Another new chapter for you guys... I really like writing for this story, and for those of you that are reading my other story, I plan on writing for it in the next couple of days since it is supposed to rain all day tomorrow and I can't mow my yard.

My Normal Ramblings: The Twilight series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Support my friends, Stormy Bella and twilightgurl22, and read some of my faves, the people that write those stories are just too talented. Please take a few seconds and drop me a review, mainly cause I like them and they let me know what you lovely people out there are thinking.

I dedicate this chapter to my three amigos (Stormy Bella, CARLISLE'SDARKETERNALQUEEN,twilightgurl22). You three are the best and I really miss seeing you CARLISLE'SDARKETERNALQUEEN, its not the same since I don't see you at EEE. I'll swing in sometime to give you and Travie some heck sometime. Oh yeah, twilightgurl22, when you read the parts about Alice, I was thinking about you. Yes, you. You are my personal Alice and I laugh when I think about you as Alice. Love ya. And to halojones, thank you so much for your interest in my story... you rock! I think the last trade was very fair too. I can't wait for more. :)

On with the story...


Chapter 6 A Night With The Friends Song - "Faith" by George Michael
Reasoning: You'll see as you read the chapter. You would have laughed if you would have seen me when I came up with the idea for this one... lets just say it involved me singing in my truck on the way to visit a friend.


Chapter 6: A Night With The Friends

"Ally, I don't think so."

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw Kat come out of the changing room. Alice had picked out this overly fancy blouse and skirt, and it was apparent that Kat was about ready to have a panic attack being in that outfit. Kat turned her attention to me when I laughed only to give me a glare of death.

"I hate you, Bella."

"You love me," I blew her a kiss and she just gave me a smug smile back.

"You look so beautiful, Kat. You should be more lady-like and you would have the guys following you everywhere," exclaimed Alice.

"I am quite happy with my life, thank you very much," she stated.

"Come on, Bella. Tell her."

"I'm staying out of this, Alice," I said while shaking my head at the two of them.

Alice was disappointed by my response, but she kept going on to Kat about how beautiful she was and this continued for a couple of hours. I had my fair share of clothes to try on too, which was to my distress. Thankfully, Kat and I got out of there with only a couple of bags, where Alice went wild and had about ten to carry.

After loading the bags in the trunk of Alice's car, we were headed back to the Cullen house. Alice also had this thing for picking out music that was very corny but it was stuff that we all knew and we would just sing at the top of our lungs. It was nice to have the girl time. Especially since Edward, was far from being a girl. I loved spending time with him, but girl time was nice too.

As we pulled into the drive, I noticed Edward coming out of the garage followed closely behind by Emmett and Jasper.

"Hey, Swan. Looks like you survived another Alice trip there," yelled Emmett.

Alice just glared at her brother while I grinned and rolled my eyes at him. Alice led the way into the house and was closely followed by Kat and myself. We were headed up the stairs when I heard Edward.

"Jingle Bells, I need to talk to you."

Sighing, I handed Kat my bags and descended the stairs back to where he was standing at the bottom.

"What?"

"You seem annoyed." He stated as he took my hand to lead me out of the house.

"I just spent how many hours with your sister shopping, what do you expect?" I looked up at him with annoyance, but I knew he would bring me out of this feeling rather quickly. He just could. How did that happen though? How could he just look at me and basically make me turn to mush?

He pushed open the garage door and there stood Emmett and Jasper pointing at my truck. My mind was flooded with confusion since it looked like my truck… nothing was really different either.

"Okay, guys, you are going to have to tell me what is so exciting about my truck that Edward decided to drop off up at the hill by 'Crystal Lake.'"

Emmett grabbed my hands and took me over and shoved me in the truck. I looked around to find a whole new sound system. If you knew anything about sound systems, you would be jealous. A person would kill for one like the one that was inside of this truck. I was dumbstruck.

"What the hell?"

Edward slipped over to the open truck door with his normal smirk. "Its an 'I'm sorry for busting your truck present.'"

I frowned at that. "You know damn good and well that I don't like you buying me things, Edward."

"Yeah, but this is because I was stupid. I should have listened to you about not going down that trail in your truck. I'm sorry and for that, you get an awesome stereo system that everyone in Forks would die for."

Jumping out of the truck I wrapped my arms around him. "Thank you, Edward." I might be angry that he did it in the first place, but I wasn't one that wouldn't be appreciative of what I was given.

"You two need to get a room or something," yelled Emmett, ruining the nice friendly moment I was having with Edward.

"I don't think I need a room with Bella. We are friends, Em. Just friends." Edward rolled his eyes as he spoke. Typical Emmett.

"Whatever you say, little brother," sighed Emmett. He was always giving us grief about our friendship. Just like everyone else out there.

Edward dropped the keys to my truck back in my hands. Just knowing that I didn't have to depend on him anymore was nice, not that I minded spending time with him in the first place.

