A Head's Up: Some Alice/Edward further on (I know, I know but it's necessary), but won't be in too much detail or go too far on the base scale.

Song used for title: Fools Rush In by Peggy Sue

June 21st, 2012 (The Next Day)

9:41 AM

Bella blinked.

Once, twice, three times.

She still couldn't wrap her head around last night. She hadn't even consumed much alcohol, which meant all the memories hit her at full force. The only good that really came of that night was kissing Alice, but even that was a sham. The most important moment in her life -yes best- had just been a game.

And now that girl was in her bed, arm still around Bella's waist and their legs entangled. Bella could feel her shorter friend's breathe against her neck, which was definitely causing her body to react and another sign for her to remove herself from the bed quickly. But as she tried to inch away from the other girl, Alice began to stir.

"…Bella?" Her voice was raspy from sleep and Bella bit her lip at the sound.

'Focus Bella.' She reminded herself.

"I was just getting out of bed." She whispered, hoping Alice would go back to sleep.

No such luck.

"Oh what time is it?" Alice asked, rolling over and into a sitting position.

She looked over at the alarm clock before replying. "Almost ten."

Alice didn't reply. Bella had reclosed her eyes, resting the back of her arm on her forehead. She was still exhausted, emotionally at least. Her body didn't seem to get the memo however making her incapable of even a few minutes more of sleep.

Alice enjoyed watching her friend in such a careless state. It was rare to see, especially as they grew older and she spent less time like this with Bella. She couldn't even remember the last time they had spent the night together, alone, without Rose. This hadn't been intentional, Edward just seemed to occupy a lot of her time.

She felt her heart clench at the thought of Edward. She wished that last night never happened. Meanwhile ,Bella had opened her eyes, watching as multiple expressions cross her friend's face. It hurt to see her friend hurting this badly and she desperately wanted to know what had occurred the previous night, though she wasn't too sure if she could refrain from killing Edward after. Perhaps it'd be justifiable if he had done anything bad enough. When he pulled the whole stunt with kissing her last night, it was pretty obvious that his douche levels had reached their maximum.

"Alice…you know you can talk to me right?" Bella sat up to join her. Appa watched the pair from the bed, thumping his tail limply against the comforter, but he didn't make a move to get up.

Alice nodded, pulling her knees to her chest as if they were her life line. Bella could tell something was holding her back, she just didn't know what.

"If you're worried about me taking sides, you don't have to worry okay? I'll always take yours." Bella admitted and Alice lifted her head to lock eyes with Bella. She didn't understand the undertone to Bella's words of course, but the warmth in her chest still spread nonetheless.

"Really?" Alice asked.

"Of course. If you haven't noticed, Edward isn't exactly my most favorite person in the world." Bella pointed out. Alice allowed a small smile to cross her features, resting her head sideways on her knees to look at Bella.

"Why is that? Even in the eighth grade you guys had a… strained relationship." Alice struggled for the most polite way to describe the relationship between Bella and Edward. To put it bluntly, the two hated each other yet they tolerated one another's company. It made absolutely no sense why the two could hardly manage to stay cordial for more than five minutes.

"Let's just say we have a very complicated friendship."

'Actually it's pretty simple; I'm completely in love with you, but Doucheward keeps getting in the way,' she added mentally

"Is that why he kissed you?" Alice asked quietly, focusing forward when she asked this. She couldn't get the image out of her head. The way Edward looked at Bella... it made her feel so insignificant.

"What? Ew. No… I am, in no way shape or form attracted to him and neither is he. Plus I'm a proud lesbian, remember? He's just always been an arrogant prick- I mean he's always been like this." Why would Alice think that? Edward was just being Edward. The kiss was probably just to piss her off. She wouldn't put it below him.

"You're right. I probably just sounded completely insecure, huh?" Alice wondered, reaching forward to stroke Appa's fur as a distraction.

"No you didn't. If my girlfriend kissed someone she completely hated, I'd be kind of confused about their reasoning too. But there's never been anything between Edward and I. Jasper yes, but that was during my I-can't-be-gay phase and we couldn't even kiss each other without almost puking." Bella pointed out, shuddering shivering at the mere memory of kissing Jasper, especially since he was bisexual and had an attraction toward girls as well. And though he had assured her that he wasn't attracted to her that way, it still made her want to scrub her lips with a soap and sponge.

"How come you never told me?" Alice inquired.

