Title: Sway with Me
Rating: M
Summary: DWM sequel. Edward and Bella are in it for the long haul. Can they overcome the stress of maintaining a long-distance relationship? What happens during the year when Edward starts playing with a new team, and Bella starts another season of Dance X?
Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing.

A/N:RL (mainly school) is kicking our asses. This is unbeat'ed, but I decided to post early...er, late? Sorry.

March 9th 2009

Bella POV

I got nervous every season. By now, I should have been used to the routine, but I wasn't. I had nervous butterflies before our first show, and before the first results show. Today was no different.

I arrived at hair and makeup at eight am and from there I was shuffled between the set, my trailer, and hair and makeup for retouching. I spent a lot of time with Angela and Jessica, and some of the other women contestants. I hardly saw Jacob, but that was to be expected. He was in hair and makeup too, or he may have been at the crafts table.

By noon, I received a few texts from Alice and Edward. Alice and Jasper still lived in LA, but Edward of course lived in Seattle now. He had just started spring training, and Alice and Jasper were there visiting him. He and his siblings were coming out tonight to watch me and Jacob. I was glad to have their support, but more than anything, I was just glad to see Edward again.

Alice informed me that Edward's flight had touched down a few hours ago. He was going to shower and clean up, and then he'd meet us at my trailer.

Now that I was ready, I did a few things to help me relax. I drank some water and flipped through my phone to look at the calendar. There wasn't any results show this week. Each couple would dance twice before the judges and America voted someone off. I was glad because I thought Jacob had some potential. Next week, we'd debut our Foxtrot, and although he wasn't as smooth as Edward, he wasn't clunky either.

Jacob Black was a new guy in town. I did not know him. He was a model for Abercrombie and Fitch and he was now trying to make it as an actor. Like most celebrities, he was doing the show for publicity.

He and I got a long well. He was a fun and flirty guy, and I liked him. I could tell we were going to be great friends.

"Bella!" Alice said as she burst through the door.

"Alice!" I exclaimed. We hugged, and I took a moment to admire her outfit for the night. She had on a little black dress and white peep-toe heels. "You look amazing!"

"Thank you!" she replied. "I want to see your costume!"

"It's over there," I said pointing to the garment bag by the small bathroom door. "Is he here?"

"Yeah, he's outside talking to Mike, but he's here."

I smiled. Edward was here now. I felt relieved and ten times better.

I watched as Alice unzipped the garment bag. She squealed in delight. "Oh, my! This costume looks fantastic!"

Jacob's Cha-Cha song was "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis. With a song like that, I had to go all out with the costumes. Jacob was in standard black and I was in white, backless jumpsuit complete with rhinestones and tassles.

"Thanks," I replied. "It's a Vegas theme."

"You're going to look so hot!"

"She always looks so hot," Edward said from behind us.

"Hey!" I said. I whirled around and gave him a big hug.

"Hey, honey," he said. He smiled and gave me a kiss. He got a little too into it, so I ended up pushing him away. "The makeup ladies are going to kill you!"

He laughed. "They've missed me, huh?"

"Not really. But after they see my lip gloss all over your lips they might forbid you to come backstage."

"I'll behave," he promised. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," I said fondly.

"Okay," Alice said cutting in. "I can see I'm not needed anymore. I'll let you two lovebirds alone."

"See ya, Alice!" we said in unison.

She waved and closed the door behind her.

Edward pulled my arm and I stumbled toward him.

"How've you been?" he asked as he traced little gentle circles on my wrist.

"Okay," I sighed. "Busy, but I've missed you every single night."

He trailed his fingers to the middle of my arm and started tracing circles over the skin. I internally sighed. He always made me feel special and he was being so gentle that I felt like I was going to melt right there in his arms.

"I've missed you too," he said. "Arizona isn't the same without you."

"I haven't been there since I was competing."

"Yeah? Well, you have to come back with me one day."

"Maybe in the regular season?"

"Maybe," he agreed. "I heard Jacob might make it all the way."

I shrugged. "We'll see."

"I really want to kiss you," he said seriously. "I don't care if the makeup ladies get mad at me."

"I don't either."

