Author's Note: Last chapter was the sisterly conversations between Alice and Bella. This one's about the brother-sister relationship with Emmett and Bella. Of course, Emmett isn't one for talks. He's very physical, which is why I had to include some games. I hope you like this idea. I had fun writing it. I hope you have as much fun as I did reading it! ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 26

I pulled into the driveway of our home instead of heading into the garage. It would be easier to unload the bags this way. Immediately, Jasper came out of the door and zoomed right in front of the passenger door, opening it for Alice. They stared at each other's eyes so intensely that I rolled my eyes and looked away.

"Ugh, you two," I complained as I got out too. "Get a room."

Rosalie, Edward, and Emmett had come out also.

"Where have you guys been?" Edward asked. "It's nearly one."

"Shopping in Olympia," I said casually, leaning on the hood of my car. "Sorry we didn't take you with us, Rose."

Rosalie nodded and came to sit on the hood too.

"You actually humored her?" Emmett asked incredulously. He peered into the windows, then whistled at the amount of shopping bags.

"Yes," I said, still looking pointedly away from Alice and Jasper. "It was Alice's day today. I even lowered my shield so that she could see."

Edward was staring at me intently. I cocked my head and smiled slightly, reassuring him. He looked slightly relieved.

"What is this?" Esme asked as she and Carlisle appeared at the doorway. "Bella? Alice? Where have you been? Why didn't you pick up our calls?"

I shrugged. I glanced at Alice, waiting for her to explain, except she wasn't quite done with being cozy with her empath. I rolled my eyes and looked away again.

"Hey, give the singles a break, will you?" Emmett teased them. "There are two singles here. You'll make them jealous!"

"Bella? Jealous?" Rosalie snorted. "She's not the type."

"You are so right," I agreed. "Hey, wrap it up! We need you to unload the…stuff."

Emmett and Edward groaned and began heaving loads of shopping bags at once, while Jasper sighed. He gave Alice a peck on her lips before following the his brothers. Carlisle pitched in grudgingly.

"One hundred bags and still nowhere done," Emmett grumbled.

"You're lucky there isn't more," I said, watching him heave it back. I knew they would hear it. "I managed to persuade her to leave at midnight 'cause there was no more room to store in the car. Or else, she would have gone up to one thousand bags tonight."

"How many bags are there exactly?" Edward grumbled as he came back out.

"To be exact, there are six hundred and ninety-nine bags in there," Alice chirped, dancing around the front lawn while Rosalie, Esme, and I watched amusedly. "We fit it in there somehow. Next time, we're taking your Volvo, bro."

"No way," Edward muttered as he went back inside.

I snorted. "I was starting to regret letting Alice have her way about six hours ago. I'm never following along ever again."

Alice pouted. "Come on, Bella. You looked good in everything. Imagine how Edward would love to see you in those clothes!"

I shot her a look at her while the rest of my family grinned. They seemed to already know. Edward must have told them.

"Leave her alone, Alice," Edward said, coming back out.

"What?" Alice said innocently. "I was just stating the truth. You've seen the visions yourself."

If Edward could have blushed, he would have. But he merely glared at her halfheartedly before rushing back inside with the shopping bags.

"Are all those for Bella?" Rosalie asked as we walked inside, leaving the boys to their job.

"Nope," Alice said cheerfully. "We bought things for everyone this time."

"And let me tell you, Esme, you probably won't be pleased with what she bought you," I muttered.

Esme rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Alice. Don't tell me you bought me lingerie again."

"Bingo!"

"Alice, dear, you know I don't wear them. Carlisle doesn't prefer-"

"Oh, come on, Esme," Alice said incredulously. "He knows that you don't like wearing them, so he didn't say anything. He's a man."

"I appreciate your thought, though," Esme said, patting her hand.

"Which ones are mine?" Emmett asked, bounding back into the room. He set down a dozen more shopping bags in the living room.

"This is the last of it," Jasper said as he came back in with Edward.

"These ninety-five are yours," Alice said, pointing to the ninety-five black bags. "Those one hundred green ones are yours, Jazzy, and the two hundred blue bags are yours, Edward."

"Why do I have so little?" Emmett asked, though he looked delighted.

"Why do I have the most?" Edward grumbled, peeking into one of the bags.

"Because you look the best in clothes," Esme said affectionately, tousling his already messy hair.

Edward grinned.

