CHAPTER SEVEN
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i. shopping spree !

— AFTER A COUPLE DAYS WENT BY, Anthony was beginning to see why Bella was so worried about Edward.

Tony had been sitting with the Cullens every afternoon at lunch and was loving the comfort the family provided. Most of the time he'd have one arm wrapped around Alice and be leaned back against Jasper, who didn't seem to mind the extra weight.

But in the corner of his mind he could always feel Isabella's stares, and he was well aware why.

Edward hadn't been seen at school since Bella voiced her concerns about him to Tony.

Tony never asked, specifically, where the boy was because frankly he could care less. So he took the answer of 'he's out of town, dealing with some personal stuff' with a grain of salt. Eventually he chalked it up to Bella's somewhat obsessive paranoia and continued on his way.

Now, the first week of the Swan's first semester at Forks high school has passed and it's Saturday, January 22nd and Anthony sits on the front steps of his childhood home in wait. His phone buzzed in his hand.

Alice
Hey, I swear I'll be there soon I had to borrow Emmett's car

Tony
No worries hun, is Emmett okay with us using his jeep?

Alice
He will be, ill be there in about 10-15 minutes

Anthony decided that the message didn't need a response so he simply turned off his phone and shoved it into the pocket of his jacket, adjusting the red umbrella in his right hand.

Forks, as predicted, was experiencing some light rainfall and was expected to continue when Alice and Anthony got to Port Angeles. He wasn't gonna let that stop him from enjoying a day out with his potential best friend.

Suddenly Anthony let out a hideous barking cough, his oversized sleeve covering the hand that fled to his mouth.

The air was cold and Tony was sure that if it wasn't raining, his coughing fit would have appeared before him in the form of mist.

His heaving chest and short breaths were what caught the attention of Bella as she stepped outside.

"Oh my god, Tony! Tony, are you- are you okay?" Isabella sat down left of him on the dampened steps with lightning speed, a hand on his back.

Tony waved her off quietly, still struggling to catch his breath.

"I'm fine," he croaked. "It's fine Bella, I'm used to it."

Anthony took a large gasp and cleared his throat with a sigh while Bella scoffed.

"Well I'm not." She stated. The silence that followed was almost deafening, as if the sound of the rain hitting pavement had been amped up to a hundred.

"What are you doing out here." Anthony's voice sounded accusatory and tired, as if he was absolutely done dealing with his sister. Which to be entirely honest, that was the forefront thought in his head.

Isabella sighed, moving her wet hair from her face. Tony noticed that she was still in her pj pants and tank top, with an old zip up sweater.

"Just- I don't know." She bit her lip and struggled to find her words. Seemingly giving up, she slapped a hand on her knee and went to stand up. "Y'know what? Just forget it."

Her movements were stopped by his fingers slipping out of the jacket sleeve and wrapping around her wrist.

"Bella, we need to talk." Anthony wheezed out as sincerely as possible. Isabella's dark brown eyes stared into his for a few moments but she tore them away at the sound of a horn.

"No. Go and- go and have fun." Bella nodded, wrenching her wrist away and making eye contact with the one and only Alice Cullen behind the wheel of Emmett's silver Rubicon.

"Isabella," Anthony started as he stood from the steps.

"Forget it." The young woman snapped as she ripped open the front door of the  Swan residence and slammed it in his face.

Anthony let out a deep sigh before turning and shuffling to the passenger side of the Jeep with his life support in his left hand, closing his umbrella when he deemed himself close enough.

Hopping into the vehicle, Alice greeted him with a bright smile and she waited for him to get situated before pulling out of the driveway.

— THE RIDE APPEARED TO BE ANYTHING BUT AWKWARD. Despite Isabella being a constant, Tony was having the time of his life with Alice. The radio played and she seemed to know every single lyric, which she put to good use with her beautiful wind chime voice. Anthony tried his best to join in but decided against it when he was sent into another coughing fit.

Eventually, Alice decided to just turn down the volume and talk to him. They asked each other questions and debated back and forth.

"Would you rather lay in a dirt pit for twenty-four hours, or ask my brother out?" Alice's teasing had gone into the extreme with this game.

"Depends, do I still get to eat, drink and go to the washroom in this pit?"

"Sure, why not." The Cullen laughed

"Then I'll take the dirt thank you very much." Tony confirmed. "My turn: would you rather be able to read minds or see the future?" He thought of his comic books, and the first powers he could remember.

Alice smirked slightly, "I think reading minds would be cool."

"Really? I could see you as the fortune teller type." Anthony chuckled, looking out the window and missing the shrug his friend delivered.

"What kind of power would you have?" Alice asked, pulling into a parking space next to their first boutique of the day.

Anthony pulled his oxygen tank over his shoulders, "uhhhh I don't know- maybe a mental tolerance? I have to tolerate a lot of bullshit with Bella and people at school."

The pixie-cut Cullen paused for a moment, musing over his words.

"Like self control? You control yourself from speaking out?" She thought.

Tony laughed, "I guess? Anyway, don't get out for a minute." He finished, grabbing his red umbrella and getting out of the car. The rain was still angrily pouring down so he opened his weather protection and rushed to the girl's side.

