Edward:

After school, Alice and I went to the mall in Port Angeles together. Alice had intended to go alone to buy Bella's wardrobe alone, but it occurred to me that I could get Bella some more books if I went too, and the second I considered it, Alice was so excited about our sibling-bonding-mall-trip that I couldn't tell her no. The streets were pretty empty, which was to be expected for going somewhere in the middle of the day in the middle of the week on this highway. Alice had taken the wheel of the car, and she was so excited that she sped more so than we usually do. I caught her wishing that she had a nice sports car to really take out for a spin, and she considered getting Rose to take a road trip with her in her convertible. She looked to the near future for a good time to go, and saw that two weekends from now would be sunny.

"Not good for a road trip, but perfect for a hunting expedition," she suggested. I knew Emmett had been dying for a good long trip, and I thought maybe if we all went, it would appease him.

Alice frowned, the idea of bringing Bella on a hunting trip made the whole thing go iffy. Everything became hard to follow and the possibilities branched out into thousands of futures.

"Okay, so maybe not then," I said.

"Yeah, it might be a bad idea," she admitted.

We arrived at the mall in record time, and Alice rushed in and made a beeline for the most expensive store Port Angeles could afford. I followed her dutifully, but she stopped short just outside of the store's doors. An unexpected vision hit her. She would buy Bella all of the best and most expensive fashion she could find, and Bella would hate it all.

How can she not like Valentino?! Alice mentally screeched. She tried planning different things. She decided to buy her Prada instead, then Fendi, Armani, and Chanel, and she saw the same reactions. Everything from politely suggesting she just borrow more of Esme's clothes to frustrated screaming about deathtrap shoes.

I thought that maybe Bella would just like some regular clothes from the little Gap store, and Alice's visions shifted to Bella wearing a pair of jeans and a tee shirt and looking completely at ease. I didn't blame her. The Bella in those visions pulled off the casual look– though maybe it was just because she finally looked like she wasn't crawling in her own skin.

No. We are not going to the GAP! Alice protested. She was upset enough already that Bella had such a 'horrible, backwards fashion sense,' so I didn't fight her on it. Alice ended up buying Bella an armful of fancy and expensive dresses and outfits, but with a little convincing, conceded to also buy her some pairs of high-end jeans and Prada luxury tee shirts. In all of her visions, those were the only things Bella was going to wear.

The other thing Alice could see clearly in all of her vision was Rosalie's jealously. We both knew Rose had more than enough clothes, and couldn't compare herself to Bella who literally had none. I wanted to ignore the vision, if Rose was going to be snooty and petty, then let her.

Alice saw the future in which I was telling off Rose for acting like a child.

Come on, Edward, play nice. She's our sister, Alice thought as she pulled up a red dress in Rose's size. The future shifted again, and in this one, Rose was smiling instead of pouting.

I still thought she was acting like a spoiled brat, but I conceded that it would be nice to see Rose happy about something. She'd certainly taken the addition of Bella to the family the hardest.

There's no reason for us to ignore her if we know how to cheer her up, even if she is been overdramatic, Alice chided. She was right of course, and Rosalie was going to love it when we came home with jeans and tee shirts for Bella and ball gowns for her.

After we had too many bags, or just enough bags, as Alice thought of them, I considered again going to the bookstore.

"I think it's a great idea!" Alice said, seeing my intent. She couldn't concretely see Bella's reaction to the books yet, because I hadn't decided which ones I would buy her, but most of the options were at least pleasant.

Once we were in the bookstore, I pulled up a handful of Shakespeare, because she had loved Romeo and Juliet so much. Then I picked up some classical novels, and when Alice saw that she would love them, I grabbed as many of the famous classics I could find.

I brought the mountain of books to the cash register, and plopped them down on the counter.

Woah. Moving to a desert island? I wonder if this guy has ever heard of eBooks, the cashier thought. She was a tall, black haired girl, and her thoughts indicated that the end of her shift was upon her.

"Did you find everythi–" Oh my God, he's hot. "Um… find everything okay? Uh, sir?" Sir? What the hell is wrong with me, he's like my age. Why is he buying all these books? I'm sure he can find better entertainment anywhere he likes.

"Yes, I found everything just fine," I answered, desperately trying to cut off her thoughts before they went to things I didn't want to see.

A little embarrassed with herself, she checked me out and piled the books into two over-sized bags. I pretended they were heavy when I lifted them.

Alice, always in a hurry to make it to the future, rushed us out of the mall and back to the car. For once, I was sharing in her pace. I wanted to see the look on Bella's face when I gave her the big bags of books.


I feel like this story is moving to slowly, but every time I try to speed it up, someone else has something to brood over. Anyway, I hope everyone's liking it still :)