Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. They all belong to the amazingly talented Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 9: It's About Time!

I awoke early today, having slept peacefully and uninterrupted. Even though my clock only read 7:00 AM, I felt energized and ready to go. I realized that this had been the first time since we moved here that I hadn't woken up at all during the night.

When I sat up and stretched, I was greeted with the sight of Edward sitting at the foot of my bed, smiling crookedly at me.

"Good morning, love," he said sweetly, moving closer so he could kiss my forehead. It felt like my heart would fly whenever he called me that.

"Morning, Edward. What did you do last night," I asked, knowing that he obviously couldn't sleep.

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Just stayed up here with you."

"What? Why?" I couldn't see how staying upstairs all night with a sleeping person could be considered interesting.

He began to smile. "Well, I just simply didn't want to leave your side. You're too irresistible."

As usual, I blushed. "No, I doubt it."

"Why would I lie about something like that?" He cupped my face with his hand. "Shall I show you how irresistible you are to me?" With that, he leaned down to kiss me, softly at first, but gradually building in intensity. We kept kissing enthusiastically for several minutes, wrapped up in each other's arms and reveling in the moment. Edward was perfection, and I just couldn't get enough of him. When we finally broke apart, he kept his eyes closed, complete with a goofy grin on his beautiful face.

I giggled. "Happy are we?"

He opened his eyes and chuckled. "Ecstatic would be more like it. And how about you?"

I sighed, contented. "You have no idea how incredibly happy I am."

"Hmm, I think I have some idea," he said knowingly.

"What do you mean, Edward?"

He got an amused look on his face. "You do know that you talk in your sleep, right?"

Shit, I had forgotten about that! I've talked in my sleep for as long as I can remember. My mom always made fun of me for it. But I've gotten so used to the occurrence that I forgot about it…until now, of course.

I was absolutely mortified. "Oh god, what did I say," I asked shakily, mentally going through everything he could have heard.

His expression became one of adoration. "You said that you loved me."

Ok, that one wasn't so bad. "Well, it's true," I admitted.

Again, he brought his lips to mine for a very enthusiastic kiss. I wanted to burst with glee. Seeing him happy like this made me happy. And when he was hurting, so was I. Just as we melted into one when we kissed, we were one emotionally as well. After a little while, I broke away from him and touched my forehead to his.

"I love you, Edward Masen," I whispered.

"And I love you, Isabella Swan," he said fervently.

I was so glad that he was finally able to say those words. It made me very optimistic about our future. And I'm not sure why, but I just had a feeling that the best was yet to come.

We sat there for a few moments, simply enjoying each other's company. I never wanted to leave his side, but just like yesterday morning, my stomach ruined the moment and I knew that I had to go eat.

"Unfortunately, Edward, I should be getting downstairs. Apparently, it's breakfast time," I said, patting my stomach ruefully.

He let out a whine and stuck out his bottom lip, pouting. It was extremely childish, but I had to chuckle. It was just so unlike anything he would do.

"Must you go," he asked, giving me the puppy dog eyes.

"Afraid so, but you're welcome to come with me, of course."

His eyes lit up and he took my hand. Slowly, we made our way downstairs to the kitchen. He sat down at the table, watching me while I popped a couple of frozen waffles into the oven to toast.

"What are you making," he asked curiously.

"Just some waffles."

He looked extremely taken aback. "But, you took them out of a box…and they were…they were frozen," he sputtered, in a state of obvious disbelief.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, I can't believe society has resorted to eating breakfast from a box—and that such a thing has become acceptable. In my time, waffles were actually made, not thrown into the oven for five minutes after being frozen. A lot of effort went into the making of a meal." He looked at me awkwardly, then cleared his throat.

I couldn't help myself—I started laughing.

"What," he asked, slightly furrowing his eyebrows.

"I suppose in your time, children also had to walk for miles in the snow to get to school," I said, using the cliché anecdote that parents and grandparents sometimes tell kids.

He paused briefly. "Well, just one mile really…but that's not the point!"

"Then what is?" I was very curious as to figure out what brought on his mini rant.

"I don't know, I guess I'm just not used to the happenings of today's world. It's much different to say the least. Sometimes it's a little hard for me to absorb everything."

I sat down next to him. "I can imagine. Being used to one thing and then experiencing something new is definitely difficult."

"Yeah, tell me about it," he agreed. "And plus, well, you deserve better than frozen waffles."

I began to laugh again. "You know that this is probably the silliest conversation we've ever had, right?"

He joined in with my laughter. "Yes, I'd be willing to bet that it is."

"But it's very sweet of you to look out for me and be concerned about my well-being."

His eyes locked into mine. "I'll always look out for you, Bella. You are my life now." He took my hand and kissed it.

And after a moment as sweet as that, what more can you possibly say or do? It wasn't until after a few minutes of comfortable silence that I smelled something.

"Aw, crap—the waffles!" I ran to the stove and opened the oven door. A thick cloud of smoke flew out, which I tried to swat away. As soon as everything was clear, I looked inside. The waffles were burnt to a crisp.

