Author's note: Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers! I love hearing your feedback on the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, not even a little piece =( I do own copies of all of the books though!
Chapter Songs: Party in the U.S.A – Miley Cyrus and Bright Lights, Bigger City – Cee-lo Green
News of what had happened to James had spread fast, I swear all of campus knew about my ordeal and his demise before the first lecture had even started on Monday morning. While I was dealing with everything pretty well considering I still wasn't ready to talk about it with anyone. To be honest I didn't think I ever would be.
The only person I had to explain everything to had been Charlie and to say he freaked out completely would be an understatement.
Luckily none of my other friends outside my little family asked me anything although they were being a little more careful around me. I figured I knew why, Alice, Rose, Emmett, Jasper and Edward were all being very protective of me at the moment so I figured one of them had told people I needed some space.
For that I was very grateful, time and space was exactly what I needed now, that and getting back to reality. Reality for me right not meant and essay to complete by the end of the week and a research project, both seemed relatively easy as the subject matter was right up my alley.
There was also a birthday party to organise, Jasper was turning twenty two next Saturday and Alice had some very elaborate ideas of what we could do for Jasper's birthday.
That evening Rose and I were helping Alice finalise Jasper's birthday plans which meant no Edward. I had pouted when she told them they were banned from our place tonight until Edward told me he would come and rescue me later. At least if Alice got a little over bearing I would have something to look forward to.
I volunteered to cook dinner, staying busy was exactly what I needed. I picked something that would require full concentration, chicken fajitas. After eating we settled back down in the living room while Alice crossed ideas off her list that she had vetoed.
Alice sighed loudly, her brow creased as she looked down at her list. "I really want to do something special for Jasper's birthday. I think we all need to let our hair down and have a little fun" she told us.
"Maybe we should head out of town for the weekend then?" I suggested.
"That's a great idea Bells!" Alice told me her enthusiasm evident. "Where shall we go?" she asked no one in particular.
"I kinda had an idea when I was cooking dinner about that too" I told them both. "How would you feel about a weekend in Las Vegas?" I asked biting my lip.
Alice's eyes lit up "Ooo yes that would be so much fun! What do ya say Rose?"
"I say it's a damn good idea. Vegas baby!" she exclaimed.
"Then Vegas it is!" Alice squealed.
After organising the finer points of our weekend in Vegas such as flights and hotel rooms, Alice told me to text Edward and let him know he could come and steal me away. I did so gladly before she could change her mind by remembering something else we needed to arrange.
"How was your evening?" Edward asked me as I lay comfortably in his arms on my bed.
"It was good, we got Jasper's birthday weekend all sorted" I told him.
"Ah so am I allowed to know about said birthday weekend?" he asked in an amused tone.
I giggled, "Yes, but only if you promise not to let it slip to Jasper, otherwise Alice will cause you a world of pain."
He chuckled in response, "That sounds like the terrifying little pixie we know and love."
I laughed "That's Allie for you. I suggested to her that we go away somewhere, you know to get out of town."
I felt him nod in agreement, "I pitched the idea that maybe Las Vegas would be fun and she thought it was a brilliant idea."
"A weekend in Las Vegas, Jasper is going to love that! Nice work love" he told me kissing my hair.
Later that week
Not knowing what Alice had planned for his birthday was driving Jasper insane. She had told him we had all planned a surprise trip for his birthday weekend and that he wasn't allowed to know where we were going until we arrived at the airport to catch our flight out on Friday.
He knew he was the only one who didn't know where we were going so he had taken to trying sneaky ways of extracting clues from us so he could piece the puzzle together.
I had to admit it made me feel a little better about myself that I wasn't the only one who didn't have the patience for surprises. But that didn't mean I was going to help Jasper out! Alice would never forgive me.
Jasper had targeted Emmett first, knowing full well like the rest of us did that Emmett was always the first one to slip up and give something away due to the fact that he was so excited. This time however Emmett was not budging.
