It's Thursday.

He's coming over.

I should fix my hair, put on some lip gloss, loose twenty pounds. I should do something to get him to notice me – to make him think I'm pretty.

But I don't.

I hide in the living room where I can eavesdrop. But usually on his way to the bathroom, he stops and watches me play on the xbox. Or he'll ask me what I'm reading. Sometimes he just says hey.

I would join them in the kitchen, but I hate procrastinating. Plus I love my math homework. I like to do math and puzzles and homework. It's probably why I'm not popular like Jasper. That or maybe because I'm not stick-thin and I refuse to wear my contacts unless I really have to…. And I don't like talking to people. That's mostly why I'm not popular.

"What are you doing?" I see Jasper in his gym sweats.

"Gonna play a few at Emmett's cause we ain't got that test tomorrow – remember? It was moved to Monday."

"Oh, right…"

"You wanna come? You can kill us at horse…"

"Nah, I'm good." I stare down at my book so he won't see the lie.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." No.

He's almost to the door when Mom opens it with bags of groceries in her hands.

"Hey kid, no studying tonight?" she asks as he takes the bags from her. I reluctantly follow them into the kitchen to help.

"Nope, test on Monday. I'm heading to Emmett's." He shoves as many things as he can into the refrigerator.

"Oh you should take Rose with you…"

"I already asked. She doesn't want to go."

"Rosalie… you should go. Have some fun."

"I don't…" I can't form the lie in my mouth.

"Well, I'm making a romantic dinner for Dad so-"

We don't stay in the room long enough to hear what she says. Romantic dinner means GROSS! EVACUATE NOW!

"Grab your blue fleece – it'll be cold," Jasper tells me as I slip it on. No one would know it, but Jasper mothers me. A lot. Incessantly. Annoyingly all the time. But I appreciate it.

We joke and giggle as we walk to Emmett's house. No one would know this either, but if we're together long enough, we'll start acting like five year olds. I love it. We're racing each other as we near Emmett's house, and he wins because I stop running when I see Emmett in the driveway.

"Hey man, help me move the cars out of the way." He tosses keys at Jasper.

"His jeep's a stick." Jasper tells me as he tosses them at me. Jasper can't drive a stick shift. It's one of the few things I've taken from him in the womb like the immune system. He's allergic to everything.

"Okay." I fumble with the keys, looking at Emmett to see if it's okay if I drive if jeep but he's already in his dad's car. Even with my long legs I have to move the seat forward, and I'm too careful when I put it in reverse. I take my time turning off the ignition, trying to soak everything in. You can learn a lot about a person by the way they take care of their car. He must have four or five air fresheners in here because I can taste pine needles in my mouth.

"Thanks Rose." His smile is bright when I hand him his keys.

"No prob." What the hell. I flinch at my awkwardness.

"You wanna warm up with a game of Pig?" Jasper bounces a ball to me and I toss it in easily.

"Sure! Don't worry Rosalie, we'll go easy on ya," Emmett's being genuinely nice. But he doesn't have to be.

"Damn it," Jasper mutters and nods his head to somewhere behind me.

"Hey guys!" I don't have to turn around to know it's Newton. Why don't I like him? He's a loud, ignorant, brownnoser – and he's the worst shooting guard ever in the history of basketball.

"Hey Mike, we're playing Pig?" I can hear the sigh in Emmett's voice. He's too nice to tell Mike to shove it.

"Pig?" he scoffs. "Why not? And her too?"

Jasper shoots first. I'm thoroughly agitated when it's my turn, and I nearly miss. Mike gets a P.

Jasper misses and Emmett makes it from the corner. I swish it in. Mike gets an I. Jasper a P. I wish we were playing Horse, then I could call Mike a hoe like a 4th grader.

Emmett does an easy lay up, and I'm the only one that misses. I suck at dribbling.

Emmett finally misses, and I head toward the end of the drive way.

"Where's she going?" Mike whines. "Wait, you can't make that shot."

"It's about where the three-point line is," Jasper stands up for me, and Mike expects me to miss it.

The face he makes is priceless and so is Emmett's reaction.

"Whaaaaat! Oh my god," he's laughing, retrieving the ball. "Do that again!" He forgets about the game and makes me do it three more times. "Why aren't you playing for us? You could be an awesome shooting guard!"

