Please don't kill me! I've decided not to write the one-shot on Jacob's Apology after all, although I did have a first draft typed out. The more I looked at it the more wrong it seemed to look, so I right-clicked and clicked that little DELETE button. It's one of those pieces that just have to be an abstact piece of work, so I'm going to leave it to your imaginations to decide how Jacob should apologize. Also, dibs to Ravita13 whose review made me laugh! But enough rambling on my part. I bring to you Chapter 14 of Falling Down and Getting Up II: Black Rose! Here's....(drumroll) Cookies!

Cookies!
Saturday

I rolled over in my bed, clutching my pillow. "Mhm," I mumbled to nothing, slapping the bloody alarm clock that didn't get the concept that weekends were off days. I scratched my forehead

Friday night had been full of happiness and a sense of relief now that Jacob and I had reconciled. It sounded hokey in that context, but really it was the best way to describe how I felt. That sense of release that could only be bought by accomplishing something you know won't be pleasant. I was just relieved that the reconciliation wasn't as messy as I had expected it to be. Of course there was an added plus considering Jacob had actually wanted to make up with me in the first place.

Most of last night had been spent alternating laughing at Billy and Charlie's antics, wolfing down the three large pizzas Billy ordered, and filling Jacob in on the latest gossip and homework. And of course, Jacob groaned when he heard about the dozens of essays he had to write.

"Bella!" Charlie hollered from downstairs. Groaning again, I rolled over and thunked on the floor, swaying slightly. I was not a morning person, mostly because my body is never programmed to wake up when it's supposed to, so when I do wake up I'm in a foul mood. Add that to my doubtful sense of equilibrium and you have a walking disaster waiting to happen.

I opened the door and stuck my head out, peering down the stairs blearily at Charlie. "What?"

"I'm going to Billy's," Charlie called out, hopping on one foot while putting on his sneakers. Then he promptly fell over. Nice to know where I got my clumsiness from.

"Dad, we just went over yesterday," I mumbled, swiping at my eyes to get rid of the filmy stuff covering them. Charlie grinned sheepishly, toeing the floor.

"Um...yeah, but there's a really good game on today, and Jacob's gonna be at the school getting his homework and stuff, so I figured Billy needed the company," Charlie said, looking exactly like a kid caught stealing from the cookie jar. I giggled a little at him.

"Of course," I teased him, slapping my hand over my mouth to stifle a huge yawn. Jeez, Jane's little personality disorder and the make-ups with Edward and Jacob must've been tiring me out more than I thought. I was never this sleepy in the mornings, even on weekends when I slept late.

Charlie looked at me with concerned eyes. "Get some sleep, Bells. You look like hell."

"Thanks a lot," I said sarcastically, turning and clunking back to my bed. I fell into it, burying my face in the mess of blankets and pillows. I lay there for a couple minutes before giving up. This wasn't going to work. I stomped to the bathroom and ran a really, really cold shower-which worked, by the way, to wake me up.

I padded out of the shower, unbelievably still yawning, and flopped onto my bed. Then I shot upright when I heard something clatter on my floor.

"Alice! For God's sake, never creep up on me again like that!"

Alice giggled and threw herself on my bed, sprawling out comfortably. I looked at her, irritated. "Nice to see you're making yourself at home," I said.

Alice chucked a pillow at me, which missed and hit the closet. "Oh, get a grip, Bella. Just because your house is incredibly easy to sneak into doesn't mean you have to turn all grumpy on me." She paused, considering her immaculate manicure. "You know, you'd think the house the Chief lives in would be slightly harder to break into. But no, it was simply a matter of turning the doorknob and coming in."

My eyebrows shot up. "Oh? Did you come in by the front door?"

Alice smirked cheekily at me and mimed zipping her lips. I sighed. Of course not. The good ol' front door was too plain for the amazing, al-mighty Alice. No, she had to come in through Charlie's window by the back. It was a miracle the neighbours hadn't called the police, considering the number of times Alice had climbed in through the back like a burglar. Wouldn't that be awkward, Charlie coming over to his own house following a reported robbery by his daughter's crazy best friend?

"What do you want, Alice?" I groaned. Alice sat upright and handed me a strawberry yogurt.

"Eat," she ordered before continuing. "Actually, I uncovered some real dirt about that girl Jane," Alice whispered to me. Honestly, who did she expect would overhear us? The walls? But still I straightened up, looking at her expectantly.

