A/N: The majority of the votes for this chapter were in favour of shopping, which is the one that I believe you will like best because… I'm throwing in an extra chapter. Enjoy the 2-for-1-ness. Also that's the reason for the lateness of this update, twice the length means twice the time to write it up.

As always, reviews are what keep me writing and they are basically the eggs and O-negative blood that fuel this story (those of you who have finished BD will automatically start screaming one word at this reference!).

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And thanks to Shining Eclipse for taking the time to edit this (I swear I will try harder this time to get this to you!)

Part 1

Oct 13th

Bella Swan

Of all days, we had to plan to have my first public outing on Friday 13th. I knew Alice had some sort of psychic ability but this was too… weird.

Emmett of course, found it hilarious. He constantly reminded me to avoid black cats, walking under ladders and spilling salt. Thankfully Rosalie had threatened him with the frightening prospect of ending their relationship if he didn't stop bothering me. She was serious enough to have the back-up option of 'fixing' Gina.

Carlisle had proposed all six of us going to the diner in the morning, as most of the usual customers would be at school or at work. Emmett and Alice were delighted with the scheduled day off school. Although skipping school was a regular practice for the Cullens, it was an infrequent occasion when Carlisle announced that they had to stay at home that day.

All of us woke up late. I was determined to sleep through the event.

It wasn't that I was annoyed about going to the diner, it was just that I had been subjected to 'Barbie-Bella' for two nights in a row and wanted to have one day of walking around in an oversized sweatshirt and pants because Alice had no time to dress me up.

"Bella?" Edward's voice vibrated through his chest.

We were lying in bed, awake but trying to put off facing the others.

I groaned and buried my head deeper into his chest. "What?"

Edward chuckled. The sound and movement shook my body. "It's almost midday. If we don't get up now then Alice or Emmett will come and force us to get up."

Visions of Alice and Emmett flashed through my head. I gulped and sat up.

"Fine. I'm up. But I get first shower since you woke me up this morning."

Edward laughed, obviously remembering what had happened earlier. "You laughed at it, didn't you?"

I shrugged and swung my legs out of the sheets. "Of course I laughed at it. Who wouldn't laugh at Emmett being chased by a duck at four in the morning? But the fact of the matter is that you woke me up at four in the morning, from a deep sleep, from a very good dream if I might add-"

"I get your point," he laughed. A mischievous gleam came into his eyes. "What was your dream about?"

I swallowed hard. "Um…" He had to ask me that. What was I meant to say? Oh yeah I had a brilliant dream where-

"Gah! The little monster is following me!"

Emmett's shouting and thundering footsteps echoed behind the closed door. Edward walked over and pulled it open.

"Get it away from me!" Emmett screamed as he ran past the open door.

Edward chuckled but stopped abruptly. "Is that what I think it is?" he asked Alice who had popped into the room.

"Yes, Rose caught it last night as payback for naming his car 'Gina'," she replied.

I ran over to the door and heard quacking noises. The small duck that we had seen earlier this morning was waddling after Emmett. The sight of it, running down the hallway, after a terrified six foot four Emmett was too funny for words.

Rosalie walked up beside us looking very pleased with her handiwork. An amused Carlisle jogged by the door, stopping briefly to glance at the four of us.

"Just make sure the duck is brought back out soon and doesn't destroy Esme's flowers or carpets."

He dodged the duck who was trying to figure out how to get down the stairs without plummeting to a feathery death. With a loud quack he waddled forward and launched himself off the top step, landing a few steps down with a small 'thud'. Continuing on his quest to follow Emmett, who had now entered the garage and was failing to start up his car, the duck successfully hopped it's way downstairs and was making it's way towards the open door to the garage.

The loud whirring noises and swearing coming from the garage told us that Rose had tampered with Gina and Emmett was stuck with an imminent date with a duck.

Esme opened her door and popped her head out.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Rose shrugged and walked away, going to observe Emmett's antics. Alice decided to answer.

"Rose got a duck to chase Emmett last night and now it's following him around."

Esme nodded and moved back to close her door again. "Just make sure it doesn't destroy my carpets," she murmured.

Edward shook his head. "How come when a duck is roaming free around the house, scaring Emmett, no-one cares?"

