dilema ! &miss.alice.

[lauren mallory]

lauren amelia.
my baby's got a heart of stone,
can't you people just leave her alone?

[/i] causes that Lauren didn't find nearly so worthy.

She'd also lost out for Student Government President to a girl who didn't eat meat, or wear fur, and recycled her milk cartons every week. That was emotionally trying for her, in a way. Not nearly so emotionally trying as budgeting homecoming on seven hundred dollars, though.

The fact Tyler was not answering any of her text messages was worrisome, as well- it had been nearly a day and a half since she'd heard from him. Fidgeting with the buttons on her cell phone, she paced the length of the library, praying for some financial epiphany to hit her. So far, nothing.

She really couldn't have another flop after last year's prom (nobody had really enjoyed watching the Cullens dance for three hours, after all). The failure of that dance had fallen on her, and although her friends told her it wasn't entirely her fault, she didn't feel any better. Saying something wasn't entirely your fault was saying that it mostly was your fault.

And now she was facing the possibility of not even having a DJ. Or worse, having somebody's brother be the DJ. She let out a moan of frustration and collapsed at the table that currently house all her spreadsheets and some of her Statistics homework. It was a dangerous game- hire a DJ and forget the balloons, buy the balloons and bam, the homecoming parade puts you completely over budget.

And it wasn't just the prospect of having a lame homecoming. One thing Lauren absolutely needed was peer approval. And if this flopped (a quarter of the school's last homecoming- it was important) her approval ratings would be lower than the president's.

Then there was the half of her that really didn't give a shit if the dance sucked. As stubborn as she was, she'd pretty much decided that if Tyler didn't ask her to the dance she wasn't going (she really should have gotten over him by now). Right now, the chances of that happening seemed to be next to none. She didn't even have a dress yet (she'd never not bought a dress for a dance five weeks in advance. something was changing).

Running over the spreadsheets again, she decided she'd need nothing short of a miracle to pull this dance off, and then another one to get her fairytale ending. Frowning, she set the papers down and closed her eyes.
[/size][/ul]

[alice cullen]

alice mary cullen ,
------i want shape the world to fit the way you move

Soft footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, soft rhythmical footsteps that signaled Alice's approach. She danced in her normal perfect fashion, through the empty corridors heading for the Libray. It was never a place she ever went, Edward, Carlisle and Jasper, kept a good collection of reference books, so she never had any need for the library. However as she skipped class, she knew it was the one place that could be of some help to her. Alice needed to do some research and she was pretty sure what she needed, would not be in any of the books the Cullen's owned.

The library was just a quiet as the hallway she had exited and that suited Alice just fine. Since Bella's disappearance, she and Edward had become the center of attention again. Every single member of the school wanted to offer their condolences to Edward and ask her to pass them onto Charlie. Alice knew they meant well, still it was making it harder and harder for them to go to school and she could see that every morning, Edward was coming closer and closer to staying home with Bella. However Alice had no choice, it would look odd if she stayed at home, even if had the same reasons as Edward. As far as the school knew she was only friends with Bella, normal high school friend and nothing more, and none of her other friends where flaking on school, so Alice knew she could not do the same.

Slowly -for her- she drifted to the back of the library, where she knew she would not be disturbed, and would find the books she was looking for. Ever since Bella's disappearance, Alice had taken it upon herself to care for Charlie. Over the summer she had developed a relationship with him and now with the loss of his daughter, Alice knew he was the one who needed her the most. So every night after school, she would cook and clean for him, before she sat with him while she did her homework. She was his angel, and whiles his friends from La-Push where not happy about her appearance every night. They gave her nothing more that a cautious look, because how ever much they hated to admit it, she was doing the right thing.

