Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to SM. No infringement intended. Anything original is mine, though. Rated M for future chapters.

This is an AU/AH story. My first fanfic in the Twilight world.

Author's Note: Since I have never been to Las Vegas myself, all of the sites and shops that are in this chapter are strictly from my YouTube knowledge. The Oxygen Bar at the Stratosphere is based off of a different oxygen bar on the Las Vegas strip, since I couldn't find that particular one online.

CHAPTER FOUR

"You can stand under my umbrella ella ella eh eh eh, under my umb-er-ellla ella ella eh eh eh," Bella could care less that the windows of the Volvo were rolled down and she was belting out Rihanna like a lunatic. It was about 95 degrees outside, the wind was blowing through her hair and she could just see the Las Vegas skyline in the distance.

After leaving Yosemite two days before, she decided to make a pit stop in Las Vegas, swallow her fear, and bungee jump off a fucking skyscraper. She knew without a doubt that when she sent the pictures to the Denali's, her new friends would be cheering for her. She also knew that when she sent them to Jacob and Sam, her dear friends would be calling immediately to tell her what a crazy thing it was for her to take a flying leap off an 800 plus foot building.

Bella didn't know if she was more excited or more terrified at the thought. But damn it, she was going to do it.

The drive to her next destination was definitely a culture shock. Feeling adventurous, she had decided to forego the highway and instead, drove through Death Valley; a far, far cry from rainy green Forks. Bella had never imagined that desert could be beautiful, but nothing had prepared her for the vastness of it. She had stopped on the side of the road to take picture after picture and was grateful that Tanya had given her half a dozen disposable cameras as a "goodbye and have a fucking amazing trip" gift.

She had spent the night at a hotel in Stovepipe Wells before waking up in time to watch the sunrise. She had used an entire roll of film just for that sight, before grabbing breakfast and getting back on the road.

Las Vegas rose like a mirage in front of her, some kind of bright neon kingdom in the middle of the sand. When she turned and found herself on the Las Vegas Strip, her eyes widened in wonder. Traffic was congested, so between the stop and crawl, she was able to get an eyeful of the sights surrounding her. After driving through desert for the past day and a half, Bella was almost overwhelmed by the crush of people and buildings. There were roller coasters weaving between buildings shaped like castles for crying out loud! It looked like somebody designed the place after a really crazy acid trip.

She drove past New York, New York, the Eiffel Towers at Paris, the fountains at the Bellagio and even with the bright, crazy drunken playground surrounding her, she could make out her destination in the distance, standing above all the rest. She swallowed hard, seeing just how tall the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino really was.

"You're jumping off that son of a bitch, Bella Swan," she muttered to herself.

She was also staying there. From her room at Stovepipe Wells the night before, she had called and reserved a room for three nights at the Stratosphere, figuring she would at least save some money on her death defying activities with their discount.

An hour later, she was in her room sprawled out on the insanely comfortable bed, relishing in the wonders of air conditioning. While the heat outside was a treat for her, she could only handle it in small amounts. It took baby steps to get used to something like that.

Bella flipped through the mass of brochures she had brought up from the lobby. She was planning on checking out a few places her first day in Vegas. She knew her first stop would be for a laptop and a digital camera. With all the pictures she planned to take on this adventure, she would spend all of her money on disposable cameras alone. She also wanted to be able to download all her pictures so she could email them to her friends.

After a short nap, Bella went to the lobby and asked for directions the nearest Apple Store, stepping out into the dry heat to make the short walk to the SDX stop. From there, she rode to Fashion Show mall and in a very un-Bella like fashion, spent a few hours shopping. She purchased an iMac and a digital camera, a few pairs of jeans each from Lucky Brand Jeans and True Religion, and went on a mini tee shirt spree at Hot Topic and the Gap. After stopping at Great Wraps for an early dinner, she added a pair of Chucks and a pair of Vans to her new wardrobe, shampoo and body wash from Bath and Body Works, a giant box of chocolates from Godiva, and a new duffel bag from Dick's Sporting Goods to pack everything in. By the time her taxi dropped her off back at the hotel, she was exhausted.

