All things Twilight belong to the amazing Stephenie Meyer, a couple plot point belong to V.C. Andrews and the rest is from my warped imagination. Happy Tuesday!

Chalk and Cheese

Black valley, peace beneath the city
Where the white girls wander the strip mall, singing all day
"Give me a juggernaut heart and a Japanese car and someone to free"

Peace Beneath the City - Iron and Wine

Days passed quickly with my new allies. I spent more time with Emmett as I waited for the weekend to near. Leah had confirmed she was definitely coming when I called her to tell her about the party. She was intrigued about the way I described Jasper and Edward.

I wasn't a prude by any means, but even with the brief relationships I'd had, I'd never really been all that enthusiastic about the guys. Leah knew the moment I started talking about them that something was different. She knew me too well to not see the distinction.

She arrived on Friday morning, and before she'd even made it in the door, she was shuffled around the side of the house and into Tanya's flashy SUV. Tanya had made sure to take us to the mall early so she could spend time with 'the ladies' as they were known. She had complained that it was cutting into her schedule up until we arrived at the mall. She seemed to be in her element there, throwing clothes at me then demanding I try them on; she also seemed to enjoy dressing Leah just as much and picked out colors and styles that matched her complexion.

After forty five minutes of her coaching us about our styles and colors, she watched for fifteen minutes to decide whether we'd mastered her vision for us. Apparently, we'd done well because she told us she had to run some errands and that we were to meet her by the front doors in four hours time. She'd given me one of her credit cards and told us both to pick out what we wanted. When Leah had argued she'd simply stated that she would not have a guest in her house dressed like a hobo. Thankfully, I had dragged Leah away before she could respond.

Leah and I did stick to what she'd asked us to do, but we also went against her in some ways, picking out things we could wear at home where her beady eyes wouldn't be watching over us. Leah didn't buy too much more, much like me she hated the thought of spending so much money on things you could buy in other stores for half of what we were spending here.

By the time Tanya picked us up, we couldn't carry many more bags.

"Do I have to do everything myself?" Tanya sighed, turning in her seat. "You should have double that by now. What have you been doing for the last four hours?"

Leah's mouth fell open with the slight, but it soon gave way to a smirk as she smoothed her hair and looked pointedly at Tanya. My eyes followed hers, and I saw what she was looking at, the crown of Tanya's head looked as though it had been back combed.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, rather than stated. My voice had gone up an octave because of the mental picture I'd gotten from the scene in front of me.

"Isabella, do you have no idea how things work? I'm going to have to send you and Elizabeth out again soon. Maybe you could learn some things from her. It is the one thing she's good at."

"I don't think we could have carried much more, Mrs. Cullen," Leah interjected, her eyes hard; she'd been here for five hours and we'd been shopping the entire time. She hadn't even brought her bags in from the car yet, I could only imagine how frayed her nerves were becoming from the spade tongued woman in the front seat.

"You two have a lot to learn, that's why you take the bags to the valet service and tell them to hold them for you."

"We had no idea," I said, trying to keep my tone light. There was no point in trying to argue with her, she seemed to have a predetermined opinion of me that she wasn't willing to change now. It was sad to think I had a permanent battle on my hands, but there wasn't much I could do to change her mind.

"Too late now."

"Maybe Bella and I could go again tomorrow, take my car so we can drop things off as we shop," Leah added pointedly. I knew what she was doing, she was inadvertently accusing Tanya of being gone. Surreptitiously pointing fingers in hopes it would shut Tanya up. Leah was always good at pointing things out like that. She could fight her battles with quick witted comments that left no room for argument and this time was no different.

Tanya didn't even acknowledge the accusation, she simply agreed with Leah's assessment.

We followed her into the kitchen with our arms so full of bags we had to slide in sideways to clear it. Carlisle was seemingly waiting for us in the kitchen as we entered, his smile wide as the crackle of the bags filled the silent room.

