Author's Note: Here's the next chapter. A bit short, but enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 22

"…the thing for you to do is to get a random guy and date him so you can make him jealous," Alice was saying at top speed. She had been babbling since the bell had rung, signaling dismissal, about seven minutes ago. I didn't know how she had gotten out of class so quickly and joined me just as rapidly, but this was pixie drama queen we were talking about. She was capable of anything.

"You will make him regret his decision to go out with that girl," Alice babbled. "You will transform your look so that you look sexy and even more beautiful than usual that he will feel hurt whenever he sees another guy holding your hand, and…"

I tuned her out, leaving her to her own fantasy world. Sometimes, it was so easy to hang out with her. Let her go on and on about something totally impossible, and she would burn down later.

Rosalie had joined us about five minutes ago, and upon discovering that Alice was in one of her talkative, excited, angry, pissed moods, she, too, had decided to let her talk without interruptions.

"…stupid brother whom I officially hate now…" Alice spit out as she babbled on.

Students glanced at her amusedly as we passed by on our way to the parking lot. But Rose and I weren't embarrassed. At first, we had been, but now, we were too used to this kind of behavior from our friend.

"…alright?" Alice asked sharply, and Rosalie and I jumped.

When we looked at her blankly, she sighed exasperatedly. "You weren't even listening, were you?"

"Of course we were," I said mildly, and Rosalie nodded, her eyes wide and innocent. "What were you saying?"

Alice rolled her eyes while Rosalie stifled a laugh. "Okay, okay, smart aleck. I was saying that you should totally get a boyfriend."

I raised my eyebrows. "If this is about Edward dating Tanya-"

"Of course it's about that!" Alice snapped. "He loves you, not Tanya! So the only way to make him regret his decision about agreeing to date her is to get yourself a boyfriend and flirt with him in front of that stupid brother of mine and make him jealous!"

Rosalie looked intrigued. "That's an idea."

"Ha!" I snickered. "No, thank you. I think I'll be perfectly fine. I won't die if he's not around me. I'll survive."

"This isn't about you! It's about making him regret and pay for his mistakes!"

"Leave him alone, Alice," I said reproachfully. "You should have more respect for your brother. He knows what he's doing." I paused dramatically. "He gets better grades than you do."

Rosalie busted out laughing while Alice scowled. "Hey, that's not funny! It isn't my fault he's a smart freak with all the brains! Heaven knows I try harder than he does."

"Yeah, Bella," Rosalie said, fighting to keep her face straight. "You shouldn't be saying that to her. It's because of her hard work she's getting all A's…with the exception of one B."

She and I burst out laughing as Rosalie dodged Alice's attempts at aiming for her shin. "Whose side are you on, Rosalie Hale?"

People stared curiously as we made our way across the parking lot, still laughing at Alice's cross attitude.

Emmett and Jasper were already by our cars. Edward's Volvo was already gone, no doubt taking Tanya out on their first date.

I tried not to think about it and tried to enjoy this moment. It wasn't every day I had a good laugh like this. And as Rosalie and I continued to laugh and tease Alice, I felt lighter than I had in weeks, and it felt nice.

Maybe it showed on my face. Because Emmett and Jasper perked up when they saw me laughing genuinely, and Rosalie was continuing to do this on purpose, to lighten up the atmosphere. Even Alice's gaze seemed to soften as she played along by pretending to be offended.

"What's the joke?" Jasper asked, smiling pleasantly.

"Yeah," Emmett chimed in. "Share it with us."

"We were just teasing Alice about her grades," Rosalie snickered. "How she works so hard…only to get a single B."

"And a whopping B-plus, at that," I added, snorting with laughter. "Eighty-nine-point-eight percent in a class where her teacher refuses to round up."

Alice stomped her foot. "Hey! Shawn Johnson is a freaking Biology butthole! It is not fair. That freaking point-two percent…" She pouted. "He should have totally rounded up. I was going to sue him, but Mr. Smarty-Pants talked me out of it. I should never have listened to him!"

