16. Fallout

Sunday morning had seen Bella waking up tucked into Emmett's side and the distinct look of shock and anger on his mother's face when she walked into the room and found her there. After stuttered apologies and a thorough lecture on the importance of safe sex, Bella had taken refuge in the bathroom, changed quickly, grabbed her brother, and hightailed it from the house. Despite the humiliation of it all, she found herself grateful that she wasn't Jasper. He'd had it much worse when Carlisle caught him in bed with his little girl. They had left Peter, Charlotte, and Rosalie to fend for themselves, it wasn't like Carlisle and Esme would be mad at them anyway.

Once they were safely on the road Bella let herself appreciate their night together. And she had a lot to be appreciative of. They had messed around for awhile, which was good, like really good, cleaned up once again, and then cuddled and talked until they had eventually fallen asleep. She could really get used to nights like that.

In the driver's seat Jasper could see the grin spreading across his sister's face and scowled to himself, he had a pretty good idea what she was smiling about judging by the noises he'd heard coming from Emmett's room late at night. God, the next time he saw Emmett he was going to kick his ass.

By the time they made it home, after a quick stop to grab breakfast, it was late afternoon and their parents were already dressing for dinner with Ruth.

"Noooo," Bella groaned as Renee stepped into the foyer wearing a slimming violet dress.

It was starting to feel like Bella and Jasper had seen their grandmother more in the past week than they did in the entirety of their childhood.

"Isabella," Renee snapped. And oh, something was definitely worse than usual. "I don't want to hear a single complaint from you right now. Go upstairs, get ready, and be down here within the hour. Your grandmother has requested us for dinner at her estate tonight."

Oh shit. Ruth had been keeping unnaturally quiet since the blowout after Jasper's party, and Bella had been naively hoping that she had decided to forgive and forget. Turns out she had just been waiting for the best opportunity to strike. The only reason Ruth would choose to have dinner at home over eating in a restaurant was to avoid making a scene in public. Bella felt her stomach turn and she looked to her brother who seemed just as nervous.

"We're so dead," Jasper muttered as they ascended the stairs.

"We did nothing wrong," Bella said with conviction she didn't feel. Sure, they weren't technically in the wrong, but who knew how Ruth was going to twist this. "We've just got to stick together on this, okay?"

Jasper nodded as they came to their doors. "A united front, sure."

Bella gave him a little half smile as she opened her door. "Hey, worst comes to worst she'll probably just pin the whole thing on me anyway. You'll be fine." With that she shut her door, leaving Jasper reeling in the hallway.

In her room Bella took a deep breath. What was the worst that could happen anyway? Ruth telling her parents on her? Sure, they'd probably be pissed for awhile, but eventually they'd get over it. She could take her out of her will, but Bella didn't need her blood money anyway. Resolved that there was really nothing Ruth could do to hurt her she got ready as quickly as possible. There was an emerald green dress in her closet that she'd been meaning to wear for awhile now, so at least there was one good thing coming out of the sure to be disastrous dinner.

The car ride to their grandmother's was tense and quiet. Not even Charlie would attempt to lighten the mood. Rather than suffer in silence, Bella took to texting Rosalie about her imminent demise.

Heading into the dragon's den, if I die I want you do have my shoes. -Bella

Purses too? -Rose

Bella snorted. Nice, Rosalie.

Of course. Well we're here. Wish me luck. -Bella

Chin up, B. You got this. -Rose

Jasper grabbed her hand and squeezed once before letting go and exiting the car. Rose was right, she had this.

Benjamin led them into the dining where Ruth was already seated at the head of the table looking solemn. They took their seats without greeting each other, Benjamin served them and still nothing was said. It was becoming increasingly uncomfortable as they ate their roasted pheasant in silence. Maybe Ruth's punishment was the silent treatment? One could only wish. Finally she put down her silverware, took a sip of wine, and cleared her throat to command their attention.

"Charlie, Renee, I'm sure you're curious as to why I asked you all to join me here tonight," she began. At their nods, she continued, "It has come to my attention that your children are even more out of control than I initially thought. Obviously the two of you are unfit to do anything about it, so I've decided to see to it myself."

"Excuse me?" Charlie cut her off gruffly. "What exactly did they do that you feel the need to step in?" his voice was all business, like he was in an interrogation room with a criminal. Bella fought back a smile.

"Oh," Ruth tilted her head in mock concern. "They didn't tell you about the events that transpired at dinner the other night? No matter, allow me to fill you in." The look on her face said that everything was going exactly as she wanted and Bella could feel her heart quickening. Ruth pulled out the same newspaper article she had shown them the other night and handed it to Charlie. Bella's heart sank. She may not always show the most respect for her parents, but she never wanted to disappoint them, especially her dad. She watched their faces as they scanned the article and felt Jasper place his hand on her knee in an act of solidarity. Bella faced him with wide, vulnerable eyes, a look he hadn't seen on her face in a long time, a look that didn't have a right to be there.

"I killed the story immediately, of course," Ruth continued. "But obviously you can see that your children need help. They're running rampant throughout the city, heedless as to who their actions may hurt. When I confronted them about this your children became incredibly obstinate; they have zero respect for their elders and I will not tolerate it any longer. They need structure in their lives, not just a slap on the wrist. It's time to take a stricter hold."

"What are you suggesting?" Renee asked meekly, eyes still stuck on the picture of her teenage daughter hanging from a stripper pole. Maybe her mother-in-law had a valid point. Bella had been getting more difficult lately, a little structure may be good for her.