She fell asleep early with the hotel's Vegas tourism channel on the TV and woke up around nine the following morning. Her plan for the day was to check out the rides and the Sky Jump, and the nerves in her stomach made eating breakfast impossible, not to mention the very real possibility of heaving off the side of one of the rides. Bella showered and dressed in a new pair of denim shorts and a tee shirt, slathered sunscreen all over herself and made her way out of the room and towards the Tower.

Bella had discovered from the tourist TV channel that the Sky Jump Store was on the second level near the casino, in the Tower Shops. She got caught up in the Chinese Street Bazaar look of the mall, going from store to store and making a mental note to stop at a few shops for some souvenirs. She stopped outside of a shop called Breathe and just stared in confusion at the sight through the windows.

"What the fuck is an oxygen bar?" She wondered aloud.

An amused laugh behind her caught her attention and she turned to see a young, attractive couple standing nearby. They were both taller than her, which wasn't difficult, with beautiful dark hair and eyes and smooth brown skin. The woman shook her head, a look of apology on her lovely face.

"I'm sorry for laughing," she apologized, grinning at Bella. "You just said that aloud and it made me think of the first time I saw this place too."

Bella chuckled, relieved that she wasn't the only one confused by an oxygen bar. "Not a problem. I guess it just caught me off guard that they charge for oxygen in this place, too."

The man smiled, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "This is Vegas, where nothing is free, not even the air." He nodded towards the store. "Actually, it is a pretty cool place."

"The inhalers are great, there's one for hangovers that actually works."

Bella was confused again, looking between the couple and the windows again. "Inhalers? Like asthma inhalers?"

"Nope, come on and check it out," the woman grinned, walking towards the door, pulling the man behind her. "Trust me, it's awesome."

Bella shrugged, figuring she was in no rush to jump to her possible death. She followed the pair into the shop, taking in the bar with machines on the top that closely resembled the slushy machines in gas stations. Each machine had four glass cylinders of different colored liquids. Two women were already seated in front of their own machines, wearing clear nasal cannula's on their faces while a few of the cylinders had liquid bubbling away.

The couple stopped near the end of the bar and the woman reached sat down at a stool in front of her own machine. Bella sat down beside her, staring at her own machine. Each cylinder was labeled; her machine contained "Sex on the Beach", "Mango", "Relax" and "Sugar Cookie".

"So this is the oxygen," the woman grinned, waving her hands a la Vanna White towards her machine. "You get a cannula and attach it to the machine and you can try out the different scents. It's crazy relaxing, especially if you get a massage at the same time."

Bella eyeballed the machine, admitting to herself that she was more than a little intrigued. "I'm not going to get oxygen high, am I?"

The man chuckled, sitting on a stool on the woman's other side. "A tiny bit, but it's more relaxing than anything. Especially if you've been up all night drinking and haven't had any sleep."

A female employee walked up to them carrying sealed bags with the nasal cannulas and three little iPod looking machines that Bella recognized at a TENS unit. She remembered her mother using one to deliver little electric shocks to her muscles after straining her back one summer.

"Hello, welcome to Breathe," the employee said pleasantly. "Have you ever been to an oxygen bar before?"

"We have," The woman reached out to squeeze her male companion's arm. "But our friend here hasn't yet," she turned to Bella, rolling her eyes slightly. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I don't even know your name! I just hogged the conversation and didn't even introduce myself!"

Bella laughed, holding out her hand. "You're fine. I'm Bella."

The woman grinned, shaking her hand. "I'm Tia and this is my husband, Benjamin."

Benjamin reached over his wife to shake Bella's hand. "Nice to meet you, Bella. Please excuse my wife; she's pretty excitable in the mornings."

The employee introduced herself as Shana, and handed the cannulas to Tia and Benjamin while showing Bella how to open hers and put hers on. She attached each cannula to a machine and explained how they worked before attaching the TENS pads to different points of their upper backs. With the little electro-shock machine in her hand to control and a tiny plastic spigot in each nostril, Bella felt like she was making another visit to the ER after injuring herself.

"Honestly, I feel like I'm in some chic little medical clinic," she joked, watching as Tia and Ben turned their oxygen machines on. She decided to start off slow, and flipped the switch for "Sugar Cookie".

