30. Girls' Day Out

BPOV

The five of us headed into the mall together, still laughing and enjoying each other's company.

"Time for shopping!" Alice trilled, bouncing in place. We laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Remember, Alice, you may have unlimited credit, but the rest of us don't," I reminded her. She pouted, looking extremely downcast. Then she had an idea and was back to bouncing again.

"Let me treat you today! Please? Please? I have more money than I could ever possibly spend, so it means so little to me. Spending time with all of you, having friends, is worth way more than money," she pleaded.

The other girls looked uncomfortable. "We don't want your charity," Leah responded stiffly.

"Oh, you can pay me back if you like!" Alice insisted. "Just let me pick out some new outfits for you, and in return, you can let me do your hair and makeup and pick out your outfits before you go on a date! How's that?"

I groaned loudly. "Oh, I don't think so, Alice. You'd have to buy us half the mall to make that worthwhile." I winked at her where the others couldn't see. The others were looking at me like I was insane, which I am, but that's beside the point.

"She can spend hours getting you ready for your date," I explained. "What she did to you today is nothing compared to the way she usually operates. She'll torture you endlessly for an hour or two before finally deciding you pass muster. In the end, you do look fabulous. She is absolutely brilliant at what she does, but the agony of having to sit still for so long while she pokes and prods your face and hair almost outweighs the end result. Especially when she then fixes herself up just as well in about five minutes. So unfair."

Alice smirked. "I've had a lot of practice fixing myself, silly Bella. Besides, you know it is one the things I love to do most of all, but I haven't had any friends willing to let me play Barbie with their bodies."

"Yeah, there's a reason for that, Alice," I muttered. "I don't really enjoy being Bella Barbie."

"Yet, Edward is always pleased with the results," she prodded.

"Yes, of course he is, but he still thinks I look beautiful just the way I am. Though I have to admit, it is fun to see him go speechless at the sight of me."

The other three girls were paying close attention to our conversation.

"Oooooohh! I know!" Alice squealed. "We could have a slumber party! If you girls will let me buy stuff for you today, you can pay me back by having a slumber party at my house next weekend! We'll do our nails and our makeup and our hair. We'll watch movies and talk about boys. We'll play games and giggle and stay up all night long and throw popcorn at each other. I've never had a slumber party before! Oh, please, please, please!" She pulled out her puppy dog eyes expression, going so far as to drop to her knees, hands clutched together as she begged. Leah, Kim, and Angela all looked at her like she had escaped from a mental institution. Come to think of it, she had, several decades ago.

"Let me get this straight," Leah began, crossing her arms across her chest. "You want to buy us a bunch of clothes, and in return, you want us to spend the night at your house and allow you to give us makeovers whenever you want?"

Alice nodded enthusiastically. "I know I get the better end of the deal, but please, say yes! I have impeccable taste in clothes. I promise I won't buy anything that won't look absolutely fabulous on you. Please?"

The girls exchanged incredulous glances. The looked to me in question, as if asking, 'Is she for real?'

"She's perfectly serious," I confirmed. "You'll really make her day if you let her buy things for you. She's positively addicted to shopping, but she's already filled all the closets in the Cullen house to the bursting point. She buys all their clothes for them, with the exception of Rosalie. This girl practically lives to shop. I think she considers it her purpose in life. It's a good thing she's filthy rich or her little habit would have all of them in the poorhouse within a week."

Alice glared at me.

"Hey, sometimes the truth hurts," I shrugged.

"Shopping is a perfectly fine life goal," Alice growled. "So is helping others understand style and develop fashion sense. It's a tough job, but somebody'sgot to do it."

We all started laughing uproariously at her comment. It was so Alice. She glared for a few seconds longer and then joined in the laughter.

"Okay, okay," Leah capitulated once she calmed down. "You can buy me whatever you want, and I won't complain. In return, I'll allow you to make me look fabulous whenever you want and attend a slumber party with all my new friends, where I will have tons of fun and enjoy myself immensely."

"Sounds like a fair trade to me," Kim agreed, chuckling.

"Sure, I'm in," Angela agreed. "I'll force myself to wear the beautiful outfits you choose, force myself to endure your ministrations to make me look my best, and force myself to spend time at a party with the four of you, whose company I have enjoyed more than anyone else's thus far. It's a tough sacrifice, but I'm willing to take one for the team."

Alice threw her arms around Angela, giving her an excited hug. "Oh thank you! I'll try to make your sacrifice worthwhile."

We all started laughing again. I swear, Alice is something else.

