Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 1: The Beginning of a Bad Day

I drove my dad's rather large F-150 towards my best friend Alice's apartment. Today was her boyfriend-soon-to-be-fiancé's twenty-seventh birthday. We were throwing him a surprise birthday dinner. Alice had told him she had to work tonight so they celebrated yesterday. I had begged him to let me take him out for dinner as a birthday present. I was taking him to his favorite restaurant, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill. I called him earlier in the day to let him know I might be late and asked him to meet me at the restaurant at 7:15. We had asked all the guests to arrive by 7:00 at the latest. We were heading to the restaurant early to decorate. Alice loved parties and get-togethers, never doing anything halfway.

I pulled into her apartment complex to find the little pixie already outside, bouncing with excitement. There was no mistaking it was her. She stood at a mere 4' 11", had short black hair, spiking in all directions, pale skinned, beautiful, and was dressed to impress. She wore a pitch-black tiered halter dress that fit her tiny frame perfectly and was paired with her red Manolo Blahnik's and red Coach bag. Alice, from the first day I met her, was always fashionably dressed. Upon graduation, we moved to Seattle to attend the University of Seattle. We graduated a year and a half ago with our Bachelor's degrees, hers in Visual Arts and mine in English/Creative Writing. We both chose to continue our education. I stayed at Seattle U to obtain a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction. She began to attend The International Academy of Design and Technology to study Fashion Design. It was perfect for her.

I pulled to a stop and she flung the door open hopping into the backseat. The decorations were already in my dad's truck. We had gone shopping two days ago for them. She had asked to leave them in the truck after shopping, afraid they would be discovered in her apartment.

"Hey Bella," she greeted in a singsong voice. "Hi Rosalie. Thank you for coming today. I'm really glad you'll get a chance to meet my boyfriend. You look gorgeous by the way." She wore hot pink cap-sleeve scoop-neck long tee with black Manolo Blahnik's and a black Coach bag. Rosalie was my new roommate. My last had moved out because she transferred to Portland U. I had worried it would be hard to find a roommate at the beginning of a winter quarter. Luckily, I met Rosalie in the Student Union two weeks ago. I had finally decided I desperately needed a roommate. Rent was not cheap, and I was living on a teacher's salary. After much delay, I finally decided to post a flyer at the Student Union. I had a few friends that had found a roommate this way. They all have been successful pairings, but the unknown scared me. What if I ended up with someone that was completely different from me? What it was someone that would try to take over the apartment, as if I did not live there?

The first of the month changed my mind when I had to pay the full rent myself. I printed the flyers that night. I found her searching fliers for a place. She was tall, blonde, and leggy, the epitome of a supermodel. She reminded me of Alice in that she was beautiful and fashionably dressed. She huffed after reading one of the flyers, turned to leave, and accidentally bumped into me. She apologized and helped pick up the flyers I had dropped. Upon reading it, and probably assessing that I was normal enough, she suggested coffee. By the end of the hour, she was my new roommate. Alice had invited her to the bash in an attempt to invite her into our circle of friends.

"Thanks. I found the dress on sale actually. My favorite kind of buy, and thanks for inviting me. Please call me Rose," she answered. "I'm excited about helping set up. I love throwing parties so this is great."

"I knew I was going to like you." I had learned a few things over the last two weeks getting to know Rosalie. She had an icy façade that she kept in place around strangers. She was, however, the furthest thing from it. I found her to be very caring and compassionate; it was just sometimes hard to get past the bluntness. Another thing I learned quickly was that she was going to get along great with Alice. They had a lot in common. "Bella, how are you feeling today?"

"Fine, Alice. The same as usual." I knew she was only concerned about me, but after answering this question every day for the past three weeks it was getting irritating.

"I know you have been having a bad few days. Are you sure you're up for tonight?" I pulled back onto the highway to head towards Baja's, and sighed.

"Drop it. I'm fine." I knew I was being harsh, I could hear the strain in my voice. She was right though. I had had a bad few days recently. I was sicker than usual, but I was also tired of not having answers from the doctors. The sickness was draining, but not knowing was mentally exhausting as well. Things were finally starting to take its toll. Therefore, I had recently decided I was done worrying. If there were no answers, there was nothing wrong. I was taking back control in my life, starting today. I just had to convince my friends to go along with it.

"Bella, please. You know I'm just trying to look out for you." I could hear the hurt in her voice and it killed me. She'd been my best friend since junior year of high school. Eight years later and I felt like she was my sister, and family took care of each other. That's all she was trying to do.

"I'm sorry, Ali. I'm just tired of being sick with no answers and what feels like no possibility of getting better."

"You'll get better; I can feel it. You just have to be patient." I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and parked near the back in an attempt to hide the truck. We each grabbed two bags from the back and went inside to be greeted by the hostess. "Hello. I'm Alice Cullen. We have reservations at seven for ten people. May we set up our decorations?"

"Right this way."

