Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Note: Things are getting more serious... I would like to remind everyone to NOT continue reading this story if you are sensitive/ not old enough. The rest of you, enjoy the result of my sleepless night! :-)

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We started seeing posters advertising the party already on the outskirts of Seattle. "The biggest outdoor party of the year – free drink upon entrance – outdoor dancing – young and carefree crowd – come and give in to the feeling." Jessica was drunk – she was making sounds of delight at every poster. Even Angela seemed cheer up a little at the sight of them. I was tipsy but Lauren seemed to keep her cool - or maybe she was sulking about something. It was hard to tell with her. There was a strange sensation of lightness, of clarity, in my body and head. Every poster we passed looked like a private invitation to freedom, freedom that was coming closer by the second. The city was crowded with cars and occasionally we got stuck in the traffic but it didn't matter to me – I felt like I would've been comfortable sitting in this car forever, driving through the dark city where the lights from other cars occasionally lit up the dark alleys we drove past. There was a certain familiarity in it: a big city pulsating life and full of people even in nighttime with seething rain dripping down from the sky. It reminded me of Phoenix: of the choking warmth of the air, the people roaming the streets, the promise of opportunities and chances waiting around the corner - an atmosphere that smaller cities lacked. I felt at home here. I was wondering if Edward would mind moving in here. It would be easy to blend in, to live a life without having to fear about someone being too close-sighted or clever. In a city like this no-one ever was: a person you pass by on the street remains just that – a person on a street. Not someone you would get curious about, be it a transvestite, a single father or a vampire. Yes, that's a word I had always found to my liking; blending in. I thought about it for a minute, dreaming away; trying to imagine our life together. But the fight we had had earlier was like a paper cut on a finger; small, fleeting but bothersome. So I decided to push him out of my mind altogether.

Eventually we made it to the party area. It was on the outskirts of the town, on an area I wouldn't have liked to walk around in alone. There were large warehouse-type buildings with spacious yards. Some of the warehouses were still used as warehouses but seemed like a part of them had been transformed into band practice spaces, nightclubs and some sort of lunch canteens for the workmen working in there during the daytime. It reminded me of the night Edward had saved me from the men who had been following me around. I wondered briefly what had happened to them. Hopefully they had ended up in jail eventually.

There were others heading the same way as we were. Happy looking people were driving in front and behind us and some of them were walking towards the same way, carrying bottles in their hands, dancing, kissing and having fun. I was happy to be a part of them tonight. Lauren started drinking too, probably figuring that since we were driving slowly enough to pass as walking it wouldn't matter if she would. I was feeling too content to complain and Angela probably didn't even notice because she was busy writing a text message to someone, most likely to Ben. I felt a bit bad for her; probably she wasn't having much fun. It was still raining but the air seemed unusually warm nevertheless; people were wearing t-shirts and shorts. I was trying to see through the steamy haze of the windows – all I could see was darkness. I gave up and drank a bit more. And then, after a moment, Lauren pulled into a parking lot and turned to look at us with a gleam in her eyes – we had finally arrived to our destination.

My legs felt strangely shaky underneath me when I stumbled out of the car, rather ungraciously. My head was spinning a bit, and I laughed a little at the strange sensation of lightheadedness that had possessed me. It was warm but humid outside. The humidity made me shiver after a while even though I wasn't cold. I looked around myself. The building we were standing in front of looked like any other warehouse: big, rusty, angular. The parking lot around us was dark. The party seemed to be on the other side of the building because the dark shapes of people were getting out of their cars and walking that way. Lauren was the last one to come out of our car – she was still drinking, trying to get as drunk as possible as quickly as possible, I assumed. Tonight it seemed like we could be friends – her flaws didn't bother me quite as much. Perhaps because I was committing the same crimes as she was which basically means I couldn't judge her as harshly tonight as I normally would have. We set off the same way as everyone else.

"I'm so excited!" Jessica goshed to Angela who didn't look excited in the slightest but smiled her little smile anyway, as usual. Lauren was correcting her make up with a small pocket mirror. After she was done she turned to us.

