A/N: Ye gods, I'm almost at half way

Chapter 22

My Date for Prom

Edward's POV

My plan for the day—without mentioning getting Bella to agree to go to the prom with me—was to talk to Jacob about that piece of shit Newton. Only by second period, and by the fact that Emmett had half the male population chorusing dud root to Weasel on sight, I had a suspicion it would no longer be necessary. I was actually pretty relieved. Asking Jacob for anything wouldn't be easy, but to ask him to rein in that prick Newton, when all I wanted to do was to snap that fucker's neck, would've been fucking painful.

As it turned out, Jacob came to me.

I was walking through the halls in between second and third periods, when out of nowhere he half slapped, half shoved me from behind before stepping in line with me.

"So, Princess," his voice was thick and nasally, and he coughed into his hand before he continued, "I just wanted to say that I appreciate you sticking up for Bella yesterday."

I opened my mouth to reply in a state of am-I-in-the-fucking-twilight-zone shock, when he continued before I could answer. Not that I had an answer ready anyway, so in a way I guess he prevented me from looking like an idiot.

"I would have done the same thing, and if I was there I would have finished the asshole off while you were passed out." He smirked to himself, and I immediately tensed, fucking indignant.

I looked over at him drawing my brows together, not sure if I really had the right to be pissed off, when he met my gaze. His expression immediately darkened before he blurted, his tone hardening, "This doesn't mean I want to jump in bed with you, Cullen! And rest assured if you hurt Bella again, I will dig a hole and bury you."

I just stared after him as he took longer, quicker strides and disappeared into the crowd ahead of me, before I scoffed to myself, shaking my head.

If that wasn't out of left field, I didn't know what was!

I was still musing over it in semi-disbelief when I spotted Alice and Bella approaching, and immediately a jolt of heat ploughed through me; almost stopping me short.

I slowed my step to watch them more closely; Alice nudged her in a kidding way, and Bella sort of laughed softly to herself.

Mesmerizing? Shit, she was detrimental to my sanity! If I did, by some miracle, take her to the prom, I didn't know how the hell I was going to overcome this freaking reaction she brought out in me.

But what if Bella actually wanted to go to the prom with me?

This is when suddenly I was hit by a huge burst of confidence.

She'd told Mike-the-weasel-Newton I was not only taking her, but screwing her! On some subconscious level, I think she wanted to go with me. Maybe it was the reason she stopped ignoring me, maybe not. But I knew Bella enough to know that if she couldn't stand me, there was no way she'd bring my name up, let alone yell to half the school that I didn't have a pencil dick.

Or accept me on Facebook.

Bella never chased me; it was going to have to be all me.

So, fuck it!

I quickly pulled my sweater over my head, shoving it into my bag with a few seconds to spare, just as she looked over at me and caught my gaze. I flashed her the broadest, cockiest, most charming grin I could manage, before I winked at her. Her smile had already lit itself up warmly across her face, when it faltered, and she practically frowned.

This was her usual reaction when I flirted with her, so I wasn't too concerned by it.

Her gaze then slowly broke from mine and drifted to my t-shirt. Her mouth fell open, before her eyes snapped back to meet mine and narrowed. I only grinned back wider and half shrugged with one shoulder. It was then that her surprised, cynical expression slowly gave way to this fucked up, warm, knowing grin, before she shook her head slowly to herself.

I knew from that moment on that I would never have the advantage over her again, but I didn't want it. I didn't want Bella to respond to me with battering eyes and idiotic giggles, and the fact that she was the only girl in the school who gave me evil looks when I smiled at her turned me freaking on.

She didn't buy any of it; she saw straight through me.

"Bella … Alice," I said to them. My smile was still charming, but it was waning dramatically with the fucking rise in my body heat.

"Nice t-shirt, Edward," Alice replied dryly.

I glanced in her direction just as she was breaking into a sarcastic grin before turning back to Bella. Her smile was turning cynical again, and I was just going to have to console myself that that's how she smiled at me.

