Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing around with them.

Lots of thanks to MelissaMargaret for making this pretty, and to anhanninen and xxluvCarlisleEsmexx for prereading.


BPOV

After two weeks of party planning with Esme, I was starting to understand why Edward left the room whenever she pulled her black notebook out. Planning this banquet was apparently a lot of work, even with Rose and Alice helping, too. We spent at least half our time at the office going over Esme's long list and usually an hour or two after dinner.

Sometimes I wished I could escape like Edward did, but I was also excited. I'd never been to a party before, and it sounded like fun. Good food, dressing up nice, dancing . . . it was like one of Lucy's favorite princess movies. There was no way I'd ever be a princess, but maybe it would be fun to pretend for the night.

At first I wasn't sure if Esme wanted Lucy and I to be there. When I finally told myself to stop being afraid and ask her last week, she just hugged me for a while and kissed my forehead. That afternoon we left work early and went dress shopping, and Esme bought dresses for both me and Lucy. There wasn't any doubt left after that.

We left work an hour early today too, so Esme could meet with the managers of the hotel where the banquet was being held. Rose met us and she brought Seth and Brady with her. Lucy ran around and played with them in the huge ballroom, laughing and squealing more than I'd ever heard her do at one time. Even more than last night when Carlisle and Emmett had tickled her after dinner. I was so happy she had some friends now.

"It's getting close now," Rose said, surprising me and putting her arm around mine. I'd been too distracted by Lucy to notice she had come up beside me. "Are you excited?"

"Really excited," I said, smiling. "I've never gone to anything like this before. This place is . . . whoa."

She chuckled and nodded, gently pulling on my arm until we started walking. "It is really big. Mom likes this ballroom for that reason. We usually have it here because they know what we like. This meeting is just to double check so everything will be perfect for next week."

"How much more is there to do?" I asked, not knowing if I really wanted the answer.

"Actually, I think this might be the only thing left. The guys have to pick up their tuxes from the dry cleaners and there will be some fine-tuning the morning of the banquet, but other than that, we're done."

My sigh made her laugh.

"I know it's a bit overwhelming – that we were overwhelming before this – but you've been such a great help, Bella. Thank you for not running away from us."

I shrugged. Helping was the least I could do after everything they'd done for Lucy and me. And I wasn't as overwhelmed anymore, now that I'd gotten to know everyone a little better.

Esme was still just as nice as she had been the first day we met. Her voice was always kind, even when she wasn't happy, and she was so patient with me at work and at home. Every day, she told me I was doing a great job at being her assistant. I wasn't so sure about that, but I tried my best. The job was easy enough, and it felt good to be helping after they did so much for me. And Lucy and I both liked being with her all day.

Lucy liked to adventure while we were at work, too. We visited at least one other Cullen every day. They were all nice too, and tried to show me what they did for the company.

Emmett was in charge of landscaping and seemed to really know what he was doing. He showed me some of his models on the computer which were interesting, but my favorite was listening to him talk about his family. I didn't know much about love, but it was obvious that he loved Rose and his little boys a lot. The man was so loud, and I'd been a little afraid of him at first because of that, but now I was sure he was nothing but a giant teddy bear. He was good at playing with Lucy too, which made me like him even more.

Jasper was a lot quieter than Emmett but just as nice. He tried teaching me about marketing, though I didn't understand much – probably less than I understood when Edward tried to teach me about football. Most of the time, Alice was in his office too, and talked enough for both of them. Together they'd told me about how they met one summer. Alice had said it was "love at first sight" and that she knew they'd eventually get married. Jasper agreed with her, and his smile took over his whole face when he'd said they'd been happily married for over two years now.

It was kind of strange being surrounded by happy couples. I'd never seen much of that besides a few who would come in the coffee shop once in a while. But now they were all around me. Except Edward. He was alone too, and maybe that's why we spent so much time together now.