Benjamin chuckled, flipping all four switches on his machine, a bit like an excited little kid who couldn't decide what kind of candy he wanted. "We probably do look pretty silly to the people outside," he admitted. "There's an oxygen bar kiosk at one of the hotel malls and it is pretty amusing to see everybody around it, wearing medical equipment and breathing in scented air. Looks like they're inhaling an Orange Julius."

Tia chuckled, flipping the switch on "Hangover" while Bella turned her little shock machine on a low setting. Strange little tingles started at her shoulders, moving outwards from the pad locations and her eyes rolled back in her head. "That is what I needed."

As the oxygen flowed through her cannula, she could actually taste sugar cookie in the back of her throat. After a couple minutes, she switched to "Relax". "We'll see if this relaxes me before I go to the Sky Jump Store."

Tia looked over at her, her dark eyes shining. "We're doing that today, too! That's why I got drunk last night, the thought of it freaked me out and I needed a little liquid courage!"

Bella laughed, excited that she would not be alone in her crazy bungee jumping glory. "Unfortunately, I'm not old enough to drink, so I didn't get that option."

"Benjamin's parents are here with us, but they haven't left the casino back at the hotel since we got here yesterday morning," Tia shook her head, grinning lovingly at her husband. "I hate gambling. I lost twenty dollars in a slot machine once and was depressed for the entire day thinking about what I could have done with the money instead of blowing it."

Benjamin reached over and tugged his wife over to plant a loud, smacking kiss on her cheek. "I married such a brilliant woman! At least I know she won't bet our savings away at the Roulette tables."

Tia grinned widely. "I may put us in the poor house at the Daiquiri bar, though." She turned her seat slightly towards Bella. "Are you here with family or by yourself?"

"By myself," Bella replied, changing her setting on the TENS unit to medium. She had to admit, between the lavender scented air she was breathing in and the tense and release shocks on her back, she was feeling pretty damn good. "Some friends suggested I stop here and jump off the Stratosphere and try out the rides."

"We should go up together!" Tia suggested, and Benjamin nodded behind her, his eyes twinkling. "We could cheer each other on and scream in unison on the rides!"

"That would be great!" Bella agreed, feeling a little bit better at the thought of jumping now.

"Have you checked out the Adventuredome at Circus Circus yet?" Benjamin asked.

"Not yet. I got in yesterday, did some shopping and went to bed early."

"Ungh!" Bella laughed at the Master P style grunt that came out of Tia at that moment. "We went to Adventuredome last year and it was awesome! It's an indoor theme park; some roller coasters and carnival style games and rides. We should go once we try out the rides here and make our jumps."

"I'm game," Bella grinned.

*.*.*

Bella watched through the observation glass as Benjamin sailed off the platform and dropped 108 floors to the ground. She swallowed hard, turning to Tia, who was watching beside her. "I think I need another hit of oxygen."

Tia laughed, her beautiful dark eyes sparkling with excitement. "Oh my God, Bella, me too! If there was anything left in my stomach from last night, it would be all over the glass right now!"

Bella was slightly jealous of Tia's "nerves". While Bella was trembling like a weak kitten in her fear, Tia's anxiety came off like happy fun times. She couldn't be too upset, though. Tia reminded her a bit of the Denali's, open and sweet and so much fun.

The three of them had signed up together and taken the quick instruction training before changing into their jump suits. Bella had chosen the Wrist Video package that included a wrist cam, video of her jump and digital photos that she would get on a USB stick when she was finished. She even had a "video interview" before taking the elevator to the top, where the attendant joked with her on camera and asked her if she had any last words for family and friends. She couldn't wait to email the video and pictures to her friends.

One of the employees came over, looking over the two jumpsuit and harness clad girls before him. "Who's next?"

Bella and Tia looked at each other and Tia grinned. "Bella here can go next. I'm afraid that if I go first, she'll make a run for the elevator."

"Bitch," Bella muttered, unable to stop the grin from forming. Tia laughed and swept her hands towards the door to the jumping platform. "Go take a flying leap, Swan. Or a Swan Dive! Ha! Get it? Swan dive?"

Bella groaned, shaking her head in false disappointment. "That was horrible, Tia. Horrible!"

