{Eyes Are Windows}

Bella leaned against the wall, looking down at her dad who sat at the kitchen table. She was up much earlier than usual for a free Saturday, and he was looking at her with badly concealed surprise. Things soon became clear as she explained what her plans for the day were.

"I'll probably be gone until tonight," Bella said after a moment of thinking.

Her dad chuckled. "That's alright, just message me when you're on your way back home. I'm going out with Billy later, but I think I'll be back by the time you return. Have fun with Angela!"

"Thanks," Bella smiled.

"Oh," he said. "And if you need some money for clothes, let me know."

She nodded at the sweet gesture, although they both knew she would probably not buy much today. Shopping was not really her thing, and she still had enough sweaters and pairs of jeans in her closet to get her through the winter. With a quick goodbye she left the kitchen and went upstairs to her room. Picking up her phone from where it was charging, she sent a quick text.

Just about half an hour ago, she had been rudely woken up by her ringtone. A bit unusual, as it was weekend and she liked to sleep in when the chance presented itself, something which her friends definitely knew. It ended up being Angela, who, with quite a bit of bribing (involving chocolate cake) had managed to convince her to go on an impromptu shopping trip to Anchorage.

She would have to get her rest another time.

A new message came in: Angela would be picking her up within a few minutes. Bella dug into her closet to find her purse, only to find the damned thing hidden under a pile of clothes. With a bit of effort she managed to get it out and leave behind a somewhat neat shelf. Well, she could fix that later. She grabbed her phone and wallet too and one last check later she was ready to go downstairs. In the hallway, she slipped into her sneakers and winter coat, zipping it up all the way to protect herself from the cold. Out of her pockets she pulled a pair of gloves, which she put on as well. She contemplated on taking a scarf and a beanie with her, but decided it would be unnecessary since they would be walking around in the stores most of the time anyway.

Bella unlocked the front door and stepped outside, taking a deep breath of the freezing cold air. Just as she climbed off the porch, a familiar blue car drove into the street. Bella quickly walked over to the end of their driveway and waited for Angela to come to a stop. When she did, Bella climbed into the passenger's seat and slammed the door shut, thankful for the warmth inside the car.

"Morning," Angela said.

"Good morning to you too," Bella answered. She reached for the seatbelt, fastening it before turning around to face her friend. When she noticed the exhausted expression she frowned. "What's wrong? You don't look good."

Angela groaned. "I know, I look like shit. I got into another fight with my parents yesterday, they just can't seem to agree with me on a single thing."

"I'm sorry," Bella said apologetically. "I hope the shopping will cheer you up a bit."

"Probably," Angela smiled, starting the car and backing out of the driveway. "I really need to get a new jacket today, this one has several holes in it now thanks to Mike being a genius. Is there anything you want to buy?"

Bella waved goodbye to her father, who stood in front of the kitchen window. "I don't know. I think I'll have to see what is around. Now tell me, what exactly happened yesterday?"

The drive to Anchorage was filled with talking and singing, ensuring Bella was well awake once they entered the city and found their way to the city centre.

"So," Bella said after they had arrived at the parking lot. "Where are we going first?"

"Let's get some coffee first," Angela started. "And then we should just walk down the street and see what we like. Oh, and I'd like to check out this new independent boutique that opened like a week ago. Aunt Karen told me about it and it sounds awesome."

Bella's brain very much perked up at the mentioning of coffee, and she was quick to agree to Angela's plan. Together they made their way over to a small café not too far away. Fifteen minutes later they had consumed their daily dose of caffeine and they were ready to start shopping.

Bella smiled as Angela grabbed her gloved hand and pulled her along into the very first store they came across. It was almost endearing to see how happy her friend would get when surrounded by clothes. Where she herself soon felt overwhelmed by all the options and the disorganised displays, Angela only saw possibilities.

However, Angela's enthusiasm was extremely contagious and Bella found herself browsing through the racks. It was quite busy in the store, but she was trying not to pay too much attention to everyone else.

"Bella!"

Bella turned around to see her friend holding up a long navy-blue dress.

"This would look really good on you," Angela gushed. "You always look amazing in blue, you should try it on!"

Bella raised her brows. "What on earth should I wear this to? I never wear dresses."

"Well, you could come to the Valentine's dance next month…" Angela trailed off, blinking innocently.

"Ange," Bella groaned. "No."

"Alright, alright," Angela said, holding her free hand up in surrender. "But could you at least try it on? Just for me?"

Not much later, the two girls left the store to step back onto the street. Angela was wearing a massive grin, where Bella was holding a shopping bag with her newly purchased dress. Still in a daze, she tried to figure out how exactly Angela had managed to convince her to not only put it on, but to buy it as well.

