Author's Note: Thank you for your reviews, keep them up!

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 5: You Owe Me

"Good night, everyone," Aro waves to a few of the cast and crew members as they leave for the night. I kept my head down in shame for most of the night and made as little movement as possible to avoid another incident people could whisper about. I prefer not having to change my name or hide in a cave so no one would remember how big of a clumsy idiot I am.

Alice is still her usual cheerful, bubbly self as she says her own farewells. Emmett gives his tiny sister another big bear hug and says he'll see her tomorrow. Her and Rosalie says goodbye with a kiss on the cheek. "See you guys!" my friend smiles. Rosalie looks at me with her beautiful judging little eyes and says nothing, only giving me a forced smile, while she waits for Emmett to finish talking to Aro. What washer problem? Was she and Lauren related because I swear they have the same kind of bitter attitude toward me.

"Bella," Emmett finally approaches me with a hidden grin. I swear he wants to laugh out so badly that he'd choke if he didn't. "You're a funny girl," he gives me small hug then turns to Alice, "Now I see what you mean."

She rolls her eyes. "Don't be rude, Emmett."

"I'm not!" he argues, slightly laughing. "I'm just saying that this will be an interesting three months."

Yeah…interesting for them,maybe. I am now on everyone's radar to see what kind of stupid thing I'm going to do next. I knew it…I knew I shouldn't have come here. I not only embarrassed myself, but Aro as well. Who wants to be talked about in the media as being this fantastic director with a lumbering niece who can't seem to get anything right? It was evident that my genes didn't come from his side of the family. Renee told me that she was like me when she was younger and eventually grew out of that awkward stage in her life. I wasn't aware being uncoordinated is known as an awkward stage for anyone. I think she was just being nice about it to make me feel better.

"Emmett, we have a bunch of early meetings tomorrow," Rosalie looks impatient and is clearly ready to leave without him.

"Right," he nods, smiling apologetically at us. "I'm just waiting for Eddie," he says to her. She didn't bother acknowledging his words and steps into the car that one of the body guards was watching. Emmett searches the area with his eyes, "Where is that guy?"

"There he is," Alice points. He's walking out of the restaurant with a group of girls asking for more autographs and pulling him to pose for pictures.

Aro shakes his head with a sigh. "Does he not know what blending in means? I suppose we can no longer surprise the press at the conference since every girl in Volterra knows what he looks like."

"I'm really sorry about that photograph they tried to get, Aro. It was my fault. I should have been watching him more carefully," Emmett looks frustrated with himself.

"No, no…it's not your fault," Aro put a hand on his shoulder. "What's done is done. I was just being too optimistic that the media would respect my wishes of backing off until the conference. Just make sure he stays put in his room tonight."

"Will do," he nods. "Hey, Eddie!" he signals him over, "We're leaving, hurry up!" Edward nods in return, his eyes landing on me, pausing for a moment. I look up and set my focus on the stars. He apologizes to his groupie girls that he can't take anymore pictures. They frown at him, still flirting and complimenting him on his shirt, trying to get some last minute touches on him anyway they can. One girl starts to whisper in his ear. He seems uncomfortable with her advances, smiling politely and removing himself from their clingy grasps. Honestly!He shakes his head, grinning widely, when he finally jogs over to us. "And what was that about?" Emmett raises a curious eyebrow.

"Nothing," he sheepishly grins again. "I thought we were leaving?"

"We are."

"Well, then," he faces Alice. She has her hands on her hips with a sarcastic smile. "What?" he chuckles at her expression.

"Please don't give me anything bad to report back to mom and dad," she replies. I almost choke on my spit. Did she just say momanddad—as in, they also share the same DNA?

"Do I ever?" he grins mischievously this time. "It's not fair you gave Emmett a hug," he extends his arms out to her. She shakes her head, smiling at the goofy look he has, and gives him a good squeeze. I'm standing near Alice quietly the entire time. Aro and Jane have already left and Rosalie is growing more impatient, making the driver honk at us.

Emmett rolls his eyes again. "Let's go, Eddie," he motions with his head. "Later, guys."

"Bye," I say quietly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, baby sister," Edward pats Alice on the head. Her tiny frame only reaches his chest area. I sort of do as well but tall enough to where the top of my head is right around his chin area.