Bouncing over to the closet, Alice shrugged. "It's Emmett." She proceeded to search through the mountain of shirts, jumpers, trousers, jeans and jackets until she had made her decision.

"Right, you are wearing this shirt with these jeans and either those black shoes I got you last week or the ones Mom bought you the other day," she said as she laid out the outfit on the bed. "Bella I have your outfit ready in my room."

I groaned and glared at Alice. "Remind me again why I need a planned outfit for a trip to lunch in a diner? It's not like we're going to a party or something."

Alice smirked and glanced over at Edward who had suddenly expressed an urgent requirement for a shower.

Great, now I was fighting alone.

I slouched out of the room and made my way to Alice's room, determined to at least go down with whatever amount of dignity I could muster in holey shorts and an old t-shirt of Edward's.

Alice spend a ridiculous amount of time on my hair today. I refused to wear any make-up considering I would be eating and drinking so the majority of it would wear off or be washed off in the rain on the way into the diner.

Thirty minutes later, I was finally released and allowed to go downstairs. I sat on the couch and waited for the others to come down.

I heard Alice running into Edward's room. Once the door was opened, they automatically started arguing.

"What are you doing?" Alice shrieked.

"I'm trying to fix this," Edward snapped back.

The door was closed and the argument was muted. I sighed and went in search of Emmett.

"Emmett?" I called as I walked down to his room. I opened the door nervously, hoping I wasn't interrupting anything. The room was empty.

Frowning, I walked over to the small room that housed the second television, X-Box and DVD player. No-one was in here either.

I ran downstairs to the garage, thinking that maybe Rosalie and Emmett were reconnecting Gina's engine. It was empty too.

I walked slowly up to Edward's room, wondering where the hell everyone had gone to. We were meant to leave in ten minutes.

"Edward?" I asked, knocking on his door. Alice's shrieking and his shouting stopped immediately. The door opened to reveal a very frustrated Alice. I stepped into the room and noticed Edward standing by the other wall, looking nervous.

"Where had everyone gone to?" I asked them. Alice crossed her arms and smirked at Edward. Edward, if at all possible, seemed to grow more embarrassed and uncomfortable.

I looked between the two of them until Alice spoke.

"Emmett and Rose have gone out for the day. I'm meeting Jasper in a couple of minutes. Dad's gone to work and Mom's out with some friends," she chirped.

"But what about lunch?"

Alice's smirk grew. "Shall I tell her or are you going to gather up whatever measly amount of courage you possess?" she asked Edward.

He glared back at her but stayed silent. Alice giggled. "Edward didn't have the guts to ask you on a real date before the dance so we arranged for you two to be alone today."

I stared and her and my face flushed. I fixed my eyes onto the floor and shuffled my feet uncomfortably. Alice groaned.

"Great! Now both of you are embarrassed. How are you even going to get to the diner if you won't look at each other?" she glared at us and shook her head. "You know what, it's either you both get into the car and go to the diner, or you join us in a game of Truth or Dare tonight."

Edward's head snapped forward. He was pale white.

"I see I got your attention Eddie," Alice sang. She darted out of the door and shouted over her shoulder, "Remember the other choice."

"We should get going," Edward said quietly.

I nodded and followed him out of the door. We kept two feet between us, just like before when I moved back here. The awkwardness that had developed since before my epileptic fit seemed to have come to a point where we would either progress in our relationship or fall back.

Edward opened my door when we reached the car. I mumbled a 'thanks' and slid in. The drive to the diner was… silent.

"Hi, I'm Jacob and I'm your server for today." He handed us our menus and kept his eyes on me for the entire time, ignoring Edward. I shrank into my seat on the other side of the booth to Edward and glanced over at him.

He was glaring at Jacob with a look that could only be described as jealousy.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Jacob asked enthusiastically, directing the question to me. I sent Edward a pleading look.

"We'll have two Cokes," Edward said curtly. I gave him a small smile in thanks for taking Jacob's attention off of me.

Jacob's looked at Edward and walked off, muttering something like 'annoying boyfriend' under his breath. Edward continued to glare at Jacob until he disappeared into the kitchen.

"As much as I am grateful to you for getting rid of him, you don't have to murder him with you eyes," I said to Edward.

He turned to look at me and met my gaze. "He was looking at you as if you were his next meal. I wouldn't be surprised if his thoughts were as graphic as…" He lowered his gaze and mumbled incoherently.

