Jade fought back against the need to shiver as she walked across the parking lot. Her parents had assured her that it never actually snowed in forks, that there was just really cold rain, and that her rain coat and/or sweater would be enough. They'd lied. At least her combat boots were waterproof and insulated. It'd stopped snowing a few hours ago, so as long as she didn't trip and fall into the snow she'd be fine, Jade told herself.
And then a snowball slammed into her back.
Jade whirled around, snarling, but the culprits had already run off. Another one hit her in the head, followed by a second one to the back, and she whipped around just in time to see Tyler running away. "I'm going to kill you!" Jade yelled. She could already feel the damp coldness of the snowball seeping through her sweater and she hated it. She started after him, but before she could get very far the two minute bell went off. Jade scowled and headed in the opposite direction, towards her first class (science). So far her grandparents had been totally hands off (so much so that if she were younger somebody would probably have called CPS on them) but that might change if some stupid, nosy teacher called to let them know that Jade had been late.
When Jade walked into the classroom only a few people looked up and only one person smiled. Jade saw Alice's smile turn into a frown of concern as she walked over to their desk. Of course Alice was there. She was always there when Jade didn't want her to be. Quite frankly, Alice's attendance habits baffled Jade. She was always gone whenever the clouds weren't covering the sun, though she did miss on other days as well occasionally. Admittedly, the sun was rarely not covered by clouds, the sunny days being just infrequent enough for Jade to notice the correlation between said sunny days and Alice's absences, but still. How did she not flunk out?
"Jade, you're soaking wet." Alice said, her voice full of that same irritatingly genuine concern that Tori's would have been. Jade rolled her eyes.
"It was just three snowballs Alice." She said in a tone that clearly stated that this particular line of conversation was over, the topic closed. But, of course, it wasn't.
"Slush balls more like." Alice said, inspecting the large wet spots on Jade's back. "Jade, a sweater's not going to cut it. At least if you'd been wearing a winter jacket they wouldn't have gotten you wet."
"Well they don't exactly sell good winter jackets in LA." Jade snapped. Alice blinked.
"You mean you don't have a winter jacket? Not at all?" She asked.
"Nope." Jade said, popping the P. Alice's face lit up, and Jade realized that she'd made a critical error. She'd inadvertently told Alice that she needed to go clothes shopping. "No." Jade said firmly, wondering where the hell the teacher was. Class was supposed to have started a minute ago, and teachers were normally early, right?
"C'mon Jade, please?" Alice pleaded, pouting.
"No!" Jade repeated. She could buy a jacket on her own, thank you very much. That way a simple shopping trip wouldn't evolve into a massive excursion that lasted six hours.
"Why not?" Alice demanded. "It makes sense. This way you get to get your jacket, and I get to hang out with you outside of school! Plus, you won't have to pay for gas." Jade shook her head resolutely. There was no way she was going to take the bait of reasonableness. That how Tori had worked her way into her life- niceness, stubbornness, and some annoying sound logic. She opened her mouth to say no again, then closed it. She'd give Alice the silent treatment. Maybe that would get her point across. Alice stared at her for a moment, then smiled slyly. "If we go on a Saturday we can go all the way up to Seattle. Maybe stop at a few coffee shops."
Jade stiffened. Dammit, Alice had figured out her weakness. Seattle was practically Mecca to Jade. Her love of coffee and her desire to not pay for the gas a trip to Seattle would take did battle with her desire to keep Alice out and won. "Fine." She sighed. Alice grinned and gave Jade a quick hug before sitting down right as the teacher walked in.
"Sorry I'm late." He apologized. "All four of my tires burst in my driveway last night and I had to walk." Alice gave a small chuckle, and he glared at her. "Do you think that's funny Miss Cullen?" Alice straightened.
"No sir. Sorry." She said, sounding perfectly innocent and sincere. But as the teacher turned his back to them, Jade couldn't help but notice a small, satisfied smile on Alice's face. Jade got the feeling she'd been conned, she just wasn't sure how.
Eight hours later- Cullen Home
Alice hummed along to a Tegan and Sara song as she did her homework. Though, admittedly, it was less doing homework and more Googling the few questions she didn't know the answers to. She finished quickly, before the fourth song on the album was even finished, then frowned as she caught a scent, followed by a brief glimpse of the future. "Drop it Edward." She said without turning around, pausing the music.
"No." Edward said, folding his arms and staring at her back. Alice sigh rand swung around in her swivel chair.
"Fine. Say your piece."
"You're getting too close to that Jade girl." He said. Alice rolled her eyes.
"I thought the whole point of us going to high school was to relive the teenage experience? Because making friends is part of that experience." Edward glared at her.
