Bella wakes up to the sound of whooping shouts.

"Wake up! It's Sunday Funday!"

She flinches into her pillow, trying to muffle the continuous loud screams that follow. The clock on her phone reads 10:02.

Edward groans miserably beside her, similarly irritated by the rude awakening. "Emmett."

"He isn't going to stop until we're all awake, is he?" Bella grumbles.

"Correct." He sits up and smooths his mussed-up bedhead down with one hand. It springs back up just as disheveled as before.

Bella frowns. "You're not still mad at me for last night, are you?"

"No. Of course, I'm not. You're welcome to spend as much time with as many guy friends at 2 am as you want," Edward replies, voice groggy and bitter. "Especially if it's to be their date to a wedding. When you're supposed to be celebrating your bachelorette party with your girl friends."

She was hoping she would get back home before he did so they wouldn't have to have this conversation, but she lost track of time. She and Jacob rode their bikes along the Tacoma waterfront and got pizza. It wasn't anything crazy.

"I wasn't his date. I saw him after it was over," Bella argues. "You know, I would never question who you spend time with because I trust you."

Edward shakes his head. "Bella, I trust you. I don't trust him."

The sound of Alice joining in on the Sunday Funday cheers comes from the hallway.

"Jacob and I have been friends a very long time. What's the difference between us being friends and you being friends with Alice? Or Tanya? If anything was going to happen, it would have by now. We don't have that kind of a relationship."

"Tanya's probably the worst example you could pick. She had been trying to get me to sleep with her for practically the entire duration of our friendship. Which is why I've set very clear boundaries with her."

Bella feels her face go hot. "She's...Oh...The same Tanya that was at the Christmas party and the New Year's Eve party and..."

"Yes, all the parties. She loves parties."

Tanya's so pretty and charismatic. The idea of her flirting with Edward makes Bella feel incredibly awkward.

Slam.

Edward's bedroom door flies open and Emmett runs in wearing sunglasses, shorts, and a bright orange cut-off tank with the words Sun's Out Gun's Out printed across the chest.

"Wakey, wakey!" he calls out. "We leave in thirty min—Oh, you guys are up."

"Get out," Edward snaps.

"Are you guys fighting?"

"No. Get out."

"Catch you on the flip side." Emmett moonwalks out of the room, leaving the door open behind him. Edward promptly closes it again.

He's in such a bad mood, but she had to talk with Jacob last night. He's the only friend she can have a normal conversation with. Everyone else bombards her with wedding stuff, galas, trips to other countries, hair products and makeup that she's never heard of...

She needs a break sometimes.

She just wanted a little window of peace before she's plunged headfirst into being Mrs. Bella Cullen. Jacob is consistent and comfortable and he never tries to surprise her with extravagant trips and activities. She knows exactly what to expect from him every time she sees him.

Well, except for when he tried to kiss her that one time. That was a bit of a curve ball.

And she tried to stay with Alice and Rosalie to do the whole spa and movie night thing—she really did—but it only made her feel even more like a fish out of water.

The last time she had a sleepover with friends was in grade school. She threw up after eating too many cookies and being forced into a spinning contest. She wasn't invited back after that.

"What's this?" Edward asks, holding up her hand. He's inspecting the little crystal wolf bracelet dangling off her wrist.

"Oh, Jacob gave me it. It's a friendship bracelet thing."

He narrows his eyes at it. "You won't let me give you anything without making a scene."

"I don't have anything to give you in return. It's hard to give someone anything when they already have everything."

"That's not how gifts work." He frowns.

"You don't need to get me anything. You're enough." Saying those words out loud is unexpectedly difficult. They make her heart ache.

She bites down on her lip to keep her eyes from getting watery.

Edward sighs and lets her hand drop back down to her side. "We should get ready. Emmett isn't going to stop his shrieking anytime soon."

She'd rather go back to sleep, but instead, she heads for the bathroom to check her damage. She went to sleep with wet hair and couldn't be bothered to deal with the surplus of skincare Alice forced on her, so she's sure to find something gruesome staring back at her in the mirror.

She doesn't even know what Sunday Funday is, but based on how excited Emmett and Alice are, she has no hope of it being even remotely relaxing.

...

"To Sunday Funday!" Emmett says as he clinks glasses with Rosalie.

They're the only ones drinking from the mimosa pitcher, while the rest of their table sips on water, coffee, and tea. How boring. He clinks glasses with the rest of them anyway.

