Chapter 10:

Chapter 10:

Edward's Point of View…

"Looks like Edward Cullen, has really come out into society." Alice sighed, resting her hand over her heart proudly. "Going to a big party with loud music and dancing… girls with too much make-up; our boy is growing up!" Alice wiped away fake tears and smiled a sappy grin.

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at her. Talk about drama queen. I held up two of my nicest- but still casual shirts.

Alice's face screwed up in disgust and pointed at the black shirt. "Ewww. Go with the black."

"Goodbye Mr. Forest Green." I tossed the shirt onto the pile of clothing carelessly sprawled over the bed. "Anyway, it's no big deal. I'm only going because Bella asked me to come with her."

It was Alice's turn to give the eye roll. "Duh, Edward!" She slapped her forehead. "She asked you to go with her. What does that tell you? Bella totally asked you out!"

"It was just a friend thing," I defended, shrugging casually as to not let Alice bring my hopes up, only to have them crushed.

"Sure it was," Alice condescended, crossing her arms over her chest in a fed up gesture. "Edward, your brain is in deeper than the ocean."

I gave her a disapproving look and pulled the black shirt over my shoulders, and did up the buttons.

A look of horror flashed over Alice's face. I gave her a questioning look and she scrunched up her face and screeched at me, "Don't do your buttons up to there, you nerdlinger!" Alice practically tore the top of my shirt open and glared at me angrily. "What would you do without me?"

"Not have ruined shirts," I muttered, sure that she must have pulled off a button.

Alice shook her head, as though I was the mental one attacking peoples clothing.

"Dude, you being my brother and all, I have to look out for you," Alice began dramatically. "And, I know what girls like, and they- Bella- will definitely be liking you this evening."

Feeling slightly embarrassed, I scratched the back of my neck, averting my eyes to the carpeted floor. My eyes caught on something and narrowed. I bent down and picked up a button and held it accusingly under Alice's nose.

"You could have just asked me to undo them!"

As Bella and I walked briskly through the cold night air toward Jessica's house where light was streaming out of every window, I couldn't help but glancing to my left every now and then to just admire.

Bella hadn't gone all out, but she seemed to have made some effort. An exchange of jeans for a layered flowing blue skirt, a plain shirt for a long sleeved white shirt that seemed to hug everywhere important, a certain wave in her hair, a shine to her lips…

It was enough to make me want to take her away and let no one but myself have laid eyes on her.

Enough to make me think that girls did crazy things to look nice, like being out in the cold covered in very un cold resistant clothing…Not that I really minded getting to see Bella look like she did, or minded getting to lend her my jacket.

I had asked Bella before we left if she would be cold and she'd reassured me that once they were there you wouldn't be able to feel anything but warmth. Guess that meant Jessica's house was going to be packed.

Bella and I walked up the lit porch steps, hearing the excited yells and outrageous laughter from the other side of the door, the back beat of music rumbling the windows. I knocked hesitantly on the door twice, not really sure if we were supposed to just walk in or wait to be let in.

Almost immediately the door opened to a strangers face. He was tall and lanky, and had a glint to his face that screamed trouble maker- or would be later on in the night.

He grinned wide and completely over looking me and raked over Bella. My hand clenched as he opened his mouth to say something, but then he fell forward slightly and spun around swearing. Another guy was standing behind him laughing. The self appointed door man pushed back, joining in on the joke.

I grabbed Bella's hand without thinking and pulled her inside, before the guy turned back to look for her.

The entire bottom floor was smothered with people and Bella was right. Definitely not cold anymore, hard to breathe was more like it. Bella and I twisted and turned past clammy bodies of people chatting and on the edge of dancing, no clear idea of where we were heading.

We both stopped automatically in an area that was least populated and noisy, clearly realising this was about as good as it would get in here. I looked down at Bella to see exactly what we should do next.

"Don't lose me, okay?" Bella shouted, smiling with amusement at her own short expense.

I chuckled, and shook my head. "Never."

Bella looked around as best she could and landed on glass sliding doors opening to the back yard where bluish white light shone. "Come on, let's go outside. I need air."

I followed Bella's lead, still hand in hand to the doors. The first step out the threshold and a burst of cool air hit me, wonderful and refreshing compared to the inside stillness.

The blue light was coming from a very inviting pool that shone from its depths, causing waving shimmering lines to glow off the walls and people's bodies that were around its edges.

Bella took a deep breath of the fresh air and released my hand, looking around for familiar faces. My hand stayed open and prickled where my skin had been in contact with Bella's.

