DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters mentioned here. They are all Stephenie Meyer's. I am just toying around with this story. Read the teaser in the SE of Eclipse for this to make sense!

Alice finished pinning my dress and I emerged from my happy place, ready to get out of it. She unzipped the back and I let it fall to the ground, glad to be rid of the thing. I put my jeans back on and put back on my shirt as Alice put it back on a hanger and into its garment bag.

"Bella?" She asked, slightly apprehensively.

"Yeah, Alice?"

She turned to look at me and then walked toward me to take my left hand in hers. She ran her thumb over the diamond on my finger.

"You would never do anything to hurt my brother would you?"

"Alice, I –"

"Oh, what a silly question of course you wouldn't. But if you had any problems with the events of the next few days, you would tell him, right?"

"Alice, I love Edward with every fiber of my being. I would never hurt him purposefully."

"Okay. I am so excited Bella!"

"Yeah. So am I." Thought I knew that we weren't excited about the same thing. I was feigning enthusiasm for this wedding. I knew I needed to do it for Charlie and Renee, and the Cullens, especially Edward. That's a good reason to do something, isn't it? To make the most important people in my life happy? I mean, if they are happy, I should be happy. So why wasn't I happy about the upcoming events?

I knew the exact answer. It was hanging on the telephone poles that lined my street. It hurt me that I was the reason for Jake running away. I had made my choice. Why couldn't he be man enough and a good enough friend to be happy for me like a normal person. Even Charlie was at least pretending to be happy for me – most of the time. Why did he have to run away? Why couldn't he be there to support me for this, when I needed him most. When I needed someone to back me up in my decision.

It was stupid for me to expect Jake to back up this decision. But wasn't it the job of your best friend to tell you they back you up, once they've realized that disagreeing with you wasn't going to make you change your mind?

That's when I made my decision. I would tell Jake in person that he was being a loser for running away. I had a few days before the wedding, surely I could make it to Canada in time. Especially if I kept my word to Alice and told Edward what I was thinking. He drove faster than anyone else I knew. Though, getting him to go along with this was going to take some serious effort.

Chapter Two

I went to pick up my phone, but as soon as I did, it rang in my hand.

"Hello?" I said, a little startled by the coincidence.

"No." The velvety voice on the other end said flatly.

"Edward?"

"No. Jake is a big boy Bella. You made your choice and he made his. You have to let it be."

"Edward, how did you-nevermind. Alice."

"Yes, Alice. You seemed a little on edge at your fitting today so she was keeping an extra close watch on you."

"Edward-he was there for me during…" I trailed off. I really hated bring up that less than golden part of our relationship. "He was there for me, Edward, when I really needed him. Despite how set I am in what we are doing, this isn't an easy thing for me. I am terrified. No-wait, that sounded bad. I am not terrified of marrying you or of the … honeymoon. But I was raised to be apprehensive of this whole marriage-thing. I want to do it right. I want all the people I care about to be there. In a way, this is my goodbye to them all. And like it or not, Jake is one of those people to me, Edward."

"I still have to say 'no' Bella. I know how much that decision may hurt you, and I am sorry for that. But he has been living wild for a while now. Even if we did find him, he may not the control he used to claim to have. I would hate to hurt him in front of you if he were to hurt you."

The tears were welling up in my eyes, which caused me to delay my response to Edward. I didn't want him to know how hurt I was by his response. I wasn't sure if I was upset by what he said, or if it was because I knew he was right. Jake wouldn't listen to me. And even if he did, he wouldn't change his mind. But I felt like I at least needed to try. That he deserved that chance.

"Bella?" I could hear the concern in his voice. "Bella, honey, say something. Let me know you are still there and not halfway to the border."

I mustered as much control as I could. "I am here." Darn it. My voice broke on here. I had been betrayed by myself.

"Bella, why are you crying?"

"I am not crying." Darn, it broke again.

"Isabella Swan. You are a horrible actress. Even when I cannot see your face. I will be at your house later tonight. And I expect you to still be there when I arrive. I will not allow this dog to ruin our wedding day and I would appreciate it if you would do the same. He is almost a grown man, he is no longer a puppy and you cannot go running after him. You are not his mother. He will come back when he comes back. I love you."

"I love you too." I managed before I hung up the phone and sat down on my bed, hanging my head in my hands and letting my emotions take over me. I cried for several minutes, maybe even 15, before I heard Charlie calling my name up the stairs.

"Bells?" he called, a little apprehensively. He had no doubt noticed that I had failed to come down in the at least 30 minutes since Alice had left our house. I wiped my eyes and regained my composure before going downstairs. I didn't doubt that Charlie would offer to call off this wedding at the first sign of my unhappiness.