AN: Ok. I know my kids are growing up pretty fast, but I'm basing this on me and my friends' experiences of middle school. Blame growing up in Boca. This is a very autobiographical/cathartic work, and if anyone has problems with them being too young for this mess, all I can say is, it happens. It honest-to-god happens, as sad as that may be. And the fact that they are growing up too young will be dealt with in later chapters. I'm not denying the truth of it.

One again, I have to thank you all for the alerts and favorites and reviews I've gotten. I honestly wasn't expecting to get as much feedback this quickly. This post is a little early, but I plan on Wednesday postings from here on out. I'm trying to write this ahead of time so I can stick to that and maybe post earlier if it winds up ending on a cliffy. I'm primarily a reader, so I know what that's like. In any case, I hope you are still enjoying the story and tagging along for the ride.

I swear, it will get past the bff fluff far too soon, but I hope you'll like the drama more. Thanks again and enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Two

I tugged at the loose ends on the hem of my denim skirt as Mrs. Brandon pulled into the parking lot of Forks Middle School. Alice had insisted on helping me dress for the first day of school, showing up at my house before dawn. It was going to be a long day.

She dropped us off by the office and called out, "Have a good day, girls!"

Then Alice was dragging me forward. We'd gotten our schedules in the mail the week before. I had English and Math with Alice, but that was all. I had Science with Jasper since I was allowed to skip a grade thanks to my advanced classes in Phoenix. Jasper and Emmett were seventh graders, the only people I really knew at the school other than Alice.

Sure, Mike and Eric were here too, and I knew them from baseball, but we'd never really talked. Edward went to the reservation Middle School, since he lived on the other side of town. I really wished he'd been there when we walked into the doors of the main building.

"Hey!" Emmett called out, standing by one of the lockers. Jasper was next to him and he graced us with a small smile. He was always the quiet one, like me, while Emmett was boisterous.

Alice dragged me over to them, ignoring the glares we got from the other girls gathered around. I'd never thought of Em and Jas in that way, but their following was something I couldn't ignore. They were hott. Like, hot with two T's. I guess I knew it on some level, since Emmett was really buff and friendly and Jasper was really tall and had a cute, Southern accent from when he lived in Texas, but I'd never thought about it before.

"Hey, guys!" Alice said. "How's it hanging?"

"Short, shriveled, and always to the left," Emmett said, quoting a Jim Carey movie I'd been subjected to during one of Alice's marathons. Jasper and I groaned.

"Where are you headed?" he asked.

"I've got history in room 110," I said.

"Spanish," Alice said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm going that way, Bella. Want me to walk you?" Jasper asked. I thought it was kinda sweet, and since I had no idea where the room was, I nodded.

"Later!" Jas shouted over his shoulder to Em. If I'd thought the girls were glaring before, it was nothing compared to when Jasper walked me to class.

"So you're pretty popular?" I asked, even though it was obviously true.

Jasper shrugged. "Emmett is. I'm just along for the ride."

I knew that wasn't the case, but I couldn't tell him that.

"So, you've got Mr. West. He's an awesome history teacher. Especially about the Civil War," Jasper said. He was a history buff. And he loved the Civil War, something about growing up in the South.

"Well if you say so, I guess it must be true," I said. I almost winked, like Edward would have, but I caught myself. If I'd tried, I'm sure it would have come out as an awkward twitch or grimace or something. And there was no reason to be winking at Jasper anyway.

He grinned at me. "Would I lie to you, Bells?" And he winked. Even though I'd been contemplating the same gesture, I practically froze. It was one thing for Edward or Alice to wink. They flirted with everyone. But Jasper?

I tripped over thin air and was saved from further humiliation when he caught my arm.

"Careful there," he said, holding me up. "Here's your room. See you around, Bella!"

I stood outside room 110 for a moment, trying to make sense of what just happened. I decided it was nothing, Jasper just felt comfortable after all our baseball games. Shrugging back my shoulders, I walked in the classroom.

I sat at an empty desk near the front, not expecting anyone to come near since I was new and didn't know anyone. But then Mike came in and sat next to me. He'd played second-baseman all summer, and though he wasn't a great baseball player, he was a nice guy.

"Bella!" he exclaimed, "This is cool. I didn't know you were going to be in Forks."

"I convinced my mom to let me stay," I said, trying to ignore the glares from the two girls behind me. And I thought walking with Jas was tough.

