A/N: Sorry that this is getting to you a bit late. I'm on vacation and let myself sleep in for a bit. A huge thank you to all of you who read and review as well. And a big shout out to my beta, Heather, for making sure I have commas where they're needed and just making sure my story doesn't suck.
..................................
The rest of the day went by fairly quickly, and I was glad to see that I had Angela, Ben, or Eric in at least one of my classes. That definitely made the day go by easier. Unfortunately, I had Mike and Jessica in a few of my classes as well, and Mike did his best to flirt with me, but I was having none of it.
By the time the day ended, Angela and I had exchanged phone numbers and had made plans to hang out on Saturday, and I was glad that my day had gone as well as it had.
I waved goodbye to her and Ben before climbing into the Jeep and driving home.
As soon as I was home, I pulled out my phone and gave Edward a call.
"So, my new friends are old friends of yours," I told him.
"Yeah? Who?"
"Angela Weber, Ben Cheney, and Eric something or other," I replied, and he let out a small laugh.
"Yorkie. Eric Yorkie," he said. "They're a great bunch, and we still hang out once in a while. At least you made friends with them and not, say, Jessica Stanley."
I wrinkled my nose at the girl's name.
"Yeah, she doesn't like me much. She warned me to stay away from her boyfriend, some annoying guy named Mike Newton."
"Mike's an asshole," Edward said, venom in his voice, and I was startled by it. "Stay away from him. He thinks he's God's gift to women and will do whatever he can to try and get you to sleep with him."
I let out a snort. "Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about that. He seems like a jerk."
We talked for half an hour before hanging up, and I sat down on my bed and opened up my literature book. I had a bit of reading to do, and after that, I calculus to tackle.
By the time Dad arrived home with dinner, I was frustrated, having stared at the equations in the book in front of me for at least five minutes, trying to make sense of them. Needless to say, I was glad for the reprieve and practically ran down the stairs in order to escape the hell that was calculus.
"How was your first day?" Dad asked once I was in the kitchen.
"Pretty good," I told him. "I made some friends who just happen to be friends with Edward."
"That's good to hear, although I wasn't too worried. You do tend to make friends easily."
As we ate our burgers at the kitchen table, I told him a bit more about school and my classes and how I was really hating math at the moment. Dad let out a chuckle but refused to help, only because he hated math just as much as I did.
"Oh, is it cool if I hang out with Angela this weekend?" I asked as I cleaned up our trash.
"You're seventeen, Bells, and responsible. Unless you plan on staying out all night or going to a party or something, I trust your judgement. All that I ask is that you let me know where you are and who you're with."
"In other words, you're fine with me hanging out with Angela," I teased with a grin.
"Yes, Bells. I'm fine with it."
..........................................
By the end of the week, the novelty that was me had started to wear off, something for which I was grateful. Although, Mike Newton still continued to annoy me. He seemed to take every opportunity he could find to talk to me, try to touch me, or to pathetically flirt with me. All he was succeeding in doing was pissing me off as well as Jessica. Well, she was pissed off at me, not him, despite the fact that I had done nothing to encourage him.
"I'm having a party this weekend," Mike said during our last class of the day. "Want to come?"
"No thanks," I told him.
"Oh, c'mon. Why not?" he asked.
Before I could answer him, Jessica spoke up.
"Because she's boring. I doubt she goes to parties at all. She's probably still a virgin, too," she sneered, and I rolled my eyes at her little insults.
"I'd rather be boring than be arrested for underage drinking or supplying minors with alcohol," I commented because I was positive that my dad would end up breaking up the party.
"Whatever," Jessica muttered with an eye roll, and I just shook my head. The girl was a delusional idiot, and I was really tired of her crap.
"Your loss," Mike told me, and I shrugged.
I'd been to a few parties back in Jacksonville, but they weren't really my scene. I'd rather hang out at home or with a small group of friends.
"So, no go on Newton's party, huh?" Eric asked me as we walked out to the parking lot with Ben and Angela.
"Not my thing," I explained.
"Ours either," Angela said before asking if we were still on to hang out on Saturday. I told her we were, and she told me she'd pick me up around ten.
As for my Sunday plans, I was spending the day with Edward. Dad was going ice fishing with one of his deputies, so I'd invited Edward over to watch movies and hang out. He'd eagerly agreed, and I was so ready for the weekend.
Saturday morning, Angela picked me up in an ancient stationwagon and showed me around Forks. There wasn't a whole lot to see in January, and it was freaking cold, so we somehow ended up at the local bowling alley. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I'd gone bowling, but she seemed excited for it, so I agreed to do it.
It wasn't long before Ben, Eric, and some girl that Eric was seeing showed up. I was left as the third wheel, so to speak, but I didn't really mind.
Once we had our shoes and had picked out a lane, we went to find bowling balls. I grabbed a pretty blue one and prayed to God my fingers wouldn't get stuck in the little holes. Thankfully, they didn't, so I carried it back to our lane.
We had a blast, bowling throughout the afternoon, and even though I lost, I had a ton of fun. We decided to make it a monthly thing.
"What are your plans for tomorrow?" Angela asked as she drove me home after we'd all gone out to eat.
"Edward's coming over. We're just gonna chill and watch movies," I told her.
"Are you going to make a move?" she asked, and I shook my head.
"Maybe you should. I asked Ben out last year. It was nerve wracking but so worth it."
"I don't think I'm that brave," I said. "Besides, as old fashioned as it sounds, I'd prefer that he make the first move. That way, at least I know he's interested."
Sunday morning, I woke up, nervous as could be, and told myself I was being silly. It was just Edward. Although this would be the first time we'd ever hung out alone.
