A/N: Thanks for reading and alerting!! Little family fluff in this chappy, next one is going to be nice and angsty.

Disclaimer: Characters and settings belong to Stephenie Meyer. Also some of the lines in this chapter.

Familia

I turn to Cullen's driveway at exactly seven-thirty. I hate being late. I also hate cutting short my phone conversations with Edward, and today the latter won. I closed the phone at seven, had showered, changed and put on the little make up I usually wear at seven-fifteen. And I'm not late. Carlisle said half past seven.

The front door of the house – or The Cullen Mansion, as I named it the first time I visited Edward's home - flies open and Alice appears to the porch holding hands with tall, blonde man and smiling wider than I've ever seen her smile, and that is saying something. She is bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet and even from the car it is hard to miss the absolutely adoring look the man by her side casts on her. That must be "Jazz". I hope I will be able to think his name without the quotation marks at some point in the near future.

I park the car to my usual spot next to Carlisle's Mercedes and to my great delight I spot Emmett and Rose's red BMW on the other side of it. This is really going to be a proper family dinner. Esme must be ecstatic.

"Bella!" Alice greets me on the porch by jumping to my arms and nearly knocking me over – only her boyfriend's restraining hold on her hand prevents that from happening. "It's so good to see you – you haven't been here since forever!" she enthuses. I hug her back, laughing.

"Good to see you too, Alice! I've missed you like crazy."

Alice releases her hold on me and suddenly she looks all business. "Isabella Cullen. Meet Jasper Whitlock, my boyfriend." However giddy and childish and frivolous she may usually appear, it is obvious that this moment means great deal to Alice. It is also clear that Alice Cullen is head-over-heels in love with this man.

"It's nice to finally meet you," I state sincerely to Jasper and shake his hand.

"Likewise, Isabella," he says, laughter in his eyes and I immediately recognise a kindred spirit.

"Bella, everybody calls me Bella – even Alice, even though she says she likes my real name better ."

"Well, then-"he laughs, "great to meet you, Bella." The southern intonation in his speech makes him even more charming. I can definitely see why Alice is so smitten. Blue eyes, wavy blond hair and lean frame that over-towers Alice's tiny one by two feet – he is absolutely gorgeous. Almost as gorgeous as my husband, which is about as good as it gets.

We finally get inside and I am greeted warmly by Esme and Carlisle in the lobby. We exchange conspiratorial smiles, hers questioning and mine reassuring.

"Is it my Bells that I hear?" The boisterous voice comes from the living room, and sure enough, Emmett appears on the doorway. He opens his arms as an invitation." Come here, baby girl, give good ol' Em some love!" And it is really hard to resist. I jump into his arms laughing and earn a sloppy kiss to my cheek.

"How's my baby brother? He hasn't called me since the first day on the camp – apparently he has somebody else he is using his daily phone calls for."

"He is doing well. I just talked to him. He misses you all and asked me to send his love."

"Sappy as ever, I see." Em lets go of me and as a big happy group we wander to the living room. I sat on the sofa next to Emmett and Carlisle. I see Jasper sitting on the armchair and pulling Alice on his lap, a gesture so familiar that my heart hurts. Carlisle puts his arm in a fatherly manner on my shoulder and pulls me closer to his side.

"Hey - Em, where's Rosalie?" I ask, turning to face my brother-in-law.

"She is upstairs, waking up Lilian. The little monster had one of her temper tantrums just before we left and we thought it might be better for her to have her nap before we bring her to a delicate social event such as this," he states, gesturing to Jasper who is rolling his eyes to him.

"Are you talking about your wife or your daughter?" he asks in turn. The two seem to have met before. "I wonder where your child gets her temper from."

Emmett sighs, in mock exhaustion, but fools no one. We all know that Rose and Lilian have him neatly wrapped around their little fingers. "I don't know, but I certainly have my hands full." Like on cue, Rose appears from upstairs carrying their little daughter, who has inherited her mother's golden curls and her father's irresistible dimples.