"Okay, let's start with lingerie!" Alice exclaimed happily. I groaned, rolling my eyes. I hadn't forgotten the last time she took me lingerie shopping, only this time there was no Edward waiting to catch a mental glimpse of my figure. Leah punched me lightly on the arm.

"Hey, don't ruin her fun, Bella!" Leah protested. "I'm sure we could all use a few things from that store." She smirked at my discomfort. "C'mon, we're all girls here. Besides, I'm sure we need some decent pajamas for our slumber party."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Alice shrieked. She took off down the walkway at a fast human pace. I had to jog to keep up with her. She noticed us struggling to match her pace and slowed down a bit, allowing us to catch up to her. We went in, and the others had a field day, picking out items for each other, encouraging each other to try things on, and finding things they really liked. They were surprised when they realized how many things Alice actually bought. I knew she had paid attention to everything they had liked, even if they put it back afterward. As a result, we each ended up with our own bag full. Great, now we would be walking through the mall holding bags that prominently displayed the name of the lingerie store. Well, I guess that's one way to get the guys' attention.

"Dresses now!" Alice enthused. We all followed behind her, trailing along like little ducklings following their mother to the pond. I chuckled to myself at the analogy. Once inside the new store, Alice became like a drill sergeant, ordering us to try on the dresses she pulled from the racks as fast as we could carry them. We would then model them for her and each other. It would only take Alice seconds to determine whether the dress was a 'keeper' or if it should be thrown back. Charlie would be proud of me using a fishing analogy, I thought to myself. Sometimes she made her decision before the rest of us could even get a good look. None of us argued with her though. Her taste was inevitably impeccable, as she had said.

We walked out of that store with three new dresses each. Angela, Kim, and Leah were looking a little overwhelmed by the little dictator Alice had become once we entered her shopping domain.

"I tried to warn you, guys, but you didn't listen," I teased. "I told you she was an unstoppable force of nature. She's like a tornado. She'll suck you up, twirl you around until you're dizzy, and then set you down again someplace else."

We all laughed again, except Alice. Alice glared at us, her hands on her hips. "But that's a good thing, right?"

The other three frantically began to try to reassure her. I just gave her an affectionate hug and a peck on the cheek.

"You're my favorite tornado, Alice, and heaven help anybody who stands in your way. They'll be completely obliterated," I murmured lovingly.

"Exactly!" Alice grinned in satisfaction, deciding she rather liked the comparison after all. "Now it's time for tops and bottoms. Follow me!"

We followed her, like good little sheep, all in charity with one another once again. In the next store, we ran into Lauren and Jessica, who were simply window shopping, as they couldn't afford the clothes in that store.

"Well, well. If it isn't Alice Cullen and her little sidekick Bella," Lauren sneered nastily. "Along with two little native girls who wandered off the reservation."

I felt rage building inside of me. How dare she speak about my friends like that? I wanted to tear into her, but couldn't think of anything to say. Why is it I always think of the good comebacks long after the confrontation is over and done?

Leah pointedly turned her back on Lauren and sighed. "Looks like somebody forgot to take out the trash. The stench is rather off-putting, don't you think?"

Alice nodded. "Perhaps I should speak to the manager. I spend enough money in this story to pay his salary, so I'm sure he won't mind throwing out the garbage to make our shopping excursion more pleasurable." She marched off to speak to the manager, leaving us all sneering back at Lauren. It was really quite something to see super shy girls like Angela and Kim actually sneering at somebody in public. I wished I had brought a camera. This would have been one for the scrapbook.

"Is that you, Angela?" Jessica asked in disbelief. "You look…pretty…today, much improved over your usual. What are you doing with these losers?"

Angela put her arm around Kim's shoulders, and Kim responded by putting her arm around Angela's waist, in a show of solidarity. "I'm spending a wonderful day with my friends. In fact, I've never had more fun than I have in the past two hours. It's so nice to be able to talk to other girls who actually have brains in their heads and can discuss things other than malicious gossip. But you wouldn't know about that, would you?"

Leah and I laughed, giving her a high five.

"Go get 'em, tiger!" Leah crowed. "Show those claws!"

Jessica's face turned red with anger. "Just wait, Angela, you'll be sorry you messed with me. You're not welcome to sit at our lunch table anymore. You'll have to find someplace else to sit your sorry butt." Lauren nodded, her teeth clenched.

Angela laughed. "That's okay; my friends already invited me to sit with them last week. I just stayed at your table because I felt sorry for you in your mundane existence, living your dreary little lives caught up in your pathetic little dramas. I can see you aren't worth my time though, so I'll gladly join the Cullens and Bella tomorrow where I can at least get some decent conversation."