"Jazz I'm not going to tell you anything" he said firmly one evening when we were all hanging out together.
"Aw come on Em just a little clue?" he begged while Alice was out of the room.
"No way man, that little pixie is scary! She threatened me! She told me if I tell you anything I have to let her pick out my outfits for a week, a whole week Jasper!"
Despite my determination to not laugh I couldn't help myself, a small giggle escaped. Honestly the way he was talking about it you'd think Alice was going to put bamboo splinters under his finger nails.
"Oh you think that's funny do you!" exclaimed Emmett turning on me, "Didn't she threaten you too?" he asked me.
"She threatened me" Edward piped up; "If I tell you anything she gets to drive my Volvo for a week!" he shuddered. "Have you seen the way she thrashes her car? My poor car wouldn't last a whole day let alone a week."
Alice chose to walk into the room at that very moment. "Don't think I won't follow through either" she said pointedly looking at all of us.
"My lips are sealed" replied Edward with a zipping motion.
Alice gave him a nod and a smile. "I don't need to ask Bella twice she knows what's at stake."
I nodded "I won't say a word."
"Neither!" exclaimed Rose.
"Good, well that just leaves you big mouth" said Alice turning to face Emmett.
"Big mouth!" he asked shocked.
"Yes, due to your tendency to accidently blurt things out when you aren't supposed to" Alice told him.
"When have I ever done that?" asked Emmett incredulously.
"How about when I was six and Mom and Dad had got me that really cool truck for my birthday. You had seen them wrapping it and blurted out what it was before I even got the wrapping off!" Edward exclaimed.
"Oh well that was one time" said Emmett waving his hand.
"Or how about when that boy at our school told you Santa wasn't real so you immediately came home and told Ed and me. We were seven and terrified that we weren't going to get any presents that year" Jasper piped up.
"Awwwwww" we girls all said in unison.
"Okay fair enough then. I swear I won't tell him anything!" he told Alice.
The next week
Thursday had finally arrived! Tomorrow we would be flying out to Las Vegas and we were all looking forward to it. Emmett was particularly excited which was rubbing Jasper up the wrong way because he still didn't know where we were headed.
"This weekend is going to be awesome!" he exclaimed suddenly as we were eating dinner.
Jasper scowled at him.
He gave Jasper an evil grin "It must be so frustrating not knowing where we're going Jazz" he mocked.
"I swear Emmett if you don't shut the hell up I'll smack that smirk right of your face" replied a tetchy Jasper.
Emmett booming laugh filled the room. "Yeah but then you'll still be pissed off cause you still won't know where we're going!"
"I swear you two are like a couple of eight year olds" sighed Rose.
Alice just rolled her eyes in response.
After dinner Edward came upstairs to help me pack.
"I can't believe you've packed already!" I groaned as I attempted to pull my luggage out of the hall closet.
He chuckled "Here love let me" he pulled the case out of the closet with ease and carried into my room. "I can't believe Alice hasn't packed for you."
I smirked "She thinks I can handle it myself now. I have officially graduated her course in how to pack your luggage for every situation."
"I'm so proud" he teased.
"You should be, not everyone passes with flying colours" I replied.
He walked up to me and put his arms around me. "It makes me so happy to see you happy again love" he murmured. "After everything you've gone through these past few weeks it's nice to see you smiling again."
"You play a big part in that" I told him looking up into his sparkling green eyes.
"I'm glad. I'd do anything to make you happy" he smouldered.
"I have an idea on how you could make me happy right now" I told him trailing my finger down his chest.
"It'd be my pleasure" he replied huskily, kicking shut my bedroom door.
The next day
When I woke on Friday morning my first thoughts were of how amazing last night with Edward had been and the second was that I still hadn't packed for Vegas.
"Shit" I cursed under my breath.
"Good morning to you too love" replied an amused voice.
Hey you" I replied running my hands through his messy sex hair.
"I had hoped last night wasn't that bad" he teased.
"Oh! No babe it wasn't bad at all, far from it!" I hurried to explain.
