All recognizable characters are property of Stephanie Meyer and the author makes no financial gains from using them. I just like to make them spoiled little rich kids.

This story will bounce back and forth between the present time (senior year) and the summer before. Please do not hesitate to PM me with any questions you may have.

Big thanks to Kaila for betaing this for me.

Thank you to those of you who have added my story to your favorites or alerts, I really hope you enjoy it. Check out the banner for this story made by the very talented MsRason (link can be found on my profile).

Alice danced down the hall twirling and leaping as she went. Bella smiled and shook her head as she walked along side her. How Alice still had so much energy after the three hour workout she'd just put the whole team through was beyond her.

"Do you have back up batteries or something?" Bella asked, adjusting the large duffle on her shoulder.

"Years of practice have resulted in incredible stamina," she bragged with grin.

"I bet that comes in handy." Bella smirked at Alice.

"Your leaps were looking a little sloppy today," Alice noted before doing one herself.

"I know," Bella replied, sighing. "I was just beat by the end of practice."

"The Cullens have an amazing dance studio. I recommend you take advantage of it when you get back," Alice said.

"Recommend?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend's choice of words.

"That's my nice way of telling you to do it." She laughed lightly and Bella rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Stretch out extremely well with the bar and then do twenty leaps across the floor making sure to pay attention to your form in the mirrors."

"It's a good thing I like you," Bella replied. "Otherwise, I'd probably have to kick your ass for ordering me around."

"That's why I'm so lovable!" Alice smiled widely at her. "People just want to please me."

"I have so much to learn from you, Master Yoda."

"Did you just compare me to a short little green guy?" Alice asked, crinkling her nose at the thought.

"Would you have preferred Obi Wan?"

"Ewan McGregor is hot," Alice replied, licking her lips at the thought.

They reached the end of the hall and exited out the large double doors and into the parking lot. Alice glanced around looking for J or Emmett and spotted J several feet away locking lips with some nameless sophomore. Oh, how she loved watching the looks on those girls' faces when she took the boys away.

"You gonna ride with Emmett?" Alice asked, turning back to Bella briefly.

"Yeah, I don't really feel like interrupting J." Bella had a slight look of disgust on her face. All she could think of when she saw J kissing the girl in the red skirt was James leaving the cafeteria on Monday and what probably ensued. Although, hitting her with the tennis ball this afternoon had been entertaining.

"Can't say I blame ya." Alice scrunched her face again as she looked over at J and the blond. "Really, work on those leaps though, the practice will help," Alice said, turning back to Bella again. "Jusqu'à demain." Alice placed a kiss on each of Bella's cheeks and walked away.

An evil smile spread over Alice's lips as she approached J. He released the girl's mouth with a loud pop, but took no notice of Alice's approach. The girl looked dazed for a moment before attempting to pull J back to her. As she reached for the collar of his shirt, a small hand snaked its way onto J's chest.

Alice slid her hand over the buttons on J's shirt before resting her hand on the top of his jeans. She peeked her head around the side of his arm and he immediately released the girl he'd been kissing. J looked down at the small girl who had now wrapped herself around him and smirked wondering what she was up to.

"You're done here," Alice told the girl as J wrapped his arm around her tiny shoulders. The girl glanced quickly at J, expecting some sort of response, but received nothing more than a shrug. Alice tilted her head slightly to the side and the girl quickly hopped off the fence she'd been sitting on and took off across the parking lot.

"You don't have to be so harsh to them," J said, turning the both of them and heading to his Dodge Viper.

"Oh please!" Alice scoffed, folding her arms over her chest. "If you weren't looking for me to say something rude to her, then you wouldn't have been making out with her knowing that I'd be coming out any minute expecting a ride home."

"You could always drive yourself," he noted. "I think your Porsche feels neglected."

"If I drove myself we wouldn't be able to have our daily chats," she returned.

J said nothing but smiled anyways. He popped his trunk open as they approached the car and tossed his bag in before grabbing for Alice's. Alice pranced over to the passenger side before opening the door and lithely dropping inside. She was digging through her bag as J settled himself in the driver's seat and propped her now bare feet onto the dashboard with a satisfied smile on her face. J watched her with interest as he backed out of the parking space and drove through the gates of the Academy.

"You will have my car detailed if you get any of that crap on it," J warned as Alice began to polish her toes.

She threw him an annoyed look before rolling her eyes and continuing on. "I have been painting my toes in your car for the last two years and have never spilled a drop. I resent that comment," she finally said, switching feet.

After all ten toes had a nice shimmering pink gloss to them; she capped the bottle and dropped it back into her bag. She leaned forward and began blowing on her toes in an effort to get them to dry faster.

