Stephenie Meyer owns everything

Okay, new chapter - finally! I've been anxious to finish this chapter all week, but I had to work a lot and it leaves me pretty exhausted at the end of the day. But I did my best to find time to write, and here it is!

I really hope you enjoy the chapter - Bella needed to have a bit of fun after her first week in Forks, and I thought it was fun to write. Hopefully, you'll think it's fun to read too!


Chapter 9: Friends

BPOV

What the fuck was that?

I had never felt anything so strange in my entire life.

Strange…

Weird.

Unusual.

Unique.

New.

Exciting… thrilling, electric, passionate, breathtaking, amazing, wonderful, impatient, sexy, sodamnhotmypantiesgotwet… oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god!

Adjectives were running through my mind at breakneck speed, colliding, crashing, causing accidents all over my brain.

But none of them seemed adequate to describe that moment in Edward's kitchen.

That moment.

Even as I was lying in my own bed, staring at the ceiling in a vain effort to find some kind of answer there, just thinking about the look in his eyes made my heart stutter, jump and start beating at twice its normal rate. My breathing got faster, heavier, my chest heaving, my lips parting in a gasp, blood thrumming everywhere, but in one place in particular, nipples suddenly hardening, rising through the fabric of my bra and shirt, warmth and wetness spreading slowly but surely and… oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god!

His eyes had been so intense. So close to my own. Those gleaming emeralds had pierced straight through me, rooted me to the spot.

He had been comforting me, embracing me like a true friend. It hadn't even registered in my overloaded brain how close he was. Until something in his eyes changed. Until he was suddenly claming me with his eyes – insistent, demanding… wild. Then he was all I knew. Nothing else existed outside of that moment. Just Edward. His eyes, his scent. His strong arms encircling me. The warmth spreading from his large hands, spreading to me, overheating my skin. The brush of his breath on my face, the hard muscles of his back against my own hands. All of him.

His eyes darted down to my lips. I might have been imagining that he tightened his embrace, because it felt so miniscule, barely noticeable. But I don't think I was imagining it. I knew what he wanted. He wanted me closer. He wanted to kiss me.

And for the shortest split second in the history of the world, I wanted him to do it. I wanted him to kiss me. Ravish me. Grip me tightly, twine his hands in my hair, claim my lips with his, push me, pull me, drag me down to the floor, rip off my clothes and take me.

And then: panic.

Full-blown panic had flown through my bloodstream, draining all the warmth from my body.

This was my worst fear, my new phobia – attraction. He couldn't kiss me! He couldn't ravish me, he couldn't let his hands roam all over my body! No, no no, absolutely not!

So I pulled away. He stepped back. I pretended like nothing had happened. And we had proceeded up to his glorious library, where I had perused the bookshelves for over an hour before he finally made me sit down at the desk and write the lab report.

As if nothing had happened.

I didn't know what to make of the situation. I knew that I didn't want it. I knew that in the end it would only result in pain and heartbreak, anger, humiliation, tears, arguments, screaming… etc. No, I didn't want another relationship, I didn't want to be attracted to someone else or have someone be attracted to me. I knew that without a doubt.

But I had never been so completely transfixed by another person before.

I hadn't been that aroused in… in…

"Jesus fuck," I whispered into the darkness of my room as a realisation hit me.

Never. I had never been that aroused before. And nothing had even happened. A few seconds of eye-contact was the most erotic experience of my life.

This time, the violent thumping of my heart had nothing to do with the memory of emerald eyes – it was all fear and panic. I was breaking out in cold sweat, hyperventilating, gripping my bed sheets in pure terror.

I know it was irrational, and unnecessary. But I could do nothing to stop the fear from gripping me.

This really was my phobia. Forget spiders, snakes and small spaces – hint at the possibility that I was attracted to someone and I froze in dead panic.

My heart was beating painfully fast and hard, and my hyperventilating was causing small white spots to explode before my eyes.

I need to calm down.

