Hello all! I would like to thank Minisinoo for her help with the depression aspect of this story. It’s really been great of you to help when you didn’t have to, so thank you. :-)

And of course, thank you to all my dear friends who already know who they are.

And finally, thank you to all of you guys because we’ve crossed a pretty amazing milestone this morning! This story has exceeded 100,000 hits. That’s absolutely mind-blowing and…well, wow, basically. Seriously, it amazes me that so many people read this story that I started writing out of a fun challenge from a friend. So, thank you for reading and recommending it. It means a lot. XD

--

Dimly, I remember Edward carrying me to my bed sometime later that night but I hadn’t been coherent enough to do anything more than give him a few directions to the door. The moment he lay me down in the bed, I drifted back into my former sleep-induced stupor and the next thing I knew I was being awakened by the bright sun peeking through my curtains.

I groaned and pulled the covers over my head, but the sun was too bright to be blocked out. I stretched out across my bed and was just contemplating how much effort it would take to swing my legs out of the bed when Alice burst into the room.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” she greeted me cheerfully with a glass of orange juice in her hand. I sat up and took the glass without comment. Her face flickered from its smile as she took in my appearance.

“Bella,” she reproved. “Did you sleep in your clothes?”

For the first time, I looked down to find myself still in my dress from yesterday. I tried to smother the smile that involuntarily sprang to my face.

“Apparently,” I answered a little absently. My mind whirled to Edward and I wondered where he was right now. Was it too early to call him?

“What am I going to do with you?” Alice sighed long-sufferingly. I threw myself out of bed as she spoke and went to my dresser to pull out some jeans and a shirt. She waited as I peeled off the dress and switched to the much more comfortable jeans before pulling me out of my room and into the kitchen where she had some toast ready for me.

“What’s on the agenda today?” I asked, trying my best to sound eager.

“Nothing really, everything is pretty much set until Thursday when we’re going to have the rehearsal dinner and of course, the bachelorette party…” Alice mused and I tried to hide the way I choked on my breakfast.

“I thought Angela said she didn’t want a bachelorette party?” I asked weakly.

“There’s a difference between saying you don’t want one and actually not wanting one, Bella,” Alice informed me primly before grabbing her glass up from the table and moving out to the living room.

I stood dumbfounded in the kitchen. I was pretty Angela was serious about not wanting one. I bit my lip in nervousness and followed Alice’s path to find her flicking through channels looking slightly peeved.

“Anything on your mind?” I asked tentatively.

Alice threw me a sidelong look before sighing and putting the remote down. I settled in beside her and waited.

“Edward, mostly,” Alice said finally and I nodded. I knew the feeling. “I don’t know how much he told you…” she trailed off with an expectant look.

I nodded, not wanting to elaborate on the many things Edward had shared with me yesterday but wanting her to know that I knew.

“Bella, how did you do it?” she implored me earnestly suddenly. I started with surprise and confusion, not sure how to answer.

“Do what?” I asked carefully.

“I haven’t seen him smile the way he smiled last night in years,” Alice clarified and I felt my heart thrum wildly against my ribs. “I mean, it’s just not fair,” she pouted. “Emmett and I have tried everything to pull him out of this, but you spend one day with him and he’s smiling like he’s just been told he’s going to playing at Carnegie Hall next week.”

I didn’t even have a chance to reply because Alice launched herself at me, almost suffocating me with the strength of her embrace.

“So, you’re annoyed with me because he smiled?” I laughed in confusion but hugged her back.

“Yes! Do you know how much work it is to make him do that on a normal basis and you get him to do it in practically one day? Bella, that’s just not fair,” she repeated and I grinned widely.

“Was he really happy?” I asked hopefully.

Alice nodded quickly and squeezed me again before letting go.

“When he came down from putting you in bed, I thought he was going to skip out the door, Bella,” she informed me jokingly and I laughed lightly at her words, throwing myself back on the couch.

I pressed my lips together as his face swam before my eyes and pooled my courage together to ask a question that I was sure would dampen Alice’s good spirits, but I had to ask.

“How bad is it, Alice?” A shadow crossed her face and she sank visibly. I immediately regretted asking but it had to come out sooner or later.

“Not as bad as it was,” she answered quietly. She stared down at her hands before continuing. “It was terrible his first year of college and I didn’t think it could be any worse. He wouldn’t talk to any of us and he just buried himself in his music but after…after he tried to…um, well, after he tried, it seemed to get worse before it got better. It was our mom that finally convinced him to go see someone about it.”