"Bella picked out most of your clothes, Edward," Alice said carelessly. "I made her, and she was pretty good."

Edward glanced at me in surprise. I smiled slightly before looking away.

"Which ones are mine?" Carlisle asked, pretending to be hurt.

"One hundred and eleven of the gray ones are yours, Carlisle," I said helpfully, gesturing towards it. "And the yellow ones are all yours, Esme."

"All this?" Esme asked, looking appalled. "There's a lot of them."

"And the pink ones are yours, as usual, Rosalie," Alice said briskly. "Mine are the red ones, and Bella's is the whites."

"Bella has the most…as usual," Rosalie laughed. She gave me a pitying look while I sighed.

"Well, she's easiest to dress 'cause she looks so good in everything," Alice said, glancing at me happily.

"I'll organize everyone's closets," Esme offered, leaning down to take some of the bags.

"Oh, no worries!" Alice said cheerfully. "I'll do it. After all, I'm the one who knows everyone's closets best."

"So true," I muttered. "I get lost in my own closet."

Emmett and Jasper snorted while Edward suppressed a smile.

"Hey, Bells," Emmett said, throwing an arm around me. "You up for a game on the X-box?"

I stared at him. "Don't you and Rose have someplace to go alone?"

"Nope, not tonight," Emmett said cheerfully. "Rosie doesn't feel like it. She's going to work on my Jeep. Apparently, there's something wrong with it."

Rosalie stalked off towards the garage while Carlisle and Esme helped Alice transfer the shopping bags to each of the rooms before organizing.

"Come on, Em," I said wearily. "You know how much shopping with Alice exhausts me."

"Aw, please, Bells?" Emmett pouted.

He looked pretty cute, and I had to laugh at my playful brother. Jasper and Edward rolled their eyes.

"Just one game?" I asked.

Emmett's mouth curled into a wicked grin. "I'm not sure one game would suffice. You know how our bets can get."

"No bets!" Esme called from upstairs.

"Aw, come on, Esme!"

"Nope," Esme said, zooming back downstairs. "Last time, it got too messy. I had to break it up, remember?"

"That was totally not my fault, right, Esme?" I asked innocently.

She winked at me affectionately before zooming back upstairs.

"Aw, you love Bella more than you love me, Esme!" Emmett accused.

Esme's tinkling laugh was heard upstairs.

"Not even money bets, Esme?" Jasper pleaded.

"No!"

"Fine," Emmett grumbled. "This won't be fun."

"Come on, big brother," I teased. "How about a flick in the forehead? Is that alright, Esme? That's not a bet."

"That's fine, Bella," Esme called. "As long as it's done outside."

"Cool," Emmett grinned.

"Better watch out, Em," Edward teased. "She'll beat you again."

"What?" Emmett grimaced. "Never! Tell you what. Jazz and me against you and Bells! How's that? Huh?"

"You're on!" I snapped, grinning. I tossed my white purse and high heels in the corner and hurried into the living room. Emmett followed me eagerly, laughing excitedly.

"It's really amazing how you change in front of a game, Bella," Jasper said, shaking his head as he joined us. "So…outgoing and playful. And loud."

"She has a competitive streak," Edward agreed, sitting down next to me. He took the controls that I passed to him.

"You ready, little sis?"

"Bring it on!"

Ten minutes later, Jasper and Edward had both died, trying to cover for both Emmett and me. They were now watching amusedly as Emmett cussed as my character whacked his.

"No! No! No!" Emmett shouted, fiddling with his controls frantically.

I grinned wider. The end was near. I gave his character a kick in the chest and a final whack in the head. The KO flashed up on the screen.

"NO FREAKING WAY!"

I cackled mockingly, setting down my controls. "Time to get hit, dear brother."

Alice and Rosalie suddenly appeared, grinning in anticipation. Carlisle, too, rushed downstairs to watch, smiling. Esme sighed in the kitchen, where she was tidying up the house.

"YOU CHEATED!" Emmett accused, looking furious.

I cocked my head. "Really? Fine. Let's ask Jasper then, who was on your team. Jazz, did I cheat?"

Jasper laughed. "How could you cheat? There's no way to cheat in this game."

Emmett looked furiously at him. "How can you say that? You're gonna get hit too! By Edward!"

Jasper clapped him on the back. "I'm more scared of Bella than I am of Edward. She can hit a hundred times harder than he can."