"Looks like you girls had fun."

"We did, thank you," I offered with a smile. "And thanks for taking us, Tanya."

Tanya ignored me, but kissed Carlisle on the lips as she passed, wiping the excess lipstick from his bottom lip as she went. "I'm off to get ready. Not sure how late we'll be out it's margarita night at Kate's."

Carlisle nodded but it was the only acknowledgment he gave her, and she didn't seem to notice either as she continued out of the room. One of the things I'd noticed since being here was the constant lack of communication between them, it seemed that no one really talked about anything, just informed the others what they were doing and what to expect. I didn't know how anything got done with an attitude like that.

"Leah," Carlisle spoke, bringing the attention back to him as the situation was pushed to the wayside. "Bella speaks of you often, it's nice to finally meet you."

"You too, Dr. Cullen."

Carlisle smiled as we put the bags down and Leah offered her hand; he took it without hesitation, comfortable with the formality of the gesture. Something that neither of us had figured out yet.

"I hope you don't mind, Bella, but I took the liberty of ordering you a bank card after you agreed to come and stay. I know you don't particularly like the idea, but it would put my mind at ease knowing you have money should you want or need it. Emmett also made a good suggestion to save you both some time," he said, picking up a bag and pushing it at me awkwardly. The name on the side instantly gave away his gesture. "He said that you missed one another and we thought this may make the adjustment a little less . . . uncomfortable."

"You didn't have to do that," I grinned, wondering if he would object to the hug that I felt the need to give him. The lines between us were still slightly blurred considering we were so unfamiliar with one another.

"I wanted to, the two of you have grown up together, it's to make you both more accessible to one another, and a gesture of good will to Leah so she'd know we're not trying to steal you," he laughed and winked at Leah, who did nothing but giggle.

I took my chances and stepped forward, wrapping my arms awkwardly around his waist. I was surprised how comfortable he seemed to be with the gesture, his arms wrapping around my shoulders as he squeezed gently.

"Thank you," I said into his chest before stepping back to look up at him.

"You're welcome, I know how different this all is for you."

"'Thank you, Dr. Cullen, it's a very sweet thought."

It was then that Peter decided to make an appearance. His eyes widening as he drank in Leah from the top of her head to her toes. I wasn't sure how he managed it, but he seemed able to give off the mental image that he was staring at you with nothing at all on. It made me uncomfortable, but Leah seemed to choose to ignore him.

"Well, I have a trustees dinner this evening, but maybe we can all do dinner tomorrow night?"

I nodded and stepped out of his arms, taking the hint that he had to get going. I stepped toward Leah and offered him one last smile as he excused himself, leaving us alone with Peter in the otherwise empty kitchen.

"Your dad is really good at that," Peter said in the same bored tone he'd used every other time he'd addressed me.

"Good at what?" I sighed, my resolution to just ignore him crumbling.

"Buying affection. He wants to get to know you, so he'll start by buying you things so you have a common ground to talk about."

Leah stepped around me in a defensive movement, her body rigid with anger as she appraised the guy standing, staring into the refrigerator. "What's your problem?"

Peter turned around, one side of his mouth curled up in a smile as his eyes appraised Leah's legs. His eyes had the ability to make my skin crawl. "What's your name?"

"None of your goddamn business," Leah snapped, her legs bending as she picked up the bags she'd dropped around her. Peter's head cocked to the side and he ran his tongue along his bottom lip hungrily. "And I would advise you to watch your eyes kid, Bella is a lot more forgiving than I am."

Peter laughed and pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator, never taking his eyes from Leah. "I like your friend, Bella. I'm hoping we get to meet again."

"Nice, Peter," I sighed, picking up my bags and shuddering as I felt his eyes on my ass. "Have a nice night."

Leah and I made a quick exit, holding in our reactions until we were out of earshot.

"He's creepy, Bells. I hope you lock your door at night."