"Her parents bought that big house by the river, kinda close to ours," Alice said. "So basically they can be considered our neighbours. She's from Italy, as expected, and she's living alone."

"Alone?" I asked doubtfully. That sounded a little hard to swallow. She looked so darn tiny.

"Alone," Alice confirmed. "But she does have some creepy guy called Alec who calls her every week to check up on her. I kinda got the vibe that Alec was her...you know...toy boy."

I choked on the yoghurt I was swallowing. "What?!" I spluttered. "Alice, how do you know this stuff?"

Alice shrugged innocently. "I might have spied on them one time...or two," she added, looking out the window. I felt my cheeks start to burn as the toy boy part sank in.

"Alice, you are...you...argh!" I shouted, giving up. She looked at me, looking a tad irritated.

"Spit it out, Bella, or keep quiet," Alice told me. She waited a few seconds for a retort that never came, and triumphantly went on. "Anyway, I think you should be careful of this Jane girl."

I looked at her questioningly. Alice sighed. "She has a thing for Edward," she told me, lowering her voice.

"How do you know?"

Alice shrugged. "I have my ways. Just watch out, Bella. I don't think her intentions are all that innocent. Everyone knows I'm a gorgeous psychic, but this is way weird."

I snorted, choosing to focus on the psychic part rather than dwell on the Jane-likes-Edward part. "A gorgeous psychic? More like a rabid shopaholic lunatic that thinks she can predict the future," I scoffed. Alice glared at me. I smiled at her innocently.

Then she hopped up and caught hold of my wrist, dragging me out. I protested violently at this abrupt departure. "Stuff it, Bella. You have the whole day to yourself and there is absolutely no way I am going to let you mope around in your house without anybody to keep you company. Edward's been tasked to help Esme out with cooking for some strange doctor get-together later, so he can't come over to keep you company. Emmett can, though."

I paused. No way in hell am I going to let Emmett come over and ruin a perfectly nice Saturday with his endless teasing. I grabbed a wrist purse. "Let's go."

"Honestly, Bella, don't you have better bags than that...that thing?" Alice sniffed, dragging me to her car. "It looks like it belongs in some ratty army magazine. Look at how many holes there are in that!"

"Alice, if this is a not-so-subtle hint of how you want me to go shopping with you, my answer is no." Alice moaned loudly and started driving to her house.

.xXx.

The whole way Alice was singing along to a cheesy song on radio-well, screaming would be a better description. I ignored her wailing and tiny jabs at my choice of attire and looked out the window. Soon we arrived and I almost sprinted to the door. Alice huffed a little behind me.

"Really, Bella, anyone would think you're happy to be rid of me."

I paused long enough to roll my eyes at her and went into the house, flying into the kitchen and slamming my body into Edward. He yelled out before seeing who the crazy person who had slammed into him was. He sagged against the kitchen countertop, one hand over his heart.

"Jeesh, Bella, don't do that!" he said, but the bite was taken out of his words by the soft kiss he placed on me. I noticed he was careful to keep his hands off me. I started laughing at him. His entire body, from his hair to his sneakers, were covered in flour and tiny splatters of egg yolk.

"Edward, what on earth are you trying to do? Bake cookies or bake the house?" I gasped between laughter. Edward folded his arms, which only made the flour-egg mixture spread over his clothes even more. That, of course, sent me into convulsions.

Edward sniffed in mock hurt. "I'll have you know that my cookies are internationally acclaimed for their sweet-and-salty combination," Edward informed me. I giggled.

"That and the fact the judges probably gagged to death after the first bite so they couldn't judge well," I said, laughing. Edward pouted and turned away from me to continue frosting the batch of cookies he had just taken out of the oven. I peeked over his shoulder and saw he was putting little smiley faces on them in black, white and green frosting. I giggled again.

"Oh, come on. Nerdy faces? Can't you be more original?" I asked.

"It is the hospital doctors coming over. Why not play up their intelligence?" Edward asked, shrugging.

"You know you're insulting Carlisle too, right?" I pointed out. Edward grinned at me and put one finger over his lips in a shh gesture. I shook my head.

Sorry for the abrupt ending, guys, but I had no idea how to end well. This chapter's longer than the rest-1601 words-and I'm pretty proud of myself now. As always, review and enjoy!