A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. This is just what they got up to in my mind.

15E:"You've broken her damn heart and you're having a go at me?"

The next morning I woke before Seth did, having had a pretty shitty night's sleep. I'd been unsettled, my dreams flitting between memories of last night with Bella and images of her with another man. Kissing him. Unbuttoning his shirt and pulling off her dress for him. Touching his chest and gripping his biceps. Looking at him the way she looked at me. Fuck! I closed my eyes as the images flooded my mind again.

With gritted teeth I climbed out of bed, thankful that I had time for a coffee or three before Seth plodded into my kitchen, his hair a mess and his hands rubbing his eyes as he woke.

I made him two pieces of toast and we chatted at the breakfast bar while he borrowed my phone to text his dad.

When he hadn't received a reply fifteen minutes later, we concluded Emmett must still be asleep so we started on the homework project.

Building a model of a medieval castle was way more fun than I thought it would be. It reminded me of my childhood with Emmett and the models we used to build. It also made me sad that so much of our building design nowadays was done on a computer. I missed the days of making our designs in 3D out of MDF and craft glue.

Around mid-morning, we drove to the nearest store for extra art supplies, and of course, we picked up a pizza and some snacks while we were out.

Back at mine we cracked on with Seth's project. I loved clearing my mind from my worries and only concerning myself with whether we should paint the castle or cover it in aluminum foil. The paint won out. I think Seth just wanted to get messy.

Emmett was stunned when he let himself into my house mid-afternoon.

We had gotten a bit carried away. There was a castle, a moat, a drawbridge, and half a medieval village, all glued on the one board.

He clapped Seth on the back and made all the right noises at our combined effort before he sent Seth off to wash the glue and paint from his hands.

"Surely Seth has an unfair advantage with an architect dad and uncle?" he wondered turning to me.

"And..." he continued, "thanks to you, Miss Swan knows all about our jobs."

"Hey, I was careful not to do too much for him, I only helped him with ideas and supervised him with the craft knife and hot glue gun."

"Hmm, sure you're not trying to impress Bella with your skills?"

"I think we're a bit beyond her caring about my crafting ability," I told Emmett, seeing Seth reappear and hoping that would be enough for him to change the subject.

Emmett circled the large board, looking at it from all sides. "How the hell do I get that into the classroom?" He wondered before turning to me. "Wanna help me deliver it?"

His voice was jovial but I didn't laugh.

"Did you have a good night?" I teased him back.

His grin told me all I needed to know.

"You're welcome," I replied.

He laughed and told me he would owe me a favor, but considering he had to get Seth and this model to school in the morning we'd call it even.

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

The next morning at work, I knew Emmett had taken Seth to school and I wanted to avoid questioning him, but my resolve lasted all of five minutes as I gave in on our walk to a morning meeting.

"So did you see her?"

"Yep." He was deliberately quiet, not elaborating at all. That fucker wanted me to ask, he wasn't making this easy for me. He took a sip of his coffee as we walked down the corridor together.

"You were nice to her, right?"

"Of course. I didn't let on that I knew she'd been off 'fucking my brother'."

I rolled my eyes but Emmett's tone changed from jovial to serious.

"She looked tired, exhausted actually. You haven't been keeping her up at night again have you?"

"Fuck off."

"Just checking." He held his hands up in surrender. "I never know with you these days."

I cursed him again under my breath and was pleased to see our clients were already in the meeting room so Emmett and I couldn't talk any further.

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

"Please, Uncle Edward." Seth was looking up at me with pleading eyes and putting an extra dose of whininess into his voice.

I looked over at Emmett and Rosalie, who were also waiting expectantly for my answer.

Seth and Rosalie had turned up to meet Emmett at work and go to their parent-teacher conference.

With Bella.

Seth was currently begging me to go with them so I could see our castle in the classroom display. He'd phoned me the evening before to scream down the phone that he'd won the best castle in the class and our effort was the center of some big display, which was apparently the best thing ever.

Ever.

He had reiterated that several times.

"Can't you take a photo and show me?"

Seth's face fell and Emmett huffed in the background letting me know I was pissing him off.

"No." Seth was adamant. "Miss Swan has made a whole display and I want you to see my model with all the others."

Damn.

