Misery Business
Alice has problems. She sees the future. She doesn't fit in at school, and she has only two friends. When she starts dating the aloof Jasper Hale, her life gets interesting. One things for sure though. Lauren and Jessica will cause all the trouble they can for this couple. AU/OOC/Canon Parings/AlicexJasper/LOTS OF SINGING!!!
Alice P.O.V:
I let the sobs rack my body as I fell onto my bed. Lauren's and Jessica's words echoed in my head. "You'll never be important. You're a nobody. You always have been and you always will be." All the while, during this horrid confrontation in the cafeteria today, Jasper Hale had been sitting with his family, stoically, quiet. Staring off into space, his butterscotch eyes burning like fire. I knew all their names, the Cullen family. Renesmee was sitting on Jacob's lap, her head on his chest. Bella was sitting on the bench, Edward's arm around his waist. Rosalie had her head on Emmett's shoulder, the two of them talking about something, and then Jasper sitting all alone. Three perfectly matched couples, and then the one boy, sitting alone, aloof. It was embarrassing. I had been humming, Wait from Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, when I had fallen face first onto the floor. The sobs began anew as I remembered what had happened that day. Lauren had tripped me, just because I was the freak, the kid who hung out with the albinos, who sung constantly, who wore the odd tee-shirts and home-made jewelry, and who had the largest crush on Jasper Hale. That was why Lauren, the name hung in my mind with contempt, had tripped me. Because she hated me. I had been staring at Jasper, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, when Lauren's henchchild Jessica had noticed and alerted Lauren. From there, it was only a small amount of space I had to walk in order to get to where Lauren's leg stuck out.
Charlotte, my best friend, one of the two albino's, the other, her brother Peter, chose that time to call. Charlotte was the best person you could have for a friend. My hand shook slightly as I grabbed and opened my phone. I pressed it to my ear.
"Hello?" My voice was barely more than a whisper. It was easy to tell that I had recently been sobbing my brains out.
"Alice? Sweetie? What's wrong?" Charlotte was the big sister I never had. She loved me, and I loved her. She cared that I was in pain because Lauren was a jealous child.
"The problem? Lauren Mallory and her vicious henchchild, Jessica Stanley." The sobs had stopped, and now my voice was acidic, venomous. I hated them, both of them. If it had been up to me, they would have gone home bloody and bruised, preferably with a black eye, or a bloody nose.
"Mary Alice Brandon! You aren't thinking about hurting those poor girls, are you? You don't need to get in any more trouble at school!" I scoffed, even though Charlotte was right. I did get in a lot of trouble at school. More trouble than almost anyone. Anyone, that is, except for the worst kids in school. James, and his girlfriend, Victoria. At this point, though, I didn't care.
"Regardless, what they said to me was harsh, cruel, and heartless. You can't expect me to not to want to hurt them. They're not gonna get in trouble for it." I knew she was about to object, so I quickly contradicted her. "Don't try to tell me they're gonna be punished for it! They're the most popular kids at school! They have the entire school wound around their little finger. They'll have plenty of backup from the rest off the student body!" I was shouting now. Thankfully, my parents weren't home. I felt a bit bad for Charlotte. It probably hurt her ears. I felt the tears in my eyes starting to well up again. "I hate them! They're horrible! They don't deserve their popularity! I want them to die!" The tears were falling again. I felt the many words well up on my tongue, but I bit them back. I knew from experience, Charlotte didn't approve of language.
"Alice, you shouldn't hold grudges. They're unbecoming. Listen, I've got homework to do. I'll call you later. You should get to work on your homework, Alice. Have fun." With that parting sentence, she hung up the phone. I heard a soft click. I shoved my head on to the pillow of my bed.
"Gah! I hate this day!" I remembered that Jasper had been watching today at lunch, as had his entire family. They were the smartest people in the school. Crap! I started sobbing. It didn't help that Jasper happened to be in all of my classes. This day could not possible get any worse. I had seen him in the two classes I had after lunch, and he hadn't been paying attention to me. Not in English, not in Gym. Not at all. I felt this horrible feeling in my gut. He was ignoring me. I'd never spoken to him, outside of school that is, but he had spoken to me in class from time to time. Both before and after class, sometimes during it, not as part of an assignment. Once he had even walked with me to Spanish after our Chemistry class. He hadn't talked to me, and neither had Rosalie, though she rarely did. She was to busy bugging Emmett. I grabbed my iPod, and tried to drown my sorrow.
