A/N: This is Part 1 of my story about Alice and Jasper's first meeting with the Cullen family. Part 1 is told from Alice's POV, Part 2 ("A Summer's Meeting") is told from Esme's POV, and Part 3 (still to be written) is told from Edward's POV.
Entry for Twilight Novel Novice One Fine Summer Day challenge
Disclaimer: Of course, only the great Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.
The Future's Almost Here
Alice, Indianapolis, July 20, 1950
"What do you think?" I held my arms out and spun around and around, feeling a rush of air as the full skirt of my new dress puffed up. I stopped in front of the dressing room mirror to examine the dress more closely. It was a sundress made of pink gingham. The sleeveless top had a boatneck collar just low enough to fully expose my angular collarbones and was tight against my chest and stomach. A thick band of fabric below the chest emphasized my tiny waist and the full, pleated skirt flowed down to my calves. I'd paired the dress with open-toed cream colored shoes made of patent leather. "Do you like it?"
Jasper came up behind me and kissed the top of my head as he put his arms around me. "I think -" he said, spontaneously slipping an arm under my knees, picking me up, and kissing my lips softly. "I think you look marvelous. Just as you always do. And if this is the right dress, then it's perfect." He set me down and leaned his chin on the top of my head, staring at our reflections in the mirror. I'd picked out a white dress shirt and khaki trousers for Jasper to wear. He preferred simplicity. My pin-curled black hair and amber colored eyes were a sharp contrast to his wavy wheat colored locks and burgundy eyes. Jasper's eyes narrowed disapprovingly as he looked at his reflection. After a second, he grimaced and looked away.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked. I nodded, shrugging out of the pink dress and back into my pale blue shift dress. I placed the shoes in my satchel and folded the pink dress on top of them. I slipped my arm through Jasper's and led him through the dark department store. A gorgeous floral print silk cocktail dress caught my eye. I fingered the expensive fabric wistfully, enjoying the feel of smooth silk against my skin. Sighing, I walked away. We ran up to a storeroom on the third floor and left the building through an open window. Jasper leaped through the window first and I followed. He caught me just before I landed on the adjacent rooftop.
"Thank you," I smiled up at him. "That was completely unnecessary of course, but thank you anyway."
"I just can't help myself," he grinned impishly in response. I tugged his hair playfully and kissed him on the chin. Jasper was silent as we ran south of downtown, first leaping across rooftops and then running through fields of ripening corn. The night was unusually warm, but a steady rain kept the humans indoors, so we ran at full speed. He looked down at me after a few minutes. "You liked that dress - the flowered one," he asked contemplatively. "Why didn't you take that one?"
I shrugged. "I'm tired of being a bandit. I want to actually be able to pay for clothes, instead of just stealing them." A vision popped into my head of standing in front of a cash register at a store holding a half dozen pieces of clothing with Rosalie and a bored-looking Emmett. I saw myself with a big smile on my face, mid-laugh; we were virtually indistinguishable from the humans surrounding us. That's what I wanted. "I take what I need now," I continued, "because I have no better options. That dress was much more expensive than the pink one and would be a greater loss to the shopkeepers. Besides, the pink dress is the one I'm supposed to be wearing."
"Really? I just assumed you'd picked that one on a random impulse," he smirked.
"Ha ha," I retorted, shoving him a few feet to my left and running ahead. The past two nights, we'd sneaked into dozens of stores. Each time, Jasper waited patiently at the back while I whipped through the shop looking on every rack for a pink gingham dress. I returned in five or ten seconds pouting in defeat, and we left for the next shop. Dozens of images, both old and new, flashed before my eyes. I saw myself at every angle wearing a pink gingham dress meeting the Cullens. I could see where on a rack I would find the dress, but unfortunately not which store. If running from store to store only to leave without my dress hadn't been so frustrating, it would have been fun. It wasn't until I decided to try Morton Smiths, a generic department store, that I could see that it was the right one.
I was thrilled to find the dress. It was the last major step on a thirty year journey to find my future. When I awoke years ago, Jasper's face, with his loving gentle smile and sad eyes, was the first thing I saw. But soon after, visions of golden eyed strangers flashed before me. Edward was the first one I'd seen, staring at a chess board in rapt concentration. Later, I'd seen Carlisle on the other side of the board laying down his queen in defeat, wearing an amused smile. I saw myself holding Jasper's hand with my arm around Esme's back, glowing with happiness. We all had matching topaz eyes. I didn't understand the eye color. My eyes fluctuated between red and black, and I didn't know how they could be anything different. When I saw Edward with his teeth at the neck of a mountain lion and later, me chasing after a herd of deer, I realized there was a different way to live. Since then, I'd strived to live by the same rules as the Cullens, so I would be ready to join them someday. I was mostly successful.