He's loud and happy in a good way. It's contagious, and I can't help but blush.

"Pssh, I'm shooting guard," Mike pouts, dribbling the ball.

"I would be lousy in a game. Jasper got most of the sports coordination."

"Well you got the immune system. I had to get something out of it," Jasper shrugs. Yeah and you took all the social skills.

"Let's play a little 2 on 2," Mike smiles smugly. I protest but suddenly I'm on Jasper's team and I have the ball in my hands.

Emmett's guarding me, but he lets me pass the ball off to Jasper. And suddenly Jasper's bent over and holding his nose, and Mike's doing a victory dance.

"Jasper, you're bleeding! Are you okay?" That mothering thing about Jasper? Yeah I do it too. I try to get a good look, but he's waving me off. Emmett disappears inside the house, and I find the ball at my feet.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm good…"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I shove the basketball into Mike's stomach. "You have a game tomorrow – he's starting point guard – are you insane?" I'm swatting fists at him.

I'm picked up from behind and carried two steps away. Someone's holding down my arms, and all I can hear is the blood rushing in my ears. I see Emmett's mom holding Jasper's face, and then I realize Emmett is holding me. His chest's hard and flat, and I find myself breathing in rhythm with him. We walk inside, and Jasper is given a bag of peas. Emmett leads me to the kitchen table and I fret quietly in a chair.

"You guys shouldn't be playing so rough, especially right before a game," Mrs. McCarty reprimands us. "You know better."

"Sorry Mom," Emmett bows his head, leaning against the counter. He's got his arms crossed, and I can't stop myself from noticing his arm muscles. Until I see Mrs. McCarty watching me.

"It was Mike's fault. He's such a sore loser…"

"You can't blame him too much for trying to impress a pretty girl," she turns to the freezer for ice, and I blush when I realize she means me.

"Mike would hit on anything with a pulse," Emmett grumbles.

My stomach twists and I'm ready to go. I know I'm not the prettiest girl in the world, but I don't need to hear him saying it.

"Let's just go," I beg Jasper.

It's Friday.

It's quizzes, tests, and basketball.

I don't care. I still feel rejected from his comment last night, and I'm glad I don't have sit behind him in Spanish today because of the pep rally. I don't care.

I'm upset we don't have our math test because Mr. Varner pushed it back to Monday. It was a gift for the big game. We even get an extra two points on our test if we go and give him the ticket stub. That's what happens when he's the announcer and does all the player statistics.

At lunch, the team sits together nicely dressed in their ironed slacks and ties. And I have to give Jasper his extra lunch. I forgot to give it to him this morning and I almost ask Angela or Bella to take over there. But I see Mike and I remember the big apple packed in the brown bag. He's sitting next to Emmett and Eric, and I hear their conversation when I walk over.

"Tanya's a 12 – she's so hot."

"Maybe a nine." Emmett mumbles. I agree with Eric. Tanya's very pretty – her face is very symmetrical.

"Oops." I swing the bag to Jasper across the table, knocking into Mike's head.

"What the-" Mike flinches when he sees me.

"Thank you," Jasper digs into the bag.

I hear Mike mutter five under his breath when I leave. "Yeah six…" I hear Emmett agree.

I don't even return to my table. I head to the library to start on an English assignment. Because I don't care.

But I'm crying before I even reach the bathrooms. There's a group of senior girls, and I hide in a stall. I know they noticed me because they all go quiet and there's awkward silence as they decide to leave. The door of the stall is gently pushed open because I didn't lock it, and there's Perfect 12 Tanya. And she really is pretty when gives me a sad, knowing look.

"Whatever it is, it probably won't matter in a month," she hands me a tissue.

"Thanks." My voice cracks. I wipe my nose and she holds my glasses when I wash my face in the sink.

"You're lucky, you know. You're not an ugly crier. You're eyes aren't very red." She's being nice, and it helps.

"Thank you." I give her my best smile when she hands me my glasses.

"Thank god, you came in when you did." She distracts me for the rest of lunch, telling me how stupid her friends can be. It works until the bell rings, and I see him when we leave the bathroom. The tie makes his shoulders look broader, and I have to turn away. Because I don't care. Tanya walks me to my locker and says she'll save me a seat at the pep rally. I don't really believe her, but it won't matter because I'm ditching the pep rally.

