I did change, and because of that, I am waiting for Jess outside the bathrooms at the end of the hall. After the day she showed up at my house, we became close friends. She's helped me a lot, both with studies and with my recovery. As a result, we came together to the Winter Formal in matching outfits. Well, she's wearing a red dress and I'm dressed in a black suit and shirt with a red tie.

Out of the blue, a familiar voice startles me. "Why did you bring her here, Edward?"

"Excuse me?" I retort as I turn around and face Bella.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she seethes.

I shake my head. "What are you talking about?"

Bella fists her hands at her sides. "Is this about getting back at me? You know that I don't like her."

That's true. Bella has never concealed her aversion for Jessica, claiming Jess had been pining over me since we were kids, which is also true.

"Why does everything have to be about you?" I spit. "Besides, why should you care? You're here with Jacob."

"Is that all you have to say?" she scoffs.

Shaking my head, I sigh. "No, Bella, I have nothing to say to you. It's been a year since you walked out of my life, and now, out of the blue, you expect me to give you explanations of what I do with my life?"

Bella gulps, trying to reign in the tears that are gathering in her eyes. "Why didn't you fight back, Edward? Why didn't you go after me?"

"How could you expect me to do that after you left me so fucking broken? Of all the things you could have told me before you parted, you chose the one thing that devastated me—the one thing that nearly killed me, because that's what you did."

"I'm sorry," Bella mutters, closing her eyes. "I wish I could take it back, but I can't."

"No; you can't. And you have no right to interfere in my life, so why won't you leave me alone?"

Opening her eyes and gazing at me, she says, "I can't… I love you."

"You love me, but you're with Jacob?" I ask, incredulous.

"I don't love him," Bella simply states, as if that explains everything, yet it doesn't.

I sigh. "Well that's too bad because I don't love you anymore."

"Do you love her?" she sniffles, wiping her tears. "Did she finally take my place?"

"Nobody will ever be able to take your place, Bella, but you hurt me, and I will never forget that." Pointing at my head, I say, "I might forget it here"—I point to my heart—"but I will never forget it here."

"I'm sorry," she repeats.

"I am, too," I exhale, turning to walk away and go find Jessica, but she's already there, standing a few feet behind me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I wanted to make sure you were going to be okay," Jess explains.

"It's fine," I said. "Don't worry about it."

"What are you gonna do now?" she asks, walking over to me.

I smile ruefully. "I don't know, Jess, but I do know I'm done crying over Bella."

"Okay," Jess tentatively says.

"You know what, though? We don't have to worry about that right now," I tell her, trying to shift our mood. "We're not going to let Bella ruin the night for us, so how about we go back to the dance floor?"

Jess smiles brightly. "I think I'd like that very much."

"Good, because I need to give these dress shoes some use," I tease. "After tonight, who knows when I'll wear them again."

I don't know what comes over me at that moment, but whatever it is causes me to put my arm around Jess. She looks over at me, grinning as a result of what I've just done. Our closeness doesn't bother me at all, and it definitely doesn't feel wrong, either.

Who knows? Maybe this truly can be the start of something great. After all I've been through, I deserve it.

A/N: Sooooo, anyone hate Bella? Yeah? Me too. No, but really, I do. Bella was a bitch, guys! She was a bad girlfriend and she really hurt Edward. *sigh* There are many girls like this, so I wanted to show that through my story, and there's lots of guys who have to hide their pain like Edward did. So, yeah, I'm a flip-the-script kinda gal, which is why I loved giving a heartbreak story a spin. Hope you liked reading it!