Standard Disclaimer – I do not own Twilight or any of the characters from the story. All song selections have been provided by my amazing beta, NoWayWithWords. She is the greatest! She has set up a YouTube playlist that includes the songs chosen for the chapters. If you would like to check it out, see my profile for the link.

The song for this Chapter is "A Change Would Do You Good" by Sheryl Crow.

Chapter 7 - Alterations

I climbed out of the bed at 2:45 am the next morning. I hit the bathroom and then picked up my phone to call the first radio station. The man on the other end of the line was incredibly cheerful, which helped wake me up some. He commented that he liked the dress from the CD cover and magazine photos. I thanked him and explained that it was the only formal I had. He thought it was great that I wasn't too ashamed to be seen in the same dress more than once. When he asked about my plans for the future, I told him that I was working on a possible concert tour, but it was still in the planning stages, so I didn't have any details. Then he asked about the rumors that Edward Cullen and I were seeing each other.

I laughed and said, "The only time I have ever physically touched Edward Cullen was in a restaurant a year ago, when he was on tour. He just happened to be walking by my table and I accidentally punched him when I moved my hand really fast. I apologized and told him that we were on our way to see his concert. He graciously accepted my apology and upgraded our seats before walking off to join his party."

The DJ said, "So, the rumors that you two have been spotted in the Caribbean together..."

"Are a crock of poop. That's just people making up stories. If he was there, it wasn't with me."

"If he called you, out of the blue, and asked you to go to the Caribbean tomorrow, what would you say?"

I laughed, "I seriously doubt that would ever happen, but if it did, I would have to turn him down."

"You would turn down Edward Cullen, who has been listed as one of the top 10 of the sexiest men alive for the last four years?"

"I'm afraid so. I don't have a passport, so foreign travel is out of the question right now."

The DJ cracked up laughing. He thanked me for calling and let me off the phone. The total call lasted eleven minutes. I went downstairs and scarfed down a piece of toast with some milk before making the next call.

Every call was pretty much the same. They asked how I got into music, what inspired me to write certain songs, what I was planning for the future, and if I was in a secret relationship with Edward Cullen. I answered each question honestly and tried not to sound irritated about answering the same things over and over. By the time I finished with my phone calls, I didn't even want to look at the phone.

The battery started to die in the middle of my fourth call, so I ended up spending the last 4 hours sitting on the floor in my room. My back was aching, my ear was hot, my throat was scratchy, and I had a headache. That afternoon, Jasper emailed me another list of phone calls I had to make. I could have killed him.

-/MMI/-

Over the next few weeks, Rosalie finalized the contract for the concert tour and found out the answers for most of my questions. I would be on a bus that had eight bunks, a tiny kitchen, two tiny bathrooms, a shower, and two sitting areas with satellite televisions, DVD players, and video games. There was very limited closet space, so I would need to limit my clothes to only what I needed. Any personal items I wished to have on the bus with me had to fit in my bunk. Everything else would be stored under the bus.

Rosalie sent the band eight songs to learn, even though I would most likely only be doing six of them. The other two were for encores, though I really doubted I would need them since Edward was going on right after me. I figured if there were any encores to do, he would be the one to do them.

Once the contract was signed, I started mentioning in radio interviews that I would be touring with Edward Cullen in late spring, before he left for his European tour. People went wild with rumors about it. They tried to say that this was proof that we had a secret relationship. I always corrected them in the interviews. The strangest rumor I heard was that we were touring across the US together then getting married and honeymooning in Europe. He would perform there to disguise our real purpose for the trip.

I laughed and told them that I hadn't even spoken to Edward on the phone yet. It was all his people talking to my people. I didn't have a passport, so there was no way I could leave the country, and he had a very public single life that I was sure he would not willingly give up anytime soon.

