Thank you EDDIEBOYLOVER for the entire 'I'm not a bitch and real life sucks ass' thing. :) It made me feel less guilty. Thank you for all of your reviews everyone. Here's a new chapter, the week subsequent to the last. Love me again?

This chapter experiences a slight time jump from the last chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Four

BPOV

This was it. I was totally defeated. It was frustrating, nerve-wracking, and devastating all in one. "Alice, please."

"Bella, you'll be fine. There will be like 9 people there."

One of which would include Rosalie. "I have plans." This was actually true. Since I'd sprained my foot a couple weeks ago and bailed on Jake, I was making it up to him by going to the movies with him tonight. Or I was supposed to be.

"With who?" Alice asked suspiciously.

"With Jake," I replied smugly, elated that I had a real excuse to not go. "We're going to the movies."

Alice looked entirely too happy after I replied, which made me figure she was about to say something I wasn't going to like. I was right. "I'll just call Jake and invite him along. That would even up the boy/girl ration anyway."

"He's not going to want to go."

A phone was dialed, a phone was answered. I could hear Jake's deep voice through the phone.

"Hullo?"

"Jake, this is Alice."

"Oh, hi. Uhm, what is it?" Pause. "Bella didn't hurt herself again, did she?" To his defense, he did sound worried.

"No, she's fine, at least for now." Was that a threat? "But I'm having a get together tonight and she said she wasn't going to be able to go because she had a date with you. I was wondering if you'd want to come with her instead of going to the movies tonight." Date? Why did Alice have to use that word? I'd had a very awkward conversation with Jacob about how it was not a date and just two friends hanging out. Seriously, how weird was it to have a dinner party in freaking college? Why was she even throwing this thing anyway? Just to torment me?

"Oh, sure. If that's what Bella wants." I opened my mouth to yell my denial, but Alice was too quick for me.

"Yep, thank you. See you tonight at 8!" She hung up.

I shut my mouth and glared at her. "Alice, I DON'T want to go."

She shot me a look that said shut up and deal with it. "You're going. Come on, let's find you something to wear." This couldn't be happening.

"Alice..." I hesitated. I wanted to tell her the real reason why I didn't want to go, but I was afraid of the drama it would cause. And I was afraid of her reaction. Alice was becoming a good friend, but I knew that she was also friends with Rosalie and had been friends with her for a long time. If it came down to my word versus Rosalie's, everyone would believe her. I couldn't take that. I couldn't stand losing all of my newly found friends, Edward especially. They'd come to mean so much to me. If keeping them as my friends meant sitting through a dinner party from hell... I could deal with it. As long as the bitch kept her mouth shut.

Alice had shoved me into a red dress. Since she was shorter than me, the dress came up to my thighs instead of my knees as it did on her. It had a low cut v-neck, but nothing too outrageous. I had talked her down from red high heels to red, sparkly flats and she'd curled my hair into tight ringlets. I smoothed my dress down my sides, fidgeting nervously. Alice and Jasper's apartment was spotless. There wasn't a single can or chip bag sitting out. The CD's and movies were placed in alphabetical order, the clothes were color and seasonally organized.

It was almost mind boggling. I wouldn't call Edward and myself slobs under any means, but there were pop cans on the counter and some dishes from yesterday still in the sink. Our movies were stacked randomly on top of the television. Compared to this place, we were living in filth. The couches all had those plastic coverings, but there were no wrinkles in them. I shivered a little. If I lived here, I would be terrified to sit down. It had to be Alice's doing, I speculated, glancing at the girl in question. She was putting on her make up with expert precision, in between every brush of cover up, she would cap the container, opening it once again when needed. It just seemed like she was making extra work for herself.

She glanced at me. "Excited?"

I gave a small laugh. Was I excited? No. Was I terrified out of my mind? Yes. "Sure." I shrugged noncommittally.

She gave a pouty sigh and closed her make up container. "So how are you and Jake doing?"

