Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Twilight characters.
AN: Sorry for taking longer than expected to update! Unfortunately my life is getting busier and updates will be fewer...sorry. I have had a few people asking about when Jasper and Edward will make their entrances. I can say that I have Jasper's entrance planned for one of the next chapters. As to when Edward comes into the picture...I'm not sure when that will be yet. I know how I want to have him come into their lives, but I'm not sure how long it will take for me to get there. Another thing that has been brought to my attention is that Bella seems a bit...I think "emo" was the term used. It was intended for Bella to be a bit depressed and down on herself, but emo was not my intent. Sorry if it came across that way! I just think for the purposes of this story she needs to start here. Her emotions are actually based upon a close friend's emotions. She is in college and hasn't had boyfriend so I was using that...and let me assure you, my friend is not emo in the slightest.
Someone also pointed out that the story is under the category of Humor and it isn't necessarily based upon humor...they are entirely right. Therefore I will be changing one of the categories. That doesn't mean that Emmett will stop being the loveable goof (which is where I was originally intending the humor to come from but the story kinda changed direction as I wrote it)!
Sorry for the long Author's Note, I just wanted to make sure I addressed those things. Thank you for reading, please review! Enjoy!
Chapter Three
Rosalie left as soon as Emmett came back and Alice and I waved from my window like we always did.
"So…" Alice said, turning slowly towards me as the jeep drove out of view.
"What?"
"I happened to see your reaction downstairs…"
"My reaction to what, Alice? You need to stop being so cryptic."
She laughed before turning serious again, "When I brought up boys."
"Can we drop it, please, Alice? I don't really want to talk about boys right now."
"See, that's your problem. You never want to talk about boys."
"Maybe because there's never anything to talk about," I said bitterly, knowing full well that she wasn't going to let it go that easily. To my surprise, she did let it go, but only because she began unpacking her suitcases and emitted an earsplitting screech.
I winced and covered my ears, "Not so loud, Alice. The neighbors are gonna call the cops."
Alice gave me a withering glare, "Your father is a cop."
"All the more reason to be quiet," I teased her. I looked over her shoulder and was once again amazed at her ability to fit so much into such a small space. Despite the mounds of things I saw before me, I knew that that shriek meant, "What did you forget this time?"
"My library card!" Alice panicked slightly. Every single time Alice came over to my house, she forgot to pack something. Then every time, without fail, we would go back to the Cullen mansion so that she could get the item she could not do without. Before we were able to drive, Carlisle and Esme would drop Alice off, then drive around the neighborhood until they received a call from a hyperventilating Alice, then come back and pick her up.
"Alice! I asked you if you had the card before we left your house! You know that we can't get into the program tonight without library cards!" We had made plans to go to the library in Port Angeles and see a special showcase of historic books that was only in town for one weekend.
"I know, I'm sorry! I put it on my dresser next to my purse so that I would remember to grab it and then I just forgot!" she grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the room.
As we thundered down the stairs, I heard my dad call out, "Is that Alice's car I see in the driveway?"
"Hi, Chief Swan! Bye, Chief Swan!" Alice called as we buzzed past him.
My father chuckled and closed the door behind us. I quickly climbed into the passenger seat of Alice's shiny yellow Porsche, knowing that she would leave without me if I wasn't fast enough.
As Alice drove at a speed that would make my father seriously reconsider allowing her to still have a license, I thought back to the first day that Alice and I had met.
We were halfway through the year when my kindergarten teacher announced that we would have a new student in the class—Alice Brandon. I looked up long enough to know who Alice was and then went back to my coloring book—it was break time and I wasn't going to waste precious coloring time when it came so rarely. Besides, it was one of the few times Mike Newton was playing with the Legos instead of trying to steal all the crayons away from me. My on friend, Angela Webber, was out sick and so I stuck to myself. At that age, it wasn't that everyone ostracized me, it was that I didn't really want to talk to the other kids because I wanted to use big words like the teacher and Angela was the only one who didn't look at me funny when I said big words. So I guess I ended up forcing the isolation upon myself, but I didn't mind it that much.
I was coloring Flounder from The Little Mermaid when someone sat down across from me.
"Hi! I'm Alice Brandon and you're going to be my bestest friend. What's your name?"
"Bella," I said before returning to my coloring. The strange new girl said I was going to be her best friend and she didn't even know me!
"You can't be my bestest friend if you sit here by yourself! Come on, Bella," she grabbed my hand, just as insistent then as she was now, "let's go dress up the dollies!"
At that time she was content to let me dress up the Barbies, it wasn't until a few years later that she found her new favorite game: "Bella Barbie."
Later that day, we were practicing our alphabet and the teacher asked us to line up in alphabetical order by our first names. I made my way to the middle of the line when Alice came and made me stand next to her.
The teacher knelt beside us, "Now, Alice, I'm glad you're making friends but you need to let your friend go to her spot. Her name is Isabella and so she needs to be in the middle because her name starts with an 'I'."
Alice crossed her arms and stuck her chin up defiantly, "She's Bella to me so she stands here because 'B' comes after 'A' in the alphabet. If she moves, then I use my middle name because Mary starts with 'M' and 'M' is closer to 'I' than 'A'."
Ever since that day, Alice truly had been my best friend. Looking back, it was a foolish reason to pick Alice for a best friend…just because she knew her alphabet and wanted to stand next to the first person she had talked to that day. Somehow, that day connected us and we have been practically inseparable since and here we were, the summer before our junior year of high school.
I still talked to Angela as often as I could, but she had gone to a privet school in the Port Angeles area and I didn't get to see her nearly as often as I would like to.
Before I knew it, we were at the Cullen house. I stepped out of the car and muttered, "You are a maniac, Alice."
She flashed a grin at me, "But have you ever once not felt safe driving with me?"
"More times than I can count. I'm a cat and my nine lives have long expired."
Alice let out a tinkling laugh as she walked through the front door while I followed close behind.
"Well, well, well, the prodigal niece returns," Carlisle laughed. "What did you forget this time?"
"Library card," Alice said as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, rushing gracefully up the stairs only stopping to bestow the same favor upon Esme before disappearing into her room.
"It just wouldn't be a night without Alice if she didn't return at least once," Esme joked as she walked over and gave me a hug. "How are you, Bella?"
"Fine, not much has happened since I saw you about…" I paused to look at my watch, "…an hour and a half ago."
Carlisle came and gave me a hug as well. One thing I loved about coming to the Cullen house was the fact that I always felt welcome and loved. Not that I wasn't loved at home, but coming here was different. When I came here, they chose to welcome me and love me and it had quickly become my home away from home.
Alice ran down the stairs, somehow taking two at a time with her small legs. "Come on, Bella! We don't have any time to waste!"
I was yanked towards the door as the Cullens laughed. Alice popped her head back in just long enough to say, "Bye, Uncle Carlisle! Bye, Aunt Esme!" and then closed the door.