I'd told Dad yesterday evening that Edward was going to come over for the day, and he was fine with it. He just told me to be careful and not to do anything he wouldn't do, and I'd made a face at that. The thought of my dad making out with anyone was a disturbing image, not that I was planning on making out with Edward at the moment.
A quick glance at the clock told me I'd slept way later than I'd planned. Iit was already after ten, and Edward was coming over at eleven. Moving quickly, I took the fastest shower I could, without slipping and killing myself, and then I spent too much time trying to decide what to wear.
Rolling my eyes at myself, I threw on some jeans and a long-sleeved henley, leaving my hair down. I told myself that I looked fine, and I made my way downstairs to check out the contents of the fridge.
I decided that I'd make BLT's for lunch, and I hoped Edward was okay with that, but I decided to wait until he showed up.
At eleven on the dot, the doorbell rang, and I smoothed my hair and took a deep breath before opening the door. Edward stood on the other side, and he looked absolutely gorgeous. He was wearing dark jeans with a hole in the knee and a faded worn t-shirt underneath a leather jacket.
"Hey," I said with a smile, and he grinned at me before leaning in for a hug. I was glad to hug him back, loving the feel of his arms and the smell of him.
"Come on in," I told him after we broke apart, and I ushered him in.
"So, I figured we could do BLTs for lunch unless you want something else," I said as I walked toward the kitchen with Edward following me.
"Sounds delicious. Need any help?" he asked, and a few minutes later, I set him up slicing tomatoes while I fried the bacon.
Once he was done, I had him cut up the lettuce, and I grinned as I watched him massacre it.
A few minutes later, we were seated across from each other at the table, eating our BLTs with potato chips and sodas.
As we ate, we talked about school as well as other stuff, and Edward told me that Tanya had begun trying to talk to him again.
"I thought she was dating some James guy," I mumbled around a bite of sandwich.
"She was, but I guess they broke up, so now she's wanting us to be together again," he said, and I almost choked on my sandwich.
"You're not getting back together with her, are you?" I asked, a hint of panic in my voice.
Edward let out a short laugh. "Um, no. Been there, and done that. Besides, I've got a new girl in my life."
"You do?" I asked, hoping like hell that he was talking about me.
"Yeah, but I'm not so sure she likes me the way I like her. I guess there's only one way to really find out," he said.
"Oh. How's that?"
"I guess I'm going to have to ask her out and hope that she says yes," he told me, and I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach.
"Well, I have no doubt that she'll say yes."
As we finished eating and then cleaned up, I waited for him to ask me out, and then I began to think that, perhaps, I wasn't the girl he'd been talking about. That led to a horrible feeling in my stomach, and I started to gnaw on my bottom lip.
"Hey, sweet girl. What's causing this?" Edward asked, gently pulling my bottom lip away from my teeth.
I shook my head as I told him it was nothing, and that I was just being silly.
"It can't be that silly if it has you doing that. You told me you only chew on your bottom lip when you're upset. Have I done something to upset you?"
"Of course not," I told him as I stared into his beautiful green eyes that were filled with concern.
"Are you sure?"
I nodded before changing the subject and asking him if he was up for a Resident Evil marathon, and he nodded.
We made our way into the living room, and he sat down on the couch as I put in the DVD. Grabbing the remote, I made my way over to him and sat down next to him and pushed play.
I relaxed as we watched the movie, grinning when we'd quote the same lines. Occasionally, we'd argue over a character or the plot line, but by the time the first movie was over, I was feeling more like myself again.
"Ready for round two?" I asked, and he nodded.
By the time the last movie was watched, it was well into the evening, and my dad would be coming home soon. I asked Edward if he wanted to stay for dinner, but he told me couldn't.
"I'd love to, but I have some homework I need to finish, that I've been putting off," he told me, but I wondered if he was just making an excuse not to be around when my dad showed up.
"Well, you're gonna be missing out on some awesome grilled fish," I said with a grin, and he let out a laugh.
"How often do you end up eating that?" he asked, and I let out a small laugh as I told him far too often.
"Bella, can I ask you something?"
"Sure," I told him as we walked out to his car, and I shivered as a cold rush of wind hit me.
"Would you like to go on a date with me?"
"I'd love that," I replied, a huge smile crossing my face as I tried to keep from squealing loudly.
An equally huge smile crossed Edward's face as well.
"Fantastic!" he exclaimed. "How about one night this week? Maybe Wednesday? We can go out for dinner."
"That sounds great!"
We both had cheesy smiles on our faces, and after we hugged each other goodbye, I stood there, watching as he drove off. Eventually, the cold kicked in, and I made my way back into the house where I began preparing a salad to go with the fish that was in the freezer.
I decided that I'd pan sear the fish and add in some cajun spices just to kick things up. I was just glad that Dad liked spicy food and was willing to let me experiment with my cooking. Unlike my mother, however, I didn't experiment to the point where my concoctions were inedible.
"Man, that smells good," Dad said about twenty minutes later as he walked in the door.
"Cajun bass with salad and baked potatoes," I hollered from the kitchen.
"Excellent. So how was your day with Edward?" he asked a while later as we ate.
"Good. Um ...," I trailed off, trying to find the best way to approach the subject of me dating. "He asked me out on a date for sometime this week. We still need to finalize the plans."
Dad didn't seem surprised at all.
"Since it's going to be on a school night, I will want you home by ten," he said, and I agreed. I didn't think that was unreasonable at all.
"Are you nervous?" Dad asked me, and I shrugged before admitting that I was a tad bit nervous about my upcoming date. Okay, so I wasn't so much nervous about the date itself but about how our relationship was changing.
Later that night as I was curled up in bed, I got a text from Alice who was beyond thrilled that Edward and I were going on date.
She kept texting me until I finally told her I had to go to bed and I'd talk to her tomorrow.
.....................................
a/n: As always, let me know what you thought!