Surviving High School

Closer I Get To You

A/N: . So last chapter there was a bit of drama and a bit of fluffiness. I don't know about you, but I like fluffiness. Thanks to those who read and review. Makes my day seeing those.

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"Bella, wake up," a voice said, while someone shook my shoulder. My eyes popped open, and I found Charlie standing over me, his hand on my shoulder. I was instantly alarmed.

"What's going on?" I asked in a panicked voice.

"Calm down. Nothing's wrong. But if you don't get a move on, you'll be late for school," he told me as he left my room.

I flopped onto my back and let out the breath I'd been holding. I must have been so caught up in everything that happened yesterday that I'd forgotten to set my alarm. Thank goodness Charlie woke me up.

Hold up. What was Charlie doing home at this time? Normally he was at the station by now. I scrambled out of bed, only to find myself tangled in the sheets, causing me to fall off the bed and hit the floor with a thud.

"You okay, Bells?" Charlie called up the stairs.

"Yes," I grumpily yelled back.

I untangled myself and quickly made my way to the bathroom, where I began my morning ritual. Once I was dressed, my hair brushed and hanging loose, I headed downstairs and found Charlie sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee. I grabbed a pop tart and a glass of orange juice and sat down across from Charlie.

"Shouldn't you be at work?"

He looked up from the sports section of the paper and set down his coffee.

"I took the day off."

I almost fell off my chair. Charlie taking a day off? That never happened.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong? You never take time off."

His fingers reached up to smooth his mustache as he said, "I promise everything is fine. Sue and I are going to go visit Esme this morning so we can start discussing plans for the renovation of the attic. We'll probably end up discussing wedding plans as well." He gave a small shiver after he said that.

"Sounds fun. Tell Mrs. Cullen that Seth wants purple walls and hot pink carpet."

Charlie let out a snort. "Now, Bells. Don't go trying to torture the boy just yet. At least wait until he's moved in before you go picking on him."

I put on my best pout. "I can't help it, Dad. I'm just excited to have a little brother." And I really was. I saw how well Edward and Alice got along, and while I realized that not all siblings were as close as they were, it gave me hope. Besides, Seth was a sweet kid and had a great sense of humor.

"How do you feel about getting an older sister?"

"Uh . . . well . . . yeah." I really didn't have much to say about that. I could care less if Leah and I got along.

Charlie gave me a small smile. "Sue went over to Leah's last night to have a talk with her, but I don't know how well it went. I think Leah's having a hard time letting go of Harry and feels that I'm trying to take her dad's place. Hopefully, she'll come around. If not, at least we tried."

I nodded as I put my glass in the sink. Honestly, I didn't really care if she and I became friends or not. Noting the time, I told Charlie I'd see him later, grabbed my backpack, and started up Chuck. I was in such a rush after talking with Charlie that I didn't even have time to process the fact that I was going to see Edward today. The man had freaking kissed me, and I had no idea how I was supposed to act. Was it just a friendly kiss on the cheek, or was it an "I want to be more than friends" kiss on the cheek?