"Alice, any one of us being alone in a car with one human for the trip from here to Seattle is too risky. Why are you trying so hard to get this Jade girl to. Like you anyway?" Alice shrugged.
"I have to spend 90% of my time at school with her anyways. Better to be friends with her than not. Besides, she's interesting. I've never met anyone quite like her before."
"You've never met a rude, sarcastic bitch before?" Rosalie asked, sticking her head into the doorway. Alice glared at her.
"First of all, Jade is not a bitch. And second of all, I actually haven't met anyone this sarcastic before, and it's kind of refreshing. You just don't like her because she told you and Emmett to, and I quote, 'Stop shoving your incest in my face' at lunch last week."
"And because she had a bigger rack than you." Emmett interjected. Alice and Edward winced as Rosalie turned around to glare at him. "What? It's a slender teenage girl with a natural D-cup, of course I'm going to notice!" Rosalie just continued to silently glare at him. "I didn't say they were better, just bigger!" Rosalie stormed off silently, and Emmett sighed and looked at Edward and Alice. "What does she want?"
"Roses, African lion blood, and diamonds." Edward said, looking rather amused by Emmett's misfortune.
"Oh come on woman! Really?" Emmett yelled in exasperation.
"If you don't shut up and hop to it she's going to add platinum to the list." Alice warned him. Emmett sighed and walked off, leaving Alice and Edward alone to finish their conversation.
Edward gave her a pointed look and opened his mouth, but Alice interrupted him. "Look Edward, I'm not backing down from this one. I'm sick of going through high school as 'the quiet girl'. I want a friend." Edward remained unconvinced, and Alice sighed. She hated bringing up the past, but she was going to. It needed to be said. "Edward, nothing's going to happen. In the entire time since I became a vampire, how many times have I drunk human blood?"
"Never." Edward admitted reluctantly.
"Exactly. It's not a temptation that I've ever struggled with. And Jade's blood doesn't call to me, not like the way..." Edward gave her a sharp look and she closed her mouth. She'd forgotten the unspoken rule-don't mention Bella Swan.
"Fine." He said, shaking his head. "But I did warn you." Alice ignored him. She'd already taken a look into the future. Everything would be fine.
Two days later
Jade shifted in her seat. "You're going a little fast there." She commented. Sure, she liked going fast, but ninety miles per hour on an icy sixty-five miles per hour road? That was too much.
"C'mon Jade, I thought you liked taking risks?" Alice teased, smiling at Jade.
"I also like not breathing through a tube." Jade retorted. Alice sighed and slowed down to seventy mph. "Thank you."
"Want to put a CD in?" Alice asked. The ride had been a little awkward so far, Jade not being one for small talk." Maybe some music would help. Jade gave a smirk, reached into her Gears of War bag, and pulled out a CD, putting the disc in before Alice could see what it was. Alice stiffened and took her eyes off the road to stare at the CD player as the Genitorturers' 'Devil in a Bottle' came out if the speakers.
"Eyes on the road Cullen." Jade said, still smirking. Alice forced herself to focus on the road. Of course Jade liked Metal. She didn't know which was worse-that she hadn't seen this coming, or that she...kind of liked this music.
Twenty minutes later
Jade stared at the massive selection of coats the store Alice had chosen offered and turned around to leave, but Alice grabbed her by the back of her shirt. "Oh no you don't." She said cheerfully, pulling her to the coats. Jade attempted to break free, but Alice was surprisingly strong for someone so short and slender. It wasn't that Jade hated shopping or anything, and if she by herself she'd have no problem staying. But she got the feeling that Alice's love of shopping was of a completely different magnitude than hers. By herself Jade would walk in, grab the nicest black coat she could find that fit her, buy it, and walk out. Simple. So she tried to do just that.
Alice was having none of it though. "You barely looked at the other coats." She said, taking the black coat from Jade.
"That's not true." Jade told her dryly. "I didn't look at them at all." She tried to take the coat back, but Alice danced backwards, holding the jacket over her her head. Jade arched an eyebrow. "You realize that holding it over your head just puts it at convenient grabbing height, right?" Alice glared at her.
"Stop talking like you're three feet taller than me, you're only three inches taller!"
"Taller is taller, now give me the coat." Jade said, taking a step forward. Alice took another step backwards, shaking her head.
"Not until you try some other coats on." She said stubbornly. Jade glared at her, then sighed. They were getting some stares, but Jade just glared at other shoppers until they looked away.
"Fine." She growled. "But if you try and get me into anything pink..."
"You'll kill me?" Alice asked, smiling. Jade shook her head.
"No, I'll just steal your car. Now, if you try and get me into anything yellow, then I'll kill you." Alice blinked, then sighed. With Jade's pale skin and brown hair, she'd look awful in yellow anyway, even if that was Alice's favorite color.