"As what?" I asked.

Edward sighed and grabbed the bottle of ketchup that sat at the end of the booth. Turning it in his hands, he began to speak.

"You have no idea how many males you affect here Bella," he said softly, still not looking at me. "Although some are… awestruck by your presence, others tend to create messed up situations in their heads. He," he jerked his head towards the kitchen with a look of pure hatred, "was past the PG-13 mark in his head."

I slowly nodded, confused by what he had said. I was… Bella. Plain, boring, clumsy, stupid Bella.

"You don't believe me do you?"

My head snapped up and I looked at Edward. He stared straight back at me.

"No, I don't," I muttered.

Leaning back against his chair, Edward sighed once again. "You still don't believe how beautiful and funny and nice and smart you are, do you?" he looked at me intensely. "I still stand by what I said to you before, Bella," he said softly, almost whispering the words.

I opened my mouth to talk when a waitress appeared at our booth.

"Two Cokes?" she asked, staring at Edward and completely ignoring my presence. She was tall, blonde and much prettier than I was. Not naturally beautiful like Rosalie, more… fake. Her fake-tan was streaky on her arms and her teeth were whitened so much it hurt to look directly at her mouth. Still, she was five foot nine inches of leggy-blondeness.

And I immensely disliked her immediately.

She batted her eyelashes at Edward unnecessarily and leaned forward so as her top strained to contain her unnaturally large chest. I wanted to punch her for staring at Edward.

"Um, yes," Edward said, "For my girlfriend and I." He pointed at me and I smiled at the waitress. I was glad that my face could not display that my heart was singing inside of me.

Blondie pouted and dumped our drinks in front of us. I had a feeling that Jacob had traded our booth with her and now she was finding someone else to trade with. My thoughts were confirmed when a middle-aged woman came out and took our orders.

Edward stared at me after we had ordered our food.

"What?"

He shook his head and smiled. "You looked as if you wanted to give the first waitress a black-eye."

I glared at him. "She was undressing you with her eyes. Did you see how she was batting her eyelashes and shoving her chest in your face?"

Edward smirked and raised an eyebrow. "So you were a little bit jealous?"

"I- well… but you," I stuttered. I gave up trying to make up excuses, "Now we're even."

"Aw…"

I spun around in my seat in time to see two heads disappear under a table a few booths away from us. Edward got up from his seat and walked over, pulling a chuckling Emmett from under the table. Jasper fell out after him. "Thanks," Jasper said, rubbing his shoulder, "Emmett was cutting off my circulation."

Giggling came from under the table and Edward stared at the source. Rosalie and Alice tumbled out from their hiding place. They looked at me and burst into laughter.

"It's… so obvious…and you two…can't even see it!" Rosalie said in between giggles.

Emmett got off the floor and walked over to our booth, sliding in opposite me. "What's so obvious?" he asked Rosalie.

She sighed and slapped him on the head as she pushed him further so she could slide in. "That Edward and Bella are in love with each other."

I choked on the mouthful of Coke I had taken and spluttered until it finally went down. Edward had rushed over and was staring at me to make sure I was okay.

"I knew that already, I thought you were talking about something else," Emmett said. He grabbed one of the menus and looked through the selection. "Rosie, can we get the Xtra-Large Flamin' Nachos?" he asked with a pout.

I pushed myself further into the booth so as Edward and Jasper could fit in beside me. Alice had taken a seat beside Rosalie and was taking the opportunity to stare and both Edward and I.

The only person I could look at without being observed like a scientific experiment, or subjected to a awkward public display of affection, was Edward.

He was glancing at me when I looked at him, and smiled weakly at me. I looked down and noticed that he was wringing his hands nervously in his lap. Blushing furiously, I reached my hand over and took one of his. Gazing up at him, I took in his beaming face.

"Oh! What's after happening?" Alice almost shouted. Jasper tried to scold her.

"But she's glowing and his smile is nearly bursting his cheeks open," she whined, "Here, Emmett, hold still for a moment." She grabbed Emmett's shoulders and launched herself forward so as she was lying on the table.

"Aw! They're holding hands! Rose, get the camera!"

Edward pushed Alice forcefully back to her seat, never letting go of my hand, and scowled at her. "Sometimes you're worse than Mom," he said.

