EPOV

"Edward honey, you work too hard." My mom, Esme was chastising me.

I sighed, she always said that I worked too hard and I always brushed her off. This was our bi-weekly ritual. I'd come into the coffee shop she owned and we'd sit and talk about what was going on, have some coffee and bagels. It was the only real quality time that she and I got with each other and it made her happy, and to tell you the truth, I kinda liked it too. But don't you fucking tell anyone that.

"I don't work all that hard, mom, I just do my job." I said.

"You're always at that place and whenever I see you, you look so tired. Why can't you take a vacation or something." She went on, completely ignoring what I had just said.

"Mom, I'm always there because it's my job, I love being down at the studio, it's my passion. I don't really view it as being a workaholic or something." We went through this every time.

"You need a girl, Edward," My mom murmured, sipping on her coffee.

I nearly choked on my bagel. This was the first time the subject of getting a girlfriend had come up.

"What?" I gasped.

"You heard me young man. You need a girl." She said.

I laughed at her. I didn't mean to, but I just couldn't help it. My mother was trying to tell me that I needed a woman? Ha!

"Uh mom, I had a woman, I've had a few women actually." I said uneasily. I didn't really want to talk about my sex life with my mom.

"Oh Edward, I don't mean a girl that hangs on your arm for a week or two and then you can just set her to the side when you're done. I mean a girl that you can talk to about you day and your problems. A girl that you can come home to at night and you want to spend your time with more than anything. A girl that makes your face light up when you see her. A girl that you can love, Edward." She said, putting her coffee down and laying her hand on top of mine on the table.

A girl I could love? Was that even possible? All the women I had ever dated always wanted me for my money or the chance to get signed at the label. That's what happened with the last girl I had seriously dated; Irina.

The thing was was that she was actually pretty good. Not like, superstar good or anything, but she had a nice voice, I figured I could at least be nice and let her have her 15 minutes of fame.

But that went down hill fast.

The second we finished her first few songs, she went all Britney Spears diva on me and everyone at the studio. It had been the last straw when I caught her snorting coke all over my desk with a couple 'guy friends'. Then when I asked her where the fuck she got it at, she said that Jasper had been giving it to her for weeks.

That was bullshit.

I admit, Jazz and I did some lines at parties, but we never did them with anyone else, just him and me, and sometimes Emmett. Jazz had his reasons for this. When he was younger, around fifteen or sixteen, an older friend of his started him on it. By the time he was eighteen, he had almost died from overdosing on the stuff and ended up in rehab for a year. He vowed to never become like that guy that had started him on it.

When Jazz promised something, he meant it until the day he died. So I knew that Irina was lying her ass off and trying to rat out Jazz for something he'd never do. I wouldn't stand for that shit. The only thing that kept me from dragging her out the door by her hair was twenty-eight years of my mother ingraining into my head to never lay a hand on a girl. So I called security and let them drag her out instead.

I called my lawyer the next day and made her contract null and void and told her if she ever came around here again, I'd have her arrested.

That was a year ago and I hadn't been in a serious relationship of any kind since. My sex life consisted of one night stands and I had gotten used to it, I actually preferred it to the alternative if something like the thing with Irina was what I had to expect.

I shuddered at the thought and focused my attention back to my mom.

"Mom, I'm really not ready for something like that, okay. I just haven't found anyone." I said.

"You haven't found anyone because you're always working." She brought up again.

My phone went off and it was a message from Jazz. He needed me for something down at the studio.

"Look mom, I'm really sorry but I've got to go, Jazz needs me for something." I said apologetically.

"Alight hun, will you be at dinner Sunday night? Emmett called me yesterday and said he and Rose were coming so if you're there, the whole family will be there." She asked, standing up and walking around the table to give me a hug. Yes, I hug my mom in public, shut up.

"Yeah I promise I'll be there. I love you mom, see you Sunday." I said and walked out the door.