An unenthusiastic chorus of "Sunday Funday" ensues, echoing through the brunch spot's cobblestone patio. The only standout toaster is Alice, insistent on being peppy as always.

"Congratulations Emmett on starting your new job," Edward says in his usual overly serious tone.

"Thanks, man. I didn't think I had it in me."

"And happy birthday to Edward!" Alice adds.

"Woo! Congrats on being legal!" Emmett cheers. "We'll do shots later."

"We won't."

"You have to do one shot if it's your twenty-first birthday, dude. It's not gonna kill you."

Edward shakes his head. "I told you before that I don't want a party."

"That's why we're having a low-key Sunday brunch instead of a Saturday night rager."

"I thought it was because two of us can't get into bars. Also, my birthday isn't until next week."

Alice gives him a doubtful look from her spot at the far end of the table. She checks her phone.

"He's right. You're like way off," Emmett says. "The cabin's booked for next weekend."

"Esme's baby shower hasn't happened yet..?"

"Uh, no, but welcome back from the year 3000. Crap! Wait, it's not really a surprise party anymore."

"I already knew. I'm still not drinking," Edward insists.

"You don't have to worry about us," Bella says with a shrug, taking a bite of her pancake stack.

"It's not that," Edward replies under his breath. "There was a...phase I went through. Right after I graduated from high school. My parents had passed a year prior, and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do anymore. It was a really dark time for me."

"Oh my god, it barely lasted a month," Emmett groans. "You got drunk a couple times and dialed Esme's ex-husband to yell at him about how he's a horrible person. That doesn't even count as a full bender."

"He tried to enlist and then smashed the piano and set it on fire in the yard," Alice adds.

"Oh, yeah. Okay, never mind. In the words of Carlisle: Carry on."

"You drunk-dialed Esme's ex?" Bella asks.

Edward looks like he's taking things way too seriously as usual. "Yes...I was eighteen and dumb. He was horrible to her, though."

"And he deserved to be punched in the face." Emmett nods.

"What do you mean he tried to enlist? You either do you or don't," Rosalie questions boredly.

Emmett laughs. "He had a mental breakdown and freaked the recruiter out."

"He asked me my favorite song," Edward sighs.

"Your favorite song, which was also your mom's favorite song. The best song in the entire world. 'Gas Pedal' by Sage the Gemini," Emmett falsely recounts.

Edward rolls his eyes. "Shut up. It's 'Clair de Lune.'"

"To being almost twenty-one and less dumb," Jasper says, raising his coffee mug. Edward reluctantly toasts to it with a half smile only after the rest of the table joins in.

"Can we go back to the part about punching people?" Bella squeaks.

Alice suddenly stands and darts off into the restaurant.

"Where is she going...?" Bella wonders aloud, her question once again unanswered. All she gets is some shrugs because none of them know. She frowns. "What did Esme's husband do?"

"Domestic abuse. She has a restraining order against him," Edward replies.

"I had no idea."

"Yeah, he's horrible."

Emmett tunes out their idle chatter when he feels Rosalie set her head on his shoulder, snuggling into his side. Her strawberry French toast sits half-eaten in front of her.

She tilts her head up to him and he kisses her lips. She tastes like berries.

Alice returns with the bartender and a flight of little glasses. "Shots! Shots! Shots!" she cheers.

"Hell Venom immunity shots," the visibly tired bartender clarifies.

Emmett picks one up and sniffs it. "Ugh. What's in it?"

"Apple cider vinegar, turmeric, garlic, ginger, cayenne, live probiotics, echinacea, wasabi, ghost pepper, alfalfa, fish oil, cinnamon..."

"Did you intentionally request the most disgusting one?" Edward asks, glaring at Alice.

Rosalie brings it up to her nose and grimaces. "We could have just ordered jägerbombs if we wanted to suffer."

"Okay, on three," Alice chimes.

"Do we get a chaser?"

Alice pulls a face. "Never. Okay, one! Two! Go!"

Emmett downs the little neon orange glass of pungent liquid. It makes his taste buds crawl and a chill run down his spine. His mouth is on fire. His stomach feels like he swallowed acid. "Ohh! That'll put hair on your chest!"

Rosalie grabs his arm, a pained look on her face as she tries to swallow the concoction.

Edward tries to use his coffee to wash out the taste. "It's making it worse."

