I woke to see Alice in my room. I stared up at her groggily.
"What are you doing here?" I croaked out. She smiled eagerly.
"I said I was going to plan your outfits and I meant it! About two hours ago, I came over. I got bored so I reorganized your room while I was at it." I looked around the room. It was cleaner and more organized, and the closet doors were closed ominously.
"Jeez Alice." I said, "Only you can take vampires possibly attacking me, and turn it into a chance to make over something." She laughed lightly.
"That may be true," She amended. "But you'll look fabulous! Come on; let's dress you for the day." She pulled my hand towards the closet. When I got in there, I didn't recognize half the clothing in there.
"Alice…did you deport my normal wardrobe, or am I seeing things?" She giggled.
"Well you know how I said I came over two hours ago? The only reason I was so late was because I was shopping before! After we went shopping in September, I know your sizes. We vampires don't forget anything! Like elephants." I looked at her, not sure how to respond.
"Thanks…but you didn't really need to do that." I sighed. "Let's get it over with. What do you have planned out for me to wear?" She rubbed her hands together. In the end, she had me dressed in a black flouncy skirt that was above my knee, but lower than mid thigh, along with a dark green silk wrap shirt. She paired it with my black ballet flats after I refused to wear heels to school, but apparently she wasn't done just yet.
"What about accessories?" She whined. "And I haven't done your hair or makeup yet!" I sighed.
"Fine, fine. I'm not going to be your Barbie doll everyday though!" I warned her. She appeared to be ignoring me. She quickly put my hair into one braid and spritzed it with hairspray; which had also miraculously appeared overnight. She got out a pair of silver dangly earrings, and let me wear my wolf necklace that Jake had given me. While she set to work on adding makeup to me, I looked at my reflection. It was pretty, but I didn't really see the point of a braid. After she finished with the makeup, she looked at me.
"Perfect. Except I need to finish the hair." She pulled the ponytail holder out of my braid and gently separated my hair. It was wavy from the braid, and retained its shape from the hairspray. She spritzed my hair with the hairspray again anyway, just to retain maximum wave or something like that. She looked me up and down. "My work here is done!" She said happily. "Now, let's get to school." I rolled my eyes.
We went downstairs; Charlie was already gone, so he would never know that Alice had been here. I walked out the front step to see an unfamiliar yellow car in the driveway.
"What…is this?" I asked uneasily. It looked very fast, and not very inconspicuous. She giggled.
"It's my car silly! Now come on, we've got to get to school. Edward's taking everyone else in the Volvo." I sighed and went in the car. My poor truck was apparently not getting used anytime soon. Well, I could drive it to Jake's at least. I smiled at the thought of Jake, as Alice chattered on about something on the ride to school.
As we finally arrived, Alice and I went straight to the Cullens, since we were earlier than most of the high school. Rosalie looked at me with a raised eyebrow, as Emmett and Jasper just nodded their heads approvingly. Edward's eyes widened slightly. He didn't say anything though; his eyes just quickly went to the ground. What was going on with him? I shrugged it off, not really concerned with that. I stood with them for a while, just talking. When I saw Angela and Jess arrived, I said goodbye, and went to go hang out with them. Their eyes bugged out a bit at my appearance.
"Damn girl." Said Jess. "Where'd you get that top?" I shrugged.
"It was a present." I felt awkward in the top and skirt. I was showing much more skin than I was used to. Mike sauntered up to us, and put his arm around Jess's waist.
"Hey babe." He said to her, and then he saw me. "Bella?" He asked incredulously. "You look…nice." Jess gave him a look. "But not as gorgeous as you babe." He said looking to her. She smiled. "No offense Bella." He said quickly.
"None taken." I said, laughing. The rest of the morning went something like that as well. Guys seemed to be taking more notice of me, regardless of the fact that I had a boyfriend. I just rolled my eyes and ignored them. Tyler Crowley was popping up everywhere, and I avoided him the best I could. It was a shame that I was wearing the skirt, because I couldn't run. I ditched him as often as possible though. By the time I met Alice and the others at lunch, I was already partially exhausted. He didn't dare go near the Cullens, so I was safe. Until after school at least.
"Alice, your dressing me has become a nuisance today." I said, pointing a finger at me.
"Why would that be?" She asked innocently. I looked at her.
"You know exactly why. Tyler Crowley seems to have forgotten the fact that I have a boyfriend that could beat him to a pulp." I rubbed my temples with my fingers. "If this keeps up, I can try out for the track team." I joked.
"I can talk to him if you want." Edward said quietly. I looked to him surprised.
"Its fine, I'm just complaining about him. He hasn't bothered me since after the accident anyways, so I guess he's just having his monthly fit of annoying me." I said with a smile "It should wear off in a few days." Edward didn't say anything else for the rest of the period. Alice and Rosalie chatted with me about going to the mall this weekend, and I agreed grudgingly. Like I needed more clothes. Jasper and Emmett were planning a wrestling match or something, but Edward just sat at the table, suddenly immersed in writing some more music.