She hit him on the arm and tells him she hates it when he does that. "What are we? Still five?" she looks rather annoyed. He rubs his arm, laughing softly at his irritated sister. Just then, Alice's phone rings. Her eyes lit up when she sees the name on the caller ID. "It's Jasper! Excuse me guys…" she quickly walks away to answer it. It's just now me and him standing alone outside. We awkwardly smile at each other. I think even the crickets are laughing at us.

"I'm really, really sorry about your pants," I finally brake the silence. "I'll buy you new ones if I ruined them."

He gave me his god-like smile, clearly amused by what I said. "That's what you said about my leather jacket."

I bury my face in my hands. "I know! And I'm really sorry about that, too." I'm frustrated with myself for already having two strikes against this guy who I barely knew anything about. I have to remember to have a little chat with Alice about the two family members she forgot to mention this afternoon.

"Well, accidents happen," he places a gentle hand on my shoulder. He must have felt my body tense at his touch because he didn't let it linger there for long.

"Twice like that?" I raise an eyebrow. "First your jacket and then your pants." My eyes move down to the spot right in the middle of his zipper. I blush like crazy for staring at him inappropriately and quickly look back up at the stars. My heart is pounding loudly in my chest. I can see him suppressing a smile on his thin, sexy lips.

"There was no harm done to my jacket and my pants have mostly dried. They're pretty dark, anyway, and luckily, it wasn't that much water." Such kindness and patience this man has with me. It makes me want to jump on him and plant kisses all over his handsome face! I notice he's looking at me strangely when I finally snap out of ogling his features. I blush even more when his smile grows at my behavior. "Why did you leave the Café that night?" he suddenly asks. "You didn't even say goodbye."

"Oh…yeah, umm, sorry about that," I tuck my hair behind my ear. "You looked busy and I didn't want to interrupt you." Mostly because you were probably fighting with your girlfriend, I mumble inwardly.

"Oh, that," he rolls his eyes and shakes his head to the sky, "I'm really sorry about that. It was rude of me to answer my phone. It was just Alice trying to rush me. She can be very…demanding sometimes."

"Yeah, I know," I chuckle. I was somewhat relieved that it wasn't an angry girlfriend and only Alice. I still can't believe they're related. Even Emmett as one of their siblings. That Alice! Everything that Jane said about picking up other people she was travelling with finally clicked. She was in a hurry to pick up that sneaky little rascal and Edward. But, in the end, I can't help but smile. "So, that other peppermint soy latte you bought was for her."

"Yeah," he laughs a little embarrassed. "She sent me to that Café to get it for her while she finished packing. Jane was already on her way so she wanted me to hurry."

"Ahh…I see," I nod, finally understanding. If I knew it was just Alice on the other line, I would have stayed and flirted a little—even though I suck at it. At least I would have been able to spend more time with him. The two of us in Volterra presents a nice opportunity to do just that if time allows. They have a pretty busy schedule and I'm not sure what kind of time off anyone can get. That's probably why Aro assigned Alice to keep me company.

Rosalie has the driver honk again. She rolls down the tinted window and glowers at Edward. "Did you want to walk back to the hotel? Because you're really not paying me enough to wait around until you're done flirting. I still have to prepare a public statement for you," she tells him coolly. However, her flawless features show that she's very aggravated they haven't left yet.

"Rosalie," Emmett hisses at her.

"What?" she gives him a clueless expression. "We need to get going!" They quietly start arguing in the back as the window rolls up again.

"She's a lot nicer than she sounds," Edward chuckles at his publicist, not seeming to mind her rudeness. I figure he was used it. I blush again when she says he was flirting with me. Was he? I couldn't tell. "I'll see you later," he half-smiles before walking away.

"Yeah…see ya," I return his goodbye. I turn my back to him and sigh. At least he wasn't mad at me or thought I was a bumbling fool. If he did, he sure hid it well behind that charming personality of his. I also wasn't sure where Alice disappeared to so I walk toward the direction she left in.

"Uhh…Bella…" I hear my name escape from his angelic voice. I spun back around to see him standing there with his hands in his pockets. He almost looks bashful about something, which was so cute, I had to smile. He ran his fingers through his cropped mess of hair and laughs nervously. My heart sped up even faster. Is he going to ask me out on a date? My hands start to get clammy. "I've decided that I want you to make things up to me."

"What?" I give him a bemused look as if he was speaking another language…or talking crazy.

He grins mischievously. "I think it's only fair now that you have two strikes against you, not to mention, you walked out on me at the Café. I didn't even get a 'goodbye' or a 'thank you'."

I groan at his request. Make things up to him? How? Be his slave while I was here? The only thing I feel like I really had to atone to was the 'thank you'. "And what would you have me do?" I ask hesitantly.

