Emmett peels back the foil of his breakfast pizza wrap, taking a bite of the blissfully delicious cheese, egg, and pepperoni.

Two of the students seated in front of him turn and glare.

It isn't his fault if they didn't think to bring food.

He scribbles down some translations for the sentences on his worksheet. He's blanking on which of the conjugations of conducir—to drive—have those tricky Zs and Js in them.

He looks over at Edward's desk to his left. His paper is covered by his arm. Emmett kicks his chair, and Edward looks up at him with a raised brow.

"Where were you last night?" Emmett asks.

"En Español, Emmett," the professor says.

"Oh, my bad," Emmett apologizes. "¿¡Dónde estabas anoche!?"

Edward starts to go red when everyone in the class looks over and waits for him to answer, curious to hear some gossip.

The professor scolds Emmett once more for being disruptive. He laughs. Worth it.

It's pretty obvious that Edward's back with Bella. It took virtually no time at all.

The distraction conveniently led to Edward's hand moving off the answer for the last translated phrase Emmett needs. It is the one with the Z. Sweet.

Class ends, and Edward doesn't hesitate to drag him out of the classroom at a hurried pace. "I have to tell you something," he hisses in an aggressive whisper. "You can't go telling everyone, though, okay? And don't freak out."

"Oooh, did you finally do it? Was it awesome?"

"No! Be quiet!" Edward scowls. "I'm...I think I'm...engaged."

Emmett's breakfast pizza wrap hits the ground with a splat. "Shit!" he curses. "Well, the foil kind of kept it together..."

"I wasn't sure if she would say yes, but she did. I didn't even have a ring prepared. It wasn't at all how I thought it would happen."

"That's a pretty lame April Fool's joke."

"April Fool's Day was last week."

"Okay, okay. Was she awake?" Emmett teases, picking the pizza off the ground and inspecting it. It looks fine, so he takes another bite. "You guys are kinda young, aren't you? Like, I don't see you in a week, and now you're engaged?"

"My parents were eighteen when they married."

Edward's lost it. He's finally lost it.

"They also met in, like, fifth grade," Emmett reminds him.

"Esme's first marriage was when she was eighteen."

"As someone who's older, wiser, stronger, cooler, and taller than you, that's not the example you wanna use to support your case here." Esme's first husband was a douche. There's a reason why there was a second marriage.

"I don't think that matters. Time isn't necessarily correlated to the strength of a relationship. People can still be a bad match when they've dated for decades."

"So what you're saying is I need to write a good speech? It feels like it was just yesterday that Edward and I were wee boys in high school. He's the brother I never had and the nagging moral compass I never wanted. Once in twelfth grade, Edward convinced me that I was the one behind our school-wide mono outbreak, and I almost turned myself into the principal for it."

"I didn't tell you to turn yourself in."

"You kind of did," Emmett disagrees. "Hey, did I tell you I got kicked off the football team and lost my scholarship?"

"Why would they do that? You have one quarter left."

"Some of the guys started saying dumb shit, and then one of them planted drugs in my gym bag. No idea who, but Coach got a tip-off before I even noticed."

Edward frowns. "There has to be proof of some kind that they put it there."

"Believe it or not, they don't have surveillance cameras in the locker rooms." Emmett laughs half-heartedly. "I've been trying to get a part-time gig or an internship that doesn't suck."

"It happened when you were in the locker room? Who was with you?"

"Literally the entire team."

"And none of them were acting weird?"

"Nah. They haven't been wanting to go out like normal on the weekends and stuff, but I don't see how that would be related."

Edward pinches his nose bridge. "Your coach didn't ask you to give fingerprints or any sort of test? Just let you go on the spot?"

"Yup."

"Interesting."

"Are you gonna play CSI and track down the culprit for me?"

"I'm going to be very busy this quarter," Edward hedges. "Three law classes, mock trial, and then, obviously, Spanish. Not to mention I have the bar exam to prepare for."

Emmett adjusts the drawstrings on his hoodie, evening them out. "Well, then I'm over it. I'm thinking about joining an ultimate frisbee league and becoming an accountant."

"You would make an awful accountant."

"Jazz's friend Peter is an accountant, and he makes bank."

