Here it is, darlings... Chapter 4!

Chapter 4 – I Can't Help Falling In Love With You (Bella's POV)

I found Alice and Rosalie in the dead center of the room. Both had a sort of frantic, dazed look about them. I guessed that I looked the same way. Wordlessly, we grabbed each other's hands and headed for somewhere quiet to talk. We walked outside, into the gardens. We aimlessly wandered through them until we found a bench in a small, sheltered area, surrounded by bushes. We sat down. No one spoke. Finally, I broke the silence.

"Amazing," I said. "A pair of guys actually managed to get you both to be quiet. Impressive." That broke Alice and Rosalie out of their trance. They glared at me, and I smiled back. Finally, Alice sighed.

"I can't help myself," she said, smiling. "I've never felt this way before. There's just something about Jasper that makes me feel all…. giddy. I can't explain it. There's a level of trust between us that I've never seen before. It's so powerful."

"It's the same way when I think about Emmett," Rosalie sighed. "I know I just met him, but when we danced, I felt…. safe. Like my proper place was in his arms." She giggled. "I barely know him, yet I feel safe when his arms are around me, holding me. Is that normal?"

"Of course, Rose," Alice said. "Weren't you listening when I was talking about how much I trust Jasper even though we just met?"

"Sort of," Rosalie confessed. "I was also thinking about Emmett. So you really trust him?"

"I told him my family's story." Alice looked down. Rosalie and I stared at her, unbelieving. Alice Brandon had told a near stranger the truth about her past? After just meeting him? I took her years to confess the story to us.

"You… you told him the story?" I asked incredulously. Alice nodded. "Even… even the part with your grandmother?"

"No!" Alice said, her head snapping up, her eyes wild. "I… I couldn't. I wanted to, badly, but…but I just couldn't bring myself to….to confess. Especially since…. since it was… that soldier… it was his…" tears were pouring silently down Alice's face. "I… I didn't want him to think that… that I held a grudge for it… for something that … wasn't his fault." Rosalie and I exchange panicked looks over Alice's head before wrapping our arms around her, hugging her tight. Her tears eventually subdued into light sniffles before fading entirely. As they faded, Rosalie and I released Alice, who then reached into the pocket of her dress, pulled out a handkerchief, and proceeded to dry the remaining tears and blow her nose. She put it back in her pocket before turning to me.

"So, Bella, you haven't told us about Edward yet," Alice said.

"Edward is…" I hesitated, how to begin? "I can't put words to it. There was just this…something, this air about him that drew me in. What he did for me tonight was unbearably sweet."

"Oh, yeah, I saw that," Rosalie said. Alice nodded in agreement. Rosalie continued in a sappy voice. "It sure was romantic the way he rescued you from that vile Mike Newton." Alice and Rosalie laughed.

"Don't laugh, you two," I said. "You two were in the exact same situation as I was, what with Tyler and Eric practically drooling over you two. And then, Jasper and Emmett have to step in like you're a pair of damsels in distress and they're Prince Charming." Alice and Rosalie stopped laughing. Rosalie opened her mouth to respond, but Alice cut her off.

"Listen," Alice hissed, her voice no more than a whisper. We quieted. Suddenly, the sounds of three gentlemen talking reached our ears. We looked at each other questioningly, trying to determine to whom they belonged. Suddenly, the answer presented itself.

"So what did you two think of those three girls?" A voice with a southern accent questioned. Alice's eyes widened and lit up. Jasper, she mouthed to us. We nodded.

"You mean Rosalie, Alice, and Isabella?" a booming voice questioned back. This time Rosalie responded to the voice, smiling broadly. Emmett, she mouthed. Again, we nodded.

"Yes, Emmett," a velvety voice answered, sounding exasperated. "We didn't meet any other girls tonight, so it would have to be them." I sighed softly at the sound of Edward's voice before turning to Alice and Rosalie and mouthing Edward to them. They nodded.

"Excuse me, Edward," Emmett said. "Maybe while you were busy staring at Isabella like a love-sick puppy, I was off meeting other girls." Rosalie's smile faded, and she flinched involuntarily, as if in physical pain, but Alice and I knew better. We knew she was reacting to Emmett's words.

Edward growled. "Emmett, I know for a fact that you didn't meet any other girls tonight. Meeting other girls would have required you to stop looking at Rosalie for a time span of more than a few seconds." Beside us, Rosalie's smile returned full bloom. Jasper chuckled.

