I will fix up the grammar and inconsistencies in previous chapters one day.
So, I have some extra chapters currently in the process, here's the first.
Thank you for reviewing, favs, PMs and the support.
"Jake, what the fuck do I do? What do I wear? Shit, where do I take her?" Bella screamed into the phone, effectively freaking out.
She heard a crackle on the other side of the line and then, her best friend's voice, "Hey Alice, how are you? I'm fine thanks; the weather here's been wet but, Forks amiright?"
"Jake, it's Bella," the brunette stipulated, confused.
"Huh? Oh sorry, from the tone and incoherent jumbling of words I had just assumed," her best friend ended with a chuckle.
Bella scowled into her phone, "Stop messing around and tell me what to do," she demanded hysterically.
Jake mentally counted to three and then answered, "Bella, honey, firstly, calm your tits, secondly, deep breathes and thirdly, why are you so scared? You know that Alice likes you, so, there's no need to go all out."
Bella sighed, but wasn't really comforted by the words, "It's a first date, aren't girls like, sentimental about that sort of thing?" she asked.
In reply, she heard a loud smacking on the other line. "Sorry Bella, I was bashing my head against the wall. Look, I love you so, please don't take offence to this but, where's your game? You've been on dates before."
Bella sat on her couch for the first time since she had woken up, "You know that I've only ever dated Ashley," she replied.
Jake scratched his chin in thought, "Well, learn from experience, where did you take her?"
The brunette frowned and thought about the very first and only date that she had ever been on with her deceased wife. A spark ignited within her when she let the memory wash through her like warm water on a cold day.
"Jake, I love you," she stated.
The man was shocked at the sudden admission, as his friend wasn't the most overtly affectionate person and, he couldn't recall the last time that she had said the words to him. It made him grin from ear to ear.
"I love you too Bella. I promise you that it's going to be fine, Alice likes you, you know this, so, don't stress out too much," he gave a cheeky smile and remembered one of his friends traits of anxiousness.
"And stop gnawing on your lip, although, I'm sure that your new girlfriend wouldn't mind soothing the pain," he laughed causing Bella to scowl.
Before she could retort, Jake interrupted again,"Gotta go Bella, good luck and remember to call me when you're done to give me all the juicy details."
And with that, the man hung up.
Jake looked at his phone, he couldn't wipe the smile off his face, he was glad that his best friend finally saw Alice.
Bella, in her own house looked upwards, Ashley, please give me the strength to not fuck up.
Bella took five steps, stopped and then turned around.
Bella took five steps, stopped and then turned around.
Bella took five steps, stopped and then turned around.
Bella took five steps, stopped and then turned around.
Ok, this is dumb, you've been here before, just knock on the fucking door, she mentally encouraged herself.
When she had asked Alice out on a romantic date the other week, she had every intention of fulfilling it. However, now that the moment had arrived, she had no idea what she was doing. She knew that Alice liked her but, that didn't qualm the caterpillars that were currently beginning their metamorphosis into butterflies in her stomach. Since the morning she had been in a perpetual state of high anxiety, her adrenaline never ceasing, she now knew how Olympians felt. She was nervous because she just wanted everything to work out but alas therein laid the problem with trying. It can sometimes be a dangerous gamble and Bella, the control freak that she was, couldn't calculate whether or not it would pay off. She was a writer, not a mathematician.
Bella looked at her watch, she knew that she was a little early however; she also knew that if she didn't raise her fist right now and knock on the door, she'd turn around, run back home and deadbolt the door.
She knocked three times.
When the door opened, Bella didn't know whether or not she was relieved to see Leah Clearwater in the doorway.
"Hey Leah," Bella greeted, her voice dry, she cleared it and hoped the other woman didn't notice.
Leah leaned against the doorframe of her house, "Hey Bella, you're looking snazzy tonight, got a hot date?" she asked. In doing so, the brunette silently thanked her neighbour for the one moment of normalcy in the day.
"The hottest," Bella replied.
Leah mock frowned, "But, Rose won't be home for another hour."