By the time we went to Biology, we were watching yet another video. Edward rolled his eyes, and began to mouth the words to it as we were watching it, throwing in funny expressions and just being ridiculous. I had a hard time not laughing loudly, but if I had, Mr. Banner would have given me detention or something.
In Gym, we were playing basketball. I stayed at the back of the pack as everyone ran from one side of the court to the other, chasing after the ball. I knew from experience that if I actually got passed the ball, there was a large chance that I would get a jammed finger from catching it. I managed to evade the ball for the entire period, and as soon as school was over, I went to Alice's car, and she dropped me off at my house. As soon as I was in the driveway, I said a quick thank you to Alice, and rushed to my truck and made my way to Jake's. I was curious to see his reaction to Alice's picking of my outfit. I was wearing green, so I think he would like the top. As I rang the doorbell after arriving, he answered the door.
"Holy…" his jaw dropped. "Why haven't you worn this before?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.
"I had no choice in the matter. Alice dressed me." He took his chin in his hand, and took his time looking me up and down.
"I like this. Is she going to be dressing you everyday?" He asked eagerly. I playfully swiped at him. "Darn." He said, a frown coming on his face.
"What?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"Now I can't pick you up." He complained. "Your skirt is too short for that." I rolled my eyes.
"You dork." I grabbed his hand and started to go inside. "Come on; let's do our homework before we have fun. I have a lot tonight, but I didn't want to miss out on hanging out with you." We made our way to the dining room table, and started doing it. He kept poking me, and started tickling me too, and it was impossible to do my homework quietly, or peacefully. We kept sneaking in kisses in between each assignment, and we eventually finished our homework, despite our lovely distractions. Finally, we went to the couch and began watching TV. I snuggled up next to him, sitting carefully, because I wasn't used to sitting in skirts. I rested my head against his chest as he put his arm around me, and kissed the top of my head lovingly.
We watched TV for an hour or two, continuing to sneak in kisses. When Billy came home, I immediately got up and got to work making dinner. Jake followed me, and started helping me. Charlie came in about a half hour, and by that time, Jake and I had finished dinner. We set the table, and when we sat down, we ate holding hands, as difficult as it was.
"Dad? Can Jake and I go out tonight?" I asked gingerly, not wanting to seem overly obvious about spending time alone with Jake. A big smile stretched across Charlie's face.
"Sure Bells. There's a game on anyway. As long as it's okay with you Billy." He said, looking over at Billy. Billy nodded.
"Go for it! I'm sure you two kids get sick of spending time with us old timers." He said with a gentle smile. I laughed lightly and Jake just looked at me with a peaceful smile.
"It's not that Dad." Jake said looking into my eyes. "I just don't get to see this gorgeous gal except for a few hours a day. And when I do get to spend time with her, I like having a bit of time alone with just her." I squeezed his hand tighter, a smile coming onto my own face.
"Sure, sure." Billy said nodding. "Understandable." After dinner, Jake and I cleaned up, and then went out to my truck.
"So hun, where do you want to go?" I asked after we both got in. He smiled and cupping my face in his hand, pulling me closer.
"I think we're fine for the moment." He whispered. He kissed me gently, until he finally broke off after a few minutes. "I just got an idea!" he said, a light in his eyes. I smiled and shook my head. Ideas popped into his head at the most random moment.
"Yes?" I asked
"I know the perfect place to go. And since it's somewhat still light outside, we'll have fun doing it."
"Well what is this marvelous idea?" I teased. He smiled.
"I'll direct, you drive." He said, smiling, and reaching for my right hand.
"All right." I agreed, holding his hand while we drove. We finally made our way to the beach. "We were just going to the beach?" I teased. "I could have driven here myself." I teased. A smirk came across his face.
"We're not there just yet little missy." He teased. "Come on, follow me." We made our way through the sand, after I just took my shoes off, trying to prevent sand from getting in them, and finally we made our way to a playground overlooking the beach itself. It was secluded, and had a direct view of the ocean. We went to the swings, and sat down. I sat down carefully, annoyed by the troublesome skirt. We talked as we swung, watching the colors of the sky gently transform into the darker tones of night. Then, we saw the first star of the night.
"Quick!" I said eagerly, pointing to the star. "Make a wish!" I wished that the Cullens and the tribe would eventually get along. Jake stopped swinging, and went over to me, and I stopped swinging. He smiled.
"I'll push you if you want." I shrugged and let him push my swing.
"Did you wish on the star?" I asked, excitedly. He shook his head. "Why not?" I asked.
"Why would I need to wish on a star when I've already gotten my wish granted and here with me?" I turned around, and he stopped pushing. I got up and threw myself in his arms. He just smiled and held me tighter in his arms. "I love you baby." He whispered.
"I love you too." I murmured. We talked the next few hours away, and when it finally got too dark to see correctly, we made our way back to the truck and to Jake's house. By the time we arrived back, the game had finish, and Jake and I had an impromptu goodbye. It ended with our usual hug and kiss, and my goodbye to Billy. I did my normal nighttime routine at home, with my shower and just generally getting ready for bed. I went to bed with the sweet memories of the day with Jake seeping into my dreamland.