"That's awesome," Mike said. "We would have missed you on the diamond."

The teacher walked in then and started taking attendance. I was saved from having to introduce myself as the new kid since everyone was new to the middle school, but I still got a couple of curious glances when my name was called. Everyone else had gone to elementary school together.

He passed out a syllabus and I started noting the dates of tests in my new planner.

"You really are Little Miss Perfect," Mike smirked at me over the random doodles he'd started to draw on the hand-out. "Edward was right."

I rolled my eyes at the mention of Edward and my anal retentiveness

"Whatever," I shrugged, trying to imitate the coolness I knew Alice would have handled the comment with.

"Right," Mike said. He laughed.

In the back of my mind, I couldn't help wondering what else Edward had said about me, or why he'd been talking about me at all.

------------------

I settled into Middle School pretty quickly, if you could call it settling. Alice and I made up the most incongruous pair that had ever graced the halls. Within a week, I was on a first name basis with all of my teachers. I loved learning, and they were all so eager for students that actually took an interest beyond their GPA. It wasn't hard for me to get comfortable with them, even if the other students, the ones who I hadn't played baseball with all summer, seemed to shun me.

Alice was the exact opposite. She got along with everyone, and before long, I saw other girls imitating her goth look. The teachers, however, hated her. She got a detention for dress code violation on our first day. Before the week was out, she had a referral for cursing.

It added to her reputation. Alice, to put it simply, was a bad ass.

I was Little Miss Perfect. It didn't take long for people to catch on to the fact that I was top of our class. Even Mike and Eric started calling me "Brain," though I didn't mind the nickname so much from them. It was just when girls like Lauren and Kate (who obviously had crushes on Emmett and Jasper, if not Mike) started ribbing on me that I became uncomfortable.

Was it my fault that I loved learning? Could I help it if I was the best English student in the school and got named Editor of the newspaper, even though I was just a lowly sixth-grader?

I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for Alice. Without her, I would have been relegated to geekdom in social discommunication. But because she was my best friend, and popular, I was saved from ridicule.

At lunch, we sat with Mike and Eric and sometimes Tyler, some of the most popular guys in our class. Rosalie sat with us too, because she was pretty and didn't totally hate us. Sometimes Emmett and Jasper sat with us too, even though they could sit anywhere they wanted. They were golden boys on the social ladder.

And even though Emmett sometimes called me "Brain," like the other kids in our class, I didn't mind it. I knew I was smart, and if people had already decided I was going to be valedictorian, who was I to complain?

Jasper was the only one who never resorted to nicknames. He walked me to my history class every morning. Sometimes we talked about serious things, like States' rights or Libertarianism. Other times he just joked with me about the trouble Alice or Emmett had gotten into. He seemed to get me, seemed to be an inside-outsider like me. Sometimes, like when he almost punched out Tyler for calling me a nerd, I felt like he was a better friend than even Alice.

But we both knew our roles. He was Emmett's sidekick. I was Alice's. And neither one of us wanted the spotlight, so we were okay with that. But I was really glad to have him around.

Edward called me every once in a while. We didn't see each other much since school had started and he was busy being the center of attention, as always. But I was glad whenever he called. It was like when Jasper walked me to class. Even though I knew I was just their friend, I felt special being the girl that got their attention. It was even better when I heard people gossiping about him at school.

Edward had a reputation. The kind that crossed different Middle Schools and made him a bit of a legend. He was popular and athletic and a total flirt. Before long, he was dating girls, a new one seemingly every week. I knew Alice was the same, since he told me about boys in his class mentioning her, but it was different with Alice. People called her a tease or a slut because she dressed provocatively and was different. She didn't care. Alice thought it was funny and she sort of made her detentions for dress code violation a prize to be won. She'd started a border around the top of her bedroom in the pink slips of her referrals. Whatever was said about her didn't matter.

She was too confident in herself to let it bring her down. I thought she was a goddess. If I didn't know Alice as the girl next door that loved unhealthy, overly-sugary cereal and had seen every movie known to man, I would have thought she was untouchable. As it was, she was just Alice. And I was just Bella. And even though she was the badass rebel and I was the goody-two-shoes, we just worked. We relied on inside jokes that only Edward found funny and we were loyal to each other no matter what rumors were flying.