Surprisingly, Bella is the least affected. "Honestly, it's not the most terrible thing I've tried. My mom went through a health phase, and she made me try a bunch of stuff like this."

"I regret it! I regret it so much!" Alice whines hopping up and down. She downs the rest of her chai latte and then takes a gulp of the mimosa pitcher.

"Woo! Alice is going in!" Emmett whoops loudly before stuffing a forkful of hash browns into his mouth. "Okay, but actually don't drink all that...it's kinda strong. It'll mess you up."

She shakes her head and grabs the glass of ice water Jasper's holding out for her. "It's so spicy!"

Jasper nods, his mouth full of ice. He coughs.

Edward looks like he's sweating and his face is red. "Alice, you're not allowed to pick things for us to eat or drink anymore."

She laughs, eyes watering. "Just trying to add some excitement to the morning."

...

After their brunch, Jasper follows behind the group as they walk from the restaurant to the marina. There's a cool breeze coming from the water that keeps the sun from getting too hot.

"What's next on the Funday itinerary?" Rosalie asks.

"The lake!" Emmett shouts. He looks back at the others. "I'm glad to see that everyone wore boat-appropriate attire as instructed because we're going to be out there for the rest of the foreseeable future."

"Until dinner," Edward corrects.

"Yeah, then we'll go to that expensive seafood place across the water to chill for a bit before hopping back on. Boat party!"

"You guys have a boat?" Bella asks.

"Edward does. It's a cute little speedboat." Alice answers. "We really should go out on it more often, though. It doesn't get nearly enough use."

"The weather sucks most of the year," Edward complains.

They arrive at the dock where the cute little speedboat is anchored. It's very a very nice boat—nicer than anything Jasper's been on—and not little in the slightest.

Rosalie shoots Edward a judgmental glare. "That's an Aston Martin speedboat. They cost over a million dollars."

Edward nods. "I bought it used. The last owner wanted to sell it to get a yacht."

"It's so shiny," Bella says. "I was picturing something like what my dad and his friends go out on to fish..."

"He should come out with us sometime," Edward suggests, stepping onto the boat and helping Bella on after him.

Jasper waits until Rosalie and Emmett are on board before helping Alice up. He reaches for her hand and she grabs it, teetering up onto the deck in her wedges.

"The mimosa is starting to hit," she grumbles, plopping down onto the deck with a thud, her white eyelet sundress floating down around her. Her floppy straw hat falls off beside her. "I need a nap."

Emmett rolls a water bottle across the floor into her side. "Hydration!"

"That's what you get for making us drink those disgusting shots," Rosalie chides.

"I'm sorry! It was so fun, though."

Jasper sits down next to her and pulls off his sweatshirt, draping it over Alice's sunhat so it doesn't fly away.

"I lost tastebuds," Edward complains as he starts up the engine. The boat rumbles and begins moving out into the lake. "Emmett, if you're connecting your phone to the Bluetooth you better play decent music."

"Sooo 'Party in the USA' or 'Despacito?'" Emmett asks.

Suddenly Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" starts to blare out the speakers of the boat.

As they soar out into the water, Rosalie and Emmett take a spot not far away, stretching out in the sun and chatting.

Alice props herself up on her elbows and spots Bella hiding under the canopy by herself, watching Edward steer the boat while she holds a paperback. She watches her for a moment before shouting across the boat to her. "Bella!"

"I forgot to put on sunscreen. I'll burn," Bella replies.

Emmett points to the cooler. "There's sunscreen in there along with White Claws, water, and some kind of fruit salad thing Esme made."

"Bring it over when you're done," Alice tells her. "Jazz needs it."

He didn't think to put any on this morning since Seattle's so much cloudier than other places he's been, but if she thinks he needs it, then he'll put some on. The sky's starting to brighten up with more sun as they crawl into the afternoon.

"I'm barely even tipsy. I just stayed up too late sewing," she tells him before he can ask. "I didn't fall asleep until after four."

That's a lot later than Jasper did. He tried staying up and waiting for her, but he fell asleep around two. He spent most of the evening thinking of ways to deal with the Victoria situation and reviewing social media and recent police reports for any possible leads on what else she could be up to.

"Is it done?" he asks.

"No. Wedding gowns are rough. It's going to need another ten hours or so plus a fitting or two. And I keep getting the weirdest feeling like I'm being followed even when that's not—"

Bella walks over, interrupting their conversation. "Here," she says, handing Jasper the bottle of sunscreen.