"I'm just teasing Bells" he chuckled.
I sighed in relief, "I actually just realised I got so side tracked last night I forgot to pack" I told him blushing.
"Ah" he replied looking at the suitcase lying open on the floor with only a few items of clothing spilling out of it. "You'll have plenty of time after classes have finished I'll help" he promised me.
Edward stayed true to his word, as soon as class had finished we sped home so I could finish packing my bag.
I had just finished packing and Edward had dragged my luggage downstairs when Alice and Rose arrived home. Alice was bouncing with excitement.
"Oh good Bella you're ready, the cab will be here any minute" she squealed bouncing up and down before rushing off upstairs to grab her own bag with Rose following her.
"Well I think it's safe to say she's excited" I commented.
"Wait till you Emmett" Edward replied amused.
I didn't have to wait long within seconds Emmett burst through the front door with Jasper trailing behind. Emmett had the biggest grin on his face while Jasper looked irritated.
"You look proud of yourself" Edward commented.
"I am! I didn't give away any clues! No Alice punishment for me" Emmett exclaimed.
"There's still the cab ride to the airport" Edward told him, "You'll have to keep your mouth shut for a while longer."
"Sweet that gives me more time to annoy the fuck out of Jasper" he replied with an evil grin. "Hey Jazz guess what?"
"What?" asked Jasper eagerly.
"I know where we're going and you still don't" Emmett replied laughing.
"Fuck you Emmett" was Jasper's reply.
"Children settle down" scolded Rose as she came downstairs. "Emmett quit antagonising Jasper would you?"
"Sorry Rosie" said Emmett sheepishly.
A loud honking noise sounded from outside, "Great the cab's here!" exclaimed Alice as she dragged her luggage down the stairs.
"Let's hit the road and finally put Jazz out of his misery" Rose told us.
The ride to the airport was quiet since Rosalie had threatened Emmett with no sex for a week if he didn't stop annoying Jasper. That shut Emmett up immediately; he knew as well as the rest of us that when Rose made a threat she meant it.
When we arrived we headed straight for the domestic terminal and stood in front of the large board showing all the flights leaving Seattle that afternoon.
Jasper looked at Alice with a pleading look in his eyes. Alice didn't say a word, she just slipped an envelope into Jasper's hands. He opened it his eyes widening.
"We're going to Las Vegas?" he asked her.
"Surprise!" she squealed.
"Alice this is "Jasper was lost for words, he picked Alice up and spun her around before planting a kiss on her lips.
"Vegas baby!" shouted Emmett.
Thankfully the plane ride was a short one because I was fairly certain the vast majority of the passengers on our flight couldn't handle much more of Emmett. Beyond excited about our trip to Vegas he just couldn't shut up and this was not helped by the fact that now that Jasper knew where we were headed he wouldn't shut up either. The situation was made worse by the fact that he had decided to get a head start on the weekend's festivities by having a few drinks on the plane.
They both keep shouting Vegas baby in the middle of conversations, Alice was just as excited as they were but I could tell it was starting to wear thin with Rose.
When we finally landed you could practically hear the sighs of relief from the other passengers.
Once we got our luggage we headed out the front to catch a couple of cabs. Rose had the brilliant idea of suggesting Alice, Jasper and Emmett all go in one while the rest of us went in the other. I thanked Rose profusely; she told me it was the only way to keep our sanity before we could get our hands on some alcohol.
As we drove to the hotel I started to get excited myself and in true Alice fashion began semi bouncing in my seat. I had never been to Las Vegas so I was curious to see if the movies did it justice.
When we pulled up outside our hotel and stepped out of the cab I could already tell that it was going to be a wild weekend.
We all agreed we would go and get settled in our rooms and meet in the living room in an hour. Alice had gone all out and booked a three bedroom suite for the trip. I hated to think how much it had cost her but she insisted that there would be no expense spared for Jasper's birthday.
The hour went by far too quickly for my liking; spending time alone with Edward was by far my favourite was to spend my time.
