(Disclaimer: You get the point)
(A/N: Here it is guys! The next chapter you have all been waiting for! *cue dramatic entrance music*)
She was standing in an open plain; the breeze was whispering words that she couldn't quite understand, no matter how hard she tried. Where was this place? Bella spun in a circle to quickly take it all in. A slow ripple of green dotted with the whites, yellows, and pinks of flower went through the grass in waves, all flattened by the powerful winds, and the sky was dark and cloudy as if a storm was on the way.
"Bella . . ."
The brunette snapped to attention as the light murmur reached her ears. She looked around curiously, wondering who had spoken when the voice became more prominent.
"Isabella Swan . . ."
Bella went rigid when she noticed a figure walked towards her at a slow pace, suddenly realizing that the voice belonged to none other than Alice Cullen. As if on cue, the tiny pixy of a woman was now in front of her, causing her breath to hitch as she stopped with their faces only inches apart and bodies pressed together.
"Bella . . ." The woman whispered.
"Bella . . ."
"Bella . . ."
"Isabella!" Nate bellowed in to his girlfriend's ear.
Bella woke with a start and a yell, launching herself sideways off the queen sized mattress that lay pushed to the wall in the far corner of her bedroom. Her room was pretty basic in the long run, harboring no more than a bed, a night stand, a dresser with a giant mirror, and a few decorations here and there. Nate would constantly insist that she paint her walls, or put posters up, but Bella preferred the simple look, it just seemed less cluttered to her. At the moment, she was profoundly grateful that she wasn't a naturally messy person, because she now lay in a heap of limbs and cotton on her wooden floor.
Nate stared down at his girlfriend in amusement, his arms crossed over his chest and teeth gnawing at the inside of his cheek to avoid laughing hysterically at her antics. The disgruntled girl groaned and continued to lie on the floor for a good five minutes before the blonde man-child finally caved and doubled over in laughter.
"Come on, drama queen!" Nate choked out, untangling Bella from her covers.
"You're an asshole." She grumbled in response.
"Yes, but I'm an asshole that you love."
Bella didn't respond at the last statement, instead opting to fix her bed in silence while her sleep-disrupting boyfriend left to go make them breakfast. They had had the discussion about love more times than she cared to admit, and it always ended in them fighting because as much as Nate loved Bella, she refused to allow herself to get that deep in to her emotions. It was a fear that stemmed from losing both her parents and being left alone without any family, or rather any family that cared. Bella did have grandparents, her father's parents, and they were actually the only reason the courts had allowed her to live on her own instead of going to some kind of home until she turned eighteen, but other than promising to check up on her once a month and send money for living costs, they refused to ever see her.
It was mostly due to her mother, who had been strongly disliked by the couple ever since she married their son and bore his child; one could only imagine how thrilled they must have been at the divorce that occurred when Bella was little. If her grandparents had gotten their way then they would've never had contact with Bella either. When she moved in with her father after her mother's passing, he had begged them to be civil for his sake, and on his death bed he made them promise that they would take care of it if she ever needed help. To this day she never sees them, just receives a check in the mail once a month.
Bella looked across the room to the small picture on her dresser; it was encased in a silver photo frame and made her smile at the memory of it. The photo was from when she was ten-years-old and had been taken by her mom's boyfriend and soon-to-be husband, Phil. It showed her at the beach for her birthday, splashing water at her father while her mother snuck up on her from behind, it was one of the few times her parents got along just enough to give her a perfect day.
"Belly-button, if you don't hurry we are going to be late again!" Nate called up the stairs.
"I'm almost ready!" Bella called back out of the bathroom door.
With a sigh, she gripped the edge of the counter hard and stared at herself intently in the mirror, taking in the dark circles under her eyes that were barely concealed by make-up. Her hair was worn in a slightly messy style and she wore a pair of black, torn skinny jeans, a plain white midriff shirt covered by a form fitting jean jacket and on her feet were a pair of ankle high boots.
"Good enough." She mumbled to herself, retreating downstairs to where Nate was still yelling at her.
Nate stood by the doorway dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt, a plain hoodie, and he had both of their back packs slung easily over one shoulder. Bella smiled at him lightly when she noticed the Wal-Mart bag of snack foods; even if she didn't love the guy, she couldn't help but care deeply for him when he did stuff like that.
"It's about time! We're going to be late, so you'll have to survive on snacking in class until lunch, now let's go!" He swung her around off the steps, eliciting a giggle, and pushed her out the front door.
"Jesus, Nate, who lit a fire under your ass?" She asked as she climbed in the passenger seat, eyeing the boy suspiciously when he hopped behind the wheel.