"Mom!" Bella spluttered. "You can't actually be serious right now."

"Quiet, Isabella!" Renee snapped.

"That is exactly the type of behavior I was talk about," Ruth interjected, smug smile growing. She circled the table as she talked, wine glass in hand. "For Jasper, I was thinking boot camp,"

"What!" Jasper exclaimed. "You're out of your mind."

Ruth continued like she hadn't even heard him. "As for Isabella, I know of a great boarding school in Connecticut. The same one I attended in my youth. I've taken the liberty of speaking to the headmistress and she assured me that they would have no trouble straightened up her act. I have the enrollment application here," she announced and pulled another set of documents off the bar, promptly handing them off to Renee.

Bella and Jasper sat there, stunned. Boot camp? Boarding School? Boarding school on the other side of the country. Oh fuck no. She would move in with Rosalie if they even tried it. Rose's dad wouldn't mind, he adored her and they had plenty of room. One thing was for sure; if Ruth thought she was going down without a fight, she had another thing coming.

"Boarding school," Bella hissed. "This isn't an episode of Gossip Girl. You can't just ship me off."

"I believe that this is the best option," Ruth said primly. "And furthermore I think it would be best if you cut off all ties with that Emmett boy, your behavior has become increasingly worse ever since you started seeing each other. Clearly he's a poor influence on you."

Bella was seething. How dare she? What gave her the right to think she could dictate her life like that? Before she could even get the words out of her mouth someone else was speaking.

"Now wait just a damn minute," Charlie spoke, voice hard.

Bella turned her wide eyes on her father who appeared angrier than she had ever seen. Next to him his wife appeared to be in shock.

"I'm not about to let you ship of my children because they decided to act their damn age for once. You may be my mother, but you are not theirs, and this isn't your decision to make. The repercussions for their actions at Jasper's birthday party will be decided by me and my wife. As for whatever transpired here the other night, I will not punish my kids for standing up to you; which I'm sure is exactly what they did. This is not your place, mother, and you need to take a step back." With that he took the papers from Renee's hands along with the newspaper and walked over to his mother. "You don't get to decide how to raise my kids, especially when your idea of raising them is making them as miserable as you made me growing up." Slapping the now crumpled papers onto the table he walked around his mother and made to leave.

"Jasper, Bells, let's go," he ordered with a nod of his head.

Shaking off the shock of seeing their father lay down the law, the two of them pushed away from the table moved to join him. Bella stopped as she reached her grandmother, pulling a velvet box from her bag. Popping it open she revealed the diamond earrings she was given for the gala.

"I know what you were trying to do with this, and I want nothing to do with them or you," she said, leaving the sparkling stones on the table. Following his sister's lead, Jasper unlatched the watch he was given and placed it next to the earrings.

"What she said," he added, and then the siblings left to follow their dad.

Renee sat at the table, eyes peeled back in horror. Her husband and kids had made a quick exit and she seemed to be frozen. A glance to her right revealed Ruth staring at her with narrowed eyes. What was she supposed to do now? Everything she's done has been to keep her family in Ruth's good graces, to ensure that they would remain wealthy. On their own with Charlie's police salary and Renee being a stay at home mother, they didn't earn much, though investing in stocks did do wonders to their bank account, but a good portion of their money came from being a Swan. And after this shootout who knows what will happen.

"If you're just going to sit there gaping like a fish, you may leave now," Ruth dismissed her coolly.

She couldn't think of anything to say, nothing that would be enough for Ruth to forgive her families transgressions, so she nodded, murmured an, "Of course," and excused herself.

Outside Bella pulled her father into a tight hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

Charlie hugged her tighter. "I'm sorry I let this go on for so long." Letting go of her he addressed both of them, "I should have never let her treat you like that to begin with."

The kids smiled and gratefully accepted his apology.

"Hey, so the earrings and the watch…" Jasper trailed off. He's still not entirely sure why they needed to give them back.

Bella smiled bitterly. "Incentive to behave, it was all just bribery. I didn't figure it out until a few days after the gala. I couldn't stop thinking about why she would suddenly treat us so nicely, and then it finally came to me. Give us fancy sparkly things to entice us in hopes that we'll be less likely to wreak havoc."

It certainly made more sense than Ruth just being nice because was feeling generous. Jasper smirked at his sister. "Well that seemed to backfire on her, didn't it?"

Bella grinned widely, glad for the lightening of the mood. "Sure did."

Charlie chuckled. "Alright you two, get in the car," he told them as he saw Renee exit the house. She still looked worried, and maybe a little paler than usual. He sighed quietly to himself. It would take awhile for her to come around, but he wouldn't apologize for anything he'd said in there. The well-being of his kids was far more important to him than his mother's money.

The ride home was just as quiet as the ride there, but distinctly less tense. In fact, Bella felt like a weight had been lifted. She was no longer expected to live up to her grandmother's impossible standards, she felt like she had been set free. Beside her Jasper was rapid fire texting someone, whether it was Peter or Alice or someone else entirely she didn't know, but it reminded her to text Rose to let her know what all went down. As expected Rose was furious that Ruth would have the nerve to even think about shipping Bella and Jasper off, and she was firmly on team Charlie now.

The kids convinced Charlie to stop for dinner since they had skipped out on theirs, and after picking up dome takeout from their favorite Chinese place they headed home. Bella took her food up to her room and after changing her clothes, made herself comfortable on her bed with her laptop in front of her, preparing to browse for something to watch. As she was scrolling through shows she received an incoming video chat from Emmett and quickly accepted.

