Disclaimer: I do not own The Twilight Saga. Neither the books nor the movies.

Author's Note: This chapter is a continuation of the previous chapter. TBH, I intended for chapter 2 and 3 to be one chapter, but it exceeded the word limit I'd set. So I've split them into two chapters. Hope you enjoy chapter 3 of Romance 101.

Now: Bella

Time stopped.
Hell froze over.
No way.
Not in my universe.

She could not mean her brother.

"What's the punchline?"

Alice groaned. "It's not a joke. I'm being serious."

"Do you have a colleague named Edward I don't know about?"

"I know only one Edward and both of us know who that is." Alice said, giving me a look.

I still refused to believe it. "You're what? Suggesting I live with your brother? No way!" I laughed. She was being absurd. This idea was nuts.

Alice's nervousness morphed into annoyance. "Yes way! Come on Bella. This is a good solution. He has a room to spare and he lives close to your campus."

"But he's your brother!" I say.

Alice rolled her eyes. "At least he's not a stranger. You've known him as long as I have. We're practically family."

"Technically, he's known twelve years longer." I said, hoping it would help my case.

Alice pointed her fork at me, her patience running thin. "Semantics. The point is: you know him."

I groaned. "Let's assume I consider this stupid idea. Do you honestly think he is going to consider it?" Why the hell would he want to live with his sister's best friend? One he hasn't seen in almost eight years.

Alice smirked. "Who says he hasn't?"

My eyes nearly popped out. "What? You asked him? Without telling me first?"

"Chill, Bella. He studied in Stanford too and I thought he might know apartments around here available for rent." Alice continued while I gaped at her. "When I told him you were looking for one, he himself suggested that you could stay with him."

Even more shocking news. Did he suggest it? "But…" I stammered. "We haven't seen each other since his graduation party." We hadn't seen each other then either. Only a passing glance.

"How does that even matter?" Alice raised her hands, frustrated. "What matters here is that he told me he wouldn't even charge your rent. You can stay there for free." Alice said, giving me a look that made me feel stupid for not seeing the great offer that it was.

I wasn't ready to see him. He didn't know I'd had a crush on him as a kid. What if he found out, I thought horrified. I mentally kicked myself. He won't since you won't live with him.

"Stop overthinking this Bella. He's agreed to let you live with him for the year."

"What if my dad doesn't agree to this?" This will put a dent in her plans. I was cheered by the thought.

"Why don't you call Charlie and see?" Alice smirked like she knew what he would say.

I gave her a disbelieving look. No way was Charlie gonna agree to this. Unless… "Did you speak to him too?"

Alice laughed. "I wish! Then we wouldn't be wasting time here."

"Charlie's not going to be okay with this. He's not gonna let me live with a man all by myself." I said, rolling my eyes. God, I needed to stop doing that. It was giving me a headache.

"Just call him, will you?"

I took out my phone and called his phone.

He picked up on the first ring. "Hello. Who's this?"

"Dad, it's me. When are you gonna learn to read the Caller ID?"

Charlie guffawed. "When these stupid things stop giving me a jump scare every time they ring with that obnoxious song."

"It's called a ringtone dad."

Put it on speaker, Alice mouthed. So I did, placing the phone between us.

In the background, someone called out my name. "Yeah, that's her." Charlie spoke.

"Hey sweetie. How are you?" Sue's voice came in next.

Sue was Charlie's wife. They started dating a year after he and Renee got divorced. They tied the knot two years later. I was happy for them.

"I'm great. How are you guys? How are Leah and Seth?" I asked, speaking about my step siblings.

"They are good. Leah's doing well at the community college." She was a teacher. "Seth seems to be enjoying his time in UCLA." She laughed.

It was typical Seth. Rarely anything ever brought him down.

"That's great to hear. Listen, I need to tell you something."

"What's up kiddo?" Charlie spoke.

I looked nervously at Alice. She rolled her eyes and motioned for me to continue. "Well… the thing is… Rosalie is moving in with her boyfriend this week."

"Oh, that's great for her." Sue spoke up. They had spoken to her several times whenever I'd video-called them.