I tried holding my breath for two seconds. It helped. One gulp of air. Hold it. Release it.

One gulp. Hold it. Release.

Gulp, hold, release. Repeat.

I soon had my breathing under control. Now I needed to make sure my brain was done freaking out over nothing. Because this was nothing.

'This', whatever it was, wasn't happening. I wasn't attracted to Edward. I wouldn't let myself be attracted to him. End. Of. Story.

He was a friend, a good friend. But that was all. He would forever remain a friend to me. Nothing more, nothing less.

It wasn't like one little tense moment had to mean anything! It didn't have to lead to something else. It was a one time thing, it wouldn't happen again. I would protect my heart at all costs, and Edward would remain my friend.

My friend. Like Alice, or Rosalie.

I forced one really deep breath down into my lungs, holding it for a few seconds before slowly letting it out, feeling the panic and dread slowly seeping away as the air left me. It felt cleansing. Liberating, as if I was letting it all go. Breathe out the bad, breathe in the good.

I was soon in control of my mind again. No need to freak out. Freaking out meant I was making it a bigger deal than it was. Now that I realised how insignificant the whole ordeal had been, I saw that I had no need to panic. I wasn't attracted to Edward; of course not! He was my friend, and from now on, the only relationship we would ever have would be friendship.

Friendship I could handle. I wanted friendship. Friendship's were stronger and lasted longer than any other '–ship' there was. I knew that from my own experience.

So there.

Finally relaxed, I rolled onto my side and abruptly felt all the days tension rolling off me. I slipped peacefully into sleep.

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"Please?"

"No."

"Please, Edward?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Why not?" I whined, dragging out the last word.

"Because, it's my car - "

"Edward, it's not your car, it belongs t-"

"Shut up, Jasper. When I'm driving, it's my car."

"Whatever, dude."

"As I was saying, it's my car and I want to drive. I'll let you drive some other time."

"But I want to drive now!" I was fully aware of how closely I resembled a petulant, spoiled little brat. And I didn't care at all.

"Edward, why don't you just let her drive?"

"Because, Alice, I like driving. I think it's fun. I like driving this car. And I've kind of been looking forward to it all day. So, Bella can't drive now. Because I'm driving. Besides, pulling over at the side of the road just to changes places with Bella is stupid."

"Edward, you're mean," I observed before flinging myself back in my set, crossing my arms in front of me.

"Yep," he said, the 'p' making a popping sound.

We were on our way to Port Angeles for a day of shopping and the movies. Edward, Alice, Jasper and I were in the Cullen's Volvo, while Emmett and Rosalie were taking her car.

I had been very happy when I woke up this morning, realising I would be spending the whole day with my incredibly awesome friends. So when I saw the silver car pull up to my house, I happily slapped the post-it I'd been writing, where I explained to Charlie how to properly re-heat the leftovers from last night, on the fridge, grabbed my purse and hurried out of the house.

Alice and Jasper had snuggled up in the back seat and I gave a small wave to Rosalie and Emmett in the car behind the Volvo before I slid into the passenger seat next to Edward. They had all greeted me happily and we took off.

After 10 minutes, I had kindly asked Edward if I could drive. Because it was getting kind of boring just sitting there. Alice wasn't any fun, being occupied with staring into Jasper's eyes and all. Edward and I were having a rather stimulating conversation, but I wanted to do something. 'Just sitting there' wasn't really working for me. And my conversation with Edward could continue even if we switched places. And also, I had forgotten what it felt like to drive a vehicle that wasn't about to break down from old age.

But he wouldn't let me. Thus the pouting-like-a-child thing and the whining.

I gave him the silent treatment the rest of the car ride, staying with the childish-act, even when he tried talking to me.

He only laughed at me though, and I was finding it hard to stop my lips from twitching with the need to smile.

And today was a Happy Day after all. So there really wasn't room for any pouting or angry feelings.

