Hey guys! Wow on the response to the last chapter! We hit our most reviews yet...15! Thanks to all the new readers - you know who you all are. I'm glad you are all enjoying the enigma that is Edward. He gets worse in this chapter... or better, depending on how you look at it. ENjoy Hyde (you'll see), I know I did.

Jasper, Rose, and I headed out to the school parking lot after classes let out on Tuesday, ready to meet Alice for shopping. As we stepped out from the outdoor hall leading to the dorms, a quick honk drew our attention to a bright red, shiny, new jeep. Emmett hopped out, grinning so hugely that it was easy to see his dimples.

"Rosie!" he yelled, holding his arms wide open.

Rosalie ran up to him, squealing, and threw her arms tightly around his neck; Emmett wrapped his arms just as tightly around her and spun her in a brief circle. Jasper and I came over more slowly, reaching them as he set her down and kissed her.

"Nice wheels." Jasper noted.

Emmett pulled away from Rose and grinned. "I've been saving up for a while; my old car was a piece of trash. I got the last bit I needed yesterday and today I went and bought this baby." He affectionately patted the glossy hood of new jeep.

I raised my brows. "Wow, Em. You must have really wanted this jeep."

He laughed and reached out to ruffle my hair. "Yep. And now I have it!" He turned eagerly to Rosalie. "You want to go for a test-drive with me?" he asked, hands on her shoulders. "Four wheel drive."

She grinned. "What about the mall?"

With a roll of his eyes, he responded, "We'll be back in about a half hour or so. It's not like we'll miss much. Besides, Alice will probably enjoy picking out things for you to try on until you show up."

She eyed the jeep. "Can I try it, too?"

Emmett snorted, looking like he was going to turn that proposal down, but then he saw the warning glare on her face. "Uh… sure. After me, of course."

Rosalie laughed, and climbed in on the passenger side, only pausing to tell Jasper and I that she'd see us later.

We watched as they drove out of the parking lot, laughing and blaring music. I turned to Jasper.

"I'm so not telling Alice that they ditched us until further notice."

Jasper sighed, and ran a hand through his blond locks. "Alright; I tell her."

I grinned at him. "Well, you are her boyfriend, aren't you?"

Jasper grinned embarrassedly; Rosalie and I loved picking on him. It wasn't that he was embarrassed that he and Alice were going out; more, he was embarrassed by how much he already was infatuated with her. (He refused to say love, and always left once Rose and I teased him by saying it.)

We got in my Aston Martin and took off, with Jasper giving me directions, to Alice's school. She'd gotten out at about the same time as us, and said she would wait for us to pick her up there. When we pulled up, she was sitting on a rail near the stairs, feet dangling in the air, swinging back and forth. Next to her stood none other than Edward.

"That's him," I murmured. "Edward Masen." I watched as Alice grabbed a tight hold of his arm and dragged him towards us. It was rather comical, because he was leaning back, dragging his feet, while Alice was straining to make him go faster. Finally, she stopped pulling, ducked behind him, and started shoving, her little legs working furiously as she attempted to speed up his steps.

Jasper laughed and got out, coming over to reach Alice when the two were a few feet from the car, and wrapped her in a hug. She grinned and leaned up on her tip-toes to press a kiss to his cheek; being so short, though, she instead pecked his jaw line. Chuckling and smiling softly, he ducked his head and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Hey Alice," he said softly, making his southern drawl more obvious. Rosalie had pretty much lost hers from when they were little and used to live in Texas, but Jasper's still appeared when he spoke quietly.

She giggled and said, "Hey yourself." She peered around him to the car and I waved at her, not willing to look at Edward. I wasn't sure which personality he'd be today - Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?

"Where's Rosalie?" she asked, pouting.

Jasper chuckled. "Well, Emmett got his new jeep today, and they took it for a test drive. Don't worry; they'll be back before long."

She sighed and nodded. "Okay." Then she brightened. "Jasper! Meet my cousin, Edward!"

Jasper turned to Edward and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you; I've heard a lot about you."

