Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, as do the people in this chapter. I do, however, own their crazy adventures.

Leah is the best beta in the world. That is all.

Thank you to everyone that has added this story to their favorite and alert lists, as well as those of y'all that I can count on to review every chapter. You rock! I have to say, though, that a lot of you expressed concern over Tanya showing up at the wedding. Have no fear, I'm not bringing that psycho near the crazy party that is likely to ensue (I mean, really, have you met my characters?) after Jasper makes Alice his wife. Also, a lot of you have asked how much time Edward and Bella have together in "the bubble", so to speak. Right now...2 days...then back to the real world.

Chapter Twenty-One: Bridezilla Begins

Friday morning passed by in a complete blur, as Alice woke Rose and me up at the ass-crack of dawn, pounding on the doors to the rooms we were sleeping in before the sun had dared made its appearance for the day. I protested and begged Edward to make an excuse for me to stay in bed for just an hour or two longer, but in the end, I dragged myself away from his warm embrace, threw on some athletic shorts and a tank top, and trudged downstairs for a warm cup of coffee.

'Hello, Bridezilla,' I wanted to say when I stepped into the kitchen to find Alice with a determined look on her face and a clipboard in her hand. I watched as she stared at it with a look of stern concentration, no doubt adding and subtracting from her never ending list of things to do.

"There's Starbucks on the counter," she stated without looking up, pointing with the sparkly pen in her hand towards the coffee carrier. "I got you your usual. Same as always, right?"

I smiled, remembering in that moment why Alice was my best friend, despite the fact that the look on her face was a little bit scary.

"Same as always," I nodded as I inhaled the comforting aroma. "What's the plan?"

Rose strolled into the room as Alice looked up and began speaking. With a small wave, she made her way towards the coffee carrier and found the cup with her name written across the side.

Alice inhaled deeply before launching into her spiel. "First, we will drop Rose off at Charleston Place downtown, where my parents and the Hales are staying so that they can get everything together for the rehearsal dinner which is, as you know, the responsibility of the groom's family. Thank God Eleanor Hale and I were on the same page for this portion of the wedding." She paused, looked down at her clipboard, jotted something down, and immediately began speaking again. "Also, while we're at the hotel, we'll unload the gift bags for out of town guests that Emmett and Edward are delivering to everyone's hotel of choice. My mother will look after them until the boys arrive to hand them out."

I wanted to ask what was so important about the gift bags that they needed looking after, but didn't dare interrupt her monologue.

"Once Rose has been dropped downtown, you and I will run over to Maddison Row to pick up the dresses before stopping for a quick lunch somewhere TBA with the wedding planner, you know, to make sure that all of the ducks are in a row. After lunch, we'll return to the house so that you can help me get everything packed for the honeymoon so that I don't have to do it tomorrow, then Rose will somehow find a way back here," she stopped and looked up at Rose, a worried expression on her face. "You'll be able to find a ride, right?"

"I think I can handle it, mom," Rose said dryly with a roll of her eyes before taking a long sip of her coffee.

"Great," Alice said shortly, completely ignoring Rose's snarky remark. "After Rose returns, we'll have a drink on the beach with Jasper, Emmett, and Edward before coming inside to get ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner."

She stopped, took a deep breath, and smiled broadly. Simply hearing everything we had to do over the course of the day left me exhausted.

"What are the boys doing today?" Rose dared to ask.

Alice looked down at the clipboard. "I have it all outlined, would you like to hear it? I already told you what Emmett and Edward are doing in the morning…"

"Nope," Rose answered quickly, causing Alice to frown. "Just making sure they wouldn't be sitting on their asses."

"What's this about asses?" Edward asked, suddenly appearing behind me and whispering in my ear as his hand found my ass and squeezed it once.

I turned and grinned up at him, lifting the ball cap he on his head and placing a short kiss on the tip of his nose. "Rose was just making sure that you men weren't going to be sitting on yours all day," I explained.

"There will be no ass sitting, that's for sure," Jasper said as he sauntered into the room, a sheet of paper in his hand. "First we'll…"

Rose held up a hand to stop him. "No need, J," she said.

He shrugged and dropped the sheet to his side. "If you say so," he said. "Alice, babe, do you need anything here before we head out to get started with everything?"

She shook her head back and forth. "Just a kiss from my fiancé…"

"I think I can handle that," Jasper said, sliding over to where she was standing and kissing her deeply.

