Alice

I knew this would be it, I just knew! Of what I know I'm not exactly sure. I couldn't see what it was, I could just see us. All of us, together again.

It had been almost 2 decades since our family broke into three groups. Carlisle, Esme, and I asked the others not to leave but in the end respected their need for space. We just didn't realize how much space.

Rosalie and Edward left our home in Northern Michigan for Italy.

Two months later Jasper and Emmett left for Texas.

I had seen it coming, of course, though I had tried more than once to sway the course of their futures to my liking. There were multiple outcomes for the family, some of us ending up together. Others of us broken but not as badly. In the end, I couldn't keep us together and took the burden of blame for that loss.

For many years I was lost without my family whole. Carlisle and Esme tried to help distract me with hobbies, front row seats to Fashion Week Paris and New York. After a while I accepted the others need for freedom; a need for a life away from the family.

It seems they were all searching for something. For that I couldn't fault them. It seemed all the Cullen children were somewhat lost, myself included.

When you got down to the root unhappiness in all of us, it leads to the same place. We were lonely. Collectively we had been on this earth for over 4 centuries yet none of us had a mate. After spending years wandering all over the world, we were left to wonder, was it ever going to happen?

I felt the same way as the others did at times. I longed for my mate. Just as Carlisle had found Esme after years alone, we all searched for our other half. The others feeling the need to search away from the family.

We had taken our years apart, I gave them that. But enough was enough. They had their time to run naked through the forest or whatever the hell they were doing.

I wanted my family back together, and I was going to get it.

Forks, Washington

I had convinced Carlisle and Esme to move to small town Washington, that saw more rain than anything else. There was a small hospital there that would desperately love having Carlisle and a new house for Esme to dismantle and redesign.

I could see it here, all of us back together. I saw it for the first time several years ago but it was faded and far from concrete. I tried not to hope too deeply, there had been other glimpses of us together again. Always faded, always fleeting.

Months went by and I continued to see the same thing, clearer each time, the same future with us reunited.

After several dozen visions that were all the same, I decided to put a plan into action before any of them could try and mess it up.

First, I started to annoy Rosalie, she's the easiest to break. Of course, I tried to get them to submit on their own, but they never do. I swear, I asked Rose nicely to come visit us at Forks when she declined I had to be a bit more forceful. It started out mellow, just a few more phone calls than normal. When that didn't work I started in on the emails, only a couple dozen a day.

Rosalie was completely unfazed, so it was time to bring in the big guns. She had taken a job with an auto industry company, helping them plan the annual car expo in Bologna, Italy.

One day when I had seen she would be at the office I sent her a friendly candy gram, with a rather jolly gorilla that sang Happy Birthday to Rosalie. We of course didn't really celebrate birthdays but I knew the humiliation would be the final straw to break Rosalie (coupled with the cake and surprise party invites sent to everyone she worked with).

She called later that day screaming about the ridiculousness she had to put up with before finally relenting and agreeing to come for a short (her word) visit.

I had a feeling once she was here should would want to stay, since I had seen as much, what still wasn't clear was what exactly it was that caused her to stay.

Once I got Rose on board I moved to Emmett, knowing that Rose would get Edward to come along with her. Emmett was a bit more difficult, he wasn't easily embarrassed like Rose. I'd have to find another way to get under his skin.

Again, I promise I asked Em nicely first, he considered for a moment but said he'd rather not in the end. So, he brought it upon himself! It took several days for me to come up with something good enough, but in a moment of genius I realized what would do the trick.

Later that day I contacted a nice young man how had a talent for hacking. Apparently, he could even hack into someone's Xbox account. I don't know exactly what he did, but Emmett called me an hour later screaming. Needless to say, at the end of our call he had agreed to come for a visit.

Everything was lining up perfectly, the only thing that worried me about the situation was my visions. I would see flashes of all of us together again, laughing but there was something about it that was clouded.

This had never happened to me before, my visions would always give me pieces, not the whole story but it gave me enough that I could connect the dots.

Now when I looked ahead I see a dark cloud around some things, almost as if someone had spilled ink on the strip of film inside my head.

I wasn't sure what it was about Forks, Washington but something about this place would make my family come together again. More than once I had considered that it was just us, being a family again. That with the time away everyone had realized how much they missed us; however wonderful, that didn't seem likely. The more I looked ahead the more I realized there was another force in play, keeping everyone together.