I couldn't even feel irritated as Alice and Rosalie still wanted to shop after three hours and god knows how many shops. They weren't even looking for clothes anymore – they wanted to go into a furniture store.

A furniture store. Sigh.

But it didn't really bring my mood down. I was unaccountably happy to just be with them, because for the first time in my life I actually had friends that I really liked.

Back in Phoenix I had a few friends, like Jake, that I cared for. They were fun, we did stuff together, I hung out with them. But I don't actually think we ever really connected on the same level. And when I say 'we', I mean I never connected with them. They always seemed slightly more 'together', like they really were a group. I was like half-way in – always slightly outside. And it never really mattered to me.

But now, in Forks, I had five incredible friends. We were a group. A real tight-knit group, and I had a place in it. I wasn't standing with one foot outside the circle – I was fully incorporated.

And honestly – it felt great. So when Alice practically dragged me over to the huge wall-display of cushions and pillows in her mad search for 'the perfect colour and pattern to complete the look of my bed!', I didn't complain. Instead I just grabbed Emmett's huge hand as we rushed past him, hauling him with me so that we could annoy Alice together.

And when Rosalie stole Emmett away so that they could try to find 'a really nice frame to put some of our pictures in' he grabbed a hold of me, crunching his face together in a pained expression, begging me to save him. But Rosalie wouldn't have any of that and she tried to pull Emmett away at the same time that Alice was tugging on my arm, wanting me to help her decided between a fluffy pink thing and a purple satin throw pillow. I was in the middle of a completely ridiculous tug-o-war – and it felt great.

"That's it! I can't take this torture anymore! Bella, I'll save you!" Emmett declared in a loud voice as Rosalie's grip on his arm slipped. Without a second of hesitation, he charged at me and lifted me around the waist.

He then proceeded to throw me over his shoulder and run out of the store, yelling "You'll never get me alive!" while I squealed with delight and laughter.

Edward and Jasper simply stood, side-by-side, completely identical – same stance (arms crossed over their chests, feet and legs shoulder-width apart), same smile, right eyebrows raised, laughing at the same time.

As Emmett ran out the door, I made a 'come with us!' gesture at them. They had a quick, silent, mysterious twin-conversation thing and then ran after us, abandoning Rosalie and Alice at the back of the store.

The four of us went to find a decent place to have dinner while we waited for the shopaholics to finish.

As we waited for our food I continued to contemplate how my life had changed with my move to Forks. Whatever I had been anticipating when I decided to come here, it sure as hell wasn't this. I had hoped I would find some peace of mind, a fresh start, whatever you want to call it. And I did.

But I never expected that I would get so much more out of it. I had been here just over a week now and amazingly enough I felt more at home than I ever had. More in tune, more like myself; the self I had been before Paul. And let's face it – he changed me a lot during the year I spent with him. I became so dependent on the guy that everything in my life seemed to revolve around him. I didn't want to do anything without getting his approval first. If he was unhappy, I was unhappy. If he was irritated, I'd ask the reason why and then become irritated at that as well. When I no longer had Paul I felt a little lost – how should I act now, without any guidance? But to then get here, to tiny little Forks, and find the old Bella lurking just beneath my skin, waiting for her opportunity to jump right back out into the world, felt incredible.

The bonus was definitely the new friendships I had formed. Everything felt so easy with them, and as I thought about it, I realised I might have to thank Paul for this someday. Thank him for making me escape to this place, and in the process making me 'me' again.

But I think the biggest surprise about the whole thing was Edward. He was becoming my best friend. Perhaps even better than – dare I say it? – Alice. Because of our schedules being practically the same, we spent most of the day together and we had quickly realised how much we had in common. We shared most of our favourite bands, movies and books, we had the same kind of slightly strange humour which caused us to laugh at stupid things just because they were stupid, and after just a week we already had so many inside jokes that the others were quickly learning to not even bother asking what we were suddenly giggling about.

