Disclaimer: Twilight is not ours.

[ Edward ]

I was having a really hard time not laughing at Jasper's face. I mean, I get that he is protective of Alice, but it wasn't like she was some three year-old child staying with us. Even though Alice was a grown adult who was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, he was still going to worry over the fact that he had to go to the station today and finish up some things before permanently moving to LA.

"Don't go anywhere super crowded," he mumbled while looking for his keys.

"Alright," I nodded over my coffee cup.

"And don't let Emmett get her drunk." Jasper took a last sip of coffee before putting it in the sink. "She's still asleep so don't wake her up. And tell Emmett that she can-"

"She's an adult, Jasper. We won't take her to the mall and leave her there or get her hopped up on a bunch of drugs. I'll be here all day so just…relax."

My best friend sighed before running his fingers through his hair, leaving his hands on top of his head. "It isn't that I don't trust you guys-I do. It's just…she isn't familiar with Olympia. I don't want anything bad to happen."

I smiled at him. "We'll take care of her. I promise."

He nodded before squeezing my shoulder. "I'm going to go check on her one last time before I leave."

I laughed under my breath and watched as he tip-toed back into his bedroom. Jasper was definitely whipped.

xXxXxXx

Alice twirled around in an extra desk chair, waiting while I hooked her computer up to our wireless network. She had a Skype session that was doubling as a business meeting and hadn't been able to connect properly. To pass the time, Alice had been asking me for embarrassing Jasper stories. So far I had been successful in not telling her any, but Alice Brandon was one persistent little devil.

"Oh come on Edward," she sighed dramatically. "You've known Jasper forever. Just tell me one story!"

I laughed while shaking my head. "Alice, Jasper is my best friend. I've vowed to keep all of his deepest darkest secrets to myself until I die."

"I bet I could get Emmett to tell me."

"You probably could." I nodded. "Emmett and Jasper have a love-hate relationship."

She stopped twirling and looked at me. "What do you mean?"

"They love to hate each other. And hate anyone who doesn't love the other one."

Alice laughed quietly before sitting up and giving me a serious look. "Edward, what's the deal with the website? Jasper said that you haven't updated it in over a month."

I shrugged. "Just not really sure if it's something I should still be doing."

"Because of me?" she asked while reaching over to change the song on my iPod.

"Not just you. I don't want to be expected to update the site with personal information just because I know you or Bella and Rosalie. That isn't fair to any of you. I should probably just sell the site to Angela and let it all go."

Alice folded her legs underneath her. "Well, what if… I dunno. What if I helped you?"

I looked up at her. "Helped me?"

She smiled before shrugging her shoulders. "People know that you know us, right?" When I nodded she continued. "So what if I kind of give you a few 'exclusive' interviews or something, just kind of clear the air of all of the rumors going around."

"Why…why would you want to do that?" I shook my head. "You don't owe any of them an explanation, Alice."

"I know I don't but…okay, this might sound totally crazy but just hear me out."

I leaned back in my chair and looked at her.

"Esme said that people are already bombarding her with wedding questions and Jasper and I really don't want this to be a huge Hollywood type of wedding. So what if you post a few things to validate your credibility, like when we go to LA you can tweet that we'll be somewhere and everyone will know that's it true."

I kept my mouth shut even though I seriously didn't like this idea.

"Then when it gets closer to the wedding you can give out false information to throw everyone off. It really is a brilliant plan."

"Have you talked to Jasper about this?" I asked her.

Alice waved off the question and leaned across me to type in her Skype name and password. "Jasper will know I'm right. He trusts my judgment."

I started to argue with her over something until I heard a dialing noise coming from her computer. I was in the middle of turning the screen towards her when Bella's face filled the monitor. I knew my jaw had hit the floor from surprise but I couldn't do anything but nod when she said my name.

"Hey, B!" Alice waved at the screen. "Listen, I forgot something in Jasper's bedroom so I'll be right back."

Before I could even try to stop her, Alice had jumped out of the chair and closed my bedroom door behind her. Bella and I awkwardly stared at each other for a few seconds before I mentally slapped myself and tried to act less like a social retard.

"Hey," I lifted a hand and smiled. Yeah, that was really cool, Edward. I lowered my hand and accidently smacked it against the desk. My fingers throbbed but I tried to smile, acting like it hadn't hurt one bit.

"Oh my God," Bella covered her mouth. "Are you okay? That sounded like it hurt."

I nodded and started to answer but stopped when Bella leaned forward like she was trying to look down at my hand and accidently hit her head against the monitor. She must have it pretty hard because the thing fell to the ground and all I saw was a blank wall.

"Bloody hell!" she yelled out. There was a scramble and a whole bunch of other voices started talking.

"Did you fall down?" that sounded like Jessica.

