A/N: This is my first Twilight fanfic. I hope you like it. Please leave a review.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the story, I'm just a fan who came up with a story around them.
The drive home from school felt strange today; I figured that it was because my stomach was threatening to explode at any given moment.
Thanks to the new lunch lady, school was ended early after most of the student body -including myself- came down with a moderate case of food poisoning. The only students lucky enough to not get sick were those who brought a packed lunch, and those who did not eat- i.e. Edward and Alice.
Edward drove much slower then usual. He probably had two reasons for doing so. One: he didn't want me to vomit, which would mean I would feel worse. Two: he didn't want my stomach contents on his newly upholstered seats. I knew that reason number one was more likely.
Alice sat in the passenger seat, leaving the bench seat in the back clear for me to lye down on. I wanted to ask her what time it was -not that it really mattered-, but every time I opened my mouth it felt like more than words were going to come out of it.
"Two thirteen," she said suddenly. At first, I was confused, then I remembered that she could tell the future, and I had already decided that I was going to ask her for the time.
"Thanks," I managed to say.
"You feeling any better, Bella?" she asked, turning around to face me.
"Not really."
"Just relax, Bells," Edward said, thankfully keeping his eyes on the road. "You'll be home in a couple of minutes."
"Don't you have to drop off Alice?" I asked.
"We've already past our house," he answered honestly.
"Besides," Alice said, seeming as if she were adding to Edward's last sentence, "if I want to, I could just run home."
The car slowly came to a stop, making me believe we were now parked outside my house. Edward and Alice both got out of the car. I grudgingly re-positioned myself into a sitting position as Edward waited to help me out of the car.
"I'll get the door," Alice offered as she bounded toward the house.
I was about to tell her where Charlie had moved the key, when she pulled it out of its new hiding spot behind the porch light.
Edward gently lifted me into both arms, and walked me to my bedroom. "Hey, Alice," he called. "Could you make Bella some tea?"
"I'm on it," Alice answered back.
"Thank you. If you can, make it a mint tea."
"Mint, got ya."
"Would you like something to eat?" he asked me.
"I don't think it would stay down for very long," I answered.
From out of the blue, the phone began ringing.
"I'll get it," Alice said. Her voice then went out of my hearing range.
"What's she saying?" I asked Edward as he placed me onto my bed.
"It's Charlie," Alice called up to us. Then her voice went lower again. Then it went higher; something I knew she was doing for my sake. "He says he'll come home as soon as he finished his paperwork. Do you need him to bring home anything, Bella?"
"No," I said weakly.
"Are you sure?" Apparently, she heard me.
"Yes."
The next thing I knew, Alice was sitting next to me on the bed. She placed a cool hand over mine. "You're tea should be ready in a minute," she said.
"Thanks," I replied.
Edward stared out the window. "Charlie's here," he said.
Alice was out of the room and down the stairs long before Charlie had the chance to come in.
"Hi, Alice," I heard Charlie say as he walked in the door. "Is Edward here?"
"Yeah, he's upstairs with Bella," Alice said. "She's down with food poisoning, and he didn't want to leave her until you got here."
That was all I could hear from their conversation. They must have moved to another part of the house.
"Edward," Alice called for Charlie's sake, "the tea is ready."
"Coming," Edward replied. "I'll be right back," he said in a lower tone.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remembered was waking up to yet another rainy morning with Edward right next to me. Luckily, I was feeling much better.
"'Morning, sleepy head," he said with a smile.
"'Morning," I said sleepily. "Where's Alice?"
"Downstairs. Charlie was very hospitable and allowed her to stay over for the night."
"Let me guess: he made you leave, but you snuck back in through the window."
"Bingo."
"Good morning, Bella, Edward," Alice sang as she walked into my room. "I'm making pancakes if you want some."
I thought about it for a moment, figuring out if my stomach could hold solid food.
"Sure," I said. "I'd love some."
"Great, I'll bring them up to you when they're ready." She looked like she was skipping as she went back to the kitchen.
Bella, before I forget, there's something I need to ask you," Edward said.
"What?"
"Well, Memorial day weekend is in two days, so Carlisle thinks it would be a good idea to take Friday off, to have a four day 'family' camping trip, and I was wondering if you would like to join us."
"Is this an actual camping trip, or a hunting trip disguised as a camping trip?"
"The latter," he said.
I was shocked. "You're actually asking me to join you on a hunting trip?"
"You're right, it's a stupid idea; forget that I asked," he said, the words rushing out of his mouth.
"No, not a stupid idea. I want to go. But I'll need Charlie's permission."
"Alice is already getting it for you."
So that's why he didn't drop off Alice. He knew Charlie had a soft spot for her, and he was using that to his advantage.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
"That you shouldn't use Alice for your personal gain," I said jokingly.
"Just so you know it was Alice's idea that she ask Charlie instead of me."
"Alright, I believe you."
"Charlie said you can go." I jumped at the sound of Alice's voice. She was standing in the doorway, holding a huge pile of steaming hot pancakes. "You know what that means?" she asked.
I shook my head no.
"We," She moved her finger between her and me. ", get to go shopping."
I looked up at Edward with pleading eyes. He didn't say anything, but his topaz eyes were telling me that he was sorry that he couldn't help.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As soon as I had finished breakfast, Alice took me to Newton's for some hiking boots.