He reaches up for it. Bella's eyes go straight for the raised lines on his forearms.

She fumbles with the bottle, letting it drop to the ground. Her face visibly blanches. Alice has mentioned before that Bella's squeamish., but he didn't realize how much.

"Sorry," she stammers.

Jasper picks it up and gives her a lopsided, reassuring smile despite his stomach feeling like it's full of bricks. "I got it. Thanks."

The boat stops. They're well out into the middle of the lake now. Several other boats sit around them full of people.

"Oh my god. Are you, um, o-okay?" Bella asks.

"Yeah, I'm great. Thank you for asking."

"What happened to you?"

He doesn't even have to follow her gaze to his arms to realize what she's referring to. He feels a spike of shame. Anxiety.

"Military boarding school," he answers with an uncomfortable laugh, glancing over at Alice. She's lying down again, eyes shut. She's heard plenty of his stories by now.

"I heard Rosalie mention once that you both moved to different states. I've, um, moved schools a few times because of my mom. It's hard being apart from a parent—or both parents, I guess—that young, and—" She starts to nervously babble.

"Yeah. It's okay now, so no need to worry."

Hearing the commotion, Edward stops the boat to join them. "What's wrong?"

Bella awkwardly steps off to the side and shakes her head. "Nothing. I was just going—Oh!"

She trips backward over Emmett's leg, stumbling before Edward grabs ahold of her. He looks at Jasper curiously but doesn't question him.

When he was younger and the scars were still fresh, he was extremely self-conscious. He knows things like that make others uncomfortable. They get worried and scared.

He's grateful that Alice is forgiving.

While he prefers to keep covered, summer gets hot, and most passersby don't look closely enough to notice. Peter only ever frowned at the scars, and Nettie and Lucy asked the occasional prying question like if he did it for attention—which he didn't. Strangers and acquaintances rarely said a thing.

Maria told him it made him more interesting, but she needed him to pull it together so he could help her with her business. That's why he stopped. That was around the time he found other destructive pastimes to fill the void with drinking and prescription drugs.

Rosalie tilts her sunglasses down her nose and glares at them. "Try not to fall over the edge of the boat. People die hitting their heads like that."

"Sorry!" Bella squeaks back.

Alice sits up and grabs the sunscreen from Jasper. She starts applying it to his shoulders liberally. "It seems mild now, but Bella's right. The sun's pretty strong right now."

"What were you saying about being followed?"

"It's probably nothing. It doesn't make sense, and I'm so tired. Like, we're in the middle of Lake Washington and the nearest person is..." She looks around and points at a small yacht about 200 feet away. "Way over there and I think it's, like, a group of eighty-year-olds. Why would Victoria want senior citizens to help her mess with us?"

"Yeah. Huh." He frowns.

...

After hours on the water, Emmett feels a tinge of sadness when he realizes Edward steered them over to land.

He pulls his tank back on over his head and surveys the rest of their group. Bella and Edward are huddled under the awning still. Alice is up and about, talking animatedly with Jasper, and Rosalie—beautiful, golden, glowing Rosalie—is basking in the sun like a goddess.

It hurts to see her t-shirt and shorts go back on over that bright red bikini.

She looks up at him with an eyebrow cocked. "Stop it."

"What?"

"You know what." She grins.

She's something else.

He's the first one off the boat so he can volunteers to help the others make the step up to the dock. It's a good excuse to show off his arms.

He extends a hand to Rosalie and lifts her up. "How's your first Sunday Funday going?"

"It's certainly an occasion."

"You don't hate it?"

"I haven't hated most of the things you've taken me to. Well, with the exception of that really weird EDM escape room. I was expecting there to be a lot more alcohol and mischief involved from the stories you told me, though."

"There was, but...I normally have a rowdier group with me. These ones are kind of soft. I had to reprioritize the activities so I didn't traumatize them."

"How thoughtful of you."

He reaches out to grab Bella's hand next. With Edward's careful supporting grip on her other arm, she manages to awkwardly return to land, but not without making an earnest attempt to fling herself into the lake. Emmett drags Edward in for an obnoxious hug when he steps up to the dock and it nearly sends his sunglasses hurling into the water

Edward shoves him. "I get music control on the way back," he threatens.

"We're gonna get bullied by the other boaters for zipping around to 'Ave Maria.'"

"I'm not going to play 'Ave Maria.' I have other music besides classical if you've forgotten."