I could see the moment Emmett pounced on my indecisiveness. He lent forward, whispering in my ear with just enough humor to lighten his tone, "You've made this parent-teacher conference really damn awkward for me, the least you can do is watch Seth so he doesn't pick up on any atmosphere."

Shit, I guess he had a point. I was fed up with being a jerk and disappointing people I cared about, so with a small sigh and a defeated sag of my shoulders I nodded to my nephew.

"Okay, sure. I'll come to your school and see the display," I agreed.

"Yay! I can stay with you while Miss Swan tells my mom and dad how awesome I am," Seth informed me as I chuckled at him.

"Can we go for a milkshake after, Dad?"

"If you get a good report," Emmett replied.

"I will," Seth answered confidently. "Miss Swan loves us Cullen's."

Emmett scoffed at his perceptive son, but I didn't.

"Not all of us," I muttered under my breath, earning an elbow in the ribs from my brother.

"I'll meet you there, then," I arranged with Emmett.

"Yeah. His parent-teacher appointment is at 6:10, so we'll get there about 6."

"Okay, sure."

As I left work I wondered what I'd let myself in for. I wasn't up for a run in with Bella, and certainly not in front of Seth, but I reckoned I could bypass the hall where the parent teacher conference was held, and see Seth's display and leave without seeing Bella.

That was my plan anyway.

I met my brother at the school entrance, ignoring his dig at my appearance. I didn't have the time or inclination to shave the few days growth from my face. I had a small beard going on but I didn't care. What was the point anymore? It wasn't like I was trying to impress anyone.

"No time to shave, or are you hoping Bella digs the homeless look?" he teased as I shushed him. The last thing I needed was for Seth to overhear him and repeat this conversation in class.

Seth led me to his classroom while Emmett and Rosalie headed for the hall.

As soon as I stepped through the doorway I saw the imposing display. Jesus. This must have taken Bella hours. Seth was right, I could see now why he wanted me to see it in person. A photograph wouldn't do this justice.

A table running the length of the back of the room had been made into a medieval village with all the kids' houses and castles displayed on fake grass and mud. Seth's castle was on top of a fake hill overlooking all the others and there were small people and animal figures dotted around as well as a pretend river cutting through the village. I looked up at Seth's face and was pleased he was so proud.

"Seth, it looks amazing, you did so well."

"I know, ours is the top castle. I got ten extra homework points too!"

He pointed enthusiastically at items on the classroom walls but I was still taking in the details and downright awesomeness of the display.

"Seth, this is..." I paused when I heard heels clicking on the wooden floor and then spun around when I heard a crash behind me.

Bella was there, stifling a curse as she bent down to pick up some books. Instinctively I walked towards her to help.

"I'm fine. I've got it." She straightened up and placed the books on her desk, using her now free hands to readjust her skirt from where she'd bent down.

"Hi, Seth," she greeted before turning my way.

I smiled at her when she finally made eye contact with me. Her glaze drifted down to my stubbled chin and jaw before she looked back up, into my eyes. "I...I didn't know you were in here. I'm just grabbing this before I see Seth's parents."

She quickly got over her surprise at seeing me and withdrew a granola bar from her desk drawer. "I don't know why I thought this parent-teacher conference would be any different from all the others. Every time I think I'll be home for dinner and I never am!"

She chuckled nervously while I remained silent, not knowing what to say to her.

She stared again at me again, at my beard, at my chest, before she looked away nervously in a way I'd come to love.

Love? What? No.

Oh, dear God.

I was so screwed.

My mind was working in overdrive. Seeing her in her work outfit, behind her desk made my mind think x-rated thoughts. About her and those legs. And that skirt. And my glasses and...I shook my head and tried desperately to clear my mind and listen to her as she started talking again.

"Well...I need to go." She gestured to the door as I realized I hadn't yet spoken to her.

She was looking at me oddly, probably questioning my silence which meant I finally managed to find my tongue.

"Seth wanted me to see the display. Now I can see why. It looks great, Bella. Really great." I rubbed my stubbly beard as I was thinking about what to say. Bella watched as her face fell and she looked away.

"Thanks. It was good to keep busy. Seth's castle is amazing, I can see how hard you both worked on it." I sensed a slight bitterness to her tone but I couldn't call her on it with Seth in the same room as us. I must have looked surprised though because Bella went on to explain.

"Seth said he stayed the night at his uncles and spent a whole day making the castle together and..." she swallowed deeply, not finishing her sentence.