"Hi, Bella," Mike Newton said from behind the counter. "You're not working today are you?"
"No, she's shopping today," Alice replied for me.
"Oh, I'm sorry, um…"
"Alice."
"Alice, I didn't see you there."
"That's alright," Alice said.
"So, what are you two shopping for?" Mike asked.
"Hiking boots," I replied.
"You're going hiking?" He looked surprised.
"Camping actually, but I still need the boots."
"Well, you know where they are. Just holler if you need any help."
"Thanks, Mike," I said as Alice dragged me to the boot section.
"Ooh, look at this pair," Alice said holding up a display boot.
"They're nice," I said. I looked at the price tag, and Alice must have seen my expression because she began laughing lightly.
"What size are you?"
"Seven and a half."
Alice began looking for my size amongst the boots.
"Yes! They have them in your size." She pulled a box from the shelf and handed it to me.
"Alice, I can't afford these," I said.
"Forget about it, they're on me."
"I don't know, I'd rather just…"
Alice cut me off. "No, Bella, I will not have any of that. Now, try on the boots."
I unwillingly took off my sneakers and replaced them with the boots. They were surprisingly comfortable.
"I like them," I told Alice.
She smiled broadly, clearly pleased.
I put back on my sneakers, returned the boots to their box, and began to walk towards the register with Alice right behind me.
"Did you ladies find everything you were looking for?" Mike asked as I placed the boots on the counter.
"Yep," I replied.
"Great." He rang the boots up. "That would be one twenty even, please."
Alice pulled her wallet out of her purse and handed Mike the money.
"Thank you." He placed the boots in a bag, and left the bag on the counter. "Have a nice trip."
"Thanks, you too," Alice said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Dad, I'm home," I said as I walked into the house.
"Did you girls have fun?" Charlie asked as he came to the front door.
"Yeah. Alice brought me boots." I held up the bag as evidence.
"That's nice of her."
"Is Edward still here?" I asked.
"No, he finished packing your stuff for the camping trip tomorrow, then left. But he did tell me to tell you that he'll be picking you up tomorrow at six A.M. sharp."
"Okay. Well, I'm going to put these up in my room, then I'll get dinner started."
"Do you need help with dinner?" he asked.
"No, that's okay." I walked up the steps before he could get another word in.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Bella, wake up," Edward said, shaking me awake.
"What time is it?" I asked groggily.
"Five forty-five."
"Really?"
"Yes." He smiled.
"Alright, I'll get ready. You go…do whatever it was you were going to do."
"Run back to my house, and drive my car back here so I can pick you up," he suggested.
"Yeah, that." I grabbed my bathroom supplies and went to go take a shower.
By the time I was fully dressed and ready to go, Edward had already rung the doorbell. Obviously, Charlie was already up since I heard him answer the door.
I ran down the stairs, not paying any attention to the conversation Charlie was having with Edward.
"Ready to go?" Edward asked.
"Yeah," I replied.
"Great. I'll take your bag." He walked back towards his car. "Bye, Mister Swan."
I kissed Charlie on the cheek before I followed Edward. "Bye, Dad. There's plenty of leftovers in the freezer when you're hungry."
"Thanks, Bella," he replied. "But, before you go, I want you to take this." He handed me a can of pepper spray.
"You don't honestly believe that Edward would try something, do you?"
"The spray isn't just for Edward, it's for animals too."
"Fine, you win. But you're going to have to stop being so protective of me someday," I said.
"I will when you stop being my daughter."
"Bye, Dad."
"Bye, Bells. Have fun."
"Thanks." I ran to Edward's car, and hopped into the passenger seat.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We pulled up to the Cullen's driveway in less than twenty minutes. The rest of the Cullens were waiting outside with their supplies in tow; all accept one.
"Where's Carlisle?" I asked.
"He'll be here." Edward explained. "He just needed to pick up something."
"Oh."
Edward brought the Volvo to a stop at the top of the driveway.
"Good morning, Bella, we're glad you could make it," Esme greeted me.
"Thanks, I'm glad I could come."
Just then, a monstrous sized motor home came up the drive. Its horn sounded a few times before resting idle near us. Sure enough, Carlisle came out the driver's side door.
"You own a motor home?" I asked in disbelief.
"Actually," Carlisle said, "It's a rental."
"I call shot-gun," Emmett said.
"Where are we going exactly?" I said.
"Just where we usually go," Jasper said as if it was nothing new.
"And you need to take a motor home to get there?"
"Usually we would go on foot," Esme explained. "But since you were coming with us, we decided to have a bit of fun."
"Of course we won't be able to take the motor home all the way up," Carlisle said.
"Up where?" I asked. I was starting to feel like this was a bad idea.
"The mountain," Rosalie said as if I should know that.
I pretended as if I didn't hear her. "So, how are we going to get up the rest of the way? Wait, don't answer that; we're hiking."
"Don't worry, Bella," Edward said in a soothing tone. "We'll make sure you get up there safely."
"I know."
"Great, now let's go," Carlisle said. "Emmett, could you help me get the bags in?"
"Sure," Emmett replied.
Everyone else piled into the motor home. It was fairly spacious, looking bigger than a small house. There were plenty of beds - and things that turned into beds- that no one had to share unless they wanted to.
Edward pulled me to the couch.
Carlisle and Emmett came in a took the seats in the front. Carlisle put the motor home into gear, and we were off.