"You're a dag, Edward," she replied lightly.

I only grinned broader, pushing it through my nose, not knowing what the hell that word meant, and not caring.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with your brother?" I heard her say to Alice a moment later, her tone light and teasing.

I knew what I wouldn't mind her doing to me...

...

By the time I was nearing the English block I was back to my usual wound up, horny, high strung self, and seeing Slut-bag Stanley waiting outside the classroom did nothing to help in that respect.

Quickening my pace, I turned my head away from her and stepped through the doorway when she called me back.

I inhaled deeply and deliberately before letting it out in a long frustrated sigh. Despite the fact that Jessica was on the evil end of being a complete bitch, being close to her brought flashbacks of that fucked up night at Rob's party.

"Yeah?" I asked her, shortly.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked me, flashing me a fucking slutty smile that was like nails down a chalkboard, and immediately accompanied by images of her running her hands—

Fuck, no!

Groaning to myself, I forced it from my mind to save myself the fucking agony of it. Ironically, I preferred to reminisce when I had my head down the toilet. It was something I recalled whenever I caught certain smells of alcohol, and just like now in Jessica's presence, it churned my stomach. Still, I'd definitely take that memory over the other one.

"What do you want, Jessica?" I asked her with an edge of impatience, reaching up to rub my forehead, aggravated and wishing I could erase all images of that night with her.

It's not that I could blame her or anything. I knew how much of a whore she was when I called her, and if I was being brutally fucking honest with myself, if Bella never came to Forks, I probably would have fucked her by now. As it was, now every time I looked at Jessica all I saw was the contrast between her and Bella and what an absolute bitch she'd been to her.

"Well ..." She reached up and twirled a strand of her hair around her index finger—as if I was supposed to find it a turn on.

I waited, raising my eyebrows with emphasis for her to get the fuck on with it.

"I was just wondering ... if you'd like to be my date for Prom?" Her tone was deliberately innocent.

I wanted to fucking scoff at her in disbelief, but instead, taking a measured breath, I answered her matter-of-factly, "Yeah—no, sorry Jessica"— though that was the last thing I felt —"but I've already asked Bella."

It was kind of true, I guess...

"Bella?" she exclaimed with a screechy voice that was like a fucking knife straight into my temple. "You're taking her?"

"Yeah, I'm taking her," I deliberately mocked her, smirking to myself when she immediately threw me this pissed off scowl.

"So ... you just used me?" The screechy voice continued, as if she was fucking indignant, but surely she wasn't that stupid.

"Seriously?" I asked her unconvinced. "What did you think it was about, Jessica? You basically tattooed it on your ass that if I called you you'd fuck me."

"And you've basically fucked every girl in town!" she fired back at me, affronted.

"Not all of them…" I added, like the asshole I was, winking at her for added measure.

"Fuck you, Edward. Go to the prom with that frigid bitch. See if I care," she spat at me, and I was immediately pissed off—despite not knowing what the fuck that word even meant.

"Bite me, you whore-house—did you ever wonder why I had to be fucking drunk before I let you put your hands over me?" I shot back at her, about to turn and head into the classroom, when asshole Jazz passed me, grabbing the back of my shirt as he did, dragging me with him.

Shaking him off me and shoving him, I took my seat feeling my skin fucking crawl. The prick only sat beside me smirking to himself with full mocking fucking amusement. "You forgot to tell Jessica she's a dud root too, dude."

"Fuck you, Jazmina. I'd fucking kill myself if I fucked that whore," I retorted lightly; though, I was 100% serious.

"You must have nine lives, then," he replied, continuing to grin to himself

I only released my breath, deciding to take him in good humor, but didn't reply.

. . .

"So, have you taken your balls out of Bella's purse and asked her to the prom yet?" Jazz asked as we headed toward the cafeteria.

I glanced at him and rolled my eyes, shoving the prick. "My balls aren't in Bella's purse, asshole, they're in the palm of her hand. That's the reason I haven't asked her yet, because she has the power to rip them off."

