More Than Human Chapter 12: Complicated, a twilight fanfic

Title: More Than Human

Rating: M for graphic violence, for sexual situations, lemons, hot steamy angsty teenage lovin', underage drinking, smoking, drug use and overall bad behavior.

Premise: Bella is more than human. Renee makes the ultimate sacrifice to hide her with a father she never knew existed. Who can she trust when she finds more kids like her in Forks? Will they fight to help her or betray her to stay hidden? AU OOC ExB & JxB Lemons

Alternate Universe: Mostly all human. No vampires. Enhanced humans with powers and The Shop is hunting them. Pretty much OOC, ExB of course, but some JxB for a twist.

POV: BPOV (Bella) for the most part. POV may shift depending on who is narrating the story in some chapters. Any guest Narrators will be noted. The Prologue is from Charlie's POV.

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Author Notes:

Please note that this story is rated M for a reason, if you'd prefer not to deal with mature themes, please do not read this story.

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Chapter 12 Complicated

Jacob walked in last, hurrying to bring up the rear. Quil and Embry were ribbing him about lagging behind. Seth was looking around like he'd never been here before, but I didn't see his sister.

They walked in like they owned the place, loud and boisterous, telling inside jokes and commenting about what they saw and the people they passed.

Suddenly Jacob stopped and seemed to sniff like he'd caught a scent in the air. His head tracked around and then he was looking directly at me.

Our eyes met across the room and I felt an odd tingling sensation shoot down my spine, but it passed quickly. Jacob was smiling at me, and then he was moving across the room to me as though he was drawn by some kind of magnetic attraction. His buddies followed in tow, once they realized where he was going. They had smiles on their faces and seemed to exchange knowing glances as the group moved in my direction.

I was done with my snack and tossed the cardboard boat into the trash as I stood up to greet them.

"Hey, Jake, What are you doing here tonight?" I asked.

Jacob shrugged. "We were over at the skate park, shredding the bowl and getting our grind on, when I mentioned it's Friday night. They hold wrestling meets here like three times a year. It's always a good show and we don't mind cheering for Forks. They're close enough to be the home team."

"You skate? That's cool. I was never any good, but I like to watch."

"That's cool. Maybe I can show you the skate park sometime."

"Yeah, that wold be cool. So toy came to watch the wrestling tournament?"

"Yeah, but I knew you'd be here tonight and I wanted to see you."

"Umm… Yeah… Hey, the cheerleaders are about to do their routine… We can go into the gym to watch them…"

"Sweet!" Embry said. "I knew this wasn't going to be boring. C'mon, I need to check this out!"

We started moving towards the gym, and Jacob wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close as we followed Quil and Embry and Seth.

"Man, you are such a dog! One girl isn't good enough for you?" Quil asked as he shoved him in the shoulder.

"No way, dude! You might be whipped, but I can play the field. I'm young and free and no girl's tying me down!"

"Yeah, until her dad catches you and then it's shotgun time, bro. That or the rabbit dies."

"Not killing any rabbits anytime soon. I always wrap my meat, bro."

"Dude, she's on the pill…"

"She says she's on the pill. I'm supposed to just believe her?"

"God, you are such a dog!"

""What, I'm supposed to whipped like you or Paul or Sam and just date one girl for the rest of my life? I've got wild oats to sow, dude. I've got no problem planting them wherever the opportunity is ready and willing…"

I tuned Jacob's friends out as we left the lobby. It felt nice being close to Jacob and I liked it, but people were staring as walked into the gym and found seats. Jacob sat beside me and pulled me close with his arm around my waist, and we weren't sitting like we were just friends. He was treating me like his girlfriend, but everyone here had seen me being close like this with Edward all night.

It was definitely awkward, but I didn't know how to tell Jacob to back off and cool it. Part of me was trying to tell me this was wrong, but another part of me felt so right when I was close to Jacob. That part of me was making the decisions right now and I let him hold me as the cheerleaders started their routine.

Quil and Embry finally shut up and the guys watched the girls perform. They were more interested in watching the girls jump around in their short skirts than they were about arguing with each other.

The girls really were good. I relaxed into Jacob's side and rested my head on his shoulder as we watched. He was tracing patterns on my hip and upper thigh with his fingertips, and it felt nice to be close to him and just let go…

Jacob leaned down and kissed the top of my head, and then spoke quietly in my ear, "Hey, do you want to get out of here for a while? We could go for a walk, get some air…"

That sounded nice… I'd been thinking about sneaking outside for a cigarette for a while, and I'd been meaning to talk to Alice about it. We usually stepped out for a smoke now and then, but it would be nice to go for a walk with Jacob too.

"Ok…" I said.

Jacob got up and reached for my hand to pull me up and help me out of the bleachers. He kept my hand as we started walking and climbed down the stairs onto the gym floor.

I hadn't noticed the wrestling team come back in while the cheerleaders performed.