"There you are!" exclaimed Alice as we walked into the room. "We were just about to come and drag you away from each other."
I blushed even though we hadn't been doing what they thought we'd been doing.
"What's the plan for tonight?" asked Edward lounging on the sofa and pulling me into his lap.
"Dinner then a show?" suggested Alice.
We all nodded in agreement, "Are we going to get blind drunk tonight or save that for tomorrow night?" asked Emmett.
"I think I'd like to remember my birthday this year" Jasper said thoughtfully causing us all to laugh.
"Blind drunk tomorrow night then" Emmett stated, "Excellent."
The next day
"Happy birthday Jasper!" we all shouted the next morning when he finally made his way out onto the balcony where we were all having breakfast.
"Aw thanks guys" he said sitting down.
After breakfast and presents Alice announced we were going to spend the day at the carnival which Jasper and Emmett got very excited about. In the evening Jasper had requested that we all go out for dinner and drinks and then hit up the casinos. We all agreed and went and got ready for the day.
I decided that jeans and a simple striped tank top would suffice for a trip to the carnival, because let's be honest we were taking two over grown children along and a very excitable pixie. Things were bound to be thrown or spilt.
Throwing on a pair of sunglasses and grabbing my bag I met the others in the living room and then we headed down to the lobby,
"It's not far away so maybe we could walk" suggested Alice.
With that we headed off down the main strip in Vegas to where you could see a Ferris wheel spinning in the near distance.
Jasper stated he wanted to try out a few rides first so we all agreed and followed him to where the bumper cars were.
"You are so going down Whitlock" Emmett said gleefully as he got into his bumper car with Rose.
"Not likely Cullen, Alice is driving; you'll be the one going down!" Jasper retorted with an evil grin.
Emmett actually looked worried for a second. "You're letting the pixie behind the wheel?" he gulped.
"Damn straight Emmett, watch your back" she told him with an evil grin.
"Why can I see this ending badly already?" I whispered to Edward.
"You know them too well" Edward chuckled, "Have you ever seen them on these things?" he asked gesturing to the bumper car.
I shook my head "Maybe I should drive then" he told me.
Letting Edward drive the bumper car turned out to be one of the best decisions I had ever made. Emmett and Alice were ruthless.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" laughed Emmett as he rammed straight up the back of Alice and Jasper's bumper car with such force it slammed into the wall.
Alice turned around in her seat and glared at him "You'll pay for that Emmett Cullen!" she screeched as she spun the car around quickly and chased after them Emmett still cackling with laughter.
"Don't worry, she'll get him back later. They have a water version of these here" Edward told me.
I looked at him in horror "Bumper boats?" I asked him "What idiot thought making bumper cars into boats and putting them in a giant pool seemed like a good idea?'
Edward laughed at me "I'm picking it was someone with the same mentality that Emmett has."
I laughed in response just as Edward dodged out of the way of Emmett speeding towards us.
"Ooo nice manoeuvre little bro" shouted Emmett over the noise.
Eventually our time was up so we decided to move on to something else. Emmett led us over to where there were games that we sure to be rigged claiming he wanted to win Rose a giant stuffed animal.
"He says he wants to win one for me but really he wants one. He just doesn't want to look like a girl in front of Jazz and Edward" Rosalie whispered to me.
I let out a small giggle.
"Look Rosie" Emmett shouted at her as he threw rings at bottles attempting to get them over the necks. "Start picking your prize baby!"
"You pick Emmett, I'll love it no matter what" she replied winking at me.
Minutes later he joined us triumphant while Alice, Rose and I were watching Edward and Jasper try to get as many balls through the basketball hoop as they could before the timer stopped.
"Look what I won!" he exclaimed showing us what was quite possibly the ugliest soft toy in existence.
"What's it supposed to be?" asked Rose cocking her head and looking at it with one eyebrow raised.
"It's a monkey!" replied Emmett looking at her confused. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked.
