This is just a chapter to get to know all of the characters… or, most of them anyways. It's still based off of real things that have happened to me in my life, just not exactly in the same order, and some details will be changed to fit the story… Anywho, on with the chapter!

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Subconscious Wants

Chapter 2:

Baseball

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Jasper Whitlock, Emmett McCarty and I were just like the three Musketeers when we were with each other – inseparable. Unfortunately, though, we weren't together as often as we would have liked because Emmett lived in Seattle, and Jasper lived in Utah.

Emmett and I had been through so much together – well, so had Jasper and I, but that was another story –. He wasn't really my cousin; he was my second cousin. However, ever since we were eight, "second cousin" had been a bad word and was worthy of a time out. And, besides, there was no need to get technical on that, right?

Jasper and I were different. His family was what you thought of when you pictured the perfect Mormon family. They lived out in the middle of nowhere, and were a model family. You know the kind of family you saw on television, the ones with no problems and the perfect lives. Not that I think that's a bad thing – I actually respect it. That's just the only way I can explain them. But any who, back to the point. Em and I were basically glued to the hip since only God knows when, and spent all the time that we possibly could with each other. And when Jazz was there, the more the merrier.

Emmett was the comic one, Jazz was the somber, serious one, and I was thrown somewhere in between them. We loved to play videos and watch old movies together (LEGO Star Wars and Original Indy movies, anyone?) We talked about the most random things, and did even more random ones. Life was good. And when Emmett and his family moved closer to Forks, it got even better. When Jasper and his family did the same, life was perfect. Or, at least, that's how it seemed at first. Maybe it ended better.

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"So how's it goin'?"

I looked up from my Paper Mache monster to glance up at my cousin, Emmett. He had just moved out here, but we had grown apart as of recently because he decided that he'd much rather hang out with the boys than discuss my 'girl problems' with me. Not that I minded; after all, it made sense.

"Nothing…?" I answered him, though it sounded more like a question than a reply. Emmett had always been a dork, and today was no different.

Emmett pursed his lips and shuffled his feet. "Cool."

"Yep."

"We still on for the sleepover Friday?" He'd been asking me this same question ever since we planned the sleepover a week ago. He and Jasper were supposed to come over to my house for the entire weekend so that we could play a few videogames, watch a marathon of George Lucas movies, and sleep underneath the fall sky, out on the trampoline.

"Yep." The answer hadn't changed yet.

"Jasper still gonna be there?" Still, nothing had changed.

"Haven't heard anything to believe he's not."

"Awesome. 'Kay, then I'll let you get back to your…" He glanced down at my monster, which I had just finished painting red, and was now coloring the pupils in its over-sized eyes. "Your Elmo?"

It was my turn this time to glance down at my monster, and realized that it truly DID look exactly like Elmo. "Alright," I said, shrugging.

He let out a booming laugh. "Speaking of Elmo, we need to go to Sea World soon." I nodded. That was one of the things we enjoyed doing—going out of town and visiting theme parks. "Oh! And Universal Studios!"

"Uh huh." I got up and started to lead him back to his friends on the other side of the room.

"And Disneyland!" he said as I forced him down in his chair.

"Yes, Emmett, I'll discuss it with my mother," I assured him. "See you Friday."

"You're awesome, Cuz," he said. I smiled and he smiled back. "See ya."

I went back to my side of the room and plopped down in my seat. Alice laughed at me.

"What does Elmo have to do with Sea World, anyways?" she asked.

I glanced over at her, eyebrow raised. "You should know; you're the last one I took there."

She pursed her lips and shrugged after a while. "I got nothing."

I sighed. "You the children's play center there? It's Sesame Street-themed."

"Ooh!" she gasped. "I get it now!"

"Yeah," I muttered with heavy sarcasm. I rolled my eyes.

She playfully hit me on the shoulder. "Hey watch it!" I yelled. "You're going to get Paper Mache all over my shirt!"

I laughed at the expression on her face; it just screamed, "Oh, get over it!"

"Who was that?" she asked.

It came to the center of my attention then that I never did fully introduce neither Emmett nor Jasper to her. I only hung out with them on the many days that Alice was absent from school.

I decided to keep the explanation simple. Shrugging, I said, "Just my goofy cousin."

She giggled loudly, which brought even more unwanted attention to us.

"And he's sleeping over Friday?" she asked once she calmed down from her giggles, and all of the class' eyes went back to their own projects.

"Yup," I answered, popping the 'p'.

She smiled slyly. "Hey, do you think I could come over Friday?" she asked, acting as if I didn't just tell her what I was already doing this weekend.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, whatever," I answered, waving my hand dismissively.

"Yay!" she clapped her hands together, and I wondered what I had just gotten myself into.

The rest of the day passed by quickly, and the week followed as well, and before I knew it, it was Friday, and Emmett was at my door, waiting to be let in.

"I'm here!" he announced when I had finally gotten around to letting him in.

"The Wii's set up in the family room… that-a way, you can't miss it. LEGO Indiana Jones is already in there, so knock yourself out. I'm going to get the cookies out of the oven," I ordered, pointing towards the family room.

He nodded, and headed in that direction and I went to get the cookies.

By the time I had all of the cookies on a plate and was heading for the family room when there was a knock on the door.

I gave the cookies to Emmett, who was busy defeating some Nazis, and went to let Jasper in.

He wore an old Yankees hat and carried a bat and a bag slung over his shoulder.

I laughed. "What's with all the baseball stuff?" I asked.

He shrugged, stepping in. "I don't know, I just decided that since Indiana Jones movies are rated PG 13, we might want to do something else." Remember what I said about his family being the perfect Mormons? Well, Jasper was a year younger than my current thirteen, so he wouldn't dare to even go near anything PG 13.

"Your mom said no, huh?"

"Yep. If we won't have adult supervision, no PG 13 movies."

"Thought so."

I led him into the family room, where I had a pile of blankets due to be carried out to the trampoline on top of the couch, and Emmett sat on the floor with the Wii remote in his hand, trying as hard as he could to play the videogame.

"Hey Em!" Jasper called, trying to get his attention.

"One second; I have to get Marion over so that she can help Indy…" He said it like he was in some sort of trance.

"We can't watch Indy," I said. He instantly snapped out of it, pausing the game and throwing the remote to the floor.

"Excuse me?"

"We're playing baseball instead." I pointed with my thumb over to Jasper, who was getting his baseball out of his bag.

"Do you have anything we could use for bases?" he asked.

"Uh, I have a few pieces of wood out in the back."

"Those'll work."

While we were setting up the bases in the back, Alice called. I took my red Centro out of my pocket and pressed 'ANSWER'.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bella; I'm bringing my cousin over too, is that okay?"

"Uhh, I guess."

"Who are you talking to?" Emmett asked me.

"My friend Alice," I replied.

"Ohh! Can I talk to her? Please!"

I chuckled, and said to her, "Emmett wants to talk, okay?" Before she could reply, Emmett snatched the phone out of my hand and began to talk to her. I laughed, and went to help Jasper set up the bases.

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Once again, exactly how everything went down… mostly! Please review; I live off them ;D