Author's Note

Hello! I am so deeply sorry for the delay! One thing you should know about me: I get very bad migraines, and if you get them, you know that sometimes they're so bad you can barely move. I got one of those Thursday night, and it didn't really go away until Friday night, after many pain meds. So I didn't get a chance to finish this until this morning, and I know it's short, but I wanted to do the whole day of homecoming to be in one chapter.

Speaking of homecoming, if you per chance didn't get my AN alert chapter thingy, prom has been changed to homecoming. Long story.

So enjoy! I'll try and type faster, but reviews always help…thanks for those, by the way. I really love reading what you ladies think!

Chapter Four

We Go Shopping

Bella Swan

I was having a great dream about Edward taking me on a date. He was really sweet, holding my hand and occasionally kissing me while we walked around the park.

But apparently someone wanted to pull me out of this dream by jumping on the bed I was trying to sleep on.

"Bella! Wake up! We're going shopping!" the way-too-chipper voice of Alice hit my ears. I groaned and attempted to open my eyes. It couldn't have been later than seven A.M.

"Alice, it is too early to shop. Please tell me what store is open at seven A.M?" I groaned, rolling over to look at her beaming face.

She hopped into a sitting position on the bed next to me. "Silly Bella, we have to eat breakfast, and get ready…" she trailed off, and I immediately knew she was going to put me through an hour of hair and makeup, not to mention what kind of clothes she's going to force me into.

I went into Alice's bathroom to brush my teeth and hair. I hated morning breath, and I didn't want my hair looking like a complete frizz-ball in case Edward was at breakfast that morning. I gently brushed it, but it still looked like I had an afro. I pulled it to the side and braided it quickly to smooth it down a bit. Alice walked in halfway through my braiding.

"Where's Rose?" I asked her.

"Brushing her teeth in her own bathroom," Alice replied.

I nodded. "I'm going to go down and see if your mom needs any help," I said.

I heard Alice snort. "More like see if Edward's downstairs," she muttered. I blushed and pretended I didn't hear her. As of right now, I thought of Edward as a really good friend. Maybe it could go further, but I wasn't going to push it. I had previously ruined a friendship because of a relationship, and I'd rather not go through that again. But if he acted on deeper feelings, I wasn't going to reject him. I don't think I could ever reject anything he asked of me. I was putty in his hands. Not that I'd ever tell him that.

The delicious aroma of bacon and syrup hit me before I entered the kitchen. Edward was standing at the island, cooking some sizzling bacon. Esme was cracking eggs next to him. Carlisle was at the kitchen table reading the newspaper with a cup of coffee. It was like the typical American family.

"Good morning," I said, making my presence known. I received three "good mornings" back along with smiles. "What can I do to help?"

Esme waved her hand. "Absolutely nothing, dear. You sit and have a cup of coffee."

I shook my head. "I love cooking, and I insist that I help. What are you making?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw Edward smiling, probably at my stubbornness. "French toast," Esme answered me.

I grinned. "I've been told I make some of the best French toast. Do you mind if I cook, and you sit and enjoy yourself?" I asked Esme. For the short time I've known her, I could see she rarely relaxed.

"Well, if you insist," she sighed, but she was smiling, so I knew she was grateful. I let her finish cracking the eggs while I poured her a hot cup of coffee. She washed her hands and sat next to Carlisle at the table. I saw him take her hand and together they read the paper. It was too cute and sweet.

I saw that Esme had taken out just a regular loaf of bread. I looked around and saw she had a loaf of French bread in the bread box. "Hey, Esme? Can I use the loaf of French bread?" I asked her.

"Oh, sure dear. I was going to make subs for lunch, but seeing as it will just be Edward and I, we can find something else to eat," she answered me.

I looked over at Edward and smiled. He grinned back.

"Be careful, I wouldn't want you to cut yourself," Edward teased me as I started cutting the loaf. I stuck my tongue out at him, but was pleased to hear there was a hint of real concern in his voice. He cared for me.

"Can you get me the cinnamon, Edward?" I asked him, throwing him my megawatt smile. He shook his head but smiled and got me the cinnamon. "Thanks, E," I laughed, bumping my hip against his playfully.