What that force was I couldn't be sure, whatever it may be, it was surely powerful.

My first day at Forks High, I headed straight for the office to make sure everyone was set prepared for the school year.

After collecting my schedule from the office and confirming with Ms. Burke that my siblings would be starting class within the week, having seen as such, I headed into the school.

Jasper was the last person I had to convince, and certainly the most difficult. He had the hardest time with our lifestyle, not only our diet but the family mentality. Given his history it wasn't hard to understand why.

He had agreed to leave with Emmett more than willingly. Though he kept the same diet it seemed he was much more comfortable around Emmett, Peter, and Charlotte. They all lived together in Texas, Peter and Charlotte didn't feel the need to survive on animal blood but it seemed they selected their victims from the dredges of humanity.

With Jasper, I knew the only way to convince him was to be reasonable. I knew he missed us, and we all missed him. I explained to him that if he was truly happy with his new life, then coming home for a visit wouldn't hurt him one bit. In fact, he might even like it!

He relented, agreeing to head North East shortly after Emmett.

I walked into the main building to find my locker. It was there that I smelled it first. The smell was human but like nothing I had ever smelled, so different. Like rain mixed with flowers, I felt venom sting the back of my throat as I swallowed hard. I tried to reach forward and find who it was, my eyes going hazy for a moment but I couldn't see anything.

Intrigued I changed direction to find the source of the smell despite my better instincts. I walked at an agonizing human pace following the trail further down the hall. The smell was slowly getting stronger, and it took everything in me not to sprint full speed towards it. Just as I thought I was closing in the high pitch bell rang out signaling the beginning of the school day.

Cursing under my breath I turned on my heels and went to my first class. I walked in mumbling an introduction to the teacher and taking my seat. I spent the majority of class scanning my own future trying to see who this person was that had captured my attention. I knew I wouldn't give up until I found what I was after but no matter how hard I looked I couldn't seem to find the person I was looking for. It was almost like there was a grey cloud around that part of my future.

I was perplexed. Frustrated and confused I fidgeted through the rest of class. When the bell rang I was the first one to the door and out the hall tracking down the smell once more. I flew back down the familiar hall, weaving in and out of the students with ease until I picked up the trail again. It led outside to a small group of portable classrooms by the soccer field.

I skipped up the steps to portable A2's door, it was in there. Looking at the room number again I realized I was at my next class, U.S. History.

Pushing the door open I was assaulted with the intense scent of fresh rain. I looked over to the desk to see the teacher having a conversation with a girl, her back facing me.

Her brunette waves just barely brushing against the top of her shoulders. It was her, she was the one making the venom pool in my mouth and my eyes darken to pitch. I listened in on the conversation.

"Welcome to Forks High, Isabella. Do you have your textbook yet?" the teacher questioned.

"Um no, I'm supposed to go to the library during lunch to pick all my textbooks up," she explained.

"Not to worry, we'll only be covering the first chapter today in class, I'm sure any of the other students would be happy to share with you just for today." She nodded encouragingly.

"I've got mine if you want to sit by me," I said cheerfully, hoping to not look as crazed as I felt.

The brunette turned around sending a wave of her sent smashing into me. A sweet smile lit up her face as she gave me a slight nod.

"You must be Ms. Cullen," the woman turned to me looking slightly harsh, giving me a quick look up and down. I made her nervous, my family was new to this small community but it seemed so was the mysterious Isabella. I turned on the charm flashing my teeth just enough.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Durman. Do you have assigned seat or should we sit anywhere?" I asked glimmering her oh so slightly. That seemed to work as she smiled.

"Anywhere is fine ladies," she said lifting her large frame from the chair to open the door to welcome students. I was glad as this gave me some alone time with the other new girl.

Again, I tried to reach into my future to see the possible outcomes of this conversation, to my mild horror I found that not only could I not see her but I couldn't see my own future. Trying my best not to panic I got closer to her, hoping it would help clear my sight.

"Are you a front or back row kind of girl?" I asked stepping slightly closer than social standard would allow. She looked down at me, she was a few inches taller than my 5"2'.

"How about somewhere in the middle?" she asked blushing a light pink sweeping over her cheeks. A smile spread across my face, I nodded and linked my arm with hers.

If I had a beating heart it would be pounding right now. A sparkle lit on my skin when I touched her, I looked down quickly and noticed that her arm was almost the same size as mine.

