Yayy! Finally into the double digits!(= I'm hoping you like this chapter. I know it's a little late, and I'm sorry but I tried to make it fairly long.(:

Soooo,, yeahhhh. This is just what came to mind, so I'm sorry if it doesn't live up to expectation. HOWEVER, soon I wil write the 'Bella visiting the palace/parents' chapter. What do you want to see in that? Because I kinda have an idea, but I'm not exactly sure. :/

I LOVE YOU.

DISCLAIMER: I may own a package of goldfish that, at this moment, is sitting next to me, but I don't own anything Twilight *the rights, that is. I own all the books.(= *

"Alice, even though I hate shopping, that was so much fun!" I sighed, landing on my sofa, several bags on each arm. Alice and Rose had made each stop entertaining, pretending to be 'models'. We were in hysterics for who knows how long.

"See," she stated, still smiling from her fit of giggles, "I knew you would admit it sometime. You like shopping."

I gave her a weak smile, not willing to argue. "One thing I still question, though," Rosalie started, stumbling into the room under the weight of her bags. "Why did you insist on buying us fancy dresses?" I shook my head, agreeing with her

"Well, you never know when you'll need a special dress for a special occasion." She gave a sly look in my direction. I sighed.

"Well, I'm not in the mood to argue; that trip made me too happy." We all smiled at each other.

"ROSIE!" Emmett yelled, banging the door ferociously. I walked to the door with her, afraid at what the news was.

"Yes, Emmett?" she asked, a strange look on her face.

He was silent for a few seconds before revealing a hand that was behind his back, a large silver bag grasped in it. "I can't get the goldfish open." Rose, Alice and I looked at each other, then threw our heads back in laughter. Alice ended up falling on the bed, Rosalie slumped against Emmett, and I fell against the wall, hitting my head, making us all laugh harder. Jasper, hearing the bump, came rushing into the room, tripping over my legs. That just made us laugh even harder, Emmett joining. Jasper who didn't realize what was happening, was still looking scared as a puppy that just got scolded for the first time.

By the time we were all calmed down, the four of us had tears covering our faces, blurring our vision.

"What happened in here?" Jasper wondered aloud.

"Emmett came in. He couldn't get the goldfish bag open," Alice explained. Jasper struggled to keep his expression straight, not wanting to have to go through another five minutes of uncontrollable laughter.

A minute of silence passed, grins still spread on our faces. Then Emmett decided to speak.

"I was serious," he muttered, handing the bag to Rose. She giggled, then opened the top of the bag, handing it back to her big fiancé. Em smiled, then squealed "Thanks!" before skipping out the door like a very overgrown four year old.

Alice laughed once more, grabbing her bags. "Well, I'm heading to the room," she sighed, waddling to the door. Rose followed suit, smiling at us as she passed.

"I'll be there in a minute," Jasper hollered to Alice. He walked to the door, shutting it gingerly before turning back to me.

"Bella," he started. "I want to ask you a question." He looked incredibly nervous, almost as though he were going to back out of whatever it was.

"Jazz, what is it?" I asked, worried. "You're not acting like yourself."

He sighed. "I know that you'll probably think you're the wrong person to ask, but I've already got her parents permission, and…" He trailed off. I was starting to guess at what he was suggesting but waited for him to continue on his own.

"Bella, since you're her best friend, I want your permission to ask Alice to marry me." I gasped, smiling at the thought; Alice would be ecstatic.

"Of course, Jasper," I answered. "Besides, I thought you could always tell what I was feeling, being my brother and all. You could have guessed what I was going to say." We smiled at each other.

"Thanks, little sis," he said, pulling me into a hug.

"No thanks needed, big bro. So do you have the ring?"

His expression was suddenly incredibly excited. "I don't have it, but I have one picked out." He went into detail, describing the ring; it would be perfect for Alice.

"You made a good choice, Jazz," I told him as he was leaving the room. "She really loves you."

He smiled back at me from halfway across the hall. "I know," he said before turning back to his room.

I smiled to myself; what a perfect day this had been.

&&&

I awoke the next morning with a smile on my face. But before I could think of anything, I saw a red flashing light on the phone next to my bed. Remembering early yesterday, I scrambled to check the message, hoping Edward had finally called back.

Once the message was about to play, I almost couldn't handle it; the excitement was killing me. Then a voice started to play.

