Author's Note: Struggling.. And stalling.. =/ But here you go! I really appreciate your ideas and suggestions everyone! Thank you!

(I dedicate this chapter to my friends Jessica, for bugging me to keep writing this fic, Kristen, for giving me the inspiration (the Twilight Soundtrack), and Kristyn, for finally getting into Twilight!)

Chapter 10

The awkward silence that followed my innocent question was deafening. One could hear the proverbial pin drop. I glanced around at everyone's slightly embarrassed expressions and scoffed, "Oh, come off it, you two."

Edward arched his eyebrows and Bella craned her neck to look at me again, as I continued, "If you two were any more destined to be together, ages be damned, I think the Fates would puke. Ya both are more star-crossed lovers than Buffy and Angel! Romeo and Juliet! Antony and Cleopatra!" I rattled off, throwing my hands around for emphasis.

Edward's expression darkened as he muttered "Yeah, and look how all of them turned out…"

Bella shot him an alarmed glance and Alice sighed unhappily next to me.

I didn't miss a beat as I sat forward in my seat to get in Edward's 'space'. "Oh can it, mister-sunshine. You two are meant for each other and you damn well know it, so shut it." I growled good naturedly as I poked Edward on the back of his head.

Edward stared at me hard from the rear view mirror and I returned it with an intensity that matched his, but where Edward glowered in his oddly pained way, I was grinning, though I'm not sure why.

Stop pouting, Edward, or your perfect face is gonna get stuck that way. And you're scaring Bella…

My cousin was pointedly staring out the window, her mouth set into a grim little line on her face.

Edward broke his glowering contest with me, and returned his eyes to the road, but not without placing a cold hand on Bella's lap. She placed her hand gently on his and a small smile graced her features.

The car was quiet for a few moments until Alice suddenly started poking and pulling at my clothes, "So, Danny," she asked seriously, "How would you describe your current style?"

I stared.

"Uhhhhmmm… Bohemian Chic?" I ventured, drawing the name back from the time when I actually watched TV. 'What Not to Wear' had been one of my favorite shows back then. It had been a few months, but still…

Alice smiled a feral smile that made my former unease return with a vengeance. "We're going to have so much fun!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"Now, I see you as a modern gypsy type.. All romance and elegance, but with a contemporary twist…" Alice began rapidly, while turning my head with a professional shoppers' scrutiny. "Comfort is a must, am I right?" she asked with a grin.

I nodded, smiling apologetically. "No six inch heels for this chick.." I said wriggling my toes in my rather well-loved black sneakers.

Alice followed my gaze down to my feet and she blanched. "Danny, I forbid you to ever buy those crimes against fashion ever again, are we clear?" she asked, quite seriously. I had to laugh at her almost frightened expression.

"Aw, no love for my maple bar feet?" I laughed. "I'm not exactly Cinderella, with her petite tootsies, yanno." I joked, kinda self deprecatingly. But who wouldn't be like that next to these two? My feet looked like a yeti's next to Alice's tiny ballerina feet. Okay, so my shoes weren't the trendiest.. But it's not that easy to find classy styles for a size 11 Wide. Plus the fact that I didn't have any fat cushioning the pads of my feet..

As I went on and on in my mental podiatric monolog, I didn't notice that Edward had pulled into a town, Port Angeles, I guessed, and into a small diner's parking lot, until we jerked into a spot. I looked up from my staring contest with my feet and squinted out of the darkly tinted window. "What's here?" I asked, puzzled.

"Brunch." Edward answered simply as he hopped out of the car.

Just as my stomach groaned loudly. The guy had great timing.

"Woot." I rejoiced as I unbuckled my self and slid out of the car, with Alice giggling behind me.

"You are so cute, Danny." she laughed as she ruffled my hair.

I blushed again and hung my head as I shut the door for her. "Alice, if you keep calling me that, I'm never gonna stop blushing. And tomatoes aren't that cute." I muttered with a mock serious tone as I waggled my finger in her face. She just laughed some more and looped her arm through mine again.

As we walked in side, nearly every eye in the place turned towards us. All due to the two almost painfully beautiful vampires in our merry band, no doubt. I dunno about Bells, but I was kinda unnerved by that.

The place was kinda tiny, but with a cool hippie feel, with loads of orange, red and purple accents around the wood panel walls. It was cozy. If not a bit stuffy, temperature wise. But it was pretty packed, with people ranging from newly birthed to almost in the dirt. Nothing was commercialized or hyped up. A real local hang-out. Just the kind of place you'd expect to get a great meal from.

(I watch a lot of Food network, so sue me.)