Nate didn't answer immediately, avoiding the question as the truck roared to life and he peeled out of the driveway. The blonde man tried to ignore the intense brown eyes staring through the side of his head as he turned on music and whistled along to it, tapping his fingers idly on the steering wheel. Bella didn't let up, only continued to stare intensely and raised an eyebrow at his evasive behavior.
"Fucking spill it, Nate." She snapped.
"Okay, okay! Look, I'm uh . . . not going to school with you today. I'll drop you off with your truck and keys, then Greg is going to swing by and pick me up and . . ." Nate trailed off when he noticed the livid look on Bella's face.
"Greg? You mean the guy you used to travel to other cities to do deals with? The guy who nearly killed me when me and you first met? That Greg?"
"Um, yes, well . . . okay, babe look, I know you don't like him-"
"I don't like him? No, Nate, I absolutely loathe that man with every bone I've got. He fucking attacked me, and you swore to me that night when you beat the shit out of him for what he did that you would never interact with him again. What in hell's name would possess you to get back in contact with him!?" She cried hysterically as they pulled in to their parking space at school.
"Bella, listen to me, I know what he did, and he will never come near you again if I have anything to do with it, but I also need him to make money. He brings in wealthy clients and I've been running dry lately. I won't let him come to Forks, I'll go to him in Seattle, but I need this." He pleaded.
Bella slammed the door when she got out, circling to the driver's side and getting right in Nate's face when he finally shut and locked the truck.
"No, you listen to me Nathan Allen Andrews, because I'm going to say this once."
Nate cringed at her tone of voice and the use of his full name, flinching when she ripped her back-pack off his arm.
"I hate that man." She seethed, her words dripping venom. "You're an adult, so you can do as you damn well please, but if you show up to my house before you've rectified your mistake I'll tell you to shove it and go home."
With that, Bella turned on her heel and stormed in to the building, leaving behind a horrified Nate and not even noticing the amused looks of the Cullen family from across the lot.
For the first three hours of school, all Bella did was stew in her fury, and it was as if everyone could feel the negative energy she put off because they were avoiding her like the plague. It wasn't unusual but at least on a normal day a few people would speak to her, but today she felt like she was parting the red sea every time she moved down the crowded hallways because apparently no one wanted to mess with a girl who looked like she was about to go on a shooting rampage.
Finally making it in to her third hour, Bella plopped down in the very back seat and put her head down on the desk, relishing in the feeling of the cool wood on her cheek as thoughts of the night with Greg and Nate flooded her memories. That night had been the first time she ever decided to try drugs, the first time she had met Nate, and the first time she discovered the true nature of her friend Greg.
"Don't worry sweetheart, you'll enjoy this." The rough looking, thick-set man drawled.
He was clearly drunk, and high on god knows as he pinned Isabella Swan to the bed, completely ignoring his friends who were downstairs having a good time. Bella whimpered pathetically, terrified out of her mind as she struggled against his strong hold and trying to remove his hand from her mouth.
"Shh, shh, it's okay. Be quiet we don't want anyone to hear you, now do we?"
That's when things began to escalate. Greg had managed to rip off her clothes, along with his own, and was roughly massaging her crotch as if trying to turn her on. She cried out around his hand, begging him to stop and leave her alone. Bella had made the unfortunate decision of trusting Greg just because he was the son of her father's friend and she knew now why her father had warned her against becoming close with him.
"Shut up, Bella!" He snarled, slapping her as she tried to cry out again.
As if on cue, the bedroom door suddenly flew open to reveal Nathan Andrews. Bella remembered being introduced to him early in the night, he was a fairly handsome guy with neatly cut blonde hair, and blue eyes that sparkled mischievously almost all the time. The two had hit it off, much to Greg's dismay, and at the moment Bella was never happier to see a stranger in her entire life.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Nate bellowed, grabbing Greg by the back of his neck and tearing him off the half-naked girl.
"Get the fuck off me man!" Greg cried out as Nate began to wail on him, only stopping briefly to throw his hoodie to Bella.
"You're a piece of shit you know it!" He snarled in to Greg's now bloody face.
Nate climbed off of the beaten man and walked cautiously over to a trembling Bella who was sitting on the edge of the bed covering her face. He moved slow enough, as not to startle her, and knelt down at her knees with a look of pure sadness and regret marring his features.
"Bella . . ." He whispered softly to get her attention.
That was her undoing. As soon as Nate said her name, Bella flung herself on to him and sobbed uncontrollably in to his shoulder, burying her face in to the crook of his neck. Nate wrapped his arms around her shaking form gently, rocking the distraught woman back and forth until her sobs lessened to whimpers and sniffling.
"I am so sorry, Bella. I've known Greg my whole life, and I didn't know he would ever do something like this. I'm sorry I didn't check on you guys sooner."