I began scrolling through the music, until I found the song I was looking for. March of the Witch Hunters, from Wicked. I began humming the melody. I loved this song. It helped me deal with the Witch(es) in my life. Lauren and Jessica. Oh well. It's only wishful thinking. If Charlotte had heard my thoughts, she'd probably slap me. Oh well.
As I listened to the music, I thought I heard a knock at the door. I paused the song, and put my iPod on the bed. I walked down the hall, grateful I was rather short. I looked out the window, since I had left the blinds up. I saw a mess of honey-blond hair. There was only one person in the minuscule town of Forks with hair with that. Jasper. Whitlock. Hale. What was he doing here? Still, it'd be rude to leave him on the doorstep. Bravery, Alice. You are not a chicken. You are brave. Who was I kidding?
Oh well. As I had been psyching myself up, I had unconsciously moved towards the door. My hand was on the handle. No turning back. I turned the handle, and found myself looking up into the most beautiful topaz, no not topaz, butterscotch eyes. His eyes changed sometimes, but today, they had a fiery look about them.
"Hello, Alice." His voice was smooth, but it had an edge to it. Almost like he was hiding something. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. And you?" I felt slightly dorkish with my textbook style response.
"Really? I was under the impression that you were moping, and possibly thinking murderous thoughts because a certain Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley insulted you. If I'm wrong, please, enlighten me. If you're not upset, then I'll be on my way and let Charlotte that you are feeling better now." He turned to go. I reached out to stop him.
"You know Charlotte?" It was the first thing that popped into my mind. I was a bit confused at that. They weren't in any of the classes we had, and he never sat with us at lunch.
"Yes, although I know her h- brother, Peter much better." He stuttered, over a word which sounded like he was going to say husband. But that was crazy. I was hearing things, that was it.
"It's funny. They've never talked about knowing you. How did you guys meet?" Now my curiosity had been piqued. I had to know.
"We met at a summer camp last year. I hung out with Peter quite a bit, but I got to know his sister quite well." See? No stutter when talking about the whole Peter and Charlotte are brother and sister. You were just hearing things.
"Wow, Summer Camp. Nice." That was way cool. Now onto more pressing subjects. "So, Jasper. Why are you here?" Mental face-palm. Nice and blunt, Alice. Way to go.
"I'm here because Charlotte wanted me to check on you. Make sure you weren't upset. And Peter dared me to do something, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone, and do both on this trip over to your house. Now, may I come in?" I had just noticed. When he had showed up, I became extremely calm and relaxed. I was completely at ease letting him into my house. Besides, hadn't I dreamed about this day enough? Of course I had. Not wanting to be a poor hostess, I quickly asked if there was anything I could get him, drink wise.
"Not for me, thanks. I can't have soda." His eyes twinkled as he answered, like he was laughing at a joke only he knew. He had walked over to the family stereo. It was kinda old-school, but it played plenty of music. Six discs in at one time. Lots of music. I was the only one who ever used it, so what ever I felt like listening to would be in at the time.
"So, what are we listening to now?" He spoke under his breath, but it was loud enough that I could hear. I knew what was in there. Discs one, two, and three were the symphonic recording I had of Sondheim's Les Miserables. Disc four was the movie cast of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. Disc five was a Van Morrison CD, and disc six was the Broadway cast of Stephen Schwartz's Wicked.
He turned on the stereo, and pressed random. The first thing to come on was a Sweeney Todd song. Little Priest, one of my favorites. Good song. I sung along with Johnny Depp, naturally forgetting of course, that Jasper was in the room. When the song ended, he applauded. I blushed vermilion.
"That was wonderful Alice. Where did you learn to sing like that?" He was impressed. I could see it in his eyes.
"I kinda taught myself, but I did have voice lessons when I was younger." Yeah, like eight years old. I had always been able to sing. It was something I loved.
