A/N: Here's the next chapter. Sorry to all of those whos reviews I didn't respond to, I tried, but I've been really busy. I didn't read over this that many times to get all the mistakes, so sorry if that bothers you. Not happy with this, but enjoy.

I impatiently waited as the elevator made its journey to the sixteenth floor. I repeatedly pressed the button, trying to force the elevator to go faster.

After what felt like forever, the door finally opened, revealing a long hallway. I quickly stepped out and jogged down the hall to my 'friend's' office. Her door was open and she was typing away on her computer, probably on Facebook. She looked up at me with a surprised look etched across her face.

"I thought we agreed that you would stay there the whole day." She paused her typing and stood up. "You should be over there with her, getting information."

"Well, I was going to talk to her, but she broke her foot or something and had to go to the hospital. I just dropped her off."

"Well you could have stayed. Bella you need to make this plan quick and easy so you don't get attached. If you prolong the process, you might not make it." She motioned to a seat in front of her desk.

"No, I'd rather stand. I'm not staying here long. I just thought that I would come inform you that you broke your side of the deal." I crossed my arms.

"Oh, and how did I do that?" She crossed her arms as well.

"You went to see her, you went to see Alice."

"No I didn't." She sat down and continued to type on her computer.

"You should know that I can smell your perfume from a mile away. I was the one who bought it for you in college. Remember junior year, as a one month anniversary present. You still buy that same perfume." She thought for a while. "You always put too much of that stuff on. I could smell it the moment I walked inside."

"Hey you were the one that wanted me to come with you." She pointed out.

"Yeah, I wanted you to come with me, not by yourself. I even specifically told you not to go by yourself."

"And when was that?" She asked.

"Yesterday at movie night. I told you that I didn't want you to go by yourself so that you could come with me to meet her one day, but you were probably too concentrated in Megan Fox's ass to listen." She looked up from her computer with a shocked expression.

"You know I'm over that faze. You were my only girl crush slash lover, ever." She laughed. "I think you were confusing me with you. And so what if I went to see her, it's not like she'll remember me."

"I know you Tanya, and I know you well enough to know that you don't like it when people mess with your friends." I narrowed my eyes at her. "You were probably a real bitch to her and now you can't officially meet her."

"Well that's a bonus for me. She seemed like too much of a tool." She smiled to herself.

"Well that's too bad." I walked to her door and stopped. "I let her borrow your shoes, just so you know."

"What?" I heard her yell, but it was too late for her to yell directly at me. "Those were new!"

I chuckled to myself as the elevator closed and went to the ground floor. I loved her to death, but she really needed to be taught a lesson or two.

I debated going to see if Alice was okay or just going home. Alice seemed like the better idea, but maybe that would be a bad idea.

I elevator doors opened and I was pulled out by familiar arms and pressed against the wall next to the doors.

"Holy shit! How did you get down here so fast?" I screamed.

"I took the stairs." She pressed me against the wall harder.

"Have you been working out? I don't remember you being this strong in bed." I joked.

"Funny Bella, but I didn't come here to talk about our past sex life. You have to get me those shoes back." She finally let me go.

"What is it with those shoes? I mean, they're yours right?"

"Of course they're mine, but I only bought them for one use. I was going to return them in a few days." She said flustered.

"Why would you buy a pair of shoes for only one use? They can't be that expensive."

"Because, I was going to accidentally bump into Edward on his morning jog, but I couldn't find him. I think he lied to me on how he kept in shape." I could see she was embarrassed. "They were three hundred dollars. And… don't look at me like that; I just wanted to impress him."

"Well good job with that. Where do you find shoes that expensive?" She shrugged her shoulders. "Well I was going to see her just now, so I'll get them while I'm there."

Her head snapped to me. "You were going to see her? Why?"

"Because I wanted to see if she was okay." I looked down, ashamed of my weakness.

"Ugh, she already has you tied around her finger. Look, anytime you feel like giving in, think about that night. Think about how embarrassed you were." She put her finger under my chin, and brought my head up. Her facial expression was warmer. "I know you have wanted this for a long time. I don't want you to regret missing the opportunity. I'm your best friend and I hate seeing you in pain. I love you Bella."

She pulled my face to hers and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. I pulled back shocked. She just smiled and sighed.

