Oh how life gets in my way of writing.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all the characters from Twilight. But Justin is mine, for now anyway.

CHAPTER 9

SCOOBY DOO

Alice met me at the porch with a pout on her face and her arms crossed, looking all Tink with attitude. This couldn't be good.

"Hey Daphne, where have you been all day?" she asked. I wasn't sure if I still merited the nickname Danger-prone Daphne from Scooby Doo because I was so accident prone as a human.

"Hi. Who me? Oh just over at Charlie's, you know making him dinner," I replied innocently.

"Bella, Bella, Bella! Please stop. It is called a Maid of Honor. Not a Maid of Deceit."

"Uh, okay. Did we have plans I missed or something?" I was fairly sure we didn't have plans. My new vampire brain was like a super computer crossover with an old-school palm pilot. I didn't mistake dates or plans, that is, unless I was too distracted by other pressing matters like, I don't know, heartbeats and traveling down memory lane.

"No. But how many times have we talked about throwing out that SSA stuff?"

"Oh, you saw the . . ." Damn it! Busted. She saw me looking through the box.

"The lighter, Bella. Jazz told me all about it."

Oh. Whew. But Jasper is a fucking traitor! "I know, Alice. I will, but you don't understand.

Alice twisted her wrist in the air before recrossing her arms. "Explain it to me."

"It's just that. . ." I struggled to find the words at first. "Alice, I love you guys, but some part of those days remind me of who I used to be, how once I was normal. I was human and looked forward to my future. Now I don't know what I am or who I'll be. How do you plan for a future when you feel like your plans have been squashed like a bug? How do you even begin to plan out forever?"

"Oh, I see," she responded quietly and thoughtfully, "I don't know how to answer you entirely. There are still so many things you can do like travel, go to school, read, write…"

"And then what?" I asked. "Forever seems like a fantastically pointless concept."

"It doesn't to me. Or to Jasper," she added.

"Yeah, but you guys have each other and can design a future together." I sat down next to her and leaned my forehead down into my palms.

"Would it help if I told you I had a vision?" I peeked over out of my fingers. She looked at me with a mildly sympathetic pout and placed her arm around my shoulder.

"Well as long as we have a mystery to solve gang." I was skeptical sometimes of Alice. Her visions for me had never been anything of monumental proportion—mostly small things but helpful to me at times. The most important thing she ever offered me was seeing Justin with a girlfriend. If she hadn't prepared me for that then I don't think I could have handled it that day as well as I did.

"Take a breath, Bella. Things are about to come full circle for you." Alice held her head as if she was in pain from a throbbing headache.

"Like look gang it's a clue! Great, Alice! Thanks!" I said sarcastically. I was sure to be able to plot out my entire questionable existence based on that one. What the hell did that even mean? Not like I could revert back into a baby, or a human for that matter. I think sometimes Alice just needed to try to do something or say something to make me feel good, even if it was with a BFF obligatory optimistic, though half-assed, vision.

"You know what you need?" I shook my head 'no,' knowing she was about to tell me. "A fun girls' weekend! Do you want to plan to go up to Denali next weekend?"

I had never been there but desperately wanted to meet the other Cullens that lived there.

"Sure, Alice. I'd love to meet them," I said nodding my head against her shoulder and thinking how nice it might be to get out of town for a couple of days. "Hell, maybe I should consider living with them."

Alice groaned. "Okay. You just leave all the details to me! I'll check if they won't mind having us, but I'm sure they won't. I'm off to hunt, and you've got to get to the hospital for your shift soon." Alice patted my chin before moving to stand up. She took a step away then turned back to me.

"Hey Daph, don't beat yourself up too much tonight, okay?"

"What am I beating myself up over?"

"You'll see! See you in the morning!" She laughed as she flashed out toward the forest.

The little troll knew more than she was letting on, wasn't she?

I pulled out my cigarettes and lighter. I could hear engines running off in the distance. A few of the guys from La Push had dirt bikes they liked to ride along the treaty line. As I lit my cigarette, I gazed off into the trees.

Jessica and I had shared a ride to the SSA that day as we both worked the day shift. She drove us in her little white Honda Civic. We had been done for the day, and on the way out she stopped in the main office to get her paycheck. I had already gotten mine yesterday, but she had spent too much time lingering with Andy, her sort-of boyfriend at this point, the day before to get hers. She bounced out of the office, and we walked toward the parking lot.

She cleared her throat and turned around to me putting her hand up, effectively stopping us on the sidewalk trail that led to the parking lot from the office.

"I know what you've been doing with Andy, Bella."

"Uhhh," I was confused. "What are you talking about, Jess?"

"You've been trying to get him to break up with me!"

"Jess! Have you gone mental?" I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Yes you have! You can find your own ride home Bella Swan!"

"You're leaving me here?"

"Yes." She turned on her heel and headed toward her car. I just stood there stunned over what just happened. For heavens' sake I barely ever saw Andy in the park and had only seen him outside the park with Jessica. This was crazy. Jessica certainly had a flair for the dramatics, but she knew I would never go after her boyfriend.

"Sounds like you need a ride just-Bella."

I heard his voice from behind me and I didn't want to turn to see him, but I did. "Umm, no that's okay. I'll just…"

"Come on. I'm offering." I followed behind Justin and could see Jessica's little white car whip out of the parking lot. I still had no idea what the fuck her problem was.

"Is she a friend of yours?" he asked. How was I supposed to answer that? I didn't even know. Apparently she's not as good a friend to me as I had thought she was. Then I watched as he stuck an envelope into his back pocket. An envelope I recognized. A paycheck envelope.

