I don't own Twilight. What I own is my character's behavior, personality, background, and plot of the story.
Thanks to my Beta MadMooey18 for making this readable.
Author's Note at the end.
Time passes. Edward's friend gradually gets better. Edward makes a point to hang out with Jim as frequently ad he starts to gradually get better. Yes, his time with Jim cuts into his time with Bella but that's okay because he knows that things won't always be like that. Plus, a lot of times, Bella hangs out with both of them, as it turns out that Bella and Jim know each other from a photography shoot when Bella was a teen during Jim's early modeling days.
"Jim is more into the lyrics of a song than the production. You know that." Edward laughingly rebukes Bella on the phone as he leaves Jim's apartment after they spent hours working on a song. Over the last three weeks since Jim left the hospital, the two of them have written more than six songs. Usually, Edward doesn't like songwriting sessions as most songwriters he works with approach him as a music producer and occasional lyrics editor, so he is mostly irrelevant to the whole writing process and is just an extra body in the writing session. Up until recently, the only person he enjoyed writing with is Dalida. Now Jim's name is up there with her.
"Wait, I don't understand. What does being a songwriter have to do with putting together an album and becoming an artist?" Bella asks him in confusion.
"Between songwriters and producers, songwriters are the ones more likely to become artists," Edward replies in a duh tone.
"Of course. How could I forget!" Bella states sarcastically.
Edward smiles to himself as he slides into the driver's seat of his car and tells her, "Focus, Bella. You're dating a producer. What do you want people to think? That I'm not teaching you the important things?"
He can practically hear Bella roll her eyes at him as she tells him, "My bad. I will learn better," then pauses for a moment and asks him, "So because you are the producer, not the songwriter, he has to be the one that becomes an artist, not you?"
"Yep," Edward states, popping the P. He doesn't tell her that lately he has been as equal writer on the songs as Jim is as He has been finding a lot of inspiration in her story, and more so of her presence in his life knowing that that will probably make her freak out.
"I guess I can't argue with that logic," Bella quietly apologizes, sounding resigned.
Both of them are quiet for a moment before Edward asks, "What are your plans for the weekend?"
He hears Bella pause over the line which is a tell-tale sign that she is about to give him an answer that will surprise him, and she doesn't disappoint. "I think I might go on a hot date," she states.
Trying to keep his tone neutral and not sound like he is freaking out, he asks her, "You think?"
He hears the sound of her light giggles before she tells him, "I want to go on a hot date, but I am not sure who I will go with. That's why I'm not sure."
Before he can talk himself out of it, Edward asks her, "How about you go out with me?"
He fights the urge to smack his forehead. What was he thinking? Is he trying to piss her off? She isn't ready yet.
Edward prepares himself for the disappointment but is surprised when she replies in a playful tone, "I don't know. Let me see if you are the best person to go on a date with."
Deciding that he hasn't done an unacceptable act and it's safe for him to speak, he boosts, "I don't think anyone is good enough to be my competition."
With bated breath, he waits for Bella to answer him. "I think you might be onto something," she muses after a minute of silence.
"Phew, and here I thought I might have to resort to doing a PowerPoint presentation on how I am your best dating option," He tells her sounding relieved.
She laughs lightly then tells him, "You don't have to break out the PowerPoint just yet."
"Just yet? So I will have to use it sometime down the line?" He asks her sounding worried. It dawns on him then that he might be pretending to be worried in this cheeky fight they are having, but he is already scared to lose her when doesn't have her yet.
"I will neither confirm nor deny," comes Bella's reply.
"So we're set. Are you going out with me?" Edward asks in a serious tone a couple of seconds later to make sure that he isn't confusing her joking with reality.
Bella is quiet for a moment before he hears heavy breathing followed by Bella saying, "Yes we are."
"Are you serious?" Edward asks just to double-check because he is pretty scared that he is imagining the entire thing and Bella isn't interested in him.
"As a heart attack," comes Bella's swift reply.
Edward shakes his head and chastises her, "Don't say that. It's a bad omen."
She laughs at his reply and then asks him, "Since when?"
"Since my grandpa kept saying that and died from a heart attack."