He grinned, and aggressively pulled me against him. I could feel the contours of his chest and his lower appendage between the thin materials of my robe. He and I stood flush against each other, and just when I thought he would wrap his arms around me, he held onto my arms and kissed me fiercely. It was deep, possessive, and knee-buckling. I nearly fell against him, but he caught me just in time. Edward slipped his tongue between my lips and when opened, he gave me an onslaught of hot and swoon worthy kisses.

"Have I told you that I've missed you?" he asked with a smirk.

I playfully slapped his chest. "Yes, you did!"

"I'm going to hell. The makeup ladies will personally deliver me," he said as he assessed my mussed up makeup.

"It was worth it." I smiled.

"I agree." He winked.

Edward gave me another kiss, and then I led him to the couch where we caught up with one another. He told me stories about some of the games, and I shared some stories from my rehearsals with Jacob.

I knew Edward was wary of him. He told me he got a bad vibe from him, but for my sake he promised he'd be nice. I guess I could sort of understood where he was coming from. Jacob was flirty, and he didn't hesitate to flirt with me, with or without Edward here. Edward took that personally, and threatened him with his baseball bat. I thought that was ridiculous, but Edward said it was necessary.

We talked and made out like teenagers until I had to change and get ready for the dress rehearsal. When I came out in my white jumpsuit, Edward took out his phone and snapped a photo of me.

"You like?" I asked as I turned around for him. I wanted him to get the full effect of the outfit.

"Hell yeah," he replied. "This is going to be my new wallpaper and I'd like for you to wear that tonight in the bedroom."

I laughed, "In your dreams."

"Hell yeah, in my dreams!"

"Edward!"

He grinned. "I'm not sorry. You look hot. You are hot. Fuck, I want to help you out of that suit."

"Maybe," I said totally teasing him. "Keep dreaming mister."

"One day I will persuade you to play dress up for me."

"We'll see."

Edward and I walked out my trailer together hand in hand. I gave him one last kiss before I walked back to the hair and makeup trailer. Edward waved and promised he'd see me after the taping. He was going to meet Alice and the others in the studio.

As soon as I walked into the makeup trailer, the makeup artists groaned.

"Your boyfriend is here!"

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry?"

"Come here, and let me reapply the gloss."

Twenty minutes later, I was backstage with Jacob and the rest of the cast. Jacob complimented me on my costume laughed, and told him he looked hotter than me.

"Well, duh," he said, grinning. "I am hotter than you."

"Okay, stop," I hissed. "You sound like a cheesy character from a teenage movie."

"Sorry," he muttered. "So what's going to happen now?"

I gave Jacob a brief account on the dress rehearsal. One by one all the couples lined up. Jacob and I were sixth in line, so we watched the first five couples go out and dance their routine. After dress rehearsal, we went back outside to the lot and grabbed some water and stretched.

I could tell Jacob was nervous. He was swinging his arms and stretching his neck, but he had this look that reminded me of a little kid nervous before he was about to go on stage for the school play or something. I tried to calm him down by talking to him, and it sort of helped. In the end, I knew he had to go out there on the ballroom floor and just dance. It was really easy once you got over the nerves. Jacob would come to understand that as time went on.

The live show started, and Jacob and I were backstage, getting ready, prepping, and calming down the nerves. I was nervous, but not like Jacob. I'd done this many times before, but he hadn't. I knew what to expect more or less, and he had yet to go through the process. The only thing I was really looking forward to was dancing in front of Edward. Last season when I danced with Aro, Edward was at every show and I loved having him in the audience. There was a sort of thrill of dancing in front of him as opposed dancing with him, not that dancing with him was bad. I loved dancing with him, but dancing for him gave me a different kind of thrill.

The first five couples danced and before we knew it, Jacob and I were up. We walked out stage and took our places, listening to the monitors and screens play our rehearsal package. When it finished, I gave Jacob a look and he nodded his head. He was ready, and I knew he'd rock it.

The music began, and Jacob opened the number by walking straight toward me. He lifted his right hand and cupped the back of my head, and attempted to give me a kiss, but I played my part, and pushed him off and he faked stumbled. I met him in the middle of the stage and we proceeded to do the actual dance steps. Our routine was pretty basic. I had Jacob stay close to me during the routine because I didn't think he was ready to do solo work. To compensate for our standard dance steps, I threw in some comedy and a little hip grinding. It wasn't too subtle and I hoped everyone liked it.

