Monday
POV: Bella

Good morning, beautiful

I'm so sorry I can't be there when you wake up this morning. Alice said there's better game in Canada. I want to come back anyway but Emmett won't let me. We're on our way there now.

I missed you this whole weekend, but I'll be back hopefully by the time you wake up tomorrow morning. Have a nice day at school today. Alice will drive you.

Be safe for me,
I love you,

Edward

Would it be retarded of me to kiss my cell phone right now? Probably, but I did it anyway and hugged the little device to my chest, sighing in utter bliss. I didn't want to leave the bed; just sit all day long until he returned. I hadn't slept properly last night anyway…

But Alice would be here to pick me up within an hour and I couldn't afford to ditch. It would just be us in school today which was good, because we needed some brainstorming time.

I yawned widely and stumbled to the bathroom, alternately thinking about Edward and Alice. She'd been absolutely ecstatic when I'd decided that I could choose parts of songs from each CD to create one large soundtrack mix, each melody melting into the next. Because I didn't have the proper equipment, Alice had eagerly offered to do it last night and to run it through with me this morning. I wondered what she had come up with.

Charlie wisely chose not to comment on my jittery appearance and quickly left the house. By the time Alice picked me up, I was an emotional wreck.

"Bella," Alice sighed, eyeing me critically. "Is it really so hard to wear something moderately pretty? And do something to your hair, for heaven's sake."

Of course she would zero in on my attire. Some things never changed.

"Forget my hair," I brushed that off impatiently. "Did you get the CD done?"

"CDs, actually. There were too many choices. So I made a few. You can listen to them and pick whichever ones you prefer."

I grabbed the stack disbelievingly. There were probably fifteen CDs; more than I'd bought in the first place. "Really, Alice? Where'd you get the time to do all this?"

"Bella, it may have escaped your notice, but I don't need to sleep. And it's not like Carlisle and Esme were any distractions. Everyone else is hunting, so I was basically alone in the house. Trust me, I had plenty of time."

"You spent the whole night creating a mixtape?" I asked dubiously, sliding the first disc into her car's music system.

"No," Alice shrugged as a beautiful melody slowly resonated through the car. "I did some shopping. Online of course. Don't worry; nothing major. Your dress is gorgeous, by the way, and you'll look stunning in it."

I sighed and leaned back against the seat. "Is there any point in arguing?" I asked flatly.

"Nope. Think of it as more of a bonus birthday gift to Edward. He adores you in blue."

I could feel the tips of my cheeks heat up.

"Shouldn't have said that," Alice muttered with a frown. When she hurriedly rolled down her window, I quickly realized that she'd been holding her breath in response to my blush.

Whoops.

I bit my lip. "Sorry."

"Don't fret. This is just going to take time to get used to."

"Not just to you," I continued, feeling guilty. "But for Jasper as well. I know he has a hard time being around me."

"Thanks. Don't take it personally, Bella. He just doesn't want a lapse in control around you. He loves you; we all do."

"Thanks, Alice." My face flamed even more. "I love you all, too . . . This music is amazing, by the way." Nothing compared to Edward's compositions, obviously. "How will I get time to listen to all of them and choose the best one?"

"Easy. I've recorded all the songs on the iPod as well into different tracks. Listen to them throughout the day. Let me know which parts you enjoyed so then we can start practicing right after school."

"Oh, shoot!" I exclaimed. "Alice, I completely forgot to tell you. Edward sent me a text this morning. He said they'll probably be back by tomorrow morning. We can't practice around him! What are we going to do?"

"Easy there, Bella. I'm already one step ahead. The dress I ordered for you? It's in New York. I've already ordered their plane tickets to go pick it up for me. And once they get there, Rosalie will want to spend another day shopping, and I convinced Edward and Jasper to let you and I have some girl bonding time – which isn't really a lie. In short, they'll be back no earlier than Friday early morning which leaves us four days to practice. You're welcome."

Alice frowned down at me as she dropped her bag next to my chair. The reserved "Cullen" lunch table seemed so empty with just Alice and me. I'd missed Edward the whole day, but I tried my best not to sulk.

"You still haven't chosen anything yet!" Alice stated, rubbing her forehead.

I pulled out the headphones and blinked up at her.

"Your future's been driving me crazy." Alice glowered at me frustratedly. "I didn't think it was possible for vampires to get headaches, but you've done it."

"Sorry," I grinned sheepishly. "I'm stuck between these two amazing songs."

"I get it, Bella, but you have to decide on something otherwise we'll have even less time to practice. Edward will be back on the eve of his birthday; Thursday midnight. And the sun's not going to make an appearance until Friday evening which means that he won't have a reason to skip school."

My eyes widened at this bit of news. "Um, Alice? I know I've asked this a million times, but how the heck am I supposed to pull this off? You know I suck at lying and he'll know immediately that something is up."

"We can worry about that part later. First things first, decide on a song! Then we'll go home and practice this afternoon." She squealed suddenly. "This is so exciting! I can't wait to teach you how to waltz; you're going to be a natural."

" . . . no, no, step diagonally with your left foot. Bella, you're the one who will initialize the dance so you need to practice to be the lead and Edward—or me, in this case—as the follower. You have slightly different steps than mine. That's it! . . . No, don't let go of my hands . . . Bella, okay, now feet together . . ."

