Recap:

BPOV: I showered and changed before setting out to the grocery store. But I suppose in such a small town like Forks, I should have been prepared for what I walked into…

Reunions

Bella's POV

Charlie dropped me off at the grocery store and told me to call him when I was ready to be picked up. It was against 'Fork's law' to drive the cruiser, but truth be told, I didn't want to be caught driving the 'car of the law' anyhow.

I perused the store absentmindedly, picking up anything and everything I knew Emmett would love. I figured I would avoid all the junk foods because lord knows he probably got more than enough of that over the years when I wasn't here.

I filled my basket with vegetables to make a salad and also picked up a loaf of whole wheat French bread. It's a lot better than it sounds. I figured a nice heart-warming soup went well with the occasion, as well as with the other foods I had intended on making.

As I continued to walk down the aisles looking for dessert, I heard the howls of laughter and voices of rowdy teenagers. I never really fit in well with a group other than my friends from Forks. It made me miss what we had but at the same time, I hoped that the missed friendship could be rekindled seeing as I was back.

I was starring at a box of spinach and cheese pizza, wondering if I could actually manage to get Emmett to try it, when all of a sudden I was being picked up by the waist and spun around.

Emmett's POV

The plan was that we were all going to Rosalie's house for dinner. Jasper, her twin brother, too would be there too, accompanied with Alice, his girlfriend. Edward decided he would come as well because he had his Volvo and his parents would obviously send him out to pick up Alice, as she was his younger sister.

The dinner was in celebration for winning the football game. We were pressed for time and everyone had lost hope because we were all exhausted. The opposing team had worked us to the brink but they too were exhausted during the last minutes of the game.

Literally out of no where, Edward got a sudden spurt of adrenaline. He was the fastest of the team and when he got that ball that Jasper had hurled to him with perfect precision, he took off, flying down the field faster than I'd ever seen him. It had taken me a full second to realize that I needed to be by his side, defending him at every second, so I ran behind him as fast as I could, blazing through the opposing team, and knocking them down without effort.

Their front defense was strong but unfortunately for them, they were no match for me. With just seconds left in the game, Edward pushed himself even further, the grass flying up behind him as he ran. I had to dive in front of him to get this one guy down—which I was congratulated for with the most amazing kiss ever, thanks to Rosalie. Edward hurled over our two bodies and right over the tri line, winning us the game. It was a victorious moment.

I pulled Rosalie closer to me and inhaled her smell. Everything about this girl just turned me on. It didn't help matters that she was the most beautiful girl in the world and I was probably the most hormonal boy.

We walked down the frozen food aisle, hand in hand. This was really the only place any of us could find something to eat that we were actually capable of making. None of us could really cook on our own, but if we were instructed on what to do and how to do it, we weren't half bad. Unfortunately, our expertise in that area was in Arizona with my mother and I hadn't seen her since the wedding.

I was aware of Alice and Jasper directly behind us, and Edward tailing behind them somewhere. He was never really the same after Bella left. Sure he never let on how much he missed her, but I knew he did. Our whole group clicked together well, but at the same time, there was always one person we got along most well with. Mine was Rose, Jasper's was Alice, and Edward's was Bella. I felt bad for the guy because I couldn't even contemplate what I would do if I lost Rosie.

That only made me ever more excited for the future. I knew it was bad of me to keep it a secret, but I also knew it would be so awesome to watch their faces when they saw her for the first time in so many years. Bella was coming back! It wasn't for a couple of months but I was so excited and I knew they would be too. Even if she left so many years ago, we never found someone to fill that hole in our group like she did. And yeah, sometimes it was weird to have my little sister there, in my group of friends, but really, it all just seemed to work.

I stopped by the one section where I could always find the one thing I loved. Pizza. I picked up three large pizzas, all different kinds because we were all so picky. Alice wanted one with lots of veggies, Edward wanted just cheese, and I wanted all the meat I could get. I needed to keep up my build and the protein and fat combo in these pizzas did just that.

It was only as I turned to grab Rosalie's hand again did I notice that tiny, brown haired girl who was half my size, only a couple of meters away from us. Even with her back to us, I knew who she was. I could never forget who she was. I shoved the boxes of pizza into Rosalie's hands hastily and almost ran to her.