He snorted. "Well, at least you're not in denial anymore."

"Are you able to speak a fucking sentence without mentioning the word 'balls', asshole?" I muttered, wishing he'd lose interest in this already, as I shoved open the double doors to the cafeteria.

He ignored me, obviously deciding to give me more fucking crap.

"You know, dude, all this shit Bella's doing to you, it'll all go away..." I looked over at him, just as his grin turned sly. "As soon as the two of you ..." he paused to raise his eyebrows fucking suggestively, "a couple of times."

I rolled my eyes, deciding to pretend I didn't know there was any reference to my sister in there somewhere. I didn't allow my thoughts to delve any deeper into his meaning either. I'd had enough erections the day before to know that after the tenth one, it was no longer a fucking positive thing.

"DUD ROOT!" Emmett's voice suddenly boomed out, just as Weasel shoved past us into the cafeteria. His head was down and he was muttering angrily to himself as half the cafeteria began chorusing it to him.

I snorted, while Jazz laughed out loud, and just as Alice stepped in line with him.

"Hey, handsome," she said to him, her voice in a tone that made a shudder run the fucking length of my spine.

I hung back as they made their way to line up for their lunch, searching the room for Bella. It was soon obvious she wasn't here, and at the thought of her not being in Bio—not going to the game, I was suddenly fucking panicked!

"She'll be back soon, Edward. She's taking Jake home," Alice explained to me, giving me that evil I-know-you-better-than-you-know-yourself grin, as she sat beside Jazz at our regular table.

I sighed beneath my breath, but unfortunately, I was a fucking open book, and it didn't escape Jazz's attention. The asshole groaned, completely over exaggerating it.

"Pathetic isn't it?" he spoke to my sister, flashing me a smart ass grin.

I only sighed again, deeply—fucking audibly.

I was forced to endure more of the prick's shit through lunch while I waited for Bella to come back. My plan was to ask her to prom on the way to Bio, but as the minutes ticked by I began to get anxious that she wouldn't be back in time. If she came back only in time for fifth period, it left the time between Bio and the car park. I was guessing the entire school was going to use the baseball final as an excuse to get out of last period, and I didn't really want to ask her with hundreds of people hanging around.

Eventually, Alice and Jazz decided to have a decent amount of fucking courtesy and include me in their conversation; small talk, which conveniently bypassed anything to do with the game that afternoon.

Yeah, I was upset about it, but I wasn't in denial.

It was right at this moment that Bella suddenly sat down in the seat beside me, surprising me so much it jolted my body temperature up ten fucking notches.

"Hi, Edward," she said lightly, crossing her arms over the table.

I cleared my throat, hoping my vocal cords had not turned fucking mutinous on me. "Hey, Bella. How's Jake?" I asked her, having no fucking idea why.

Her eyes widened a fraction—in surprise maybe. "Um ... he has Nessie's flu—surprise, surprise," she paused a moment, shrugging. "Yeah, he's pretty crook—sick," she stammered, immediately looking down as her cheeks deepened.

I only smiled at her.

"You ready for finals?" she asked after she looked up and met my gaze again, seeming to shrug it off.

"Yeah, I guess," I replied, slightly distracted as I willed my body to calm down, wondering if I'd ever get fucking acclimatized to her.

"Me too," she said softly, dropping her gaze to her hands again.

I watched her, a frown creasing my forehead.

"DUD ROOT! THIS COLESLAW TASTES LIKE SHIT!" Emmett's voice suddenly bellowed through the cafeteria.

Jazz started laughing, though it was muffled with whatever he was still doing with Alice, while Bella exhaled through her nose, her smile looking self-conscious.

"Bloody hell…" she mumbled more or less to herself.

"My brother's an idiot, Bella. Just ignore him," I said, leaning closer to her as I did, while she all but tensed.

I still couldn't get over the fact that she still reacted this way to me when I moved too close to her. She shrank a-fucking-way from me as if I was the Boston fucking Strangler.