I was about to walk a little bit down the street to my car, when I heard an amazing voice. It was almost like an angel was behind me singing.

I turned around and was met with the sight of a girl. A young girl, she didn't look any older than nineteen or twenty. She had long brown wavy hair that seemed to reach past her waist. This girl was tiny, she seemed almost too skinny. Her clothes were torn and dirty. I realized then that she must be homeless. She was sitting on the ground, leaning up against the brick wall of my moms' shop, with her knees pulled up to her chest, with a notebook laying against her chest and her head tilted back. She had the angel voice.

It's a harder way and it's come to claim her
And I always say, we should be together
And I can see below, 'cause there's something in here
And if you are gone, I will not belong here

And I started to hear it again
But this time it wasn't the end
And the room is so quiet

And my heart is a hollow plain
For the devil to dance again
And the room is too quiet

All I could do was stand there and listen, staring at her.

Suddenly, she stopped singing and jumped up like she had been shocked and took a defensive position a couple yards away from me.

This girl was short, I had almost a foot on her height wise. And I was right about her hair, it was a few inches past her waist, and was a little dull, but I could see the beauty of the shades underneath the dirt. A dark chocolate brown with tints of red running through it. I bet if it had a good washing, it would become shiny and full.

"What do you want?" She was defensive, like she was afraid of me.

It was then I noticed her eyes. They were large and gave her that doe eyed look. They were also about the same color as her hair; a dark chocolate brown.

"Your voice… it's beautiful." I murmured. I couldn't tell if I was saying it to myself or if I was trying to answer her question.

"W-what?" She stuttered out adorably. Wait, hold the fucking phone! Adorable? When the fuck did I ever use that word on a girl?

Then I realized that I was talking to her like this and I hadn't even told her my name.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Edward Cullen." I said and stepped toward her, holding out my hand. She stepped back though and glared at my hand like it was going to rip her throat out.

I lowed it slowly and stepped back away from her.

"And? What do you want?" She asked.

"Well, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I walked out of the shop and you were singing, and I have to say it was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard, and that's saying something." I mumbled that last part, maybe my mom was on to something after all.

"What do you mean 'that's saying something'?"

I told her what I did and who I was and she didn't seem to believe me, she was about to walk away from me and I started to panic. This girl, whoever she was, had one hell of a voice. I couldn't just let her walk away like that.

I stopped her and told her to go in to the coffee shop and ask Esme to clarify that I was telling the truth. I practically begged her to go ask, and after a couple minutes she relented and walked part me in to the shop, keeping her distance.

I breathed out a sigh of relief and hoped that Esme wouldn't say anything that would make her run from me.

I looked in the window and saw that she was talking to my mom, so I pulled out my phone and dialed Jazz's number.

On the fourth ring he picked up.

"Yellow, Ed man." The nerd always answered the phone in some weird way. I wondered what Alice sees in his nerdtastic ass sometimes.

"I found someone, Jazz." I said excitedly into the phone.

"You found someone? What do you mean, like a hot chick or something along the lines of God? 'Cause I've never pegged you for a religious man, Ed." He chuckled.

"No Jazz, someone as in someone with a good voice. Someone new, someone that we could possibly sign." I said, ignoring his jabs at me.

"Really? How good is this someone?" Now I had piqued his interest. Jazz was always interested in new talent. It's what had made him such an amazing business partner all these years.

"She's incredible. I heard her singing before I saw her and I could have sworn it was a fucking angel, man! I've got to get her to at least come down to the studio and sing something. I don't know what I'll do if she says no." I said, looking at her through the window, she was still talking to mom.

"Huh, that good? You've never said that about anyone we've had." He mused.

"Yes, she's that good. She may be able to be better if she agrees to work with us."

"Are you sure there's nothing going on with you two? Remember what happened with Irina." He tried to warn me. He had nothing to warn me against though. I mean, sure this girl was very pretty, but this wouldn't be anything like Irina, I was going to make sure of that.

