Chapter Ten

Bella's Point of View

We sat in the car and sang along with the songs that we know. Alice's voice was as chirpy and joyful as always, I don't know how anyone can feel gloomy around her.

"Alice?" I asked.

"Yes Bella?"

"Edward and I were discussing about something last night… Did you see me here at all in your visions?"

She took a deep breath, "I'm going to be honest Bella. Yes, I did see you. But it was shortly after we arrived in New Haven. I didn't want to tell Edward, because I know how much it'll hurt him if he knows. He would have wanted to see you. But you could have moved on Bella, you could have happily married someone; you could have even been pregnant for god's sake!"

"Alice! I'm only twenty years old! Besides, you know me well enough to know that I wouldn't move on or GET PREGNANT for that matter!!!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry, just a thought. Anyway, I don't know how Edward would take it. If you had moved on, I'm sure he would have pretended to be happy. After all, that's what he wanted. But I know deep down inside, he'll always live with guilt and regret for the rest of eternity. And we have to live with him Bella," she chuckled. "Imagine what that would have done to poor Jasper," she continued.

She took another breath, "Another reason is that I wasn't sure if you would have wanted him back. Whether you moved on or not. You could have simply hated him for leaving, and for hurting you. I was afraid to let Edward and you both suffer the pain. I knew if I don't tell Edward, you two probably would never have to see each other, after all, New Haven IS pretty big for a town. Then either one of you would have to suffer that much. But who knew? You two HAD to bump into each other at the bookstore," she grinned. "But I'm glad you did. Thank you very much Bella, for taking my brother back in your life," she looked appreciative.

"I love him Alice; I did it for no one but myself. True, I have always given myself all the reasons to hate him, but I guess I love him too much to do so," I smiled.

"He's not happy with me is he?" Alice sighed after a short pause.

I shook my head, "He'll want to know why you didn't tell him," I replied gently.

"Great! More explaining to do when he gets back," she murmured.

"Alice? How could he not know? Before we met each other at the bookstore I mean? He CAN read your mind," I asked suspiciously.

"Oh Bella! You have no idea how hard it was! I mean, I had to be careful with my thoughts around him all the time! I had been avoiding him in the past couple of days actually. I didn't even tell Jasper, afraid that he might slip up, not that I don't trust him. So it's a good thing that you two are back together, or I would have to avoid him for the rest of eternity! Thank heavens for that! Phew," she finished, smiling at me now.

"So did you know that we were going to meet in the bookstore?"

"No, actually I didn't. I had no idea what you were doing in New Haven, at first I thought you might be visiting a friend or something but I wasn't sure. Which was another reason of why I didn't tell him," she said cheerfully. "Besides, New Haven isn't exactly Forks-like, who would know that you two would be there at the same exact bookstore? It's fate Bella, you two belong together even god knows that," she sighed.

I was speechless for a few minutes.

"Sorry about the ambush Alice," I said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it Bella, you had every right to know," she smiled.

"I guess you're curious about Paige too huh?" she asked innocently, after a brief pause. I nodded my head.

"She joined us two years ago, a little after we left. She went to Tanya's Clan at first, and then Tanya told her about us. We didn't permit her to live with us, but she simply won't leave us alone. And you know Carlisle and Esme; they felt sorry for her... So we came up with a compromise, she can stay with us temporarily, but I don't think that she's planning on to leave any time soon," she scoffed.

"So did Edward show any interest in her at all? And please, be honest," I gulped, feeling slightly embarrassed. This was the question that I wanted to know the most. Then to my surprise, Alice started laughing so hard, it was almost rude.

"Sorry about that Bella, it's just the thought of Edward and Paige together… It's hilarious! Of course not silly! Edward hates her more than anything else, perhaps even more than vile Mike Newton," she smirked.

I felt relieved after hearing that from Alice. I realized that we were stopping in front of an outlet, in the parking lot. "Alright Bella! Get out of the car and begin today's work!" she winked at me and pulled me out of the Porsche.

We walked in an elegant store, kind of old-fashioned. I saw a tremendous amount of shirts on the shelves. It was built in a Victorian style. The ceilings had beautiful laces hanging, and even the lights were absolutely stunning.

"Oh Bella? Don't you just fancy this store?" Alice sighed in satisfactory.

"It's great Alice," I said as I stared in awe.

She looked through lots of clothes, and found lots of them to her liking.

"Bella! Look at this! This will look perfect on you," she handed me a baby blue dress.

It was sleeveless, and I have to admit, it had a certain charm. It didn't look like something "from the rack" as Alice would have put it; it was captivating and ravishing looking. I couldn't help but stare at the price tag, "Alice, it's $109!" I exclaimed.

"I know, it's on sale, isn't it great?" she took my exclamation for another.

"No. That's not exactly what I meant. I'm not letting you pay $109 for something that I would probably only wear once in a lifetime," I insisted.

"Oh Bella, lighten up! I'm doing this for Edward. Imagine how pleased him would be if he sees you in this," she said optimistically.

