Look how fast I got this out!!! I know, I rock…but not as much as all my readers and reviewers rock!! Alright I posted the new chapter on my other story…. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should…..because you looooove me!! Smile!! Okay go on and read this amazingly long chapter and know that I wrote it just for you!!

I also want to give a shout out to my beta Yuki Sakura-Chan. Check out her stories, they are awesome!!

Just a reminder I put the links to their outfits on my profile. Check em out!!

Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Twilight or any of the lovely characters. They belong to the wonderfully talented Stephenie Meyer. I do own the original story line and any original characters. But I do own: All of the books, soundtracks to both movies, Team Edward t-shirt, Twilight the movie, New Moon the movie and used ticket stubs to Twilight and New Moon.
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"I'll call you," he leant in and pressed his lips against me again and then he was gone, the door shutting softly behind him.

I am in so much trouble……

"Alice," I complained, as she yanked on my hair again. "Is this really necessary?"

"Is what necessary?" she asked, pulling more hair up and wrapping it around the curling iron.

"All of this." I waved my hand up over my head, indicating the three hours of torture she had already put me through today.

"You want to look nice, don't you?"

"Of course," I sighed. I knew that I wasn't going to win this battle.

"Well then all of 'this' is necessary,"

I sat in silence as she finished curling my hair. I decided that she would probably, maybe, more than likely not, be easier on me if I kept my mouth shut. Alice was in her element today. She showed up at my apartment bright and early this morning, a Saturday morning none the less. She swore that she needed hours to get me prepared for Riley's family thing tonight.

So in the last five hours I have been: showered, shaved, waxed, plucked, buffed, lotioned, shimmered, and now curled.

I honestly couldn't believe that it was already Saturday, the past week had flown by faster then I wanted it too. I had barely had time to eat, let alone time to think about everything else and by everything else I mean Edward and Riley.

Just as Edward mentioned on Saturday, I barley heard from him all week. I assume that he was elbows deep in club opening plans. I had texted him last night, wishing him good luck with his opening. He got back to me early this morning telling me that the opening went really well, and that he hoped that I had a nice evening at my "event"; and that we should do lunch sometime soon.

I felt like he was pulling away and it kind of scared me. Then I would feel guilty for feeling that way, it's not like I had a right to feel that way. Stupid emotions.

"Ouch, Alice," I yelped. She was being a little too aggressive with my hair.

"Well Bella, if your hair would just submit to me, I wouldn't have to yank on it."

"Sorry that my hair's not your mistress," I quipped; my poor scalp was going to be so tender tomorrow.

"I would be a hot dominatrix," she said after a moment of silence. "Maybe Jasper and I …"
"Stop right there," I interrupted her. I didn't want to know anything about her and Jasper in that way. Gross.

"Fine! At least your hair is done," she said while grabbing the hair spray and gave my hair one more squirt.

I looked at myself in the mirror and was pleasantly surprised. Even without any makeup, yet, my skinned glowed. Alice had expertly done my hair in a messy, loose bun, ponytail thing at the nape of my neck, and I loved it.

"Alice, it's perfect," I said, after a minute of taking in her handy work.

"I know," she said, cocking her eyebrow up at me with a smirk, and responded, "Time for makeup."

"I can do my own makeup, you know?" I said.

"No you can't, because…" she stopped for dramatic effect and then belted out loudly , "You're my Barbie girl, in my Barbie world. Life in plastic is fantastic. I can brush your hair, undress you everywhere. Imagination, your life is my creation."

"Seriously, Alice, did you just reword "Barbie Girl?" I asked.

"Yes I did," she said, pushing me back down in the chair in front of my vanity. "I think that's the way they should of have sang it."

I just rolled my eyes and let her continue the torture. Thankfully I was free from her hands thirty minutes later.

"Hey, Alice?" I called out from my bedroom.

"Yeah."

"What time is it?" I asked, slipping on my lacy underwear. I was going sans bar tonight, as the dress didn't allow for one.

"5:45."