"You should come over to our house sometime. We love karaoke, and we've got more songs than you could imagine." A karaoke party at the Cullen's? Sounds like fun.
"Sure. That sounds great." He nodded in approval.
"Good. If that sounds appealing to you, then would you do me the favor accompanying me to our Cullen Karaoke party tonight? I'd love it if you'd come with me." Was he asking me on a date? Even if it was to go sing karaoke with his family? What to say?
"Sure." I blurted out before I really thought about it.
"Great. Do you want to go in what you're wearing right now? Or would you like to change first? We'll leave as soon as you're ready. The party will start as soon as we get there."
"Um..., I guess we can go now. Just let me do one thing." I ran upstairs, and grabbed my brush and a ponytail holder. I brushed out my short, pixie-spiked hair, and then I put it into a tiny ponytail. It looked adorable, I hoped. I practically fell down the stairs, I was running so fast. I was back in the living room in a minute.
He stood there, laughing. I looked away, slightly embarrassed. I knew I looked a bit out of breath. I had just run really fast.
"Come on, you little speed demon. I'll show you an even faster way to travel." He grabbed my hand, and practically pulled me outside.
Sitting on the curb, in front of my house, was a fast looking motorcycle. I laughed a little shakily.
"We're taking this?" I looked at the thing, slightly uneasy.
"Well, it's this or walk, and I'd really love for the rest of the family to hear you sing." While he was talking, he grabbed a black helmet from the side of the seat, and handed it to me, along with a leather jacket. The jacket was slightly too big for me, but I managed to get it on to a point where I could poke my hands out of the sleeves. I held the helmet in my hand, though. A little unsure of whether I would be able to ride this thing. Jasper looked over at me, in a similar jacket, only his fit better, and a sleek silver helmet.
"Here," he said taking my hands. "Put on the helmet, and then come sit behind me." I put the helmet on, surprised at how light it was. I walked over to the motorcycle hesitantly. I still wasn't sure I wanted to ride it. Jasper noticed my hesitance, and took my hands. He picked me up, and put me on the seat of the motorcycle. Then he sat down.
"Hold on. I like to go really fast." I wrapped my hands around his waist, pressing my head into his back. He kicked the bike to life. I could feel the wind whip past us as we sped through the small town. I think at one point I uttered a small shriek at how fast we were going, but Jasper paid no mind.
He slowed down after a few minutes. He unclenched my fingers from around his waist and then got off the bike so he could help me off like a gentleman.
"Wow." I was breathless. "You go that fast all the time? Wow." It had been exhilarating. So much speed.
"Sometimes I go faster. But that's besides the point. We're here now." I took off the helmet, and stared at the most beautiful house I had ever seen. It was creamy on the outside, not white, but not to dark. There was a beautiful porch. I walked over to it, placing my hand on the smooth paint of the porch stair banister.
"Wow. It's so beautiful." I was in love with the house. It was amazing. I loved the color, and the architecture was amazing.
"Alice, if you think this is amazing, wait 'til you see the inside. And Esme designed and built the porch, if you were wondering." Esme designed and built the porch? Wow.
"Esme built the porch?" I echoed, although questioning.
"Yep." He said, popping the "p" like a little kid. "Do you want to come in, Alice?" I nodded, noticing that I had climbed the stairs unconsciously. Jasper opened the door, and led me inside to meet his family.
They were all sitting in comfortable chairs, or on couches. Peter and Charlotte were also there. I guessed they had come over earlier, before Jasper had been sent to get me. I saw who I could only assume was Esme in the kitchen. I knew everyone else. I had been to the hospital one to many times. Edward, I noticed was sitting at a computer, which was hooked up to a big plasma screen T.V. He turned to talk to me.
"Alice, would you like to start the party off?" He inquired, looking at the computer screen. I glanced at the screen. There were thousands of songs listed there. He moved out of the way so I could browse. I went down to the "W" section of the songs. I looked, and lo and behold, they had my Sweeney Todd song. I pointed to the selection, and he nodded. He looked at Jasper, but addressed me.
