Obvious
(alternate title: My Sister's Boyfriend's Sister's Boyfriend's Sister)
-
no one's watching. close your eyes, play it back and rewind. hold me now, before we run out of time.

"Don't you think it's funny?"

"What's funny?"

"All the connections here. I mean there's you, my sister, engaged to my best friend, Jasper. Then Jasper's sister Rosalie is now your new best friend. Our dad's best friend Charlie's son, Emmett, happens to be Jasper's new student as well as Rosalie's new object of affection. Which is just weird, by the way. And then Emmett and his little sister Bella used to play with us when they came to Forks over summer. And now Bella is my…student."

"And…?"

"And what?"

"Bella is so much more than just your student."

"Oh right. She also has a class with Jasper."

"Edward! Just admit it!"

"Admit what, Alice?"

"Admit that you are in love with Bella!"

Edward groaned and leaned back on the couch. He should have known the conversation would come to this again. "How many times do I need to say it? I am not in love with Bella."

"You talk about her all the time."

"No, I do not!"

"Okay you don't, but you spend a lot of time with her!"

"She's my student. I spend time with her because she's in my class."

"Fine. But remember when we were younger, we used to play together and you and Bella always were the prince and princess."

"No, Alice. We used to play house where I was the dad, you were the mom, and Bella was the baby."

"Details, details."

"She's only seventeen! Do I look like a child molester to you?"

"You're not that old."

"I'm twenty-eight. In case you can't do the math, that means I'm eleven years older than her."

"Come on, Edward. Age differences are so last year. Who marries anyone within five years of their age anymore?"

"Uh, how about you, Alice? Jasper is only two years older than you."

"Were we talking about me? No, we were talking about you. Please, Edward? You know how worried Mom is still. We're all worried about you. If you would at least get a girlfriend, it would make us all feel better. But hey, if you want to marry a girl and start a family with her, that's even better!"

"I don't need to start another family, I already have one."

They both turned to watch little Nessie lying on her stomach on the carpet coloring on a giant pad of paper. This youngest Cullen was the most spoiled girl to walk the planet.

"Besides," Edward continued, "even if I did start seeing someone, it certainly won't be Bella. I'd rather not get arrested on my date, thanks."

"Okay fine. You can be as stubborn as you want. But please come have dinner with us tonight."

"I already said no."

"Please? The Hales and the Swans will be there!"

At that, Nessie's head perked up like a dog's. The three-year-old was up and running towards them before Edward could inhale a breath to reply.

"Bella is going to be at dinner?" she asked.

"Yes, sweetie," Alice answered. "That's why your Aunt Alice is here to pick you guys up. But your dad doesn't want to go."

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddydaddydaddydaddydaddy! Can we go to dinner? Please, please, please?" She gave him the cutest puppy dog face the world has ever seen. He swears Alice taught her that one.

"Why do you want to go so badly?"

"Because I want to see Bella! I want to go play with her!"

Nessie had gone with Carlisle to Charlie's house to welcome his two kids when they first moved in. Ever since, she's been talking non-stop about how Bella is so amazing and how Bella can do this and how Bella can do that and can they go see Bella, pretty please?

Edward sighed. Put Alice and Nessie Cullen side by side and you might as well give up while you can.

"Fine. Let's go."

Nessie cheered, gave Alice a high five, and quickly ran to put on her shoes and jacket. With a smile, Alice pulled her brother up and dragged him towards her car.

"It will be fun, Mr. Lamepants."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm only going because you and Nessie are impossible."

"Sure. Whatever you say."

"Not because I like Bella."

"Right."

"She is just another one of my English students. She's one of the smartest in the class, but that's it. She's not special to me."

"Keep telling yourself that, big brother."

When they arrived at their parents' house, Emmett's car was already parked on the driveway, showing that the Swans were in the house. The weird feeling in Edward's stomach was because he was hungry, that's all. It's not like he had butterflies or anything. How juvenile.

The second Esme opened the door, Nessie gave her grandma the quickest of hugs and sprinted straight for Bella. The force of her hug (or tackle) nearly brought Bella to the ground.