While Alice knew that she was doing the right thing, she was slowly running out of simple dishes to make him, even having to resort to take out last night. Of course Charlie did not mind, it bugged Alice to watch him eat something that looked its main ingredients was grease. However none of the Cullen's knew how to cook, except maybe Edward, but even then he was not that good and he had other things to deal with. Leaving Alice the best she could. So far Alice had got by using her talent, to guide her to a simple meal, like noodles or pasta. However it was not fair to keep feeding him the same thing, she knew she had to expand her knowledge, and that was what she was going to do.

Skimming through the small collection of cooking books, Alice tucked them under her arm –with one balanced on top- and danced her way through the rows of selves, to where a small collection of tables where tucked away. With her head in one of the books, Alice walked through the gaps in the tables and plunked her self down on the table with the only space available. In the short time Alice had been here, the occupancy of the library had doubled, and she was pretty sure it had something to do with freshman orientation. Still it did not bother Alice, her concentration of one the books in-front of her. With eyes slightly glazed, Alice looked at the picture and description of the food, checking each recipe to see if she could one cook it and two if Charlie would two enjoy it.

Noting down the first meal that she saw Charlie loving, a simple Sheppard’s pie, a small sigh caught Alice’s attention. She had known she was not alone, but Alice had never really taking any of notice of who’s table she had invaded, or what mess was strewn all around her. With a quick glance, it was clear it was the plans for a party. Interest quickly stirred within her, she had been forbid by Edward and the family to be a part of planning school dances, even if she knew she could do a much better job, it did not go along with their act. However as she looked over the plans, there was nothing wrong with offering a few helpful tips, was there?

[lauren mallory]

not your every day circumstance ,
hummingbird taking coffee with the ants .
■■

Lauren had noticed when somebody sat down at her table, but at first had been too absorbed in her own woes to even notice who it was. She first glanced up at the newcomer abut six minutes after they arrived, and did a fantastic double take. The Cullens were basically in social quarantine from the rest of the school.

She regained her composure quickly and began logically sorting out the reasons Alice Cullen might be sitting at the same table as she was. The most obvious solution didn't take long for her to work out. She shut her binder and sighed in Alice's general direction. The other girl was leaning over her papers with mild interest, which annoy Lauren a little bit. Probably, she wanted to figure out the theme in advance so she could order some custom dress from Europe drenched in swavorski crystals, again.

"The last time I saw her was math class the day she disappeared, but I told all this to the police already," She said irritably, picking up what was supposed to be the catering list. She might as well rip it up now, though, what with all her hors deuvers money having gone to the 'find poor Bella' foundation. Her olive green eyes raked Alice's tiny form critically as she gathered up her papers.

Lauren hadn't really had anything against the Cullens when they first moved to Forks. They'd alienated everyone with their good looks, lavish cars, and impeccable grades. When they were too good for everyone it was almost like they didn't exist, and Lauren was fine with that. It was when Bella showed up and started sitting with them that she'd really had a problem. Suddenly she wasn't average anymore, she was below average. Bella had raised the bar and she just couldn't clear it anymore, not with the Cullens' standards.

She hadn't really even had a problem with Bella. The girl had been intriguing enough, probably would have been a good friend. Hell, if she'd been in the position, she would've scooped and played friendly just as fast as Jess had (only she would have done a better job at it). Then she had to go and get Tyler all tied around her pointer finger (as her pinky through middle fingers were all occupied with other girl's boyfriends). That was where Lauren had drawn the line. Incidentally, the line was drawn within hours of Bella's arrival, but that was another story all together.

[alice cullen]

alice mary cullen ,
------i want shape the world to fit the way you move

The planning was a mess, it was clear from all the papers that whoever was planning this had no idea what they where doing. They had over-spent on the most pointless of items and where charging far too little of the tickets. Alice could see that it was going to be a disaster, unless the planner got serious help. Though yet she could not feel sorry for Lauren, all she could feel was jealousy. It was a strange feeling for her, but seeing the fun she could have planning the homecoming -in her mind- and knowing she could not, it made a sharp pang of jealousy stab through her cold heart.

