EPOV

As soon as the car slid to a stop in front of the house, my feet touched the ground and I was flying back to my room, as fast as I could without seeming to be so… supernatural. My feet sunk into the familiar floor, dipping into the golden fluff. Looking at my row of countless CDs, I selected one of the loudest, and popped it into the stereo. Instantly, the thrashing of guitars pounded through the speakers, numbing my thoughts. I lay back on the bed, wondering what in the world I was feeling.

Confusion swept over me. What was this I was feeling for Bella? Maybe it was just a stupid crush. Yeah, that's what it was, a crush. It was defiantly not love. It couldn't be- I hardly knew the strange human. It probably wasn't anything. I was just being shallow. She looked hot and I was confusing it with other feelings. Yes, that was what it was. I shut my eyes, trying to concentrate on the music, but when my eyes were closed, all I could see was Bella as she had been tonight at dinner. She was so perfect. The way she blushed every time her deep brown eyes met mine. How she would look up from under her eyelashes to glance at me, catching me staring. What the hell is happening to me, I thought, annoyed. I just need a distraction - something to keep her out of my mind. I picked up my mobile, knowing full well that it was now two in the morning, and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Jess. It's Edward."

BPOV

I awoke at seven; sure the entire house would be asleep. It was unusual for people to get up this early on the weekend, but I loved getting up early, when it was by choice. I opened the door as quietly as I possibly could, not checking to see if Alice was around, and headed in the direction I thought the stairs were in. I found them without much trouble, and almost tripped down them as I hastily made my way to the front door.

"Where are you going?" I jumped. I hadn't realized someone else was awake. I glanced over through my thick curtain of hair, where Alice stood expectantly.

"I was just going outside. It's such a beautiful day." I said to Alice uncertainly, knowing that she would think I was trying to ditch her. I shouldn't have been surprised she was awake. How anyone could sleep with that much energy was beyond me.

"Oh. Okay! Do you want me to come with you?" She smiled brightly, not offended at all, I thought with relief.

"Um, I don't mind. You can if you want," I added, hoping she would say yes. I liked thinking of her as a friend.

"Yay! I will be right there!" She said before running up to her room. I stared after her, blinking with shock. She was so fast. As if just a blur of color, she was upstairs, and back again just minutes later.

"Is everyone still asleep?" I asked, looking around the room to the note the wide emptiness of it.

She smirked, as if there was some secret joke about my question. "No. Carlisle left for work already, Rosalie is in the garage, Emmett is probably torturing Jasper and Edward is in his 'sacred place'."

"Sacred place?"

"We're not allowed in there. It's like a place for him to be by him self. It's only his room, but if you set foot in there without his permission, prepare to die. He likes his privacy."

"Oh." Alice had looked serious, so I decided not to laugh at the grim statement.

Instantaneously, the exuberance was back. "Let's go!"

My originally planned leisurely walk turned into a gossip fest in which Alice talked, and I, of course, listened- I didn't know nearly enough about the people she was talking about to make assumptions. We were out for around an hour, and all we had done was walked west a bit. We hadn't even reached the property line, and I wondered how far it was. We were standing out the front of the house and I saw for the first time how massive it was – it made my modest house look like a shack. It looked like an immense, castle – I could practically see the moat around the walls. They must be so rich, I thought once again. Alice led me back into the house, heading through the large doors and through several hallways, into the lounge room. She flicked through the channels when she suddenly went dead still.

"Alice? Are you okay?" She didn't move, blink or breathe. Her entire body, so stone-like and white, was like a statue, taunt and suddenly serous. Her strange colored eyes stared in nothing, and with the blazing center, was the only part of her that seemed alive. Fear was choking up inside of me.

"Alice?" I said louder, the panic leaking into my voice. Was there something wrong with her? Was her dad here? He was a doctor, right? Just as soon as it started, she snapped back to normal, though the usual bouncing energy was lacking.

"I'll be back." She said, offering no explanation. I decided to press forward.

"Alice, what just happened?" She didn't answer, running up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I stared after her, uncertainty still on my face. If this were what having a friend was like, I would think I was okay with going back to being friendless.

EPOV

Alice came barging through my door, anger evident on her features, slamming it behind her. The entire frame shook, mirroring her rage. She lost it.

