Disclaimer: We don't own Twilight, but LMW owns a mini-Stalksper that JFI got her for her birthday!

[ Emmett ]

Shoes? Check. Camera? Check. Extra cash? Check. My Little Pony sleeping bag?

My eyes narrowed at the fucking glittery sleeping bag that sat on the table next to the rest of the shit I was packing for tomorrow. I glared at my brother and Jasper from across the room, knowing one of their asses had put that shit there, and threw an extra rolled up pair of socks at them. They both tried to look innocent, but I definitely wasn't buying it.

"You two can kiss my ass if you think I'm sleeping on a sidewalk again. And you can really kiss my ass if you think I would sleep on a sidewalk with this damn thing." I pushed it off the table before kicking it towards Jasper.

He bent down to pick it up, chuckling like an idiot, before throwing it back into the closet. He held his hands up while I continued to glare at him. "I swear it wasn't me."

I was about to call him on his bullshit when I was interrupted by my brother laughing like an old fat man. Jasper and I both turned to look, seeing Edward leaning over the couch actually howling with laughter.

"Are you high?" I asked after watching him for a minute.

Jasper snorted when he shook his head. "Are you drunk?"

Edward finally sat up and wiped his eyes. "I never get you, Em. Then I finally do… and fuck me, the look on your face was priceless."

Jasper laughed at Edward's enthusiasm and I just shook my head. "Lame."

I went back to my suitcase, making sure that I had everything. I ignored Jasper and Edward fist bumping at my brother's accomplishment of "pranking" me and went back in to my room to get my suit. Making sure not to wrinkle it, I put it into the garment bag, along with my tie and dress shirt. After zipping it up, I looked up to find the two of them staring at me.

"What?" I asked them.

Jasper shook his head while Edward's smile widened. My brother motioned to the garment bag. "A suit? I didn't even know you owned one."

I rolled my eyes before setting my two bags by the front door. "I got it for graduation next month, asshole. And I figured that if I'm going to that cocktail party, then I needed something nice to wear."

"No screen printed tuxedo shirt?" Jasper asked.

"Oh no, that's packed, too. After all, that shirt says-"

"I'm here to party," Jasper finished for me. He smiled at me while shaking his head.

"What is it with you and the super-sized suitcase?" I asked him, pointing at the monstrous bag at his feet. "Isn't a duffle bag more your style?"

"All of the recording equipment for the station is in here. I don't want to have to carry two bags."

"You're gonna have to check that bag, and you're going to regret it. Something always happens to checked baggage," I muttered.

Jasper ignored my warning and looked at Edward. He was playing with the new high tech video camera he had picked up, specifically for his interview with the cast. The past few days he had taken a habit to playing with it constantly, making sure he knew exactly how it worked. It was getting a little old, but his exuberance was kind of endearing.

They started talking about what questions he was going to ask the cast, and I left the two of them to go back to my bedroom. I swiveled in my chair, waiting for the computer to start up, and mentally started preparing my answers for the FanFiction panel. I wasn't really sure what kinds of questions they were going to ask, but I figured that going over generic answers in my head wouldn't be a bad idea.

As I mentally coached myself on the answers, I pulled up my story and started printing out a few copies. I watched as the paper moved through the machine, letting the humming noise from the printer calm my nerves.

Was I nervous about the panel? Fuck no. I knew those chicks would probably be surprised to see a dude, but I had a suspicion that there were more guys involved in FanFiction than people believed. Over the last few months I had decided that it really wasn't something to be "ashamed" of, per say. And if making an ass of myself at a convention panel was what it took for more dudes to be comfortable with "coming out," then I would gladly take one for the team. There needed to be less estrogen in this fandom; that was for damn sure.

So yeah… the panel wasn't my worry. What did worry me was Rosalie-fucking-Hale. I have always been an ass; I know this and will admit to it freely. But since VanCon, I really came to realize just how fucking crude I was to her. I thought that it would be funny, asking a super hot chick to sign a picture of my chubby, but really, it just made me look like a huge douche bag.

