Disclaimer: I do not own twilight.

A/N: I'm almost finished with this story and have decided to repost it. I initially took a break (not thinking it would be this long) after receiving so many nasty pm's/anonymous reviews. I'm trying to clean it up a bit and make it flow better than before but the content is the same.

Each character in this story represents a real person in my life. Most of the things that happen to Bella have happened to me or someone close to me.

I know many people stopped reading because of Alice but I tried to keep her as close to her real life counterpart as possible. Trust me when I say I wish the real life Alice hadn't done those things either but, I'm not going to change her actions in the story so if you didn't like her the first time you won't like her any better now, sorry! I'm thinking only a few more new chapters to go making it around 20 or so all together and then I will go back and finish Paranormal.

Chapter 1

BPOV

Please don't let me run out of gas, please, please, please! My knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly. The freeway was like a parking lot. It was rush hour and of course I was in the middle lane and the nearest exit was 2 miles away.

Normally that isn't a big deal. I know my truck well. I know that once the light goes on I still had a least another 20 miles to go before I actually run out of gas. But when the thing as my dad named it when he first gave it to me, started sputtering I knew I was in trouble.

Fucking Emmett! I knew I shouldn't have let him borrow my truck last night. He needed to use it to get the last of his things moved into Rosalie's apartment. You would have thought he could have at least put some gas in it. Or better yet, you would have thought I would have double checked to see that he did before getting on the freeway. But I woke up late and had a meeting in 20 minutes so needless to say, here I sit with my blinker on trying to at least get into the right lane so if necessary I can pull onto the shoulder.

"Come on." My hands were sweating as I pounded on the steering wheel. It started sputtering again causing my heart rate to pick up. And then it happened. All of the sudden the normal sound of my thundering engine was gone. And to make matters worse not even a minute later traffic started moving. All except the middle lane. The car behind me was honking. I tried to start it again keeping my fingers crossed that it would work.

Yeah, no such luck. I looked around to see that things had slowed down again so at least no one was going over 10 miles an hour. I managed to get the guy behind me to unroll his window. He was less than pleased but he was willing to help if for no other reason than to get my truck off to the side of the road so that he wouldn't be stuck behind me.

He stopped traffic in the right lane allowing me to push my truck across it and on to the shoulder. Of course he hadn't bothered to help me push but I somehow managed it. So here I sit…again…. But at least I'm not blocking traffic. I reach for my cell phone only to find that I must have left it at home. Fuck my life. I get out of the truck and started hoofin' it.

Two miles later I come to an exit. Lucky for me there was a gas station pretty close to the exit. Oh wait….. Did I say lucky for me? What I should have said was 'Are you fucking kidding me?' Apparently this gas station doesn't have any gas cans available. I look around and spotted a sign for Walmart. It couldn't be more than a half a mile or so. I start walking again. My feet are pretty much on fire now but that is the least of my worries.

At least I haven't tripped or fallen so that has to be a plus right? So my 'half a mile or so' theory goes right out the window when I realize I counted 23 blocks before I got there. I buy my gas can, and walk back to the gas station. I get it filled up but not before spilling all over the outside of the can and start the long walk back to the thing. It's very heavy and is now slippery due to the spill. I make my way down the off ramp to find that of course traffic is moving along quickly now.

I reach my truck and have trouble unscrewing the gas cap. My hands are slick and it isn't working. I search for something to wipe them off with but realize I have nothing because Fucking Emmett took everything out of the truck last night so he could fit his stuff in. I un-tuck my blouse from my skirt and use the ends of it in attempt to get the cap off. After several minutes it works. I put the gas in the tank managing to spill again but this time getting it all over my shoes.

I get it started and pull onto the freeway making it to work way over an hour late. My boss is pissed and because I missed the meeting, Jessica is in charge of the latest project instead of me. So I'm now in my office, sweating like a pig and smelling like gasoline when Jake walks in.

"Hey Bella." I close my eyes for a second; I just can't deal with this shit right now.

"Hey Jake, what can I do for you?"