Alice shrugged, looking a bit defeated but still up for a challenge. "I get a lot of things from Mom; my sense of style, my love of pink, my adoration for shopping…" She sent me a look and I cowered against Edward. "You know Bella, we still have to get you a dress," she said with a grin.

Part 2

Oct 14th

Alice Cullen

I was determined to not allow this opportunity to go to waste. I had Bella with me for a day and we had to get her a dress, a new wardrobe, maybe a couple of pairs of shoes… OMG! I have to get those.

I pulled Bella into the first shop we arrived at, seeing the pair of black Marc by Marc Jacobs flats that would go perfectly with a pair of skinny jeans in the window. Ten minutes had passed and already my credit card had received a six hundred dollar swipe on one purchase. I was lucky Mom had upped my limit.

"Remind me again why we are here? I thought we were only looking for my dress," Bella moaned as we walked around the Betsey Johnsen store. They had a few cute dresses in here but I ignored them to search for items for Bella's new wardrobe. She couldn't force me to leave until we had found 'the' dress so buying everyday outfits was the main priority before dress shopping.

"Because we are not here just for a dress," I explained as I quickly searched through the rows of clothing. I stopped before a blue dress.

"It's perfect," Rose breathed. It was cute; a strapless teal coloured number, with sequins all over the mesh covering the material. It was too… house party-ish. I wanted drop dead stunning.

"Size 2 or 4, Bella?" I asked, pulling out the two sizes.

"2," she answered. I pulled out the dress and added it to the two cardigans and tote that we had chosen for Bella.

"The total is 975.60," the girl behind the desk told me. Finally my card was getting a well deserved workout. That purchase in Marc Jacobs and this total were nothing compared what happens when I am unleashed in a more expensive store.

Bella was pale as she heard how much was being spent on her. "Alice that's almost one thousand dollars in one store!"

I shrugged and stared her down. "That jacket you are wearing," I pointed to her new Armani Collezioni leather motorcycle jacket that I ordered for her the other week from Saks online, "cost about two thousand after tax."

I thought she was going to either explode or faint with the way her face was changing shades. Thankfully she realised that giving up was the best choice and left the store without a fight.

The guys waited outside the store and took our bags as soon as we walked out. Edward took to Bella's side immediately and it was easy to see how much she relaxed once she was near him.

Emmett grabbed Rose's bags quickly, knowing that making her carry them for too long would result in his head being pounded or something much worse…

Jasper held mine, a mean feat considering how many he held already.

We walked from store to store slowly, always wary of Bella. If a large crowd of people or a particularly loud group walked in our direction, we automatically 'spotted' something in the nearest store that we had to check out. At one point Emmett yelled that he needed to go into Victoria's Secret because a bunch of frat boys spotted Rosalie and Bella and were walking over.

Emmett in Victoria's Secret was hilarious. Once he spotted the frat boys he shouted 'I need to see about getting that' and pointed over his shoulder to the display window full of bras and nightwear, unaware of what he was gesturing at.

Inside the store was even funnier. He approached the sales staff and asked about seeing a blood red corset. When Jasper asked why the hell he was thinking about getting himself a corset, Emmett said it was for Rose. Sure enough that earned him a slap and a threat to never see Gina again.

We walked around the mall and had visited just about every store when we came to our last stop, the store I knew would contain Bella's dress.

I darted over to the dress and started to bounce. "I found it!"

Rose and Bella walked over and stared at the dress.

It was perfect. A Cyril Verdavainne emerald strapless taffeta dress with a feather and sequin mesh hem. In contrast to Bella's pale skin, dark eyes and dark hair, it would look stunning. It also happened to coincidently match Edward's eyes and his tie for the suit I had bought him.

I grabbed the dress in Bella's size and marched right up to the desk to pay for it. I handed Edward the bag and grinned at Rose. "Now all we need to find are masks."

Bella and Edward stared at us. "Masks?" they said at the same time.

"It's a Halloween dance, you have to dress-up according to the theme. This year's theme is a Masquerade Ball," Rose explained. I started to bounce again, a knee-jerk reaction to realising something good. Rose looked at me for an explanation to my sudden burst of energy.

"We get to keep shopping!" I squealed, and proceeded to lead everyone out of the store.