Or, Jessica is the best wing girl ever! She set this up for me. Oh, screw you Mr. McBillis for not casting her as the lead in the drama last year because that girl gave a convincing performance! Good thing it was going according to plan.

"Yeah, she's a friend of mine. She just forgot to take her medication today," I grinned.

Suddenly we were stopped. We hadn't walked very far into the parking lot. "Here," he said, "put this on."

A smooth, hard helmet was staring back at me with the realization that Justin rides a motorcycle. He would, right?

"I don't think…" My dad would definitely not be happy with me riding a motorcycle.

"Well if you have more appealing options. He pulled out his cell phone. Wanna call someone else to pick you up?" No, I didn't. Not that I wanted to ride a motorcycle, either. I just wanted to be with him. "Come on…"

He helped me onto the motorcycle and then put on his Maverick sunglasses, leather coat, and told me to hold onto him tightly. I did. I held onto his body, and as he pulled away and the wind came at me, I allowed my face to lean into his coat. He hadn't asked me where I lived. I didn't care where he would take me. Being on a motorcycle with him was such a romantic rush, and I never wanted to let go.

But it ended as he pulled into a pizza place.

"You eat pizza just-Bella?" he asked after parking the bike and securing the kickstand. He got off the bike first and then helped me off. I pulled off the helmet, and he giggled at my hair before reaching out and smoothing it down for me.

"So," he bit his bottom lip slightly and nodded toward the pizza place's door. I smiled and took the hand he offered as I carefully lifted my leg off the motorcycle. Our hands broke apart once we were standing. Once inside we ordered a small pie and Cokes from our booth.

"So tell me about just-Bella. Why doesn't she ever leave the games and come visit my side of the park?"

"How did you know I worked games?"

"Your uniform. It's better than that brown apron shit we have to wear."

I grinned at the thought of my simple t-shirt. "Yeah, it's a whole lot better."

"My side of the park?" he asked again.

"I don't know. Ever since I got a permanent location I just have no reason to go anywhere else."

Justin put his hand over his chest and winced, "I'm not a reason? Oh, that hurts me just-Bella."

Was he a reason? How should I know? He always had Lauren hanging all over him. And I really wanted to know where she was but I was so not willing to bring her up. I was enjoying filling her absence with me, just-Bella, a nonclingy, ungirlfriend type who just happened to be getting a ride home from the cutest guy she had ever known. I looked up to see him still grinning at me. Oooh dreamweaver. . .

A waiter had taken our order, but a waitress brought us our Cokes.

"Hey there, Jay. I thought that was you. How's your summer going?"

Nothing like another girl hitting on your, errr... ride-home, to shake you out of your romantic dreamweaving. Justin chatted with the girl, whose name I didn't even bother to try to catch because she completely ignored me. When she left, Justin confirmed that the girl went to his school but graduated last year.

"I think she works here year-round," he winked. "Is there going to be more to life for you once you graduate just-Bella?"

"Yeah, definitely. I really want to become a doctor."

"A doctor, huh? So how does one become one of those?"

I went on to tell him way too much about pre-med college classes, medical school, and residency in addition to talking about wanting to work with children someday.

"I don't think I know anyone like you. No one I know even knows what the hell they want to do tomorrow, let alone with the rest of their life. And listen to you, you've got it all planned out."

"I guess that makes me kind of a nerd, huh?"

"Yeah, it does," he grinned. "Aww, no I'm just kidding. Plans are good, as long as you don't lose sight of spontaneity."

"Well, I am plenty spontaneous," I lied.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah."

"We'll see about that," he smirked.

"Are you doubting me? I got on the back of a motorcycle for the first time, didn't I? Totally spontaneous . And badass," I giggled.

After our pizza came out we ate it while we shared stories about some of our coworkers and their after-hours hijinks in the park. Getting high off of whipped cream canisters, really? He told me some childhood memories of going to the park with Alicia. I told him how scared I was of heights, that I was too scared to even go on the Ferris wheel. We laughed a lot, together. It was the best meal I ever had. He wouldn't let me pay and he lit a cigarette once were were out the door and walking toward the motorcycle. I straddled the bike, awaiting him to hand me the helmet he carried under his arm, but instead watched as he straddled the bike and sat facing me.

I happily inhaled some of the smoke from his cigarette and thanked him again for the pizza as I looked into his eyes, sea green and gray swirls, like ocean waves with a current that pulled me in toward him.

"Oh, my bad just-Bella, did you want a smoke?"

"No, actually, I'm good." I pulled back from him slightly. I just wasn't in the mood to smoke. Being there with him was fulfillment enough for my senses. I couldn't wait to get going and wrap my arms around him again.

"Here," he held out his cigarette, "take a drag of mine."

I shook my head slightly.

"No, really. I insist," he added.

When I shook my head 'no' again, he took a drag and fanned it across my face. I know he went on to say some words. Was it three words? Was it twenty words? I didn't know for sure. My mind went so hazy that my ears clogged up and I physically blocked out whatever those spoken words were. I doubt he was singing 'Dreamweaver' to me, but my mind may have allowed for the moment to have it as a soundtrack. It didn't matter what he said anyway, because when he was done talking he leaned in and kissed me.

A/N: *swoon, swoon* What do you think Bella should do with the SSA stuff? Keep it or throw it out? The heartbeat will be back in full effect in the next chapter! Have we all figured out who owns the heartbeat?