Merry Christmas! I'm sorry this wasn't up sooner, but I do have an excuse, even if you don't all want to hear it. My computer was broken for awhile, and then I lost power for a week due to the storm. It was quite ridiculous. Now my laptop is currently not working again, so I have no idea when I'll be able to update again. Hopefully soon, since I'm already half done the next chapter. But I hope you enjoy and I hope it tides you over until my next update. R&R please.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. =[

Chapter 12

When we reach the house, we're met with silence. Which is the complete opposite of what I was expecting. I expected Alice to be already outside just waiting for her chance to pull me away from Edward.

Since no one's outside rushing me to the sleepover, we just sit in the car for a few minutes. Edward's thumb continues to caress my knuckles. "Are you nervous?" he asks.

"About meeting your family or the slumber party?"

He grins. "Both." All I do is nod, which causes him to chuckle. "My family, you don't have to worry about. You're really only meeting Jasper and Esme. You already know Carlisle. And as for the kidnapping by Alice, if I hear even the littlest sound of pain, I'm tearing you away from her. She won't be alone with you for the rest of the weekend."

"Well, prepare your shining armor as soon as she gets me away. I have a feeling I'm going to need some saving."

He leans in and kisses my forehead. "Close your eyes and take a deep breath. No worries. My family will love you. Esme will want to adopt you as soon as she meets you. And once Emmett meets you, I'm sure he'll be keeping an eye on you for anything embarrassing. Jasper's quiet, but you'll feel how much he likes you. It'll all be fine."

I nod and just stare at him, my eyes alternating between his topaz ones and his marble lips. I'm assuming he gets the hint since he cups my face and gives me a real kiss. None of that kiss-on-the-forehead stuff. Although I do like that too.

Once he pulls away, he gets out of the car and comes to my door. We start walking as he grabs my hand and I'm surprised to discover that I'm not as nervous as I thought I'd be. Edward squeezes my hand and says, "Don't get too close to Jasper."

This stops me dead in my tracks. "Why?"

Edward looks worried as he answers. "He's the…newest to our lifestyle."

I swallow hard. "Is…is it safe to be around him?"

"Of course, I just want to stress the precautions you have to take around our kind." He can tell that he's freaked me out by the fact that I'm still not moving. He takes my face in his hands and makes me look in his eyes. I grasp his wrists in my hands as he speaks me to in a soothing tone. "It's fine. Jasper will be fine. He'll control himself. I promise no harm will come to you. I'll be by your side the entire time. Okay?"

I nod. "Okay."

He presses his lips to my forehead and takes my hand.

As soon as we step inside, the sight of an impatient Alice greets us. "What took you so long? I was about to come out there and drag you in here! And don't think I didn't notice what you were doing out there! We'll be discussing that later!"

"Calm down, Alice. You wanted us here, so we're here. Let's get this over with," Edward says calmly.

She grasps my hand to pull me into the living room, but Edward is still holding my other hand. It's like tug-of-war, only I'm the rope in this version. Alice stares pointedly at Edward, and, this time when she pulls, he goes along with the motion.

"Look who finally decided to get out of the car," Alice says to the people in the room.

I blush and feel Edward's grip on my hand tighten. I look up at him, but he's not looking at me. He's looking at Jasper. That explains it.

"Everyone, this is Bella. Bella, this is Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper."

"Great introductions, Alice," Edward says sarcastically. She sticks her tongue out at him.

"Hello Bella. It's so good to see you under different circumstances," Carlisle says.

"Yes, it's good to see you too. It would've been the first time too if Edward hadn't forced me to go to the hospital."

"You could've had a concussion," Edward interrupted.

"I had a bump on the head. It's nothing I couldn't have handled with some ice and a lot of aspirin. Trust me, I've had worse injuries."

"That I can believe," Jasper says chuckling. It's the first time I've heard him speak and I notice that he has a slight Southern accent. I can totally see why Alice fell for him. "You're constantly tripping over something. You're even losing your balance when there's nothing around you."

I blush again, because, hey, I'm constantly blushing when someone notices when I do something embarrassing. As my face reddens, the grip on my hand tightens. As much as I like holding Edward's hand, it's getting a little painful. I use my free hand to caress his fingers into a lighter hold, but it only causes him to look down at me. I glance at our joined hands and realization hits him as horror crosses his face. He gives me and apologetic look and brings my injured hand up to his lips. But as soon as he moves it away, he drops my hand and shoves both of his hands in his pockets. I frown.