"Alice…" I groaned.

"No buts Bella, go try it on," she gave me the "I'm-not-gonna-let-it-rest" look. I sighed as I headed to the dressing room.

I came out from the dressing room and found both Alice and the clerk staring at me with their jaws dropped.

"Oh my gosh Bella, you HAVE to get it. It looks absolutely amazing on you, as if it was made just for you and no one else! You just HAVE to get it," she squealed.

"Alice, have you not noticed how cold it was outside? It's winter Alice. And we ARE in Connecticut. And this is sleeveless," I waved my hand down my body.

"No problem, I'll get you a little sweater to put over, here try this," said Alice as she handed me a darker blue sweater. It matched perfectly, but I wouldn't say that out loud for Alice to hear, which would have just categorize as another persuasive reason for her to spend $109 for this dress.

"Please Bella! Put it on, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way," Alice threatened. Doesn't look like I have much of a choice huh? I sighed and put on the blue sweater, it was very comfortable and warm, I liked it. But I would never admit it in front of Alice.

She nodded with excitement, "It's decided, you're getting it," she smiled.

"Oh Alice! You promised Edward to go easy on me today!" I groaned.

"I guess I'm just going to have to break it don't I? Besides, I AM going easy on you Bella," she smirked. I pouted. She gave me one of her infamous "I'm-gonna-get-my-way-no-matter-what" look. I gave up. It's pointless to argue with Alice when she's on her shopping mode.

We were wandering around in the same store for several hours. She found a whole stack of shirt that she's decided to get. She bought me 3 pullovers and turtlenecks; they were all in soft colors: lavender, baby blue, tan… which I wouldn't object too much to. Alice came out with 5 or 6 shopping bags in each hand. They were filled with clothes, and they looked pretty heavy. We decided to drop them off in her Porsche first, so we can go for the second round. Well, she decided anyway.

"Oh! Lunch for the human!" she exclaimed suddenly as we walked in the mall. "Edward reminded me to feed you food so you won't die from hunger," she joked. I rolled my eyes, and then I bent down to look at my watch. It was 12:30. I can't believe that we had been in the same store for over 3 hours!!! But I guess that's pretty normal for Alice.

"What do you want for lunch Bella?" she asked chirpily.

"Doesn't matter, whatever we can find," I was still full from the breakfast that Edward had cooked me. I found a hotdog stand in the mall; I told her that's what I wanted. I didn't want her to make a big deal over lunch. Surprisingly, she didn't oppose on me getting a hotdog for lunch. I told her that I would pay for it myself, but she wouldn't let me.

"Not a chance Bella, I'm ordering," then she skipped to the line as I waited on the bench. Minutes later, she came back with a gigantic hotdog. An extra, super, large perhaps.

"Geez Alice, that's not all for me!" I exclaimed loudly.

"Of course not, some for me too," she joked. I rolled my eyes as she handed the hotdog to me.

She sat next to me on the bench, and watched me took a bite out of the humongous hotdog. "What are you staring at Alice?" I asked innocently.

"I'm just wondering… you know… what it tastes like," she said excitedly.

"Want a bite?" I asked generously, already knowing the answer.

She shook her head as expected, "They'll all taste like dirt to me," she shrugged.

I finished the hotdog while Alice waited patiently next to me.

"I have the perfect place in mind," she said brilliantly.

Then she pulled me in a store that almost made me faint. To my horror, it was Victoria's Secret.

"Alice… let me out of here! Please," I pleaded.

"You need some pajamas and night gowns Bella, trust me on this," she winked at me. I was going to make for a run, but it was a pointless attempt.

"Hello ladies! How may I help you today?" a lady named Michelle greeted us warmly.

"We need to get her some night gowns, any suggestions?" Alice pointed at me.

"Yes, right this way please," she smiled warmly again.

She led us to a silky, baby blue night gown. Baby blue again, what a coincidence.

"Perfect," Alice said happily while nodding her head. I sighed. Why can't I be strong enough to stop her? She picked out another light pink night gown that looked much like the one that's baby blue. She grabbed both and head to the cashier.

"Gee thank Alice," I said cheerlessly as we headed out of the store.

"You'll thank me wholeheartedly one day Bella," she sighed.

The rest of the day went on. The trunk was filled with clothes, and Alice was very satisfied.

"Wanna sleep over today?" she asked excitedly.

"Sure," I didn't want to be alone. That'll make me miss Edward even more.

"Yay! Thanks Bella!!!" she kissed me softly on the cheeks.

"You're welcome Alice," I yawned, feeling a little tired from all the shopping.

Please review and tell me your thoughts! I'll post the next chapter soon if you guys liked it. In the next chapter, Edward's going to get VERY frustrated by a certain girl. I think you know who I'm talking about. And you'll read bout Bella's sleepover with Alice. Please review and I thank you very much for all of the nice reviews that I'm getting. Plase continue to do so. TwilightLuver 001 THANKS!