"Again, you are my brother," Rose said, averting her eyes and pretending to gag.

xXx

By the time Alice and I returned to the house following lunch, I wanted nothing more than to take a long nap followed by a warm, relaxing shower. Of course, Alice had other plans, and dragged me upstairs so that I could help her pack.

As she held various items of clothing up, it was my responsibility to choose which suitcase they would go in—the one she was taking on their honeymoon or the one that was staying behind. Really, though, I wasn't sure why my opinion was necessary as, several times, Alice would veto my decision and toss something in the suitcase opposite of what I had suggested. Finally, though, after what felt much longer than an hour, we were lying next to each other on the floor, our heads next to each other as we chatted aimlessly.

"So…" She began after a lull in our conversation. I knew what that word meant coming from Alice's mouth, she was about to delve into something serious.

"So…" I echoed.

Alice sat up and looked down at me. "Did you tell Edward?"

"Tell Edward what?" I asked, playing the innocent card as I pulled myself to a sitting position, folding my legs beneath me.

She rolled her eyes. "You know what, Bella. Our conversation…yesterday…"

"Oh, that," I said. "The conversation from yesterday…"

"Yes, that," she sighed. "Did you talk?"

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as I recalled the night before, my hands shifting to my lap. "We did," I responded.

"And?" She urged.

"And," I paused for a moment, watching my hands as I nervously played with my fingers. "We decided to do away with the living in the moment shit and agreed that we wanted to see where this thing between us goes once we're outside of this bubble we're living in now."

Alice squealed before pleading, "Tell me more!"

So, I did. I told her how Edward and I had agreed that we both liked each other very much, and that we wanted to take our relationship further after the week ended. I also told her about my silly insertion of, "Ditto," into the conversation, as well as how Edward has been scared shitless of the conversation and that, surprisingly, he had been the one to initiate it.

Alice listened, surprisingly quietly, nodding every now and then as I shared. When I stopped, grinning broadly still, she spoke.

"I'm so happy for you!"

"I'm happy for me, too," I admitted for the first time in a long time.

Without missing a beat, the questions began. "Who's visiting who first?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, I guess it'll depend on his school and my work schedule."

Alice frowned. "That needs to be discussed."

"It will be," I answered hotly, suddenly a little defensive. Wasn't it enough that the two of us had agreed that our budding relationship was significant enough to try to make it work long distance?

"If you're sure," she stated without looking up.

"Alice…" I ground out through my teeth.

She sighed loudly. "I just, Bella, I want to see both of you happy, so badly. I worry that if you don't have a plan in place when you leave, that you'll let life get in the way and lose touch again."

"What do you mean, lose touch again?"

"I mean," she said, "that for the past three years you have maintained contact with every one of us except Edward. Why is that?"

Her question caught me off guard and I fumbled to come up with an answer that wouldn't make me sound silly. "I…I…don't know."

"You do, too, know," Alice disagreed with narrowed eyes. "So tell me. I want to know. Why did you forget about Edward? You know, he always asks Jasper about you, wonders what you've been up to. He missed you, Bella, missed your friendship."

"I didn't forget about Edward," I answered defensively. "He was my best friend, Alice, second only to you for Christ sake. What was I supposed to do? Call him with my pitiful stories about how Jake proposed and that the idea of being married to him scared the shit out of me? Or, maybe I could have called and cried on his metaphorical shoulder when I found out that Jake had been cheating for months with some…some whore from his office?"

"Yes," Alice cut in. "You should have done both of those things. That's what friends do for each other."

I shook my head, laughing bitterly. "And screw up his perfect relationship with T-Monster? I don't think so. The bitch hated me enough, it would have been worse if I went crying to her almost-fiancée. Besides, when I got to Manhattan, I just wanted to find out who I was on my own, to be strong for myself."

Alice reached across and laid a hand on top of mine. "He broke up with her after graduation," she said softly. "And you are strong, you always have been."

"I am not, not really," I answered. "And I didn't know he had broken up with Tanya, Alice. Friendships work two ways, you know. He could have called me if he missed me that much."

"He thought you were with Jake."

"Never mattered before, did it?" I countered.

Alice took a moment to consider her words before speaking. "You know, Bella, I'm beginning to think that both of you are the two most stubborn people I've ever encountered. He thought you were with Jake, you thought he was with Tanya. Damn, maybe if one of you had gotten your shit together before now we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Mess?" I knew that the next couple of months were going to be difficult for Edward and me, but I certainly didn't consider our relationship a mess.