Something hard shoved into Jacob, pushing him sideways, pushing us apart as my hand was torn out of his…

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing with my girl?!" Somebody yelled. I knew that voice…

I was confused and a little disoriented. I was trying to figure out how we'd managed to stumble into somebody's dispute. The gym had been as quiet as it got at an event like this, and nobody was arguing before…, and then it hit me as I realized it was Edward shoving Jacob. This was our dispute… It was about all of us… All about me…

Jacob shoved Edward back off of him. "Dude, back off! She ain't your girl! We were just walking… Now get out of my face before I have to hurt you!"

"Bella's here with me tonight Black! We were fine until you showed up! Bella's going out with me tomorrow! She's made up her mind! Now get the hell out of here before I throw you out!" Edward was in his face, and he looked angry. His face was red and he was breathing hard as he shoved Jacob again, barely moving him.

"Dude, you are so out of your league! I know she's hanging out with you on Saturday. I'm cool with that. She does what she wants and chooses who she hangs with. She's going to dinner with me on Friday! Now get out of my face!" Jacob shoved Edward back.

Jacob had a couple of inches on Edward in height and had to be twenty or thirty pounds heavier, all solid muscle. Edward was pushed away and stumbled a couple of feet back before he caught his balance.

This was going to get ugly in a hurry. I saw Edward's arm haul back in a fist as he prepared to launch himself at Jacob.

Quil and Embry and Seth were flying out of the bleachers to back up Jacob if it came to a fight. Then Jasper and Emmett were there restraining Edward, holding him back.

"Get a grip, Edward," Jasper hissed in his ear, holding his arm while Emmett grappled his shoulder, restraining him from flying at Jacob.

I couldn't understand why Edward was letting this happen. He knew I was friends with Jacob too. Didn't he trust me to make up my own mind? Of course if I was honest with myself, things were getting out of hand. Jacob has kissed me last night, and I was pretty sure I would have kissed him again tonight if we'd gone outside like we'd been planning to.

I'd kissed Edward tonight too, and I was getting dangerously close to leading one of these guys on if I didn't make up my mind soon.

Then Charlie was there, wading into the middle of the action, putting on his cop hat as he tried to deal with the situation.

"Ok, let's take this down a notch, guys. What's going on here?"

"Jacob Black was Harassing Bella and I was defending her honor!" Edward exclaimed.

"You are so full it, dude! Bella and I were going for a walk. I asked her and she said ok, and then lover boy here shoved me from behind!"

"Ok, one at a time. Bella, tell me what happened." Charlie said, looking at me.

Everybody was looking at me. They were fighting over me. And now they wanted answers…

No answer I gave would be the right answer, whether I told the truth or lied.

"Umm… I was walking with Jacob and Edward shoved him…"

"Ok, I've heard enough," the wrestling coach, Mr. Chapman said. "Whitlock, McCarty, get Masen in the locker room. You need to cool off, son. I'll let you know if you can still wrestle tonight."

Charlie turned to Jacob. "Do you want to press charges? He started it and you defended yourself. It didn't come to blows but it's still an assault."

"No, I'm not hurt and I don't want to cause any grief. I don't need the law to back me up."

Charlie nodded and seemed to relax a little. "Fine, well steer clear of Edward for a while. Try not to provoke him, Jacob," Charlie said, glancing at me.

Jacob looked at me. He reached for my hand. "Did you still want to go for that walk, Bella?"

I stepped back and didn't take his hand. I looked down at my toes and wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Maybe now isn't the best time, Jacob. I don't want to be the cause of any problems… Maybe we should just cool it tonight… I'm supposed to go over to Alice's house tomorrow… I'll see you on Friday, ok?"

"Fine, I understand, but I didn't start this, and I saw you first. Cullen can have his shot, but you're my girl, not his…"

I looked up then, and looked him in the eye. "I'm not anybody's girl yet, and that's my decision."

Jacob seemed to rock back like I'd slapped him, but he nodded. "We're still good for Friday night?"

"Five o'clock, I'll be ready."

"Fine, Friday night you're mine."

"Do Harry and Sue now you brought Seth to Forks tonight, Jacob?" Charlie asked. "I don't see Leah around anywhere. I'm pretty sure Sue told Seth not to hang out with you guys unless Leah went with you…"

"Ah, Charlie, not you too," Seth complained. I'm old enough to decide who I hang with and what I do. Jacob and Quil and Embry are cool. We're just having fun…"

"You're all good kids, and I trust you, but you guys think up plenty of ways to find trouble when you're all together and have too much time on your hands."

"Maybe you should find something fun to do in La Push, before your mom and dad call me and I have to tell them where you are."

Charlie looked at Jacob and he didn't have to say it and spell it out for Jacob to take a hint. Jacob turned to look at Quil and Embry. "You want to stay or go?"

"Let's get out of here while we still can," Quil said.

"Yeah, let's hit the road before you get all our butts thrown in jail," Embry chimed in.

Jacob nodded to me and they moved towards the door. "Hey, he shoved me…"

"Let's blow," Embry said as he shoved several slips of paper into his pocket. "All these girls will have to go home by the time this is over…"

"How did you manage to get that many phone numbers in just a couple of minutes?" Seth asked with a touch of awe in his voice.