"Aw man, is that Chinese?" Emmett pouted as soon as they connected.

Bella laughed and waved an eggroll at the screen. "Sure is." She took a large bite and he let out a groan.

"Man I'm starved. I mean, we just ate, but I could go again."

Emmett was shirtless in his room, the screen only showing from his face to a little bit below his collarbones. He looked good, as always, and for a moment Bella was tempted to suggest something he could eat, but refrained. Last night - and wow it seemed so much longer ago now - was great, but Skype sex wasn't a thing she was ready to attempt, especially with Jasper's habit of just walking into her room whenever he pleased. So really it was probably for the best to just avoid innuendos for the time being.

"Hey, how did everything go with your parents after we left?" It'd been on her mind all day, whether or not Emmett and Alice would be in trouble for their significant others sleeping in their beds without their parents knowledge.

Emmett rubbed at the back of his neck and sighed a little. "They weren't thrilled with us, that's for sure. But after a really long and partly mortifying talk they were okay, as long we promised not to do it again without informing them first. Although I'm pretty sure they wouldn't let us even if we asked, but whatever."

Bella nodded, that was about what she had expected. At least no one was grounded.

"How did family dinner go?" Emmett asked while she was taking a bite of cashew chicken.

She swallowed and grinned a little before telling him all about it. He listened attentively and made interjections in all the right places. They talked for awhile after that, Emmett was leaving for his family reunion in Tennessee on Tuesday and would be gone until Sunday; they probably wouldn't see each other tomorrow so as far as Bella knew this would be the last time she saw him for a week, which blew. She wasn't sure how she and Jasper were going to occupy themselves while the two were gone. So far their summer had been spent amongst friends, but with Emmett and Alice gone and Rosalie wrapped up in Edward the next few days were looking pretty lonely. Hopefully Peter and Char would be free.

Eventually they said their goodbyes, and Bella cleaned up her empty containers before settling down in bed with the first season of a show about teenage werewolves. She fell asleep halfway through the fifth episode.

)(!)(

Renee was gone by morning, note taped to the fridge saying she'd gone to the spa and wouldn't be back for a few days. Bella rolled her eyes. Typical. Flighty Renee taking off as soon as things got bad. She tossed the note into the trash and grabbed a bottle of pomegranate juice before heading down to the basement for a morning workout. Jasper was already there, lifting weights with his old rock music playing. Bella frowned in distaste at the stereo.

"You're not changing it," Jasper said in lieu of a greeting.

Bella groaned as she pulled on her boxing gloves; she'd stretched in her room already. "But it's so awful."

Jasper snorted. "Yeah, because Lo-Fang is such great workout music." He finished another rep and sat up on the bench to grab his water bottle.

"I don't know what you have against Lo-Fang," she muttered. "We can listen to something else? Sir Sly maybe? You don't hate them." She adjusted her stance once more before landing her first hit on the bag. She began listing off bands as she continued her assault on the bag.

"Jesus, fine!" he finally relented and grabbed his sister's phone, typing in the pass code without having to ask.

"Thank you!" she said with an overly sweet smile. "There's a playlist on there called Gym Beats, just put it on that."

"You're lucky you're my sister," he grumbled as he did what he was instructed to do. The first beats of something distinctly Indie began flowing from the speakers and he sighed. He was strictly a classics man.

Bella rolled her eyes and continued throwing punches, tossing in a few kicks here and there. Charlie had started giving her and Rose lessons the summer before their freshman year, said it was so they could protect themselves against unwanted high school boys. She's kept up with it afterwards, liked how it made her feel strong and in control. She'd never had to use her skills on anyone before, but she was fairly confident that if the time came she would be able to handle herself just fine.

Jasper dropped to the floor and started doing burpees, which Bella was pretty sure were invented by the devil himself. They worked out in companionable silence for awhile, Bella's playlist thrumming steadily in the background.

"So what are you doing today?" Bella asked as she took a break to get a drink.

Jasper had moved on to crunches by now. "No idea," he breathed out as he sat up. "I was thinking of going over to Peter's since Char's working today, probably play some video games. Do you wanna come?" he asked slowly, like the answer he was hoping for would be a no.

Bella snorted. "I'll pass. I've been thinking that I should probably work on our summer reading list."

Her brother groaned from his spot on the floor, flopping gracelessly onto his back. "Don't even mention that."

She smirked at him while he was starfished out on the floor, apparently done working out for the day.

He left her shortly after that and she finally stopped when her arms started to feel like jelly. Jasper was gone by the time she had showered and dressed for the day. The house was empty and briefly she thought of how she hadn't been alone like this all summer. In her room, she flopped down onto her bed with laptop in hand. She pulled up the summer reading list and frowned at the titles, she didn't recognize any of them. Reading wasn't an issue, she loved books, but reading something she had no interest in had no appeal, and their reading lists were generally full of bland stories full of symbolism she was pretty sure the teachers made up. She decided to put it off for now, she had time to spare and anyway her stomach was growling by now.

There was waffle batter in the fridge, along with fresh fruit salad and she got to work making waffles, adding some chocolate chips the batter. She scrounged around in the cabinets for a tray, poured some orange juice into a champagne glass, then plated her waffles with a dollop of whipped cream on the top. Pleased with her fancy plating she took it back to her room and sat it down on her bed, gingerly climbing in to avoid spilling her juice. She took a picture of her breakfast with the Netflix logo on her laptop screen in the background. Posting it to Instagram she tagged Emmett in it with the caption: see what you're missing. Grinning to herself she pulled up the next episode of her werewolf show and tucked into her breakfast.