Thanks to Edward and the others, the fact that I was now aware of how Mike, James and probably a few others thought of me didn't really bother me too much. I could meet them in the hallway and not react in a markedly different way. I ignored them for the most part, more often than not being occupied with laughing at something Edward had just said than pay any attention to the glances they shot my way. The rest of the school seemed mostly over it too – it was 'old news' now; debating whether or not the new girl had slept with Edward Cullen wasn't that interesting anymore.

But I didn't care either way. I was truly happy and at peace for the first time in months, my friends were amazing and I was getting used to the constant rain. I was free.

I had completely fazed everything out as I contemplated my new life. As I slowly became aware of my surroundings again, my eyes settled on Edward, sitting across from me at the table.

I never would have guessed that the guy I found so annoying just a week ago would turn into my best friend. In a sudden bout of happiness I smiled at him. He seemed a little surprised at my unprovoked expression, but pleased none the less. He smiled back and then gave me a 'What?'-face. I shrugged in a 'Nothing'-gesture and then turned my attention to Emmett as he tried to fill Jasper in on the finer points of pleasing women, ignoring Jasper's attempt to ignore him.

No, really.

While I had spaced out, Emmett had somehow managed to steer the conversation towards sex. Not really surprising.

Jasper gave his older brother a death glare. "Emmett, will you shut up? I don't need your 'advise'!" His eyes flickered to me quickly, a very slight pink tinting his cheeks in embarrassment. Apparently he didn't like talking about his sex life with a girl sitting right there.

Or maybe he was afraid I'd tell Alice all about it. I almost laughed at the thought.

"Oh, really? Does Alice think so too? Ouch!" Emmett jumped and winced from the kick Jasper had administrated beneath the table.

"I'm serious – shut up."

Emmett leered at him before turning in his seat to look at me.

"Bella, you're a girl. And girls talk. Specifically, girls talk to their friends. Mostly about guys – yes?"

I giggled and nodded, giving Jasper a teasing glance. He returned it with a pleading look, begging me to not play along with Emmett's childish game.

I was in a playful mood today though.

"So, as a girl, and a friend of Alice, it happens that you two talk quite a bit, yes?"

I nodded again, smiling hugely because I knew how uncomfortable Jasper was right now.

"Right. So, pray tell us – has Alice ever said anything about Jasper's abilities to please her?"

Typically Emmett, always so blunt and honest.

"Maybe," I said elusively, teasingly.

Edward laughed, Jasper turned red and Emmett sported a satisfied grin which he directed towards his brother, gloating.

Food arrived, which might normally have distracted Emmett enough for him to drop the subject, but apparently Jasper would not receive such a gift today.

"And did Alice make it sound like she might appreciate Jasper getting some advice on how to please her?"

I bit my lip as I smiled, teasing them all – for they were all paying attention to me now. The silence dragged on for a tense couple of seconds.

"You know… ," I began slowly, "Girl Talk is a sacred tradition amongst women. There are rules that we all abide by. As such, I am not at liberty to divulge anything that may or may not have been said during any form of Girl Talk between Alice and myself."

Jasper gave a thankful chuckle whilst Emmett whined a bit. I laughed at him, before giving Jasper a look. Although he seemed relieved that I hadn't said anything, there was also a very slight gleam of worry in his eyes. I gave him the tiniest shake of my head as I winked at him – he didn't have to worry about anything. An embarrassed, but definitely fucking pleased and proud, smile spread over his face, and he gave me a small nod in thanks.

Edward caught my eye and smirked knowingly, having seen my silent exchange with Jasper. He then slid our plates together and transferred all the tomatoes from my plate to his before giving me the sugar snaps off of his own while I sipped on my glass of coke.

"Jesus, you two are like an old married couple," Emmett laughed.

We both looked up at him.

"What? Why?" Edward paused, clearly trying to figure out what he had just done to provoke such a response from Emmett. "Just because I took her tomatoes and gave her some sugar snaps?" Edward gave his brother a quizzical look as he slide my plate back to me.

