IV. Sun of a Beach

If Edward was offended by my conversation with Jessica, he certainly didn't show it. He was rather pleasant up until Alice showed up with another pile of clothes. A rather comical sight considering how tiny she was. "I want all of this too," she announced, dumping her choices atop what Edward was already carrying.

Edward simply released a long suffering sigh. "Is that all then?"

"For now," Alice allowed and abruptly shot me a brilliant smile. "Oh! You must be Isabella! Edward's told me all about you."

"What?" I stared stupidly.

"Alice, quit harassing her. If you're finished here, let's go pay," Edward insisted, balancing the teetering pile of clothes in one arm and using the other one to steer Alice in the direction of the cashier.

Alice was not deterred. "It was nice meeting you, Isabella! I hope we can be friends."

"Um, sure?"

My confusion didn't seem to worry her. She simply beamed again and waved until they reached the register. I turned my back to them, feeling like an idiot. They had been here for less than five minutes. Obviously, it had just been a coincidence. I'm an idiot.

As soon as they were gone, Jessica sidled up to me, a cute pair of jeans clutched in her hands. "Isabella, did you tell Edward to meet you here?!"

I snorted. "As if. I was just as surprised to see him here."

"Aww, that's too bad," she complained.

Quickly, I distracted her, "Hey, those jeans are adorable. Help me pick some out?"

That did the trick. Jessica and I spent the majority of the morning in that one store, trying on dozens of outfits. Mostly, she helped me pick out a new wardrobe, seeing as I was in urgent need of warmer clothes. So, we piled on the jeans, cute sweaters, and even a new pair of rain boots I was in desperate need of. In the last two weeks, Bella's sneakers had been in a constant state of sogginess.

It was around noon when we piled a dozen shopping bags into Jessica's trunk. "I'm starving! Anything good around here, Stanley?" I asked, gazing down the walkway. But all I could see were a few other boutiques and a bakery. Across the street was a tattoo parlor.

"Yes! The girls and I usually go to this little italian restaurant. It's only a block from here if you don't mind walking."

"It's not too cold. I'll survive," I shrugged, shoving my hands deeper into the pockets of my parka. I followed after Jess once she slammed the trunk shut. The walk to Bella Italia wouldn't have been awful, if it weren't for the fact that Bella had terrible circulation.

As soon as the hostess lead us to a table, I sat and tucked my hands in between my thighs.

Jessica managed to look both concerned and amused. "I think we'll have to do some more shopping after this."

"Huh? What more could I possibly need?" I rubbed my hands together and finally cracked open the menu. I perused it for about half a minute before deciding on a fancy picture of a pasta dish.

Jess looked at me like I was stupid. "Gloves?"

"Oh. Yeah, that would be a good idea," I agreed. "Hey, you mind ordering for me? I really gotta pee."

"Sure. What do you want?"

"This," I pointed, shrugging off my parka and standing up. I didn't bother untangling the strap of my purse from across my torso. It was an emergency.

"Wait! Which one?" Jessica huffed.

"The one in the picture," I pointed again, before ducking around the surrounding tables, making a beeline for the restroom.

Unfortunately, after doing my business, I ran into a little problem.

It was one of those single occupancy bathrooms with a wide, heavy door. You know, the type that would be impossible to not only break down, but was so thickset, any pounding against it would be muted.

"You've got to be shitting me," I hissed, yanking the handle of the door again, but no dice. It was stuck. I was stuck. And poor Jessica probably thought I abandoned her. I struck the door again and pulled back with a wince, the bruising on my knuckles becoming visible. "Ouch," I grumbled, looking around for another escape route. The air vent was too small and I was afraid I might get stuck inside the window if I attempted to climb out. Another minute passed by, even though it felt like a whole eternity, before I made a bad decision.

"Well, I hope you're really as skinny as you look Bella." With a grunt of effort, I managed to unlatch the rusty window. It took all the feeble strength in my noodle arms to slide the lower half of the window up. I squinted at the small opening, wondering if I really would fit. "Fuck it."

Sticking my head through the window, my nose scrunched up in disgust, hit with the stench of piss and rotting food. The window was located right by the dumpster, and further down the alley, across from me, was a homeless man deeply asleep.