The notifications came in shortly. A like from Rosalie and a few random followers, Jasper complaining that she never made him breakfast, and Emmett's short reply of 'tease'. She laughed and sent back a,'sorry babe', complete with a wink emoji. She ignored her phone after that, just enjoyed her show and fruit- the pineapple in the fruit salad was divine. Deciding that she would use to the day for some R&R she took break after the episode ended to apply her black charcoal face mask, careful to avoid getting any on her sheets she settled back in to start the next one. About ten minutes in their was knock at the door and she whined in frustration. Sighing, she hit pause and detangled herself from her sheets before heading down the stairs to get the door.

Emmett was standing on the other side, looking like he was torn between shock and wanting to laugh. "You've got a little-" he trailed off, finger pointing at her face.

Realization dawned over her face quickly. "Shit! I totally forgot." She left the door open and turned to go back up the stairs, Emmett following.

"What are you doing here anyway?" she asked as she walked into her bathroom. "I thought you had to pack?"

Emmett nodded as he took a seat on the edge of her bed. "I finished early. It doesn't really take that long when you're just throwing shit into a suitcase."

Bella snorted as she splashed water over her face, washing away all traces of the mask. Boys had everything so much easier; she loathed packing, hated unpacking even more.

"So I thought I'd come over and surprise you. Though by the looks of it I seem to have interrupted something." He gave her and amused look as he walked over and stood behind her, his eyes met hers in the mirror, arms wrapping around her middle.. "You missed a spot," he said and tapped the corner of her jaw under her ear. When she finished patting her face dry he leaned down and placed a kiss on the spot he had just touched. She let herself relax into his embrace, tilting her head back enough to kiss him.

"You didn't interrupt anything. I'm glad you came over."

"Oh really?" Emmett hummed, his thumb tracing idle circles on the bare skin of her stomach where her shirt pulled up and she shivered pleasantly.

She turned in his arms, wrapping her own around his neck and nodding at him. "Very glad." Standing on her tip toes she kissed him soundly, feeling him smile against her lips. Pulling away, she grabbed his hand and tugged him over to her blanket nest. She situated him the way she wanted, propped up against the headboard, so that she could curl into his side, his arms wrapped back around her immediately.

"Did you have anything in mind when you came over, or do you wanna just watch some Netflix?"

"Netflix is good, what were you watching?" he asked, nodding at her laptop where the show was still paused.

"A show about a teenage werewolf."

Emmett made a pained groan. "That sounds awful."

She slapped his stomach lightly. "It's actually not bad," she defended.

"Alright then, let's watch it. I wanna see how 'not bad' it is."

She looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "Seriously?" He nodded. "Okay then, but we're starting from the very beginning. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into," she said as she exited the current episode and chose the first one.

A few hours later they were finishing the fourth episode and Emmett begrudgingly admitted it wasn't as terrible as he was expecting, which had Bella laughing at the pout on his face.

Turning back to her laptop she closed out of Netflix, pulled up her music instead and set it to Lo-Fang, volume turned low for background noise.

"We're not watching the next one?" Emmett asked as she set her computer on her nightstand.

She shook her head and moved until she was straddling his lap. "You're gonna be gone for almost a week, I need something to hold me over," she explained with a grin, ducking down to kiss him sweetly.

"Yeah? What'd you have in mind?" One hand gripped her hip, fingers already edging her shirt up, the other found its way to the back of her neck.

Bella ran her hands up his stomach, feeling his abs flex under her fingertips through the fabric of his shirt. She shrugged, coy smile on her face. "I'm open to suggestions. Though I wouldn't hate it if you wanted to take this off," she said as she tugged at the hem of his shirt.

Emmett grinned. "If mine goes yours does too," he said, big fingers running across the bare skin of her stomach, making her shudder. A look of panic crossed over his face a second later. "I-I mean, if you want to, you don't have to. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything," he backtracked.

Bella laughed, the sound loud and bright, before sitting back enough to pull her shirt up and off, tossing it carelessly to the floor. "I'm not doing anything I don't want to do," she assured him. She sat atop of him in shorts and a plain blue bra, briefly she wished that she had worn one of her prettier bras, but he seemed far from disappointed.

She watched his throat work as he swallowed, eyes drinking their fill of her body. Technically it wasn't anything he hadn't seen before when she was in a bikini, but it felt drastically different to him. He'd been with other girls, had sex frequently with past girlfriends, but none of them made him feel quite like this. They'd never made him nervous like this, and terrible as it was, he'd never been as committed to his partner's pleasure as he felt now. Reverently he took her in, hands smoothing down her sides, her stomach, listening to her giggle as the drag of his fingers tickled her sides.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, eyes locking on hers now.

Bella blushed, squirmed a little from his words and the way he looked at her. She kissed him fiercely in response, nipping at his lip before sliding her tongue in to meet his. Emmett groaned when she pulled back, mouth chasing after hers.

She shook her head. "Nope, I showed you mine now show me yours," she commanded, confident grin spreading across her face.

He huffed out a little laugh but did as she said. It was her turn to ogle him now, and ogle she did. She was sure she would never get tired of seeing his bare chest. She hummed a little pleased sound as her hands met warm skin. Bending down she got her mouth on his once again, their hands exploring each other's bodies as they kissed. His hands stayed to her sides and back, every once in awhile she'd feel them drift towards her butt before drawing back abruptly. She rolled her eyes when he did it again, mouth never leaving its place on his neck she reached back and grabbed his hand, firmly placing it on her ass, squeezing it for good measure.

