I'm sorry it took so long to upload this chapter I had it half finished for about a month but never got around to finishing it! Well here it is all shiny and new! I hope you enjoy it! I introduce you all to... my Alice

R&R as always and ill mention you in the next chapter!

BPOV

A repetitive knocking on my front door woke me from my slumber. I looked over at my alarm clock.

15:58pm

FUCK! It's nearly 4 o'clock; I should have finished my work by 1pm how long have I been asleep for!?

The knocking brought me back to reality and I moved to the edge of the bed. Ugh I hope it's not my landlord I don't want to be dealing with him today. I wiped the sleep out of my eyes and combed my fingers through my hair. Pulling some boy shorts on and the t-shirt I'd been coveting these past few weeks.

I hobbled out of bed and moved relatively quickly down the hallway

Knock Knock Knock Knock

"Okay okay! I'm coming; Jesus Christ has no one in this world got patience these days!"

I wrenched the front door open, plastering on the nastiest stank face I could muster.

"I really hope you've just been fucked sideways cause… you're a mess bitch!"

"ALICE!" I lunged forward to wrap my arms around her. I have never felt so happy to see someone in my life.

"Okay, okay get off Bellarina! Let me in your house god damnit I'm going to get heat stroke in this hallway" She pulled me off of her and pushed her way through my own hallway, her huge sun hat almost reaching both sides of the wall. I shut the door behind her and hobbled after her.

She made a b-line straight for my bedroom, dumping her platform wedges on the carpet and jumping on the bed where I had been laying.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you and have you invading my privacy once more Ali" I managed to get into the bedroom at a snail's pace holding the walls for support.

"Well, we all must help a friend in need" she declared proudly, taking off her hat and dusting it off before throwing it like a Frisbee onto the floor. She smoothed her 20s style finger-waved black hair back down before scooching over to give me room to lie down.
"Now as a friend, I must remind you when the need arises that you look like a bag of shit! That time has come my friend" she said smiling widely before taking off her sunglasses and folded them up to put on my dresser.

Only to double, triple, quadruple take at what sat there.

Before I could say anything she pounced.

She sat up on her knees quickly and hovered over the top of me.

"Who is buying you flowers Miss Isabella Swan?!" she looked like a dog in heat!

"Oh so you're done calling me all the names under the sun Miss Hale!" I shot back

"Oh please look at you, that's not even your shirt" she froze and her smile bloomed even more "THAT'S NOT EVEN YOUR SHIRT!" she screamed and rolled around on the bed… again like a dog, I wrenched my knees out of the way to avoid further pixie induced damage.

"You have to tell me everything!" she implored, crawling up to me like a Dickensian child asking for seconds

"When you start being nice I'll be nice back Alice!" she would hate this I thought to myself

She groaned agonisingly before rolling her head around and looking me up and down

"Your legs look hot, like they'd be good spread apart by someone who buys you flowers!" she smiled widely again and pulled on my arm to get me closer to her.

"So close Ali, so close but you couldn't help yourself! Try again!" I implored, stretching out once again and sinking into the comfort of my pillows.

I love how we could go from saying hello at the front door to pillow talk in a matter of seconds. We always ran straight to each other's bedrooms regardless of who was in the house or what time it was. We spoke in the bedroom and the sanctity of the bedroom stayed for years for us. I'm so glad we spoke about everything or she would have been shocked and horrified over the years. As would I, I mean walking in to find your friend dressing is one thing but to find them masturbating and them tell you to just wait outside for 5 minutes… that's the kind of bond we have. A weird, weird bond

"Your butt looks tight as fuck in those shorts… like you could put things in it… like flowers"

"Alice! That one was just gross!" I slapped her playfully

"Okay, okay, your hair is actually hot when it's all sexed up, like I wanna bang you"

"Nope!"

"HEY! I said like I wanna bang you not some flower dude, pleeaseee I'm begging you!" she literally begged

Oh why do I bother?

"Okay, I'll tell you but you can't jump the gun okay you have to listen to how I feel!"

