Fighting Temptation

Chapter 22: Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are property of me, Dobber17. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

This chapter has been edited by CherryBerry12.

Bella Swan

The rest of the week passed in a blur. Before we knew it, it was the day of the dance.

Exhaustion was taking its toll on everyone, not just from the physical demands, but also from the new sleeping arrangements. It all changed a few days previous when there was a knock on the door. We thought it was Mike coming back from grabbing dinner … except Tyler opened the door to find Coach Clapp on the other side.

Needless to say, he was far from impressed to see Edward and I cuddling on the bed together. After a long rant that closely borderlined a lecture on the birds and the bees, we swapped sleeping arrangements amongst the four of us, not taking chances as Coach threatened random room inspections. Tyler and I made a fortress of pillows between us, both for my comfort and due to his habit of kicking in his sleep. The fortress did nothing against his snoring.

True to his word, Coach Clapp made nightly rounds, using his key and flipping on the lights at all hours of the morning. He never spoke to us, only looked over the room as fast as he could before walking out again.

Edward pressed a kiss to my temple. I groaned, forcing my heavy lids open. "I don't wanna," I mumbled into the pillow.

Despite his tired eyes, he let a soft smile form. "I know."

He helped pull me from the bed. My eyes barely registered Tyler and Mike getting ready as I trudged to the bathroom. I didn't bother fixing my haphazard bun as I washed my face and brushed my teeth.

"Less than two days," Edward reassured me as we started our daily trek outside.

It honestly was a relief our time in Seattle was almost up. I wasn't necessarily homesick but I missed my own bed and running into my dad at midnight as we both raided the snack cupboard. The thought of home made a sadness pang in my chest. I would definitely miss Jaclyn and the friendship we formed. Rose and Alice already promised they'd drag the boys up for Christmas, but I wasn't sure when the next time I'd see Jaclyn again.

I was unbelievably grateful for new friendships, new skills, and new experiences. The past two weeks had changed so much. Admitting my feelings for Edward was by far the highlight, but a rather surprising change was Reid. The first steps he took were when he helped me through my final free throws a few days prior. Since then, I started paying a bit more attention. A few small things happened each day, but the egotistical asshole from day one seemed to be in hibernation.

The morning day was spent doing fitness testing once again to see how well we improved in the two weeks we were there. Edward and I paired up, constantly swapping rolls as we counted and encouraged each other. Jared and Jaclyn had stationed themselves just off to our left. I let my attention flicker to them as the morning wore on, keeping a close eye on how they interacted, watching the way Jaclyn seemed to press her side into his, how Jared always seemed to find an excuse to brush her arm, watching them gaze at each other when the other wasn't looking …

"Bella," Edward called quickly, amusement lacing his features.

I was supposed to be counting for him. He was still on the ground, a sheen of sweat on his forehead from his minute of push-ups. We were next in line as Reid strode towards us, clipboard in hand. I cringed, wholly apologetic as I met Edward's gaze.

"Eighty-one," Edward whispered as he stood.

My face was flaming as Reid approached. I repeated the number to him, watching him jot it on his chart.

"Not exactly much improvement," he stated. "But you started with an incredible baseline. Awesome job, man."

I couldn't tell who was more stunned. Edward and I shared a quick look before I positioned myself on the ground. What in the hell had gotten into Reid?

It would still take a few moments to get the second round going. I looked up to Edward, wincing at the bright, artificial lights.

"Did you really get that?"

Edward let out a soft laugh, unable to hide his grin. "I honestly have no idea. I started off trying to impress you," he grinned wider as my cheeks flamed, "but when I realized your attention was elsewhere it was too late to start counting."

Edward's amusement was cut off by a sharp whistle, and I let the burning in my arms distract me from the burning in my face.

~!~ FT ~!~

"If we stayed like this long enough I swear I could fall asleep," I mumbled into Edward's chest.

He pressed a kiss to my unruly hair, an arm slung loosely around my waist as he tried to eat with the other. We sat at our usual table in the cafeteria, enjoying a few blissful moments together as Alice and Rose trailed toward us. Alice slid into the seat across from Edward a few moments later, and I stayed curled into his side. Alice confirmed I brought all my things with me, and I assured her I threw my essentials in my bag on the way out this morning. She nodded, a bright smile on her face as she turned her attention to Edward.

"Rose and I will take good care of her," she promised, though neither of us missed her mischievous smile.

Jasper and Emmett found their seats moments later, the latter with a roguish grin and twinkle in his eye. He cleared his throat – unnecessary as he already knew he held the table's attention.

"So," Emmett began, the angelic look of his face causing me to tense. "Any date night stories we should know about?" he asked casually. Edward and I groaned while everyone else started laughing.

"Will you guys please let that drop? It happened days ago!" I begged, hiding my face in my hands.

"It's not exactly something you forget. It's not every day you see two people making out on the sidewalk," Alice commented, her smirk growing with each passing second.

Though the kiss was beyond amazing I had no interest in reliving that particular moment. After our dinner date, our quick kiss quickly evolved into, well, a full blown make-out session. We got ahead of ourselves, months and months of feelings pouring into the kiss, making up for lost time, and revelling in time alone … except we had forgotten where we were.

A public sidewalk to be exact, where sharp, encouraging whistling caused our swollen lips to finally part. To be fair, it was probably best it was Alice and Jasper who interrupted us instead of strangers … or Coach Clapp.

