Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I just like to have tea parties with Edward.

This chapter and all it's awesomeness is dedicated to my lifetwin and best friend messynachos.

It's just a bit 'o fun, so I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 9 - Under A Spell

"James is Mama's boyfriend."

Sweet mother of fuck. Did the kid just say what I think he said? I could feel the bile rising in my throat, pushing its way up. My head danced with images of Bella wrapped in another man's arms, sweaty, naked… I fought the gagging and turned back to Masen, who was staring at me, an expectant look on his face.

"Well?" he asked, exasperated. I blinked furiously hoping it would rid my brain of the images.

"Uh… sorry, buddy, what was the question?" I said and he sighed and rolled his eyes. Attitude? Does he know Alice?

"Uncle Seth said that the Tooth Fairy comes into your room with pliers and rips out all your teeth and then only gives you two pennies." He threw his hands up in the air and then let them fall onto his messy hair. "Is that true?"

"No, that's not what the Tooth Fairy does," I assured him, and bit my lip to hold back my laugh.

"Are you sure?" He eyed me warily and dropped his hands to his pockets.

"Promise," I reassured him.

"Okay," he smiled and placed Jake back in his aquarium. The door slammed downstairs and we both looked up. His face lit up when Emmett's booming voice traveled up the stairs. I glanced at my watch, guessing he worked an early shift and got off at four. "Come meet my Uncle Emmett!" He took off into the hallway and down the stairs and I groaned. Emmett again. When I reached the bottom of the stairs all I heard was Emmett's muffled voice and Masen's laughter. Stepping into the foyer I saw Emmett laying on the floor with Masen kneeling on his back, Emmett's arm twisted behind him.

"You're killing me!" Emmett cried and Masen laughed harder.

"Mase," Bella chided, stepping out from the kitchen and looking down at the mess of limbs by her feet, "if you kill Uncle Emmett who is going to take you to the arcade tomorrow?" Masen looked up at her then back down at Emmett and shrugged.

"Fine," he muttered, and flicked Emmett in the back of the head, releasing his arm before getting up and turning his eyes on me. "Can you come with us to the arcade tomorrow?"

I felt both Bella and Emmett watching me as Masen stood, patiently waiting my answer. I looked at his hopeful face and my will crumbled. I tore myself away from my son's face and turned to Emmett, who was glaring at me.

"If it's okay with Emmett." I tried my best not to look him in the eye, but it didn't work. His death glare was like a fucking magnet. And then I witnessed the power that the little boy standing next to me had.

"Please?" Masen said quietly as he stared up at Emmett with sad green eyes. The look on Emmett's face went from anger to concern in no time flat. He groaned quietly and nodded. "Awesome!" Masen yelled. He jumped towards Emmett in what I thought was an attempt to hug him but instead he punched Emmett in the groin and ran off cackling.

"Mother of fuck," Emmett groaned, doubled over in pain, and I held back a laugh. I could not, however, keep the grin off my face, something my former best friend definitely noticed. "He's obviously your fucking spawn, especially with that cheap shot," he said through gritted teeth. I shook my head and started to say something, but stopped. I realized firstly, that I had nothing smart to retaliate with, and secondly, that I deserved anything he had to say. I stepped around him and went into the kitchen, rejoining Bella. I stood in the doorway, watching her wash dishes for a moment before speaking.

"Thanks for letting me come out today," I said softly and she turned around slowly. "I uh… I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah… You can come around 11. I – I have plans, so it will just be you boys," she said nervously as she washed the same spoon again.

"Oh," I looked down at the tiled floor, a million things running through my mind. "It's probably better that way. I could use some time with Em." I looked back up at her and she nodded. "I'll see you later," I told her as I walked out the door, Emmett still standing in the foyer, trying to regain his composure and Masen reveling in his victory somewhere.