Edward starts pondering on the idea. "I don't know yet," he smiles. "But, don't worry. I'll think of something." Whatever is brewing inside that head of his can't be good.

"Edward, man, let's go!" Emmett rolls down the window again. He can't wait any longer either. The intimidating look on his face meant he wasn't kidding.

"Bye, Bella," he winks before jogging to the car. I blush instantly. I really need to stop doing that!

Alice finally shows herself when he reaches the door. "Bye, Edward!" she waves.

"Bye, Hobs! Love you," he smiles playfully and closes the door behind him. They leave immediately once his foot is inside the black vehicle. Alice mumbles something under her breath.

"Hobs?" I raise a curious eyebrow.

She rolls her eyes at my question. "Growing up, Edward and Emmett used to call me Hobs because of my height. They still do sometimes to get on my nerves."

"I still don't get it?"

"Hobs? Short for…Hobbit?"

"Oh!" I laugh out loud, not meaning to irritate her further. But I can't help but laugh at the nickname. I never thought about it before but it sounds fitting for someone of her stature, although her cute appearance was nothing like a Hobbit from what I've seen in the movies.

"Har…har," she made a face at me. I give her a hug to show that I didn't mean to tease her by laughing about it, even though I still wasn't quite done laughing at the funny name.

"Now that we're alone," I say after my laughter dies down, slinking my arm around hers and walking back to our villa, "you have some explaining to do," I eye her.

"What?" she smiles innocently.

"Spill it, Alice! You better tell me everything!" I demand. "Did you know I ran into your brother, Edward, at Café Twilight?"

"Fine, fine," she gives in. She knows I mean business. "Yes, I did. Jane was on her way to pick us up but he wasn't at my place yet so I called him asking what was taking so long. He later told me that some girl spilled her drink on him when he got there. I laughed thinking how funny it would be if it was you since, well, we all know how oblivious you are to your surroundings sometimes..."

"Jeez, thanks, Alice," I inwardly roll my eyes.

"Anyway, I had him describe what this girl looks like and well, what do you know? It wasyou!" she laughs. "After he told me you ordered the same drink I wanted, there could have been no mistake about it. He also said you disappeared after I talked to him so he didn't get a chance to find out your name, but I knew it was you. I had a strong feeling about it."

"I thought he was talking to his girlfriend or something," I admit shyly. "I didn't want to stick around feeling more awkward and mortified than I already did."

"Edward? Edward doesn't have a girlfriend!" she laughs softly at the idea. "If he did, we'd know about it, meaning me, Emmett and Rosalie. It's our job to know—more so them. He's been single for about a year and half now. He dated this girl named Tanya for while back home but she started to get very possessive and clingy, which he didn't like. When his acting career took off in Chicago and more people began to know he name, especially women, she became over zealous thinking he was cheating on her when he was only out late at an event without her. He couldn't take it anymore so he broke up with her. She was a basket case."

Single, huh? I can't help but smile to myself. I probably don't have a chance, but knowing my Adonis god is single gives me a dust particle of hope. Tanya…Tanya…who is this Tanya? As I thought more about it, I suddenly gulp. "Wait, do you mean Tanya, as in…Tanya Denali?"

"Yup. The very same one."

"Isn't she," I gulp again, "a…model?"

"Yeah, but…I've seen better," Alice shrugs. My speck of hope blew away. I have no idea what Alice was talking about, Tanya Denali is beautiful! Maybe not as gorgeous as Rosalie but she was up there. I am such a downgrade that I feel like an Ogre next to her if we were to be compared side-by-side as far as beauty goes. It figures that Edward would only go for pretty girls like her. Tanya has long, curly, strawberry blonde hair, a toned body, and is irresistible to men. Last I heard she was one of the new Angels for Victoria's Secret.

"What's wrong, Bella?" asks Alice. I guess she saw me frowning.

"Huh? Nothing," I shake off my disappointment. "Why didn't you tell me earlier about your brothers?"

"Well, like you, I never like talking about my family's success or our semi-fancy upbringing. I never want people to think that just because I came from a well-known family, I had it easy entering the fashion industry. I admit I did work for my mom for a while but I finally decided to branch off and create my own designs. I changed my professional name so no one would associate any of us together. I want to make it big without people thinking getting my own line showcased was handed to me. I went by Mary Alice Brandon for a year or so until I established a good clientele base of people that wanted me to dress them, and eventually shorted the name of my line to Mary Alice. Doing hair and makeup came later. I have a vision for my models and who could better capture their facial appearance better than me?" she smiles proudly.