"Tell me something," Alice requested, not looking up from her petite feet.

"Something," J stated.

Alice shook her head but continued on. "Since we both know how much you hate having me send your little playthings away, why don't you tell me the real reason you were kissing that girl," Alice requested.

"She was cute, it was something to do." Alice nodded once and J knew that she hadn't believed him at all.

"It wasn't to make someone jealous?" she asked.

"If I'd thought making you jealous would get me anywhere with you, I would have tried that years ago." He tossed a smile at her for good measure. Alice rolled her eyes and pursed her lips in response.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a leggy brunette." J shrugged but said nothing. Alice watched his features carefully looking for any change but found none. She pursed her lips in thought before speaking again. "She won't sleep with you."

J burst out laughing at this statement. "Is she breathing?" he asked, rhetorically.

"Contrary to your beliefs, not every girl you meet will sleep with you."

"You did."

"A mistake I haven't repeated," she said as she toyed with the ends of her hair. J let out a deep breath, his lips settling into a grim line. If there was one sexual experience he'd like to repeat, that was it.

"Well, maybe I'm interested in more than just sleeping with her." Alice snorted indignantly. J's mouth dropped open in shock. "What, I can't be interested in a girl for more than sex?"

"The only girls you have ever associated with that you weren't sleeping with, was us." J said nothing as he watched Alice, waiting for her to put two and two together. "She is one of us," Alice stated, finally glancing at him. J nodded and smiled as realization dawned on her. "If you're just after her to befriend her, then what's with all the trying to get into her pants?"

"Come on!" J laughed, knowing he was going to have to spell everything out to her. "Don't you think it's just slightly amusing to watch James try to pretend he doesn't give a shit about her when the rest of us hit on her?"

"It was fun to watch him throw a fit and stomp out of the cafeteria the other day." She nodded in agreement.

"Just let me play. Okay, Mary Alice?"

"Don't call me that, Jasper," she stated, giving him a playful shove. J smiled widely, pulling her to his side and ruffling her hair.

Bella watched Alice traipse off towards J and she had to laugh as she watched their exchange take place. Something off in the distance caught her eye and she looked across the parking lot to see Emmett leaning against his shiny black Porsche Cayenne Turbo. He had on a snug fitting pair of jeans with a light blue button down shirt that was blowing slightly in the breeze. He had one leg propped against the tire and a genuine smile appeared on his face as their eyes met. Bella tucked a hair behind her ear and adjusted her bag before making her way towards him.

"Hey," she greeted him softly.

"Hey yourself." He grinned wider.

"Any chance I can get a ride home?" Bella asked, peeking up at him coyly.

"I think that could be arranged." Emmett nodded, reaching for the bag that was hanging off her arm.

Bella handed him the bag and watched him as he opened up the back and tossed her bag in with his. Perhaps Kate was right; maybe what she needed to deal with this whole James situation was something to distract her. Emmett seemed like an okay guy. He had a great body from what she'd seen, a great sense of humor, and he appeared to be extremely easy going.

"See something you like?" he asked, turning back to her and catching her watching him.

"It's possible." Bella shrugged before turning away and walking the couple steps to the passenger side door. Before she could reach for the latch though, Emmett's large hand was on the door opening it for her. She gave him a questioning look, but he offered her his hand instead, helping her up and into the vehicle. He grinned once more at her before making sure she was all the way inside and shutting the door.

Bella watched as he made his way around the car, wondering where this gentlemanly side had come from. Emmett opened his own door and hoisted himself inside as Bella continued to gaze at him.

"What?" he finally asked as he stuck the key into the ignition.

"Nothing; you just surprise me is all," Bella replied.

"You like surprises?" he asked, turning his big baby blues on her.

"Depends on the surprise."

"I have a question for you." He paused, leaning back and buckling in his safety belt. "Are you an adventurous type of girl or a 'don't put me in any situation I could break a nail' type of girl?" he asked, making his voice high on the last part.

Bella had to laugh at his wording. "What kind of girl do you think I am?"

"I hope you're the adventurous type."

"Why's that?" she asked as he put the car in drive.

"Because if you're not, you're gonna hate my surprise." Emmett grinned at her as he pulled out of the front gates onto the road.

Bella stumbled for what felt like the tenth time since she and Emmett had started their trek through the woods. She had asked him three times where he was taking her, but he refused to give her even the smallest of hints.

"I'm glad we're doing this after dance practice and not after school, there's no way I could've done this in the shoes Alice bought for me," she stated as she attempted once again to get her footing.

"True, but those heels sure make your ass look good," Emmett returned, looking back at her and smiling. Bella rolled her eyes at him, but returned his smile all the same. "We're almost there anyways, so you can stop worrying."