"I always love the way your lips felt." She mused. "Anyway, this is a perfect opportunity to get some information."

"You can warn a girl." I breathed out.

"Do I still affect you, Bella?" She giggled.

"Anyone can affect me right now, Tanya; I haven't kissed or really been intimate with someone since that time that we slipped." I huffed.

"A year ago? Wow, but you have to admit, that was some great s-."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna go and see Alice." I cut her off.

"Try to get as much as you can. And don't forget the shoes." She called out.

I just waved back and exited the building.

.

.

.

.

I checked my watch one last time. She should be home by now; it doesn't take that long to check someone up.

I got out of my car and walked to her supposed apartment building. I was pretty surprised to see the dump that she called home when I got here. If I remembered well, her dad was the richest asshole in Forks; shouldn't she have gotten some money?

Tyler had told me her exact address, but I was starting to feel like this was some form of payback, or he just wanted me to go back. The front door of the apartment building easily opened, but I could see that it was meant to stay closed for safety purposes. I felt myself get angry that Alice could be so careless.

Alice's room was supposedly room 312, but once I got to the door, I found that hard to believe. Her door's original color was green, unless the majority of the wall was stained an ugly shade of yellow. It seemed like a health hazard to even knock on the door.

I decided with just kicking the door. I could hear footsteps on the other side, but they seemed too heavy to be Alice's. The person on the other side started opening an impossibly large amount of locks, until the door knob turned.

I soon found out that the man was none other than Jasper Whitlock. He had let himself go over the years; his pot belly was evidence of that. His face was building up some roundness and I could see the makings of a double chin.

He gave me a once over before running a hand through his hair.

"Oouuu, I'm sorry to say that this isn't the location of the next swimsuit calendar photo shoot, but you're welcome to come in anyway." He opened the door even more.

I always heard he was a smooth talker, I guess it might have worked a little better though, had he been in better shape.

"Oh I-." I was cut off by a voice down the hallway.

"Who is it Jasper?" Alice called out.

I heard her steps, accompanied by crutches, coming from the left.

"Oh Bella," She seemed embarrassed. "What brings you here?"

"Oh I was her-." I was cut off once again.

"Big Belly Bella?" Jasper blurted out.

"I go by Bella now, but yes." I said slightly annoyed.

"Wow, you really changed." He scratched the back of his head, obviously trying to imagine how I became how I am. "In a good way."

"Thank you." I turned to Alice. She seemed bothered by something. "Alice, I was just coming by to see if you had gotten home safely and if you were okay." I handed her the box in my hand. "These are some shoes that I got on the way here. I think they're your size, but I need the other shoes back."

Jasper had left by now, saying something about a football game.

Her eyes went wide when she opened the box. "These are Nike Shocks Bella. Do you know how much these cost? You don't just go and buy people these shoes, especially people like me."

"It's the least I could do. You missed a day of work and that will most probably take off of your salary. I don't want you to go and buy shoes yourself when it is clearly my fault." I pushed the box away as she handed it back to me.

"Bella," she looked down ashamed. "You gave me two hundred dollars, that's a lot more than I make in a week. You also paid for the visit to the hospital that I was going to make." She looked at me teary eyed. "It was my entire fault, you just made it better."

"Alice, don't cry." I grabbed her into a hug and had to suppress a moan. "I want you to keep them. I had a discount anyway." I lied.

"Really?" She sounded like a kid.

"Really. So the shoes only came out seventy dollars." I stroked her hair.

"Seventy dollars?!" She pulled back. "I thought Nike shoes started off at seventy dollars. How much did they cost originally?"

"One hundred twenty. I got fifty dollars off Alice. That was a great deal." I tried to pull her back into a hug, it felt nice.

"Jasper! Get me the white shoes next to the bed and the envelope next to it!" She called out.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm giving you back the shoes and the money you gave me. I don't deserve any of what you're doing." She started crying more.

"Alice don't be like that. All I need are the shoes."

"No, you are taking everything back. I'll write you a check for the hospital bill." She shook her head.

"I won't take it back." I started leaving. "Keep it all, even the other shoes. I'll just buy my friend another pair."

She started stumbling on her crutches. "Bella, come back."