"I'm sorry, maybe mess isn't the best word to use. Perhaps…situation."

"Okay, what do you mean by situation?"

"I mean," she paused, her eyes searching mine, "maybe the two of you wouldn't be living in separate cities."

"Are you saying that you think we would have gotten together before now?"

She nodded.

"Seriously?" I asked, taken aback.

Another nod. "Seriously," she agreed. "We've kind of all known it would happen eventually. Even in college, there was something unexplainably perfect between the two of you, but you both seemed happy with Jake and Tanya."

I snorted. Happy was not the word I would have chosen to describe my relationship with Jake. Barely satisfied, maybe, but not happy. Happy was what I felt now, with Edward, despite the fact that Alice was attempting to make me face the facts of a relationship that I had laid to rest months prior.

"Well, hindsight's 20-20, huh?" I asked, eager to get away from any and all conversations that involved Jake.

"Really, hindsight's a bitch," Alice said with a giggle. It seemed as if she was satisfied to move on to a lighter topic of conversation until she asked, "So, you're okay with doing the long distance thing again?"

I nodded. "It'll be different with Edward," I stated resolutely.

"It will," Alice agreed. "God, Bella, you should see the way he looks at you, it's like you hung the moon and then the stars. He always has, really."

"He has? He does?" I asked, doubtful.

"Always. It just took both of you a little while to realize it."

"That's for sure," I said with a chuckle that Alice joined echoed.

Her laughter made me smile. "Thank you, Alice."

"For what?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"For making me get my head out of my ass yesterday, and for being a nosy little shit."

She grinned. "You know you love me. Just promise me you'll make a plan?"

I sighed, leaning over to wrap her up in a hug. "I'll talk to Edward about making a plan," I grumbled into her hair as she wrapped her arms around me. "I'm not going to let him get away this time, as a friend or as…more."

"That's all I ask," she answered and I could hear the smile in her voice as we broke our hug.

As she pulled away, the door banged open and Emmett bellowed, "Fuck yeah, girl on girl action up here," as he tossed his first in the air.

I rolled my eyes and stood, crossing to where he stood. "You're too late, bud," I stated as I clapped my hand against his chest and pushed past him into the hall.

I could hear the frown on his face as he murmured, "Damn," before I heard Rose come up behind and smack him. "Ass," she said to him playfully.

I wasted no time dashing down the hall towards Edward's room, anxious to see him after having spent the morning and afternoon apart. As I speed walked, I admitted to myself that I needed to get my act together, seeing as how in a day and a half I would have to go a hell of a lot longer without seeing his handsome face in person. The irony wasn't lost on me, that Edward and I had gone roughly three years with very minimal contact but now the idea of being apart from him for a day saddened me.

When I didn't find him in his room, I turned and headed downstairs, finding him in the living room, discussing something in angry, hushed tones with Jasper.

"Hi," I stated lightly from the doorway, announcing my presence. "Am I interrupting something?"

Edward looked up and shook his head, his face brightening at my presence before motioning for me to join him on the loveseat. After cuddling up next to him, I asked, "What were you two talking about?"

He sighed. "About Alice's silly rule of separating boys and girls for the evening."

I frowned, his statement from the night before about not seeing me the following night returning to my mind. At the time, the meaning hadn't registered as I had been too focused on his body pressed up against mine, but now it did.

"Where are the three of you staying?" I asked weakly.

"Alice reserved a suite for us at Charleston Place, where most of the other guests are, but I was in the process of begging Jasper to let me stay here."

"And I was reminding him that this was Alice's weekend and to not go against the plan," Jasper added.

I looked into Edward's eyes and nodded. "You need to do as you're told, babe," I told him, though it pained me to intentionally shorten our time together.

"Are you sure?" He asked, his voice low so that Jasper wouldn't hear.

"I'm sure," I said, sealing my statement with a kiss as I slid closer towards him. "We'll be together most of tomorrow, remember, Date?"

A small smile spread across his lips as he leaned in. "I do remember, Date," he answered, his voice husky and his breath fanning across my face.

"I'm going to go, uh, check on Alice," Jasper said, obviously uncomfortable at the PDA we were seconds away from starting.

"Okay," we answered at the same time, giggling when we realized what we had done before joining our lips together.

"You know," Edward said as he pulled away. "Tomorrow will be our first real date."