I suppressed my groan. "The problem is I can't pay the rent for the apartment by myself."

"Kid, do you need money? I can send some right away." Charlie said, sounding worried.

"No, dad. Money's not the issue. I found another place."

"That's good." I knew Charlie sounded confused. "What's up then?"

When I didn't say anything, Alice shot me a look and spoke. "Charlie, what Bella's saying is-"

"Hey Alice. Didn't hear you there." Charlie said fondly. He loved Alice. Probably because she was the only friend who stuck with me all these years.

"Hey Charlie. As I was saying earlier. I found Bella a place to stay while she finished her last year."

"That's great." Sue and Charlie said in unison. Alice smiled at me, triumphing. I rolled my eyes.

"Edward said he would let Bella stay at his place for the year." Alice continued, "He has a spare bedroom and everything."

There was silence. I bit my lip. They were not gonna agree to this, were they? I didn't know if I was relieved or disappointed.

"Did you look at any other places?" Charlie asked carefully.

I pointedly looked at Alice. See he doesn't want me to live with him. Alice looked back at me with nothing but confidence.

"I did. The rent's 600 and two other people live there. Also-"

Alice interrupted me. She bent closer to the phone speaker. "What she's not telling you is that these two people happen to be a couple. And Bella narrowly escaped from witnessing them having sex."

Sue gasped in the background while people around us in the cafe gave us dirty looks for Alice's language.

"Honey, you can't live there!" Sue sounded distressed.

"Well," I said. "The only other place on such short notice is Edward's."

"He lives near her campus. And, he also said that he wouldn't charge her any rent." Alice added, winningly.

"That's a good deal, Bells." I could imagine Charlie rubbing his jaw in contemplation. "Are you okay living there?"

I looked at Alice. She nodded frantically. "Uh… yeah. It beats having to live with strangers. It's also free."

"Yeah. That it is. You're practically siblings with how long you've known each other." Charlie said approvingly.

What was with all these people telling me Edward and I were siblings, I thought exasperated.

Alice quietly cheered. Her arms were raised beside her head, fists mimicking pompoms.

I gave her a look to stop her.

Sue added, "It's so nice of Edward. Always being so helpful, that little boy." I highly doubted he was a little boy anymore, but I didn't correct her. He was twenty-nine now. He'd already reached puberty when I'd met him for the first time.

"Yeah…"

"Okay, now that that's done, how is summer there? You and Alice seem to have already made plans." Sue asked. I was sure Charlie had reached his daily limit for idle chit-chat.

I felt a little lighter now that we'd gotten past the earlier issue. I answered comfortably. "Alice and I are going back to my apartment later today to pack up the rest of my stuff."

"Oh, I won't keep you any longer."

"Yeah, okay."

"Keep calling us, alright? We miss you here."

"I miss you guys too. Please say hi to Leah and Seth for me."

Sue laughed. "Will do."

"Okay. Then I'd better hang up. Bye dad. Bye Sue."

"Bye kid." Charlie said gruffly. "Bye Alice." He added a second later.

"Bye Charlie." Alice said, smiling.

I hung up the phone. I tucked the phone back in my bag and looked at Alice.

"Go on, say it. I know you want to." I gestured with my hand.

Alice tried and failed to hide her smug look. "Say what?"

"I told you so?" I rolled my eyes. Crap, my temples hurt from doing that. "You knew this would go your way?"

"What? Of course I was right. But I'm just doing this because I want to." I gave her a flat look. She laughed. "But I have to admit, this arrangement has its perks. I can now visit the both of you in a single trip."

"Sure. That was the takeaway from this whole thing."

"Now. How about we finish eating this? Your things at home are not gonna move themselves."

"Bella, what the hell?"

I was in the living room going through my things. When I heard Alice's tone, I rushed to the bedroom. Alice was standing in front of my closet holding a red jumper. I looked around to make sure nothing was amiss. Once, I was sure everything was fine, I looked at Alice. She faced me angrily.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"What the hell is this thing doing here?" She shook the arm holding my jumper.

"That's my jumper. What do you mean 'What's it doing here'?"

"Bella, you can't keep this. This thing must at least be five years old."

