A/N: I'm so happy to see so many readers and reviewers! It motivates me to keep updating as quickly as I can, as long as I don't run into writer's block lol. I'm gonna try to keep this updated weekly, sooner when possible. Enjoy :)

I do not own any of the characters. They all belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer. I also do not own any songs, cars, or websites mentioned. They belong to their respective owners.

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Chapter 3: Not So Picture Perfect

BPOV

Today, Alice and I were moving into Emmett's four bedroom home. His and Alice's parents had never had money problems, so the house had never kept, or needed, a lasting roommate. There was a master bedroom and three fairly large bedrooms. The master, so as to avoid any arguing over who got it, had become the study/office for all three of us to use.

It had three spacious and large desks along the walls, with spots for all of our laptops and any other desk necessities and our mini-fridge, so we wouldn't have to go downstairs to the kitchen during intense cram sessions. There was also a large table in the middle of the room with several comfortable looking chairs surrounding it for said cram sessions.

My room had been recently painted, a beautiful, glossy, crimson red, that seemed to sparkle wherever the sunlight touched it.

My bed was already in the room, waiting for the comforter I had bought, and was already draped in hot pink sheets as an offset to the red. There was also the simple desk I had found at Office Depot, in the corner of the room, opposite to the door, for times I didn't want to be upstairs in the big office or just wanted the privacy of my own room. Next to my desk was a large bookcase to fill with my huge collection of classic books and CDs.

The room also had some nice red lamps that, no doubt, Alice had picked out when I hadn't been looking, sitting on top of two black nightstands, with spacious drawers, on either side of the bed. There was a walk-in closet along the same wall connecting to the bedroom door, that I was sure would still look fairly empty even when I had finished unpacking, but was sure that Alice would have no problem filling in any gaps whatsoever. In between the closet and my desk, was a big window. It looked like fun for possible sneak-outs. I giggled to myself at the thought, as I continued surveying the room.

The connected bathroom was painted a nice champagne color and had all red accessories: towels, bath mats, toothbrush holder, etc. Once I was done surveying my new surroundings, I decided it was time to get to work. The faster I finished, the faster I could talk to Edward about setting up a date.

It was amazing how much motivation that gave me.

APOV

I strolled into the old, but new again house. I had been here before, when Emmett had first moved in. I glided wistfully to my room. I realized how much of a ballerina I really was. I had been one since I was 4, but had stopped when I turned 18, so I could focus on my passion for fashion for college. Maybe, one day, I would design ballerina costumes for famous ballets. I smiled at that thought and focused on the task at hand.

I looked around my new room. It was painted a chocolate brown, which I had picked to offset the gold and silver that would be in here. My bed already had brown, satin sheets over it, waiting for my beautiful bedspread to adorn it. I loved the way satin sheets felt, they were so slippery and always seemed cool to the touch, but they also managed to keep you warm. I found the plain desk I had picked for my room against the wall, next to the giant window.

I saw the brown nightstands I had picked out on either side of my bed with gold covered lamps sitting on top of them.

I already knew what my closet looked like, and it wasn't the state I wanted to see it in, empty. I decided to see what had been done to my bathroom. It was painted a light beige color and all the accessories were sterling silver or silver colored. Now, that I had taken the grand tour, it was time to get to work. I could easily be done within an hour or so and then I could do eeny meeny miney mo on which boy I wanted to set up a date with first.

I set out my comforter on my queen size bed first. It glittered where the sun hit it, leaving little prisms of light dancing on the ceiling as it fluttered down into place. I quickly arranged the pillows nicely and began to unpack my clothes. Most of my clothes went into my closet, while the rest, such as lingerie, exercise outfits, shorts, and pajamas, went into my dresser. I felt in a hurry to make sure things that were meant to be in the closet didn't wrinkle, so I was done in no time as I had planned.

As I compressed the last box, I skipped over merrily to my laptop. I immediately logged into my eHarmony and pulled both my possible suitors into windows next to each other. I sighed a little as I remembered their responses as well as at how amazing their pictures looked. I sat back and commenced the childish game of eeny meeny miney mo between the two pictures. Eeny meeny miney mo, catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers let him go, eeny meeny miney mo. I opened my eyes and saw that my finger was pointing at James' pictures. I smiled wide as I opened up a blank e-mail to reply. Now it was time to set up a date.

From:

To:

Subject: Date?

Body: Hey James, well I really liked the responses you gave to my questions and now that I'm in Seattle, I'd love to set up a date with you some time soon. Maybe you could make me some of that famous chicken Fettuccine Alfredo that you sound famous for. Go ahead and tell me a date you're free so we can get together. ;)

Alice

A few minutes later, while I was browsing music on (I love that site. I find so much music on there and it lets you make little playlists to save for later!), I saw that I had 1 new message. It was a reply from James. I smiled as I clicked it open.

