Thank you to my beautiful and wonderful reviewers! Y'all always make my heart flutter with love and affection whenever I open my email after posting a chapter, and you make me confident enough to continue on... without you, I wouldn't even be bothering to try to write these chapters so fast. So I love you all, and this chapter is dedicated to each and every one of you. I am forever grateful, and I don't think I say that enough, my dears... :)

I'm going to start letting y'all know the timeline of the story as it goes, so we don't get confused about the days of the week, as there's more chapters than there are days in the trip. this chapter takes place on Thursday.

This chapter goes out to the ever wonderful xsecretxkeeperx, (what?! A chapter of mine is going out to an author other than movieandbookgirl? what is this nonsense? lol, I still heart you m&bg XD) the author of the fabulous Lessons in Forbidden Love, who is my new email buddy and FicsterTwin... And she'll get a surprise if she ever gets around to reading this story and sees her name. Go read that story and tell her in reviews that I sent you over! :P

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or it's characters, no matter how many times I sit outside Rob's window, whispering to him in his sleep to get his subconscious to want to plead my case. Perhaps I should crawl into his bed, as being closer might help my case, yeah? Yeah? Okay, thanks for the support on that one :D


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Thursday, Week 1

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Locking the door was no longer any use, it seemed, as Alice had somehow procured a key to our bedroom. Carlisle and Esme seemed shocked at the news when it was brought up at breakfast, so I was mighty curious about how our.... dear... little pixie had gotten a hold of it.

Hmm. 'Curious' I suppose is the wrong word to use. 'Pissed' and 'embarrassed' would probably be better suited for the situation.

I had woken up again late morning to the sound of the lock clicking loudly, though I hadn't known what the noise was at the time. My eyes popped open and I groaned when the door creaked open, shocked to see Tanya standing in the doorway. Edward stirred beside me, very obviously extricating his hand from the inside of the shirt I wore to bed, but not without resting his hand on me on top of the shirt. He obviously wasn't aware that we had a visitor.

It seemed that Tanya was doing her best not to roll her eyes at the display. I wouldn't have blamed her if she had.

"So do I need to ask how the progress is going in the game?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

Edward's eyes opened wide and he looked up to the door, confirming that he had not imagined the voice. He was the one to blush for once as he casually lowered his hand to my waist, thinking that it would go unnoticed. I had the urge to laugh, but thankfully kept my face composed.

"No progress, Tanya," I said, looking at Edward from the corner of my eye. "That's just how the hand is dealt," I added referring to his hand that was previously feeling me up in our sleep, as per usual.

I actually saw her try to stifle a giggle at our exchange, while Edward just had that confused-sleepy-cute face that he wore when he wasn't fully comprehending a situation when he was tired in the morning. We had a late night, after all, and woke up early, falling back to sleep for only a couple hours. I could get used to that type of schedule, though I doubted Alice would let us sleep so late again. Heaven only knew why we weren't jostled out of bed at the crack of dawn that morning as it was...

Tanya left us to get ready for the day, so we showered quickly and went downstairs to see her off, as that was the reason she came upstairs in the first place.

When we entered the kitchen, Tanya and Lauren were talking and actually smiling—both of them—which was astounding. I had truly never seen Lauren smile before. She was actually very pretty when she was happy.

Edward watched the exchange as well, though he seemed to be filled with amusement more than shock. "Well, I'll be damned..." he said so quietly I wasn't sure if I was meant to hear. He cleared his throat to capture their attention, and when Lauren saw the two of us, she blushed. I'd also never seen her blush before.

Edward just chuckled, and I was confused. He was always laughing at Lauren, and it seemed so out of character for him. I wondered what the poor did to him to make him so entertained by her reactions to him...

"Edward-" I began to question him, but he cut me off.

"Just watch, love." There he went using that nickname again, fighting dirty. There was no way I couldn't agree with him now, especially since I was allowing myself to hope these days.

I watched Lauren stride past us, deliberating keeping her back straight and dignity intact. She returned a moment later with her bags. She's leaving? Why?

She set her bags next to Tanya's, and I was even more confused. Before her trip up here, I had never known that Tanya was friends with Lauren... they seemed so different. Lauren worked in advertising: the only place in the world where her bitchiness was not only accepted, but appreciated, I'd wager. And Tanya... she always was too good to be true; Now she was a surgeon. For animals. On farms. Oh, yeah, she was that person, but I couldn't seem to hate her in the least now that I wasn't envious of her for being The Perfect Woman. Despite my thoughts, I still felt that twinge in my stomach.

But she's not the one for Edward; they both knew that all this time, my head reminded me. I took a deep breath and let that sink in before I turned to beam up at Edward, and he looked adoringly down at me, giving my hand a little squeeze for reassurance.