I wasn't sure if Edward was my friend. I wanted him to be, but he was hard to understand. He was funny and had interesting things to say, and he was nice to me and Lucy. But sometimes he seemed as clueless as me and that was confusing. He had grown up around this big group of people, so why didn't he fit in? I was afraid to ask anyone. They never asked me about my life, so I didn't want to ask too much about theirs either.

Rose was definitely my friend, and so was Alice. They had told me several times, and every time they did, my stomach would get that swirly feeling again. This was a good swirly feeling. I wasn't so sure about the swirly feeling I got sometimes when Edward looked at me or talked to me. That one made my cheeks get hot and turn red, but this one only made me smile and feel warm inside.

This whole family made me feel warm inside. They cared about me, and more importantly, they cared about Lucy. Besides food and shelter, they gave us love. It was the one thing I'd wanted most and had been the most afraid to ask for, and they offered it without even knowing.

"I'm not overwhelmed by your family," I finally told Rose. And it was the truth. Work was still scary sometimes, and I didn't like crowds. But the Cullens . . . they were good.

Rose pulled me closer to her, making me smile. "You say that now. But you haven't lived through a Cullen family Christmas yet. Just wait. You'll look back and think this is easy peasy compared to that."

"We can stay that long?" I asked hesitantly. While I was now sure they wouldn't just throw us out, I didn't know how long we'd be welcome. Christmas was a long time away.

"Hey." She stopped our slow walk and turned to look at me. "Unless you decide to leave with Lucy, you'll be with us. You're free to do whatever and go wherever you'd like, of course; we're not keeping you hostage and don't want you to ever feel that way. But no matter where you go, you'll be a Cullen from now on. So yes, you can stay that long plus another two hundred years. I'm positive you and Lucy will be having Christmas with us."

I knew Rose didn't lie. She wouldn't tell me something just to make me feel better, so this was the truth. The swirly feeling was back again, and I had to hug her. As far as I could remember, I'd never hugged anyone besides Lucy before meeting this family. Now, I'd hugged all of them at least once, and besides Edward they always hugged me back so tightly. I loved it.

This time was no different. Rose wrapped her arms around me, hugging me until I pulled back. With a smile and a wink, she placed her arm around mine again, and we went to catch up with Esme.

We stayed in the ballroom for a while longer until Esme was sure everything was going to be ready for next week. After saying goodbye to Rose and the boys, we headed home.

I helped Esme cook dinner like I'd been doing every night. I was okay at cooking, but she was helping me get better. Baking was what I loved, but cooking other food was fun too.

Since Edward and Carlisle weren't home yet, the house was quiet except for the sounds of Lucy playing in the next room. By the time they were both home, the baked chicken was almost ready and soon the five of us sat down and ate together.

Meals were very happy in this house. I had been used to eating alone and then just eating with Lucy, but it was never like that here. The whole family came over for dinner at least once a week, and Emmett and Rose usually came another day besides that. It had intimidated me at first, but after a few days I realized the loud laughter wasn't scary and it was nice that everyone wanted to talk about their day or funny things they'd seen or heard.

Tonight was no different. Carlisle talked about his day taking care of kids, and Esme talked about the preparations for the banquet. Like Rose had said, everything was almost finished. Now we just had to wait for next week to get dressed up.

Edward didn't say much about his day except that it had been busy. He'd also been to the gym with Jasper before coming home. I was happy he was making friends too, but I hoped he'd still have time for me. There was no reason for him to pick spending time with me over spending time with someone else. I just wanted him to. It was a scary how much I wanted him to, even if I wasn't totally sure why.

After dinner, Esme brought out a chocolate cake one of her clients had made for her.

"I thought about sending this home with Rose, but I decided we deserved something special tonight," she explained as she served us all a piece. "It's been a month now."

I took a bite of the cake and was about to take another when I realized what she was talking about. It had been a month since Edward found us in that alley and since Esme had insisted we come home with them. Lowering my fork, I glanced over at her. She just winked but didn't say anything.