Touching her didn't help me get a clearer look, it anything I think it was harder to see with her so close. As we took our seats I glanced over to get a look at her fully.

She wore light jeans that hung off her slender legs haphazardly. Underneath the slight V of her deep red long sleeve shirt, I could see her collar bone protruding. She was thin but her clothes hung off her like they used to fit until recently. She didn't act bothered or self-conscious because of the weight loss.

For what felt like the millionth time I reached forward to try and see what she might say next. There was nothing. I couldn't even see my future inside the classroom, breathing again for the first time I realized I could see past the classroom to the rest of the day.

It was this girl, she was why I couldn't see anything, why there were black splotches in my visions.

I didn't want to scare her but I need to know everything about her immediately.

Bella

"You sure you won't let me drop you off Bells?" Charlie asked for the hundredth time. He was worried I was going to croak while walking to school.

"I really appreciate the offer Dad but I think the walk would be good for me. I couldn't walk anywhere in Florida because it was so humid all the time," I said shoving everything in my bag with my back turned to him.

"Well if it's ever too hot just let me know," he mumbled awkwardly shuffling his feet. I chuckled softly and turned to him.

"Tell you what, if it ever gets above 80 degrees I'll beg you to drive me. Fair?" I asked trying to hide my smile.

Charlie grumbled in response but I could tell he was pleased. Shortly after he left for work waving goodbye from the door.

I still had about 20 minutes before I needed to leave for school so I decided to wander around the house. I had gotten in late last night, crashing almost immediately.

Charlie said more than once I could start school in a few days but I had timed this perfect so I could start on the first day of the school year. It had been almost 6 years since I had gotten to go to school, I was not going to miss this. You only got so many first days of school.

I walked into the living room to find a row of school pictures. Starting in kindergarten, I had one front tooth missing in my picture that year. The pictures, all horribly awkward school photos, were placed on the mantel. My ages ranged from 5 to 10 in the pictures, the most recent photo being my 5th grade picture. I had dropped weight from my 4th grade picture, looking smaller in contrast, rather than larger as it should have been.

That picture was taken 1 month pre-diagnosis. That diagnosis being Hodgkin's lymphoma.

It was a crushing diagnosis especially for a 10-year-old, but cancer didn't really give a fuck how old you were. Cancer didn't give a fuck about most things. For example, cancer didn't give a fuck when I missed my own birthday party at the age of 11.

All cancer cared about that day was trying to eat the wall of my heart. Kinda hard to blame the cancer though, it's just doing the only thing it knows how to do. Destroy. It's what it was made for, you had to have some sympathy, what if everyone on the planet hated you for doing exactly what you were made to do?

From the scientific stand point I could almost see the beauty of it. It's made so perfectly, especially Hodgkin's. It spreads through the body like melted ice cream on a hot summer sidewalk. To take it down you literally kill part of the host, enter here chemo.

Chemo I had no love for, scientifically it sucked. Having to destroy healthy cells in a host to eradicate the cancerous cells? Where the hell is the logic in that?

My first round of the life ruining drug was administered to me at the tender age of 10 and a half, I knew this because we were celebrating my half birthday. At the time, my mom told me it was because 'You have to be happy for all the time you're given'.

Which really meant, we didn't know how many more birthdays I was going to get so we were going to shove 2 in one year.

The fact we had this additional birthday on my first day of chemo was comically poetic and ultimately ill-timed as birthday cake and chemo mix about as well as my mother and baking.

The walk to school was beautiful, and cool even in August. Mom and I had moved to Florida when I was 12, two years post-diagnosis. It was always humid, so humid in fact that at times it was almost insufferable. Even if I hadn't been cancer riddled, walking outside would have been miserable. Here in Forks the air was cool and soft, slightly damp from the constant rain but not hot enough to be humid. Nothing like Florida, cool in Tampa meant 70 degrees.

We moved to Tampa because of the Moffitt Cancer Center, home to a Hodgkin lymphoma specialist Dr. Wyatt Hale. The doctor that would oversee all my cancery stuff.

It was my home more often than my real home over the next 3 years. It's a harsh diagnosis, Hodgkin's. To cut the medical talk down to a minimum, it's a cancer of the immune system. Which can spread elsewhere, everywhere else in fact. And in my case, it did.

After the initial damage in the first 2 years, it spread to my ovaries, which prompted the move to Tampa.

My mother didn't take the news well, but honestly what parent would? We had just spent two years fighting my own immune system, heart, and kidneys only for it to spread to my pre-pubescent ovaries.