"Leave my computer alone," Bella whined.

"Who are you Skyping with?" Vicky Tartan picked up her laptop and smiled at the monitor. "It's Edward Cullen!"

"Oh hey, Edward!" Jessica shoved her face into view and waved.

"Um, hi," I smiled and awkwardly waved my hand at them.

"Give me my computer back," Bella said as she tried unsuccessfully to push her two friends away.

"Hey." Vicky pushed against Bella's forehead to move her away. "Edward, tell Jasper to send me a picture of this cousin I'm meeting at the wedding."

I nodded. "Okay?"

"Alright!" Bella yelled. "You two can bugger off!"

There was a scuffle that made me both nervous for and proud of Bella. She eventually got the laptop away from the other two and stomped off to another room. When I heard bed springs creaking, I had to hold on to the arm of my chair and fight away the mental images that instantly came to mind.

"Sorry about them." I looked back at the screen to see Bella lying on her stomach smiling. It was so contagious. She pushed her hair off of her forehead and laughed. "I was expecting Alice…"

"Oh." So she didn't want to Skype with me. I tried not to look disappointed and nodded my head. "I can um…go get her."

I stood up before Bella yelled, "Wait! I…well…we could talk. Until, you know, she comes back."

"Okay." I slowly sat back down.

The two of us sat there, not talking, just looking at each other. She smiled. I smiled. We both looked utterly awkward. It was completely awesome.

Bella giggled before moving her feet in the air, crossing them at her ankles. "Did you finish that book I sent you?"

I nodded and tried to focus on her face, not the naked calf that I could partially see. "I did. My friend Tyler told me about another by the same author it-"

Before I could finish, I was interrupted by my damn iPod playing the one fucking song that was completely more embarrassing than the rest. As the Backstreet Boys starting singing, my hand slapped at the player and eventually knocked it to the floor.

"Oh!" Bella laughed. "I love that song!"

I stopped my attempts at turning off the music and watched as the girl in front of me started singing. She threw her head around while shaking her shoulders.

"I don't care who you are, where you're from…"

All I could do was watch as one of the biggest celebrities in the world sang a cheesy love song at the top of her lungs. Her feet kicked in the air along with the music while her hair fell around her smiling face. I wanted to reach out and tuck it behind her ear and gently run my thumb across her cheek. I wanted to watch her laugh and singing forever. I wanted… her. God, Bella was so fucking perfect.

When the song ended she bit her lip and smiled. "You're coming to the Shadows premiere, right?"

"Yeah, Alice invited all of us."

Bella's long eyelashes fluttered as she looked up at the monitor. "I'll save you a seat by me."

Unless I was a complete idiot and was totally misreading the signs that Bella was giving me, she had to feel something for me, too. It didn't make sense; she could have anyone in the whole wide world, but I was finally beginning to give myself a chance to at least hope that she might pick me.

Bella and I spent another hour talking about various music and books, like we always did. She also told me about the work she had done on the set of Beer for Hippos and we both laughed as she re-enacted her experience with one of the many circus animals on set. As I sat there, watching her giggle and wave her arms around I made myself a promise. The next time I saw Bella Swan I would make a move. Because this was definitely an experience I wasn't willing to miss out on.

xXxXxXx

[ Emmett ]

"No pussy footing around Alice Brandon." I laughed when one of her hands flew to her hip and the other flipped me off. We finished stretching before I led her away from our apartment complex. "I'm serious though; if I'm too fast just tell me to slow down. Jasper will kill me if you get lost."

Alice gave me a sweet and innocent smile before she took off running. "See if you can keep up, Emmett!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"Hey!" I ran after her, catching up in a matter of seconds. "Seriously, I don't want Jasper's boot shoved up my ass."

She rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored my comment. I laughed and the two of us continued our jog at a leisurely pace. From the looks of it, Alice Brandon seemed to be a good workout partner. She didn't talk much, challenged me, and she had good taste in music. Yup, the girl was alright.

"So," Alice smiled, her voice slightly out of breath. "Jasper has me; Edward is getting Bella… what's going on with you?"

I spoke too fucking soon. I shook my head and kept running.

"Oh come on, Emmett. I've seen the way you look at Rosalie."

My foot nearly tripped over a rock in the road but I caught myself. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Alice."

She shrugged and kept running. "Well, fine then. Keep your secrets. But I will tell you that Rosalie Hale is a hard nut to crack."

A small laugh escaped my mouth before I could stop myself. Alice kept talking, ignoring my twelve-year-old-boy sense of humor.

"She likes everyone to think she is a hardass but she really isn't. Her life before she came to LA wasn't all sunshine and daisies, okay? It took months for her to trust me and I'm one of her best friends."