"I..." Nope. I had nothing.

No explanation for how I could spend half my weekend with my nephew but had no time for her son. She had clearly noticed and was subtlety calling me on it.

"You don't have to explain, Edward. But I do have to go. I'll send your brother down when we're done if you want."

"Okay, ummm, okay," I agreed before I watched her turn and leave. I want to say so much more, to explain, to talk, but she was gone.

I stayed in the classroom with Seth as he chatted about Matty, who he sat next to, and Chase, who was now his best friend.

I listened absentmindedly as my eyes scanned over Bella's desk. I saw her jacket hanging over the back of her seat and a mug decorated with pictures of Tyler and the words Happy Mother's Day. I saw a few 'World's Best Teacher' ornaments and magnets. I saw pots of neatly arranged pens, pencils and highlighters. In fact, the whole classroom was neat and tidy, neater and tidier than any amount of eight-year-olds would keep it. Bella's influence was all over this classroom and I felt wrong being here. Like I was in her personal space.

Maybe that's why I found it so fascinating. It gave me small insights into her and her life, and although I shouldn't want to know more about her, I knew I was kidding myself by pretending I didn't.

Seth then approached me with a workbook so I focused on listening to him as he explained how each Monday morning they wrote about their weekend in the book.

I read the page he was showing me. It was all about how we had made his castle. How he'd stayed over at my house, how we'd bought supplies and fast food. How I'd helped him and how much fun he'd had.

I knew Bella would have read this. I flicked back through the book and realized how often Seth wrote about spending time with me. I was pretty chuffed Seth had had such a good time but I couldn't help but wonder what Bella made of it all.

When I reached the most recent entry, about our castle building weekend, I saw what I assumed was Bella's writing, marking Seth's work. She'd corrected a few spelling mistakes and then written, "It sounds like you have a pretty great Uncle."

With my mind still engrossed in Seth's workbook I startled when I heard the clicking of heels again, but this time it was Emmett and Rosalie who appeard.

With Rosalie gushing over Seth's display, Emmett took the opportunity to clip me round the head.

"Ow," I exclaimed, holding the back of my head at the unexpected thump.

"You're such a dickhead," he whispered.

"Me? I'm not the one going around hitting people," I retaliated.

"You've broken her damn heart and you're having a go at me?" Emmett looked mad.

"Broken...? What?" I looked at my brother in disbelief. "Surely, neither her heart nor mine were topics of Seth's education?"

"No, but I can tell."

"Oh, can you, Romeo? Well, don't be offended when I don't take your advice."

"I have no advice for you now, bro. I think you've lost your damn mind."

"Dad...look." Seth dragged Emmett away, leaving me staring at him interacting with his son and wondering why I was so damn sure I could never be like that with Tyler.

"Sorry..." Bella walked back through the doorway again. "I forgot this..." she plucked her jacket off the back of her seat and started to thread her arms through the sleeves of the garment.

I watched, desperate to talk to her but unsure what I could possibly say.

"Bonjour, beautiful…oh I didn't know you had company." A guy in a suit and tie popped his head round the doorframe. The smile fell from his face when he saw Bella wasn't alone.

He coughed, looking embarrassed as I wondered how many times I'd have to punch his face to stop that smug smile ever returning.

Jesus, where did that thought come from? I was acting all kinds of crazy since I'd met Bella.

"Umm…are you busy here or can I walk you to your car?" The guy asked her.

Bella looked at me as an uncomfortable silence enveloped the room.

I stared back. Desperate to say something, anything but nothing came out.

She then turned to the guy and nodded.

"Sure. Thanks."

They left, walking down the corridor as I heard her ask him how his PT conferences had gone but they walked out of earshot before I heard his reply.

Emmett raised his eyebrows at me from across the room and clapped Seth on the back.

"Come on, buddy. I think you deserve that milkshake."

"Is Uncle Edward coming?"

"I don't think Miss Swan would give him a report good enough to deserve a milkshake," Emmett told his son as I scoffed from behind them.

So, that's it for this outtake. I know it was quite angsty and Edward wasn't at his finest but this was how it played out in my mind and we know they can come back from this!

Please hit review and let me know what you think. I love your feedback and want to know what people think of my writing.

Thanks to SarcasticBimbo and EdwardsFirstKissfor giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own.