-/MMI/-

As one month rolled into the next, and the tour got closer, I started worrying about my stage presence. I looked back at the YouTube videos of my concert at the festival and cringed at my appearance. I needed to find something good to wear on stage, but it would have to be cheap. I had pre-paid all of my bills, so I wouldn't have to worry about them until July when I got back from the tour, so I was almost out of money.

Alice came up with a great idea. She was reading editorials from one of those teen magazines. Kids had written letters to the editor talking about what they liked and didn't like about celebrities. One girl wrote that she liked that I wasn't ashamed to be a normal person and find ways to wear the same clothes in different situations. This inspired Alice to come up with the idea of re-purposing my red formal dress. For a fraction of the cost of buying something new, Alice dragged me to Seattle to visit a seamstress that she knew.

The lady had me put on the dress and stand on a platform. She pulled out a laser level that she purchased from a hardware store and balanced it on some books stacked on a chair. When the height was right, she marked the dress with chalk and had me take off the dress. When I came out of the dressing room and handed her the dress, she sent me on my way. I really expected there to be more to it than that, but Alice reassured me that this woman knew what she was doing and I had nothing to worry about.

I came back a week later to find that she had cut the length off, so the dress came to about mid-thigh. She sewed the bottom so it looked like it was supposed to be a short dress and not a formal. I was impressed. It looked great.

With the remaining red silk, she made me a pleated miniskirt. In order to make it not look exactly like the red dress, she sewed shiny black sequins in swirly patterns all over the skirt and added some black teardrop shaped beads from the bottom. It was beautiful.

When we picked up the dress and skirt, Alice insisted on coming back to Forks with me to see what I had in my closet to wear when I wasn't on stage. When we got there, she marched right up to my room and got to work. She was pulling things out and tossing them to me to try on. She made different piles and was moving things from one pile to the next in a way that made absolutely no sense to me. By the time she was done, there was nothing left hanging in my closet.

She found a black velvet vest that was part of my choir uniform in high school and tossed it to me to put on. I grabbed the white long sleeve blouse that was also part of the uniform and put it on, then put the vest over that.

Alice turned around and gave me a crazy look. "What are you doing? I told you to put on the vest."

"I am. This is the shirt that goes with it."

She shook her head. "No, lose the shirt. I only want to see you in the vest."

I did as she asked. I had grown a bit since high school, so the vest was a little tight. It pushed my breasts up so you could see cleavage from the top. It looked like something you would see in a Victoria's Secret catalogue. I slipped into the red skirt as Alice tossed me the black and silver strappy heels I wore to the New Years party. She dug through my jewelry box and handed me a chunky silver choker I hadn't worn in years and a silver bracelet to go with it. All together, the outfit looked incredible.

"Ok, Bella, the red dress and this outfit can both be worn on stage. Now we need to find you a couple of interview outfits and some travel clothes."

She started shifting back through the clothes and found a navy blue sports bra that I bought back when I attempted to take up jogging. She had me put it on as she dove into one of her many piles. She came back out with an old sheer scarf that looked like something from the 60's. It was primarily teal and baby blue with large navy blue paisleys spaced apart in a random pattern. She held the scarf up to the bra and proclaimed they would be perfect, then she tossed me an old pair of faded blue jeans and had me put them on. They still fit, but they were a little tight on me. Alice had me peel everything off and put the items in a bag to take with her.

She managed to match a purple short sleeved sweater that still had tags on it with a pair of black slacks. I don't even know where the sweater came from. I figure it must have been something my mom sent me for Christmas a few years ago, not taking into account that the sweater was thin and it was cold in Washington. It would have been perfect for wintertime in Florida, though.

"Ok, I can make the first top for you and fix up the jeans. Including this outfit, that will be two interview outfits. Most of your time will be spent on the bus, so you'll need comfortable clothes to wear. I don't know if they are going to keep it cold on the bus or not, so it would be a good idea to be prepared for both. What do you have that's comfortable but cute?"