Edward shakes his head. "Because he sells drugs on the side. We've talked about this before."

"Well, shit. I can't sell drugs. Then they'll really think that coke was mine," he groans. "I'm gonna have to make another Insta poll asking people for career suggestions."

"Good luck. I'm heading this way, so I'll see you later," Edward says, punching him in the shoulder and splitting off toward the opposite side of campus.

"Yeah, laters!" Emmett calls after him.

Even though his best friend is technically back, it doesn't exactly feel that way.

...

Bella frowns at her dozen unread text messages to Jacob. Ever since Alice showed up at her apartment, he's been keeping his distance, avoiding her.

Things were going so well, too. She likes having him as a best friend.

She walks toward the quad and spots Edward standing near one of the brick buildings waiting for her. A little ray of sunlight illuminates his copper hair, making it shine like the sun. He's beautiful.

He hugs her when she's close enough. He always smells so nice.

"How was creative writing?" he asks, resting his arm around her shoulders as they start to walk.

"The professor seems nice. She's very friendly," she answers. "It's only an introductory course, so it shouldn't be too difficult..."

She doesn't trust her ability to fabricate a story worth reading, but she needs the writing credit. Plus, with Edward back, she doesn't even care. She's too happy to think about assignments and papers.

"You'll do well," he assures her, kissing her temple. "Let me know if I can help with anything."

She missed this so much. She would suffer through an infinite amount of writing critiques if it meant staying with him and sharing a life together.

"Your phone's ringing," Edward says.

"It is?" She slides her hand into her pocket and feels it buzzing. She was too distracted to notice it. Charlie's name lights up the screen. "It's my dad. That's weird, normally he's working at this time."

"You don't think something happened, do you?"

"I don't know...Hang on, sorry." Bella answers the call. "Hey, Dad. What's up?"

"Hey, Bells. I just got a call from Billie, and he told me the strangest thing," Charlie says. "He said Jake told him you got a motorcycle."

She can feel the blood draining from her face. "Oh..."

"You know how I feel about motorcycles. They're death traps. And I know Jake isn't making it up because he has pictures of the bikes and everything."

"It's not a big deal. I'm fine."

"He also said you're back with that Edward guy. Is everything alright?" he asks sternly. "Do you need to take a trip home? I can ask Renée about scheduling a flight if you'd rather talk with her, uh...about girl stuff..."

Ugh. She never imagined she would be getting a call from her dad over boys and motorcycle safety. He thinks she can't handle being on her own.

She's not a baby. She can take care of herself.

Edward watches her talk on the phone with a curious expression.

"Hey, I have to go. I have...classes and things," Bella says to Charlie, cutting the call short before it can get any more uncomfortable. "I'll talk to you later, okay? Bye. Love you."

She hangs up and shoves the phone back in her pocket. "I can't believe him."

"What happened?" Edward asks.

"Jake blabbed, and my dad found out about the bike," she grumbles. "He's freaking out. He found out we're back together, too."

"Is that a bad thing?"

She tries to think of a way to make her quarter-long depression sound less depressing. "He's concerned, but it's nothing to worry about."

"Rightfully so. I haven't exactly done much to earn his respect."

"Well, it doesn't matter either way. I'm an adult, and I don't live with him anymore."

"Bella, he's your father."

She rolls her eyes. "He's being annoying. I'm finally happy again. Why does everyone have to be on my case about it?"

"It's been less than a week," Edward reminds her. "Although, I would like to meet Jacob the next time he's in Seattle. "

She wonders if Alice told him about Jacob. Bella imagines she isn't a fan of him. It was the first time she's seen Alice angry about anything. "Sure, yeah. I'll let you know. We can all go to a movie or something," she agrees.

"Great." Edward squeezes her hand and smiles down at her as they continue walking. "I'm looking forward to it."

...

Jasper grabs a syllabus off the front podium of the small lecture hall before finding an empty seat in the middle of the room. He drops his backpack onto the ground in front of it and slumps into the chair.

Just eight more weeks, and he'll be done.

He checks his emails on his phone, skimming through an introductory message explaining what to do when showing up for the first day of his research internship. It looks like he'll have to check in with the front desk at 8 am tomorrow, and one of the graduate students will show him around.