"Who are we talking about?" Jasper asked.

"Edward," Rosalie answered, still giggling.

"But I have to agree," I said, as I tossed my bag inside my car. "Mr. Johnson should have rounded up her grade. It really wasn't fair."

"Well," Emmett said. "He's finally doing it. He's on his first date with Miss Slutty-Skirt. He abandoned us, so we need a ride. Bella, do you mind?"

I smiled slightly, though I felt a painful jab in my heart. "Of course not. Anywhere specific in mind, or just home?"

"Just home is fine. I have lots of homework to do."

"Will you join us today?" Alice asked hopefully. "It's been a while since you came over, and Carlisle and Esme have been asking about you."

I sighed as I slid into the driver's seat. "Okay."

Alice and Rosalie slid into my backseat. Rosalie handed Jasper her car keys so that he and Emmett could take her M3 and follow us to the Cullens.

I was amused throughout the entire car ride, listening to Alice and Rosalie's debate on who was better at singing: Hugh Jackman or Russell Crowe from Les Misérables.

"Bella, what do you think?" Alice asked impatiently. "Don't you think Russell Crowe had the unique voice?"

"Well, I could hear him when the entire cast was singing," I said mildly. "Does that count?"

"Yes! It means he has that kind of voice that sets him apart from other voices! See, Rose! I told you!"

"But there's a reason Hugh Jackman was starred as the lead, Alice! Besides, he has a very clear voice, and you can actually distinguish the words, whereas Russell Crowe has that husky tone…"

They continued arguing back and forth, making me giggle now and then. They were both pouting when we arrived at the Cullen house, as they hadn't come to a conclusion.

"We'll continue this later," Alice hissed at Rosalie as we entered the house.

"Deal."

"Bella!" Esme greeted me warmly. "Long time no see! I missed you!" She gave me a hug.

"Hi, Esme," I said, smiling. "I'm sorry I didn't come for a while. I was involved in other…stuff."

"How are Renee and Charlie doing?" Carlisle asked as he came into view from the kitchen. "Hi, Bella."

"Carlisle," I said, nodding. "Charlie came home during the weekends. I don't know about Renee; I haven't talked to her in a while."

"Thank goodness," Esme said, watching me worriedly as I grabbed one of her famous brownies. "At least Charlie has the sense to come back. You're not alone anymore, so that's a relief. If one of them hadn't come back, I was going to suggest that you come stay with us until they do."

Emmett choked on his piece of brownie, and had to run into the kitchen for a glass of milk. Rosalie swallowed on hers hard, glancing at me nervously. Alice shook her head rapidly behind my back at her parents, her eyes wide. Jasper merely continued to eat.

"It's okay, Esme," I said, trying to sound convincing. "I mean, I have Charlie back now, so it's fine."

"Well, that's a relief," Esme said, smiling.

"Why isn't Edward with you?" Carlisle asked.

Either they were really blunt about what had happened between Edward and me over the weekends, or they were determined to keep me in Edward's life.

"He's on his first date with Tanya Denali," Alice said in a bright sarcastic tone. "Isn't that wonderful?"

"What?" Esme looked surprised. "They're going out now?"

I slipped away without them noticing and headed upstairs. I hesitated in front of Edward's door. I didn't want to go in there to study if he wasn't going to be there. Instead, I slipped into Alice's room.

About twenty minutes later, when the four of them had apparently finished explaining today's events to Carlisle and Esme, they joined me.

"We thought you would be in Edward's room," Alice said. "So we looked, but you weren't there. You always study in there."

I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could. "It didn't seem right, since the owner isn't there right now."

She snorted. "Since when did you worry about that? Even when he was out with the boys on a football game, you used his room. He didn't care, you didn't care."

"Alice," Emmett said warningly, and he shot her a look that said: Let it go.

I was grateful for his intervention. I was running out of excuses. And if I wanted to continue making them, I would have to try harder, and pretend harder.

AN: What did you think? I gotta say, I'm loving the reviews. Keep 'em coming!