I knew what was coming

"Edward bought it for me"

The shrillest cry came out straight after the words left my mouth

"I KNEW IT" she screamed and rolled around on the bed again, her floor length sun dress, twisting around like a pretzel.

I gave her a pointed look and she stalled her actions, sulking down and sighing loudly

"Go on…" she huffed and crossed her arms

"Well after I spoke to you, quite a while after, well you know I don't really remember. Anyway I think it was like half an hour later…"

"Bella seriously I'm dying here please get to the good stuff!" She sat up looking annoyed at my slowness.

"Sorry okay, well… I open the door after hearing a knock and all of my work things are there and then this hamper basket thing is too" I pointed to it and she scurried over, raiding through it carefully, "Yeah and this rose was on top" I fingered it gently before smiling to myself and looking back to her, "It had first aid stuff, movies.. Well you can see can't you? Anyway that's all I've heard from him since he raided my bag and all. He spoke to me about some work stuff he set up for me but other than that he's being his standoffish self Ali. No big shock there!"

She stood up sharply and moved herself to sit at my dresser, curling up on the chair there and looking back to me in bed.

"Ali, you're being eerily quiet… oh yeah and this is his shirt, I told you about it in the story the other week"

She was silent, staring me down, looking at my knees and my sheets, my shirt and my rose. Enough was enough and the silence was killing me, this had to be bad news. Alice was never quiet for an extended amount of time unless something was really bad.

"You need to apologise to him" she finally said.

I felt like I'd been smacked in the face. He was cruel to me from day one and I had to apologise?!

"Alice are you hearing yourself? I can't apologise to him!"

"He only looked through your bag; you don't know his dad might have asked him to look for medical shit or something" she spoke back confidently

"Oh please Alice he was snooping around! I've not been cruel! I put the flower in water!"

"Has anybody ever given you flowers before Bella?"

"What... well sure, Jacob used to buy me shit loads when he fucked up" I admitted, she knew this she would always decorate the house with them.

"Yeah, shit loads… has anybody ever bought you a single rose?" she raised her eyebrows and tilted her head.

I moved to contradict her but couldn't, she was right; nobody had ever bought me a single flower before.

"What's the difference?!" I almost begged, I needed to know the reasoning.

"I think it's time you figured it out for yourself Bellarina! Not every guy goes and buys a hamper of awesomeness for a member of staff as you so elegantly put it"

"HE put it! He called me staff Alice!"

"Yeah and he also called you a lot of other nice things you probably were too stubborn to notice!" she looked back down to the hamper and up again, "he's trying hard, that much is clear!" She got up from her seat and reached down to the hamper pulling out the dvds to look through them, I had looked and been quite amazed at the selection, they were all things I had downloaded illegally, seen before, but coveted favourites. A little bit of everything really.

She palmed through them, For a good time call, Pride and Prejudice, This Means War, Bridesmaids and Moonrise Kingdom.

I loved all those movies

Alice chose For a good time call. Walking up to the television screen on my wall opposite my bed, she put the movie in and we settled down.

"I love you Bella" she spoke softly and I was touched by her heartfelt declaration. "You're my best friend; don't let your head spoil what your heart wants!" She hugged me tightly before climbing down the bed to grab two muffins from the basket. I was still shocked into silence and hadn't spoken back.

In frustration she unwrapped one of the muffins and shoved it in my face unexpectedly.

I sneezed out the crumbs that flew up my nose and coughed up the rest before bursting into laughter and shoving hers in her face.

"Good to have you back in my life kid" she said bumping my hip as the movie began

"You too friend" I kissed her cheek and we cuddled and giggled our way through the start of the movie.

I was more relaxed than I had been in months being beside my best friend. She made everything better. She distracted me from everything… well nearly everything anyway.

The sound of an expensive engine driving up to my apartment block pulled me out of my reverie… I knew that sound… oh god I knew that sound.

Alice perked up at my movement.

"What's up?" she asked intently

I was scared, I would have been prepared for him to come to see me if I knew what I had been thinking for these past weeks, but Alice has changed everything. Alice made me want to apologise to him for something I hadn't even done... had I? I don't know?!