I had plenty of comfortable baggy jeans and t-shirts but none of it could be considered cute. Alice found a pair of khaki pants that were buried in the back of my closet and had me try them on. They were about two inches too short, but fit everywhere else. She had me put them in the bag that was going with her and handed me some black jeans that were so old they were practically grey and the bottoms were frayed. Those were incredibly comfortable, but looked like crap. Those went in the bag too. She picked out a white eyelet lace top that I wore for Easter once and a dark green long sleeved button up shirt with black pinstripes to add to the bag. I managed to put together a couple of outfits on my own that she was pleased with, so she had me go ahead and put them in my luggage, that way I wouldn't forget what we picked.

Before I knew it, Alice was heading out the door with the overstuffed bag of clothes and promising she would make them all perfect before she returned them to me. I had no idea what she had planned but knew it was better not to argue with her. It took me the entire next day to get my room picked up and hang all the clothes back in the closet where they belonged.

I checked the calendar the next day and noticed that I had two weeks before I left for LA to meet up with the band. It was decided that I would fly down to LA two days before we left on tour, and practice with the band in their practice studio. That would give us a chance to get a feel for each other.

Rosalie said that someone would pick me up from the airport and that I didn't need to rent a room. Apparently there was a spare room where they practice that I could use while I was there. I was very thankful that I wouldn't have to pay for the room. If I did, I wouldn't have any money left for food and stuff on the trip.

I spent the rest of the week cleaning the house and pre-cooking meals for my dad. I made some of his favorite dishes and divided them up into single-serving sized portions before attaching a sticker with reheating instructions and freezing them. I went to the store and restocked things like toilet paper, toothpaste, deodorant, and laundry soap, because I knew he wouldn't think to buy them.

I washed his sheets and blankets three days before I was going to leave. I also washed all the clothes I was taking with me. I still hadn't seen any of the clothes Alice had "fixed up" for me, but she promised they were great. She said she was going to give them to me when I got to Seattle.

Dad drove me to Seattle the day before I was supposed to fly out and dropped me off at Jasper and Alice's house. I was going to spend the night there and they were going to take me to the airport the following morning.

When we arrived, Dad slipped me a can of pepper spray and made me promise to call him to let him know I was ok. He was worried about me traveling alone with a bunch of strangers. He also made me promise that I would call him if I felt uncomfortable at all. He said he would pay my way back from anywhere and not be mad about it. I tried to reassure him that I was going to be fine, but inside, I was just about as nervous as he was.

After he left, Alice pulled me into her room so I could try on the clothes she "fixed up." The first was the sports bra/scarf outfit. She had taken the scarf and sewn it to the bottom of the sports bra to make a babydoll style shirt. She had bedazzled the neckline of the bra with teal and baby blue rhinestones. She had also accented the paisleys with corresponding rhinestones. She had taken some of the extra scarf material and used it to cover the shoulder straps, so they looked scrunched up. The faded jeans she had taken were now cut into capris. The back pockets and bottom of the pants legs now had bedazzled paisleys on them that matched the shirt. It was cute.

The khaki pants had been cut into walking shorts. The extra material from the legs was turned into cargo pockets. She had that paired up with the white eyelet lace shirt and a white belt that she was going to let me borrow.

The faded black jeans were now cut into short shorts. She had cut the long sleeves off of the green button up shirt and made them into ruffles that were sewn along the bottom of the shorts and on the back pockets. It definitely made them look more feminine. The shirt that she took the sleeves from now had cute little cap sleeves, the collar had been cut off, and the front now had a sweetheart neckline.

"Shit, Alice, did you really do all this on your own?"

She laughed, "No, silly. I took it all back to the seamstress and told her what I wanted. If I could sew like this, do you think I would pay her to do anything?"

"This couldn't have been cheap. How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it. It was my treat. You just go and kick ass. If you do a good job, you will sell CDs like magic and you, as well as my husband, will make lots of money. I consider it an investment."

After I promised to pay her back anyway, she helped me pack the clothes in my bag. She double-checked everything that I had packed and made sure I had the right shoes and accessories with the right outfits before she let me close up the luggage.

