[Disclaimer] SM owns everything Twilight.

[A/N] thanks to each and every of you who keep reading & reviewing. It's your feedback that keeps me writing this soap…ahm I mean fanfiction.

This chapter is dedicated to MangekyoMasta510. No, I won't let Bella develop an eating disorder. She and Ali have already enough 'problems' to deal with. Don't you think?

**Chapter 63**

Ali's POV

"You're really serious about marrying the straight girl, aren't you?"

I growled angrily and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"Jasmine, I swear if you don't stop calling Bella, the straight girl, I'm going to leave your house this moment."

She grabbed my hand around my wrist and stroked over the rose gold ring on my finger.

"I'll try my best. The ring is pretty by the way." She cleared her throat before she continued.

"And I didn't mean to be rude. It's just…well; she's been with men before you, your shithead of a brother on top of it. Doesn't that disgust you one tiny bit?"

"Maybe she's the one who should be disgusted because I've been with you before." 'I snarled at her.

"That was a low blow and you know it."

I sipped on the coffee in front of me and tried to make my voice sound smooth like honey when I spoke up again.

"The things you keep saying about Bella all the time. They're not exactly compliments, are they?"

"Ali, can't you see that I'm just trying to watch out for you? I need to protect you. She's going to mess things up and both of us know how well you handle getting your heart broken."

"What makes you so damn sure that she's going to mess up? She loves me and I love her."

"And they lived happily ever after – amen."

I rolled my eyes at that and fought the urge to throw something at her, preferably something hard.

"It's not like that." I told her when she turned around to open the kitchen window behind her.

"Then what is it like? Because I just can't see why you want to be with her so badly. Why her and not my? God, you know, how much you mean to me. I'd do anything…,"

"Firstly, yes, I know that you're in love with me."

"Not think; I do love you, Ali."

"Oh come on, Jazz, you've slept with half a dozen women since we broke up."

"That has nothing to do with sex. Unlike you, I know the difference between passion and romance."

"That's what you think." I mumbled so low that it was barely audible.

"Why her?" Jasmine croaked out while she continued rolling her thumb over the edge of her glass. It was an annoying habit and she knew that it got on my nerves

"You wouldn't understand it, Jazz. It's not easy to explain. What I feel for her isn't something that I can put into words that easily."

"Just try." she encouraged me.

"I really need to understand it."

I sighed deeply and took another sip from my coffee.

"When I'm with her, it's like…like she and I are the only people on earth. I can be myself around her, and she truly sees me as if she knows the deepest corner of my soul."

"That still doesn't answer my question, Tinker-Ali."

"See, that's one of the many reasons, why I'm with her. Bella would never call me this ridiculous nickname that my sister made up for me when I was a little kid."

"Sorry, darlin', I just like to see the pissed off expression on your face when I do it, so adorable."

I grabbed the next best thing on the table – it was a fork – and threw it at her.

She chuckled lightly and ducked her head, making the fork crash against the kitchen counter behind her.

"You missed! Jeez, didn't your mother tell you to behave like a lady?"

"Didn't your mother tell you that it's not lady-like to provoke people?"

"Yep, she did. But on the other hand she also suggested that I could marry Peter just to keep the pretty façade for my father. So I don't think following her advises are a good idea."

She put one finger in her mouth and made puking noises.

"The thought of Peter touching me makes me with his sausage fingers, makes me sick."

"Talking about Peter, are you sure that he won't scare Lilly?"

"Trust me, darlin', your little copper-haired niece will be way more scared of her malicious father."

A shiver of fear went down my spine. Things with Edward couldn't get any worse, could they?

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked me worriedly, putting her hand on my forehead.

"You're not sick again, are you?"

"I'm not sick. Well, not more than usual. God, Jazz, I'm so scared of my brother. Edward is going to freak out when he finds out that Bella and I are getting married."

"You don't have to be. I can shoot straight, if I don't have to shoot too far..." she mumbled, putting a wisp of my hair behind my ear. I instantly shrugged back.

"Would you please stop touching me all the time? It makes me feel awkward."

"Maybe awkward is good? You have to admit that you care about me…still."

"Of course, I care about you, Jasmine, I love you. You are my best friend and I need you. I need you to be my best friend, my best friend and nothing more. Please, promise me that you at least try to overcome this…crush, that you have about me, because if you don't…this will mess up things between me and you forever."

"What I feel for you is more than just some crush. You are gorgeous and I don't want to lose you."

"Can't you see that you're this close to doing that?" I snarled at her.

"I need you. I need you in my life, especially since my family treats me like I'm having the plaque or something like that. Carlisle and Esme won't talk to me for the rest of my life."

I felt the tears starting to burn in the corner of my eyes and swallowed hard to keep them from falling. It didn't work.

"Shhh," she whispered, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.

"Your parents do love you and everything is going to be fine."

"How can it be fine if my happiness makes them so miserable?" I croaked out and wiped my running nose on the sleeve of my shirt.

"Please, don't do that, Ali. It's gross."

She handed me a tissue in an overly theatrical gesture.

"Here, sweetie, take my handkerchief. Never, at any crisis of your life, have I known you to have handkerchief."

I took the tissue from her and cleaned my noise loudly.

"You've seen that crappy movie far too often, you know?"

"That's just because I love analyzing the characters so much, Ali. Did you know that the relationship between Scarlett and her mother Ella is pretty similar to yours with Esme?"

"I don't think, I understand."

"Look, you put your mother on a pedestal by searching for all the mistakes in yourself because you don't want to admit that your perfect Mary Sue of a mother isn't as perfect as you wish her to be."

"Don't you think that I already know that, Jazz?"

"Knowing something here…," she touched my forehead with her fingertip.