Still, she was chuckling as she made her way through the door and to the open platform. As the employee hooked her up and checked her harnesses, she held her wrist up and looked directly into the wrist cam. "Jacob, Sam and Denali's, I dedicate this jump to you guys. And Tanya, Kate and Irina, if I die, it's all your fault because this was your idea."

The employee had her turn and smile at the camera and she made a dorky thumbs up sign before following the man's directions and grasping the rails on either side of her body.

"Now step forward so the tops of your feet are hanging off the edge," the man said and Bella took a deep breath, looking out at the busy strip below her and the mountains in the distance. Her hands were trembling and sweaty and her heart was pounding so loudly she was amazed she could even hear the instructions. She stepped forward, clutching the rails tightly. "Okay, when I say 'go', you let go and step off."

Bella nodded, too terrified to speak. The jerk counted to three and said "Go" before she could blink and without pausing to think, she jumped off the platform with her arms held out wide.

Her stomach dropped and the feeling of free falling combined with the rushing noise from the air and the sight of the ground coming closer had her screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs. Almost instantly, though, the fear morphed into intense excitement and her screams became laughs of pure joy.

"Best idea ever!" she shrieked as the ground came closer. The hydraulic harness slowed her down a bit and the attendant on the ground shouted a reminder to have her feet down.

"What did you think, Bella?" The attendant asked for the camera when she was on solid ground. Bella couldn't stop laughing, her adrenaline at an all time high. "Better than cliff diving!"

When she was unhooked from the harness, she ran over to the side where Benjamin was waiting. He grinned widely at her, giving her a high five.

"Nice jump, Bella," he praised.

Bella couldn't stop laughing. "Holy shit, I want to do it again!"

His laughter joined hers as they looked up, watching the harness move up the line towards the platform where they knew Tia was waiting to jump. Bella couldn't help but bounce in excitement for her friend.

A few minutes later, she watched as Tia sailed down the line, the other woman's shouted curses reaching her ears all the way from the top. She cracked up along with Benjamin as Tia reached solid ground, a string of profanities still coming out of her mouth in an excited stream.

"Fucking amazing!" Tia shouted, making her way over to them. "Swear to God, I think I came a little bit!"

Benjamin laughed harder, pulling his wife into a bear hug. "That was the hottest thing I've ever seen, love."

Tia was still laughing as she planted a loud kiss on his lips before turning to Bella and throwing her arms around her. "That was awesome Swan Dive! You killed it!"

Bella groaned at the nickname, but she was still so high from the adrenaline that nothing could bother her. "I feel like I could do anything right now," she admitted, hugging Tia back. "Hell, I may just get a tattoo or a piercing today."

"You might want to hold off on something so permanent until you come down from your high," Benjamin joked as they made their way back inside the Sky Jump Store to change.

Tia's eyes lit up and she grabbed Bella's arm. "We could get henna tattoos, though! They're not permanent and they are so freaking cool! My cousin was married in India and she had the most beautiful henna designs done on her hands and feet. It only lasts a week or so and best part, no blood!"

Bella immediately agreed, and they planned to look for a henna tattoo shop later on that afternoon. They parted to change back into their clothes and Bella picked up her USB stick with her pictures and video of her jump.

The trio purchased Tower admission and all day passes and rode the elevator back up to the 109th floor. They rode the three rides two times each before breaking for lunch and pigging out at the buffet. Afterwards, they braved the heat to walk almost a mile to Circus Circus Adventuredome and spent the rest of the afternoon going from roller coaster to roller coaster and Benjamin won a giant stuffed Elvis for Tia at one of the carnival games.

After dinner, they found a henna tattoo parlor on the Strip and Benjamin sat and held their purses as Bella and Tia chose their designs and got their tattoos. Bella chose a flowery vine that ran from the lower half of her thumb, down to her wrist and around like a bracelet. Tia's was a bit more elaborate, and ran from the top and side of her foot and up to her knee. They even chose little rhinestone embellishments to accent the flowers.

Bella studied her tattoo while Tia was getting hers finished up. "This is awesome! I wouldn't mind having this permanent at all."

Tia held her leg out, wiggling her toes and admiring the jeweled flower on the top of her foot. "Right? I'd be perfectly fine telling my grandchildren that Grandpa held our purses while Grandma got inked."

They lounged in their chairs, waiting for the ink to dry as Benjamin searched for different shows to see on his phone.

