A/N: Thank you so much to those that reviewed! Just remember, I haven't decided on final pairings yet. Also, thank you to those who have favorited this story and those who have added it to their alert. You'll never know how much I appreciate it.


Bella found her way to the kitchen. She wasn't really hungry, but she figured everyone else would be so she decided to make breakfast. She looked around. This was the biggest kitchen she'd ever been in. But she wasn't intimated. The kitchen was the only lace she'd ever felt at home. It was odd how it was the only place she felt free. The only place she felt whole and real. She loved cooking.

She opened the refrigerator and decided she would make banana nut pancakes and chocolate chip muffins. She located all of the ingredients and supplies and then began cooking, humming to herself as she went along.

Alice stood in the doorway watching Bella work. It was obvious that cooking brought her joy. And it was also plain to see just why Jasper loved this girl. She sighed loudly causing Bella to spin around.

"Oh," Bella said, "it's you." Her tone wasn't nasty, but it wasn't nice either. Not that Alice blamed her.

"Yes, it's me," Alice said sweeping into the kitchen and taking a seat on one of the barstools that lined the counter. "What are you cooking?" Okay, so it was weird to chat up the girlfriend of your soul mate, but Alice had never been normal. And besides she hated when people didn't like her. Especially people she felt so drawn to, as was the case with Bella.

"Pancakes." Bella's answer was curt.

Alice sighed again. "Bella, I am very sorry about yesterday," she apologized.

Bella just gave her an icy stare.

"I'd like a chance to start over, if you don't mind. Something tells me we could be great friends."

"Should I be friends with someone who wants my boyfriend?"

She had a point, but Alice had an answer. "I'm sure many of your friends want your boyfriend. You just don't know it. In fact, I'm willing to bet that if you ask Jasper, many of them have even made moves on him." She looked at Bella who was busying herself mixing the pancake batter.

Alice continued her speech, "That's one thing you'd never have to worry about with me. As long as he's your boyfriend, I promise you I will never try anything."

Bella looked up at her. Her eyes were cautious, but Alice could tell she was softening.

"How do you know my friends hit on Jasper?" Her voice was small and showed every bit of insecurity Bella had.

"He's hot," Alice said simply. "Besides I'm guessing you don't really have any close friends."

Bella shook her head. Alice nodded. Bella was very easy to read for the most part.

"After breakfast, you and I should go shopping and let the boys have some quality time."
"That's a great idea," Bella agreed. She couldn't help herself, but she really like Alice. And oddly, she completely believed everything she said. She could see now why it had been so easy for Edward to invite a complete stranger home. Alice was almost hypnotic. She was like a perfect little ray of sunshine. Bella wasn't even mad at her anymore about what had happened yesterday between her and Jasper. Which was even more strange.

"You should know, I hate shopping," Bella informed Alice.

"Hate shopping!" Alice practically screeched. "How can you hate shopping?"

Bella shrugged.

"You're gonna love it when I'm through with you. She laughed. "So, since you're going shopping with me, maybe I should help you cook?"

"Sure, that'd be great."

"What do you need me to do?"
"Can you chop up the walnuts for me?"

"Sure!"

And the two of them worked, chattering away and getting to know each other a little more.

"Mmm! It smells amazing in here," Edward said entering the kitchen.

"Thanks," Bella said not looking up from what she was doing. She didn't want to look at Edward.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Edward staring at her. She was glad when Jasper walked in and Edward had to look away.

"Hey, baby," She said wiping her hands and going to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, but Jasper didn't reciprocate. His body was tense.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

Jasper didn't say anything and Bella let him go. She wondered if he was acting this way because Alice was in the room. But when she followed his gaze, he was glaring at Edward.

Edward was unaware, he was laughing with Alice. But the look in Jasper's eyes scared Bella. She'd never seen it before.

"Did you kids make breakfast?"

As soon as Carlisle walked in the room Jasper's expression changed.

"Bella and Alice made it," Edward told him.

"Well, mostly Bella," Alice admitted.

"It smells delicious," Esme said joining her husband.

