New Years. A time of fresh excitement, experiences, sights and sounds. Yet, here I was, spending the passing of yet another year in Denali, Alaska. Perhaps the only difference was I no longer lived in this city, and it was a mere social visit paid to our "cousins". I suppose all was not bad, everyone but Edward was here on winter break, having moving after that disastrous birthday night with Bella Swan. I sighed; Alice had said to keep my night clear, as if I would ever make plans without her. She was truly like a compass to me, guiding in which direction I should head. I would be lost otherwise.
The house was quiet besides the ticking of a clock; the others had made plans of their own this evening and had already gone. Emmett had plans with Rosalie, as he did every year. My fake twin loved going out on New Years Eve and showing off, not surprising to anyone who knew her. Carlisle and Esme were at some gala with the Denali Clan, the sisters enjoying their Aunt and Uncle of sorts for the evening. That left Alice and I alone in the house, a pleasant fact if I had any clue what she was planning. Not all of us were gifted with foresight.
From my spot sitting on the couch, I heard a faint rustling upstairs. Alice normally did something very grand each year, and it always ended with me in a tux and dancing. I didn't mind the dancing; I just wasn't a fan of all the pomp and circumstance. Hearing Alice's soft footsteps coming closer to the steps, I picked up my book on early North American history and pretended to read. No need to look like I was just staring at the stairs waiting for my love to descend. I heard her footsteps come down in a rush and I couldn't help but to smile at the sound as she danced towards me.
Alice gently removed the book from my hands and settled into my lap. Exuberance radiated off her in waves, as she grinned at me, and I could tell she was clearly excited even without my gift. I gently put my arms around her, arcing an eyebrow at her choice of outfit. Clearly, this New Years would be much different than our others.
"What's with the cold weather gear?" I teased, tugging on her scarf and pulling my love in for a brief kiss. Alice laughed lightly, enjoying my bewilderment far too much.
"It's a surprise. Speaking of, are you ready?" Alice inquired her expression a mix of amusement and excitement.
"Sure am, darlin' "I said, trying not to laugh at her expression. It was the look I knew far too well, that she had something planned and up her sleeve.
Alice hopped off my lap, and we walked towards the door, pausing as I pulled on my leather jacket. As we tumbled out into the night, I found Alice's hand and intertwined my fingers with her own. The moon was full and fresh snow littered the ground, creating a bright sparkling effect in the night. The only sound surrounding us was our boots crunching in the snow, and I gazed up briefly in the night, looking at the small pinpoints of light that were the stars. It was beautiful, but nothing compared to Alice.
I was lost in thought as Alice started to tug on my hand, her slight form in front of me, exaggeratedly pretending to drag me through the snow.
"Come on Jazz, I want to hunt" Alice said, a slight edge of whine in her voice. I smiled slightly; she was just trying to get me to move faster.
"I thought you had some big surprise for me. Unless you found a family of mutated creatures that taste amazingly good, how is this different from any other night?" I was on the side of suspicious now. I knew Alice had been slightly put out since we left Forks and Bella behind, but Alice never went causal on any holiday she had a remote interest in. New Years was one of them.
"After we hunt, you will see. I promise" she paused for a moment in the middle of her sentence, golden eyes boring into mine "Have I ever steered you wrong before? Have I ever steered us wrong before?"
I smiled and felt guilty for doubting her plans in the first place, just like our early years trying to find the Cullens. "No, never."I squeezed her hand lightly "Lead the way, madam" With that, we took off into the night, running far from Alaska. The moon cast a washed out glow over us as we hunted, tracking our prey with ease.
A few hours and a couple of various prey between us, I walked hand in hand with Alice once again. We walked slowly, at what would be considered an average human's pace. Alice appeared to be in no hurry to our next destination, so I merely enjoyed the quiet time with her, something hard to do when you lived with two other couples. I wanted to ask where we were going at such a slow speed, but thought it best not to ask.