"No man, this isn't like the thing with Irina, okay. She's actually really, really good. She's amazing, trust me, Jazz." I stressed to him. I ran my hand through my hair, a nervous habit I had developed at a young age.

"Okay Ed, if you're sure. You can go ahead and bring her in." He said.

I heard a throat being cleared behind me and I spun around. The girl was standing there. Shit, how long had she been there?

"Jazz, I have to go, I'll be in soon." I mumbled and shut my phone, shoving it back into my pocket.

"Esme said that you were telling the truth. Now, what do you want?" She asked a little shortly.

Oh thank God. I was afraid mom would say something to scare her off.

"Can we sit down on the bench and talk about it?" I asked pointing toward a bench a few feet away.

"Fine." She muttered and walked over to it and sat down a little roughly. I noticed that she winced, I wonder what that's about.

I walked over and sat down next her slowly, not wanting to scare her.

"Umm… sorry, but I didn't catch your name." I said quietly. I needed to know this girls name.

"My name's Bella." She mumbled.

Of course her name is Bella. Beautiful. Everything I had seen so far about her was beautiful. Her looks, her voice. Was she just as beautiful inside as well? God, I wanted to know more than anything.

"Doesn't surprise me." I muttered under my breath.

"What?" She asked me.

"Uh nothing." I said and ran my hand through my hair again.

I went ahead and came out with what I wanted. I offered her a job and she immediately went to sex. What had happened to this girl to make her think all I wanted from her was sex? Had she been hurt? I knew life on the streets was hard, but for a pretty, young girl it must me hell. How many men had propositioned sex from her?

I told her that's not what I wanted form her and she relaxed a little.

After a lengthy discussion, she agreed to give it a go. But she insisted that I didn't touch her at all. Something bad had defiantly happened to this poor girl involving men. Maybe I could help her with that. Hell, I felt like I needed to help her.

I called Mike to ask him to bring the car around and when he pulled up, Bella's jaw dropped. I thought it was about to fall off her face onto the ground.

Mike looked at Bella a few seconds too long for my liking and I glared at him. His eyes widened and went directly to the pavement.

I slid in after her, making sure to keep my distance.

"It's just a short drive, maybe ten minutes." I told her, trying to keep her comfortable.

She nodded her head and keep looking straight ahead. I could swear she was watching me out of the corner of her eye.

"So, what does all of this entail exactly?" She asked me suddenly.

"Well, all you would have to do is do a song in the sound booth, we'll record it and put it on a track. If it's really good, which I have absolutely no doubt that it will be, we'll go from there. If you want we could do a whole album." I told her.

Her jaw dropped again and she snapped it back shut. I resisted the urge to laugh, it was so fucking cute when she did that.

"A whole album?" She gasped.

"Only if you want to do it. We would of course pay you, and sign you to the label." I reassured her. I didn't want her to think that she wouldn't get anything out of this.

She looked at me strangely, with a crease between her brows that I wanted to smooth over with my thumb, but held myself in check.

After that, the rest of the car ride was silent. Bella stared out the window, watching all the buildings flash by and I stared at Bella, watching as her eyes would occasionally light up when she saw something she liked and then go flat again the next second.

We finally pulled up to the studio and Mike came around to open the door for us. I slid out first and turned to help Bella out, but I remembered her condition about no touching and lowered my hand back down to my side.

She slid out gracefully with her bag in hand and I motioned for her to follow me.

I held open the back door (employee entrance) open for her, I happened to look down and see that her jeans were very tight, which happened extenuate the fact that Bella has an amazing ass. I'll admit right here and now; I, Edward Cullen, am an ass man. And Bella had one hell of an ass, I was almost drooling over it. I shook my head, hoping to dispel all the inappropriate thoughts running through my it and escorted Bella into the sound room where I knew Jazz would be waiting for us.