"I-it's okay," Bella choked out, her voice cracking "Y-you couldn't have known."
"That's beside the point. I feel responsible."
After helping Bella to stand, he turned a blind eye while she put on a pair of basketball shorts he'd dug from Greg's drawer, and wrapped her in one more hug before they left. Nate explained to the guys what had happened as soon as he had Bella settled in the passenger seat of her truck, and was outside minutes later to drive her home. The ride was blanketed in a depressing silence occasionally interrupted by a sniff or a whimper from Bella, which elicited a sorrowful look from Nate every single time.
Nate had been a perfect gentleman the rest of the night. When Bella asked him to stay with her for the night, explaining that she lived alone but actually hated it, he was surprise but willingly complied, figuring she would need some kind of support. The two did nothing but talk for hours, but when Bella started to become upset over the events of that night again, Nate stepped up and offered her something to help. Bella was entirely reluctant at first, but she'd actually gone to Greg's to try those kinds of things In the first place, so with a nod the girl had popped her first Xanax. It didn't take long to kick in, and when it did she felt more relaxed and content then she'd felt in a long time, snuggling up to the former stranger that was Nate.
"Ms. Swan, the bell rang. You're free to go, but I'm assigning you extra work since you all but slept through my entire class."
Bella looked up to see her teacher towering over her desk holding a decent sized stack of papers. With an exasperated sigh, she took them, gathered her things, and darted through the halls to try and make it to the lunch room before anyone else. It would've worked, had she not had the wonderful luck of slamming in to another brick wall as she rounded a corner. She sat on the ground, slightly disoriented and just staring in confusion at the pair of designer heels in front of her. Bella slowly allowed her gaze to travel upwards and she almost choked at the situation.
Alice Cullen was leaning over, straight-legged, and her more than ample cleavage was barely a foot from her line of sight. She cleared her throat nervously, looked away at the tile floor, then forced her eyes back up to meet the piercing golden ones that were inspecting her with concern.
"If this is going to be a regular thing with you, we might have to wrap you in bubble wrap."
"Might as well, at this rate I'll be black and blue all over by Christmas" Bella mumbled, toeing the ground before speaking louder. "I'm sorry, I should have been paying more attention."
"I'm sure my brother Emmett has more than enough saved up to pull it off." Alice returned with a laugh, gripping Bella's hand and pulling her to her feet. "It's okay, somehow I imagine it hurt you more than it hurt me."
It took all of her willpower not to let her jaw drop, as she was momentarily mesmerized by the bell-like laugh of the beautiful woman; she'd probably be able to listen to that sound for a lifetime and never get tired of it. Bella's jaw dropped when she realized that she had just called another woman beautiful inside her own head.
"Bella, if you stare any longer like that you're going to catch flies." Alice whispered, leaning in and using one finger to close her mouth.
Bella's breath hitched at the close proximity as her senses were clouded and bombarded with the combined scents of sunflowers and honeysuckle, causing her to once again lose concentration, which seemed to be a common thing around Alice. Bella took a moment to regain her composure, and then looked down in to the face of the cunning minx, her cheeks reddening and face turning hot at the smug look Alice held.
"I-oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize what I was doing." Bella bit her lip, leaning back slightly.
"Its okay, Bella. So, where is Nate?" Alice asked as innocently as possible.
Bella instantly sobered up at the question.
"Oh, he had stuff to take care of."
Alice's eyes widened in surprise at the bitter edge in the taller girl's voice, but inside she silently thanked whatever deity that Nate wasn't there so she would have the chance to talk to Bella without his constant interruptions. Out of no where, she then squealed and clapped her hands together in excitement.
"I have a great idea! Bella, you're sitting with us today! And don't even try to argue, you don't have a choice."
"Um, well, look Alice . . ." Bella trailed off when Alice put on her best pout, and she had to resist the urge to kiss it away, "N-no, don't do that. Listen, I'm not really. . .a people person, and I'm in a pretty sour mood, so I was just going to eat outside or something."
It was a partial truth, and she hoped Alice would believe it because at this rate Bella was going to bite a hole through her lip. It was a kind gesture, but she really was in a pretty bad mood, first there was the fight with Nate, then she had to deal with the fact that she was clearly swooning over another girl. Those two things she could have easily survived, but the real underlying reason was that people already whispered and spread rumors about her, and that would only get worse if she were to sit with the most mysterious, albeit popular, kids in the school. Apparently Alice was bound and determined though, because what she did next nearly made Bella pass out.
She leaned even closer, their faces almost touching as she moved to Bella's ear, and in an almost husky whisper asked:
"We could always go somewhere more private."