"Damn, I guess I'll just come back then," Bella retorted with faux disaapointment.
Leah chuckled, knowing that her neighbour was just playfully bantering, "I'm going to ignore that comment and blame it on first date jitters."
Bella gave a deep breath, "Please do. Err, is Alice ready?"
In response, she received a pointed look.
"Right, forgot," she stated, knowing that the smaller woman was probably still half naked and trying out a thousand outfits. Bella decided to stop those thoughts instantly.
Leah scrutinized her nervous neighbour for a moment, "You wanna come in or, would you like to stay outside to hyperventilate some more?"
Bella rubbed the back of her neck, "Am I that obvious?"
"I think you burned our front porch with your pacing."
"Sorry, it's been a while since I've done this."
Leah looked at the woman in front of her with sympathy, after all, anyone who has ever asked a girl out on a first date could empathize with the inner turmoil.
"Take a seat," she ordered Bella gently, pointing at the porches front step.
They sat next to each other, like two comrades in the same war. Bella stared down at her shoes whilst Leah just stared across the road.
"The first date I ever took Rose on was a complete disaster," Leah began, she received a look from Bella indicating that she had her full attention and continued, "I picked her up at her house and then took her to the strippers as a joke, one that she didn't find funny."
Bella gave her an incredulous look to which Leah just chuckled and continued, "Yeah, she gave me that look too, I think that I was just testing out the waters a little you know? I didn't know if Rose was gay or straight and, I suppose I just wanted to see her reaction, if she would have been repulsed by the idea of seeing naked women," she explained.
Bella frowned, "You probably could have taken her to a gay club."
"Name one in Forks," Leah retorted, the other woman put her hands up and conceded.
Leah scratched the bridge of her nose and then smiled as her memories took over the conversation. "Anyway, Rose took my terrible prank in stride and then, I took her to the movies, fairly standard right? Yeah, well, she fell asleep half way through the movie."
"Jesus, what movie was it?" her companion asked.
"Beowolf."
Bella cringed, "Enough said."
Leah laughed softly, "Yeah, so, I had one last trick up my sleeve, despite the rocky start and theatre nap, I took her to the beach for a nice gentle stroll. So, we get to this bridge and there's this guy just standing there, as if he was just waiting for us and, he rips out a knife and tries to mug us. Now, I can't fight to save my life but Rose, man, you should have seen her, she whipped that guys ass faster than he said, 'give me what you got," she recountered. The pride in her eyes was palpable and Bella couldn't help but smile along with her, momentarily forgetting her anxiety.
"She ended up getting a cut on her hand due to the scuffle and by then, I'm freaking the fuck out. She's my date, I'm supposed to protect her and shit so, I take her and race back to my car. I patch her up with whatever I have which, I think are tissues. Whilst I was patching her up Rose was just staring at me and she told me that I needn't worry about her hand. I look up at her and I said, 'Yeah actually, I do because, if you're not going to then who the fuck is? She gave me this fierce look that basically told me to fuck off and that she could protect herself. But I told her that she isn't a responsibility that, she is a person, one who I can see myself caring really deeply for."
Leah looked at her neighbour, "At the time, I already did care a lot about her but, I didn't want to freak her out, though, she probably already knew, the little minx. So,she continued staring at me as if surprised by my answer and then, out of nowhere she demanded that I kiss her. And the rest, as they say is history."
"Wow," Bella was enthralled by Leah's words, not only was this the first time that the other woman had said so much to her in one conversation but, it revealed how much the other woman cared for her current girlfriend. It was incredible.
"Yeah, I know," Leah nodded.
"Wow," was all Bella could say.
Leah smirked, "You already said that."
She gave her neighbours knee a tap with her own, "The point is, no matter what happens tonight, Alice knows that you already have deep feelings for her and vice versa. Everything is going to be fine and, if things don't happen the way you wished for tonight just, play it by ear, improvise, she just wants to be with you, no more, no less. You guys took so long to get together, don't make it worth nothing."