We walked in and Jazz was there alright, with his long time girlfriend, Alice Brandon, sprawled out across his lap, sucking each others faces off. They had been dating since a few months after he got out of rehab. I didn't know why they just didn't get married already but whenever I asked, Alice would just say that they were waiting for the right time and it hadn't come yet. She was always being all cryptic like that, it kinda freaked me out sometimes when she did that. I had nothing against Alice, hell, she was like my little sister, but sometimes she just got annoying, like she was a pixie hopped up on red bull and distracted Jazz when he was at work; like now.

Bella looked uncomfortable and was blushing like crazy while trying to look anywhere but at Jazz and Alice.

I cleared my throat loudly, Alice's head shot up like a bullet and Jazz was so startled that he nearly dumped Alice onto the floor.

"You two want to go someplace else for a few minutes and finish up?" I teased them.

Alice stuck her tongue out at me and Jazz just shook his head and tried to hide his smile.

"We had a nice quiet room before the two of you walked in. By the way, are you going to introduce us?" Alice asked, looking Bella up and down pointedly.

"Uh yeah, sorry. Alice, Jasper, this is Bella. Bella, this is Jasper Hale, my business partner and his girlfriend Alice Brandon." I said, pointing to everyone.

Alice jumped off of Jaspers lap and skipped, yes skipped, over to Bella and threw her arms around her. The poor girl didn't know how to deal with Alice's enthusiasm yet and froze, locking her arms against her sides. Her face was a combination of shock and fear, like a scared rabbit that didn't know which way to run.

"Alice!" I hissed.

She immediately released Bella, startled at her reaction to something as simple as a hug.

"I'm sorry! I don't think when I do things like that, I was just so excited to meet you." Alice explained, managing to look like a rejected puppy.

Bella stood there still frozen, taking deep breaths, her hands shaking slightly.

I glanced over at Jasper and he was looking at her worriedly.

"Bella? Are you okay?" I whispered to her softly. I wanted to reach out and touch her, comfort her in some way, but I knew that would only make things worse.

She took in a deep breath and let it out, finally nodding her head slightly.

"I'm fine now." She almost whispered. "I was just startled, I'm not really used to that much….energy, that's all." She tried to smile at the end but it looked more like a grimace.

"Edward, can I talk to you for a moment? I just have a question about one of the artists." Jasper asked. He narrowed his eyes at me slightly, anyone else wouldn't have noticed it.

"Yeah. Bella, will you be okay in here with Alice? I promise that her bark is much worse than her bite. Just yell at her if she won't stop talking." I tried joke.

"I'll be fine, I can take care of myself." Bella mumbled and looked hesitantly at Alice.

"Okay." I nodded and walked out the door with Jasper in tow.

We got to the end of the hallway before Jasper grabbed my shoulder and turned me around.

"What the hell are you trying to pull man?" He demanded.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"That girl in there, Bella, isn't… stable." He clarified.

"Not stable? What the hell do you mean by that?" I was getting angry at him. He didn't know anything about Bella, were did he come off saying things like that?

"Okay, okay, maybe 'stable' isn't the right word for it, but something's not right about her, man. She's all panicky, her clothes look old and worn and she looks dirty." He paused for a second, then something in his eyes clicked and he gaped at me like a fish. "Is she homeless, Edward?" He whispered to me, like he was afraid of the answer.

I ran my hand through my hair and stared down at the floor.

Huh, there's a big scuff mark, someone needs to buff out the floors again.

"Edward!" Jasper whispered yelled.

I huffed. "Yes, Jasper, she's homeless! I found her outside my moms' coffee shop and she was singing and she just sounded so wonderful, I had to bring her down her just so we could try a few things. You have to trust me on this, Jazz, just give her a chance." I nearly pleaded with him. I wanted Jasper to see how good she is before he made any final judgments.

He sighed and rubbed his face up and down with his hands.

"Alright, I'm going to go with you on this, but if she turns out to be anything, anything, like Irina, I swear to God." He ranted.