I slowly began to climb out, relieved when my shoulders fit through the gap. I pushed myself further out, only to be pulled to an abrupt stop once my hips crossed the pane. I wiggled experimentally, until I realized that it was my purse that had gotten stuck, the strap straining against my chest. "Damn it," I cursed, yanking it off. After that, it only took another shove before I came tumbling out of the window. "Gross!" Jumping up, I quickly dusted myself off. I reached back in and pulled Bella's purse free. "Aha!" I had less than a second to feel accomplished, before I was suddenly stumbling down again, knees jarring against the dirt floor of the alley.

"Huh? H-hey! Get back here!" I shouted, springing to my feet and throwing myself into a sprint, swerving out of the alley and back onto the walkway. Fortunately, it wasn't too busy out, and I could easily keep track of the homeless man from the alley, my purse swinging wildly in his grasp.

"Give that back!" I cried, pushing myself to go faster.

"Isabella?"

Ugh, don't just stand there! You're the one with the vampire speed. I had run by, just as Alice and Edward were walking up from around a corner with piles of shopping bags. I only got a glimpse of their bewildered expressions, before my gaze zeroed in back on the thief. My feet slapped hard against the concrete paths while I mentally cursed Bella's lack of speed and her stupidly short legs. At least I have better control over her limb coordination.

I cursed again when my purse thief lurched in the direction of the clapboard stairway that lead down to the harbor. I nearly stumbled down the wide steps, but a cold hand grasped my elbow and kept me from nose-diving. I didn't have the energy to give Edward a second thought, and simply continued the chase over the wooden planks, boats moored on one side, and little stalls selling wares on the other.

The thief abruptly turned and veered down the pier. There's nothing at the end but water. I suddenly had the dreaded image of him jumping and swimming away with my purse. "Oh no you don't!" I careened forward and launched myself against his back. We tumbled down the length of the pier, grappling for my purse, before I was suddenly yanked back by a steel grip around my waist. "Got it!" I cheered, holding the purse to my chest triumphantly, until my eyes bugged out when I realized I was right at the end of the pier, Edward's grip keeping me from taking a header over the edge.

"Thanks for the save," I grinned up sheepishly at him, my chest heaving as I caught my breath. Although it would've been unnecessary if you'd just caught him to begin with.

"You're welcome," he replied faintly with a bewildered expression.

Down in the water, the homeless man was spluttering. "You're crazy, lady!" he cursed at me, before swimming away.

Once Edward helped me up, I double checked the contents of my purse. Everything appeared to be in order, if a little jumbled, and a peek in my wallet revealed one hundred dollars still in place. "That's a relief."

When I glanced up, Edward was checking me over. "You're okay?"

"A little banged up, but I'll be fine," I shrugged, securing the strap of my purse across my torso. As we began our trek back to the docks, I wrapped my arms around myself, the frigid, January air seeping into my bones. Without prompting, Edward draped his coat across my shoulders and I simply nodded in thanks. Slipping my arms through the wide sleeves, I didn't bring attention to the icy fabric of his coat, as though it'd been wrapped around a snowman.

At the front of the pier, Alice was waiting, looking comical with the heaps of shopping bags piled at her feet. "You're lucky nothing got ruined!" she scolded Edward as soon as we made it to her side.

"I'm sorry, Alice." If it weren't for the amusement in his eyes, I would've thought his apology to be sincere.

"You should be," Alice pouted, before turning to me with a softer expression. "Are you alright, Isabella?"

"Fit as a fiddle," I beamed. "Nothing like a chase through town to get your blood pumping." Although probably not a good idea around vampires.

"What happened?" Alice asked as we headed back, Edward taking on the majority of her purchases.

"Well…" I smiled sheepishly, before briefly explaining my mishap with the bathroom door at Bella Italia, my daring escape through the window, and my lapse in judgement when I assumed the homeless man was asleep. "I don't have the best luck," I admitted. Correction: Bella doesn't have the best luck! Taking her body is one thing, but I could have done without her lousy luck. Ugh.

"You're telling me," Alice laughed, an enchanting sound. "But very impressive! You really caught him!"

I waved my hand in a so-and-so motion. "I would've taken a dive if it weren't for Edward."

"He's useful for some things," Alice agreed.

"You should not be bad mouthing the person carrying your bags," Edward muttered from behind us, although he didn't sound all that offended.

Alice shot him a smile full of blindingly white teeth. "You know I'm teasing, brother."

"I should get going. Jessica's probably worried," I said as we reached Edward's Volvo, parked across the street from the restaurant. "Thanks again for the help, Edward!"

