A/N: Holy Shit! I'm still alive?! I almost forgot my sign on for this site and let me just tell you, I'm so fucking sorry this took 8 million years to post. I wanted to thank you guys for being so supportive and not forgetting about me while I fell off the face of the earth. I've had a lot of shit going on and my heart just hasn't been in this. I'm sorry this chapter is so short, and I kind of hate it, but I wanted to get something out so you guys know I didn't abandon this! Thank you all for the PMs and reviews and I promise I'm going to try to do better!
Chapter Twelve: Talk Of The Town
EPOV
Monday Morning…
I was used to being stared at; I'd spent the majority of my life with all eyes on me. People were either watching to catch a glimpse of my latest fuck or my most recent fuck up. Regardless, I was used to the attention. Bella, I realized, was not.
I don't exactly know what she expected; she had made a drunken fool out of herself at the stupid party Friday night and people were bound to talk. The Police Chief's daughter getting wasted out of her mind and confessing her undying love to the womanizing outcast was definitely gossip worthy.
Okay, so it wasn't exactly that dramatic, but she did get pretty hammered. And that was more than enough to get people talking.
As we pulled up to the school together in her beat up old Chevy, I saw the way her knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, the way her jaw clenched at the thought of the unwanted attention she was sure to receive. Had it been anyone else in the world, I probably would have found the situation pretty humorous, but because it was her, I didn't.
"It's not going to be that bad," I assured her.
"They're already staring and I haven't even parked yet."
"Well of course they're staring, Bella. But they'll get over it."
"But they're staring!"
"So tell them to fuck off," I suggested with a shrug of my shoulders. It always worked for me.
With an exasperated sigh, she maneuvered her monster into a parking space and threw the truck into park. "It's not that easy, Edward. This is embarrassing."
"People get drunk every day, Bella. I swear to God it's not that serious."
"But those people aren't me. I never do that, ever, and of course the first time I decide to try had to be in front of practically the whole student body!"
"Still not seeing the big deal. You made a fool out of yourself. It happens. It's over with though. Let them talk and stare today and by this time tomorrow, it'll all be forgotten."
"You must not have lived in a small town before! People in small towns do not forget. Ever. I'll always be known as the drunken idiot."
I fought the urge to roll my eyes and I could feel my irritation with Rosalie returning. After all, it was almost all her fault. I couldn't assign all the blame to her, because both Bella and I acted stupidly, but Rosalie was the one who'd thrown alcohol into the mix in the first place.
"I still don't think this is something to freak out about."
"Of course not," she grumbled as she lifted her bag from the seat before she threw the door open to climb out. "But I do."
Again, I had to battle with myself to keep from rolling my eyes. So overdramatic. It was kind of cute. "Are you freaked out about the thought of people staring at you or because of the situation that caused it?"
"The situation, I think," she said as she stepped down out of the cab of the truck, pulling the hood of her jacket up over her head.
I climbed from the toasty cab of the truck and kicked the heavy door shut behind me. Slinging my bag onto one shoulder, I made my way around the front of the truck and gave her a sincere crooked grin. "Then we'll just have to give them something else to talk about," I declared before I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her perfectly pouty lips.
----
By the end of first period, Bella was the talk of the school. Completely different subject matter this time, though, which I suspected she was okay with this time around, if her shy grin when I met her at the end of her first class was any indicator.
"So…" I prompted, cocking an eyebrow in her direction as I dropped an arm around her shoulder.
"Definitely bearable," she concluded with a nod as she glanced up at me with a grin. "But I'm confused about something."
"What's that?"
"What should I tell people when they ask if we're dating?"
"I think the easiest answer would be the truth."
"Which is?"
"You're mine."
"I'm yours?"
"Well yeah. If you want to be."
"I kind of like the sound of that."
Good, I thought. So do I. But I just grinned.
----
BPOV
"So?" Angela prompted as I slid into my seat in my first period.
"What?" I asked innocently as I dropped my bag to my side, pulling a pen out of the front pocket.
"Oh don't you even try that with me, Isabella Swan!" She hissed. "What's up with you and Cullen?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, and immediately felt my cheeks beginning to flame.
"Oh come on! The two of you just made out in the parking lot! What's up with you two? Did you work everything out after the party Friday night?"
Any normal person would have probably taken the time to figure out the answer to that question before it was asked. But when had I ever been normal? I wasn't exactly sure what the situation was. I know we'd shared an amazing kiss on Saturday. Actually, we'd shared a couple amazing kisses on Saturday.
We'd spent the majority of Sunday texting back and forth until Charlie had complained that if I kept texting, my fingers would fall off. And on the way to school this morning, things had definitely felt different. But I didn't know how. We hadn't exactly clarified that, but especially after the display this morning, I decided I should probably figure it out.
"I'm not really sure, Ang," I said with a sigh. "We definitely worked things out, but I'm not sure where that leaves us," I replied honestly. "But you'd better believe I'm going to find out."
----
When the bell sounded, signaling the end of class, I gathered my things with another promise to Angela to let her know what was going on as soon as I found out. She gave me a grin and made her way out of the class, several students trailing behind her.
I stood from my desk and slung my bag over my shoulder with a soft sigh as I made my way out of the classroom. My heart nearly stopped as my breath caught in my throat when I saw him.
He was standing against the door frame, looking like he'd stepped out of a stupid Abercrombie and Fitch catalogue. The rain frizzed everyone else's hair out, but it simply made him all the more beautiful. Corny, I know. I could feel a silly smile beginning to form on my lips.
"So?" He asked, dropping his arm around my shoulder. I could feel my heart start again as it pounded against my chest.
"Definitely bearable," I responded with a nod as I tried to control my breathing. It wouldn't do any good to let him know just how much his touch affected me. "But I'm confused about something."
"What's that?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"What should I tell people when they ask if we're dating?"
"I think the easiest answer would be the truth."
Oh crap. "Which is?"
"You're mine."
He'd only spoken two words, and yet they were more than enough to make my knees go weak. Before him, I'd probably hauled off and kicked anyone who implied I was a possession, but the way he said it sent shivers down my spine.
"I'm yours?" I asked, my breath hitching every so slightly.
"Well yeah. If you want to be."
"I kind of like the sound of that."
The crooked grin that I was beginning to love returned to his handsome face, and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. I was fairly sure that if he kept smiling at me like that, I'd never make it to my next birthday. I would most likely spontaneously combust.