Edward was chuckling as he steered the flushed Bella towards the nearest both, to divert my shy cousin from the excess attention. But, being the smart ass I am, I waved cheerily back at the staring faces. "Yanno, if ya take a picture, I hear it lasts longer!" I chirped in a facetiously sweet tone.

"Danny!" Bella exclaimed in a half amused, half mortified tone as I sat down. "What are you doing?" she accused, while laughing in disbelief. "Now they'll stare more!"

I raised my eyebrows in an expression that clearly said 'who? Me? I haven't done a thing'. But I think the cheeky grin that I couldn't hold back kinda ruined my innocent façade. "I think they're entitled to a good gawk, just as long as they know we know they're doing it and being rather obvious about it." I explained with a gesture towards the numerous faces still staring at our booth, or trying to, at least.

Edward stole Bella's attention off of me as he stroked her hair, "Doesn't this place look familiar to you?" he asked he gestured to the diner we were in.

Bella looked around, confused. "No. Should it?"

"You had mushroom raviolis and we discussed my dazzling abilities."

A surprised expression bloomed onto my cousin's features as her lips formed a small 'o'. "Oh, yeah, I remember now!" Bella murmured as she looked around, recognition glistening in her dark eyes, "We went here after…." she trailed off, glancing at Edward's now pensive face.

Both Alice and I exchanged a look.

Just as a loud crash came from the kitchen. I leaned out of our booth, just in time to see a scuffle going on between two or three waitresses. There was some muffled name calling and hair pulling, but it was all settled with a deft leap over the dog pile, over towards our booth.

I think it was all about who got to serve us……

I leaned back into the booth, tuning back into conversation, though thoroughly stunned. If Edward and Alice caused such a commotion this early into our 'retail therapy' session, I almost didn't want to see how the rest of the day would go… Almost.

"Care to elaborate on this story?" I ventured cautiously, still surprised by the cat fight I'd just witnessed.

Edward was about to refuse, when our waitress showed up. She was all smiles and cleavage, with dark hair piled upon her head like an unruly haystack, and tacky maroon lips stick (though it might have been blood), until she saw Edward's arm around Bella' shoulder. Her former winsome smile turned rapidly into a barely concealed pout.

I fought the urge to snort at the clichéd moment. Edward glanced at me and I gladly replayed the scene for him mentally. He too, was either struggling not to chuckle, or shake his head.

"What'll it be?" the waitress, I spied the name tag on her ample chest, Carlotta, asked rather shortly, I thought. I quirked an eyebrow for a half second.

"Well, since we just sat down. How about we start with drinks?" I asked, in the same short tone she had just used.

Carlotta stared at me.

Until another waitress came up behind her, glowering. She was petite, but curvy, with wavy golden brown hair, a button nose, two familiar gold green eyes and, dear god I knew that tiny pink bow of a mouth!

My heart all but burst out of my chest in fear. I'd completely forgotten that she'd be in this area, I had been too busy with my family issues. She had moved here. God, I was gonna die. She had to know I had run away. She had to have been told. There was no escaping this!

She hadn't noticed me yet, because she was too busy burning a hole into Carlotta's back. God, how I knew how it felt to be on the receiving end of that death glare. It wasn't nice.

But there was something different about her.. A certain sag to her shoulders, the dark circles under her eyes.. She looked so tired…

Edward cleared his throat loudly and Carlotta whirled on her heel. "Uhm. Hi. I-ah, was um-" she sputtered helplessly, but my tired object of dread cut her off with a sarcastic laugh.

"You, were, just, ah, stealing my table." she mimicked coldly in her usually sweet soprano tone, looking up at Carlotta's anxious face. Even at her high of 5 ft 2, she was still a force to be reckoned with.

Which was the exact reason I was subconsciously sliding further and further down my seat, with my chest parallel to the table so far and I was still sinking. I didn't notice everyone at my table staring at me… I was too busy trying to hide.

"Beat it, Car, unless you want me to report this to Lloyd." the tiny terror hissed as she jerked her thumb back at the kitchen behind her.

Carlotta slithered away, with her tail between her legs. And for good reason.

Then, after she watched Carlotta go, she turned back to us, her steely glare gone for now, a bright infectious grin in it's place. One I knew and loved. I had grown up seeing that grin. "Sorry about that, you guys." she chirped as she handed us our menus, luckily not looking at our faces. "It's a jungle in here." she muttered ruefully with a shake of her head.

And then it happened.

She looked up and immediately locked eyes with me. (Perhaps it was because only the upper half of my face was now visible..) Her grin vanished, and the blank slate of complete and utter shock took it's place, with her mouth hanging open, and her green eyes opened even wider.

"Hiya, Rach..." I squeaked from underneath the table.