"No problem, B," he chuckled.

Truth is, I liked cooking next to Edward. It was comforting, in a way. I felt right at home, doing something I love with my best friend. And I'd be lying if a little flirting didn't happen. It was mainly just looks and grins because his parents were in the room. And well, I don't know if Edward considered it flirting, but it seemed a little strong for just friends. Maybe he really did like me as more than a friend, but again, I wouldn't be the one to act upon it.

Everyone complimented on my breakfast, to which I blushed and tried to say that Edward helped. I mean, his bacon was pretty good. I always burned that part of breakfast. I was no good with meat.

I was forced into the shower after breakfast. When I emerged from the bathroom, Alice and Rose were in Alice's walk-in closet, picking out clothes.

"She does look good in purple," Rose agreed with Alice.

"I look good in purple?" I asked, startling them.

"Yeah, and blue," Alice said. "Here, put these on." She thrust some clothes into my hand and I turned back around and went to the bathroom again. So that's why Alice said I didn't need to pack clothes last night. Rose and Alice had picked out a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans, a white lace blouse with a v-neck, and a semi-long purple sweater (it was surprisingly cold out this early in the morning, according to Carlisle's weather report via the paper). The sweater was cute, but my God, could you say painted on jeans? How do people find these things comfortable? (AN: outfits on my blog)

Rose had dressed in a medium-wash pair of skinny jeans and a cream sweater with black stripes. On anyone else, it would look like they just walked out of prison, but on Rose, it looked amazing. I had a feeling she could make anything look amazing.

Alice put on dark-wash leggings, a long, dark gold (almost green) tunic shirt, and a ¾ sleeve black sweater. You would think something long would make Alice look shorter, but it didn't. Maybe it was the black high-heeled boots she paired with the outfit.

"You look fabulous, Bellsy. Now for the hair and makeup…" Alice grinned. It wasn't a happy grin, it was a devilish grin. She pushed me (once again!) into the bathroom, where Rose had put a stool. I was shoved down onto the stool and was attacked with a blow dryer by Rose, and a makeup brush by Alice.

Thirty minutes later, I had a curled side ponytail and natural looking makeup that gave me a certain glow. I had to admit, the two were good. I read a magazine while Alice and Rose finished getting ready. I did put on some black flats before Alice could shove me into some five-inch heels.

We took Alice's Porsche. She owned a Porsche. I felt so poor compared to these Cullens.

Alice pulled into a dress store I hadn't heard of. It must not be a chain store. I was proven correct when we walked in and saw it was a small yet fancy boutique that held mainly special occasion dresses, but still had a section of normal clothes, and even a selection of bikinis. It gave off a warm and homey vibe, making me instantly comfortable.

These girls clearly had shopped here before. They headed straight to the section that held homecoming dresses and threw a good handful into my arms. I found out later that they didn't really have a preference as to who was trying on what dress, because we all ended up trying on the whole stack ourselves.

We went through the entire pile, and I was the only one that didn't have a dress. Rose was the first to find her dress. It was red satin and strapless, and probably the shortest dress I've seen in awhile. It was also skintight, but she had the best body I knew of. Her legs looked miles long. The bust area had pieces of fabric that were placed to look like roses. I knew Emmett would find that hilarious, but the dress really looked beautiful on Rose. (AN: dresses on blog too).

Alice found hers second. When she said this was her dress, I was shocked. I shouldn't have been, because it was crazy and totally Alice, but it was just so different. Beautiful, but different. The dress was a pink animal print. It sounds horrible, but it was admittedly beautiful. It was also strapless, and went to just above her knees. The neckline had a V in the middle, but was otherwise straight. There was silver and pink crisscrossed beading just under Alice's bust, and stopping at her hips. Alice said Jasper would love the peak of cleavage. I rolled my eyes and said he would love her no matter what.

I wasn't so lucky. I had tried on at least ten dresses, but none I loved. Rose actually had to get an associate to help them find one because I was vetoing everything Alice and Rose picked. Finally, finally, the saleswoman picked the dress. I was very hesitant because it was so short, but Alice wasn't looking anymore and paid for the dress herself before I could change my mind.