Tired of being ignored she got up and opened the blinds to look out of the window. I saw his car park in a public space in the lot and I saw him get out of the front seat only to turn back and retrieve something from the back. I sat back down on the bed as pushed back as possible.

"What's the big deal, some hot dude is home from a busy days work, snore, snore, snore, Bella!" she looked at me with her hands on her hips.

"He doesn't live in the apartments Ali!" I corrected her, trying to not give it away too soon and have her run at him or worse, jump out the window or shout out the window oh god.

"So he's visiting someone big deal? You know you really need to get laid! You get too bothered about the tiniest things!" I sat frozen on the bed as she laid back down and snuggled back up to me

"You're acting as if he's coming to see you! Like it's your big bad wolf boss or something!" she laughed to herself, finding it funnier by the second. That was until a loud double knock made her almost choke on her breath.

I looked at her and swallowed hard. This was not going to be fun.

Her jaw dropped as she realised what was happened and then the biggest smile pulled at her lips and she scampered off to the door like someone had put a rocket up her ass

"YOU NEVER TOLD ME HE WAS SMOKING HOT BELLA!" she screamed gleefully as I face palmed myself repeatedly, trying to hide in the sheets that were wrapped up around me.

EPOV

You can do it Edward, you can do it, you can do it!

This had been my mantra for driving over here, I'd repeated it a million times in my head to try and push myself to what I wanted to say when I got there. I knew if I were to struggle I only needed to think back to my beautiful little helper in the flower shop.

It confused me that she could see through my head after knowing me just twenty minutes. Even my father doesn't totally understand me and he's had to put up with me for years!

I didn't want Bella to forget me and I needed her to know I was lost in all of this.

Lifting my hand to knock on her apartment door had been surprisingly easy; it was the feeling of anticipation that immediately came after that shocked me… especially when I heard two voices.

"YOU NEVER TOLD ME HE WAS SMOKING HOT BELLA!" a shrill voice bellowed from behind the door.

Abort. Abort. Abort. Abort! This is way out of your comfort zone Edward. Just put the flowers in front of her door like last time and run. Run away from here and go back to your selfish life in your stupid selfish lonely home and think about your stupid actions.

I bent to place the little bundle on the floor as the door was flung open wildly.

There stood the petite girl from the photograph, dressed immaculately.

Before I had a chance to speak she spoke out excitedly

"Oh Mr Darcy, you didn't need to travel all this way through misty moors just to deliver a beautiful bundle of flowers for little ol' me!"

"ALICE, for Christ's sake you're embarrassing everyone!" I heard Bella's voice which made me automatically stand upright.

"Oh... erm… I'm not… erm… yeah…" I couldn't find any words, not one.

"Erm…erm…erm? Well? Come on then, use your big boy words!" she demanded crossing her arms.

I heard another groan and a few threats from inside her apartment

"Is Bella here?" that's all I could come up with?! SERIOUSLY! You just heard her shout out of course she is here, my GOD you are an idiot Cullen.

"In here, just throw the dwarf lunatic out that's all I ask!" she begged from a room beyond the hallway

The 'Alice' girl smiled broadly and moved back so I could walk in, I ducked under the low doorway and straightened out my tie, feeling way too uncomfortable about this situation.

"Second door on the left" Alice whispered, her eyes glued to the flowers in my hand.

"Thank you" I gripped them tighter and heading towards the door.

I paused before I entered causing Alice to huff and push her way through the door.

"Alice do you really have to be so rude to everyone you meet!" Bella proclaimed

I hazarded a glance in and stifled a laugh at what I saw.

Bella was wrapped up in her sheets lying horizontally on her bed. Her lower half was the only part visible.

Oh fuck.

The mental images of those toned legs wrapped around my neck as I bury my face in her swirled around my head and I felt myself harden instantly. Her microscopic shorts had ridden up revealing the bottoms of her underwear. Midnight blue lace crept out from beneath the fabric and I wanted to tear them off with my teeth instantly.