She stopped, visibly chewing on the inside of her cheek.

“He started going to therapy and it was better. Not great, but better. When he moved out here to live with Emmett, he finally seemed to be getting over it but he’s never been quite the same,” she concluded sadly. Then she shook herself with sigh and stood from the couch, breaking the spell of the moment. “Anyway, enough about the past, it’s no fun and I know for a fact our future is fun because it involves shopping.”

I rolled my eyes at her sudden mood swing but I had learned to take it in stride by now. It was all part of being her friend.

“Let me go get my stuff,” I consented, not about to deny her some retail therapy.

--

Five hours and a few hundred dollars later, we were finally headed back to our apartment. Alice’s high spirits had returned and I was happy to see her happy.

She had succeeded in buying me three new outfits which was basically like winning the lottery for her. I tried on whatever she threw my way with minimal complaint. I wasn’t in the mood to fight her today. I was too busy floating on the cloud she had put me on when she told me about Edward this morning.

My hand itched to call him to hear his voice, but I restrained myself. I couldn’t restrain myself from checking my phone every few minutes to see if I had somehow missed his call. I hadn’t.

I was beginning to convince myself to stop waiting for him to call when the phone finally rang around eight that night. I answered it with sweaty palms and my heart stuffed into my throat.

My nerves were assuaged when he sounded relaxed and happy and I chastised myself for agonizing over my phone all day. I was acting like I was in high school again.

His voice was like a muscle relaxant for me that night and I was happy to let him tell me about his day while I crawled in bed to retire early. Shopping all day with Alice had zapped all of my energy from me and the calming effect Edward had on me only served to push me further into my impending sleep.

When we bid goodnight, we had fully formed out plans for Friday, the day of the wedding and I had an irrepressible smile pasted on my face. And for the first time, I let myself hope that he had the same smile on his face.

--

Thursday night came much too quickly for my liking. It was like the days that had separated us from it had simply disappeared even though they dragged on while they were expiring. The days had been full of bridal party duties and decidedly empty of Edward, which was disappointing and frustrating all in one. It made me both eager and nervous to see him again for the rehearsal dinner.

Alice had planned for the bridesmaids to take Angela out after the rehearsal dinner was still a surprise for the bride herself. Angela was still under the incorrect assumption that Alice listened when she said no bachelorette party.

I slipped into a light pink sundress that Alice had put on my chair for me to wear tonight. I admired the fit of the dress grudgingly and promised myself fervently that after this wedding was over, it would be jeans for a long, long time. I couldn’t take any more dresses.

Alice had already been over at the small church Angela and Ben had chosen for their ceremony for some time now, so I would have to drive myself over there alone. I wished not for the first time that she had taken me with her this morning but she had insisted I get a few extra hours of sleep claiming I would need them for the bachelorette party tonight. I, however, would have given up a few hours sleep in favor of riding with Alice instead of driving my truck to the small church that had an equally small parking lot that was not exactly friendly to my large truck.

I sighed, resigned to my fate of maneuvering my truck for half an hour, and stuffed my feet into some flip-flops, opting to carry the heels that Alice wanted me to wear. I wouldn’t put them on until I absolutely had to. I threw them into my truck before climbing inside and revving up the engine.

It was a short drive over to the church and as I dreaded, it took me longer to get my truck into a parking spot for me to get to the church itself. By the time I walked in, it seemed as if everyone was already there. I grumbled under my breath and walked into the chapel. I was immediately accosted by Angela.

“Oh, Bella, I’m so glad you’re here! I was beginning to go a little crazy,” she cried as she hugged me. I squeezed her before letting her go to look seriously in her eyes.

“Angela, calm down,” I said soothingly. “Everything’s going great.”

I ran my hand up and down her arms to comfort her and she at least looked a little calmer. She nodded after a moment and led me to where the rest of the wedding party had congregated. That was when I noticed him.

He looked almost exactly the same as when I had last left him and I immediately felt a little sick to my stomach. This was a turn of events I hadn’t been expecting.

There, standing with the rest of the groomsmen, was Mike Newton, the man I had walked out on.

“Bella!” Alice’s voice called me out of my shock and I found her concerned face with my now panicked eyes. I tried to control myself as Mike looked up from whatever conversation he was having with Ben. His face read the same shock I felt.