"Skill, brother, pure skill and cojones as big as my fist…"

Charlie shook his head, "That's trouble brewing, if I know those guys," and then turned to me after they walked out the door.

"This is gonna get ugly, Bella. You're playing with fire girl, and you better make up your mind in a hurry or these boys are gonna hurt themselves. Then I'm gonna have to step in and clean up the mess. I don't want to have to use my official position to settle this because you're involved and it's personal, but I will if I have to.

"If they step out of line chasing after you, I'll slap them down so hard; they won't know what hit them. Don't make me do that."

"I'm so sorry, Charlie… I don't want to be in the middle of this. I like them both so much… I don't want them fighting over me…"

"Well, they are. You're gonna have to make decisions, and the sooner you do the better."

I nodded and walked back to the bleachers to sit down. Alice sat down beside me.

"Well, that could have gone better," Alice said.

"Why did Edward do that, Alice? Why would he attack Jacob, doesn't he know we're friends? Jacob would never hurt me."

"You know the answer. Do I have to spell it out for you? You realize Edward is falling in love with you, right…?"

"I knew he liked me and we're getting closer… He's falling in love with me?"

Alice nodded.

"He hasn't said anything to me…"

Alice shrugged. "You said you'd say no if he even asked you to go on a date. You said you needed space. I guess you don't need as much space as he was giving you if you've got a date with Jacob."

"So maybe I'm ready to say yes now…"

"It might be nice if you let him know that."

"Alright, so what about Edward? Is he going to be in trouble? Will he get to wrestle in the rest of the tournament?"

"He's Edward, What do you think? He's working damage control right now."

"Oh…"

"What he did was wrong, Bella, but he's a good kid most of the time, and the coaches love him. Esme and Carlisle do a lot for the school too. Any other kid, and he pulled a stunt like that, they'd probably pull a three day suspension from school. He wouldn't wrestle again tonight, and he'd probably be off the team for the rest of the season. That's not going to happen to Edward."

"That doesn't seem quite fair, but I don't want to be the cause of him getting into trouble…"

"Then stop seeing Jacob Black, Bella. It's not that hard to figure out. I know you want Edward. Edward wants you too. You're so good together and good for each other. You're the one complicating this, Bella!"

"It's not that easy, Alice. If I told you to stop seeing Jasper could you do it?"

"No. Not in this lifetime."

"What if there were two Jaspers? What if you felt just as strongly about both of them, but you knew you had to pick one of them. How would you choose? Which one would you give up? Which one would you walk away from and tell to stay away?"

"That's an impossible choice. I'd love them both equally…"

"Welcome to my world. When you figure it out, let me know because I have no clue. Everybody has an opinion, but nothing that makes the choice any easier for me."

"Ok, maybe I'm beginning to get an Idea of what you've gotta deal with…"

"Thank you, Alice. It's good to have someone to talk too, I love all of you, but it's so frustrating at the same time."

"Why is that?"

"Everyone in my life right now, every girl or woman I can talk to about this are all firmly in the team Edward camp. You're all his sister or his mother, and of course you're going to think Jacob is the wrong choice and Edward is the right choice. Charlie tries to be impartial, and he's known Jacob since he was born, but he just wants me to decide so they don't kill each other. He isn't going to be happy with any boy that's dating his daughter."

"I suppose I didn't make a very favorable impression tonight, did I?" Edward said as he walked up beside us.

"I'll let you two talk," Alice said and got up to leave, giving us some space.

"So what the hell was that all about, Edward? She's mine? She's made her decision? What the hell gives you the right to go all caveman on Jacob and attack him like that? I don't want you fighting over me. I couldn't bear to see either of you hurt. It's so much worse when you're hurting each other because of me…"

"I'm sorry. I got jealous, seeing him sitting beside you, putting his hands on you… It was childish, but I'm not used to not getting my way. I suppose you could say I acted my age, but that would be an insult to seventeen year old boys."

"I guess there's nothing I can do about it. Jacob and I are friends. I'm not happy about any of this, Edward."

"I hope you don't think ill of me for this, but I am completely and utterly enthralled by you, Bella. You captivate my soul and I have to have you."

"I realize that now… I'm not ready to make any commitments to anyone yet, Edward…"

"Will you still come over tomorrow? Let me make this up to you and prove that I can be a gentleman?"

"Fine. I'll let this go tonight, but I'm not forgetting it or forgiving your actions. No more fighting, and I make my own decisions. You will not attack Jacob and you will not act jealous, or you'll make my decision for me. Do you understand, Edward?"

"So, you're going out with Jacob on Friday night?"

"Yes… You're not my boyfriend, Edward. Neither is Jacob. I'll date who I want to date and decide who I want to spend time with. If you can't deal with that, then we don't need to bother with tomorrow."

"I want to see you tomorrow. I was hoping you'd come to the wrestling meet in Bainbridge on Monday..."

"I don't want to sit in a car for three hours each way and get home at two in the morning. Besides, I think the time apart will do us good. You're ok with that, right?"