So even though I was picked on, I had friends, good friends, and I was top of my class and Middle School wasn't that bad. I never regretted my decision to stay.

Things changed towards the end of the year when Alice started dating Tyler. Tyler was a really cool kid on his own. He played center in our summer pick-up games, though he wasn't on the baseball team. He was the middle school quarterback, and even though I knew nothing about football, I got that it was a big deal. Sometimes he joked with me in our shared Health class, but I didn't think anything of it. Other times, he called me "Brain," but not in a mean way.

Even when he started to sit with us at lunch everyday, I just figured it was because the other boys from baseball did. I didn't think anything of it when he asked Alice out to a date for dinner at the diner. I mean, we went to the diner all the time as group. It couldn't be a big thing, right?

I was wrong. The day after their date, Alice called me at nine, interrupting my normal weekend sleep-fest.

"Okay, I can't wait any longer. Are you up?" she asked.

"Well I am now," I grumbled.

"Great! I'll be over in five!"

I shuffled out of bed and had barely finished pouring milk into a second bowl of Lucky Charms (I'd finally broken down and asked Charlie for an alternative to Reese's), when she burst through the front door.

"He kissed me!" she squealed. "Tyler kissed me!"

I choked on my mouthful of dehydrated marshmallows. "What?" I croaked.

"I mean, it was totally unexpected, because I didn't think he'd have it in him. But that just makes it sweeter, right? I mean, I could tell he was totally nervous, but he just went for it and I mean, hello! He's Tyler! He's the fucking quarterback! Of course, I kissed him back."

I tried to drink some milk from my spoon, suddenly needing to parch my dry throat. Girls weren't supposed to kiss on the first date. Was I wrong? Was I 'totally' stuck in the fifties? Or what?

"I didn't even know you liked Tyler?" I asked. Alice rolled her eyes.

"I mean." she said again, "I wasn't sure. But what's not to like? He's cute. He's popular. And he's definitely a good kisser!"

"But you've never kissed anyone before!" I exclaimed.

"I could just tell. He was good." Alice paused. "Why aren't you happy for me?"

Her question was valid, and I didn't know the answer. I didn't like Tyler that way, but then, I didn't think Alice did either. I decided to be vague.

"I don't know. I just figured if you were going to kiss someone, it would be someone you really liked."

"Like Edward?" Alice asked, with a roll of her eyes. "Please. First of all, Edward's never going to kiss me, because he totally likes you. And secondly, I wouldn't know the first thing to do with him if he did. I mean, you can't just kiss a guy like Edward without knowing what you're doing!"

"Edward doesn't like me," I said automatically. It had become an immediate response thanks to Renee's crazy speculations that wouldn't let up. And then I actually thought about what she'd said. "Wait, you like Edward?"

Alice giggled. "I mean, I'm not in love with him or anything. But even you have to admit that he's totally hott."

I could tell from her tone she meant hot with two T's. And I didn't know what to say.

"Alice! He's just… Edward," I said. My faithful standby excuse sounded false even to my own ears.

"If you say so," Alice said, sounding dubious. "That does not change the fact that I got my first kiss last night! From Tyler Crowley!"

She shrieked the last part with such enthusiasm that I couldn't help but smile.

"So you like him?" I asked.

"Would I have let him kiss me if I didn't?" she asked. I decided to let the comment slide, wanting it to be rhetorical. I pushed the bowl of cereal towards her and laughed when she shouted, "Hearts, Stars, and Horseshoes!"

Edward would have done the same thing.

-----------

That night I called Edward. It wasn't the first time we'd talked over the phone, but it was the first time I'd been the one to initiate the contact. After a brief conversation with Esme, he was put on the line.

"Bella?" he asked.

I could tell he was excited by his tone. For a moment, I felt kinda special again. I mean, I'd heard about him with girls and such, but this was different. We were best friends. Sometimes I thought we were even closer than Alice and me.

"Hey, Edward!" I said happily.

"Bells, you'll never guess what happened! You know that Irina chick I was going out with?"

I did, indeed, know 'that Irina chick.' She was the one that tried to convince him that Blink 182 was lame, even though they were obviously awesome. I didn't think much of her.

"Yeah?" I said warily. I'd called to ask what he thought of the Alice situation, but if he wanted to talk about Irina, I knew it couldn't be good.