Her friend sure was persuasive.

After browsing through a few more stores, they were ready to get lunch. They did not have to look long before they found a cute little restaurant where they ordered food and rested their feet for a while. When they were finished Bella was quick to pay the bill, ignoring Angela's sharp glare.

"You drove us here," was the only explanation she gave.

"Let's go to the new boutique," Angela said happily as they stepped out of the restaurant, her annoyance towards Bella already forgotten.

"Sure," Bella shrugged.

A look at the google maps showed them the way and within a few minutes of walking they found it hidden away in a less busy street.

"Ooh, that does look really cute," Angela smiled, peering into the shop window.

"Let's go inside," Bella suggested, looking up at the sky and noticing the dark clouds. It seemed like it would be snowing again soon.

Angela stepped through the door, Bella following close behind. The little bell on the doorpost tinkled as they walked in, alerting the seemingly empty shop to their arrival. The space was not very big, but the white walls helped to open up the room, which was strategically filled with different clothing items.

Within seconds Angela had wandered off further into the store and instead of following her, Bella turned to walk into the other direction. She soon found a rack full of cozy-looking sweaters and immediately began to browse, taking off her gloves to feel the fabric.

There was nothing better than a fluffy sweater.

A white jumper caught her attention, but after a look at the label and those of the other sweaters she hung the item back with a shrug. Moving on, Bella continued her journey through the store. But as she stepped around a tall drawer, she abruptly bumped into a wall (was that a person?) and fell to the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" a lovely voice said, panicked.

Bella looked up and spotted the person (not a wall!) she had, quite literally, walked into.

"I did not see you!" the girl rambled on, her eyes wide. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you, you surprised me! Are you alright?"

Bella realised she was still staring and shook herself out of it. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry, too. I should've looked where I was walking."

Before she could react, the girl grabbed her hand and pulled her back up. Now that they were standing Bella noticed they were about the same height.

"No, it's my fault," the girl said, looking her over. "I'm Alice, by the way."

Bella clenched her fists before looking the girl in the eye. "I'm Bella."

Alice gasped and neither of the two moved for a moment, frozen to their spots. The air was charged, a weird buzzing feeling taking over. The strange occurrence passed as suddenly as it had come when Bella awkwardly cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Anyway," she chuckled nervously, averting her eyes. "Thanks for helping me up."

Alice shook her head as if to get rid of her thoughts. "Of course, it's no problem! Could you find what you were looking for?"

"Could I find what?" Bella asked, confused.

"Clothes, silly," Alice smiled endearingly before explaining, "I work here."

"Oh," Bella blushed, feeling quite stupid when she spotted the logo on Alice's shirt. "You sell nice clothes, I just didn't find anything that was for me. Or it wasn't my size, you know. But I'm sure my friend found something."

"Not the right size? Are you sure?" Alice asked, seemingly confused.

Bella nodded. "It happens."

"Strange," Alice mumbled under her breath.

Thrown off by Alice's reaction, Bella went to ask a question when her attention was pulled to her friend, who came walking their way.

"Bella!" Angela called. "I forgot my purse at the-" She stopped talking and took in the two girls. "Am I interrupting something?"

Blushing, Bella took a step back, creating some space before shaking her head. "No, of course not. What is wrong?"

Angela gave her a scrutinizing look before sighing and continuing. Apparently she had left her wallet at the restaurant and it was stressing her out.

"We'll have to go back," Angela sighed. "And we won't be able to come back here if we want to make it home in time. Aunt Karen needs my help with the store."

"That's alright," Bella said. "If you want to look around some more, we can return another day. I'll pay for the clothes you've already picked out."

After Angela had profusely thanked Bella for fronting the money, they paid and said Alice goodbye. Bella smiled when they stepped outside. She had really enjoyed talking to Alice; she seemed to be a sweet girl. A very pretty one at that, too.

It was only when Bella and Angela were well on their way to the restaurant that a thought suddenly hit her. Gasping sharply, she came to a stop.

"What's wrong? Angela asked, startled.

Bella glanced at her friend with wide eyes before trailing her gaze down to her hands. Her bare hands.

She had not seen a thing.

Bella rapidly thought back to everything she had done, trying to figure out what had happened. Lost in thought, she did not struggle as Angela led her to a bench at the side of the stress. Her friend sat her down, and was now looking at her with concern clearly present in her brown eyes.

Eyes.

The golden eyes.

"The eyes are the windows to the soul."

A/N: Thank you very much for the lovely reviews! Also, thanks to everyone who favorited/followed. Please let me know what you think of this first chapter!

- Laura