“Alice,” I hissed as soon as she was near enough for me to grab. I latched onto both her and Angela’s arms and dragged them over to a booth in the back of the chapel. “How could you not tell me he was going to be here?”

“I didn’t know! Not until about ten minutes ago when he walked in the door. Bella, I would have told you,” Alice answered back in a fierce whisper. Angela looked on in confusion and cleared her throat when Alice had finished.

“What am I missing here?” she asked gently.

“You see that blonde guy over there?” I said, leaning my head toward Mike and Ben. Angela nodded quickly.

“Mike Newton?” she confirmed and I agreed silently.

“That’s the guy I was on a date with the night I ran out to go to Edward,” I explained with a wince. Angela gasped and her hand flew up to cover her gaping mouth.

“Bella!” she chastised with a slight laugh. Alice joined her in giggling and I looked on in horror.

“This isn’t funny,” I cried in desperation, leaning closer to them. “How can I face him after that?”

“Well, just…smile and avoid him, I guess,” Angela suggested through her giggle. I mustered up my best glare to point at both of them.

Before I could say anything further on the subject of my bad luck, the rehearsal was called to order. I was placed on the arm of Ben’s best man, Tyler. I blessed every star in heaven that his best man wasn’t Mike Newton. I don’t think I would have been able to handle the absolute shame of having to walk down the aisle on his arm. As it was, Alice did and she seemed thrilled at the prospect. She waved cheerily from his side and chatted away with him even though he looked more than a little uncomfortable to be around her.

I was beyond thankful when the rehearsal drew to a close and we piled in a few cars to head over to the restaurant Angela and Ben had chosen for dinner that night.

It was a simple little Italian place that was the kind of place to have paintings all over its cracked walls and tables. It was quaint and perfect for our little party. Dinner was a casual affair and as I was squeezed in between my friends, a fun affair.

Alice had seen to it that Mike Newton was seated by both Lauren and Jessica who both seemed to adore him. I was thankful for the distraction she had thrown his way. So far, he hadn’t had a chance to speak to me alone and I would really rather it stay that way.

The night wore on and as it grew dark outside, Alice began to stir with the excitement of revealing the party she had planned for Angela. I felt her excitement next to me and I grabbed her hand to calm her. She smiled at me and released my hand before standing up and walking discreetly out of the room.

I watched her go out of bored curiosity. Ben and Angela were busy fielding questions about their honeymoon which was going to be spent in Fiji, courtesy of Ben’s parents, and Alice was really my only other form of entertainment.

I didn’t have long to wait for Alice however, because she came back in soon enough to call Lauren and Jessica away. I noted with some small note of satisfaction that Jessica looked very reluctant to leave Mike and he looked reluctant to let her go. Maybe he would forget about talking to me because he was so busy talking to her.

I didn’t have long to dwell on that however, because soon Alice was dragging me outside where she had gathered the other bridesmaids. She told us to wait and we all looked at each other in slight confusion as to what the plan was. A minute later, by peeking into room where the rest of the bridal party, we saw Alice wheedling with Angela to come with her to the bathroom. Lauren giggled behind me and I rolled my eyes as Alice dragged Angela over to where we were standing.

The moment she reached us in the room, she gave us rapid instructions.

“Alright, girls, there’s a car waiting outside to take us to the hotel, get in and I’ll be out in two seconds,” she ordered and threw a very confused Angela to us. I laughed as Lauren and Jessica latched onto Angela and began to drag her, protests and all, towards the entrance of the restaurant where sure enough a black town car was waiting for us. The driver opened the door for us and barely batted an eye at the struggle Angela was putting up to go back inside.

“Really, you guys, I don’t want to do this!” she was saying as I climbed in the car after them. I smiled at the futileness of her complaints. She must know that by now, it was completely useless to put up a fight when Alice got an idea in her mind.

Speaking of Alice, she launched herself into the car a moment later with a breezy laugh and told the driver we were all present. Angela immediately began to implore her to be able to go back inside but Alice waved off her pleas easily.

“Ange, if I let you go back in, then I’d have to send the stripper home,” she explained with wide, innocent eyes. Angela gaped at her in shock.

“Y-you hired a stripper?” she asked, her voice faltering.

--

So next chapter is the wedding and, of course, Edward, who we had to be sadly deprived of for the most part in this chapter. Review and I’ll send you a sneak peek if you want it!

Before you even ask - yes, Mike's relation to Ben will be explained! And please, no reviews detailing how much you hate poor Mike. He never did anything to you. ;-)