I frowned, wondering if Alice was referring to Royce King. Rosalie had briefly mentioned him in one of our "secret" conversations, but hadn't ever gone into great detail about any of it. I knew he was a total dick and that if he ever met him I would probably snap his neck in half. But, I wasn't supposed to know anything personal about Miss Rosalie Hale, so I tried to keep my face neutral and kept moving. Alice kept talking about Rosalie's need for personal space, obviously thinking that she was giving me inside information. Most of what she had told me I'd already figured out on my own.

"She asked if you were coming to the premiere, you know." Alice quickly looked at me before focusing back on the road in front of her. "Maybe the two of you can hang out while you're there."

I tried so fucking hard to keep an "I don't give a shit" look on my face, but a smile broke out when I realized what she had just told me. Rosalie had asked about me, specifically. She hadn't grouped me together with Jasper and Edward. That had to count for something, right?

Alice caught the look on my face and smiled. "Aw, Em! I knew you cared!"

She playfully hit my shoulder before picking up speed. I rolled my eyes to make it seem like I didn't care and ran faster to keep up with her. Inside though, I was screaming like a pre-teen girl at a Justin Bieber concert. Maybe when we went back to LA, I would get more than me feeling Rosalie up against the wall of an empty hotel room. Maybe she would drop part of her guard and finally let me in. We ran the rest of the way in a comfortable silence.

"Oh come on, Emmett!" Alice was ahead of me, running backwards. "You're really going to let a girl beat you?"

I flipped her off but picked up the pace until I noticed a car in the parking lot that made me stop dead in my tracks. "Oh, fuck me," I panted.

Alice walked back to where I was, checking to see if I was okay. "What's wrong? Did you pull a muscle?"

I shook my head and put my hands on my hips. "If I asked you to run another two miles, would you?"

She laughed before shaking her head. "Hell no, I'm starving and Jasper should be home in a little bit. I need to shower and…" her eyes followed mine and stared at the car parked next to Edward's. "What's going on?"

I didn't have to answer her. Ann was walking away from our front door with Edward following behind her, looking like someone had just stolen his favorite toy.

"Is that who I think it is?" Alice practically yelled. I cursed under my breath when Ann and Edward looked up at us.

I tried to grab Alice's arm but she shook me off and ran towards the apartment.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" I ran after her, hoping that Jasper's ass would show up sooner rather than later.

Ann crossed her arms across her chest after pushing a huge pair of sunglasses on top of her head. "I can't believe the rumors are true."

"What are you doing here?" Alice yelled at her before looking at Edward. "Are you okay?"

My brother started stuttering an answer but Ann's obnoxious laughter interrupted him.

"Oh please," she snorted. "I cannot believe that Alice-freaking-Brandon gives a shit about a pervy freak like Edward Cullen. He is obsessed with your movies, you know that, right?"

"Edward happens to be a very dear friend of mine, Ann," Alice said the other girl's name like it was some sort of venereal disease. "Now answer my fucking question-what are you doing here?"

Ann tossed her hair over her shoulder and shrugged. "I was looking for Jasper."

Wrong answer, lady. I gave Edward a worried glance before moving closer to Alice.

Alice took another step towards the other girl. "Why?"

"I don't really see how that's any of your business," Ann shook her head.

"None of my business?" Alice laughed manically. "He's my fiancé!"

I put a hand on Alice's shoulder to try and stop this from escalating. "Why don't we all just calm down. Ann, Jasper isn't here. If you wanna talk to him, I can tell him you came by."

"The hell you will!" Alice spun around to look at me.

"You can't keep me from talking to him. God, just because you're some semi-famous celebrity you think that you can just order people around." Ann took a step towards Alice. "I have news for you, honey. No one here, besides freak show Edward, wants your autograph. Go back to LA where you belong."

"I'm gonna autograph your face with my fist!" Alice yelled at her.

With reflexes faster than I knew existed, Alice lunged for Ann and had her in some sort of choke hold in a matter of seconds. This wasn't some girly cat fight; Alice Brandon knew how to kick some serious ass. I was torn between being impressed and feeling sorry for Ann. And worrying that Jasper would completely kick my ass for letting this happen.

"Emmett, do something!" Edward yelled at me.

I reached forward and tried to pry Alice away from the girl cowering beneath her but it wasn't working. She just kept punching and kicking any inch of Ann that she could reach.

"Edward, get Ann!" I grunted with the effort that it took to haul Alice away from them. I tightened my grip around her waist and practically lifted her up off the ground. She struggled against my grip, legs kicking in the air.

"Emmett, I swear to God!" Alice yelled. "Let me go!"

"You'll thank me later," I grunted.

Ann started screaming threats at Alice, which only made the whole fucking thing worse. Edward was holding her back by locking his arms around her torso while I ignored Alice's flying elbows and took a few precautionary steps backwards.