I looked at her surprised. "How'd you know?" It was my Stanford jumper that, as Alice said, I'd brought five years ago.

Alice rolled her eyes. "It has holes!"

"It doesn't matter. I wear it at home anyway. It keeps me warm during the winter."

Alice didn't speak. She rummaged through my closet some more. "We're buying you new clothes. You desperately need them."

"What's wrong with the ones I have?" I was offended. I knew I wasn't as fashionable as Alice or Rosalie but I wasn't completely hopeless either. I dressed reasonably well.

"For one, you barely have any dresses." Alice was upset by this thought. Before I could defend myself, she went on. "And you still have this skirt. Didn't you wear this to one of the parties we went to in high school?"

I blushed. She was right. It was a tan-colored skirt that fell above the knee and something I felt comfortable wearing.

"That skirt still fits. Why would I throw it away?"

"We're not in 2008 anymore. This skirt is out of style." That hurt. Kind of. I was more amused by Alice's reaction.

"Okay, maybe you're right." I relented. "But just because that skirt is outdated, doesn't mean I'm gonna swap my entire wardrobe for a new one. It is a waste of money."

Alice scoffed. "Oh, so you're spending money on books you've never read, that's okay? It's not a waste of money."

"Excuse me! I read all the books I buy."

"Then what was the speech you gave when we got drunk at my place earlier this year?"

I remembered what she was referring to. It had been Valentine's Day. Both of us depressingly single. Rosalie was out with Royce and we'd decided to spend the night getting drunk and watching rom-coms on her couch. I tended to get a little emotional when I got drunk.

"What speech?" I feigned ignorance.

Alice placed her hands on her hips. For someone only 4'9", it made her look surprisingly stern.

"You cried Bella. About how unfair it was that there were so many books you'd bought but you wouldn't be able to finish them because you were afraid you'd die by the time that happened."

My cheeks burned at the embarrassing memory.

"That's different. And I'm not your Barbie doll anymore like I was in high school." I knew I was right when Alice smiled guiltily. On more than one occasion Alice had decided on her hands to dress me for events and birthday parties. Including my birthday.

"It would make me happy to see you dressed so prettily." Alice said somberly. "Please, Bella just this once, let me pick out your wardrobe." There it was. That stupid look that made anyone do her bidding if she shot that look at them. The pleading eyes, the slanting up eyebrows, the trembling lips. The look had only gotten better with age. I wasn't immune to the look, no matter how much I wished I was in that second.

"Ugh, Alice I hate you."

"You'll forgive me." Alice said in a sing-song voice.

"Not for another century." I muttered. But there was no point. I wasn't known for holding grudges. I would cave in by the end of the day. Alice knew this too, by the self-satisfied look on her face.

"I have one condition," I said, needing to gain some control of the situation. "We're gonna go shopping once I'm settled in my new place. Not anytime before that."

"Okay and you'll have to come with me to whichever store I take you to."

I screwed my face at the thought but nodded. "We have a deal."

We sealed it by doing our secret handshake and laughed at how childish we were being.

I went around the room sealing the boxes with clear tape and labeling them. Alice was out buying dinner for us. She'd decided to spend the night here and offered to buy us dinner as well as skip labeling the boxes.

"You know what I don't understand? How do you have these boxes lying around?"

The fragrant smell of Chinese takeout wafted in before I heard her. I finished the rest of the boxes and walked to the living room. Alice had pushed the couch to the wall so there was space for us to sit on the floor with the coffee table in front of us.

My stomach growled as I hungrily attacked the cover and fished out the iconic white takeout boxes.

Alice laughed. "Slow down grizzly. The food's not running anywhere."

Ignoring her, I moaned as the delicious smells wafted from the containers. "What'd you get?"

Alice sat up on her knees as she examined the boxes. "Lets… the big boxes are dumplings and chow main." She opened those and two pairs of chopsticks. Alice believed in eating the food the way it was meant to be eaten from that specific culture. "The smaller box has fried spring rolls." She opened that box too.

There were no words after that. Both of us were famished and just wanted to make our tummies happy. I put up the first movie that appeared on screen and we ate the food, laughing in between at the stuff coming out of the characters' mouths.