"Oh, uh I just thought that I'd bring you up to date on the meeting this morning." He said smiling brightly.

"Thanks, um yeah, thank you." I guess I should be a little nicer but I was having a bad fucking day.

"So… how about we go over it at lunch. There is a new restaurant that just opened up down the street."

Please, not again, especially not today… I whined internally. Jake was my dad's best friends son and about six months ago he asked if I could look into getting Jake a job. There was an opening and I put in a good word for him and now….. Well now I can't seem to get rid of him.

"Sorry Jake, I'm meeting Alice for lunch but I have some time now." His disappointment was obvious but its better this way. I didn't want to lead him on and even though he was a nice kid and all I knew better than to invite him to join us for lunch.

You see, Alice was obsessed with finding me the perfect man. This new mission she started came soon after she met her soul mate Jasper Whitlock. They really are perfect together but love was not on my top list of priorities right now.

And no doubt about it, she would interfere and try to set something up with Jake if I gave her the chance. Actually it didn't even have to be Jake, she didn't even know him very well, but I made the mistake of telling her about his…well… obsession with me and she jumped all over the opportunity.

She went so far as to come into my office with the pretense of lunch, only to 'accidentally' track him down and leave him with the knowledge that I was single and available. From that point on I made sure to keep any and all single men away from Alice.

After Jake leaves I get some actual work done, and soon it's time for lunch. I pull into the parking lot where I'm meeting Alice. (She's not allowed to come to my office anymore.) I find her waiting for me. She takes one look at me and starts cracking up.

"What happened to you?" she asked. I tell her about my day thus far. She's still laughing but has calmed down a little.

"Sounds like you could use a drink tonight Bella." And I have to agree I really could.

"You know what? I really could."

"So where do you want to go?" She asks.

"How about the Thirsty Lion?"

"Great, I'll call Rosalie. We'll pick you up so you don't have to drive."

"Thanks Alice, I really could use a night out." I didn't go out all that much. Not like I used to anyway. We usually just stayed in; the five of us would drink beer and eat pizza at least one night out of the week.

After I got home and showered trying in vain to get all the gasoline smell off I found something decent to wear and finished getting ready. I found my bottle of 'Happy' hoping to mask the evidence of my earlier incident. I probably put too much on. I usually didn't wear much perfume but tonight I had a need to.

We get to the bar. Emmett and Jasper are going to meet us later but for now it was just the three of us. We find a table to sit at and order our first round of drinks. The band that is playing is pretty good. We even dance for a few songs. After a while I start to get pretty hot so I get off the dance floor and decide I needed another drink. I head to the bar and wait for the bartender. I'm invisible for the first few minutes but finally I order.

"I'll have a 7 & 7."

"What's in a 7 & 7?" I heard the guy next to me ask. Seriously? It seems pretty obvious but I answer any way.

"It's uh Seagram's 7 and 7up." I turned back to wait for my drink.

"Oh. That sounds pretty good. I'll have one too." He says when the bartender comes back and hands me my drink. I don't say anything and start to walk away. I hear him calling me but I try and disappear into the crowd taking the long way back to the table. It seemed to work but then about 45 minutes later he finds me again. He walks over to us and takes the open seat next to me. Rosalie and Alice look at him suspiciously.

"7 & 7… there you are." He addresses me. I don't say anything as he continues to stare.

"Her name is Bella." Alice speaks right up. I look over to her quickly trying desperately to indicate that I am not, in any way interested in this guy but she isn't even looking at me.

"Hello Bella, I'm Mike, wow you smell really good." I smile politely but don't say anything, again trying to get the point across that I want nothing more than for him to leave.

"I'm Alice and this is Rosalie."

"Nice to meet you ladies." He said but looks to me again. They make small talk while I'm plotting my 'fake a headache' plan. But my luck might be changing as his friends come over letting him know that it is time to go.

"I'd really like to see you again Bella. Can I get your phone number?" I see that Alice is about to speak up so I get my answer out as quickly as possible.