"Wonderful, Angela! I'm so glad you finally accepted!" Alice exclaimed, coming over with the manager.

"What seems to be the problem here, ladies?" he inquired professionally.

"Well, sir, these two girls have done nothing but insult me and my friends since we came into this store. We are here to replace my friends' wardrobes. They'll need at least five outfits each. I doubt those two girls have any intention of actually buying anything, so all they're doing is loitering around and scaring away your real customers."

The manager looked sternly at Lauren and Jessica. "Well, do you intend to buy anything?"

"Maybe!" Lauren yelped defiantly.

"You've been in here for an hour already. Bring your intended purchases up to the register, please."

Jessica's face flushed red. "We haven't found anything we like yet."

The manager continued to stare at them grimly. "You've tried on at least twenty items apiece and neither of you have found anything to your liking?"

They both shook their heads.

"Then I don't think you'll find whatever it is you're looking for here at our store. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

They both huffed and stomped to the exit. Jessica passed through fine, but the alarm started beeping when Lauren went through the exit. The manager dashed over, grabbing hold of Lauren's wrist. He reached up and pulled back her collar, revealing another shirt underneath the one she was wearing.

"I do believe this shirt belongs to us, miss. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to undress in the dressing room with Wendy to be certain you haven't tried to walk off with anything else," he growled, waving the cashier over to his side. "Go with this young lady and remove the garment or garments she has attempted to steal."

"I just forgot I was wearing it!" Lauren protested. "I was looking for something to go along with it, when those losers came in and started giving us trouble. I just wanted to try it on with a jacket to see the overall effect. I wasn't trying to steal it! Honest!"

The manager ignored her, dragging her bodily over to the dressing room and pushing her into it.

"She had another pair of pants on underneath her own, sir," Wendy announced from the dressing room. Jessica's mouth dropped open at the news. She had come back into the store to witness Lauren's humiliation.

"It was part of the outfit I was planning to try with a jacket!" Lauren whimpered. "Really, I wasn't going to steal it."

Wendy stepped out of the dressing room, handing the shirt and pants to the manager.

"Fine," he grunted, as Lauren stumbled sheepishly out of the dressing room. "Then come and pay for this outfit, and we'll let it go."

All the color drained from Lauren's face. She swallowed loudly. "I, uh, can't afford it, sir. I don't have enough money," she admitted, unable to meet his eye. He nodded his head, as if he had suspected as much.

"Call security and the police," he instructed Wendy. "Tell them we caught a shoplifter. Since the amount is over $200, this is considered grand larceny, which is a felony. Are you eighteen yet?" Lauren shook her head no. "Consider yourself lucky then. If they decide to try you as a juvenile, you'll actually get to have your record sealed later."

Lauren was trembling with fright. "Jessica?" she stuttered pitifully.

Jessica looked scared at first, but then seemed to realize she was sitting on top of a major gossip story, one only she would have the details about. She knew Alice, Angela, and I wouldn't gossip about it, as we considered that beneath us, and Kim and Leah didn't go to our school, so they didn't count. She smiled smugly and took a picture of Lauren with her phone. "I'll wait here with you until the police come, but then I really have to get home," she assured Lauren slyly. I was certain she wanted to get a picture of Lauren being led away in handcuffs.

"I wish Edward was here, so we could tell whether or not she's really guilty," I whispered to the others, feeling bad for Lauren. What if she was telling the truth?

Alice gave me a strange look. "Of course she's guilty, Bella! It's obvious to anyone who can read body language that she is lying through her teeth." Leah nodded in agreement. Though she wasn't sure how she knew, she did know Lauren was lying and was guilty of the crime.

"Why would it help to have Edward here?" Angela asked curiously.

"Oh," I started, blushing bright red. Oops. That must be why Alice looked at me so strangely. I was a little too comfortable with my new friends, I think. "He's just really good at reading people."

"Actually, Bella," Alice teased. "You're just really gullible. You're such a bad liar yourself, you'll believe anybody who's even remotely good at it."

"Thanks," I grumbled. "I love you too." They all chuckled. Well, my philosophy is: If you don't want to do the time, don't do the crime. That and: You reap what you sow. I wasn't going to lose any sleep overLauren's predicament. She brought it on herself.