"He makes my skin crawl," I admitted, giving off one last shudder before we reached the stairs.

We didn't get very far. It seemed that the house was fully occupied today, all of the Cullen's seemed to be hanging around the house and popping out when the heard the new voice.

"Leah, you made it," Emmett crowed as he stepped out of the living room.

"Emmett, nice to see you again," Leah laughed, dropping the bags and offering him a hug. It seemed Emmett had that effect on people; he'd made the gesture when he'd come to pick me up, but Leah reciprocating now was still a bit of a shock.

"You girls need some help?" Emmett offered as he released Leah, stepped to me and punched my shoulder gently.

"If you wanna grab those, I still have to get my stuff from my car," Leah said, nodding to the bags she'd just discarded.

"That little yellow thing out there yours?"

"It is." Leah beamed proudly, digging in her purse for her keys before throwing it over my neck and heading toward the door. "Wait for me though, I have no idea where I'm going."

She dashed out the front door, pulling it to behind her as she went. Emmett picked up all the bags from the floor with one hand and gave me a grin. "You wanna do dinner tonight? Jasper's bored, Edward and Rosie are doing some date night thing and Peter - well, he's Peter, who the fuck knows what he gets up to?"

"Sure, I don't think we have anything else planned."

"Oh, and you have a package on your bed, be prepared to cry, we all got one."

"What is it?" I didn't think I could handle any more gifts, especially after Peter's comment in the kitchen. I could see the truth behind his words, but in no way did that mean I agreed with him. The bond between Carlisle and me was still so new, and I wasn't a step child, I was part of him, his blood pulsed through my veins.

Of course Emmett's answer threw me completely off guard. Whatever fleeting thought I'd had, I was nowhere close to the unhappy surprise Emmett had spoiled.

"Uniform," Emmett groaned, rolling his eyes. "At least the girls get more options than we do."

"We wear uniforms?" I hadn't even thought about that when Carlisle had told me it was a private school. In fact, I'd thought that was the idea behind the shopping trip today. Apparently, I had been so very wrong, and Tanya had wanted to shape me for general appearance.

Emmett laughed, not answering me as the front door opened again and revealed Leah with her bags.

"What's so funny?"

"You'll see," Emmett answered, heading toward the stairs.

Leah gave me a look, but followed behind Emmett rather than questioning me and the look of utter horror I was sure was on my face. Her smile made it obvious that she realized it was humiliation rather than morality based.

It wasn't until we reached my room that I realized why Emmett had offered his chivalrous services. I could see his amusement at Leah's reaction the moment she saw the room. Her reaction was much like mine, mouth open with shock as her bags landed with a quiet thud on the hard wood floors. The natural light of the windows were constantly filling the room, the huge bed with the new frame looked just as inviting as it had when I'd first stepped in the room. Leah took off and launched herself onto the bed with a quiet squeal of delight.

"This is your room?" she asked when she'd finally stopped bouncing long enough to quiet her giggles. "Not too shabby, Bells."

Emmett chuckled behind me and placed the bags off to the side before stepping further into the room to stand next to me. For being a member of this family, his enjoyment of Leah's reaction seemed out of place. Nevertheless, I didn't doubt the genuineness of his reaction -- it suited him.

"You should see Izzy's room, it's like Rainbow Bright threw up in there. Mom almost did the same in here, but Carlisle and I convinced her to tone it down a bit, figured Bella wasn't a pink kinda girl."

"She's not but it would have been hilarious to see her reaction."

I held my hand up in front of my face and waved it around before punching Emmett in the arm.

"What was that for?"

"I'm trying to break you of the habit of talking about me like I'm not in the room."

Emmett's dimples were the first indication of his smile, and Leah fell into her usual laughter on the bed. She rolled onto her back as it subsided, and I took my opportunity while I had it. I took off toward the bed and sprang at Leah as though I was aiming for her. She curled into a ball the moment I got close, but I managed to pull off what I was attempting to do and bounced over her easily.