I looked back and was met with the most heart breaking thing ever. Her face was contorted between remorse and indecision.

"Just come back. Do you want to come in for something? We don't have much, but I think I unpacked the coffee maker." She walked toward me and took my hand in hers, letting a crutch fall. I looked down at our hands and had a flashback to the night of prom.

They reminded me that I wasn't here to comfort Alice; I wasn't here to become anything. I was here to get back at her. I was here to make her pay for what she did to me that night.

Jasper came out into the hallway carrying an envelope and Tanya's shoes.

He looked at our hands joined and lifted his eyebrows.

"You still trying to get into my girl's pants?" He smirked, loving the fact that Alice was his.

"Eh, I lost my interest seven years ago." I shrugged.

He looked away, embarrassed that he had been put in his place. It was now my turn to smirk. I looked at Alice, who was looking straight back. I couldn't read the emotion playing on her face, but it oddly made me happy.

"You can keep the envelope, but I'll take the shoes." I walked forward and took the shoes from his grasp.

"Um, it was nice seeing you again Bella… uh, sorry." He ran inside after he quietly mumbled those words.

I looked back at Alice; her face still frozen in the same expression. I realized my mistake when I had tried to be a smart mouth. She had probably taken it the wrong way.

I sighed. "Alice, I'm sorry about that comment I made. If it was insulting in any way, I'm sorry. I mean you still look great, but-."

"I'm not good enough for you?" She asked wryly.

"Look you should be happy! I mean, isn't it a relief that the lesbian doesn't like you anymore?" I was starting to get angry.

"Whatever. I don't need this." She bent down and retrieved her crutch before walking back to her apartment door.

I anger flamed even more. I didn't need what they had done to me. I hadn't done anything to them except exist, but they showed no mercy. I didn't have a chance to walk away; it was too late for me when I found out. But Alice is different; she always takes the easy way out. I pushed the anger down and spoke with my most sympathetic voice. I was here for a reason.

"Alice, I'm sorry. That was wrong of me. I just let my emotions get the best of me." I called out.

She stopped in her place and turned around, rolling her eyes." You say that too much, Bella, but you shouldn't. I-I should be sorry. All you have been is nice and I let some silly comment get the better of me. I shouldn't have gotten angry at that, but I let it."

I couldn't leave now. It was a perfect time to interrogate her. I just didn't like the idea of doing it in front of Jasper.

"Do you want to go out? I know this really great frozen yogurt place, and you need a break from the adventure you had today." I laughed.

She smiled. "Sure, let me go get my purse."

"My treat. Let's get out of here, sorry but this place just gives me the creeps." I urged her to follow me.

"I can't let you keep buying me things Bella; it would be rude of me if I accepted anymore." She turned again and attempted to leave.

Before she could get too far, I grabbed her crutches and pulled them out from under her. She stumbled back, but I quickly let go of her crutches and caught her in my arms.

"I said my treat." I whispered into her ear.

I felt her shiver in my arms before she pulled away.

"Okay." I barely heard her.

I nodded and grabbed her crutches from the floor. I started walking to her door and quickly threw her crutches into her apartment.

"What are you doing?" She asked, stumbling to her door in hopes of retrieving her crutches.

I grabbed her by the shoulders before bending down and picking her up bridal style. She looked shocked as I walked us to the elevator.

"Look, you just sprained your ankle. The doctors usually tell you to use crutches just so that you feel like you have to go back to them. Your sprain will heal by itself; you don't have to go back to the doctor. Which means that you don't have to use crutches, and you can walk." I looked at her face and saw it contort into a smile. "But if you want me to carry you, I'm more than willing."

We were at the elevator now, waiting for the doors to open. She surprisingly didn't weigh that much. Everyone weighs more than they look, but Alice, being the perfect being that she is, didn't. She actually weighed less than she looked.

"You need to eat more." I bluntly stated.

Her face took on a light shade of pink. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should." I smiled.

The elevators opened, distracting me from Alice. I entered and gently set her down on the floor.

"Do you think Jasper minds?" I remembered that I should have gotten his permission.

"I don't care, and he probably doesn't either. I needed to get out of there anyway." She grimaced.

"Aren't you supposed to want to be with your husband?" I asked.