"Edward! You came!" Jessica's pleased voice yelled from behind me. Bella and I turned and Jessica did a once over, making me flinch. "Looking pretty hot too," she winked, and then seemed to notice Bella there. "Oh, hi Bella."

"Jessica," Bella nodded. I watched Bella's face closely and the tightening around her eyes told me she wasn't as ecstatic as Jessica, but over all her expressions were steadily calm.

Jessica's face brightened, her eyes widening with excitement. "Oh my God, Edward, there's some people you have to meet." She grabbed onto my fore arm and before I realised what happened I was being manoeuvre through people, away from Bella, losing her.

I twisted around to see Mike approaching Bella as she tiptoed to look after Jessica and myself. Something about knowing that she would be with mike set off an alarm in my head and a sense of dread crawled over my skin.

Jessica pulled me over to a group of people, pushing me forward to a girl about the same height and size of Jessica.

"Edward, this is my cousin Danni…" Jessica introduced as and I tried to smile politely and look some what interested in what Jessica was saying as I looked around for where Bella and Mike had disappeared behind people. "She lives in Olympia and came up her for a few nights…"

I nodded, biting my lip as I scanned once again, looking at Jessica and Danni only when courteously needed- which was more that I let myself acknowledge.

"She's totally cool. Danni's actually the one that supplied most of the drinks since she's 21…"

I nodded again, distracted, hardly hearing anything but murmurs in a Jessica coloured tone. "That's great…"

It took forever to get away from Jessica. She just talked and talked and talked and never seemed to take a pause to breathe where I could cut in and excuse myself. Eventually, I got sick of listening and waiting and interrupted bluntly with a, "Where's the bath room?"

Jessica looked at me, kind of surprised I'd said anything and cut her off in her ramblings on flip flops. "Oh, umm… third door on your right in the hall."

I nodded and got the hell away from there, ducking between people to avoid Jessica's lingering gaze.

Once I was a safe distance away I tip toed and craned my neck to spot Bella, to quench the uneasy feeling that was gripping at me.

I had to scan three times before I saw her, hard because she was sitting down on a two person bench that faced the deep end of the pool…with Mike. I dropped back down to normal height and started edging towards where they sat.

Warning bells went off in my head as Bella edged across the bench away from Mike, her face downcast and all in all looking very uncomfortable. Something wasn't right.

There was a twisting in my stomach as my eyes trained on the two as I tried to get through the thick sets of chatting bodies.

My eyes narrowed on Mike's fingers as they crawled onto Bella's thigh, a cajoling tilt to his head as he spoke to her. Burning rage crawled over me, my fingers clenched and my breathing became heavier. Who the hell did he think he was? The anger consumed me when Bella ripped herself away from him and jumped up and faced Mike as she backed away.

I pushed through people quicker now, feeling people's backs and sides brush against me as I rushed to get to Bella.

I thought I heard someone calling my name- Jessica I think, but I ignored it. I was in hearing range now and just had to get around Tyler Crowley and his group.

"Come on Bella." Mike crooned, stepping closer to Bella, who in turn shifted further away, wariness shining in her eyes. "No one will find us."

"Mike- please, I told you." Bella shook her head erratically. "No."

Mike's hand went to her shoulder, stopping her from moving away as he moved right up close. His hand ran lightly down her arm and she glared at it. "Don't be such a-"

"Mike!" I took hold of Bella's hand and tugged her slightly behind me. "She said no." Bella's skin was cold in my hands and trembling slightly. I squeezed her hand reassuringly and felt her return the gesture.

"Great," he droned sarcastically. "The boyfriends here." I didn't correct him, and neither did Bella.

Mike eyed me, judging me. By the rage and protectiveness I could feel smothering everything in me; I had no doubt that I must have looked livid. This wasn't the kind of protectiveness I had for Alice either, I knew she belonged to someone else and I was just family looking out for family. But with every fibre in my body screamed that Bella was mine and no one else should touch her unless she wanted them to.

A muscle in Mikes jaw flexed and he tsk-ed, glancing to the left at Bella. I continued to stare him down; I wouldn't take my eyes away from him until he was completely gone.

Mike relaxed his posture and smirked at Bella. "Guess I'll go then,"

She didn't reply. She didn't need to. I answered for her, making it clear that he wasn't wanted here. "Yeah, you do that."

Mike scoffed, shaking his head, but I could tell the message got through. Mike slinked off into the crowds of hormonal teenagers and disappeared.

I relaxed with a sigh, my shoulders dropping tiredly. I turned round to face Bella and see if she was alright.

Bella had her head down and she let go of my hand and folded her arms across her middle self-consciously. "Sorry," she mumbled.