"And knowing something down here…," She mumbled, brushing the skin right above my heart.

"…that's something completely different."

"Your mother loves you. She really does. I know it doesn't feel that way to you right now but she does. And she suffers too, a lot actually. Esme is such a nervous wreck that Dr. Morton had to…"

She stopped midsentence as if she had accidentally told me to something that she shouldn't have.

"If you want to work things out with your parents, you have to convince your mother first. Esme is the heart of your family, while your father is more like the head of it."

"Esme won't listen to me. She's on Edward's side and I can't even blame her for that. He's her real child."

"You're her child too. It doesn't make any difference to her that she's not your biological mother. And she's not on his side. She's, always has been on the side which she thinks is best for the entire family."

XXXX

Shopping with a little child was exhausting, especially since my mind was way too occupied with a lot of other stuff than cereals.

"Auntie Ali?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Can I have one of those for Fido?" she asked me, waving with a box of biscuits in her hands. Her tiny mouth twitched into a crooked smile that made her look too much like Edward for my taste. Jeez, focus, Ali, it's not her fault that she inherited his looks…and mom's hair…or Bella's eyes. The eyes are my favorite part of it of course. Hopefully the baby will have them too.

"Auntie Ali, please."

"Honey, the dog is already too fat. All of us, especially you, have to stop feeding him whenever he begs for it."

"But I need some cookies to teach him a few new tricks."

"Fine, you can buy them. But promise me that you won't give all of it to him in one day."

"I will." She stated cheerfully.

I turned around and almost dropped the carton of milk I was holding in my hands.

"Hello, Ali." she greeted me, putting a wisp of her fire-like hair behind her ear.

"Victoria," I croaked out, cursing myself for the slight trembling in my voice. I didn't want to sound insecure in her presence, didn't want to show her that she still managed to intimidate me in a much too unpleasant way. Vic had been way more than my girlfriend. She was my mentor. The first one to tell me that I was talented, the first one to spend money on something I had made. The first one to convince others to buy clothes from the inexperienced fashion student I had been when we met…

"How's it going? You made some clothes for Didyme Volturi, didn't you?"

I nodded my head, desperately trying to think of a good way to keep this conversation as short as possible.

"Why do you know about it?" I asked her. Damn it; please don't let her know Didyme. That would be awful. But Vic practically knows everyone who is slightly involved with the fashion industry.

"James and I were at the opening of the gallery where she wore it. I'd recognize your style anytime."

"Are you and the woman friends?"

"Kind of, sweetie."

Victoria raised one eyebrow.

"Are you working as a babysitter now? Jeez, you really need to overcome your ridiculous pride and let me open a few doors for you in the business you were born for."

"I don't need or want your help, Vic. And Lilly is my niece. I'm not babysitting as a job."

"Your niece? Oh, I see. Edward's kid, right?"

"Yes, she's his daughter."

I took a few granola bars out of a shelf.

"Are you seeing anyone right now, Ali?" Victoria asked me, licking her lips thoughtlessly.

"That's none of your damn business, Vic."

"Oh come on, don't be like that. I was just curious and also wondering if you were up for a little fun this weekend. James is going to Montreal with Laurent and we'd have the entire house to ourselves."

"You're disgusting me."

"Don't be such a prude."

"Auntie Ali, what's a prude?"

"Nothing that you need to know, Lilly,"

She didn't look content with this answer but to my relief she didn't ask anything more about it.

"We have to go now, bye, Vic."

"Don't be mad at me, Ali. You know that I like you and it's not my fault that you didn't want to accept things the way they are."

"Sharing you with your salaciously boyfr…I mean husband isn't something that I can accept – ever. And you fucking know that, Vic."

"You are a prude and that's such a pity. Thinking about all the fun the three of us could have makes me feel all tingly."

"You know that the child can hear you, don't you? And it doesn't make me a prude that I'm not interested in threesomes."

"Too bad. So, are you dating anyone right now? I hope it's not the curly-head from Texas. Jeez, you were practically still a virgin after the two of you broke up."

"No, it's not Jasmine. She and I are just friends." Or at least I hope we are, I added silently in my head.

"But to answer your question, I'm with someone right now. We're going to get married."

"You want to get married? Really? Who is she?"

"That's none of…,"

"Auntie Ali is marrying my mommy." Lilly explained to her, while she twisted one of her copper-curls around her fingers.

"She made me a dress for it. But I'm not allowed to wear it to school. It's such a pretty dress."

"Hmm, yes your aunt is good at making pretty dresses, isn't she?"

Then she turned to me again.

"You're marrying your sister-in-law? Is this a joke?"

"Ex sister-in-law and it's definitely not a joke."

She chuckled slightly, and I thought about punching her straight into her porcelain face.

"I've told you that it's none of your business!"

"Auntie Ali, are you angry at her?"

"No, I'm not. We're just talking."

"But you yelled at her."

"Sweetie, please, just be quiet now and let me say goodbye to Victoria, will you?"

She nodded her head and started biting her fingernails again. Jeez, we definitely needed to do something about that.

"Good bye, Vic."

"You can't just leave like that. Look, Ali, if this is because you're still hurt."

"I'm not hurt." Not anymore…

"Oh, yes you are. I can see the way you keep looking at me. It still burns inside of you, doesn't it?"

"You don't know a thing about what it looks like inside of me. The way I feel about Bella, I never felt that way about you, Vic…definitely never."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

[A/N] Puh, both ex-girlfriends in one chapter, I'm really mean to Ali but I hope I managed to show the difference between her prior relationships and the one she has now with Bella.

We're getting closer to the wedding special. (That's chapter 65, in case you wanted to know.) Leave me some love and press the review button. It really means a lot to me.