"You shouldn't be laughing, Jasper," Emmett snarled. "You were just as besotted with Alice as I was with Rosalie and as Edward was with Isabella." Two sharp intakes of breath followed Emmett's statement. I assumed that it was Jasper and Edward, preparing to retaliate against Emmett's statement, but they never spoke. After a few moments of silence, all three boys sighed simultaneously.

"This is so weird, isn't it?" Edward asked. "None of the girls Esme and Carlisle have introduced to have ever had this affect on us."

"Until now," Jasper corrected softly.

"What is it about them, anyway?" Emmett pondered. "Why are they so special? Why did they have an affect on us almost instantaneously, when no other girl has before?" No one answered. Three sighs reverberated through the air and Alice, Rosalie, and I knew that they were thinking about us once again.

"I guess they have this power because there's something about them that draws us in," Jasper said. "At least, that's how it was for me and Alice. I just met her, and yet I know I can trust her. I told her about my past and she was able to empathize completely. It made me feel free."

"You told her?" Edward asked. "You've known her for one night and you already told her? It took you a week or two to confess to us and we're your closest friends."

"I know that, Edward," Jasper said. "I trust her. She understood me. It just felt like the right thing to do."

"I get what you're saying, Jasper," Emmett replied. "There was something similar between me and Rosalie. When I saw that vile Tyler Crowley bothering her, I just had to step in and help her. There was just this urge to protect her, to make sure she was safe in my arms. I don't know how to explain it."

"What about you and Isabella, Edward?" asked Jasper.

"I don't think there are words to describe the feelings I have for Isabella," Edward said quietly. "Everything about her is just amazing. When I touched her, it felt like little electric sparks were running up my arm. She is so different from every other girl I've ever met – even her two friends. I have feelings for Isabella and I know that my feelings for her are not going to change." Edward, Emmett, and Jasper fell silent again. After a few moments, Jasper broke the silence.

"We should go back inside," Jasper said. "No doubt Esme and Carlisle are wondering where we are." The sounds of three men getting up from their seats and walking away reached our ears. Alice, Rosalie, and I sat, unmoving and silent, until their footsteps faded away. Slowly, we turned to look at each other. No one spoke.

"We should go," Rosalie finally said. "It's getting late." Alice and I nodded and the three of us rose to our feet and made our way back inside. We swept through the ballroom, stopping briefly to say goodbye to Esme and Carlisle and to thank them for introducing us to Edward, Emmett and Jasper. We exited the ballroom and trailed through the entrance hall. We had almost reached the door when we heard three male voices calling our names. We turned to find Edward, Emmett, and Jasper making their way towards us.

"You know Miss Swan, Miss Brandon, Miss Hale, it's going to be rather hard to see you again if we don't know where you live," Edward said when they reached us. Smiling, they each withdrew a piece of paper and a pen from their pockets, (A/N: yes, paper and pens did exist then.) and handed them to us. Each of us wrote down our address and handed it back to the man who'd given it to us: Me to Edward, Rosalie to Emmett, and Alice to Jasper. They then pulled out a second piece of paper and handed them to us. On it, we found their address. Each group thanked the other before all six of us headed outside to wait for our respective carriages. Theirs arrived first, yet they refused to leave until they saw us safely off. We told them they didn't need to worry about us; we would be fine on our own. They refused to listen.

"And what if those three vile men who were bothering you earlier return?" Edward questioned. "Then you will need our help, will you not?" We sighed, defeated. Within the next minute, our carriage appeared. They then insisted on helping us in. We decided not to fight with them and agreed. Jasper helped Alice in first, followed by Emmett helping Rosalie, then Edward helping me. Once we were all in the carriage set off. We watched them through the curtains as we rode away; they were watching our carriage intently and continued to do so until we disappeared out of sight. Alice, Rosalie, and I settled back into our seats with a sigh and proceeded to spend the rest of the ride daydreaming about the handsome men we had just met.

Wondering what Alice was talking about? Wondering who was that soldier and why was she worried about telling Jasper about him? Wondering why does it matter if he thinks she holds a grudge? Wondering how is it not his fault? All these questions will be answered if you do one simple task: keep reading. Once again, reviews are welcome, not mandatory.

xoxoxoxoxo, TwilightTeen212