What a turn this day has taken, I thought passively as I watched the screen. I'd been worried about my living situation, dreading going to that couple's place. But, now, I was going to live with my best friend's brother. For an entire year. And I didn't have to pay rent. I didn't because this was Edward. He would never ask me to spend money like that because that's just who he was. He was helpful like Sue said. He was practically my brother, I thought disdainfully, as everyone pointed out. Not a stranger.

I was so lost in my thoughts, that I didn't notice that Alice had paused the movie and looked at me suspiciously.

"You're thinking about backing out of the deal, aren't you?" She didn't have to wait for my confirmation as she continued. "Bella this works out perfectly. You don't have to pay for anything. You have your own room in a really nice apartment."

I couldn't help but argue. "Don't you think it's weird though. Your best friend living with your brother. And not to mention how this is going to upend his life. What's he gonna feel like, having me live in his house? It's sure to disrupt his routine."

"God, you're exhausted. Do I have to call him too?" She didn't stop to hear my protest. "You know what? Let's do it anyway."

I tried to stop her but she pushed past me and went to retrieve her phone.

I attempted to argue one last time. Anything to put this off. "We shouldn't call him now. It's late. Why don't you just text him later?"

"Bella, we're doing it my way. Besides, it's just 7.30. I bet he's already driving home. He doesn't like it when people text him while he's driving. Tomorrow he's gonna be busy at work again. We'd better ask him now."

Alice dialed his number, giving me a look to stay put.

The phone rang once. He didn't pick up.

"Uh… I think he's busy. We'll call him later." I said, trying to cut the call.

Alice pinched my arm and glared at me.

Edward picked up on the third ring. "Alice. What's wrong?" He sounded worried.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Why is that the first thing that pops up in your head?"

"You're calling me at night and after we spoke just yesterday." I blushed, remembering that Alice had told him about the situation the day before.

"It's not even bedtime yet. You're on the way home right?"

"Yeah. I'll be there in another 10 minutes. Why? Do you need something?" He asked, curious.

I bent my head against the coffee table. I did not want to be a part of this convo at all.

"Remember what we spoke about yesterday?" Alice asked. There was no missing exactly what she was speaking about.

Edward didn't respond for a second. Later he said, "You said Bella needed a place. Didn't I already tell you she could stay at mine for the year?"

Alice scowled at me again. "Well, Bella here is having doubts. Nothing I say is reassuring here. So would kindly please tell her that she's welcome to stay at your place." She said like she was speaking to a toddler.

"She's there with you?"

Alice nodded. "Yeah and she's acting like a hooker going to church."

I gasped. Edward laughed. "Well, she doesn't have to worry." He spoke to me directly. "Bella, of course I don't have a problem with you staying at my house. In fact I suggested you stay here. Didn't Alice tell you?"

I didn't have to look at Alice to know she was smug. "Uh… she did." I responded meekly.

"Then you know. So stop freaking out." He chided gently. "Charlie gave you the okay, right?"

I looked at Alice, sitting there all smug. "He did."

"Good. My place is nice. You have a bedroom and bathroom of your own. No rent either and-"

Alice cut in. "I already told her this, Edward. Charlie knows it too."

"Then why are you worrying?" Edward asked me.

Alice gave me a questioning glance too. How could I tell that I didn't want to go through with this plan because I didn't want to confront my feelings? How could I tell them that I didn't want to live with him because I was afraid I would catch feelings for him due to our proximity?

Instead, I said, "Wouldn't it be weird though? We haven't seen each other in years."

Alice slapped her forehead like I was stupid, which I probably was, but who cared?

Edward chuckled. "The last time we spoke was at your high school graduation."

Wow. I seriously hadn't anticipated that he'd remember that. Our last proper meeting. I looked at Alice who smiled knowingly.

"We met at your law school grad party, too." I said, defending myself.

Edward scoffed. "Either way, it's been years since we saw each other. What better way to get to know each other now?"

It was my turn to scoff. "Sure. By living with them for a year. We'll get to know each other so well."

Edward snickered. "Yep. I'm vying to become your new best friend."

