Yes, it's been a long wait but I made a few changes in my story sketch so this took a while to make. I'm not gonna lie, Senior Year is eating up all my time... Enjoy this one, guys :)

by the way, I've changed my username again.

It's verycaren now, no longer floatingonfrapp. The same goes for my twitter and deviantArt accounts.

Chapter 2

SUNDAY

Bella

"And don't forget Elle, Bella!" Alice said through the phone. I told her I was going to head to the old book store to check out new books. Her head peeped out from her room, with curlers in her hair, she used her pleading voice, convincing me to get the magazines on the list she gave me. I've already crushed Vogue and Cosmopolitan out.

Rose also headed out. We separated after one of us got off the bus first. Yes, bus, because Rose isn't convinced that my truck would be safe enough. I turned the block, turning my head back to check on the new bookstore. I'll come back after getting Elle. I turned by head front only to feel my nose getting broken. Did I just hit a wall? Iron man, perhaps. I looked up, cupping my nose with my left hand. I hope it isn't bleeding, the stranger would find me weird if my hand smudged blood all over my face.

Thankfully, Jasper is Iron Man right now. He looked like he just got off from work, wearing his plain black shirt.

"Sorry, Bella," he said. Ducking his face down to check my face. Okay… my hand's dry. I mentally sighed in content at the thought of not seeing blood on my hand. But I can smell a bit of rust in my nose right now.

"I'm okay, see?" I told him while removing my hand. "Nose not yet broken."

"I was in a hurry to get home," he explained. "I was wondering why Emmett came in the café to ask permission to take my bike around. He was wearing a leather jacket and those spandex that take him hours to get in."

"If it makes you feel any better, Rose is out. Emmett will only find Alice there, patiently waiting for me to bring her the magazines she asked for." I looked to ahead, the bookstore was only three stores away, I'd be home soon.

"You mind if I tag along then? My shift just ended. Promised my brother I'd get him this…uh, hold on," Jasper dug through his pockets and pulled a creased sheet of paper. "I really don't know what this even means."

I looked at the intricate handwriting. "I have this one back home, too. The title's in French and it's about French pastries and appetizers. I'm not sure if it's still being published though."

We walked into the bookstore. The smell of books was amazing, I could spend hours in this store. Unfortunately, there was no Elle magazine around, just Vogue and Fashion magazines. I grabbed Fashion magazine instead, hoping Alice would be fine with it. To me, fashion magazines were all the same. They have pictures of girls in designer clothes and they make other women feel insecure about themselves. To Alice, I'm sure they had a different meaning. Alice is a designer, so it's perfectly clear that she needs to feed on them.

"Hey, Bells," I heard Jasper call me. He turned from the shelf he was looking at. "Do you think you guys can make it to Bulb on Saturday? There's an opening and we have a gig that night." Jasper was grinning like he was so nervous about everything.

"Sure, I'm sure they'd love to see you guys sing. You doing the lead?"

"Partly…" he replied. "You guys are really going to be there? Don't worry it's casual."

"Yes, Jazz, Alice will be there," I grinned while taking the bag from the cashier. Jasper gave a silent chuckle while shaking his head. "I'm sure you'll do really well."

"Great," he said and gave a small wave. "So, see you guys there. Thanks for the help by the way," he raised the book he just bought.

"Sure," I waved back and made my way to the bus stop.

"Hey Bells," Alice waved from the kitchen counter. She had her curled hair down, and I realized that even though the curls looked like they were done by an expert, Alice's straight and spiky hair suited her better.

"Back to straight, huh?" Alice said like she read my mind. "Well, the experiment was still pretty fun. I could dye my hair red next time." She stood on her feet and walked towards me. "Thank you, Bells! You've just saved me from boredom. Did I mention my job doesn't start until…"

"Next week," I laughed. "Yes."

Rose walked in and handed Alice an envelope. "Mom sent me the rent!" She tucked some bills into a new envelope and wrote down an address.

"I'll head on to the post office tomorrow so I can get the water and electricity bills paid." Alice said. "I'll drop that up for you, too if you want." She took the envelope from Rose and tucked them in her Chanel purse.

"Thanks," Rose said. She flopped herself on the couch and began flipping through Alice's old fashion magazines.

"Hold on," I said. "Where do I pitch in?" I was the newest one here but they never really did tell me how the expenses were being cut.