Jasper and I made it back to the abandoned farmhouse in a rural area not too far from Indianapolis, where we'd spent the past three days. I tossed my satchel in the hall next to our small pile of belongings and went out to the porch where Jasper was sitting on the front steps. I hopped down next to him and rested my head against his neck as he hugged his arms around me.
We sat together nearly every night staring at the sky. I hardly noticed the beauty of the night sky before finding Jasper. Nights were useful for easy transportation and hunting, but that was about it. Nighttime for Jasper, during his many years in Mexico, was for killing - vampires in battle or humans in hunting. Now, Jasper viewed nights as a time for peaceful reflection, a priceless luxury after years of constant battle. The joy that nighttime brought him made me treasure it just as much. On clear nights, we gazed at the stars. One of Jasper's few human memories was of lying in the grassy fields of his family's ranch listening to his father teach the various mythologies behind each constellation. Now, he told me the same stories. Jasper missed the stars on cloudy, drizzly evenings like tonight. On these nights, I often used the shapes of the clouds to create stories that became more and more ridiculous until I made Jasper shake with laughter. His laughter, so rare, was my goal.
Tonight the air was hot and sticky. It felt perfectly comfortable to us. Jasper's body was warmer than normal, in adjustment to the temperature. I heard the fluttering wings of fireflies, the buzzing of cicadas, the chirping of crickets, and an occasional hoot from a passing owl. It was loud, yet peaceful. I took a deep breath and savored the scents of summer. The overgrown grass of the yard around us, the wildflowers scattered about, the ripening sweet corn in the surrounding fields. For a moment, I forgot the future and lived in the present.
The moment passed quickly. My head felt fuzzy and my ears buzzed as new images of familiar scenes appeared. Me standing across from a shocked Esme and Rosalie. Jasper and me staring at the night sky out the window of our new room. Jasper grinning and wrestling with Emmett. All the things I'd waited years for were now on the cusp of actually happening. The excitement was too much. I clapped my hands and shivered in a burst of energy. "Just one more day!" I squealed.
Jasper was not excited. He looked uncomfortable and nervous. "Are you sure about this Alice?" He shifted away from me so he could look me in the eye. "Approaching five mature vampires out of the blue...there are just so many things that can go wrong. If they become defensive, I don't think I can protect you against all five."
"I am absolutely sure about this Jazz," I said resolutely. "Other than you, our life with the Cullens is the clearest, most consistent vision I have."
"I know...," he persisted. "But if they suddenly decide to become aggressive, you can't see - "
I put a finger up to his lips to stop him. "They won't. I know it. Besides, only Esme and Rosalie will be home when we arrive. So if they react badly - which they won't - there would only be two of them. And you'll keep the atmosphere calm. Trust me."
Jasper sighed and hugged me closer, kissing my forehead, my nose, my ear, my chin, my lips. "I do trust you. It's everyone else I don't trust," he murmured. We'd had this conversation dozens of times over the past two years. His nervousness was unnecessary. I was as sure of this future as I was of anything. But I understood. If the tables were turned and he was leading me blind into a potentially dangerous situation, I would be terrified. Not for myself, but for him. Losing Jasper would be infinitesimally worse than being killed myself. I twisted to look at his face. His gentle eyes peered into mine, seeing every inch of me. His eyes, so sad when I first saw him, were now full of love. His small smile warmed my heart. Yes, the Cullens would be my family, but Jasper was, is, and always would be my universe.
"What if they don't like me?" I worried, a little insecurity no vision of the future could entirely erase.
"Not like you?" he said in mock amusement. "Miss Alice, I don't think it is possible for anyone not to love you. Besides, you've seen how they're crazy about you." He teased, but I could tell there was a nervous undercurrent of doubt that my visions could possibly be wrong. I shouldn't have said anything; I don't want him to worry. "It's me they won't like," he said quietly. "With my scars and my eyes...if we waited just another week, the redness would go away. They won't have to see me as a failure."
"Please don't think that, Jazz. You're not a failure, not ever. They won't think so. You know, over the years, I've seen every one of them, other than Carlisle, with eyes just like yours. They understand. They'll see the same Jasper I do: strong, thoughtful, kind, dependable, peaceful. The fact that you're trying to live differently is proof of that."
He just closed his eyes and sighed, rocking me gently in his arms. We sat together in silence for hours, until the rays of the rising sun turned the navy sky an array of blue, pink, orange, and purple. The day I was waiting for was finally here.
Reviews appreciated! I'm a new fanfiction writer and would love to hear from people.