*Author's Note* Thank you for the reviews so far, I definitely appreciate it and they have encouraged me to get this chapter finished quicker! This chapter came along pretty quickly, but I haven't started on the next one yet. I'll try to get them up as soon as possible, I hate to leave you hanging (hint, reviews were encouragement, hint)! And if you like what you read, please check out my short story "Monster", it's gotten no love so far. Hope you enjoy this chapter! And, as always characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

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We run, we hide

We wait and we want the good life

Aw sure, you're right

This ain't the good life

INXS - Elegantly Wasted

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I smile crept onto my face as Jasper and I entered the Newton's huge house; this was my kind of party, the kind where anything goes. I could see a DJ in the next room where people were dancing and I could feel the beat of the music pounding into me, making me tap my foot to the rhythm. There were crowds of people and I recognized at least a few people in each group. I turned to comment on it to Jasper when I realized he was gone. I was standing by myself in the busy entranceway – that's never a good thing. My party experiences have taught me that you've got to be hanging out with someone; standing by yourself gives people a bad impression. And we had more than enough reasons for them to dislike us already. Nobody knew what we really were, but most had caught on that we were dangerous. I couldn't afford to deepen that fear further; I would never get laid again.

I began to walk towards the kitchen, exchanging pleasantries with people, though I wasn't fond of anyone I saw. It didn't matter though; I just smiled and nodded whenever they called out to me, never letting on that I could kill them with the slightest movement. Girls called to me – some I recognized as one-night-stands and others who were hoping for that chance. They wouldn't get it. As I looked around, I saw nobody marginally attractive that I hadn't already conquered. It was like the hospital fundraiser all over again. I rolled my eyes and continued into the kitchen. I found a table full of drinks and picked one up; I had no intention of touching the vile liquid inside, but I had to keep up appearances. But at a party like this, I doubted anybody would have even noticed if I pulled out a deer and drank its blood right in the middle of the room. Like I said, this was my kind of party.

I pretended to take a sip of my beer and surveyed the room, trying to find any cute girl and make eye contact with her; I was determined to get laid tonight, but at the rate I was going, I would end up alone and horny.

Just perfect.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard someone frantically calling my name in their thoughts. I turned towards the direction the voice had come from, but all I could see was a hand waving to me from among a crowd, slowly making it's way over to me. I craned my neck and smiled when I finally saw the owner of the voice. Alice finally made her way out from the crowd and stopped a few feet in front of me. She was so short and I loved giving her grief about it; I acted like I was looking above her for the source of the voice and finally after I few moments of 'searching' I dropped my chin down and acted surprised when I saw her. She had since put her hands on her hips and was giving me a stern glare, yet I could see a playful smile on her lips.

"There you are, Alice! I forgot I had to look down to find you." I teased, mocking her by also putting my hands on my hips.

"Very funny Edward", she snapped, "I forgot I had to look for the gigantic ego to find you." She glared at me again but couldn't hold back the smile that she had been trying hide. "I'm so glad you came, Edward!" She exclaimed while jumping forward and hugging me. I hugged her back and then bent down to kiss her on her forehead. The animosity I had felt for her earlier had almost completely dissipated once I saw her. Almost.

"I'm glad you got me out of there, Alice. Took you long enough though." I smiled down at her – she had a great smile, really big and friendly. She was always so perky and happy, and just an all-around fun person to be around. I really did love her. We had never hooked up or anything, our relationship wasn't like that, plus she and Jasper had been together for as long as I had known her, but Alice had always been my kindred spirit, bonded over our special abilities. She was a true friend, even when she did drive me absolutely insane with her psychic bullshit.

"So, what are you doing here all by yourself, huh?" She inquired while wrapping her arms around my waist and looking up at me with those golden eyes and gorgeous smile.

"He's not by himself." I looked up to see Jasper had made his way to Alice's side. I let go of her from our embrace and allowed him to slip his arm around the waist of his wife. He kissed her lips softly and murmured a quiet hello to her.

"Where did you go?" I questioned Jasper, still irked that he had disappeared on me.

Jasper nodded towards Alice, "I went to find her. Turns out, she was looking for you. And here we are."