Over the years my cancer ebbed and flowed, moving to my skin, bones, and even brain. It seemed things were finally starting to wrap up around the time I was 14.

My hair was finally starting to grow, just in time for my 15th (technically 20th) birthday, which I spent in the hospital. As I had all my birthdays (including half birthdays) since the age of 11.

My last surgery on my 15th birthday. The last of my cancer was cut, ripped, torn, or otherwise removed from my body.

Three months later I left the children's ward for the last time. Or so I thought.

Looking up I saw I had reached the office where I would collect my schedule for the next year.

Walking in I blushed lightly as the woman behind the desk went on and on about how Charlie had told everyone his daughter was coming to town. It broke my heart to think of Charlie, he had tried to be with me for as much of my treatment as he could.

He flew back and forth from Washington to Florida for every surgery, birthday, and Christmas until I was 13. I sat Charlie down on my thirteenth birthday and told him enough was enough. I explained that I loved him for trying to go back and forth all the time but it was too much.

I promised him when I got better I would come and visit him in Washington, I hadn't been since the summer before I turned 10.

The promise of me getting better seemed to have an effect and he agreed no more flying back and forth but he would get a phone call every week, at minimum.

I upheld my end of the deal, coming to Forks at least.

"Here's your schedule and a map of the campus but if you have trouble just ask anyone, they'll know where to go." The elderly woman behind the front desk said sweetly. I missed her name so just nodded and took my schedule and map.

"Don't forget to head to the library during your lunch to pick up your textbooks, all the other students come in a week early to get all their books and things but the librarian Mrs. Mills is expecting you so she should have everything all ready by the time you get there," she rambled on a bit.

I thanked her then turned to the door, ready for my first official day of high school.

There were classes in the hospital because apparently kids with terminal illnesses still need to know Pythagorean theorem, I called it Cancer School. It was a group of all the kids that were healthy enough to get up and out of bed to go to the play room for an hour every other day.

We would sit in the tiny chairs and a teacher would walk around and help everyone with homework. This was useless for me since mom and Phil had gotten me a tutor with Phil's baseball money.

But nevertheless, if I could walk the nurses would drag me to Cancer School.

I hadn't stepped inside a real school since the 5th grade.

Walking the halls of Forks High was almost unreal. I watched the other students more than where I was going which was less than safe, especially for me. As if I wasn't unlucky enough already with all this fabulous cancer, I also the clumsiest person alive.

I managed to make it to my first class without any bloodshed. It was Algebra II, nothing thrilling but being in a real classroom with other people that weren't talking about survival rates or their next surgery. That was more than wonderful. I felt almost normal, if it weren't for the time bomb ticking in my head.

About 6 months ago I started losing weight, fast. Not a good sign for a cancer patient, but I mostly ignored it and I think mom tried to as well for a while. Until we went in for my bi annual full body MRI, which ended up showing a rather large and aggressively growing tumor in my head.

There were options of course but all of them I had gone through, and none I was willing to go through again. As the doctors talked to my mom about all the glorious options we had to treat this ever-growing mass in my head I thought about what name I should give it.

It the children's ward in Tampa one of the nurses would tell patients to name their tumors, so they would seem less scary. Of course, this was for the younger kids but she would tell everyone to do this. The older kids would joke about this making up ridiculous or inappropriate names for their tumors and we would laugh. You know, normal pre-teen bonding.

I was trying to think of something good for this one as I had decided it would be my last. I tended to go a bit morbid with mine usually giving them names like Bundy or Norman. Adopting killers' names for the tumors that were killing me, funny, right?

Told you I was morbid.

Michael Myers, that's it, that's what we would call my brain tumor. Mr. Myers for short since people don't tend to get my humor.

The class passed by quickly, I didn't much remember what school was like in the 5th grade but high school was fast paced.

We went over the syllabus for the semester, then dove right into the first lecture. As class wrapped up we were assigned homework, that I was used to. Most of Cancer School was homework since everyone was a different age.

The teacher let us out a few minutes early, I decided it was probably best to get to my next class before everyone else hopefully to avoid the awkward teacher forced introduction.

Looking down at the map I saw my next class was outside in a portable. As I was climbing the steps I heard the bell ring and hurried by pace. Once inside I went to the teacher's desk and explained who I was. Much like the woman at the front desk she was overly excited about my arrival.