"Now that you've had your entertainment for the day, let's get down to business," Alice commanded, back to being the Shopping General. By the time we got finished in there, we were all exhausted, except for Alice, of course. Being a vampire does have its benefits. We did enjoy seeing Lauren led out in handcuffs, and Jessica did get a picture of it, just as I suspected. Lauren seemed outraged that Jessica would spread the word about what happened, but I wasn't surprised. What comes around goes around. When you're a backstabber who hangs out with other backstabbers, you shouldn't really be surprised when you get stabbed in the back, right? I mean, it's only common sense. There may be honor among thieves, but apparently the same doesn't hold true for gossips.

"Shoes now!" Alice announced happily. We all groaned.

"Alice, I realize you are like the Energizer bunny—you keep going and going, but the rest of us are tired and hungry. We need a break," I informed her.

"Oh, right!" she realized in embarrassment. "Sorry! Let's head to the food court then and find something yummy. You can all rest while you eat." She quickly changed direction and headed for the food court. I chuckled to myself. Good old Alice.

Once we entered the food area, Angela suddenly stopped in her tracks, clutching my arm. The others stopped with us, looking to Angela in surprise. I followed her gaze and saw Ben Cheney. I remembered from the books that Angela had a crush on him as he did on her.

"Awesome! You are looking your best, and you have our support. This is the best time for you to approach Ben!" I suggested. She quickly shook her head.

"Oh no, I can't!" she wailed. "What if he doesn't like me?"

"I've seen him watching you when you weren't looking," I encouraged.

"Really?" she asked in surprise. I nodded. "Oh, well maybe we can just walk by his table and see if he notices me."

Alice sent me a wink, and I knew she had something up her sleeve, so I simply agreed to Angela's plan. We strolled along toward his table, talking quietly amongst ourselves, and he didn't even look up as we approached. When we got to his table, Alice suddenly gave Angela a little shove, causing her to bump into him and drop all her bags. Angela shot Alice a brief glare, but her attention was soon taken up with Ben.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" she apologized, blushing red. "I must have tripped." Ben looked at Angela, his mouth open and his eyes somewhat glazed. After a few seconds, he closed his mouth and shook his head, appearing just as flustered as she did.

"No need to apologize, Angela. You didn't hurt me. Are you okay?" he asked courteously. She smiled. The rest of us melted away to get our food, leaving the two of them with at least the illusion of privacy.

"I'm fine, just a bit embarrassed," Angela admitted shyly. He smiled back at her.

"Oh, you dropped your bags, let me help you with those," he offered, kneeling down to pick them up off the floor. He saw the lingerie bag and lifted an eyebrow, then chanced a look up at her through his lashes. "So, uh, are you here with someone?"

"Oh, yeah," she answered, confused by the sudden flash of disappointment in his eyes. "Bella Swan, the new girl, and Alice Cullen, plus two new girls I just met today. Leah and Kim are both really nice. They live in La Push." His eyes lit up again once he realized she was here with her female friends.

He worked up his courage, while he gathered up her bags. "So are you…seeing…anyone?" He blushed, staring at the floor.

She blushed too. "Oh, no. I've never actually had a boyfriend."

His eyes flicked to her in surprise. "No? But you're so beautiful and so smart and so nice! Would you consider…maybe…spending some time…with me?"

She flashed him a breathtaking smile that seemed to stun him. She dazzled him, I thought in amusement. "I would love to, Ben."

His face lit with joy. "Really?" She nodded. "Awesome! I could take you home today, if your friends don't mind, and we could spend a little time together now."

She looked over at me with a hopeful expression. I smiled and nodded. "Go for it!" I mouthed, giving her a thumbs up to show my approval. She grinned back at me in appreciation. Alice came up beside me. "You're welcome," she whispered. Angela grinned even wider and nodded. She turned back to her new boyfriend.

"I would love to spend some time with you now."

We left them happily conversing. "Two down, two to go," she murmured to me triumphantly. I lifted my eyebrow.

"You know, Kim is going to be with Jared," I mumbled back.

"Oh, I know," she muttered archly. "But they're not together yet, so it doesn't count yet."

"It won't be long though, especially with you 'helping' things along," I mentioned with a grin. She grinned back.

"Absolutely." Suddenly, she gasped. "It's Kim, she's in trouble!"

We had been walking over to Leah, so she was within hearing distance. Alice took off, and Leah and I followed along behind her. She was going slightly faster than human speed, in her concern, but I wasn't going to object. I hoped she could get to Kim before anything bad happened. We raced after her, trying to keep her in sight as she wove through people and tables. Since I wasn't familiar with the mall, I had no idea where she was going.