After chemistry, we're ordered to go to the gym for the pep rally, but I get by most of the teachers and I'm almost out the door.

"Rosalie, wait!" Emmett's there panting.

"What?" I say it sharper than I intended.

"Are you okay?" he frowns.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What is it?"

"Jasper doesn't have his socks." The damn socks. They were his lucky socks and he played better with them. Right.

"Okay, I'll bring them." The door's open and I'm almost through.

"McCarty? Miss Hale?" Mr. Varner calls us from down the hall. I missed my chance. "Pep rally's this way."

We're quiet the whole way to the gym, and I do end up sitting with Tanya because she's in the front row with a space saved for me. It's agony sitting there. I have no pep and no patience. Jasper finds me in the crowd, and I nod and roll my eyes to let him know that I know about the damn socks.

It takes me an hour to find his stupid socks. They're balled up under his desk in his room, and they stink, but they're probably even luckier that way. I wait outside the locker room for anyone to come out, so they can get Jasper. He should be coming out soon to see if I'm here anyway. The door opens, but it's a senior.

"Can you Jasper real quick, please? I've got his socks." He understands and goes back in, but it's Emmett who comes out. He's got his uniform on, but he's still barefoot.

"Hey!" His smile is bright and dimpled. It's melt-worthy, but I don't care.

"Here, make sure Jasper gets them." I toss them at him and walk down the hall.

"You're sitting with our parents?" He asks sounding… different. Hopeful?

"No. I'm not staying." I don't even glance at him when I turn the corner.

I'm in bed reading when they get home. It's too silent, and I know they lost. Jasper slams his door shut but enters my room through the connected bathroom. He rants about his dirty socks and how he messed up a couple of plays. I hear somewhere in there that the coach had to bench Emmett. He messed up more than few times.

He leaves the room, and I try to sleep. But I can't. Because I do care.

It's Saturday.

Mom sleeps in. Dad takes us out for breakfast, but Jasper isn't in the mood so it's just the two of us.

I hate myself when we get to the diner because Emmett's working. He works most week days and Saturdays, but I've never seen him work this early before. Dad sits down at the counter and thankfully it's Mrs. Cope who serves us.

I'm hyperaware of him, and I can tell where he is without looking. But he also hasn't even looked at me – or even said hi. Dad doesn't even say anything to him.

Dad talks about work and asks about school. We talk about random things and old memories. Then I'm bold enough to ask about the game.

"62-45… it was rough. Everyone was just unfocused and kept making little mistakes. Every one's got bad days. You can't win them all." He shrugs. I'm sure if I had asked last night, his response would have been much different – more like Jasper's.

This time I make eye contact with Emmett. He's walking behind the counter coming from the kitchen, but there's no smile or acknowledgment. He keeps carrying a tray full breakfast plates, and I look back down at my own pancakes.

I'm not hungry anymore. I let Dad eat them.

I watch TV for the rest of the day.

Sunday means church.

Our families sit on the same pew, but he's not there. Of course my mother asks about him, and I can't help myself but listen.

"He said he didn't feel well. He's been a little down since the game…"

"Oh he shouldn't beat himself about it. It takes a team to win a game."

"I don't think it's basketball he's upset about."

"Oh, a girl? Thank God, the twins haven't started dating. I'm not ready for gray hair…"

They stifle their giggles, but Mom obviously doesn't know about Jasper and Alice Brandon yet. I see Jasper staring at me in the corner of my eye, and I nudge him to stop. He nudges back and Mom glares as the service starts.

At home Jasper doesn't bother changing before picking up a basketball.

"Pig, real quick?"

"Sure." Because I can't say no. Neither of us can to each other.

"You know… it wouldn't bother me if you liked Emmett…"

I fix my glare at the basketball hoop.

"I know he likes you."

"Just stop," I snap.

"But I see-"

"Leave it alone Jasper. He doesn't – not like that. I heard him say it, so stop," I chuck the ball into the garage.

I stay in my room until dinner. I eat quickly and hurry back to my room. I open my math book, and I remember that he hasn't been over to study for the math test. He didn't have very good grades at the beginning of the year so he'd asked Jasper for help because they had to have a 3.0 gpa – all athletes do.

