Chapter Twenty-five: Day with Alice

AN: Got back from the funeral at 4 am this morning. This chapter is long, but I'm not sure I like it.

Characters belong to Stephenie Meyers

BPOV

"Alice, where are we going?" I asked as she hurried me through the door.

"Well, first thing we are going shopping. You need new clothes, Bella. I've told you this already. You knew it was coming." She replied.

Groaning, I said "Why? I told you I don't want any. Alice, I hate shopping."

"Get over it, you are with me now. Shopping is a must if you are friends with me." Alice told me sternly.

Maybe I didn't want to be friend's with this obnoxious pixie then, I thought sullenly. No, don't think that. She's been nice to me this entire time. She just took some getting used too. I needed to get out of my own little world and the quiet I left behind in Forks.

Sighing, I said "So where are we going then?"

"Oh to some shops I know of. We'll start you off in some small ones." Alice said. Great… That meant more attention would be focused on me if it was a smaller one. I preferred anonymity.

"Come on Bella, I don't have all day and this won't be our last adventure of the day." She said rushing me along.

When we reached our dorm instead of going inside she dragged me to a yellow Porsche. Ahhh… the penis car I thought with a laugh. It was a struggle to hold the giggle back threatening to come out.

"Alice, I think I really need a shower first. We slept in the woods all night." I told her.

Alice shook her head and replied "No, we don't have time right now, later. You'll probably need a shower after all we do today anyway." So what the hell were we doing? I got the impression this was Edward's idea, but Alice would have forced this day out of me sometime, he just made it happen sooner. I was also sure that Alice would go overboard.

"Get in the car, Bella." Alice opened her door and got into the car. When I got in I nearly fell not realizing how low to the ground it was. This definitely wasn't my truck. "Bella, we don't have time for your clumsiness today either, pull it together." Alice said exasperated.

Once in the car she shot off. I knew the others were fast, but I think she might drive even faster than they did. Show-off. My truck didn't go over fifty-five miles per hour. I looked at the speedometer and thought she had to be driving at least ninety. Shutting my eyes, I awaited the death that was sure to come when Alice whipped into a parking space outside a boutique downtown.

Taking some deep breaths to calm my racing heart, I finally unclenched my hands from the seat. "Holy crap, Alice. Why do you have to drive like that? I know I just saw my life flash before my eyes." I yelled at her.

"Bella, I always drive like this. Haven't you noticed all the family drives fast?" She asked.

"Yeah they all drive fast; Alice, but you have a whole new definition of fast." I told her. She scared me enough I wasn't sure I'd get in the car with her again for any reason.

"Alice if you drive the car like that again I will kill you if you don't manage the job first." I told her. Alice rolled her eyes at me like I was being a silly child. My father was the police chief; I'd seen plenty of accidents when people drove that dumbly and never walked away from it.

"Alright, alright Bella. I promise I'll drive slower today. If I don't you have permission to call someone else to drive you." Alice sighed.

"I will, Alice. Trust me. You might be crazy, but I'm not." How many arguments had I had with this girl? Weren't they all in the morning? Should I start avoiding her every morning?

After arguing with Alice we walked into the first boutique she picked out.

Oh my God! "Alice, why are we in a lingerie shop?" I choked out.

She looked me up and down as if to say 'Do you really need to ask that question?' "Bella, I've seen your underwear, you need new ones. Also some that say I'm a woman, not the crap you're wearing. Those bras you have aren't doing anything for you, you know."

Looking around, I didn't know what to do. All my underwear was cotton and usually bought in packages. I didn't think I could justify the cost of this stuff.

"Now Bella, go get in the dressing room and strip down to your underwear, I want to see what I'm working with." Alice commanded.

Embarrassment wasn't a strong enough emotion for how I felt right now. My neck even turned red. I grudgingly walked into the dressing room. Alice's voice floated to me, "Bella, I meant it, take off those clothes. I'll be there in a minute."

Stripping down to my underwear I waited holding my arms around myself. Outside the room I could hear Alice and another girl talking, it seemed as though they knew each other well and Alice was one of their best customers.