"She let me get to second base today!" he said. "Under the top."

For a moment, I tried to trick myself into thinking he was talking about baseball. It was short-lived. I knew what second base meant.

"That's awesome!" I said with false cheerfulness. But I didn't like it for some reason. I thought about what Alice had said about how she couldn't just kiss someone like Edward, since he obviously knew what he was doing.

Without thinking, I asked, "But seriously, is there any point? I mean, it's not like anyone in our class has grown boobs, other than Rose."

Rosalie was 'an early bloomer' as my mom put it. All the boys drooled over her, even though she wouldn't give them the time of day. It kinda made me even like her more.

Edward laughed. "Irina's an eighth-grader, Bella. Trust me, there was a point to it."

"You're dating an eighth-grader!" I shrieked. He was eleven! She was thirteen! That was just… weird.

"Please, Bells. You know I've got mad skillz."

I laughed. "Right, Eddie," I said, using his hated nickname. "If by skills you mean you make a mean vampire."

"Shut up!"

"I'm sure Irina would be impressed by your Dracula impersonation. Maybe I should let her know she's dating a total dweeb."

"Isabella Marie Swan!" Oh, full name, I've got him. "Don't you dare. No one knows about that shit but you, and it'd better stay that way."

I felt that same small twinge of pride. Only the two of us shared that. Before I allowed myself to dwell on it, I got to the reason I'd called in the first place.

"Alice got to first last night." I used his baseball analogy, even though I wasn't sure if it was true. Did they use tongue? I'd forgotten to ask.

"Really?" he asked. He didn't sound too impressed. "With who?"

"Oh," I said. "Tyler Crawley."

"The sucky center?" he asked.

"He's our football quarterback," I said, not knowing why I was defending him.

"Doesn't mean he's not a sucky center," Edward said, sounding glum suddenly. I didn't know what to do.

"Well, I don't think it's serious."

"Okay, Bella. Can I call you back later? I have a lot of homework to do."

"Sure," I said, knowing he didn't have homework. Edward, like me, was always too smart for homework.

"Later, Bella," he said and hung up. I stared at the dial tone emanating from my receiver, wondering what my best friends' problems were.

----

Before walking into school the next day, I cornered Alice.

"Did you and Tyler French?" I asked.

"Maybe," Alice said, turning slightly pink. "Why do you ask? You didn't seem very interested yesterday."

I could tell she was pouting about my lack of enthusiasm. "No reason. I just realized when I was talking to Edward that I didn't know."

"You told Edward!?"

"Yeah, is that bad?" Alice bit her lip, as if contemplating it, then shook her head.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"Not much, he said Tyler was a sucky center." Alice brightened immediately. "Oh, and he got to second base with Irina. Apparently she's an eighth-grader."

Alice laughed. "What, did he run out of girls his own age?"

I laughed too. Edward had a reputation for a reason. Even though his girlfriends rarely lasted more than two weeks, he was never without one. I'd never seen the point, since most Middle School relationships consisted of holding hands and walking each other to class. Though if Alice and Edward were anything to go by, that wasn't true.

At dinner that night, I casually mentioned it to Charlie. He blushed and got flustered- obviously where I inherited it from - and then looked serious.

"No dating until high school, Bella," he said. I nodded. Like I said, most Middle School relationships were dumb. I did, however, feel a slight pang of jealousy. Both of my best friends had been kissed. I'd never even been asked out. I pushed the thought to the side and got up to do the dishes.

---

The rest of the sixth grade continued on pretty much the same. Alice and Tyler dated for a whole month before she called it off because he was too "conventional." I was pretty sure she was just mad he wouldn't let her dress him up in Hot Topic gear. Edward broke up with Irina a week after we talked and was actually single for a while, though he started dating a seventh-grader named Melissa before school let out. I was called "Brain," lovingly by my friends and condescendingly by everyone else.

There was one time when our middle schools played each other in baseball. Emmett had switched over to football with Tyler, but Alice and I went for Jasper and Edward anyway. They were both the best players on their respective teams, and we wound up cheering for them rather than either side. Our team won, and Jas gave us a both a big hug afterward. We were going to give Edward a hug too, but he was too busy being consoled by Melissa's tongue for us to bother.

We still talked and hung out when our parents did, but it wasn't like that summer. There were new inside jokes made with Em and Jas that Edward wasn't a part of. Sometimes I missed him, but most of the time I was just plain busy.