Rose and Emmett are a couple that never cease to amaze me. For an outsider a marriage of two so completely different people should be doomed to fall apart, but actually their differences seem only to keep it fresh and interesting. Where he is loud, funny and a little goofy and juvenile at times, she is classy, dignified and sometimes strikes as a little bit proud. Rumour has it that she is also positively lethal when angered. Oh, and when I started to date Edward she absolutely loathed me. Fortunately that is apparently not the case anymore, although I still have rather formal and polite relationship with her. Unlike the one I have with her daughter.

"Auntie Bella!" the little girl squeals as soon as she sees us and reaches for me.

"Hi, Lily! Come and give me a kiss, will you?" I say and rise to my feet to take her from Rose's arms. Lily wraps her tiny arms around my neck and places several wet kisses to my jaw. "Have you been a good girl, Lil?" I ask her and give her tiny nose a peck. "Eating your morning cereals and being nice to Mommy and Daddy?"

She nods gravely. "But Mommy was naughty today!" she whispers to me loudly.

"No!" I gasp in shocked voice. This I have to hear. "What did she do?"

"She didn't let me wear my pink shoes with DIAMONDS on it!" She sounds still rather appalled by the incident and I work hard to keep my poker face. The whole room listens to our conversation with apparent interest. "And they are my prettiest shoes and I know Auntie Ali's new Jazz would have LOVED them." She lets out a dramatic sniff but does not quite manage to force real tears in her eyes.

"I'm sure he loves you anyway, sweetie," I say and steal a glance towards "Ali's new Jazz", who is nodding vigorously. "See? We all do. But tell me, what happened next? Did you choose your second favourite shoes?"

"No. I went to tell Daddy, 'cause he loves me and always does what I tell him to do," she states rather smugly. I can hear muffled laughter from around us, but choose to ignore them, for I can tell, that the story isn't quite over. "Well, did he?"

"No. Something's wrong with that man," she adds in such a precocious tone that I burst into laughter with the rest of the family. There is no way that Lily has come up with that kind of statement on her own, which only makes it so much more hilarious.

"You two should probably start watching your words around this little genius of yours," Jasper guffaws. Lilian has started to laugh too, and her giggle is absolutely infectious.

The dinner that follows isn't the most formal one, but certainly one of the funniest. The empty seat next to mine reminds me of the most important member of this family to me and oh - I miss him. I miss him. I miss him. And I know he would be ecstatic hearing about our gathering and that I have had a good time without him. He loves the way I love his family like my own. My parents got a divorce when I was less than a year old and my mum and I have never been too close. I lived with my father, who loved me fiercely in his own, subtle way and I know I'm all he has. I often wish that I wasn't. I lived couple of years with mum before high school, but it didn't work out very well. She was too used to her freedom and I didn't want to become more of a burden to her than I already was. Charlie's silent joy when I moved back to him was heart-breaking. Yes, I am definitely happy to have all this insane family around me. So why am I being so sentimental?

I hated my ugly, yellow graduation gown. It was some consolation to see that it didn't really agree with anyone – except for the one person I tried desperately hide from. He looked absolutely stunning, as always.

I had been trying to avoid Edward Cullen's company as much as possible after the Coke incident and so far I had been rather successful – it was only too easy, since we weren't exactly joined from the hip to begin with. I was still extremely ashamed and embarrassed about everything – no matter how often Angela reminded me that I hadn't really done anything, apart from shaking his hand and stuttering a little. But that was the worst part! I had planned our first encounter in my head so many times and not one of those scenarios included stuttering, blushing or an awkwardness of any kind! I was utterly disappointed in myself, mostly because I had let my stupid infatuation so out of hand that I couldn't see the reality anymore. Edward Cullen and I were in a completely different leagues and I was simply one of the hundreds of girls who swooned after him.

I'd heard that he wasn't dating Tanya anymore – apparently that was long over – but that didn't change a thing. He had plenty to choose from and he hadn't even recognized me at school. I was so angry to myself that I could have spat. I did, in fact, spit – just a tiny bit - right then and there, under the huge oak, in which shadow I was waiting for my friends. "Shitfuck," I uttered quietly. Nope. Didn't help.

"Um, sorry," I heard from right behind me and I knew the voice immediately. Cue Edward freakin' Cullen whenever Bella needs to be thoroughly humiliated. Like now, for instance. I turned to face him, hoping against hope that he had missed my last sentiment. And the spit, obviously.