"Okay." I still had a little time before Riley was supposed to be here.

"What time is he going to be here?" Alice asked, walking into my bedroom.

"6:30," I answered her, pulling the garment bag holding my dress out of my closet.

"Well that gives me just enough time to finish you up," she said, pulling the bag from my hands and expertly releasing the dress from within.

She spent the next twenty minutes "dressing" me. I guess her version of "Barbie Girl" was correct. After what felt like forever, she finally allowed me to slip my shoes on and announced that I was done.

6:25. She was correct. We did have just enough time. I looked at the finish product in the mirror. I was pleased, the dress looked even better then I remembered. My hair and makeup accented it perfectly.

"Thank you, Alice," I said, turning towards her.

"It' nothing," she said, waving me off as she packed up her "supplies."

"It is."

"Silly Bella, I should be thanking you," she smirked at me.

"Well go ahead then," I teased her.

"Thank you Bella! Now I have to go. We don't want prince charming to see your fairy godmother," she said, sashaying gracefully to the door. "Call me tomorrow."

"I will," I said following her.

She leaned and a gave me a firm hug. Once she pulled away, her eyes glazed over for a second.

"Alice, are you okay?" I asked reaching out and giving her shoulder a quick shake. Her eyes snapped up to me, she looked at me in silence for a minute then in very serious tone she told me, "Tonight's going to be very big for you."

I started at her in confusion for a second. "What is that suppose to mean?"

She blinked a few times, and then shook her head. "I don't know. It's just a feeling I have."

"Well, okay. I guess."

She reached her hand out and grabbed mine tightly. "Just listen to your heart, okay?"

I hadn't seen Alice act this serious in a while. "You're kind of freaking me out right now, Alice," I said truthfully.

"Sorry. Just ignore me," she said, plastering a fake smile on her face.

"Alice…"I started.

"No really, forget it. I better go, call me tomorrow," she reiterated, then slipped quietly out into the hall, shutting the door behind her.

Alice was acting really strange. Before I had a chance to really think about it, there was a knock on my door. I took a deep breath and pulled the door open.

"Bella, I am beyond words," Riley said, leaning in and giving a chaste kiss.

"You don't look half bad yourself," I said truthfully. He was dressed in a simple black tux, but it looked absolutely amazing on him.

"I kind of want to keep you to myself tonight now," he joked, grabbing up my wrap and holding it out for me.

"I did not spend five hours with Alice to stay inside this apartment," I joked back.

"Fine, I guess I'll have to share you with the world then," he led me out of my apartment and out to the elevator.

The ride to the hotel, where the dinner was being held, went relatively quickly. We kept the conversation light, neither of us bringing up the distance that was forming in between us, but every once I a while I would catch him looking at me with questions in his eyes, questions that I was not ready to answer.

We finally pulled up the posh hotel, and a valet zipped out to the car and pulled my door open.

"Good evening, Madame." I couldn't decide if his French accent was fake or not, before I can to really contemplate it Riley was at my side, slipping his large, warm hand into mine.

"I guess it's now or never," he whispered, more to his self then to me.

I squeezed his hand, trying to show him some support. I know how it feels to come face to face with your past.

We made our way into the heavily decorated lobby. They took their gold and marble seriously in this place. The floor was a dark green marble, with a swirl of ivory. All the fixtures were a gleaming gold and the furniture was a deep mahogany. There were expensively dressed people all over. Even dressed in this beautiful and expense gown, I still felt out of place. I felt like they could look at me and know that I loved to wear lounge pants and tank tops.

Riley though, looked like he was in his element. For the first time since entering this relationship, I felt like I didn't really know him. Sure we had talked about the past before, but seeing him here, shaking hands with politicians and CEO's of big businesses, I knew that there was so much more that I had never learned. It made me feel guilty and sad at the same time.

"And who is this beautiful girl?" A deep male voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"This is my girlfriend Bella Swan," Riley said. "Bella, this is my Uncle, Thomas Carter."