Reassurance?

I looked forward and saw Lauren stalking toward me with determination in her eyes and I instinctively took a step back. What kind of confrontation did she expect to go down?

I was astonished when she actually laid hands on me. Not to say that she turned violent, but she actually grabbed my face, and spoke words to me: "Fuck you. You had your chance. It's too late now." And then she pressed her lips to mine just to spite me and pulled away, a vindictive sort of smile on her face.

I was more confused than ever, and Edward just started cracking up loud enough to gather the rest of the occupants of the house together to see what the ruckus was about. They were left in the dark, however, because Lauren had already gone outside, I couldn't speak, and Tanya and Edward couldn't speak through their laughter.

Wait a second... I thought, comprehension dawning on me. "Is..." I couldn't force the words out, but Edward understood and nodded his head vigorously, tears teeming from his eyes as he lost his grip on the banister and fell to the floor.

"Are you drunk, bro?" Emmett asked teasingly, helping him up.

No, if he were drunk, I wouldn't be allowed to stand on my own two feet right now, I thought half bitterly, half amused.

When Tanya found her composure, she made the rounds, giving hugs to everyone, even Edward and myself.

"Tell your mom I say hi," she told the love of my life as she gave him a simple hug. "I miss her lemon muffins."

"I'll pass on the message when we see her tomorrow," he responded.

I shot my head over to face him. What was he talking about? He smirked at the look on my face.

"We talked about this when we first got here. You agreed to visit Mom and Dad with me this weekend."

"I did?"

"You did."

"Huh."

"Talk it over later, you two," Tanya joked before leaning in to hug me. "I'd wish you luck, but you seem to be doing pretty good on your own," she whispered in my ear.

"I could say the same for you," I smirked.

"Oh shut your pretty little mouth!" Tanya teased in return. I was still a little shocked that Tanya and I now had a relationship where teasing was acceptable. I smiled a little in return, and she nodded her head in understanding.

Then she left.

With a bigger smile than when she arrived.

And I was smiling as well. I was still slightly curious about how Edward could have ever wanted me over Tanya in the past, but I wouldn't question it. He did. And it was more than likely that those feelings had carried over through the years. I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

I would just have to pay attention more, trying to decipher how Edward felt through his actions, since so far he hadn't been too keen on the idea of talking. It was a good thing that Alice didn't seem to have plans for us today, most likely because of Tanya and Lauren's departure.

We all just ended up drinking heavily again while trying to barbeque some food. "Trying" being the keyword, considering how we couldn't get the grill working. Each of the men took their turn attempting to drunkenly work the high tech knobs to figure out the correct setting and failing. In a cute and endearing way, of course, but they still failed. They grunted and tinkered and tried to look like they knew what they were doing for 45 minutes until Jessica rolled her eyes at us and stumbled her drunken way over to the group of men.

"Move it, boys," she slurred, and they cautiously moved out of her way. She was flipping burgers in five minutes flat, and the poor men were embarrassed that a girl had to help them.

Jessica had always been the most logical of our group, and could figure out how to work almost anything just by looking at it. She became a statistician because she could figure out patterns and groupings and common factors that nobody else could see. And so she worked our barbeque, shooing the boys away, saying that if they couldn't figure out how to turn the thing on, they weren't allowed to operate it.

Mike looked especially put out. His ex wife and current girlfriend had one upped him, and wouldn't even let him help. Poor guy. He just kept fidgeting with his hand in his pocket, sulking at her as she sweated slightly from the flames and liquor in her system.

Once everyone had settled down to eat (and drink more, of course... we were at a fucking vineyard, so of course there was plenty of wine to go around), Mike stood up, looking all fidgety again. What was his problem?

"Jessica," he squeaked out before clearing his throat and trying again in a deeper voice. "Jessica."

I wanted to giggle, but Alice shot me a look that clearly said Shut up before I have to have you whacked.

I shut my mouth.

"Jessica, I love you so much and never want to be parted from you again. Will you do me the honor of staying with me forever?"

He got down on one knee and produced an engagement ring. I wondered how that worked... was it the same ring that he had given to her both times they had been engaged before? Or was he required to give her a new ring each time?

"Um... Please? With a cherry on top?"

It was at that point that I realized that Jessica hadn't responded.

"Say something, will ya? I'm just standing here like an idiot."

"Technically you're kneeling there like an idiot," she responded. I wanted to giggle again, but I knew that Alice would have be killed off if I did, so I just gripped Edward's hand tightly. I felt him squeeze back, so I smiled a little.

"Is that a no?" Mike asked.