No such luck.

"Don't you like Sprite?" he asked and gestured towards all but forgotten can of soda in my left hand.

"Yes. I mean no. I mean yes, but this particular can must be from some kind of foul batch or something..." I lied - badly, I might add. Lying was only one of my many missing skills.

He didn't seem to mind, or maybe he really didn't notice.

"Good to know. I hope this one is from a different batch," he said gravely, handing me another can. I could see his green eyes twinkle with amusement. The bastard was laughing at me! On the other hand, he also brought me a drink, which was kind of cute. I thought that I owed him truth – at least a small part of it.

"Thanks. Actually, I spat because I was a little pissed off and thought that nobody saw me," I confessed.

"I see. Was the 'shitfuck' also a part of that little burst of anger?"

"Yes. I don't usually like to swear." I thought for a second and then felt a need to elaborate. "But only because I'm not very good at it. As you can probably tell."

Edward looked very amused.

"Actually, I think you are very creative. Not many of us would dare to use both 'shit' and 'fuck' in a single curse." When he swore, it sounded incredibly sexy. Why didn't it sound like that when I cursed?

"You are making fun of me," I accused and narrowed my eyes to disguise my blush.

He raised his hands in mock surrender and tried to look repentant, not doing it very well. My attempt to look dignified and appalled was met with equal lack of success.

"Perhaps. My apologies, dear lady. Your use of expletives would bring grown man to tears."

"Why do you talk like that?" I asked, suddenly intrigued. He looked confused.

"Like how?"

"Like you were from a different decade or something?"

"I don't know. I suppose I understand what you mean, though." He seemed to really think about that for the first time. "Does it bother you?" he then asked, odd look on his face. What does it matter to you ? I nearly asked, but then thought better of it.

"No. Just wondering. You don't really hear anyone speak like that anymore. At least not in Forks High."

"True. Although, you are not exactly one of the teen-queens either." I wasn't sure if I liked the sound of that, however true it might have been.

"Yes, I guess I'm one of the nerds, if that's what you mean." My self-esteem didn't quite allow me say 'losers' in front of him, even though that was what the majority of school population most likely thought about me and my friends.

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean that you follow your own path, even if you don't always know what it is." He didn't look like he was joking. It was scary. What was also quite scary was that I found talking to him little bit too easy. It was like breathing – effortless.

"I suppose you're right."

"Of course. I usually am." He said it like the most obvious thing in the world. He was quiet for a second and then we both burst out laughing. "No, I mean it. It's annoying, but I am hardly ever wrong about my observations," he explained, still chuckling.

"Your observations?"

"I like to watch people. It's a kind of creepy habit, I guess, but I have been doing it for as long as I can remember." He seemed to be considering his next words." Most of the people are very easy to read."

"Oh really, now?" And before I could stop myself I added: "You don't even see me at school – how do you manage to observe me, if you don't look at me?" As soon as the words left my mouth I wished they hadn't. Way to hide your crush from him, you moron!

"I can see you, Bella," he said in a very different tone. I was sure I'd heard him wrong.

"Huh?"

"You said that I don't even look at you, but that's not true."

"It's not?" I was completely unprepared to the direction this conversation was heading.

"No. But you're not easy to read at all. That's probably why I can't stop looking."

I didn't know what to say – and said nothing.

"I find you quite intriguing, Bella."

The words that had been momentarily lost finally found their way out of mouth. "What does that mean?"

Now it was his turn to answer with silence. He just shrugged, smiling that infuriating, one-sided smile. Something snapped in me.

"I don't understand you, Edward. At school you don't even say hi to me, and until two weeks ago, I was pretty sure that you didn't even know I existed. You have been ignoring me for four years. If you have been looking at me, you sure as hell have been quite subtle about it!" I didn't mean to sound so angry, and I wasn't – just incredibly frustrated. Edward, on the other hand, looked horrified.

"I knew you existed, Bella! Well, maybe not all four years, but ever since you and Tanya started on same third period algebra. And I haven't ignored you – at least I haven't been meaning to! I just didn't know how to approach you and with Tanya it wouldn't have been very appropriate..." he trailed off.

"How is simple 'hi' inappropriate?" I demanded, trying not to sound too accusatory.