I drove back to the hotel thoroughly excited about the next day's events. The fact that I was going to spend alone time with my son…well, with him and his overbearing, overprotective, and rude uncle, was nerve-wracking and scary and absolutely amazing. Back at the hotel I pulled out my plans for the children's hospital but my hands had other things to draw. I was by no means an artist, but I'd always loved to draw. I created different things when I was younger, abstracts and landscapes, mainly mountain ranges or shorelines, but never people. I'd never had the urge to sketch a person, not even Bella. I was always afraid that I wouldn't be able to capture their essence. But tonight… something was different. Now that my dreams of a distant little boy had become a reality all I wanted to do was draw him, over and over, just to see his face again. I pulled an old sketchpad from my bag and grabbed a sweater before taking a seat on the lanai. The sounds of the ocean soothed me as I drew his face over and over. His facial expressions astounded me, frowns, smiles, worry… he was a pro at all of them. I guess he was like Bella in that way, his face always giving him away.

As absorbed as I was in my sketching my mind couldn't help but think about Bella. Who was this James guy? Obviously they were serious if he had met Masen. I mean, he called him her 'boyfriend'. But what the fuck is a boyfriend these days? Fuck-buddy? Free dinner? I hadn't been anyone's boyfriend in a long time, so I wasn't quite sure. When the pictures of Masen started to look less and less like him I gave up and went to sleep, looking forward to the next day.

~*~

When I pulled into Bella's driveway the next morning Masen was waiting on the front porch. I stepped out of the car and flinched when he ran towards me, afraid of the same junk-punch he bestowed on his uncle yesterday. But instead he threw his arms around my waist and hugged me tightly. If I was a chick I was sure my ovaries would have just exploded, and as it was… I did tear up a little. I did what I felt was natural and picked him up, settling him against my side and he grinned.

"What's up?" I asked him casually and his face turned into a slight frown.

"Mama and Uncle Emmett are having a grownup talk," he rolled his eyes, "whatever that is."

"They are very, very boring," I reassured him, "I'm sure you aren't missing anything." He seemed satisfied with my answer and nearly jumped out of my arms when we entered the house.

"EDWARD'S HERE!" he yelled, running through the kitchen where Bella and Emmett seemed to have been in a heated discussion. Emmett gave her a meaningful look before turning to me.

"We're almost ready," he said as he walked past me and up the stairs, I turned to Bella wondering what in the holy fuck was going on, but she was staring out the window, lost in her thoughts.

"Hanging out with the stars again?" I asked and her head snapped in my direction. Maybe it was the sound of the phrase she used to describe me so many times in the past that caused the wistful expression on her face, I wasn't sure. She smiled slightly.

"Sorry… I was just thinking." She bit her lip and looked away again.

"Bella, what's up? You can tell me," I promised, and took a step closer, her wariness making me uneasy.

"I have a date today." Her words came out rushed. "Emmett wanted me to tell you. He didn't want you to get your hopes up about the two of us. Typical. I'm his fucking sister and he's worried about your feelings…" She trailed off, her eyes finally meeting mine. I kept my face calm as I replied.

"With James?"

"How did you know?" she said softly.

"Masen," I answered and a knowing look crossed her face.

"Big mouth," she smiled.

"It's fine you know. I'm not… I don't mean to hurt your feeling, but I'm not here about us anymore," I explained to her.

"I know."

"Ready?" Emmett appeared in the doorway with Masen clinging to his back. Bella went to them and took Masen's face between her hands, pretending to smush it and he grinned.

"I love you, weasel," she said, and kissed his forehead.

"I love you, too, Mama," he answered, his voice muffled through his smashed face. She locked eyes with Emmett for a moment, conversing silently, and then she kissed his cheek. "Be good," she said and Emmett rolled his eyes. "All of you," she turned to me, unsure what to do so settling for an awkward punch in the shoulder.

We piled into Emmett's massive Jeep, Masen strapped in a booster-seat in the back. I turned to Emmett as soon as we got out of the driveway.

"So… tell me about James," I pleaded and he snorted.

"I thought it wasn't about you and Iz," he mocked me and I fought the urge to hit him, knowing it would only hurt me in the long run.

"It's not… but you know, I mean… come on! Just tell me!" I cried. Instead of answering me he looked in the rearview mirror at Masen.

"Weasel, what do you think of James?" He asked and I turned to see Masen's reaction. His brow furrowed like he was thinking really hard. "Weasel? You can answer however you want," Emmett assured him and his expression softened a bit.

"Oh well… he's a douchebag," Masen said matter-of-factly. I wasn't sure what to do, but beside me Emmett was shaking with laughter.