"Oh we aren't married. We're engaged, but it's been on for two years, we just haven't been able to afford it. This year is the year though." She sighed. "We've been waiting for it, but now that it's here, I kind of question myself."

Before I could respond the elevator opened. I took this as a cue to pick Alice up.

"You know, I can walk myself." She grinned.

"I know, but isn't this funner?" I grinned back.

"Funner isn't a word." She was laughing now.

"Of course it is, and I don't see why it's so funny to question my knowledge." I chuckled back.

"Your knowledge? From what I've just seen, your 'knowledge' is pretty limited."

As I walked through the small lobby, people stared. I just smiled at them and kicked the door to the building open.

"You know, you shouldn't insult the person carrying you, I just might," I swiftly dropped my arms from under her, letting her fall for a moment, before catching her again. "drop you."

She squealed and clung to my neck. "That was mean."

So was what you did to me Senior year. I was tempted to say those words, but forced them down my throat.

"Hey, I warned you." I said as we reached the car.

I set her down and fished my keys out of my pocket. She reached out to open the door, but I beat her to it, bowing at the end for dramatic effect.

"You know, I'm starting to think that you treat me better than Jasper." She said as I seated myself in the driver's seat.

"What can I say, it's not my fault I'm a natural born charmer." I shrugged playfully.

"I take it back. That wasn't charming." She rolled her eyes.

There was a long silence after that. It seemed pleasant, but I was always used to talking when in the company of someone.

"So what happened to you after high school? I never got the chance to ask." I looked to my right when I heard Alice speak.

She seemed hesitant to ask. It made me feel slightly better to see that she felt bad for what she did, but that didn't seem to be enough for me.

"I went to college and I majored in the Law, and now I'm here." I didn't feel like telling her all the details of how I practically mourned over our lost love. How pathetic was i?

"You're a lawyer?" She asked incredulously.

"Yep, it was the best decision I made. It's hard work, don't get me wrong, but it pays off, big time."

"Where did you go for college?" She really liked asking questions.

"I went to Dartmouth. It was worth all the extra time at Mike's shop. Did you know that I had to work at that store for three years, six hours a day, just to get enough money so that my dad wouldn't have to use too much of his retirement fund?" I absolutely loathed that job, especially when Alice and her minions decided to come and pick Mike up.

"Oh yeah, I always saw you working there with Mike, he had the funniest stories abo-… never mind." She blushed and turned away from me. This didn't go unnoticed.

"What were the stories about?" I already knew they were about me. They always thought they were sneaky when they talked about me, but I wasn't def… or stupid.

"It's nothing, they aren't even that funny." She tried to dismiss the conversation.

"Did one of these stories happen to be about the time that I was putting some bats at the top of the baseball shelf, and I tripped on a step and fell into the shelf behind, effectively knocking it down and knocking myself out? I do admit that was funny after I got out of the hospital."

"How did you know?"She blurted out.

"Well, it did happen to me, and I knew that you guys were bound to make fun of me. Then at school, I heard you talking to Rosalie in English about how Mike explained in vivid detail how I looked like a whale jumping into the ocean. You probably described it better than he did, I actually chuckled." I mused.

"You heard that?" She asked.

"Well, I mean you were practically yelling it and I sat right in front of you." I shrugged.

"Oh god." Her face was stuffed into her hands. "I'm surprised you aren't pulling over and kicking me out."

"You were young, people make mistakes."

"You didn't deserve it, any of it."

It was things like this that made me question myself. She seemed to have been reborn into an entirely different person. She regretted what she did, but that wasn't enough. I needed more.

"It's the past." I pulled into an empty parking space in front of Berripop and killed the engine. "Here we are."

I opened my door at the same time as Alice and quickly jogged to the other side. She was struggling to get out with her semi large brace.

"Don't strain yourself too much." I grabbed her arm and hoisted her up. "I don't think they'd appreciate it if I carried you in there. Do you think you can walk?"

"Yeah, just let me test it out." She rested her weight on her foot and winced.

"Let me just support you." I wrapped her arm around my shoulder and mine went around her waist.

"What is this place anyway?" She pointed at the sign.

"Just my favorite frozen yogurt place. I haven't been in a while though, but it's a great place to hang out and talk." We walked up the steps and opened the door.

