Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything familiar you read, which you will, because I've borrowed some stuff from a couple shows/movies. Can't spoil it for you by saying exactly what or who, but it belongs to their rightful owners. That works, right?

Rated: T, for now at least.

Author: Crushing Velvet.

Beta: xPaige Turnerx. Whom I'm borrowing Eve from.

Summary: Alternate Universe. Alice/Bella. "There are ways to escape any prison, whether it be a grand scheme, or just sitting there chipping away at the walls. In this case, however, I was her prison and the walls were my sanity, that she had been chipping at for FAR too long."

Isabella Swan. Seattle, Washington.

There was a sort of… not quite a pattern, but a groove that people had fallen into throughout the decades. Knowledge wise, at least. Not everyone seemed to see it, Isobelle hadn't and she had been around much longer than Bella had, and yet the younger girl had picked up on it right away. Perhaps because she was an observer; Bella watched people, quite a bit actually. A tad on the creepy side, maybe, but incredibly informative. She couldn't help it though; even as a human she had always been shy, reserved, closed off from people, and after the curse she had taken it to the extremes. In her defence, she was just trying to keep people safe. Keep Belle away from them, and them away from Isobelle. In the beginning, Bella didn't have very much control, and therefore Isobelle had free reign quite often. That always ended in…well, blood. And so, Bella kept her distance from people, as lonely as it was at least she didn't have any blood on her hands.

That led to her people watching; she had to take what she could get in life, and if she couldn't interact and talk to people, then she'd watch them. It was more fascinating than you would think, especially as society advanced. She watched trends come and go like seasons, new catch phrases and slang made up every day, the friendlier people got, and then the meaner. Humanity had many grooves they fell into, and the most interesting, to Bella, was knowledge. How much it had changed, it was boggling.

"I know what you mean." Isobelle said, perched on the counter next to Bella's desk. The science room had one long counter lining three of the four walls with sinks, outlets, and bunsen burners spaced throughout.

Isobelle sighed, thankful she was in the back corner sitting next to only one student who had been sleeping for the majority of the class. She levelled a lazy, skeptical look at Isobelle. "I doubt it."

She shook her head, waving off the younger girl's look. "No, really; have you taken a look at one of these new addition science text books? Have you seen all the new crap they've discovered over the years?"

"Not quite where I was going." Bella muttered, continuing to work on her paper. The first class of her first day and she already had homework. Why had she agreed to this? "Besides, I have a hard time believing you actually care about human advancement in knowledge."

Isobelle stuck her chin in the air, amusement dancing in her eyes. "I happen to care a great deal. It makes me wonder how long it will take them to stumble into the supernatural world like bumbling children."

"You don't sound too happy about that." She said, holding her breath as the boy next to her shifted in his sleep to turn his head in the other direction. "I would have thought you'd enjoy that day."

The Wolf nodded, deep in thought. "That day, indeed, but the ones following it would be crap. A war or a truce would ensue afterwards." She made a face.

"And you don't want either." She asked, but it came out like a statement. She could feel Isobelle's dislike of either idea.

"Either way, it would put rules and restrictions on our existence and lives. Even more rules than you have," She had a look of disdain as she gazed down at the younger girl. "Which is far too many for my liking." She lost the look, the corner of her mouth curving up in a smirk. "Besides, having them in the dark let's me play in their backyard one day a month."

Which reminded Bella that she had to set up the cellar when she got home later that evening. She stared at the Wolf for a few moments longer, her stomach feeling uneasy. The bell rang before either girl could say anything else and Bella slowly gathered her things up into her arms. She decided that being the first one out of class probably wasn't best as it left everyone else to watch you leave, but being last wasn't wise either. You risk getting stuck in a pointless conversation of friendly small talk with your teacher, that left said girl always feeling even more awkward than she was. So with deft feet, she manoeuvred herself into the crowd pouring out of the door and disappeared into the sea of students in the hallway.

Her second class, Math, had been much like the first; the only difference being that she didn't have time to listen to Isobelle's chatter, and was completely focused on her work. Math had never been her strong suit; all those numbers and formulas to remember, so dull and lifeless.

She really rather preferred History, which is what she had just before lunch. Sure, there was even more to remember there than in Math, but at least then, everything had a story. It was interesting, full of intriguing details. Or, perhaps she just found it easier because she had been around for many of the times they were studying. Having first hand knowledge always made the subject… a cakewalk, really.

It was no different that day as she found another seat in the back. She briefly wondered why no one sat back there; weren't those the more popular spots?

There wasn't much time to give it more thought as she felt a presence near her and looked up. A boy, not much older than Bella herself, stood at the corner of her desk in the isle. His hair was a mixture of blondes; honey and gold, naturally styled in a curly/wavy fashion. His eyes were a most interesting colour, like a dark, burning amber, brought out even more by the dark circles beneath them. His skin was incredibly pale, but even more pale were his scars covering his hands, arms, and neck. A few even reached up to his left eyebrow. The boy furrowed his brows in confusion, a look of surprise entering those unique eyes.

