Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Author's Note: Hi everyone. My name is Aura, but you can call me Midnight. This is my first story, so go easy one me. :) Anyway, enjoy!

Preface: Horrors

Alice shivered as she stood alone in the snow. She settled in against the oak, trying to wait patiently. She could her hear her heart pounding, pulse ringing in her ears. Jasper had said she would meet her at seven – it was six thirty now. Alice rubbed her hands together for friction. She had been waiting for hours now, hoping that Jasper would show. She felt awful, had been feeling awful for days. Her brain felt like it might burst if she learned anything new about her past. But she had to do this. She'd made Jasper a promise.

A small light gleamed against the sunset. Alice stood up. "Jasper?"

A figure emerged. The girl was average height, with pale skin and dark hair. Her eyes were a bright emerald green, and there was a fierce light in them. "Alice Michaels?"

"Yeah," Alice said. She held out her hand. "You're early."

Jasper rolled her eyes. "Sorry. I figured you'd waited long enough in the cold."

Alice bit her lip. "So. Why'd you want to meet me?"

Raising one eyebrow, Jasper looked at her strangely. "Are you…afraid of me? God. I didn't know you'd be such a wimp."

"I'm not scared of you!"

"Right." Jasper let her bag fall to the ground and sat on one of the tree's low branches. "Listen, I wanted to meet you because I wanted to talk to you."

"About?" Alice chewed on her fingernail.

"About what you heard from Camden."

"I didn't hear anything. She wouldn't tell me anything."

Jasper sighed. "That's not exactly true. She told you who I was. She told you your real name."

"Yeah," Alice tried hard to blink away tears. "But she didn't explain anything. She wouldn't tell me the truth."

"I'm sorry about that. But she had to talk with Carlie first. Carlie called me and I called you. I'm going to explain everything." Jasper glanced at her, her eyes softening. "My name is Jasper, but that's not what my friends call me. Call me Elena."

Alice looked up. "You consider me a friend?"

"Nope. But you're family, aren't you?"

"I guess." Alice fingered the letter from Camden in her pocket.

"Alright then."

"My life sucks," Alice murmured.

Jasper – Elena – stood and grabbed her bag. "Come on. You're coming with me."

"What? No way!"

"You don't trust me?" Elena shook her head. "For Christ's sake. I'm not a murderer. In fact, I'm pretty sure we just established that I'm family. Let's go. We're going to miss our flight."

"Flight?" Alice's voice rose.

"Yes, you idiot. Flight. How else are we going to get to Los Angeles?"

"Los Angeles?"

"If you keep repeating everything I say, we're never going to get anywhere." Elena or Jasper or whoever she was grasped Alice's shoulder and yanked her up. "Come on. We've got to hurry."

Alice inhaled deeply and stood up too. "Okay. Fine. Let's go."

Author's Note: Okay, I know that nothing in this makes any sense at all, but be patient! I also know that was a lot of confusing dialogue. Sorry about that, too. Next chapter will hopefully be up next week. Read and review, please. Thanks, Midnight.