"It's not, but Tanya was already really uncomfortable with my weird habits – gauging at people and getting caught up in to other people's conversations – and I didn't want to make it even more hard on her." Edward looked me deep in the eye, as if willing me to understand. And I wanted to. The small, teenaged, self- conscious girl inside of me, though – she was still on the doubting side, and would be for a while, I could tell.

"But you always look so...self-absorbed - I'm sorry, but you do! And I'm not being paranoid, my friends think so too!"

"Ouch – I guess I deserved that," he grimaced. "But haven't you noticed - people who don't seek public attention are often wrongly taken as either weirdoes or self-centred bastards?"

"Touché. But I do greet people even if they're not in my... inner circle of peers."

"True. And I apologise, I truly do. I'd like for us to be friends, Bella." Edward looked sincere.

"Friends?" I blurted out, not thinking.

"Yes. Unless your circle is already full. You know - your circle of peers."

"Fine. But you should know, friends don't make fun of each other."

"On the contrary, mon ami, that's exactly what friends do."

I realize that I have absolutely no idea what the people around me are talking about. I pay intense attention on the conversations around me for the next several minutes and soon discover, that a) Jasper and Emmett have indeed met before – they lived at the same dorm in college, that b) Lily will have a fifth birthday party with a staggering theme "The Magic Kingdom of Disney Princesses" and that c) Carlisle is very fond of Esme's roasted duck – in fact, he thinks it's 'simply divine'. After tasting the food myself, I have to agree. Simply the fact that it doesn't make me want to puke makes me ready to sing its praise.

I catch Esme's grey gaze from across the table and smile at her. She mouths something at me and I find that it's exactly what I have been thinking: "I'm so happy."

"You are so not driving home tonight, Bella."

Esme and Alice have been trying to talk me to stay overnight in the "Cullen Mansion", and I have to admit, it does sound very tempting. Going back to an empty house after loud, cheerful family dinner, on the other hand – not so much.

"Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"No. I only have to email some files to my boss, but that's it." I let out a sigh of surrender. "Fine, I'll stay."

"Yesss!" Alice squeals. "You can sleep in Edward's old room and we can talk girly stuff before going to bed." Her enthusiasm is infectious and I have to tease her a little.

"So I'm not invited to stay in your room anymore? I see how it goes – once your friend finds a boyfriend, you are shoved aside like an old toy..."

"Oh, you're the one to talk, miss 'I-only-play-with-my-husband'!" Alice laughs in turn.

"Okay, girls," Esme says loudly before we get too much into our usual bantering. "I'm going to make Bella's bed. Alice, you should probably show Jasper the guest bathroom."

"Yes, please do," Jasper says from behind Alice's back where he has suddenly appeared. "Am I relieved from the 'girly stuff', or do you need me for that, darlin'?"

"No, you can go to my room and wait for me there. The guest bathroom is right across the corridor."

To my surprise Jasper immediately turns to where Alice's imperious finger is pointing and vanishes inside the bathroom without another word.

"You have managed to train him fairly well in such a short time," I point out to her.

"Oh, he just knows what's best for him," Alice says airily and links her arm with mine. "Come. Girl talk awaits."

We help Esme to make the bed and after she has bid us good night and gone, Alice attacks.

"SO," she says and pulls me to sit on the bed right next to her. "I need help."

I am stunned and therefore silent. Alice is the most self-sufficient person I have ever known. She has not had boyfriend before Jasper simply because she has not needed one – not because the lack of choice – and she usually gets what she wants by being annoyingly, amazingly persistent. I'm sure I would still be a single woman if Alice didn't approve of me as her brother's girlfriend in the first place. I may be stubborn, but Alice is more than that. She is a force of nature. Thus my stunned silence.

"Are you going to help me?" she demands when I remain mute.

"I-I would be happy to. Just tell me what to do, sweetie."

Alice seems to ponder her words – another first. She leans her elbows to her bent knees and stares straight ahead. I mimic her position and for a moment we just sit in friendly silence.

"I think I'm in love, Bella," she finally states. Her voice is unusually quiet and she seems almost fragile. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and she leans to my side.

"Is that a bad thing?" I ask gently when she utters a sad sigh.