"What do you mean? I did tell you-"

"No, I mean as soon as you were confused. You could've talked to me. Why didn't you?" One of the many questions Alice wanted answered.

"I don't know… I was young- well younger than I am now at least and confused. I thought I'd freak you out by telling you I liked girls since you're a girl too." Bella shrugged. There was more to it, but that was the vague explanation.

"I would've accepted you! I consider you all my best friends and I've told you all everything. But there are cases like those where I feel so left out. Like none of you trust me. Like you don't trust me." Alice brought her chin back to her knees, her stare burning into Bella's.

"What is this really about Alice? I mean I get where you're coming from, and we do trust you, but there's more of a reason to your frustration right?" This wasn't Alice, Bella knew that. She wouldn't yell at Bella for being too frightened to come out to her. Something else was on her mind. Bella just didn't know what.

"Y-Yes and no. I've always wondered these things, Bella. But when Edward was shouting at me I realized-"

"He shouted at you?" Bella exclaimed, completely outraged and the raise in her voice startled Appa with a jolt.

"Well, I did refuse to sleep with him without a valid reason, he had every right to be-"

"He had no right to yell at you. If you didn't want to, he should've respected that instead of yelling at you like you did something wrong-"

"It's more complicated than that, Bella." Alice said, cutting Bella off for once and sounding a bit more agitated since she had been cut off twice.

"Then please enlighten me, Alice, because I have absolutely no clue!" Bella was desperate as to what would compel her friend to defend a complete jackass like Edward. "Just please tell me what happened last night so I don't have to hunt him down and find out my way." She finished in a softer tone.

"Fine." Alice sighed. She really didn't want to.

Alice watched Bella hastily exit the house. She wondered why Bella look so furious yet sad at the same time, but realized she must've heard Edward.

But why?

Maybe it was the conversation they had, had. Maybe Bella had expected more of her than to just cave into the pressure of Edward's words. But she was his girlfriend and most couples would've had sex by now. So why couldn't she will herself to do the same? That seemed to be the million dollar question.

And once she spotted Rosalie's glare from across the room and Jasper's gaze, she knew that they had heard her too, but they only looked angry and she didn't quite know why either. That's when she noticed that they weren't looking at her, but Edward. When she looked back he was only looking down at her, revealing that crooked grin she always loved and would make her blush, but it didn't that time. In fact, it hadn't for a while.

Once the Hale twins were gone, Edward stepped forward and locked the door in one swift movement. When he turned back to face her, he was still grinning, as if his friends' glares hardly fazed him and maybe they hadn't.

Alice made a move toward the kitchen, which seemed the messiest, but an arm looped around her waist, stopping her from advancing forward.

"Let's go upstairs. We'll worry about cleaning later." Edward whispered in her ear. It made her shiver at the promises for later, but it wasn't out of excitement. Maybe dread would be more fitting though she'd never label it as that.

Alice was on her back ten minutes later, staring at the ceiling with one hand clenching the sheets and another woven in Edward's hair while he was on top of her. They were both fully clothed -thankfully-, but Edward's hand had found its way up her shirt as he roughly pawed at her chest, sucking at her neck as he did so, which she hoped wouldn't leave a hickey.

She wanted to feel excited. She wanted to enjoy this, but she couldn't bring herself to. Edward's movements were too stiff and kisses too rough. She wanted something softer yet passionate. She wanted him to slow down. To be like the first times she heard in stories.

Maybe Bella was right.

She knew that was the case when Edward tried to slip his hand beneath her bra. That's when she jerked upward into a sitting position, effectively removing Edward's hand and leaving Edward to look completely abashed.

"Babe, what's wrong?"

God, did she ever find that nickname as annoying as she had then?

"I-I don't want to do this." She confessed breathlessly, fixing her shirt and suddenly feeling as if she'd burst into tears any second. It all felt wrong somehow and she so felt unclean.

"Why not? You seemed to be enjoying yourself." Edward said a bit too smugly for Alice's liking. Why was he acting this way toward such a serious matter?

"You were enjoying yourself." She pointed out. Immediately his smile dropped and she mentally winced. The male ego was so fragile. She had almost forgotten.

"It's not like you were much fun either." He shot back. "At least I was trying."

"I'm not saying you weren't, but maybe you could slow down. We only have our first time once, shouldn't it be special?"

"Really Alice? Do I have to light candles or something?"

"No, but you don't have to be an insensitive jerk either!"She was starting to get angry at how ignorant he was being.