Bella heard the words and knew that Leah was right; she couldn't let her fear hinder what a great night she had promised Alice. She couldn't let her fear overrule and dictate how she should act tonight and, she wouldn't.
"Thanks," Bella replied, appreciative to have Leah as her neighbour.
Leah smiled, "You're welcome."
A few moments passed by and Leah coughed in order to gain Bella's attention, "By the way, Rose isn't here to do this so, consider this your threat from the best friend speech. You sure as hell better not hurt her and you fucking better protect her with your life; otherwise you're going to have a mob after you," she said menacingly.
Bella nodded her head in understanding, "I wouldn't dream of doing anything otherwise."
Leah rubbed her jaw, "Good because, we've all been rooting for you guys to hook up this whole time," she stated.
The brunette did a double take at this admission, "Who's this, we?"
Her companion smirked, "Pretty much the entire Cullen family, Emmett even named it operation Bellice," she laughed; in response Bella just blushed and cursed the large Cullen male for being so far away.
Before she could express her outrage, the front door opened to reveal a stunning little Alice Cullen, beaming down at the two women.
Bella stood up instantly and smiled, forgetting her previous flustered state.
"Hey Bella, I hope that you made it ok and weren't waiting for too long," Alice welcomed, eyes shining brightly, she gave the brunette a hug and was so glad that the other woman was no longer fearful or flinched at her embrace.
When they stopped hugging, Bella took a step backwards and craned an eyebrow, "Oh yeah, the drive was terrible, there was a traffic jam all the way interstate, turns out it was just chickens trying to cross the road," she retorted sarcastically.
"So, the mystery is now solved," Alice chuckled.
Bella smiled and took a long look at her neighbour, "You look beautiful by the way and, I'm not just saying that, you always do," she whispered causing Alice to blush, she mentally high-fived herself.
"T-thank you," the smaller woman said, loving and hating that Bella was the only person that could make her stutter.
Leah felt her insides warm at the sight, she had to admit, the two women in front of her were cute, though, anyone with feelings could sense that.
She walked towards her front door, snapping the women out of their little bubble, "Alright, you kids take care now," she turned around and wagged her finger at Alice like a father would their child, "don't be too late young Alice, curfew is at 1200am otherwise you'll turn into a pumpkin," she said with a playful smile.
Alice just rolled her eyes but hugged Leah and then bid her goodnight.
Bella nodded at her San Francisco confidante, "Night Leah and thanks for your help."
Leah shooed them away, went inside and shut the door. She walked over to her couch, sat down and sighed; maybe Rose would like to go out on a date after work.
Alice danced towards her neighbours beat up truck, "So, what are we doing and where are we going?" she asked whilst getting in the front passenger seat.
Bella got in her car but didn't start it, "Well, I was going to take you out to some great book stores that I've hunted in the area but, I've reconsidered. Seeing as the theme for tonight is fear, tonight is going to be Face Your Fears Night."
Alice tilted her head to the side and Bella couldn't help but think that the smaller woman looked adorable; she just wanted to kiss her and not go anywhere.
She continued, "We're going to each pick something that we fear and then we're going to get through it together,"
The smaller woman just smiled at the originality of her date's proposal and decided to go with the flow, "Ok, so, what's your fear?" she asked.
Bella thanked the higher orders that her impromptu suggestion was being taken in stride, but then, perhaps that was just Alice, "I'm going to kill two birds with one stone so, I'm kind of cheating. The first fear is heights," she confessed.
"No you're not," Alice interrupted, causing the other woman to crane an eyebrow.
"I think that I know what I'm scared of," Bella retorted.
"But, we've been on a plane together."
Bella coughed into her hand evenly, "Ever heard of Valium?"
Alice looked at her date in shock, "You took Valium to go on a plane ride for me? Why didn't you tell me at the time?" she all but yelled.
The brunette just scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, "You had other things on your mind without me adding onto that. I just, didn't want you to worry," she answered.
The smaller woman just looked at her neighbour and wondered how long the other woman had had feelings for her but just didn't realise it, "You're such a dumb sweet idiot," she replied with an endearing shake of the head.