Sure enough, less than five minutes later, Emmett came to a stop in front of a small lake. The water was almost completely surrounded by trees, but allowed some light from the afternoon setting sun to filter in. There was a calmness here that Bella hadn't found anywhere in quite some time and she basked in the quiet that surrounded her.

"What do you think, was it worth it?" Emmett asked, taking in the serene look that had taken over her face.

"I love it. It's so peaceful," she stated as she closed her eyes and took in a large breath of air. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Emmett unbuttoning his shirt and preparing to take it off. "What are you doing?"

"Going for a swim. Care to join me?" he asked, pulling his shirt off and hanging on a nearby bush.

"I am not getting naked with you," she responded indignantly to which Emmett rolled his eyes.

"I assume that you have underwear on, which cover up the same as a swimsuit," he began as he unbuckled his belt. "However, if you were going commando, I wouldn't mind that either."

He turned to throw her a smirk but was met with her tank top thrown into his face. His boisterous laugh filled the air around them. Emmett quickly pulled his pants off the rest of the way and after stepping out of his shoes and socks, dove into the calm water.

"Coming?" he asked Bella after he came back above the water. Bella eyed him for a moment. "Don't tell me I was wrong about you." These seemed to be the magical words as she pulled off her shoes and socks before sliding her pants down her legs and diving into the water.

"Where are we?" Bella asked a little while later.

"You know the trees you can see from the balcony in your room?"

"How do you know what the view from my room looks like?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Emmett rolled his eyes at her before answering. "I know the Cullens' property and by process of elimination, I know which room is yours. Don't worry; I haven't been spying on you." Bella laughed at the thought and Emmett grinned back at her. "Anyways, their property goes back quite a ways and one summer when we were kids, we decided to be explorers and we found this place."

"Who's we?" Bella asked.

"Cullen, J, Evans, and myself. Almost every summer we'd hang out here. Once we were old enough, we'd bring sleeping bags and marshmallows and shit and then when Demetri and Garrett moved here, we brought them along too," he informed her.

"I'm not intruding on sacred ground, am I?" she teased.

"I won't tell if you won't tell." He winked at her. "My favorite thing about this place is that you can see all the stars as they start to appear." With that, he brought his feet to the surface of the water and began floating on his back. Bella watched him for a moment before he tugged on her wrist indicating she should join him.

It took a minute for Bella to get situated, but once she did, her gaze landed on the great expanse of stars above her and another memory of star gazing immediately over powered her. Her breath caught in her throat as her body dipped under the water. She felt a strong set of hands pulling her back above the surface and she started coughing and sputtering as she tried to take in air.

"You okay there?" Emmett asked, his eyes wide with concern. He ran his hand soothingly over the back of her head as he watched her carefully.

"Um, yeah." Bella coughed a couple more times. "I just, uh, swallowed some water."

"Perhaps I should have started with floating lessons," Emmett attempted to joke. Bella rewarded him with a small smile. "You see, the trick is to keep all your weight held in your stomach." Emmett slipped his arm around Bella's middle, pulling her towards him in the process.

"I'll remember that in the future," she replied. Bella's brown eyes locked onto Emmett's blue ones and she found it impossible to look away.

"Please do." Emmett smiled before tipping her chin and meeting her lips with his.

Bella shut the door to the Cullens' home softly behind her before leaning back against it and biting her lip. She smiled to herself as she relived her kiss with Emmett through her memory. He had softly touched his lips to hers, trailing his fingers along her spine. Even in the water, it had given her chills and she had pushed herself more against him. One hand snaked its way into his hair while the other ran over his muscular shoulder. His lips were insistent, but his tongue was gentle, mingling softly with hers.

"You certainly look like you had a good evening." Mrs. Cullen's voice broke into Bella's thoughts bringing her back to reality. "Which one was it?" Mrs. Cullen asked with a knowing smile. While Esme played her part of a lady of leisure to a T, she still enjoyed interacting with her children and their friends. Alice and Rosalie had confided in her about many things and she was glad that she was still able to provide perspective to the younger generation.

Bella studied the older woman for a moment. She had only had a handful of interactions with her since her mother had informed her that she would be staying with the Cullens and they had all seemed overtly formal. Esme Cullen had long auburn hair that hung around her in perfectly calculated waves and her make-up looked like it had been applied by an artist. She was dressed in her standard knee length skirt, silk blouse and matching jacket, but the pointedly reserved look that Bella had come to expect was gone and replaced with a slightly mischievous crooked smile. Bella instantly realized where Edward had gotten his smile from and couldn't help but smile in return.

"I just had a good day is all," Bella replied, not wanting to shun Mrs. Cullen but also not wanting to sit and chat with her about her evening with Emmett.

