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

Chapter 11: At First Sight

"Alice? Hello?" I waved my hand in front of her face and she finally looked up at me.

"Oh sorry, Bella. I was just, um…"

"Mentally undressing Jasper?" It was so obvious.

She giggled. "Something to that extent. But can you blame me? I mean, that guy is smokin'." She walked over to the fridge and took the photo off. "You are so adorable," she whispered. Wait, did she seriously just talk to the picture? Talking to inanimate objects—never a good thing.

"Ok…um, Alice, here's your coffee," I said, trying to distract her. "Let's go sit down."

"Yeah, sure. Oh, and Bella—can I keep this?" She gestured to the picture.

"Um, alright…" Shit, was she weird sometimes.

When we sat at the table, Edward could notice an obvious difference in Alice's behavior. The fact that she was practically licking the picture might have had something to do with it.

"What's with her," he asked.

I chuckled. "Alice found a new obsession."

"What? Making love to photographs?"

"Apparently. It seems to be all the rage these days, especially…"

"Excuse me," she broke in, "I'm right here, you know."

I turned to face Alice. "Oh, sorry. We thought that you and the photo might've wanted some alone time." I looked at Edward and we started laughing.

She huffed. "Fine, laugh if you will. But I'll have the last laugh when Jasper and I hit it off."

"Oh, ok Alice."

"So when do I get to meet him and Rosalie?"

"Soon," I replied. "You know, I haven't spoken to them in a few days. Why don't I give them a call tonight and we'll see what we can do."

Alice began clapping. "Yay! Thank you, Bella. I SO cannot wait to meet them. And hey, Edward, you've totally gotta hang out with all of us!"

"Oh, well…" he and I began together. I nodded once to let him know that he could explain.

"Well Alice, Bella and I have decided that now may not exactly be a good time to let them know about me."

"But why," she asked. "I'm sure they'd be cool with it. And you know that I do have a feeling about these things." She tapped the side of her head with her pointer finger.

I laughed. "Ah yes, how could I forget? But I guess I just figured that since I haven't known them for terribly long, I couldn't be sure of their reaction." I scooted over to put my arm around her. "You're like my sister, Alice. I know you so well. And I knew you'd be fine with Edward. The fact that you're just a tad bit crazy might have something to do with it," I joked.

Thankfully, she took my joke well and laughed, too. "Alright, I guess I understand. But you will tell them soon, right?" She looked at Edward and me, a hopeful expression on her face.

"Oh, absolutely," I said. "We certainly can't hide you forever, Edward." I took his hand. "Nor would we want to."

He smiled at me and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "You tell them whenever you're ready, Bella. I don't want you to feel forced. It doesn't matter if it takes you two months or two years…"

"Edward, I'm telling them soon. No one's forcing me to do anything. And besides, I want to show you off. You're just too amazing to be kept hidden away." I got up off my chair, walked behind where he was sitting, and put my arms around his neck.

He laughed. "Do you see why I love this woman, Alice? She's absolutely perfect," he said, reaching his hand up to caress my cheek.

"Well, she's not that perfect, you know," said Alice. "I could tell you some funny stories about our Forks days that would have you questioning that previous statement…"

"ALICE!" I looked back and forth between her and Edward. They looked like they would burst out laughing. "If you talk about any of my embarrassing moments, I swear to god I won't introduce you to Jasper."

For the teensiest second, I saw a hint of fear in her eyes. Then her expression became normal again. "You wouldn't dare!"

"You're right, Alice. I wouldn't dare because unlike you, I'm actually nice."

Suddenly, she began laughing. "Bella, I'm joking! I would never tell anyone that you hit yourself in the head with your own badminton racket during gym class. Oops, I guess I just did," she said wickedly.

At this, Edward laughed so hard that if he were human, he probably would have passed out. I buried my head in my hands, my face as red as a tomato.

"Oh, Bella." Alice stood up and gave me a hug. "We both love you. We won't judge the fact that you're a major klutz. It's what makes you, you."

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks Alice. I feel so much better."

"Bella, it is true you know," Edward said. "Your lack of coordination may not feel like a very convenient trait, but it's who you are. And I would never want you to change. I love all of you: your beauty, your intelligence, and yes, your klutziness," he said with a smile, making me blush. Edward stood up, came over to where I was standing, and gave me a hug, too. But unlike Alice, he kept his arms around me. "I love that as well," he whispered, kissing my still red cheeks.

I heard a sniffle and turned to see tears running down Alice's face. "Oh you guys," she blubbered, "I'm so happy for you." She walked over to the counter to grab a tissue, then came back over to where we stood. "And you will still introduce me to Jasper, won't you?"

