Disclaimer: I take no credit in the characters within this story; those are the sole work of Mrs

Disclaimer: I take no credit in the characters within this story; those are the sole work of Mrs. Stephenie Meyer. I do, however, take credit for the specific, new traits I gave them and am quite proud of them.

Note: Chapter seven is here. I'm sorry that it's taking so long for me to post. It's been an… interesting week. With any luck I'll be able to get a few good ones out this weekend.

I want to apologize. I know most people were hoping this chapter would be in EPOV, but, again, I disappointed. I want to explain though: currently, no one really knows if Edward has ever liked her, much less when if he has, and I like the mystery for you guys. It keeps you hooked! Anyways, I haven't officially decided that I won't give you EPOV, but for now, lets keep the past a secret for him. It will all be revealed in time. Please try to understand and not hate me!

I was immediately immobilized as I stared at him, processing nothing but Edwards's eyes raking over the dress, just as much shock in his face as there was, I'm sure, in mine. He regained composure quicker than I did and looked up to my eyes. 'What is that?"

I closed my eyes and took a step back, all of my irritation at Alice replaced with embarrassment. "Alice calls it a dress." It was little more than a whisper. "What are you doing here?"

A sigh. "Alice sent me in to keep an ear out for you until she got off the phone."

I opened my eyes slowly, trying to remind myself that he had seen me in less. My bathing suit, for example, had considerably less material then this, though not much. I saw that his eyes were still glued to my face, but there was obvious strain.

"I can't believe she wanted you to try that on." I heard him mutter, though his lips hardly moved.

I just nodded, not trusting my voice, before turning to go back into my little room so I could hide in my mortification, only to find the door closed. I reached out nervously, already knowing the outcome; the doorknob didn't budge under my fingers. And the key that Alice had handed me was inside, with the rest of my clothes. "Oh god."

"What?"

"It's locked." I sighed, turning to find him staring at my dress again, his head shaking. The blush that had seemed to find my face extremely comfortable heated further. "I have to go get the key."

"No, I'll go get it." Edward said, standing and grabbing my arm as I tried to walk past him. I, of course, so caught up in my humiliation, didn't notice this for a second and kept walking until I hit the end of my leash pretty hard. My shoulder gave an audible pop and I squealed, the sharp pain surprising me out of my own world where I had buried myself in my own little hole. I spun, grabbing onto my shoulder. "Oh god Bella, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you…"

I looked up at Edward who was staring down at me with such worry it was tangible. He was standing within inches of me, his chest nearing my own. I could smell him already, that sexy aroma that was like his personal cologne. I leaned forward ever so slightly, trying to be subtle, but ending up with my head leaned against his chest. How that happened, I honestly don't know. But, it did. At first he just stood there, not reacting to my sudden proximity, but soon enough he put his arm around my back and hugged me gently before letting go. I took the hint and leaned away.

"Are you okay Bells? I really didn't mean to-"

"Why would she not be okay Edward? What did you do to her?" Alice asked sharply, walking back into the dressing hall.

"Nothing." I said, looking at her and feeling a bit of my anger return.

"I made her shoulder pop when I grabbed her arm."

"Edward!" Alice said, shaking her head. "That doesn't sound like you at all!"

"It was an accident." I said, not really caring about it. My shoulder didn't hurt anymore and all I wanted to do was pull Alice by the ear and give her a good talking-to. "Unlike you placing me in this shirt."

She laughed, stepping forward and looking down my body. "It's not a shirt Bella. And it looks great on you!"

"Alice, what are you talking about? My ass is practically falling out!" It took me a moment for the words to reenter my mind and I felt the blush increase again. I glanced at Edward who was pointedly looking away from both of us and at a wall.

"No, its not. You don't have an ass to fall out Bella. Besides, you have the legs for that dress! And just the body, in general. Don't you think so Edward?"

I almost fainted the moment that she said that. She was NOT going to do this to me, not now. Not after the mortification I had already experienced so far. "It's not about my legs or body Alice! It's about public etiquette! You do not go out in a shirt that someone labeled as a dress. You don't walk around half naked when people can see you!"

"Okay, first of all, you aren't half naked. And secondly, you could easily get away with wearing that without a single complaint! Legs and body do have something to do with it! It would be a different story if that dress didn't look amazing on you, but it does. Isn't that right Edward?"

OH MY GOD! Could she not let it go? Would she not let me live as a normal person rather than a tomato?

"What?" Edward asked, looking at Alice for the first time, a careful blank look on his face.

"Oh don't give me that. You know exactly what I asked!"

"I'm afraid that I wasn't paying attention Alice," he said, looking at her straight. "But it really doesn't matter. Why don't we finish this conversation after Bella gets out of that and back into her normal clothes so she doesn't keep changing colors? She accidentally locked herself out; I'll go get the key."