A loud sigh pulls Jasper from his reading. He looks up and sees a familiar face staring back at him. Edward.

"How's it going?" Jasper asks.

"Fine," Edward takes a seat one chair down from Jasper, leaving an empty spot between them. The registration showed a small class size, so it's likely to stay empty given the generous seating options. "What are the odds?"

"Of having a Psychology of Law class with a psych major? I'd say pretty high," Jasper replies. "I needed another 400-level to graduate, and this is what was left."

He wasn't anticipating having a class with Edward. He hasn't even seen him around campus except for the few times he happened to be hanging out with Alice in the fall.

As embarrassing as it is, he needs to apologize. "About what happened before on New Year's, I'm sorry. I was having a bad night. I'm working on having less of those."

He doesn't fully understand why Edward reacted how he did, but if they're going to be spending the rest of the quarter in class together, he should try to settle things. He feels his mess up made a significant contribution toward Bella getting hurt and Edward leaving for Italy.

Edward nods, leaving a long pause before saying anything back. "My main concern will always be the safety and wellbeing of my loved ones. That being said, I may have responded too harshly and with too little consideration for everyone involved."

It sounds like he's attempting to apologize.

"Don't worry about it," Jasper tells him.

"Seeing as Alice is alive and well, I may have misjudged you based on your...complicated past. I've never been close with anyone who's had extensive experience with..." His voice lowers. "Controlled substances and high-risk sales."

That's one way to phrase it. Maybe he isn't apologizing.

"I understand. There's a good reason why I'm distancing myself from it as well," Jasper replies.

"Alice said something like that."

"I appreciate you looking out for her. You're a good friend."

Edward seems flustered by the statement. "Probably not as good as I should be. I'm sure you've heard all about her trip to Italy by now."

"For the most part, yeah."

"You probably think I'm stupid."

"No, I get it."

Edward's brows furrow. "Are you still friends with that party pill guy?"

"Peter? Yeah, he's my roommate."

"He and his girlfriend don't seem like they make good lifestyle choices."

"They're still figuring things out. They're good people."

Accepting the answer without further questioning or protest, Edward turns his attention toward the front of the classroom where the professor is setting up the overhead projector.

"Alice said you were helping her track down her old house and stuff," Jasper says.

"Yeah, I was piecing together things from other people's social media accounts and public documents," Edward elaborates. "She has no issues remembering the three years since coming to Seattle, so I'm not sure what happened to make her forget everything before then. Carlisle ran a CT scan on her once, but didn't find anything too alarming."

That's good to know, but not what he was getting at. "Got it. Yeah, we found her sister, but she didn't want to talk with Alice. I think she wanted to get a mailing address or something so she could try writing her instead."

"I haven't had any luck finding it. She might be using a different name now."

That seems plausible enough.

Jasper wonders if any of Peter's contacts in the city are good at finding people who don't want to be found.

...

"Next!"

Bella walks up to the register and orders the featured meatless chicken salad off the menu board.

"I'll have a grilled cheese," Edward orders after her, waving off her attempt to pay with cash. He taps his phone on the mobile payment terminal before she has a chance to protest.

"I'll pay you back. What was it, $7.50?" she asks, tapping through her phone to send a money transfer.

"Don't worry about it."

"But—"

"It's fine, really."

She's irritated but relents.

They're at a cafe on the Ave that Bella's been to dozens of times. It's busy and noisier than she would prefer, but they have good food and it's not too pricey.

Edward grabs their food from the counter once it's ready and walks with her toward the corner table that Alice and Jasper already procured for the four of them.

Jasper is taking notes from a textbook, while Alice has a binder full of photos, fabric swatches, and sketches spread out in front of her. The pair seems to be having a leisurely time working through their lunch. It looks like Alice is on her second iced coffee.

"Bella, let's go shopping this weekend! You need new spring clothes," Alice chimes. She's wearing a chic pastel mint skirt suit with a white silk blouse and sheer dotted tights. Bella can't see them to know for sure, but she's almost positive that she's wearing some kind of incredibly tall platform heel—probably in a similar pink shade to the satin hair bow perched in her flippy, black hair.

