2brown-eyes says she was totally sheltered bwahaha!

ALL mistakes are mine!

Don't Stop Believin'—Journey

"It's not fair, Mom," Rose whines.

I'm sitting at the table having an apple while Alice is upstairs changing. My mom is giving us a ride to the diner, where we can venture into town on foot. Someone, usually Jasper, makes sure we're home by our midnight curfew. Even though my mom is working the night shift, I'll check in with Tanya before going to my house.

Rose is in her theater uniform and hates every second of it. Tanya and Bob don't want their girls to think everything is free, so as soon as Rose turned sixteen, they made her get a job. It's literally one night a week for six hours, but it's Saturday night from six to twelve.

I snicker under my breath.

"Fair is irrelevant," Tanya says, giving her daughter the eye. "You'll do it, and you'll pretend to enjoy it."

Alice's parents are the bomb. They're easygoing and don't mind shelling out cash, but when they set their minds on moral improvements, the girls don't stand a chance. It's best to just shut up and do as you're told.

Rose stomps out of the room, and I toss my core in the trash. "She's lucky she's at the theater," I say to Tanya. "Lots of her friends hang there on Saturday nights."

"I know, hon." Tanya shakes her head, pulling a pot roast from the oven. "Sometimes I wonder if we've over-spoiled that one."

"Probably." I smile to myself as I leave her with that tidbit to ponder, while I run upstairs to rush Alice.

Alice has shifted from her punk rock mohawk to most of her hair slicked-down with a single clip pinning back her side-bang. She's also wearing jeans, but she's paired them with her Docs and her black leather jacket, even though it's still warm outside. Her black liner and mascara complete the look to make her even more edgy than last night.

"You done?" I peek my head in her room.

"Yep."

We're in the car in no time and bopping to the beat of Don't Stop Believin' from my mom's favorite cassette.

"You girls coming in for a burger first?" Mom asks as she pulls into the diner lot.

I look to Alice. "Wanna share a bacon double cheeseburger?"

"Totally."

I'm wearing my tightest pair of Jordache, a vintage Aerosmith tee, and my Keds. My hair is crimped and wild instead of feathered and tame and trusty black frames my eyes with baby blue shadow on my lid.

"'Sup." Jasper scoots into the bench beside Alice, and I can smell the reefer on him. "You two gonna need a ride home tonight?"

"Totally," she replies, offering him a fry.

"Cool." He shoves it into his mouth before standing. "Look me up about eleven-thirty."

"No problem."

Alice sighs when he's gone. "Do you think he sees me as a kid sister?"

I shake my head so she won't worry, but the truth is, Jasper will be seventeen in a few months and Alice won't be fifteen until next May. Never mind that he's only one grade ahead of us. One more year and she'll be jailbait to him.

"I don't think so, Ali." I sigh, my eyes flashing to the parking lot as a familiar Trans Am pulls in. "He gets you high all the time."

She follows my gaze. "Oh, lookie who we have here."

And I'm totally looking.

My jaw clenches when Angela steps out of the passenger seat and Heidi and Ben crawl from the back. "Gag me with a spoon."

"At least he didn't open her door," Alice says, trying to see the bright side.

Edward's eyes find mine, and he flicks a few fingers in a wave.

I look away.

"Oh, poor thing," Alice says, shifting her eyes from him to me. "He's totally shitting a brick."

"Not even." I'm pouting now, and it's stupid.

I don't own him.

"Let's hit the parking lot, Ali," I say as I stand. "I risk upchucking my burger if I have to witness her clinging to him just to piss me off."

Even though my mom bought our dinner, Alice still tosses a few dollars on the table as a tip. I kiss Renee on the cheek and promise to be home on time.

"Be good, girls." She heads to clean up behind us.

When we get to the door, Edward pulls it open from the outside before I can grab it. He steps back to give us room to pass, and I don't know how to act.

Should I speak?

Ignore him?

Stomp the tramp into the parking lot?

He answers for me. "Hey, Bella."

My surprised eyes snap to his. "Hi."

He gives me this half-cocky smile before walking inside behind his crew.

I barely hear Angela say, "Bella's a nobody."

Because my heart is thundering in my ears just from hearing my name fall from his pretty lips.

The "parking lot" was wherever the cruisers were hanging at that particular time. It'd switch around, the city parking lot, the theater, the old K-Mart parking lot, or the Krystal. We swapped when the cops would start messing with us.

We didn't have a "diner," but the Krystal was a popular hang spot. Cars would park and watch the cruisers as they passed. And I totally walked from there to the movie theater, where the cruisers happened to be hanging.

More on that next chapter :P

See you tmr :)