"Same here." How could one voice sound so good? I drummed my fingers against the wheel, wondering which personality he was going to be. Jekyll, Hyde? Jekyll, Hyde? Jekyll? Hyde?

Alice practically ran into my car in her haste to reach me. "And this is Bella!"

Edward peered in at me, that crooked grin in place. "Princess. Good to see you again."

I grimaced and looked away, rolling my eyes. Hyde, apparently.

Alice's pretty face pulled into a confused frown. "You two know each other?"

"We've bumped into each other once or twice. I only found out he was your cousin the other day." I muttered.

Edward laughed, the sound musical, but I ground my teeth briefly together, knowing what he was planning on saying. "Yeah. How's the Toad?"

I took in a deep breath, then sharply let it out, trying to not snap at him. "Wouldn't know. I refuse to speak to him."

Alice placed her little hands on her hips. "What are you two talking about?"

Edward grinned wickedly at me before turning to Alice. "I bumped into Bella on Saturday night and gave her a ride home."

Alice's eyes widened and she turned to look at me. "Bella. What were you doing at a police station?"

I sighed. "My friend got drunk and tried to take over the car. We got brought in."

Her eyes widened. "Bella! You shouldn't even be in the car with drunk people! It's not safe!"

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Obviously."

Jasper came to my semi-rescue. "It was her ex. He wouldn't leave her alone, and Bella told him she'd come to the party as a friend if he promised to leave her alone after that."

Alice's face scrunched up in disgust. "You mean Ew-man?!" She turned to Edward. "See, that's why you should have come all that time ago! Bella wouldn't have had to be so traumatized!"

Edward rolled his eyes. "Alice, I told you. I had stuff to do that I couldn't put off. Besides; she wasn't that traumatized. Princess won't even have a spot on her record."

I fumed silently. The way he said the stupid nickname, like it was mocking, insulting, degrading, infuriated me.

Jasper must have noticed, because he said, "Well, it was nice to meet you Edward, but we have to go catch a sale." He opened the front door to let Alice in, but she paused before stepping in to speak.

"But, Jazzy, Edward's coming. We need the extra hands now more than ever."

I closed my eyes for a long moment, fighting the urge to drop my head onto the steering wheel. A whole afternoon with Hyde? Oh, joy.

Jasper smiled at her. "Of course." Then he closed her door behind her and opened the back. He and Edward climbed in; unfortunately for me, Edward ended up just behind me. I spent most of the ride gritting my teeth as he ignored me unless it was to say something mocking. We made a quick detour to Alice's house, so she and Edward could drop off their things - more bag space, according to Alice - and grabbed some fresh backed cookies from Esme. Edward turned into Jekyll the moment we entered the house, the perfect gentleman; he even managed to call me by my name the one time he spoke to me. Then we were back on our way to mall.

When we finally pulled up, Emmett and Rosalie were already there. I got out, accidentally slamming my door in my frustration and anger. Rosalie glanced at me in surprise and concern, but understanding soon lit her features as introductions were made.

As we walked into the mall, Alice and Rosalie pulled me ahead with then, arms linked through each of mine.

"Bella, you're right. He's bipolar!" Rosalie laughed quietly.

Alice tilted her head and frowned slightly. "What are you guys talking about?"

Rose snorted. "Come on, Alice. Don't tell me you didn't notice how he treats Bells."

She bit her lip. "Well… yeah. I was going to ask about that."

I sighed. "Listen, you two, he just doesn't like me for some reason. He didn't like me the first time we met, and I wasn't exactly Miss. Manners cause I'd just learned Charlie was in an accident, then got lost, and almost mugged." I cast a glance at Alice. "He saved me, then grudgingly brought me to the club we were at. It was when Rose and Emmett first met. Anyways, then he insisted on driving me back." I rolled my eyes.

Alice frowned. "Don't let him drive your car, Bella. Not yet, at least."

I blinked and looked at her, frowning. "Why?" Rosalie was waiting curiously for her answer too.

Alice shrugged. "He might not give it back."