He snickered. "Well, that just proves it. Frozen waffles are not a suitable breakfast."

I rolled my eyes at him and tossed the blackened waffles into the trash. "But you know what is suitable, of course? Cereal," I said, picking up a box and shaking it. I poured myself a bowl and sat down at the table. As I began to eat, he made a gagging noise.

"Revolting," he said in disgust.

"Only to you, Edward. This is the 21st century—get with it," I teased.

After I finished eating and getting dressed, I decided to do some laundry. There was quite the pile of dirty clothes collecting in the hamper, so it needed to be done. As I was putting the first load into the dryer, the phone rang. Ugh. Of course, I had to be interrupted right in the middle of an important task.

"Hello," I said, annoyed.

"Bella Swan, I am insulted! Now, what kind of a way is that to greet your best friend?"

"Alice! Oh my god! How are you?" I was practically jumping up and down. It was so good to hear from her.

"Oh, I'm hangin' in there." She sounded a little bored. "You know, Forks isn't exactly an exciting place to live now that you've left."

I laughed. "It was never that exciting, Alice."

"I know, but now it's really not exciting."

"So, it's still the same as ever," I asked.

Alice sighed. "No, actually, I think it's gotten even greener." She, like me, was very bored with the small town life. Many times when we'd talk, she would express an interest in moving to a big city one day.

I groaned. "Really? I didn't think it was possible. I guess I'm glad that I got out when I did."

"You make it sound like a horror movie," she said, laughing. "Get out while you still can!"

"Hey, to me it kind of was! Except that I had the most awesome best friend to make things more fun."

"Yes, well—I guess I am pretty awesome, aren't I?"

We laughed. "Yeah, Alice, I suppose you are." I got a sudden pang of sadness. "I miss you, you know."

"Aw, Bella—I miss you, too. And that's why, drum roll please…I'm coming to visit you."

"What!?"

"Yep," she said proudly. "I just had a feeling that it was time to pay my good friend a visit."

"Oh my god! When will you be here?"

"Well, seeing as how my plane takes off in half an hour, probably in five hours!"

"Ahh!" I began screaming and dancing around the room. Edward must've heard me scream (then again, who couldn't within a one block radius) because the next thing I knew, he was in front of me, looking concerned. He must have thought I'd gotten hurt. I assured him that I wasn't with a smile and shake of my head, which in turn, made him smile.

"Geez, Bella, calm down," she said with a laugh. "It's only me coming for a visit."

"Exactly, Alice! How long are you staying?"

"Two weeks. I figure it'll give me ample time to hang out with my best friend and see the city."

"Oh my god, you're going to love it! There's so much to do." I suddenly remembered how into shopping Alice was. "And you'll most certainly love this one area downtown. It's got all these really high-end stores…"

"The Magnificent Mile—I know! I can't wait to check it out!"

I should have guessed that Alice would know about it. I laughed. "Yeah, but don't go too crazy with the shopping, ok? Try not to spend all your money in one day."

She snorted. "Bella, that's like asking for world peace. It's not gonna happen! You just have to accept the fact that I'm a shopaholic, and that it's not going to change anytime soon."

"And admitting that you have a problem is the first step in the right direction," I joked.

"Ok, enough about my shopping habits," she snapped. "Have you made any new friends yet?"

"Yes, I have! Their names are Jasper and Rosalie Hale. As it turns out, they live really close by and they're going to the same school as me."

"That's awesome, Bella! We should all get together and hang out while I'm there. I'd love to meet them."

"That sounds like fun!" I was sure Alice would find common ground with Rosalie on the subject of fashion, so they would definitely get along. And Jasper was just an all-around nice, fun guy. I was certain that they'd get along as well.

"So, have you met anyone else?" I didn't like the tone in her voice.

"Um, what do you mean?"

"You know—have you met anyone," she asked suggestively.

At that moment, I caught Edward's eye and he winked at me. "I, um…ahem, no, I haven't."

She sighed. "Oh Bella, I see that your lying skills haven't improved at all. So, who is he?"

I made the mistake of looking at Edward again, which completely blew what little focus I had left to smithereens. I decided to just tell the truth.

"Well, there is this one guy," I said, moving into the other room for some privacy.

She let out a whoop and laughed. "I knew it! You've got to tell me about him."

I really didn't know if I should even be telling her, but she was my best friend. Hell, she was practically my sister, so she deserved to know. I knew I couldn't tell Charlie—he'd flip. He'd think I went crazy. But Alice was always crazy, so she would be totally open to this situation! I just didn't know how to explain it. So I decided I'd stall, think about what I'd say, and tell her the details when she arrived.

"Well, I could tell you now or you could just meet him when you get here."

"Bella, that's a great idea! You're sure you could get him to come over and meet me?"

"Trust me, Alice, it's like he never leaves," I said with a chuckle.

"Yay! I'm so excited! Well, anyways Bella, my plane's going to be leaving in a little bit, so I should go. You're sure this'll be ok with your dad?"