"You're allowed," she mumbled against his throat when she felt him tense. She went back to happily nibbling at his neck, one hand tangled in his hair, the other groping at his chest; she grinned when he finally relaxed and got both of his hands on her ass. Emmett guided her mouth back to his, groaning quietly into the kiss as she swiveled her hips on top of him. They kept going, touching and teasing, breathy moans and cut off sighs filling the air, the gentle rhythm of the music adding to the ambiance. Emmett's fingers were toying with her bra strap and she was starting to feel confident enough to let him take it off when her bedroom door swung open.

"Hey, Bell- Jesus Christ!" Jasper stood in the doorway, torn between being mortified and being angry with Emmett as Bella's head swung around to look at him.

"Fucking knock!" she growled, feeling her face heat in embarrassment but determined to ignore it.

Jasper shut the door with a glare directed at Emmett and Bella could hear his bedroom door slam. She groaned in frustration and dropped her forehead to rest on Emmett's chest, the mood sufficiently killed now.

"I swear sometimes I could kill him," she mumbled.

Emmett stroked her back in comfort until she was feeling steady enough to remove herself from the bed and collect their shirts. Once dressed she stomped her way through their connecting bathroom and into Jasper's room where he was sitting at his computer desk.

"We seriously need to set some boundaries," Bella sighed with her arms crossed.

"How was I supposed to know what was going on?" he fired back looking helpless.

She sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. "You weren't. Which is why you should knock!"

Jasper stood from his chair now, pacing across the floor. "Or maybe you should just not be doing that. Christ, Bella, you're only sixteen," he said empathetically.

Bella snorted. "Yeah, sixteen like you were when you lost it to some girl in marching band. Let's not be hypocrites here."

Jasper stopped moving and looked at her imploringly. "But it's different for guys," he argued desperately.

Bella's eyebrows shot up. "Oh really? And how's that exactly?" she asked, her tone dangerous and eyes narrowed.

Floundering, Jasper threw his hands up. "I don't know!" he admitted. "But you're my baby sister and it's just- I don't know," he repeated. "I just don't want you to get hurt or do something you're not ready to do."

"I'm not doing anything I'm not ready for. I've initiated everything," she said, matter-of-fact. Jasper cringed at that, they were some things he didn't need to know.

At this, Emmett stepped out from his hiding spot in the bathroom to address Jasper. "I know you're pissed with me, man, I understand completely," he said, thinking of Alice. "But I swear to god I would never do anything to hurt Bella. I'd never do anything she wasn't comfortable with." Bella grabbed his hand and squeezed it, giving him a smile. "I care a lot about your sister, I only ever want to make her happy," pausing for a moment he wondered if Jasper would take those last words wrong, but it didn't seem so.

Jasper looked at his sister, smiling adoringly up at Emmett, and sighed to himself. For sixteen years he'd been looking after her, trying to keep her safe and happy and he realized now that it was time to let go a little, share that job with her boyfriend. Logically he knew he could trust Emmett, that he was a good guy, but brotherly instincts can be hard to push past. Right now though he swallowed them down and nodded at the guy standing across from him.

"I know. I trust you guys, and I know you'll take care of her." Turning to his sister he said, "I'm sorry for freaking out and spouting bullshit."

Bella laughed and pulled her brother into a hug. "Just don't let it happen again or I'm going to tape you to a chair and go on a feminism rant for hours, you know I can."

Jasper nodded as he let her go. "Fair enough." He'd heard most of her rants before anyway.

"But seriously, Jas, learn how to knock," she added. He nodded furiously.

Bella and Emmett went back into her room and Bella flopped onto her bed, Emmett laying down beside her.

"Sorry about all that," she mumbled into her pillow.

Emmett turned onto his side, placing a comforting hand on her back. "It's fine, you don't have to apologize. As a fellow older brother, I understand where he was coming from."

Bella sighed and rolled onto her side to face him. "Doesn't make him walking in on us any less awkward," she said petulantly, hand reaching out to entwine their fingers.

Laughing at her pouting face he leaned in to place a chaste kiss on her lips. "True, but hey, look on the brightside: at least we weren't naked."

Bella swatted at his arm. "Don't even joke," she groaned, the thought mortifying.

He laughed heartily before placing apologetic kisses to her fingers. Glancing out the window and noticing the darkened sky he sighed. "I should probably head home," he said reluctantly.

"Noooo," she whined, clinging to his hand, flopping a leg over his to keep him in place. "What am I supposed to with myself while you're gone?"

He smiled and kissed her soundly. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "But I'm sure you'll find something to occupy your time with. If all else fails you've always got teenage werewolves," he added and nodded towards her laptop. "I promise I'll call when I can."

She nodded, seemingly appeased for the moment. "I'm gonna miss you," she whispered, scared at just how true that was. Never in her past relationships had she missed one of her boyfriends when they were apart, but here she was, practically missing someone already and he hadn't even left yet.

Emmett tugged her closer, wrapping his arms around her small body, kissing the top of her head once she snuggled into him. "I know, I'm gonna miss you too," he said sincerely.