Edward grinned wickedly. "We'll see about that."

I narrowed my eyes playfully at him. "Another bet?"

"You're on."

"Let's keep it small then."

"Fine," he agreed. "Hundred bucks."

Emmett glared at us. "Showoffs."

"All right! Outside!" I snapped.

Emmett and Jasper sighed but headed outside with us following them, grinning.

"You ready?" Edward asked as we got ready to flick them on the forehead.

"On three!" Alice called. "One, two, THREE!"

Both Edward and I flicked their foreheads.

"Ow!" Jasper yelped, clutching his forehead.

"OW!" Emmett howled, falling to his knees.

I bit my lip to hide my laughter. Edward didn't have much resistance. He started cracking up at Emmett's response.

"Okay, okay," he said gamely. "You win. Here." He handed me a hundred dollar bill. I took it, grinning, then shook his hand.

"Good game."

Alice and Rosalie were snorting with laughter while Carlisle chuckled. Even Esme was standing at the doorway, amused.

"Aw, damn," Jasper said, wincing. "That hurt, man."

"Sorry, Jasper," Edward said, grinning.

Emmett looked up to glare at me dangerously. "Watch it, sis!"

I shrugged. "You're the one who wanted this. Don't blame me, bro."

Emmett rose to his feet. "Again," he demanded.

"You just don't learn, do you, babe?" Rosalie asked, giggling. "I think that's enough."

"No, again!" he insisted.

I shrugged. "Your funeral. You up to it, Jazz, Edward?"

"How about a slap on the wrist with two fingers this time?" Jasper asked, wincing. "I just know we're going to lose again. You're too good."

"You don't trust me?" Emmett challenged. "Fine. Go side with Bella then. Edward can take your place."

"No!" Edward said quickly. "I don't want to."

Emmett scowled at him. "You just don't trust me, huh? My own brothers?"

"We trust our sister," Jasper said promptly, and Edward nodded, laughing.

"I can win her!"

"If you're so confident, babe, why don't you go against the three of them alone?" Rosalie suggested innocently.

"Fine!" Emmett agreed. "You're on! I'll get hit by all three of you if I lose! But if I win, it's going to get a lot worse!" He shot me a look.

I shrugged, unconcerned. "Fine. Let's head back."

Thirty minutes later, Jasper had lost covering for both Edward and me, while Emmett had managed to stay alive successfully.

"How are you so freaking good?" Jasper asked, staring at my character's moves with amazement. He looked down at my hands, which were fiddling with the controls without fail. There was no hesitation, no pause as I acted with my thoughts. "I mean, I'm sure there were no video games back in the year of the Titanic. And I'm the historian in the family."

"Don't mention the Titanic," I snapped. "You know I hate it. Oh, shoot! Sorry, Edward. Look what you made him do, Jazz. Just shut up. There's a bet going on here."

Edward had died trying to cover for me while I had been distracted. He grinned good-naturedly.

"That's fine," he said, setting down his controls and leaning back onto the sofa. "I just hope I don't have to get hit by Emmett."

"Don't worry," I laughed. "Look, he's already losing. You know, you and Jazz just prevented my victory for half an hour. I could have had him down in five minutes."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!"

"Are you sure?" I taunted. I started commentating as I did my moves on his character. "And another kick in the head, a whack in the knee, a flip, a hurl, another whack, and wham! KO!"

Jasper laughed at my silliness, while Edward looked amused as he stared at me with a strange expression. It was amazement, mixed with…lust? I was almost afraid to question it. But I dismissed it quickly. I had to punish my older brother for challenging me.

Emmett had his head in his hands, wallowing in self-pity. He was muttering cuss words under his breath.

I looked at him in mocking sympathy. "Aw, I'm so sorry, Emmett. I really did go easy on you, but it looks like you were no match for me."

Emmett looked up and glared at me ferociously. "I hate you."

I gasped. "Really?"

Jasper laughed harder at that, while Alice and Rosalie, who had watched the game this time, giggled. Edward smiled gently.

"Outside!" Esme instructed, appearing in the doorway again. "Definitely not in here!"

"All right!" Jasper cheered. Emmett grimaced as he got to his feet. We followed him back outside.

"All right, who's going first?" Emmett asked resignedly, holding out his left arm.

"Me," Jasper said. "I bet I hit the weakest." And he did, extremely weakly, wearing a wicked smile. Even a human wouldn't have said it had hurt.