I laughed. "Yes, I will. I told you—I'll give them a call tonight. Meanwhile, I should probably start on some dinner. Charlie will be home soon."

"Does he know about…" she trailed off.

"No, Alice, and we've decided that he won't find out at any point in the foreseeable future. So I beg of you, do not tell him." Something on my face must have convinced her because for once, she didn't ask any questions.

"Sure, Bella. Not a problem. So when Charlie gets home, Edward just…"

"Disappears for a little while until Charlie goes to sleep."

Alice's face fell into a frown, but she nodded. "This kind of sucks, though. I wish Charlie could meet you, Edward. You truly are amazing."

He smiled. "Yeah, I know."

Alice and I laughed. "But if this is what you two think is right, then I'll honor that," she said.

I squeezed her hand. "Thank you, Alice."

"Yes, Alice—thank you," Edward said fervently.

"Hey, I do what I can, you know? Besides, there are other extremely important issues to deal with."

"What are you talking about," I asked.

"Well, we have to decide what I'm going to wear when I meet Jasper."

"Oh Alice…" I shook my head and chuckled.

After dinner, I called Rosalie and Jasper and asked if they'd like to meet Alice. As I expected, they were very interested in doing so. In fact, their parents were going to be out of town this weekend, so Rosalie suggested that Alice and I sleep over Friday night. She said that we could watch movies, play Guitar Hero, eat lots of ice cream and candy, and more. She also told me that Emmett would be hanging out there as well, so we'd get to meet him, too. This was going to be fun…except for the fact that I couldn't hang out with Edward.

"It's sad, you know," I said as I got into bed. I'd already said goodnight to Alice downstairs and was now in my room with Edward.

"I know, love, and I'll miss you a lot. But I do want you to have fun with your friends," he explained as he climbed onto the bed beside me.

"I appreciate that, Edward. I just wish there was some way for you to come with us." A sudden idea popped into my head. "But wait—you can make yourself invisible, right?"

"Yes, I can. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you could always come with Alice and me but just be invisible."

"He looked slightly taken aback. "Oh, Bella, I'd feel like I was intruding. This is supposed to be friend time, not Edward time," he said with a smile. "I've probably been hogging you, so I think just friend time might be good."

"But why can't it be friend time and Edward time," I asked. "And no, you haven't been hogging me. Even if you were, I wouldn't care. I just love you too much." To prove my point, I leaned over and kissed him passionately.

After I pulled away from him, he laughed. "Well, alright. If you really want me to come along, then I will."

I snuggled closer to him. "So it's settled, then. Tomorrow, you're coming to the Hale's with me and Alice. It'll be quite the soiree: movies, candy, games…"

"Hmm, that actually sounds very interesting. You know, I've never seen a film before. I've always wanted to."

"Really? They're a lot different nowadays. They have sound…and they're in color!"

"Wow! Well I suppose you were right about what you said before. I guess I do need to 'get with it'," he joked, placing a trail of kisses across my jaw.

I chuckled, contented. "I'm so happy you'll be there, Edward. It wouldn't be the same without you."

"Well, I know that my evening wouldn't be the same without you, either." He began to stroke my hair, causing me to become completely relaxed. I yawned and my eyes fluttered shut.

"Goodnight my love," he whispered in my ear. "Sweet dreams…"

The next day, the three of us just decided to be lazy. We simply lounged around and enjoyed each other's company. And of course, Alice talked about Jasper almost nonstop.

"Geez, Alice—give it a rest," I said as I packed my overnight bag. "He may not even like you." She stopped packing and looked up at me, her eyes narrowing. I quickly checked my words and tried to redeem myself. "Then of course, he might. It's definitely possible."

"Of course it's possible, Bella. I mean, how could he resist this?" She gestured to herself, and I had to admit, she did look good. She was wearing a strapless pink sundress with peep-toed pumps. "And, well, I just have a really good feeling about Jasper."

I laughed. "Oh boy, did you have another of your supposed visions?"

"Wow, I can't believe that after all this time, you're still not completely convinced," she huffed. "Hell, I'm the one who warned you that you might injure yourself in gym with that stupid racket. But did you listen to me and be more careful? NO!"

"Alice, I'm klutzy anyways. I don't need you to tell me that. An accident like that was bound to happen," I stated.

"Well, tonight you'll have your proof. I'm very confident that he'll fall under my little spell." She cackled wickedly and rubbed her hands together.