"This is what you call 'natural'?" I hissed, trying to blow off my hair which was matted to my face with sweat. "Some psychic you are."

We'd only started practicing half an hour ago and I'd already stumbled over my feet and stepped on hers more than twenty times. Lucky for her, it couldn't have hurt, but I still apologized every time.

"You're doing fine, Bella," Alice reassured me kindly. Her patience hadn't wavered one bit so far, but I knew it was only a matter of time before she became fed up. "Just listen to my instructions… And keep an eye on your feet… And try your best not to stumble… And—"

"Alice!"

"Sorry, sorry," She pursed her lips, thinking. A few seconds later, her eyes lit up eagerly. "I have an idea. I think I finally I see why you're getting so flustered. You're concentrating on too many things at once. Listening to the music, trying to keep up with what steps to take, balancing yourself – you're too distracted. If I just keep quiet and dance, you can follow my steps without any instructions."

"Alice, that doesn't make any sense. I need the instructions more than ever."

She raised an eyebrow. "Edward's always saying how perceptive you are. I know you'll be able to pick up fairly quickly. I'm not going to tell you what to do anymore; just observe my movements."

She vanished from my sight for a quick second. I glanced over to see her restarting the playlist on the iPod which was hooked up onto the Cullens' ginormous 12-piece complex speaker system.

Taking advantage of the temporary break, I massaged my neck, wincing at the soreness in my back. I glanced around the living room which had been cleared to create a miniature dance floor. Singlehandedly, Alice had effortlessly shoved the couches and unnecessary coffee table back against the walls.

I crossed the room to open the ridiculously large windows and let the gentle summer breeze in. I turned back when the music started playing again. Alice started towards me, froze for a second, before groaning and going to back to pause the music.

"Don't take too long." she ordered me.

"What?"

She nodded vaguely to my right and two seconds later, the shrill ringing of my cell phone made me jump about a foot in the air.

I grinned and grabbed the phone eagerly. "Hello?" I breathed.

A string of apologies burst into my ear. "Bella, I'm so sorry. I know I promised I would be there today, but Alice insisted that we fly to New York to pick up some dress for her." For me, I amended silently. "I don't when we'll be back. I'm sorry, I really wish—"

"It's fine," I assured him, pleased at hearing his voice again. "Alice told me everything… and I'm having fun with her." I shared a quick smile with Alice who impatiently mouthed, Hang up already.

Edward sighed. "That's good; she told me that you two were having some girl bonding. But don't feel obliged to what she tells you."

I bit my lip and tried not laugh at Alice's offended expression.

"Everything's fine," I repeated.

"I honestly don't know why she needs all of us to pick up just one dress. Or why she can't just have it delivered. Or why it's in New York of all places. I'll try to come back as soon as I can."

"No!" I protested quickly. "I–I mean, you should hunt. It's been a while and I don't like it when you feel uncomfortable."

Edward was silent for several seconds. "Alright," he replied hesitantly. "I suppose I could stay a few extra days."

I hoped that "extra days" didn't include Friday or we'd be celebrating the birthday bash without the birthday boy.

"Good, but don't take too long. Now, I have to go. Homework." I lied.

"Bella, it's the last week of school."

Crap. "I know, right?" I laughed nervously. "What's wrong with these teachers? Call you later. Bye!"

Alice resumed the music and skipped back to me, tossing the phone behind her. "Good riddance," she muttered to herself, grabbing my hands and beginning to twirl.

"Um, Alice," I murmured when she didn't explain which feet to move. I awkwardly tripped over my feet again. "A little help here?"

She simply shook her head. Frustrated, I glanced down to copy her movements on my own. Initially, it was hard to know what her next step would be—it would've been nice to be a psychic myself in this particular situation—but she was moving slowly enough for me to anticipate correctly.

Unbelievably, after a whole minute of intense concentration, I finally began to accurately match her positions and step with her – not a second too early, not a second too late, no fumbling.

I met her gaze in disbelief. "Alice!"

She was already grinning back at me. "Bella, you're doing it! I told you. All I needed was to stop telling you what to do for you to get it right. This is fantastic!"

I smiled shyly and glanced back down, forming a little chant in my mind based on what I observed.

Forward left, diagonal right, together, back right, diagonal left, together . . . and repeat . . .

"I'm so proud of you, Bella," Alice exclaimed, faking a tear.

We were taking a break, mainly for my sake, obviously. I'd already gulped down three glasses of water. Dancing was hard work for sure. However, practicing with Alice had been fun, especially after I'd gotten the hang of it. Of course, my stumbling feet made sure that I wasn't as graceful as Alice, but it was a start.

Now that I was feeling somewhat confident, I was actually looking forward to dancing with Edward.

"You're going to sweep Edward off his feet."

"Pfft," I scoffed, flushing madly. "Yeah, right."

Alice's eyes twinkled dangerously. "What a fabulous way to start out your summer vacation, Bella. Celebrating Edward's birthday by dancing for him. How romantic!" The blood spilled into my cheeks, but Alice didn't seem to notice this time.

"I'm not dancing for him," I blushed heavily at the unintended implications of the sentence. "I'm dancing with him."

"Speaking of which, we still have to discuss where this big event will be. It's not too late to book a banquet hall; there's a gorgeous one in downtown – Ooh, how about a dance hall—?

"No banquet or dance halls," I interrupted. "I can think of an even better dance floor . . . and it doesn't have a rent fee."