"You still haven't answered my question," Emmett drawled, hiding his smirk as he took a long pull from his water bottle.

"No!" Edward and I yelled at the same time. I ignored the turning heads from a few surrounding tables.

"Pity."

~!~ FT ~!~

The injury tally was climbing off the charts. It was impossible to know whether it was due to everyone's exhaustion, the giddiness of knowing the dance was rapidly approaching, or a mixture of both.

Emmett kept a grip on my elbow as he helped me off the court, leading me to the other team's bench where Edward sat.

"I'm fine," I promised, despite my slight limp.

Emmett shook his head. "Noted, but I'm not taking any chances."

It was supposed to be a basic scrimmage match, something nice and easy for all of us to coast through until the end of the day. It was turning into a bloodbath. I was far from the first one Emmett had escorted off the court. There were already a few bloody noses, and I was the second one to roll an ankle from landing on someone else's foot.

Mere minutes later, another collision occurred. Tyler and Mike both jumped to catch a rebound, except Tyler jumped straight up in the air while Mike had jumped from an angle. They bumped shoulders, the momentum causing Tyler to fly to the side. He reached out his hand to break his fall … yet the sickening crack that echoed across the gym caused everyone to freeze.

Edward cringed beside me. "That's definitely broken".

Tyler let out a loud curse, the only sign of distress he showed. He didn't look at anyone and he strode straight into the hall

Edward was on his feet a moment later, casually strolling to the doors. He and Jasper met at the doors at the same time, both of them disappeared to check on Tyler. My heart warmed. Neither made a scene, just expressed quiet concern.

Reid let out a few sharp whistles, drawing all attention back to him. He called an end to the day early, claiming they were giving us extra time to prepare for the dance.

"As an extra bonus," Reid added, glancing around the gym. "We're starting an hour later tomorrow."

A few loud cheers sounded before everyone dispersed. I waited where I was, ignoring the ache in my ankle. Mike skulked toward me, his eyes downcast.

"I didn't mean to."

It was all he said before burying his face in his hands. I reached over to place two quick reassuring pats on his back.

"He knows," I promised. "Accidents happen."

Mike let out a low curse. I sat with him in silence until Edward strolled back through the doors. I met him halfway, cringing as he nodded his head.

"Jasper's driving him to get it officially check out now, but he'll definitely need a cast."

Jared and Jaclyn approached from the opposite side of the gym. They asked how Tyler was doing and Edward repeated himself. Jared winced, even though he was one of the unfortunate one who ended up with a bloody nose earlier.

We stood around chatting until the doors opened once again. Edward's arms wrapped tightly around my waist as Rose and Alice eased their way through the gym.

He kissed the back of my neck once before releasing me.

"I'll see you in a few hours," he promised.

I pressed a quick, chaste kiss to his lips before he could get too far. I didn't expect to see Jaclyn squirm next to me, barely sparring Jared a glance as we moved across the gym. I tried not to read into it as we followed Rose to the parking lot, piling in her Jeep.

Aimless chitchat flowed through the car and Rose sped through the streets of Seattle. Jaclyn, quiet at first, opened up as we put distance between us and the gym. In a matter of minutes, we were pulling the driveway of a homey looking brown-stone house.

Alice was out of the car in a flash, opening the door and waving us in with a flourish. "Towels are already on the counters. Bella, up the stairs on and first door on the left. Jaclyn, down this hall here and middle door on the right," Alice instructed before we could even put our bags down. "Robes are on the counters."

The shower was glorious, washing away the day's sweat and grime. I stayed in for a few extra minutes, letting the heat ease the ache in my ankle. I pulled a pair of seamless underwear on before tightening the soft robe around my waist.

"Do you want your hair up or down?" Alice asked by way of greeting. I didn't get a chance to answer as she continued. "Down and curled?"

I let out a soft laugh. "I trust you. Down and curled it is."

I strolled to where Rose and Alice were huddled over a desk full of literally every possible makeup and hair product. I bulked at the sight, but Alice met me a few steps away. She gently took the small makeup bag from my hands. She rifled through with furrowed brows. An instant later she was swatching foundation on my face.

"It's actually too light for you. We'll figure it out," she promised, her hands deftly sorting through bottles on the desk.

Jaclyn joined us only a few minutes later. I didn't fight one bit as Alice and Rose fussed over my hair and makeup. If I was being honest with myself, it was actually quite nice to feel a bit pampered. Rose and Alice worked in tandem, a perfect pairing as they danced around each other, managing to get themselves ready in the process.

Only when we were all zipped in, all our faces sprayed with setting spray, and given a final spritz of hairspray, did Alice and Rose finally let me get a good look in the mirror. I stood, slowly walking toward the mirror on the other side of the room to get a closer look.

It really shouldn't have been a surprise considering I already saw what they were capable of doing to themselves and Jaclyn. But this… this was magical. My hair fell around me in chocolate waves, the curls having more volume I could ever dream of. The foundation was flawless, covering any imperfections while my eyes were smokey with just enough of a shimmer to continuously draw my attention back to them. My lips, painted only a few shades darker than normal, spread into a wide grin.

Rose walked over, briefly squeezing my shoulder as her gaze met mine in the mirror. She looked at Alice and Jaclyn, a smirk forming on those fire-engine red lips. "They won't even know what hit 'em."

A/N: The The dance is coming up next!