"Sorry," Jasper says as Alice places her hand on his forearm. I'm confused. "That death grip was my fault. He's only trying to protect you." I study Jasper and he looks like he feels guilty and like he's beating himself up over it. I feel so bad. I'm angry at myself for making it so hard for him to control himself.

"It's okay. I completely understand. I'm sorry for tempting you."

"It's not your fault."

"It's not yours either." He smiles weakly at me and turns to Alice, who's whispering things to him that he only nods to.

When I turn away from Jasper, Esme appears in front of me and pulls me into a hug. I certainly see where Alice gets her bubbly-ness from. "Welcome. I'm so happy to finally meet you. Edward's been talking about you nonstop," she says when she pulls away.

"Really?" I say smirking at Edward.

"No. Alice talks about you too."

"Oh please. No one talks or thinks about Bella more than you do. Not even Mike."

"That's not true," Edward says.

"Yes, it is. Your decisions are always revolving around her. And your mind is constantly changing because you worry about how she'll react to the situation. You give me a headache, you change your mind that much."

This is when he starts pouting. Yes, Edward Cullen is pouting and it's absolutely adorable. Actually, no, scratch that. It's kinda sexy. Maybe I'll tell him later when he's not so worried about hurting me.

"Alice, stop teasing your brother," Esme scolds with a smile on her face. I can't help it; I giggle.

I instantly regret it. It reminds Alice that I'm in the room. An evil grin appears on her face. Now I'm kinda nervous.

"Well, it's time for me and Bella to start our slumber party. Good evening everyone," Alice says, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the room.

"Hold on," a velvety voice calls from behind me.

"No Edward. You've had her enough today. It's my turn."

"It'll only be for a moment."

"No."

"Mary Alice Cullen! Release Bella!" Edward says sternly. She pouts but lets go. "Thank you, Alice. Bella will meet you upstairs."

"But—"

"Thank you Alice."

She frowns even more and stamps up the stairs.

I grin and prance over to Edward. He takes my previously injured hand and brings it to eye level to inspect it. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, it's fine. You were just squeezing a little too tight."

"I'm sorry for hurting you."

"There's nothing to be sorry for. I just told you that you didn't hurt me. You could never hurt me."

"Bella."

"No, don't start. I don't want to hear it. You are good. You're not a monster. There is no evil bone in your body. And I don't want to hear you say otherwise." He nods. "Now, can I have some proper holding?"

He grins. "Of course." He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close. I rest my palms on his chest as he leans in. "Have I told you how phenomenal you look today?" he whispers in my ear. I shake my head although we both know he has. "Well, you look," he places a kiss right behind my ear, "absolutely stunning." He switches sides and places a kiss behind the other ear. "This color blue," his lips touch my forehead, "looks so exquisite against your skin." He moves his lips to the tip of my nose. "And I know this has nothing to do with your outfit, but your eyes are very vibrant today, so much life in them." He places a kiss on each of my eyelids. "I wish I would've invited you over instead of Alice," his lips move to about a centimeter away from my mouth, "so I could hold you in my arms all weekend." His mouth finally connects with mine and it's pure bliss. I push myself against him, the cloth of his shirt gripped in my hands, as he tugs me closer by the belt loops on my jeans.

When we pull apart, I slide my arms around his waist and rest my head on his chest. I feel his head fall on mine. "That was some goodnight kiss," I joke.

He chuckles. "I had to leave you with something to remember me by since Alice is planning to keep you away from me until school on Monday."

"Well, that's not going to happen. I am definitely going to see you before then. I will not allow Alice to do that." He smiles and kisses the top of my head.

"You should go before Alice starts a war."

"I don't want to. She's going to torture me."

"I'm sure it won't be that bad."

"Obviously you've never played Bella Barbie." He shakes his head. "You just prepare your armor and wait for my call of distress, which will be something along the lines of 'Damn it, Alice, my hair's supposed to stay on my head' or 'Ow, Alice, keep that thing out of my eye' or, my personal favorite, 'There is no way in hell that is an outfit.'"

He chuckles. "I'll go get ready as soon as you go to Alice's room."

"Fine, just point me in the direction."

"Upstairs, fourth door on the right."

"Okay, but where's your room?"