Bella didn't even have to ask Isobelle if this was a vampire; she knew he was. Though the eyes didn't add up; the few vampires she had come across over the years had ruby red eyes, or if hungry or feeling a negative emotion strongly, a deep onyx. Never had she seen, or even heard, of golden eyes on a vampire. Nor human, come to think of it.

The boy shook himself from the stare, sitting down in the desk next to her. He smiled sheepishly, sticking out his hand. "Forgive my staring; that was incredibly rude. I'm Jasper Hale, and it is a pleasure to meet you."

She wasn't sure why, but Bella had a feeling he wanted to slip the word 'finally' in there. How odd. "My name is Bella." She didn't feel the need to give her last name as she took his hand, unsurprised at the cool temperature of his skin. But details were everything to Bella, and if she was going to pretend to be human and lay low around here; then she would have to act like a human who had never come into contact with a vampire anymore. She forced surprise into her tone as she looked down at their hands. "Wow, your skin is so cold."

Jasper smiled, pulling his hand back. "Poor circulation; it runs in the family." He replied. He shifted in his seat, looking up to the front to see the teacher had began her lecture, before catching those brown eyes again. He was eager to know more about this girl, who was proving to be most fascinating. First, she didn't appear in Alice's visions, and now he couldn't use his gift on her, nor would Edward be able to. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Michael Newton in the parking lot; that is your Camaro?" He asked.

"Yes," Bella replied hesitantly. What on earth was a vampire doing, asking her about her car? Or talking to her, for that matter? Was this his trap, his little play to lure her away from witnesses. Ask to go for a ride and pounce when they were alone?

"My family and I are… vehicle enthusiasts, and we don't usually meet people with… um… " He faltered, trying to pick a word. He didn't want to say nice cars, and insinuate that everyone else in the school drove bad cars. Nor did he want to say expensive, and imply a poor class on the rest of the students. "At risk of sounding like a snob; fancier cars." He finished.

She nodded slowly. "Right,"

Jasper ran a hand through his hair, offering another feeble smile. Was this what it was like when other people tried having conversations with him? Edward always said that his social skills were lacking, as he didn't have as much human contact as the others in the family did. But this… this was like talking to a wall. She was giving him nothing to go on; one word answers, staring at him like he was a puzzle. It was confounding; if anything, she was the puzzle! He cleared his throat, shifting in his seat again. "So… do you like cars?"

Bella furrowed her brows, studying the boy beside her. The more he spoke, the more questions she had. Why was he trying to have a conversation with her? Why go to school? Why be civil? This was no ordinary vampire; he certainly wasn't acting like one. "Yes," She repeated.

"If you want, I could get rid of him for you." Isobelle interjected. Even in human form, Isobelle could give vampires a run for their money. One on one, she was the likely candidate for the winner. "All you gotta do is just let me slip in for a little while." Bella's eyes slowly travelled over to the Wolf, narrowing slightly. She couldn't exactly say no or have a conversation at the moment, not with the vampire still staring at her. "Oh, come on. I promise everything will be as you left it this time."

The last time Isobelle had control, Bella's room furniture ended up on the roof, everything in the kitchen was moved to the living room and vice versa, and Old George had a moustache painted on.

I don't think so, Bella thought, trying not to outright glare at the Wolf.

Jasper watched the girl's eyes travel away from him, watched as her fingers twitched and her eyes narrowed, watched her jaw clench. All signs of anger or annoyance. And yet, he still couldn't feel any of it. It was… refreshing; being near someone and having a conversation, as one sided as it was, and not be forced to feel everything they do.

"Is something wrong?" He finally asked, gaining Bella's attention again. "You just look… upset."

"I'm fine." She shot back quickly.

He didn't' believe her, not even for a second, but nodded anyways. "As you say." He smiled.

~CV~

Eve found Bella just before she entered the cafeteria, skipping up to her from, seemingly, nowhere. The Witch latched onto her arm, grinning up at the brunette. "Bella! How has your morning been? Did you talk to anyone? Make any friends? Ooh, any enemies? How about the work? Was it hard? Or is all school work really easy for you? Can you help me with mine; I don't understand Chemistry!"

Belle raised her eyebrows, exchanging looks with Bella. "Is she even breathing?"

The girls pushed open the doors to the cafeteria, the smell of french fries, pizza, and pasta invading their noses. Bella furrowed her brows, looking down at Eve. "Um, tedious, yes, no, no, boring, not really, some subjects, and I guess so." She said, ticking off all the questions in her head. She nodded to herself when she was confident she answered them all.

Eve looked up at her like she was insane. "What?"

