A/N: Chapter 35!

The next chapter isn't ready, and I haven't gotten the one after that back from my beta. But I lost two favourites, so I decided to update again.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and helped to get this story over 400 reviews. Even though it is only that high because of the amount of chapters I have, 400 still makes me incredibly happy. 500 here I come.

I'd also like to thank my beta, Juniper294. She helps me out a lot with the plot.

This chapter used to be twice the length, as at first, 35 and 36 were one chapter. But I think it was best that I separated them. Sigh. I swear the total of chapters in this story is going to go back up to 80 soon. It is at 78 right now, if you were wondering.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Futurama. But I do own Emmett's brothers, and Brian, the McCarty dog.

Chapter 35 - Back to How it Used to Be

Jasper POV

In the week after I'd went to Emmett's house after school, he'd tried to talk to me about what had happened. He stuck true to his word and didn't act like our conversation never happened.

In a way, I admired him for it. I could tell that he was a good friend and merely wanted to help me. But the only problem was, I didn't want his help, as rude as that sounded.

He gave up when I continued to tell him that it was just a bad day and that it wouldn't happen again. I don't think he believed me, just like all the other times, but he gave in and took what I said as the 'truth'.

What's more was that I don't think he told anyone else about our situation, nor do I think they had any idea that something was up between us. I know that Alice had noticed something. But then again, she always noticed. I didn't tell her what was wrong though, and I never told her what happened on Maria's anniversary.

But both Emmett and Alice seemed to forget about it as our finals loomed. I could tell the exams were stressing everyone out, and each of us was attending numerous different study sessions after school.

Our classes were filled with practice papers and important facts we had to learn off by heart. At lunchtime, Edward sat with a book in front of him, whilst the three girls sat with various review cards testing each other. Out of the six of us, only Emmett and I used the lunch hour for eating. He was the only one who agreed that they were spending too much time studying.

But then again, I understood why they were all stressing out with revision. They were all heading off to college next year, and had to get the best grades possible to get in. Well, excluding Alice as she was still being stubborn and refusing to go. Whereas I was staying at home, with the possibility that I might never go to college.

I was still trying, though, and when the finals came around at last, I think I was as anxious about them as everyone was.

22nd May 2009

I watched in complete shock as the three girls turned away with the keys to Emmett's jeep in their possession. Emmett watched them leave, a strange expression on his face.

"I can't believe you let her take the Jeep just like that," I said. All he did was shrug in response.

"She said she really needed it for something important," he muttered with a slight defensive tone in his voice. "And besides, Lewis doesn't need a lift home today, so I let her take it."

Edward chuckled to my left. "Yeah, more like Rosalie's trunk isn't big enough," he said before shaking his head in laughter.

"What?" Emmett asked, totally clueless. "I took her to school this morning. Her car is at home and it would have taken them longer to go get it."

"Bella told me they're heading to Port Angeles to go shopping for dresses to wear to the birthday party and prom next month," Edward told him, I couldn't help but join in the laughter. "Dude, you're totally whipped."

Emmett merely shrugged his shoulders once again, as if he was accepting his fate. He was sober for a moment before turning to us with a massive grin on his face.

"You know what this means, right?" he asked excitedly. Edward, obviously catching on immediately, began to smile and gave him a high five.

"What?" I asked, totally confused. "What does this mean?"

"Xbox marathon!" they shouted simultaneously. I chuckled but didn't share their excitement. I'd only played on the Xbox once, and that had been at Emmett's house last month.

I rolled my eyes at them. "I think I'm going to have to pass up on this one, guys. I need to go get my little sister from school anyway, so I can't miss the bus."

"What? Don't be stupid," Emmett exclaimed. "I can get the bus with you. I'll pick up my little brothers at the same time. You can get your little sister and bring her back to the house with me."

I pursed my lips for a moment. Sure, I didn't mind going to his house, even after what happened last time, but Emily didn't know any of them. "I don't know, Emm, my little sister, she-"

"She will be fine," he said, interrupted me. "Trust me."

I was still unsure, but I nodded nonetheless. "Okay, we better get going though, the bus will go soon."

Emmett nodded and we both said goodbye to Edward who said he'd come online in about an hours time. We got on the bus at the last minute. I hadn't been on the bus for ages, and the fact that I was now on here with Emmett made it even stranger.

Emmett called his mom on the way there, telling her that he would go and pick up his little brothers so she didn't have to. Around the time he cut the call, it was our stop to get off.

His two little brothers were surprised to see Emmett waiting there for him, but the thing I was more surprised to see was Emily talking to Emmett's youngest brother, Frankie. It seemed like they were friends.

"Hey, Ems," I said as she came to stand next to him. I then turned signalled towards Emmett. "Ems, this is my frien-"

"Hi, Emmett," she chirped happily as she waved at him. I stared between her and Emmett as my mouth opened and closed a couple of times.