"I told you I'd accept your terms. I don't need to keep Jacob away from you for him to screw this up and lose you. You'll decide to be my girlfriend because you want to be with me, not him. You'll pick me because I'm the best choice for you."

"Are we arrogant much?"

"No, just confident that I know what you want and what's best for you. I see it every day in the mirror."

"So now you're god's gift to women?"

"I can have any woman I want. I'll settle for god's gift to Bella Swan and thank him for that honor every day of my life."

The scoring table announced the next match over the PA system, and Edward was called to wrestle. Apparently Alice was right, and Edward wasn't going to get suspended or kicked off the wrestling team, no matter how much he deserved it.

"Go on, go wrestle. Maybe this kid will kick your ass and knock some of that swagger out of your step."

"Not likely. So we're still on for tomorrow?"

"We're good, but if you fight with Jacob anymore, we're done."

Edward nodded, and looked me in the eye. I could feel all of his grave sincerity, and I knew he wasn't lying. "I'm sorry, Bella, and it won't happen again. You're too important to me." He got up and hurried away to the scoring table to check in.

The kid didn't kick his ass. None of them did. Edward went undefeated that night and won first place in his weight class. It was still scary to me watching him wrestle all those other boys, but I never had to step in and save him. It was good way to start the season.

~o~MTH~o~

Charlie got up to go fishing on Saturday morning like he did most weekends. I was planning on going over to the Cullens today to spend the day with Alice and maybe Edward if he still wanted to see me after what had happened at the wrestling tournament.

It was hard for me to sleep in. My internal clock woke me up early, despite turning off my alarm clock, and I was lying in bed staring at the clock when my alarm would have gone off. I didn't try to stay in bed and got up to start my day.

Charlie was long gone by the time I finally gave up on trying to sleep and got up to start my day. We'd already discussed our plans for the day. Charlie wouldn't be home until late this afternoon and had mentioned he might head over to La Push to visit Billy and Harry. I was on my own unless I called him, and he was ok with me going to the Cullens to see Alice as long as I called him if my plans changed. I was golden as long as I was in before midnight and he knew where I was.

I wasn't going to show up at Alice's house at the crack of dawn, and she was coming to pick me up regardless, so I just threw on some sweats and a tank top and got caught up on chores around the house. Charlie was too neat for a guy, so there wasn't a lot of cleaning to do, but I changed my sheets and collected all of my dirty laundry and washed clothes. I cleaned the bathroom before I showered and then went down to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Alice was picking me up around ten, so I went back upstairs after breakfast to start getting ready.

I didn't put a lot of effort into my hair and makeup. I knew Alice would want to play with it today, and I'd just be washing off anything I put on. I knew she'd want to style my hair, and I was cool with that, so I just brushed it out and left it loose.

I had a strategy for clothes today, and I knew it was going to make Alice both pleased and exasperated.

I'd decided to finally give in and wear a skirt today. I figured if I wore any of my jeans and t-shirts over to Alice's house, she'd have an opportunity to make them disappear. She'd want to dress me up in outfits like what I was planning to wear over to her house, and then I was sure she'd find some excuse to have me wear it home. She'd say she was going to launder my jeans, which I'd likely never ever see again. If I nipped that plan in the bud and wore clothes she'd picked out and 'loaned' to me when I went over to her house, then she wouldn't have an excuse to eliminate another pair of my jeans.

I could see her strategy. She was slowly replacing my wardrobe with more fashion forward items that she thought I ought to be wearing. I'd noticed things missing already, but they were always replaced with nicer higher quality clothes. I actually had more skirts and dresses in my closet than pants, and that was a situation that hadn't ever happened in my life before I met Alice.

I stood in front of my closet trying to pick out an outfit, and tried to remember the last time I had worn a dress somewhere. It threw me for a loop for a minute, and I really had to dig deep to think of a time I'd ever even worn a dress, not counting dress up with Alice or trying on clothes in a store, but really wearing a dress or a skirt out in public for clothes to go someplace.

Renee had never really dressed me up a lot in girly things. Dresses were special occasion clothes, and we were pretty casual people. I had a vague memory of a wedding I'd gone to for Phil's family when I was ten or eleven where I'd worn a dress, but it was very hard to think of times when I'd ever even worn one. I could probably count all the times on one hand without using all my fingers.

I shook my head to clear the memories and concentrated on the task at hand. I found a nice light brown skirt that hung past my knees and was full enough to swirl nicely. I picked out a one of the tops Alice had 'loaned me' to go with it. I had a feeling it was real silk and not a synthetic blend.

Then I picked out shoes to go with the outfit, but the only shoes Alice had stocked in my closet were heels that I would have classified as dangerously high before I met her. I didn't mind so much about the shoes anymore since I'd actually tried them and knew I wasn't going to break my neck wearing them. I selected a pair that I thought went with the outfit, and sat down to put them on.

I had no idea what the brand was, but I had a sneaking suspicion that they were designer and very expensive. I'd resisted googling the names on the labels on the shoes and clothes because I didn't want to know what they cost. I had a sneaking suspicion that the wardrobe in my closet was worth more than Charlie made in a year, but that was just insane.