"It won't be like that." I stated.

"Alright, come on, we better get back in before Alice gives her a heart attack." He muttered and started walking back down the hallway.

I hope like hell that Alice and Bella couldn't hear us, I didn't think we were talking that loud, but Alice has hearing like a bat and I don't know about Bella yet.

When I got back in the room, Bella was sitting in one of the chairs with Alice a few feet away talking to her about mine and Alice's friendship. Bella looked surprisingly relaxed and even giggled a little when Alice told her about what happened a few years when she and I got into a water gun fight in the studio and got most of the equipment completely soaked. Jasper was pissed and had a hissy fit about his precious equipment, but I totally won that round.

Jasper walked up to Bella, but made sure to keep some distance between them.

"Well, Bella I'm very curious to hear this voice of yours that Edward keeps raving about, would you like to go into the booth and try something out?" He asked in his southern accent. It never failed to charm the ladies, even Bella, apparently.

Bella blushed and started fidgeting with her fingers.

"Sure, but I don't get why Edward's so excited about me, I don't think I'm all that great."

I chuckled and shook my head. "Trust me Bella, you're great." I tried to reassure her.

She looked up at me and gave me a disbelieving look, but stood up and followed Jasper anyway.

"Just go in there and stand in front of the mic, put the headphones on and I'll tell you when we're ready," He explained, holding the door open for her.

She stepped inside and did as he said, shifting nervously on her feet.

Jasper pushed the button on the system that allowed us to talk to Bella inside.

"Okay Bella, do you want me to pick something or do you have a song that you'd like to do?" He asked.

"Well, I could do the song that I was singing when Edward found me?" It came out as more of a question.

"Of course, go ahead when ever you're ready." He pushed the button again, turning the sound out here off. Bella was looking down at her hands nervously and had her eyes closed. It looked like she was trying to hype herself up.

She nodded her head and started to sing into the microphone and I was not disappointed.

It's a harder way and it's come to claim her
And I always say, we should be together
And I can see below, 'cause there's something in here
And if you are gone, I will not belong here

And I started to hear it again
But this time it wasn't the end
And the room is so quiet

And my heart is a hollow plain
For the devil to dance again
And the room is too quiet

She stopped and waited anxiously for our responses.

Jasper was staring open mouthed at her, his eyes wide. Alice was smiling the biggest grin I'd ever seen and was jumping up and down in her seat and clapping like she just did some crack. And I was switching off from giving Bella an encouraging smile to smiling a little smugly at Jasper.

"Wow." Was all Jasper was able to say.

"I told you so." I couldn't help but say smugly.

He turned to me slowly. "I will never doubt you again."

"Did I do okay?" Bella asked softly.

"You were fucking amazing, Bella!" Jasper exclaimed.

She jumped a little and giggled. For a moment I was a jealous, she never giggled at me. She did with Alice and Jasper, but not me, she seems to be almost scared of me.

"Where have you been all my life, darlin'? If I didn't love Alice so much, I might buy you a drink." He flirted with her, winking.

Bella blushed again. She was beautiful when she blushes, it brought her face to life.

"Come on out and we'll talk." He said and opened up the door for her.

I wanted to do that, I pouted internally.

Jesus, I didn't even know why I was having all of these feelings when ever Jasper did something nice or made her laugh. She was just some homeless girl that hopefully will be our new artist if she agrees to sign onto the label.

My thoughts traveled back to the conversation I'd had with Esme just a couple hours ago. She had said that I needed a girl that I wanted to know everything about, that I wanted to spend my time with and see her happy. I wanted to know about Bella, I wanted her to smile and laugh, for her to be happy, I wanted to sit down and just watch a movie or talk with her. The thought that Bella could be 'that girl' was a little frightening. I have nothing against Bella at all, but I didn't know if I was ready for all that yet. I was pretty much a playboy, I haven't done solid relationships for a long time.