"Oh, I'm so excited for you Edward!" Alice exclaimed, practically bouncing up in down in Jasper's arms.

I was immediately suspicious, "Why? Why are we here?" Generally when Alice was this excited for me it meant she had just overhauled my wardrobe.

"Well, Jasper's here to keep me company." She smiled up at him. "And, you're here because there's someone I want you to meet!"

A new wardrobe would have been a welcome surprise compared to that. I threw my arms up in the air and groaned. Alice was forever trying to thwart my player lifestyle, and I had thought she was over the whole thing. She had put me through hell the last time she tried to set me up. It never ended well and she knew that. I would fuck the girl, immediately get bored, and then dump her. And then Alice would get mad and sulk for days at a time. Which in turn would make Jasper upset with me, and then Esme would get upset…it was just a long, horrible cycle of guilt. All because Alice already had my wedding tuxedo picked out and was getting impatient to see me in it.

Definitely not worth it.

Alice grinned up at me giddily and Jasper smirked, always entertained by my reactions to Alice's overbearing ways.

"Alice, I'm not interested." Her face immediately fell. Somehow, she had actually been under the impression that I would go along with her little scheme. I felt guilty for upsetting her, but she really brought it on herself.

"Just meet her, Edward! Please!"

"Have you even met her, Alice?" I demanded.

"No…but I know she's perfect for you. Her name is Bella, she's really pretty and she's so sweet."

"Sweet? That means she's a prude." I snapped. "You've now downgraded her from a 'no' to a 'hell no'".

Alice's eyes narrowed and she stomped her foot. She was getting very angry now. Jasper's smirk was gone, replaced by a pleading look. His thoughts were directed at me, begging me to just humor her so she would calm down. He knew just how toxic her temper could be. I stared into Jasper's eyes for a moment longer, trying to fight off the submissive emotions he was currently hurling at me. His ability, like Alice's, was really starting to annoy me.

"Fine." I finally gave in.

"Yes!" Alice jumped into my arms and squeezed me tight. I lightly wrapped my arms around her out of courtesy and glared at Jasper over her head. He just shrugged. He thought I was being melodramatic.

"Bite me, Jasper." I hissed at him. He grinned, showing off his razor sharp teeth. He made an exaggerated biting motion at me. I growled back, angry that everyone else seemed to be getting pleasure out of my annoyances.

"Aren't you excited?" Alice finally jumped off of me and back into Jasper's waiting arms. She hugged him tightly, obviously pleased with herself.

"Oh, yeah, I'm thrilled that you are attempting to ruin my existence yet again." Maybe I was being just a little melodramatic

"Oh, come on, I add excitement to your life, Edward! You're lucky to have me." She beamed deviously and before I could stop her, she said aloud what else she had been thinking.

"Besides, if it wasn't for me, you would still be at the banquet, and then you would be going home to jerk off."

Jasper tried to suppress a chuckle as I glared at Alice. She didn't care at all if she angered me now, not when she knew she had already gotten her way. I mentally reinstated the previous insults I had made about her; she was a vicious little monster.

"So, does that mean I'm going to get laid tonight?" I said through gritted teeth. I could feel Jasper trying to calm me down again.

Alice paused for a moment, replaying the vision in her head.

"No, you're not going to get laid. But that doesn't matter, because you're going to meet a fantastic girl."

It wasn't worth the effort to fight her anymore.

"Where is she?" I sighed.

"She's not here yet," Alice paused to recheck the vision again. "But she'll be here in about twenty seconds."

"Great. Fantastic." I laced my voiced with sarcasm as I scanned over the crowd towards the front door. Alice reached out and grabbed my hand, dragging both Jasper and me back to the main hallway. She was frighteningly strong for such a small creature.

The door began to open as we reached the hall. Jessica Stanley came in first and I cringed. She had been a mistake. Behind her was Angela Weber. Another mistake, though less annoying then Jessica. Then came Lauren Mallory. Huge mistake. And finally, there was another figure, one I didn't recognize, shyly inching through the open door. I felt Alice grip my hand harder as she hopped up and down beside me. She whispered so softly that only Jasper and I had the potential to hear her.

"That's her, Edward." She breathed. "That's Bella."