Rosalie's POV

I just stood there holding three boxes of cold, frozen, bulky pizza boxes watching Emmett nearly run down the aisle to this unfamiliar brown haired girl. I suppose it was silly of me, but that didn't stop the envy from broiling within me. Clearly, Emmett knew this girl—and clearly—he was excited to see her.

I could see Alice and Jasper watched along with me from my peripheral vision as he made his way down the aisle.

All of a sudden, he picked her up from behind and spun her around. My jaw dropped. He was aware that I was standing right there, was he not? The girl let out a little scream, looking slightly disoriented, angry, and excited all at the same time. She spun around and looked Emmett directly in the face. At first I noticed a small fraction of anger which turned into recognition and then a grin almost simultaneously. Despite my jealousy, I couldn't deny how pretty she was. Which only served to fuel my anger more.

"EM!" she screamed and jumped into his arms. And he caught her. And spun her again. And kissed her on the cheek…hard. The envy bubbled.

At the same time, I could feel Alice and Jasper's stares on my back. I stood frozen on the spot but glanced from the spectacle before me to Alice and Jasper, giving them a puzzled look aside from my set glare. Who was this girl? They simply shrugged their shoulders in reply. I looked towards Edward for help but he wasn't looking at me. He was gazing awestricken at this new girl.

And then the girl looked from Emmett to us. Her eyes were light with joy, and something else. What was it? Fear? Because she damn well should be scared.

She held Emmett's arm tentatively as he led her towards us. Her smile grew as she neared us but her eyes remained cautious. None of us moved or reciprocated her ecstasy.

"What? No hug?" She asked playfully with ease and faked disappointment. And then, from the corner of my eye, I saw Jasper step forward and wrap her in his arms.

He kissed her hand and her check and said, "Welcome back, Bella." My jaw dropped.

At the same moment, almost planned, Alice and I let out a (much to my dismay) girly squeal.

"BELLA!!" We pounced on her and hugged her fiercely. It was hard to get a good grip of her tiny frame with Alice on the other side trying to do the same. She laughed and hugged us back, though not as tightly, as she was probably in pain.

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming back?" Alice screamed in polite outrage.

"Surprise?" Bella said quietly and almost shyly.

"Bella? You don't even look like our Bella anymore," Jasper said smirking. I knew that look; I had gotten it many times from various unnamed boys that really never mattered. He liked her new Bella-look and I can't deny I minded it either. Our little Bella has surely grown.

"I'm one and the same," she said smiling, trying to take in all of us at once.

"What're you guys talking about? She looks exactly the same," Emmett said, examining her with a puzzled expression on his face. He draped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her against his side again. It was kind of cute in a way, my teddy bear Emmett.

But his cuteness didn't distract me from my anger. I swatted him on the arm fiercely. "Why did you not tell us she was coming back?" I demanded loudly.

"I thought she wasn't coming until March. And it was supposed to be a surprise! Why didn't you tell me you were coming earlier?" he asked Bella, imitating me by swatting her arm and speaking in a high pitched and somewhat whiney voice. I glared at him. I so didn't sound like that when I spoke. He was at least smart enough to avoid eye contact with me at the moment.

"Dad thought it would be fun if we surprised you," she said, smiling up at him.

I turned to Emmett and started fighting with him. He had no right to keep this a secret from us. We were her best friends; we had the right to know too! Alice joined in of course, always ready for a fight while Jasper stood warily on the side, simply watching Alice and laughing when one of us would swat Emmett at the back of his head.

I only briefly noticed as Bella slipped from under Emmett's arm and drifted to somewhere else. But that was a mere distraction. I had torturing to attend to at the moment. Emmett was going to pay. We didn't even get to plan her a welcome back party!

Edward's POV

I just couldn't seem take my eyes off her. Bella. I hadn't seen her in almost four or was it five years? Surely this wasn't her. It couldn't be her. Of course, Bella had always been beautiful in her effortless and simple looking way, but this Bella was… for lack of better words, gorgeous. There was no better way to put it.