My brow furrowed at that, my hand feeling empty without hers.

"For what?" I asked, incredulous.

Bella glanced at me then and gestured to the bench where her and Mike had been. "For- for that!"

I shook my head, bending down a little to try and get her to actually look at me. "For you, Bella, I will." I reached out to tentatively touch her hand that held onto her waist. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Bella sighed and started to move towards the edge of the pool, away from my touch, the lines of the reflecting pool lighting up her embarrassed expression.

"Yeah, but you shouldn't have had to-"

Bella's footing hit the raised edge of the pool and she tipped back, arms flailing. I swiped out to catch her, managing to grab hold of her wrist too late. We both toppled into the heated abyss.

Fizzing bubbles clouded my vision as I squinted for Bella, holding the half a breath I managed to take. Hooting and the back beat of the music was just a dull drone down here, barely audible. All that could be clearly heard was the swishing and rivets of water.

When the bubbles cleared Bella took hold of my hand and treaded the water to keep her down a little longer. Tendrils of her hair swayed in the invisible winds of the water, like a goddess. The pool lights seemed to light up her face, bring out the pureness that was Bella.

She was so perfect.

Wide brown eyes blinked at me in wonder and soft lips smiled as we rose, hand in hand.

Noises became clearer, and the perfect blue became a wash of colour. Silently I wished that we could stay down in the serenity forever. Crashes of water sounded all around us and shifted the ripples of water as others joined in on the action.

Our heads broke the surface and I gulped a big breath. Sound flooded my ears and light made me squint. People were jumping in all around us, so, breathing heavily, I lead Bella to an edge so we wouldn't get hit.

Bella's hair was a mass of straight and twisted tangles around her face and down past her shoulders. She was grinning hugely, on the edge of laughing, her eyes twinkling in the reflected lights.

I rubbed my arm over my eyes to get rid of the water dripping from my hair and grinned amused, shaking my head. The water hadn't done anything to Bella. Outside, she was just as beautiful as the goddess that had stunned me beneath. She was Bella.

With out really thinking about it, just letting gravity pull me along, I leaned forward an inch. Bella's smile faded slightly as realisation hit her. Her eyes glanced at me once before she'd made up my mind. I closed the gap between us, our lips meeting perfectly in a chaste kiss.

The kiss lingered, neither one of us really wanting to move away. I'm not sure which of us moved first, maybe we both did, but when our eyes met with a brand new fervour it didn't really matter.

Bella giggled, confusing me.

"Who knew it would take me- being a klutz," she rolled her eyes and giggled again. "By falling into a pool at Jessica Stanley's place for you to finally kiss me."

I had no idea what expression shone on my face, but it must have shined bright.

"Whatever it takes." I pecked her on the cheek, a new found sureness in the 'us' that I'd been too blind to see. "I'm glad it finally happened."

"Me too,"

It was so surreal. I had just kissed Bella Swan and she was happy that I did, she wanted me to have done it. Wow… I kissed Bella… and she wanted me to… Bella…Bella… What now? Did that mean… How am I supposed to…?

I shook my head in wonder, caressing her cheek, brushing away her wet hair with my thumb, leaning forward once again for the promise kiss that held a beginning that I had waited for so long.

Okay, I was completely freaked about posting this. I got a bit paranoid that people wouldn't like it and then my friend Jasmine told me to write for myself and not for everyone else. So…I'm happy with it, and I hope all my readers are too!

Thank you to everybody that read this story, all the reviewers, the people who added it to their favourites list, alert list, and those who added me to their favourite Authors list. hi five!

I have another story coming up, I already have the first 4 chapters written so watch out for it!

It will be called, "Revving to Go". So…watch out!

Well, I owe and have been guilt tripped (jokes) into giving a big thank you to my friend Noonie93, my little proof reader/ sense knocker. THANK YOU!

Boys Embarrassing Story:

Stage Fright…

It was our major performance night at school and I was pretty nervous because my band was first up. This chick who I think is gorgeous was sitting front and centre. The performance was going really well and my solo was coming up, so I decided to walk up to the front of the stage to impress her. The spotlight was in my eyes so I found it hard to see. I ended up walking straight off the stage and into this chicks lap, knocking her out of her chair. Needless to say, she was far from impressed and hasn't spoken a word to me since!

Aww…I feel sorry for him…. Most of my own embarrassing stories are bus related…the bus I get with St. Pats boys high school… heh heh….

Anyway, THANK YOU to everyone! I really appreciate everything. XD

That's all Folks!

XxJessicaxX