The Cullen's waved at me while I crossed the street. Although it felt like an eternity, I had probably only been gone for a maximum of twenty minutes. The hostess shot me an odd look when she saw me entering again and Jessica was looking in the direction of the bathrooms with worry, leaving her food untouched.

As I sat down, Jessica demanded, "Where have you been?!" Her eyes suddenly bugged out. "Is that Edward's coat?"

"Oh. I forgot to give it back," I muttered with a downward glance. Jessica was bursting with questions. "Eat your food and I'll tell you everything."

Needless to say, Jessica was a very enthusiastic listener.

Monday morning was cloudy but rainless. I sat on the bed of my truck, reviewing my notes for biology. The horrible part about this subject was the gross amount of memorization involved. The exam wasn't until tomorrow, but I'd spent all day with Jessica on Saturday, and Sunday was my lazy day. I was muttering under my breath, trying to force the words to stick, when Jessica suddenly jumped up and sat beside me with an excited squeal, rocking the bed of the truck.

"Now I'm not going to get anything done," I sighed, stuffing my notebook back into my backpack.

Jessica ignored my grumblings and sang, "Guess who called me last night?"

"No idea. But tell me about it?" I leaned back, hands splayed flat behind me, my new gloves keeping my fingers warm.

"It was Mike!" she blurted, nearly tripping over her words, "He was so sweet! And he asked me out! We're going on a date this Friday!"

"That's great!" I cheered, relieved that my words had gotten through to Mike. Although he'd been pretty dejected when I'd last seen him on Friday, he hadn't immediately shot the idea of Jessica down. "It was about time!"

"Ugh, I know!" Jess laughed. "But it's okay. It's totally worth it!"

I grinned. "What are you going to wear?"

This set Jessica off again, until she paused in the middle of describing her black booties. "Speaking of outfits! I brought my camera! We should take some pictures today!"

Jessica had bugged me until I agreed to match outfits with her today. "Sure, if you'd like," I nodded.

"Isabella!"

Jessica and I turned to see Conner and Austin exiting the car beside us. "Is it true you were held at gunpoint?"

"What?" I spluttered, laughing nervously.

"We heard you and Jessica were robbed in Port Angeles," Conner clarified.

I swiveled my eyes to Jessica. "Uh, I told Lauren and Angela what happened," she admitted sheepishly, "But nothing about guns or being robbed!"

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the guys. "No, that's not what happened." I ignored their expectant gazes and hopped off the bed of my truck. "If you're really that curious, I'm sure Jess won't mind repeating herself." I swung my backpack strap over my shoulder and grasped the handle of the parchment bag containing Edward's coat.

Jessica jumped off as well and I flung the tailgate of the truck shut. "Sorry?" she laughed sheepishly.

"I don't care," I shrugged, "But have fun repeating yourself, because I'm not saying anything."

"I don't mind," she grinned.

Leaving the parking lot behind, we split off. On my way to my locker, I received similar questions. Small town gossip was ridiculous, but I didn't lose my temper and instead directed all questions to Jessica. Surely she'd enjoy the attention.

I normally didn't use my locker, but my biology textbook would be necessary today if I wanted to double check my notes. My trig textbook had made a permanent home in Bella's room, with the amount of homework Mr. Varner assigned every day. To my surprise, I found Alice standing by my locker. "Hey Alice. What's up?" I asked, twirling the dial until it landed on the correct combination. "You want to hand this off to Edward for me?"

Alice waved off the offered bag. "No. You'll see him later anyway. I just wanted to let you know you look super cute today!"

I glanced down at my new clothes―the blue sweater dress, scarf, dark leggings, boots, and my new coat. "Thanks so much!" I beamed. "I've been freezing these past two weeks, so it was kind of necessary."

"I really enjoy shopping," Alice continued enthusiastically, "I'd love it if we could go together some time!"

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Um, sure." Why are they being so friendly?

"Great!" Alice cheered and skipped off. "See you later, Isabella!"

"Right…" I turned back, storing the bag with Edward's coat in my locker, ignoring the curious looks Alice's presence had incited.

"Isabella, is it true you used martial arts to thrash the guy who kidnapped Jessica?"

I grimaced and slammed my locker door shut with a resounding bang. Today was going to be a long day.

A/N: Thoughts?

And no worries, no more time skips! This shall pick up right where I left off, and that should be the pattern from now on. The beginning was only rushed because I didn't want to rehash canon. And thank you for your continued support! It's definitely an incentive to keep writing x)