I deserve a prize for getting out two chapters in one day.

I really hope you guys like this chapter-it has a good mix of the serious stuff, but has the fluff that I promised you guys.

And it has Velma, who I have to admit is one of my favorite characters :)

Anywho, on with the chapter!

By the time I get home, I'm freezing. It may be warm out for an October day in Forks, but that doesn't mean it's warm. And it's not day anymore. It's night time, almost 12:30am. I grumble in frustration as I approach my front door, but am thankful that my father doesn't seem to be home.

The last thing I want to do is play 20 question.

I spot Velma sleeping on the staircase as soon as I walk in. Her ears perk up as she lazily opens her eyes to see who it is. When she realizes it's me, she leaps up and greets me as I shut the door and lock it behind me.

"It's been a bad night, Velma," I whisper as I pick her up. "People are so stupid."

She nuzzles my face and begins to purr. I scratch her ears as I walk up the stairs, anxious to get out of my cold clothing and into a pair of sweats and a hoodie.

I toss Velma onto my bed, earning me a growl in response, before I walk over to my dresser and pull out my favorite pair of sweatpants. They're probably about ten sizes too big for me, but that's why I like them-they make me feel comfortable.

I grab a dark blue hoodie off of my floor and toss it on over a t-shirt before I crawl into my bed. Velma immediately makes her way up to my head and curls up next to me on the pillow. She stretches her paws out so that the pads touch the side of my face. I chuckle and pull her down off of my pillow and under the covers.

"You are the biggest bed hog ever, Velmster," I tell her.

She responds by falling asleep.

I, however, am restless. Every time I close my eyes, I see Edward's eyes as they were at the party. I, thankfully, never had to see my mother high. But seeing Edward the way he was, I'm even more thankful that I didn't have to.

My thoughts continue to wander from Edward to my mother and back again when I hear my dad come home. He slams the door shut before I hear him lumber his way into the kitchen. About five minutes later, I can see the light in the hallway flick on from the crack beneath my door. I close my eyes and wait, knowing that, after a few minutes he'll come check on me.

When my door creeks open, I keep my eyes closed gently and make sure my breathing is steady as Velma perks up from underneath my blankets. I hear her jump off my bed and pad across the floor to where my dad stands.

I hear her meow and my dad says hi to her before he closes the door, putting my room back into the darkness of the night.

Seconds later, Velma is back on my bed, her butt in my face as she curls up to lay down. I watch the light in the hallway flick off before I push her away from my face.

"I love you, Velma, but I don't want your butt in my face," I explain.

She gives me a look, but curls up at the end of my bed, her eyes trained on my face.

I roll my eyes and look away. I can hear my dad begin to snore in the distance and I groan. Sleep just didn't seem like a possibility tonight.

After an hour of laying in the dark, I can feel myself beginning to drift off.

But suddenly, Velma hisses from her place on the bed and when I look down at her, her face is trained on the window. Her hair is standing up as she growls and hisses at the window. My heart begins to race as I grab Velma and pull her tightly to my chest as I look at the dark window from my spot on the bed.

I see a dark form perched on the branch closest to my window and I can feel the panic bubbling up inside of me just as the shape lifts a flashlight to their face, revealing the now completely green eyes of Edward Cullen.

I put a hand to my heart and listen intently, making sure that my dad is still snoring before I lock my door and walk over to the window.

I slide open the glass with ease and lean out the window.

"Are you fucking insane?" I whisper screech as he smirks at me.

"I'm beginning to think so. Now can you let me in before I fall off this tree and die?" he whispers back.

I roll my eyes and stand back, allowing him to gracefully swing into my room.

His landing, however, is not so graceful and he falls into me, wrapping his arms around my waist as he steadies himself.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" I ask as I inspect him.

He nods but doesn't let go of me. "Yeah, I'm fine," he whispers. His warm breathe washes on my face, and I briefly wonder how someone's breath can actually smell good.

We stand there for a long moment, his arms wrapped around me with our eyes locked, before he finally releases me with a squeeze. He doesn't let go of me completely however, choosing to keep my hand in his much larger one. He leads me over to the bed and sits down, pulling me along with him. I pull away, letting his hand drop to the bed before I speak.