Opening the curtain to the dressing room, Alice said "Come out here to the big mirror, where there is more room." What? She must be crazy. When I didn't come I heard "Now, Bella. We don't have all day."

Walking out I saw Alice and the girl that worked here waiting for me with measuring tape. Taking measurements they figured out what size I really was. Alice said "I knew you wore your clothes too big, but three sizes Bella? Really? Why?" I shrugged, thinking to hide myself. Alice was right, I did need this. Why was I hiding?

"Now the important part, lift your arms we need a bra measurement, I'm sure that one is wrong." Alice told me. It was, of course. Perhaps I really did need my mother in high school more than I'd thought.

"Alright Bella, I'll be bringing bras for you to try on. No complaints." Alice said.

Trying not to complain, I just endured this torture. Alice put a new bra on one after the other quickly adjusting each one and saying yes or no. I never had a choice in the matter. She picked out matching underwear for all the ones she kept. I think their were seven total at the end.

"Bella, I want you to put these on now before we go anywhere else." Alice said as she handed me a smooth satin black bra with matching panties. I raised an eyebrow. Why was I changing now? "Bella, do as I say. The other clothes won't fit right if the bra doesn't look good." Sighing I did as she asked.

When I was changed I walked out and Alice was standing at the door with bags in her hand having already paid. I wondered how much that was going to cost me. "Hurry up, Bella." She said.

Leaving the store Alice put the bags in the trunk of her car. Instead of leaving we continued walking down to some other shops. Alice shoved me in each store's dressing room not letting me look at anything and started shoving things at me. Only things that met her strict approval were bought, regardless of what I thought.

Next she took me to an expensive shoe store. Oh man… I hated trying on shoes. I must be the only girl that did, but being so clumsy limited my choices. Alice sat me down and told the guy which ones she wanted me to try on. Of course heels were in there. I could barely walk in those things. "Bella, Rosalie and I will teach how to walk in those, but for today I think you might need flats or you'll end up on your face." Alice said as she narrowed her eyes watching me walk in the heels. Fortunately, we did find some flats that I liked and the heels were comfortable enough if I could just walk in the damn things.

"Okay Bella, I think that's enough shopping for today. Let's go put this stuff back in the car." Alice said.

Reaching her yellow Porsche, I heard my phone ring again. Who was calling me now? Looking down at the phone I didn't recognize the number. Shrugging I answered and said "Hello?"

"Bells? I was calling to see if lost your signal this morning or if you really hung up on me." I heard Jake's voice on the other end. I knew I shouldn't have let Edward keep me from throwing my phone out the window.

Alice looked at me carefully, wondering what I would say to him. "Yes Jake, I hung up on you and I plan on doing it again." I said back to him.

"No!" He said loudly. "Bella, I just wanted to apologize. I need to tell you I'm sorry for what I did and how I acted. I miss you, Bells. I want you to take me back."

I know my mouth had to be gaping like a fish when I pulled the phone from my ear and just looked at it. Putting the phone back to my mouth I said "It's too late, Jake. All I see when I think of you is seeing you naked with another girl. I'm falling for someone else here. I won't let you destroy that too."

"Bells, are you talking about that Edward guy that sleeps with all those girls? Surely I'd be better than that." He replied. I shook my head. Yeah, but he never lied to me about it, I thought.

"Jake, please just leave me alone. Find someone else at home and give me peace." I said and hung up.

"Bella, are you okay?" Alice asked. I wondered if she thought I'd break down like I did this morning. No, fuck him. He didn't deserve another thought.

"I'm fine, Alice. I just realized how much better off I am here with you guys." I said.

Alice nodded and said "And Edward too?"

"Yes," I smiled and said "Definitely him too." Alice beamed at me and my heart did a happy little flip. Yes, I was happier with Edward too. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure I was ever happy with Jake or if that's just what people expected from us.

Alice started to skip away from the car and I followed behind. "Where are we going?" I asked her.

"To make you more beautiful Bella. That's what this whole day is about." She told me. I groaned, I thought once she was done playing dress-up we'd be done.

She stopped at a salon and day spa. It was a nice looking place, but I would never have come to a place like this. It was too fancy.