"I'm sorry Mike but I don't give out my phone number." That earns a glare from Alice and a giggle from Rosalie who by the way has been uncharacteristically quiet tonight. Mike reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card placing it in front of me.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that Bella but here's my card just in case you change your mind." I smile at him and he leaves.

"What's the matter with you?" Alice shrieks.

"He's not my type." I explain.

"Bella, you didn't even give him a chance."

"Alice, if she isn't interested then there's no point." Rosalie comes to my rescue. I smile at her letting her know how grateful I am. I decide now is the time for a bathroom break and when I get back Emmett and Jasper are at the table. Surprisingly enough Alice didn't bring up the Mike issue again. I let myself get sucked into a false sense of security thinking Rose actually got through to her.

I stumble a little, well a lot actually when we were getting out of the car. So Alice decides to help me to the front door. We intertwine our arms and nearly fall off the small porch. Huh, I must of had more to drink than I realized. We step inside and I see the bright red light of my answering machine blinking at me, indicating a new message.

I hit the play button and listen.

"Hi Bella, its Mike. I'm so glad you decided to call after all. And yes I would love to meet you for dinner this Sunday. How about 6:30 at The Red Fig? I can't wait, see you soon. And my home number is 555-1296."

What the….. Fucking Alice! I turned to her and she knows how pissed I am. She raises her hands in surrender and starts to back away.

"Bella, I did it for your own good." She slurs before continuing. "You need to get out more and he seemed like a nice guy."

"Mary Alice Brandon, you better call him right back and tell him I'm not going. How did you even get his number in the first place?" I asked then I remembered his business card he left on the table that Alice clearly swiped. I stumbled closer to her.

"No Bella, if you want to cancel then the least you could do is call him yourself." She actually tried to convince me that it was my responsibility.

"No Alice it's the least you can do, I'm not the one that made the date with him."

"Just call him; I have a feeling about this one." She said as she backed into the door way and eventually out onto the porch before closing the door behind her.

I really don't want to do this, and I'm really not in any condition to talk on the phone. On the other hand maybe that will make it easier. I listened to the message again so I could write down the number, then I picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Um hi, this is Bella, you know from before? Um well I have something I have to say so please just let me get this all out okay? Ok uh listen I'm sure you're a nice guy and all. I mean you seemed nice enough but well to be honest I'm just not looking for a relationship right now….Or a uh one night stand either for that matter.

I mean I guess that's what you're looking for right? That's why you gave me your number? And well, we met at a bar so that's usually what happens. I mean I used to go to bars all the time…. not so much anymore.

But I… well….I really needed a drink tonight. I had the worst fucking day all thanks to Fucking Emmett, who by the way never even apologized, not that it was all his fault I mean sure I could have just checked to see how much gas was in my truck but still.

I would have at least put some gas in someone else's car after I borrowed it. Well I guess he did buy me a few shots as kind of an apology so I guess that works. Anyway what I'm trying to say is that…. well like I said I'm sure you're nice and all but I'm just not interested.

I mean I did kind of tell you that before though. And then Fucking Alice didn't help any. I can't believe she would do that to me…. or to you for that matter. I know, I know, she's 'just trying to help' but seriously come on! I've told her before, but she just doesn't listen.

Yes she found her 'true love' and all but that doesn't mean she has the right to just tell random guys I want to date them. Who does that anyway? Even Rosalie had enough sense to stay out of it but she may have felt just a little bit guilty for Emmett's part in my earlier mishap.

So I'm sorry. Really I am, I hope that you understand. I feel pretty bad about the whole thing. I hope we can still be friends…..oh wait, I didn't mean that…. Shit that came out wrong. It's just, well, we weren't friends before so it's not like we'd be missing much. Fuck…. Sorry I'm sure you're a great friend but I don't think that would be a good idea for us, so again I'm sorry I hope I haven't offended you."

Silence….Wow I really need to stop drunk calling people. I think I've just made this worse. Shit. What do I do? I start to say something else when I hear him.

"So this is all Fucking Emmett's fault then?" he sounded amused.

"Yes!...Wait… No, not entirely."