"Edward, do you want to ask her or should I?" Jazz asked. It took me a second to realized he was talking about asking Bella if she wanted to sign onto the label.

"Bella, would you like to be signed onto the label?" I asked outright.

"Wait a minute here. You seriously want to sign me? Like all those other people that have number one hits and perform of the MTV Awards and The Grammys and everything? You want to do that with me?" She ask incredulously.

"Well yes. We'll get a band together for you, that you would pre-approve first of course, you'd record an album first and put it out on the market, I'm absolutely certain that it will sell, you'll make a music video or two and things just go from there." I told her.

"You do get the part that I'm homeless right? As in I live on the street and do a lot of things that you probably can't even imagine? You're clear on that?"

"Yes, I understand that. You won't have to live like that ever again Bella. As an official artist we'd give you everything you need, it's part of the contract. An apartment, a car, of course we'll be paying so you can do anything you'd like with that money, as long as it's not anything illegal." I said.

"You'd give a homeless girl a car and an apartment?" She asked skeptically.

I laughed cause I'd just told her that she would be recording albums and be a famous singer and she asks me about the car and apartment.

"Yes we would. We have a long standing agreement with a local car dealership that if they give us a discount on their cars that we give them free advertising. And Alice's parents own the apartment building that we all live in and we have three apartments reserved for our artists. They're very nice." I assured her.

"I'm not sure." She mumbled.

"Please Bella." Alice pleaded. "If anything, just think of it as a life experience."

She chewed on her lip for a minute before finally looking up at me.

"Fine, I'll do it."

BPOV

"Fine, I'll do it."

I can't believe I just said that I would do this.

Everything was so overwhelming, one minute I'm on the streets and the next this GQ model man comes up and whisks me away to his famous record studio and wants to sign me to said label and make me potentially famous.

It's a lot to take in within a couple hours.

Alice started jumping up and down, she did that a lot, and came over to me, careful not to touch me again. When Edward and Jasper were gone, I told her that I didn't really like people touching me and strangely she just nodded her head and said that I'd come around soon. Alice was a weird one.

"Bella, no offense, but I'm giving you a makeover. New haircut, nothing major, maybe some light layers, I can paint your nails and for now you can borrow some clothes out of my closet." She rambled on.

A makeover? I've never had a makeover before. I told her that and she gasped dramatically.

"Oh my god Bella! Never? That's it, now there's no question about it, you're coming with me, I'll get you set up in your new apartment. Jazzy and I should live two floors up from you, Edward lives on the floor between us." She said and walked over to the door, giving me a pleading look to follow her.

I sighed and picked up my bag.

"Alright, if you guys don't need me to do anything else here." I asked Edward.

"Oh no, go ahead, I'll bring by the paperwork later. You and Alice have your makeover time or whatever." He mumbled the last part, obviously having no clue what makeovers detailed, like me.

I followed Alice out of the building and she walked up to a bright yellow Porsche.

"Is this your car?" I gasped.

"Yeah, it's my baby. Edward bought it for me last year for my birthday." She said, rubbing the top of the car affectionately.

Edward bought her this as a birthday gift? This car wasn't cheap, which just reinforced the fact that Edward had a lot of money.

I got in carefully, I felt bad just sitting in it, I was dirty and my clothes were in horrible condition and the car was so expensive and clean.

"Alice, I feel like I'm getting your car dirty." I grumbled, trying to keep from touching anything.

"Nonsense Bella, you're not really too dirty. Just need a shower and change of clothes and you're good as new." She chirped, speeding down the road.

The whole way to her apartment she talked about what she was going to do, I think it was more to herself than me, but I still 'hmm'd' and 'sounds fun' when it called for it just to be polite. I didn't want to be rude to Alice, she seems really nice, although I was still a little wary of her…enthusiasm.

Alice pulled the car up to a very swanky building, it looked to expensive to be a regular apartment building, they looked more like penthouses.

"Come on Bella." Alice encouraged, opening my door and jumping up and down.