"Hey, there're some seats available tonight to see Blue Man Group," he said, holding up his phone with a grin on his face. "Poncho seating! We could pay to be dipped in paint and flung into a giant canvas!" He kept swiping down further on his phone. "And if we say 'Madame Tussauds' when we go to buy the tickets at the box office, we'll get free admission to the wax museum!"

Bella and Tia looked at each other and burst out into laughter.

"What do you say, Swan Dive? Shall we further explore this 'human art' adventure?"

"You're in luck," Bella teased. "It's been my lifelong dream to be a paintbrush."

*.*.*

The show let out way past midnight and Bella had just hit her third wind. The trio exited the theatre, covered in paint splattered ponchos, laughing hysterically at what they had just witnessed. Bella knew before her trip who the Blue Man Group was; Jacob had been a fan for years, so she knew what they were all about. Listening to a CD, though, and watching the group live was a whole different ballgame. They weren't chosen to be the human paintbrush, but they still got splattered a few different times during the night.

They had also scored free tickets to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum at the Venetian, but it did not open until ten in the morning. None of them were quite ready for the night to end so they headed to a 24 hour bowling alley, where Bella and Tia crashed a Drunk Elvis karaoke party by performing UB40's version of "Can't Help Falling in Love". Benjamin had videoed the entire spectacle on Bella's phone, not missing the performance or the appreciative hoots and hollers from the twenty five plus inebriated Elvis impersonators sitting in the bar. They were so popular that they also performed "Viva Las Vegas" ala the Dead Kennedys as an encore before running off to rent bowling shoes.

4AM found Bella sitting at a booth in an all night diner, shoveling down scrambled eggs and laughing at a slightly drunk Tia who was reliving their karaoke glory on repeat.

"Damn girl," Tia giggled, starting the video from the beginning for a fourth time. "We were sexy as fuck on that stage! Look at them hips!"

Benjamin chuckled, his arm draped over the back of the booth behind Tia. "You're lucky the Elvis' didn't stalk you for autographs."

"We were pretty popular," Bella had never been one who craved the spotlight, and she had never, ever sung karaoke before, but Tia had been very persuasive and she couldn't help but laugh at the irony of their song selections. "At least the guys didn't get pissed off that we sang the covers and not the original versions."

Tia signed happily, finally relinquishing the phone to Bella. "You have got to send me a copy of that, Swan Dive. I'm going to post that shit on Facebook and show off our talent."

After breakfast and still not ready for bed yet, they took a sunrise helicopter tour of the Strip and surrounding areas, followed by a stop at another Oxygen bar for a wake up boost and an aqua massage.

They were at Madame Tussaud's when the doors opened, and Bella took many more photos of her and her new friends posing by wax statues of celebrities. They ate a quick lunch after, making a pit stop at Tia and Benjamin's hotel room at the MGM Grand to grab their swimwear so they could hang out with Bella a little longer at the Stratosphere pool before they went their separate ways and finally crashed for the rest of the day and night.

Slathered in sunscreen and sporting a brand new dark blue bikini, Bella relaxed on the lounge, grateful for the huge umbrella that protected them from the harshest of the sun's rays. The last 29 hours were catching up with her, and it felt good to finally lay back and relax. Tia was a limp noodle in the lounger beside her, and Benjamin was actually snoring away on the other side of his wife.

"This was fantastic," Bella sighed happily, lazily turning her head to look at her friend. "Thank you for inviting me to tag along with you guys. I had a blast."

Tia grinned, her dark eyes hiding behind a huge pair of vintage sunglasses. "Tagging along my ass, we tore this city up, girl! Honestly, this was the most fun we've had in a long time. I was afraid we'd be stuck with Benjamin's parents in the casino or drunk the entire time."

Bella laughed, stretching luxuriously. "I have to come back here in a couple years, though, so I can hit the daiquiri bars."

"Let us know and we'll meet you here," Tia smiled. "We'll take another dive off this damn skyscraper for old time's sake and get drunk in celebration."

"Hell yeah. I'll brush up on my Elvis covers for our next 15 minutes of Karaoke glory."

*.*.*

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the awesome reviews! I'm stoked that you're enjoying Bella's adventures with me.