This EPOV runs from the time he walked in on Bella to the end of the previous chapter.

EPOV

"No, mom, I really can't go home for Christmas, I'm sorry," I hoped this time my mother would understand. I hated to have to repeat such bad news to her.

"What about New Years?" she asked hopefully. I sighed as I answered.

"No. We're having a huge event here."

"Am I interrupting anything, Edward? You sound distracted." That was one thing about my mother that I had always loved and hated. She could detect the most infinitesimal changes in tone, even over a phone thousands of miles away.

"No, I'm just sorry I can't come. But Alice and Emmett an- I mean they're going." I righted my statement before I said anything more. Jasper and Rosalie were to be kept secret, for some reason not told to me. While it was cute, I wasn't sure how my parents would take it. I was sure they'd be supportive, but surprising them like that? At least they had some time before Christmas Day came.

I heard my mother's deep, lingering sigh come from over the earpiece. The sign that said she'd resigned herself to the fact that I simply couldn't come.

"I promise, I'll try my hardest to come home during Spring break," I assured her.

That seemed to put some spark into her. "I'm holding you to that, Mister College Man," she teased. I groaned, but I couldn't help missing her after that. We chatted a bit about much lighter topics before I heard something. A thump of sounds, coming from directly below me, in Bella's room.

And with that tiny thought, I began to worry just a tiny bit. I could feel it growing though, as I began to over analyze what may have happened in that one second, that one small sound. I was being neurotic - of course nothing had happened. I just needed to calm down. I was reasonable. Ignoring it, I told Esme what I'd been doing recently, and everything was going well until she asked me one small question.

"So, any girls I should be aware of?"

Yes, my mind replied instantly. I had to bite my tongue to not relay what was instinctive to blurt out. I really like this girl named Bella. Of course, she's going out with that Jacob, who came to her rescue after I was an ass to her.

I'd accepted that there wasn't much I could do. She was involved already, whether I liked it or not. And it was my fault.

Still, I got a bad feeling about him sometimes.

Another sound, louder this time, came from Bella's room again. I couldn't ignore it this time, however crazy that sounded. I said my hurried goodbyes to my mother, with promises that I would call back. Surprised, Esme hastened to gather herself and said goodbye coolly, the way I'd come to recognize, even expect, her demeanor. It was a comforting anchor of sorts. Esme would always see reason and light and hope in everything.

I took the stairs down quickly, trotting lightly down the one floor that separated us. Funny to think about it that way. I stopped right as my hand opened the door a tiny crack, letting the small wind tunnel do the rest.

It was quite obvious that I forgot about a little thing called privacy. And knocking.

Bella was retrieving something from her bureau, and while this would have been fine in other circumstances, the catch was that, here, she had nothing but matching underwear on.

Oh, Jesus. As if things between us weren't awkward enough.

Before I could gather my thoughts enough, she caught me standing there like an imbecile and a little cry escaped her mouth. That snapped me back into action and the first thing I could think of was that I needed to divert my attention away from her figure. This resulted in flashing, rapid movements of my eyes all around her room before they finally decided that the floor would be a nice place to look at for a while.

"What are you doing?" she yelled, trying to cover herself with a stretchy piece of fabric she held.

"I heard a noise..." I trailed off, feeling incredibly childish and stupid. Damn my over imaginative mind. No use leaving the explanation there. "I thought you might need help." I could feel my ears charging with heat. It was quite uncomfortable.

Her teeth took her bottom lip in, biting it nearly to the point of bleeding. Bella inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to remain reasonable. "That's very nice. Can you please close the door? I'll talk to you in a minute. As you can see, now is not the best time."

I hadn't gotten that far in thinking.

"Oh...yeah, sure," I stuttered idiotically. I didn't feel or recollect closing the door, but it happened because the lock securely clicked into place almost directly after. I heard ragged breathing on the other side, staying in one place. I covered my eyes with my hands, trying to make the image that was burned there go away. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to in respect for her. Mentally, I was kicking myself brutally. I didn't think I could ever lack that much common sense as to not knock.