"Bella!"

"Hi Nessie!" Bella leaned down and swept Nessie up so she was carrying the three-year-old ball of energy.

"You know, Edward," Alice said as the two of them walked into the house at a normal speed, "most of the time it's the kid that causes the problem in relationships. Here you have a daughter who absolutely adores her future stepmom. You don't even recognize a gift when you see one."

"Oh my god, stepmom? Don't you think you're getting too carried away with this?"

"Not at all. Think about it this way. If you don't want a girlfriend, then do it for Nessie. You aren't going to let her grow up without a mother, are you?"

"Wow, Alice. Pulling that card already?"

His sister smiled deviously. "Oh don't worry. I have many more up my sleeve."

Esme called that it was time for dinner and everyone walked towards the dining room. Alice went to join Jasper while shoving Edward in Bella's direction. That girl was ridiculous.

"Nessie," he called, making both his daughter and Bella look at him, "let's go sit down."

"But Daddy! I want to sit by Bella!"

When she said the word 'Daddy', Bella froze. The expression on her face made him extremely anxious. Then it occurred to him that maybe Carlisle had introduced Nessie as his granddaughter when they first met. She knew Edward was Carlisle's son, but perhaps she hadn't put two and two together. What if she thought Nessie was Alice's daughter this whole time? Well that's just a bummer. He already blew any chance with her. And he didn't even like her yet.

"Uh, hey Bella," he greeted, to ease the silent tension.

"Hi…Mr. Cullen."

"Mr. Cullen?" Nessie giggled. She got down from Bella's arms and walked in between the two awkward people. "You can call him Edward."

He smiled and hoped it didn't look stupid. "Yeah. What she said."

When he turned, he saw Alice watching them and trying to hide her laughter behind Jasper's shoulder.

Dinner wasn't so bad since Nessie sat between Edward and Bella and blocked any potential awkward hazards. Moreover, everyone was more interested in watching Rosalie flirt with Emmett while he sat uncomfortably. Poor guy. Maybe it was every eighteen-year-old boy's dream to date a college girl, but Rosalie isn't like most girls. She's more, what's the word…straightforward? Demanding?

After dinner, Alice announced that they would all be watching a movie and herded everyone into the living room. Emmett just sat down next to Bella in the loveseat when Nessie grabbed Edward's hand and yanked him towards the two Swan siblings.

"Excuse me," she tapped on Emmett's knee, "but I want to sit next to Bella."

Because no one could say no to Nessie, Emmett got up and sat down in the last available spot. Next to Rosalie.

"Okay, you can sit by Bella, but why did you drag me here as well?" Edward asked his daughter.

"So you can sit too!" Nessie climbed on top of Bella's lap and patted the empty spot beside her. With no other choice, Edward sat down, shooting both his daughter and his sister death glares. Everyone else laughed at Nessie's cuteness.

Bella leaned over and whispered, "She's adorable!"

"Yeah, that's what they all say." He whispered back, ruffling Nessie's hair while she smiled innocently. "It hides the evil."

"Hey, I heard that!" Nessie gave him an angry look so similar to Alice's that it actually terrified him a little.

The main menu for The Notebook popped onto the screen. Edward gave Alice an outrageous look and pointed to Nessie. "How age appropriate!"

"Oh whatever." Alice pressed play and snuggled up next to Jasper. "She won't understand any of it."

Alice was right about that one. Twenty minutes into the film and Nessie was already asleep on Bella's lap.

"Do you want me to take her?" Edward asked.

"Oh no, it's fine," Bella said. She tucked a piece of hair behind Nessie's ear. It was such a precious moment. Edward knew Bella would one day be a great mom. Of course, not Nessie's mom since she was only fourteen years older than her. That isn't what he meant at all.

Since Bella refused to hand Nessie over, he decided to compromise. He took Nessie's legs and stretched them out so she could lie on both their laps. When he looked back up, Alice and Rosalie were watching them and both went "awwww." He rolled his eyes.