When summer came, Alice and I went to Jacksonville. We laid out on the beach every day, even though we always burned. Renee took us shopping and Alice thought she was the coolest mom ever for going into Hot Topic, even though I was just embarrassed that she flirted with the underage boys at the register. I played catch with Phil and tried not to miss our pickup games with the boys too much. I was happy when it was time to return to Forks for the seventh grade.

Edward came over the first day we were back in town. He'd broken up with Melissa because she was being "a clingy bitch" and had started dating someone who was actually in our grade. Jessica was apparently another "early bloomer" if his accounts of her "tits" were anything to go by. We spent the last week of the summer watching movies and binging on sugary cereal and I was so glad to be back, even if I missed my mom.

The first day of seventh grade, Jasper greeted us at the car. He wanted to check if we had science together again, which we did, and asked to be my lab partner. Alice teased me relentlessly that he liked me, but I denied it. I was still the goody-two-shoes and Jas was a smart cookie. I figured he just wanted a good grade.

Alice wound up dating Mike for two months. I kinda thought Mike liked me, a little, because he always sat by me in class and was really nice. But I didn't say anything. I mean, it wasn't like I liked him back, but I was kinda shocked that she would go there. She obviously pursued him whenever he seemed to be flirting with me and it wasn't until I told him about Charlie's "no dating until high school" rule that he asked her out.

I didn't want to think that Alice could be like that, but when I told Edward about them dating, his immediate response was, "She's jealous."

"Jealous of what?" I asked.

"Jealous that all the guys want to be with you." I cracked up. Full, belly-aching laughs.

"Whatever, Edward," I said, He shrugged. I was over at his house for a "family" dinner with Charlie, Carlisle, and Esme.

"Right, because there's so much to be jealous of. I've never even been kissed! I wouldn't know what to do."

Edward looked at me, a strange look that had me remembering what Alice had said a year before about not knowing what to do with him.

"Trust me, Bells, there's a lot to be jealous of," he said.

"Like what?" I countered.

"Like tits," he said with a wink. "Don't think I haven't noticed those."

I blushed and crossed my arms over my chest. Mrs. Brandon had taken me and Alice to buy training bras recently. We were both a 32 AA, the smallest size available, and though I filled them out more than she did, it wasn't something to brag about.

"Shut up," I said. "There's nothing there."

"If you say so," Edward said, cocking a eyebrow. I blushed harder.

---

The next week, Alice dragged me aside from our friends in the cafeteria.

"I got to second!" she whisper-squealed.

"Don't you mean you let Mike get to second?" I asked.

"Hello!" Alice shouted. "Way to undermine feminism. But for serious!"

"That's great, Ali," I said. "What did he think of the bra?"

We'd both bought the sexiest training bras we could find. Of course, they only came in virginal white, but Alice had insisted on the ones with a sliver a lace around the cup and a bow in front.

"He never knew what hit him!" she said. "Don't worry, Bells, Edward will love them."

"Edward doesn't like me!" I shrieked. Honestly, between her and Renee it was getting to be too much. I looked over at our table to see all the boys studiously ignoring us, excepting Jas who was glaring at his food with a slight flush.

"Edward and I will never be together," I said quietly. "We're just friends. Please, let it go."

"Fine!" Alice said. "But you don't know what you're missing!"

She winked at me. I blushed. As much as I didn't want to be 'Little Miss Perfect,' what my friends did was beyond gross. I'd never even been kissed! How could I compare with them?

---

"Hello Ladies," Edward said, walking into Alice's living room. It was a Saturday and we'd decided to have a movie marathon since we hadn't hung out together in a long time.

"Edward!" Alice squealed, jumping up from the couch to hug him. He laughed and returned her embrace before turning to me.

"What. Swan, no hug?"

"God, no. Who knows where you've been," I said from my spot on the couch. He narrowed his eyes, giving me that look of determination usually reserved for the baseball diamond, and then tackled me. I fell back with him leaning over me, tickling my sides until I was gasping for air.

"Admit it, Swan. You think I'm sexy."

"No!" I choked out.

"Swan…" he said warningly. Tears were streaming down my face; I couldn't breath.

"Fine!" I shouted. "You're sexy! Let me go!"

He sat back on his calves with a smirk. "Knew it."