I stood there for some time, just trying to calm my breath and distract my mind onto other things. Eventually, I turned onto autopilot, delegating my body to do all the necessary actions of survival. Somehow, I ended up on the landing of the first floor, in the lounge, on the couch. No one was around, they were all packing to head home and see my parents. I was suddenly very envious of them, but I wouldn't want to leave Bella behind. Of course, if that situation had arose no doubt would Alice have managed to find another ticket for her. Still, it was easier to just stay behind and not be the fifth wheel.

I shut my eyes tight, rubbing my forehead with one hand. Not one chance I had left, absolutely none. I was given more than I deserved, and I blew every single one of them. I didn't want to give up - it wasn't like me in the slightest and I didn't want to give Bella that impression. But after what just happened...

I forced my mind away from the topic. What's done is done. Irritatedly, I flipped on the news, blocking out everything else from my thoughts but the words that were being reported. My fingers traced little patterns between the buttons of the remote during the commercials. When Jasper strolled in, I jumped out of my seat before flopping back down again.

Suspicious was not an accurate enough adjective to describe his features. This behavior was unlike myself, my whole posture was enough to give it away. I straightened up and tried again. "Jasper," I acknowledged him with a nod.

"Edward," he said my name slowly, giving me a sideways glance. "What's up?"

"Not much, you?" I said, too quickly.

"Packing. Have you seen my brown jacket around here?"

"Uh...yeah, it's over there," I pointed. Trying to distract him from my previous behavior I moved the topic elsewhere. "What time does your flight leave?"

"We have to be at the airport in like an hour. It leaves at seven but you know... customs and everything." I glanced at the clock - they were cutting it close. It was already four o' clock.

"Alice will keep everyone organized anyway," Jasper smiled, his eyes sparkling as he spoke of her. The "Big Brother Instinct" sparked a little out of habit, trying to ignite a fire. But I knew him too well to think that his intentions were anything but good. I grinned back at him despite myself.

"I have to go run a few errands anyways, so I think I'll just say goodbye now. Have a good trip," I stood, outstretching my hand. He shook it heartily, thanking me before he jogged out of the room.

I breathed in deeply. The errands excuse was not exactly true, but I did need a breath of fresh air. I would see everyone leaving by the time I got back, anyways. I zipped up my fleece jacket and pulled on my woolen hat. The cool weather outside would be worth it, I placated myself. The reality was contrary to my thoughts, but I forced myself to continue. I wasn't looking where I was going - just staring at my feet and listening to the light drizzle come down. My breath was personified in the frigid air, swirling up away from me, only a shade lighter than the grey sky above me.

Eventually I had to stop, my hands could be shoved in my pockets no further. It was in the single digits outside, with a wind factor bringing it to the negatives. I hadn't really thought the whole 'invigorating mind cleanser' thing through very well. Completely unlike me. It was what her effect on me was. I had to focus on grasping my own mind for myself when she was near.

I trudged back, trying to hurry so as to catch the departure of Alice and the others. As it turned out, I was just there when they were opening the door. I had time for a quick hug or handshake with everyone before I was able to squeeze my way through. Alice made me promise I'd take care of Bella, which Rosalie wholeheartedly backed her up on. They knew something I didn't, I presumed. Their faces suggested more than just friendly concern. Nonetheless, I promised what I would already have done, and then they were gone.

The world was too much of a blur today. After the whole incident with Bella, I hadn't much recollection. It was just like I'd been there, but my mind hadn't. It was staggering, how much one event could change me. It wasn't normal for me, and it was scary. Extremely scary. How could I be affected by someone I barely knew? It was almost to a supernatural extent.

I thought about her, the way her cheeks became rosy if she spoke her thoughts. She'd bite her lip, unintentionally bringing blood to it, which reddened and plumped it better than any lipstick could. Her eyes, alight whenever she spoke, could portray so much emotion it was stunning. Everything she hid was pooling in her eyes, making the beautiful chocolate color melt and swirl into kaleidoscopic patterns.