During the dramatic kiss in the rain, Edward realized with a start that his arm was around the back of Bella's seat and he had no idea how it got there. Was his subconscious self also conspiring with Alice against him? He began slowly pulling it back before anyone could notice when Bella leaned her head back, expecting the seat cushion but hitting his arm instead. She quickly sat up in surprise and he wanted to die of embarrassment. He drew his arm back to his side and mouthed 'sorry'. Fortunately, she just smiled. Something clicked into place in his brain as he suddenly noticed that Bella was actually really pretty. Not like the girls in school that literally layer their skin with makeup, Bella was genuinely beautiful. Her smile caused this chain reaction of good emotions that made him really want to see her smile again.

Oh good lord. It was Alice, Nessie, and his body against him. Three versus one. It was so unfair. He didn't stand a chance.

Near the end of the movie, sniffles were heard throughout the room. Edward liked to think that he didn't cry because he was manly, but he knew it was really because Alice already forced him to watch it so many times before that he was numb to its effects. When he finally risked a glance at Bella, he watched a tear roll down her cheek. It gave him the strongest urge to wipe it away and make her feel better.

Well, he didn't actually do that, but he did pat her shoulder lamely. "Hey. It's just a movie," he whispered.

"I know. I don't know why I'm crying. I guess it's because I'm a girl and I can't help how I get emotional about gushy stuff like this."

Like how he's a guy and he can't help wanting to kiss her right now? What? Did he just think that?

After the credits finally rolled around, the lights were turned back on and tissues handed to the girls all around. When Charlie shyly grabbed one and blew his nose, the whole house erupted in laughter.

The television was switched to ESPN and the three dads went from verge-of-tears to macho-basketball-heads. Emmett thought this was his chance to escape and was all set to watch the game too when Rosalie called his name in singsong and he grudgingly followed her out. Alice, Jasper, Esme, and Mrs. Hale regrouped in the kitchen and started discussing wedding dates and details. Which left Edward and Bella sitting awfully close to each other while Nessie slumbered on their laps.

Great.

"Here." He gently lifted Nessie's head up so Bella could get up, then did the same for himself. After repositioning Nessie so she was comfortably sleeping on the couch, he turned around to find Bella watching his every move.

"I never got to tell you sorry for before dinner," she apologized. "I was a little surprised to find out Nessie was your daughter."

"Why? You don't think I look like the father type?" he asked. He walked to the kitchen, in hopes that she wouldn't follow him, but of course she did. Was she in on part of Alice's twisted plan too?

"No, that's not what I meant. You're a great father. I just…well you look so young."

"Twenty-eight." He grabbed two Cokes, handed one to her, and exited, not wanting Alice to eavesdrop on any more of their conversation. On the way out, he did see her give him a thumbs-up across the counter, though. That girl is unbelievable.

"Oh I know how old you are," she admitted. "Jessica…she, uh, kind of is the president of your fan club at school."

Edward chocked on his soda. "I have a fan club?"

"Yeah. They know stalkerish facts about you, like your birthday, your family members, your favorite color, and your car, and stuff like that. I'm just surprised they don't know about Nessie."

"Are you going to tell them?"

"Do you want me to?"

"If being a single father gets rid of my fans, then yes please."

Bella laughed and when the butterflies started again, he had to mentally threaten his own stomach not to betray him. "You don't want teenage girls in love with you?" she teased. "I thought it would boost a guy's self esteem."

"Can I ask why they are in love with me?" And no, he did not ask if she was in love with him. He didn't think about it either. Nope…

"Well," she trailed off and he was almost sure she was blushing, "you must be aware that you're good-looking."

"I'll admit, I was popular in high school and college, but I thought my looks would have lost their appeal now since I'm an old fart."

She laughed again. "No. They certainly still have their appeal. All the girls at Forks High think you're superstar attractive. It kind of annoys the hell out of the male students."

You know what? This was important information right here. Important, useful information. "I see. So…do you think I'm hot?"

Now it was Bella's turn to choke. "Huh?"

"You said all the girls at Forks High think I'm hot. I'm asking if you include yourself in that statement." He had no idea why he asked her this, much less why he asked her twice. Stupid mouth. Won't shut up on command.