"Huh, that confident are you?"

"Yep, so confident that I'm bringing along a few party favors." She reached into her bag and pulled out two boxes of condoms and a bottle of KY.

My face got red immediately and I gasped. "Christ, Alice! Don't you think you're moving a little fast? You don't even know the guy and you're already prepared to have sex with him."

She shot me a patronizing look. "Bella, you only live once. When you want something, just go for it!"

I sighed. "When did you get that stuff anyways?"

"When you were showering and getting dressed this morning." She smiled at me. "You're extremely lucky to have a drugstore a few blocks away. It makes secret missions like this very easy to accomplish." She picked up the two boxes of condoms and walked closer to me. "So which type do you think I should bring: glow-in-the-dark or flavored?"

I choked back a laugh. "Well, you seem very to be very adventurous tonight. Why not just try both?"

"You're totally right, Bella!" She grinned, tossed the boxes back into her bag, and zipped it up. "Alright, I'm packed and ready to go. How about you?"

"Yeah, I'm all set." I slung my bag over my shoulder. "Now let's go get Edward."

I had filled Alice in on the plan while we were packing, and as I expected, she was thrilled that he was coming along—visible or not. When we got downstairs, we saw that Edward was waiting for us by the front door.

"Hey Alice," he said with a smile. Then he walked towards me and gathered me into his arms. "And hello, beautiful." He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine.

"Hey now, you two!" Damn Alice and her impatience.

Edward pulled away from me and sighed. "I'm simply taking advantage of the time we have now to show Bella just how much I love her—while she can still see me," he said with a laugh.

I tried to smile. "Well, I hate to say it, but you should probably, um…"

He cupped my cheek soothingly with his hand. "Disappear now?" He chuckled. "It's alright, Bella. I understand."

"I wish you didn't have to though, Edward."

"Well, imagine what the neighbors would think if they saw you talking to me—a mysterious man wearing out-of-date-clothing who also just happens to glow."

We all laughed. "Yeah, Bella—they wouldn't think you were crazy at all," Alice said sarcastically.

Edward hugged me closer to himself. "But really, Bella—don't beat yourself up about this. Just remember that I'll be there. You may not be able to see me, but still."

I sighed. "Ok, let's get going."

Edward and I shared another kiss and when I opened my eyes, he was gone.

"Whoa, that was so cool, Edward," said Alice, practically bursting with excitement.

I heard an invisible chuckle. "Well, I'm happy that you think so."

I rolled my eyes and opened the door. Who knew that something like that could be deemed so exciting? Then again, we were talking about Alice.

It seemed like only seconds later that we arrived at the Hale's house. I knocked on the door and not a moment later, a man answered it. When I looked up at him, I gasped and moved a step backwards. This man was well over six feet tall and very muscular. He seemed very imposing. But then I remembered that Emmett was supposed to be here, too. This must be him.

"Um, are you Emmett," I asked shakily.

"Yeah, who's asking," he responded gruffly.

I gulped. "I'm Bella Swan and this is Alice Cullen. We're here for Rosalie and Jasper. We're supposed to sleep over tonight."

His face remained hard. "Huh, really?" He stepped towards us, his eyebrow raised. Then before I could even register what had happened, he picked me up and spun me in a circle.

I shrieked. "Emmett, put me down!"

He laughed a loud, booming laugh. "It's great to finally meet you, Bella! I was just messing with you before."

I smile, relieved. "It's nice to meet you too, Emmett!" I turned to Alice. "Alice, this is Emmett, Rosalie's fiancé."

"Hmm, I see that I've been a topic of conversation," Emmett said, a cocky tone to his voice. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised. What can I say? People just can't get enough of me."

Alice snorted. "Looks like somebody needs a piece of humble pie!"

Emmett laughed loudly again, picked Alice up, and spun her around—exactly like what he did with me. "It's great to meet you as well, Alice! But I've got to say, I'm not in the mood for humble pie. Apple, on the other hand, might be pretty tasty right about now."

I heard a laugh come from behind Emmett. "God, Emmett, could you be a bigger cheese ball?"

He looked behind him and smiled. "Oh hey, Rose! Why? Are regular balls not working for you anymore," he joked, winking at us.

We all laughed, except for Rosalie, whose face became extremely red.

"Um, okay. Where was I before Emmett behaved so rudely?" She shot him a death glare. "Right, you must be Alice. It's nice to meet you."

Alice, always the enthusiastic one, gave Rosalie a big hug. "It's wonderful to meet you! I'm so excited for tonight. And oh, Bella tells me you have a brother?"