"Hi, Bella," the voice said. My face dropped. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to reschedule those plans for that day for just you and me," it continued. I cursed under my breath. "So, just call me back, I guess." The dial town sounded. I loved Jacob, but didn't want to be with him alone for an entire day.

I sighed, weighing my options. If I spent the day with Jake, I could get that out of the way. But on the other hand, his questioning about anything and everything would drive me up the wall.

But I decided to chance it, calling him back.

"Hello?" he answered groggily; he should have been up by now. It was already 11:30!

"Hi, Jake." I tried my best to sound sweet and genuinely happy to be talking to him, but couldn't sound just right.

"Oh, Bella!" he said, almost sorrowfully. "God, I'm so sorry," he said, sounding more and more stuffed up by the minute. "I'm feeling even worse than yesterday. So I called the airport; I'm leaving today." I could just imagine the sad smile on his face. I was very sad to hear the news.

"Oh, Jake! Well, at the very least can I take you to the airport?" Though he drove me up the wall sometimes, he really was one of my best friends, and couldn't bear to see him not feeling well.

"I guess," he said, sounding happier. "The hotel doctor said it wasn't contagious, but it would affect me pretty bad, so I guess that's okay." I heard a sneeze tacked on the end of the statement.

"Great!" I exclaimed. "What time should I be over?"

"About an hour?" he asked. I agreed, hanging up the phone to get ready.

I took off my pajamas, climbing into the warm water of the shower. Though I never wanted to leave it, I knew I had to go get Jake sooner than I would think, so I stepped out right after I shampooed. I rummaged through my bag, trying to find something easy that would match no matter what. I didn't see what I got, only that it was a casual dress. I slipped on some black flip-flops, realizing I had better head out the door if I were to hail a cabbie and get to Jake's hotel in time.

Leaving a note under Alice and Rose's doors, I rushed down the stairs, heading outside.

I finally made it through the small crowd that had accumulated in the lobby, though I wasn't sure who they were surrounding. I faced the street, waving my arm around at the several cabs that passed before finally finding one. I told them the name of the hotel, and they quickly found their way there. Asking the lady at the front desk what room his was, I ran up the stairs, having no patience for the elevator. (A/N: OH MY GOD. DÉJÀ VU. Proceed.(: )

I finally got to his room, knocking on the door before resting my elbows on my knees, trying to catch my breath. Hearing steps approach the door I got back up, not caring how I looked.

Jake opened the door, looking okay, but not very good.

"Oh, Jake," I said. He smiled, then gestured for me to come into the room. All his bags were setting somewhere in the front of his simple room, ready to go with luggage tags and everything.

I turned to him, smiling very sadly. "I'm so sad to see you go," I told him sincerely.

"I'm sad to be going," he said, frowning. Seeing that expression, I walked over and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around me in a heated embrace.

"Jake, you're burning up!"

"I know." Frown still set in place, he waved his hands toward the little luggage he had. "We'd better get this down stairs. We still need to get a cab." I nodded, not wanting to see him go, but knowing he would eventually get better.

&&&

An hour later, I was on my way back to my own hotel. Jake had left with a smile on his face, though I knew he honestly didn't want to leave. I knew he'd be okay in the end, but I didn't want to see him leaving a vacation early just because he was sick.

I finally arrived back at the hotel, ready to do something. Anything. So instead of going straight to my room, I went to Alice's room, knowing she would be awake, but still groggy.

I knocked on the door, fully expecting an angry Alice to answer the door, despite the fact that it was nearly one. Instead, Jasper came to the door, barely opening it.

"Jasper?" I asked. His expression was one of laughter and stress.

"Alice. She wants to go somewhere tonight with us all and is trying to find a dress." I started to speak, but realized that, since he was her boyfriend, he would know. Also, as I thought, he walked out, closing the door firmly behind him.

"Also," he said. "I want to go get Alice's ring today, then propose tonight." His eyes lit up, and I smiled. "Will you come shopping with me?" he asked suddenly. "I think that since you are with her a lot you would know what she would like."

I smiled and nodded, excited not just for Alice, but to spend a day with my brother. And I knew we would find the perfect ring, if it was the last thing we did.

So what do you think? Hmm? I know it's not the best, but I liked it. :D

Again, remember to review. I will be MUCH more willing to update if you review. And tell me what you want to see for when Bella visits the palace. :D

I LOVE YOU SO MUCHHHH.

-Erin