"I can see that," Esme returned, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Is it alright if I use the dance studio?" Bella asked, wanting to deter the conversation from its current path.

"Of course," Esme replied. It saddened her a bit that Bella didn't want to talk to her, but then again, she barely knew the girl and had only been living in her home for a couple days. "It's just past the music room." Esme pointed down a hallway that Bella had only been down once, when she was given the grand tour of the Cullen home. Bella smiled and nodded once in thanks before heading to her room to change.

The lights from James' Lotus shone brightly against the Cullens' garage before he killed the engine and opened his door. He stepped out onto the cobblestone drive and looked at the house. He still wasn't quite sure what he was doing here, but when he'd gotten in his car an hour ago to go for a drive and clear his head, it had inevitably driven him here. He couldn't get over the disgust he'd seen in Isabella's eyes over the last few days, not that he'd deserved anything less, but it was still bothering him. He wondered if she'd known when they met this summer that they would be going to school together and she'd just never said anything, or if seeing him the first day had been just as big of surprise as it had been to him.

No, he thought remembering back. The look on her face had told him that she had known exactly what to expect. But why not say anything? He wondered as he walked up the front steps. He knocked on the door and was immediately let inside by Aro, the Cullens' butler.

"Young Master Cullen is in the music room," Aro informed James, shutting the door behind him.

James listened for a moment and could barely make out the random notes being played on the piano. He nodded once to Aro before heading down the hallway he knew led to the music room. He had hoped that Edward would be in his room, that way he'd have an excuse to go by Isabella's, but it appeared he was out of luck.

James rapped his knuckles against the slightly open door before walking in. Edward looked up, surprised to see James.

"What's up?" he greeted him, trying to figure out why James was here. He had a pretty good idea as to why and it was probably the same reason he was in the music room, playing solitary notes on the piano instead of parked somewhere with Tanya's head buried in his lap.

"Not much. I was just driving around and thought I'd stop by," James answered nonchalantly. Edward smirked at his friend's lie but said nothing in return.

They chatted idly for a couple minutes about nothing in particular before loud rock music caught their attention.

"Is someone listening to music?" James asked, looking out the door trying to figure out where the music was coming from. Edward looked up as well, wondering who would be listening to rock music. "Is that Papa Roach?"

Edward got up from the piano bench and wandered out into the hall with James following shortly behind him. They followed the sound of the music to the dance room and peeked their heads inside to find Bella practicing her leaps across the floor.

Edward chuckled to himself softly. Trust this girl to practice ballet dance moves to this kind of music, he thought.

Once James caught sight of Isabella, the music disappeared from the world. All he could focus on was the determination on her face as she moved across the room and the way her body glided through the air when she leapt. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun and she wore a simple racer back tank top and dance pants; an outfit he had grown quite fond of this summer.

Both boys were quickly pulled from their thoughts as Bella realized they were there. She smirked at her reflection in the mirror before grabbing the remote for the stereo and lowering the volume of the music.

"Can I help you?" she asked, eyeing them both. She tried to not focus on James, but her eyes kept wandering back to him. He was dressed in a pair of fitted jeans and a white polo shirt, but the look on his face was what held her attention. It was a look she hadn't seen since this summer and it brought her back to that time. He looked calm and comforted at the moment and she realized how much she'd missed that look.

"Papa Roach?" James asked, quirking an eyebrow at her, a small smile playing on his lips. "An interesting choice for dancing."

"Well, it's no Linkin Park," she returned his small smile with one of her own, "but it works."

Edward watched the two of them interacting and instantly wondered if this was what they had been like this summer; soft looks, slightly teasing comments and eyes that couldn't leave each other. He suddenly felt like he was intruding and moved to leave them alone.

Edward's movement caught Bella's eye and reminded her that it wasn't three months ago and this wasn't the James she had cherished. She internally chastised herself for letting her old feelings get the better of her and turned on her 'ice queen' persona as Kate had told her to do when she felt herself getting pulled back in by James' presence.

"I bet you play Linkin Park for all the girls though, I'm sure it's nothing special."

James was taken aback at the sudden change in her demeanor and even Edward did a double take, stopping in his attempt to leave the room. James' face darkened slightly, the arrogant look Bella had come to expect over the last couple days returning full force.

"Just another thing in my bag of tricks." He eyed her with disdain.

"Tricks are for kids," she returned before turning her back to him and turning the stereo back up.

Edward did his best to suppress the laughter that was threatening to burst out of him as he nodded to James for them to leave. James took one more look at Isabella before following Edward out of the room. If she'd have glanced up and met his reflection in the mirror, she would have seen the hurt in his eyes, but she made herself focus on the leaps she was doing and missed it.