And that comforted her, knowing that she wasn't the only one who felt like this. The mark she left on his neck was just peeking over the top of his shirt collar and she placed a light kiss over it, before detangling herself from his arms. She sat up on the edge of her bed as he stood and shoved his feet into his sneakers. The air felt charged as he sat back down next to her, there was a warm feeling building in her stomach that she couldn't remember ever feeling before and couldn't put a name on it. Emmett looked at her for a moment, and she thought that maybe he was feeling the same thing as he cupped her cheek and leaned in to kiss her. Her hand landed on the back of his neck, holding him there as she deepened the kiss.

Emmett pulled back after a moment looking dazed. "You keep doing that and I'll never leave."

She grinned widely. "Maybe that was the plan."

He returned her smile and gave her one last kiss before pulling away completely and removing himself from the bed. The two made their way downstairs and paused in front of the door.

"I'll call you when I get back, okay?"

"You better," she murmured and pulled him into a tight hug.

Walking out of Bella's house Emmett felt off, like there was something he should have done or said. Their goodbye had been stilted, like neither of them knew what to say, this whole thing still so new, but as he pulled out onto the road he realized what the feeling that had been building in him all day was, what he'd been wanting to say.

He loved her. He was in love with Bella Swan and he thought that she just might be feeling the same.

)(!)(

Tuesday Bella was listless. Emmett was gone, Rose was with Edward or taking care of her grandmother, Jasper had taken to playing pickup games of lacrosse down at the rec center, and knowing Peter and Char they were probably going at it like bunnies whenever she was off work. Thankfully things started looking up on Wednesday when Rose suggested they do lunch.

They met at a popular burger joint where they spotted no less than four of their fellow classmates. The two of them claimed a table by the window and sat down with their meal, chatting for a bit about trivial things, just enjoying each other's company. Over milkshakes Bella finally told Rosalie about what she and Emmett had been up to. There hadn't been much time for them to meet up and talk since the Fourth of July party and Bella had been dying to spill to her best friend.

Rosalie looked proud of her, grinning wickedly and asking for all the details, and was appropriately horrified at hearing that Jasper walked in on them the other day.

"Why didn't you lock your door?" Rose groaned.

Bella slurped at the last of her drink before pushing it aside and shrugging. "I didn't think he would be back so soon," she admitted.

"Always be prepared for unexpected visitors," Rose advised. "You should definitely lock the door before getting down and dirty, home alone or not."

"Speaking from experience here, Rose?" Bella asked with a wide grin.

Rose laughed. "Thankfully no. God, could you imagine my poor grandmother walking in on me? I would die."

Bella picked at the leftover fries on her plate. "Have you and Edward?" she trailed off.

Rose shook her head. "I'm making him work for it. He deserves to suffer a little."

Bella nodded, silently pleased to learn that Edward hadn't managed to get that far, she was sure that he wasn't too thrilled about it. "Good for you. How are things with him anyway?" she fished. Rose had been keeping quiet on all things Edward related lately, and she was curious how things were ever since he skipped out on the barbeque the other day.

Rose shrugged. "Okay? I mean, they could be better."

"How so?"

It seemed that one question was all Rosalie needed to open up. "Like he keeps having to suddenly leave whenever we hang out. Or I'll want to do something but he already has plans. And I know I shouldn't expect him to just tell me everything, people are allowed to keep things private after all. But it's weird, I just want to know what's going on, you know? But he won't talk to me about it, gets mad whenever I push, so I've just stopped trying. And okay, so when we finally do go out I always have to foot the bill. Like, I know it's the twenty-first century and everything, and as a modern woman we can pay for dates, and that's fine. But if you ask me out to dinner I expect you to pay. Is that so wrong? But I pay for everything," she ranted, pausing to take a long sip of her shake.

"You don't seem happy," Bella ventured cautiously, hoping to avoid upsetting her best friend.

Rose sighed harshly, leaning back in her chair. "I know it seems shitty, and sometimes it is. But then other times he's so damn sweet to me, B. Whenever I feel bad he always knows exactly what to say, and the other day he surprised me with a bouquet of peonies. I've never had a guy do that for me, Bella. So yeah, some of it's bad, but the good parts make it worth it I think. There's just some things we need to work though, but I'm sure once we've cleared it all up everything will be perfect."

Bella fiddled with her straw wrapper nervously. Edward was a dick and everybody knew it, and she could try to tell Rosalie this as gently as possible, but she was terrified of upsetting her and losing her friend. Those two weeks or silence between them earlier in the summer were hard enough, she didn't want to go through it again, but she didn't want Rose to end up hurt.

Rosalie seemed to read all of that from the emotions flitting across her friend's face because she reached across the table to take Bella's hand in hers. "I know you're worried for me, and I appreciate that, but I'm a big girl and I can make my own decisions. You don't trust him, I know that, but you have to trust that I know what I'm doing, that I can handle this. But hey, worst comes to worst at least you'll get to say 'I told you so'."

Bella gave her a weak smile. "Worst comes to worst I won't want to."

They finished eating quickly after that, and out in the parking lot Rose announced that she had something she wanted them to do. They hopped into Rose's convertible, top down, favorite tunes pumping through the speakers as they drove through the city. Pulling into a parking spot in front of a boutique Rose turned the volume down and turned to her friend.

"So I think it's time we upgraded you from boring underwear to real lingerie."

Bella blanched at the name hanging over the door. Agent Provocateur. Rosalie was already getting out of the car by the time Bella found her voice. Bella scrambled after her.

"Rose, I have plenty of pretty underwear, this really isn't necessary," she reasoned.