Bella just grinned, not caring that she had been called a dumb idiot by Alice, the smaller woman thought that she was sweet and that adjective alone had just made her night.
"So, what are you scared of?" Bella asked Alice.
The woman in question just grimaced, "Honestly?"
When she was met with silence and a nod of the head by the brunette, Alice gave a deep sigh and decided to finally acknowledge her secret fear.
"Sparklers," she confessed.
Bella had to stop and process what her date had just said, "You…what? Sparklers? As in, the cheap little sticks that you light up and they sparkle?"
Alice although embarrassed by the admission, defended it, "Hey, don't judge, sparks shouldn't be allowed in the hands of children, what if it burns them?"
Bella craned an eyebrow and fought the urge to laugh, "You know that's impossible right?"
The smaller woman just folded her arms over her chest, "Nothing is impossible Bella, we both know that."
The brunette just conceded to the logic, she felt a little guilty for making fun but, sparklers?
"Ok, why sparklers though?"
Alice unfolded her arms, "I had Edward and Emmett as brothers growing up so, on my birthday one year they woke me up by lighting sparklers in my face whilst screaming HAPPY BIRTHDAY. It was sweet, I suppose, but, needless to say, it scared the crap out of me and I didn't talk to them for a week," she recounted.
Bella encapsulated Alice's hand with her own unconsciously, "What made you talk to them again?"
At this, Alice smirked, "Emmett gave me his deserts for a week and Edward gave me his prized Tonka Porche toy, it was yellow if memory serves me correctly," she smiled.
Bella smiled along with her, trust younger Alice to use extortion tactics on her brothers. She kissed Alice's hand and then started her car. Blink 182's First Date flittered through the speakers causing both of them to laugh at the timing.
Bella grinned at Alice, "Ok, sparklers. Now, let's get on with Friday night, face your fears night!"
"Come on, the clown is offering, just take it," Bella encouraged, trying hard not to laugh.
On the drive, the brunette had thought that it wouldn't do to just go around to a random store and pick up the sticks. So, when they passed a street performer who had just happened to have sparklers on him, the brunette almost burnt out her tires trying to park the car. It was too bad that the street performer happened to be a clown.
Currently, the two women were standing a fair distance away from the clown who was looking at them openly, silently asking them to take the sparklers as they pleased.
He lit another several sticks and then held out his hand again.
Alice flinched when the sticks ignited and then shook her head defiantly, "No, you can't make me," she refused, "And, did we really have to go see a clown for this? What clown has random sparklers in their pants?"
The clown frowned, why wouldn't the women just take his damned sparklers?
"I think you offended him," Bella commented.
Alice looked at the clowns forlorn expression and instantly felt guilt, "Ah, jeez, ok, ok, fine. Here we go," she said.
Bella stood behind Alice with her hands on the woman's shoulders; she slowly directed their movements towards the clown. It was a comical sight, watching two older women approaching a mute clown like a lion tamer towards a roaring lion.
"You're ok, I'm right here. I promise nothing is going to get you," Bella whispered.
She felt Alice stiffen and turn her head, "Pinky promise?" the smaller woman asked Bella holding out the finger.
The brunette couldn't help but smile and wrap her outer finger with Alice's, "Pinky promise," she replied and then, to tighten the deal, with the same hand, she raised her thumb, "We'll even stamp it too," she said.
Alice grinned at their antics, she touched her thumb with Bella's, "And stamp it," she replied. She gave Bella a peck on the lips, silently wondering how she could have lasted this long without doing so. She then turned her attention back to the clown with the sparklers in his hand.
Bella always made Alice feel at ease and this time was no different. They took small strides towards the clown and, when Alice finally reached out to take the fiery hazard, she almost screamed and threw it back at the performer.
Bella gave the clown a few bills and then ushered a whimpering Alice away.
They stopped at a nearby tree, "Are you ok?" Bella asked Alice who was still watching the potential blazing death stick wearily.
"I t-think I need to c-change my pants," Alice replied.