Alice couldn't possibly be buying and giving me expensive designer clothes just to try and revamp and upscale my wardrobe. She was seventeen for god sake, and lived in a foster home. Then again, she did drive a Porsche and Edward had his own car. I knew doctors did pretty good, but she must have one hell of an allowance to even afford her car payment.

I went downstairs to wait for Alice when she said she'd be picking me up. I locked the door behind myself and was standing out on the porch smoking a cigarette when her yellow Porsche pulled up in front of the house.

I felt half naked, and had this irrational fear running through my head that I'd forgotten to put on my pants and everyone was going to stare at me. It felt so strange standing outside in front of the house, knowing there was nothing between my legs but my panties. The skirt covered everything, and hung past my knees, but it was still a very strange feeling for me to be dressed like this out in public. Shorts were a completely different experience than this. I didn't mind people looking at my legs, but the skirt made me feel like I was undressed or had forgotten to put something on.

I crushed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray on the porch and walked down to meet Alice. I didn't even stumble going down the steps, but I didn't try walking across the lawn, and stuck to the walkway. Walking outside on uneven surfaces was a new experience, and I was afraid my heels would sink into the ground if I tried to walk across the grass. I made it to the car without incident, and the shoes didn't even feel strange anymore.

"Very nice," Alice said with a huge smile on her face when I opened the passenger door to get in. "I guess I'm finally starting to rub off on you,"

I shrugged as I fastened my seatbelt. "I don't really like this, Alice. I feel half naked not wearing pants..."

"You'll get used to it. I like it. It's kind of nice actually, so why the sudden change of heart?"

"You would have had me dressed like this thirty minutes after we got to your house anyway, and I know my jeans are disappearing out of my room. I'm willing to compromise. You can pick out some clothes for me to wear when I go out, but quit making mine disappear, ok?"

"You'll wear an outfit like that to school?"

"Let's not get crazy here... Nobody dresses like this at school…"

"Jessica, Lauren, Sara, and a dozen other girls all wore skirts to school last week."

"They're all cheerleaders, Alice. Those were their cheerleader uniform skirts, and they wear tap pants under them."

"Other girls wear skirts to school…"

"You haven't since I met you. Pick your battles, Alice."

"I will if you will. Rose will too, and a lot of other girls wear skirts that aren't cheerleading uniforms…"

"Maybe in the spring, or when it gets closer to summer I'll be more comfortable with the idea."

"Fine, so you'd wear something like this to go out or maybe go shopping?"

"That might not be so bad..."

"That's not a yes, Bella."

"Fine, I'll wear something like this to go out or on a shopping trip, but school is out for now unless I see an awful lot of other girls dressing like this, and you leave my pants alone, ok?"

"See, that wasn't so difficult."

"That's wasn't a yes, Alice."

"Fine, you can wear jeans to school, but can we at least find you some designer jeans?"

"I can't afford designer jeans."

"I can, and I don't mind helping out."

"What do your parents think about that? I know doctors make good money, but don't they say anything about how much you spend, Alice? I haven't looked up any of these labels because I don't want to know. I'd probably complain a lot more if I knew how much you were spending, but I know this stuff isn't cheap…"

"Don't worry about the money, I don't. I just buy what I like, and you get what you pay for. Good shoes are worth their weight in gold."

"That's what I'm afraid of. I've never paid more than thirty or forty dollars for a pair of shoes in my life, and those were expensive dress shoes for me. I'm more of the twenty dollar Walmart sneakers kind of girl. I can't imagine paying over a hundred dollars for a pair of shoes…"

"A hundred dollars?! Silly Bella, you can't get decent shoes for that kind of money. I pay more than what you're willing to pay for shoes on the stockings I wear with them. Those shoes you're wearing cost…"

"Na na na na! Don't tell me! I don't want to know! I wouldn't be able to wear them if I knew how much they cost! I'd take them home and lock them in my closet and refuse to wear them! I'd be afraid to break them or scuff them or something."

"Fine, I won't tell you, but don't complain about the price if you don't want to know. Just be gracious and say thank you, and let it be the end of it, ok? I like nice things and like getting nice things for the people I care about."

"Thank you, Alice."

"You're welcome. You look pretty today. The biggest compliment you can give me is wearing the things I get for you. I don't buy them so you can stuff them in the back of your closet, and then wear some sweat shop rag that you bought at a discount store because it was cheap."

"Ok…"

"You're a girl. You should dress how you want to dress because you like it, not because you can afford it. I guess it's up to me to help you get back in touch with your feminine side."

"That's fine. I don't mind you helping, Alice. I'm just not used to this... I've never had much money to speak of. I've always had to live frugally. Jeans last a long time, and you can wear them anywhere."

"Not anywhere. Sometimes you just want to look and feel pretty."

"I was just thinking about that this morning when I was picking out this outfit. My mom never really ever dressed me in girly things. I can count the times I've ever even worn a dress out of the house on one hand, counting today."