Our hands and legs went to work quickly as we fought to push one another off the bed, our laughs and shouts muffled by our squeals and laughter. It took us both a while to realize that the booming laugh of Emmett was almost subdued to a chuckle.

"You know, if Bella wasn't my sister i could be the luckiest guy on the face of the planet. You wouldn't believe how many teenage boy fantasies revolve around pillow fights. I just can't wrap my head around the Bella is my sister thing though."

Leah and I looked at one another and burst into fits of laughter. Only Emmett could get away with saying something that eluded to our play fighting as something sexual and not make us feel weird about it. In most ways, he was my brother and as he'd said himself, I couldn't look at him as anything but that now.

He shook his head and pulled one of the pillows from the couch and threw it at us. "I'm going to call Jay, maybe you two should start getting ready, I know how long it takes chicks to get dressed."

"I'll bet we can be ready before you are," Leah challenged, raising her eyebrows.

"You sure you want to make a bet you can't win?"

"Oh we can win," Leah said, raising her eyebrows. Her head turned to me and she winked with her tongue between her teeth. "Especially if Bella and I decide to conserve water."

Emmett made a choking noise from where he was standing that only made Leah and I fall into a torrent of laughter that neither of us could stop.

"You're trouble together, Jay is going to have a field day with the two of you," Emmett said, shaking his head, bringing another bout of giggles from Leah and me. "At least it won't be boring."

Emmett turned around and headed for the stairs, his smile and shaking head indicating that he was still highly entertained at the thought of the evening ahead. Leah and I were known for pushing our luck with Jacob, but this comfort we had with Emmett was new to us both and, more than anything, proved to me that my sibling relationship with Emmett was something tangible, a bond held in place by our similarities, rather than the tenuous thread that could snap at anytime between myself and the other two.

"Be ready by seven, we're riding with Jasper tonight."

Leah and I waved him off as the dissonance of our laughter quieted a little. Rather than pushing, we were both flat on our back, dragging in the air to try and stop the ache in our ribs as the click of the door sounded from the bottom of the stairs.

"He's more fun than Jake to play with," Leah sighed, twisting her body as she tried to work the kinks out of her side. "And Jay . . . that wouldn't be Jasper would it?"

"Oh don't start that, Lee," I groaned, trying to sit up, my ribs aching slightly from the laughter.

"Start what?" she asked innocently, bouncing to the edge of the bed. "I was just curious. What are you hiding, Miss Swan?"

"I'm not hiding a thing," I answered, tugging on her hair playfully. "Just don't start anything, Emmett was right about Jasper having a field day."

"We'll see . . ." Leah smirked.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at that. Leah had seen that as a challenge, and although it would make for a highly entertaining evening, it was also bound to leave an impression. I was confident with Leah around; I was myself and unafraid of making an ass of myself because I knew she loved me regardless. When she wasn't there, it was a different story; I was unsure of how I would be received, I didn't have the security of knowing that I was loved regardless of what I said and did in the moment, I didn't have her to cover my mouth and shut me up before I went too far, even if she did finish the sentence off in a whisper and an 'I know.'

Leah ate her words the minute she got in the shower. Thankfully, I had enough sense to hop in before her, knowing that she would find the falling water as irresistible as I had the first time I had climbed in there. I was sitting at the vanity doing my hair and makeup as she showered. Her comments making me have to stop periodically to regain my composure from the fits of laughter she constantly had me in. By the time I was finished, I had to reach in and turn the water off so she would get out of there.

I'd hung up all of my new clothes before jumping in the shower, and it didn't take me long to find something to wear. I dressed quickly and started playing with my new phone. Carlisle had labeled the boxes and when I opened them I saw why. My phonebook already had the numbers of all the family members and Leah, and I could only assume Emmett had found access to the phones too because I had the numbers to Rosalie, Jasper, Edward and some other people I remembered meeting at the party. It was, however, the picture attached to his number that tipped the scale. It was a picture of my bedroom door with his hand flicking it off.

