Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight series and all characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.
Chapter 1 – BPOV
Over the years, I'd endured many of Alice's marathon shopping trips but it never occurred to me how much more intense it would be to shop for her wedding. I knew that when she asked me to be her maid of honour a few months ago, I could never have turned her down though because Alice is, without a doubt, my best friend and I really have no idea where I would be today without her. So here I am, once again, standing in the middle of a bridal wear store in Port Angeles whilst the seamstress vigorously pulls at my dress pinning it in various places. These fittings have happened too many times for my liking and I'm still pretty sure it was fine the first time I put the dress on but what do I know? My lack of fashion sense is well known within the small town of Forks. Admittedly, Alice didn't go overboard when it came to her bridesmaids, which is surprising considering the little pixies enthusiasm for shopping and over-the-top displays of style. The bridesmaids including Angela, Leah and myself would all be wearing midnight blue satin gowns. Angela is one of our mutual childhood friends and attended Forks high school with us. Leah is my stepsister and although we had a rocky relationship at the start, we have all become quite close in the last couple of years. Her mum Sue married Charlie a couple of years ago now. It was a simple wedding unlike the one I was currently preparing for. The dresses Alice had picked, however, suit each of us perfectly due to the different necklines and cuts. My dress is strapless with a sweetheart neckline, falling to my knees where a tulle underlay can just be seen. It suits Alice's quirky personality and style whilst still managing to make me feel comfortable and confident, which is something that doesn't happen very often these days. The shoes on the other hand, are enough to make me feel slightly queasy and I just hope that I don't trip on an errant flower petal on my way down the aisle. I really don't think I would ever live that down especially with the way Emmett likes to tease me incessantly about my clumsiness.
"Will you stop grimacing? You said you loved the dress?" Alice interrupts my thoughts, staring at me from her spot on the beige leather sofa by the pedestal I am currently precariously standing upon.
"Oh, it's not that. I really do love it. It's just the shoes I'm concerned about. Please, I don't want to ruin your day. PLEASE just let me wear some flats" I whine, whilst the seamstress once again prods my leg with one of the pins.
"Hush your winging, woman. You will be fine. I know these things". She taps her temple deliberately. Ah, Alice's infamous ability to "predict" the future. I've learnt by now that there's no use arguing her when she does this because she will only ever get her way. "Besides, you'll have Edward there holding you up, making sure you don't fall". I instantly freeze as the words leave her mouth. Of course I knew he was going to be at the wedding because he is Alice's older brother after all but it just didn't filter through that I would be forced to have any kind of prolonged contact with him. I was planning on dodging him just like I have successfully done for the past 4 years since he went off to pursue his music career.
"Alice, you know that that will only cause problems. I can't talk to him. Please…" I trail off realising that once again she is going to pull the 'It's my wedding' card and I will bow to her whims without further complaint.
"Bellaaaaaa, he's my brother and you're my best friend. I love you both and you're just going to have to get along. I just don't understand how you could just stop talking after he left. Surely there is some way that you could work out your differences and maybe even give it another shot?" she says hopefully but I cut her down straightaway with a glare.
"No! We argued. We broke up. He left. End of story". In fact there is slightly more to the story as well as Edward saying some very hurtful things before we went our separate ways but I didn't have the heart to bring Alice into that. Instead Edward and I just said that we had decided to go to different colleges. I had always wanted to be close to home so that I could visit Charlie whenever I wanted and therefore decided to study English at the University of Washington. I went on to gain my teaching degree and now teach at the high school here in Forks. Alice followed me to Washington University a year later and studied Business Management. She's currently 22 where I am 23 and owns her own boutique in Port Angeles, which sells her own creations and is extremely popular with both the locals and those it draws in from other states. However, Edward wanted to move further away and do something different with his life. He always had a passion for music and was an extremely talented singer and pianist. He dabbled in the guitar as well towards to the end of high school. He was accepted to everywhere he applied including Dartmouth, which left him undecided about whether or not to join me or move further afield. I pushed him to follow his dreams and to not base his decisions on me, which led to the argument that ultimately ended our relationship. During the summer before term began, he was playing at a tiny venue in Seattle that everyone went to apart from myself and was spotted by a scout looking for new sounds. He ended up following his dream in a new direction and was snapped up by a record label straight away. At 23 years old, he has had many number one singles and albums as well as sell-out tours throughout the world. When he signed the contract, he decided that I would not chase after him like I had planned to do but let him go and hope he was happy. Since then he's been home a handful of times but I've always conveniently had to fly out to visit Renee, my mum, in Florida. It's strange to see Edward on television and in magazines and have nearly all of the girls in my English classes fawn over his pictures. To me, he will always be the boy that I grew up with in the tiny town of Forks and who shared my first kiss. I never wanted to hold him back but at the same time I could never see myself leaving small town life and spend my days being chased my paparazzi. It just wasn't me.
"OK Alice. I really will try my best to get along with him but he's no longer the person that I knew all those years ago".
"I know. I know. I think the fame has gone to his head. He doesn't write any of his own music anymore and instead let's the label dictate what his new songs will be like. Have you heard Back to You? It doesn't sound anything like his old stuff but there is no way I'm bringing that up again. The last time we mentioned it, he stormed out of the house, cutting his visit short and he doesn't visit that much in the first place. Mum was so upset". I can see the sadness in her eyes as she says this. Her and Edward had always been close as children and it had hurt her as much as me when he left so abruptly. I'd known that there had been some drama during his last trip to Forks but I never want to ask what actually happens when he's here. I'm afraid it will be too much for me.
"How long is he staying in town this time?" I ask whilst fumbling with my fingers in front of me, earning a scolding look from the seamstress.
"He'll be here in two days so that he can join in with the bachelor/bachelorette parties and then the rehearsal dinner. I think he's going to stay at mum and dad's house for a few days after as well, depending on whether or not he gives in to the labels pleas to go back to L.A.". The disdain of the label and their moaning is evident in her voice. "Anyways, I think you're done now. That's fine, Marie", she directs towards the torturer to my right (a.k.a. the seamstress), who then stands and retreats to another room. After carefully disentangling myself from the dress I follow Alice out of the store to enjoy a quite lunch before I let myself think about the upcoming couple of weeks.
This is my first fanfiction and I'd love to know what you guys think. Should I carry on with the story? Please review this first chapter and let me know if I'm doing anything right. Thank you xx