With a jolt, I looked out the window, startled to see that it was already nighttime. How long had I been here? It was a startle to my internal clock, already drained from the past few days. I trudged up the stairs, already thinking of the book I'd be settling in with for the next few hours. I could hear a few loud blasts of music every now and then; I figured those people would be exhausted tomorrow. Then again, it was officially winter break. A party time to say the least. Professors had been handing out work like it would burn a hole in their briefcase if they didn't. With finals out of the way, the alcohol was in stock like never before.

Tiredly, I unlocked my door and walked over to my bookshelf, turning on necessary lights along the way. My fingers ran themselves along the worn bindings of the various books lined on the bookshelf before finding a suitable novel. Grabbing my reading glasses, I settled in for the night on the couch.

Time always flew when I least wanted it to.

I looked at the clock, started when I saw that it was almost eleven thirty. I'd gotten almost halfway through the book, so it wasn't all that abnormal. What scared me was that all that time had escaped me without my knowledge. I liked knowing what time it was, even if I wasn't going to spend it wisely. Sometimes I let that part of me slip, though, which was healthy every once in awhile I supposed.

I flipped open my cell phone, noting a text from Alice letting me know they'd taken off. They were definitely halfway to their destination. I was still very curious as to how Esme and Carlisle would react. Why Jasper and Rosalie weren't nervous was easy to see. The two couples were set in stone.

I took off my wire rimmed glasses, set them on the table as I rubbed my eyes. My feet hit the cold floor that I traversed to the warmth of my bed. I reached next to me, my finger on the light switch. It was late, I was tired. Ignoring my growling stomach was easy enough.

Ignoring the shrill ring of my phone was not.

I sighed, heaving myself off the bed at the second ring. It was probably Alice, letting me know she'd arrived. That was actually important to hear - otherwise I'd definitely have left it for voicemail. In the dim light, I scrambled for the loud object, remembering just then that it probably would wake Bella. If she was in - I hadn't seen her practically all day. Odd. That was another matter for another time, I decided.

"Hello?" I said, on the verge of grogginess. It didn't pass through in my voice, though.

The voice that answered me was most definitely not the one I had expected.

It was Bella, her voice cracked and muffled. She sniffled before responding. "Edward?" she half-greeted me.

I was much more alert at this point. It was unlike Bella to cry, as I could tell she had been doing. It wasn't that she didn't show emotion at all, but she was strong. It had to be something really big to knock her down like this.

"Bella? It's eleven thirty...what's wrong?" I added quickly. My automatic response was, for some odd reason, to look at the clock and repeat the time. It had to do with a need for something sturdy, I deduced. She was definitely collapsing, which I couldn't deal with very easily. I was making this bigger than it was, though, that much was very evident to my mind. I was overreacting.

"I hate to bother you-" she replied hesitantly. Her voice was still choked, like she was holding back a sob.

"You're not bothering me," I told her, truthfully. I wouldn't have been so anxious were her voice not so thick.

Her next request was different from what I expected. But then again, when did she ever do something I predicted? Bella was such a breath of fresh air to the mind - she never perceived anything the way I did, which didn't make me angry rather than intrigued. It brought a whole new view to my mind.

"Do you mind coming down here? I...I just need-"

I didn't let her finish, as rude as that might have been. I didn't want to make her say what had hurt her so much. I promised her I'd be right up before slapping my phone shut and darting out the door.

Her floor was one below. Not about to have a repeat of this afternoon, I took one breath and knocked. Padded footsteps came closer before the knob turned and opened. One look at her and I knew something had gone wrong. She had red rimmed eyes, matted hair that stuck to her face in places. Even her limbs seemed to be dragging themselves.

Not awaiting an explanation, I opened my arms and took her in them. The room was dark, the only illumination coming from her back, the moonlight filtering through the window's confines. Bella was warm, her body leaning on mine as her shoulders heaved up and down with her sobs. I rocked her back and forth, trying to soothe her. Unconsciously, only noticeable once I actually paid attention, I had been bringing her impossibly closer to me. Unable to help myself, I bent my head down and kissed her forehead.