But then seeming to redeem herself, she turned those eyes on me and flashed me this warm, kind of tender smile, reminding me again that I would never figure this girl out.

While I was deliberating this with myself, talking myself out of the prom like the pansy ass I was, the bell for fifth period signaled, and my heart immediately stonewalled.

I turned to her, just as she was doing the same, before reaching over and playfully donging her hand that she had resting on the tabletop.

Her smile broadened.

"Wanna do Bio, crocodile?" I said like the mother of all dickheads, and just as prick Jazz openly laughed at me.

I only rubbed my brow, feeling my whole fucking skin prickle with mortification when Bella grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the table. "Let's go, alligator."

I let her lead me through the hall, with a freaking goofy grin plastered all over my face. That is, until I remembered what I wanted to ask her and immediately felt myself becoming derailed again.

As luck would have it, Bella had to detour to her locker first. It gave me the extra amount of time I needed, and pathetically, the time it took to walk to her locker, was how long it took to get the freaking nerve to open my mouth.

Grabbing her bag out of her locker, she slammed the door shut, before turning to me again with a quick grin.

"So ... erm ... I was wondering what time my tricycle and I should pick you up for Prom? You never answered me last night?" I almost sounded confident and charming, but I fucked it up by running my hand back through my hair.

She smiled in that sort of cynical but all-knowing way of hers. "You're a dork, Edward."

"Dork? No dag this time?" I teased her, noticing her expression almost darken.

"Shut up," she mumbled; though, she appeared to be taking it in good humor, this time. "Why do you always mock me?"

Laughing lightly, I nudged her, and this time it only brought her smile back to the surface again. "You haven't answered my question first."

She seemed to take a deliberate breath, before releasing it. "What was your question again?"

Jesus…

Was she fucking with me? I wasn't sure, but immediately I was doubting myself, my mouth all but falling fucking open—I didn't have a fucking clue how to respond to her.

She glanced up at me, seeming surprised by my reaction, before breaking into soft laughter. "Edward—I'm kidding!" She reached out and grabbed my arm, bringing the two of us to a standstill. "I'm kidding," she repeated, emphasizing it further before we started walking again. "Of course, I'll go to the prom with you—but you have to put pink streamers on the handle bars."

I was still flustered, having no idea how to react to her, but this time, I almost laughed, feeling my forehead ridge in confusion. "What?"

This was despite the fact that she'd just agreed to go with me. I almost completely missed it.

Her face immediately flushed, before she dropped it into her palm, groaning out loud. "Bloody hell, that was terrible."

I did laugh this time, way too fucking softly. "Okay, pink streamers. Got it."

Her expression turned cynical, before it relaxed again. "And I don't dance, so if you make me, I'll escape out the bathroom window and leave."

My laughter this time was beneath my breath—she was so freaking funny. "Pink streamers, no dancing."

She looked up at me again, her expression completely suspicious, this time. "Are you mocking me again?"

"No," I answered, fighting the urge to grin as she continued to gaze at me dubiously.

Looking away she sighed to herself softly, shaking her head, but a small smile was tugging on her lips.

Again, I had no fucking idea how to respond to her, or what the fuck was going through her mind. If she was any other girl I'd be convinced she was completely fucking with me, but not Bella. She didn't play games, and I was way over my head with her.

But Bella only continued to smile at me. It was more than likely out of amusement for how much of a pussy I was. At least, that's more or less how she made me feel...

Still, I got her to agree to go to Prom with me, so I had to be winning the war with her—no matter how many battles I'd already lost.

Without fully realizing it, I broke into a huge, fucked up self-satisfied grin, unable to shield it from her; even when that smile remained curved over her lips, and she sort of shook her head, was no doubt thinking what a complete dick I was.

. . .

Entering the class room, I took my stool beside Bella, before grabbing my Bio book out of my backpack. When I straightened back up in my chair, Bella nudged me, before leaning a fraction closer to me.

"You should be on your guard, Edward. Just because we're screwing now doesn't mean I still don't want to kill you."