Looking up a split second before the girl spoke; Alice looked at the person she had intruded on. She did not know her personally, but she knew of her. Bella had mentioned her once or twice -though it had never been in the best of lights-, but apart from that Alice had not had much interaction. Not that the girl could have been held accountable for that, it was just what the Cullen's did. It was not safe for them to get to close, to form attachments. Even in the best off intentions -like Bella- it could go horribly wrong.

With the prior warning, Alice played her part perfectly, when the girl began to talk about Bella. Though she could not cry, Alice tried her best to look like the thought of Bella was upsetting to her, as it would if Bella was really missing. She cast her eyes away from the girl, trying to avoid eye contact and rolled her bottom lip under the her teeth. She had no idea if the look was convincing, but the same expression had worked with the police, and the press that had forced them-selves upon her. And they had to be far more critical than this simple high school girl.

As the silence sounded, Alice tried to stop herself making some sarcastic comment as a response. She knew it was not appropriate, to saying anything, let along what she wanted desperately to say. So she kept quiet, her lips rolling back and forth forming little pouts, as if she was trying to control her emotions. Yet the silence was painful, even with people like Lauren, Alice had troubles keeping people's at arms with. Just like Jasper, she was a weak link when it came to keeping people at a distance, especially when she was forced to mingle with them so closely. Alice only wanted to throw herself into the life she saw on the TV, but she could not and she knew she could it. But it was so hard to turn it down, when it was only a touch away.

Without thought, Alice reached out for one of the closest piles of papers and began to look over them. Maybe she could do this? It would not be too much of a violation and with everything Alice was sure nobody would mind. Then the idea hit her, and it was to perfect she could not believe she had never thought about it before.

A wild smile spread across her face, as her face appeared out from behind the pieces of paper. "You need money" Alice sated simply, looking right at Lauren, the smile never fading. "And you obviously need help; I can solve both of these problems, if you are willing to allow me to help. On one condition, the money we raise goes to helping to find Bella."

The whole thing was to perfect, and she was sure nobody would say no to her. Alice was no use at home, as there was no way she could stop Bella. As-long as she did not leave Forks, Edward would be able to use her power to get any forewarning to Bella's actions. Plus with one of the family helping in function, which goes to helping to find Bella, would give the family an even better look in the public eye. There was no way they could say no, or at least Alice hoped.

[lauren mallory]

not your every day circumstance ,
hummingbird taking coffee with the ants .
■■

Lauren pressed her lips together and looked away when Alice teared up. It was on the very rare occasion that Lauren felt guilty and now was one of those occasions. In her own blind hatred for Bella it was easy to forget just how much people liked her for their own reasons. In the beginning she'd assumed that everyone's relationship with Bella was just like Jess's, just a hollow facade used for attention. It was easier to deal with the plain girl's popularity that way. She was just a thing, like an iphone or a nice car, something you used to get noticed.

It was only recently that she had begun to notice, with Bella's disappearance, that some people truly had liked her, for more than just her foreign appeal. Unlike Jess, who had sloughed the disappearance off just as she had (unless there was a camera in front of her or a newspaper reporter asking questions, then she was a right old mess), people like Angela and Tyler and even the Cullens really did miss her. Worry about her.

Although, apparently not too much to be critical about her party planning skills, Lauren noted as Alice snatched up one of her papers. Her eyes narrowed as the girl read over it. She opened her mouth to say something but was silenced and slightly put off by the girl's broad smile. Who did she think she was? The answer became quickly evident by her proposal. She was a rich girl who'd lost her best friend and apparently liked to make Lauren squirm.

On the one hand, she was a very stubborn girl who didn't like to admit defeat. Letting Cullen help her would be admitting defeat on three levels. One, she couldn't plan the party on her own. Two, she didn't have the money she needed. And three, the profits would go to Bella instead of Prom, which would be undoubtedly detrimental to that experience as well.

