Author's Note

1. I am aware that Alice can not see werewolves in her visions. Bella overlooked that fact in this chapter. Alice was talking about two seperate incidents. One, where she was actually outside watching Bella and Jacob when they were interuppted by a phone call. And the second, where Alice actually had a vision which will be explained in the next chapter.

2. Sorry for the huge gap of time between this chapter and the previous one.

These characters are purely the work of Stephenie Meyer.


"Alice," I whispered but found my voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just decided to drop by." She looked around me inside the house. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, yeah. Of course." I was nearly out of breath. And as thrilled as I was to see Alice, I thought I was dreaming or imagining things.

"Bella, it's okay," she said, putting her arms around me in a tight hug. She gave me a weak smile. "Just breathe."

"Okay. I mean, yeah, I know," I was mumbling now. Why was she here? Her face turned to me cold. Her eyes seemed to pierce through my skull.

"Alice, what's going on?" I asked in a shrill but oddly quiet voice.

"Bella… he's coming, isn't he?"

"Who?" I asked in an innocent voice, but I knew who she meant.

"Bella, you know who. I saw you invite him." It was useless to play dumb. Alice saw me invite him over here so I might as well come clean.

"Yep, he's coming," I mustered up my best "I'm sorry" face, Alice didn't look convinced. Then, she did something shocking – she smiled. Not a normal smile, but a sickly sweet smile. Then, she hugged me. I returned the gesture hesitantly.

"Um… Alice."

"Oh, Bella!" she almost yelled "I'm so happy!"

"Huh? Alice, what are you talking about?" I was so confused, why would she be happy about a werewolf coming to visit me? Vampires and werewolves were mortal – well, immortal—enemies. I couldn't fathom her joy of Jacob Black coming to my house. She pulled away from me and looked at me with onyx eyes.

"What do you mean, Bella? I saw…" her voice trailed off.

"Alice," I began, trying to keep my voice even, "What exactly did you see?"

"Well," she started, "I saw…"

"Yes…"

"I saw you and Jacob… well… you know."

"What?" I said in an impatient voice.

"Well, um… Bella, come on…"

"What, Alice. Tell me I can't read minds," the bitter yet ironic joke made me wince but Alice didn't seem to notice.

"I saw you guys kissing…" It was strange hearing her voice so soft. Alice's voice wasn't the loudest but it was the quietist I had ever heard her speak.

"What?" It was the only thing I could say. I hadn't kissed Jacob, yet. And the thought had crossed my mind before but that only time when we were about to and Charlie interrupted us with a call. I was actually relieved he did. My mind flickered back to Alice.

"Alice, I hate to hurt your feelings or anything, but I don't think that will happen. At least, I don't want it to. You see, I don't think I'm ready after…" I couldn't continue any further. I felt the pain come again. This time it wasn't shallow and sharp at it had been so many times before. This pain was deep, throbbing, and nearly unbearable. I dropped to my knees.

"Bella?" Alice was at my side in an instant. "Bella, stay here." I don't know why she told me that, because she was back at my side in no less than two seconds with a glass of water. "Here, Bella, drink this." I gulped it down and the pain subsided but still lingered. Alice gently carried and set me on the couch, disappeared and reappeared with a pillow. She propped the pillow behind my back and I dryly thanked her. My voice was hoarse and it felt like sandpaper as if I had screamed my lungs out. Probably from holding back tears. Alice sat next to me and cradled me in her arms, gently patting my back. I hadn't even thought of the subject until now.

I was trying to avoid it but Alice sensed my tension. She looked at me, her eyes seemed darker. I was glad to have a friend, not a friend like Jessica or Angela, but someone who loved me, truly did. I knew I had to just spit it out and tell Alice, she would most likely understand.

"Alice," I hesitated.

"Yes, Bella?" It seemed as if she knew what I was going to ask her, but she couldn't it was a split-second decision. Well, maybe it doesn't take a vision for her to know.

"Where… is he? I mean…"

"He's somewhere in Bolivia," Alice said, stopping me from forcing out the question. "He wants to come back, Bella. He does, but…" I held up my hand to stop her.

"It's fine, Alice. You really don't have to explain." I forced a weak smile and she grinned back but it didn't have the same Alice warmth to it. She seemed nervous and somehow anxious and her eyes were alert.

"He's not in Bolivia? Is he Alice?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her. "Alice, is he here? In Forks?" Her eyes flashed out side and in a second, she was gone.

After the many times I called Alice's name and wondered what accounted for her bizarre behavior, I realized maybe I was crazy. Maybe all of this was a foolish dream and any moment I would wake up. But when the doorbell rang, I realized it wasn't I was awake. I opened the door, expecting to see Alice and her tiny figure dancing into the house. Instead, it was Jacob Black who's arrival came at the worst time. I knew my eyes were red and puffy from crying. My face was probably paler than usual. He seemed happy to see me nonetheless.

"Hey, Bella." He said with a smirk. I couldn't help but beam widely like a child at Christmas time.

"Jacob!" He must have taken my enthusiasm for sarcasm.

"Oh, hey. Are you okay?" He asked, a concerned look in his eyes.

"No, no. I'm fine," I said, but in a weak tone. He didn't buy it.

"Bells, were you crying?" He questioned, looking at me with a suspicious hint in his facial expression.

"Well, yeah. But I'm fine now. You have nothing to worry about," I smiled again but he still looked at me warily. He stepped toward me and gave me a huge hug. It crushed my bones, but he eventually relaxed and I did too. We stood there for a minute, holding each other. I smiled as I breathed in his warm, fresh scent and wanted to stay there longer than he allowed. He backed away and gave me an affectionate smile. Maybe Alice was right, maybe we would do what she saw.

"So, how are things?" He asked, coming into the house. His nose scrunched up and he had a face of disgust. "Bella, why do I smellthem?" I forgot about vampires and werewolves' impeccable sense of smell and sound. I gave him an innocent look and he looked at me, angry. "Bella, were any of them here?!" his voice boomed throughout the living room and echoed.

"Yes," I said in a small voice. "Only Alice." Jacob seemed less annoyed, but still fuming anyhow

"Is that why you look upset, Bells?" he came towards me as I felt a warm drop run down my face. I nodded my head weakly. He took his hands and with his index fingers, wiped the tears from my face. I was sobbing now and he picked me up and carried me to the couch as Alice had done. He put his arms around my shoulders and rubbed my back soothingly. My crying was halted when the door burst open and Alice was standing there, she was shaking. I immediately got up, with Jacob close behind. Alice came in and shut the door behind her.

"Bella, Edward is close. He's coming here." She said.