"What the fuck do you think your doing?" She said as loudly as she could without Bella hearing – as if wasn't already downstairs trembling from the dramatic door slam.

"What do you mean?" I had an idea of what she was talking about, but I decided to play it innocent, hoping to get more information from the sudden Bella appearance – Alice had to have some kind of plan.

"You know exactly what I mean! Why are you going out with that bitch, Jessica?" Alice had never liked her, especially after she had gone after Jasper.

Oh, she was mad, I thought to myself, trying to stifle a grin. She was really mad.

"Um, because I want to?" This was a lie, but Alice didn't need to know that. I couldn't stand Jessica, with her words buzzing like a fly you just couldn't swat in my ear.

"Is this what you plan on doing every time you like someone? Go out with one of the biggest sluts in school?" I winced a little, but only for a second – she was exactly right, but I had my pride, and wasn't going to tell her that.

"Please, tell me, who do I like? I'm unaware so enlighten me." Sarcasm dripped from my words.

"I know you like Bella. I had a vision of you and her together." And the plan was revealed, dear sister. I chuckled.

"Well, that's one vision that's not going to come true," I said, trying to sound bored.

"We'll see about that. I've seen the way you look at her, all lustful, but you refuse to admit it!" she snapped, anger still burning inside her.

"Alice, you don't know everything about me. You may like to think that you do, but you don't, so just leave me alone. I need to get ready for my date." She turned around, disgusted, heading back to the lounge were Bella sat. I could already feel the guilt building inside of me – Alice knew me far too well, and was exactly right. I knew I wasn't going to live this down for a while.

BPOV

Minutes later, Alice came stomping down the stairs, fuming. I wondered if the loud slamming door had anything to do with it.

"Alice, what's wrong?" I said, worried, but not wanting to seem like I was trying to get into her business.

"Edward's going on a date with Jessica." That hurt. Why should this bother me though? It's not like I'm his girlfriend or anything, I reminded myself. Not to mention, she was pretty, and popular. The complete polar opposite of me, but not that I minded much – I liked living my life in solitaire.

"Bella? Are you okay?" I flushed, praying I didn't look like my heart had just been crushed. I arranged my face in what I hoped was a content face. "I know that he's a bastard but you shouldn't let him worry you," she continued, looking more annoyed then angry now.

"No! That's not what was wrong. I was just remembering something." She didn't seem to believe me. I knew I was a horrible liar. Before I chickened out, I decided to spit out the question that had been drifting in my mind this whole time.

"Alice, why did you all the sudden want to be my friend?" The question caught her off guard for a moment.

"I, um, don't really know. I just thought I would try talking to you. I wanted to see if there was any reason that you had no friends. You seemed like a nice enough person." I could tell that what she said was only half true but I wasn't going to push it further. I was too confused right now to press things further – but I would find out, I swore.

"Can I go home now?" I knew that I sounded rude, but I just wanted to be by myself, rather then dealing with the confusion that having friends brought.

"Don't you want to stay just a bit longer?" Alice looked a little disappointed, so I smiled a little bit, trying to convoy that I wasn't unhappy with her in any way.

"I really should be getting home," I whispered.

"First, you have to let me re-do your hair and makeup, and chose out your outfit." I shuddered at the thought of going back to being Bella the human Barbie doll.

"Fine," I groaned. If that was what I had to do to get out of here, then that's what I would do. I could only hope the torture wouldn't last very long.

Alice bounced up the stairs, calling for me to follow, which I did obediently. She ushered me into a large room. A huge, king-sized bed took up one wall, and two doors stood on the other ones. The room was very bare with the bed and two bedside tables standing on either side. She pushed me forward through the plain white door on the right. It was a closest, I soon found out as I instantly fell into a pretty, green, silky dress. I had never seen a wardrobe as big as this before. It was bigger than my bedroom, I thought, looking around, and it overflowed with clothes and shoes. She led the way to the far left corner where she had hung up all the clothes she had bought for me yesterday. Seeing them set out like this made me feel guilty all over again. There was more than I thought, and they obviously weren't cheap garments.

"Lets see. How about this top, and that skirt, with these heels? She said, taking the clothes from the hanger and throwing them at me. I only had time to quickly slap my arms forward to catch the blur of color swinging towards my face, having no chance to see what I was holding. Knowing Alice, she had probably planned it that way.