"Your questions, I-"

Once again that day, she was cut off before she could finish. And as fate would have it; by the same person again.

"Bella! Eve! Over here, guys!" Mike stood up from his chair, waving madly. As if they wouldn't see him. Which Bella really wished they hadn't.

She slowly turned back to Eve, her eyes narrowed. The Witch gulped, smiling sheepishly. "I may have… um, maybe said we'd sit with him and his friends." She scowled when Bella's eyes narrowed even more. "What was I supposed to do? He asked and we didn't have anywhere else to sit. We don't know anyone else."

"Yes, because sitting by ourselves is just unfathomable." Bella muttered.

Eve sighed. "It's not going to kill you to be a little more social," No, but it might kill them, Bella thought sourly. "Come on."

"Must we?" She groaned, letting Eve pull her along.

Mike grinned as they arrived at the table, wrapping his arm around Eve's shoulders and resting his hand on Bella's back. She fought the urge of shaking it off, not wanting to be rude to him again. Even if he deserved it. "Guys, this is Bella and Eve. That's Eric," He pointed to an Asian boy with glasses and dark hair who offered a friendly, albeit lingering, look. "Ben," The boy next to him waved, his own dark hair mostly hidden beneath a beanie. "Angela," Another girl with long hair and glasses. "And Jessica and Lauren." He finished. The two could have been barbie lookalikes.

Eve beamed, tucking her white bangs behind one ear. "It's nice to meet you all."

One of the barbies screwed up their face in disgust, her green eyes roaming over both girls. "Why are you dressed like that?"

Bella and Eve looked at each other and then their clothes, trying to comprehend what Lauren meant. Isobelle cocked her head to the side, staring at Lauren. "Well, looks like we've found the bitch of the group. Not that she doesn't have a point; your wardrobe could use some work. All your clothes just scream teenager." The Wolf had an obsession with suits and ties and vests. Bella couldn't count how many mornings she woke up in fancy clothes after Isobelle was loose for the night.

Angela smiled weakly, clearing her throat. "Well I like it; this group could use a change from preps, jocks, and nerds." She laughed, pushing her glasses back up her nose with a grin.

"Yeah, now we've got emo's." Jessica muttered.

Ben scratched his chin. "I think they're alternative. Not emo."

Mike nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah; emo's are the ones with the tight pants and all the makeup. Like Stacy and her friends." He said, pointing across the room.

"But Lauren and Jessica wear tight clothes and a butt-load of makeup." Eric said. The two Barbies huffed and scoffed, taking mirrors out of their enormous purses to look at themselves.

Slowly Bella's eyes travelled back to Eve who had another sheepish look on her face for the bad choice of agreeing to sit with these people. Bella sighed deeply, folding her arms on the table in front of herself, hiding her face in them. Eve leaned in close as the group around them continued to argue about what classified people as emo's, jocks, and preps. "I'm sorry, Bella. We can sit alone tomorrow."

She groaned loudly.

This was still just the very first day.

Joy.

~CV~

The Cullens sat at their table in the back of the cafeteria, trying to block out everyone else's conversations so they could have their own. It was just Edward, Alice, and Emmett; the three still waiting for Jasper and Rosalie to arrive. Jasper had sent them a text just a few minutes earlier saying he had met one of the new girls. Edward had also met one of them, the younger one named Eve, and was currently filling the other two in.

He ran a hand through his bronze locks, sitting back in his chair with a smile. "She's quite friendly, and polite, too. Struggled a little in class; I don't think she likes Chemistry."

Emmett waved it off with a grin. "Who does - but get to the good stuff; could you read her mind?" He seemed quite excited about this, though Alice was already nodding her head.

"Yes, I could." Edward replied, shaking his head as Emmett pouted. "I assume it is the other girl whose mind I can't read." He made a face, not looking forward to meeting Eve's sister. Although, she never outright said that this 'Bella' was her sister.

Both the blonde Cullens sat down at the table, Rosalie's hand reaching out for Emmett's, and Jasper pulling his chair up next to Edward's. Alice struggled to keep her smile in place, looking up at Jasper with as much chipper as she could. "So? What is Bella like? That was her name, right?"

Jasper nodded. "Yes, and she's most infuriating!"

A look of shock made its way around the table at the quietest Cullen's outburst. Rosalie furrowed her brows, already not liking this new girl. "Why? What did she do?"

Jasper shook his head, ignoring Edward's little smile and tried not to laugh himself. "Well, nothing really. I mean; I've just never met someone as…as… well, for lack of a better term; mysterious."

A booming laugh escaped Emmett, Rosalie's guard lowering again while Alice and Edward snickered. The humans around the school had deemed all the Cullens odd and mysterious, Jasper more so because he was so quiet and avoided people like the plague. It was amusing to see the shoe on the other foot. "She's mysterious, is she, brother?"