Way to be subtle, Alice. Rosalie glanced at me quickly and I rolled my eyes. Comprehension dawned on her face and she laughed. "Yeah, unfortunately. His name's…"

"Jasper—yeah, I know," Alice said confidently.

Emmett snickered. "Say, Rose, you got any earplugs?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure, why?"

"I don't know. I just have a feeling that we'll need them tonight."

Alice snorted. "Oh, you're going to need a lot more than earplugs to shut us out!"

"Whoa, looks like we've got ourselves a feisty one," Emmett said with a laugh.

Rosalie looked curiously at Alice. "What makes you so sure about Jasper? I mean, you don't even know the guy."

"Hmm, I guess I just have a way of knowing things will work out." She looked at everyone and smiled. Oh if only they knew.

We laughed. "Ok, Alice. If you think you can hit it off with him, more power to you," Rosalie said. "Plus, I've had to deal with that loser for almost eighteen years. It's time someone else had to put up with him," she joked.

"Where is Jasper, anyway," I asked.

"He's in the back watching TV."

Alice pretty much bulldozed us out of the way. "Look out," she shouted, running inside.

The three of us (well, four if you counted Edward) were left standing on the front porch. We glanced at each other, amused expressions on our faces.

Rosalie looked at me. "How did all this develop?"

"Oh, she saw that picture that we took at Navy Pier. That was all it took to get her obsessed."

"Do you think that Jasper will fall for her," she asked.

I chuckled. "Well, Alice usually gets what she wants. I imagine that this will go her way, too."

Emmett laughed and made a noise that sounded like a whip cracking. Rosalie promptly smacked his shoulder. "Alright cowboy, let's get you inside. Bella, c'mon—make yourself at home."

As she and Emmett began to walk inside, I looked back and forth behind me—which was quite pointless. It's not like I could see Edward. But suddenly, I felt a gentle pressure squeeze my hand.

"I'm here, don't worry," he whispered.

I smiled and walked into the foyer, pausing to hold the door open briefly for Edward.

He laughed quietly. "Why thank you, m'lady. Though seeing as how I am a ghost, and I can walk through walls, that wasn't really necessary."

I blushed. "Sorry," I muttered.

"No, don't be. I was actually flattered. It made me feel like less of a shadow and more of a human."

"Well to me, you are human."

I felt a slight pressure around my waist, so I could only guess that he had wrapped his arm around me. "Thank you, Bella," he whispered into my ear.

Just then, Rosalie came running up to me. "Oh my god, Bella—you have to come see this!"

She tugged on my arm and let me to the back of the house where the family room was. Emmett was already there, standing just outside the door peeking in. He saw us, lifted a finger to his lips to warn us to be quiet, and pointed into the room. Standing in the center were Alice and Jasper. They were doing nothing except staring at each other.

"What happened," I whispered.

Rosalie giggled. "I don't know. I got back here just as Alice walked in. Jasper saw her and got this weird look on his face like he was in awe of her or something. He got up, they introduced themselves, and they've been that way ever since."

I looked and saw that Emmett was holding a bowl of popcorn. He was practically shoveling the popcorn into his mouth. "Man, the evening news is more exciting than this shit! They haven't moved for five minutes."

As if on cue, Alice brought her hand up to caress Jasper's cheek. He held her hand in place on his face and closed his eyes serenely. Though we were quite a distance from them, I very plainly heard Alice whisper, "I've been waiting quite a while for you."

Jasper smiled widely. "Well, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." He immediately pulled her into a tight embrace. I was fairly certain that I was watching a love-at-first-sight moment in action. To experience it yourself is extremely powerful, but I'd say that it's almost as powerful when you witness it happening to people you know.

We waited a moment, then Emmett cleared his throat. Jasper and Alice's heads snapped up and they look in our direction. They both looked slightly embarrassed at having been caught—which was odd for Alice because she never gets embarrassed.

"Well, looky what we've got here," Emmett smirked. "But be warned, Jasper—this one bites!"

Jasper got a mischievous look on his face. "What if I want her to?" He looked at Alice, who had a triumphant grin on her face.

We all laughed then Rosalie brought me forward into the room. "Hey Jasper, look who's here."

He walked toward me, still holding Alice's hand, and gave me a one-armed hug. "It's great to see you, Bella! And don't worry, I'll try not to get sick this time."

I smiled. "Hey, Jasper! No, I'm not worried about you getting sick." I glanced at Alice. "That one there might be small, but boy can she eat. She'll probably just hog everything anyways!" Alice shot me a nasty look. "Hey, it's true."