"Bella, do you really have to lie like that? You're making it look like I've just been eating you out, mummification style!" Alice bit back

Bella laughed and wiggled her way out of the sheets, hissing when they touched her knees which were still bandaged up.

"And who's going to care what I look like apart from you!" she laughed and pushed all the sheets away from her face finally, still facing the opposite direction to the door.

"Oh, I don't know?" Alice said calmly, plopping herself on the bed and lying backwards to see Bella's reaction. "Edward, do you know?" Alice turned to face me instead.

Before I could say anything Bella turned round quicker than lightning and yelped, grabbing more sheets and wrapping her legs up, so no more skin was showing.

"Oh my god! I'm not even dressed!" she gasped and tried but failed to hide her blush

"I can leave" I announced and began to turn away. I could fix this I didn't want Bella to feel uncomfortable; I needed her to feel glad that I was around.

"No, you don't!" Alice pointed at me to stay and by some miracle my legs were glued to the floor
"Bella, get over yourself it's not like you have your cooch out or anything! I'm going to make myself a drink and a snack and leave you two to settle this madness. This tension is messing up my hair!" She rose from the bed, winked at me and left the room, closing the opposite door behind her.

"Bella, really I can leave, I didn't mean to disturb you, Alice let me in" I kept my eyes glued to the floor along with my legs still refusing to move.

"Oh, it's okay… I just wasn't expecting you. I should probably put some proper clothes on. Did I do something wrong with my work? I feel asleep today because I took some painkillers but I can stay up tonight and get the work finished I don't mind working through the night it's the least I can do after being lazy toda-" she rambled and rambled on. As much as I enjoyed watching her get flustered, she didn't need to.

"Bella, relax! I have no problem with the work you're doing! I wanted to bring you something!" I managed to unglue one leg from the floor to step forward and hold the flowers in her direction.

Bella's eyes followed my hand and she gasped and smiled widely.

"Thank you" she replied, taking them gently and smelling them before moving herself around on the bed to place them beside the existing rose that sat on her dresser. My eyes zoned in on her thighs as the sheet fell away while she reached backwards. I wanted to touch them, taste them.

"They're beautiful" she smiled and righted herself on her bed.

I smiled back at her and found myself glued to the floor once more.

A heavy tension clogged the air and made very little space for conversation. I wanted to speak to her but I could feel her barriers up. I didn't know if I'd be able to break through them just yet.

I kept these thoughts to myself and began preparing a way to excuse myself when I heard her quiet voice.

"You can sit down, you know" I looked towards her and was glad that she was acknowledging me finally.

I looked around the room for somewhere to sit and noticed that the one chair she had was piled with her work. I looked to her for encouragement and she patted beside her on the bed.

My heart almost stopped in that moment.

I moved tentatively towards the bed still nervous of the tension that surrounded us.

"BELLA! Where the fuck is the fucking strawberry milk" Alice screamed from the other room, causing both of us to laugh out loud and shake our heads, I sat down quickly while the air was clear.

"IN THE FRIDGE BEHIND THE PIZZA!" Bella shouted back, blushing slightly at the loudness of her voice.

"Who puts pizza in FRONT of strawberry milk, crazy bitch" Alice mumbled from the other room audibly.

We shared a chuckle again, Bella indicated to my shoes and I kicked them off without a second thought, pushing myself further back onto the bed so we were sitting parallel.

Being in bed with someone like this felt unusual. It had been years since I shared my bed with anybody and here Bella was letting me sit with her like it was no big deal.

Does she do this every guy she meets? Am I any different? All of these questions whirled around in my head at a thousand miles per second and I couldn't think straight.

"Did you want to talk about something? It's just you... never mind" Bella said and hid her face from me with her hair.

"No, what were you going to say?" I found words finally

"No it's silly, really"

"Please?" I looked at her and my lips curled into a smirk of their own accord

Her eyes followed my mouth as it changed and her breathing increased its speed.

"You never spoke to me!" she said so quickly I barely heard it

"What do you mean?" I begged for an answer

"After you left… everything" she pointed to the hamper still on the floor, most of its contents used. "You never spoke to me, emailed… anything" she admittedly embarrassed

"Neither did you, I waited too you know" I admitted also, not hiding my embarrassment.