I should remind Jasper just in case. What if he needed extra help? He couldn't fail a test. I could get Jasper to call him, but then he'd try to bring up that conversation again. Maybe… I could call him? That'd be weird. I could go over to his house. That'd be weirder.

"Hey," Jasper stuck his head in. "Could I borrow your homework for a sec? I just want to look at number 43 again. I called Emmett, and he said he's got it all down so…"

"Yeah here," I pull the piece of paper out of my notebook. "Need anything else? I'm going to bed soon."

"Nah, I'm good thanks."

Monday is terrible.

I sit quietly at my desk and listen to other people talk about their awesome weekend. They're all lies. This is Forks – nothing exciting ever happens….

I don't realize it until I see Emmett that I've been holding my breath. He walks in with his head down directly to his seat. He doesn't look at me or even Jasper behind me. Something's wrong, and everyone seems to notice because they all glance at him, frowning. He's not his usual self – happy, jovial, smiley. Now he's more like… me. He's the Rosalie version of Emmett – quiet and withdrawn.

Mr. Varner gives us our test. I finish first, but I wait until someone else turns their test. I may be slightly superstitious… I'm surprised to see Emmett turn his test in first. I wait ten seconds after he leaves the room to follow suit.

"You're free to go, but could I speak with you after class?" Mr. Varner whispers and I nod. It's probably about that tutoring thing he was trying to organize last month.

I look around for Emmett, wondering how his test went, but I find Tanya coming out of the bathroom.

"Fancy seeing you here," she smiles brightly. "Hey you're not wearing your glasses today…"

"I wear contacts once in a while…" Mainly on test days.

"Huh, it's not fair. You're equally cute with them on and off. I looked really geeky in my glasses, so I never wear them out in public. Hey wanna walk me back to class?" she asked, continuing on about her glasses.

We're – she's – still talking when the bell rings and I have to go back and see Mr. Varner. Emmett's there too, and I bet he's going to ask me to tutor him even though he's already doing homework with Jasper.

"Good you're both here," Mr. Varner starts. "So we're starting a tutoring program with the middle school, and since you two are my best students I was hoping you'd be interested in participating?"

"I'm in, but I'll have to work around practice," Emmett agreed.

"Okay," I frown at him. I guess that help from Jasper has really paid off, but why hadn't Mr. Varner asked Jasper to join unless Emmett has a really high grade… Or maybe he thinks he would be less intimidating which would be weird since Emmett is intimidating to look at compared to Jasper. Or maybe it's his open personality – but Jasper can be pretty charming when he wants to be…

"Alright thank you, I'll see you later then," he waved us away.

Emmett was out the door before I could even blink.

It's Tuesday.

This Tuesday happens to be particularly weird.

Some of Tanya's friends say hello to me on the way to first period. They seem really genuine.

Emmett has been watching me all morning. He doesn't even turn away when I glance at him.

When I turn around to see what Jasper's test grade, I see Emmett's paper as he turns it over.

98.

Same as me.

Jasper got an 82. Emmett usually gets similar grades as him. Although if he's one of Mr. Varner's best students then he had to be getting A+'s all year… Emmett doesn't need tutoring.

Why would he lie?

I have to sit by myself at lunch which doesn't really bother me. I get my homework done sooner, but Angela had to finish her paper in the library, Bella is sitting alone with her crush, and Jasper's sitting with the team because they have an away game today.

"Hey…" Emmett's standing across from me. He's really too handsome in his game day clothes, but then I remember the "six" comment. Six isn't too bad. More than half. But it's still a D and I don't do D's. I'm an A student. A+.

"Hi…"

"So you're coming to the game right?" he shifts his weight, and an apple rolls off his tray onto the table.

"Yeah," I shrug, holding out the apple. "but does it even matter?"

"It matters," he looks me in the eye and takes his apple. He leaves when I don't say anything because what could I say? Especially to that? That I matter? What did that even mean?

They win their game 82 – 57.

And fortunately - and unfortunately, they decide to ride back with us. They smelled. Bad. And I was stuck in the middle because I was the smallest. My parents and Jasper seemed completely oblivious to my nervousness, but not Emmett because he was watching me with a curious expression. At some point he had his arm thrown over the seat and it slowly moved down to rest on my shoulders. And then somehow we had inched toward each other because our thighs were touching and he made no move to scoot away.