"It will," I agreed, smiling at him. "Wait, real date? As opposed to…"

He nodded. "Yes, real date…I'm not counting the fraternity and sorority date nights we dragged each other to in college when Jake and/or Tanya were busy."

"Yes, those," I remembered. "They definitely don't count, mainly because I didn't kiss you then."

He grinned before leaning over, placing his mouth on the shell of my ear and whispering, "No, you did not. So, Bella, you put out on the first date?"

I giggled and pushed him away playfully. "I haven't decided yet," I answered coyly.

"Is that right?"

I nodded, biting my lip as I took in his piercing eyes and unruly hair. Fuck yeah, I'm putting out.

"Anything I can do to convince you?" He asked, moving forward and placed the span of his hands on the sides of my stomach. "Because I can be very persuasive," his voice dropped as he spoke, his fingers digging into my sides.

"Yeah?" As if I would need convincing…

"Yeah," he echoed before attacking me with tickles.

I giggled, gasping for breath as he dug his fingers into my sides and my stomach before lifting my shirt and attacking my skin directly, eventually moving us so that he was hovering above me as he continued his ministrations.

"Stop, stop," I giggled, attempting unsuccessfully to get some tickles in myself.

With a smug grin, he leaned down and placed an open mouthed kiss on my neck, stilling his movements. "Say it," he begged.

"Say what?" I asked breathlessly, completely lost in the feel of his lips moving against my skin.

"Say you'll stay with me tomorrow night," he said, his voice hinting towards desperation as he looked up to meet my gaze.

I nodded, my mouth falling open with surprise at the look in his eyes, a combination of hope, desperation, and lust.

"Of course I'll stay with you tomorrow night," I said before reaching up to thread my hands behind his neck and pull his lips back to mine.

xXx

Eventually, Edward and I had to pull ourselves away from each other for the obligatory drinks on the beach that Alice had planned to happen at roughly three forty-five that afternoon. We were each limited to only one beer,; Alice didn't want us to get sloppy that night, before we were ushered upstairs for showers.

I felt like I was at summer camp and Alice was the bossy head counselor.

The six of us quickly showered and, by four o'clock on the dot, were in the Tahoe, heading towards the location Alice had chosen for the wedding. It was the first time that any of us, other than her, would be seeing the outdoor site in person.

When we pulled up to the inconspicuous location, I tried to picture it the way Alice had described it during her packing extravaganza, frowning when I couldn't.

"It's just down that trail, tomorrow there will be tea lights lining the walkway," Alice announced as Emmett put the Tahoe into park and we began climbing out.

As he had grown fond of doing, Edward helped my ass out of the vehicle.

We followed Alice down the short trail and, suddenly, the private beach area she had described earlier was right in front of us. Other than a row of single row of folding chairs sat out for the sole purpose of creating an aisle for the rehearsal, the clearing was empty all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Though I could imagine the decorations just as Alice had described them to me earlier, I was amazed by the simplicity of the location.

Alice pointed out what would go where as she led us towards where her parents, the Hales, and the minister performing the ceremony were waiting so that we go through the motions. She explained that the decorators had a large tent on stand-by in case of rain, and reminded Rose and me that the three of us would be arriving in a vintage carriage pulled by two white horses.

And just like that, my illusion of simplicity vanished.

Edward and I walked together and he squeezed my hip sweetly when, after greeting everyone, we were told to separate so for the run-through. It went by quickly, Alice and Jasper refused to say the vows until the following day, and we were suddenly back in the car, heading towards the rehearsal dinner.

xXx

The rehearsal dinner was held at the in-house restaurant of Charleston Place and, when our group arrived, all of the out of town guests were waiting at their tables in the private dining room that the Hales had reserved.

Place cards were set at the head table in the front of the room for the six of us, as Alice wanted us to be set apart from the rest of the group. She had told us that we were the most important people in the room to her and she wanted us together. Also, because there were going to be hors devours instead of a meal at the reception, tonight would include dinner as well as toasts from Edward and myself, the best man and maid of honor, respectively.

I'm not going to lie, I was nervous as Hell despite the fact that I had written the speech I would be sharing before leaving New York. Though Edward's hand was comforting on my thigh, I knew that it would slide away when I stood to speak; therefore my only true comfort was the copy of my toast that I had stuffed into my purse before rushing out of my apartment towards the airport.