Bella laughs at his reply but then he gives her a warning, "Bella," she stops laughing and replies, "Okay, okay. I won't say it again."
"Good," Edward mutters to himself but she hears it nonetheless.
"So when will you pick me up?" She asks him.
He hums as he remembers what's on his schedule on the weekend then tells her, "How about Saturday at 4 pm?" He knows that she typically sleeps at Phil's place with the kids on Saturday night and spends Sunday with him, so he figures if they go out for a late lunch and then do something fun, he will be giving her plenty of time to go home and leave for Phil's place.
"Sounds good," She replies.
He opens his mouth to tell her something but hears a commotion in the background made by Peter which makes her tell him, "Listen, Edward, I need to hang up. Peter is up and he isn't in a good mood."
His shoulders slump but he tells her, "Well I was about to tell you bye anyways because I am about to enter the garage for my place which has a bad signal."
They hang up and he throws his phone in the passenger seat as he slides his car in its place and opens the car door right as Emmett and Jasper are leaving the elevator.
"Edward, we have been calling you for the last 10 minutes. Why didn't you answer our calls?" Emmett demands.
Edward rolls his eyes at his brother's attitude as he locks his car and grumbles, "I was talking to someone important," bothered that his brother thinks he owes them an explanation.
"Don't bother locking the car. We're leaving for the docks and you are coming with us."
"Fine," Edward replies, fighting the urge to kick the tire in frustration. He will be a very happy man when everyone in his father's men is vetted and they find the rat.
"Don't sound so excited," Jasper replies sarcastically.
Edward rolls his eyes and sounds even more sarcastic than Jasper when he replies, "Oh no! I am such a bad person. How dare I grumble over doing something I never signed up to do?"
"Please, you were born a Cullen. That was your sign-up."
Edward barks a laugh then says, "You aren't a born Cullen, so how the fuck did you sign up?" emphasizing you.
Jasper's eyes narrow in anger as he demands, "Are you mocking me for being adopted?"
Edward shrugs his shoulders in indifference then replies, "I am just pointing out the flaw in your argument."
The labored loud breaths are the only sign that Jasper is on the verge of an angry burst, but suddenly, he stops and takes a deep breath and gets a gleam in his eyes that sends a shiver down Edward's spine. Edward knows that look. It's the one he got in his eyes right before he pushed him out of the tree house when Edward was seven.
"Well, at least I am not the fucking idiot whose girlfriend is fucking the enemy."
"Excuse me!" Edward demands, trying to figure out what the hell Jasper is going on about.
Jasper smirks and twists his hands across his chest as he replies, "You heard me. Your girlfriend is a backstabbing bitch."
At that moment, many things go through Edward's head like the fact that he would never betray the family, or that he doesn't tolerate cheating, but one thought is louder than every other one in his head. "Say that shit about Bella again and I will deck you. You do not disrespect Bella like that and get away with it."
"I am just stating facts," Jasper replies in the same indifferent tone Edward used earlier, the smirk not leaving his lips.
"So now throwing insults and mud-sliding are facts?" Edward asks.
"Your girlfriend visiting Aro every single time he is in town is a fact," Jasper replies confidently.
"He is her godfather you dimwit."
"How do you explain the fact that she spends hours over there every time she visits him behind your back?" Jasper asks in a challenging tone.
"What makes you think it's behind my back? I know about their visits." He doesn't, but he will be damned if he lets Jasper win an argument against him.
Plus, he is sure that Bella has a legitimate reason for spending that time with Aro and not telling him about it. He trusts Bella. She has never given him a reason to doubt her. Sure, she keeps her cards close to her chest, but that is only because she struggles to trust people, not because she is slimy, or scheming.
Those are the words he tells himself as he goes with his brothers to the docks and watches over the new merchandise as it is loaded off the boats and on the trucks. If you had asked him what was on the boats, he would have no idea as, by the time he had reached the docks, doubt had taken over his head. Theoretically, Edward understands that Jasper is nuts for suggesting that about Bella, but what if Jasper is onto something?
