All Figured Out by 24hourfanfic

At the ripe age of 13, Bella Swan thinks she has the world figured out. At 16, she's not so sure. At 18, the only think she's sure of is that she has brown hair, usually.

Disclaimer: The only things I own are a cool touchscreen laptop and a badass black Acura RSX.

Author's Note: I still don't have a beta. I still don't have this whole story all written out. All I've got is an idea in my head and time to write it. Some chapters may be drabblish, some may be ridiculously long. Bear with me, and you'll have something worth reading.. [AH, slightly Olderward, Canon couples end up together but there is some mixing about, HEA, M for lemons and language.]

I will reply to all reviews, either by PM if you're logged in or below if you're not.

Guest Who: I hope this chapter will be just as good.

Hoa: Thank you! Well, here's more then! :P

Amanda: Thanks! And yes ma'am!

So, this one's TWICE as long, I went from a solid 989 words including A/N to a whopping 2,348. Tell me which you like better! Short or long! :)

September 14, 2004 (continued)

BPOV

After the awkwardness that was breakfast, I was more than looking forward to another boring day at Forks Junior High. Em and I climbed into Jasper's CR-V from where it sat idling in the cul-de-sac between our houses. "Jazz, you know you could always pull into our driveway, like a normal person," I teased from my seat. "Naw, Chief wouldn't like that," Jasper replied, putting the car into drive and starting down the hill we lived on. Even though the Hales had moved here a good ten years ago, Rose and Jasper still had their Texan accents, though it only came out when they were nervous or mad.

I turned to Rose, who shared the backseat with me. Her golden blonde hair was all over her face and she was snoring lightly. I shoved her arm, saying "Ro, jeez! Wake up!" She woke up, startled and pushed all the hair away from her face. "Whaaat? I'm trying to sleep," she whined. "And I'll let you get back to it, if you come shopping with me after school," I gave her my best smile, hoping she was too tired to argue. Her eyelids closed and she slumped back against her car door and muttered a half-hearted "Yeah, Bell, sure," before sleep took her again.

I had to bite my lip to keep from letting out the squeal that threatened to escape me. Regardless of whether Rose actually did come with me, I was going to be getting a bra that very afternoon. Turning back to the front of the car with a smile, I remembered that I had two quizzes today, neither of which I was going to ace. Well, at least I had something to look forward to once this god awful day ended.

By the time Jasper pulled his crossover into a parking spot close to our school, I had just put away my math textbook and my copy of Of Mice and Men and Rose had pulled her hair into a messy bun on top of her head. We hopped out of the car, thanking Jazz for the ride and walked toward the school.

"So, why do you wanna go shopping anyways? You hate it nearly as much as I do," Rose asked, her icy blue eyes focused for once and her brow quirked in curiosity. "I need a bra," I said vaguely, hoping to God she wouldn't ask how I had to go about getting the money for one. She nodded in agreement, and we parted ways as we headed to our first periods.

As much as I complained about my teacher, Mr. Berty, I loved English class. Our focus was mostly American literature this school year. Not quite my favorite, as I preferred British literature, but I wasn't going to complain too much. I took my seat in the middle of the classroom and opened my copy of Of Mice and Men to the chapter we were being quizzed on, giving it one last glance. The classroom was freezing, and I realized that in my haste to get out of the house, I had forgotten my cardigan.

Mr. Berty called the class to order and I put away my book as he began handing us multiple versions of the quiz. A throat cleared beside me. I looked over at the Native American boy that sat beside me, questioningly. "Um, do you want my hoodie?" He said, gesturing at my chest. I glanced down at my shirt and realized that I was showing anyone who was looking just how cold I was. I blushed profusely and nodded. The boy tossed the black pullover onto my desk at the same moment that Mr. Berty made it to our row. "Eyes facing forward, Mr. Black," he said, glaring at us. Ahhh, yes, his name was Jacob Black. I turned back to the front of the room and pulled the hoodie over my head, being careful not to upset the curls that threatened to frizz up at any moment. Pushing my arms through the sleeves, I looked at the first question.

What are the names of the main characters in Of Mice and Men?

I picked up my pencil with a smile. Today was turning out to be not nearly as bad as I thought it might be.

-AFO-

Rose and I walked the half of a mile to the nearest department store that afternoon. She was surprisingly quiet. "Cat got your tongue, Rose?" I asked playfully, tugging on the hanging strings of her backpack. "Naw, why?" She said, her accent lilting and her eyes still glued to the cracked sidewalk beneath our feet. I stopped walking and after a few seconds, she realized and turned around to face me. Her blue eyes were filled with tears. I hugged her fiercely and she began to sob quietly against my shoulder onto Jacob's hoodie. "What is it, Ro?" I whispered, running my hands through the ends of her long, blonde hair. "My pare…been…fight…bad..might…get…a div…." she managed out between sobs. I may not have been a mind reader, but I knew Rose. She wasn't the type to over-exaggerate things, if anything she was the opposite.