She looked down, avoiding his eyes. "Um. You're mildly hot, I guess. For an old fart."

"Mildly?"

"Okay. Maybe that was a lie." She finally looked up at him. Hey what do you know? Her sepia eyes were downright gorgeous. That totally helped his not falling for her plan.

A dramatic basket was made in the game and the dads went wild. Edward shook his head in amusement.

"Um, are you sure that's the best place for Nessie to sleep?" Bella asked with concern.

He laughed. "Don't worry about her. She sleeps through earthquakes and rock band neighbors."

Then, without thinking because it seems like he never does think tonight, he took her hand and started leading her upstairs. Not her upper arm, not her wrist, but her freaking hand. He wanted to bang his head against the wall. How did this happen? It's like he can't even let his guard down for a second or else something outrageous like this will happen. This was all Alice and her manipulating powers. By the end of the night, if Bella doesn't ask her dad for a restraining order on him, he was lucky.

"…Edward?"

Momentarily stopping his mental facepalms, he turned to face her. "Yeah?"

"Do high school English teachers always hold their students' hands?"

Ooh. Busted. "Uh…well, not exactly, see…" he tried to think of an excuse, "I have this thing where sometimes my body does things on their own accord." He had to admit: that was the lamest excuse in the history of non-smooth saves.

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

"Then maybe you should ask your dad to check on it."

"You are just full of good ideas, Ms. Swan."

By then they had already reached the upstairs hall. Emmett stepped out of the bathroom and his face lit up when he saw them. But Rosalie soon called his name again and Emmett reluctantly entered the loft to join her, mouthing 'save me' to Edward and Bella.

"Why doesn't he just leave?" Bella wondered aloud as Edward guided her to the last room at the end of the hallway.

"Because no one can say no to Rosalie." Just like no one can say no to Alice or Nessie.

He pushed open the door and they entered his old bedroom. After Edward moved out, Alice convinced their parents to transform his room into a music library/photo gallery/project display. They kept Edward's massive shelves of music that covered the whole left wall and installed a surround sound system. Esme's years of photography finally found their well-deserved place covering the other three walls. And every halfway-decent school project and every single dress Alice designed now stands in the room. It was a museum of glittery dresses and high school art class paintings.

"Whoa," Bella breathed out. They finally let go of hands and she wandered into the room, bewildered by its unique splendor. "So many CDs. And pictures. And dresses."

"Don't compliment Alice or she'll make you wear one."

She took her hand off the gown she was touching and quickly moved on. "There are so many pictures," she said. "All of your family and friends."

"We were always Esme's favorite subjects."

She strolled along the walls, studying the passage of years captured my Esme's camera. She stopped at one large, framed photograph in particular. "Who is that?"

Just a single glance at the black and white picture was enough to bring back the painful memories. "That's…Tanya."

The picture was of Tanya and Edward back at senior prom. The way her head leaned ever so slightly towards him, the way his arms gently encircled her waist…they fit. The picture gave off the impression that they were soul mates. They were going to be together forever.

Or they should have, anyway.

"She's Nessie's mom, isn't she?" Bella guessed.

Edward only nodded. He sat down on the couch Alice had shoved into the corner and Bella followed, sitting next to him. She was expecting the story.

"Tanya and I have been best friends since third grade," he explained. "We did everything together. We were convinced we were actually superheroes for a good part of our childhood. And then, sophomore year of high school, I realized I was in love with my best friend. She was too. So we got together and just ask anyone, we were the couple of the year. We were unstoppable. Through high school, through college, through work, through the long distance; we made it through everything. When we were 24 I proposed to her and she said yes. Everything was working out like they were supposed to. Then she found out she was pregnant.

"It really wasn't that big of a deal. In this day and age, no one will look at you funny if you have a kid before you get married. It's even completely normal to be pregnant when you get married. But Tanya said she wanted to wait until after the baby was born before we got married, so I agreed. After a while, though she started acting weird and distant. I thought it was just her pregnancy acting on her, but now I know better.