We rounded a corner and went down a long hallway. I realized we were headed to a set of restrooms. We arrived in the bathroom area just in time to see Alice wrench the door handle off the bathroom door of the family restroom. It was a large, handicap accessible restroom which included a diaper changing station and was designed mainly for mothers of sons who were too old to go into the women's bathroom but were still young enough that the mothers didn't feel comfortable allowing them to use the men's room alone. It was also big enough for mothers of multiple children to keep them all under close surveillance while they took turns using the potty. In this case, two men had locked Kim in with them and were planning to use the space to take advantage of her. They stopped when they heard the door handle break, the inside half falling to the floor. Wasting no time, Alice used her fingers to unlock the door and pulled it open.

"Let her go!" Alice growled fiercely.

"Oh, did you want to join the party, sweetheart?" one of them sneered. "We've got enough for you too." He tried to grab her, and she threw him across the bathroom, where he hit his head on the sink and promptly passed out.

She stomped angrily over to the other man who was holding Kim's wrists up against the wall and staring at Alice in disbelief. "I said let her go," she growled again, grabbing the man's arm and snapping a bone with the force of her grip. He immediately let go of Kim, howling in pain. Alice shoved him into the opposite wall with enough force to break the tile, before gently grabbing Kim into a hug.

"He's certainly going to feel that tomorrow," I mentioned cheerfully. Leah was staring at Alice in surprise. Kim choked out a few sobs. "Did they hurt you, Kim?"

She shook her head no, squeezing Alice hard.

"I was so scared! I had to go to the bathroom, and I should have told one of you, but I thought I'd be quick. When I came out of the ladies room, those two were waiting for me and shoved me into this room. They pushed me up against the wall, telling me all the things they planned to do to me. I could tell they were getting excited by my fear, but I couldn't stop trembling. They didn't even have a chance to kiss me before you busted in though. You saved me! Thank you!" Kim explained, pulling back to look at Alice in awe.

"Yes, you did," Leah agreed, looking at the two bad guys lying on the floor unconscious, one of them with a gash on his head that was oozing blood. She turned to look back at Alice. "How?"

Alice dropped her arms, smiling sadly. "You already knew what I am, didn't you?"

Leah nodded thoughtfully. "And now I know what you are not." She and Alice shared a look of understanding and both of them smiled. Leah came over, giving both Alice and Kim a hug. She went back and took both men's' wallets out, looked at the IDs and then put them back.

I lifted my eyebrows in question. She gave me an evil smile. "Just in case Jared wants to know."

I nodded in understanding, though I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to tell him. An angry young werewolf and the two men who tried to rape his imprint wouldn't be a good combination. I doubted anyone would ever find their bodies. I'd have to have a little talk with everyone on the way home and decide just how much about our trip we really wanted to share with the guys.

Leah came back over to Alice and Kim, throwing an arm around each of them. "I'm starving, Let's grab a bite."

Alice started giggling. "Good thing I'm not hungry. I don't think you really want me to grab a bite."

We all started laughing, relieving the tension we had felt since we realized Kim was in trouble. A vampire and a future werewolf laughing together over feeding habits. I felt like reciting Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech to commemorate the occasion.

We went back to the food court and got our lunch. I hid in the corner of the booth, trying to avoid attention. Kim was overwhelmed by the number of young men staring at her, but Leah was loving all the attention.

"You know," she whispered, playing with her napkin. "You guys have really helped me come to terms with the loss of Sam. It still hurts, but I don't feel as bitter as I did before, and now I actually have hope for the future. Hope that there's someone out there meant especially for me. I had been questioning myself, wondering what was wrong with me, what had I done that had turned him away. I hated myself even more than I hated him. But spending this time with all of you, and feeling beautiful, and driving the men wild, I realize I'm not alone in my suffering. I feel okay with myself now, like I am worthy of more than just being bitter and alone. I also realized the break-up wasn't the end of the world. There are far worse things I could have suffered. So I'm going to do my best to let go of Sam and start living again. Really living, not just existing. I'm going to actively pursue happiness."

"Good for you!" we told her, squeezing her hands. "We'll be here for you."

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Wow! Chapter 30! AND 2 uploads in a week! Wow.... I also have a message for you guys...

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This story is actually written by a great author who sadly had to stop for reasons unkown... She left this story half and even i dont know what goes on after that... All the above and before and some furture written works are hers with some of my tweeks... I hope you like this story and this whole story is in a tribute to her... So everyone, i would really appriciate it if you kept the name DeyDreamBeliever in your prayers... She was truely remarkable, but now no one knows what happened to her... Thanks

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