"Now, you have a shower, and put them on, while I think about what makeup to use on you," she instructed, talking as if I was six years old. With that, she departed, prancing out the door. I looked down at what she had thrown at me and shrieked.

"Alice! No way!"

"Just put it on, Bella. Trust me." Somehow, she heard me.

"Uh, uh. I'm not wearing this. It's too…slutty." I had never owned or worn something so short in my life.

"Bella, mini skirts are not slutty if you get the right length. Just put it on and you can argue with me later." I didn't want to argue further, afraid that it would start to seem like I was implying she was a slut.

"Alice!" I whined. She was really going too far now. She didn't reply. I sulked as I removed my pajamas and jumped into the shower, going through the other door facing this walk-in closet. I turned the water up hot. It helped to ease my stress and stop me from murdering Alice.

I made sure that I spent an extra long time in the shower before drying myself off and glaring at the clothes. I took in a deep breath, as I began to dress in the dark denim mini skirt and blue lacy tank top she had picked out. It looked good but it made me feel very self-conscious. I exited the bathroom, giving her the heels. Alice, of course, was there waiting.

"If you want me to wear this, fine, but I am not wearing heels as well." I knew I had almost no choice in the matter, but I could at least attempt to set limits.

She sat me down in the bathroom and started brushing my hair, as though I had said nothing. She pulled my hair into a high ponytail leaving the front sections loose. She then pulled out the makeup that she had purchased yesterday, but only put minimal amounts on. She stood back and admired her work. I strained to see what I looked like, but she wasn't budging.

"Wow, Alice. You know how to work wonders! How long did that take you?" Rosalie chatted as she walked through the door, all of a sudden, and I nearly jumped. Rosalie, despite not having a drop of make-up on, looked gorgeous. Guys drooled after her. Rosalie was prettier then a model, and she seemed to know it.

"Hey, Rosalie. You know Bella from school. Bella, this is my sister, Rosalie." How could I not know who she was? Like her sister, Rosalie was one of the most popular girls in school.

"Hi," I managed to squeeze out, trying to add a half-smile.

"Hi, Bella." She said, smiling brightly. Even the sun had nothing on her. " You know, the only thing that wrecks the look is the bare feet. Let me go and find some heels…" It seemed like she and sister thought alike in that perspective, I thought dryly, before realizing what she had just said.

"NO!" she turned to me, raising one perfectly plucked eyebrow.

"Why not?"

"Because I trip over air, there is no way that I can walk in heels." I was almost desperate. Without a doubt, I would end up back in the hospital, strapped in those death traps called fashion.

"We'll teach you!" She sounded eager.

"We haven't got time, Rose. Just get her some flats." Alice sounded truly annoyed, as if I murdered a part of her by not wearing the four-inch heels lying beside me.

"Why does it matter what I wear? I'm only going home." Even more confused, I started to realize that Alice knew something I didn't. I just had to figure out what.

"You have to trust us," she said. I could tell she wanted to change the subject.

"So, you keep saying that, but how can I trust you, if I don't know what's going on?" She sighed.

"For now, you're just going to have to." Before I could reply, Rosalie can back with a pair of black flats and handed them to me. I thanked her, sliding them on feet. Still without letting me see what I looked like, Alice grabbed my hand, pulling me up.

"Okay, let's go," she said urgently, pulling up and trying to lead me to the door. I stopped dead, trying to think.

"I'll meet you at the car. I need to get my stuff…wait. I didn't bring anything, did I?" Realizing I had just sounded really dumb, I blushed. Alice just laughed and went to get the clothes she got me.

"Now we can go," she said, once again pulling me. This time I didn't stop her.

"Wait. I can take those for you, Bella." Rosalie offered, appearing next to me.

"I'm okay with carrying them," I replied, surprised by the drop-dead gorgeous girl's offer.

"Just give them to me." She took all the clothes from my arms before I could protest. It didn't seem to weigh her down at all. I followed them down the stairs and out the front door. I felt like a sheep with all the following I was doing. Rosalie led the way to an expensive, gorgeous bright red convertible, probably also amazingly fast, dumping the clothes in the trunk and getting into the driver seat. Alice got in the back, and realizing how small it was back there, I slid in the front with Rose.