"No, because you didn't even ask first – you just took her tomatoes!"

"So? She doesn't like tomatoes, I don't like sugar snaps. She likes sugar snaps and I like tomatoes. It's a fair trade." Edward shrugged and I nodded silently, taking a sugar snap and relishing in the fresh crunch it made as I bit into it.

"God, sometimes I think you purposefully act stupid just to annoy me! What I mean is, normal people who've only known each other a week usually ask if it's okay before they take food of each others plates. Normal people usually need to know each other a few years before they get into the whole 'taking-food-without-asking-first' thing." Emmett took a huge bite out of his burger. "But you two are already doing it – just like an old married couple."

It was silent for a few seconds before Edward spoke.

"Are you implying that we aren't normal?"

I burst out laughing at his serious tone and he turned back to me and grinned cheekily before eating one of my tomatoes.

"Fine, have it your way," Emmett declared, biting into his burger again. "I'm just letting you know what it looks like."

Right then Jasper's phone started ringing. In unison we all said "Alice," in matter of fact voices before he answered it. Who else could it be?

The shopaholics were finished and famished, and they were joining us for dinner. They arrived shortly, carrying a ridiculous amount of bags. We all had to squeeze together in the tiny booth where we were sitting, pressing me up against Edward. This hindered my attempts to get food into my mouth – I could barely move my arms.

"Ugh, I can't move!" I stated.

I shouldn't have mentioned it. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Edward gave Emmett a look over the top of my head, and I suddenly found myself the filling in a Cullen Brothers sandwich.

"No, stop! Let me go! Please, stop! Get off me!" My discomfort caused all the others to laugh, and Edward and Emmett both put their arms around me, as if hugging each other, squeezing me from all directions. With a bit of effort I managed to get one arm free, with which I instantly grabbed a sugar snap from my plate and attempted to shove it into Edward's mouth.

"No! Bella, stop – it's gross!" He turned his face away from me, clamping his lips shut tightly.

"Either eat it or let go of me, Cullen!" I demanded. I don't know how threatening it sounded though – being squeezed like that leaves you rather breathless, making my voice pretty thin and ineffective. I decided to emphasize it by forcefully pressing the offending green vegetable against his mouth. Jasper doubled up with laughter and Rose wiped a tear of mirth from the corner of her eye, still laughing hysterically. Edward squirmed, turning his face this way and that, both of us struggling to get away whilst still holding on to the other.

"Neve-" he began to exclaim before we all noticed the waitress standing by our table, waiting to take Alice and Rosalie's orders. We all froze.

"Would you like to order?" she asked them, her voice shaking with suppressed laughter. Emmett and Edward abruptly let go of me and I straightened out my clothes to the best of my abilities.

As the waitress left there was exactly two and a half seconds of silence before laughter erupted out of all of us. Alice, still laughing hard, jumped up from her seat and grabbed a chair, sitting down at the short side of the table so that the rest of us actually fit around it.

After dinner we went to the movies. There was a bit of squabble over which one we should see, but I settled the discussion quickly.

"Okay, listen to me. Rose and Em, are you two honestly going to watch this movie, or are you going to start making out in the back row after just a few minutes?"

Rose and Emmett looked at each other. Rose shrugged in a 'She's got a point' kind of way before they turned back to me and nodded.

"Right, exactly what I thought. Now, Alice and Jasper – same question."

Alice opened her mouth as if to disagree, but then she looked up at Jasper quickly, closed her mouth and then reluctantly nodded as well.

"Precisely. So, Edward and I will be the only ones actually paying attention to the movie. Thus, we should get to choose." My logic was infallible and they all knew it. They gave in with good grace, and Edward and I quickly chose a dark comedy which we had both been wanting to see.

We split up as we entered the movie theatre. The two couples did in fact hide out in the back row, while Edward and I got the best seats in the room – middle row, middle seats, perfect distance from the screen.

And on the way home, Edward let me drive.