"You need a Mr. Todd for this song don't you?" I nodded. He looked at Jasper again. "Good luck dude. You're gonna need it." Jasper would sing Sweeney Todd's part? I'm impressed. Not many guys do musicals.
I looked at the screen. The words were flashing across the screen, but they hadn't lit up yet. I slowly watched as Jasper picked up a microphone. I picked up one of the many microphones, and began the dialogue between Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. I spoke with a slight accent, just to keep things realistic.
"It's not much of a chair, but it'll do until you get your fancy new one. It was me poor Albert's chair. Sat in it all day long he did till half his leg give out with the gout."
"Why doesn't the beadle come? Before the week is out. That's what he said." His voice was a baritone, and it flowed well with the song. It was beautiful, and he could sing well. I don't say that for a lot of guys.
" Who says the week is out? It's only Tuesday. Easy now, hush, love. Hush. Don't distress yourself, what's your rush? Keep your thoughts nice and lush, wait. Hush, love, hush, think it through. Once It bubbles, then what's to do? Watch it close. Let it brew. Wait. I've been thinkin' flowers, maybe daisies, to brighten up the room! Don't you think some flowers, pretty daisies, might relieve the gloom? Ah, wait. Love, wait."
"And the Judge? When will I get to him?" His voice was rich, and he acted like he felt Sweeney Todd's pain. It was impressive.
"Can't you think of nothin' else? Always broodin' away on your wrongs what happened heaven knows how many years ago! Slow, love, slow. Time's so fast. Now go quickly, see Now it's past! Soon will come, Soon will last. Wait. Don't you know, Silly man? Half the fun is to plan the plan! All good things come to those who can wait." I paused as I waited for the short interlude to conclude. "Gillyflowers, maybe, 'stead of daisies... I dunno though... what do you think?" There were two more lines. Both spoken. Jasper first.
"Yes." It was simple, but the music was still playing.
"Gillyflowers, I'd say. Nothing like a nice bowl of gillies..." He nodded his assent. I was impressed at how easy it was for him to envelop the character. The song ended, and everyone applauded. We went to sit down after the applause had died down. I went over to sit by Charlotte, and he went to go relieve Edward at the computer. Edward mouthed something to him, and then walked over to Bella.
"Bella, will you sing with me please?" The way those two were together, it was amazing. Like you could see the bond between them. Their bond was only slightly weaker than Jacob's and Renesmee's, and their bond was amazingly strong. Bella nodded, and Edward looked at Jasper. Jasper nodded, and smirked a bit at the song Edward had chosen. I looked at the screen. In big letters were five words. "ALL I ASK OF YOU", by Andrew Lloyd Webber. They both picked up microphones. She gave him a look, one that said, "you owe me for this." Then the music began.
"No more talk of darkness, forget these wide-eyed fears. I'm here, nothing can harm you, my words will warm and calm you. Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears, I'm here, with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you." His voice was good, but it was higher, tenor perhaps. Not as pretty as Jasper's. Still good though.
"Say you'll love me every waking moment, turn my head with talk of summertime. Say you need me with you now and always, promise me that all you say is true, that's all I ask of you." Her voice was clear, like a bell, but not soprano, no, definitely a mezzo-soprano for her voice. Mine was high, but I also was a mezzo-soprano.
"Let me be your shelter, let me be your light. You're safe, no one will find you, your fears are far behind you." I noticed that Edward and Bella were deep into their characters. Just like Jasper. Either they were good actors, or they identified well with the characters.
"All I want is freedom, a world with no more night, and you, always beside me, to guard me and to guide me." She sang beautifully.
"Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Let me lead you from your solitude. Say you need me with you, here, beside you. Anywhere you go let me go too, Christine, that's all I ask of you." His voice reflected Steve Barton, the actor to play Raoul in London's West End originally. I was impressed.
"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Say the word and I will follow you." Bella paused slightly at the end of the phrase, as if a bit unsure of what to do next.
"Share each day with me, each night, each morning." Their voices melded perfectly. It was magical to listen to them.
"Say you love me." Her eyes sparkled. His did as well.
"You know I do." They smiled at each other sweetly.