Alice leading the way, we walked in and she shouted out to the girls working there. Apparently she came here often. Walking up to the front desk, she said "I know it's short notice, but I need you to make my friend here look good before tonight." The girl smiled at me and nodded.

"What do you want done, Alice?" She asked her.

"Nails, facial, wax, haircut, and massage. I think that's all she can handle for one day." Alice told her. What? I wasn't sure I could handle all that.

"Okay Alice, let's bring her on back and start with her nails and facial." Bringing me to the back of the salon I sat down in the chair indicated. Alice picked the color of nail polish she wanted, it was a red color and called sex-starved. I laughed at the name.

"Close your eyes and try to relax during all of this if you can. You need to get some sleep." Alice told me. I tried doing as she asked, but it was a little difficult.

When that was done, Alice took me to a private room in the back to be waxed. Alice told the girl to wax everything, legs, underarms, eyebrows and bikini. I turned a bright red at that. "Now Bella, always go to a professional to do this; never do this at home yourself. Trust me." Alice said. I wasn't sure I'd ever let anyone do this to me again. I was mortified and it hurt like hell.

"Bella, now it's time to get your haircut." Alice said shooing me into a chair.

"Hey Alice, who's this?" A new girl asked Alice.

"Oh hey, Deanne. This is my roommate, Bella. She's in desperate need of a haircut. I want to keep it long though and maybe just a lot of layers." Alice answered

The hairdresser nodded and said "Yeah, I think that would look good. Let's get you washed and I'll get started."

When I was settled in the chair again and she had scissors in her hand she asked me "So have you met Alice's brother? He's gorgeous."

"Yes, I've met her brother." I answered.

Alice blew out her breath and dancing around said "This is my brother's girlfriend." I looked at her sharply. We'd never said anything about that.

"Well, maybe not officially, but they might as well be together. Isn't that exciting? I never thought it would happen. I never thought my brother would be happy." Alice told her.

"Yeah, that's great. It's about time. I know you've been worried about him." Deanne said back.

They continued their conversation around me, as my thoughts drifted back to Edward. I missed him already and we hadn't been apart that long. If I hadn't fallen out of bed, I wondered what would have happened. Damn it and my clumsiness.

Once my hair was done according to Alice's instructions she led me to another private room and this time said "Bella I want you to relax and try to sleep now if you can. You need to strip down for this. Try to control your embarrassment. I want you to get comfortable in your own body. I'm leaving now. I'll be back in an hour."

I didn't know what to expect, but I did as was asked of me and laid down with a sheet over me. Once I got over the initial shock, I relaxed enough to fall asleep. The next thing I knew Alice was waking me up to get dressed. Drowsily I put my clothes back on and floated out of that place feeling as light as air.

Getting back to the dorm and taking our bags upstairs, Alice said "I want you to take a shower now and come back to me."

After running the warm water over me and rewashing my hair I got out and put the underwear on Alice had told me to wear. They were a deep blue color and lacy. Then I looked at the panties she had handed me incredulously, it was a thong. Shaking my head at her, I put them on anyway.

Back in the room I sat down and Alice had some food there for us to eat. I was starving, it was nearly seven o'clock and I hadn't eaten since breakfast. Then she started on my hair with Rosalie's help. Next she did my make-up, thankfully still making me look like myself, just a better version of it.

"Bella, I laid out the clothes I want you to wear on your bed." Alice told me as I looked towards the bed. On it was a pair of dark jeans that looked like they'd be too tight and a blue halter top nearly the same color as the underwear I was wearing. I saw silver open-toed flats by the bed too.

Putting on the clothes that amazingly did fit, even though I thought they wouldn't, I looked down at myself. I didn't recognize that body, this didn't belong to me. I never looked this good. Alice handed me a mirror so I could inspect my hair and make-up a little better.

With tears in my eyes I hugged Alice and said "Thank you. I never knew I could be this pretty." Although this day was torture to me, the result was remarkable.

Alice hugged me back and said with a laugh "I'm happy you're coming around to my way of thinking."

"Alice, don't get used to it." I said, smiling back.

"Now, let us get ready and we'll get out of here." She said.