I turned to her, but I had no fucking words.

Who the fuck was this girl? She turned to stone the minute I got too close to her, but then she was all touchy feely with me, andcompletely fucking flirting with me?

In response, Bella only laughed at me, soft and teasingly. I didn't know if it was a good thing or not, but before I could contemplate it, she leaned into me again then caught my clammy, trembling hand in hers and squeezed it.

That was the official end of me, because I knew from that moment on that I would never work her out.

Since finals began Monday, Mr. Banner decided that we'd have a break from all the revision and do something light. His idea of light work was a crossword puzzle using Bio questions and answers.

He quickly went down the aisle handing the sheets out. As he approached Bella and me his eyes fell on my t-shirt and his brow cocked slightly, a small smirk appearing on his lips. He handed Bella two sheets of paper before moving on.

"I think Mr. Banner finds your t-shirt amusing, Edward," Bella said lightly as she slid a crossword sheet in front of me.

"I'm very proud of my large pen," I joked back, and she sort of scoffed out her reply through her nose.

Never convinced, but then what did I expect?

I glanced at her; she was looking at her sheet, still smiling to herself, knowing full well that she completely owned me and looking like she was enjoying the fact that she did

"Shut up," I answered, sort of half mocking how she usually responded to me, but then I wasn't fucking sure.

Her grin only broadened, but she didn't reply, before she began filling out her crossword—with that same pink pen.

"Bella?" I gauged her, after a moment of collecting myself.

She turned from her sheet to gaze at me. "Yeah?"

"Did you ... buy more pens?" I asked.

She flashed me a funny look. "No. You gave me this pen ... remember?"

"Yeah, but ... in the parking lot..." I abandoned it. It wasn't exactly a fond memory; Bella shoving my pens back at me.

She sighed and turned to stare at the pen for a moment, before meeting my eyes again. "Yeah, I know, but I found this one under my bed the night … I-I tried to kill you." She stammered, and despite her teasing tone, her face still clouded over momentarily.

Sort of smiling at me, she half shrugged, before turning back to her sheet and continuing to fill it in without another word on the subject.

Okay, that was always going to be awkward, but I was glad she didn't avoid it all together. I guess it was better to get it out there, instead of pretending it never happened at all.

I decided to make a further joke of it. After all, it was seemingly the only contact I could have with her that didn't reduce my senses to levels of critical failure. "So, are you still planning on killing me?" I nudged her again gently.

It worked though. The grin immediately swept across her face before she turned squarely to face me; her eyes locking with mine. "Well, that depends if I catch you in compromising positions with Jessica Stanley again—," she stopped dead as her face immediately flushed, before turning abruptly to the front of the classroom.

I ran my hand through my hair, hoping Bella was too distracted enough to notice. The idea that she saw what Slutbag and I were in the middle of doing that night made me want to fucking cringe. Yet despite how awkward as all fuck it was, a smirk began to creep stealthily across my face.

She was jealous.

"Bella?" I coaxed to her to look back at me, my tone deliberately teasing and gentle.

"Yeah?" She cleared her throat, turning slightly, her eyes meeting mine before she dropped them, maintaining the charade of continuing her crossword.

"I promise to never ever be in a compromising position with Jessica Stanley"— my voice constricted as I spoke her name —"ever again." I was sincere. I meant to sound charming, but how the fuck was I supposed to breach that subject lightly?

She looked down, her forehead continuing to furrow, before she opened her mouth to reply, when I quickly added, "You know she asked me to the prom today?"

"She did?" Bella asked surprised, her lips twitching in obvious amusement.

I nodded. "Yeah…"

She took a deep breath and sighed, rolling her eyes. "I can't wait to hear the rumors that come from that."

I only smiled, before she suddenly began chuckling. "I pushed you into her arms again, because of my violent, bike pushing, boyfriend killing tendencies."

I chuckled with her, mainly because the sound of Bella laughing for any reason was contagious, and for a third time she leaned into me, nudging me with her shoulder.