"Well, that's just totally unacceptable, Bella. You know I'm not going to let that record stand."

"That's fine, but try and work inside my comfort zone, ok? This is going to take some time to get used to."

"I'm proud of you. You've taken your first steps into a much wider universe, young padawan."

"Seriously, you're paraphrasing Star Wars now?"

"Hey, Star Wars is cool, and you recognized the quote, so don't get all high and mighty with me."

"Ok, I might have watched a video or two in my time…"

"Uh huh, a video or two? What about the books on your book shelf then. It's ok to admit you like something, Bella. I won't hold it against you."

"Right…, so moving along, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Oh, I don't know… We can just play it by ear. I want to redo your nails. You can pick out the color, and then we can work on your hair and makeup. What do you want to do for dinner?"

"I thought we were eating at your house? Does Esme have something planned? I guess we could go back to my place if you wanted…"

"I was thinking about maybe grabbing the boys and heading out to Port Angeles for dinner. Rose and Emmett can tag along if they want to, and we could go to the movies, or maybe go dancing. There are some clubs that cater to the under twenty-one crowd out that way."

"A movie might be fun… but I can't dance…"

"You know saying something like that isn't going to get you out of it. I take a statement like that as a personal challenge. Girls are supposed to like to dance. Anyone can learn to dance, and if I can teach you to walk in those shoes, you can learn to dance."

"Alice! I'll go to a movie, ok?"

"Fine, but you know Edward is going to want to take you dancing once he finds out about this…"

"Then don't tell him…"

"Pftt… As if that's ever going to happen. He'll find out whether I tell him or not. You better shine up your dancing shoes, girlfriend."

"Not going to happen, Alice…"

"Sounds like famous last words to me."

Alice and I chatted as she drove us to her house. We had to drive out of Forks and cross to the other side of the river north of town to get to her house. It was a good thing Alice knew where he was going, because I would have been lost as soon as we turned off the highway.

She drove north out of town across the bridge and up the 101 heading north. It seemed like a long ways to me, and then she turned East off the highway and drove down a paved road that led into the forest. We passed some houses, but they grew further apart and more secluded as we wound north and east into the forest. Finally we turned off onto what looked like a private gravel road. I knew I would have missed it in the trees, but Alice seemed confident that she knew where he was going. I suppose that made sense, since she'd lived here for over two years.

Soon, we broke out of the trees and I recognized the lawn and the house.

I looked up at the house as we drove towards it. The house was a beautifully restored three story Victorian mansion. It was painted white, and had a columned porch that stretched around the front of the house out of view. It was set in a huge lawn or cultivated meadow. Six giant cedar trees surrounded the house and cradled it in perpetual shade. I could hear the river running in the background behind the house.

The driveway led out of the forest across the lawn and passed in front of the house in a half circle drive. The driveway continued around the house to the back of the property where there were additional out buildings.

Alice had parked out front the last time we were here. This time she pulled around back behind the big white three story mansion and used a remote to open a garage door and pulled into a huge garage before she parked the car.

The garage alone was bigger than Charlie's house. There was space to park eight or ten vehicles and a section set up like an auto shop bay complete with a car lift, diagnostic computers and equipment and several professional looking mechanics tool boxes.

Edward's Volvo was parked in the garage, and I recognized Esme's Mercedes. There was another red convertible BMW, a huge four-wheel drive jeep, a silver gray Camaro, and some sort of low black fast and powerful looking sports car that I didn't recognize the make of. I knew Alice's father had a big black Mercedes sedan, but it was gone, so he was probably at the hospital today.

"Wow, are all of these your cars?" I asked as we got out of the car.

"We keep these ones around to drive. The rest of the collection is in a warehouse in Chicago."

"The rest… How many cars do you own?"

"A few… Like I said, these are the ones we drive all the time or like to have on hand."

"Ok…"

I didn't ask whose car was whose because Alice was already heading for the door, and I had to hurry to keep up with her. She went out the door, and there was a short cement walkway leading to a back door into the house. I followed her up the steps and into the kitchen of the main house.

The last time I'd been here I'd just walked through the living room and gone upstairs to Alice's room. I hadn't been in this part of the house yet.

The kitchen was huge and modern with black granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. There was a huge stove and oven in a central island and a massive refrigerator. There was a built-in dish washer next to the large double sinks. There was a cozy looking breakfast table under windows looking out on the yard with six chairs around it and barstools at the counter opposite the stove.

Alice led me through the kitchen and through a formal dining room. The dining room was dominated by a huge antique looking dining room table and was large enough to provide seating for ten or twelve diners. There was a buffet cabinet under the window and a huge china cabinet on the opposite wall. A chandelier provided lighting for the room and there were silver candle sticks on the table.