"Also, Bella, I want to thank you for bringing Alice over here. I can't imagine what would've happened if I hadn't met her," Jasper said.

"Well, my bet would've been on you playing for the other team," Emmett joked.

Jasper sighed. "Em, how many times have we had this discussion? And how many times have I told you that I'm not gay?"

"Well, hey man—I'm just saying. Sure, I see that now. But all those years and no girlfriend—that definitely made me suspicious."

Alice looked at Jasper in surprise. "No girlfriend? Really?"

He blushed. "Uh, yeah—but not because I didn't want one. The right girl just hadn't come along—until now, of course." A definite 'aww' moment I'd say.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to get you caught up, then," Alice said, winking at him. Jasper's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

Emmett and Rosalie laughed loudly. I just rolled my eyes. Oh, Alice…

"So anyways, what movie should we start with," Rosalie asked.

"Ooh, 'Mean Girls'," Emmett shouted. We all looked at him questioningly. "What? It's hilarious. And…I can do a perfect Rachel McAdams!"

"He actually can," Rosalie agreed with a laugh. "He also knows the choreography from their rendition of 'Jingle Bell Rock'."

"Mostly because those outfits are so hot, you can't help but watch it lots of times," he joked. Rosalie narrowed her eyes at him. He laughed nervously and corrected himself. "Hey, Babe—I was kidding. You'd look much hotter in one of those outfits than they do."

She paused for a moment. "Yeah, you're probably right. I would, wouldn't I?"

Emmett gave her a hug and a kiss. "Hell, yes! You're way more awesome than those other girls. They're just a bunch of…um…"

"Fugly sluts," Rosalie finished. We all laughed. "Hey, I thought it seemed appropriate," she said.

Alice began bouncing up and down. "Well, what are we waiting for? Time's a wasting! We've got us a movie to watch!" We all sat down in the family room while Emmett and Rosalie grabbed some snacks. As soon as they came back, we got ourselves settled and started the movie.

Though the movie was fun, it was a little hard to watch because Alice and Jasper were close by on the couch. Alice must not have wanted to watch the movie that much—she was straddling Jasper's lap, shoving her tongue down his throat like there was no tomorrow. And with Emmett imitating almost every line in the movie, it made things a little distracting. My mind began to wander and suddenly, all I could think of was Edward. I could tell that he'd been holding my hand during the movie, but I missed seeing him. I wanted more.

"Um, hey Rose, where's your bathroom," I asked.

"Oh, it's right next to the kitchen."

"Thanks. Right next to the kitchen then," I said slightly louder, hoping Edward got the hint.

Rosalie raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh, just making sure I remember where it is." She nodded and went back to watching the movie. Whew, I wasn't sure that would work.

I made my way to the bathroom. Once inside, I whispered, "Edward?"

Thankfully, he was there. "What is it, Bella?"

"I wanted to see you, talk to you."

"You want to see me? Wouldn't that be risky while we're here?"

I smiled. "What's life without a little risk?"

He chuckled. "Alright. Brace yourself," he joked. Seconds later, he was standing in front of me. "Now, was there any specific reason why you wanted to see me, love?" He walked forward and put his arms around me. It was obvious that he knew what I wanted.

I bit my lip and nodded, my excitement making it impossible to speak. Without any hesitation, I crashed my lips to his and he eagerly responded, clutching me to him even tighter. He was just beginning to kiss his way down my neck when I heard a gasp and a loud crash right outside the bathroom door…which was still open. In my eagerness to see Edward, I had forgotten to close it. I turned to see who was outside and the blood drained from my face. Rosalie's face was contorted in fright, the bowl of popcorn lying on the floor. We had been caught.

I'm back! God, this has been such a hellish week. I just took a monster history test today, and I'm so glad it's over! So…what are your thoughts on the chapter? Did you like Emmett? I love him! He kind of reminds me of myself…very nice, and kind of cheesy sometimes…LOL. I decided to name the chapter "At First Sight" because not only is Alice and Jasper's relationship blooming, but also, Rosalie finds out about Edward…a little ambiguity there :-) My English teachers would be proud! Oh speaking of Rosalie, she did not get suspicious of Bella and go to spy on her. She just was heading to the kitchen to get some more popcorn. So she's not evil like that in case anyone was wondering! But she will be a little harsh in the next chapter about the Edward thing—I decided to add a little bit of typical pigheaded Rosalie into it! LOL, but don't worry, she'll come around. Anyways, I'll hopefully be able to update next Thursday. Please read and review :-)