I hugged her even tighter and felt tears running down my face as well. My mother had left Dad, Em, and I when I was about two, so, I never knew her but I knew how hard it was to only have one parent. Though at any rate, Rose would still have two, I knew it wasn't going to be the same as before. Her parents were the super lovey-dovey type, always kissing or doting on the other, so it was hard to imagine them fighting, much less badly. "What were they fighting over?" I asked quietly. Rose's sobs had quieted down and she was breathing better. "Mom said Dad was turning me into a tomboy with all his fishing and stuff, and Dad said Mom babies Jazz too much," she said releasing her hold on my waist and drying her eyes.

The two of us started our walk to the store again, once again, not saying much. As we crossed the street leading into store's parking lot, I got an idea. "Ro, what if we girlied you up? Then your mom would be happy. And we could try to get Jazz to stop being such a girl," I said, with an excitement I'd lacked since getting her to agree to the shopping trip in the first place. She turned her blue eyes onto my face and shrugged, "I dunno, it could help, I guess." I near squealed. Maybe we could actually turn this thing around!
We decided that we'd divide and conquer. I'd get myself fitted for a bra and pick out a few and Rose would pick up a few girly outfits in hopes of appeasing her mother. I thought she should try to style her new look after the Regina George character in the movie we had went to go see a few months ago. Rose disagreed and said she should dress more like Cady Heron at the beginning of the movie. I tried to talk some sense into her but she grunted a quick but noncommittal 'alright, alright' and headed to the juniors section.

I made my way through the intimates section and somehow found enough courage to ask a sales associate with some help buying a bra. The older woman took a look at my chest and made a tsk-tsk sound. She turned towards the smaller sizes and passed me 7 or 8 bras in different sizes and colors. "You must be Chief Swan's girl, hmm?" I looked up at her in confusion, I didn't recognize her. "We don't know each other, dear, but you must be the only girl in the state of Washington that doesn't already wear a bra." I blushed and looked down at my flats. "Yeah, that's me." I said as she pushed me into an open dressing room. I slid the bolt into the door and began to undress.

Two of the bras fit me. A royal blue that was quite similar in color to my cardigan and a plain white one. I had to stop myself from skipping over to the juniors department to show Rose. She was still deciding between two incredibly girly skirts. "Well, I'll go pay for this and meet you in cosmetics….aaah!" As I spoke to her, I stuck my hand into the pocket of my skirt that held the twenty dollar bill Charlie had left for me this morning, only to find it empty. "Rose, I lost the money!" I cried as tears threatened to spill. "Bella, calm down, my mom has an account here. We can use that and we can look for the money later. How about you stand in line while I make a decision on these two?" She said calmly, twirling her blonde locks around her pointer finger.

I wiped away my traitorous almost-tears and nodded, walking over to the line at the one open register. A copper haired guy was working it, scanning and bagging as quickly as he could. His shaggy hair kept getting into his eyes, making him have to flip it back out of place with a jerk of his neck. He must have been in his twenties because he looked much older than me but not nearly as old as my father. I looked down at the two bras in my hands and fiddled with the straps as I waited.

Soon the guy working the register called out a 'next in line' and I stepped up to his register. A velvety voice said "Hi, my name is Edward, did you find everything alright?" I looked up at the sound and jumped. He'd been in the middle of flipping his hair away from his face, so I got the perfect view of his emerald eyes. Jeeeeeeeez, I'd never seen eyes so green in my life.

"Ye-yeah," I stammered out as he scanned the two bras. "Good, well, your total was $18.62, then," Edward said, taking the bras off their hangers and putting them into a bag. I looked over in the direction of the juniors section but couldn't see Rose. "Uhh, my friend was paying for this…but I don't see her" I said, still searching for her blonde hair amongst the clothing racks. Wow, my stutter was out of control today. Speak of the devil and she shall appear. As I said that, her blonde head popped up next to me. Rose dumped her stack of clothes onto the counter. "These are all together," she said, flashing Edward a smile. He smirked at us and started ringing up the newly added stuff.

"It's going to be $156.13 for you ladies today," Edward said expectantly. Rose pulled out her school ID and told him that we'd be using her mother's account. After a quick call to customer service, he put the clothes into several plastic shopping bags. "Any relation to a Jasper Hale?" He asked her. "Yeah, he's my twin brother." She said, somehow forgetting the 2 year age gap between her and her brother. He chuckled and said "Well, I'm taking my brother over to your house for a project in a few hours then." Rose smiled, telling him it was quite the coincidence and she'd be seeing him soon then. The two of us made our way out of the store but not before my best friend loudly announced, "He was cute!" A loud noise that could only be described as a cross between a laugh and a bad case of bronchitis came from behind us. I didn't dare look back. I was too embarrassed. "Rose!" I scolded as soon as we got out of earshot of the store. "Oh come on, Bells, we never have any fun." She said with a confidence and exuberance, I had never seen. "I've got a date tonight."As I followed her, I clutched the bag that held my tickets to adolescence. Was I really ready to ride this train, though?

Sooooooo, we've met Eddie boy! Have you guys ever been told to wait in line while the person who's paying for the stuff goes and gets something? I swear my mom does this to me at least once a month. I'll update as soon as I can. Review, review, review! And don't hesitate to give me both good and bad criticism. It's my first story, in all its unedited glory.