How I acted was no different than what those fucking Angeleers did. They were a group of middle-aged men that would go in under the guise of being devoted fans, and maybe some of them were, but a few of them were literally fucking crazy. They would take things way beyond the realm of normal behavior and into something totally fucked up, and they all seemed to have a rather strong obsession with Rosalie. Unfortunately, all of the crazy behavior overshadowed the majority of them that were normal.

After the pages finished printing, I stacked them together and bound them with big ass clips. After making sure they wouldn't fall apart on me, I gathered them all up and went back into the living room. Jasper and Edward were laughing and both smiled when I walked in.

"What's that?" Edward asked, nodding to the stack of paper I had in my hand.

"I printed out a few copies of my story."

His eyes widened before he laughed. "Are you serious? Why would you need to- -"

I slipped the papers in the front of my suitcase and quickly zipped it up before turning around and cutting Edward off. "A few of my readers are going to be there, and they asked if I would bring them a copy and sign it for them."

My arms crossed across my chest and I glared at both of them, daring them to say something.

It was a few seconds before Jasper cleared his throat. "But why?"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a banana off of the bar. "When are you fuckers gonna learn that I am officially the bad ass of Carlisle's Angels FanFiction?"

Edward laughed and I shrugged.

"Laugh all you want, brother man, but in a few days you will see just how bad ass my FanFic takeover will be. I've been plotting for a while, and I know this shit will go off without a hitch."

"Emmett," Jasper's voice warned.

I shook my head and smiled. "Don't worry; I've got it under control."

** ** **

[ Edward ]

"Plaid, plaid, or plaid?" I asked Angela. She watched as I held up the three different shirts for her opinion.

She pointed to one and smiled. "That one; it's nice but kinda casual at the same time."

It was the same one that Jasper had suggested, too. I slipped it off of the hanger and tossed it on the bed with the rest of the clothes I was taking to California.

This was so different than how it had been going to Vancouver. It wasn't rushed or stressed, and even though I was extremely nervous, it felt like all of this was happening for a reason. Like it was predestined? I mentally scolded myself for sounding crazy, even if part of my heart really did believe it. But how else could this be explained? There were so many coincidences that made it hard to overlook.

First, there was Alice and Jasper. In what universe did things like that happen? My best friend just happened to fall in love with a close friend of Bella's? Alice had been e-mailing me, telling me that I didn't need to be nervous, and basically giving me inside information about Bella's personality. It sort of seemed like she was coaching me through this and it made a huge difference knowing that I would walk into that interview having a friend there.

Second, when the hell did I become a crusader? Not once in my entire life had I ever taken a stand about something. I always sat back and let other people dictate what needed to be done, and I simply followed what everyone else did. But then, something that I had seen in Bella changed me. I didn't want to just sit back and let the paparazzi walk all over her personal life like everyone fan did. I wanted to make a stand and show that even if I was alone, which I wasn't, that it was not okay for them to act like that. I had gone to Vancouver as an obsessive fan; now I was going to California as an activist.

Emmett, Jasper and I were not the same people that we had been the last time we'd met the girls. We weren't obsessed-okay, maybe we were still a little obsessed-but it was channeled in the right direction now. Jasper was obsessed with Alice as her boyfriend. I was obsessed with making sure that people wouldn't take advantage of Bella. And Emmett was obsessed with… well, he was still obsessed with Rosalie, but I think it was more of an obsession to apologize to her.

"You okay?" Angela's voice brought me out of my trance, and I nodded while throwing socks on the bed.

"Yeah, just trying to focus."

I half-heartedly listened while she told me about the final questions that were picked, and I absently nodded in all of the right places. It wasn't that I didn't want to listen to her, but I just had more important things on my mind.

As if she had known I was worried, my phone vibrated with an e-mail from Alice. I couldn't help but laugh at her timing when I read what she had sent me.

Stop worrying. You'll be fine. Bella likes the color blue, FYI. Can't wait to see you guys!

I deleted the e-mail and tossed my phone on the dresser before noticing that the shirt I had planned on wear was blue. Again, the coincidences made it easy to believe that a higher being was arranging all of this. I pulled a couple more blue shirts from my closet and finished packing.