"It was maybe one week before Nessie was born. We had already moved in together at that time and over dinner, she looked me in the eye and told me she didn't want the baby."

Bella gasped. Edward realized that besides his family, this was the first time he had ever told anyone his Tanya story. Even Jasper had to find out through Alice. If he was so guarded to refuse telling his own best friend, how come he felt safe confessing to this teenage girl?

"She said that having this baby made her realize the finality of things," he continued. "She was looking at her future: a family with me, a local job, and living in Forks the rest of her life. And she didn't want that. Her dream was always to travel the world and somehow get paid while doing it. She loathed the idea of a family and settling; she loved freedom. All these years with me were nice but apparently she was waiting for someone else to sweep her off her feet this whole time.

"The baby was too big to have an abortion, and besides, it wasn't like I was ever going to let her. So she started talking adoption and looking at good parents when I finally put my foot down. I was keeping my daughter. So the minute Nessie was born, she was put under my guardianship. And Tanya was gone as soon as she could."

Bella reached over and held his hand again. It made Edward wonder: how come Tanya, his best friend since forever, could not understand; yet Bella, his seventeen-year-old student, could?

"You had to raise Nessie all on your own?" she asked. "It must have been difficult."

"It was. Without Esme and Alice, I don't know what I would have done."

"Nessie is a great kid."

"More like a spoiled brat. That's what happens when you're the baby Cullen."

"I still can't believe Carlisle already has a granddaughter. He's the same age as Charlie, you know."

"Well, Carlisle and Esme got married when they were 20. Charlie just waited until he was at a more respectable age of 30 before he got married. He played it safe. Less spontaneous."

"Yeah, but the ten years he waited were totally useless. My parents ended in divorce but yours are still in love as ever. Where's the fairness in that? I swear, no matter how irritated I get at my future husband, I am NOT getting a divorce."

No matter how Edward tried, the mental image of him as Bella's future husband came nonetheless. "Why don't you just marry someone you won't ever get mad at?" he said.

"Like who?"

Like me, he didn't say. Instead he just shrugged.

"So…have you ever heard from Tanya after that?" she asked, after a brief silence.

"No."

"Have you met anyone else?"

"Perhaps." Okay, why did he say that? He obviously hasn't met anyone. Except Bella. Oh wow. His mouth was too fast for his brain.

"Oh." Was she disappointed? "Well whoever she is must be really lucky. She has the cutest future step-daughter in the world."

"And the cutest future husband in the world?"

"Suuuure."

"Hey!" He snatched the nearby pillow and playfully chucked it at her. She quickly returned the favor.

The evening passed quickly like that. Edward and Bella sat talking about small things like favorite bands to big things like life's unsolved mysteries. Conversation flowed easily between the two. Edward was slowly relaxing, being tired from staying tentative all night. At this point, he really didn't care if he did anything stupid again. Go ahead, tuck her hair behind her ear. He figured he had already crossed the line a long time ago.

"Did you do the reading yet?" he asked, not sure whether the topic of school was familiar waters or way over his head.

"Actually, no, I haven't."

He put his hand over his heart, fake appalled. "Bella Swan! I thought you of all people would appreciate classic literature."

She giggled and he nearly died of the sound. He was twisted, thinking about his student like that. But since he was already going to hell, then might as well…

"Edward! Where—oh! There you are!" Alice danced into the room, grinning like an idiot as if she just caught Bella and Edward making out. (Which they weren't, just to clarify.) She waved behind her and Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie all made their way into the room too.

"What's going on?" Edward asked.

Alice displayed the playing cards in her hands. "An innocent game of King."

Edward groaned, but allowed his sister to drag him to sit in the circle forming on the ground. Bella followed, oblivious to the danger she was joining.

"What's King?" she asked.

"It's like truth or dare. But gone terribly wrong," he answered.

Alice cheerily explained the rules of the game. There will be six cards, ace to five and a king. After everyone draws one, whoever picks king gets to think up a dare or truth involving whatever numbers he or she chooses. And if you happened to have that number, when then you have to do it.