"Hey, girlie," Emmett replied, smiling.

She beamed at him. "Where is Brian?"

"Oh, he's at home today, you wanna go see him?"

She was about to answer when I raised my hands and stopped them both. "Whoa, stop, both of you. How do you know each other? And who the hell is Brian?"

Emmett smirked. "I've met Emily before, we had a little chat, didn't we?" he said, looking back at Emily, who nodded in response. "And Brian is my dog."

"He's not your dog," Frankie grumbled from Emmett's side. Emmett ignored him.

"You have a dog?" I asked, totally confused, and feeling completely out of the loop. How did my little sister know before I did?

"Yeah, I must have forgotten to tell you," he replied, shrugging. "We've had him like a month now. You probably didn't see him when you came over 'cause he was outside most the time."

"Oh right," I muttered, trying to remember if I ever heard him mention having a dog before. My mind came up blank.

"Come on, let's get going," Emmett said, taking Frankie's hand – against Frankie's will, of course, then started walking. Emily took my hand and together, we all walked back to the McCarty house.

When we got there, the dog, Brian, came running up to us.

"Jasper, meet Brian, our dog." Emmett waved his hand at the dog with very little enthusiasm. Emily let go of my hand and went straight towards the dog, just as Emmett's mom came out into the hallway.

"Well, haven't I got a full house today?" she mused with a smile.

"Sorry, Mrs McCarty, I promise me and Emily won't be a problem," I told her politely.

She gave me a genuine smile before turning to look at Emmett. "Why can't you be as polite as Jasper?" she asked, but didn't give him time to answer her question as she turned back to me again.

"Don't worry about it, Jasper, it's nice to see you again, and like I said the last time you were here, call me Sarah." She then turned her attention to Emily and Frankie and added, "Would you two like something to eat?"

Emily glanced up at me briefly, as if asking for my confirmation before she could go. I nodded and watched as she followed Sarah and Frankie into the kitchen. I didn't look away until they were out of sight. Emmett signalled for me to follow him upstairs, to the Xbox no doubt.

Alice POV

Rosalie did most of the talking as we drove towards Port Angeles. Bella was silent, apart from the times Rosalie addressed her directly. We were sitting next to each other, but the gap between us felt like more than a few inches.

The threads of our friendship were thin and were reaching snapping point. Sure, we talked to each other, it wasn't as if we completely ignored each other, we just didn't seem to talk how we used to. I knew, and I was sure that Bella did too, that there was a way of bridging the widening gap between us. But the only problem was, neither of us were making the first, albeit hardest, move.

I also knew that we both wanted to resolve the problems we had, and go back to the way things had been between us. However, that was easier said than done, considering so much have changed since then.

Those changes being Jasper, mainly, and I knew that Bella didn't understand our friendship. We could continue to tiptoe around each other and not make amends, quite easily, in fact. However, the fact that she was going away to college in a couple of months was always a constant thought of mine.

The last thing I wanted was for Bella to go away to college without our friendship being better than it was now. So I knew that even though today was meant to be the day we bought our prom dresses and our dresses for the party, I also knew that today was the day I would talk to Bella. I'd already talked to Rosalie about it. I wanted her to understand that Bella and I would need to spend some time in private. I just hoped I found the right moment.

When we arrived there, we headed towards the shops that sold dresses. Both Rosalie and Bella started looking through the rows of various prom dresses. I hung back, not going to look through them. I hadn't told them that I wasn't planning on going to the prom.

Rosalie was the first to notice that I was joining in. "What are you standing over there for?" she asked, confused.

I shrugged and nodded towards the dresses. "Those dresses are more suitable for prom, not parties."

Her brow furrowed. "Your point being? You still need to get a prom dress."

The floor suddenly got very interesting as I lowered my gaze. "I'm not going to the prom," I mumbled, only looking up at her once I'd finished speaking.

"What do you mean you're not going? Of course you're going! Alice, it's your last prom you get to go to, you can't miss out on it!"

"Rosalie, I don't want to be the third wheel. Prom is all about having a date and dancing to slow songs with them," I told her, feeling downcast as I was once again reminded that Robbie was gone.

She adopted a sad expression for a moment, understanding why I didn't want to go. "There are always people who don't have dates," she continued, obviously trying to change my mind. "Please go, it won't be the same without you. Come on, you can ask Jasper to accompany you."

I stopped, glanced at Bella, who up until that moment had remained looking through the dresses, was now looking between us with an unreadable expression on her face.

I'd never really thought about asking Jasper. Anyway, even if I did ask him, wouldn't that just make things awkward? Wasn't it always the guy who was meant to ask the girl out? If I asked him, it would just seem desperate, even if it was Jasper I was asking.

"If she doesn't want to go, then it's up to her. You can't tell her to pair up with someone," Bella exclaimed and I immediately sensed Bella's aversion towards the prospect of me and Jasper going to the prom together.