"Third floor, the door on the left. It's the only occupied room up there."

"Aren't you lucky? Or did they put you up there so they didn't have to deal with you?"

"Actually, it's because I play my music so loud they can probably hear it in Seattle."

I laugh. "So that is what I heard last time I was there. I mean, it sounded familiar. I should've known it was you. What other guy listens to Debussy and Warrant at the same time."

He grins and presses his lips to mine in a quick kiss. When he releases me, he pushes me towards the stairs. I climb three before I turn around and stare at him. He just shakes his head, smiling, and comes over to me. He cups my face in his hands and our lips meet. I smile against his mouth and he shakes his head again. I pull away slightly and feather a bunch of kisses on his face before turning on my heels and heading to Alice.

Once I reach the door, I knock and say, "Alice, it's me." I'm greeted with a hold on. I wait for a few minutes before I get lazy and slide down the way to the floor. After a few more minutes, I start humming to myself to pass the time. After a good twenty minutes, I knock on the door and yell, "Alice, if you don't let me in soon, I'm gonna go have a sleepover with Edward and you won't see me at all this weekend!"

"Jeez, woman, hold your horses!"

I hear shuffling around inside and the door opens. I stand up, only to come face-to-face with a good-looking Southern boy who goes by the name of Jasper. He stiffens as soon as he sees me. "Hello Bella," he says quietly.

"Hello Jasper," I say blushing. "How are you?"

He goes to answer, but he's cut off by a growl coming from the first floor. It's Edward. "I'm sorry about him," I say.

"It's no big deal. I do live with him."

"I'm sorry about me too. I wish I wasn't making it so hard for you to be around me. If only I wouldn't blush."

He chuckles. "Even with out the blushing, you still wouldn't be completely safe around me."

"Well, I'm not completely safe around anyone. I'm not even safe around myself."

"You got that right."

"Come on, Bella. Times a-wastin'," Alice says, coming into the hall. "Oh, Jazzy. You're still here.""

"Me and Bella were just talking. I'm leaving now. You ladies enjoy your evening," he says and bows with a smile on his face. I laugh and notice Alice is smiling with a lovey-dovey look on her face.

Jasper walks away and she snaps out of it.

"Let's begin, shall we? I was thinking we would start with makeovers and move onto girl talk. Then we can watch movies and eat popcorn and fantasize about all the gorgeous actors," she says pulling me into her room.

"I am not sleeping in this room, Alice!"

"Why not?" It finally dawns on her. "Oh. We didn't do anything. All we did was talk." I look at her doubtfully. "I swear. He was upset by his earlier thoughts and the way Edward reacted. He's ashamed that he can't control himself around humans yet," she says sadly.

She's over it in a few seconds. A bubbly smile appears on her face as she completely pulls me into the room. "Oh. My. God. Alice." I'm in shock. Her room is full of blankets and pillows and junk food. Magazines and movies are scattered haphazardly around the room. Her vanity table is full of makeup. The room's so packed you can't even see the floor.

"I know. It's wonderful, isn't it?"

"It's certainly something."

"You don't like it?" she pouts.

"No, Alice. That's not it. It's just a little much, isn't it?"

"Of course not. You can never have too much food and blankets and makeovers."

"Says the person who doesn't eat, sleep, or have to be the Barbie."

"Stop complaining. You'll have fun." I look at her doubtfully. "Come on, let's do makeovers. I'll do your makeup and then your hair. I'll pick out an outfit. ThenwecangoshowEdward."

"Excuse me, what was that last part?"

"I'll do your makeup?"

"After that."

"Pick out an outfit?"

"After?"

"Oh, you mean show Edward. It'll be fun, and he'll tell you exactly what he thinks. And once I'm done, I'm sure he'll be showing you rather than telling you." She winks and I blush.

"Now come and sit." Not that I have much of a choice as she forces me into the seat in front of the vanity table.

She starts "working her magic" with all kids of brushes and contraptions I've never even heard of, never mind used. Edward either forgot my calls for help or he can't hear me because he doesn't come to my rescue. I know it's neither. He probably just doesn't want to incur Alice's wrath. Friggen vampire.

Alice finishes my makeup and moves onto my hair. Once she finishes, she refuses to let me see until she's chosen an outfit. When she comes out of her closet, I downright complain.

"There is no way you're getting me into that!"