"Well," Alice looked up in though. "How about groceries and repairs? I think those would be good."

"Yeah," Rose agreed. "Since you're also the cook, you must be some ingredient expert, Bells. It's settled, you can do groceries and repairs." I nodded my head.

"Have you guys popped this one in yet?" Alice raised a DVD of Toy Story 3. "The trailer was so awesome, and I know it's a kid and tween movie but… well, we're all kids at heart."

Rose held in her laugh and said, "Pop it in. I loved the last two installments. This one is gonna have a hot Ken in it."

"And a bunch of other new toys, I heard," I added. Alice sat on the floor, next to the player and hit play. Rose kept going "awe" at every seen the Ken doll was in. It's pretty explanatory to me, though. Rose is a blonde model, a reflection of Barbie, maybe, so it wasn't completely strange that she adored watching Ken.

"You know," Alice said while chewing on her popcorn. "Emmett could be Ken, Rose. They're both… strongly built? And they both like blondes."

"Someday," Rose sighed. "some cool of a dude is gonna be man enough for me as Ken is."

"Speaking of man," I announced. "I bumped into Jasper and he wanted us to go to their first gig in the Bulb this Saturday. It's the grand opening and Jasper's playing that night."

"That's really awesome," Alice enunciated while nodding.

"I did tell him we were going," I mentioned. "It's pretty obvious that we'd want to go."

"It's like he was too chicken to ask you out himself," Rose grinned at Alice, "that he asked Bella to do it."

*o*

Saturday Night.

Alice made me put on at least seven outfits and all of them were too much for me. I didn't tell her though because I figured that between both of us, my actual knowledge in comparison to Alice's is like a ratio of one to ten. The first outfit was a fitting black tee that said rock and roll; the bottom part was a skimpy black jean skirt and fishnet stockings. Alice even swept all my hair to one side to complete the look—that was only second to the fifth outfit. A plum crisscross-patterned top with a collar that reached all the way to my earlobes. They were paired with tight leather jeans and silver pumps. I swear I looked like a semi-futuristic clown when Alice put silver lipstick on me.

"Am I really going to wear any of these outfits to the gig?" I asked at Alice whilst trying to hide my exasperation.

"Of course not, silly Bella!" Alice grinned after making me spin with another weird outfit.

Rose was chucking. She was already dressed in a ruby red cocktail dress with her hair curled and clipped halfway. She has cute skin toned open-toes and a gold barrette. Alice was in a black strapless that complimented her pale skin. She had three-inch heels to match her fancy purse. Alice stood from the couch and walked into her room. She brought out a emerald halter dress handed it to me.

"That is your dress tonight." She simply said while I took it.

"Thanks," I nodded. "But, why'd you have me put on crazy outfits? Jasper did say we could dress casually."

"We had a lot of time left and I need to see how they looked on someone before I bring them other to the shoot tomorrow."

I didn't ask any more questions. "Plus," she added, " I wanted to see how long your patience was going to last. Those outfits are tricky to put on. Casual is for people who don't want to stand out and attract some really hot guys."

"Come on!" Alice pulled me and Rose inside. I spotted Jasper on the stage, it looked like they just started playing. Emmett's face lit up once he saw us after a few seconds. He looked like he wanted to wave but he was too busy drumming. I caught Jasper wink at Alice even though we were already sitting in a corner. Someone else was on stage with them. He had such familiar bronze hair and green eyes. His features were a little familiar too.

Jasper sang the last line of a verse and he started singing. His voice felt so smooth and straight. Something suddenly struck me. It was my best friend, my best friend who used to tease me about trying not to be a girl, my best friend who never talked to me in years, my best friend who I've never forgotten about. Edward.

I was giving Ginger a bath when I heard a car pull up.

"Hey Mrs. Swan," I heard Edward say. "Is Bella home?"

"Yes, dear," I heard my mom say. "Come in. She's out in the back, giving Ginger a bath."

"Thanks, Mrs. S. And here," he must have brought her something from Esme. "Mom wanted me to give you this. It's pie."

"Alright, thank you dear. Please tell her thank you for me."

"Sure," he said before I could hear loud footsteps. Ginger was trying to get away now. I held her before her feet could get out and get soap on the grass.