Rosalie glanced at me briefly with an expression on her face that said she'd picked up on it as well. She turned back to the dresses she was looking at and pulled one out without saying a word.

"I'm going to go try this on, you guys keep looking," she murmured and after a quick, meaningful glance at me, she walked towards the changing rooms. An awkward silence fell over Bella and myself, there wasn't really any explanation as to why it went awkward so easily.

"So," I began, stepping forward. "Has Edward asked you to the prom yet?"

She shook her head, and for a moment, I thought that was the only response I'd get from her.

"Not yet, I think we've kind of agreed we'd go with each other straight away. It's not like he has to ask, really. It isn't as if we were going to go with someone different."

I nodded and looked away. Robbie asked me last year, and we had been dating just as long as Edward and Bella had.

During my moment of thought, another bout of silence fell over us, and it was so blatantly obvious that the canyon between us was expanding again.

"Bella, we need to talk," I said, my voice a quiet whisper.

She looked at me, and I could see it in her eyes that she knew what I was referring to. "We are talking," she said, hedging ever-so-slightly.

Was she really going to make this even harder than it already was? Then it dawned on me that she sounded nervous, she probably didn't know what I wanted to say to her. I took a deep breath and led her over to some seats. There was an empty seat next to me, yet she still opposite me. Further away, I noticed. But I pushed that thought to the back of my mind.

"Bella, I know you have a problem with Jasper, and I don't really understand why you do. He hasn't done anything wrong, or done anything to offend you. Yet you still act the way you do with him, and because of that, we grew apart until we hardly talk anymore."

She sighed and looked down at her lap, biting her lip into her mouth. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't want to fall out with you over this, and I certainly didn't want to grow apart. I hate that it happened anyway. I just want us to talk about things, like we used to. But with Jasper there, it just feels like you pay more attention to him than the rest of us."

I nodded because I could understand that, even though there was a part of me that wanted to disagree, I knew it was true. I did pay more attention to Jasper sometimes. But before I could respond, she continued.

"I know that it'll sound like I'm just jealous, and I guess, a part of me is jealous over the fact you spend more time with him than you do with me. But ever since Robbie died, it's as if our friendship died with him. We were friends for a reason, Alice, not just because of Robbie. Yet now that he's not here, and Jasper is, it seems like Robbie was the only thing that held us together."

"I want to say that that isn't true, but in all honesty, that thought has crossed my mind as well. Robbie wasn't the only thing that held us together, but it seems like that right now."

It was silent and we both looked away. I could feel my eyes watering and I tried to hold them back.

"I wish things hadn't changed between us," I finally admitted. "You're like a sister to me, Bella, and I need my best friend back."

Bella wiped away a tear that had fallen from her eyes. "I wish things hadn't changed, as well. I miss hanging around with you, Alice. I miss all the little private jokes we used to have. Just the other week Edward and I were watching TV, and there was one of our favourite episodes of Futurama on. I was laughing so much and Edward didn't understand what was so funny."

I smiled, despite the tears in my eyes. "Was it the Christmas episode with evil Santa and the orphan robot?"

"Yeah, that's the one." She smiled, but after a second it left her face. "See, this is what I miss."

"Me too," I whispered, and then looked down at my lap for a moment. "I want it to go back to how it was between us. But you have to understand that Jasper is an important person in my life, and I want you both there and getting on with each other. I don't want to have to choose between the two of you because I won't be able to."

A brief flash of disapproval flitted across her face, but it was so brief that I wasn't one hundred percent sure that I had seen it. Although, I think it was more the case that I hoped I hadn't seen it because that right there was one of the reasons why we'd fallen out in the first place.

"I want us to try and work this out. I know that I have been spending a lot of time with Jasper, I can own up to that, and I promise that I'll work on trying to spend more time with the rest of you before you go off to college. But we've both got to put the work in. It's got to be a two way thing."

"I know," she said with a sigh. "I know that it's a two way thing, and I promise you that I will try. It's just hard for me to get used to seeing you two together all the time."

Once again, I nodded, understanding what she was saying. I knew that it must have been hard for everyone to see us together. But there was a voice in the back of my mind that was telling how easy it had been for me to grow close to Jasper. Sure, at the start, when we first met him, it was hard. But getting closer to Jasper was, well, it was effortless.

A/N: What did you think to this chapter? I hope you liked it. Let me know in a review!

I'd just like to mention the section about the finals. I haven't the faintest idea what they are like. I'm English, and I took GCSEs when I was sixteen. I just thought about them as I wrote that section.

Also, I love Futurama, so I made Bella and Alice love it, too. The whole favourite episode/evil Santa and orphan robot thing is a private joke me and my own best friend have. That episode makes us laugh every time. No one ever understands when we quote things from it. Oh, and don't diss Futurama :P

If you review this chapter, I'll send you a teaser for the next chapter. My aim is 422 reviews.