Ha-ha. *triumphant.* It only took me a couple of days, not months. Thanks so much for those of you who reviewed and got the bonus – which was the missing phone conversation between Alice and Edward. Don't worry those of you who haven't reviewed. You have two weeks left to do it so you can get the bonus. But that's my limit, I'm afraid.

Enjoy.

Previously: "Come on, Edward." She said with a grin. "When I said 'right now', I meant 'right now'."

Chapter 6

"So I could've brought my Porsche to the restaurant today, but I felt like I needed a nice, breezy walk." Ugh.

"She's a Porsche 911 Turbo, you know. Canary yellow. Black leather seats. And super big cup holders for my vente lattes from Starbucks!" Forty-two blocks of sadism. That's what this was.

"You should really get a look at her, Edward. You're a car enthusiast right? It said so in your files." How the hell did she do it?

"She just purrs on the road. And Rosalie – you know Rose from the videos – fixed her up so she can go real fast. I took her out to the country once. Nice curvy roads they've got out there." With a smile on her face?

"You're probably wondering why I'm calling the car a 'she'. It's a long story, but I just know that she's a girl." And a bounce in her step?

"Her name is Tweetie! You know, just like in those old cartoons with the canary and the pussy cat. Sylvester?" Did she have super powers or something?

"I tried to get Bella to name her car, but she wouldn't have any of it. Something about ridiculous immaturity with inanimate objects. I can't remember the exact conversation." Maybe if I had some kryptonite she'd shut up.

"What kind of car do you have, Edward? I'm guessing it's a classy brand – you don't look like the cheap type. Maybe a Chrysler?" Alice had been babbling nonstop from the restaurant, dragging me across the side-walk by my arm like a rag-doll.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "Oh, no, not a Chrysler! A Volvo!" After the first twenty blocks I stopped attempting to answer her, but she just kept on at it.

"Do you have a Volvo, Edward?" I resisted the overwhelming urge to chew my own arm off.

"Yes, Alice. I have a Volvo." I hissed. She gave an indignant huff of air, stopping short at a busy intersection.

"Well." She sounded offended in a puffed-up kind of way. "No need to get snippy about it!" I looked down at her.

"Do you ever shut up, Alice?" I inquired, trying to sound playful so as to avoid hurting her feelings; I ended up sounding sour.

"Are you always this moody?" She whined, avoiding my question. "Because I think I'd just die, if I was that moody."

"I bet." I muttered. Alice tugged on my wrist, and I had the distinct impression that I was just a dog on a leash to her.

"I should've known you were an emo." She muttered under her breath, actually glancing at my forearms to make sure I wasn't a cutter. I let out a huff of indignance, and she sent me a half apologetic, half amused glance.

I noticed that she hopped from white line to white line as we crossed the street – just like a little kid. I couldn't help but smile at the look of utter concentration on her face; her tongue was sticking out a bit to the side, eyes were screwed up hard. But it was slightly awkward because she was holding onto my arm as she did it, so I kept getting dragged forward at broken intervals – and she was much shorter than me; I had to bend down quite a bit. We must've looked ridiculous to passer-by.

When we finally made it to the other side, I twisted my wrist out of her grasp and straightened my posture. She crossed her arms and grumbled under her breath in response.

"Jeez, sorry, Alice. But you were cutting off the circulation to my hand." Her face whirled up to look at me; she was blinking in confusion.

"Wha – oh, no! Wasn't about you." Her brow smoothed of its furrows. Her voice dropped then. "That woman back there – did you see her awful hat? It was just horrid! I mean, come on. Lime green?" Her tiny frame shuddered comically.

"Whatever you say, Alice." I rolled my neck to get the kinks out. Bending over for long periods of time wasn't exactly comfortable.

"Yup." Her reply was absent. We were now standing outside of a large, well-taken care of building with the words 'Palmetto Apartment Complex' and an address printed neatly in fancy gold lettering on its side. There was a spinning glass door leading to the lobby. Alice was typing something onto a numbered keyboard attached to the wall next to the door. A soft ping alerted me, and the automatic doors began to move. Alice gestured me forward, and we stepped forward into one of the hollows of the revolving door.

It was warm inside, and everything seemed to be painted with welcoming, sunny colors. The carpets were plush gold, and there were comfy looking sofas and chairs everywhere. A roaring fireplace was nestled in the wall opposite us. A young, clean-shaven man sat behind the receptionist's desk to our right and he smiled lightly at us as we entered.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Brandon." He said politely to her, bowing his head.

"Hello, Chad." Alice said with familiarity, bouncing past toward a hallway that was adjacent to the fireplace.

I thought of my own complex, which was a stark contrast. The lobby was a dank, harsh white, and the old woman behind the desk was bitter and grumpy. I had an errant thought of moving here instead, but I dismissed it as quickly as it came. The price of this place was probably outrageous.

I followed Alice to the hallway, where the floor was a white marble. There were two different elevator shafts, both of their doorways a brass color. Alice slipped a card out of her pocket and slid it into a slot next to the left elevator. A similar ping to the one outside sang, and the doors slid open. Alice jumped inside eagerly, grabbing my wrist again. The elevator was devoid of tinkling, generic music, and it slid up three floors smoothly without so much as a whir.