The weirdest part was that I wasn't so nervous anymore.

Wednesday is strange, amazing, and dare I say… awesome.

He finds me before first period to say hello and we silently walk to class.

He smiles… differently at me in the hall.

Throughout lunch we catch each other's gazes. His smile is infectious.

There's a mandatory fire drill during Spanish, and he stands with me apart from the crowd. I finally have the nerve to ask him about yesterday.

"You don't need help with math." I look up at him, and he looks sheepish.

"No."

It starts to rain, and we're hurried back inside. I spend the rest of the school day trying to figure it all out.

I can't come up with anything logical.

I wait in the empty gym after school. Days after a game, the teams have a "soft practice" which is basically a meeting and then goofing off. I keep busy with a forgotten basketball, shooting from the free throw and three point lines. They have a short meeting because they had such a good game last night, and I blush when some seniors enter the gym. I grab my bag and my keys, ready to go.

"Can I have the keys? I wanna go to Alice's," Jasper asks as soon as he sees me.

"Um right, how am I getting home?" I roll my eyes.

"Got that taken care," he thumbs at Emmett behind him. "Thanks," he snatches the keys out of my hands.

"Hey!" I gape at him as he runs out of the gym. "Jackass…"

Emmett stays quiet and nods toward the door. I hate Jasper for putting me in this situation, especially since he did it on purpose, and I told him to not get involved. When we get into his jeep, he doesn't put the key in the ignition. He just… sits there, staring out the windshield.

"You've made things very difficult."

His words stun me. I'm never difficult. Usually.

"Guys aren't supposed to like their friend's sisters, and I tried, well… not very hard because you're so… cool. It's unreal how cool you are and unfair because you're my best friend's sister. I pretended to suck at math, so Jasper would offer to tutor me. I hoped you'd join us, but you never did. I'm sorry I lied about that," he finally turned to look at me.

"But I'm a six." My brain is fuzzy and I can't function. I'm a six. He can't like me.

"Crap," he winced. "That – I – but – because I couldn't like you, I didn't want other guys to like you. I remember Mike mentioning he thought you were pretty, and I persuaded him to think that you were okay. But then you out-showed him at basketball and then tried to beat him up – you're not one of his favorite people now… I'm sorry about that too, but you're not a six. You're not on a stupid scale. You're the prettiest girl I've ever seen."

"But the diner?"

"I thought you were mad at me, and I was embarrassed because I had a bad night. I always play better when you're there. But then I hated myself and the whole situation."

"But… why?" He understands my question. Why me?

"You play video games. You're smart and pretty. You nail three-pointers every time. You don't talk very much, but you say what you mean. You like school, and you only wear you're contacts on test days. You're really pretty. You're strong. You're not like other girls, and every time I see you, I just… want to be next to you."

"Oh…" I was blushing. Hard. "I'm going to kill Jasper. I can't believe he told you."

"He didn't…" he grinned. "He'd been trying to figure out what was up with me, and on Monday I just told him I liked you. He said it was alright and that I should ask you out."

"So are you?" I smile the most genuinely happy smile ever. My heart is pounding so hard that my head might be hurting, but I don't care because I'm just so happy.

It's Thursday.

He's coming over.

I should fix my hair, put on some lip gloss, loose twenty pounds. I should do something to get him to notice me – to make him think I'm pretty.

But I don't.

Because he knows I'm pretty and likes me the way I am. And I believe Emmett when he tells me stuff like that – that I'm pretty. He makes me feel normal.

Jasper still has that stupid, smug look on his face. But I can't hate that he was right. Mom knows I think because she was home when he dropped me off yesterday. He kissed my cheek, and I felt like flying. I had this stupid, giddy look on my face all night. I think I still do.

It's our first date, and I can't believe how much I like him already. He's pretty much the opposite of me – loud, funny, and social. But he's also smart and nice and really attractive. He loves basketball and likes the same video games as I do.

It's crazy what can happen in a week.

The door bell rings.

He's here!

An: procrastination related to schoolwork equals fluffly one shots. This is the only one of many that's complete :/ ...

Also disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

Thanks for Reading!