On the other, the offer was ridiculously undeniable. She needed the money. She'd been to one of Alice's parties for Bella before and the fact that she was good at what she did was blatantly evident. And then there was the whole charity thing. Her dislike for Bella was widely known, and in the last few weeks she'd received a lot of negative comments. You're probably part of the reason she left. What did she ever do to you? God, you're such a bitch. She acted like she didn't mind, after all, she was entitled to her own opinions, but of course she did. Raising money for Bella's cause wouldn't be any more ethical than Jessica's crocodile tears for the audience of Seattle Daily News, but it might have the same effect.

"Fine." She half spat, passing the folder of papers over to Alice. She rested her head on her hands and watched the girl sourly, waiting for her to speak again. Probably to say that the party was doomed unless they could raise two grand, or something equally horrible. Nursing her bruised ego, Lauren remained silent, forgoing her normal sarcastic remarks.

[alice cullen]

alice mary cullen ,
------i want shape the world to fit the way you move

Alice did not need Jaspers powers to read Lauren’s emotions like a book, she was like any human and she was painfully obvious. Her slightly widening of her eyes signalled her shock over Alice’s morning. Though why Alice had no clue, she was not Edward; but it was not hard to guess. Lauren -like her friend Jessica- must have thought the only appeal Bella had over anybody was because she was something new. However judging by a few people’s that was not the case. Even if Alice was only guessing, she was pretty sure that her reaction to the slight mention of Bella had shocked her. While some may have been irritated by her lack of concern for the missing girl, Alice was just simple pleased she had been able to fool yet another person.

Though the pleasure only continued, while Lauren squirmed under the suggestions and conditions. The irritation was plain for anybody to see, though still Alice could not see her turning to down. In the back of her mind she could see all the different choices she milling over, but it was clear to Alice that she leaning towards accepting them. It was after-all a generous offer and to turn it down would be crazy, however the look Lauren was giving her Alice would not have been shocked if she had. It was clear that she was one of the many in the school, who looked the Alice and her family with a green eye. And at most times they did not flaunt it, for many reasons including jealousy, however Alice had just thrown that wall out the window and just smiled as she waited for Lauren to make up her mind.

It took a moment, but Alice saw her ungrateful ‘fine’ and split second before she spat it out. It was hard but Alice, managed to suppress her smug grin her at little victory. She was planning the school’s homing, and Alice could already see that it was going to be a raving success or at least something far better than Lauren could have done by herself. The smugness was overwhelming and for the first time she was glad that Edward had not come to school, the teasing would never end if he could hear half the things in her head. Though he was not here and Alice let her thoughts run wild, as her face reminded completely cool. She would need Lauren’s help, and did not want to annoy her anymore.

Sitting up, Alice reached across the table to retrieve the big folder that held all the plans. Although in her mind she could see all the plans Lauren had made, however the world did not know what she could do and while she was eager to get going, Alice knew she had to stop and keep her act up. The act was tiresome and it was hard to look at all the pages of pointless planning, while she knew the end result, yet Alice did it. Every so often she would add in a sigh, or an ‘arr’ or a ‘no that wont’ work. To keep up her human act, while at the same time betting in her head how long it would take for Lauren to crack at her constant negative comments. However the girl just seemed bored from it all and before long Alice reached the same mood, and tossed the book back on the table.

“I am going to be honest with you Lauren” Alice smiled sweetly, crossing her arms on the table and leaning onto them and tilting the chair forwards. “I don’t think there is much we can use. You did well with the budget you had, but I think Bella deserves something…memorable. I was thinking” she continued, her smile becoming more of an elegant grin. “It would fun to give the party a theme, maybe even make it into a Murder Mystery. I think it quirky enough to not only pay homage to Bella’s memory, but give the party a fun edge, rather than turning it into a wake. What did you think?” Alice finally finished on a questioned, sitting back on her chair. She knew she was tormenting the girl, but she was doing it for Bella, as she knew Bella would only enjoy hearing this story later. Even new-born and crazy, the slight dislike of Lauren had not faded.