The dress was purple (apparently they were taking the whole purple thing very seriously) and strapless, and it was really short. It hid mid-thigh, and I've never wore anything that short. The skirt was a bubble skirt, and it had a purple ribbon around the waist that tied into a bow towards my left side. The bust had the same thing as Rose's but mine were tinier and more of them. I really did love it, but I didn't think it fit me. Too late now.

I put my foot down on buying shoes. I told Alice that Rose had shoes I could borrow, and if they wanted to buy new shoes, they could go on their own. I was ready to go home.

But no, they decided to buy their shoes now. So here I am, sitting in the food court waiting for Edward. Yes, Alice called Edward to tell him to pick me up. Jerk.

I was busy drinking a strawberry smoothie when I felt something tickle my ear. "Boo," Edward's voice whispered. I jumped so far it was shocking I didn't drop my smoothie.

"Edward!" I yelled at him as he laughed and sat in the chair opposite me.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," he grinned shamelessly. "So, did you find a dress?" he asked, and even managed to blush in the process. He was still sorry about having to ask me, I could tell. I internally sighed and told myself he was never get over it.

I nodded and took another sip. "I did, and I'm sure Alice will drag you shopping for a matching tie," I giggled. Edward's crooked grin appeared again.

"What are they doing now that you didn't feel the need to participate in?" he asked.

"They decided they needed more shoes, and I said I could just borrow one of their pairs in their closet. So Alice called you because she wanted to shop for shoes now," I explained.

Edward Cullen

She was so beautiful. Every little part about her. Her giggle was the single best sound I've ever heard.

And she didn't like shopping.

I don't know how I'm going to be able to keep my feelings hidden. All I want to do is grab her and kiss her, and hold her hand as we walked through the mall.

But I won't. Instead I opted for a little harmless flirting like this morning. As soon as she let go of her smoothie, I grabbed the cup. "Oh, can I have some? Thanks," I smiled.

"No!" she squealed, trying to reach for it. I drank some before she grabbed it back. "My smoothie," she huffed, cradling it to her. She couldn't hold back her smile, though, and I saw it. The way it lights up her face…

"Mmm, that was tasty," I laughed. "Mind if I go buy one?"

"I'll go with you," she said, standing up.

We started wandering the mall after I bought my smoothie. I had asked her if she wanted to go home, but she said the mall wasn't so bad with me.

I saw her eyes widen and become full of excitement as we passed the bookstore. I grabbed her hand, ignored the giant sparks flying through my body, and pulled her into the store. She smiled in appreciation at me and led me to a section.

I pretended to be looking at books, but really I was watching Bella. She looked so full of life and happy. I'd never seen her this happy since I've known her. Granted, it hasn't been that long, only a week, but it felt like forever.

She grabbed a book and plopped down right there in the aisle to read it. That made me smile wider. Such a free spirit, Bella was.

I took a classic and went to sit in the actual chairs made for reading. I'm not sure how long it was before Bella found me, her arms full of books. "Help me," she said as she walked over. "I don't have enough money for all these, and I can't decide which I want."

I picked up the entire stack from the chair she just set them down on. "I do," I said simply, and starting walking towards the check-out. She protested the whole way, but I refused to give in. I would do anything to see that sparkle in her eyes again.

"You really, really didn't have to do that," she said as we exited the store.

"Si, che faccio." I wasn't explaining to her why, so I kept it simple.

"Well, thank you very much," she said quietly. I looked over at her. Bella looked like she was contemplating something.

"Are you okay?" I asked gently. Her head shook and she looked at me confused for a moment before she nodded. She looked like she had just woken up from a daydream. Her eyes were a little hazy.

She refused to tell me what was wrong, fine. I just needed to know if she was okay. She smiled at me and assured me she was. Her smile wasn't very convincing, but I believed her. For now.

Author's Note

Translation:

Si, che faccio-Yes, I did

Thanks for reading! The outfits and dresses are on my blog, so go check those out and let me know what you think of them!

What do you think of the flirting? Too much? Not enough?

Please review! I'm not feeling very much inspiration right now, but maybe you all can change that. Otherwise who knows how long it could be before the next post…

Signing off,

Meggie Jay