"Why not? It's all the rage in Europe."

"This is Forks, not Europe. And no one in their right mind would approve of that…that…piece of cloth!"

"Bella, I'll make you a deal. If you put this on, you don't have to come shopping with me tomorrow. I'll take Jasper."

I pause to consider this. It does sound like a good deal. Hours upon hours of shopping with Alice or fifteen minutes of appeasing her by putting on an outfit no one else will see? I think I'll choose the latter.

"Fine, Alice." I take the hanger she's holding out and change. This is how I end up in a jean miniskirt, which barely covers me, and a blue, long-sleeved shirt that hardly covers my chest. It's the least to say that I'm not comfortable in my new attire.

Then she calls Edward. What the hell!

He comes rushing to the hall and bangs on the door. "Is everything all right in there? Is Bella okay? Alice, I swear if you've done anything to harm her, I'll make sure everyone knows about your '80s days!"

Alice swings the door open. "You wouldn't!" she says horrified.

He ignores her and enters the room. He stops dead in his tracks as soon as he sees me. His gaze deepens as his eyes roam from head to toe. I blush and squirm under it. My uneasiness only increases. Stupid pixie.

"Well…aren't you going to tell her what you think of her outfit?" Alice says from behind him.

"You look…stunning."

"I look ridiculous."

He comes over to me and presses his lips to mine. "You look anything but ridiculous. I know it's not something you'd normally wear, but your legs go on for miles in that skirt and you look sexy showing off your flat stomach like that." I blush again, even deeper than before.

He goes to kiss me again but his lips never meet mine. Alice is pulling him away and pushing him out the door. "Thank you for your opinion, Edward. That's all we wanted. Now that we have it, you should return to whatever fun you were having so we can go back to girls' night."

"Alice, I demand you open the door."

"What was that, Edward? I can't hear you through the closed door!" she says back. She waits for him to head upstairs before turning back to me. "Now where were we?"

"I believe you were about to let me change out of this silly outfit and into some pajamas."

"Oh, right. I bought you some today while I was shopping. They're the cutest thing. I liked them so much, I bought some for myself too. Yours are blue and mine are pink," she says, digging them out of her closet.

She comes out of the smaller room attached to her bedroom—her closet—and holds up the pajamas. I have to admit, they are pretty cute. I smile as she continues holding up the more conservative clothes than what I'm wearing. The outfit is a pair of shorts, striped with different color blues, and a blue tank top.

"Hand it over, Alice," I demand. She grins, placing the hanger in my awaiting hand.

I smile and head into her closet, which also doubles as a changing room. I sigh in relief as the soft cotton touches my skin. So much better. "Where did you get these?" I ask Alice as I step back into her room. "I think I want another pair."

She's literally bouncing on the balls of her feet as she responds. "Victoria's Secret."

"Of course you did," I mumble, the smile leaving my face. That's not exactly a place I enjoy shopping. Whenever I go in there, I get self-conscious. They have these supermodel employees just waiting to assist you. Then when they do, it's like 'please, who're you trying to impress with that.' No thanks, I don't enjoy it. The only ones I want seeing me in my underwear are my boyfriend and me. Sorry ladies.

"So…" she says, bouncing up and down on her knees on the bed. "What's going on with you and Edward?"

I blush and look down at my lap. I'm now sitting on the bed with Alice. "Um, nothing's going on, Alice. What makes you think something's going on? I have a boyfriend."

"You mean besides the fact that he just came in here and kissed you senseless and that your heartbeat quickens whenever you even think about him?" She smiles. "I'm not blind, Bella. And even if I was, I would know even then," she says, tapping her temple.

"Fine, Alice. I like your brother. Whenever I see him, my day brightens and when someone speaks his name, I look around eager to see him. He's constantly in my thoughts and dreams. He won't stay out of my head. It's rather annoying actually."

She grins and is once again bouncing. I f I ever did that, I'd be tired by now. "I knew it! I knew you two would finally come to your senses! Have you two kissed anymore than what I just say?" I blush and avert my eyes. "You have! That's wonderful! When did it first happen? It was in the meadow, wasn't it?" My face only reddens. "It was! I knew it would be! Now you two will be inseparable! I'm so happy!"

"Alice!" I stop her from continuing her little rant. "I think you're forgetting one small detail: Mike."

"Oh yes. What are you going to do about him?"

