A/N: This story has been weighing on my mind for the past few months. Instead of working on Where We Come From like I should (I will, I promise!), I decided to start putting this one on paper. It's a poly-fic, so I feel the need to warn those who don't feel comfortable with this to move on.

I don't own Twilight or any of the characters, but I do own this plot.

I'm also looking for a beta and pre-readers, so feel free to reach out!

Xoxo.

Chapter One

Huff.

Huff.

"Ugh, I'm so out of shape. I don't know how you can do this every day, Ali."

She glanced at me with a playful smirk on her lips, and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"Babe, I have to keep my man's attention somehow!" She replied with a wink.

As out of breath as I was, I couldn't contain the laughter that burst out of my mouth.

"You've been with the same guy since high school, I'm sure it's safe to say he wouldn't go to anyone else, even if you weren't in the shape that you are."

"Oh, I know!" She said with a giggle. "He knows I'd cut his balls off if he even thought about it." I didn't doubt it. Regardless of Alice's small size, she was built like a mini G.I. Jane. At 4'11", she was thin - maybe 110 pounds, soaking wet - but had firm muscles.

She was one of toughest people I knew. One could be fooled by her small size, cute face, and big green eyes, but there was a whole other side of her that waited to be unleashed if the occasion arose.

We continued chatting mindlessly as we worked through our regimen. We stopped once to drink some water before continuing.

We were done before I even knew it, picking up our belongings and making our way to the ladies locker rooms.

"I'm so beat," said Ali, throwing her duffel onto the bench to open the locker door. "I can't wait to go home and have a glass of wine!"

"I'm sure you have more than enough to indulge with Jazz's wine collection." I opened the door to the locker I had and took out the extra set of clothing I had brought in. "We should have a girls' night soon. I'm sure Rose would love to join in."

"Absolutely. I haven't seen her in a while… Probably since she had little Henry." I nodded, as I hadn't seen her since around the same time. She and her husband, Royce, had welcomed a little boy they named Henry. We had both been present for the birth, but she'd fallen off the grid since she was discharged. "I'm not trying to come off as insensitive when I say this but really, how hard is it to pick up the phone and shoot off a text? I mean, it's not like we don't want to be around the baby."

"I don't know, Ali. There's a million possible reasons." I dropped the subject, guilt peering out as we spoke about our best friend. Thankfully, she let it go and said we should take a quick shower before leaving. We were lucky enough that the showers were empty by the time we needed them. Alice went to one end, and I went to the other.

I was done quickly, within five minutes, but Alice's definition of quick has never been the same as mine. She said it was because she loved the feel of the water falling against her skin after an intense workout. I normally shrugged it off, since we had done the same regimen.

As I sat on the bench waiting for her to finish, my phone buzzed an alert for an unread text message. Opening it, I saw it was from my mother.

"Dinner tonight at 7. Guests are coming, so dress appropriately. Mom"

"Ali!" I called to her as she came back wrapped in a towel. "Call Jazz. Tell him you're going to be running late. I need your help." I held up my phone to her, with the text message still open, and she nodded without question.

My best friend truly was a godsend. She had impeccable fashion sense and could do a makeover in minutes. She loved the opportunity to play Bella Barbie, and that night was no exception. She teased and curled my hair until it was voluminous; she did my makeup - a neutral smokey eye with pink lipstick. My mother would have definitely approved of the outfit Ali chose: a dark pair of skinny jeans with a thin pink sweater and black boots, she also added a pair of pearl studs and matching bracelet.

She handed me my purse as we stood by the front door to my apartment, going over the details for our next meet-up later that week. She placed a kiss on both of my cheeks before walking with me to the parking garage.

"Don't forget to call me tonight or in the morning if you're too tired to spill all the deets." I threw my head back in laughter and nodded, promising to call the next day. With a final goodbye, we each got into our cars and drove away.

The drive to my mother's house wasn't terrible. Thankfully, traffic had died down and it was quick drive. I arrived at my mother's house around a quarter to seven. Phil, her newest conquest, was standing outside smoking a cigarette as I pulled into the driveway. He waved enthusiastically as I got out of the car.

"Bella!" He exclaimed, meeting me halfway down the driveway. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Phil." I said, giving him a hug. He placed a hand on my shoulder and guided me towards the house.

"Your mother's been anticipating your visit for a while now. How did she manage to get you to come?"

"She said to come over for dinner and that she had some people coming over."

"Oh, yeah! The Cullen's are coming over for dinner with their son and his friend. You know the Cullen's, right?" I shook my head in the negative. "Dr. Cullen's the chief of surgery at the Seattle Children's Hospital; his wife, Esme, works as a freelance interior designer; their son, Edward, is a pediatrician at the same hospital and he's bringing his friend, Emmett."

He continued talking about how they met the Cullen's, but I tuned him out. He guided me inside, taking my wind breaker, and called for my mother. She came down the stairs looking frazzled, anxious. She was dressed impeccably - with not a hair out of place, in one her favorite pant suits and red pumps. She was the same as she'd always been.

"Isabella! You're late," she said, glancing at her watch.

"You said to be here by 7, mother."

"I didn't mean that literally. I figured you'd be here sooner is all."

"I'm sorry. I had other things I needed to do," I tried to keep the snark out of my voice, knowing an argument is not something either of us wanted. "I'm here now, and with some time to spare." Phil wrapped his arms around her in support, whispering what I assumed were calming words into her ear.

She sighed, dropping the matter. "At least you're here," she muttered.

"Renee," warned Phil. I could hear the crunching of gravel before I saw headlights through the front windows. "Our guests are here. Behave, please."

We both nodded, hoping it would appease him long enough to answer the door.