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I had been in Forks for a month when I finally met Dr. and Mrs. Cullen.

Edward and I were sitting in English one Wednesday morning, reading a passage from Macbeth. We were both fast readers, and as usual we finished long before anyone else looked up from the paper in front of them.

"By the way," he whispered to me as I doodled on my paper, "mom's invited you to dinner on Friday night."

I quickly looked up in surprise. "What? Wait, not just me, right?"

He laughed quietly. "No, the other two are also coming. My parents just want to meet you, and as I told you before, mom loves having guests over. So her solution would obviously be having you over as a dinner guest."

"Oh…," I said, oddly pleased that Mrs. Cullen wanted to meet me. "Well, you can tell her that I happily accept her invitation." I smiled hugely at him and he smirked back at me with a nod.

So there I was, driving to the Cullen house on Friday night, kind of nervous to meet the parents. Alice and Rosalie had assured me that Carlisle and Esme were really nice and that I would like them instantly. I was sure I would, but the thing that had me nervous was whether or not they would like me.

I pulled up on their driveway in my old truck and got out. I had asked Alice what she thought I should wear tonight and she had responded with "casual, but still a little dressed up."

Uhm, right.

I took that to mean jeans, a long, simple white tank-top paired with a light brown knitted shrug. I topped it off with a pair of discrete earrings and a layer of mascara. I looked pretty decent if I said so myself.

Edward opened the door with a warm smile. I knew my choice of clothes had been appropriate when he himself was wearing dark jeans, with a charcoal grey open shirt, sleeves rolled up, over a white t-shirt.

He opened his mouth to say hi, but instead of his voice, something more feminine came floating through the air.

"Is it Bella?" the voice asked excitedly. Hurried steps were coming towards the door.

"Yeah," Edward said over his shoulder before ushering me through the door, "come in."

As I stepped over the threshold, Esme appeared from the kitchen. My first thought was that she was beautiful, with caramel coloured hair and a warm, heart-shaped face. No wonder her sons were so good-looking.

"Oh, Bella, I'm so glad you came! I've been dying to meet you – I'm Esme," she said as she walked towards me, giving me a quick, warm hug. I hugged her back, my nervousness suddenly disappearing.

"I'm glad to finally meet you," I said as we pulled away.

The rest of the family then came to join us, along with Alice and Rose.

"Ah, Bella. Hi, I'm Carlisle. I'm glad you could make it."

Edward's father took me slightly by surprise. He was incredibly handsome, with blonde hair and chiselled features. And yes, the eyes definitely were a family feature – his sons had all received those eyes from him. He had a nice, firm handshake, which I appreciated. There was nothing worse than a weak handshake; if it feels like you're holding a dead fish in your hand, something's wrong.

"Hello, Carlisle. Nice to meet you," I said with a smile.

"You know, I had thought I would meet you much sooner than this – given the way Charlie described you, I was half-expecting you to show up in the emergency room with a head wound any day now," he said with a small chuckle. Emmett burst out laughing in agreement and the others smiled knowingly.

I blushed a little – obviously – and shrugged. "What can I say? I've been lucky so far."

We soon moved back into the kitchen, where everyone was standing around chatting about this and that. I finally got to try cooking in the wonderful kitchen, as Esme accepted my offer to help her with dinner.

I felt very relaxed in the warm atmosphere surrounding us all. Even though we were guests, Alice, Rosalie and I were treated as family, sharing in the joking around and teasing that took place.

As we sat down in the dining room, ready to dig into the wonderful spread that Esme had prepared, I noticed a group of pictures on the wall opposite me. I couldn't see all of them from this distance, but I could make out that they were pictures from when Emmett, Jasper and Edward were young boys – I'd recognise Edward's hair anywhere. I smiled at the largest picture, a group photo of the three brothers building a camp fire. Edward and Jasper were carrying a piece of wood between them, far to huge for one of them to take all by himself. Emmett, it appeared, was supervising. They were all looking into the camera, smiling happily. They couldn't have been older than eight or nine.