To say that it was a calm environment would have been both a truth and a lie. It was serene because of the simplicity of everything. Our position, the minimal light and distractions. It was hard to ignore the situation's plague, however. The whole reason I was standing there with her was because of some unknown event that had reduced Bella to such a state of sorrow.

I didn't want to even consider bringing it up then, though. Thus, we stood, with each breath she calmed more. I didn't know what else to do but I had the feeling that I really didn't need to do much but be a sense of comfort for someone I cared about.

BPOV

He smelled nice.

It was the first thought that popped into my head once I regained calmness and stopped sobbing so much. His shirt was a little soaked thanks to me, but that didn't wash away what smelled like honey, sweet orange, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon. Now that I was aware of the fact that I had just sought out Edward for solace, aware that it was him that I was clinging to and not Alice or Rosalie, I realized it was much less awkward than it really could have been. Comforted by that knowledge, I slowly let go of him, felt his hands grasp mine as he backed up to look me in the eye. All of it felt very...friendly. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but it was leaning toward the not-so-positive side.

It was a moment before he spoke. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry to have just appeared out of the blue like that." It was dawning on me that this was not one of my smartest moves. But I couldn't nudge away that feeling that I didn't regret it.

His eyes darted to the side for just a second, returned their jade color to my browns immediately. "You must be tired," Edward said, his voice huskier than normal. "I can..." he didn't finish his sentence, instead opting to point to the door.

I shook my head. "No, no, that's fine," I was really trying not to sound desperate. I thought frantically for a way to put his staying here in a friendly context. "Did you want some...some uh, coffee or anything?"

He tried to hide his smile, but I saw the corners of his mouth twitching. It puzzled me, but I ignored it. Now was not the time to analyze anything, especially when it was so hard to analyze the enigma of Edward. Politely, he declined my offer, but strode to the couch and plopped down.

I looked out the window, directly into the stars and night sky. It was such a nice night out, bright and clear. This window was one of my favorite parts of my dorm. The bay window allowed me to sit down comfortably and lean against the wall. It was so relaxing, such a way to relieve stress. I sat down, my cheek against the cold window pane.

This was definitely not what I'd had in mind when I'd called him. We were on opposite sides of the room now. He'd probably dozed off already. I gazed off into the endless stars. This was all getting so out of hand. None of it was necessary, and yet, here I was: confused and exhausted.

I could eliminate one of those if I just went to sleep. Simple enough, and all I really wanted to at that point. I tiptoed across the floor, taking care to be silent at all the creaks. I hopped into my bed, instantly relaxed when I covered the thick duvet over my shoulders.

After that, in that period between sleep and consciousness, I heard footsteps come near and then back away again. In my dazed state, I didn't realize it was Edward until I don't know when. I didn't hear him leave though. Odd, but I was already too far asleep to think anything of it.

I didn't sleep well.

My sleep was full of spinning colors, shapes of all sorts. Universes I was sure did not exist provided the background for metaphorical nightmares. Voices floated, never personified. It was scary, never-ending. I fell and fell and fell throughout my entire sleep, never landing. Jake's texts were voiced aloud, menacing and growling.

And, like with any nightmare, I screamed.

"Bella," his voice pervaded through my sleeping form. It was anxious, unsure. "Bella, wake up." He tentatively shook my shoulder a little. A small, electric tingle, stemmed from his hand.

I shot up, sitting ramrod straight on my bed. I felt my face, beads of cold sweat dotted along the back of my forehead and my neck. I was panting, clearly with some sort of effort to wake myself. I looked at him, his green eyes all I could see. Edward was staring at me, concern evident in his wide eyes.

I shook my head, feeling the blood pool in my cheeks. "I'm sorry," I croaked, my voice thick. Now that consciousness was beginning to seep back in, I could figure out I'd awakened him. Had my screams really been as loud as to pierce through the one floor distance? I looked instinctively under his eyes for any signs of a lack of sleep. Nothing I could see, but then again there wasn't much light out at all. My best guess was that it was around two in the morning. It was always very surreal when nightmares seemed to last five minutes, and in reality it wasn't so.