"But he was the one that caused your bad day though right?"

"Yes that was his entire fault…mostly." He chuckled.

"So what exactly did Emmett do? I think you said something about him borrowing your car?"

"Yes, last night he borrowed my truck to finish moving the rest of his stuff to Rosalie's."

"Okay I'm with you so far."

"Well so then, I didn't hear my alarm clock this morning and so I was running late for work and I had an important meeting to get to."

"Uh-huh."

"So traffic's at a stand still I'm in the middle lane and I notice my gas light is on."

"I think I can see where this is going."

"Yeah so I run out, my truck dies a minute before traffic starts moving and then, the jackass behind me…..even though he did help stop traffic in the other lane…..didn't even bother to help me push it over to the shoulder."

"Asshole."

"I know!"

"Go on."

"So I have to walk two miles to get to an exit, I get to the top of the off ramp and spot a gas station."

"Okay, so at least your luck started to turn around."

"Yeah, you'd think that wouldn't you, but no. They don't have any gas cans."

"No gas cans at a gas station?"

"That's what I thought too."

"So what did you do then?"

"Well I spotted a Walmart sign and 23 blocks later I get there."

"23 huh?"

"Yep, I counted because I was sure it was closer than that. So anyways I get back to the gas station and fill up my gas can which by the way was pretty fucking heavy, and walked the two miles back to 'The thing'.

"The thing?"

"Yeah, that's what my dad named my truck."

"Okay."

"I make it back and I couldn't get the gas cap off cause my hands were too slippery."

"You didn't get gas on them by any chance did you?"

"Yeah how'd you know?"

"Lucky guess."

"So I can't find anything to wipe by hands off on so I had to use my blouse, my white blouse to get the cap off."

"Not good."

"So I'm over an hour late for work, miss my meeting and then Jessica gets to be in charge of the project since I missed out."

"Wow you did have a bad day."

"Hence the need for my drinking tonight."

"So where does Alice get in on this bad day of yours?"

"Fucking Alice decides that I need a man in my life and so she tells any man that will listen that I am single and readily available even when I tell her not to."

"So I take it this has happened before?"

"Yes, ever since she met Jasper."

"Jasper? Not Fucking Jasper?"

"No, just Jasper, it's impossible to get mad at him. He's so laid back and easy going. The exact opposite of Fucking Alice."

"Okay so she met Just Jasper and she decided it was time for you to get a man of your own?"

"Yeah, I mean her hearts in the right place, she just wants me to be as happy as she and Jasper are and Emmett and Rosalie but she really needs to stop. She even had the nerve to come to my office and encourage Jake even after I warned her of his obsession with me."

"That doesn't sound good."

"I'm glad you see it my way."

"I do." He said and I looked up at the clock.

"Wow, I had no idea it was so late I better get to bed. Thanks for listening Mike and I'm really sorry about everything."

"My name isn't Mike."

"Oh,…..wait, what?"

"My name is Edward, not Mike."

"Oh, are you one of his friends? Were you at the bar?"

"No on both accounts."

"So why did you answer Mike's phone?"

"This is my phone, not Mike's."

"Shit, this isn't…. 555-1296?"

"Nope, this is 555-1269."

"Fuuuuuck."

"So are you going to call Mike now?" He asked while laughing.

"Damn it. Yeah I guess so. I hope he's as understanding as you."

"I hope so too."

"Well, sorry I bothered you Edward."

"No bother at all."

"Well um, bye."

"Goodnight Bella."

What the hell just happened? I hung up and dialed Mike this time. It rang once before he answered.

"Did you actually mean to call me or were you just trying to get a hold of Mike again?"

"Shit, I'm so sorry. I think I must be dyslexic or something. Maybe it's better if I just go to bed. I won't try Mike again until tomorrow that way I can let you get some sleep." He laughed again.

"It's okay, really I don't mind."

"Goodnight Edward."

"Goodnight Bella… I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"What?"

"You know, when you try and call Mike again."

"Ha ha." I said as I laid down in bed and fell asleep immediately.