"I'm insensitive?! We've been dating for almost two years Alice and not once have I pressured you into anything. Why did you agree if you weren't ready?"

"...know," Alice mumbled.

"What?" Edward demanded.

"I don't know!" She shouted at him, the tears finally beginning to fall. "Bella says we should wait until we're ready and unlike you, I actually want things to be perfect!"

In hindsight, she should've seen that mentioning Bella was a really bad idea.

"Then why don't you go to Bella? Don't bother coming back until you actually do know!" He yelled right back, pointing towards the door.

"Edward I-"

"Go!" He stood from the bed, still pointing at the door. Alice choked back a sob before grabbing her clutch off of the dresser and rushing out of the bedroom and down the stairs. She didn't even pay mind to the fact that Edward had driven her there and she had absolutely no ride. Instead she walked out the front door and slammed it hard behind her, the tears falling rapidly as she walked further into the night. She could only think of one person to talk to about this.

Bella.

"He did what?" Bella roared, leaping off the bed. Appa hopped up on the bed as well, bounding around as if he had understood Alice's story as well. Bella walked over to her closet, yanking the first jacket her hand came in contact with off the hanger, which clattered to the floor loudly. She tugged it on, then roughly pulled her hair out from beneath the collar.

"Bella, where are you going?" Alice asked. She stood, watching as her friend got on her hands and knees to peer under the bed, mumbling something about being unable to find her shoes.

Bella lifted her head to respond to the girl. "I'm going to kill Edward." She stated in an unsettling serious tone.

"Okay let's calm down." Alice attempted to coax the girl to abandon her search and eventually she did, and was delighted when Bella allowed for her to steer them back into a sitting position on the bed. She hadn't been too sure if Bella was actually serious or not about killing Edward. Hopefully she was.

"How could he have said that to you? How could he have done that?" Bella was furious. Alice didn't deserve anything less except to be treated like the princess she was.

"We were both angry and he didn't mean to-"

"Alice." Bella silenced her, clasping her hand in both of hers. "No one deserves to be treated like that ever, especially by their boyfriend."

"But it shouldn't have been so difficult. I should have…" Alice wasn't sure how to finish that sentence. What should she have done?

"Alice, remember what I told you before?" Alice shook her head. There was a lot she had said so she needed to be more specific. "Your first time shouldn't be because you feel obligated, but because you want to. So please promise me that you'll wait until you're sure and not rush into it? You were right in saying you only have your first time once. Why waste it if you're not ready?"

Alice could only stare in awe. Bella always seemed to know the right words to say.

1:09 PM

After their big talk, Alice had taken a shower and done other morning rituals while Bella walked and fed Appa, then went upstairs to do her own morning rituals before they headed downstairs to eat breakfast. Since Alice's night hadn't particularly been the best, she put a little effort into it, making some pancakes and eggs opposed to the bowls of cereal they usually ate. It was worth it when she saw Alice smile and kindly thank her before they dug in.

Once they had finished cleaning up, the pair found themselves sitting on the living room couch watching the rolling credits of The Butterfly Effect. It had been Bella's choice since Alice chose Easy A earlier. The two were in the middle of a heated discussion about the ending.

"I'm just saying Bella; why keep walking? Both of their lives were perfect so why not try again, you know? He loved her enough to change the past constantly. Why not try to ensure it stayed perfect?" Alice pointed out.

"Because in other realities, she's always suffered some way and nothing went right. He didn't want her to endure pain anymore because she deserves more than that. He wants her to have a future that's bright instead of constantly cloudy. That's how he's showing his love the most by staying out of the way even though he wants to be with her." Bella countered. The last sentence dripping with the most passion because that's what she did constantly, even if it was her hand she wanted Alice to hold most instead of Edward's.

"But that's why they call it the leap of faith, Bella. You're supposed to take those risks, especially when you know how happy they could be with you." Alice wasn't exactly sure how this argument even started, well not even an argument really, maybe a debate would be more fitting. She had just made a simple comment about how Evan should have caught up with Kayleigh and now here they were.

"Maybe, but love isn't always like that, Alice. Sometimes people don't always get a happy ending because fate has other plans."

"So we should let fate dominate our love life? No, if you want something or someone, you fight for them. You don't stand aside because of some complications. You find a way to overcome them. That's how you show someone you love them."

Bella was speechless. There was absolutely no way for her to respond to that because maybe it was true. Maybe she was a coward for just standing aside. Maybe she-

The door bell rung, startling the two of them.