** ** **

"Are you nervous?" I asked Jasper. He was sitting in his bean bag, staring at the wall above the TV, and not really paying attention to anything that was going on around him. He shook his head without looking at me. "Do you know when you're going to tell Emmett?"

Jasper's eyes widened and he quickly looked around the room, no doubt looking for my brother. I couldn't help but laugh because Emmett had gone to bed over an hour ago. That was proof enough that Jasper hadn't been paying attention to anything we'd been saying all evening.

"Sorry," he muttered, shaking his head. "I'm kind of out of it."

"So I noticed."

Jasper rubbed his eyes. "I'm just… I need to tell Emmett."

I nodded but didn't say anything.

"He's going to be so pissed," he said quietly.

"What are you waiting on? I mean I know he can be a jackass, but he is still your friend, Jasper. He cares about you and we were both really worried… before."

Jasper shrugged and picked at the side of the beanbag. "I don't know what I'm waiting on. I guess I just have to work up the courage to tell him."

"If you want my opinion, he already knows. Emmett isn't as stupid as everyone thinks he is."

"What?" Jasper asked. "What do you mean 'he already knows'?"

I turned the TV off and turned to look at my friend. "The day that the Red Bull pictures leaked, remember that?"

"Yes," he growled.

"Emmett seemed to know that you would be upset about that. Now in my mind, if you weren't Alice's boyfriend and just a fan, you would have been ecstatic about it. Hell, you probably would have asked Angela to make you duplicate copies. Instead—"

"I acted like a complete asshole." Jasper finished for me.

"No, you acted like Alice's boyfriend. You didn't want millions of people seeing her like that, and Emmett knew it. When I heard your fist going through the wall in the bedroom, he stopped me from going in there. He knew you needed to deal with it, just like he knew you needed the money for Greenland. Granted, he didn't know what it was for, but he knew it meant a lot to you. He isn't going to be mad that you kept this a secret, Jasper. He's going to be upset that you didn't trust him enough to tell him."

"I do trust him. Just like I trust you," he said quietly. "With Emmett, it's just different. You know how we are. Everything ends up in a competition and after Bootgate, I didn't want to let him win. I still don't. Its childish and extremely immature, but it's the truth."

I nodded because it was the truth.

"I have to tell him eventually," Jasper muttered. He smiled and looked up at me before continuing. "Alice is coming to visit next month after their last show in Seattle. I told her we could stay at a hotel, but she wants to stay here. I really think she wants to become friends with you guys."

The idea of Alice coming and staying here both excited and scared the shit out of me. On one hand she was Alice, Jasper's girlfriend. On the other hand, she was Alice Brandon, movie star. It just seemed surreal that she would be coming and staying in our apartment.

"After the way Ann acted, it means a lot to me that she wants to spend time with you guys. You and Emmett are practically family; it will be a nice change to not feel like I have to choose between you and her."

"I like Alice, Jasper. She's really good for you," I told him honestly.

"She really likes you, too," Jasper said before laughing quietly. "She said that she feels like the two of you were meant to be brother and sister, but the stork dropped you off at the wrong house."

I smiled and flipped the TV remote over in my hand. "Doesn't she have like five brothers already?"

Jasper shook his head. "She has three."

"Have you met them? I mean, have you met any of her family?"

"They were in Portland when I went to visit. They are really nice people, and her three brothers are a little intimidating, but I think that I won them over," Jasper said.

I had to snort because really, when did Jasper not win people over?

The two of us sat there in comfortable silence for a little bit longer before I noticed that it was already past two in the morning. My body reacted to the time, making me yawn.

"We should probably try to get some sleep. We have to be at the airport at eight, and you know Emmett is constantly running late."

Jasper rolled off of his beanbag and kicked it back into the corner where it went. "That's why I told him we had to be at the airport at seven; givea us an extra hour."

I laughed and dropped the remote on the couch after standing up. "Nice plan."

He shrugged and the two of us stood there awkwardly. Japer rubbed the back of his neck while I tapped my leg with my fingers. Deciding to just go to bed, I turned to go down the hallway, but stopped when Jasper said my name.