"Okay girls, just remember, try to not act drunk because it's a party open for minors as well – which is the reason why we're going, too – and you might not get in if you do."

"Sure, sure, let's go!" Jessica giggled and grabbed my arm. She was slurring slightly.

We started heading off to the entrance. We could hear the beat of the music pulsating from somewhere but saw nothing. Then we turned the corner.

"Oh, no!" Lauren breathed behind me. On the yard, a huge, dark tent stood like a skeleton with pieces of meat hanging from its bones - the canvas was sadly wrinkly and hammered low by the rain. There was a queue to the door – no one was outside, no one was dancing. The music was coming from inside, not from the outside. There was a crowd hanging outside of the doors, talking to the doorman.

"What's going on?" Jessica wondered. "Is the party cancelled?"

"It's not cancelled, it's just been moved indoors." A helpful guy standing next to us answered her question. "Because of the rain, you know. It might get really bad later."

Now that I looked closer the people hanging out were actually queuing for the door. Everything looked very unorganized though; seemed like instead of a line there were several. People were constantly stepping out of the line to smoke and trying to skip the line to get back. People were bickering and laughing.

"Oh, ok. Thanks." Jessica flashed a smile at the guy and then turned back to us. "I guess we're going in anyway. Much better this way, my hair is already getting ruined in the rain." And she stepped into the line, behind the helpful guy who was eyeing her hopefully. But Lauren pulled her back again.

"Listen, we have a problem." She pointed at the door. We all turned to stare at where her finger was pointing at. She was pointing either at the door or at the bouncer. I searched but saw nothing out of ordinary. Angela turned back towards her.

"I don't get it. What's the problem?"

Lauren looked annoyed. She sighed and lowered her hand. Then she spoke again, almost whispering. "Look again. He's checking people's ID's!"

I turned to look at him again and saw that she was right. The fuzzy warm feeling disappeared immediately. We couldn't get in – we didn't have ID's. We didn't have the required age. Now that I looked around myself I also noticed that people didn't look all that young – some of the people in there were closer to forty than our age.

"But how is it possible?" Angela asked from no one in particular.

"I thought minors were allowed!" Jessica said.

I didn't really know how to feel. Just a while ago I had been excited about going to the party, but now when it had gotten a bit harder than we had thought I would've been rather happy if Edward would've pulled up next to us onto the yard right now and told me to get in. Or would've I?

Lauren seemed to be thinking. She was looking at the door, eyeing the people going in.

"Okay, so we're going in anyway." she said with a firm tone of voice. We all turned to look at her like she was mad. An annoyed voice in the back of my head was wondering who died and made her boss.

"Well think about it. We can totally get in," she continued. "We already managed to buy wine. We have dressed up. We are in the company of older people. I'm sure we can get in." she sounded like she really believed in what she was saying. I wasn't quite as certain she was right. The bouncer was big, muscular and intimidating in his black clothes, and his big, thin-lipped face certainly didn't suggest he was the kind of a guy who would let us in out of pity or kindness. Lauren stepped back into the line looking like someone who's made their decision and intends to stick to it. When no one seemed to be following her she sighed theatratically and pulled Angela to stand next to her. I looked at Jessica. She glanced at me indecisively but then shrugged her shoulders and stepped into the line. I didn't really have any other option but to follow. The line started to form behind us, someone bumped into me from behind. I felt slightly nauseous, maybe because of the alcohol or nervousness. I watched the bouncer's eyes scan people's ID's from underneath a pair of dark, thick eyebrows. How humiliating would it be, exactly, if -and when - we didn't get in? What would be our excuse? Oh, we must've forgotten our ID's into the car...