Appa hopped up from his spot on the rug, barking loudly at Bella.

That's when Bella realized that the two of them had not only been facing each other, but had somehow drifted a bit closer during the debate. Bella's cheek flushed at the proximity and she quickly jumped over the back of the couch and towards the front door.

When she opened the door, she immediately moved to shut it when she spotted who it was.

"Hey!" Edward hissed, stopping the door with his hand and Bella had to relent or else she'd smash his fingers. Though she wasn't really opposed to it, but she didn't think her parents or Edward's dad would like that very much.

"What the hell do you want?" She said through clenched teeth, her fists clamping at her sides because she was fighting the urge to let them collide with the side of Edward's face.

"Alice is here, isn't she?" He smirked. "I went to her house, but she wasn't there so I knew she'd probably be here. And judging by how obvious you are, I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure she is."

"You're right, she is. And you're not seeing her." Bella growled, moving to shut the door again, but Edward pushed harder against it.

"Why not? She's my girlfriend after all." Edward snapped.

"Not for much longer." Bella jeered.

Edward's smirk soon turned into a snarl.

"Let me in you freaking dy-"

"Edward?" A voice chimed behind Bella. The brunette pushed the door painfully against the boy's hand before backing up and letting him come in. Edward didn't even respond to his girlfriend right away because he was in the middle of a very intense stare down with Bella.

"Edward?" Alice called again and Edward was forced to tear his eyes away from Bella.

"Hey Alice… listen I'm sorry about last night. I wasn't thinking and I didn't mean to say any of that. Can we maybe go talk about this somewhere more private?"Edward looked pointedly at Bella.

"She's not going anywhere with you-"

"Alright."

Bella looked to Alice in shock, then disappointment, and finally anger.

"After what he said to you?" Bella asked incredulously.

"We need to talk and figure things out." Alice alluded.

"Yeah Bella, we need to talk and figure things out." Though his tone wasn't the least bit taunting, the twinkle in his eye was.

Alice moved around the brunette towards Edward.

Bella didn't know what came over her, but she gripped Alice's wrist before she could follow Edward out the door.

"Don't go with him. Just stay here." She pleaded. Alice froze for a moment before slowly sliding her wrist from Bella's grasp.

"I have to." Alice may have not understood the impact of her words, but Bella did. Bella told Alice that she'd always take her side and now Alice was saying whose side she'd always choose.

So Bella shoved down her feelings for the umpteenth time and nodded.

Edward smirked when Alice wasn't looking and she watched with a sinking heart as they left.

3:11 PM

When the doorbell rung for the second time, Bella opened the door, expecting to see her family who'd be there any minute. Instead she saw Alice there, wearing that soft smile she always put on display as if nothing had happened.

When Alice made a move to come inside, Bella stopped her by leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed and an unreadable expression planted on her face.

"I can't come in?" she asked.

"How did it go with Edward?" Bella asked flatly, ignoring her previous question.

"It went alright. We talked and he apologized for his previous behavior…" Alice trailed, peering over Bella's shoulder to see Jasper and Rosalie on the couch watching the whole exchange.

Bella nodded in faux understanding.

"So may I come in?" Alice asked again.

"No, my parents are going to be home soon and I'm not really in the mood for company." Bella shrugged.

"But Jasper and Rose are-"

"We already made plans a while ago." Bella cut her off.

"Are you mad at me?" Alice wondered. She had no idea why the girl was acting so cold towards her.

"Of course not."

"Then why can't I come in?" Alice questioned, feeling a bit hurt.

"Because-"

Both of their heads turned to see SUV pull into the driveway. The continued to watch as they made their way towards the door and Bella moved aside to let them enter.

"Is everything alright?" Renee asked, looking between the two as she entered last.

"Everything's fine," Bella responded monotonously then proceeded to shut the door in Alice's face.

"Bella!" Renee scolded her, moving to open the door, but when she did Alice was already walking away, not even turning when she heard the sound of the door open or Renee's calls. Eventually Bella's mother gave up and turned to her daughter in disbelief. "What could have possessed you to do that?!"

Bella jerked her shoulder up in a half shrug. "She made her choice and I made mine."

She walked away from her mother then and moved to sit on the couch with Rosalie and Jasper who both looked to her sympathetically and Renee realized it was something more complicated than she had thought.

AN: So yeah, there you go. For all of my readers, never date anyone who will treat you like Edward did to Alice and if you do, don't forgive them. You all deserve to be treasured.