Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I merely play in the sandbox. I lay claim to my original characters.

AN Updated: Thanks Adam's Gurl for Beta'ing this chapter. ~Hannah

Chapter Five – Shopping Can Cause Blisters

New school, new routine, new friends, the week had passed faster than I'd imagined it would. I guess that's life, it goes fast when you want it to be slow and slow when you want it to be fast. The week had passed in a blur. Like, I blinked my eyes once and I arrived at the end of the week.

From the explosive social stance I'd taken at the beginning of the week, I was amazed that the rest had gone so smoothly. Sure, I was still being glared at by some stupid people but that was life.

Bella mentioned she'd been hearing some unpleasant gossip and awed whispers. I suspected the unpleasant gossip originated from the three cronies, which is what I'd named Jessica, Lauren, and Mike. As for the awed whispers, I'd heard them myself. It seemed people had given me a celebrity style status, simply because I was friends with the Cullen's. Pathetic right?

I didn't even know them that well yet, but I wanted to. I shared a lot of classes with Alice and both her and Jasper always sat with us at lunch. I hadn't had lunch with the Cullen's as a family yet, I was supposed to, but things kept changing. I'd only had one lesson with Edward so far, yet he seemed nice. However, I'd yet to meet the other two siblings officially.

Renee had called Friday night, but as usual, she only wanted to talk to Bella. Bella had tried to make us talk but Renee had childishly pretended the line was cutting out, so I'd given up and handed the phone back to Bella. Can't force someone to like you – even if that person's your own mother. Dad tried to be supportive and he really was, but he still had a soft spot for Renee and struggled to bad mouth her all the time.

Anyway, no one wants to listen to my rambles of how the week went – at least, that's what I tell my brain. It's Saturday morning now and I'm bouncing where I sit. Bella made pancakes this morning and I definitely haven't OD'd on sugar… well, maybe a little. I probably shouldn't have had so much syrup, but I needed the energy for shopping.

Speaking of, I can hear the doorbell ringing.

Despite Bella's warning to calm down, I bounded towards the door like a crazed animal and opened it with a wide grin on my face.

"Allicce! I thought you were never going to get here! Can we go now, please, I'm so excited!"

Behind me I know Bella was rolling her eyes at my behaviour, I could practically feel it. I don't care though; my moods can change in a blink of an eye. I can go from being a hyper weirdo to being a depressed sloth. I knew she was happy for me though. I was branching out, letting go of the bubble I'd put both of us in. I was happy for her as well - Angela, Ben and Tyler were good for her. They were kind, honest people. I guess you could say they were true friends.

"I didn't know you'd be this excited." Mused Alice.

I hugged Bella. "Bye Bells! You want me to buy you anything?"

She shook her head, but I was already out the door and therefore didn't hear the 'look after her' speech I knew she was giving Alice.

A red convertible was parked out front, with Alice's sister sitting in the driving seat. I'm terrible when it comes to cars. I can tell you what colour it is and whether it is pretty or not but that's it. This car was definitely pretty.

Hearing the door closed, I knew Alice was coming up behind me. At her encouragement, I opened the back-seat door and hopped in.

"Ella, Rose. Rose, Ella." She said

"I've been waiting all week for Alice to introduce us properly. Waving across the cafeteria doesn't constitute a proper introduction does it?"

Ha, I used a big word: constitute.

Rose smiled. She didn't give her trust easily, I could tell. I couldn't blame her really, as shunned as the Cullen's were, they were probably more used to people hurting them rather than offering friendship.

"Nice to formally meet you, too." She said.

I grinned, "I'm just glad to go shopping with people who have a taste of fashion. I usually drag Bella with me but she's more of a two-tone colour outfit girl, plus she prefers books."

"Was there anywhere, in particular, you wanted to go?"

