My beta MadelaineJade keeps me going, our talks gives me so many ideas that I now have a word document dedicated to everything I want to happen in this story. I also have another beta now, Vicky, who is my heterosexual soulmate, she fixes my horrendus grammer and tells me when Edward is being a little too bitchy.
This chapter is dedicated to taciturnstream who inspired me beyond belief when I asked her to help me pick the surprise guest for this chapter.
To all my reviewers, I love you all. I wish I could buy you all beers at Sweet Ups!
All Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.
The light filtering through my new bedroom window indicated that it must have been at least 11:00am; I groaned and rolled over with my arm draped across my eyes to protect them from the sun that was trying to disturb my sleep. I was certain that I felt the weight on my bed shift slightly, but I hadn't heard anyone enter the room. When I opened my eyes, I let out an ear-piercing scream and must have jumped nearly five feet in the air.
I was surrounded by laughter as I tried to get my heart rate under control.
"Bella…should've seen…face!" they managed to get out between their uncontrollable laughter.
"Rosalie, Alice," I said with anger, when I had opened my eyes I found them sitting on my bed, Rosalie on my left, Alice on my right. Their faces must have been only a few inches away from mine before I screamed.
"You better have a good reason to have woken me up this early after how much I drank last night, and Alice if you say anything about a Sample Sale then I will kill you and throw your body into the East River."
"You've been in New York for less than 24 hours and you're already bitching at us like you were born and raised here. I'm proud." Rosalie stated as she pretended to wipe tears from her eyes.
"Relax, Bella," Alice said as she began to rifle through my closet "I thought it would be nice if just us girls went out for brunch. We're going to Westville. It's only a few blocks away." She said as she threw a ruffled floral print dress at me.
I swung my legs off the bed and stood up while holding the dress in front of me. The top was ruffled with thick gray spaghetti straps. There was a tie in the middle of the dress that separated the top from the bottom. The bottom of the dress flared out slightly and had an extra tier at the bottom. I definitely didn't purchase it but I fell in love immediately. I looked at the tag. Lerok, it read. Crap, it must have easily cost $300.
"Alice, please don't tell me you bought this for me," I pleaded as I sighed and looked in her direction. She was standing there with an innocent look in her eyes.
Gah! She must always get her way.
"Actually, I bought it for myself but since I'm so short, it was too long. I figured instead of letting it die in the back of my closet, that I'd give it to you. I was going to take some clothes to Buffalo Exchange but I thought it would be nicer to just give them to you," she explained.
"Thanks, Alice, but what is Buffalo Exchange?" I asked curiously.
"It's this thrift store of sorts a few blocks from here. They buy your clothes and give you cash or store credit for them. I usually get store credit because I always find amazing vintage pieces there, but like I said, you need the clothes so I gave them to you instead." I immediately felt better about accepting her gift. At least she didn't spend money on me intentionally.
"Put these shoes on and meet us in the living room. I want to get there before it starts to get busy," Rosalie said as she tossed me a pair of black studded gladiators and walked out the door with Alice following behind her.
Despite my usual appearance, I was very much into fashion. I just couldn't afford it, and sadly I didn't have the time to visit the nearest mall. Working at The Daily Grind more than covered for my living expenses so I was going to make use of the extra cash and redo my entire wardrobe. I was a New York City girl now and I desperately wanted to look the part. I'm sure Rosalie and Alice would love to help me out.
As I got dressed my thoughts drifted to the previous night. Edward's behavior was extremely bipolar. One minute he was laughing at my drawing, and the next he was practically shoving it back to me angrily. Not to mention how mad he looked at me before he stormed out of the place. I had no idea if I had done anything to provoke such behavior. Alice and Emmett had apologized and said it was probably not my fault, that Edward was a bit moody. Alice had mentioned offhandedly that I must have said something really funny to make Edward laugh because it was an unusual occurrence. I remembered feeling a huge sense of pride that I got the emotionless Edward Cullen to actually laugh. Bella, 1, Edward, 0.
I was still certain that I wanted to proceed with my plan of breaking down the wall he seemed to have built around himself. I'd try to chip away at it anyway. I mean, no one could stay that miserable forever.
I was broken out of my thoughts by incessant banging on the door.
"Hurry the fuck up, Bella! I don't have all day!" Rosalie yelled.
"Chill out! I'm coming!" I yelled back as I yanked the door open.
"OH! You look so hot," Alice said as she clapped her hands and circled me, inspecting my outfit.
"Thank you," I replied as I unwillingly blushed at her compliment.
