Apparently I was recognized as one of the popular people in school. I didn't get it. My friends were popular, not me. I'm average. Below average. I'm not…icky, per say, I'm Bella. Bella Swan.
The Cullen's are the popular ones. Goodness, with Alice the head of everything—she practically created at least three new clubs this year—and Edward…whatever he was. Yeah, he's my friend, but…he's…Edward. He is his own adjective.
"Um…Bella?" I heard a voice interrupting my dream of Leo, Brad, and Orlando mixed into this dream guy…on a beach.
Come back…Please. "What?" I grumbled much harsher than I had planned.
"Sorry! I just thought you would want to get a start on the day before it ended. Now, if you want to lay here and get your hair all bent out of shape, then by all means, be my guest, but you're not going out with me." Alice bounded out of her tremendous canopy bed onto the stepstool that assured she made a seamless trip to the ground. I always made fun of her for having to have that little thing, but I wished my bed was tall enough to require one. It wasn't. I could crawl onto that thing while I was on my knees. And it creaked. Lovely.
I liked staying at Alice's house more than my own. That's why I was over there at least three days out of the week. Carlisle and Esme liked me. Jasper was nice, I had no problems. His parents were sick in Texas, so he and Rosalie went on trips back home a lot. This was one of the times Rose was in town, but not Jasper. Emmett hugged me a little too tightly, Rose was…there, with Emmett, but there, and Edward? Well, I considered us friends. I knew what he was like in real life, so it wasn't much to brag about. He had morning breath, messy hair, an attitude, and he liked Cinnamon Toast Crunch; he's human. "Fine. I'm up." I sat upright as Alice ripped open her pink and brown striped suede curtains to reveal what was a sunny day for Forks.
"No," Alice grabbed my arm and pulled me until I got to the edge of her monstrous bed. "Up."
She continued pulling, for she thought I was resisting, but in fact, that was gravity, "This is—"
THUMP! "Alice! I was coming! That resisting, yeah, it was me! I was getting there! Sorry, I don't flutter like you, I, like any typical teenager, take more than thirty seconds to wake up!" I screamed as my head was bent under my crumpled body. I could see under the bed to another case full of shoes.
"So-rry!" She squealed in between laughs.
I tried to correct myself, but my feet had gotten hung in the sheets, and my arms were too busy keeping my body from snapping my neck. Stupid precarious positions. My eyes were beginning to hurt from the rushing fluids. If I wasn't awake six seconds ago, I definitely was now. "Alice? Help?"
"No, the last time I helped you, you yelled at me, so I'm going to sit here and watch." She sat down on a stool in front of the mirror against her bathroom door. One of many, many mirrors. I wondered how someone could stare at themselves so much, but Alice never fit the mold. Maybe that's why she was so recognizable.
"Now? Now of all times, you decide to take a backseat? For goodness sake, you tell me what turns to take when we drive to school! And I go there with you! Now you decide to let go of the control?!" I yelled, making no attempt to hide my bare stomach and strawberry-covered underwear, which were exposed due to my t shirt coming up from the fall.
"Yes. Now. I. Do! So, do it yourself." Alice crossed her arms, satisfied with what she had proved to herself. Even from upside down, she looked perfect. Her spiky hair was still spiked, not as much as usual, but it's like it was…made that way. Without makeup she looked flawless.
I tried contorting myself to get out easier, but that just made the sheets tangle between my legs more. "Alice," I calmed my voice down, so Alice would know this was another one of our morning discussions. We always fought in the morning. "Please, help me. I look like a fool."
She turned her head like she didn't hear me, but I could see her look at me from her peripherals. "Oh, now?"
I had to laugh. This was the same way every morning started. Not with me being all upside down and whatnot, but the arguing. "Yes. Now. Please. I'm getting dizzy, and…wait…is that a…zit?"
Alice jumped out of her seat, bounded over to the bed, jerked the sheets off, jumped on top of me, and pulled my face two inches away from hers. "Where?!"
I ignored the throbbing in my head and looked back to see Alice's bedroom door open and an open-mouthed Emmett and Edward.
Emmett reached to his pocket, where he kept his phone, but Alice stopped him, "You even think about doing that, and those chili pepper boxers you like so much will magically disappear into the shredder. Yeah, I know about them."
Emmett's hand froze on his pocket, "Where are they?" He challenged.
"Second drawer, left side, three down." Her eyes narrowed as I laid there and Alice's hands were still around my cheeks, but one had magically covered my mouth, shushing my soon to come scream. She always told me they could smell fear.
Emmett dropped his hand, "I hate you."
Edward laughed as Emmett walked away in defeat. "I always knew there was something more with you two. Alice! Jasper would be so disappointed, although, he may like it." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down and then followed Emmett wherever he went off to sulk to.
Alice rolled off of me, "Wow, that was more of you than they had ever seen. You know, Edward's single."