"What are you smiling at, Whore?"

I showed Leah the phone which immediately had her pulling hers out to check the picture he'd attached to hers. Hers had a picture of her car, him at the driver's side window pretending to break in.

"He's such a dork," she laughed. Holding up the phone to take a picture of me.

"What are you doing?"

"It's for your contact page, you look hot," she smirked, hitting the screen and grinning. "It wouldn't be for Jasper, would it?"

"Okay, I am changing and getting into bed," I sighed, standing up and tugging the buttons of my shirt open.

"Oh shut up, you wouldn't do that to me."

"Oh wouldn't I?" I asked, undoing another button and heading toward the closet.

"Oh come on you whore," she laughed, tugging the strands of my hair so I stumbled backward. "I promise, no more innuendo."

"You give up far too easily," I laughed, redoing the buttons on the front of the shirt as I looked at the clock. "Come on, time to go."

I picked up my bag and made my way to the stairs, wobbling down them as I gripped the railings for dear life. I was sure I would regret wearing the heels, but Tanya had threatened me, in no uncertain terms, that if she saw me in anything other than pyjama's without heels, she would cut up all my tennis shoes and flip flops so I wouldn't be tempted to wear them again. Considering I was quite attached to my own shoes, I was following the rules under duress.

I fell through the door at the bottom of the stairs, laughing hard as I almost knocked someone over. Leah's laughter echoed behind me.

"Shut up, bitch," I laughed without thinking about it. My mouth snapped shut as I looked up into my mirror image.

"Ahh ya whore, you look drunk," Leah laughed, stepping out the door. She froze the moment she saw the double image in front of her. "Shit, that's insane."

"Watch where you're going, and you may want to rein in the other bayou rat you dragged in."

"Excuse me?" Leah snapped, her sense of humor evaporating in record time. "You may want to watch how you talk to me. You may have Bella's face, but I'm not beyond slapping the shit out of you."

"Nice friend, you may look the part but you still sound common," Izzy snapped, her heels staccato against the wood floor as she walked away.

"Oh my God, I can see her roots," Leah stage whispered, making the laughter bubble in my chest. I tried to hide my face as Elizabeth's hand instinctively moved to her hair, but it was useless. Leah snorted beside me and hummed "You're so vain" as she looped her arm with mine and moved us toward the stairs.

"She's gonna make my life miserable," I sighed as I finally managed to get the laugh out of my voice.

"I'm sorry, but I don't like the other you, she's rude."

"I know, but I have to play nice."

"I don't, and anyway, there's no rules to this. There's no right way of handling it. What's to say that you being passive aggressive isn't giving her all the power? So she runs to daddy and makes Bella the bad guy, you think he doesn't know how manipulative and conniving his own daughter is?"

"Lee, I just want a chance to get to know her."

"Why?" Leah laughed, stopping us when we reached the foyer. "She's nothing compared to you. All you have to do is be yourself; you've never said something that cruel to anyone. I mean, even when that horrid girl from Lafayette was dating Jared before he met Kim, she was a nasty piece of work, and even when she stole your bracelet from the bathroom you didn't yell or scream and call her names when you would have been more than justified to do it."

"That was different though," I laughed, nudging her shoulder with mine. "You did all that for me."

"Yeah well, she deserved it. She was sleeping with most of the boys in the senior class, and poor Jared had no idea."

We both laughed at the memory. It was the last time she'd ever come to our small community, especially since Jared had dropped her like a bad habit when Leah had called her out in front of all our friends.

"Who's this then?"

I looked up and blushed scarlet as Jasper stepped out of the living room and leaned against the door frame. He looked even better than he had the other night, his shaggy blond hair falling into his eyes as his lean, sinewy body moved gently under his shirt as he flexed his muscles.

"Hey, Jasper," I forced out with a smile. "This is Leah, she's been my best friend since birth."

