Yeah, I know I didn't update this fic for a long time. I'm sorry for that, but I was really busy and didn't have much free time.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review. Your kind feedback motivated me a lot.
Special thanks to
anagnophile for looking over this chapter and fixing my mistakes.


The following days I spent talking with Alice and mum on the phone, discussing when we wanted to start our trip, what we needed, what we had to arrange and so on.

"And you are sure you want to do that?" I heard from everyone who knew about my plan, especially Charlie. It was annoying as hell. Luckily, my employers didn't mind me applying for leave, although it was pretty spontaneous. Alice and I really wanted to do it. It wasn't easy to discuss everything on the phone, but we did a great job.

The hardest part was telling Jake. He didn't take it very well. He even frightened me when he started yelling at me, asking how I could do that to him and saying that I was selfish and stupid… He only stopped when he saw tears rolling down my cheeks. The reason I started crying was that I couldn't take his stupid allegations anymore. I was sick of his temper. Of course he apologized and tried to comfort me but right then, I was too overwrought.

So, the preparations were in full swing. Because I worked at Olympic Outfitters, I got a discount on everything in the store. I bought a new backpack, a mini sleeping bag, a flashlight, a pocketknife, everything we could need. Boy it was a lot and I doubted that I would be able to carry that huge backpack for more than five minutes. We thought about buying a small tent too, but decided against it because we had already too much to haul.

As soon as we got our visas (AN: just pretend it didn't take long to get it) everything went very fast and before I knew it I was standing at the airport saying goodbye to Charlie and Jacob. I felt like I was leaving for good. Failing miserably at holding back my tears, I cried like a baby. Yeah I know I'm such a sissy, but I would miss them very much, even though Jake had the nerve to try to persuade me to stay. He knew how badly I wanted to travel to Europe, and we had already hashed it out. Sometimes he acted like a child, and he often tried my patience.

We had decided it was easier if I flew to Phoenix first. That way I could visit my mum for a few days Alice and I would be able to arrange those last things we weren't able to discuss on the phone. I was excited to meet Alice, but right now I was just glad that I would finally see my mom again when she picked me up at the airport. The flight was okay, I passed the time listening to music and thinking about the fact that mere weeks ago I was complaining about my boring life and now I was going to fly to places I'd only seen in books, in pictures or on screen. The whole thing felt so surreal.

I knew that my mum wouldn't be at the airport when I got off the plane, and I had to wait fifteen minutes for her. When she saw me, she gave me a bone-cracking hug until I thought I couldn't breathe anymore. On the ride to their home, mum and Phil asked me at least a hundred questions about the trip, and they told me that Alice was so excited and hyper that she was driving her family crazy. Renee told me that Alice wanted to come with them to the airport because she couldn't wait to meet me, but that she and Esme had convinced her to come by later that day instead.

Afternoon came fast and I was anxious to see Alice. I felt like I was going on a blind date or something. I was waiting in the living room, when I heard the doorbell. Renee and Phil were eating out, so I walked to the door a little bit nervously. Okay, very nervously. Soon, I would see the person I would spend the next weeks or months with. I hoped she would be even half as nice as she seemed to be on the phone. When I opened the door, I immediately knew that we would get along just fine. Alice was a little bit shorter and thinner than me; she had shoulder length black hair and the most beautiful face I have ever seen. Her smile showed her perfectly white teeth and cute dimples, even her blue eyes lit up when she looked up at me.

To not seem like a moron, I stopped staring at her and stepped to the side to let her in. But she surprised me by pulling me into a warm hug.

"Hi Bella. It's nice to finally see you," she said, before letting go of me.

I don't know why, but my face turned tomato red, and I had trouble finding my voice. "Hi Alice," was all I could say.

Still smiling widely, she walked straight to the living room. Walking behind her, I noticed what she was wearing a pair of black flats, a white top, and some daisy dukes were accentuating her long, thin but fit legs. Wait. Did I just size her up? Sighing, I plopped down at the couch, while Alice sat on the armchair next to me. The heat was definitely getting to my head.

"Do you want something to drink?" I asked her, not knowing what else to say.

"Yes. Water would be great," she smiled.

Filling two glasses with water, I thought about how lucky I was. Alice made a very good first impression. Back in the living room, we talked about anything and everything. Unlike me, Alice was an artist; she loved to paint, draw and sing. The only artsy thing I was able to do was photography. She also told me a lot about her family: her older brother Edward and her parents, Carlisle and Esme.

After about two hours, which felt like thirty minutes, Renee and Phil came home and together we went through the final details. We only booked one-way tickets because we didn't know yet how long we wanted to stay. Unfortunately, it was eventually time for Alice to go home, but she promised to visit us tomorrow. I was really glad that mum talked me into the whole thing. Although I knew that she would never have let me go to Europe with someone she didn't like, I still hadn't expected Alice to be that nice.


"You know what? We could do a 'To Do List' like in that movie the bucket list with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman," Alice suggested.

"That sounds fun. How many things should we write down?" I grabbed a notebook and a pen, ready to write. Altogether we wrote 40 things down; from climbing the Eiffel Tower to camping in the garden of someone, or watching a movie in a language we didn't understand.