I took in the man before me, now that I was paying attention, I could definitely tell the resemblance between him and Riley.

"So nice to meet you Mr. Carter," I said, sticking my hand out.

"The pleasure is all mine, Bella. But please call me Tom," he said, grabbing my hand and giving it a quick shake.

"Tom it is then," I said, giving him a smile.

Riley and his Uncle resumed their conversation, giving me a chance to take in the banquet hall that we were now standing in. The room was very large, all the tables were situated off to one side of the room and the other side seemed to be left open for dancing. Great, I don't dance.

After a few more minutes of listening to Riley and his Uncle discuss a case that Riley is working on, I got the creepy feeling you get when someone if watching you. I quickly surveyed the people surrounding me and was meet with a pair of cold blue eyes, staring back at me. I was taken aback by harsh look he was giving me. Instinctively I tucked myself closer into Riley's body and turned my eyes back to his uncle.

But I couldn't help peeking out of the coroner of my eyes to see if he was still staring, he was. I quickly assessed him. He was tall, probably about six feet, normal body weight, not bulky. His blonde hair was cut short to his head. If he wasn't looking at me so harshly, I would have thought that he was mildly attractive, in a creepy way. There was a small movement off to his side and it was then that I noticed that he was with a woman.

She was just a tiny thing, maybe five feet tall. If I ever thought that Alice looked like a pixie, I was sorely mistaken. This tiny woman did though; she was wearing a shimmering pink dress that floated down to her knees. Her feet were strapped into a pair of glittering silver heels. Her blonde hair was so child like with big bouncing curls that were cut short to her chin. I was in awe of this tiny, beautiful woman.

As if she could feel the weight of my stare, her green eyes snapped up to meet mine. Her lips curled up into a warm smile. The "harsh" man that was standing beside her gripped her arm tightly and whispered something into her ear. He must have noticed that she was smiling at me. I wonder why such a warm, nice, beautiful, girl like her was doing with such a creepy guy. Whatever he was whispering to her must have been pretty ominous, because her eyes snapped back to me and then to Riley, who had wrapped his arm around my waist.

Her eyes widened for a second in surprise, and then they went flat. Almost like the life had been sucked right out of them. I knew I was being rude, staring at her, but I couldn't help it. There was something about her, that made me want to go over there and make sure she was alright. I almost did, as weird as it may sound, but before I had the chance, she yanked her arm away from the guy and fled.

The "Harsh" man turned his attention back to me and my shocked expression. He gave me an evil smirk, licked his lips and winked. Then he was gone, following the path that his date fled in.

I turned to Riley, almost wanting to ask him if he knew who those people were. They obviously knew him.

"Are you alright?" He asked, taking in the look on my face.

"I think so. There was a couple over there that was looking at us strangely," I tried to explain.

"Hmmm… Are you sure that they were looking at us?" he asked, staring in the direction that I had indicated, but the couple was long gone now.

"Yes," I answered. "The guy gave me the creeps."

"Well if you see them again, point them out,"

We made a few more rounds, before we decided to try and find our table. It wasn't as hard as I expected, I thought it would take us much longer given the hundreds of tables that were set up. I guess close family were seated at the same table as the honoree.

Riley walked us to a table that was partially occupied by a distinguished elderly looking couple and a very elegant looking lady.

"Riley," the older man jumped up out of his seat. "Good to see you, son."

"It's good to see you to Grandpa," Riley said, pulling the older man into a hug.

His grandmother, I assume, also stood up and gave him a warm hug once he pulled away from his grandfather.

"You're looking so handsome," she said, patting his cheek softly. "And who is this exquisite woman?"

All the eyes at the table were now trained on me, of course my body decided that it was the perfect time to break out into a full on blush.

"This is my girlfriend, Bella Swan," he said, affectionately rubbing his thumb against my pink stained cheek. "You know I love your blush," he leaned and whispered into my ear, causing said blush to erupt again. Thanks Riley.

He chuckled as he pulled his head away.

"Bella, this is my grandparents, Arthur and Beverly Carter," he said proudly.

