So there were a few people who didn't understand the flag prop in the last chapter and I'm sorry about that. Basically think of it as a white flag, its got two loops on it so you can use it kind of like weird "cloth handcuffs" and it's hard to get off without help. I hope that makes a little more sense.

Chapter 26- It's very funny

POV-Bella

Max was waiting for me when Jason pushed me into the girls fitting room. He dragged Edward off with him and I barely had a chance to wave goodbye before they disappeared behind the red curtain. Alice was already standing on one of the circle platforms wearing her bra, a white pinstriped vest and currently getting pinned into a pair of black pants with thick white stripes that were probably three sizes to big and a foot to long.

She smiled when she saw me and then frowned when she spotted my new hand brace.

"Bella what are you doing here and what in God's name did you do to your hand?"

Max pointed silently at another of the circle platforms. I got up on the fitting platform and striped to my underwear so she could begin work on my costume for our hip-hop dance.

"I broke my knuckle so they moved up our fitting."

She stared open mouthed at me until the woman pinning her paints jabbed her with a pin by mistake and she yelped.

"Sorry dear."

Alice waved her off and glanced back at me as Max started handing me things to try on.

"How did you manage that one?"

I grimaced and blushed at the same time and told her about the routine Nat and Tab had come up with and how I'd been having trouble with timing and then how I had punched Edward right in the face. The room got oddly silent after I explained about hitting Edward and then all three of them burst into laughter at the same time. My whole face was aflame and I desperately hoped Edward and the other boy's couldn't hear us.

The woman pinning Alice's pants had to sit down she was shaking so badly and Alice was doubled over close to tears.

"You really hit him in the face?" She asked with a hand on her chest as she desperately tried to catch her breath. I scowled darkly at her.

"Yes, and I would appreciate you keeping your mouth shut about it to."

She still had a grin plastered on her face but everyone seemed to be under control as Max and the other woman both got back to work on our costumes. Max patted my leg and passed me a pair of black and white striped, thigh high socks.

I cocked an eye brow at her but she just smiled and nodded. "Trust me Bella." I pulled the socks on and then she had me layer a pair of loose black jeans over them.

"What's the point of the socks?" I asked buttoning the jeans in place.

Max dug into her apron and pulled out a pair of thin silver scissors. "I told you to trust me." She started cutting the sides of the jeans and within a few minutes the ground was littered with denim scraps. She sat back on her heels and blew at the tip of the scissors like some one would blow on an old gun after a shoot out.

The sides of my jeans now had ribbon thin holes in them and you could see the strips on the socks when I moved.

"That's cool." Alice commented as she pulled on a long sleeved red shirt. I nodded along spinning around in front of the mirror.

"Very cool."

Max smiled. "Thank you girls. The hip-hop outfits are generally some of my favorites. Wait until you see the top Tabitha and I worked out for you."

Alice's vest was getting pinned over her red top. Max pulled out a white tank-top and tossed it to me. I pulled it over my head and watched as she dug around in another box. She produced a loose fitting black shirt with ruffles down the middle.

While Max cut the black top up, I watched Alice get the finishing touches for her jazz outfit. The woman working with her tied a red tie around Alice's neck and gave her a pinstriped fedora with a red ribbon. Her hair spiked out around the ends of the hat. She pulled on a pair of black jazz shoes and spun around in front of me.

"What do you think Bella?"

I nodded. "I like it Alice. You look like you should be dancing to the song Steam Clean from the Pajama Game."

She was all smiles. "I would need a top hat for Steam Clean. I'm so glad Mike picked jazz. This is going to be the best week for me I can already tell."

She was all smiles and I could tell it was about more then just the dance style.

"So what'd you think when Jasper talked to you?"

I asked trying not to say too much in front of the costume shop ladies. Alice's big smile was replaced with a smaller one and she returned to her platform so her helper could adjust a few of the pins on her vest.

"I was surprised, but glad to finally know."

"He was worried you would freak out."

She nodded. "I know, I didn't and I can't believe he thought I would."

She glanced over at me and I gave her a small smile. I truly was happy for her and Jasper. I was glad that He and Rose considered us such good friends.

"There you go dear I think your all done."

