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HARD PLASTIC

Chapter Six

The next morning was crappy. I felt like crap and looked like it and had been acting like a crappy person. I wanted to pout all morning with the covers over my head and live in an alternate universe where I was actually a good friend and not the type of girl that had guys practically running out the door.

I looked at the clock on my phone and became frustrated when I realized that my wishes to be a hermit for the morning couldn't be realized. With only an hour until my shift started, I rushed through my shower and dressed quickly.

I moped the entire bus trip to work. Yesterday I had found myself full of energy and ready to do anything. Now I just wanted to count down until it was time to leave.

When I walked through the door, I found myself smiling because Rosalie was there. "Hey, Rose."

"Bella! How are you?" As usual, she had a bright smile on her face.

I sighed, "I've been better I guess." When she gave me a confused look, I added with a wave of my hand, "Friend stuff." I knew delving into details would only make me feel worse than I already did.

Rosalie looked at me sympathetically, but gratefully didn't push the subject. We settled into a comfortable quiet rhythm of restocking and managing the register.

Rosalie and I decided to take our lunch break together, considering that the store had a total of two customers in the total time we'd been open.

We walked to a nearby café and sat on the patio outside. It was on the same block as the store and I couldn't help but glance around every few moments, wondering if Edward would suddenly appear as was his way.

I turned my attention back to the table and saw Rosalie smirking at me. "What?" I questioned, feeling the heat rise to my face as if I'd been caught doing something.

Rosalie continued smirking, "Nothing. Just wondering what has you so preoccupied."

My shoulders dropped, "Do I look that desperate?"

Rosalie laughed sympathetically, "Desperate? No. But you keep looking for…something. Does this have anything to do with the 'friend stuff'?"

I immediately felt that guilt in my stomach again and Rosalie seemed to pick up on my mood shift. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"No, no. It's not that. I just have been going through some stuff I guess and I've kind of messed it up with the friend I always turn to."

Rosalie sipped her iced tea before replying, "I know it might not be the same as talking to your friend, but you can talk to me about whatever if you want." She smiled at me and I was taken back by how kind she was being to me.

"Thanks, Rosalie. That really means a lot." I smiled but couldn't shake off the guilt and pity-party I'd been throwing for myself all morning.

I stabbed at a strawberry on my plate but jerked my attention forward towards Rosalie when she suddenly clapped her hands together. She had a glimmer in her eyes and seemed to be very excited about something. "What is it?" I asked and couldn't help but smile back.

"We should do something tonight," Rosalie answered, her smile growing and her hands clasped together.

I perked up, "Something like what? Like a movie?" I felt my face fall once again as I remembered the last movie I saw.

Rosalie laughed, "Hm, not like a movie. More like going out and maybe dancing and having drinks and all sorts of fun."

I was interested, but I knew I had to work tomorrow morning. "But we'd be going out on a Wednesday."

Rosalie raised her eyebrows, "Scandal of scandals, I know." I laughed at that and agreed to going out, though I was becoming increasingly nervous about where we would go and what I would wear and if I would actually have to dance. I brushed off my nerves; overthinking was only going to end the night in misery.

Rosalie and I finished lunch and got back to work. I was happy to notice that the time seemed to hasten after lunch and soon, a couple of hours had passed. There was still an average of a customer per hour so I figured Rose would be fine enough on her own and decided to do some inventory upstairs.

Right as I walked into the storage room, I heard the front door open. I paused, wondering if I should head back down and assist Rosalie. However, she greeted whoever it was personally and I continued my way into the room.

As I sat on a stool, cutting open a box, I could hear that Rosalie's voice sounded quite flirtatious, though I couldn't make out the other person's. And then, to my horror, I heard Edward's laugh and stopped, nearly dropping the stack of shirts I'd been holding. So Edward is whom Rosalie had been flirting with. Rosalie is the reason Edward had been sticking around here and dealing with me. Oh.

I walked closer to the stairwell and strained to listen, pushing aside how crazy I felt. Maybe, maybe, he would mention me. He didn't. I quietly walked down the stairs and crouched on one near the end, giving myself a view of the door. I saw Edward leaving with a bag in his hand, but I hadn't heard the cash register open or close…

My jaw dropped and I hurried down the rest of the stairs. "Rosalie, did you just GIVE him a bunch of our clothes?!"

Rosalie nearly jumped, her eyes wide, "Bella! I thought you were upstairs. Uh…" she trailed off, wringing her hands.

"How could you do that?"