Jasper huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, yes. Every time I tried to talk to her or ask questions; she would reply with vague, one worded answers. And forget about anything personal; she'd answer with another question and before I knew it; I had told her our story instead of finding out hers." He grumbled to himself. "So, she know's about our 'adoption' and everything, and we know nothing about her or the other one."

"I'd hardly classify that as mysterious, Jazz." Alice chirped. "I'd say shy, or socially awkward."

The blonde shifted in his seat, his brows furrowing again. "There were other things, too. It was kind of weird, she's really… different. And odd." He looked over to Edward who frowned, seeing his memories of the girl's strange behaviour. "Even more odd than us."

"Oh hey, look over there, Bella. It's Edward and his family." The Cullens all paused, hearing their brother's name.

They looked across the room to one of the 'popular' tables. The group seemed to have gained two new members, though they hardly fit in; not that Eric, Angela, and Ben ever really fit in either. A skater and two geeks. Jessica leaned closer to the new girls, lowering her voice. "You met the Cullens already?"

Eve nodded happily. "Yes, I've got Chemistry with Edward and he told me a little about them."

Bella's head whipped up, her eyes widening in panic. "You have Chemistry with…him?" She had almost called him an it. Eve nodded, confusion colouring her face. The brunette tried to act casual, offering a deceiving smile. "So; you're really not getting Chemistry? You don't really like it, either; how about you drop the class? Biology is much easier, and I think you'd like it."

The Witch frowned, wondering why Bella was being so… lenient. Usually she'd tell the younger girl to suck it up and keep trying; helping her if she'd need it. "Well, I mean, I'd like to." She said, then remembering Bella's words. "But you can't just quit or give up when something's hard; you'll never accomplish anything like that. I'll need that credit."

Great. Perfect. Of all the times to listen to my advice, she chooses NOW? Bella's smile turned strained, ignoring Isobelle snickering behind her. "That's… true, but you don't really need a Chemistry credit, specifically, do you? Wouldn't any science credit be enough?"

"Yes, I do - Bella, why are you acting so strange?" Eve asked.

"I'm not, I just don't want you to have even more stress than you already do. New house, new city, new school, new people; why add hard work to that?" She smiled, feeling like her face was going to crack. When was the last time she had smiled this much? And fake smiles hurt even more than real ones. Bella desperately wished Eve would just agree with her and drop the class already.

Sitting next to a vampire all class, oblivious.

The girl had serious problems with attracting danger to herself; first a Werewolf, now a Vampire.

"I'm staying in Chemistry, Bella." Eve said firmly.

The brunette bit her trembling lip, the muscles in her face feeling like they were on fire from all the work it took to keep the smile on her face. "Good for you." She squeaked out.

Slowly, Jasper turned back to everyone at the table. All of the golden eyes were filled with confusion of what had just happened. He shook his head, resting his chin in his palm with his elbow on the table.

"Told you."

~CV~

"Vampires?"

Bella wiped the sweat from her forehead, grabbing the steel chains and began tugging on them. "Yeah," She panted. "Vampires. Suck your blood, sparkle in the sun, Vampires."

She had been in the cellar below the basement for fifteen minutes, finding the most sturdy, but largest room. There was one with a small light in the middle of the ceiling with a large, cement door as the only entrance and exit. She had taken off the door knob on the inside so that the only way to open the door was from the outside; the space between the door and wall too small for her fingers to slip into to grab and pull the door. Eve had helped her screw lanterns up in all the corners of the room, and since then they had been talking about school while Bella drilled in hooks and loops in the walls, ceiling, and floor. She had gotten Eve to lock the one end of each of the chains to all the hooks and loops with silver locks. At the other ends were different sized shackles for her wrists, ankles, and neck.

In a portable mini fridge across the room were dozens of water bottles, a few jars that had necklaces with long chains in them, and on top of the fridge was a box with Wolfbane in it. She had to drink and wear the watered down Wolfbane before the moon came out those nights, so that the Wolf would be weakened enough to not be able to break the steel chains.

Full moons kind of sucked for Bella.

"Ohh. So that's why you wanted me to drop Chemistry." Eve gasped. "Wow; the Cullens are vampires!"

"Duh," Bella sighed, flopping down onto the cement floor, exhausted.

Eve sat down next to her, frowning as she played with her shoe laces. "Well that sucks; I met another one last period. Her name's Alice; you'd really like her."

"Vampire, Eve. That one in History, Jasper, was lucky he didn't bring out Belle and the Wolf. Being around two, or five, would most definitely." She took a deep breath, trying to let go of the stress.

She had enough to deal with as it was; she didn't need to worry about like a Vampire or not.

~CV~

Author's Note: Well there you have it, folks; chapter two. The girls' first day of school complete, and Bella met a Cullen. I also wanted to thank all you guys who reviewed the first chapter; and hope you'll review again.

~Crushing Velvet~