From:

To:

Subject: Re: Date?

Body: Alice, Well since you're in town, I'm actually free tonight. If you'd like, you could give me your address and I could pick you up tonight. Is that alright? Around 6:30? Can't wait to hear from you. I'd love to see how much more beautiful you are in person.

Ciao, James

My heart fluttered as I hurried to type out my acceptance. It was only two in the afternoon, which gave me four and half hours to get ready. I wasn't sure if that would be enough time, but I would have to make due.

From:

To:

Subject: Re: Re: Date?

Body: James, Yes that would be amazing. I live at 1918 Chicago Ave. I'll be ready when you show up. Can't wait to meet you. :)

Waiting, Alice

I scrambled from my desk to my newly filled closet, trying desperately to find the perfect outfit. I settled on a fun and flirty new dress I had just picked out online. It was a black halter busted dress with cottony Zebra print flowing down to my knees. It was cute and fun for a first date.(picture in profile). I spiked out my hair and to add some color, I tied a pink cheetah scarf around my head, letting the tied end flow over my left shoulder. I did my makeup to match. I put white on the lid and black framing it around the corner in a sharp, sideways 'V'. I added black eyeliner along the top lid and placed hot pink eyeliner along the lower lid and finished it all off with a thick layer of charcoal mascara.

I walked out to tell Bella and Emmett where I would be for the night, but I realized I didn't know where he lived. I'd just ask him when he got here, so they knew where I'd be in case something happened and I needed to get picked up. Of course, I doubted anything would happen. I hadn't had any bad 'feelings' about tonight.

I walked out to the front room. The six o'clock news was blaring to an end on the television in the front room, where Emmett lounged on our new couch. Bella must've been in her room, most likely still working on cleaning it up. I walked over to Emmett and stood directly in front of the television. "Hey! I was watc--" He stopped when he realized how I was dressed. His glare deepened. "No little sister of mine is going out dressed like that." He growled at me. "Oh yes I am, and that's exactly what I came over here to tell you. I'll be going out with a nice, young man named James Whitlan tonight and he will be here in approximately one minute, so I suggest you play nice or there will be hell to pay by me later."

Emmett's glare relaxed into a frown as he gave in. Only a minute later the doorbell rang and I skipped gracefully over to the door. There he stood in a black and white, vertical-striped, button-down shirt and nice, black slacks. (picture of shirt in profile). Coincidentally, we matched. I giggled a little to myself and then realized I needed to get his address for Emmett and Bella. "Oh James, before we go, I need to get your address for my dear, big brother in case a family emergency occurs and I need him to quickly pick me up." I said as I batted my eyes playfully at him. He grinned and replied eagerly, "No problem. It's 1666 Tracker Ln. It's here in Seattle. Not 15 minutes from here actually." I quickly scribbled down the address on a pad of paper, kissed Emmett's cheek and was back by the door ready to leave.

"Well shall we be going then? I still need to make dinner for you and I have tons planned for this evening." He said with a large grin on his face. "Yes, let's go. I can't wait to find out what's on tonight's agenda." I said as I took the arm he held out for me and we walked out to his car. His car was amazing. A sleek, black, Audi TT. (picture in profile). I got in and we were on our way. He had Nine Inch Nails playing, which I didn't mind. It had a great beat. "Only" (song in profile) pumped through the car stereo, as James sped to his house.


I'm becoming less defined as days go by
Fading away
And well you might say
I'm losing focus
Kinda drifting into the abstract in terms of how I see myself

Sometimes I think I can see right through myself

Sometimes I think I can see right through myself
Sometimes I can see right through myself

Less concerned about fitting into the world
Your world that is
Cause it doesn't really matter anymore
(no it doesn't really matter anymore)
No it doesn't really matter anymore
None of this really matters anymore

Yes I am alone but then again I always was
As far back as I can tell
I think maybe it's because
Because you were never really real to begin with
I just made you up to hurt myself

Just then the music turned down and James turned to me. "So, tell me more about yourself. Tell me about your family. I see you have an older brother." I smiled at him and started telling him about my parents and Emmett. Then I told him about how Bella was living with us in our new house. I told him about my school and how I wanted to go into fashion design. "Well, what about you? What interested you in photography?" I asked, once I had finished my stories.