Guess who chose the more 'normal' things like 'Ride a gondola in Venice' and who chose the crazy things like 'Trying to make a British guardian laugh' or 'dance on stage of a concert'? Needless to say that crazy Alice suggested the latter. We had a lot of fun thinking about absurd things to do.

After Alice left, Phil excused himself, giving Renee and I some mother and daughter time. It was nice to finally be able to talk with her in person. Only now did I realize how much I really missed her and her erratic and joyful character. We talked until we realized it was the middle of the night, and we needed to get some sleep."

The next morning we woke up late, and I decided to make breakfast/brunch, because I knew better than to expect a decent meal from my mum. Let's just say that cooking was not one of her best qualities. Phil needed to go early to practice his hitting technique or something, so we were alone. When mum and I finished eating, I volunteered to do the dishes, remembering very well how my mother loathed doing it.

As I was filling the sink with water, I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. Spinning around, I almost knocked down the owner of the hand. "Jeez, Alice! You scared the shit out of me," I gasped, clutching my racing heart.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't know that you were so jumpy," she giggled.

You are sorry, my foot, I thought. "You are early. I thought you wanted to come in the afternoon," I wondered.

"Yeah, I got pretty bored and I thought you might want to get some ice cream?" she asked hopefully.

"Well, I just finished breakfast, but there's always room for a bit of ice cream," I patted my stomach. "So, where do you want to go?"

"I know a great ice cream parlor, which is a fifteen minute drive from here," Alice answered, smiling mischievously.

"Let me finish the dishes first, then we can go," I pointed to the few things that still needed to be washed. With Alice's help, I was done in no time.

"Mum! Alice and I are going out to get some ice cream," I shouted, not knowing where she was.

"All right! Have fun, girls." According to the direction of her voice she must have been in the bathroom.

I took a few bills out of my wallet, not wanting to carry the whole thing with me, and gestured to Alice that I was ready to go. As soon as I stepped outside, I regretted not having used my sunscreen. My skin and body weren't used to the blazing sun anymore.

Shielding my eyes, I followed Alice, who stopped in front of a yellow Porsche a moment later. "So, what do you think?" she asked expectantly.

"Huh? What do I think about what?" I was confused.

"Shall we drive, or do you prefer walking to the ice cream parlor?" she asked leaning against the Porsche. I nervously looked around, afraid that the owner of the car might not like seeing Alice in such close proximity to the roadster.

"Well, if you can't decide, I'll choose the car." I was more than a little surprised when Alice took out her keys and opened one of the doors of the Porsche.

"Are you kidding me? This can't be yours," I gasped in disbelief. Renee had told me that the Cullens where loaded, but a Porsche 911 turbo?

"Yep. This is my pride and joy," she laughed at my stunned facial expression. "Come on, get in," she said, still laughing. By now, I thought that she and my mother were the two most joyful people in the world.

Carefully, I stepped in, afraid of breaking or scratching anything. Yes, I'm a klutz and I frequently break things by accident. It was amazing sitting in the leather sport seat, and I couldn't resist the urge to slide my fingers carefully across the dashboard. "Wow, Alice. It's beautiful," I smiled at her.

I knew that Jake would go green with envy if he knew that I was driving in a Porsche. He was a car enthusiast, and spent most of his free-time working on cars. Weird, this was the first time I was thinking about him. I thought I would miss him much more.

Alice's smile broadened when she pressed a button and the top of the car slowly disappeared. She then revved the engine and sped off down the street. It was fun to watch Alice drive. She seemed to be in her element, and the wind blowing her hair out of her face showed off her delicate features.

We were getting a lot of attention. A great number of guys turned their heads as they saw us driving past them. Some of them wolf whistled or waved at us. When we arrived at the parlor, my hair was tousled and I had difficulties taming it with my fingers. Alice looked great with her I-just-got-out-of-bed hair.

After I ordered chocolate ice cream with snickers candy bar we sat at a table, because it was way too hot outside. Alice chose the strawberry ice cream with chocolate chips and gummi bears.

"Ew, Alice. How can you eat that?" I pointed at her ice cream.

"What? It's the best," she folded her arms. "Wanna taste it?"

"No, thanks," I grimaced.

We stayed longer than expected and of course the number one topic of conversation was our upcoming journey. Both of us could hardly wait for tomorrow.

Our first station would be London, because the flight from Phoenix to the UK was the cheapest, and it would be a good start because we wouldn't have any problems with the language. We had already changed some money so that we would have enough cash if we needed it.

When we got back to my mum's, it was already afternoon, and Alice had to go home. Unfortunately. It was fun spending time with her, but tomorrow I would see her again and I would be spending at least two months with her after that. Renee was glad to see that we were getting along so great too.

At home I couldn't stay still. I checked my backpack at least a thousand times, to see if I had everything. I was really, really excited and knew that I wouldn't sleep well this night.


I hope you still like this story and I'll try to update sooner but I can't promise anything.

Bisous Lily