Broken Snow

by Purple Snowstorm

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A/N: I'm back! This is my first Christmas special. There should be several – one for Harry Potter, one for Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and one for Pokemon. Maybe one for Warriors, but I'm not so sure on that one.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any elements of the story I use.

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My honey-colored eyes wandered across the outside landscape of gently falling snow and carefree freshmen and sophomores having snowball fights. It just wasn't right…the whole scene seemed to contrast my mood as black contrasted white. Golden wasn't the right color for my eyes at that moment. They should be black.

I sighed as the neighborhood kids began to lose the energy they had. Their faces darkened and they dropped their snowballs solemnly. Though I realized I was the one causing their grief, there was nothing in my control to stop it. Not after what had happened the day before…

It had all happened so quickly…the Volturi had meant no harm…

The setting was a frosty winter night, the same weather as what had preceded and what was to follow the events: never-ending flakes of snowflakes which gently caressed my face. As we were vampires, we couldn't use our real strength around other humans. As a result, our snowball fight had to be in a secluded part of the wood.

My surprise was mirrored on the others' faces as a freezing-coldlump hit the back of my neck. Damn me and my unintentional mood control…

I heard a sound like bells and two hands shielded my eyes. The scratchy fabric smelled and felt like gloves, and the overwhelmingly familiar scent was enough to give away who my "attacker" was.

"Guess who," ordered Alice, giggling the whole time, her usual wind chime-like voice ringing out above every other noise.

I let a grin cross my face and darted around, lifting her up high in the air. A moment later, I had spun back to my original position, Alice standing before me, our heights contrasting as they usually did.

Carlisle coughed, as the whole party had halted when my mate and I stopped. Embarrassed, I motioned for the rest of us to carry on to the clearing we used for winter activities.

Bella looked behind her shoulder gracefully and smiled at Alice. I could sense her joy and relief that her sister was safe after having gone back to get something she had forgotten.

A few minutes before we reached the opening among all the trees, Edward stopped dead in his tracks. The rest of us froze and took defensive positions in case something bad was to come.

Edward looked back at the rest of us. "The Volturi…" he whispered. If we weren't vampires, it would have sounded like normal inhaling.

On cue, several vampires appeared, almost as if from thin air. Carlisle stepped forward to greet his old companions. "Hello, Aro, Marcus, Caius," he greeted. Turning to the rest of their party, he asked," What honor have we achieved to have you in our presence this winter day?"

Aro hissed. "We are not here for reminiscing, nor playing with old friends. We are here on business."

"And what business would you have with us?" asked Carlisle.

The rest happened so fast…accusations flew left and right, and, somewhere in the midst of it all, a real fight broke out. Apparently the Volturi had been informed of some kind of mass murdering going on around the Seattle area and had put the pieces together; there was a coven living in Forks, and "gang" killings had occurred in mass proportions in Seattle. Only, this time, it may have actually been a gang or some other homicidal freaks. The Volturi had their facts wrong. It was all just one big misunderstanding. But…there was no changing what happened that day.

I had to defend myself when Jane began to try to physically attack me, Bella's shield having broken down and my emotion control frustrating her so. My hands flew to her arms and managed to push her off. The odds were against me, though. The only way this fight would end was the death of one of us.

What happened next was something I would never be able to tell in words. One second I saw Alice alive and fighting Aro, the next all I saw was her arm separated from her body. Less than ten seconds later, a fire had been created by Marcus and Alice's body, torn into pieces, was incinerating in the orange-yellow flames, the smoke rising into the air.

Knowing exactly how much I was acting like people in movies, I fell to my knees, my head buried in my hands. No…my mate, my Alice…gone…

There was nothing I could do to stop her…she was already on the other side…

And so, on that cheery winters' day that just happened to be December 25th, I sat inside, alone, my only comfort being the steady 'tick-tock' of the grandfather clock in the family room. My vampiric ears could hear every mechanical noise the clock made. It was like...well, it was clockwork, but all I focused on was what the humans could hear - the gentle, soothing, repetitive noise.

I was so focused on the eternal ticking of the clock, my nose and other senses had almost shut themselves down; the result being my full unawareness of my surroundings.

The next thing I knew - it could have been seconds, minutes, hours, or even days later -, another body was in the room. This one was hesitant and uncomfortable, but also dejected and seemed...upset. The only reason I knew she was there was because of my sixth sense - sensing others' moods.

Suddenly, my attention snapped from the ticking of the clock. What had caused it was something I couldn't understand until I looked at the unfamiliar newcomer. "Leah," I growled. "What are you doing here?"

Though she was in the strange house, her hands up as if she was surrendering, her eyes seemed hallow and frozen in time, more than they usually were. I let my face soften up a bit. "Leah...what's happened?"

It was her turn to growl. "It's none of your business."

Sighing, I was in front of her in a second. "I know exactly what you're feeling."

She turned her head away from me. "No. You don't."

"It's about Jake, isn't it?" I guessed.

Her face and emotions told me everything. She was upset because of Jake's imprinting on Renesmee, angry because of everything that had happened in her life, and I could detect an emotion I had felt a lot of in my relationship with Alice and sensed in Edward and Bella. "You...love him, don't you?" I cautiously asked.

Again, she lashed out at me. "It's none of your business!"

But...there was also something else I could detect in her. A little excitement, maybe? Guilt? But why...?

It clicked in my head; the only thing that I could comprehend in days, ever since... "It's not Jake."

Glittering tears were visible at the sides of her eyes. Involuntarily, she shook her head.

"Then...who?" I asked, my emotion sensitivity failing me.

Her hair veiled her face, not that she needed to. One glance at her oddly defensive position and I knew. To test my newest theory, I touched my ice-cold hand to her scorching face. She flinched slightly, but did not move away.

I smiled slightly. "Me." It wasn't even a question; I was sure of it.

Once she turned to me, her eyes told me everything. Now that I thought about it...she had beautiful eyes...and hands...and everything. Wait, what was I thinking? My mate had just died and I was already thinking about different girls! But, still...this one was different. We had gone through the same things and we could just understand each other in one glance.

Next thing I knew, I couldn't control my own emotions or actions, my lips were pressed against hers. She let out a muffled shriek of surprise, but I could feel her confusion as she pressed up against me, letting me continue the affectionate gesture.

Suddenly, we were seemingly forced away from each other. Fate, perhaps? To this day, I don't know what it was. What I remember is that seconds later, the rest of the Cullens, excluding Bella and Renesmee, returned from their snowball fight. I prayed my thanks to whatever strange force had kept us from each other and turned to Leah. "Well, I guess you should be going now."

"Yeah, I had a nice visit with Jake," she played along. Edward narrowed his eyes at us and looked ready to pounce on me whenever Leah left.

"Merry Christmas," I called softly to her as she exited.

Even with my heightened senses, I couldn't confirm if I even heard her reply...