Rose rolled her eyes and pushed Bella through the door. "Yeah, but you don't have anything like this," she said as she gestured to the racks full of skimpy lingerie. "And you need them."

The shop was swanky, black carpets and walls accented with light pink, crystal chandeliers, posh looking chairs, curtains closing off the dressing rooms.

"Come on, you can't look at all this and tell me you don't want any of it," Rose goaded as she ran her fingers across a silky black garment.

Bella sighed as she admired a lacey red number, looking at the price tag she gaped. "Rose, these prices are insane!"

Rosalie scoffed, her arms already filling up with lingerie. "Don't worry about it, it's my treat of course. Daddy won't mind."

"Daddy won't mind," Bella mimicked incredulously. "You're insane," she grumbled quietly.

A bottle blonde saleswoman dressed in a white button up dress and stockings stepped up to them then, eyeing them like she didn't think they should be there. "Can I help you girls?"

Rose nodded. "She needs to be measured, and we're both going to need fitting rooms," she said as she handed off the clothes in her hands to the woman. "Also does this come in any other color?" Rose asked, holding up a white sheer babydoll.

The woman took it all in stride and Bella was quickly measured and sent back to the main part of the shop where Rose was still shopping.

"What do you think of this one?"

Bella had danced on a pole in front of her peers without batting an eyelash, but this garment made her flush.

Rose cackled at her friends flushed face. "Perfect," she announced, adding it to the ever growing pile.

Eventually they tried them on, Bella needing help more than once to figure out how something went on. She never knew underwear could be that complicated. Rosalie made her model every piece, unfazed in her own risqué clothing while Bella stayed red faced through it all. As embarrassing as it was though, she could admit that a lot of it was sexy and under different circumstances (like without saleswomen commenting on everything) she would probably love the way the provocative pieces made her feel. And just imagining the look on Emmett's face if her saw her in them was enough to convince her. Rosalie told her to look away when the clothes were being rung up, and Bella obeyed though she knew the number would easily be in the thousands.

"I'm sure your father will be thrilled to see that you just spent a couple grand on lingerie," Bella said as she eyed a leather whip in a display case. She didn't even know they sold things like that outside of a porn store.

Rose laughed. "Daddy doesn't look at my credit card statements ever since I bought some specialty toys," she said without batting an eye. The woman at the register barely stifled her laugh.

"Jesus, Rose," Bella hissed.

"What?" Rose asked, feigning innocence. "You want me to order you one?"

"Oh my god!" Bella groaned, walking out of the store leaving a giggling Rosalie behind to carry all the bags.

They went back to Bella's house and Rose helped her put away all of her new purchases before they went out back to float around in the pool.

"You know, we still haven't been on vacation this summer," Rose mused after awhile.

Bella nodded. "I was thinking the same thing yesterday. We need to make plans soon, this summer has been flying by."

"We'll wait until Emmett and Alice get back, then all of us can get together and decide where to go," Rose decided as she slid off her float to cool off in the water.

"Works for me," Bella agreed.

)(!)(

Thursday was uneventful. Left to her own devices once more Bella roamed around the house, played videogames, and was generally just bored. Late in the afternoon she heard rummaging in the kitchen and went down to investigate. Sully, their chef, was preparing meals at the island. She wasn't entirely sure why they even had a chef when most days they ate takeout or frozen meals, but Sully showed up twice a week to prepare meals that they could just stick in the oven or eat straight from the fridge. He had worked for them for as long as Bella could remember, she had memories of sneaking into the kitchen as a child and begging for samples which she was happily given. Now, Bella walked into the kitchen and took a seat at the counter.

"Afternoon, Ms. Bella," Sully greeted.

"Sully," she said with a nod.

"Haven't seen you around much this summer," he observed as he diced an onion. "Been pretty busy from what I've heard," he added with a sly grin.

Bella bit her lip, tamping down on her rising embarrassment. "No idea what you're talking about," she said, aiming for nonchalance and probably missing by a mile.

Sully laughed, a loud hearty sound that echoed through the empty house. "Uh-huh, so all this talk about a young man named Emmett is just a rumor, right?" He dumped the onion into a bowl filled with ground meat and chopped carrots, the makings for his infamous meatloaf.

Bella groaned and hopped off her stool to grab the pineapple from the fridge. "You know it's not," she mumbled through a mouthful of fruit.

He grinned at her. "So when do I get to meet him?"

"Never. You know too many embarrassing stories about me."

He shrugged as he threw some spices into the mixture. "This is true. So why aren't you with him today?"

She took another bite of pineapple and chewed this one through before speaking. "He's in Tennessee for a family reunion, won't be back until Sunday," she said sulkily.

Sully looked at her for a moment, studying her before going back to his meatloaf. "This is different than your past boyfriends, isn't it?"

Bella had been eyeing the Tupperware container of fruit and wondering if eating all of it would make her sick, but now she whipped her head up to stare at him. "How'd you know?"

"I've been with your family since you were four, Bella. I've watched you grow, and I've never seen you like this over a boy before. Not once have I ever seen you miss one of them."

Bella shook her head. "You are way too observant for your own good, you know that?" Sully just smiled at her while he waited for her to find the words. "It's so weird," she said quietly. "I've never felt like this before. He's so important to me, he makes me so damn happy. Like sometimes I wonder if it's even possible to be that happy with someone. And he's so kind, and loyal, and so damn funny; he just makes me feel so good, I feel like a better person with him, you know?"

The chef smiled softly at her. Encouraged her to keep going as he mixed up the meatloaf and put it into pans.