"Oh no you won't; I will. You stay here and tell Bella exactly what you think of that dress! I'm not an idiot Edward; you may be a good actor, but you have always been able to hear exactly what people say without even really listening." With that she spun on her heal and walked out of the room, a determined look on her face.

"Sometimes I wonder why she didn't go to law school." I muttered, not looking at Edward.

"I know exactly what you mean," he muttered darkly. It made me take a peak at him from the corner of my eye. He was still staring at the door, as if willing his sister back. I didn't blame him; this situation was incredibly awkward and that fact that I was still in the damndable thing did not help matters. I saw the minute that his eyes flicked back to me and managed, I think, to look away without him really noticing. "I should probably do as she says though if I don't want to be put through hell."

"You really don't have to Edward. I'm pretty sure you feel about the same way I do. Don't worry about it." I mumbled, not wanting to hear his comments about the length and how it just didn't fit me.

"But I have to worry about it if I don't want to be murdered. So, give a little spin Bella." I turned to look at him, the glare on my face evident enough to make him laugh a little. He spun his finger in a circle, the chuckle still resonating through his chest. After a second I did give a quick turn, not able to come up with a real excuse for not to. When I was facing him again I saw the critical look on his face and braced myself for impact. "Well, it's not that you don't look good in it Bella. It's just the dress. Alice is right, you have the body."

I gulped down some air, not sure what to say to that. It was the last thing I would ever expect Edward to say to me.

"But the dress is just too revealing. I couldn't allow you to walk around in that, knowing exactly what every guy that saw you would be thinking. That just wouldn't be right."

I gulped down again, this time managing to ask, "What would they be thinking Edward?"

His eyes scrunched a little as he looked down at his feet quickly before looking back up on me. I swear I could see a little red in his cheek. Was my Edward blushing? Was that even possible? But then he gave his smile that made my heart. "I couldn't say out loud Bells. The minds of men are incredibly horrible places. I wouldn't want to taint your good opinion of some of us."

"You act like you include yourself in all of that." I said, trying to convince myself to breath. What I wouldn't give to be inside of his head right now. What I wouldn't give to know exactly what was in the mind of this particular man.

"I do," he said simply just as Alice walked back in, a second key in hand.

"You do what?"

"He has a bad opinion of himself." I said, watching as the key slid into the door, ready to bolt in the minute she had it opened.

Alice stopped and looked at her brother with a critical eye. "Right. You, the king of perfection, believes he has flaws. That's funny Edward. I'm glad you can play false modesty when you want to."

"There was neither modestly or anything false in what I said."

I rolled my eyes at him before stepping forward and patting his chest. "Okay Edward, keep trying to convince yourself of that and maybe one day you will have a flaw. I hope I'm the first to notice it. It will be nice to have something to torture you over."

He looked down at me, a strange look on his face as his eyes bore into mine. "Oh believe me; you torture me enough already. I won't let you girls into anything more that you can tease me with."

"I don't see what you mean, Edward." Alice said, making me blink as I remember she was there. I stepped back, pulling my hand away from him. "I don't think Bella tortures you. If anything she defends you most of the time."

He shrugged. "She's just a little more subtle about it."

I raised an eyebrow before walking past Alice just as she opened the door. She closed it behind me and I just went straight to the little seat and sat down, dropping my head into my hands. Oh god. Could this be any more awkward? "Bella! Toss me the dress!"

"What?!" I shrieked, not thinking.

"Toss me the dress!" Alice said again.

"Absolutely not. I'm not getting this Alice." I insisted, marching back to the door and opening it. Alice was standing beside Edward up against the wall.

"Yes you are," she said, "and if you don't just give it to me I'll just grab another off the rack."

"Alice!" I whined. Then I looked at Edward. "Can you please help me out here Edward?"

"Alice, I think you should let Bella call this one. If she doesn't want it, you can't make her get it."

I rolled my eyes. Wow, way to back me up. He couldn't even look at her. But she could look at him and the scowl on her face was harsh. "No. Bella is getting it."

"And you guys call me the stubborn one." I mumbled, shaking my head as I stepped back into the dressing room and closed the door before stripping out of the dress and tossing it over the door before I got bitched out. "There Alice; just realize it's a waste of money. I'm never gonna wear it."

"Never say never!" Alice said, her voice happy again. I had to smile a little despite myself. I couldn't help it. "Now get dressed. We still have an entire mall!"