"Guess I need to get back to Alice and Kat. You boys have fun."

I turned and walked out of the garage, and I could hear Jasper talking as I slipped outside of the door.

"Damn, Edward… Bella has become a complete babe. If I wasn't completely into your sister, I would so go after Bella."

I chuckled when I heard Jasper mumble something that sounded like ouch. Typical Edward, he never let guys talk about me that way.

Alice was bounding out of the house as I was walking up the steps to the house and before I could even say anything, she was dragging me into the house.

"What did he want? You know its girl time, Bella. Shame on you," Alice said. She kept dragging me up the stairs toward her bedroom.

"To give me my truck back since he has finished fixing it and putting a new stereo in it, and why do I have this feeling that you had a hand in that, Alice?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Bella. I know you don't like people spending money on you," she whispered as she rolled her eyes at me. That underhanded pixie.

Kat was sprawled out on Alice's bed reading one of Alice's many fashion magazine when we finally got there. I curled up on her floor as Alice pulled out her mushroom chair.

"Okay… it's the official start of quality girl time," exclaimed Alice as she clapped her hands excitedly.

"Shoot me now," mumbled my countrified cousin. I couldn't help myself, I had to laugh.

"Come on, Kat. You know you love girl time with us. You spend too much time with boys back there in Illinois. Bella is beginning to be more girly and it's a great thing."

Kat's eyes drifted back to mine and I shook her head. She knew that I wasn't really becoming girly by choice. Rosalie and Alice were the ones that thought I needed to be more lady like. Alice ignored the exchange between us and went on with her plans.

"Rose will be here later and we are going to do makeovers and everything. We are especially going to talk about boys… it's a must."

I laughed again, "That is going to be a short conversation for me and Kat though. We aren't really the dating type. Right, Kat?"

"Ain't that the truth, little cousin."

As the normal argument between Alice and Kat broke out, Rosalie finally came in, sleeping bag in tow. She found a spot near me on the floor and watched Kat and Alice banter like little hens. Finally, Alice realized that Rose was there and it was time to start the festivities.

When Rose was painting my nails, I could hear the guys coming inside and heading into the living room to watch some ball game on TV. I was really wishing that I was watching the ballgame instead of getting my nails painted. I couldn't keep them looking nice anyway, so what was the point? Alice was chattering to Kat about her skin and what kind of moisturizer she should use and the best type of medicine to control breakouts on her face. I looked over to see her actually listening to Alice's suggestions, which was a change.

After everyone had their finger and toe nails done, a facial, and such done, it was time for Alice's favorite part of the evening. Girl talk.

"Okay, so… let's talk girlies."

We all looked at each other for a while. I honestly didn't have that much to say. I loved Alice and Rosalie a lot, and I loved spending time with them, but we really didn't have that much in common. It really surprised me when Kat actually started the conversation.

"So, how are things going with you and Jasper, Alice? Seems like he adores you."

Alice went on to say that Jasper was a complete gentleman and how he just listens to her. Rosalie went on and on about Emmett too. Many of the things she talked about, I really didn't want to know, especially about their sex life. It was high time for me to bail out and run for it.

"I think I am going to go down stairs and get something to drink," I muttered as I dashed out the door.

Pulling the door to, I leaned up against the door, and breathed a sigh of relief. After gathering my composure, I walked down the stairs to hear the boys had turned off the ball game and had begun watching some kind of movie. I was quiet enough to prevent them from knowing I was there. It was fun to watch them being guys. Especially Edward. I knew it was different for him, having me as his best friend, and not a guy. It was nice to know that he had that kind of relationship with his brother and Jasper. It had to really be hard to have a girl for a best friend.

I continued on into the kitchen and pulled a Coke out of the refrigerator. After getting a glass of ice, I poured the soda slowly in the glass, watching the fizz settle slowly. I went over to the table and sat down and began to stare out the glass French doors out into Esme's garden. I could hear the laughter from the girls upstairs and the boys yelling at the TV, but in that moment, I felt alone.

I loved my cousin, Alice, and Rosalie, but I wasn't like them. I was more like Kat than anyone, and that came from being family. I loved to joke around with Emmett and Jasper. The only person I knew that I could understand and that would understand me back was Edward, and that was becoming a complicated thing lately. Especially with everything that was going on with Lauren and Jessica at school. Edward's relationships have never touched my life before and now that they have, I felt weird about it. The idea of them being around Edward bothered me. Jealousy? I don't think so, maybe it was more of a fear that they would take away the one person that meant the world to me, knew me better than I actually knew myself. He might appear to be a jerk and a womanizer to everyone else, but to me, he was so much more.

"Bella?"

I turned to see Edward's emerald eyes blazing into my soul. He was looking for something. I was unsure of what though. I was mesmerized by his eyes for a moment. He did have really beautiful eyes.