How many energy drinks has she has today?

I climbed out with my backpack in hand and followed Alice into the building. The man at the front desk looked up and stared at me as we walked across the lobby to the elevator. I was torn between telling him to fuck off and crawling into a hole to hide. I didn't belong in a swanky place like this, what the hell was I thinking when I agreed to be Edward and Jaspers little pet project or whatever this was to them?

I must have zoned out or something 'cause Alice was pulling me off the elevator by my jacket to a large wooden door. She unlocked it and pulled me inside. I couldn't withhold my gasp as I looked around. This place was beautiful.

Dark wooden floors, with high ceilings, the whole apartment was open, giving it an airy look, with floor to ceiling windows on the far wall, overlooking the city. The furniture was done in a white and red theme; white leather couch and two matching chairs, with red pillows and a red shag rug covering the floor. It was beautiful. And the kitchen, oh god. The hardwood floors carried into there, with granite counter tops, and stainless steel appliances. The cabinets were a dark mahogany. I stood frozen in the living room trying to take it all in.

They said that I was only two floors down and if the apartment they gave me was half as nice as this, I was going to have a heart attack and Edward would never be able to sign me.

"Alice… this place is amazing." I whispered, amazed.

She giggled. "Yeah, it's pretty spectacular. Jasper and I live here together, so it was hard to get the décor right, you know, not too girly and not too manly, I think we managed. Come on, you can use my shower, I still need to get the key to your new apartment from the front desk, I think I'll go down and get it while you're in there."

She pulled me through the living room, past the kitchen and down a large hallway to what I'm guessing is her bedroom. It was just as beautiful as the parts of the apartment, just messier. Clothes covered the king size bed and were scattered all over.

"Sorry about the mess, this always happens when I get dressed in the morning." She apologized and giggled. "Here's the bathroom, you can use my shampoo and body wash and anything else you need. Make yourself at home, but hurry up, I still need to get you dressed and do your hair. Edward won't know what hit him when he see's you." She clapped her hands like a child and had the most excited look on her face. It was ridiculous.

"What do you-" I started, confused about what she meant with Edward.

"Just trust me Bella. I'm going to get your key from the front desk, go ahead and get in the shower, there's a robe on the back of the door, put it on when you get out." She interrupted me and skipped out of the room without another word.

Alice is so strange, but I kinda liked it after I got used to her.

I went into the bathroom and once again gasped at the décor. The wall paper was a crème color, the toilet was off to the side, there were his and her marble sinks, and the shower was huge, I swear to God you could fit like six people in there. I stepped carefully till I got the shower, stripping my clothes off. They were so dirty, it felt nice to get them off. I turned the shower on, stepping into the hot water.

Oh god this is nice, I thought as I ran my hands through my hair, getting it sufficiently wet.

I squirted some shampoo that I assumed was Alice's and rubbed it into my hair, lathering it up. I started to hum as I rinsed my hair off.

I finished the rest of my shower quickly, not wanting to use anymore hot water than necessary. I felt bad enough as it was. I've never been one for charity, so all of this was really getting on my nerves, but if Edward was giving me this opportunity because he believed that I really had some talent, then I guess it wasn't really charity. That's the only reason why I was gritting my teeth and accepting all of this. Edward seemed to really believe in me and for some reason, I wanted to do this for him. I wanted to be the best I could so he wouldn't look like an idiot.

I wrapped myself up in the robe Alice had gestured to. It was pink and fluffy and it came down to my knees. I hadn't felt anything like this in years, I snuggled my face into it, enjoying the softness. I opened the bathroom door, peaking my head out. Alice was sitting on the bed smiling at me with something in her lap.

"Good, you're out. Now I need to dry your hair and get you dressed. Edward called and said he'd be here in an hour, not much time to get ready if you ask me. That man has never understood that us girls need time to look as good as we do." She muttered the last part and motioned for me to sit down in the chair in front of a gold vanity.