I groaned as slipped back into my jeans, happy to be covered but dreading the rest of the day. How was I going to survive this? As it was I could hardly keep my hands off Edward, much less my eyes. It was like I had just been dropped into a limbo; somewhere between my personal hell and heaven, not yet knowing where I was going end up. I sighed again as I pulled my shirt back on and looked at myself in the mirror as I tied my shoes back into place. Oh god.

I stepped back out of the dressing to find only Edward; Alice and the pile of clothes have disappeared. Edward smiled a little and offers an arm as I stumble in my heals. "Come on; lets get out of here."

"Couldn't be happier to do so." I said, lacing my arm over his and walking back into the store to find Alice coming toward us, skipping. She had two begs in her hands, both of which she gave to Edward. He took them without question, but never moved his arm from under mine.

She then led us out of the store and into the main part of the mall, her body shaking as she walked. The mall was packed and almost every guy turned and stared at Alice as she scanned the store names and Edward and I followed, walking slower so I didn't trip and make an ass of myself. She skipped into another story and I began to blank out, just letting her have her fun and not allowing myself to ruin it.

--

We had been in his room for almost an hour just listening to music and laughing about certain lyrics, and just talking about music in general. He stayed mostly on his bed while I traced the wall, reading every cd name and artist, asking about things that I didn't realize. But, after an hour, I had been down on the ground, crouching over as I laughed at Edwards latest joke about my taste. I can't believe that on top of being so sweet and absolutely gorgeous the boy was blessed with a sense of humor as well! It just didn't seem fair.

There was a knock at the door and I hopped up to answer so Edward didn't move from his current languid and absolutely sexy position on the bed. Alice was outside, a smile on her face. "Hey you guys; everyone is here but you two! Planning to join in any time soon?"

I felt myself blush a little. "Yeah, sorry, got caught up in the music Alice."

"I know that how that is. But come on! I'm dying to introduce you to everyone!" What that she grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room before calling back over her shoulder. "You too Edward! Carlisle is wondering where you are."

I looked at her then. "Why do you call him Carlisle instead of dad?"

"I really don't know. I mean, we do call him dad, but it's never been a big deal." The shrug she gave was hardly seen as she flew down the stairs, me still in hand and hardly managing to stay balanced.

For the next hour I was pulled around the yard, being introduced to person after person by Alice, every once in a while catching a glimpse of Edward who would smile sweetly and wave before I was pulled away again. After that hour I seemed to have been introduced to everyone there and was allowed to sit down on a little table that was set up beside the pool.

When I heard someone sit next to me I turned, hoping to find Edward. Emmett was actually the one I found. "So, having fun?"

I laughed. "Well, it depends on what you consider fun I suppose. I've been pulled around for the last hour or so and introduced to everyone. But I was laughing the entire time."

"Sounds good to me. Did you consider that fun?" he said, laughing and patting my shoulder lightly.

"I haven't such a good time in a while." I admitted, laughing as well. "I'm so glad I met you guys."

"Not as glad as we are kid," he gave my arm a little punch then stood. "Well, I should go and entertain. Make sure to have as much fun as you can possibly squeeze out of this. And for gods sake, eat something!"

I smiled nodded, waving as he walked away. After a second I looked into the water of the pool, my mind wandering back to Edwards bedroom and how comfortable it had all been despite the fact that I had never really been in a guys bedroom before.

"I'm glad to see that Emmett seems to like you." The voice was like silk rubbing across my brain and I smiled involuntarily as I looked at Edward who had taken the seat next to me. "He can be a bit of a pain."

"Well, he takes some getting used to I suppose, but in the end he reminds me of a stuffed bear; the creature is all big and bad but in the end he's just filled with fluff."

Edward laughed, his head going back. I watched his neck, tracing the muscles. "Don't let him hear you say that. I don't think he wants anyone to be able to figure that out. He's supposed to be the big bad brother."

My smile grew. "Well, I have a feeling he can be. I could see him taking out a guy with one punch. I would never want to see Emmett in a fight. Or even you for that matter."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

"Yes, I have a feeling you can fight just as well as your brother." I nodded, looking away from his face and looking at the water. "You would have to be able to, growing up with him as a brother. No way you could survive without skills."

He laughed a little and I glanced at him as. His eyes were reaching out of the crowd and landing on what looked like Emmett who was leaning down and whispering something to Alice, making her smile and nod at him.

"Ever want to know what they are saying?" I asked, extremely curious as they both glanced toward us.

"Oh, I have a feeling I know exactly what Emmett is saying." Edward said quietly, an almost defeated look on his face. That made me even more curious.

"And what's that?"

He looked over at me and his face changed into a smile that wasn't as bright in his eyes. "Nothing of importance. I'm probably wrong anyways. So, enjoying yourself?"