"I've been a dick haven't I?" she looked at me dropping the sheet from her grip around her shoulders.

My eyes followed downwards to see she was still wearing my shirt. The shirt. My heard soared like it never had before and I knew I needed to make this work. I had to. If my life depended on it I would make this work!

"No… a little… I have too though; I've been the bigger dick!"

She smiled slightly but nodded in agreement.

"I really am sorry about snooping Bella; it's not like me to do it. I just… I saw a photograph and I just ha-" I was cut off

"Shh, please, don't I'm just a bit… private about my photographs. It was nothing personal. I just flipped I guess!" she admitted

"Private? But Bella, they're beautiful! You really have a talent!"

"THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TELLING HER FOR YEARS EDWARD!" Alice shouted from the other room.

We both cringed at the volume and laughed between us.

"Maybe we should wait to talk about all of this, when my daft best friend isn't eating my kitchen" she laughed and blushed

"How about dinner?" I spoke without thinking. I hadn't asked a girl to dinner in years.

Bella looked shocked but before I could withdraw my offer she spoke.

"I would love to, dinner would be lovely!" she said, tugging her hair out of her face.

I smiled broadly and she joined me, adding a cute laugh with it.

"Well, you better get each other's numbers if you're going on a date" Alice spoke from the doorway, drinking strawberry milk out of a carton.

"It's not a date Alice" Bella spoke first and I could help but feel a heavy pull on my heart, I wanted it to be a date, I really did.

"Umm, here" I pulled my phone out of my pocket and scrolled to my number before handing it to her.

She pulled her own phone out from under her pillow and typed in my number, and then typed her number into my phone. She smiled and gave it back to me gently. Her touch lingering for a second longer than expected and I couldn't help but look into her stunning eyes.

"Alright, so Edward, are you staying for something to eat?" Alice asked impertinently

"Alice! Give the guy a break!" Bella begged!

"I would love to, but I really have to get going!" I couldn't help but notice the disappointment on Bella's face, "I'm meeting my dad for drinks before he leaves town! He practically begged me to meet him, I think he wants to shout at me some more!" I winked at Bella

"Oh, I'm sorry that's my fault I guess!" she looked apologetic

"Don't even worry about it; my dad's a great guy!" I reassured her with a smile

"Tell him I said thank for everything again" she smiled

"I will! I promise!" I smiled and put my shoes back on before getting up and saying my goodbyes.

"I'll see myself out, it was lovely to meet you Alice, I'll talk to you soon Bella!" I smiled and made my way out.

The hallway was cooler than when I first came in and it made me relax instantly.

"Edward" I heard Alice's voice call out to me quietly

I turned back and noticed her beckoning me with her finger held to her lips

"Yes Alice?" I asked quietly

She looked back into the apartment thoughtfully

"I can tell you're a good guy really, Bella has told me a lot about the way you've treated her in the past"

I gulped and looked to the floor

"Past is past, treat her well and we will have no problems!" Alice spoke strongly this time, although still quietly.

I knew she was 100% serious by her tone, which in truth, scared me a little bit.

"I will Alice, I promise!" I reassured her of my intentions before she finally excused me

As I pressed the button for the elevator I heard Alice again.

"AND NEXT TIME! BRING ME A PRESENT TOO!"

I burst out laughing and relaxed instantly.

Something about Bella's and Alice's dynamic relaxed me. It was sometimes crude, but it was also comforting.

If it wasn't for Alice there I wouldn't have been able to say what I needed to say in a strange way. I wouldn't have Bella's number in my phone if it wasn't for Alice intervening.

Just as I thought that my phone vibrated in my pocket

Sorry about her, she can be a handful!
Thank you again for the flowers they
are beautiful, let me know when you
would like to have dinner… if you still
want to that is?
Bella x

I looked up as the elevator chimed and the doors opened.

Looking at myself in the mirror opposite gave me all the encouragement I needed, I hadn't seen myself smile that wide in years.

Isabella Swan might just save me