It jolted me temporarily into suspended animation.

Jesus...

Her laughter softened, and she turned back to fill in her crossword puzzle. I watched her for a moment as she used my pen to quickly scribble down her answers, before pulling my own sheet in front of me and starting it.

We sat in silence for several minutes working, when Bella, having completed her crossword, turned back to me. She watched me for a few moments making the grin inch its way across my face.

"Bella, your staring is unnerving me," I teased her, looking up to meet her gaze, and was just in time to see her cheeks again turn boldly red.

She looked away, flustered

"I-I ... was just waiting for you to finish," she stammered, her eyebrows coming together in what looked like sudden irritation.

I broke into a conceding smile. "I'm sorry. I guess it's still throwing me that we're on speaking terms again."

Her returning smile was wry. "Don't push it, Edward."

My grin broadened, but I didn't reply.

She let me finish my crossword before she asked, "Are you upset about not being able to play today?"

Releasing my breath, I put my pen down—noticing Bella rarely did the same with hers. When she wasn't writing she would twist it around her fingers or clutch it in her palm.

"I am a little bit, I guess," I admitted truthfully with a shrug.

She contemplated this for a moment, looking down at her pen. "But you'll be allowed to play next year, right?" She gazed back up at me, the depths of her eyes seeming endless again, and I had a horrible fucking feeling it was from guilt.

I fucking hated that Bella blamed herself for my own stupidity.

"Yeah," I replied lightly, smiling at her with a forced amount of optimism.

In a couple of months I had to have more tests done to see if my spleen was still functioning with half of it cut off. If it was, I'd be given the all clear. If not I had to have the rest of it removed and then live the rest of my life on anti-biotics.

She glanced away, and I opened my mouth to reply when Mr. Banner took his position at the front of the room and called the class to order. Tearing my eyes from Bella, I quickly turned my attention to my sheet and completed the last few questions.

With only ten minutes remaining until the end of class, and knowing that everyone was going to the baseball final, Mr. Banner let us out early.

Bella put her pen in a little compartment inside her bag, slung it over her shoulder then turned to me with her eyebrows raised.

She was waiting for me. The last time she'd waited for me at the end of Bio was ... the Friday before the party.

Hastily shoving my bag over my shoulder, I stepped into the aisle with her and followed her out of the classroom, walking in line with her once we were outside.

As we passed the gym into the open air, the wind hit us and she shivered into her jacket. This was despite the fact that it was almost summer, and not even remotely cold for me anymore. Though, the little rat had told me Bella told her that winters in Australia, where she grew up, rarely got lower than sixty.

Bella shuddered again; he face was paler in the air, but had remained flushed—making me react impulsively. Wrapping my arm around her, I pulled her against my side.

Initially she turned rigid, but it didn't seem to make her too uncomfortable. In fact, she leaned closer against me as we walked to the parking lot, before she released herself to grab her car keys from her bag.

I immediately noticed that Alice's car wasn't there, before I stopped walking and glanced around for it.

Bella, who'd continued walking, turned back to me.

"What are you doing?" she asked me, her expression giving way to confusion.

"Has Alice gone somewhere?" I asked her.

"Yeah, she took Jazz to the game. They had to go a bit earlier," she answered, simply.

My forehead knotted, and I huffed to myself irritated. "Well that's great, but how did she expect me to get there?"

She only smiled at me, warmly, but with her brow creasing slightly, looking like she thought I was a little nuts.

That was Bella.

"With me, silly," was her response.

"Really?"

She folded her arms in feigned offense. "Well if you're that uncomfortable about it, I can drop you off and you can take your tricycle."

I was going to feel very uncomfortable. My temperature was already breaching all extremes.

"Alice asked me before I took Jake home," she further explained. "I'm guessing she didn't let you know?"

I only sighed. When did the little fucking rat ever let me know anything?

"No," I replied, half shrugging.

"Well, come on then," she said, jumping into her car, flashing me the tenth freaking cynical smile that day.

A/N: The cheese, it's everywhere!