"Yeah?" I asked quietly.

"Just so you know, I think that Bella would be a really lucky girl to have you. Just be yourself and she will see that, too."

I smiled and we gave each other awkward man hugs before going to our bedrooms. After crawling under the blankets on my bed, I closed my eyes and asked God for the only thing that I could.

"Lord," I whispered into the darkness, "please don't let me make a fool of myself."

** ** **

[ Jasper ]

I shoved the last of my stuff into the large suitcase and slammed the lid down, putting my full body weight on it in order to snap it shut. I breathed out a huge sigh when I was finished and wiped my forehead. Packing for Comic Con was a whole other level than packing for VanCon. This time we were taking an airplane, and I was going to be damned sure I didn't have two bags. I wasn't a cheapskate by any means, and the station was paying my expenses, but I didn't want to lug two bags around if I didn't have to.

I walked over to my dresser and opened the drawer with my boxers and socks in it. I pushed a few pairs aside and pulled out a small white box. I took the lid off and pulled out the small velvet bag inside. Untying the ends, I slid the small family heirloom out gently. My mind began to wander as I stared at it in the fading sunlight.

"Mama, there's something I've got to tell you," I said as I sat across from her at the kitchen table. I'd actually taken a weekend to go visit my parents down in Texas, and my heart was heavy and my leg was shaking. "First of all, I'm going to need you to make some homemade granola bars for Emmett."

She chuckled and watched me intently, her eyes narrowing, trying to figure me out.

"And secondly, I think I might have found The One."

Her gasp did not surprise me, and she lunged across the table to pull me into her arms. "Oh, Jasper, honey, you don't know how long I've waited to hear you say something like this to me. Are you sure? Really sure?"

I nodded against her chest. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life, Mama."

She pulled back and looked at me, her eyes studying me. "It's Miss Alice, isn't it?"

I nodded again and a huge smile broke out on her face. "You wait right here," she said as she jumped up and ran out of the room.

I looked around the old kitchen and smiled at the memories I had from my childhood growing up in this house. There was a sense of hope inside of me that one day I could bring my own children here and tell them all the stories.

Mama hurried back in and sat down next to me. She opened up a large jewelry box and pulled out a smaller white box. Once she opened the lid, she pulled out a tiny bag. After wrestling with it for a moment, she shook the bag and a ring fell into the palm of her hand. She picked it up and held it to the sunlight.

"This was your Great-great-great Grandmother Whitlock's wedding ring. It's been passed down through generations, and survived some pretty big events in American History. When your Great-grandfather Whitlock didn't have enough money during the Great Depression, your Great-grandma Whitlock offered to sell the ring. He told her no, and the next day she went to the store and traded it in for some groceries anyway. When your Great-grandfather found out, he was so upset and embarrassed. He went right down to the store and bought it back with money that he borrowed from his Father-in-law. This ring has stood for honor, trust, and love for countless generations of Whitlocks, and I know that if Alice accepts your hand, that you two will be very blessed." She placed the ring in my hand and I drew it up to my face.

It was gold, with two small diamonds in it. There was nothing terribly fancy or intricate about the ring. But it meant something to me and to my family. I pictured the ring on Alice's finger and smiled to myself. She would love it.

"Thank you, Mama. Really, this means a lot to me."

She hugged me and placed the ring back in the bag before handing it to me. "Just remember to love, honor, and cherish that woman with all your heart. And give me lots of grandbabies."

I laughed, shaking myself out of the memory. I held the ring between my thumb and forefinger and again pictured it on Alice's tiny finger. It would look so beautiful there, and she would be mine. As long as she'd say yes. That was the part I was most nervous about.

Ever since coming back from Greenland, things had been smoother between us. We'd spent less time arguing, and the sickening feeling in my stomach had gone away. I knew Alice loved me, and that was all that mattered. Although she'd tried to leave me, thinking it was for the best, she'd come back to me when I showed up at her door. She was the most brilliant woman I'd ever met, and I knew I could spend my whole life searching and never find another soul as beautiful as hers. She was my forever; now all I needed to ask her was if she would let me be hers.