I went through what I had done from the moment that I had left his room to coming to the bench and had him bent over laughing as I explained the introductions and question people had asked me. His apparent favorite had come from one doctor asking me if he knew me. When I had told him that I was Chief Swan's daughter he had proceeded to tell me, Alice, his wife, and the rest of the people near us about and incident that had happened when I was younger in which I been brought to the hospital after tripping and falling hard enough on the sidewalk that I needed stitches in palms.

"How did you manage that one Bella?" Edward asked through his laughter.

"Well, I tripped myself on accident and put out my hand to protect myself from hitting too hard, it hurt but I was trying to get up and managed to fall again."

"Oh my god!" he was holding his side as he tried to stop laughing. I was laughing right along with him by this point, the sound of him so contagious it was hard not to. I was glad that he found me so amusing and wanted nothing more than to keep telling him stories and keep him laughing when Alice came skipping over.

"Bella, what on earth have you done to my brother?"

"I just told a story about exactly how klutzy I am." I explained through my laughs. "The one you heard earlier actually."

She beamed at me before looking at her brother. "Oh Edward, don't laugh at poor Bella. There was enough of that before."

"I'm sorry," he said, still trying to stop laughing. It made me start again which sent back when he saw me holding my stomach and my face turning red. The two of us sent Alice into a fit of her own and, in the end, we were all groaning as we laughed, holding our sides as we tried to stop.

"Jeeze you guys, I could hear you on the other side of the yard. What's so funny?" Emmett asked.

"Nothing!" Alice said, still laughing and groping her stomach. "That's the worse part! Absolutely nothing!"

"What?" Emmett asked, confusion written on his face. No one answered as we gulped down air, so he just shrugged and walked away.

It took another few minutes for the laughing to completely stop and for all of us to be calm again. I sat back, sighing. "That hurt."

"It's horrible how that works." Edward said, shaking his head. "So contagious."

Alice just nodded before she looked over at me with a huge smile on her face. "Bella, you have to stay here tonight! I haven't had a friend sleep over in years!"

I smiled back at her. "I would love to Alice, but I don't have anything to wear."

She began to bounce. "Well, I'll drive you back to your house to pick some stuff up! It would be so much fun! Please say yes!"

"Okay." I laughed, unable to say no to the excitement in her face. "Sounds like a plan."

Then her face kind of fell as she looked at her watch. "I should actually really help clean up and usher people out. Would you mind horribly if Edward took you instead?"

I just laughed. "I really don't need anyone to take me at all, I have my car."

"Actually it's blocked in. Our cars aren't."

"Oh, well I would hate to be a burden." I said, shaking my head. "We can always just wait till next weekend."

"Nonsense Bella. Edward will take you. Isn't that right?"

"I would be more than happy to," he said, standing.

I stood up as well, my eyes glued to him for a second, but managing to flick over to Alice after a moment. "Okay, well, I guess I'll be back in a little while. Is there anything other than clothes you want me to grab?"

"Whatever you think we would have fun with," she was laughing.

"Okay." I said, following Edward across the yard and back into the house. We were stopped several times by various people, saying how much they were enjoying the barbecue. Finally we were in the house and away from others. He led me through a side door and into a garage. He went to the Volvo and climbed in while I took the other side. "Does she always order you around like that?"

"Pretty much," he said, nodding as he pushed a button to open the door. "I never used to listen, but it's usually easier to just go with it as long as she isn't asking too much. Besides, she didn't need to insist. I have no problem giving you a ride to get you out of the truck. It looks like its running on its last breaths there."

I laughed. "Well I like it. It's been a good truck, even if it is old."

He smiled as we drove past it, pinned between two nice sports cars. "Well, as long as you like it I suppose."

I looked at him as he drove, the sun getting dimmer and making his face look less pale. God he was gorgeous. And I was in the car with him, happily listening to music with him in his room. He caught me staring at him and tilted his head. "What?"

I laughed, "Nothing."

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing about it. I felt myself blush a little and tilted my head down, trying to hide a bit behind my hair. I had been doing that more around him then I ever had before.

--

"Bella?"

I blinked a few times before looking at Alice. "Yeah?"

"I think I found you dress for tonight in the last store; if I promise its not too revealing can I go get it?"

I stared at her. "Is this my kind of not too revealing or yours?"

"A mixture? I promise that you'll love it. I promise that if you don't I won't make you go to the club tonight."

That was beyond fair for Alice. Apparently she really thought I would like it. "Okay Alice. Let's go get it."

"No way; you don't get to see it until tonight. I want you to run across to Victoria Secrets and find a strapless bra. I'll meet you two over there in just a few minutes. I need the keys so I can put the dress in there Edward."

We both stared at her. She wanted me to take Edward with me?