Time passed quickly as I let Alice do my hair and put makeup on me. I flinched away from her a few times, but she didn't seem to take it personally. I just wasn't use to contact from people that wouldn't hurt me in some way, so Alice being all over me was a little overwhelming, but I kept reminding myself that Alice wouldn't hurt me, she was just trying to make me look better.

She asked me if she could cut my hair and at first I was apprehensive, but when she saw the look on my face, she explained that she just wanted to take an inch or two off the bottom to get rid of some split ends and put in a few light layers. I nodded my head and let her do what she wanted.

After she was finished, she held out some clothes and told me to put them on. I took them from her slowly and walked back into the bathroom to change.

Alice had handed me a pair of black skinny jeans, a dark purple ruffled tank top, and a pair of black gladiator heels. I was about to yell something to Alice about the shoes when I heard her voice come though the door first.

"Just trust me Bella, the shoes are comfortable and they go great with that outfit."

I sighed, but relented anyways. I had to admit, they are cute.

After I got them on, I looked at myself in the mirror and was speechless by what I saw. I looked… hot. My hair was a few inches shorter, and was layered and slightly curled at the ends. You could hardly tell that I had any makeup on, a little bit of pink gloss, mascara, and some eyeliner, but all of it was light and only made the features they outlined stand out. The bra I was wearing pushed my breasts up and the top was low cut, showing them off without making me look like a slut. The jeans fit me perfectly, the were tight, but comfortable. And the heels gave me a couple extra inches making my legs look amazing and me taller.

I smiled a little and walked out of the bathroom to show Alice and thank her profusely, but who I saw when I walked out definitely wasn't Alice.

Edward was standing in the middle of Alice's bedroom, staring at me with his mouth hanging open. He kept blinking like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Was something wrong with me? Did he notice something that I hadn't seen when I looked in the mirror? I looked down at myself, but couldn't see anything out of place.

"Edward, is something wrong?" I asked softly.

He closed his mouth and shook his head like he was clearing it out.

"Uh no, nothing's wrong Bella. It's just that you look really good." Edward said.

I felt my face heat up and I mumbled a thank you.

"I got the contract ready, if you want to go ahead and look over everything." He said stretching his arm out to hand me a stack of papers.

I took it from him and sat down at the vanity again to read it all.

Pages and pages of legal jargon and rules and statements about what each party had to do.

I read through it multiple times, because frankly, I didn't get it all the first time, or the second time for that matter. After I was pretty sure I understood it all and asking Edward about a few parts, I felt like I was ready to sign it.

"You don't have to sign it right this instant Bella, after all, we still need to find you a band and negotiate a few things. I'll be working on that tomorrow. Read through it again and make sure this is what you want to do, and call me if you have anymore questions about anything." Edward said.

I nodded and started rubbing my temples, all of this was starting to give me a headache.

"I'm sorry Bella, but I have to get back the studio, Jasper needs my help with one of the other artists, something about them not liking the song they're doing. It's ridiculous." He explained to me.

"That's fine Edward, Alice probably wants to show me around my apartment anyway. And by the way Edward, thank you for all of this, really. I just don't know how to-"

"Bella, you don't have to thank me. You have a beautiful voice, I want to give you the chance to do something with it." He interrupted me, sounding incredibly sincere.

I bit my lip to keep the tears at bay, not wanting to show any kind of weakness simply out of habit.

"Thank you." I whispered. If I tried to say anything else, I was afraid the dam would burst.

Edward left me to my thoughts after that.

I didn't realize it then, but this was the beginning of one hell of a roller coaster that my life would become.

AN

What do you think about Alice and Jasper? This chapter was just about explaining a little about Edward and getting Bella settled in, the next chapter will be a bit more action packed.

PS: The song Bella is singing in this chapter and the last is 'Breath of Life' by Florence + The Machine. If you haven't listened to it, it's freaking beautiful and I recommend it.