"Don't apologize," he whispered, his eyes softening now that he saw I was conscious.

I swallowed, looked outside the window. It was still very dark outside, but the moon was providing light that spilled through my window. I rubbed my eyes, trying to rid them of the sights I'd just been compelled to watch. What bothered me more, however was reason why I had had those nightmares. It wasn't because I was distressed about the break-up...it was because I was totally and completely unsure about how I felt about my actions around Edward. I had called him for comfort, and that had completely backfired.

I sighed loudly, shifting to a more comfortable sitting position. Edward was half sitting on the edge of my bed, like he was ready to move. I was completely exhausted, drained from the nightmare and the previous day's events. The silent room, save for Edward's steady breath, was brightened by the moonlight. Eventually, in the quiet stillness of the moment, I fell asleep.

The first thing I smelled when I awoke was coffee. Good, strong coffee; the aroma filled my dorm room. Definitely enough to get me out of bed.

Except that there was no need for that, as a steaming cup had been placed on the small, black wicker table next to my bed. I sat up, my right arm supporting me. Pushing the hair out of my face, I grabbed the mug and took a sip, savoring the wonderful taste in my mouth. The warm liquid heated my throat, just enough that it wouldn't burn, but simply keep me snug.

As I continued to slowly enjoy the coffee, I realized that Edward was the only one that could have made it. As if he wasn't sweet enough already, coming down to comfort me last night. Where was he now?

As if he could hear my thoughts, the door opened stealthily - no doubt to not wake me.

"Oh," he said when he saw me sitting up. "Good morning."

"Morning," I replied. "Thanks for the coffee."

"I figured we'd both need it."

"I agree. Sorry about...what happened," I finished lamely, already feeling the burn in my cheeks. Would I always be embarrassed about what had happened?

"Bella, I already told you there's no need to apologize. It happens," he half grinned. "Alice called," he added, completely switching topics. "Esme met Jasper and Rosalie."

"And how did that go?" I asked, genuinely interested.

"She said that it went as well as could be expected. Esme was happy to see them both, then she kind of did a double take and hugged Jasper and Rosalie, too."

I smiled. "What did she say?"

"Well, apparently she was mad for about two second before 'talking only with them,'" he quoted his sister. "Alice sounded more aggravated than Esme did, to be quite honest."

"And your father?"

"Oh, no one was worried about him, for some reason. They're both open-minded. Kind of weird how everyone was freaking out about her reaction. Still, everything went okay so that's over and done with."

"Why didn't you go?" I wondered aloud. Instantly, I could tell that was the wrong thing to say. I wished I could take it back.

But he didn't react as horribly as I thought he would have. "No reason, really. I figured that it was the time for 'meeting the parents,' and I didn't want to interfere." He shrugged. "And you? Why aren't you heading home for Christmas?"

"No reason, really," I quoted him with a grin. "I didn't have much time to figure out the whole trip and everything." I didn't mention that Alice had offered to pay for the entire thing, which was so sweet it had moved me to tears. The whole of the Cullen (and Hale) family was so nice to me it was astounding.

"Anyways," I said, wanting to switch topics. "What is there to do while we're on break?"

"Unless you're into insane parties and intense hangovers, not much. The cold weather vetoes pretty much everything, too. It's basically just schlepping around and being lazy," he pursed his lips. "Doesn't sound too fun, actually."

"When life gives you lemons," I quoted, "make lemonade."

"True. There's a cinema about two miles from campus, and the campus library is always fun. Of course, that requires going out into the cold weather."

I remained quiet for a moment, thinking. "For now," I said finally, "I'm just up for some breakfast."

"Very feasible. Shall we head down to the lounge?"

"Sure," I agreed, hopping out of bead. I found that I was still a little tired, but the caffeine from the coffee was waking me up. As we walked down the halls and staircase, the place was eerily quiet. That would be interesting. I suddenly found myself wishing for noise - not clamor, but just a hum of activity. One of these days, I would have to take Edward up on his offer to catch a movie or something. I didn't think I'd be able to stand the quiet for this long. I didn't mind being alone, so much as that I minded the abnormal silence that came along with everyone being away.