Why do they burn for so damn long? She asked herself, she could see the flickers of sparks burning downwards and they were getting ever so closer to her arm. In about five seconds, she was going to start losing her shit.
Bella watched the fear and worry written on her date's face, she took a step closer to Alice who looked torn between laying her attention on the brunette and keeping an eye on the stick in her hand. She chose the sparking death stick of doom.
Bella smiled and reached out towards Alice's hand with the sparkler, "It's ok, just, let the light guide you," she whispered, moving inches closer.
Alice frowned, "Guide me to where?" she looked up and was surprised to see Bella so close to her.
Without replying and with her dates hand in hers, Bella kissed Alice, slowly and comfortingly. The small woman forgot about the sparklers or the slight warmth that they brought when they were reaching towards the end, she was much too busy to think about it. With her other hand, she held Bella's head in place and deepened their kiss. They didn't stop until long after the sticks had burned out.
Alice looked at Bella with all the affection she could, "Smooth operator," she commented with a large grin.
Bella returned the smile, "The smoothest," she replied.
It was getting late into the night and Alice and Bella were currently standing on an edge of a cliff. The drop itself wasn't too high or dangerous but, it was still enough to induce fear.
"You want to cliff dive? Alice, not even people without a fear of heights would willingly do such a thing," Bella stated, she refused to look down at the cliffs edge but could hear the waves crashing against hard rock.
Alice held her date tighter, she could smell the crispness of the lake but it was Bella's own scent that overwhelmed her.
"Well, the Ferris wheel is too busy and, there's no bungee jumping places around here," she simply answered.
Bella looked at the smaller woman, "What ever happened to a nice skyscraper or cable car?"
"That's way too cliché, we've always been different," Alice responded with a wink.
The brunette still refused to look anywhere else but Alice, "But, cliff diving? I'm sure that there's an old wives story in here somewhere," she began.
Alice could feel Bella's heart beating erratically, "Bella,"
But the other woman just kept ranting, "I can imagine it now, 'Kids, remember when I say, if your friends asked you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?"
"Bella…"
"Well, there was this one lady named Bella…"
"Isabella!" Alice yelled out.
Bella whipped her head so fast that the smaller woman was surprised that she didn't get whiplash, "What did you just call me?" Bella asked.
"Sorry, but, you just kept talking," Alice justified with a shrug of the shoulders.
Bella squinted her eyes, "Oh Mary, you don't know what you're getting yourself into," she said ominously.
Alice fought everything within herself to not scoff, "Stop straying from the topic, you're going to be fine, I mean, I faced my fears didn't I?"
Although Alice was still frightened at the thought of sparklers, she suspected that her moment with Bella would assist to alleviate that tension in future occurances.
"Are you sure about this?" Bella asked wearily.
For the first time, Alice looked down at the cliffs edge and silently wondered how far the drop was, "Y-yeah, let's do it."
Bella smirked, "Are you scared Alice dear?"
The smaller woman just scrunched her face, "Pssshhh, no," she replied unconvincingly. In response Bella just gave a quirk of the eyebrow.
"Ok, crashing waves of doom? Yeah, I'm a little scared," Alice admitted.
Bella cleared her throat, was it too late to back out now? She stretched her fingertips and felt the fabric that was thinly layered on Alice's skin. She knew that the body was different to her deceased wife's but the warmth she felt. Oh the warmth made her heart flutter, not that she'd readily admit to that.
Alice looked at the serene face of her date, to be honest; she didn't actually think that Bella was going to go through with the date. They were comfortable with each other and they were getting to know each other like the backs of their hands but, actively engaging in commitment like scenes was different. She knew that she would never be able to compete with Bella's past love for her wife but, she didn't want to. The present with Bella was something that she had always desired and the future, well, the future looked brighter already.
"What did you do with Ashley on your first date?" Alice suddenly asked, it had been forever since she had added, you don't need to answer, at the end of such questions. But, that just demonstrated the relational progression that they were moving towards.
Bella frowned, "You want to know that?"
In response the smaller woman just smiled and nodded her head, "I want you to be able to talk about her."