"Hmm, I started with photography back in junior high. I just always wanted to capture the beauty of my surroundings. My junior high had a beautiful campus so I took a lot of pictures there and I used to love to take pictures of my junior high sweetheart. She, uh, moved away after we graduated. Ever since then, I always bring my camera everywhere looking for the beauty around me and capturing it to film. I only recently got the camera I'm going to be using tonight, to capture your beauty. I decided to try a digital type version of my old camera to see if the pictures turned out nicer." He smiled, at me as we pulled up to a quaint looking, two-story home.

The house was a cornflower blue with white trim and dark blue, shuttered windows. It also had a dark blue, front door. He pulled into the driveway and we got out of the car. He offered me his arm, as we walked inside. Inside, the house was open and huge. To the left of the entryway, was the eloquently set, dining room and front room, and a door, most likely, leading to the kitchen. To the right was a hallway, which led to the stairs and another door.

He walked me down the hall to the mystery door. "Behind this door, is my studio." He said as a grin spread across his face, and he carefully opened the door. Inside, it looked just like a photography studio. It had a huge metal frame against one wall with tons of fabric rolled on the top with pull tabs, so that he could change the background behind the subject of his shots. There were also many props, such as, chairs, benches, pillows, and other assorted clothes. There was a tripod to hold whatever camera he used, which had many cables lying beside it that ran along the floor to a giant desktop Mac. I stood in awe and all I could manage to say was, "Wow. This is amazing." "Thanks, I've been working on it since my Freshman year of high school. Just glad it was ready in time for our date. Care to pose for a few shots for me? I'd love to keep this date in my memory and how can I resist capturing such a beautiful young lady on film?" He said, flashing a wide, bright smile. I saw a strange sparkle in his eye as I agreed, but none of my 'feelings' were bad, yet, so I just figured it was the idea of a "challenge," as he had called it, that lit his eyes.

"How would you like to have the shot set up?" I asked him, curiously. "Well since you're in the lovely dress I think we should have you on a white bench with a black background. I'll have you sitting across it with one leg up and the other draped underneath. One arm on the armrest, the other draped across your stomach." He said as he brought over the bench and directed me with what he wanted. "Perfect!" He finally exclaimed as he got behind his camera. "Now smile seductively." I smiled, as seductively as possible and saw the camera flash a few times. "Okay, all done." He said as he took my hand and started to lead me to the other side of the room. He had the camera around his neck now. (picture of camera and attached lens in profile).

"This is my dark room," he announced, as he led me through a door. He flipped on the light and there were pictures hanging everywhere. They were mostly very attractive girls. "Who are all these girls?" I asked, in almost a whisper, as I stared around in awe of how many pictures he had. "These are some of my old junior high friends, some, uh, clients, and some of the other girls I once dated." He said, pausing a little as he said clients.

I looked around the room, examining the pictures. Some were strange, many of the girls looked as if they didn't even know the picture was being taken. Some looked as if they were taken outside of a window. I was confused, but figured that they were just how the shots had been set up, like true model shoots.

I could feel James' eyes on my back so I turned to him and said, "Well, this is lovely. What else do you have planned for this evening?" A smirk played across his face before he answered. "Well, I think it is time you got to have a bit of my famous fettuccine, don't you think?" "Oh, of course!" I exclaimed, excitedly. I was actually quite hungry having not eaten more than a Luna bar, since I was so busy unpacking and getting ready.

He walked me over to the kitchen and had me sit on a stool next to the counter, while he cooked. He boiled the water and the chicken in separate pots, and started making sauce in a third pan. I was astonished by his cooking skills and his ability to multi-task.

He finished dinner in no time and had garlic bread cooking. He walked me over to the dining table and lit the candles after he placed my food at the head of the table. He dimmed the overhead light and sat in the chair next to me. We ate silently, but he would randomly take pictures of me eating, or in between bites. It was slightly unnerving, but I let his 'creative juices' flow.

Once finished with dinner, he cleared the table and then took my hand, as he walked me out the back door. Outside, the walk to the forest was lined with little twinkling lights. "Oh my, It's beautiful, James!" I whispered, as I looked around in awe. It must've taken him hours to set up. We walked a little further down, into a small clearing in the trees. There was another bench, like the one in the studio and more twinkling lights. I saw him click a little remote and soon I could hear music in the background. It was a light classical melody.

I looked around in wonder, trying to decide whether or not it was a dream. I got a strange feeling, but pushed it away, not wanting to ruin the moment. He took my hand in his and we started to twirl around the open space, smoothly and slowly. There was a full moon and the light leaked through the carefully formed branches of his hideaway, making my skin glow whenever we twirled through the light. I had my left hand on his shoulder and my right in his left hand. His right hand was gripping my waist light, but firm at the same time.

