Chapter 7

"Everything she wants" (edited/extended version 2023)

Bella's POV

I was standing by the window, peering outside to see if there was a car approaching, although it wasn't even 5 pm yet. Edward had been waiting for me by my locker this morning and we'd agreed upon that he'd come over at 5 pm. Charlie had looked a bit awkward and confused when I'd told him the night before that Edward was coming over so we could work on our assignment, as if he hadn't known his place in the matter.

"Um… So do I...?" Charlie started, looking quizzically at me.

"No, I'm not saying you have to stay clear of the house or anything. But I'd appreciate it if we could have the living room to ourselves so that we can work on the assignment. If that's all right?"

"Um… yeah. I might just stay a couple of extra hours at the office. I have a bit of paperwork that I have to finish", Charlie mumbled and regained focus on his plate. I knew this was a lie, seeing as Fork wasn't actually the murder capital of the country, nor a place where anything ever happened. But I let it slip.

Howeverm now I was getting a bit nervous at the prospect of being alone with Edward and I didn't quite frown upon the thought of having Charlie at home as much as I had earlier. Even if it entailed Charlie sitting by the kitchen table cleaning his rifles like nobody's business or telling fishing tales 'til you'd get seasick.

Suddenly I saw the car coming down the road and I instinctively backed away from the window.

"Act casual", I told myself and gave the living room one last look before I walked over to the front door to let him in. The doorbell rang and after I'd waited five seconds I opened the door.

As soon as he saw me, Edward lit up in a big smile. "Hey", he said, looking a bit awkward too. Maybe he also was a bit nervous?

"Hey", I said and stepped aside so that he could enter ,"Come on in."

He stepped inside and took off his shoes.

"Is Chief Swan home?" he asked casually.

"No, he had a lot of paperwork to do so he won't be home for a couple of hours, I think", I said and Edward looked at me with a mysterious smile.

Maybe he too knew that this wasn't true?

"Anyhow, I thought we could hang out in the living room", I said and showed him the way.

We settled on the couch and started working on our assignment. I could tell learning came easy to Edward and I cherished the thought of getting to do a group assignment with someone who actually pulled their own weight. Back in Phoenix I'd ended up doing most of the work myself when doing group assignments, since I valued my grades more than sharing the workload equally.

"So… Do you like living in Forks so far?" Edward suddenly asked, looking at me curiously.

"Um…Yeah, I do actually", I said as I'd pondered the thought for a brief moment ," Sure, there are things that I miss. My mom. The city."

"The sun?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, the sun too of course", I said and laughed ,"It's not like the weather is all that up here. But all in all I kinda like it here. I like the stability and the routine of living with Charlie. You know what you get. And I like the nature too. And people have all been pretty nice so far."

Edward looked content.

"Do you miss your friends?" he asked, trying to sound casual but an undertone of curiosity seeped through his question.

"I actually didn't have that many close friends in Phoenix. I'm not what you'd call a people person", I answered, suddenly thinking of Dan and I could feel how my mood sank like a rock.

But screw it, right? I hadn't had any friends in Phoenix besides Dan, and maybe a lot because I'd spent all my time and effort on Dan, ignoring the rest of my peers. And where had it gotten me? Nowhere. Maybe Forks could be a new start? Maybe I could make friends, and get my mind off my old ones. It would be nice to have a couple of friends to hang out with and I imagined I'd adjust faster to living here if I didn't only have Charlie's company to rely on.

"Well anyhow, I like it here", I said and tried to smile sincerely at him, "Once I get to know some of the people at school I think I'll feel right at home here."

Edward smiled at me sympathetically.

"Yeah, about that. I don't know if you'd be up for it, but my siblings and I were planning on going to Port Angeles to catch a movie and some dinner on Saturday, if you're keen?" Edward asked, suddenly looking a bit insecure. "It's not a big deal or anything, but we like to go there ever so often. Catch a bit of the big city vibes."

I studied his face briefly before giving him my answer. I had a really hard time reading Edward and I often got the sense that the things he said had an ambiguous meaning. Was he actually trying to be my friend or was this Edward trying to find a way to ask me out?

"Sure, that sounds great", I finally said and smiled comfortingly towards him, "I'd love to. I haven't been in Port Angeles and even though Forks is nice I've missed the city lights. I just have to ask Charlie first, but I'm sure he's fine with it."

Edward looked as he relaxed a bit and he smiled even bigger. And as if he'd reacted upon hearing his name, Charlie suddenly came barging in through the front door.

"Hey Bells! I'm home", he announced with a loud voice and went into the kitchen unloading a couple of bags on the kitchen table. I felt myself smiling at the fact that Charlie had made his return known in such a loud manner. Had he been afraid that he'd walk in on me and Edward doing… Yeah, doing what exactly? I'd be sure to tease him about it later on.

"Hey, Charlie!" I called back and got up from the couch.

"Good evening, Chief Swan", Edward said and stood up as Charlie entered the living room.

"Oh good, you're still here", Charlie exclaimed and smiled brightly at us,"I figured you kids would be hungry after such a long study session so I loaded up on some burgers and fries on the way home. Nothing sparks brain activity like a couple of burgers, am I right? Edward, say you'll be staying for dinner?"

Apparently spending a couple of hours at the office had helped Charlie settle on the matter of what his role was supposed to be, that being the burger provider.

"Yes, of course, sir", Edward said, though looking the slightest bit uncomfortable and I understood him. Who in the whole world enjoys having to interact with someone's parents?