper that Edward was talking about. It could've been anyone."

"What are you talking about?" Bella asked; forehead crinkled in confusion.

"I'm not sure I should talk about it at all. Edward probably wouldn't want it getting around because if it were to get back to the young lady, I'm sure she'd raise hell."

"I won't say anything."

Peter smirked sideways, but with a deep breath, plunged into the story.

"Alright, but remember that I don't really have any basis to suppose that it's Jasper we're talking about. I don't really know the guy too well myself. Edward just happened to mention that he was satisfied with the job he'd done at keeping a friend of his from getting too deeply involved with the wrong kind of girl, but he didn't mention any names or circumstances. I only suspected it was Jasper because like I said, he seems to be the type of guy who'd be taken in by a pretty face, and because I know that they spent last summer together."

"Did Edward happen to mention why he believed his friend needed to be helped out?"

"Apparently the girl was all kinds of wrong for Jasper."

"And how exactly did Edward convince his friend to stay away from this girl?"

"Now, that I don't know," Peter smiled. "I only know what I just told you."

Bella said nothing. She simply jogged on, blood boiling in her veins.

After a short while with no speaking, Peter turned to her. "Why are you suddenly so quiet, Bella?"

Bella bit her lip. "I've just been thinking of what you told me. I don't think I agree with what Edward did. Who was he to be the judge of what the girl actually felt?"

"You think his interference was intrusive?"

"I don't see what right Edward had to judge how wrong or right his friend's relationship may have been, or for him to decide based on his judgment alone, what would or would not make his friend happy. But," Bella backed up, recognizing how heated her tone was getting, "since we really don't have any of the details, I suppose we can't in turn judge him. In any case, his friend couldn't have been that interested in the girl."

"That's probably true," Pete said, "but if it is, it simply lessens the importance of the role Edward played in it all.

Peter was joking, but Edward's overinflated superiority complex was so obviously the goal in it all that Bella couldn't trust herself to answer, so she changed the subject until their run was over, and then went straight to her guest room to think.

It was so very obvious that they had been discussing Jasper and Alice, of course. After all, what other man could Edward have so much absolute influence over? That Edward had played a part in separating Alice and Jasper she'd never doubted, but she'd always blamed Tanya for being the main villain in all that.

But no, now he was congratulating himself, bragging even, of all that he'd been able to do to separate Jasper and Alice, of all that he'd done to cause Alice's heartache, of all he'd done to make her suffer! He'd been to blame for her broken heart, for ruining the happiness of the sweetest, most generous girl in the world!

'Apparently the girl was all kinds of wrong for Jasper,' Peter had said. Yeah, Bella snorted, and by all wrong Edward had probably meant that she wasn't blue-blooded enough to fit into their uptown world.

The objection couldn't have been towards Alice herself. Alice was by all accounts, beautiful, sweet, kind and smart. Okay, so their family left something to be desired, especially their mother, but Bella was decided; it was Edward's arrogance and disrespect for anyone who didn't come from his high class world that had been the main cause of everything. Probably his desire to see Jasper with his own sister, Rosalie, had much to do with it, too.

The fury and tears that this revelation caused brought on a migraine the likes of which Bella had never experienced. She knew she had to leave; she couldn't spend one more hour within twenty miles of Edward Cullen. And so she told Leah that she wasn't feeling well, and that she'd be leaving for her dorm right away. Jake reminded her of their invitation over to the Senator's house for brunch, to which Bella responded by turning around and slamming the guest door in Jake's face.

A/N: Thoughts?

Uh oh. The crap's going to hit the wall now!

Will see you before Christmas with the chapter you've all been waiting for.

Twitter: PattyRosa817

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