"No nice pretty colors, got it." She said, shaking her head in mock sadness.
"There's nothing ugly about black." Jade snapped.
"No black." Alice said stubbornly, pulling out a scarlet faux leather coat.
"Yes black." Jade retorted, pulling down a black coat with a fake tawny fur trim. And so it began.
Three hours later
"You two are so cute." The cashier, a woman in her late twenties, gushed. Alice and Jade stared at her blankly. They'd finally settled on two coats-a jewel blue coat with a fake dark grey fur trim and the scarlet one Alice had grabbed first.
"What?" Jade asked, confused, as she pulled out her wallet. The woman looked back and forth from Jade to Alice and back again.
"Aren't you two dating?" She asked, surprised. Jade and Alice stared at her in shock. If they'd been drinking they'd have done a simultaneous spit take. As it was, they were rendered speechless. Alice knew that if she'd been capable of blushing she would be. "It's just that, with way you two were going back and forth, and since you obviously aren't related I assumed you were dating."
"Well we're not." Jade snapped, setting her debit card down on the counter down on the counter hard. Alice shook her head.
"Just good friends." She told the cashier, a little taken aback at Jade's reaction. As far as she knew there weren't any gay couples at Forks High, so she'd never had a reason to ask, but she didn't think Jade was homophobic.
"Sorry." The woman apologized as she rung Jade up. Jade relaxed slightly as she took the bag.
"Whatever." She said, her voice making it clear that she was done as she walked out. Alice hurried to follow Jade, giving the woman an apologetic smile as she left.
Three hours later
Alice pulled into Jade's driveway, drawing a sigh of relief from Jade. "It wasn't that bad." Alice said chidingly.
"It wasn't...awful." Jade admitted. And it wasn't. Aside from the moment with that cashier, Jade had almost enjoyed herself. It certainly could have been worse. Jade got out and, to her slight annoyance and surprise, so did Alice. The smaller girl grabbed the shopping bag.
"Can I get a tour?" She asked with a smile. Jade looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. She got the feeling that this shopping trip had closed the door on her chance to keep Alice out of her life anyway. Letting Alice look around her place wouldn't hurt too much.
"Sure." She walked up to the front door and unlocked it. Her grandparents weren't home, but then again, they rarely were. Jade led Alice up the stairs to a single door, which opened up to what was essentially an apartment.
"Very nice." Alice said appreciatively, looking around and wandering into the small kitchen.
"Yeah, it's not bad." Jade said with a shrug. "My grandparents used to rent it out, but they've gotten paranoid in their old age and don't trust young people they don't know well anymore, so they just let me live here now that my parents have kicked me out." Alice set the bag of coats down on the counter and began to explore the apartment. It was rather small, with a kitchen/dining room, a living room, one bedroom, and one bathroom, but Jade didn't need much more than that anyway. Jade picked up her bag of coats and headed for the bedroom and her closet, Alice following her.
"Wow, nothing but dark colors. Why am I not surprised?" Alice said with a smile, examining Jade's closet. "Is it just me, or is this red jacket the brightest colored thing you own?"
"It's not just you." Jade said dryly, trying to shut the door. Alice didn't let her, continuing to inspect Jade's closet.
"Ooh, this is nice." Alice said, pulling down Jade's green sweater. "And I guess it is kind of light colored."
"Yeah, but it's too big for you." Jade said with a smirk.
"Not that big." Alice mused. Jade pulled it out of her hands
"Please, this might be a shirt for me, but it's a dress for you." Alice gave her a pouting glare.
"I'm not that short!" She protested.
"Keep telling yourself that midget. One day you might grow a few inches and reach normal teenage height." Jade told her, hanging the sweater back up. Alice sighed.
"I might not be taller than you, but I know for a fact I'm stronger than you." She said. Jade looked her up and down.
"Bull crap." Alice smiled sweetly.
"Alright, how about this? If I can pick you up bridal style and hold you steadily for ten seconds, you have to go see the new Terms of Endearment with me tomorrow." Jade stared at her for a moment.
"And if you can't?" Now Alice shrugged.
"Then we go see Texas Chainsaw 2 tomorrow." Jade considered.
"Deal." Alice grinned, crouched, and Jade let out a small, quiet shriek as suddenly she was in Alice's arms. Jade's eyes widened as Alice held her in the air, the shorter girl's arms not wavering a fraction of an inch. Alice chuckled at the expression on Jade's face and gently set her down.
"Guess we're going to be seeing Terms of Endearment 2." She said happily. Jade stared at her. How the hell had Alice done that? Jade wasn't even close to being overweight, but she was close to weighing 140 lbs. How had Alice held her up like it was nothing? Jade frowned and resolved to figure out what was going on.