I looked at Alice rolling her eyes. "Piss off, bro. I'm her only best friend." I smiled at the possessive tone in Alice's voice.

"Okay, okay." Edward paused for a second. "Listen, I'm almost home. I will call you later."

"Okay." Alice responded. "I'll send you her address."

"Wait. What do you need my address for?" I was confused.

"I'm gonna pick you up from your place this Saturday." Edward said it was obvious.

"What? No, I can't ask you to do that." I looked at Alice. She simply rolled her eyes at me. "Edward," I paused, feeling the way his name rolled off my tongue, "you don't have to do that. I can come-"

"Bella, I'm offering to help you. Just accept it." He cut me off dryly.

I looked back at Alice, shock written all over my face. She stifled her giggles at the sight. Since when had Edward become so bossy?

"Bella I'm gonna come by your place at two this Saturday. Be ready with your stuff."

He cut the call before I could reply. What the hell just happened? Did he just hang up on us? I looked at Alice.

"He's changed since you last saw him."

"No kidding." I huffed out a laugh.

"Think of it as his lawyer tendencies."

We giggled.

"So, now that you everybody's okay with this, can we please finish eating? The food's getting cold." The sarcasm was loud.

I stuffed a spring roll in my mouth to avoid answering her.

An hour later, empty boxes of takeout covering the table and another rom-com playing on the screen, we sat relaxed on the floor with our backs against the couch.

I paused the movie so Alice could dump the boxes in the trash can. Just as she was about to take the covers to the can, Alice squealed.

I sat up a little straighter. "What happened?"

"There are two fortune cookies in here." She held out the clear plastic packets with the fortune cookies in them.

The covers were abandoned on the floor, Alice brought the fortune cookies to the table and handed one to me. Simultaneously, we ripped open the packet and broke the cookie.

"What's your say?" I asked, swallowing the dry, stale cookie pieces.

Alice swallowed hers, wincing at the taste. "Mine says, 'The fortune you seek is in another cookie'." I laughed at her indignant look. "What kind of fortune is this."

"I guess that means that you need to buy another cookie next time."

"Oh well…" Alice stood up to throw the takeout bags in the trash cans. "What does your cookie say?" She called out from the kitchen.

I opened my piece of paper. "Mine says, 'An old love will come back to you'."

"That sounds nice. You have an 'old love' you'd want back in your life." Alice asked as she sat back down beside me.

"Nah." I laughed. "You know I've never even been in love. Who's gonna come back to me?" I asked, laughing at the idea.

What about Edward? the devil on my shoulder asked. I erased the thought. It was a long time ago and I was over it. Over him. And it wasn't love, just a silly high school crush.

You think that now, the devil said. Great, I was arguing with myself.

Alice broke the silence. "Well, at least it's not gonna be Mike." She said, referring to my first boyfriend.

"Alice…" I groaned. "That doesn't even count. The relationship lasted for like a month."

Alice laughed. "Oh, yeah. He left you for Lauren. She ended up leaving him for that football player. What was his name?"

"Tyler Crowley?"

"Yes! Oh my God. Do you remember how we'd egged Mike's car because he said Jessica had better boobs than you?" We both giggled at the memory.

"I remember," I said trying to catch my breath, "We'd gotten so drunk and bought eggs at the grocery store-"

"And walked all the way to his house to egg his car. The Newtons called the police and poor Charlie had to pick us up."

"Man, our parents were so disappointed with us." I say, remembering Carlisle and Esme's disapproving looks as Charlie had rolled in our driveway. We were promptly grounded for two weeks after that.

We giggled again at the image.

"I should have bought some beer as well." Alice said wistfully.

"Yeah. It would have been fun." I agreed.

We were quiet for some time.

"Bella?"

"Yeah?" I looked at Alice leaning her head on my shoulder.

"Everything's gonna be okay."

"What?" I asked.

"Living with Edward. This year. I can tell. We're gonna have fun."

I didn't reply. I dropped my head on hers and sighed. I hoped so. I hoped living with Edward would go well. That I wouldn't go down the rabbit hole again and set myself up to get hurt.

Author's Note: Next up, Edward's POV.