His family has always told him that he is too trusting. He has had his fair share of backstabbing over the years. Nothing earth-shattering, but enough to make many people never trust anyone again. Despite that, Edward has chosen to maintain his trusting attitude. He refuses to let life jade him. He has seen what life and bad situations can do to people. He watched as his brothers went from the kindest sweetest soul he has ever met to one of the most jaded people he knows. He promised himself years ago that his mission in life will be making people feel seen and heard in his presence. You can't be that person when you hold your cards tightly against your chest.
But what if he is wrong this time? Aro killed Bella's father for betraying him, but what if it wasn't for that? What if it was because Charlie found out that Aro was having an affair with his daughter and didn't like that? What if the entire point of Bella moving to New York was to cover their tracks? He visits New York once or twice a month and they get to spend a couple of days together away from everyone's watchful eyes, and his wife is none the wiser.
That would explain why a young, beautiful, and desired woman like her has no problem limiting her options by being perceived by the public as taken by a man who isn't her boyfriend. It's because she is in fact taken.
But she wasn't the one who proposed they have a PR relationship. As a matter of fact, she was initially hesitant to enter into one with him. "Or it was a great opportunity that landed in her lap, but to be safe, she played hesitant," a voice states in his head.
Edward almost wholeheartedly believes that, but then one thing doesn't line up with his theory: she is letting him take her on a date. Edward remembers what Alice told him months ago, that Bella needs to know that she can trust someone before she can open up to them, so it stands to reason that after she told him what she went through with her dad and he proved that he was worthy of his trust, she decided to let him take her on a date.
"She made the entire thing up so she could fake trusting you, so she could date me and have my support," That devil's voice whispers again in his head. He shakes his head to rid himself of those thoughts. No, Bella isn't like that. He could tell that telling him what she went through was causing her physical pain. She wanted to be doing anything but tell him what happened. If Bella was that good of an actress, she wouldn't be needing acting classes.
His intrusive thoughts follow him day and night that by the time he picks Bella up for their date, he is a nervous wreck for all the wrong reasons. "So where are you taking me?" Bella asks as she angles her body toward him.
"A restaurant," Edward replies while keeping his eyes on the road.
"The weather is pretty cool today," Bella muses to herself. It's not. It's very humid and Edward can feel the sweat rolling down his back, yet he hums in agreement.
"What's your stripper's name?"
"What?" Edward asks, his eyes bugging out as he turns to look at her.
Bella shrugs and tells him, "You have been a little out of it. I wanted to see if you were listening or just humming along to whatever I say."
Edward turns to the road then laughs nervously as he tells her, "I guess."
Awkward silence engulfs the car. Edward tries to keep his eyes on the road hoping that it will help him escape it but three minutes later, he can't help but glance toward Bella. He finds her studying him with a particular look that puts him on the edge of his seat.
He turns his glance toward the road quickly and goes back to pretending that nothing is wrong until a minute later when the silence is ended by Bella when she sighs in disappointment and tells him in a resigned tone, "Edward, if you have changed your mind about us dating, just say the word. You can drop me by the side of the road and I will take a taxi back home."
"I haven't,?" Edward tells her hoping that it will ease her fear, but even he cringes internally at his tone.
"Is that a statement or a question?" Edward is surprised by the sharpness in her tone and turns to find her with a pissed-off look on her face.
"Just give me a minute to park the car on the side," he tells her, knowing that he can neither lie to her nor stay quiet.
Hello lovely people,
I feel like all I do these days I apologize, but I am sincerely sorry for the late update. My schedule has been all over the place since I have been traveling recently and I am one of those people that feels like their life is falling apart if I don't own my time completely. I am not someone who can figure things out on the go. I need to have a routine in place that I end up bored with quickly and switch up every couple of weeks.
Anyways, can we consider what happened to Bella asking Edward out? I always knew from the beginning that for them to become a couple Bella would need to initiate things. If not, I am sorry, but this is as far as Bella would do. She isn't one to pursue a man and I am not going to turn her into that kind of a girl.
How do you think will the talk between the two of them go? Will either party react negatively? Do you want either of them to react negatively to things? let me know your thought in the review section.
Remember to vote for me in the Golden Onion Awards.
Until my next update,
Stay safe.