Hello, Lovlies!

I apologize for the delay. College work often gets in the way of my fanfic writing. Whatevs.

Anywho, here is chapter 7. I hope you like it. I know I do!:) Please read and review. Reviews pretty much encourage me to write faster!

As usual, I own nothing. SM owns the characters. I just own the story line.

Now on with the story!

I figured that after dinner, my dad would talk to Edward and his parents about security and how to keep Edward safe.

But as I sit in the living room now, listening to Charlie and Carlisle tell fishing tales, I know that there is no way I'll be able to go up to my room anytime soon. After about half an hour of listening to adults talk about random things, I decide to go start the dishes.

At the rate this was going, I wouldn't have the energy to do it after everyone left.

I excuse myself quietly and walk carefully into the dining room, making sure not to trip over my own two feet. I grab a few plates, as many as I can carry without dropping them, and make my way into the kitchen. I gently place each dish into the dishwasher before I turn around.

And find Edward standing there holding a few plates in his hand.

"I didn't feel like hearing about fishing anymore," he says sheepishly.

I smile at him. "Same. Hearing about my father's fishing escapades isn't exactly what I qualify as a good time."

Edward laughs and I like the way it sounds.

He walks over and puts the plates into the dishwasher before he heads back into the dining room and grabs a few cups. He hands them to me and I put them in the dishwasher while he walks out and grabs more dishes. Once they're all loaded in, I put some soap in and start the dishwasher.

Then comes the awkward silence that neither one of us care to break for several long moments.

Finally, he speaks up quietly as though he is too afraid the people in the other room will hear him.

"Why do you hate me so much?" he asks. I look at him and see genuine curiosity in his eyes.

I give him an honest answer. "I don't hate you. I just don't like people who think they are better than everyone else," I say with a shrug. "That's the impression I got from you right away."

He rolls his eyes. "God, not you too," he groans. "Same fucking thing my parents have been saying. And my sister. But at least they know me. You don't know anything about me."

"So tell me then, Edward," I say. "There must be some reason why your parents made you move here." He raises an eyebrow at me. "I do have eyes and ears. Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't see and hear things. I've noticed how you've suddenly started making shittier movies and how the only time I see your picture in the magazines, you look completely hammered."

He glares at me and pushes off the wall and sulks back into the living room, pushing an eavesdropping Alice out of the way. I raise an eyebrow at her and she blushes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to listen in…" at my pointed look she trails off and smiles sheepishly. "Okay, I did. But I didn't mean to get caught."

I laugh at her. "Seriously, though, what is his problem?"

She shakes her head, the smile gone. "You just hit the nail on the head. His reputation was going up in smoke," she says sadly. "Bella, he used to be a really great person. But then he started making more money and he dated this girl who thought the world revolved around her and pretty much brain washed him to think the same."

I sigh. "So he's here to be…un-brain washed?"

Alice nods. "Pretty much, yeah."

I look around Alice to the doorway where Edward had just disappeared through before looking back at her with a raised eyebrow. "There's more than that, isn't there?" I ask.

She looks down at her feet. "It's not my place to say. I've already said too much…" She trails off guiltily.

I smile at her. "Alice it's okay. We can drop it. Actually, we should probably get back in there before my father thinks I died putting away the dishes."

She smiles at me in silent thinks and leads the way back into the living room, her heels clicking gracefully through the hall.

My feet kind of clunk behind her.

Back in the room, Edward refuses to meet my eyes and I find myself feeling guilty. He was trying and I completely shut him down.

Yes, I was a self-proclaimed bitch to most people, but he hadn't ever personally done anything to warrant my bitchy-ness.

So I did that thing where you try to get people to look at you by staring at them intensely until they get the feeling that they're being watched so they look up.

I hear my dad begin the discussion on security when Edward stands up and walks out of the room and out the front door.

"Oh dear," Esme says as she watches Edward slam the door. "I apologize for his behavior, Charlie. He…hasn't been himself the past few months."

Charlie waves her off. "Don't worry about it. Bella went through the same stage not too long ago."

I roll my eyes as Esme stands up. "I should go check on him."

I stand up. "I'll do it. You guys can discuss the security measure while I go make sure he's okay."

Esme smiles. "Oh thank you. I'm sure he'd rather you come see him than me!" She laughs as she sits back down next to her husband, who lovingly grabs her hand.

Alice smiles knowingly from where she sits and I suppress the eye roll I can feel coming on as I grab my jacket and slip out of the door.

I see Edward sitting on a decorative bench my mom had put in our front yard years ago. It literally hadn't been touched in years, so it was covered in moss and had browned over time due to the weather.

I walk over towards him and notice that he's smoking a cigarette. I wrinkle my nose as I approach.

"You know smoking can kill you," I say as I approach.

He jumps. "Shit!" He looks at me. "You scared the hell out of me."

I grin. "Sorry. I didn't mean to."

He rolls his eyes. "Whatever," he says coldly. After a moment of awkwardness, he takes of his jacket and places it on the bench next to him and gestures for me to sit down and, just for a moment, I can see the boy Alice new.

I quietly thank him as I sit down on his warm jacket.

We sit in silence for another minute or so, him smoking his cigarette and me coughing quietly as the smoke infiltrates my lungs. Finally, the silence becomes too much, so I speak.

"I'm sorry for what I said in the kitchen," I say quietly. "I'm not taking it back because I know I'm partially right. But it wasn't my place."

He sighs and throws his cigarette on the ground and stomps it out with his foot. "It's okay. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been such an ass about it."

I nod and we drop it.

"But smoking is really bad for you," I say as I stare at the still smoldering cigarette on the ground. "If you want to keep singing, quitting is probably the best idea."

He rolls his eyes and shrugs. "That'd probably make a lot of people happy," Edward says as he stomps on his cigarette again.

I stare at his chiseled features in confusion. "If you quit smoking?" I ask.

Edward shakes his head. "No. If I couldn't sing anymore. I'd probably make a lot of people happy that way."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "But what about yourself? Would that make you happy?"

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Honestly? I have no idea," he mumbles sadly.

I look at this guy, this boy, who seems so utterly lost at the moment that I can't help but feel pity for him. He has everything he could possibly want and more money than he needs and yet he looks completely miserable.

After a moment of hesitation, I reach out and touch his shoulder and feel the softness of his shirt and the strong muscles underneath it.

"You should probably figure that out," I say.

He straightens up, knocking my hand off his back, and smiles at me. "So. What do you say, Swan. Friends?" He stretches his hand out to me.

I smile and nod. "Friends," I say as I grab his hand.

He grips my hand for a few long seconds and it's as though there is some sort of current between us. I shrug it off as static electricity.

"Come on. Let's go back inside before my dad comes out," I say as I stand. I hand him his jacket and he throws it over his arm and, side-by-side, we walk back into the house.

So what did you all think!

Please, please, Pleaseeeeeeee review!

Love always,

Emilia Elliot