This question made me equally uncomfortable. Jake and I hadn't gone on what Alice considered a "date" yet, but we talked frequently in class and on the phone sometimes. Alice did NOT, under any circumstances, approve. I'd tried to explain to her that Jake and I were just friends, but she didn't buy it. "Wait for the right person to come along, Bella," she would stubbornly tell me. She had this idea in her head that Edward and I were meant to be. Nothing I said could deter her from perusing that idea.

"We're not 'doing' anything. We're just friends, Alice."

"Friends who talk on the phone together until 3 in the morning. Sure," she scoffed.

I jerked my eyes back to her, "What? How do you know that?"

She looked guilty. "Know what? Anyways, we need to go make sure the table is set, the guys should be here any minute with the other girls." What was up with the evasion, I wondered. And how did she know that Jake and I talked on the phone in the middle of the night? It wasn't a big deal, we just talked about school and books mostly.

The party. Edward, Jake, Jasper, Emmett, and -internal shudder- Rosalie, but Alice had said only around 10, including Jake. "Do I know everyone who is going to be there?" I hoped to hell it was people I could stand. "Well, you know the guys, besides maybe Seth? Have you met him? I think he's one of Jake's friends."

Seth... Who was... OH... Seth Clearwater. I did know him. He was, for the most part, a nice kid. He was in my class with Jake and seemed fairly shy.

"I've met Seth before."

Alice nodded. "Then there is Tanya and Victoria. Victoria is with Seth, but I'm hoping to set Tanya and Edward up. What do you think?" she asked, peeking at me through the corner of her eye.

What game was Alice playing, I wondered. I knew she was, or at least had been, obsessed with the idea of Edward and I getting together, but had I finally convinced her to let it go? And wait... Victoria.. that name was familiar, yet I couldn't attach a face or a place to it. Leaving the part about setting Edward up alone for now, I asked "Victoria... do I know her?"

Alice glanced at me quickly before looking away. "Victoria is Rosalie's friend. She goes to all of the frat parties and gets..." she paused. "Well, you've probably met."

I stared at Alice who was determinedly ignoring me at this point. It hurt. More than I had expected it would, that Alice thought that about me. My past, it appeared, was going to haunt me forever. Though it was true. I knew Victoria from the parties. Rosalie's best friend and almost as big of bitch as she was. But I hated Alice thinking that I was just a party girl. Whatever went down tonight would make her believe that assumption even more. Because she would believe whatever Rosalie said. I would be damned by my self destructive actions from the past.

"Alice." I said softly. She glanced up at me, her eyes looking guilty. "There's something you should know. About me. About..." I was cut off by a door slamming.

"Alice!" A voice called, "We're here!"

"Later?" She asked me, already flying out the door.

"Sure," I replied softly, afraid to leave the safety of this room and enter what could be the scene for the one of the worst days of my college life.

Rosalie looked like a well paid prostitute and Victoria looked the same minus the well paid part.

That was my first impression as I peeked out the door. My next was an approving appraisal. Edward looked amazing. He was wearing a tux jacket, with a red undershirt that just happened to match the dress that Alice loaned me, (maybe she hadn't entirely given up on her matchmaking) and black dress pants that fit very nicely. I made sure my tongue stayed in my mouth as I looked at everyone else.

Jacob's expression was uncomfortable. He was wearing a dress shirt and jeans. He looked awesome, too, but standing next to Edward, he didn't compare. I felt horrible for thinking that. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that it was formal until they showed up and by them it was too late..." he trailed off.

"It's no problem," Alice said, smiling at everyone. "The food will be done in a minute. Bella, could you grab everyone's coats and put them in the bedroom? Jasper, come help me with the food." No one had noticed me yet, and at once, everyone looked to the door frame. Edward's eyes went wide and something past through them, Jake smiled, Seth waved, Tanya raised her eyebrows, Rosalie gave a small laugh, and Victoria shot me a dirty look. Jasper touched my shoulder and smiled as he followed Alice into the kitchen. Emmett grinned at me.

I was slightly uncomfortable. I started to wish that I had asked Alice to invite Jess and Angela, at least they would have evened the scales. As I saw it, if everything went to hell between Rosalie and I, I would be left standing with only Jake at my back. "Uhm, you can just give me your coats..." Victoria and Rosalie dumped them in my arms before brushing past me like they were better than I was.