"Thanks, buddy," he wiped his tears on his sleeve and Masen smiled. I turned back to Emmett and he shrugged. "They work together. He teaches Humanities and has the personality of, well… a Humanities teacher," he turned to me and I nodded knowingly, remembering our own teacher and how socially inept he was. "She likes him though, so… what do you do?" he asked, more to himself than me. We were silent the rest of the way to the arcade, a new addition to town, I assumed. Masen pretty much dragged Emmett to the door, a feat in its own right.

As soon as we bought tickets Masen ran off to the skeeball games, and my heart did an unnecessary flip-flop realizing that we had the same favorite arcade game. At this point I was pretty sure I'd grown ovaries. We followed him and I noticed a few heads turn in my direction, most likely wondering who the fuck I was, or knowing who I was. We sat a table close by while Masen played consecutive games of skeeball, the tickets pouring out.

"It's his favorite game," Emmett explained with a small smile, finally breaking the silence after a few moments.

"He's good," I laughed and Emmett nodded. We were quiet as we watched Masen play. We laughed at his seriousness and his excitement over his tickets. A waitress came by and we ordered a pizza and a couple of drinks, and then were silent again. Emmett took a long sip from his soda and turned to me, his face serious.

"Why did you go?" he asked me, flat out. His question startled me and I wasn't quite sure we were in the right place to have the conversation.

"I don't think that now's a good time, Em…" I trailed off, looking around.

"Perfect time. Bella's not here to make your brain go to mush, the kid's busy… Tell me." He sat back in his chair, cop face on, and folded his arms, staring expectantly.

"I just… I don't know," I said to my drink.

"You've got to have some kind of reason," he countered.

"I got the internship. I asked her to come with me. She refused. I left," I told him, my voice impassive. I wasn't ready for this conversation. I wasn't ready to face my demons right now. I was too engulfed in the emotions of meeting my son to relive the past just yet.

"And you didn't think about talking about it? Waiting? Saying goodbye to your best friend?" Ah. So that's what it was about.

"Em… I'm sorry. It just happened," I said softly. I turned to where Masen was, with what I'm sure was a regretful look on my face. "If I would've known…"

"Yeah, well… you're still a dick." He pushed himself away from the table and went to join Masen. I sat alone, watching them. He was right and I was never going to deny that, but things were different now. And I was going to try.

~*~

We left the arcade a few hours later laden with prizes and leftover pizza. Masen rambled in the backseat about his birthday party (Harry Potter-themed of course), though it was only February.

"I'll be Harry and you can be Hagrid again, Uncle Em…" he thought for a moment. "Oh! Mama can be Hermione and Rose can be that scary lady… what's her name?"

"Bellatrix?" I asked and Emmett nearly swerved off the road. He turned to me, his eyes wide. "What? I saw the movie."

"Yeah, her. And I asked James to be Ron but he told me no." Masen sighed at the last part.

"Maybe he can be Malfoy?" Emmett joked from the front seat, but Masen wasn't listening, he was staring at me.

"You could be Ron, Edward!" he cried, and I laughed. "You have red hair… well, kind of."

"That sounds like fun, buddy." I turned to see a huge grin on his face.

"I don't think Edward's going to be here for your birthday, Mase," Emmett said softly and I turned my eyes towards him. His face was set forward, refusing to look at me.

"Where will you go?" Masen asked me, worry written on his face.

"Ah… I live in Australia," I told him.

"Is that far away?"

"Yeah… it's far away." I turned back around in my seat, realizing that I only had a few more days of vacation time left, and not completely sure I wanted to go back. We rode silently the rest of the way home then unpacked the car in the same attitude. Inside was a different story, however. Masen ran up to his room and then back down quickly, carrying something in his hands.

"Emmett!" he cried and Emmett came rushing out of the kitchen, looking worried.

"What the hell?!" he cried.

"First, I'm telling Mama you said a bad word. Second, can we play 'Wizard Wars'?" he asked with a smile.

"As long as you don't tell on me." Emmett crossed his arms and stared. Masen didn't flinch, just stood there, thoughtful.

"Deal," he shrugged, tossing Emmett one of the things that were behind his back. Emmett twirled the object between his fingers and I laughed when I saw what it was.