"Alice, what's the point of even asking if you already know the answer?"

"It's more fun this way. It's a pain in the butt always knowing."

I decide to humor her. "I'm breaking up with him. I don't feel anything for him. I never loved him and I don't think I ever will. Besides, he treats me like property and no one owns me."

"I'm proud of you, Bella. My feminist at work." She smiles.

"Why, thank you, Alice. I'm so glad you approve," I tease.

She laughs and throws a pillow at me. I grin mischievously and throw one back at her. Her eyes sparkle. An all out pill fight ensues. Pillows are being thrown, laughs are filling the room, feathers are flying everywhere. We don't even notice the door open or Edward walk in.

What does alert me is the smell of food and my stomach growling. I look away long enough for Alice to hit me. I fall to the ground. They're at my side in an instant. "Oh my god, Bella! Are you okay? I swear I didn't mean to hit you that hard!"

Edward shoots her a look. "Bella, love, are you alright? Is anything hurt?"

I look back and forth between their worried expressions and all I can do is laugh. "That was so much fun! Are you sure you've never had a slumber party, Alice?" I say, still giggling.

Alice grins and giggles along with me. Edward shakes his head and says, "You two are absurd."

"But you still love me for it," I say smiling. He looks down at me and his face relaxes.

"That is true." He presses his lips to my forehead.

"My fall was partly your fault. You distracted me with food," I tease.

"That is true, as well." A smile tugs at the corners of his lips.

He stands to retrieve my food as I sit up and lean against the bed. "I apologize for not bringing it sooner. I forgot until Carlisle mentioned it."

"It's alright," I say, shoveling food into my mouth. "I didn't even realize I was hungry until I smelled the food."

I continue to stuff my face as Alice and Edward watch in amusement until Edward's phone rings.

"Hello?" he says, answering. "Yes, hold on. She's right here." He holds the phone out to me. I swallow what I have in my mouth and take it.

"Hello?" I say into the phone.

'Why was Cullen answering your phone?'

"Well, hello to you, too, Mike."

'I thought you were with Alice, not him!'

"I am with Alice! I left my phone downstairs! Edward brought it up with him when he brought us food! We were having so much fun, we forgot to eat! So stop treating me like I lied to you and stop acting like an insolent child!"

Edward bites his lip to hold back a laugh as Alice giggles into her hands to mute the sound.

I hear Mike take a deep breath before he speaks again. "I'm sorry. I never meant to act so rude."

"You're forgiven." This time Edward snorts. I wink at him. "Now, did you have a reason for calling or did you just want to see if I was where I said I'd be?"

"I, uh, was calling to see if we could get together tomorrow. I need to talk to you about something."

"That's fine, Mike. I have something I want to discuss with you as well. So I'll see you tomorrow, around two, at the diner."

"O-okay. See you then."

"Goodbye, Mike." I end the call before he can say anything else.

Alice laughs openly now. "You really told him."

"I told you before I don't like people treating me as if they own me."

"I'll keep that in mind," Edward says, a smile on his face.

"It'd probably be for the best that you did," I say, a smile tugging at my own lips. That is until I yawn.

"Oh, look, the human is tired."

"Ha ha, Alice. You caught me. How 'bout we pop in a movie and let the human sleep if she so chooses?"

She frowns. "I suppose we have the whole weekend to continue our fun."

"Glad you see it my way."

"I guess it's time for me to leave then," Edward kisses my forehead and tries to stand up. I grab his arm.

"Alice, don't you think more is always better when watching movies?"

"I guess," she says suspiciously.

"Then, wouldn't it be a great idea for Edward to join us?"

"Nuh-uh. No way. You were with Edward all day. I won't allow it."

"Come on, Alice. I'm going to end up falling asleep anyway, and I always sleep better when he's with me."

"Bella."

"Please Alice," I say with my best puppy dog expression.

"Fine!" I smile at her. "I've taught you way too well. How dare you steal that look from me!"

"I'm sorry, Alice. I'll never do it again."

"Yeah, right. You just sit back and enjoy your movie."

I grin and snuggle up to Edward, my head resting on his chest, him playing with my hair. The exact same position as in the meadow. He kisses the top of my head as I get closer to him.

Alice shakes her head as she pops in the movie. The opening credits begin to roll and that, combined with the feel of Edward's fingers in my hair, lulls me to sleep.