Nothing much happened during the first few hours of the day. I headed back to my room, Edward back to his. The night before was not mentioned again for a while. I whiled away the time by reading and, well, reading. It was amazing how much time one could spend with a good book and not notice. The next time I looked up from my book, it was almost five in the afternoon. No wonder my stomach was growling like a territorial lion.

There wasn't much to eat in my own room beyond an apple, so I hopped up and went downstairs to the lounge. The good thing about only living with one other person, I decided, was that there was a very low chance I'd see him wherever I went. Before, with five others people, it was likely to see someone somewhere. Now, with only two, what would be the odds?

I opened the door, feeling relaxed. That familiar sensation of a vacation was seeping in: the lightened schedule, the freedom of doing whatever. I strolled to the kitchen, whipping up a quick soup and switching on the television. The sun was setting, disappearing into the clouds and allowing the moon to shine. The stars were appearing, dots of light in the sky. I found that watching this was calming, a nice tranquility to ease my day up. Not that I needed it much today, but it would definitely have been nice last night.

Last night.

That was a whirlwind. Starting with Jacob and ending with Edward. It sounded so crude, like I had planned it like that. It was never my intention, and yet it had happened. Sometimes it happens like that - this wasn't the first time something had gone awry for me. But it felt worse when I was dragging others into it.

I shook my head. I didn't want to think about it, especially not now when the only other person around was Edward. I focused myself on the television, trying to hear the words and see the images that were flying around. But my eyes unfocused, my ears refused to listen. I was staring at nothing again, allowing my mind to wander. I didn't realize how much time had passed until the door opened, startling me. I swallowed a bit of my stone cold soup, trying to appear normal.

"Hello," Edward greeted me. He walked into the kitchen, heating a bit of the soup I'd left over. I switched the channel to the news, as before it had been on some infomercial network. The reporters spoke of some world news, then local. I still wasn't listening, but it was something to put up as a pretense.

However, I was way more focused when Edward took a seat next to me.

I felt my senses heighten, my nerve endings tingle. My heart rate increased slightly. Did he feel any of this at all? Sometimes it felt like I was the only one affected by him. I knew that wasn't right, though. Many girls on campus would kill for the chance to be in my position. They'd be affected, too.

I could tell that his would be a very, very long vacation.

***

The first few days passed uneventfully. My schedule began to form: wake up, eat, read, eat, read, eat, watch news, call Alice, read, sleep. While others would have thought it monotonous, it was just right. And sure, some days I'd feel cooped up, but I sure as hell wasn't going to venture out into frigid weather without damn good reason.

As it turned out, that damn good reason came pretty soon. Edward knocked on my door one day, around five days into the vacation, and when I answered his nose was tipped with red, his cheeks flushed and his eyes excited.

"Hi," he greeted me. "I know what I'm about to say will sound extremely crazy, but do you want to come outside?"

"You're right, it does sound extremely crazy," I said, looking at him warily. "Where?"

"Well, I discovered an entryway to the rooftop, and the view is spectacular."

"How long have you been out there?" I asked him, trying to divert the subject. The roof view was marvelous; it had to be. We were situated in one of the best halls on campus.

"Not long, less than ten minutes. But it's cold. I just thought you might want to get out of the dorms, even if for a few minutes," he explained, his eyes not meeting mine. I could tell he felt a little awkward about the whole thing, which may have partly been my fault.

"Yeah, you know that sounds like a great idea. Let me get my coat." I actually was getting tired of sitting in my dorm all day. The bay window was great, but actually going outside was fun sometimes, too. Well, going outside with Edward would be fun. Kind of. The cold factor was still an impediment to my enjoyment.

"Have you talked to Alice recently?" Edward asked as he led me to the rooftop. I didn't know where the entrance was until we started climbing the stairs to his room. He had an entrance to the rooftop there?