Alice had run with the idea of Mexican food and bought decorations accordingly. The tablecloth was white, red, and green. She created the centerpieces. They were red and white carnations, the green being the stems. She had place cards for each guest. They were mini-sombreros about the size of a softball. Each person's name had been sewn into the hat. Maracas were lying around the table along with confetti. A banner had been made that said, "Happy Birthday Jasper." She hung this against the windows so it could be seen by all in the restaurant. She had looked up different ways to fold napkins and found one she liked. She had printed the directions and recruited Rosalie and I to do that. Once we were done, our area looked very festive, and guests began to arrive.

Alice stood at the door to greet each guest and direct them to the table. Rosalie and I sat at the table. Tyler was the first to arrive. He and Jasper had been friends since high school. It wasn't a close friendship though. It was more one of convenience, on-again off-again. They had worked out together a few times lately so Alice had invited him. I introduced him to Rosalie and we began a conversation about high school. It seemed so long ago.

Sam, Paul, and Alex were the next to arrive. They were all PhD candidates along with Jasper in the Counselor Education Doctoral Program at Seattle Pacific University. Jared arrived next, a co-worker of Jasper's from the Counseling Center. Lastly, Felix arrived. I rolled my eyes as I leaned over to whisper to Rosalie.

"This guy is a volunteer at The Center where Jasper and Jared work," I began as he walked towards the table. "I'm sure you will see for yourself, but I wanted to warn that he is annoying, immature, and too touchy. He thinks his flirting is subtle. I apologize ahead of time because you're his type."

"How do you know that?" she asked.

"You're a woman." We both giggled. He immediately went to Rosalie to introduce himself. I cringed for her hoping he would go away quickly. The waitress came at that moment to take the drink orders since everyone minus Jasper had arrived. I was the last to order. "Could I have water no lemon and a strawberry daiquiri?"

"Virgin," Alice told the waitress as she leaned over the empty seat between us where Jasper would sit.

"No. With alcohol. Thank you." I smiled at the waitress.

"Bella, the doctors said no alcohol."

"Alice, please, not tonight. It's been three weeks and five doctors can't tell me what's wrong. What makes them right about the alcohol?"

"It's common sense. You are taking ten different medications. Alcohol and medicine don't mix."

"I appreciate your concern, but besides you Jasper is my next best friend. I am celebrating tonight so please drop it. Just one night, give me one night." She would have pushed further, but Jasper was to arrive soon.

"Okay everyone," Alice began, "he should be here soon. When he walks in we're all going to yell surprise. Now, order whatever you want, dinner has been taken care of. All you have to worry about paying for is drinks." Many people began to protest. "There will be no arguing. If you don't like it you can leave." She knew nobody would; they were all here for Jasper. Speak of the devil! We all turned to see him walk in the door.

"SURPRISE!" Jasper's head whipped up from texting on his iPhone. A large grin broke out on his face. Alice skipped over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She pulled away, but he pulled her back placing a lingering kiss on her lips while his hands cupped and caressed her cheeks. I had to look away, feeling as if I was intruding on a private moment. Cue the deep ache in my heart. Jasper greeted everyone around the table. All of the guys received a handshake, I got my favorite Jasper hug, and I introduced him to Rosalie. He thanked her for coming.

"You look great, Bells" he said as he sat down. I blushed. I was still in my work clothes. I had to leave from the school, pick Rosalie up at the apartment, and hurry to get Alice. I was in an Alice creation though, which meant it was a great outfit. The shirt was a deep blue ruffled v-neck with buckle front, straight leg black slacks, and black ballet flats. I had enough trouble walking across a flat surface. I wouldn't add heels and make my life more dangerous. The waitress came back with drinks and took our food orders. Jasper turned to look at me, his lips a thin line.

"That doesn't have alcohol in it, right Bells?" he asked. I didn't want to have this conversation. He had been getting worse about it lately, talking to me like a shrink. I was always quick to remind him I was not one of his patients. I hated being patronized.

"As a matter of fact it does." The waitress took Jasper's order then mine. He grabbed my drink and handed it to the waitress.

"Please bring her one without alcohol." I began to argue but stopped when he put a finger over my lips. "It's my birthday. Humor me." I huffed and turned back to talk with Rosalie. I did my best to enjoy the night. Jasper joined our conversation.

"So Rosalie, are going to school or working?" he asked.

"Both. I'm attending University of Seattle and working at Rick's Auto Shop."

"What are you studying?"

"I'm in my last year now. I'm getting a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor's in Business. I want to open my own Auto Shop one day. Working at Rick's has been great. He's flexible with the schedule, which I need because I'm taking so many classes. He also is teaching me the business side of the garage. I've been working on cars since I was eight so I don't really need a lot of instruction there, but running a business is foreign to me. He's been great."

"Wow. That's really impressive. Do you want to work on any specific car or is it going to be a general auto shop?

"Pretty much just general. I do want to work on restoring cars though. My dream would be to find a frame of a 1969 Corvette and rebuild it from the ground up."

