Shining Noon

Chapter 1

Sadly, I own none of these characters no matter how much I want to. They're all Smeyer's. XD

EPOV

"It will be as if I never existed" I told her, the agony ripping my stopped heart open. I was killing her, it hurt me more to see Bella like this than to see Jasper launching at her. What could I do when the one true love of my past was trying to kill the one I existed for now?

I saw her reaching for me and almost succumbed, but at the last moment I managed to turn this gesture into hostility. I pinned Bella's arms to her sides, trying to resist the beautiful brown eyes, filled with the beginnings of tears. My eyes flitted to her soft human lips, the top lip somewhat disproportionately full. I felt like the only thing I wanted to do right now was kiss those lips, but forced myself to resist. I almost let my frozen expression slip as instead I pressed my lips to her hot forehead. It felt hotter than usual because she was so distressed. I hated myself for being the one making her so.

I murmured "Take care of yourself," and ran away at vampire speed, not breathing.

I ran. Every tree, every branch that I could usually see clearly blurred through my dry tears. The deer that was running away from me on instinct didn't draw my attention now. It ran from me as I ran from Bella. It sensed that I would be the death of it. Bella was the death of me; if I was human I could never have survived a heart-break like this. I smelled the pursuing lion but didn't even think to attack. Would Bella pursue me? I hoped she would be smart enough not to. Thirst burned my parched throat from the smell of the lion, but I did not, I could not, quench it. I ran.

I collapsed, feeling as if I would never get up again. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe... One image ran through my head millions of times: Bella's face as I told her I didn't want to be with her. I couldn't bare the torture of the biggest lie I've ever told, but I had to keep the truth from Bella more than I had to hide what I was.

I lay there, thinking of nothing, surrendering to the pain. 'I am too dangerous' I told myself again. 'Alice, Jasper, Rose, Emmett and Esme are far too dangerous for her'. I had led her into this kind of life, a life full of the worst imaginable danger. I couldn't forgive myself for exposing her to vampires that could kill her and drink all her blood before she fell to the ground. I couldn't expose her to more soulless blood-sucking monsters like we were. Like I was.

I thought of Volterra, the city of the Volturi. They would kill me faster than anything I could attempt myself. The only escape from this pain was death, or whatever it is we vampires did. I decided I would think this option over as I slowly, even for a human, began crawling, counting every step toward Denali, every step away from Bella.

* * *

Many days and nights I crawled, eventually reaching the Alaskan village where Tanya lived. She found me, curled in a ball a short distance from her house, shivering, not from cold, but from sorrow. She looked into my black eyes with hers, her strawberry curls cascading around her face. It showed her respect for Carlisle's family that she did not react to me as she usually did, with her over-the-top flirting.

"Let's get you to Carlisle. I think he needs to talk to you," she told me. I could see the worry in her eyes. Those beautiful eyes that could have been mine. I looked down, away from those eyes, remembering our last conversation. I remembered how upset she had been. I had ruined yet another life. I let her take my hand in hers and drag me quickly through the forest.

Is this all I was good for? Ruining the lives of others? I have ruined two in a year. Three if you counted Charlie. He wouldn't like the new daughter I'd left for him. If she couldn't get over me, that is. I hoped she would.
APOV

I jumped on my Jazzy's back and buried my face in his soft blond hair. I breathed in, smelling the mix of pine and chocolate truffles that was his natural scent. Slowly, knowing how much he liked it, I released my feeling of love for him. He sent it right back, then picked me off his back and held me to his chest, looking into my soul with his eyes of molten gold. The kiss started slow, meaningful, and lasting, but soon evolved passionately into a kiss not just of lust, but true love.

The trees about us moved and creaked ominously in the wind, but we paid them no attention, lost too deep in each other's emotions. The snowflakes flurried to the ground in a sleepy manner. Nature was calm, quiet, dark; we were anything but. We were disrupting the perfect order of the forest, but we cared little.

Jasper threw off his shirt as I removed my jacket. I flung myself back at him and as our lips met again...

FLASH!!

I knew what Edward was going to do.

"Crap," I said as I pulled away from Jasper. Yesterday Edward had told that we were just going to Denali for some holiday. Only Edward could have tricked my sight like this.

"Edward, you are an idiot," I mumbled under my breath. Did he not see how much he would be hurt? He was going to dump her. He knew it would kill her and be horrible torture for him!

Jasper's pleading eyes gave away his question. I could tell he sensed my anger because he was sending waves of calm at me.

"He's leaving Forks," I fumed, "Edward considers himself and others of our kind too dangerous for Bella." I stared into Jasper's dark golden eyes and saw an emotion deep within them that I could not recognize. I had never seen him with this expression, but somehow I knew that sadness would follow. I wondered who it was for; Jasper had never really liked Bella and it can't have been for me. But... who else was hurt? It just left...

FLASH!!

I let go of Jasper. I remembered the one time I had seen that look. I don't know if it was his emotion or my vision that sent me sprinting. I ran, not paying attention to my visions, letting my eyesight guide me through the trees. I could hear Jasper calling my name and trying to follow me, but I was faster than him. I ran through the empty forest, meeting no one. Running was all I could do. I concentrated on the simple things, such as moving my legs and not crashing, to keep my mind off of what I had seen. The cold – which would have given a human hypothermia in a matter of minutes dressed like I was – didn't bother me. The snow continued its downward spiral, interrupted only by my path though it. A spiral similar to my visions. Each one got so much worse; with each I couldn't imagine anything more horrible.

"Why?" I whispered over and over, hoping Jasper couldn't hear me. He would automatically know what I meant, why I was running. I had seen this future once before, but at that time it was based on my own reckless decision. When Jasper was the one deciding what he would do, there was nothing left for me. All I could hope for was that there would be resistance to this future from the other involved, but my hopes were not high. I tripped and fell to the ground, my body heaving with dry sobs.

"Alice?" I heard Jasper's faint cry in the distance after a few minutes. I made the motions of drying my eyes of tears, but there was nothing to wipe away. Cursing my vampiric existence I stumbled to my feet and ran on.

I almost havethe next chapter done... if anyone has any ideas for anything in the story, just leave a review.