When we finished our routine, Jacob broke into a huge grin. I smiled as I gave him a hug, and he picked me off the ground and swung me around.

"That's was fun!" he exclaimed.

"You did well!" I cried as he put me down.

We walked to the judges area, and the host said we'd come back for the judges comments after the break.

Since we went on a commercial break, I ran across the stage and went to Edward. Most of the time during the breaks, the celebrities and dancers headed to the crowd and greeted some of their friends and family. I'd done this a lot when Edward was here last season.

I found him on the far left side right by the stairs. He was in the first row with his siblings. I gave him a quick hug, and he surprised me by standing up and kissing me on the cheek. The studio erupted in applause and cheer. There was no mistake, Edward and I had a lot of mutual fans. They loved our dancing partnership and they supported us as a couple. It was nice having such sweet fans.

"You look gorgeous!" Rose and Alice called as I waved goodbye to them.

I stood next to Jacob, and we came back from the break. The judges were nice. They complimented Jacob on his execution and told him to work on his poster. We headed backstage and everyone clapped for us. Our scores were decent. One six and two seven's, which wasn't bad at all; I was happy with Jacob.

The show went on, and I seized up the competition. I couldn't help it. I honestly thought I had a better chance at making it to the finals with Jacob, than I did with Aro, no offense to him. There were some couples that made me a little nervous, but it was good. Jacob would improve and we'd move along nicely. At the very least, we'd finish past the halfway mark. For now, that was good enough.

After the show, all the couples lined up on the stage, ready to talk to the press and greet their family and friends.

I saw Edward and the gang. They were taking to some of the other audience members, probably family members of the cast or someone like that. Jacob and I found a spot, and all too soon a microphone was pressed in front of us. We answered questions and complimented each other. It was okay for the most part. Jacob was a natural at talking to the press. He was so open and friendly, they loved him.

Once the interviews were over, I went backstage and walked out to the trailers. Edward had promised me that he would meet me there before we went back to my apartment. Typically, we'd go out and party, but he had a game the next day and he needed to be well rested.

I waved goodbye to some of the other dancers, and then finally I reached my trailer. I knew Edward was already waiting inside, so I didn't even hesitate to open the unlocked door. When I stepped inside, I closed the door behind me. What I saw in front of me was something I'd never forget. It was Edward and he looked royally pissed. He was standing facing me with a grim and angry expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, alarmed. I took a step toward him and he took a step back.

"Edward?" I asked in an attempt to get him to speak. I hated the silent treatment, and okay, I'd done that to Edward before, but I didn't do it anymore!

"Who the fuck sent you these?" he asked as he stepped to the side to reveal an elaborate looking bouquet of red roses. They looked perfect and fresh, and once I registered what he had said, I frowned.

"They aren't from you?"

"No," he answered shortly.

I took a closer look and couldn't find a card. I was about to pick it up when Edward stopped me.

"What?"

"You don't know who these are from?"

"No," I answered honestly.

His jaw tightened and his eyes flickered from the roses to me back to the roses back to me. I'd never seen Edward like this. Sure, I'd seen him pissed off and mad at me when we argued or when he was mad at ESPN, but not like this.

"Don't fucking touch them," he growled. "They could be poisonous."

"What?" I cried. "They're just flowers!"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Are they?" he asked sarcastically.

"What are you not saying?"

He pulled my hand and led me to the couch. He sat me down and stood in front of me with a hard expression.

"You don't know who sent you those. I didn't send you those, so do you know how fucking shady this shit looks? What if some psycho sent those to you? What if it's an ex-boyfriend or a stalker?"

"What if it's a fan?" I asked, cutting him off.

He paused and I could tell he was considering the probability of it being a fan.

"But what if it's not?" he asked with challenging tone. "Bella, I'm not sure how to explain this to you, but I'm going to try. Just please, don't get upset."

I didn't like those words.