The blond working on Alice helped her down from the platform and took her out into the main room to see Mikes outfit. Max finished cutting up my black over top and when she was done it hung in elegant ribbons off my shoulders making me look like I'd been mulled by some kind of fashion aware bear. She added a pair of low heeled, black boots and torn black gloves. The glove for my let hand was larger then the right one and it fit snuggly over my brace so no one would see it.

Alice came back in to the changing room just as Max was finishing my hair. She had it half up in a bun half hanging around my face. I looked like I'd just been in some kind of fist fight.

"I like it Bella. It looks like Edward got a few good punches in."

I smirked at her. "I'm the only one who gets to throw punches in our dance."

Max helped me off the fitting platform and led me out into the main room while Alice started packing up her costume. Edward and Jason were already waiting for us. Edward looked like a street ruffed model. His long legs were clad in loose fitting, dark green pants and his shirt was ripped like mine, leaving teasing strips of his chest bare for everyone to see. Yummy.

Edward let out a low whistle as I spun in a circle for him. "Love the socks Bella."

I giggled and felt my face flush at his comment. "Me too, I might have to invest in a couple pairs for myself."

We were both dragged back into our fitting rooms and Max helped me pack up everything I would need for my costume. I got back to the main room at the same time as Edward. He glanced down at his watch.

"It's lunch time, you hungry?"

I nodded. "Starved, let's go."

"What were you and the girls laughing about earlier?"

I grinned sheepishly up at him. "Alice asked me how I hurt my hand."

"Oh." He chuckled. "That would explain it."

He pulled open the door to the lounge for me and we grabbed plates of food. Alice smiled at me as we walked over to the table where the others were sitting. No one was watching us so I was guessing she hadn't told them about my hand.

My brace didn't stay secret for long. Edward pulled out my chair for me and Emmett's eyes locked onto my injured hand.

"Fall down again Bella?" Emmett asked pointing to my hand. The others at the table all grew silent as they took in my injury. I shook my head and flashed him a big smile.

"No Emmett, I punched your brother in the face."

Emmett turned his eyes on Edward who tilted his head back and pointed to the darkening bruise under his chin. The whole table burst into laughter as we sat down and I scooted my chair as close to his as I could.

"I've been wanting to do that for years Bella." Emmett said raising his glass to me. "You just made my entire day."

"Glad I could help."

Jake took the seat on my free side and grabbed my hand so he could look at it. "I'm proud of you Bella you must have put some force behind this." He shot a cheeky grin at Edward and I elbowed him in the gut.

"It was an accident Jake."

Jake didn't look like he completely believed that I hadn't ment to hit Edward.

"How long will your hand be wrapped?" Angela wanted to know.

I shrugged. "A few weeks probably."

"How is that going to affect your dancing?"

"I'll make it work."

Conversation at lunch moved away from my hand and everyone started filling us in on their different dances. Emmett and Leah were working with Tyce this week on a Broadway tango number from Moulin Rouge.

"Were dancing to the tango number they do in that musical movie Moulin Rouge, the one about the boy who falls in love with a striper."

Angela and Ben both zeroed in on their conversation at the word Musical.

"Technically Emmett she's called a courtesan." Angela corrected him.

"You mean The Tango De Roxana?" Ben asked. "I love that song."

"That's the one." Leah said taking an angry bit out of her sandwich. "I get to be Roxana."

Emmett smirked. "I didn't know you wanted to be a striper." Leah slapped him upside his head and Jake yanked her back when she moved to hit him again.

Angela and Ben started comparing the different Broadway singers who were part of the number from the movie and I watched as they got into a fairly heated argument about who sang it better. It was kind of funny.

As lunch came to an end, everyone else made their way back to their choreographers or to the costume shop. I glanced at Edward as the last pair left, leaving us alone.

"Now what are we supposed to do?"

He shrugged. "We could go exploring."

"For what?"

"We still need a place to hide our things while we work on Operation Switzerland."

"Good idea, I should probably call home to, Summer will kill me if I don't check in."

"What do you think she'll say when you tell her you hurt you hand?"

Edward opened to door for me and I followed him down the hall as we left to explore parts of the building.

"She'll probably kill you in your sleep."

His eyes got really big and I giggled when he missed a step on our way up stairs. "But I didn't do it."

I had to hold onto my sides as I started laughing. He looked positively terrified at the idea of Summer coming after him. Summer was tiny but she was probably just as feisty as Alice.