"No! No." She still seems a little worried. "It's just...terrifying."

"I know."

"Do you really, Bella?" Alice looks at me and I can tell that she is dead serious. "I mean, you and Edward...you are so...alike. And it's like you didn't even have a life before him – and he didn't before you."

"Hey!" I'm slightly offended. "I did have a life – it just got better after I found your brother".

"But once you'd found each other it seemed so effortless – like you'd been just waiting for the other and all before that was just preparation for that." Alice doesn't even seem to hear me in the midst of her musings. And she isn't entirely wrong.

"You're completely useless without each other," she says and continues before I have a chance to protest. "And I'm so jealous! I wish it was that easy for me and Jasper, too!"

"Honey, I don't really know about easy..."

"But I'm not USED TO needing anyone!" she nearly shouts and makes me jump a little bit. "And I NEED Jazz – more than I have ever needed anything in my life! And it scares the hell out of me!"

And all of a sudden I can see the real problem, although I still don't have a clue how to help her. "Alice," I say and hug her gently, "It's scary because it's new to you. Have you talked to Jasper about this?"

"About being scared of him? No, somehow I think he wouldn't feel too awesome about that," she mutters to my shirt.

"Not him, but the feeling – you're scared of being in love, even though I can't see why, because clearly he is head over heels in to you too, missy!" Alice doesn't appreciate my laughter and is suddenly livid. She stands up and starts to pace back and forth on the floor in very un-Alice-like fashion.

"It's not the love per say, Bella, but being out of control – that is something I've never done before! And love –mine, his – is definitely something that I cannot control!"

I nod. I can understand why she is terrified.

"You have seen how I boss him around – and he lets me, because he knows me and probably sees through me – sees what a freak I really am! A freak who just HAS to be in control of something all the time!" Alice is nearly hyperventilating now and I can tell that a panic attack is well on its way.

"Alice, Alice, honey! Don't be silly!" Okay, wrong choice of words – now she is actually sobbing. "Honey, you have to, HAVE TO talk to him about this! You're right – he knows you and loves you and he would hate to see you beat yourself up like this."

"I can't!" she wails, but I can see that her defence is crumbling. It must be exhausting, to give up to your greatest fears. She is right, I and Edward definitely had it easier – we both gladly gave up our control where the other was concerned. Falling in Iove with him has been the single most liberating experience of my life – to finally give up all my pretences. I feel that I maybe should be little bit ashamed of how much I need him all the time, but can't be bothered. I know that he needs me just as much and is never ashamed to admit that.

We hear a knock on the door and worried-looking Jasper sticks his head inside. His eyes widen in alarm when he sees Alice as a sobbing mess in my arms. I try to communicate him with my own eyes that she is OK, but Jasper is already inside and reaches his arms for her.

"Maybe you should take her to bed," I suggest quietly. "You two have some things to talk about." When Jasper looks even more scared, I add, smiling a little: "Nothing bad, just...couple stuff."

Jasper lifts Alice swiftly to his arms and presses a soft kiss on her forehead. "It's okay, sweetheart. I've got you." He carries her tenderly to her bedroom and I walk to close the door behind Jasper. I turn back towards the room and let my gaze sweep over the familiar surfaces – the desk, the black leather sofa, and the book self with rows and rows of music and books, the fluffy bed and the ceilings of the lightest blue colour. I remember the nights of our teenage years, laying next to his sleeping form on this same bed, staring at the patterns of the roof and the blue of the walls, waiting for sleep to come. It was a rare occasion that Charlie let me to stay overnight at the Cullens, and it was always under the disguise of 'sleep-over with Alice'". I was usually too excited to sleep properly, thrilled by Edward's presence and trembling by his closeness. I have to smile when I remember my innocent desires at the beginning of our relationship: to kiss him, to sleep next to him, feeling his skin under my hand...which, of course, when fulfilled, only fuelled the not- so-innocent wants we both shared.

I am still smiling, when I slip under his sheets, which still, fresh from the laundry, smell like him, and for a moment, just before I fall to sleep, I am again the shy, self-conscious, 18-years-old Bella Swan who finds it impossible to believe that Edward-freakin'-Cullen is in love with her.