Before I could say anything else, Edward spoke. He told me about a stalker Emmett and Rosalie had a few years back. Some perv was infatuated with Rosalie and he also hero-worshipped Emmett. At first, it was innocent things like cards and stuffed animals, but then the gifts changed into intimate letters, jewelry, and photographs. It got so bad that Rosalie had to have a bodyguard and Emmett was seriously considering retiring early just so he and Rosalie could live a quiet life together. Of course that didn't happen. However, at a Superbowl game, the stalker managed to bypass security and launch himself onto Rosalie. He declared his love for her, and it scared the living daylights out of her. Security managed to grab a hold of him, and he was pressed with assault charges. Rosalie had a restraining order against him, and so far, everything was going well.

"Do you see why I'm so stressed about this?" he asked, looking at me. He wasn't so pissed off now, but I could tell he was worried.

"Yes," I answered. "But, we don't if this is what that was…I mean, it's just flowers."

He sighed, "No, it's just not flowers. This could be so much more, Bella! Seriously, how the fuck did they get past security? Who sent them? Who delivered them? I don't want to alarm you, but you need to be cautious."

I took a moment to process everything he said. It was a lot to take in. I wanted write it off as an innocent incident, but something told me that maybe, just maybe, Edward was right. Maybe someone sent these to me not to be nice, but to prove a point. But what was he or she proving? Was this really a threat? And were these flowers really harmless or were they dangerous?

"What do I do with them?" I asked finally breaking the silence.

"I'll take care of it," he replied. "Go change."

I huffed in annoyance. I didn't like his directness or his abrupt attitude.

"Bella," he sighed, "not now please."

I rolled my eyes like a petulant child, but stalked off into the bathroom to change out of my costume.

By the time I came out, the flowers were gone. Edward didn't free up any information and I didn't ask. I gathered my stuff and we left together.

I drove us to my apartment, and the ride itself was weird. Edward was still pissed about the flowers, and I was too but for an entirely different reason. I was pissed because Edward was letting them get to him. I was pissed because of the way Edward acted when he was angry. He acted so stubborn and I had little if any patience at all to deal with him when he was like this.

When we arrived at my place, he followed me up. His things were already inside because he had a key. I threw my dance bag next to his duffle bag on the floor and kicked off my shoes. Edward took his suit jacket off and followed me to the kitchen.

"Bella," he began. "Okay, I know you're mad, but you need to calm down."

"I need to calm down?"

"Yes, you do. I know you're mad and I know I'm to blame, but try to look at this from my perspective. Someone gave you flowers and not just any ordinary flowers, but fucking red roses. You know what that means. I trust you, but I don't trust the fucker who sent them to you. The flowers are a statement and you better believe that I'm going to find out everything about them and who sent them."

"Are you out of your mind?"

"No."

I shook my head at him. This was unbelievable!

"Okay, I sort of get why you're pissed off. I admit, it is a little creepy, but it's probably harmless."

"I'm hoping it is," he said. "But I have to make sure."

I wasn't sure how he was going to make sure, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. So, I let it go. I dropped the subject and instead focused my efforts on making dinner, which really consisted of me sticking a frozen pizza in the oven.

Edward and I ate dinner and watched some TV. We didn't talk about the flowers, but I knew it was going to bug him until he found his answers. I tried to not let it get to me, but the fact was-it got to Edward. Edward got to me, so it got to me too.

I tried to salvage the night. I tired to be happy with my time with Edward, but the mood was completely ruined. All we did was cuddle and even that didn't feel right because of his distractedness and my annoyance. We went to bed early because he had an early flight. We slept, but I woke up a few times during the night. By the time I went back to sleep, Edward was getting ready to leave. He kissed me, and mumbled a lame ass apology. Because I didn't want to fight anymore, I forgave him and made him promise to call me when he got to Arizona.

"Sleep," he said in a soothing tone. He kissed my eyelids, and then my cheek before he picked up his duffle bag and left.

A/N: So that is Bella's chapter. You get to see Jacob. He'll be around, so get used to it. Who sent Bella the flowers? Are they are a threat or are they harmless? Is Edward being overprotective?

And yes, I realize another season of DWTS is currently on. Pretty entertaining season. :)

Till next time

Tina