"This is not funny Bella." He said pouting at me.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him along after me as we wondered down a back hallway on the fifth floor.

"I was kidding Edward, and you should have seen your face, it was very funny."

We wondered around for a while longer climbing up and down back stair wells and going through doors we weren't quite sure we were allowed to go through.

"Do you even know what floor we're on anymore?" I asked as we descended down another set of small back stairs. Wires were running up and down, taped to the stairs and the walls to help keep people from tripping on them. It looked like tech hell. I wasn't sure how any of the works here remembered what wires went with what camera.

"I think were on the second floor." Edward said glancing back up the stairs we had just come down. "Or maybe the third."

"Let's try to find something we recognize before we get eaten by this house."

He laughed. "That would make a good horror movie."

"Not if we were the stupid people who walk into the dark room and get eaten."

He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to his side. "We just can't split up. It's always the person who goes off by themselves that gets eaten in those movies."

"Agreed."

I smirked up at him. "I think it's only fair to warn you that if something actually pops out of the wall I'm going to push you in front of me and run away screaming."

He chuckled and grabbed my good hand as I tripped over a wire that wasn't taped down well. "I don't think you would make it very far with all of these cables, you would just fall down."

I blushed and hit him lightly with my good hand. "Not funny."

He smirked. "You're the only person I know who can dance like an angel and then trip over her own feet, it's very funny."

I scowled at him and then yanked a door out of my way so we could move forward.

"Hey I know were we are."

Edward peeked over my shoulder. "How did we get to the first floor? I didn't think we climbed down that many flights."

I shrugged and moved farther into the room. We had come out of a door in the main auditorium near the sound box in the back of the room.

"Let's go snoop around back stage." Edward suggested glancing around to make sure none of the crew men were watching us.

"Ok"

We walked along the rows of chairs until we reached the stage. The auditorium was oddly quiet without all of the other dancers and the camera men and our footsteps echoed as we walked across the stage.

"Look at all the stuff back here."

"How can you see anything? It's all covered up."

Back stage was eerily dark, everything was draped with black sheets and lose weirs on the floor made walking a slow process. We looked around for something that would make a good hiding place but every where we look was ether impossible to get to or to easy for one of the stage hands to find.

After another hour of wondering around we retired to the lounge to wait for the other dancers. I called Summer and had to hold the phone away from my ear as she started screaming at me.

"How could you hurt your hand Bella? Is this going to affect your next dance? How serious is it? What did you do? Have you told your mom yet. Renne's guuna freak that you got hurt again."

"Summer, Summer calm down. I'm ok. No, it's not permanent and it shouldn't affect my next dance. And no I havn't told mom yet but the show doctor probebly called her again."

"What did you do?"

I chuckled and Edward rolled his eyes at me. I retold the story about meting with Nat and Tab and the dance they had Edward and I working on. I was trying to get to the part when I hit Edward but Summer kept interrupting.

"You got to meet Tabitha and Napoleon! I'm so jealous; are they cool? I love their work, they always have awsome dances. I can't wait to see it."

"They're very nice, are you going to shut up so I can finished my story?" I asked.

Edward shook his head. "I have an idea, why don't you just not tell her?"

I turned away from the phone ignoring what Summer was saying as she ranted about one of the dancers Nat and Tab had done last year. "I have to tell her. They'll probably talk about it on the show anyway so she going to find out sooner or later."

"I vote later." He said hooking his legs up over the table we were sitting at.

"Bell who are you talking to?" I turned my attention back to the phone.

"Edward's with me. We're not allowed to work anymore today so I have a chance to rest my hand a bit before Nat and Tab kick our asses tomorrow."

I could hear Summer smile and just picture her flopping down on her bed so she could pry all the details out of me the way she did at home.

"Tell that fine hunk of boy that I say hi."

I giggled and relayed her message to Edward. "She wants me to tell that fine hunk of boy that she says hi."

Edward almost blushed and I giggled. "Tell her I say hi to, but I doubt she'll want to talk to me after you tell her about your hand."

I patted his shoulder and he leaned back to I could play with his hair. "It was an accident Edward, she can't blame you for that. Besides it was my fault."