"Good to meet you, Leah," Jasper offered, flashing his perfect smile. "Would you be the one I talk to in order to convince Bella to make her blush like that somewhere private?"

"Oh Jesus, you weren't lying were you?" Leah laughed.

"She talked about me? I guess that's a start at least."

Leah looked between us, her eyes sparkling under her dark lashes as her mind went to work. It wasn't a look I enjoyed, and I knew nothing good could possibly come of it. Leah was dangerous when she got this look, and I could only imagine what was coming next.

It never came though, either Emmett's arrival interrupted the plan in action or she was lying in wait for the perfect moment to bring it into light. I wasn't sure which terrified me more.

"Ready to go?" Emmett asked, moving to the door, eyeing Leah with the same curiosity that I felt.

"I'm always ready to go," Jasper laughed, his smile infectious. I couldn't help but laugh at him, spending all my time with him at the party had desensitized me to his crude sense of humor and constant innuendos. I almost expected it from him.

"Where are we going?" I asked, finally curious. It wasn't as though I'd seen a lot of the city since I'd been here. It was mostly the garden district. Not that I was complaining.

"Well, we're going to eat, then I have a friend who started Tulane this year, there's a couple parties going on around the area."

"You're taking us to college parties?"

"Not technically, it's more private parties. People who rent houses around the campus; he met a couple sophomore chicks and they invited him and his friends."

"Us being the friends?" Leah asked with a grin.

"Garrett's a good guy, he's fun and it's free beer."

"I'm in," Leah said, nudging me.

"Me too."

"Excellent, then let's go eat."

Thankfully Emmett sat up front with Jasper, while Leah and I sat in the back talking quietly as she communicated how hot Jasper was without saying a word.

Dinner went somewhat normally; it wasn't until Jasper dropped his fork twice that I realized exactly what Leah's plan had been. The first time, she sat quietly, eating and chatting with Emmett and me as her eyes watched Jasper. It was like she could read him, as though she was expecting it.

The second time, I felt Leah's hand high on my thigh squeezing. I looked over at her wide eyed, but she nodded at Jasper; instantly Emmett and I bit back our laughter, trying with everything we could to keep a straight face, when he popped back up, his eyes flickering between Leah and me.

He didn't go under the table again, but we could feel his eyes in the rear view mirror at every red light on the way to the party. The third time he did it, Leah leaned closer to me, her mouth inches from my ear.

"He's so easy to fuck with, just bite your lip like I'm saying something suggestive, then giggle."

I bit my lip and improvised with the giggle, my hand running through my hair as I rolled my eyes. It was a corporeal joke to be playing, but I could see the reactions it was getting from Jasper, and it took everything in me not to laugh.

"You have to be fucking with me."

"What?" Emmett laughed then looked back at us with his eyes wide. I could see him trying as hard as he could to not laugh. "Oh, they do that. You should have seen it earlier man, they had a pillow fight."

"Shut the fuck up."

"You think I'm fucking with you?"

"Yeah, I think you're fucking with me, I think you all are."

Leah, Emmett and I burst into laughter as the car behind us honked with contempt. I wasn't sure how long the light had been green, but it seemed it had been a while, considering the length of the horn blare.

"Sorry, Jay," Emmett laughed, clapping him on the shoulder, his smile wide. "I told you they were wild together."

"So the pillow fight . . ." Jasper asked, disappointment evident in his tone.

"That was the truth," Emmett answered, "But they were fully dressed and not so many pillows were involved."

"You just killed the visual, couldn't you have, I dunno, lied?"

The comment sent another wave of raucous laughter through the car, but we were laughing together this time. It lightened the atmosphere that had steadily grown with Jasper's sexual tension.

The party wasn't everything it was cracked up to be. There was a keg and music, but the four of us had more fun together than branching out and interacting with the other people there. Leah and Emmett were dancing in the middle of the room while Jasper and I hung out on the couch.