"Love me, that's all I ask of you." Their voices melded again, producing the most beautiful harmony. As the slight interlude towards the end played, Edward swept her off her feet into a very passionate kiss, much like the one Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson share in the movie. They ended their kiss at the very last second and finished the song.
"Anywhere you go let me go too. Love me, that's all I ask of you." Edward kissed Bella once more, and then they went to sit down after the massive amount of applause. Rosalie stood up, and walked over to her twin. They had a quick conversation, and then Jasper clicked on a song. Rosalie walked over to the screen, and grabbed one of the microphones. The soft music softly pervaded the room. It was "MY HEART WILL GO ON", from Titanic. I had the Celine Dion version on my iPod. She began to sing the lullaby-like love theme from one of the classic movies.
"Every night in my dreams I see you. I feel you. That is how I know you go on. Far across the distance and spaces between us, you have come to show you go on. Near, far, wherever you are. I believe that the heart does go on. Once more you open the door and you're here in my heart and my heart will go on, and on." Her voice was exquisite, soprano definitely. Her voice rang clear, like a bell, and was well suited to the song. The music accompanying her was also exquisite. I looked at the screen, and noticed that the words were playing, but that the music was only piano. I looked over to the couch where Bella and Edward were sitting, and noticed that Edward was missing. Charlotte noticed I was in rapt attention to the song, and pointed over to a grand piano sitting on a platform. Edward was sitting there, playing with accomplished skill.
"How did he learn to play like that?" I mouthed to Charlotte. She shook her head as if she didn't know. I listened to how graceful the melody sounded, played by piano alone. Then I listened as Rosalie continued with renewed intensity.
"Love can touch us one time, and last for a lifetime, and never go till we're one. Love was when I loved you one true time I hold to. In my life we'll always go on. Near, far, wherever you are I believe that the heart does go on. Once more you open the door, and you're here in my heart, and my heart will go on and on." I listened to the soothing piano playing of Edward, and wondered if he knew the key change. It happened right around here. I listened to the rising melody line coming from the piano, and heard it soar into the higher key.
"You're here, there's nothing I fear, and I know that my heart will go on. We'll stay forever this way. You are safe in my heart, and my heart will go on and on." She threw herself into the song, but left out the croon Celine Dion puts in at the end. Edward finished the song with a light flourish, and Rosalie came over and sat with us.
"Hi Alice. I'm Rosalie. I hope you're enjoying the party. Charlotte told me that you liked singing, and I was wondering if you'd do me a favor." I nodded, unable to speak in the presence of Jasper's twin. They didn't look anything alike, but apparently they were related. "Oh, thank you, Alice. I was wondering if you'd sing a song with me." I'm sure my mouth was agape. "I was thinking we could have Jasper sing too. We could sing, I don't know, A Heart Full of Love from Les Miserables, maybe. What do you say? You'd be Cosette, of course." Before I knew what I was doing, I nodded my head. She beamed at me. "Thank you Alice. I'm sure this'll make Jasper happy too." I was still a bit stunned. She took my hand and led me to the large television screen where the words "A HEART FULL OF LOVE" were flashing. I noticed Esme at the computer screen. I picked up the microphone Rosalie had put in front of me, and noticed that she and Jasper had already picked up theirs. The music started playing. I saw Jasper open his mouth to start the song.
"A heart full of love, a heart full of song I'm doing everything all wrong! Oh God, for shame! I do not even know your name. Dear Mademoiselle, won't you say? Will you tell?" As he finished I let the music carry me.
"A heart full of love, no fear, no regret." My voice wasn't wobbly, but it didn't sound like it normally did. His voice was perfect, just as it had been in Wait.
"My name is Marius Pontmercy."
"And mine's Cosette."
"Cosette, I don't know what to say." His voice was clear, like a bell, and it appeared as though he knew Marius's character well.
"Then make no sound." I held my own against his voice, but he was a good singer.
"I am lost."
"I am found." The harmony in our voices was beautiful.
"A heart full of light."
"A night bright as day."
"And you must never go away. Cosette, Cosette!" I felt like I was in the presence of Michael Ball himself. That was how amazingly good his voice was.