Once he got there, he opened her door and held the umbrella over her head as she stepped out.

"Why, thank you sir." Alice giggled.

Anthony took the opportunity to tip an invisible hat and puff an imaginary cigar.

"No problem t' all miss." He warped his voice into an odd accent which made Alice giggle more as they began walking to the store. Alice linked their arms together, a default position for the two, so she could be more under the shelter Tony's umbrella provided.

Anthony looked down at her with affection dancing in his eyes. Alice had told him one art class that they were destined to be the best of friends.

So far, she has yet to be wrong.

Once they got inside, Alice immediately fled to the clothes in her size almost as if she had the layout memorized. Anthony chuckled and followed after her.

She bit her lip and pulled out a light pink blouse, "What do you think?" She asked, holding it up to her small frame.

Anthony, now in one of his elements, the others being art and comic books, took a moment to assess the shirt before humming a 'no'

"Your skin is much too pale to wear such a light pink. I mean- we all know you look stunning in white but hun I just don't think pink is your colour." He stated.

Alice gave the blouse a once over before nodding in agreement, going back to ruffling through clothes on the rack.

Anthony joined her, looking through and finding any clothes he knew she'd rock. He'd came across a dark blue collar shirt that would go close to mid thigh but he added it to the ever growing pile of clothes Alice was going to try on.

In the end of it all, Alice had tried on half the woman's section while Anthony pulled out some accessories he figured she'd like.

He'd been very calm and collected this whole time, but on the inside he was worried he didn't know her well enough and was offering her clothes that she'd never wear.

Once Alice came out with piles of 'yes' in her arms, Tony helped her take it and a few scarfs and necklaces to the register. While Alice payed, Tony went to the men's section and looked around. Alice joined him after a moment and pulled out a white and a blue t-shirt, a few collared shirts and a brown leather jacket.

There didn't seem to be much else that screamed 'Anthony'. So he went to the change room with the things Alice picked out, all being in his size. A few minutes later he was putting his wallet back into his pants pocket and carrying two of his bags and and all three of Alice's bags while she held the umbrella and opened the back door of Emmett's Jeep.

This routine seemed to continue with every store accept for one, where a book caught Anthony's eye. It was a book on the Civil war by someone called 'Gaffney' and he picked it up and checked out with it.

Eventually, they were back in the car and on their way home with tons of bags. They asked more questions and gossiped lightly about school.

"By the way, this has been one of the best shopping trips I've ever been on." Alice informed quickly.

Anthony's eyes widened and in disbelief he asked, "Really?"

"Yes! I haven't had any real friends to go shopping with and it's not like I can take one of my siblings." The woman spoke, pulling onto Tony's road.

Anthony had a bittersweet moment, knowing she'd had a good day with him but also realizing Alice had never experienced what it's like to have a friend.

Alice parked in the Swan's driveway, and before she could say anything, Tony interrupted her.

"Do you wanna come inside?" He asked.

Alice's eyes lit up as she looked at the house and then back at Tony.

"Would that be okay?" She bit her lip nervously.

"Of course it would, you could even stay over if that's okay with your foster parents." Anthony proposed and smiled when Alice looked like she was gonna explode in excitement.

"Really?" She asked, still a bit nervous.

"Alice, as of right now, I consider you one of my closest friends and I would be honoured to be the host of your first sleepover." Anthony assured.

Alice took a moment to take in the information, before nodding enthusiastically. Anthony cheered and hopped out of the Jeep, opening the back door and grabbing all of his bags with the help of Alice and then taking them inside.

Bella was nowhere to be seen so she was either in her room or out getting food with Charlie. Charlie had said something about it earlier but Tony waved him off and said he might not be home in time for getting food.

"That's the living room, that's the kitchen and dining room, and the bathroom-" Anthony nodded his head towards ever room, giving Alice a grand tour before leading her up the stairs to his room where he used his nose to turn on the light.

In there, they set down the bags and Tony set up all his blankets and pillows on the floor and plopped down next to Alice with his laptop set up in front of them.

Alice had her phone in her hand and was texting Esme, letting her know in great excitement that she was having a sleepover with Anthony Swan.

Anthony gave Alice some sweatpants and an old sweater, both of which were too big for her, to change into. He knew how uncomfortable bras could be after Liv's constant complaining of the clasps digging into her back when she did push ups.

Once they were both comfortable, Tony switched out his oxygen tank for his at-home substitute and turned on some cheesy rom com flick that neither of them were paying attention to because he'd gotten out his old Uno cards and was teaching her how to play.

She caught on pretty quick, and they were playfully yelling back and forth about her cheating when Charlie Swan popped his head in the door.

"Hi Chief Swan!" Alice greeted, still giggling.

"Hey Dad." Anthony followed.

Charlie had a confused look on his face.

"Alice is gonna stay over tonight, I thought that'd be okay." Tony stated, knowing Charlie wouldn't have a problem with it.

"Yeah, alright" Charlie dismissed, closing the door a few inches before opening it again. "Should you be having girls in your room?"

"Dad, I'm gay."

"Right, right." Charlie nodded and closed the door all the way.

Tony and Alice just laughed and turned back to their game.

"UNO!"

"Damn it Alice!"