I regarded Alice for a moment; thinking about the recent months as I did so. Perhaps the others didn't see it, but Edward's departure really left a mark on her, abandoned by her favorite sibling, the only other one besides myself who understood what it was like to be a freak among freaks. If I ever saw Edward again, and I was confident I would, I was going to wring his neck for ever causing Alice pain. Part of me understood why he left, yet another part merely felt as if he was being a coward and running away from the entire situation. We should have just let the venom spread on Bella and then the family would have had little to worry about. Well, besides her being a blood thirsty savage for a few years.
Alice must have sensed my mood and she gently squeezed my hand, beaming up at me in signal it was time for us to think about a new, happier topic. I reached and brushed some snow out of her midnight black hair, as she began to speak.
"What are you looking forward to this New Year?"
I had to admit, the question caught me off guard. I had not really thought about it much, given my life of an immortal, resolutions or goals to be accomplished in one year weren't as important as those I'd given myself to accomplish in more than a twelve month time frame.
"Spending time with you darlin'. Like you didn't already know" I added teasingly, gently nudging my side into hers as Alice slightly rolled her eyes at me. I decided two could play at this game "What about you?"
"Oh….you know, Cornell and spending time with my favorite Major" Alice answered all too evasively "Maybe you and I could go to Paris again this year."
Paris. I've lost track of how many times Alice had drug me to her favorite city. I probably spoke French better than a native by now. "Paris? Maybe on our spring break then."
"Maybe" my wife said, a hint of doubt clouding her voice. I couldn't quite place it, maybe she was curious on how quickly I had agreed. "Come on, it's just ahead" Alice finished, gripping my hand tighter as she seemed more sure of her path now.
We broke through a clearing, and the first thing I noticed is that we had managed to get on an outcropping of rock, overlooking a major city. To which city, I couldn't quite place at night, but it was a nice view either way. Alice let go of my hand and found the edge of the outcropping, sitting at its edge, dangling her feet over into the nothingness. She patted the cold rock and snow next to her, as an invitation to sit down.
I followed her at once and sat at her side, my wife melting into my side as I put an arm around her. "This is nice…are we waiting for something?" I asked, breaking the brief silence.
"Yes, we are waiting for something. For being immortal patience is hardly one of your strong suits" she teased, making herself more comfortable against me. "Wait about seventy nine seconds and you will see why we are here."
I went silently and Alice gently swung her legs into the air as we waited. After searching for me for decades, I supposed it afforded her a new perspective on patience. I, on the other hand, brushed my impatience off as a left over human trait. An poor excuse, Alice called it.
"See, what did I tell you?" Alice exclaimed, interrupting my thoughts. "Seventy nine seconds on the dot. Well worth the long wait, don't you think?" she asked, lightly teasing as I turned my head in the direction of hers.
In the city, fireworks were going off. Gold, silver, and red flew into the air, bursting at various times as the music continued. I could only assume it officially hit midnight here, as I tightened my arm around Alice. The fireworks were spectacular, lighting the night sky even from our vantage point, casting shadows across our motionless forms.
"I thought you might like something different this year. Something more low key than our usual celebrations" Alice said quietly, staring at my face now.
I smiled and met her gaze. "I do enjoy it. I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend New Years with you. Thank you."
Alice smiled and moved to kiss me briefly but passionately, "You couldn't have thought of a better way to spend New Years?" she asked after breaking away, her face only inches from mine. "I definitely could think of a few ways you and I could spend it" she finished, her hands slowly tracing the contours of my jacket.
"Hmm, I'm not quite sure I follow. Perhaps you should show me?" I teased, kissing her back. Despite the uncertainly and upheaval the Cullen household, and Alice and I, had gone through, I knew we would stick together and make it through, as always. As long as I had my rock, my compass, guidepost, I knew where I was headed.
Alice smiled. "Gladly, right this way Major" she said, gracefully standing up and reaching to take my hand once again, as we left back for Denali.
Yes. As long as I had Alice, things would turn out just fine this year.