Embarrassed, my cheeks flushed and I looked down until Carlisle reached over and patted my hand. When I looked up at him, he was smiling – the smile that made everything seem okay. In my head, I called it his dad smile because he smiled at all of his kids like that. And me. As soon as I'd known he wasn't going to take Lucy away from me and stopped being afraid of him, I'd started loving that smile.

"We're so glad you and Lucy are here," he said softly. "This last month has been wonderful for all of us. And," he said a little louder, "you've given us a reason to eat delicious cake. So thank you for that, too."

"It is delicious," Edward agreed, pushing his plate back to Esme. "Another piece?"

I giggled as Esme scolded him for asking for more before the rest of us had finished, but I was glad the attention was off of me. Then, I relaxed enough to finish my piece. Edward was right – it was very delicious. Lucy and I cleaned our plates, but her face didn't end up as clean.

When everyone left the table, I took her upstairs for a bath right away. As she splashed around with her rubber duck friends, I sat on the floor beside the bathtub and played along with her. Everything I'd ever wanted for my baby she was now getting. She was healthy and happy, had pretty clothes and plenty of toys, and didn't worry about anything. The month had been wonderful.

Bath time and putting on pajamas wore Lucy out, and she fell asleep before I could finish one of her favorite books. It was bad because she'd be waking up much earlier than me tomorrow, but good too because now I could go see if Edward was busy.

My favorite nights were the ones where Edward and I sat in his room together. Those nights made me think we were close to friends. Even if we weren't, he was still important to me.

But when I knocked on his door, no one answered. The big rocks were back in my stomach. Did he not want me to come in tonight? He'd never stopped me before, even when I'd fallen asleep on his couch without asking. Maybe my fears were coming true and he didn't have time for me anymore.

I turned and slowly walked back to my room, trying to stop myself from crying. I failed, and a tear ran down my cheek before I could catch it. Sniffling, I reached up to wipe the rest of them away, but I ran into something hard.

"Whoa," Edward said, reaching out a hand to help me keep my balance. "What are you doing in the hallway?"

I gasped and quickly looked up at him. He hadn't been in his room. He wasn't keeping me out. He just wasn't there.

"Are you okay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, are you . . . crying?"

I didn't have any words for how surprised and happy I was to see him. My chin wobbled and I let more tears fall as I threw my arms around his neck and held on.

"You're here," I mumbled through crying. "You're not . . . you didn't . . . you're here."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here, I'm here. But what's wrong? I don't know what to do. Do you want me to call Mom for help?"

I shook my head. I didn't know what to do either, but I knew I didn't need Esme right now. I just needed to be close to Edward so the rocks in my stomach would go away.

Somehow, he dragged us both down the hall, and the next thing I knew, we were sitting on his couch. Well, he was sitting on his couch. I was mostly in his lap because I still hadn't let go of his neck. His arms were lightly wrapped around me as he patted my back. That made me smile as I tried to stop crying. He patted Lucy's back sometimes, always looking so confused and like he thought he was going to break her. He probably looked the same now.

When my tears finally stopped, I moved so I was sitting on the couch, too.

"Here," Edward said softly, handing me a napkin.

I wiped my face and nose, feeling my cheeks get hot because he was watching me.

"Sorry," I whispered. "I-I didn't mean to do that."

He shrugged. "It's okay. Are you okay now?" I shrugged too, nodding once. "Okay good. So what was that? What happened to you?"

I took a deep breath and wondered what I should tell him. It all seemed kind of silly now. And what if he didn't care? I didn't know what I would do if he laughed at me for being upset. Or worse – stop hanging out with me. But Edward told me the truth, so I owed him the same thing.

"Well . . . Lucy went to sleep early, so I was coming to see if I could sit in here with you. I knocked on the door, but no one answered. So I thought . . . I thought you didn't want me to come in. I guess my feelings were just hurt."