I rattled off the names of different shops as I stared at the landscapes that flew by. I was really enjoying the feeling of the wind through my hair. I was lucky, I had the kind of hair that could survive anything from a day in the wind to a day at the beach.
We started out slow, just looking and not buying. Actually, the first couple of things I got were for Bella. Just because I wasn't with her didn't mean I forgot about her – we're twins after all.

It was when we hit the shops with bright colours and big fashion names that things really started to get crazy. At first, it was just me trying on stuff I'd found, but then both Alice and Rose were pushing me to try on stuff they'd found. I didn't mind, I like trying on clothes and don't believe they'd put me in something that didn't suit me. I'd given myself the budget of $100 of my savings to spend on clothes, primarily because I'd forgotten how cold and wet it could be in Forks and needed to bump up my wardrobe. So far, I had bought three items, none of which suitable for cold weather but they looked good!

On several occasions when we'd stopped for a moments rest, I'd look at the bags I'd collected and find an item of clothing I knew I hadn't bought. Both Alice and Rose were suspiciously quiet and when asked denied all knowledge of buying things for me. I felt guilty that they'd been spending money on me. I know you can't stop someone from buying you things but still, we weren't even besties yet. I'd tried to give some of the stuff back, but Alice had looked like she was going to cry and Rose glared at me like a Mother chastising her child, so I'd quickly abandoned that idea and settled on thanking them profusely.

I honestly don't know how those two girls could carry so many bags – actually, I do know, they have more shopping experience than I. My arms were so tired from the weight of my bags and so they both took some off me. They must have super strong arms for all the stuff they were carrying.

It was only when we stopped for a very late lunch and I sat down that I realised how much pain I was in. Looking at the clock in the food hall, it was nearing three in the afternoon. We'd set off at ten that morning, making a total of five hours shopping. These shoes were comfortable but not 'five hours of shopping comfortable', I knew I had blisters; they hurt.

I whimpered and gained the attention of the girls with me.

"What's wrong?" asked Rose.

"We might have to call it a day on the shopping front, I'm almost 100% sure I have blisters on my feet. They really hurt and all I'm thinking about now is how to make it back to your car."

Alice looked slightly put out that the day was ending but finally agreed that they should head home after a silent eye conversation with Rose.

I sighed in relief when I fell into the back of Rose's car. Not standing on my feet felt like heaven right now.

"Why did you and your sister move to Forks?" asked Rose.

I thought over her question and realised that none of the Cullen's had actually asked me or Bella about the reason yet. Idiot, we'd only been here a week, they were probably respecting our privacy.

"I've wanted to move here for years, unfortunately, Renee got custody of us. She got married recently to a small-time baseball player, he travels, which made her unhappy. Bella finally persuaded her to let us move in with Dad, so she could travel with her new hubby."

"Renee is your mother?" asked Rose.

"I guess. Personally, I'd just call her the woman who gave birth to me and leave it at that."

"Why?" asked Rose, then added. "I'm sorry, I'm being too nosy, you don't have to answer."

I liked the Cullen's and I'd never had female friends before. My gut told me to trust them, so I did. If all hell broke out, I'd have Bella to avenge me!

"Renee had PTSD after Bella and I were born. When she recovered she accepted Bella as her child but rejected me. It's always been that way. My life hasn't been a road of sunshine and daisies but it's getting better now."

I'd always felt that honesty was the best way to explain the non-existent relationship between Renee and me.

"We're sorry." Murmured Alice.

"Don't be, we all have skeletons in our closets."

Again I noticed a silent eye conversation pass between Alice and Rose after I'd said those words. I thought only twins had silent conversations…

"I had a great time today," I said

"Do you want to come around ours tomorrow? We could continue our girl day and pamper ourselves?"

I thought about how good that sounded, better than staying home alone anyhow.

"Sure, that sounds fun. Bella's going to some bookshop with Tyler anyway, so I'd only be home alone."

"Tyler? Is there something going on with him and your sister?"

"Nah, they're just friends; nerdy friends with a passion for books."

Still, would be funny if they got together…