"So is that why Aro hired you so you could dress the actors for the movie? And because you were multi-talented?" I add.

"Well, for the movie and the red carpet—whatever he needed of my expertise. I was flattered that I was recommended for the job but I also let everyone know that I wouldn't be offended if they decide to wear another designer. We all have our favorites," she says.

"Who recommended you?" I ask curiously.

"Who else? Edward."

"Edward recommended you?"

"Yeah. He was super ecstatic to get his first big movie role and when he found out that they still needed a stylist and makeup artist for the actors, he told Aro about me. I had a short meeting with Jane and Aro and was pretty much hired the next day. There's a team of stylists with me but I get to run the show," Alice smirks at the authority she has. "As far as Emmett and Rosalie are concerned, I already told you they'd been together for a long time. They met in college when Emmett was an all-star quarterback. He could have gone pro but after an injury he sustained, that dream kind of died. He's always been optimistic, though, and I told him I saw something better for him than pro football. Rosalie wanted to move to LA to become a publicist, which was easy for her to get into due to her father's connections. She convinced Emmett to move with her and got him an interview with the same agency. He has a knack for making deals and negotiating with people so being a celebrity agent wasn't that farfetched for him."

"Must be convenient to have your brother and his girlfriend as your agent and publicist," I comment.

"Don't forget your baby sister as your stylist," she smiles, rolling her eyes. "Having our family together when we go on location shoots like this has its pros and cons. It's nice that we can spend time together, but too much time drives us nuts! We also have to remember to act professionally around each other but most people already know we're siblings so we can get away with bickering and goofing around every now and again. Emmett is the oldest so he can punk Edward whenever he wants," she chuckles.

"So, let's see…you're a fashion designer, stylist, and makeup artist…your brother, Emmett, is a celebrity agent…your other brother, Edward, is an actor…your dad is a surgeon…and your mom is…." I waited for her to finish my sentence for me.

"…She's also a fashion designer."

"What's her name?"

"Umm…Esme," Alice almost sounds unsure of her own mother's name.

"Esme?" I repeat. "I haven't heard of an Esme Cullen?"

"Yeah, well, that's because she goes by…E. Evenson," she confesses.

"What!" I exclaim. "Your motheris E. Evenson! The E. Evenson? The one that practically put every new trend out there on the streets?"

"Yup. Everson is her maiden name." I wasn't big on fashion like Alice was but everyone knew who E. Everson is. She is innovative with her designs and if people weren't wearing Alice's clothes, they were wearing hers. Not just the red carpet, but everywhere imaginable. She even has a selected line inside Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus stores. "She's been on this creative, artistic binge lately, working as an architect restoring old houses. She's currently in some forest north of Ithaca restoring a 17th century house. That's why her and my dad chat all the time. They're not even in the same continent right now."

"When you said talented family, I didn't know you meant talented family." The skills in Alice's family are overwhelming. Each member has a high paying profession that they were good at. I can only imagine the house she grew up in back in Chicago.

"I know, we're superhuman beings genetically engineered in lab," she jokes.

"Oh, really? And this whole time I thought you guys were from Krypton," I add sarcastically with a smile.

"Yeah, that, too," she sticks her tongue out at me. We both laugh all the way to our rooms. Alice unlocks her door then faces me. "I'm really happy you're here," she smiles, giving me a hug.

"Me, too," I hug her back. I feel better about my decision knowing she was here. We were about to say a final goodnight when Maurice, the bell boy from earlier, steps out of the elevator. Alice and I both stare at him wondering what he was doing on our floor so late.

He walks casually up to us and hands me what he was holding in his hand. "Mi è stato detto di dare questo a voi." When I finally take it from him he leaves with a shy smile.

"What did he just say?" I look at Alice with a small laugh.

She was grinning from ear to ear. "He said he was told to give that you."

"What?" I look at the single stemmed rose I'm holding. "Who would have given me this?"

"Don't know," Alice shrugs with the goofy grin still plastered on her face. "Good night, Bella," she says. She looks like she knew something I didn't. Her door is closed before I have a chance to say anything else. I walk in my room, inhaling the wonderful fragrance of the flower before placing it in a vase that was already filled with other flowers one of the tables. I smile at it. Did I have a secret admirer?

Author's Note: Hmm…wonder who it could be? ;) Please review!