Between dinner and the arrival of our desserts, Edward stood, champagne glass in hand, and asked for everyone's attention. When he glanced down at me, I worried that he was going to say, "Ladies first," but, luckily, he simply winked and turned to face the group gathered and waiting for him to speak.

After clearing his throat, he began, his voice steady and confident as he spoke.

"When I walked through the door of that my tiny, cramped dorm suite on that sweltering August day in New Haven, I never expected to stumble upon these jokers," he nodded towards Jasper and then to Emmett, "that ultimately became my best friends. Really, I expected a computer nerd that was addicted to World of Warcraft or something, knowing my terrible luck with randomly selected things. Instead, I found Jasper, the music-loving psychology major, and Emmett, who I thought at first might be a meathead but soon learned was smarter than he seemed. Though I have countless stories that could incriminate both of these men, I'll save Emmett's for when he decides to finally make an honest woman out of Rosalie," he paused as everyone laughed and Emmett boomed, "One day, baby," with a fist pump.

With a chuckle, he continued. "Jasper, my man, tonight, I'm telling the story of the morning after your first date with Alice…"

XxX

Edward POV

December 2007, Sophomore Year

(315): I woke up face first on my living room floor arms outstretched towards the Christmas tree

Feeling the bed beside me, I was glad to find it empty as I attempted to gather my bearings and recall what had happened the night before. Looking down, I realized that I was wearing a horrible Christmas sweater and, at the foot of my bed, rested a sequined Santa hat.

Ah, yes. Tacky Christmas.

Bella had reluctantly agreed to be my unofficial date, as Tanya had already gone home for winter break, something about not having any finals to take. Whatever, she had probably blown her professors to get out of taking them—it wouldn't have been the first time—that was for sure.

It had been a fun night, filled with beer pong and flip cup and ridiculous outfits.

The best part of the evening, though, had been watching Jasper attempt to impress Alice as though they hadn't been friends for the past year and a half. It was there their first date, though, so I suppose I could understand how pussy-whipped he was acting, running all over the fraternity house in search of her favorite drink or snack.

After pulling off the itchy sweater, I grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it over my head before stumbling out of my room towards the kitchen in search of breakfast and maybe some tea. Bella, I knew, would be passed out on the couch when I walked out and, I was kind of looking forward to waking her up in an annoying manner because, shit, she was an easy target.

Except, she wasn't asleep when I walked out. Instead, she was sitting up on the couch, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she shook silently with laughter, her gaze on the Christmas tree. The only light in the room came from the lights on the tree, as the dark shades on the windows were drawn tight.

Had she done some sort of drug the night before that I was unaware of?

Shifting my gaze slowly, I found the source of her laugher.

Jasper.

Passed out, face down, with his hands stretching towards the Christmas tree. I couldn't be sure, but I think there was drool coming from the corner of his mouth.

"What the Hell?" I asked as I heard a door down the hall open.

Bella quit laughing and managed to say, "I found him like this a few minutes ago. Why isn't he with Alice? They snuck away from the party early, I thought."

I shrugged. "I haven't a clue," I answered.

"Morning," I heard someone mumble behind me. Turning around, I found an uncharacteristically disheveled Alice. "Where's Jasper?"

Bella erupted into laughter again, as did I.

Alice stomped her foot in annoyance. "No, really, where is he?" She demanded.

I was bent over, my hands grasping my stomach I was laughing so hard. Unable to form words, I simply stepped aside so that she could see her new beau, passed out.

"Oh no," she breathed. I realized in that moment that he was dressed only in his boxers. "I wondered why he never returned with the glass of water I wanted…"

XxX

As he told the story, laughter emanated from every person in the room, including myself. Somehow, the memory of Jasper begging for the Christmas tree in his sleep had slipped my mind, and it made me light up to hear it again.

Edward continued to speak, saying something else about what a good friend Jasper was before turning to the front and lifting his champagne glass. "To Jasper and Alice," he toasted.

"To Jasper and Alice," everyone echoed as he turned to me, our eyes meeting before we both drank and ne nodded in my direction, signaling that it was my turn to honor the happy couple.

With a deep breath, I leaned down to pull my notes from inside my purse, fumbling around for a moment when I couldn't find the sheet I could have sworn I had printed out and stuffed inside.

And then, I remembered my tendency to be a complete and total spaz.

In honor of Texts From Last Night turning legal in chapter age, tell me, what would you wish for if you were the one that got to blow out the birthday candles?

See y'all next Tuesday :)

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