"I can still hear you, you know." Summer said drawing my attention back to her. I finished telling her about my hand. I flinched as she started screaming again but what surprised me the most was that she was yelling at me and not Edward.

"How could you hit him? No wonder you've never had a boyfriend! I can teach you much safer and more affective ways of getting a guys attention Bella."

"Summer-" She wasn't listening to me.

"Do you really think he's going to fall for you if you go around hitting him? And that face! Did you bruise his pretty face!?! If you get illiminated for this Bella I'm gunna come over there and kick your ass!"

"Summer!"

She paused in the middle of her next rant. "What?" Edward and I were laughing so hard it was getting hard for me to breath. Edward had turned my phone on speaker so he could listen along with me as Summer yelled so he'd heard her entire rant.

Edward took the phone from me and held it closer to his face while he spoke. "Actually Summer I found the direct approach very effective and refreshing. I think her hitting me helped me get my head on straight. As for getting me to fall for her I already have. Bella's got a boyfriend now."

The other side of the phone went quiet. I took the phone from him and pulled it closer to me. "Summer? Are you still there?"

"You're going out?!?"

"Shhhhh" Edward and I said at the same time. "It's still kind of a secret Summer. We don't want the show to go crazy with a showmance so were not telling too many people."

She went quiet again. "Can I tell your mom?"

I rolled my eyes. "Go for it."

"Yippy, I'll call you later." The phone went dead without a goodbye and I snapped it shut letting it fall to the table.

"I don't think I have to worry about her eating me in my sleep." Edward said with a smirk.

"No, now you just have to worry about not getting kicked out this week because of my hand."

"We'll make it work out Bella."

I sat together and chatted aimlessly until the other dancers started turning up for diner. I went through the food line with Alice and she grumbled about Mike having two left feet.

"I'm not that short am I Bella?" She asked suddenly turning on me.

"I don't think so Alice." Yes she was. Alice was five foot nothing of pure mussel and New York attitude. In the last week I'd seen her dance like a fairy and then turn around and cuss like a sailor. I loved Alice, but I was glad I wasn't her partner.

We sat down and everyone talked more about the new dances they were working on. I made it my goal to wonder around during lunch so I had a chance to talk to everyone. Jane was sitting with Heidi and Victoria and she waved me to the chair next to her went I came over.

I introduced myself to Victoria again and had to retell the story of hurting my hand. They laughed and Edward smirked at me from across the room knowing what I had said to make them all laugh.

Erik was sitting at a table near us and he introduced me to the guys he was sitting with when I came over. I'd already met both Laurent and James but with the tight schedule we kept it was hard to get to know everyone. Erik was feeling bad because he was having trouble keeping up with Jane and he was worried he would get her sent to the bottom.

"I'm sure everyone will fall into the bottom at some point Erik. Don't worry about it."

He smiled. "Thanks Bella."

"What did you do to your hand?" James asked pointing out my brace. I shied and sat down in the open chair at their table to re-tell the story. Erik started laughing halfway through and took over the story with more enthusiasm then I was using.

"So Bella's moving to fast and Edwards to close to her and Wham!" He swung his fist out like he was hitting someone. "She punches him right in the jaw. He's even got a nice little bruise." James and Laurent started laughing and I walked away when my face flushed. It really wasn't that funny.

Jake announced that movie night was being held in his room so after diner everyone shuffled up stairs and settled in on the floor around his room. It seemed like the more often we held movie night the more people came and Jakes room was cramped as all eighteen of us tried to see the TV.

Half way through the movie I started falling asleep so I dismissed myself. I waited in the hall and five minutes later Edward let himself out. I followed him into his room and made myself at home on his bed.

"Good night Bella."

I snuggled closer to his chest. "Night."

~Darkrose

…I'm sorry this took so long to update. I have no excuse and thank you for being so patient with my writers block.

I hope you liked it. This chapter was just kind of a filler. I'll get back to the dancing in the next one. I really wanted to work the exchange between Bella and Emmett in the lounge. I couldn't resist making the parallel to the book when Bella punches Jake.

I got to go see the sytycd tour last night, It was toataly awsome! I recomend everyone going if you have the chance to see it. They cracked jokes about the Rushain folk dance throught the show and then everyone came out and did a group sexy verion of it. It was fantastic and I would just like to state for the record that Kupono has a great butt.