"It doesn't sound so bad," Bella commented as Alice shuffled the cards facing down.

"But you haven't played with Alice," Edward replied.

"In case there are some chickens here," Alice said, "I say we take a vow that we will do whatever dare the king says. No backing out."

Slowly, everyone in the group agreed. And that's how the rest of the Saturday night got spent, with the parents in the living room downstairs, the second generation playing a childish game upstairs, and the one third generation still sleeping like a hibernating bear on the couch.

Edward has to admit, King really was a fun game…as long as he wasn't the one doing the dares. A few minutes into the game, Jasper had to lick Emmett's ear, Rosalie had to drink pickle juice, and Alice had to admit her secret obsession of Hannah Montana. All in good fun, of course.

Another round of cards was dealt and Alice's face lit up as she saw her card. "I'm king!" she cried excitedly. Then her glaze zeroed in on Bella and Edward. "3 has to sit on 5's lap for the rest of this game," she stated.

Routinely, everyone revealed their cards. Edward's eyes bulged out of his sockets when he remembered he was 5 and saw Bella had the 3. With her cheeks flaming red, Bella crawled into Edward's lap and he knew this was no coincidence. Alice only laughed.

Not that he minded having Bella on his lap, though. He casually put his arms around Bella and rested his hands in her lap. She didn't seem to mind. The game continued in a similar fashion, each round getting slightly more inappropriate than the previous.

"2 needs to do pushups with ace on his or her back."

Edward had the 2, Rosalie had the ace. Awkward.

"4 has to take 5's shirt off with his or her mouth."

Fortunately, Alice was 4 and Jasper was 5. Edward was struck with a disturbing thought that this probably wasn't the first time his sister has taken Jasper's shirt off.

Soon the king card was back in Alice's hands. "Hmm…how about 4 gives 2 a hickey?" Edward knew he had the 4 and one glance over Bella's shoulder told him she had the 2. Of course. Jasper and Rosalie cheered while Edward glared at Alice. She wasn't kidding earlier when she said she had more cards up her sleeve. Reluctantly, Edward grabbed Bella's wrist.

"No, no, no! Who gives wrist hickeys, you weirdo?" Alice stopped him. She pointed to her neck. "Right above the clavicle."

"Alice!" Edward protested.

"No chickening out!" she called back.

He could feel Bella's breathing quicken. God, Alice was making things so unnecessarily difficult for both of them. "Come on, Alice," he reasoned. "This is wrong."

"No. Backing. Out."

They sat in silence. Anxiety was thick enough to cut. Ever so slowly, Edward pulled Bella's hair to one side, revealing her skin on her neck and shoulder. She shuddered. Underneath his worry and hatred towards the little pixie sitting across from him, he was minutely excited, making this whole thing wrong on a whole new level.

"Come on Edward," Rosalie said. "It's just a game. No big deal."

Edward scoffed. "No big deal? And what does Bella say when her friends ask her how she got it?"

"Yeah, I actually have an affair with our English teacher," Bella joked. "That'll work."

"Just use the oldest excuse in the book," Alice said. "Hair-curler mishap."

Another ten minutes of stalling on Edward and Bella's part, he finally pressed his lips to her neck only after Alice threatened to give him a real hair-curler hickey.

"Sorry," he mumbled to her.

Surprisingly, she wasn't angry. She was smiling. Huh. As the next round of cards was drawn, Edward sucked on Bella's soft skin, trying to enjoy it as less as possible. Just as the faintest of bruises was starting to form on her skin, he stopped with one final kiss. Alice immediately crept over to inspect like the annoying sister that she was.

This time Bella got King and she eagerly showed Edward. In an attempt to get back at Alice, Edward craned his neck to see Alice's card. "I think she has a 3," he whispered in Bella's ear.

She smiled and said, "3 has to kiss Emmett." They chuckled like two kids with an inside joke, like two partners in crime.