"What are you doing here?" I ask as Velma curls up on my lap protectively. "You didn't drive did you?"

He shakes his head. "No, I walked. I definitely needed the walk," he says. He looks up at me with nervous green eyes. "I had a lot to think about."

I scratch Velma between the ears, suddenly extremely thankful for her presence. I need a way to keep my hands busy without looking to obvious.

"And what's that?" I ask quietly. "What did you have to think about?"

Edward leans back onto his elbows and looks at me. "You called me out on a lot of stuff tonight," he begins softly. "And now that I've had time to…calm down, I see that you were just trying to help. I'm not admitting that I'm addicted, because I'm not. But I do admit that cocaine is probably not the best answer. I've known that since the night with Alice.

"Ever since then, I've known that doing that isn't the answer," he continues. "Knowing that I could have stopped what was happening to Alice is what made me stop for a while, but coming back here and seeing her happy and just feeling so…miserable…I craved the high that only drugs could give me," he explains quietly.

I reach out and grab his hand again, causing Velma to glare at me before readjusting her position.

"I really wish you could just see it the way I do," I say. "I can see where you're coming from in a way. I know what it's like to be miserable and not having a way to get through it. But I would never turn to drugs because…well that doesn't make me any better than my mom," I explain as I look deeply into his eyes.

Edward smiles sadly. "But Bella, you're better than your mom. You're better than me. You're stronger than I've ever been," he admits.

I shake my head. "You are not weak. But the drugs will make you weak. My mom could have been strong and just talked about it with my father and figured out a better solution before walking out. But she was too far gone to think of anyone but herself.

"But you still care," I say with a smile. "You told me once that without your family, you would have been lost. You said that everything they do, they do because they love you. And I've seen how much you love them. You need to fight for that. My mother didn't fight for the ones that loved her. She was too weak, too selfish." I take a deep breath, refusing to let myself cry.

I haven't cried in years, and I sure as hell don't intend to start doing that now.

He looks at me seriously for a long moment before dropping his gaze. "You're right," he whispers. When he looks back up, his eyes are filled with determination. "I promise to fight. I'm not going to let the ones I love and care about view me the way you do your mother," he says heatedly.

I smile at him in pride, but before I can say anything, he begins speaking again.

"But Bella, you need to do something for me," he says seriously.

I look at him and raise an eyebrow. "What?"

Edward sighs and reaches out to pet Velma, who surprisingly doesn't try and bite him.

"I know you don't believe in love," he begins softly.

I nod. "It's like a fairy tale. It's fake. Love isn't real. Telling someone you love them is pretty much the biggest lie you can ever tell," I conclude.

He shakes his head. "Listen. If I'm going to try and be a better person for my family, for my friends…for you," he says with a shy smile. "Then you need to try to believe for me. People love you Bella. Your dad, Alice, my parents, and I'm sure that in her own way, your mother loves you.

"Just be open minded," he begs. "You never know what could come of it."

I just stare at him for a long time. I'm a stubborn person-getting me to change my mind is like getting a cat to enjoy being in water: not impossible, but really fucking hard.

But what he's going to do? That's harder. I've seen what it's like when someone goes through withdrawal. It's hard, harder than trying to believe in something you just don't believe in.

So with a sigh, I nod. "I'll try."

He smiles and kisses my forehead, causing me to blush.

"Thank you," he whispers.

I grab his hand again. "Thank you," I say and, for the first time in years, I feel a stirring in the pit of my stomach that is only fueled when he runs his thumb over my knuckles. I feel it again when I think of his warm lips on my forehead. The burn intensifies and, finally, I can place a word to it.

Attraction.

Finally!

I've literally been waiting to write this chapter since I started the story!

I hope you guys enjoyed it!

Please, please, pleaseeee review! The responses I've received have been awesome. A special thanks goes out to Darkward Darling for always coming through for me with a review and some words of encouragement! Thank you for being awesome! :)

Lots of love,

Emilia Elliot