Penname: Rochelle Allison
Derivative Fiction
Rating/Warning(s): T
Disclaimer: All copyrighted, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.

**this one's short, but i'd just finished chapter 20 of Volition (which will be posted tonight) and was just a smidge exhausted. *yawns* still, enjoy. it's fluffy-ish.

Alice knocked softly on the bathroom door. "Are you okay, Bella?

I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand, plopping onto my behind. I'd been genuflecting at the feet of the porcelain god all evening, probably because of the leftovers I'd pigged out on earlier.

"Um, not really," I croaked belatedly, reaching up to flush the toilet.

"Do you need anything?" she asked worriedly.

Wincing, I struggled to my feet - even straightening up hurt. "I'll be right out," I said, bending my face toward the sink so I could rinse my mouth. I hadn't felt this awful in years. The girls and I were in our last year of college, and had long outgrown the days of binge drinking and the subsequent hangovers. I was also meticulous about getting annual flu shots, so illness – especially the vomiting kind - rarely afflicted me.

When I finally emerged from the bathroom, Alice was leaning against the opposite wall, waiting for me.

"The fish," we both said at the same time.

She patted my arm sympathetically. "I had a bad feeling about it – "

"-and I should have listened," I finished, shaking my head. "I need to lie down."

"Okay, I'm gonna go rent a movie, since we're obviously staying in tonight. Anything you wanna see?" She paused next to the front door, slinging her purse over her shoulder.

"It doesn't matter, I'll watch anything," I said pathetically, stumbling toward our living room couch.

Lying down was a small relief, and I closed my eyes, wishing I'd asked Alice to turn off the brighter of the two lamps before leaving.

Right as I began to doze off, my stomach clenched painfully. My eyes popped open, and I darted off the couch, barely making it to the bathroom in time.

A half an hour and two bathroom trips later, I lay spent on the couch. My body finally felt as if it was finished torturing me, and I shuddered in relief, using my toes to grab the blanket at the end of the couch.

I heard keys right outside, and then the door opened. Alice poked her head in, smiling. "You okay?"

Burrowing further beneath the fleece blanket, I squinted at her. "Yeah, I guess…"

"Good. Look who I found at the video store!" With a flourish she opened the door the rest of the way, and in walked Jasper and Edward, two delicious guys that lived down the block. We'd actually gone on a double date with them a few nights prior, and I hadn't been able to stop thinking of Edward since.

This, however, was not the way I'd envisioned seeing him again.

"Great," I said weakly, trying to disappear into the couch cushions.

Jasper smiled, waving. "Sorry you're feeling bad," he commiserated.

Edward stepped forward, a six pack of ginger ale in hand. "I thought you could use this…it's the only thing I can keep down when I'm sick like that."

My stomach fluttered; a welcome sensation after hours of puking my guts out.

"Thanks," I said shyly, propping myself up on an elbow and running a hand through my definitely-awful hair.

He grinned, kneeling next to me. "You're probably really dehydrated, huh?"

"Probably," I agreed, trying not to breathe in his direction.

Alice put the DVD she'd rented into the player. "Anyone want popcorn?"

"Not I, Popeye," I groaned through sips of ginger ale.

"I'll abstain too, then," Edward said, tapping my blanketed feet so I'd moved them. To my surprise, he put them on to his lap when he sat.

I blushed, embarrassed and giddy by his touchiness. He was too much of a gentleman to kiss me goodnight on our date, but he was okay with touching my feet now?

Alice and Jasper's voices drifted on from the kitchen, punctuated my Alice's flirty laughter.

I glanced back at Edward, who for some reason was lifting the blanket off of my feet.

He snorted in amusement. "I love a girl in toe socks."