The living room was huge as I remembered. It appeared to have been renovated from several smaller rooms, but the intervening walls had been removed to create a huge open space that nicely decorated in pastel shades. There were several couches, loveseats and armchairs arranged in conversation groups. There was a huge flatscreen TV mounted to the wall and a bunch of video game consoles. There were shelves of games and movies and several movie players for DVD, blue ray, and even VHS tapes. It appeared that the entire back wall of the room had been removed and replaced with huge glass panels that looked out on an expansive deck and a built in swimming pool and hot tub. I was astonished at how neat and clean everything looked when I knew there were three teenaged boys living here.

Several rooms opened off the main living room. There was a smaller family room and a music room. There was a raised dais separating the family room and living room with a full-sized concert grand piano, which I knew was Edward's.

Alice didn't even slow down as she led me towards the Curved stairway in the middle of the room, opposite the foyer leading to the front door, that led upstairs to the second story.

Jasper and Emmett were sitting in the living room playing video games, and just waved to us as we walked through, but Alice had to slowdown when we got to the stairs. Esme was coming down the stairs and we were forced to pause so we didn't run her over.

Esme was utterly stunning with long caramel-colored hair, but it was styled oddly today. It was curled under at the ends and looked kind of old fashioned like something you'd see in a black and white movie from the forties or fifties instead of just loose or her typical ponytail. It accentuated her heart-shaped face with delicate eyebrows and dimples. She was wearing a short sleeved dress today with a collar and lapels and short puff sleeves. The dress hung past her knees to mid-calf with low heeled pumps. She wore an apron over her dress like something out of the nineteen fifties. All she needed was the string of pearls and she could totally pull off June Cleaver from the old black and white Leave it to Beaver TV shows.

"Hi, girls," Esme said cheerfully as she stepped off the stairs. "You look so pretty today, Bella. Are you girls going upstairs to play?" She asked. Esme gave off that total mom vibe and could make me feel completely loved like I was five years old, but it didn't feel at all weird coming from her.

Thank you, Esme. You look nice today, too," I replied.

"Yes, mom," Alice answered. "I'm going to do Bella's nails, and then we wanted to try some hairstyles and makeup."

"Ok, well you girls have fun. Have you made plans for dinner yet?"

"I was thinking we might head out to Port Angeles for dinner if the rest of the kids want to tag along and get out of the house for a while."

"Oh... That might be nice. Carlisle is getting off at five. We could have the house all to ourselves for some private alone time if you all decided to go out. That could be fun..." Esme said thoughtfully as a smile spread across her face.

I seriously didn't want to know what she had planned for 'private alone time', but I had a pretty good idea, regardless. I doubted any of the other kids would want to disappoint her, so it looked like we were going out to dinner.

"We're going out, darlin'?" Jasper called from the sofa where he was playing video games with Emmett.

"Sure, if Edward wants to go with us..." Alice answered.

"He'll be there if Bella is going," Jasper replied.

"I guess me and Rosie will tag along too, so Esme and Carlisle can have the house to themselves tonight," Emmett said.

"Do you want me to make reservations?" Jasper asked.

"That would be great, Jazz. Can you check what's playing at the movies too?"

"No problem, Alice, I'll let you know," Jasper replied.

Alice just nodded and led me up the stairs to her room.

Carlisle and Esme's bedroom suite and Carlisle's study were on the second floor. I'd learned that Rosalie and Emmett shared another bedroom suite on this floor. I just let it go and accepted that they were all ok with them living together while they went to high school. They were both going to turn eighteen in a couple of months anyhow, so it didn't really matter what anyone said to them or anyone else in the family for that matter.

The age of consent was sixteen in the state of Washington, so it wasn't like they were breaking the law or anything. People might complain about the propriety of the situation and Carlisle and Esme allowing this under their roof, but nobody was complaining or calling child protective services.

I hadn't pried too deeply into all of their living arrangements, but from what I gathered, Edward was the only one of the kids that had been officially adopted by Carlisle and Esme. All of the rest of the foster care arrangements were completely unofficial. I assumed they had documentation listing Carlisle and Esme as their legal guardians so they could register for school and do to the doctor, and stuff like that, but all of the other kids besides Edward had just come to live with them, and hadn't been placed by the courts or any kind of state agency.

I had wondered about that when Edward told me they had lived in several different states. It was possible if they'd been officially adopted, but typically foster care placements didn't cross state lines unless you navigated a nightmare of paperwork. A straight adoption was easier. Of course they had simply bypassed all that rigmarole because none of the kids living with them was officially sanctioned to begin with.

Alice and Jasper's bedroom suite was on the third floor. Edward's bedroom was at the opposite end of the third floor from Alice and Jasper's rooms.

Edward hadn't been downstairs, and his car was in the garage so I assumed he was in his bedroom. I wondered what he'd do if I walked down the hall and knocked on his door. I was tempted to do it and see if he'd even want to talk to me after last night and the fact that I still planned to go out with Jacob.

I didn't do it, though. Alice and I had plans, and she wanted girl time with me to play dress-up. I'd let her paint my nails and do my hair and makeup, but I knew I was going to see Edward later. It sounded like I was going to dinner with him, but I'd have to wait and see.