We all laughed, glancing back at the guys. They looked at us with confused frowns on their faces, which just made us laugh more and face forward again. Behind us, we could hear Emmett loudly say something about us and giggling, which only cause us to laugh harder. We were practically stumbling as we stepped into the store.

Alice silenced at once - almost frighteningly fast - and then squealed so loud, everyone in the store paused to look at her. The girl behind the cash register, who looked familiar, grinned and came over.

"Ali!" she cried happily. "I knew you'd make it! I found a couple things earlier that I thought you might want to look at, and held them for you."

Alice clapped her hands. "Thanks, Dani! You're the best!" I finally recalled her as the girl from the party that had to leave.

She turned to us, smiling, as Alice skipped to where a bunch of clothing items were placed behin the register. "Hey. You were both at her party, right? Forgive me if I don't know your names… I take forever to remember them."

I grinned. "I'm Bella." I shook her slim hand.

"Rosalie." They shook. Dani had short, choppy chestnut hair with aqua streaks in it, something I was pretty sure hadn't been there before, and freckles lightly covered her cheeks. She had an adorable look to her, like a little girl almost. Except for the clever, mischievous glint in her hazel eyes.

Two women started arguing loudly, and Dani sighed. "Excuse me, will you?" she asked, and started towards the women, offering a quick hello to Edward on the way.

Jasper sighed and started towards Alice. "Looks like she needs some help." he said. He was right; her arms were already piled with clothes, and she was glaring at someone else who had tried to grab something Alice was reaching for. Rosalie made her way to look around, and I leaned, bored, against the wall, sighing and closing my eyes.

"What? Already have all this stuff, Princess?"

I didn't open my eyes, even though a scowl appeared on my face. "Shut up, Edward. I just so happen to… dislike shopping." I chose the word carefully, in case Alice was nearby. Wouldn't want to be murdered or anything. Shopping was her religion, and she took it very seriously.

Edward chuckled lowly. "Is that right?"

I huffed and snapped my eyes open. "Yes, Hyde, it is."

He blinked, looking like he was taken by surprise. "What?"

With a roll of my eyes, I looked away, muttering.

His finger curled around my chin, turning my face to look at him. I was so surprised by the movement, I did nothing to stop him.

"What did you mean?"

His eyes were intense, the green beautiful and entrancing. I stupidly blurted the truth.

"You're like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Mostly, though, you like to be Hyde. Especially around me."

He chuckled, shaking his head, his cool breath fanning into my face. It smelled delicious, and I wondered if it was a gum and what kind. "You are utterly absurd, Princess."

That snapped me out of my Edward-induced daze. I glared at him. "Is that so?" I growled, and jerked my face from his grasp. Without a further glance at anyone, I marched out of the store. I'd gone maybe a few yards when his hand closed around my arm.

"Where do you think you're going, Princess?"

I glared at him over my shoulder. "What's it to you? There's a bookstore on the other side of this place, and I happen to need some new reading material. I finished my last book during today's Chemistry lecture, and want something new for tomorrow." I yanked my arm, but I couldn't get it out of his firm grasp. "Let go, Hyde." If he was going to refuse to call me by my name, I'd simply return the favor. No one ever said I was mature when angry.

He shook his head in annoyance. "Can you stop that already?"

I smirked. "Stop what? Calling you Hyde? It's what you are." I mocked, acting innocent. Again, surprise flitted across his features, then something else before he quickly covered it with annoyance.

"Listen, Princess, Alice is -"

"Alice will buy me things whether I'm there or not. Listen, since I have more money than she does, and I don't want her even thinking of spending any of hers on me," I trailed off, opened my purse, and brought out my credit card. "Give this to them and have her use it. That way, it'll be like I bought everything, I just didn't chose it. Got it? I shoved the card into the pocket of his jacket and then twisted out of his grip before walking briskly away. Thankfully, he didn't follow.