Westville was, as Alice promised, only a few blocks away. The walk there was shorter than I expected. I took the time to mention to Alice and Rosalie that I would like to have them take me shopping so that I could update my wardrobe.
I thought Alice was going to have a heart attack at the mention of it. She bounced up and down and threw out names of stores I hadn't heard of way too fast for me to even comprehend fully what the hell she was saying.
We waited outside the cafe on one of the small benches outside. The hostess called for us and we followed behind her. She led us to a table in the front of the restaurant, near the big open windows. Alice and Rosalie took the outside chairs. I tried to be as graceful as I possibly could as I slid between two tables to get into the booth.
Once I sat down I took the time to survey the place. It was small with all the tables fairly close together. It had a sort of down home feel with the wooden benches and various vintage signs hanging on the walls. When my eyes landed on the counter near the back of the restaurant, I noticed a familiar head of bronze hair sitting down on one of the stools. My breath caught and I must have been staring for a while. I was broken out of my trance by Rosalie kicking me under the table.
"Ouch! What the fuck!" I yelled at her as I leaned down to rub my ankle.
"It's like every 10 minutes, I have to yell or cause bodily harm to get your attention these days. What the hell's gotten you so dazed this time?" she asked as she turned around in her seat to see what was holding my attention. When her eyes landed on him she chuckled and shoved Alice so that she too could take a look.
"You totally have the hots for Edward, don't you?" Rosalie asked as she leaned forward to whisper. Alice's face lit up at the question and she too leaned in to hear my answer.
"It doesn't even matter. He pretty much scowls at me every chance he gets," I responded.
"Don't take it personally, Bella, Edward is just...different," Alice offered but I couldn't help but think that maybe she was covering too much for his rude behavior.
"'Different?'" I questioned. "He's down right rude. He didn't even bother to have a real conversation with me before he decided to hate me and just glared at me every time I looked his way. Does he ever even smile? I mean, I just don't get why someone can be so harsh to everyone for no reason." I knew that I was talking loudly. I was actually hoping that he could hear every word I said.
"Bella," they chastised in unison at my volume, but it was too late. Edward was already making his way to our table. Alice and Rosalie looked up and smiled when he appeared next to Alice's chair.
"Hello, Alice, Rosalie," he greeted, and then his eyes landed on me. I expected him to give me the same scowling look that he had given me last night, but to my surprise his eyes softened and he smiled. He actually smiled!
"Hello, Bella," he greeted.
"Oh, Edward! You have to join us!" Alice demanded as she nearly shoved him between the two tables to sit next to me.
Great, now I had to eat breakfast with Mr. Grouchward sitting next to me.
"Stupid, pushy pixie," I mumbled.
"What was that, Bella?" he asked as he leaned in and whispered into my ear.
Alice and Rosalie were too busy planning our shopping expedition to notice the exchange.
"Nothing," I replied angrily. I didn't want him to get away with thinking that he could treat me like dirt one day and turn around and be nice the next. I was not going to be one of his playthings.
Alice was messing around with her iPhone when it began to buzz. "Oh! I have to take this. Sorry, guys!" she said as she answered the phone.
I watched as she conversed with whoever it was on the phone, mouthing the words "uh oh" to Rosalie. Once she was done with her call she turned to me with an apologetic look in her eyes. "Crap! Bella, we're going to have to reschedule this girls' day. There was a leak in the baby boutique I own! I need to get over there or else nothing will get done," She explained.
"Oh that's all right. I still have Rose," I said with a fake smile across my face. She was totally bullshitting me.
"Actually, Rosalie has to come with me. She's my right hand woman," Alice said as she stood up and pushed her chair in "But I'm sure Edward will be more than happy to show you around today."
"I doubt Edward would want to accompany me on a shopping trip," I replied. I was not going to let her get away that easily.
"I wouldn't mind," Edward said with nonchalance as he looked over the menu. All of us turned to look at him with surprised expressions on our faces.
What the fuck is he thinking?
"Look at that Bella. Well then, it's settled! I won't see you tonight because Emmett and I have not had any alone time in over a week. You have all our numbers, so feel free to call if you get scared at night or anything. Please make sure the doors are locked before you go to bed, you're not in Forks anymore, Toto." Before I knew it they were gone and I was left alone with Edward.
Alice Cullen used a fake iPhone application to get Edward and me alone together. There was no real phone call. It was an application that simulated a phone call, most likely created to get out of bad dates or awkward situations. But no, Alice used it to force Edward and me together, and the fucker agreed to it! I didn't know much about him, but I would guess that he didn't regularly spend the day shopping with anyone, let alone a girl he barely knew.