Bella, on the other hand, is wearing a pair of old jeans, sneakers, and her favorite oversized navy-and-white plaid shirt.

In terms of style, they couldn't be any more different.

"I like what I'm wearing," Bella defends.

Alice scrunches her nose. "I mean for gala season. You need some nicer things to wear. But we can address the everyday wardrobe, too, now that you mention it."

"What is gala season?"

"Galas, charity benefits, and fundraising events are typically held between the beginning of spring until late summer," Edward explains. "I've been meaning to ask you if you wanted to go to any."

"Is that a thing people actually do in real life?"

"Sure!" Alice answers. "There's one down at the arboretum in a few weeks with live music, a dinner, and a silent auction. It'll be super fun and it's for a good cause."

"I really don't like shopping."

"Well, we can do something you like to do too. For example, you like reading the price tags, and I don't," Alice suggests.

Bella takes a bite of her salad. That doesn't sound like a very good compromise.

"We can go after this if you're free," Alice sings. "Edward has his mock trial thingy, so he's busy."

"I have to work," Bella reminds her. "From five to nine."

Alice frowns. "Quit your job and hang out with me."

"Not an option. Is Jasper busy too? Why don't you take him?"

"I already have an outfit," Jasper says, shooting down her plans for escape with a laugh.

Bella gives him a flat look. "You're not helping."

"Well, I'm helping Alice."

Edward coughs and it sounds suspiciously like a laugh. Traitor. Bella wants to call him out, but she prefers them getting along at her expense to the fighting.

She leans over toward Alice and takes a closer look at her project. "What is that?"

"I'm going to try to get featured in the campus art gallery, so I'll need to build a full installation." Alice flips through a few of the pages. "I'm making a mock-up to submit to the professor for approval."

The color scheme looks very bright and light with blush hues, greys, and soft cream shades. The materials stuck to the pages of notes—tulles, satins, brocades, and an assortment of shiny and fluffy things—remind her of the decor at her fifth birthday party. It was princess-themed, and Bella cried through most of it because Renée invited her entire class. She was too shy to come out of her room.

"It's so different from the collection you showed for winter quarter," Bella comments. "There are...feathers."

Alice tilts her head, looking down at her work. "I started on it last night, so it's still really rough. I feel very inspired, though."

"That's good, I guess."

"Want to model for me this time?"

"No!"

"Please? I'm thinking of making Swan Lake one of the main themes. It'll be perfect. Swan Lake...Bella Swan...Bella Swan Lake..."

Edward doesn't even bother hiding his laughter this time.

Bella looks over at him with exaggerated betrayal. "Thanks to my mom, I've had more than enough ballet in this lifetime."

"You did ballet too? No way!" Alice lights up at this information. "I knew there was a reason why we're best friends!"

"Only for a year. I quit because I was really bad at it. I also took piano lessons...and I was also very bad at it."

"I don't know that anyone is truly good at anything after only a year of practice," Edward points out. "Unless you're like Alice learning how to play the stock market."

Alice nods. "It's really about figuring out your natural strengths."

"That's easy to say when you have talent. I don't have that, though," Bella laments. "You have amazing style and know about things before they happen. And Edward, you're amazing at playing piano and composing music...You're super smart, super athletic, good at just about everything..."

Edward smiles at her, but it's Jasper's turn to laugh.

"I'm sure Jasper's really good at something, too," Bella says.

"Not at all," he denies.

Alice smiles up at him. "He's pretty good at Risk. Like the board game."

"My secret talent is losing three times in a row."

"You put up a good fight, though."

"It's because Alice cheats," Edward interrupts.

Alice throws the pen in her hand at him, hitting him square in the chest. "Just because I win all the time doesn't mean I cheat!"

"Yeah, you just consistently volunteer to be the banker every time we play Monopoly out of the kindness of your heart."

"Well, if you're such a good law student, you should be familiar with the standard of proof."

"Yeah, yeah."

Bella continues picking apart her salad as the trio banters and bickers.

She missed feeling like a part of a friend group, but she has no idea how she's going to survive an entire season of parties and events, not to mention a wedding—her wedding.

There's no way she'll be able to pull it off.

She really hopes she can get out of shopping again.