Edward Cullen

Where my sister gets all of her energy from, I do not know.

It was gone eight o'clock and we were heading back home after a gruelling ten hours of constant shopping. Rosalie and Emmett were fast asleep in the back and Bella was dozing off. Jasper was driving Alice home in his car. I don't think I have ever drank so much caffeine in my life. Both Jasper and I had stopped several times at Starbucks during the day to get coffees and espressos to help us keep awake while driving.

As we drove out of Port Angeles, Bella's head slumped forward, indicating that she had finally given in to exhaustion after fighting it for the past thirty minutes.

I allowed my thoughts to wander in the silence of the car.

After yesterday, I was more aware than ever of my relationship with Bella. We both seemed to know that it couldn't keep hanging like this, it would go one way or the other. I was annoyed by the fact that everyone had shown up yesterday. If they hadn't have disrupted us then who knew how the day would have gone?

It seemed as though we were taking small steps in our relationship both yesterday and today. I reminded Bella that I did like her and she accepted that and appeared to display her feelings for me by not running away screaming.

She took my hand more often today than usual. It wasn't the same casual gesture as it had been a few days ago, now it felt… more of a larger gesture. We both blushed whenever the others noticed us holding hands or looking at each other.

Last night was different as well. It seemed extremely subtle but I noticed it. We seemed to hold each other. Bella didn't cling to me like she did when she was frightened. I didn't pull her to me casually like I always did. It was… well, unusual but in a good way.

Emmett slumped sideways on the backseat and nearly crushed Rose. She woke up disgruntled and pushed him until his head hit the window. His face was pushed against the glass. He opened his mouth and started to snore loudly.

"Please make him stop," I begged Rosalie. She glared at me in the rear-view mirror and shook her head.

We sat in silence for a while. I didn't really know Rosalie that well. We were both the type of people who preferred silence to awkward chatter.

"She's out cold," Rosalie commented, nodding at Bella.

I smiled. "It was her first experience of shopping with Alice."

Rosalie nodded and smiled weakly. "She seemed to improve a lot today."

"Yes she did," I said, looking at Bella. She had been uncomfortable all day in the crowded mall but gradually relaxed. Whenever she was feeling extremely scared, she would ask to stop in the nearest store. I was glad that she felt that she could tell us when she wanted to stop, it wasn't an easy task telling Alice to deviate from her path.

Rosalie took a deep breath. "I know that I don't know much about her, but I understand enough to realise just how strong she is," she said. "I mean after everything that she has been through, she is still able to move on."

I nodded, suddenly realising how little I knew about Rosalie. "Do you remember much from your childhood? If you don't mind me asking."

Rosalie smiled. "It's okay. I don't think Emmett has ever asked me that because he thinks I'm too fragile," she laughed. "You already know that I am Jasper's twin and about out father?"

I nodded.

"Well I never experience first-hand what our father could do. When Dad went away I was taken in by our aunt because Mom couldn't handle two kids and Jasper wanted to stay with her. I basically grew up with Aunt Margaret. I kept in contact with Mom and Jasper, always seeing them every weekend and talking to them on the phone. When I heard about what Dad did, I was shocked. I was always Daddy's Princess and only seen the good side of him. I knew that Jasper and Mom were telling the truth but it still upset me."

She paused for a moment and continued. "Mom and Jasper came to live with me and Aunt Margaret when they left Dad. It was disturbing to see the damage Dad had caused them. I know that Bella has gone through hell but I knew when I met her that pitying her was the worst thing to do. If I ever come across as bitchy, shoot me please," she chuckled.

I laughed and glanced over again at Bella. Her eyes were half open and she was smiling slightly. She didn't noticed my stare and fell back asleep.

A/N: One thing I have to say: The duck incident has happened before to a person I know. His sister got annoyed and picked it up from his garden and shoved it into his bed. It liked him a bit too much… No ducks were harmed in that incident or in this story.

Sorry to all you Jacob Lovers but this is the last of him in this story. I wanted to stick him in somewhere but I didn't want him to have a big part since the story pretty much revolves around Bella and Edward.

So we finally got to hear about Rosalie. I was waiting for someone to pick up on the fact that she was Jasper's twin but said nothing about what had happened in her youth.

Sorry for the delay in posting this, I keep writing small bits but then get interrupted and have to start over again the next day.