Esme noticed the direction of my gaze and smiled warmly. "They were so cute when they were young."

Emmett looked up from his plate. "And what are we now, ugly?"

I had to laugh at the affronted look on his face. Esme shook her head at him. "Oh, be quiet Emmett. You know that's not what I meant."

He grinned and winked at her before shovelling more potatoes onto his plate.

"Did you camp a lot when they were young?" I asked Esme, still intrigued by the picture of Edward in full-out camping gear, boots and all.

She directed her warm smile to me and nodded. "They loved the outdoors, building fires and fishing and all that. We had to take them out regularly or they would bug us senseless." Carlisle laughed at her statement, clearly remembering times when they had in fact been bugged senseless.

Edward chuckled next to me and addressed his mother. "Remember when you didn't have time to take us out for another three weeks, and we set up the tent in the backyard instead?" He turned to me to explain further. "We were so desperate to go out camping that we didn't want to wait. We even built a camp fire and everything. We refused to set foot in the house for three days, and they had to bring out food for us." He threw a glance at Emmett. "I think that was the first and only time you ever refused the offer of pizza, instead opting for hotdogs on a stick."

"We were camping – you can't eat pizza when you're camping!" he said, chewing on his steak.

His brothers laughed and I couldn't help but smile as I imagined a young Edward, sitting in his backyard, refusing to come inside the house.

"We still try to make it a point to go camping at least once a year," Esme said to me. "It's a family tradition we're not willing to give up."

"I think that's nice. I've never been camping – my mother always thought a trip to the beach was preferable over hiking in the woods and sleeping in tents," I said.

"Oh, you've been missing out," Edward told me. "It's great, with a big fire and all that."

"I bet," I smiled.

The dinner continued on with tales of our respective childhoods. Alice and I managed to get the whole table to laugh hysterically when we told them about some of the things we had been up to when I used to come up to Forks during the summer. Everyone agreed that Charlie and Alice's parents had not had it easy with the two of us.

Not until dessert was on the table did the conversation shift to a different topic.

"Now, girls – there is something we would like to ask you," Esme said suddenly. Immediately, Jasper, Emmett and Edward's eyes lit up with anticipation and they all sat up a little straighter in their chairs, looking at us with huge smiles. I gave Rose and Alice a questioning look – they both shrugged; they were just as clueless as I was. We turned out attention back to Esme, waiting for the question.

"It so happens that Carlisle will be attending a convention in Edinburgh in June. Unfortunately, the convention takes place the same weekend that Edward and Jasper turn 18."

I nodded slowly, not really sure where this was going.

"However, we happen to own a townhouse in Edinburgh, and we have decided that we will join Carlisle there so that we can celebrate their birthday as a family. The boys and I will be leaving here on the 17th, and Carlisle will join us on the 19th in time for the convention. We'll all fly home together on the 23rd."

I felt the surprise etched on my face. They owned a townhouse in Edinburgh? And what did this have to do with us? Did they need someone to watch their house here while they were gone, water their plants and take in the mail?

"But… we decided that we can't really celebrate properly without you girls there too. So, we would like to ask you if you want to come with us."

Silence settled over the table.

Did they…? No. No way did they just invite us to Edinburgh.

I gave Edward a shocked look, waiting for the 'No, we're just kidding'. But it didn't come. He looked at me, smiling hugely and expectantly.

"You're serious?" I asked Esme. All of the Cullens were smiling happily at us, waiting for our answers.

"Very," Esme answered me. "Please will you come? It simply won't be the same unless you're there to celebrate the boys too."

"I… uhm, I don't know what to say," I stammered. I looked at Alice. Joy was shining out of her eyes – I could see that she wanted to say yes. Rose looked the same.

I took a second to imagine what it would be like to say yes to this insane idea. A twang of longing hit me – I knew that I wanted to go too. I had never travelled outside of the US before, and going anywhere with the guys and Alice and Rose was bound to be fun. I could just imagine the six of us, spending a few uninterrupted days together, exploring a new city.