"Well now that you mention it" Alice told him taking it off him for a closer look. "Actually no it still doesn't look like a monkey" she giggled handing it back to him.
"Don't worry I still think you look like a monkey Steve" Emmett told the monkey patting its head.
It was too much we all erupted into laughter. "You named the monkey Steve?" choked out Rose.
"Yes I did!" replied Emmett indignant, "He looks just like a Steve!"
"What are we laughing about?" asked Jasper. I turned to see him and Edward walking towards us each with a toy stuffed under their arms.
"Emmett named his monkey thing Steve" said Alice causing us all to start laughing again.
"Yeah Emmett's my now my monkey man" laughed Rose
Jasper and Edward looked at us like we were crazy, "I guess you had to be there" Jasper told Edward with a shrug of his shoulders. "Here Allie, this is for you" he said proudly handing Alice a very cute butterfly soft toy.
"Oh it's so cute!" she squealed.
"Not as cute as Steve" Emmett said, "Hmm can I name it for you?" he asked Alice.
She looked at him with narrowed eyes, "Okay" she said after a moment.
"This is for you love" said Edward handing me a cute furry tiger toy.
"Oh can I name that too!" asked Emmett excitedly.
"I'm dating a three year old" said Rose sadly shaking her head.
Before Emmett got a chance to name the soft toys Jasper announced we should go and get something to eat and then perhaps try out the bumper boats.
At the mention of food Emmett forgot all about everything else and eagerly walked ahead with Jasper eyeing up all the food stands. We could hear them debating about whether they should get hotdogs or churros.
"It's times like these when I feel a little envious of you Bella. At least your boyfriend acts like an adult" Rose faked sighed.
I laughed "I would say you could borrow him for a bit but I don't really want to share Edward" I replied grabbing his arm.
"Ah well, I'll just have to settle with the immature older brother then" she laughed winking at me.
Jasper and Emmett finally decided that we should have hotdogs now and churros later. We each got a dog with our favourite toppings and headed towards the bumper boats.
We stood and watched the other people zooming around while we finished eating. I noticed that only one person per boat was allowed, this was not going to be good for me.
"Do you remember the last time we all went to the amusement park in Seattle and went on these?" Alice asked the group.
"Yes, that was hilarious!" Rose replied with a grin. "Edward and Emmett ganged up on Jasper and hit his boat so hard Jasper fell out" she told me.
They all chuckled at the memory even Jasper, "It was pretty funny" he mused.
Before I knew it we were up next. Emmett grinned at me evilly "Don't worry Bells it's great fun!" he exclaimed.
Edward put his arm around me and whispered in my ear, "Make sure you don't let Emmett out of your sight love."
"Oh I won't" I replied with a grin.
We all got into out bumper boats and when the buzzer sounded we were off, surprisingly I was good at it! I managed to ram into Emmett so hard his boat spun around putting him right in Jasper's path.
"Woooooo pay backs a bitch!" shouted Jasper as a wave of water washed over Emmett.
"I'll get you for that!" he yelled in reply ramming into my boat.
Alice shrieked as Edward hit her boat spraying her with water and sending her spinning which led her to crash into my boat.
Ten minutes later we were all pretty wet and decided to go and dry off on the Ferris wheel.
"Wow the view up here is amazing!" I said to Edward as we reached the top of the wheel. "It's so beautiful."
"Its alright" he replied.
I looked at him confused, "It doesn't compare to you my love" he told me kissing me full on the lips. Thankfully Emmett and the others couldn't see what we were doing and spoil the moment.
I snaked my arm around Edward and pulled him closer letting his tongue into my mouth. He pulled away after a minute or two and said in a husky voice, "We better end that now before I get too carried away."
My cheeks flushed with pleasure. "I really am partial to that colour against you skin" he said brushing my cheek gently.
It turned out we weren't the only ones who got a little carried away on the Ferris wheel, both of the other couples looked a little flushed when they stepped of the ride. We decided it was time to call it a day and head back to the suite to chill out before the big night ahead.