"This is a chain we'll never break." My voice was much stronger now. I wasn't shaking as much as I had been at the start. Still, I was shaking a bit.
"Do I dream?"
"I'm awake!" I practically yelled the line, because I wasn't quite sure I was awake. This song, though, was helping to convince me. We were right around the time when Eponine began singing
"A heart full of love."
"He was never mine to lose." Rosalie's voice was perfect, and she embodied her character just like Jasper, Edward, and Bella had. They would make very good stage actors and actresses. That was one thing I was sure of.
"A heart full of you."
"Why regret what could not be?"
"A single look and then I knew."
"These are words he'll never say. Not to me." She was sad. Just as Eponine should be. It was amazing.
"I knew it too." My voice was perfectly pitched, since I'd kept it in tune after my parents had canceled my voice lessons. It'd been easy, since my parents were never home.
"From today."
"Every day."
"Not to me, not for me. His heart full of love. He will never feel this way."
"And it isn't a dream. Not a dream after all!" The three of our voices blended in a beautiful harmony, reminiscent of Michael Ball, Judy Kuhn, and Lea Salonga, from the alleged 'dream cast', or Michael Ball, Tracy Shayne, and Kaho Shimada from the Complete Symphonic Recording. Either way, still amazing. I felt shudders go down my spine at the way our voices melded. Esme stood up and started applauding our performance. My face burned. I was sure my face was cherry with the embarrassment. I hurried back to the table, where Charlotte had assembled a plate full of my favorite foods; celery sticks, baby carrots, a small bowl of ranch dressing to eat them with, and some normal potato chips. I felt relieved, as I realized that I could eat, and I wouldn't have to sing anymore. I was content to watch the proceedings from then on.
The rest of the night passed without incident. Everybody else sang something. Carlisle sang Bring Him Home from Les Miserables, Jacob sang The Oldest Story In The World by the Plimsouls, Emmett sang a song I didn't recognize. He called it the Llama song. Peter and Charlotte sang Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer, Renesmee sang Spiderwebs by No Doubt, and Esme sang Stars, also from Les Miserables. Her's was my favorite, after Carlisle's, of course. I looked at the clock hanging over the computer alcove, and noticed that I really should be getting home. I must've yawned or something, because Charlotte looked over, looked at the clock, and then cleared her throat.
"Hey everyone. Peter and I need to get going, and I think Alice needs to go too. We'll take her home. See you guys later." I stood up and followed Charlotte and Peter out the door in the kitchen to the garage. I saw Charlotte and Peter getting into their Honda Civic. I followed suit, and as I made to go in the back door, Charlotte motioned for Peter to get in the car, and shut the door. This behavior in Charlotte scared me. She wasn't normally like this.
"You like Jasper." She said. No question. Just this is the complete truth, and you can't dispute it.
"Maybe. Why do you care?" Her face was alight, like she had a devious scheme in mind. I recognized the look because I was the one who taught it to her. She shrugged.
"Oh, no reason." The glint was still in her eyes, so I didn't really believe her. She shrugged her shoulders again. "Anyways, I'm going up to Olympia tomorrow, to do some shopping, and Peter's coming too. You wanna come?" I nodded, since after I got home tonight I wouldn't really be able to do my homework. Might as well put it off for as long as I possibly could. The drive home was short. I got out of the car and thanked Charlotte for the ride. I got in, and walked up the stairs into my room. I picked up a book, and I recognized that Charlotte gave to me. I tried to concentrate on the book - I didn't really pay attention to what it was called, but the author was Christopher Paolini- but my head really wasn't in the story, so I put the book down. I knew what I wanted to read, something with mystery and romance, but not something full of adventure. I walked over to my crammed bookcase, and picked up one of the more battered books. The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux. I'd read this book so many times I'd lost count. As much as I loved this book however, I couldn't read it again. I'd read it very recently, so the story was still fresh in my mind. I put it back down, and picked up another worn book. Dracula, by Bram Stoker. That was perfect. I grabbed my iPod, still sitting on my bed, and pressed the shuffle button on the main menu. This was going to be a long night.