"Wait! I forgot my mobile. I'll be two seconds." I said, getting out of the car, wanting to slap my forehead in stupidity. I knew I was forgetting something when Alice dragged me out so quickly!

"Okay. Be quick," Rosalie called out. Glancing back, I saw her not looking at me, but at Alice. The two were exchanging large grins. Instantly confused, I turned back around, feeling once again there was a joke going on I just wasn't apart of.

EPOV

We're leaving now. Alice thought. Finally. It would be easier to concentrate on being distracted without them here – or more to the point, without Bells here. Almost as soon as the front door closed, I heard the doorbell. I trudged down stairs to greet my guest, questioning my taste now that I could actually think like I normal person – or, at least like a normal vampire. Opening the door, I forced a grin on my face, which Jessica returned. She couldn't have looked more like a whore if she tried.

"Hello Jessica."

"Edward." She said in a 'seductive' voice. These girls really thought that it was sexy to purr, with her short, black leather shirt and revealing tank top that didn't leave much to imagination. Paired with high dark heels, she slumped against the doorframe in a position she probably thought was hot, but really made her look so weak, she couldn't stand on her obnoxiously high heels – I wanted to laugh.

"What did you want to do?" she asked suggestively, doing all but winking.

"I didn't have anything planned. I thought that maybe you would have some ideas," I said simply. I knew what she had in mind.

"I may have one or two ideas." She stuck her chest out.

"And what might they be?"

"This." She said before she attached her lips to mine. Okay. This was very distracting. All thoughts of her annoying aura were pushed out of my head. This was exactly the distraction I needed. I wrapped my arms around her waist, almost unwilling, and she snaked her own skinny arms around my neck. Someone, obviously a girl, cleared her throat from the porch. I had been so wrapped up I had missed the mind that would have otherwise tipped me off – or, when I saw who was standing on the porch, bitterly thought of the error in my thinking.

Bella stood there, looking disgusted at our entangled bodies. I prodded her mind again, and resisted screaming. There was still nothing. I gently pushed Jessica, who was sulking at our being interrupted, off of me. Now that she wasn't forcing herself on me, I mentally wanted to slap myself, letting Jessica do that.

"I need to get inside." She pointed at the door, which I now realized we were standing in front of.

"Right, sorry." I moved out of the way. She wasn't meant to see that, I thought, feeling the tiniest twinge of guilt. Bella walked around us, refusing to meet my eyes as she ran up the stairs. Alice had dressed her up to look like all the other girls at school, but Bella could somehow pull it of without looking easy.

"Who was that?" Jessica asked. Was it really that much of a change? I realized that Jessica had probably never given Bella the time of day. She was too enthralled in her own little world: All Jessica, all the time.

"That was Bella Swan," I informed her.

"Bella. Why does that sound familiar?" My suspicions were confirmed.

"She's the school nerd. Alice befriended her." I kept it as short as possible, not wanting to get into too many details.

"No! Are you serious! Who did that to her?" She looked taken aback; as if she had no idea Bella could look that beautiful.

"Alice." Who else would?

"Oh. I'm over it. Now, where were we?" She asked, grabbing the collar of my shirt, bringing her lips up to mine. I closed my eyes and tried to forget. Big mistake. Now all I could see was Bella's face and the way she looked at Jessica and I. I couldn't do this, I was slowly realizing, and it killed me inside. Once again, I pushed Jess off me gently. She looked confused, looking up at me with big eyes.

"Jess, I don't feel to well. Do you mind if we do this some other time?" It was a really lame excuse, but I knew in this apathetic mood, it was the best I was going to think of.

"Um, okay." She seemed hurt, and I didn't blame her, at all.

"Jess, I'm really sorry." I didn't mean it. She knew I didn't mean it.

"That's okay, really," She lied back.

"Bye." I said simply, standing to watch her leave, trying to savor a little bit of politeness.

"Cya, Edward." I knew then she was saying bye for a really long time. It wasn't going to be the same for a while. She turned and left for her car.

What was wrong with me?

A/N: Sorry! I've been simply a horrible updater. But, if you can find the kindness in your hearts, please review! It really means the world to me. I try to reply to all of them - So talk, silent readers! I'd love to know what you think. I'm going to try to start updating this as much as I can, so keep checking back! Thank you to all that took time to read this!

-Sare