"Alice wanted to have 'girl talk' and it was getting a little deep up there, so I bailed."

He chuckled as he pulled out the chair next to me. For a while, we said nothing to each other. At times, conversation did not come with us, but we could just sit there and be for a while. When he broke the silence it was something I didn't expect for him to say.

"Bella, you hate doing the girl stuff, but you do it anyway. Why?"

"Because I love your sister and Rosalie like they were my real sisters. Plus it's nice to spend time with someone that isn't a male. I bet you feel the same way at times when it comes to me and you. Why do you do the things that you do?"

A slight smirk crossed his face. "You are right about that. It's just that you are so different from everyone here, it's hard to understand why you do the stuff you do at times. Not that I mind, it's just hard to understand."

"Edward, I am me and only me. I do what I have to do. I work hard in school because I want to be someone. I go on shopping trips with Alice and Rose because I like spending time with them. I come and sit in your garage and watch you tinker with your car because I love your company. It's just that simple."

His eyes dropped and stared at the tabletop for a moment, when he stood. I looked up into at him and he extended a hand to me. I wrapped my fingers around his and he led me out the doors and out onto the porch. He led me over to the swing and sat down with me. At first I leaned on the arm of the swing, but I began to feel tired and began yawn. Edward reached out and pulled me over to him and I put my head on his shoulder.

"Sleepy, Jingle Bells?"

"Maybe a little."

The air had a slight chill to it and I shivered as a breeze passed. He pulled me closer to him. I closed my eyes and listened to his breathing and the sound made me instantly calm. After a minute, I opened my eyes to see him looking up at the night sky. I watched his eyes sparkle as he examined the twinkling orbs of the heavens. He glanced down to see me staring at him.

"You know, Bella, the nighttime sky is something. It makes you feel so insignificant. I mean, look at how many stars are up there and how much is here. Makes you feel small."

This was another one of those times I didn't know what to say to him. I just turned my eyes to the heavens and watched the stars shimmer above us for a while. As I watched the stars twinkle, I thought about something that my mom had said to me. "Bella, you know, one day you are going to find that person that makes your heart melt. It will surprise you, and you will know its fate, that it's meant to be. Like it was written in the stars above…" I chuckled at the thought.

"What's so funny?" Edward asked as he poked me in the side.

"Nothing, just thinking about something my mom told me a while back."

"Want to share with the class?" His eyes twinkled with playfulness.

"Not really."

"Fine then," he turned his eyes back to the sky and that was when we heard something that we didn't expect. He helped me up from the swing to go back into the house. We crossed the kitchen and peaked into the living room and we found the funniest thing ever. The girls had come down from Alice's room and had joined Emmett and Jasper in the living room. They were dancing around to the radio, and Emmett had picked up Rose's hairbrush and was singing along with the song "Faith" by George Michael.

We stood in the doorway for what seemed like forever, and it was funny how much Emmett was getting into the song.

Baby

I know you're asking me to stay

Stay

Please, please, please don't go away

You say I'm giving you the blues.

I leaned over to whisper to Edward. "Just think that is your brother there." I giggled and hoped that Emmett wouldn't hear me and would just go on.

Maybe you mean every word you say

Can't help but think of yesterday

And another who tied me down to loverboy rules.

Before this river becomes an ocean

Before you throw my heart back on the floor

Oh baby

I reconsider my foolish notion

Well

I need someone to hold me but I'll wait for something more.

Yes

I've got to have faith

I've got to have faith

He kept singing until the song finished and neither of us could contain our laughter anymore. They all turned to see Edward holding me up and Edward leaning up against the door frame. Emmett along with everyone else laughed too.

So the rest of the night consisted of us singing horribly to the radio. I even broke down and sang some. Finally, Carlisle and Esme came home and went up to bed, so the fun had to end there. The girls told the boys good night and I followed them all up to Alice's room. I curled up on the floor and closed my eyes. I knew it wasn't long before everyone else was asleep, but I was still awake.

My eyes popped open when Alice's door was opened. There stood Edward looking in on us. He looked down to meet my eyes.

"Sweet dreams, Bella."

He pulled the door to again and I heard him slip into his room and pull the door closed behind him. I pulled my cover up close to my face and rolled over to the side. Edward really was a nice guy, nicer than most people knew. In his own way, he was the perfect guy. He was charming, sweet, sincere – even though he never let people know it, and very talented. I hope that I find someone that is as sweet and thoughtful as he is. I just wish that he could see himself as I do, the good guy, with the heart of pure gold and the sparkling personality that shined through when you looked deeply into his emerald eyes. He was going to make some girl very happy one day.

Sighing, I tried to let my mind relax and let sleep come. My mind kept drifting back to Edward and that was when I fell into a dream, one filled with many thoughts and many of the hopes that I held for the future. The one thing that was constant in my dreams was Edward, my protector, and my knight and shining armor, and the most important part was that he was always there, his hand in mine.