"God, unresolved sexual tension, much?" Alice asked. I blushed at the word 'sexual.'

"Shut up, Alice! Just because I'm not a slut like the two of you." I knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left my mouth. Alice and Edward looked at each other briefly before they both dived in and started tickling me mercilessly. Neither one of them was ticklish. It just wasn't fair.

"I take it back!" I screamed. "You aren't sluts! You're nuns! Completely celibate, virginal nuns!"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Alice said. Edward winked at her.

"If you're done torturing me now, can we start the movie?" I asked, still gasping slightly.

"Actually, hang on. I brought something," Edward said, getting up and reaching into the backpack he'd dropped when Alice hugged him. "Are your parents home?"

"Nope, they're gone all day. Shopping in Seattle."

"Perfect," Edward said, holding up a water bottle. It was filled three-fourths of the way with something yellow.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Tequila," he said. The smirk was back in full force. Alice immediately started bouncing but I just blanched.

"Edward! We can't drink!"

"Why not?" he asked. My stomach twisted into knots. This was bad. This was wrong. This was going to get me in so much trouble.

"Come on, Bella. Live a little!" Alice said.

"Live a little? Now I know it's a bad idea, Alice. Every time you tell me that something goes horribly wrong." It was true. The last time she'd said it, we skipped third period with Em and Jas to hang out in the Auditorium. The school called our parents and we were both grounded for a week.

"Alright, Little Miss Perfect," Edward said. He knew how much I hated when he called me that. Both of my friends were rebels, badasses. It always made me feel left out.

"Give me that," I huffed. He unscrewed the cap and handed it over. Before I could think about it, I took a big gulp. It tasted horrible! And it burned! I choked and sputtered as they laughed.

"Go, Bells!" Alice shouted. Edward took the bottle from me and took a swig. He didn't choke like me, but the grimace on his face made me laugh.

"My turn!" Alice took a gulp and scrunched up her nose. "Ugh!"

And then the bottle was back to me. We took turns downing the nasty stuff. After the first few swallows, it burned a little less, leaving only a warm sensation down my esophagus. As soon as the bottle was finished, I started giggling.

"Bella, are you drunk?" Edward asked with that cute little smirk. Wait, what? Cute?

"Noooo!" I said, shaking my head wildly. The room started to spin and I fell over face-first into Alice's lap. She started to laugh.

"Ew! Crotch face!" I shrieked. Edward started cracking up.

"Damn, Bella. Didn't know you swung that way," he said. I pushed myself up and tried to slap him, but missed his face by a foot.

"Oh dear, looks like she's a belligerent drunk," Alice giggled.

"Am not!" I huffed. I tried to scowl but started giggling again. I felt good. Like, really good. Everything was bright and happy and I was with my two best friends in the world. Alice seemed to be feeling the same way because she threw herself at us and wrapped us both in a hug.

"I fucking love you guys!" she squealed.

"I fucking love you too, Ali," I said.

"Holy shit! She didn't blush!" Edward said.

"Fuck! Shit! Cock! Motherfucker!" I screamed.

Alice and Edward cracked up so hard they fell off the couch and started rolling around on the floor.

"Too much," Edward gasped. I jumped off the couch and straddled him, trying to tickle him to pay him back for earlier. He looked up at me and raised an eyebrow.

"You know that's not going to work."

"It's not fair!" I lamented. "Why am I the only one who's ticklish?"

Edward rolled us over so he was on top of me and started squeezing my sides. After a moment, he let up. He was half laying on top of me, my legs out on either side of his, and his funny-colored hair was hanging in his face. He had a weird look in his eyes, and I reached up to brush the hair away from them.

"Your eyes are really green," was my intelligent statement.

"If you two are done having sex in my living room," Alice said. I pushed Edward off me quickly and hit her with one of the couch cushions. Edward just laughed.

"Maybe we can start the movie?" She finished.

We put in Zoolander. It was a Ben Stiller fest, complete with Meet the Parents and Dodgeball. Normally, I wasn't big on comedy, but that day, I thought it was hilarious.

"You-can-read-minds?" I gasped out, laughing so hard I fell over onto Edward. He laughed and put an arm around me, pulling me closer. Alice snuggled up to my other side, and we stayed that way for the rest of the movie. I was warm and happy between my two best friends in the world. There wasn't anywhere I'd rather be.