Alice had been trying to get Edward and I hooked up ever since we had become friends. Twelve years. I remember the first time she suggested that, Edward was sitting in the yard with Emmett and two yellow Tonka trucks. Alice, always being the persistent person she is, walked right up to Edward with the ring that fell out of Edward's Cinnamon Toast Crunch box and pronounced me his wife. Of course she asked me if I liked the ring, and I, having no clue, just being a five year old little girl with Barbie's and jewel crowns, thought it was for me and said yes. Gold painted plastic with a two inch rhinestone in the middle, with a heart painted in the middle. Ultimate bling. I can honestly say I've already been divorced. Edward obviously said no—I had cooties—but Alice already shoved the ring that was two sizes too small onto Edward's ring finger. It took Esme two sticks of butter to get that thing off. Emmett and Alice of course considered it real, so Emmett became an authorized divorce attorney and finally made the divorce official. "No Alice," I shook my head the same way every time we had this conversation, "No."
"Why? You're perfect for each other. Technically you can salvage your marriage if you want to." Alice nodded convincingly.
"No, that took a lot out of me. I don't think I can go through something so devastating again."
"Shut up, Bella."
"No problem."
"Fix your hair, please."
"Yes, Alice."
Carlisle and Esme were out of town for one of Carlisle's hospital conferences. It was in the Caribbean this time, so Esme fake acted like Carlisle was pulling her to go, but she had her bag packed an hour after Carlisle got the call. She knew it was coming soon, so she listened in on the call. Discretely, of course. I think that's where Alice got all her snooping skills. "Cinnamon Toast Crunch again, huh, Edward?"
Edward jerked his recently washed face up from staring intently at the bowl of cereal. "Yeah…?"
"No, don't let me interrupt," I laughed silently to myself.
Alice and Emmett took enough time to get ready, so Edward and I were alone in the cavernous kitchen. Only the island was ever eaten on, unless there was some big party, which wasn't that infrequent, with Alice and Esme. "No, it's fine. I guess." He carefully added the last part.
"So, you coming to my party I am apparently having?"
"You aren't supposed to know about that." Edward took another bite of sugary cereal.
"I saw the invitations under Alice's bed," I chuckled. Alice didn't have enough room for invitations and shoes.
"Oh, I told her she should hide them in a better place, but she said no one would ever think she would put her shoes in jeopardy of paper cuts. Whatever that means."
"It's an Alice thing." We both said in unison. When we couldn't figure out why Alice did the things she did, we said the only thing we could think of.
"What's an Alice thing? Eeww, how can you eat that crap? Do you know what is in there? It'll kill you." Alice recited her usual morning "fun fact" as she pulled out a stool beside me to sit as she peeled a banana. She wore a white, form sitting shirt with a huge purple flower covering the front, and dark skinny jeans with purple heels. If it weren't my shirt, I wouldn't have known it was white at some point. It was my shirt. I bought it and there were no designs, but then Alice had Home Ec and my white shirt is now her white shirt with a flower painted on the front.
"Nothing." Edward chimed in, forgetting the cereal diss.
Alice seemed offended, "Well then, who peed in your Cinnamon Toast Crunch this morning?"
"I did!" Emmett said as he pulled Edward's bowl of cereal out from under his spoon.
"Thanks. I was done." Edward put his spoon down on the counter and threw his napkin away.
"Crap, you were serious. I thought there was some left."
"No, it was my bowl of cereal and I ate it."
"But I wanted some." Emmett pleaded. He seemed too big to plead, but the better you got to know him, the more you realized how squishy he really was.
"Put an ad in the newspaper."
"Put an ad in the newspaper." Emmett mimicked, but in a more whiny and babyish tone.
Edward pushed his chair back in and walked back upstairs "Real mature, Emmett. Way to be the big brother."
"Mature? So eating this is mature? There's an old man in an apron on the front. They should call America's Most Wanted. This man could be a criminal."
By then Edward had already gone up the stairs and walked into his room. The silence didn't ensue for lone before Alice broke in, "Going out with Rose today?"
"No." Emmett lied.
"You're wearing your muscle shirt." Alice pointed out Emmett's blue t shirt that was at least one size too small, and the sleeves came just long enough to cover his shoulders, but short enough to reveal his bulging biceps.
"This old thing? Nah," he flexed where his muscles peeked out of every nook and cranny, "It's just me." He flexed more, pouring the empty bowl of milk into the sink. Edward never liked the bottom of the cereal; I pointed out there was always a pile of cinnamon sugar that was gritty and weird, and it was kind of a turn off.
"Whatever. Bella and I are going out, too." Alice pointed out, like it was a contest of some sort.
"We are?"
Alice shot a wild wide-eyed look at me, "Yes, we are."
"Oh, yeah…um…out. I'm—we---out" I stammered.
Thankfully, Alice interrupted, "Yes, out. We are going out so…we're going. Now." She flipped what was left of her spiky black hair in Emmett's face and yanked me up toward the stairs, leaving my half-eaten bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch lying on the counter.