The stunned brunette didn't even have a chance to reply, within seconds her hand was wrapped in an iron hard grip and she was being dragged through the lunch line for food, then out the door. They spent most of that hour sitting just at the tree-line and talking about anything that crossed their minds. Bella explained her life somewhat, she told Alice about her mom and dad divorcing, about her mother remarrying, and about the death of both of her parents. She conveniently left out what came after Charlie's death, as well as how she and Nate actually met. Bella knew the question would surface at some point, but for now she was content to avoid it as much as possible.
"I had fun Bella." Alice said with a smile, skipping a few steps ahead of the brunette and spinning around to look her in the face, which, to Alice's delight, held a very genuine smile in response.
"So did I . . ." Bella trailed off.
The pair just stood there for a few minutes, neither of them really wanting to make the move to leave. Bella was biting her lip and lightly toeing the ground with her converse, and Alice was admiring the shy side of the girl that was all but invisible most of the time; it was very endearing. Finally, Bella cleared her throat in an attempt to dissipate the tension in the air.
"U-um, well I should get to class, but I'm glad you made me sit at lunch with you. I was having a pretty bad day, but you made me feel better." Bella flashed the same genuine smile from earlier.
Alice was ready to jump with excitement and joy, but instead just silently cheered and offered a simple nod in response.
"I'm glad I could help, have fun in class." She hugged the girl swiftly, savoring the brief moment, then skipped off down the hall way in the opposite direction.
Bella sighed in a way that resembled defeat while she watched the pixie-girl bounce away, finally accepting the fact that she, Isabella Marie Swan, was indeed attracted to a woman. That part wasn't the biggest problem though, because not only was she attracted to Alice Cullen of all people, but what about her boyfriend? It was that moment that Bella decided just because she was attracted to someone else, it didn't mean anything had to be done about it.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully; no run-ins with Alice other than an occasional wave in the hall-way. She did get a few questions from classmates, but they mostly consisted of guys asking where Nate was. No doubt they were all hoping the fight had resulted in a break-up, and Bella would be kidding herself if she claimed not to have thought about it. She was still seething pretty bad, Nate knew very well that he was fucking up but he was still choosing to take that course of action. The end of the day came quick, and within moments of the bell ringing Bella was out the front doors and inside of her truck.
"Whatever . . .see if I care when he drags his ass back in to town . . ." Bella muttered under her breath, her truck roaring angrily as she took off for home.
She fully expected for him to come groveling back on his hands and knees, for even she had seen the regret in his eyes when she had stormed off that morning, what she didn't expect, however, was to pull in to her driveway and see an incredibly distraught looking Nate on her front porch. Bella didn't move for a few minutes, trying to decide whether she actually wanted to face him, but it seemed her body had its own agenda because before she knew it she was standing face-to-face with the blonde bear-man. He wasted no time in getting to his apology.
"I'm so sorry Bella!" Nate wailed, throwing his arms around her. "I didn't go, I promise. I know I fucked up, I should have never got in contact with him, but when you got that look on your face and you just left me standing there I didn't know what to do. I called him and told him the deal was off, I've been waiting here all morning and I'm so so so sorry!"
Bella flinched slightly at the sudden embrace, but quickly melted in to it. She always did have a soft spot for the guy, and smiled when he began to ramble, pressing a finger to his mouth to silence him before replacing it with her own lips. The kiss was chaste, and the vision of Alice that flashed briefly in her mind caused her to pull back quicker than she meant to. Thankfully, Nate didn't seem to notice the hiccup.
"Listen, you're an idiot. You shouldn't have done it, it really hurt me and I'll be damned if I let it go that easily because it felt like I was betrayed." Nate's face fell, and Bella took a deep breath to steady herself. "However, I care about you. You've been here through thick and thin and I won't let one fight destroy what we have, so please, can you stop apologizing as if you just committed a murder?"
Nate nodded almost frantically in response, refusing to remove his arms from his girl until she forced him to and dragged him inside the house behind her.
"Good, now come on, I've got a few pills to test out and I'm pretty sure you're favorite show is on." Bella giggled.
She went to shut the door behind them, stopping briefly when she thought she heard a faint growling noise. Deciding it was probably just some stray animal, she closed the door all the way and curled in to her boyfriend's side on the couch, praying that spending time with Nate and Alice at school the next day would go better than she was anticipating it would.
(A/N: Right-o! So I honestly wanted to shove a lot more in to this chapter, but thought it better to find a stopping point. It will take time for a relationship to truly blossom between Alice and Bella, so be patient because 1.) Bella has never been attracted to a girl 2.) She's dating a guy who plays a very important role later on in the story when Bella and Alice finally are together. What is this? Foreshadowing? I am giving hints. Shame on me. At least there are no spoilers, right? Bellice isn't really a spoiler because obviously that is endgame.)