Alice's bedroom was huge. The walls were painted pale green. I was honestly surprised that there were cracks in the walls and ceiling that looked like they'd been patched and painted over time and again. It was like something caused the room to flex or bend that stressed the plaster to the breaking point without actually breaking holes in the walls.

I remembered seeing this sort of thing in California years ago, but they had lots of earthquakes there that accounted for the cracks you saw in the walls out there. I knew Washington had some active volcanoes, but I didn't know if there were earthquakes too. The rest of the house was pristine, and I wondered why the plaster would be cracked and repaired in Alice's room. It looked like whatever was causing it happened fairly regularly.

I had been surprised by the queen sized bed with a purple and green velvet duvet the first time I was here. There was a mound of purple and green throw pillows piled at the head of the bed.

Doors led out of the room to the bathroom and walk-in closet. There were two different dressers, and two desks with laptop computers. It was easy to pick out Alice's desk from the fashion magazines, the sketch pads and portfolio case with her designs.

Jasper's desk was much neater than I would have expected with stacks of old hard bound books. The titles surprised me. They were mostly history books, but there was philosophy from both western and eastern philosophers. Some of the books were written in some Asian language like Chinese or Japanese. There was a display rack on the back of the desk with a set of Japanese style swords, and Alice had cautioned me not to mess with them the first time I was here. They were real battle ready swords, and extremely sharp. Sort of like a three foot long straight razor that was sharp enough to shave with, or chop off your hands if you weren't careful.

Alice went straight to her vanity table with the lighted mirror. She had tons of makeup and beauty supplies, and she opened a cabinet door and took out a big leather case and carried it over to the bed.

"Ok, take off your shoes and get comfortable," Alice said as she opened the case. I recognized the case of course. It held Alice's nail colors and supplies. She'd brought it to my house the last time she'd done my nails for me.

"Go ahead and pick out the color you want to try this time," Alice told me, as she got out the supplies she'd need.

I decided on cherry red this time.

We relaxed and had fun doing manicures and pedicures. Alice had showed me what to do last time, and we took turns doing each others nails. We took off all the old polish first, and she had a pedicure bowl that she filled with a solution of warm water and mineral salts to soak hands and feet in.

We chatted while we buffed and moisturized, and filed and exfoliated. It was fun and we enjoyed ourselves as we took turns pampering each other. I knew Alice probably paid to have this done most of the time, but it was something we could easily do for each other together, and it was kind of fun besides.

I hadn't done anything like this for years, but Renee and I had done these sorts of things together years ago in better times when we had the opportunity to. She'd taught me the basics of how to do my makeup and some basic beauty skills, but nothing as elaborate as what Alice was teaching me.

I was getting better at actually painting the polish on, and between a base coat, two coats of polish and a clear top coat I got plenty of practice. Alice had foam toe separators to help separate toes when we did our toenails.

We spent hours in Alice's bedroom and bathroom doing our nails, and then hair and makeup. Alice had an honest to goodness salon chair in her bathroom, and she styled my hair for me. I wouldn't let her cut it, but anything short of dying it or cutting it was fine with me.

It was later in the afternoon, and we decided to take a break and get some lunch. It had been fun, spending the day with Alice, just being ourselves and playing with her hair and makeup supplies and trying different looks and techniques. I'd learned a lot, although I was nowhere as good as Alice at all the little tricks and nit picky details. I wasn't afraid to put on my own makeup and know I'd look good, but I knew Alice would do a better job.

We walked out of her bedroom to head downstairs, and help but glance down the hall and wonder if Edward was still in his room, or if he'd ever even been in there in the first place. Alice saw me look and just smiled, but I followed her to the stairs and we started down.

Esme's door was open as we walked past her room, and she was inside puttering around, straightening up. I'd been meaning to talk to her after what had happened last night, and now looked like the perfect opportunity.

I turned to Alice. "Why don't you go ahead and go downstairs, and I'll catch up with you in a minute. I wanted to talk to Esme about something. I'll meet you in the kitchen, ok?"

"Sure, Bella, I wanted to check in with Jasper about the dinner reservations and see what's playing at the movies anyhow. We can decide what we want to see when you get downstairs."

I nodded and Alice walked away towards the stairway. I walked over to Esme's Bedroom door and knocked on the frame to announce my presence.

"Hi, Esme... I was wondering if we could talk for a minute..."

"Sure, Bella, please come in, and make yourself comfortable," Esme said, calling me in and leading me to an overstuffed sofa with a view out the broad window, and indicated that I should sit down. Esme sat down beside me, elegantly crossing her legs and looking perfectly at ease.

I still felt awkward in a skirt, but I knew how to sit like a lady and turned to speak to her.

"Thank you for coming to speak to me," Esme began. "I was really hoping we'd have an opportunity to sit down and talk after what happened last night at the wrestling meet."

Author's note:

Sorry I'm a bit late. As it turns out, my grandson was wrestling in his first wrestling tournament this morning, so we had to go cheer for him.

I'm also posting chapter 27 of The Darkest Part of the Night. I'll keep posting both stories as long as I'm chapters ahead.

Reviews are always appreciated. I'd love to hear what you think.