"Oh, yeah. Charlie loves you, Alice!"

"Awesome, well, I'll see you soon! And I can't wait to meet this guy of yours," she giggled.

My stomach dropped. "Yep, see you soon."

As soon as I hung up, I knew I had to go talk to Edward. I found him sitting at the piano plunking out an unfamiliar tune. As soon as he saw me, he held out his arms and invited me to sit on the bench with him.

"What were you playing?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Just a little something I made up."

"Can I hear it?"

He immediately looked nervous. "Well, uh, I'm not finished yet."

I found his behavior a little odd. "Um, ok. Well, can I hear it when you're done?"

"Sure, Bella. Of course." His expression became normal again, and he leaned down to kiss the top of my head. "So who was that on the phone?"

"Actually Edward, I wanted to talk to you about that." I paused. "That was Alice, my good friend."

"The one from Forks, right?"

"Yeah. So she called to tell me, well—she's decided to visit for a couple of weeks."

He froze. "What?"

"And that's not all," I said, drawing in a shaky breath. "She knows that I, um, sort of have someone in my life—if you know what I mean."

He looked even more horrified. "How did she find out?"

"I told her, of course. It's pretty much impossible to lie to her," I said sheepishly. "But she doesn't know anything else except for that. I figure I'd wait 'till she gets here to let her in on the details."

"So you're going to tell her about me? I mean, do you think she'll freak out?"

I surprised myself by laughing. "Yeah, she'll freak out—but in a good way. Alice has always been really accepting of everyone that she meets, which is great in our case." I reached out to hold his hand. "She'll also just be happy that I've finally found someone. Honestly, she wouldn't even care if you were a vampire. She'll just say 'It's about time!' Then of course, there is the third factor that works in our favor…"

"What's that," he asked.

"She's obsessed with all things paranormal: ghosts, shadows, poltergeists…you name it! And she even claims to see visions of the future on occasion." He began to laugh. "I mean, I love her and all, but sometimes…" I trailed off, laughing along with him. "So I wouldn't even worry. She'll probably just spend half her time tracking you like a lab rat."

This made him laugh even harder. "Great, I look forward to it! So when does she arrive?"

I checked my watch. "In about four and a half hours. That should give me enough time to clean, get the couch set up, and prepare for the firecracker that is Alice Cullen."

"The couch? Shouldn't she be staying in your room?"

"Well, truthfully, I'd rather you stay with me. I couldn't go a minute without you, even if I am unconscious for part of the time! Plus, all of Alice's stuff is going to take up most of the room anyways. Having her stay up there with me would make things quite crowded."

"Ah, so what you're saying is that you want me to stay with you because my current state as a ghost equals less room that you need to share," he teased.

"Hmm, no…I really do want you to stay with me. That other part is just icing on the cake!"

We laughed together, then he looked at me curiously. "Do you plan on telling your dad and your other friends about me?"

I thought about it for a minute. "I think I'll tell my friends eventually. They seem like they'd be ok with everything. Though, I don't know them like I know Alice. So I'm holding off for now. And as for my dad, probably not. I'd love to, but he has a very low tolerance to strange occurrences." I chuckled. "He's like the exact opposite of Alice. He can't stand talk of ghosts. If he found out about you and I, he'd probably declare me insane!"

He wrapped his arms around me and a mischievous look came into his eyes. "Well, you are insane. You're insanely fun to talk to," he said, kissing my neck. "You're insanely smart." He kissed the hollow beneath my right ear. "Insanely sweet and kind." He kissed my cheeks and forehead tenderly. "And most of all, you're insanely beautiful," he whispered, pressing his lips sweetly to mine.

"But you forgot one thing," I interrupted.

"And what is that?"

I pressed myself closer to him. "I'm insanely in love with you."

That was all the permission he needed to resume kissing me. Ah, to be young and in love.

Hey all! I hope you had a nice weekend! So what did you all think of this chapter? I was so happy to introduce Alice into the story. I love her, she's so much fun. And she'll arrive in the next chapter…yay! And how'd you all like that little vampire reference? Cute, huh? Question—did you all think that bit with the waffles was actually funny? I thought it'd be a nice touch…you know, Edward has a bit of culture shock and gets a little weirded out. I got my inspiration from the movie Kate and Leopold. If anyone has seen it, then you'll know the part where Hugh Jackman is talking about how in his time, everything was a "product of reflection and study". I love that movie! And yes, in case anyone was wondering, that song that Edward is tinkering around with is Bella's Lullaby, which of course resurfaces later. Speaking of which…who's excited for the Twilight soundtrack release on November 4? It's kind of weird (but cool) that we get to hear the lullaby before the movie comes out. But it's so great that one of Rob's songs is going to be on the album!! Yay! We get to hear him sing! If anyone hasn't heard him sing, check out YouTube. There are some videos there. He's got an amazing voice! It's so soulful and intense. Anyways, please read and review. I'll update next Tuesday :-)