We kept swaying like this for a few more minutes, the strange 'feeling' seeming to grow with every passing second. I feigned needing to check my phone to make sure no one had called with an emergency to get a hold of myself and see if the feeling stayed when I left his side. I fumbled through the tree roots trying to hide the fact I was a little thrown off by the 'feelings' I was getting from this seemingly wonderful night.

I finally made it to where I had left my purse on the dining room table. I scrambled through it looking for my phone, as I went to the entryway, out of hearing range and out of view of prying eyes.

Getting a not so good 'feeling' right now. I'll tell you if it stays that way. Be prepared to come get me just in case. Don't worry too much unless I tell you to. I am a big girl. Love ya Bells.

I quickly texted the message to Bella so that she could be ready in case I shot the invisible flares. The feeling seemed to be slowly dissipating as long as I was in the house. I didn't know if it was the area, or James himself, but I decided it would be best to try to get rid of the first of the two possibilities, so I called James inside.

"What is it? Is something wrong? Do you need to go home?" He asked, seeming genuinely worried and confused. "No, I was just kinda cold outside and wondered if we could watch a movie in here or something." I replied, trying to bring back the calm feeling. He walked me upstairs to a large living room, which held a huge flat screen and a large selection of movies.

I sat quietly on the huge suede couch. It seemed to suck me into it, holding me there. I righted myself, as James put in Serendipity and walked over to the couch to sit by me. He scooted close and casually put his arm around me.

About half an hour into the film, the feeling came back strong, and not two seconds later, I felt his hand tighten on my shoulder, and felt his body leaning towards me. I turned to push him off of me, but my arms weren't strong enough and his lips and body crashed onto me. I struggled under his weight and the forcefulness of the kiss, finally being able to jerk my knee up, straight between his legs. It caught him off guard and took his breath away. I used the distraction to my advantage, grabbed my purse and ran down the stairs and locked myself in the bathroom.

I frantically dialed Bella's number. It rang only twice before she picked up. "What is it? What happened? Are you okay?" She called out desperately. Between sobs, I managed to speak. "No...He came..onto me...I almost...couldn't get away. P-please come g-get me. He'll come after me soon. B-bring E-Emmett." I heard a sharp intake of breath. "I'm on my way." I heard her yell for Emmett to get in the car and then the phone went dead.

I couldn't hear any movement from upstairs, so I hoped that he hadn't been able to readjust just yet. A few minutes later, I heard him stumbling down the stairs. He started to bang on the door, threatening to break it down and kill me if I had called the cops. I just sat there, by the tub, crying, praying for Bella and Emmett to hurry up. It felt like hours, even though it had only been a few minutes by the time I heard Emmett banging on the front door. He told James he had the police waiting on cue if he didn't let me leave within the next two minutes. I heard the back door slam as James apparently made a run for it.

I forced the bathroom door open and it slammed against the wall, as I ran for the front door. I wrenched it open and jumped into Emmett's arms. "I'm so glad you're here! I can't believe I was so stupid. I had a bad feeling about him and just ignored it. It's all my fault." I sobbed into his chest. "Shh, shh, no, Ali. It's not your fault. It's that scumbag's fault for being such a jerk and trying to take advantage of you. He's lucky I didn't really call the police and that I didn't get inside to him before you came out." He said trying to put a smile on his worry-filled face. Bella stood slightly behind Emmett, so I asked him to put me down and I ran over to her.

"Thank you so much for coming to get me. I don't know what I would've done if things had gotten worse." I cried out as I hugged her as tight as possible. "It's okay. I am always here for you. What are sitters-slash-best friends for life for, if they don't save your life?" She said half jokingly. We all walked quietly back to Emmett's charger, which luckily they had thought to bring, since my car could only fit two. I slid into the back with Bella, while Emmett took the driver's seat. She held me close, trying to comfort me, and before we even made it around the block, I was out.

The next thing I remembered, was Emmett carrying me to my bed. He laid out some Victoria's Secret pajama pants and a tank top, and left me in the room. I changed and quickly fell asleep, hoping it would be the last I saw of James and that my next date would be a lot better. I'd make sure it was in a public place next time.

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Hey guys. Told you James was creepy. But is that the last of him? Who knows? Muhahaha lol. Anyways. Sorry about the slow update. I was trying to update both my stories at the same time and faced some major writer's block, then, of course, I had to spare some hours to read Breaking Dawn, which was absolutely amazing, so no bashing, please. Hope you guys forgive me and hope you liked the chapter. 7 whole pages :D Reviews are much appreciated and questions or ideas are welcome. I will reply. Thanks for your patience! Don't forget to check out the stories of Halojones and Maree'malicious. Both are amazing writers.

-DL