"A wand?" I asked.

"Here!" Masen thrust one into my hand, too. "Now. I'll be Harry, Uncle Em can be Viktor Krum and you can be that Cedric guy, you kinda look like him."

"Oh… Goblet of Fire tonight, huh?" Emmett grinned.

"Yeah, but I don't think Cedric should die. We should all go together to defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Masen explained and Emmett nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good, three is better than two," he agreed, and took off his jacket and tossed his wand up in the air.

"Hold up," I held up my hands, the fake wand between my fingers. "You can't do that."

"Why not?" Masen stood with his hands on his hips, staring. I looked down and sighed, not really excited about what was about to happen.

"Because. Cedric Diggory's death in Goblet of Fire is an important plot point in the series. The death of a child was what turned the books into something more than just children's stories," I said to my feet. When I looked up they were both staring at me, mouths open.

"You… LIAR," Emmett said through his teeth, fighting a grin.

"Listen, dude… You talked about it for so long, that I just caved. Then one day Alice sent me the whole damn series and all the movies," I shrugged and his massive shoulders shook with laughter. "And by the way… I am much better looking than that Cedric guy." I grabbed Masen and picked him up, tickling him. He laughed loudly and tried to fight me.

"Okay!" he cried breathlessly. "You're much… prettier," he giggled again and I went to grab him again but Emmett stopped me.

"Wizard War! You can only use your wands!" he yelled, so I Stupefied both of them and ran to hide in the kitchen. Then the war began.

BPOV

"Whose car?" James asked as he opened my door for me.

"Car?" I played dumb and he gave me a pointed look. "Oh, just a friend of Em's. They're hanging out with Masen today…" I trailed off when I saw his hurt expression.

"You never let me hang out with him," he said as he started the car.

"Honey," I squeezed his hand lightly. "You would hate hanging out with Emmett. He's just a big kid."

"But how am I supposed to get to know your son if you don't let me around him?" he asked and I sighed.

"You do know him. He just needs some time," I soothed him.

"It's been an effing year already," he grumbled. I gave it up as a bad job and rolled my eyes at his use of 'effing' instead of just saying 'fuck'.

My date with James had been fairly uneventful. He always insisted on visiting museums and art galleries. While I appreciated his intelligence I wished we could do something a little less boring once in a while. Edward was the only boyfriend I really had to compare him to, and while Edward always seemed calm and refined, he was really just a big kid. We spent our free time at the beach, riding tandem bikes (which he did most of the work on), hiking (even though he usually had to carry me back), movies, mini-golfing, or even just curling up on the couch with each other reading. I guess that was the main difference between the two of them. Edward just liked to be with me, whereas James always felt the need to impress me.

I sucked in my breath as we turned down my street, the stupid Volvo still in the driveway. As soon as the car stopped I kissed James quickly on the cheek and jumped out.

"Call you later!" I cried but he called after me.

"Wait!" He climbed out of the car and caught my elbow. "Who the hell is that? Why won't you let me come in?" My eyes darted from the house to his face, drenched with worry. I rubbed my temple and decided, against my better judgment, to let him come in. I walked slowly to the door, James on my heels. I was somewhat prepared for his reaction to Edward but I was not, however, prepared for what I walked in on.

I could hear the laughter and cries down the hall and came face to face with a literal war zone. Makeshift tents covered my living room, the coffee table turned on its side, and my son was being lifted in the air by his father, matching grins on both their faces. I briefly forgot about the man standing behind me as I reveled in the sight in front of me. My boys. And then it hit me. There was no denying the resemblance between the two of them and no way James and his Giant Brain wouldn't put the pieces together. I turned to face him, trying to mask the joy I was feeling at seeing Edward and Masen together. But when I saw the pain etched on his face I knew my emotions were visible and undeniable.

James opened his mouth to speak his concern but before he could Masen's voice rang out through the room,

"Avada Kedavra!"

A/N: Thanks to Becca Graymoor for making my words more better :)

Thanks so much for all your reviews. I try to respond to all of them, I hope I got everyone! The next chapter is in the works! I wish I could promise a teaser for the next chapter... but I try not to make promises. You can always take a chance though, reviews only make me work faster!

PS - THIS is the longest chapter!

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