"I think," she paused for a moment, chewed at her bottom lip in consideration. "I think I love him?" It came out like a question, voice trembling a little. "And that terrifies me," she finished.

Rinsing off his hands Sully nodded from the sink. "Love is scary, there's no doubt about that. Especially first love. But it's also amazing and beautiful. There's always a chance that you could end up heartbroken, there's no denying that, but it could also end up being the best thing that's ever happened to you, and I think that makes it worth the risk."

Getting up from her spot at the counter Bella walked around and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "What would I do without you?"

"Eat a lot more takeout most likely," he answered, grinning when she flicked his arm in retaliation.

"I'm trying to thank you here," she griped as she pulled away.

"No need," he assured her. "Now stop with the pineapple, you'll make yourself sick."

)(!)(

Friday Bella woke up to her phone buzzing on her bedside table. The caller ID said it was Ruth and she let it continue to ring, smiling at the fact that she was no longer obligated to put up with her. Her phone beeped with a voicemail and she ignored it for a solid twenty minutes before curiosity got the better of her. Typing in her password she waited to see what Ruth could possibly want.

"Ignoring my calls? How childish, Isabella. Though I can't say I'm surprised. I simply called to tell you that it would be in your best interest to meet me at that little French café downtown in two hours. I know right now you're planning on ignoring this, but I can assure you that the ramifications of that action would be quite dire for you and your family. And haven't you already caused enough problems for them? Well, that's all. I look forward to seeing you."

Bella stared down at the phone in her hands, dread pooling in her stomach. Whatever Ruth had planned couldn't be good, and from the sounds of it simply ignoring the problem would not make it go away, though when it came to Ruth the problem never really went away. Her mind made up and stomach rolling from nerves she forced herself to get out of bed and get ready.

She pulled into the café parking lot ten minutes early. The hostess led her to a secluded table where Ruth was already waiting.

"Afternoon, Isabella," Ruth greeted kindly.

Bella narrowed her eyes at her as she took her seat; setting her phone down on the table she saw Ruth's eyes tighten in annoyance but she didn't say anything. "Why don't we skip the pleasantries, Ruth? I'm not in the mood to play today."

"Good, because this isn't a game, dear."

The waiter showed up then, seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere as he took their orders.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Ruth spoke once he was gone. "As I'm sure you're well aware, your father doesn't make much money as a cop, and your mother obviously doesn't bring anything to the table. Did you know that I purchased the house you're living in now? I helped make the payments, technically the house is mine," Ruth stated, pausing to sip from her glass.

Bella felt nauseous, she knew exactly where this conversation was going. The question was how did she factor into it?

"So much of your parents money comes from being a Swan, but seeing as none of you have any ties to the company, and you've all made it quite clear you never will, I'm not sure why I even continue to add to your families bank accounts. But what do you think would happen, Isabella, if I took all the money that is rightfully mine, if I cut you all off like you did the other night? You may think you don't need the money to be happy, that you don't really need the lavish lifestyle you're living now, but how long do you think your dear mother would last? And how do you think your family would treat you when you're actions have forced them to leave their home, to give up all the things they've grown accustomed to? Would you be proud of yourself then?"

The waiter came back then, leaving their food in front of them, but Bella was far from hungry. Her stomach was in knots. How could Ruth even consider this?

"Why?" Bella choked out.

"Why would I do that?" Ruth finished for her. "Because if you're not fit for the family name then you don't deserve the family benefits. And it's obvious you've never deserved the name, and after your father's words the other night it seems that none of you do. It's a pity of course, but I can't have anyone threatening my reputation. It's just business, Isabella. No hard feelings."

Bella laughed mirthlessly. "No hard feelings, of course." She shook her head in disbelief. "Christ, you really are a heartless bitch," she said, Ruth didn't even flinch. "Well, obviously you called me here to manipulate me into doing something for you in order to keep you from pulling back the cash, so let's hear it. What do you want from me?"

Ruth smiled. "Such a shame you don't want in the business, you could be very successful, but I digress. What I want is simple; cotillion is the first week of August, and you are to be presented. All I ask is that you act polite, be a lady, and refrain from being an embarrassment and causing problems. Think you can handle that?"

Poking at her food Bella huffed. Never in her life had she felt the urge to be a debutante, but now it seemed to be forced upon her whether she wanted it or not. In the grand scheme of things it wasn't the worst that Ruth could have asked from her, in all honesty it was simple. But it was the principle of the thing she supposed. She had washed her hands of all things Ruth related and now here she was being sucked back into one of her games, because contrary to what Ruth had said, this was most definitely a game.

"Why cotillion?"

"It's a wonderful ceremony. Elegant young women being introduced into society. There are plenty of families from the investors and those we insure whose daughters will be participating as well."

Bella snorted into her water glass, an action that had Ruth glaring. "It's just another way to show off your pedigree, right? To say 'look at our family, we're the epitome of class and grace'. Christ." Bella rolled her eyes.

Ruth narrowed hers. "Yes, that is essentially the point. Am I correct in assuming you will be attending?" she asked with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Bella sighed. "I suppose you already have a guy picked out to escort me?" she asked instead, dodging the question. Her answer would be yes, there was no other choice.

Her grandmother grinned and nodded. "His father works for the company. He's a charming young man, very handsome. I met him briefly at the gala weeks ago."

That sick feeling suddenly got worse. She knew who Ruth was talking about before the words even slipped from her mouth.

"His name is Edward Mason."