Emmett looked confused. "What was that?"

"I'm next," Edward said, interrupting him. He, too, was wearing a playful smile. He hit even weaker than Jasper did.

"What are you guys up to?" Emmett asked suspiciously.

Edward and Jasper looked at him innocently.

"I'm next," I said, chuckling cruelly.

Emmett's eyes widened as he realized what his brothers had been doing.

"You guys are such cheaters!" he accused. "You want Bella to practically hit me for you!"

"That's right," Edward said cheerfully. "She can hit harder than both of us put together. What's the point of even trying?"

I smiled at my favorite brother sweetly. "Are you too chicken, Emmy bear?"

"Don't call me that!"

"Aw, little sweet Emmy bear is too scared," I said in a music-like baby voice. "He's so scared!"

Edward and Jasper were clutching their stomachs, holding onto each other for support, while the girls were giggling harder than ever. Carlisle and Esme were watching through the windows, smiling amusedly.

Emmett bit his lip. He held out his arm.

"Let's get this over with," he said.

"Okay!" I said brightly. "Ready? On three, okay, bro?"

"Wait, wait!" Emmett said quickly. "Are you going to hit on three, or after three?"

Edward and Jasper laughed even harder.

I was trying not to laugh either. "After three."

"Okay. Hurry up and do it. I'm getting nervous."

I shrugged. "Ready? One…two…" And I hit him so hard that there was a loud slapping sound that echoed around the forest.

"OW!"

"There," I said with satisfaction while Emmett pranced around, clutching his left arm.

Edward and Jasper were on their knees now. Alice and Rosalie were panting from lack of breath and even Esme had started laughing. Carlisle was shaking his head at our silliness.

"I thought you were going to hit after three!" Emmett shouted at me, still clutching his arm. It was a wonder it wasn't red.

I shrugged. "You would be expecting it then. I was just trying to help you get it 'over with'."

He snarled indignantly and stomped off back towards the house. Jasper came over and gave me a high-five.

"That was the best, Bella!" he said happily.

I rolled my eyes. "I think I'll go hunt before we get ready for school. And give Em some time to cool off."

Jasper just shook his head and headed back into the house, still laughing. Rosalie followed, calling Emmett's name.

Alice winked at Edward and me. "Have fun." She danced back into the house, and Carlisle and Esme disappeared from the window.

I glanced at Edward awkwardly who was watching me warily. Then, I smiled ruefully.

"I can't be with you alone without the atmosphere getting so awkward anymore," I said.

"Do you not like me, Bella?" Edward asked directly, surprising me.

"No," I said, confused.

"Then do you like me?"

"Of course," I said, even more bemused. "You didn't think I liked you? Why?"

Edward smiled wryly. "I wasn't asking as a brother."

I blinked. "What?"

"I'm going to have to say it eventually," Edward said gently. "I'd rather have our relationship more comfortable right now."

I stared at him. "You know I won't be able to take it."

"You will," Edward disagreed. "Alice has already seen it. But I don't believe it because Alice saw it. I believe it…because I know you."

I smiled slightly, raising my eyebrows challengingly. "Do you?"

"I've been watching you," Edward said, nodding. "Whether you knew it or not. There's a different side of you. Behind that…coldness, indifference, there is also…kindness, sympathy, and shyness…"

I smiled wider. "You're surprisingly observant, Edward Cullen."

He shrugged, smiling.

"Perhaps I will be able to," I allowed. "But I'm merely afraid of facing it. Love hasn't exactly been…a great thing in my life so far, Edward. I've failed at it."

He cocked his head. "I believe that you should start over."

I laughed, my expression much brighter. "Perhaps. But now…I believe we should hunt. I'll race you to the nearest bear."

Edward grinned. "Another bet?"

"How about doing something for the other," I suggested. "Anything they want."

"Fine. The lady may call it."

I rolled my eyes. "Ready…set…go!"

We took off sprinting. Edward was as fast as I was. He had longer legs than I did, but I was lighter. He laughed as he found me running next to him, surprised.

"Impressive," he called. "But you can't beat me!" He increased his speed, surprising me.

My eyes narrowed. I pushed myself harder. Now, it was the matter of tracking the nearest bear.

AN: That was fun, eh? Emmett's so fun to write about. It's even more enjoyable than writing about Alice. I hope you enjoyed!