Chapter 2 – Arriving

Here you go, chapter 2. I'm trying to make it authentic and realistic but the thing is, I haven't visited all the countries they are going to, so don't be too upset if it doesn't match the real thing perfectly. Feel free to comment if I make huge errors :D

Thanks a million for all the lovely people who reviewed and read my story. I was dazed after my first reviews ever and couldn't stop jumping for like… three hours.

Disclaimer: I don't own Mrs. Meyers incredible characters but the storyline is mostly mine. (Sorry I forgot to put this on the first chapter.)

Chapter 2 – Arriving

BPOV

We entered terminal 1 at Heathrow airport and followed the large group of airline passengers making their way towards the passport check.

"Do we really have to show our passports?", Alice whined to me and Jasper. "I have a terrible picture in it. It was the day I had a cold and my nose was all red. Plus I was late from the photo shoot and I had to run to make it, which make my hair look terrible."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Alice, only EU-citizens can go through without the check. Besides, everyone hates their passport picture."

"So are you saying that it's awful? Thanks a million, Bella!"

Jasper put his arm around Alice and started whispering in her ear and when we halted to wait in line, she was already giggling just like her usual self.

After showing our "awful" pictures to the grumpy airport official we went to the baggage claim for our bags. Alice was the first to notice our flight from the monitor and the first to notice out backpacks. It wasn't in fact such a feat, since all the other passengers had either a standard black suitcase of a standard tartan-chequered suitcase. Our luggage stood out a bit. Mine and Jasper's backpacks were normal black things that fit an amazing amount of stuff. Alice on the other hand didn't even consider carrying a gigantic, generic, sporty-looking thing around Europe – as she so kindly had put it. Instead, she found a backpack make of brown leather and red fabric. It was really elegant, I also admitted it, but it would fit next to nothing.

That of course gave Alice another dilemma on how to get all the things she wanted to have with her to fit. After three days of listing her things into must-haves, maybe-necessities, nearly-uselesses she finally decided to just up her budget, pack only her own cosmetics and some clothes, buy things when she needed something and ship the other stuff home. I was actually truly glad it turned out okay for Alice; I didn't even want to imagine a situation where Alice would have to manage without her cosmetics.

"Honestly Jasper what it the percentage of Alice's stuff in your backpack?", I asked teasingly, examining the very full state of his luggage. Alice must have found a few more essentials to pack.

"Oh shush, Bella, if you'd been there when I started to pack you would be proud of the percentage I managed to cut back. At one point I really considered hiring someone to carry my stuff around", Alice said while strapping her backpack in place.

With Jasper's navigation skills we had no trouble finding the right underground and we only had to change once to get to Victoria Street. The Tube was an experience itself. Forks didn't really have any of those, which made this current ride my first one. The blackness was oddly numbing but as a station whizzed past, the sudden light made me jump in shock. And another challenge appeared when the train stopped for a station. If I hadn't been holding on to one of the poles (which apparently can infect you with small pox, as Alice very clearly stated after wiping hers down with a moist Kleenex.) I would certainly have found myself flat on my face with the backpack crushing my insides. Jasper sat on one of the orange seats, ignoring the questionable state of most of them, chuckling silently at Alice's germ phobia.

When the train halted at our stop, we stepped out and headed for the stairs. As I climbed them up, I could fees the backpack weighing down and I hadn't even worn it that long. It wasn't really bad but I could just imagine carrying this thing with me for hours, searching for a place to stay and the pain that would issue.

The bed and breakfast we were staying at wasn't too far way. We had chosen it because it was close to the shopping possibilities Alice needed and close to St James' park and Thames. When we walked along the street we considered different alternatives on what to do tonight.

"It would be nice to do something. I mean, the first night has to be special", I said while looking around my eyes darting in every direction.

"Oh! I know just the thing for us to do!" Alice's sudden excitement had my thoughts alerted instantly.

"Alice, we are not going shopping for our first night. I have to carry all the stuff I buy"

She laughed heartily at my vehement answer as she walked through our bed and breakfast's door Jasper held open for us.

EPOV

"Dude, did you see that blonde chick living on our floor? Man she is hot!"