"No, it's a maybe. Why is this time going to be different than before, Mike? I don't want to get my hopes up, along with Katie and Tyler's, just to have it not work out again."

"Our kids will be fine, and so will we," he said with a sweet smile on his face. I wouldn't normally describe Mike Newton as charming, but I couldn't see how Jessica could tell him no. "We'll be different this time because I cherish you. I appreciate you. There's nobody else who could hold a candle to you."

"What about Bella? You're always staring at her boobs." I took a sip of my drink to hide my blush and Edward chuckled.

"Come on, Jessica. If I really wanted Bella, I could have had her," Mike replied, and I choked on my wine. Edward patted my back and gave me a glass of water.

"You don't know how many times I wish that I had told you. There's no one for me except for you." Yes, it was astounding to realize that Mike could be so charming and charismatic. Even when he was implying that he had a chance with me.

"Alright, Mike," Jessica sighed as if she were making a big sacrifice, though I saw the happiness in her eyes. Mike's face lit up as well, and they embraced.

That explained why we didn't have any plans for the day, even after Tanya and Lauren left; Mike must have somehow managed to clear the day with Alice in advance--a brave move on his part, considering how terrified he always seemed to be of that pixie since she sent him to the hospital in the second grade for stitches on his... nether regions. He was a brave and efficient romantic, it seemed.

We all raised a toast to celebrate their most recent engagement, and I felt like such a silly romantic for believing that they would really make it this time around; Mike had seemed so sincere, and confident in his actions, which was not the Michael Newton any of us were accustomed to seeing. They stayed for another hour before packing their bags. They were going to leave for a hotel for the night before driving back to Forks to enjoy the rest of their vacation time as a family.

We all waved them off. And then there were ten.

We continued overindulging in alcohol and having fun until tragedy hit.

Rosalie was once again on duty taking care of us drunkards, though without Jasper's or my help this time. I'd like to think that I wasn't causing too much trouble, though, just doing my best to convince Edward that it was alright if he needed to throw up, and that I wouldn't think less of him. Esme and Carlisle were in the middle of a debate again, though this time they were discussing politics. Angela couldn't seem to get over how ridiculous she thought the name "Paul" was, still. Jasper was jumping up and down with Alice this time, even givign her a piggy back ride every few minutes. Jacob would annoy Edward and amuse me when he came over to us (every seven minutes on the dot) and ask if he could make out with me one last time. And Emmett kept disappearing, and showing back up wearing clothes that I'm almost positive belonged to his mother.

All of this was occuring when we were interrupted by a horrified scream coming from Angela after she went down to the basement to bring up a couple more bottles.

I trailed behind everyone so I didn't trip as we hurried over to see what had the poor sweet girl so terrified.

And it was worse than I imagined.

"I... I..." she began, unable to finish her sentence.

"What is it, Angela? Are you alright?" Carlisle asked, going into Doctor mode.

"I'm fine, I think..." she replied, still dazed.

"Then what's wrong, hon?" I said, soothing her as best as I could in my drunken and slurred stupor.

"I locked the key to the basement inside before I could take out more wine!" she wailed, bursting into tears.

"I don't have another key for it here!" Carlisle exclaimed, just as terrified at the prospect of going through the rest fo the night without more supplies. "And it's after five! The only locksmith in town is closed already! We'll have to wait until morning!"

We all started to cry with Angela.

Ending AN: If you think you know what was up with Lauren (which you probably do... it was a little obvious I think XD), or you've read her character study, feel free to LOL with me. If you're still confused, then ask, and I'll give you that extra! Or if you've figured it out and want details... let me know!

And the phrase "never look a gift horse in the mouth"... I just discovered what that meant recently! Very surprising, but it makes sense... lol

My apologies... I lost my list of those of you who I had already given the story extras to who had asked... so if you still haven't received it and you asked before, my apologies. Please ask again, and I'll be sure to save the list on my computer this time... XD

On that note! Extra number three is here! This one is Mike asking for help with his special plans for the day. And all he goes through. He's a funny and good guy, y'all, give him a chance! Once you ask, extras will be sent out on Monday. Remember in your review to tell me if you want your extra to be sent through your email (if so, give me your email in the format of MuffNbutter (at) gmail (dot) com. Otherwise the email won't show up.), In a PM (where the formatting such as italics/bol/etc disappears), or through Twilighted (PMing there doesn't get rid of formatting, and you wont have to give out your email address. Visit this forum's story on the forums, or review the story on that site so I can know your screenname there). Thanks in advance!

Remember! Go to the Twilighted thread for this story to discuss it! I have a few FAQs posted on there, and I'll be sure to add more if necessary!

Much Love,

Grace, the unGraceful