Everything about her exuded gloriousness. Her hair was so silky and brown, nothing like how it used to be when we were kids. And I noted how she left it flowing down her back which she never used to do before either. Her flowing hair made my eyes graze down her whole body, taking it all in. Her eyes were still the same which relieved me. It was what I loved best about her. We had this sort of inane ability of communicating through our eyes and I could only ever do it with her.

But her lips were catching up in the race with her eyes also. They were beautifully luscious and it just went well with her whole face. She was beautiful.

Even though all the attention was turned to the argument that Rose and Alice were having against Emmett, I still couldn't look away from her.

I suppose my obvious starring caught her eye because she eventually turned to me…and smiled. I melted.

She approached me, ever so slightly, sliding out of Emmett's embrace.

"What, can't say hi to your best friend?" she asked. Was she teasing me? It was kind of cute…and alluring?

I wish I could say I my demeanor was kept polite and 'cool' in a sense. But it was the exact opposite. I grinned effortlessly. I moved forward hastily. And my arms wrapped around her almost naturally.

It didn't help matters that her body seemed to fit so well in my arms. And I was also a boy; those hormones never really stop flowing through the veins, even if it was my best friend I was having these feelings for.

I picked her up smoothly and with ease. My head was pressed in the crook of her neck, my nose consumed with her luscious smelling hair. My whole body was stiff with excitation but at the same time, I had never felt more relieved in my life. I hadn't ever realized how tense I was until I inhaled her sweet, amazing scent.

"Bella," I said in a sigh of relief. I put her down gently, but didn't release her completely. Instead, I stared at her, thoroughly, with my arms still tightly wrapped around her waist.

To my surprise, she stared back, looking completely unabashed. She was almost a foot shorter than me so with just a tilt of my head downwards, I could see all of her without the need to move back. That didn't help matters either because now I didn't have a reason to ever want to let go of her.

"Surprise," she said with a small smile on her beautiful lips. All I could do was grin back. Our eye contact broke as she looked down at our position, my arms tightly wrapped around her petite frame in the middle of a grocery store aisle.

I let go reluctantly, out of politeness rather than will. Already I was craving her warmth which I could still feel against the front of my body. She took a careful step back with her head down, though I could see evidence of a slight blush upon her cheeks. Had I made her nervous? I was suddenly ashamed and self conscious of what I had just done.

She looked back at Emmett and the others who were now examining the contents in Bella's basket. I suppose they were trying to give us a little bit of privacy allowing me and Bella to reunite momentarily.

"What're you guys planning for tonight?" she asked me simply.

"We were going to have dinner at Rose's house for winning the football game today," I said slowly. It was then that I realized that I was nervous because of her very presence. It wasn't because I had just held her in a way that was almost too friendly. I was nervous just with her standing there, in front of my very eyes. "But I suppose there has been a change of plans with your arrival," I said, with a crooked grin.

I watched as her eyes glazed over for a split second, but faded when she smiled. "I was planning to make dinner for Emmett, as a surprise. That's why I'm here right now," she said, referring to the grocery story. "You guys should come over tonight and have dinner at our house," she said casually while looking at me rather intently, or so I led myself to believe.

"We'd love to!" Alice almost screamed as she ran into Bella's arms once more. I can't deny the feeling of jealousy that encased me for a split second as I saw Bella's arms envelope her in return. "And then we could have a sleep over! And go shopping tomorrow! Oh, it's so good to have you back Bella," she said almost in tears.

Bella gave out an uncomfortable and almost forced laughed. "Shopping, Alice? Really?" She said, looking slightly worried.

"Oh, don't be a spoiled sport, Bella. We have to welcome you back somehow!" Rosalie said excitedly.

She reluctantly agreed but I could see the chagrin in her eyes.

She glanced at me frequently as we strolled through the grocery store picking up more food to feed us all. When we were done, we drove to her house. Emmett insisted that she went with him and Rosalie and so I drove Alice and Jasper to their house in my car.

I already missed her presence in the five minutes that we were separated. God, I never realized how much she completed me until now. No one should ever lose their best friend. Ever.

I would very much appreciate it if you would comment on this chapter! =) Please, with a sweet, red cherry on top (unless you're allergic of course).