Lauren seemed completely at ease, re-checking her make-up from the compact mirror. Next to her, Angela was nervously trying to smooth her hair. Jessica didn't seem to mind, she was clearly just going with the flow, her eyes absent. Maybe she was right - either we would end up getting to the club or in the worst case scenario we would just have to leave the property with red faces. The thought gave me some comfort; it's not like we knew anyone from Seattle anyway. I tried to relax while the bouncer slowly drifted closer and closer, or rather, we drifted closer to him following the flow of people who got in and disappeared behind the ominous graffitized doors.

"Hey, what's your name, beautiful?" I looked up, surprised. It was some guy who was standing in front of us in the line. He seemed to belong to the same group as the helpful guy who had seemed interested in Jessica. Except that this guy seemed to have taken an interest in me rather than Jessica. He pushed himself in between of our group - I saw Lauren looking annoyed when he bumped into her on his way towards me. I took an automatic step back when he pushed his face close to mine. His breath smelled of alcohol. His face was ugly and the pores on his nose were staring at me like little black eyes when his face came closer towards me than I would've wanted it to. I almost tripped over, trying to back off as far as possible. Then he stopped - the helpful guy from the line had followed him and grabbed his arm.

"Easy now, Chris. You don't want to cause a scene before we're even inside the club",he warned him. Chris turned to him, mumbling something incomprehensible. He was still throwing glances at me over his shoulder. I let out a breath I had unconsciously been holding in and noticed I had grabbed Jessica's hand. Her face was white and she looked scared. I felt a wave of late panic wash over me - where had I gotten myself into? Why had I so gladly agreed to go along with this insanity? What exactly was waiting for us inside those doors besides dozens of men like Chris here? Men, not boys, because underaged customers weren't allowed in. I was swimming in deeper waters than I had prepared myself for.

The bouncer was looking directly at our group now - more accurately, he was staring at the guy who had talked to me earlier. The last people before our groups vanished inside and he crossed his arms, looking like a huge black bear, blocking the way inside.

"You! I think I made it clear last night that you are not allowed in to this club, ever again. Step out of the line." He directed his words to the guy called Chris. He looked even more intimidating from close up. Chris stared up at him with unfocused, cloudy eyes.

"Oh, c'mon pal, just lemme in. I'm fine today", he stammered.

"Yeah well, I can tell you that the mirror you crashed is not fine, nor is the other guy - the one who is now sporting a broken nose and several stitches on his jaw. So get out of my face."

"We guarantee that he will act all proper tonight", some other guy from their group joined in, but didn't sound too enthusiastic. He was exchanging meaningful looks with the helpful guy; it was clear this turn of events didn't come as a surprise to them.

"Isn't that just darling... you can go in and leave your friend behind or you can stay outside with him. Your choice." And the bouncer turned towards us. I could tell that Lauren who was the first in the line froze to her tracks when the bouncer's gaze swept over her. I held my breath as well while he scanned over her. He nodded once. She hurried inside like not quite believing her luck, quickly telling us that she would meet us at the bar. Angela was next. Would she have a chance? She hadn't put on a lot of makeup nor had she dressed up all that much but whatever points she would lose from that she would surely regain in height. She had always been really tall and nowadays could easily pass for a model with her length.

While she was being scanned, Jessica, who was still holding my hand, suddenly pushed me forwards, in front of her. I turned to look - her face was pale as milk and her eyes huge. I could tell that she was freaking out. I glanced at Angela - just to find she wasn't there anymore, which meant she had successfully gotten in as well. So now it was just me and Jessica. And all of a sudden, standing next to the bouncer I just knew that we wouldn't get in. He looked extraordinarily tall standing next to me. I automatically corrected my pose, and looked him straight in the eyes and gave him a slightly flirtatious smile (or at least that's what I hoped it looked like). I realised while I was doing so that this was probably how someone like Alice would've been acting in a situation similiar to mine. Except that I didn't have her charm, beauty or her obvious wealth - nothing to really fool the bouncer with. I felt like something had changed tonight - I was doing things and acting in a manner that I normally wouldn't have dreamed of. I felt like it wasn't really me, but someone else in my place; someone brave, someone sensual. Another Bella, someone I could be if only he would give in...