It was about two hours later, give or take, that everyone cornered me in the bookstore. I had to do some fast talking to get out of trouble with Alice, but I managed by telling her I had trusted her to pick out better outfits than myself. Appeased, she'd headed towards the front of the store; Emmett hung back to whisper "Good work," in my ear before joining Rosalie. Which left me with… Hyde.

I held out my hand. "Can I have my credit card back please?"

He rolled his eyes. "Rosalie took it."

I nodded. Rosalie was always getting on my case about just handing it out to anyone; Jake, Leah, and when I'd been dating him, Mike had always taken it when I wanted them to buy me something. She had probably snatched it away and was holding it hostage like the last time. She'd literally kept it for a week as "punishment". Jacob had gotten a kick out of that one.

Emmett took Alice and Edward back to Alice's house, while I brought Jasper, Rosalie, and all the bags that belonged to our group back to the school. We pulled up, each loaded up with bags, and trudged to our rooms. Jasper helped Rosalie and I by carrying a couple of our bags. The lucky buzzard only had two. How he managed to get Alice to control herself, I have no idea.

Rosalie began unpacking all her things as I collapsed on my bed. "Hey, Rose," I asked, lifting my head up to peer at her. "Can I have my credit card back? I need it for gas money tomorrow."

She looked at me with a frown. "Why would I have your card, Bella?"

I stared at her. "You mean you don't?" Panic started to flutter in my chest and I sat upright.

She slowly shook her head, then turned fully to face me, her hands landing on her shapely hips. "Bella…" she said warningly.

I dropped my head into my hands, groaning. "Stupid, unreliable, tricky, lying, scheming, arrogant -"

"Bella?"

"Bastard!" I shouted. She jumped.

"What-?"

"Hyde stole my card!" I snapped.

She frowned. "Who?"

"Hyde…Edward! I gave it to him so Alice would spend money on me, told him to give it to her, and then he told me you had it! The bastard!" I was so furious that I was almost speechless.

Rosalie's eyes widened. "You just handed him your credit card? Just like that?!"

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't think he'd steal it!"

"Call Alice." Rosalie said firmly.

I pulled out my cell phone and called Alice's phone. It went to voice mail. I decided to try calling the house before I left a message. It rang three times before someone picked up.

"Hello, Cullen residence. This is Esme speaking." her warm, motherly voice drifted down the line.

"Esme!" I said, smiling. "This is Bella."

"Oh, hi hun. What can I do for you?"

"Is Alice around?"

Esme chuckled. "She and Emmett decided to take his jeep for a spin around town. They want to show it off to a couple friends. Why?"

I chose my words carefully, not wanting Esme to thin badly of me, or even stupid Hyde. "I left something with Edward this afternoon, and I was -"

"Oh!" Esme exclaimed. "Do you want to know where he lives? I'm sure he'll be more than happy to give it back."

"I'm just sure he will," I muttered under my breath. Esme didn't hear, because she was talking to someone on the other side.

"Bella? He's not home tonight, actually. Carlisle reminded me he's working. Why don't you drop by there and see if he has whatever it is you left?"

I bit the inside of my lip as I thought it over. Maybe, if I confronted him in a public place… and it was only six…. "Okay," I finally said, if a little reluctantly. "Where is he working?"

"He works at the pizzeria as a waiter. You know the one that Alice ordered from that one night? The New York style place?"

"Yeah, I know it. Thanks Esme."

"You're welcome dear. It was no problem. Tell my nephew I said hi."

I grinned, thankful she couldn't see the grim delight on my face. Rosalie's equally devious grin was sign enough that Edward had just crossed a line. "Oh, don't worry. I will."

Oh, yeah. This story is so fun to write. Well, it's late here, and I'm going to be in HUGE trouble if I don't go to sleep soon. I hope you all enjoy, and let's try to get...um... 17 reviews for this chapter? I believe progress is always there to be made. For incentive... who ever reviews, get's a peak at the next chapter. Hmm? Well, review! Or I'll send Fitz and Spazz - my two best apple-throwing flying dancing (evil) purple monkeys after you! They're quite tough. Ask Car. waves (I've named my spinny chair finally! It's name is Hedgehog!)