AN: I'm extremely sorry for the 5 month delay! Soon after I posted the first chapter, I completely lost my inspiration, and couldn't come up with anything to write. This won't happen again. I promise. This chapter is from Bella's POV. It's long, and not too interesting, but it's necessary. Next chapter will be where the real fun begins! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Never has been, and never will be mine.

Chapter Two

As Edward exited my room via the window, I made my way to the closet. I was strangely curious to see the dress Alice had bought for me. Alice, being Alice, always had an impeccable fashion sense and I trusted that whatever she had chosen would be lovely.

Edward probably wondered why I hadn't put up a fuss about that spending of money on myself, like I was prone to do. This time, I had been willing to make an exception. If the psychic had bought something for me knowing when I would wear it, there was probably a good reason for it. And I wasn't about to bet against Alice.

I stumbled to my closet and wretched the door open, revealing the mess within. I shook my head, and wondered why I had let the conditions of the small space become so dismal. Right away, I noticed the black garment bag hanging in the center of the rack. Not like it was conspicuous or anything.

I pulled the light bag out of the closet and lay it on my bed to unzip it. I tugged on the metal zipper until it slid down the bag, revealing the dress within.

Seeing it, I gasped. It was so much better than I expected! I was surprised at how much I liked it. The design was simple, like I preferred, with a knee-length skirt and v-neck. It was a lovely teal color that made me smile on sight. Best yet, because of Alice's superb shopping skills and uncanny ability to predict the future it would most likely fit perfectly. It was one of the few things I liked about being shopped for by Alice: I rarely had to try things on.

Snapped out of my adoring reverie by Charlie's shout, I realized that the clock was ticking, and I still needed to get ready. I grumbled as I headed into the hallway and answered with a shout of my own.

"Yes?"

"Alice called; she wants to talk to you. Something about a sleepover or school project…" he trailed off, looking slightly bewildered by the onslaught of information from his favorite Cullen.

"Okay, let me talk to her." I jogged down the stairs and retrieved the phone from Charlie, who went back to watching the game.

"Hello?"

"Bella, its Alice. I can't explain everything, but you need to tell Charlie that you and Edward are going out tonight, but I desperately need you for an English project and need you to spend the night when you get back so I don't fail. You'll call him when you get to our house to say goodnight, but you have to go. Make sure you include the part about me failing. Call me right back to let me know the answer. And hurry up! You're going to be late!"

I blinked, still comprehending her torrent of commands.

"Okay…"

"Actually, take your time. I'll call Edward and tell him you need a little longer than a half an hour. I hope you like the dress!"

Then she hung up on me.

I stood in a daze for a moment before putting the phone back on its cradle and walking into the living room.

"What did she want?" Charlie asked. "She sounded kind of frantic."

This was good. He was already worried about her, and I hadn't even put the plan into action yet.

"This is kind of confusing, but let me finish before you start in, okay?" I took a deep breath before repeating Alice's pleas.

"Edward asked me if I wanted to go out with him tonight. I had already said yes to him when Alice said that she desperately needed help on her English project, and that I had to come over tonight. She said that if she didn't get my help, then she was going to fail. I would feel really bad for letting either of them down, so Alice come up with a solution: I go spend the night with her after my date, and we work on the project tonight and in the morning. I would call you when I got there to say goodnight, and this way I could do both things and not go back on either of my promises. And Alice really needs my help. I would hate for her to fail a class because you didn't trust me enough to let me go…"

Alice was right – the guilt was working on Charlie. I could see that as much as he hated to let me go, he couldn't let Alice down like that. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine. But you are to call me the second you get to their house! And I want proof that your time was actually spent working on an English project and not something else…"

We both turned red as I realized what he was implying.

"Dad! I thought we already covered this!" I exclaimed, mortified at his broaching of this topic yet again.

"What am I supposed to think? You're going out with your boyfriend, then going back to his house to spend the night! It's a completely logical assumption, Bells," he defended himself.

Inwardly, I felt guilty. He wasn't too far off in his accusations. Even though I wasn't going to do what he thought, I wouldn't actually be spending the night with Alice. Still, I couldn't let him know that.

"But from me dad? Really. If it makes you feel better, I'll show you what we get done when I get home tomorrow. I'll even have Alice come." This was bribery. I knew that he wanted to see Alice again. I could only hope that he would take the bait.

"Fine. I expect to see a completed project from the two of you by tomorrow," he allowed, turning his attention back to the game.

"Thanks Ch-Dad! I promise!" With that done, I raced back into the kitchen to call Alice, slipping on the linoleum in my socks. When she picked up, I told her that we were in the clear, with only that catch. She assured me that it was fine, then scolded me for taking so long before telling me to get off the phone and get ready.

Hanging up, I bounded as gracefully up the stairs as I was capable of, tripping only once. I dashed into my room, franticly making a list in my head, prioritizing what needed to be done. First on the list was to do my make-up. Or try to. There was no use spilling who-knows-what on my gorgeous new dress if I could avoid it.

I skipped to the bathroom, and began to attempt to recall the routine Alice and Rosalie had explained to me last time we played Bella-the-Barbie. I know that I skipped more than a few steps out of haste or forgetfulness, but I doubted Edward would care. I thought the end result was pretty nice myself.

My hair came next. I was grateful that I had left it down for school today, as I only had to brush it to get it looking presentable once again.

I was bubbly when I walked back to my room to don my dress. If I liked it so much on the hanger, I couldn't wait to see what I thought when I had it on. I stepped over to where I had left the bag on my bed during my phone call with Alice. I slipped the dress off the hanger and put the bag back in my closet before taking off my clothes and replacing then with the dress.

It was amazing. I had no idea what the fabric was, but whatever the material, it felt heavenly against my skin. It fit me perfectly, both physically and mentally. When I stepped to the mirror to actually look at it, I wasn't surprised. The image I was confronted with looked exactly how I felt: beautiful. Now to find some shoes…

I should have known that I had nothing to worry about. It was Alice I was dealing with, after all. As I shuffled through the pile of shoes that covered the floor of my closet, I found the perfect pair close to the top. They were kitten heals that looked to be covered in black velvet, and they complemented the dress perfectly. If I were lucky, could probably walk in them too!

A black sweater that I already owned completed the ensemble just in time. For right then, the doorbell rang.

That would be Edward, on time as always.

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