She must have said something right because, the next moment, she received a kiss on the forehead. That was another thing that had surprised Alice; Bella was actually a physically affectionate person when provided the opportunity. Albeit, it was awkwardly sweet but, the intent emotions were still prevalent.
"On our first date, I took her to various book stores, it took me forever to find just one book that I liked but, she didn't mind because she was exactly the same and, she said that she liked seeing the expression on my face when I saw something that I was in awe with. She said that it was like watching a kids face light up on Christmas morning," Bella recounted nostalgically.
Alice continued smiling and could definitely see the events unfolding in her mind's eye, "It's nice that you both had so many common interests," she commented. She wasn't jealous she just had this intuitive thirst to gain any and all knowledge about Bella, she always had. For, the possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery.
Bella shook her thoughts from her mind, "We have things in common," she stated.
Alice gave a playful smirk and slowly started to sway side by side, "Yeah? Name one."
Her date just smiled, "Each other."
Alice felt herself internally swoon at the comment and continued swaying as if a song had suddenly started playing, "That's sweet but, you know what's sweeter?"
"What?" Bella replied, unconsciously swaying and moving with Alice.
"The rush you're going to get when I fall for you," the small woman replied impishly.
Bella frowned at the comment, not noticing that the crashing waves were getting louder and louder, "Fall for me, but I thought…."
Before she could finish, she felt her body get thrown backwards.
"MARY ALICE!" she screamed as she felt her body get vacuumed into the air.
The last sound she heard before her body met the sea was tinkling laughter, with that in mind; she finally allowed her body to be swallowed.
Seeing as both women were drenched, they thought that it was best that they get home before either of them started to catch a cold. They drove back home to their street and Bella walked Alice to her door, wanting the other woman to get inside and change but also wanting her to stay.
They were facing each other in front of the baby blue doors, neither wanting to say goodnight first.
"Bella, you said that you were killing two birds with one stone before, what's your second fear?" Alice asked, the thought been in the back of her mind.
Her date just smiled, "Going on this date. You scare me well, not you exactly Little Miss Shorty but, just, being with you."
Alice raised a brow, "That makes me feel so much better," she answered sarcastically.
Bella scratched the back of her neck and suddenly felt as if she were on the precipice of the cliff again, "Being with you terrifies me because you actually want to be with me, you're not perfect, you're absolutely wonderful and, I just can't fathom how or why you feel the need to pick me."
Alice softened her eyes at the honest insecurity of her neighbour she had seen her neighbour vulnerable but, being insecure about herself was something new, "Have I told you recently how much of a dumb sweet idiot you are?"
"Not within the past hour," Bella answered.
Alice took one step forward and held Bella's hand, "You have made waiting worth it," she articulated.
The taller woman grinned at the heartfelt words and squeezed her dates hands, "And you call me a smooth operator."
Alice winked, "Well, it's that and, I guess that you're just lucky that I'm I like with you."
Bella raised an eyebrow, "Just like?"
"You can't give everything away on a first date," replied Alice with a shrug.
They shared a chuckle but knew that the night was coming to a close.
"I had a really great time tonight Bella, I knew that I would but, I'm a girl and we tend to be sentimental about these sorts of things," Alice commented, hoping that the words would give her a few more seconds.
"Tell Jake that," Bella murmured to no one in particular.
"What?"
"Nothing. I'm glad that you had a good time Alice." Bella felt her heart beat faster but, it wasn't due to the anxiety that she had felt prior to the date starting.
"See you tomorrow?" she asked her date.
In lieu of responding, Alice closed the gap between the distance of their bodies and kissed Bella gently.
Alice was the first to let go and smiled one of those blissful smiles, "That's Alice language for yes."
Her date mirrored her action, "Well, seeing as you're the speech pathologist, it looks like I'm going to need another session," Bella replied.
It was cheesy and a horrid line but, neither of them cared enough to comment, instead, they were too involved in the lasting remains of their very first date.
Stay tuned for more Extras. And, as always thank you for reading.