The most amazing aroma hit me and my mouth immediately began to water. I realized I hadn't eaten since last night.

"I know I'm gonna look like a complete pig, but I'm gonna order a large. I haven't eaten since last night." I laughed as we stood in front of the counter.

"Oh it's not problem, I'm pretty hungry myself." She scanned the board.

We sat down after we got our yogurt. She started picking at her toppings, and I followed suit.

"So what have you been up to since high school? Have you been with Jasper this whole time?" I hated the way his name sounded. He didn't deserve Alice.

"Well, everything kinda went downhill since high school." She shook her head and growled. "I went to Port Angeles community college with Jasper because I was convinced that he was the love of my life. My dad practically disowned me and refused to give me any money. He said that I was making the biggest mistake of my life, but the problem was that I wasn't accepted anywhere else. I had absolutely no place else to go. Jasper let me stay in his apartment, and we lived there for four years. We both had jobs to pay for rent, but I saved up so that I could try out for an internship at this fashion corporation here in Seattle."

We both looked down at our yogurts; I realized I wasn't hungry anymore. I didn't know why, but it didn't seem right to eat right now.

"By the time that we graduated from college, I had saved up enough for the internship. They don't pay you for it, you pay them, but I hear that it's worth it. I wanted to become a famous designer. Jasper had spent all his money on God knows what, he never told me. He wanted to become a history teacher, but he had to go back to school to get the degree. I don't see why he didn't get the degree in the first place, but he was stupid enough to ignore his 'calling' as he put it." She made air quotations. "He said that his job was more ideal and that he would have a higher chance of making money off his dream. So we both ignored my wants and let him pursue teaching."

"That was stupid of you." I broke my heart to hear how selfless she has been.

"What?"

"You would have been great at whatever you did, and you shouldn't have let Jasper push you into giving up your dream." I grabbed her hand and squeezed.

"I don't know about that." She blushed. "Anyway, his teaching hasn't been too great. He lost his job a few weeks ago and he refuses to go to all the job interviews that I find for him. He says he's better than that. Now, I'm working at Starbucks and he sits at home and watches sports. He doesn't even try to help out. I'm working even more hours so that we can have a decent wedding, but I have a feeling that we will have to postpone it again. We were planning on having it in three months."

"It kind of sounds like you don't want to get married." I pushed.

"That is the million dollar question. I don't know if we will ever go through with it, but I want to. I think I really do love him and I want to be with him for the rest of my life."

"Then go for it. I'm sure you won't be disappointed in the long run. Are you planning on getting another job?" I asked.

"I majored in art. There isn't much work for that. I knew I should have minored in business."

"I know some people. Maybe I can help." I suggested.

WHAT! What the hell was I doing? It seemed like my brain was shut off and all that was working was my heart. I wanted to help her, she deserved better than the life that she had now. But I was supposed to ruin her life, not make it better.

"You don't have to. I'm sure that we won't be seeing each other that often anyway, so..." She shrugged.

"We'll see."

I walked Alice back into her apartment building. She didn't let me carry her, but allowed me to support her. Ever since we left Berrirop that had been this awkward air surrounding us. Everything seemed forced and I didn't like it.

The elevator took forever to get down. The time spent waiting was silent and I couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.

We made it to her room just before my sanity slipped.

"So, it was nice seeing you?" My goodbye came out more as a question.

"Do you want to come in? I could give you a tour of the whole place." She said shyly.

"Sure."

The door was open when she turned the knob and I was welcome to the smell of burnt hamburgers.

"Jasper?" Alice called out as she stepped in.

"In the kitchen." He called back.

"You can go into the living room. I have to talk to Jasper really fast." She limped in the direction of Jasper's voice and disappeared.

I wondered into a room. The TV was turned onto ESPN and football was playing. The shelf holding up the TV was loaded with movies, CDS, and books. I quickly scanned them all, not very impressive.

I saw something that caught my eye. It was a homemade video, made on DVD. The case was a little torn, probably from how popular it was. I hesitated before opening it.

'Bella Swan: Prom Night'

Bingo.

A/N: Not really happy with how it came out, but that's how it did. Thanks for all your reviews, they make me all warm and fuzzy inside. R&R.