A/N: Well. It's been a while, and I still have nothing new. Have this re-upload of a chapter of my deleted story "Somewhere Over the Bookshelf".

Takes place in the "Twilight" universe, ha ha. Ha.

No worries, Alfred doesn't sparkle.

Enjoy!

Still a Better Love Story

"Please, Mr. Jones, if you'll just-"

"I'm sorry, Arthur. But no is no."

Beep.

… Shit. I slammed down the phone into the receiver and stared the device for a while, letting my anger bubble to a boiling point. How dare the Jones family suddenly begin treating me like some sort of... of plague? I had done absolutely nothing wrong. On the contrary, they should be extremely thankful that I was worried about Alfred, that he had a good friend like myself who bothered to call and check in on him after he'd been out of school for weeks.

The least they could do is tell me what was wrong with him. Honestly.

I scoffed and turned away from the phone, tapping my fingers against the counter in a constant rhythm. Excuses, excuses, excuses... "Alfred's too sick to come to the phone" had turned into "Alfred's out with some friends" which ended up as "Alfred doesn't want to talk to you".

Why wouldn't Alfred want to talk to me? Which 'friends' was he spending time with? It wasn't like I was... jealous or anything, but not knowing why I was being so obviously ignored was grating on my nerves. To the best of my knowledge, I really hadn't done anything wrong. Yes, I was snappish. Maybe grumpy. A tad bit bitter. But Alfred never minded. Why should he start now...?

Scott chose this moment to walk into the kitchen. The idiot looked at my expression once before his face broke into a grin. "Your boyfriend's still not callin' you back?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" I snapped at him, chucking a magazine from the counter at his stupid, freckled face. "Go away, you git!"

"I've got the right ta be in the kitchen as much as you," Scott sneered as he crossed to the refrigerator and took out the milk, taking a swig straight from the gallon. "If your so worried about the lad, go see him."

I opened my mouth to tell him how stupid he was, but realized... that wasn't a terrible idea. If I just drove up there... they couldn't just kick me out without me at least seeing Alfred... right? "Er... that was the plan! And that's disgusting, don't do that!"

Scott rolled his eyes and left, purposely leaving the milk on the counter so I had to go out of my way to put it back so it wouldn't spoil. I frowned and listened to Angus romping around upstairs with Peter and Casper... so they were taken care of. Maggie was out with a few friends, but left the car... I could do this. I would do this! I grabbed my jacket and the keys from the counter before dashing out of the front door.

When I pulled up to the Jones house I saw the blinds shutter and knew that Mr. Jones knew I was here. I narrowed my eyes. "Alright, you..."

I climbed out of the car and felt my shoes sink into the soggy ground before tromping through the wet grass and up onto the porch. I paused before knocking sharply on the door.

A moment passed.

The door opened slowly and I looked up into the face of Mr. Jones, who didn't look happy to see me. "... Arthur."

"Is Alfred here?" I stared him down best I could. "I really need to speak to him."

"No, he's out with a few friends," Mr. Jones shifted uncomfortably. "... and he'll be gone for a while, so you might as well go home. I'll tell him to call you when he gets back."

"Mr. Jones," I kept my voice polite, but I knew my expression showed the frustration I felt. "With all due respect, you keep saying that, but Alfred never calls me back."

"He's grown boy, he can think for himself," Mr. Jones shrugged. "I guess he just doesn't want to talk."

I practically tore my hair out in irritation. "Then I suppose I will wait right there in my car until he comes back, won't I? He can't avoid me forever."

I turned to stomp away when I saw him. Or rather, the back of him. Running away.

"Alfred!" I yelled as I saw him darting into the forest. "Alfred, where the bloody hell do you think you're running to?!"

Without really thinking about it, I ran after him, ignoring the shout of Mr. Jones behind me. The forest was damp and wet, and my shoes made squishing noises against the mossy ground as I brushed away hanging leaves that were in my way, feeling drops of water spray my face as the leftover rain was scattered. I could hear footsteps ahead of me, and I plowed through the woods, skidding on a fallen log for a brief moment before resuming the chase.

"Alfred F. Jones!" I growled, narrowing my eyes and pushing past a tree that was broken in half. "You git! Get back here and face me like a MAN!"

My chest was beginning to hurt from taking in too much air, and I could feel myself slowing, though I pushed my burning muscles to go faster. Thunder rumbled overhead in the treetops, and I could feel the heaviness in the air as the impending rain came closer. All of a sudden, the footsteps that I was proud to have been keeping up fairly well with were gone, leaving nothing but the slap of my shoes against mud and the birds overhead chirping.

I slowed down to a jog, putting my hands out to hold onto a tree to catch my breath and regain my balance, putting my head down. This was stupid. Ridiculous. Actually, Alfred was the stupid and ridiculous one! I cursed and looked up, still leaning on the tree, seeing nothing but the green and brown of the forest.

"Alfred..." I panted. "Why the... you little... of all the..."

I kicked the tree and it shuddered, sending drops of water flying down. There was a rustle in a bush nearby, and I froze, turning towards the sound. What kind of animals were in the woods? Foxes? Bears?

"Arthur."

My eyes widened as Alfred stepped out of the bushes. He... he was not the same person I saw three weeks ago at school. The lanky, sort of awkward teen was now... a man. He was wearing jeans, but that was it, giving me a perfect view of a toned, broad chest that could not belong to him. He was taller, his face more mature, his skin clear and lightly bronzed. His eyes were the same shade of clear, sky blue, but he had bags under them, like deep purple bruises. His golden hair was scruffier then ever, dirty and slightly matted. He wasn't wearing his glasses.