"You know, I have. Your podcast has been crickets lately."

Alice steps up next and eyes the gap between the boat and dock suspiciously.

"Seriously, why did you wear heels on a boat?" Emmett teases. "Just throw her across and I'll catch, Jazz."

"Yeah, sure," Jasper agrees, feigning an attempt to pick her up.

She shrieks and grabs his arms defensively. "No!"

Rosalie's laughter sounds from behind Emmett's shoulder.

"Can you wait until after we eat to sacrifice Alice?" Edward asks.

She finally gives Emmett her hand and he pulls her up easily as Jasper steps over.

"Where are we?" Rosalie asks.

"Kirkland. The restaurant's right up the hill." He points. "Edward wanted Wagyu and Dungeness crab."

She looks at the building critically. "Are they going to let us in dressed like this?"

"You're on the the West Coast. It's fine." Emmett laughs and puts an arm around her.

Despite his reassurance, she doesn't look convinced.

They lead the group toward their destination. Alice gives up halfway and Jasper has to carry her because she's lagging so far behind everyone else, which is impressive given how carefully Bella's navigating the unassuming sidewalk.

The group is once again seated on a beautiful patio with a view of the water, this one an even nicer and fancier one than before.

"This is a cute area," Rosalie comments while they wait for their food.

"Yeah, I don't come out here a ton, but they have a lot of cool bars and places to eat. We should check out the little downtown area sometime," Emmett replies, nodding in the direction of said area.

She nods and looks, frowning slightly. Her phone buzzes in her lap. She picks it up, looks at the screen, and frowns some more. She taps at the glass surface hurriedly.

"Who's that?" Emmett asks.

"My mother. She wants to know how I'm doing. The usual. Sorry, I'll tell her I'm at dinner so she doesn't keep texting."

Emmett suddenly becomes aware of Edward's voice agitatedly questioning Alice and Jasper.

"So she's been in the house and Rosalie's apartment already. And maybe Bella's apartment, if she was responsible for the random break-in back in November like you think," Edward says. "But we aren't even sure if anyone was in Bella's apartment, let alone Victoria. What's the point other than pulling some childish pranks?"

"I think she's gathering information. About us and our schedules," Jasper replies.

"Okay, so suppose I hired a couple of private investigators to tail her and Laurent and they haven't been doing anything to raise suspicion for over a month?"

"Then explain the reoccurring visions of flames that are starting to look a lot like Victoria's red hair," Alice defends.

"I think she has a lot more help than just Laurent. That's the only way we wouldn't have run into one of them by now. I think they're other students. People in our classes who we would see and talk to every day so it wouldn't raise a red flag. Like when she had someone follow Bella and Jacob out to the beach a few weeks ago," Jasper adds.

Emmett laughs. "Wait, you and Alice are helping Victoria?!"

"No, someone else was following them. We saw them duck into their car right as we got there." He sighs. "There are too many coincidences that line up. It has to all be her. Your phone being stolen, the library graffiti, Laurent dating Irina so he can stay close by...Alice said she saw a black Audi—"

"Rose saw a black Audi following us after graduation!"

Rosalie nods. "From the stadium until we were a block from the house."

"We need to stay on guard in case things escalate. Right now it's mostly just intimidation and childish pranks, yes, but we know that James was dangerous," Jasper says decidedly. "We don't know how far she's willing to go or what she wants out of all of this. Stay in well-populated areas, take people with you if you can, keep a—"

As Jasper's giving them a safety run-down, a mob of waiters come out to the patio and surround their table suddenly. "I heard we have a birthday boy here!" one of the women says enthusiastically.

Edward pales when he hears this.

The mob begins to clap and sing as they bring out their food. Alice is recording the entire thing on her phone, giggling uncontrollably.

"Happy, happy birthday! Happy, happy birthday! Happy birthday, Edward!" Emmett joins in on their song.

They clear away eventually, and Edward pulls a candle off his steak to throw at Alice.

"Hey!"

"I told you no singing!"

"I couldn't help it. Your reaction is too good," she confesses. "You only turn twenty-one once."

The others continue to laugh and poke fun at Edward with the exception of Rosalie. She's noticeably disengaged from the conversation.

Emmett nudges her arm and beams a cheesy smile at her, which she purses her lips at.

"Hey, you're not worried about all the Victoria stuff, are you? It's gonna be fine."

Rosalie shakes her head and focuses on their meal, brushing the question off.