"It's very nice to meet you both," I said. "I've heard so many nice things about you."

They both smiled at me warmly and shook my hand. The elegant lady that was seated next to his grandmother cleared her throat, obviously trying to draw attention to her. She stood up gracefully, her deep red dress swirling around her.

"Riley, where have your manners gone? You haven't introduced me," she said, in a controlled voice. Her eyes were tight with annoyance.

I felt Riley stiffen next to me. "Of course, so sorry Maria," he addressed her coldly.

"Bella this is my step mother, Maria Carter," he introduced us.

I looked at her in surprise, his stepmother? She couldn't have been a day older than thirty-five. She was pretty in a put together way. Her black hair was pulled up in a severe bun, and her skin was already heavily tanned, with dark make up lining her dark brown eyes.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Carter," I said, sticking my hand out for the hundredth time tonight.

She glanced down at my out stretched hand in disgust, her lips curled back into a sneer.

"Likewise, Miss. Swan," she said coolly before returning to her seat.

I looked at Riley, raising my eyebrow at him. He just shook his head and grabbed my out stretched hand and kissed it lightly.

"Where is my Father?" he asked the group as we seated ourselves, thankfully on the opposite side from his evil stepmother.

"He went to speak to James," Maria answered, smirking at him.

This woman was truly one of a kind. I noticed that Beverly was giving her the stink eye; at least I wasn't the only one who found her rude.

"Hmm," he replied.

We made stilted conversation with grandparents. Maria would throw in a snotty comment here or there, but thankfully she mostly stayed quiet.

After about twenty minutes later a man, who looked just like Riley but older, joined our table.

"Riley, I didn't know you were here yet," he said, once he was in the seat next to Maria.

"Well I am," Riley said, not looking up at him. He pulled my hand into his lap, tracing small circles on my palm.

"And this is his girlfriend, MissBella Swan," Maria decided to add herself into the already tense conversation.

"Of course, I have heard a lot about you Miss Swan," he said extending his hand across the table. "I am Riley's father, Caius Carter."

"It's nice to meet you," I said shaking his hand.

A tense silence fell over our group again, making me wish that I would have taken Riley up on his joking offer to stay in tonight. Then the music started a slow tune. Riley stood up and offered me his hand. "Would you like to dance?"

Now normally I would have said no, given that I can't even walk in a straight line without falling, but given the tense atmosphere surrounding the table, I decided that I would risk bodily harm just to get away from it.

"I would love to," I said, grasping his hand and following him out onto the dance floor.

After a few minutes of swaying in silence, he looked down at me and gave me a soft smile.

"I'm sorry for all of that," he said, gesturing towards our table.

"It's okay, but if you don't mind me asking, what is with all the tension?"

"Well, things have been tense since all that shit happened between Megan and James, but to top it all off, Maria is the woman my Dad was sleeping with behind my Mom's back. So she is just a sore subject all around," he explained.

"So that's why you and your Dad don't get along?" I asked, confused.

"Sort of. Most of it has to do with the fact that he wanted me to join his law firm when I decided to change the field of law that I was working in. I accepted his offer, until I found out that my brother was also joining his firm. I quickly declined and then moved back home and joined the firm that I now work at."

"I see," I replied dumbly. I didn't know what to say.

"It's not a big deal. We just don't talk much anymore, I kind of feel like he took James' side in everything."

"I'm sorry," I said, hugging him to me. I felt him relax.

The song ended shortly after that. "I guess we better head back to the table," he said releasing me.

"Okay," I responded reluctantly. I followed behind him; taking in all of the beautiful dresses that surrounding me. Alice would be in heaven.

I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, so when Riley stopped abruptly in front of me, I collided with his back. I stumbled backwards, he quickly turned and caught my arm.

"Are you okay," He asked in concern.

"Yes, just not paying attention," I said laughing, which died quickly once I looked at his face. His jaw was tense and his eyes were angry. I decided to look behind him to asses what was going on. There stood the couple from earlier. The "Harsh" man was smirking at me, while the tiny blonde woman was shuffling nervously from foot to foot.