Good god. It was like he had taken the exact same serum as Captain America.

"Alfred?" I gaped, staring at him. "How...?"

Alfred did not look at me. He had his head down, staring determinedly at his bare feet. His entire body was rigid and leaning away from me.

Then I remembered that I was angry at him. "What the bloody hell were you thinking, avoiding me like that?" I yelled, stepping forward angrily. "Honestly, even running away from me? What are you, six? Come off it, Alfred! If I did something wrong, just tell me! And what the hell happened to you anyways?"

"I need you to leave me alone."

Alfred's voice was low and dangerous, a tone I had never, not once, heard him use.

"What...?" I blinked. "Alfred, if I did something wrong, just tell me, and we can work it out-"

"It's not you," Alfred snapped, still leaning away, still not looking at me. "It's me. I've changed. And you can't be around me anymore."

I didn't know what to think. "Alfred..."

"Go home" Alfred said harshly, backing up. "Go home and don't come back."

"I will not!" I shouted, taking another step forward. Alfred winced like it hurt him, but I didn't care. "What the hell is going on? I won't stop until I find out!"

"Arthur, this doesn't have anything to do with you!" Alfred yelled back, which was odd, because he still wasn't looking up at me. "Do you understand? It's not your business!"

"Like hell it is!" I clenched my fists. "I don't know what's wrong, but it's obviously not healthy and definitely not right! Are you sick? Did something happen?"

"God!" Alfred put his hands in his his hair and gripped the locks tightly. "You are so... so irritating! Get away and leave me alone, Arthur! I can't be with you!"

"Look at me!" I challenged, stepping forward again. He stepped back. "Jesus, Alfred! Look at me, and tell me you never want to see me again, and I'll leave you alone!"

"I can't!" Alfred roared, squeezing his eyes shut. It was so loud that some nearby birds took off in alarm, and I jumped, startled. He staggered back, letting his hands fall from his hair, looking completely defeated. "I can't..." He practically moaned, suddenly sitting down, his hands digging into the dirt.

"Al..." I came forward, hesitantly. He didn't move. "Al, I'm sorry..."

"Go away..." Alfred pleaded, refusing to look up. "Go away, go away, go away..."

"What are you so scared of?" I asked quietly, kneeling close to him. I could only see his back as he faced away from me. "Al?"

"I... can't deal with..." Alfred whispered into his hands. "I can't look at you. If I'm not.. if you aren't... not now..."

"Please look at me, Alfred," I reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, but he grabbed my wrist tightly. I was taken by surprise at how hot his hand was. "Alfred?"

Very slowly, Alfred turned around, taking my other wrist in his other hand. I felt handcuffed, trapped, but I didn't move. Alfred opened his eyes, and in a painfully slow manner, raked his blue eyes up my torso, my face, and then locked eyes with me. I watched in complete confusion and astonishment as his mouth opened ever so slightly and a glazed look came over his eyes. His grip on my wrists lessened and I stayed still as one of his hands let go of mine and shakily came up to touch my face.

"You..." His voice was wavering, and he brushed his knuckles across my cheek. "Oh God... Arthur, you're..."

"Alfred, I don't understand..." I managed to say, completely distracted by his fingers running through my bangs. "What are you doing?"

"I was so scared, Arthur..." Alfred was using both hands now, carefully and gently touching my face and my hair. "I couldn't look at you, I couldn't be around you, and it hurt so bad..."

His finger outlined my lips.

"But it's you," He continued, just staring into my eyes. "It's you."

And then Alfred kissed me, and my world melted. His lips were hot, his breath warm, and I lost all train of thought as I opened my mouth for him, kissing him back. It felt... perfect. Like I was experiencing something I should have experienced a long time ago. Our tongues pressed together, our mouths dancing. I put my hand on his face, cupping his jaw and bringing him forward for more as his arms wrapped around my waist and tugged me closer. We ate at each other's lips, licking and kissing and it was absolutely heaven and... and...

… and there was a very loud noise behind me, a footstep of sorts that jolted my mind out of the hazy whirlwind it had been in. I jumped, breaking the kiss, and Alfred's eyes widened as he looked over my shoulder. I turned around and felt my mouth open in shock and fear, no sound escaping.

Standing behind me was a wolf, but not a wolf. It was a wolf because it had a long muzzle and canine teeth, dark green/yellow eyes, and dark chocolate fur. It was not a wolf because it was between the size of a small semi-truck.

My heart stopped, and I felt every muscle in my body freeze and then relax, as though it had completely resigned itself to fact that those were very sharp teeth, and I was very bite-sized human.

Alfred, on the other hand, looked... annoyed?

"What the hell?" He snapped at the wolf-thing, tightening his hold around my waist. "What are you doing here?"

The wolf made a strange rumbling sound and bared its teeth at me, shifting from paw to paw. I squeaked.

"I know what I'm doing!" Alfred frowned at the creature as though he could understand it. "I just kinda got caught up in the moment, dude. Go away."

"Alfred?" My voice was tiny. "Why are you talking to it?"

"Sorry, Arthur," Alfred looked apologetically at me. "This is Antonio."

I looked at 'Antonio'. "Oh."

What else could I say?

The dark brown wolf made a whimpering sound and pointed its nose at the forest, looking back at Alfred meaningfully.

"Cesar's pissed off, huh...?" Alfred muttered. The wolf rolled its eyes. Could wolves do that...? "Too bad."

Antonio's ears flattened.

Alfred sighed and looked right at it, suddenly grinning. "Um... I suppose you can pass it along then. This is Arthur... and I Imprinted on him."

What?

A/N: LOL. Full of mistakes, I know... gomen. T.T

R&R anyway?