"Bells?" Edward called out. He spotted me and walked over. "Hey."

"Hi," I smiled. Edward was wearing his favorite jacket again. He sat down, opposite of me, and began taking the hose.

"Getting frisky, huh?" he said while washing the soap off on Ginger. I lost my grip and Ginger jumped on Edward's chest. Lucky enough, only her tail had soap left. She started licking Edward's face.

"Sorry, Edward," I stood and picked her up. "I'm sorry about your jacket. I'll get it washed for you, okay?"

"It's fine, Bells." He swept the bubbles off. "Ginger just loves me more than she loves you."

"Haha," I replied sarcastically. "Let me just finish up with her and we can do whatever you wanna do."

An hour later, Edward and I were sitting behind my house. Mom was nice enough to help us set up a sort of 'imaginary picnic'. It was imaginary because there was no food on the plastic plates. There only thing was juice from a pitcher. I reached for the ice cold drink and began pouring juice into the glasses.

"Hey, Bells," Edward suddenly said. He looked like he was asleep so I didn't want to bother him.

"Yeah?"

"Someday, I'm gonna be in this awesome band and we're gonna make awe-ful music…" One eye was open, obviously so he could see my reaction and make a laugh out of it later.

I laughed but little enough to keep my slippery hands firm in gripping the pitcher's handle. "Yes… awful." I knew Edward could play the piano really well, and he's so passionate about it at the same time. A break in music would be his dream.

Edward shook his head and sat up. "No, I mean "awe" and "full" like fill you with amazement." Sometimes he liked twisting his words to leave me befuddled.

"Why couldn't you just say awesome twice?" I commented. Leave it to Edward to make this complicated for his benefit.

"Using awesome," Edward explained. "twice would just mistake stuff lame."

"You're weird," I commented. "And what's it gonna be called?—Awe-ful Music by Awesome Edward? Or is it the other way around?"

Edward's brows furrowed which always has been cute. "No, that's just lamer that the first idea. I smacked his arm and he winced. Was he faking it? I didn't know, but I check like some worried idiot.

"Edward!" I knelt since he turned to the opposite side. I tried to see the damage but he wouldn't keep rocking back and forth. He's gotten taller since his birthday. We used to be of the same height, but his growth spurt gave him three inches more."Will you let me see?" I said, nearly annoyed, I moved my head closer only to have my forehead hit his.

"Ow," we both winced and we had our hands on our foreheads.

"I've got it," Edward suddenly kept chuckling. He was laughing at me. "You struck me with the idea!" He continued to mock me. I couldn't help but furrow my brows in response and grimly look at him.

"Sorry, Bells," he flashed me that apologetic smile I hate. He knows I actually like it. I can never say no when he starts doing his charming smile. "You just crack me up all the time. You always do."

"Glad I'm your personal clown, Edward."

"No, but seriously…" his face was half-smiling now. "It's gonna be "August" because August means a lot to me."

"You'll be there right? When I play it for the first time?"

"Of course," I told him. "I'd never miss it. Who would want to miss seeing Emmett get crazy with drums and Jasper do his impressive guitar playing that he learned from Guitar Hero."

"They're gonna tease me about how girly the song is."

"You might as well wear pink and put on skirts," I laughed. "I could bring pink lights for you."

We were silent for a while. And I looked at him, trying to see if I could find the real reason why in his eyes. It's useless, when I try to do it, I end up getting lost. "You could use June," I managed to say. "It's when you're birthday us. Neither of us have our birthdays in August."

"August," he simply said and smiled at me again.

"Ohmigosh," Alice gushed. "I think I'm in love with Jasper!" she said it a little too loud and quickly put her hand over her mouth.

"I think you're crazy," Rose laughed. "You barely know him. You guys haven't been on a date yet."

"I can tell," Alice said surely. "Plus, if he's that great with a guitar then I love him for it. Is Emmett Ken enough for you, Rose?" Alice raised he brows.

"I don't know," Rose shrugged. "He plays the drums, big deal."

"You know he's trying to impress you right?" I told Rose.

I was frozen while Edward sang. His voice, getting smoother by each line.

I found paradise

In a meadow in August with you.

You know what I want you to do; and you know you want to do it. :)

Review, ok? or reach me through: caren_

Question, what's you're favorite song right now? (just wanna know more about my readers)

-Kar