Tires screeching against the asphalt brought all of us to a stop. Alice huffed and tried to pull away from my arms as Jasper ran towards us.

"What the…" his eyes looked at Alice who was tomato red and holding a clump of brown hair, then to Ann who was still trying to escape from Edward's hold. "What the fuck happened?"

Edward remained silent while I shook my head. "Your girl knows how to brawl, Jasper."

He gave me a look that clearly said "fuck you" before taking Alice from my arms and throwing her over his shoulder. As he walked off he pointed an accusatory finger at his evil ex-girlfriend.

"I don't know what the hell you're doing here, but you need to leave before I call the fucking cops."

Ann started yelling at Jasper but he ignored her and continued walking towards the front door, holding Alice in place as she struggled against his shoulder. Before he could shut the front door behind him I saw her flip Ann off and couldn't help but be a little proud. Alice was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

xXxXxXxXx

[ Jasper ]

"This is not good," I muttered to myself as I turned the corner and saw Ann's car sitting in the driveway. But nothing could ever prepare me for the scene that I saw as I jumped out of the car. Emmett had Alice and she was swinging around in the air while Edward had Ann twisted in between his arms and words were just flying.

I was pissed. What right did Ann have to come here in the first place? I knew whatever she said had set Alice off. I chucked her over my shoulder and headed towards the house, knowing that Emmett and Edward would get rid of Ann. I kicked the door shut with my boot and walked towards the living room, dropping Alice onto the couch.

"What in the Heavens was going on out there?"

Alice's eyes narrowed and she shook her head at no one in particular. "Jasper Whitlock, I swear to all that is holy that if I ever, and I mean ever, see that woman again, she's going to need some Rogaine to grow back the hair that I'm gonna yank out of her head."

"Alice, what has gotten into you?"

She stood up and started pacing. "How could you be with someone like that? How could you let something so vile, so horrid, be a part of your life? You should have heard the things she was saying about Edward. I wanted to punch her right in her unlady-parts."

I ran my hand through my hair and watched as she punched the air. She was riled up. "Alice, it's over. I swear I haven't talked to her since we broke up. You need to calm down some, honey."

She growled and looked up at me with wild eyes. "I hate her, Jasper. She's caused nothing but pain and aggravation for you and Edward and Emmett. I'm not going to let her try to ruin something good going for y'all. God, what I wouldn't give to be in a cage for five minutes with her. I'd use my Windstraightener moves all over that bitch!"

I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me. I cringed as I saw her eye starting to swell up. It was going to be one nasty bruise and I hoped Esme didn't come after me because of it. You couldn't underestimate any of those women.

"Sugar, you've got to calm down. It's over with. She's not going to bother us anymore. I love you and you've got to let this one go. It's done."

She sighed and nodded. "Alright, but that won't stop me from getting a Voodoo doll."

I held back a laugh. "Come on, Alice. I don't freak out about your ex's like this."

"What ex's?" she asked innocently.

I stared at her blankly for a minute before answering. "The Jonas."

She rolled her eyes and stared at her fingertips. "You know, just because we got together a few times to talk about music doesn't mean we were dating. Gosh, there's got to be more proof than that. Pics or it didn't happen," she sighed dramatically.

I raised an eyebrow. "Where'd you hear that line from?"

"What line?"

"Pics or it didn't happen."

She shrugged. "I don't know, I've been saying it for awhile."

I smiled at her. Whether she knew it or not, she fit in with me and the guys like a missing puzzle piece.

"Well, let's get you some ice for that eye. Rosalie is going to kill me for letting this happen to you."

Alice smiled but cringed when I touched the corner of her eye. "Leave all that to me. I have a plan."

I grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and handed it to her. "What are you going to tell everyone?"

She hopped up onto the counter and swung her legs, occasionally tapping me with her foot. "I'll just tell them that someone tried to steal my ukulele and I had to chase them down the street. Not only will it be interesting enough to distract them, but it'll give me some street cred., too."

I shook my head as I leaned in to kiss her. "I love you, you know that?"

She smiled sweetly at me with a glimmer in her eye. "Hold on tight, cowboy. You're in for the ride of your life with me."

I chuckled. "Bring it on."

xXxXxXx

JFI: And we're back! Thanks for being so patient during our break. Updates still might be a little slow but we hope to get back into some sort of groove. So the boys are going back to LA, huh? Wonder what sort of mayhem they can cause this time.

LMW: hey gang! Sorry for the hold up, but things have been hectic since I moved to NY. But now I've learned I am moving again within the next month! Please hang tight and be dears and don't bug Miss JFI too much, k? Hit me up on the twitter melsvfp if you wanna gripe and I'll keep you updated on my crazy life!