Here you go guys, the long-awaited chapter 10. I'm not even going to defend myself for the wait this time. I honestly dropped the ball here.

"They want to what?" He looked at me in shock.

"One of the conditions of not grounding me was meeting you. I mean, if you don't want to, I can probably just tell them I'd rather be grounded for a month like Bella was that one time. She and Edward skipped an entire Friday to go to Seattle. I mean, I just skipped one period, so I'll probably only be grounded for a week. I know that's a lot to ask, especially after you just shared something so personal with me, so I totally understand if you want to pass..." I stopped when I heard him laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You know, you're really cute when you word vomit like that." He said when he stopped laughing.

"You think I'm cute?"

Jasper got up and walked over to were I was standing in the doorway and wrapped me in a hug. "I think you're the cutest." He let me go and continued. "Tell your mom and Charlie I'd love to meet them."

"You didn't call him my dad." I beamed in amazement.

"Well, you told me yesterday you weren't comfortable calling him your dad, so I figured you didn't like other people calling him your dad either."

"You're the only person in my life to make that connection. I've always been too polite to correct anyone. It means a lot that you paid attention to my rambling enough to catch on to that." Deciding once again that today was for being bold, I perched myself up on my tippy toes to kiss him on the cheek. "See you tomorrow!" I exclaimed before bolting from the house before I could see his reaction, just barely catching Emmett's call of "Bye Alice." as I rushed outside.

I ran all the way home, only to be greeted by my trio of friends waiting outside on my front steps.

"How did it go?" Rosalie asked nervously.

"What did you guys talk about." Chimed in Edward.

"Did you kiss!" Prodded Bella.

I decided to address them in order. "It went well, thank you, Rose. I'm not telling you guys what we talked about. And yes, kind of but not really."

"WHAT!" They all chorused in unison.

"I mean, he said something really sweet, so I kissed him on the cheek." I plopped down on the empty stair next to Rosalie. "But then I panicked and ran away before he could say anything. I bet he's super upset now and I messed everything up. He's just so cute, and he paid attention to something important I let slip while rambling, and I really wanted too. I've been making all these bold choices today and not worrying about the consequences until literally right now."

I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe. Maybe I'd been talking to many risks. I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Rose. "I can call Emmett and see if he's Okay if that would make you feel better."

I nodded as she pulled out her phone and made the call putting it on speaker as he picked up.

"Heya Rosie."

Rosalie blushed at the nickname before remembering why she was calling. "Hey, Em, could you do Alice and me a favor and check on your brother?"

"Sure?" He questioned in confusion; we could hear him pause his video game and get up to head to his brother's room. "So, he's kind of just frozen in place in his doorway. Do you two know something about this?" His tone was a bit scary as he went into big brother mode.

"Alice kissed him and ran away." Rosalie giggled

"Okay, but why'd she run away?"

"Yes." She responded.

"Okay then, well, I'm gonna make sure my catatonic brother is alright. So I'll talk to you later."

"Thanks, Em." Rosalie hung up the phone and looked back at me, "So you left him speechless. Could be worse, I'm sure he'll text you later."

I frowned, realizing at that moment I wouldn't be getting any closure that night. Bella seemed to be thinking along the same lines as she reminded Rose that I wouldn't have my phone again until morning. "You know." Rose grimaced, "I'm just gonna head home before my big mouth makes anything worse today." With that, she stood and ran across the lawn to her own home.

"I'm sure everything is gonna be fine." Edward stood ready to follow his cousin. "You'll see him tomorrow, he clearly likes you, so I doubt he's gonna be terribly offended by a kiss." With that, he pecked Bella on the cheek and followed Rosalie's direction.

I shared a look with Bella, who gave me nothing but a shrug as we headed inside for family dinner.

Once we got inside, we headed for the dining room where mom, Charlie, and Cynthia were already waiting for us. Mom and Charlie looked at me apprehensively as I sat, and I could tell there would be a talk after dinner.

As I dished out my plate, Cynthia began giggling and blurted out. "Alice has a boyfriend!" and looked at Charlie, likely expecting me to get in trouble.

"Does she." Mom eyed her with a slight smile.

I blinked a few times at the statement; we hadn't actually addressed the whole 'boyfriend/girlfriend' thing. "I'm not sure if I'd call it that." I stammered.

"I mean, you did kiss him." Bella blurted out through a mouthful of food as if that was an entirely appropriate thing to announce at dinner in front of our parental figures.

With a grimace, I looked up at mom and Charlie, who eyed me with raised brows waiting for a response. "I mean, it was just on the cheek. It's not like it's a big deal..."

"Your first kiss!" Mom exclaimed with a massive grin as Charlie glared down at his plate.

"Mom, it was nothing."

"Of course, it wasn't nothing, we'll have to talk about this after dinner." She giggled, likely already plotting out how best to go about giving me the talk again.

"You know, I'm actually exhausted, and it's been a long day." I slid out of my chair, looking at my mom and Charlie. "I think I'm actually going to go to bed."

"But, you've hardly touched your food, sweetheart." Mom indicated to my mostly full plate of meatloaf, I'd only managed a few bites between the barrage of questions. "Besides, your father and I would like to talk with you about the phone call we got from Mrs. Cullen this afternoon."

"Can we please talk about it tomorrow? I really am tired." I directed the statement to Charlie with a pleading look, praying he'd take it as an opportunity to avoid the inevitable boy talk mom would want to cover with Bella and I after my sort of kiss this afternoon.

"Let her go to bed, Lilly, we can talk tomorrow." Charlie granted my prayers. I mouthed a silent thank you in his direction was my mom redirected her attention to Cynthia and sped up the stairs before they could change their minds.

I changed quickly into pajamas and plopped backward onto my bed, not even bothering with my blankets. I closed my eyes and let my mind drift over the events of the day, from arguing and making up with Rosalie and Jasper. Then ending up ditching class and getting grounded and finally finding out such personal information about my maybe-boyfriend. It was hard to believe it had all been condensed into the span of a day. Despite my tired mind and body, the vast enormity of it all was keeping me awake.

Eventually, I rolled over, finally pulling the blankets over my body to force myself to get some sleep in preparation for facing the consequences of my many bold actions in the morning. However, shortly after making this decision, I was startled by a clinking noise against my window. I stood up in confusion and crossed the room to open the window. Looking down, I saw Jasper standing in my side yard, holding a handful of rocks and a carryout bag of Taco Bell.

Well, I hope the wait was worth it. Leave a review if you're still reading this. Also, anyone still invested in this story in the year 2020 has my eternal gratitude. You guys deserve some sort of award for putting up with me and the MANY struggles this fic has gone through over the past decade.