I was bringing one suitcase of casual clothes for my everyday stuff, like riding on the bus. The red dress, black vest with the red skirt, purple sweater and black slacks, and the baby doll/sports bra with the bedazzled capris were all going into a garment bag because they would be hung up in the limited closet space on the bus.

I had packed three pairs of pajamas that consisted of tank tops with matching pajama shorts. They were cute and comfortable to sleep in. I had also packed all the necessary undergarments, hair products, makeup, medication, feminine products and other stuff in a second suitcase along with a faux lambskin blanket that was fuzzy and warm, some sound canceling headphones that I bought specifically for the trip, and a cool-looking water bottle for me to keep by my bed. I had so much stuff that it felt like I was moving.

On top of all that, I was bringing my cell phone, laptop, iPod, camera, and Sony E-Reader, with all the necessary chargers. I had loaded my reader up with a dozen of my favorite books and almost a dozen more books that I had not read yet. My iPod was loaded with all of my favorite tunes, and I had my laptop just in case I found internet access somewhere. I figured I could send emails if I had access, or, if I was inspired, I could write music, type in my journal, play games, or watch some of the DVDs that I was bringing with me in a thin carrying case.

I hardly got any sleep that night because I was too nervous and excited. I felt like a kid going to Disneyland for the first time. The only question was whether I would enjoy it, or if I would scream like a baby when I was face to face with the giant Mickey Mouse.

Jasper drove me to the airport early in the morning. I was wearing a long brown gypsy skirt with a cream colored tank top that was crocheted by one of my dad's friends. I wore brown sandals that were easy to take off and had my hair in a ponytail. I debated on wearing makeup but ended up putting it on anyway. I was going to meet the band later in the afternoon and I didn't want to make a bad impression.

Jasper helped me carry my luggage inside and get checked in at the registration counter. He bought me a cup of coffee and a scone for breakfast and sat with me while I ate it. When I was done, he walked me to the security gate and wished me luck. I almost felt sad watching him walk away. I suddenly felt alone.

Thank God, the plane was on time and I didn't have to wait that long in the terminal, because I probably would have chickened out and called Jasper to come get me. When they called my section, I took a deep breath and climbed on board. I thought to myself, "You can do this. There's no turning back now. It's the right thing to do. Even if it doesn't turn out exactly like you always dreamed, at least you can say that you tried."

The plane ride wasn't that bad. When I arrived in LA, I exited the plane and headed down to baggage claim. I saw a man wearing a black suit and dark sunglasses holding a sign that read "Swan." I approached him and identified myself.

He gave me a nod and followed me to retrieve my suitcases. On our way to the car, I was surprised by a few flashing cameras. People had recognized me. Some kids came up and asked for my autograph. I signed my name and posed with them for a picture before slipping into the front seat of the car.

I had never been recognized before, so I was pretty excited. It didn't even seem to faze the driver. He pulled out of the airport, turned on the radio, and told me I could adjust the channels to whatever I liked. I played with the stations and found a song I liked before settling back in my seat and enjoying the feel of the sunlight coming in through the window, warming my skin. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

A/N: Well, it looks like our little rock star is finally on her way. Don't worry, she actually gets to meet Edward face to face in the next chapter. I don't want to spoil it, so I won't go into detail.

I hope you like this chapter and where the story it going so far. I love to read each and every review that comes in. They are sent to the blackberry that my work provides me, so I do get them when they come in, but it's really difficult for me to respond using the blackberry. I haven't had much time to get to a real computer, so I have been horrible about responding to reviews. I apologize for that. I barely have time to post these chapters. I am heading out the door in just a few minutes to meet some friends for dinner.

We are celebrating buying some property in the country. We bought 5.2 acres. The land has huge Live Oaks on it that have limbs that reach out and touch the ground. It's beautiful. There are also a deer all over the place. It will be a few years before we can build a house and even longer before we can move, but it's a start.