There were some doubts in my mind that she would accept. Alice was a very free spirit who didn't like to be tied down. Of course she was fine with being my girlfriend, but the press somehow hadn't really gotten a hold of us yet, and I was nervous that when it became public knowledge that she'd leave me, that the stress would be too much for her.

I shook off my fears, telling myself that I could worry about all of that later. I shoved the ring bag back into the small white box and tucked it away in my back pocket. I had no plan of action as to when or where I would ask Alice, but if the moment suddenly became perfect, I wanted to have it on me. I slid the large suitcase off the bed and it hit the floor with a thud. I'd definitely need a push cart when we got to the airport, and maybe even Emmett would need to carry this to the car.

The suitcase stood abandoned in my room as I walked out into the living room and hung out with Edward for a little while before we had to leave. He was such a great friend; after everything that had happened with Greenland and me telling him about Alice, he'd been even more supportive of me. I couldn't ask for a better brother than Edward. Of course, I was still nervous about telling Emmett about my relationship with Alice, and thought about talking to him during the flight to California. But if he caused a huge scene on the plane then we might get kicked off. I'd save it for later, maybe at the hotel.

I went to sleep that night with a smile on my face. I'd texted Alice right before I went to bed and was excited to see her the next day. I hugged my pillow as I drifted off in dreams of everyone getting along, and Emmett being happy instead of pummeling my face in when I told him the big news.

The next morning Emmett beat on my door, causing me to jump up with a start. I looked around the room and shook my head. "What?" I asked.

"Come on you lazy ass! We've got to go! The plane's not gonna wait for us and I've got to see my woman! Get the fuck up now!"

"Gimme five minutes, man," I croaked out, throwing my glasses on my face. I headed into the bathroom and brushed my teeth, combing my hair into some kind of submission. I threw a few more things into my suitcase, which I had to sit on again to close. I patted my back pocket, double checking that the box was still there. I grabbed the leather handle and started to drag it towards my door. I opened it to find Emmett standing there. "Do not tell me you've been standing there the whole time."

He shook his head and held up a granola bar. "Naw, man, I had to go get me some breakfast of champions! Mama Whitlock's homemade granola bars for the win! Now let's go!"

I smiled sadly and waved to my suitcase. "Do you think you can grab that for me?"

Emmett shook his head and laughed as he took another bite of the snack. "Man, you know they charge for large bags like this?"

"No, I'm going to carry it on. I can't check the equipment because I'm scared it will get lost somewhere and end up in Hoboken, New Jersey."

"Well they won't let you carry this on. Hell, you can't even carry it yourself."

"Yes they will."

"No they won't."

"Yes they will," I gritted out.

"No they—"

"Alright, kids, let's go!" Edward said as he held up his small video recorder, exposing our little argument on tape. "Comic Con, here we come!"

"You better not be taping this entire trip, Edward. I love you like a brother and all, but I'm not going to think twice about throwing that out the window of the plane," Emmett barked.

Edward laughed. "Emmett, I am your brother. You're still mad about the My Little Pony sleeping bag, aren't you? Oh man, I got you good!"

Emmett held his fist up to the camera and shook it. "Shut. It. Off."

Edward chuckled and we heard the click of the power. "Alright, alright, geez. But don't think I won't be using this later. We have to document this trip. It's going to be the best one ever!"

Emmett grabbed my suitcase and started carrying it towards the door, dumping it into my truck's large bed. Angela had offered to drive my truck and drop it back off at our apartment. She was talking giddily with Edward about the interview, and I felt bad that I couldn't get an extra pass for her. This would have been a trip of a lifetime for her. I told myself to see if I could get the girls to do something special, maybe give her a shout out on Edward's camera or something.

We all finished loading the truck and climbed in. I took the driver's seat, and my body started doing the inner happy dance it always did when it realized we were going to go see Alice. I smiled to myself as I turned on my CD player and "Leaving on a Jet Plane" came on.

"Oh, hell no. HELL NO. I am not listening to this bitch music the whole way to the airport. Put this on." Emmett passed up a CD that was titled "Little Debbie's Road Mix." I wasn't sure I wanted to know, but I put it in anyway.