The doors opened, and I was struck again by how fancy it was compared to my own abode. I assumed that every apartment had it own exclusive floor; it wasn't set up like some hotel – her apartment was directly outside the elevator doors. Alice's home was…strange. Like there was more than one style of décor.

The technology was obviously sleek and high-end: the plasma flat-screen, the thermometer system on the wall, the stereo-system in the corner, etc. But the furniture was so old and vintage, with classic oak bookshelves next to the window, velvety armchairs and a loveseat, and a clawed wooden coffee table. And the artwork on the walls was abstract – covered in collages of magazine covers and white canvases splattered with paint.

The design of the apartment itself was a strange mixture of all three. The floor was covered in a thick maroon carpet that I suspected could hide stains of many sorts and the walls were a peachy color that softened the carpet's tone. There was a large, circular window on the far wall that was a mixture of stained and clear glass. There was a set of two stairs that led down to the living room which were made of a transparent material.

I liked it, but wondered why there were so many conflicting designs. Room-mates? I screwed up my eyes, trying to remember if Alice mentioned anything about roommates in the videos. Maybe… I couldn't remember.

"Do you like it?" Alice's voice broke through my reverie. I looked down at her and smiled.

"It's pretty great." She beamed at me. "Could I get some water or something? That walk parched me." I groaned.

"It wasn't that far!" She protested, but hopped down the two transparent stairs and headed through a doorway on the right. I stepped down hesitantly; wandering to the bookshelves attached the wall. They were filled to maximum capacity, with books stacked on top of books. I lightly snatched a selection. Anne Rice?

A loud gasp came from behind me and I spun around, feeling guilty about going through Alice's things without her permission. But it wasn't Alice standing there looking shocked.

It was Rosalie.

And she didn't look shocked. She looked pissed.

"ALICE!" She screamed, flitting through the kitchen doorway and away. Alice reply was muffled through the door – I couldn't hear it. But I could still definitely hear Rose.

"WHO THE FUCK IS THAT?!" She roared. I turned and put the book back. Oh yeah. Rosalie and Bella were Alice's roommates. I wondered how I could forget a detail like that. And then I felt ashamed again because I had invaded their privacy. Alice's voice was loud enough for me to hear her this time.

"Edward." She sounded firm, as if she wanted Rose to get used to it – fast.

"WHAT ABOUT JASPER?!" I nearly laughed. She thought Alice was cheating with me? Preposterous.

"What about him?" Alice's voice was innocent.

"YOU'RE HIS GIRLFRIEND, ALICE! DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN YOU BRING ANOTHER GUY HOME WITH YOU?!" Rosalie sounded like she was on the verge of murder.

"Rosalie…" Then Alice's voice became gentler and I couldn't hear her through the door anymore. Then I felt embarrassed just standing there. I wasn't sure if I should sit down or stay where I was or just leave.

Another figure appeared from the hallway. Bella.

She stared at me like a deer caught in the headlights. I looked back with mild interest, still embarrassed beyond words. Would she react similarly? After the initial shock of seeing me here faded away, she turned a violent shade of red and started to look anywhere but at me. The walls, the ceiling, the floor… Rosalie and Alice's conversation continued, still heavily muffled by the door.

"Um…" Bella was still tomato red as she tried to articulate her thoughts. "Uh…" She shuffled her feet and looked up at me through her eyelashes shyly. I tilted my head to the side and stared at her. What was wrong with her?

"My bag!" She cried suddenly, seeming to break out of her awkward stupor. I saw her eyes trained on the parcel at my side. Her face was lit up and she stepped forward excitedly, altogether forgetting her bemusement. She stumbled though, and her foot caught on the let of the coffee table. In a strange, almost comical motion, her body twisted and she fell on her back. She left out a sharp huff of air and stared dazedly at the ceiling as if she had no idea how she got there. It was difficult not to laugh, so I stifled it against my forearm.

Real Bella was as clumsy as video Bella.

"Are you okay?" I asked through my chuckles as I leaned over to help her up. Blood darkened her face again.

Rosalie stormed into the room, Alice hot on her heels. The only thing she seemed to register was Bella on the ground, with me leaning over her. She snapped.

She threw herself at me, and it took some effort on my part not to fight back. I closed my eyes and felt her hands hitting every inch of my skin they could reach. It was difficult not to whimper as her nails cut into my skin and her feet made contact with my shins, but I managed to remain silent. Rose, on the other hand, would've made a sailor flinch with the curses that she was flinging into the air. I heard Alice behind her, trying to mollify her. It wasn't really working.

It took about thirty seconds, but eventually I had enough, and I opened my eyes. In a quick movement I snatched her wrists and held them together gently but firmly. Rose was having none of this and immediately kneed me right where it hurt. My eyes widened and I doubled over.

"Ha." Rose sneered at me from above. "Good luck having kids. Bastard."

I could barely pay attention to her words though. I was too busy trying not to cry. Wrong. Wrong on so many levels.

"Rosalie." Alice hissed, sounding angry. "He was not molesting Bella!"

"What?" Rose sounded surprised, maybe even a bit guilty.

"I tripped… He was just helping me up." Bella muttered. Then she sounded curious. "Who is this, Alice?"

"This, my friend, is Edward." She said. "And he'll be helping with number forty-one of your list."

Review and I'll send you a surprise. Yes, I'm completely serious. And no, I won't tell you what it is. Just do it.

izzy x edward