Rosalie looked at me pleadingly, "Bella, please don't be mad. I have a good reason," she looked up towards the door and I followed her gaze. Heidi, our boss, was nearly about to walk in. "I can tell you tonight. Please."

She looked so sincere and maybe she did have a good reason… "Fine. One chance before I tell Heidi."

She clasped her hands, grateful, "Thank you, Bella."

I pulled at my hair, "I think I'm going to leave early. I don't want to lie to Heidi if the numbers don't match up today."

Rosalie nodded quickly, "Yeah, of course, I'll take care of everything."

I grabbed my things and headed out the back door. As I walked out, I saw a pair of bright green eyes snap up to me but I continued walking, too annoyed to want to deal with anyone. He also didn't try to get my attention.

When I finally made it back to the apartment, I was guiltily relieved that I was home alone. I felt bad about everything that had happened with Alice but I was also practically seething about Rosalie. I didn't want to snap at her on top of everything else.

I went to my room and flopped onto my bed, trying to sort things out. I had allowed Rosalie to steal clothes for a guy that had only feigned interest in me and because of him there was tension between Alice and I. I pouted and considered not going, but I decided I would extend one last courtesy to Rosalie and give her a heads up about needing to find a new job.

Normally having a plan in mind soothed my anxiety but I was tired and sad. And my sadness was only making me more tired. I soon fell asleep, unable to find anything worthy of staying awake.

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing and realized I had slept through multiple other phone calls. It was Rosalie. "Rosalie?"

"Bella! I finally got a hold of you. Um… please tell me you're still meeting me tonight?" Her tone was truly worried.

I rubbed my eyes, "Yeah, Rose, I promised I would. What time should I be there?"

"Meet in a couple hours outside? I can text you the details?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. See you then." I tried not to sound too angry as I replied and we hung up.

I walked into the bathroom and turned the water of the shower on, letting steam fill the room. I soon stepped in, savoring the feeling of the heat on my skin before I lowered the temperature, not wanting to scald my skin. I really scrubbed clean, releasing my tensions from earlier. Soon, however, I felt raw and let up on my skin. I wrapped up into my towel and scampered back to my room, not paying attention to whether Alice was there or not.

I slipped into a black bell sleeve dress and a pair of comfortably high heels. Alice had taught me that even I couldn't trip in a heel with a bit of a platform in the front. As I buckled the strap around my ankle, I became nostalgic for all of my forced shopping trips with Alice and wished I could ask her to approve my outfit. I shook those thoughts out of my head, however, and decided I needed to be in a different mindset for tonight.

After putting on a mild face, I felt ready to go. I caught the bus, deciding to save my cash for a cab home in case my feet hurt too much, which they undoubtedly would.

As my footsteps brought me closer and closer to the club, I felt the butterflies in my stomach begin to ache. I really thought Rosalie and I could have been good friends. And I was crushed by everything that had happened with Edward. The idea of stepping into the club caused me an immense amount of stress and I suddenly wished I had one of those cigarettes.

There was a long line and I could hear the music from outside. As I scanned the crowd in front of the door, I couldn't see Rosalie anywhere and I had the sudden urge to leave. Quickly, I turned and began to scout a way out of the huddle of people around me. However, as I began to walk away from the club, I heard someone call my name. My eyes widened and I whipped around. It was Edward. "Where's Rosalie?"

His shoulders were slumped and his expression was sheepish. "She's holding onto a table inside. Please come with me."

I felt my resolve melt away as he peeked up from me beneath his lashes. "Fine. Lead the way." I sounded a lot cooler than I felt.

Edward smiled briefly and turned. I tried not to feel impressed as we walked past the line of people and straight into the club. He guided me up a spiral staircase and soon we were in a makeshift room, separated from the other VIP sections by neon curtains. Rosalie was stunning in a short velvet burgundy dress that clung to her body. "Bella! I'm so, so happy that you came!"

I smiled slightly, trying not to let the atmosphere become too friendly. "I told you I would."

Rosalie and Edward sat side-by-side on a chaise lounge. As I sat in a sleek metal chair across from them I tried to ignore the fact that they look like a snapshot from an ad for the latest trendy liquor brand. I crossed my arms and tried to feel confident once again.

Rosalie clasped her hands and leaned forward, "Do you want a drink or something? It's on me," she smiled hopefully.

"Um, yeah, sure." Maybe that would make this all a bit easier.

Rosalie ushered over a waitress but became irritated when no one noticed her beckoning, and she excused herself and sauntered towards the VIP bar. The butterflies fluttered tenfold when I realized it was just Edward and I.