"And then there were two," he said as he walked around the table to take one of the seats previously occupied by Alice and Rose. We were now sitting across from each other.
"You know that you don't really have to go shopping with me right?" I asked casually as I looked over the specials. He raised his head and seemed to be debating something as he responded.
"I know, but I don't really have anything better to do today," he explained.
There was no way real way to explain his behavior through brunch. We ate almost in silence and when the waitress openly flirted with him, he just flirted right back as if I weren't even sitting there. When she asked if we wanted dessert we both declined and before she could fetch our check I asked her to bring us two separate ones. No way was I paying for him or he paying for me.
Once we paid our separate checks, I let him lead the way. We walked about ten blocks in silence before he explained to me that were now in SOHO which apparently stood for South Of Houston Street but Houston was pronounced House-ten unlike the city in Texas. I made a note to learn all the names of the neighborhoods in Manhattan. That was something all real New Yorkers knew. I already knew that I lived in Alphabet City and was very close to the East Village, and that the bar we went to last night was located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
I decided to start off by going to Bloomingdales. It was easier to shop in a big store where I was barely noticed than at a small boutique with a sales clerk sizing me up while I shopped. We started on the first floor and I was immediately drawn to the sunglasses display. I had always wanted a pair of Ray Bans but they seemed a little silly to have while living in Forks. I'd rarely be able to wear them there, but here in New York the sun was plentiful. Plus, I deserved a little present for breaking up with Jake the way I did. Kicking your ex-boyfriend in the crotch while he still had a hard on just deserved a present in my book.
"Which ones do you like?" I asked Edward as I tried on a variety of different colors of Wayfarers.
"The black ones are cool," he replied as he tried on a few pairs himself.
"Edward?" a voice asked from behind me.
I turned around to come face to chest with a tall strawberry blonde. Her hair was pulled up into Heidi braids and she wore a simple plain tank top with a pair of skinny jeans and flip-flops. I hated girls like her, the kind of tall, skinny girls who looked flawless in t-shirts and jeans. If I wore what she had on I'd look like I was spending my day doing laundry.
"Tanya," Edward said as his body stiffened. He got this sort of deer caught in headlights look on his face.
"How are you?" she asked with a pained look in her eyes. I wondered if she was the failed relationship that Rosalie had mentioned.
"I'm okay. How about you?" he asked
"I'm well," Tanya replied. "I was thinking that maybe we should go to dinner sometime and catch up." Who the hell did she think she was? What if Edward were my boyfriend? She pretty much asked him out on a date in front of me. What was it with New York City girls? Did they all assume that there would be no way in hell that Edward would date me?
I cleared my throat to make my presence known since no one else was bothering to acknowledge me.
"Oh..." he paused "Tanya, this is Rosalie's cousin, Bella. Bella, this is Tanya." He introduced me as Rosalie's cousin. She would probably guess immediately that I was the charity case he so graciously offered to take care of, which I couldn't help but feel like anyway. That really wasn't very far from the truth.
"Nice to meet you!" she said as she held out a hand to shake mine. I shook her hand firmly and went back to busying myself with the sunglasses.
"I would love to go to dinner with you." He looked over at me out of the corner of his eye, I didn't think he knew I could see him do it through the mirror I was looking in. "Actually, I'm free now if you'd like to go to lunch. You wouldn't mind right Bella?" he asked.
No shit, I'd mind.
"Oh no, it's fine, Edward," I replied through clenched teeth. How dare he ditch me after not even spending 30 minutes shopping with me. I thought we were just beginning to make progress, but of course not!
"Well great. We can go to Silver Spurs," she said as she walked passed me and linked her arm with Edward's. I watched them walk out the front door with a mixture of annoyance and defeat upon my face.
"Bye," I said to no one as I grabbed the pair of black Ray Bans and made my way to the register.
I placed the sunglasses on the counter and rifled through my purse to find my wallet. I guess I wasn't paying much attention because I failed to notice the sales clerk behind the register.
"Bella?" the clerk asked.
I looked up at the mention of my name and was shocked when I realized who it was.
uh oh, who could it be? my Bella knows fashion and she knows it well, I will post the link to my photobook soon where you will be able to see the places/clothing described here. Things are going to pick up a lot after this post, more drama, more Edward/Bella action, just more awesomeness all around!
Westville is real and their bacon cheeseburgers are insanely yummy, also I just so happen to work at Buffalo Exchange and the baby boutique mentioned. Sadly Alice Cullen is not my boss.
Reviews are incredible and if you have any song suggestions for Edward feel free to send them my way!