But could I go? I had no idea what Charlie might say about it, first of all. Second of all, I knew that I couldn't really afford to buy a plane ticket to Britain. I bit my lip in my indecision.

"What do you say girls?" Carlisle asked, leaning forward. "Six days in Edinburgh doesn't sound too shabby does it?"

Alice was the first to speak up. "No, it sounds great! I'd love to go – thank you for inviting us." She grasped Jasper's hand on the table with a huge smile. He sighed with relief and brought their entwined hands up to his mouth to kiss her fingers lightly.

"Oh, good! Rosalie, Bella?" Esme said.

Rosalie looked at me, raising her eyebrows. I gave a half-shrug; I still couldn't really decide what to do. Rosalie, still thinking, took a deep breathe, clamped her lips shut for a few seconds and then forcefully exhaled with a smile. "You know what? Why not?" Rosalie answered. "Count me in!"

"That's my girl Rosie!" Emmett exclaimed, leaning in to kiss her joyously.

Everyone turned their expectant eyes to me.

"What do you say Bella?" Carlisle asked me.

Blood rose a little in my cheeks. "I-I don't know… I mean, I can't really, you know, afford it…" I trailed off.

"Oh, Bella, don't you worry about that! We're inviting you – of course you don't have to buy your own plane ticket."

I stared at Esme. "What? No, no I can't let you do that!"

"Sure you can," Emmett said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "The only thing you'll need is a bit of pocket money."

I furrowed my brow. I was torn – I really, really wanted to say yes, but could I honestly allow them to pay for my plane ticket and everything?

"I don't know, you guys…," I said, wringing my hands. "I really appreciate the invitation, and I really do want to go, but I can't let you p-"

Edward wouldn't let me finish. "Bella, stop worrying about it – please? We all really want you to come with us, and really, one extra plane ticket isn't that big of a deal."

I shook my head at him and opened my mouth to disagree, but Alice interrupted me this time.

"God, Bella has always been like this – she just can't accept a gift! Bella, come on, just say yes! We're all going, and it won't be the same if you don't come too!" She threw in a pout, pleading with me.

Edward gave me a little nudge and when I turned to look at him, he had copied Alice's pout – only his was about 10 times more effective.

Emmett, Rose, Alice and Jasper then started up a chorus of "Pleeeeeease Bella, please?" – they really knew how to wear me down.

I groaned in defeat and threw a hand through my hair.

"I'll have to talk about it with Charlie first, but… if he says it's okay, then I'll come."

"Oh, wonderful! Bella, why don't you go call him right now? If he has any questions, Carlisle or I will be happy to answer them!" Esme gushed, absolutely thrilled.

"Yay! Bella, go call him!" Alice bounced in her seat.

"It can wait, can't it?" I asked hesitantly. Maybe this would be a conversation best had eye-to-eye?

"Sure it can, but we want to know now! Go, go, go!" Alice answered me, gesticulating wildly for me to leave the table.

I was then almost forcefully pushed into calling Charlie to ask him if he'd let me go.

He was definitely surprised when I rushed through my request. He stammered a bit before asking if he could talk to Carlisle – he needed to know a few of the details first.

And 10 minutes later I was officially going to Edinburgh.


What do you think? I really hope you'll review and let me know what you thought of the chapter - reviews make me so incredibly motivated to write, and you have no idea how much I love to get them! There is nothing more rewarding than people commenting on something that you've put a lot of effort into. So, please?

I had half a mind to call this chapter "Denial", because that is of course what Bella is doing in order to protect herself and her heart - she simply can't deal with it right now, so she just denies everything.

But I stuck with "Friends", because in the end, that's what this chapter is about - friendship.

Coming up soon: Edinburgh! Are you excited? I am, because I know what happens ;)

Anyway, thanks for reading and (hopefully!) reviewing!