Just as she was mentioning my lack of textbook would mean I had to share with someone I noticed there was another person in the room.

I turned to find the most beautiful girl I had ever seen standing in front of me. She was short, a few inches shorter than me. Her deep brown hair was short in a fashionable pixie cut. She was dressed impeccably, much better than any high schooler has a right to.

I realized she was looking at me expectantly so I nodded my head like an idiot having no idea what I was nodding about. It seemed I had missed the conversation between the two as I was ogling the girl in front of me because the teacher stood and walked to the door to let students in.

"Are you a front or back row kind of girl?" she asked me in a sweet girly voice, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet.

"How about somewhere in the middle?" Cancer patients tend to spend most of their time hanging out somewhere in the middle of life and death I thought morbidly before shaking myself of it.

The beautiful girl linked her arm with mine and I felt goose bumps erupt over my skin, even with sleeves on I could feel how cold she was but maybe I was running a fever, not unlikely.

We took our seats and she turned to me smiling.

"I'm Alice by the way, Alice Cullen. I'm new here," she said excited. What she was excited about I wasn't sure.

"Bella, nice to meet you," I extended my hand to her and she shook it. Again, I felt her cool skin against my heated hand.

"I'm new here too, how long have you been in Forks?" I asked, curious to know more about her.

"A couple weeks, my family just moved here. My siblings will also be going here in a few weeks once we get everything sorted out, but I wanted to start as soon as I could." She explained, as I looked into her eyes, really looking for the first time.

They were a golden color like I had never seen before, I thought she might be wearing contacts. Under my gaze she seemed to freeze and I realized I had probably been looking for too long so I reached into my bag for nothing blushing like the spaz I was.

Other students began to filter into the seats around us. Alice hadn't said anything else to me and I was sure I had blown that before it even started.

As the teacher told us to pull out our textbooks I slowly looked over to Alice to see if she was still up for letting me read off hers. I peeked out from behind my hair like the awkward snail I am to find her smiling at me. I smiled back and leaned over so I could see her book, scooting my desk closer to hers as she did the same.

We spent the rest of the class like this.

Alice

I was freaking out, I was totally freaking out. I was completely and totally freaking out!

After we took our seats the other students began to filter in. I looked over at her to take in every detail. She looked at me, I mean really looked at me and I stopped breathing. I saw it in flashes, Bella smiling and laughing with me and everyone else. We were all together, suddenly it was clear. Not only was she causing the black spots in my visions, she was what lay behind them.

And just like that it was gone again as she looked down away from me. I cursed myself silently, sure I looked like a mad woman as I lost my shit internally.

The teacher occupied the entire period talking, Bella and I didn't get the chance to speak until the bell rang.

"Can I walk with you to your next class?" I asked sweetly, desperately hoping she wouldn't turn me down.

"Sure, but won't you be late to your class?" she asked, little did she know I had no plans on attending my next class.

"Don't worry, I can run pretty quick when I want to," I winked testing my boundaries. She laughed as a faint blush crept up her face slowly, a victory in my book!

I dropped Bella off at her next class asking if she'd like to have lunch with me, to which she agreed. We both had lunch after 4th period so I had about 2 hours to run home, where Carlisle was and find out what in the world was going on.

"Something happened," I started standing in the middle of Carlisle's office. He looked up from his spread of papers with a worried look on his face and held a hand out to the chair in front of him.

I told him everything, from the first vision I had. To meddling to get my siblings to come visit. Seeing the future of us together, that being the reason I convinced him to move here. Then I told him about Bella, that she was the reason I couldn't see clearly. And finally, I told him about what happened when she looked at me.

Carlisle was deep in thought throughout the entirety of my rant and seemed to be collecting himself as I sat before him. Finally, he looked up at me.

"Why didn't you tell me about your visions Alice?" he asked looking almost hurt.

"I didn't want you to think it was a bad idea, I swear I didn't see anything bad happening to the family. I would never do that," I defended.

"I know Alice, I would never think anything of the sort. You have put the happiness of the rest of the family above your own many times." Carlisle said walking around the desk and pulling me into a hug. It had been years since I felt this overwhelmed. I always saw everything coming, to be blindsided by something this big was more than I could handle.

"What's going on Carlisle?" I asked venom in my eyes for tears that would never fall.

"Uh, well…" Carlisle stuttered before composing himself.

"Is there a chance she could be your mate?" Carlisle asked me softly.