"This is what I'm talkin' about," Emmett said as "California" by Phantom Planet came on and he started bellowing along.

Edward was smiling and in the rearview mirror I saw Angela stick her tongue out at me. It felt nice to have things back to normal, and I hoped that they would stay this way for a long time. I knew I'd made a lot of mistakes in the last few years, with dating Ann and letting my friends slide, to hiding this huge secret. But now that things were going back to normal, I felt happy again. I even started singing along with Emmett towards the end of the song.

After a few songs, we pulled up to the drop-off area and got out of the car. Angela hugged Edward goodbye and waved to us as we all set off for the check-in counter. Edward had his video camera back out again and was narrating something to his viewers. I assumed this was going to be on some video blog for FallenAngels. I waved to the camera as he panned over to me; I tucked my arm around Emmett's neck, pulling him in. I figured if Edward was going to be doing this all weekend, Emmett might as well start enjoying it now. Emmett pretended to try to wrestle me and we only stopped when one of the baggage attendants coughed towards us.

When it was our turn, I let Edward and Emmett go first. I knew they wouldn't take long and the excitement was just about killing Edward. I stepped up and pulled out my license, sliding it to the woman at the counter.

"Mr. Whitlock, it's nice to see you traveling again this weekend," she said, and I nodded back at her. "Will you be checking any bags today?"

I shook my head and she looked over the counter. "I'm almost certain that bag is too large to go in the overhead compartment. Can you put it on the scale, please?"

I obliged and set it down on the metal opening. It beeped a few times before it stopped at its final weight.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Mr. Whitlock, but you'll have to check that bag. That'll be $45.00."

"I don't think you understand; I can't check that bag. All my work equipment is in there and I can't lose any of it. This is very important."

"I assure you your bag will be fine, sir; our airline as the highest rate of success when it comes to bag delivery. Now just sign in the box, please."

I wanted to vomit. Here I was, signing pretty much my entire life away. I scrawled my name on the line as she tagged and took my luggage. I said a silent prayer, asking God to watch over my bag. I walked back over to Emmett and Edward.

"Dude, where's your bag?"

"They made me check it," I grumbled.

"I knew it. I told you so, I told you so, I told—" Emmett started chanting until Edward decked him in the stomach. He doubled over with a loud oof and I couldn't even muster up the strength to laugh. We walked over to the security line and waited our turns to walk through the metal detectors. Everyone was busy taking off their shoes, so when they weren't looking I pulled the ring out of my pocket and shoved it into my boot.

Of course Emmett had to walk through the machine twice because he forgot to take some change out of his pocket, and Edward started cracking jokes about him, to which Emmett flipped him off. Edward made it through without any issues, and I had to take off my belt which I had forgotten about in my hustle to hide the ring.

I was trying to pull it back out of my boot secretly when Emmett started getting nosey. "Man, hurry up! If we miss our flight because you're pussyfooting around…"

"Emmett, let's go ahead and grab something to eat. I am starving. I'll even buy you a protein shake or something," Edward said, winking at me as he directed Emmett towards the gates.

I sighed in relief and pulled the ring out, shoving it in my pocket again. This trip was going to make or break me. I walked off to find my friends, and smiled when I saw Edward with the video camera again, recording Emmett eating some Power bar or something. He waved me over and Edward turned to me with the camera.

"Say something to the fans, Jasper!"

I nodded my head towards the camera and smiled. "Comic Con, here we come!"

** ** **

LMW: Hey y'all! Thanks for the great reviews for last chapter—I'm glad you enjoyed it! I hope this chapter was just as exciting for you! I know JFI and myself are looking forward to writing Comic Con—we've had this planned since before we started writing!

Today is my birthday, and you know what would make me happy? Reviews and lots of them! Also, we're nominated up for Funniest Fic in the Faithful Shipper Awards! So go on over there and give our boys some love!

JFI: I don't know about you guys but Emmett's plans to take over the world make me a little nervous! Don't forget to vote for Stalking in the faithful shipper awards!