I looked down, not wanting to see his face if he was going to laugh at me. But he didn't. He didn't say anything for a really long time.

"Cake," he finally blurted out. Confused, I lifted my head so I could see him. His eyes were wide, but he didn't look angry or like he was going to laugh.

"I went downstairs to get more cake," he explained, point to the plate of chocolate cake I hadn't noticed him carrying. "I never got seconds before. So yeah. I snuck down to steal some. Sorry I wasn't in here when you knocked. I would have let you in." Softer, he said, "I . . . I don't think I could ever not let you in."

For a few minutes, we didn't say anything, but I was starting to feel better. The rocks were going away in my stomach, and I could breathe better. Edward turned on the TV to his favorite channel with all the sports on it and started eating his cake. Like nothing weird had happened between us. I was glad, but something weird had happened. And now I had a question I really wanted to ask.

Edward didn't seem to like his sports channel as much tonight. His bear team had played in their big game last week. Everyone came over, and we ate so much food while we watched them win the game. But now, there weren't any games to watch anymore.

As Edward flipped through all the channels, I argued with myself in my head about if I wanted to ask him or not. I'd already embarrassed myself once, but I needed to know. And maybe if I knew, this wouldn't happen again.

"Um Edward? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he said, still flipping channels.

"Are we . . . are we friends?"

Dropping the remote, he looked over at me. "What?"

"Are we friends?"

The rocks started coming back when he didn't say anything. Instead, he used one hand to scratch the back of his neck and he wouldn't look at me.

Swallowing hard, I shook my head at myself. This was a bad idea. "Edward, I'm sorry. Really sorry. You don't have to – "

"Yes," he blurted before I could finish. "Yeah, I think we're . . . I think we're friends. Friends." He said it like he was just learning how to talk. "Friends. Is that . . . what you want?"

I bit my lip and nodded. I really wanted it. I still wasn't exactly sure why, but this meant so much to me.

"Then okay. We're friends."

The rocks suddenly turned into the swirls that made me blush and want to giggle, and I smiled. He slowly smiled back, and I couldn't stop myself from scooting over and setting my hand on his.

"I'm really glad we're friends," I said, softly squeezing his hand. "It . . .this means a lot. Thank you, Edward."

"Yeah okay. You're welcome." After a few seconds, he flipped his hand over to squeeze mine back. "I guess being friends is cool."

I nodded. Being friends with Edward was cool. I felt so much better now that I knew.

The swirls didn't stop, though. Maybe because Edward didn't let go of my hand even when he picked the remote up and started flipping through the channels again. We watched two episodes of a funny show without moving, and I couldn't stop smiling. Not because of the jokes but because I had another friend. And I wasn't sure why but something felt different about this. It wasn't the same as being friends with Rose or Alice. But I didn't care. I was too happy to ask any more questions.

When I couldn't stop yawning, I decided I should go back to my room to go to bed. Edward stood up when I did, and before he could move, I hugged him. Rose and Alice always hugged me when we said goodbye, so I hoped this was okay too. Unlike the first time I'd hugged him in the kitchen right after the Cullens brought us here, this time Edward hugged me back. It wasn't as tight as the rest of the family's hugs, but this one was even better.

After going back to my room and changing into my pajamas, I could barely lie down. I was just so . . . happy. I couldn't remember ever being this happy. Closing my eyes did nothing to help me fall asleep. I was smiling and so was my heart. All because of Edward.

I was so glad we were friends.


A/N: Thank you all SO much for continuing to read and review! Sorry I didn't get to reply to every review, but I've been sick this week so I tried to answer any questions that I saw. Please know I truly appreciate every one!

I'm hoping to get back to the every two week schedule, so unless something major comes up, you can expect an update then!

Also, I'm on twitter as KelleyRachelle, if anyone would like to find me there. I usually post a teaser for every chapter. :)

Thanks again for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!