I was unable to resist looking up at him and I hated that I did because his smile was as smoldering and adorable as ever. But he had done mean and bad things and for that I couldn't like him.

"Bella, can I tell you something?" His voice was smooth like always, but seemed quite nervous.

I swallowed hard, "Yeah, sure."

"You look very, very beautiful tonight."

"Oh…thank you, Edward." I ducked my head, feeling warm all over.

I heard Edward chuckle slightly, "Are you blushing? I wish I could see it." His voice held a sense of longing and I tried to clearly make out the expression on his face.

"Drinks are here!" Rosalie called from behind me and any chance I had of guessing Edward's sincerity was gone. Rosalie set down a silver tray on the table in front of us and rushed back to her spot next to Edward, checking her phone urgently.

I hesitantly picked up a glass by the skinny stem. Alice and I often went out but I learned early on that I had a low tolerance for alcohol. However, I was about to fire a friend and I needed to take the edge off the tension I felt. A small part of me also thought it would be insulting to refuse a drink. I sipped at the pink liquid, enjoying how fruity it was. There must not have been any alcohol because there was no burn as I swallowed. I soon finished my drink and began to nibble on the thin slice of lime.

I looked up and saw Rosalie smirking at me, "Did you enjoy that?"

I shrugged, "It was all right." She suddenly looked dejected and I continued. "Can we please talk about…everything?"

Rosalie held up her hands, "We're just waiting on someone. I'm so sorry it's taking long." As she said this she checked her phone once again and then craned her neck to look past the people in front of us, obviously searching for someone.

I began to ask who exactly she was waiting for but was interrupted by a boisterous voice from behind me. "ROSE! I finally goddamn made it."

Rosalie squealed and I turned to face an almost menacingly large man behind me. He was very, very tall and had brown curls. "Emmett! I'm happy you're finally here." Rosalie quickly ran to kiss him and gestured for him to sit in the chair next to me, then scampered back to the chaise next to Edward. My confusion skyrocketed at this moment.

Edward and Rosalie exchanged worried looks and then leaned forward in their seats. Rose's hands were clasped together and Edward's jaw was clenched. Emmett, who's large body was half off the seat, leaned in closer to me. "Hi, I'm Emmett. You must be Bella?" He stuck his hand out for me to take. When I did, it was comical how small it was compared to his.

"Yep, I'm Bella. Do you know what's going on?" Emmett laughed and shook his head.

"Rose, are you about to tell me you've been cheating?" His tone was half joking, but I could see the seriousness in his eyes.

Rose's own eyes widened, "God no! Just…it's just difficult to say."

Edward chimed in, "We both know how difficult this will be to accept. We probably wouldn't believe it if we were in your shoes."

Rosalie continued, "But we're very, very serious. I guess the best thing to do is just spit it out."

I didn't think I could be any more confused at that moment. What could be this serious? Were they serial boutique thieves? "Please just tell us. I feel anxious."

Edward reached out to me, "Bella, please don't be anxious. I know we lied to you and it killed me to hurt you." I really looked to him now and wanted to see the truth in his eyes.

Rosalie looked to Edward now, "I guess we should spill it then?"

Edward nodded, "Gently, Rose."

Emmett shifted in closer to hear better and I followed his lead. I was literally on the edge of my seat.

Rosalie gulped, "Can you start maybe, Ed?"

Edward nodded again, "Okay, so… Rosalie and I weren't born here." Emmett and I must have seemed even more confused and he continued, "We weren't born anywhere. We were designed to look and be exactly how we are."

"So, you guys are…adopted?" Emmett said slowly, trying his best to make sense of what Edward said.

Edward took a deep breath and kept on. "Not exactly. We were made. A group of people designed us, and only us, and we somehow became real."

I nodded slowly, though I didn't comprehend anything.

"Rosalie and I, we were built and we-" Edward continued but was cut off by Rosalie.

"We're mannequins!"

Silence fell on our table. I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, trying to understand where exactly their little joke was going. It had to be a joke. And then, Emmett erupted in laughter. "Mannequins?!"

Edward glared a Rosalie, "I said gently."

She shrugged, "It wasn't going anywhere with you!"

Edward then looked at me, worried. "Bella? Please say something…" he trailed off and I realized my eyes were still squinted in confusion.

"Mannequins…? Like the ones in the shop?"

Edward exclaimed, "Yes! Well, sort of. Those are just plain mannequins that obviously don't have the ability to come to life."

I swallowed, "And you do? Why?"