Emmett stormed into our hotel room banging the door into the wall behind it. I silently groaned thinking about the hole in the tapestry, which would surely be there before we checked out two days later. I raised my eyebrow at him. "And here I was under the impression you were supposed to find us something to do for our first night in Europe while you were checking out and probably scaring the crap out of pretty girls."

Emmett huffed dismissively and plopped on the bed he had assigned himself the moment we had stepped into the room about three hours previously. "Oh please. Scare the crap out of them? With my charm? Nah, I talked to her and asked her if she knew something worth looking at in London."

"Emmett, we're in London, I think anyone would find something worth looking at. So what did this very hot chick of yours say?"

"Stop being an idiot and maybe I'll tell you", Emmett replied with a smirk. "And her name is Rosalie, for your information. And she said that the pubs are great."

"Anything else? Or are we just going to spend three days in pubs?"

"Well I wouldn't mind doing that if Rosalie comes along." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I gave up trying to find out what more this Rosalie had said about the tourist attractions in London. Lifting myself up from my bed, I put on my sneakers and walked to the door, announcing Emmett that I'd be downstairs looking for more detailed information. I smiled to myself when walking down the hallway; Emmett certainly had the ability to keep things from getting boring.

Exploring Europe had been a hope of mine ever since we had started to study geography in school. I had made lists on the sights I wished to visit and surfed through dozens of Internet sites finding so many places that it would take me the better part of a year to go through them all.

Getting Emmett to come along wasn't too hard. He was always open for a chance to let loose. And after I mentioned the several topless beaches in Europe, he was ready to book the trip. Besides ever since he saw the episode of Friends with the pick-up line, he had wanted to go to Europe just to be able to actually use it.

(AN - Anyone watch Friends? lol) I was honestly glad that Emmett wanted to come with me. Sure, I had friends but most of them were incredibly immature and none of them were the kind you wanted to spend a month with.

We had booked Interrail tickets for a month starting from the beginning of July. With my family financing the trip would be no problem, but I had wanted an authentic impression, and if that meant travelling in economy class, travelling on train floors and carrying a heavy backpack around then I would do it. I had spent enough holidays in first class destinations. Emmett had also agreed on our way of travelling. He had said that plain and simple conditions were the perfect way to use charm with girls – offer you seat in a packed tram and so on. And as it turned out, Emmett didn't even need to be chivalrous to pick up a girl.

I walked down the stairs from our third story room into the ground floor that consisted of a reception, a comfortable looking breakfast area with a small kitchen and a lounging space for watching TV, socializing and reading newspapers that were scattered on the sofa table. It was a pretty good arrangement since the rooms weren't too big.

I walked to the lounging area and sat down on one of the huge armchairs next to the sofa table, and grabbed the Sun from this morning. I was just reading about the progress on the walkway constructions in London when a gush of warm summer air and a tinkling laugh announced someone's arrival. From my seat I could clearly see the group of three that was standing in the entrance hall; a tall, blonde man, a small, short-haired girl and another girl with a long brown hair all of them setting their backpacks at their feet and looking around.

The short, black-haired one stepped towards the reception and dinged the small bell that was placed on the desk.

"What is taking so long, honestly? I need to get this backpack out of my sight after carrying it around for ages." I heard the small one mutter to the others. She was the one with the tinkling laughter; it was obvious from her voice.

"Chill Alice," the long haired one said chuckling. "See, here she comes."

The girl named Alice started to book their room while the girl amused with her friend's impatience started to look around again. I on the other hand was looking at her and the pleasant expression of her face as she looked at her surroundings. When her gaze met mine, she quickly turned away, as if embarrassed. She started to look at the travel brochures on the reception desk, which made me remember just why I had come downstairs in the first place.

I stood up and laid the Sun back to the table then walking slowly to where the group was still waiting for the receptionist to find them a room. I walked up next to the girl reached out to take a brochure of the V&A museum making her flinch at the sudden movement.

"Hey there," I said in a smooth tone, placing the brochure back on the table.

There you go. I posted it sooner than I thought, but I just couldn't help myself. It might take longer before the next chapter though, so you have been warned.

I think I have never used the word backpack as much…

I left the story there because it would have been so long otherwise.

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