"Yeah, just last night. Apparently they all went out for dinner last night. She sent me a picture, they all looked gorgeous. As usual."

"Well, we tend to clean up quite nicely," he chuckled. I didn't know if he meant we as in his family and himself, or including me. The latter of which was not exactly truthful without the aid of Alice and Rosalie.

Being a gentleman, he opened the door to his impeccable room for me. The views up from one floor were already beautiful - I could see the tops of some smaller trees up here. I was now very excited for what the rooftop would look like. Silently, he crossed the room, found the entrance door and pulled it down. It was like an attic, the way a ladder pulled down. He led me up the rungs this time, and I gasped.

It was marvelous. The sights from so high above were breathtaking, with the tops of many buildings visible and most of the campus surrounding. It was almost surreal, being up this high. I breathed out, watched my breath curl in the air.

"It's gorgeous," I whispered, as if I spoke any louder it would all disappear.

Edward smiled, walking to the edge of the raised barrier and leaning his elbows on it. "Yes, it really is. Could do with some warmer weather, though," he chuckled.

I walked over to join him. From this view I could see the melting snow, the umbrellas of the few daring students who were traversing the large campus. The few leaves still clinging on to their branches were fluttering in the harsh wind. I shivered, rubbing my hands together for warmth and shoving them in my coat pockets.

We stayed like that, just looking out at the wonderful view. Eventually, and don't ask me how, our elbows slid until they were almost touching. My nerve endings were completely and totally focused on what would happen next. It began to drizzle a little, a sign that heavier rain was approaching. Still, we stayed the way we were.

"It's nice to finally get outdoors," Edward commented.

And that was all it really took.

We began talking about everything and nothing: our classes, the weather. Somehow we even landed on the topic of crying four year olds. Yes, we were an odd two that day, but it was nice. I felt a small wall begin to crack, the slight tension that had unconsciously built between us fade. It would make the future so much easier. He was truly genuine person, someone I would be very happy to know.

The sun was peeking through the clouds, but didn't show itself completely. It was approaching sunset, the rays falling a bit on us. It enhanced everything in sight with a nice glow, a slight shimmer. The rain flew down a bit harder, now actually hard enough to be considered rain. Edward's bronze hair rippled in the wind; he tried in vain to pat it down. I giggled a little bit at his aggravation - no matter what he did he would never be able to smooth down his errant hair. He looked over at me when I did, flashing me a grin.

Our elbows touched.

Sparks flew between them, almost creating an invisible line of electricity. It was like a tingling, growing but not to an uncomfortable degree. I glanced over at him, trapped by his beautiful jade eyes. The color was vibrant, endless. They were darker now, but still clear and easy to read. I wondered if he could read anything in my plain eyes.

He bent his head a little, looking deeply at me. I lifted my head ever so lightly, just to be able to look at him when he was so much taller than I. I tried to process what he was about to do, but my mind simply wouldn't let me. It was too hazy, too in the moment. It wouldn't let me ruin this by over thinking it.

We got closer, closer still. His face was an inch away from mine, his nose about to meet mine. I knew what was going to happen now.

I didn't mind it either.

Because, as I'd had my previous theory, a new one came into play.

Perhaps I'd never even liked Jacob, sure. But would that mean much? He never liked me, either. It was just an awkward relationship that hadn't gone anywhere and had really been a waste of both of our times. No, I hadn't been dating him to gain Edward. He was just a little bump in the road, and vice versa for myself. So would it be so bad if I liked Edward now? No.

It was such a convoluted thought that not even I followed it. I tried to make it simpler for myself. I had never liked Jacob. I had always liked Edward. I had dated Jacob, sure, but he was gone now. Out of my life. I might as well have forgotten about him. My intent was never to use him, therefore he really was completely irrelevant.

Not two seconds had passed. My theories were thoughts long forgotten as Edward bent his head, and I lifted mine. It was happening. I just had to focus on what was here and now, in the moment.

AN: Happy New Years! Thanks for a fantastic year, guys :) You are all amazingly awesome.

Review, please.

-cullenite21