"So where was this Bella the other night?" Jasper asked, taking a mouthful of beer as his other arm slid around my shoulder.

"I was there, but I didn't know anybody. When Edward started commenting with his toasts, I'd had enough."

"I probably wasn't helping then," Jasper said, squeezing my shoulder and offering me a smile. "I know I talk a lot of shit, but I have a feeling you see through that."

"I do," I laughed. " I also saw that you bent over backwards to make me feel included."

"Anyone who can manage Emmett the way you do can't be half bad."

"Emmett?"

"Yeah, Emmett. He has a heart of gold, and he has tried to keep Izzy included as much as he can, but he does talk shit about her. He's not a puppy dog; he can only take so much. With you, he's protective like most brothers would be. He gave Edward shit for what he said to you, he wouldn't have done that for Izzy."

"Is she really as bad as people make her out to be?"

"If Emmett told you she was bad, you can probably square that and multiply it by a hundred. Why? You think you can crack her?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, turning on the couch so we were facing one another. Jasper's arm dropped from my shoulder and sat between us on my knee.

"The icy veneer. I think Emmett's nice to her because, underneath all of that talk, he believes there's someone who feels."

"What do you think?"

"Me?" Jasper laughed, his eyebrows raising.

"No the drunk guy throwing up on the lawn."

"I think she's a cold hearted bitch who thinks about one person, herself."

I closed my eyes and thought about the words he'd used. They were similar to the ones I used to describe Renée on more than one occasion.

"I'm sorry, I should have kept my mouth shut," Jasper said, picking up my hand and squeezing it. This was the first time I'd ever seen him this serious.

"No, I was just thinking of someone she reminded me of," I smiled. "Why don't we drop that topic of conversation and move on to something else?"

"Like you dancing with me?"

"I don't dance," I laughed, fighting to get out of the grip on my hand he was using to pull me from my seat.

"I don't believe that for a second, get your ass up and dance with me before you give me a complex."

"What's the matter? Don't deal well with rejection?"

"You're not rejecting me." Jasper pulled me with more effort this time; the heels seemed to work against me rather than with me, giving him the advantage.

"Oh really?" I laughed, my hands on his arms, trying to focus on the conversation rather than the feel of his muscles tensing and relaxing under my grip.

"Yes, really. If we're going to be friends . . . which we already are because you take my bullshit in your stride - then you're going to have to get used to being my unofficial official date, which means dancing and hugging, and making with the fake loving."

I threw my head back and laughed, letting him guide me onto the dance floor.

A/N: I know there wasn't much progress in this chapter, but I needed to establish Bella and her new circle of friends and how they include Leah in their stride. Leah has kind of established some of her own rules, and in giving Bella her confidence, has cemented Bella's friendship with both Emmett and Jasper.

I have to admit, I've been having fun with this Jasper in the last couple chapters and I'm so happy that most of you enjoyed him, and unfortunately I am not currently accepting bribes to make it a Jasper x Bella story lol.

Thank you to my wonderful beta, Annabanana, who corrects my horrific grammar and punctuation. If only there was a life beta!! I think it would help me out!!

Thanks to my prereaders/handholders/plot bunnies miztrezboo, bendingmirrors and hev99. All three of them are amazing writers, and I am so honored that they take time out to read through chapters for me. I love them dearly and would be a snotsnobbing mess without them!! Love you ladies :)

i would also like to thank the ladies on the forum, in particular dizziestdaydream and Salix Caprea. both of them always have the most amazing comments and they ask the best questions. Thank you both for being so fabulous.

I would also like to thank the reviewers. All of you make me smile, and I love that you seem to enjoy the characters as much as I do. Your comments and questions are all amazing and i love each and every one of you for taking the time out to let me know what you think. Each and every one of you are amazing.

The blog was updated last night so all that and the chapter song should be available.

Much love and huge hugs ~Weezy~