"That's a nice car. I'll keep an eye out for frames."

"I appreciate that. So I know you're a candidate in the Counseling Program. What are your other degrees in?"

"I got my Bachelor's in Psychology and Master's in Counseling from U of Seattle. Now, I'm at Seattle Pacific for the PhD. I work at the Counseling Center on campus currently, but I hope to open my own practice."

"What specialty do you want to have?"

"I haven't decided between traumatic events or relationships. I've seen firsthand the effects an untreated traumatic event can cause years down the road, and I would never wish that on anyone." I lowered my eyes as the memories invaded my mind. I hated when he would talk about it without acknowledging it. "At the same time, many of my friends seem to come to me with relationship problems. I've worked with them before so I know I can do it. I've still got some thinking to do." The waitress brought out the food effectively halting our conversation.

Mexican food had never been my favorite. My stomach was never pleased with spicy food. I had ordered chicken fajitas; it was the safest thing on the menu. Before the dinner was over, I was starting to feel more nauseous than I had been the past couple of days. I took another sip of water and waited to see if it would pass. Rosalie noticed and asked how I was. I waved off her concern hoping not to worry her. I hated attention. Twenty minutes later I was feeling worse. Jasper turned to talk to me.

"Bella, are you okay?" he asked. I must have looked worse than I thought.

"I'm fine, really," I tried to assure him. "It's just the food not agreeing with me." I patted his hand that was lying on the table in reassurance. That's when I noticed my hands were clammy.

"Are you sure? You have been having a bad couple of days. Maybe it's not just the food. Let me take you to the ER." He placed a hand on my forehead, and I could tell I was sweating a bit. He began to stand, but I held his hand tighter. We had now gotten Alice's attention.

"No Jasper. Please. No ER. I swear it's just the food. I just need to get home, take some medicine, and rest. I have a long drive home tomorrow to switch back vehicles with Charlie. I could use the rest."

"Bella please," Alice pleaded leaning across Jasper. "Let us take you to the ER."

"No. I am going home."

"At least let Rose drive. Would you mind?" Alice asked Rosalie.

"Not at all," Rosalie answered. "Give me your keys, and I'll pull the truck up to the front." I handed her the keys with an apologetic look. She left, and I gathered my things. I stood up and swayed, feeling dizzy. I felt Jasper steady me.

"Bella, please let me take you to the ER," he pleaded as he stood in front of me.

"Jasper," I whispered. "Please don't make a scene, and help me walk to the truck."

By the time Rosalie parked the truck at our apartment complex I was feeling absolutely horrible. The nausea was acute, I had developed a massive headache, and the weakness had overtaken me. Rosalie had to help me get upstairs to the apartment. Once inside I pulled out my medication taking the different pills for each symptom. I then changed into pajamas and laid in bed, covers pulled up to my chin. This will go away. This will go away. This will go away. I was chanting in my head willing the phrase to be true. I glanced at the clock to see that it was only 9:30. I took deep breaths as I attempted to go to sleep.

Sleep, however, was evading me. My nausea had died down some, the headache was now a minor throb, but the weakness was still present. The last time I remember looking at the clock it was 2:00am. I was jolted awake around 7:00 when I felt my stomach lurch. I threw the covers off of my sweaty body and bolted for the bathroom. I spent the next hour hunched over the toilet emptying the contents of my stomach. Once I felt as if there was nothing left, I stumbled to the kitchen where I kept my medicine. I took my daily meds, sat on the couch, and turned the television to Saturday morning cartoons. My dad and I, until the day I left for college, always watched cartoons together on Saturday mornings.

Rosalie emerged from her room around 8:30 and joined me on the couch after getting a cup of coffee I had started for her. She pulled a blanket from the armrest and wrapped up in it. I knew not to talk with Rosalie until she had had her caffeine. We watched two episodes of "Recess!" before she ever spoke.

"I heard you this morning," she began without looking away from the television. "How are you really?"

"I think I'm going to be okay," I said after thinking about it. "I know this seems worse than usual, but I honestly think it was the food. I have never liked Mexican food or rather it has never liked me. I think it was that coupled with whatever else this is that caused such a bad reaction. My stomach fells better now that it's empty."

"I'm glad to hear that. Are you up to driving today? I could go with you, drive for you. I wouldn't mind."

"I really do appreciate that. I think I'm going to lie back down and try to rest. I'm going to leave about five so that I miss traffic. I should be better by then. I'll let you know if I need you though."

"Promise?"

"I promise." I stood and returned to my bedroom and fell asleep quickly. I woke at three to my alarm. I got up, took more medicine, and showered. After packing the truck I said goodbye to Rosalie and began my three-hour drive.

AN: Thanks for reading, and thanks to all that reviewed and added story alerts. I have the story outlined, but I wanted to get your help for part of it. There will be a Spring Break Trip in the story. So, what are your ideas for destinations? Let me know in a review.