The bouncer seemed to stare at me for an eternity and then, to my huge relief, nodded. I almost tripped over the treshold trying to hurry in. I turned to look behind before going through the door - and froze. Jessica looked scared and small standing in front of the bouncer, and so incredibly childish wearing her orange frilly dress. Her posture was slumped and uncertain - she wasn't looking at the bouncer but at me. And when the bouncer shook his head and motioned for her to move aside she was still looking at me like a child asking for help.

"Your ID, please," the bouncer asked her. She was clearly shaking when she started to go through her purse, trying to look like she was searching for it. The line behind her was whispering, looking at her condescendingly. She was biting her lip in panic, rummaging through her purse, trying to think what to say. I felt myself move.

"Jessica, let's go." I grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the line. I could feel everyone's eyes on my back but I didn't care. She followed me when I led us towards the metal steps on the far right. I sat her down and exhaustedly sat next to her on the wet and cold metal. Shivering, I realized we hadn't brought out jackets. Jessica was still biting her lip.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I just freaked out! I mean, I've never tried anything like this before. And look at my dress." She gestured towards her clothes. "I mean, I think normally I could pass as older than you at least..." Then she looked at me from the corner of her eye. "I mean, no offence, it's just that...well, you know."

I wasn't offended.

"We should go and get the jackets from the car and then come back to wait for the girls to come looking for us," I suggested. "I don't think they will stay for long, once we don't show up at the bar."

Jessica nodded and got up. She huddled, encircling her arms around herself. The rain was making our hair fuzzy and our skin slick - I was actually thinking it might be better to just wait in the car once we got there. She went through her purse again. Then she froze.

"What is it?" I asked, stopping as well. She raised her face towards me.

"I don't have the keys." She said.

I stared.

"Lauren must still have them. She was the one driving the car last."

I was still staring. That was bad news. What if the girls didn't come out? Would we have to stay here for hours, waiting for them?

"What should we do?" Jessica whispered, looking at me. I realized that this time it was me who had to be the boss. I needed to decide for the both of us. And then it hit me, an answer so simple and clear that I could've cried out of relief.

"I could just call Edward and ask him to come and give us a ride back home. And then we could leave a note on your car and tell Lauren and Angela to drive it back home, if we don't see them before."

Jessica didn't look convinced that leaving her mom's car behind was a good idea. But she then she sighed. "Okay, call him. It's going to take him a while to get here anyway - we can wait for the girls and probably they will come out before he arrives, and then we can just drive my mom's car and you can go with Edward."

I felt a mixture of emotions; thankfulness about the fact that Edward had given me the cell phone earlier. Irritation because I needed to rely on him as always - couldn't I really manage without him for one damn night? I was sure he had already forgiven me: he always did, no matter how badly or rudely I was behaving towards him. But had I forgiven him? Could I? Could I forget the words that had made me leave so abruptly; his irrational musings about my capacity to make sensible decisions when it came to our relationship? How can you really know it's me that you want? How ridiculous. Was he trying to interest me in someone else? The thought made me angry. I could never be interested in anyone else. Why couldn't he just get that?

"Bella? Um, maybe you should call him straight away? It's going to take him, like, eternities to get here anyway." I crash-landed back to reality when Jessica's voice pulled me back from my musings. It seemed like I had been staring at some bald guy's back for ages after we had agreed to call Edward without actually making a move to get my phone out of my purse. Alcohol really seemed to have a stupifying effect. I sighed and fought the purse's zipper open, starting to look for the phone with my fingers stiffened by the cold.

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit!" I cursed. Jessica looked at me, surprised. I barely ever used foul language. But now if ever was an appropriate time to use some. I met her worried gaze.

"I don't have my phone, Jessica. It's in your car."

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Note: I love cliffhangers.

I know there's been quite a few people reading this story, but so far I haven't received many reviews. I would really like to know what people think. Plus it's always nice to receive reviews! So please leave a review and stay tuned for more! :-)