Tanya tripped in the process of taking off her coat, slamming her high heel into my still slightly sore foot. Tears came to my eyes. The pain radiated through my foot and up my leg. Instantly Edward was there, gently pushing me into the seat behind me. "Are you okay, Bella?" He asked softly, gently probing my foot with his fingers. Jake was right behind him radiating concern and Tanya was exclaiming how sorry she was. Under normal circumstances, I would have believed her. I was one of the clumsiest people in the world, I could understand tripping and hurting someone. But the way she watched Edward, almost predatory, warned me that she'd done it on purpose.

"Gosh, Isabella, I'm sorry. I can't believe I did that! You'll be fine though, right?"

I grit my teeth. "I'm fine." Edward tried to prevent me from standing up, but I did anyways. I already had to deal with the two in the kitchen area, now I'd have to deal with her misplaced jealously. I grabbed the coats again, only to have Edward take them from me.

"Go sit down, Bells, I've got these." I didn't argue, just went towards the kitchen. "Oh and Bells?" I glanced back to see a small smile on his face. "You look awesome."

I blushed bright red and almost missed the death glares coming from both Jacob and Tanya. I limped into the kitchen, where Alice was instantly horrified.

"Oh no! I'll go get you some ice."

As Alice rushed to the fridge, Rosalie spoke in undertones to me. "Oh, did the poor little slut get what she deserved?"

I gasped. Why did everyone like her? Why could no one see what she was really like?

I bared my teeth at her. "No because if she had, you'd be dead."

Rosalie glared at me, Victoria standing behind her. "You think you're all that, don't you, whore? Well I know the truth."

"What truth?" Forgetting about everyone else at the party, forgetting the need to be quiet, I stood up, looking down at her. "What truth has there been in anything you've said about me? When have you ever been honest in regards to me? You call me a slut, you tell everyone that I sleep around, how is there any truth in that?"

She stood up, going face to face with me. "How can you stand there and act so innocent? How can everyone fall for it?" Everyone had come into the room now, surrounding us. Alice looked horrified. Emmett came up and tried to pull Rosalie away, but she shook him off. "You act like you're so perfect! You're just a fake WHORE!" She was yelling now.

I felt someone stand behind me. "Rosalie, shut up." Edward's voice was low and furious.

"No, Edward. I want to hear what she has to say. I want to know what could have possibly led her to ruin my life."

Rosalie gave a hysterical laugh. "You've fallen for it, too. She's fucking seduced you into believing her little act."

I exploded. "What did I ever do to you? I'm sorry about your fucking dress, but I don't deserve this. I didn't deserve what you did to me. I didn't deserve what happened as a result." I was struggling not to cry. I couldn't understand how someone could hate me so much.

"A dress? You think this is about a fucking dress? NO, this is about my fucking fiancee, the one you fucked!" Fiancee? What the hell was she talking about? "Maybe now, I do have Emmett, so I guess your slutty ways did help me. But that doesn't change the fact that you're a lying, two faced, whore and people have the right to know."

"Rosalie, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

"Connor McKay! The man I was engaged to, the one you fucked behind my back."

"I don't even know who that is!" I was bewildered. I've never slept with anyone in my life, let alone Rosalie's fiancee who I'd never met in my life.

"Sure, you don't!" Rosalie's face was bright red now. "Victoria saw you!" I looked at Victoria. Why would she say that? What was going on?

Everything started to become clear, at least slightly. "This is why you started those rumors? Because she told you that she caught me sleeping with your fiancee? You never thought to even question the integrity of those words or give the benefit of the doubt. You just went around telling everyone lies. Lies that almost got me raped." My voice was calm. Quiet. Dangerous.

Alice was crying. Edward now standing next to me. Jacob was on the other side. Jasper was trying to comfort Alice, and Emmett was standing on the side, unsure whether to stop Rosalie or whether to back her up.

I turned to Victoria and asked the one question I needed to know. "Why?"

Everyone wanted a confrontation...so here it is! Did it live up to your imaginations? But it's not over yet...

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