But Alice didn't have the 3, she had the 2. Rosalie had the 3. Edward and Bella sighed in defeat, Rosalie went ecstatic, and Emmett mouthed 'eff you'. The kiss must have been something though, because after they pulled apart Emmett stared at Rosalie like she was some goddess. Well that's great. They try to sabotage Alice, but end up getting Emmett and Rosalie together. How did that work?

Eleven rounds of embarrassing stunts later, it was getting close to midnight. Jasper had to jump in the pool, Edward had to wear one of Alice's dresses, Rosalie and Bella had to teach each other how to jerk, and Alice somehow got hold of the king card nine more times. Every time Edward thought he had crossed the final line, Alice pushed him to cross another. Let's just say if the school principal saw the way Bella sat in his lap with her head resting on his neck and the way he held her close, way too close, Edward would definitely be fired in an instant.

For the record, this was all Alice's fault. And Nessie's fault. And his stupid body's fault, which decided to be hormonal like a teenager tonight. But one thing that really bothered him (or delighted him) was how Bella wasn't making any effort to push him away.

It was getting late and Carlisle walked in the room to politely kick everyone out. They all exited the room laughing together like the new friends they all became that night. Carlisle's eyebrows rose when he saw Emmett and Rosalie holding hands. His eyebrows practically popped off his face when he saw Edward with his arm draped across Bella's shoulders.

Once downstairs, Edward picked Nessie up from the couch. "Come on, honey. Time to go home. Say goodbye to Bella."

"Bye, Bella." She waved an exhausted wave with eyes half-open.

"Goodnight, cutie," Bella replied with a kiss to her tiny cheek.

"Daddy, I like Bella," Nessie said sleepily.

"Yes, I know."

"I think you should marry her so then she can be my momma." Are you hearing this? Ridiculous!

"Okay, silly. Go back to sleep."

"But will you, Daddy? Please?" A sleepy Nessie begging? Oh, he was done for.

"Definitely. Maybe."

"Promise?"

"…promise." He grinned and finally admitted to himself that maybe he really was a sick pedophile because he totally has a crush on Bella Swan. "Just not tonight."

That satisfied her enough. He put her into her booster and secured her seatbelt. When he closed Alice's car door and turned around, he found Bella standing right there.

"Oh. You didn't leave yet. You heard everything. That's embarrassing."

"No, it was sweet. I'll have to take you up on that promise."

He tried really hard not to smile too wide. "Once you're legal of course."

She laughed and stepped in for a hug. Was in normal for teachers and students to be this comfortable around each other and be able to joke around so easily? Maybe Edward hasn't been playing the field recently, but he knows flirting when he sees it. The feelings he's been internally reprimanding were set free and ran all over his body. Oddly enough, he wasn't happy with just a hug.

He didn't have time for the dramatic lean-ins that took ten minutes while violins harmonized in the background. Alice was in her round of 'I love you's with Jasper and would return to drive them home any second now. So before his common sense could do anything about it—story of the night—he let his heart take over and kissed Bella before either of them really knew what was going on.

At the sound of Alice's heels clacking on the sidewalk, they quickly sprang apart.

"Hey Bella," he said, racking his brain for another lame excuse.

"What?" She was slightly out of breath and confused.

"Remember to read for English."

"Will do."

She seemed in a daze when she turned and walked to join her brother and father while he climbed into Alice's car. Alice got in as well and gave him the classic spill-everything-now look.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Nothing happened."

"Really?"

"Really."

Alice shrugged, not completely satisfied but was content enough to let the subject drop. At least Bella and Edward hung out tonight, so her original goal was met. She just didn't know Bella and Edward got further than that. As they drove past Emmett's car, he caught sight of Bella in the back window and winked at her.

Yeah, he couldn't wait for school on Monday.

it's o, o, obvious. one kiss, it's easy to see, you and me.

Okay, I'm not really sure where this oneshot came from, but when I sat down to type the beginning, the rest just kind of appeared. I never meant to write a 6,000 word oneshot on a blooming student/teacher affair. Oh well. It turned out nicely anyway :) And I do have ideas for possible continuation of this, but it'll remain a oneshot for now. Title and lyrics from "Obvious" by Hey Monday. Review, please!