Rosalie frowned, "We don't know. We've been trying to figure that out." She then produced a sheet of printer paper from her purse and put it on the table in front of Emmett and me. On it were two pictures; one of a female mannequin that was eerily similar to Rosalie in work out clothes and one of an Edward-esque mannequin in casual clothes.

I grabbed another glass from the tray and quickly swallowed. Emmett took my lead this time and gulped an amber liquid from his glass. Rosalie and Edward's story quickly became more believable.

I rubbed my eyes as I listened to Rosalie ramble about how they weren't sure where they came from but she knew they were prototypes of a type of mannequin that was so real it was as if a model was truly showcasing whatever product. She had been shipped before Edward and had found herself wandering around town in yoga pants before Emmett's mother, who couldn't let her remain lost, offered her help. She met Emmett soon after and they began dating. She recognized Edward at the shop and decided to get a job there, knowing he could someday come to life. They still haven't figured out what exactly gives them life.

As Rosalie spoke, I sipped on another drink until that one too had finished. There was soon blurriness in my mind and it took me a moment to realize she had stopped talking. Then, I began laughing and couldn't stop. My sides hurt but I couldn't focus on anything but the absurdity of what they were saying. The three of them stared at me, trying to understand whether I was truly hysterical or not.

Once my laughter died down, I folded my hands in my lap. "Okay."

Rosalie and Edward looked at each other, both hopeful and confused at the same time. Edward leaned in close to me, "Okay? You believe us?"

I grinned widely though my eyes felt heavy, "Okay."

I saw Emmett nodding slowly beside me. "Okay!" He then clapped his hands together and downed a series of shots that were on the silver tray. He handed me a shot and then grabbed another.

After he wrapped his arm around my shoulder he said, "To us, Bella! Dating a bunch of crazies." He clinked his shot glass against mine and I took that as my cue to swallow whatever was in there. I hardly noticed as I swallowed.

Rosalie and Edward's confused faces slowly turned to smiles and they followed our lead. I noticed that the tray was now empty and in a moment of confidence, picked it up and headed to the bar to refill it with drinks. However, I wobbled in my heels and soon Edward was next to me. "Why don't I come with you?"

I smiled slowly and giggled, "I think you should."

Somehow, Edward's charm, we were back upstairs with a tray full of drinks. Drinks that were had very, very fast. As Rosalie and I sipped our colorful drinks, we watched the crowd below us. Everyone swayed and pulsed. I saw people hitting on each other and being hit on. I laughed at a young handsome boy surrounded by girls trying to get him to dance with them. I felt Rosalie begin to move beside me and soon I was dancing with her, an activity I never participated in much.

After we finished those drinks, Rosalie grabbed my hand and guided me to the dance floor. I checked behind me to make sure Edward and Emmett followed.

Soon the four of us were surrounded by bodies, though Edward and Emmett created a nice human shield that provided some amount of space so we didn't feel entirely claustrophobic.

Time passed, though I'm not sure how much, and soon I felt someone pulling at my arm. As I turned around, I saw Rosalie had climbed onto a sort of pedestal and wanted me to dance up there with her. Normal Bella said no. Drunk Bella said absolutely. Drunk Bella won and soon I was awkwardly dancing above the crowd, though in my head I was the furthest thing from awkward.

I felt amazing and I smiled wider than I thought possible when I made eye contact with Edward.

We danced and drank, danced and drank.

The rest of the night was a complete blur, though I laughed a lot. I laughed as we walked from the club, to a diner to Emmett's apartment for more drinks. Edward and I continued laughing as we walked to my apartment and I'm sure I laughed as I tripped over a shoe and, unable to stand, passed out on the floor.

The next morning, I had a difficult time opening my eyes considering the thick mascara I had neglected to take off the night before. I was in my dress, though my shoes were off and I had somehow made it onto my bed. Memories of the night before flooded my mind and I felt a blush creep over me as I thought of my dancing. However, I felt like I was missing something important.

I propped my head up finally and was pleased when I saw Edward sleeping in the chair in my room. I smiled lazily, though I felt guilty about him having to sleep in the chair. It couldn't have been comfortable.

I sank bank into bed and tried to conjure up what exactly Rosalie had told Emmett and I last night. I rolled onto my side, keeping my head up with my hand, and watched as Edward slept. Even asleep he looked perfect, but I didn't understand how his back wasn't aching.

I laughed quietly when all of a sudden Rosalie's news hit me.

Mannequins. That's why Edward was fine to sleep like that.

Oh.