"Riley," the man started, "Aren't you going to introduce your girlfriend?"

Riley's jaw tensed and pulled me tightly into his side, causing the blonde woman to flinch visibly.

"Bella, this is my brother James and his wife Megan," he said tightly.

His BROTHER? This creepy guy, is his brother! I guess I should have figured this out sooner, given the way they were both staring at us earlier.

"It's so nice to meet you, Bella," James said, his eyes trailing down my body and then back up again, lingering for a beat to long on my chest. Riley was looking at him like he would like nothing more than to beat the shit out of him right then and there. Megan on the other hand was staring intently at the floor with her eyes seemed to be glistening with unshed tears.

"Wish I could say the same," I said bluntly. James's eyes snapped back up to mine.

"Seems like you got yourself a pistol this time," he sneered at Riley. "Sure you can handle her?"

"Fuck you," Riley spat at him quietly. I was shocked, I had never heard Riley curse before.

"I'd rather fuck her," he said, titling his head in my direction.

Then everything happened to fast, Riley yanked his arm away from and had his brother pressed against the wall with his mouth close to his ear.

"If I ever hear you speak like that towards Bella again, this will look like a love pat," and then Riley reached his fist back, his intention clearly to punch his brother.

"Riley, don't," I said, as I quickly grabbed his fisted hand and stopped him. "He's not worth it. This dinner is important to your Grandpa."

People were starting to inch closer to us, interested in seeing what the ruckus was.

"Let's go sit down," I said, stepping away from him.

He dropped his fist and stepped away from his brother.

"You're right," he grabbed my hand and steered us away from them. I looked at Megan quickly and was surprised to see her watching Riley longingly.

Dinner passed by quickly and was full of tense conversations once James and Megan joined our table. Thankfully he kept his comments to his self and pretty much ignored Riley and me. But Megan on the other hand, received the blunt end of his simmering anger. He commented on everything little thing she did. First telling her that

she was eating too much, and then her commented on how fat she was getting and to take the cake, when she accidentally knocked over her own wine, he snapped that she was a clumsy bitch.

I watched helplessly as he harassed her and nobody said anything. Everyone acted like they weren't even there. Riley grew tenser at each comment, but kept his mouth firmly shut. I didn't miss the looks that they exchanged though. I couldn't tell you what Riley's eyes held when he looked at her, as he was sitting to my side, but she was clearly still had some sort of feelings for him.

Shortly after dinner was done, Riley excused himself to the bar to get us drinks. The rest of us sat in an uncomfortable silence; I could feel James's eyeing me hungrily. Megan softly excused herself to the bathroom.

I shifted in my chair, trying to find Riley. He had been gone longer then I thought he would. When I finally saw him, he was carrying our drinks in his hands headed towards our table. He stopped suddenly next to an alcove, looking at something or someone; he hesitated for a minute and then ducked into the opening, disappearing from my sight.

I was on my feet before I even processed that I was standing. I excused myself half heartily and quickly made my way towards the alcove. I'm sure his family thought I was acting strange, jumping up from the table that way. I couldn't find it in me to care; I needed to know what he was doing.

Once I was close to the alcove I could hear Riley talking, so I stopped and listened for a minute.

"Please get to the point Megan, my girlfriend is waiting," he said.

"I know that," she said softly. "I guess what I am trying to say is that I'm still in love with you."

Dun, Dun, Dunnnn….and the plot thickens. I know I promised some of you that certain things were going to happen this chapter…well I lied, so sorry, but I had to cut it here as this chapter was getting soooo long. I promise what you are looking forward to happens next chapter!!!!!

I will be sending out an excerpt from next chapter to everyone that reviews. I can only send it to signed reviews. So if you are reviewing anonymously then I won't be able to send you anything, so, sign your reviews and get a little treat!!! I still love all you anonymous reviewers though, so still feel free to review and let me know what you think!! Have a great week!! ;)