"Thank you," Bella said still looking at Jasper. His expression was blank. She reached for his hand, but he pulled it away from her. Bella fought back the tears that threatened to spill over as she went over the events of the morning. She tried to figure out what it was she had done to upset him. Was it breakfast? She was pretty sure she hadn't done anything earlier. It had been a good morning so far.

Bella wanted to badly to ask Jasper what she'd done, but she couldn't open that conversation in front of his parents. Instead she went back to the counter to finish up the muffins and pancakes.

Alice was by her side in an instant. She patted Bella's hand and shot her a look that told her she would always be by her side from now on, no matter what. It made Bella relax a little. And then the two of them served breakfast.

"So, Jasper, how is school going?" Carlisle asked.

"Fine," Jasper replied. His tone was lifeless and the worry crept up in Bella once again.

"Are you keeping your grades up?"

"Yes, of course," he said in the same monotonous tone.

Everyone else sat silently, eating their food while Carlisle went on questioning Jasper for the next 10 minutes.

To Bella it seemed odd how Carlisle's focus was entirely on Jasper. But then, maybe he'd already had this conversation with Edward. He just hadn't had the chance to talk to Jasper yet. She remembered that Jasper had once told her that his parents had always expected nothing less than perfection. And she remembered what Edward had told her last night about Carlisle pushing them into majors that were "practical". She looked around at the four of them. Their family was the very definition of perfect.

Carlisle and Esme were smart, loving, attentive parents. Jasper and Edward were both smart, hardworking and they obeyed their parents. Not to mention that they were all incredibly beautiful people. They loved each other and cared about each other very much.

Bella could feel the lump forming in her throat. How she wished she could be part of their perfect family. Part of anything that even resembled a family.

"Bella, honey, are you alright?"

Esme's voice brought Bella out of her reverie. "I'm fine thank you."

"You've hardly touched your food."

"Oh…I…uh…" Bella stuttered her face blazing red, squirming under Esme's concerned stare.

"She tastes as she's cooking" Jasper's gruff answer saved her.

Bella shot him a grateful look and Jasper shook his head.

"Oh, I see," Esme said. "Well, the food is just wonderful," she said before turning to start a conversation with Alice.

"May we be excused?" Jasper asked.

"Of course," Carlisle told him.

Jasper stood clearing his and Bella's dishes. Bella followed him. After their plates had been rinsed, the two of them headed upstairs.

"Jasper, what's going on with you?" Bella asked as soon as his door was closed.

"I don't want to talk about it right now," Jasper told her.

"Did I do something?"

"Damn it, Bella! I said I don't want to talk about it right now!" He turned toward her and felt sick when he saw her shrink away from him.

"I'm sorry," Jasper whispered reaching for her. "I'm just not ready to talk about it yet. What do you say you and I go into the city and I'll show you some stuff."

Bella shook her head. "I promised Alice I'd go shopping with her and let you and your brother spend some time together."

At the mention of Edward Jasper started to get agitated again. "I don't want to spend time with that mother fucker," he spat.

"Jasper…"

He cut her off. "Never mind. We'll talk about that later. I want to talk about you not eating at breakfast."

"I wasn't hungry," Bella said getting defensive.

"I've heard that before. I thought we were past all that."

"I am. I swear. I just wasn't hungry."

Jasper pulled her tight into his arms and stroked her face. "You better know, I'll be watching you twice as much now." As mad as he was about the whole Edward thing, he still cared about Bella.

After their first few dates it had become painfully obvious that although Bella enjoyed cooking, eating was a completely different story. It had really worried him. And he decided he had to talk to her about it.

It was the one time he remembered Bella being completely open and vulnerable with him. She was completely honest with him about it. It was a battle she'd been fighting by herself for years. He had promised her she would no longer have to fight by herself. That now it would be his battle too.

And as far as he'd known she had been doing so well. But then maybe she'd just gotten really good at hiding it from him. He had a sinking feeling that that was the case.

Bella was nodding at him and once again he had the feeling that she was hiding more from him than he could possibly imagine.


A/N: I don't know when I'll be able to update again. I have to figure out where to go from here. Let me know what you guys are thinking!