Chapter 2

"Alice can you please stop dawdling, we only have a few hours left till guests arrive," My mother's stern gaze forced me to put my head down and move my feet faster. I didn't want to go to this stupid millennium party why did I have to help decorate it?

I shuffled into the large metal barn, struggling underneath the weight of the box I was carrying. Kate and a few other parents were chatting to each other about where to place the hay bales for people to sit on, my mother joined them as she walked into the space. My father wasn't at home at the moment, mum said that he had to go away on business but I'm not sure where he is or if that's true.

They haven't been fighting as much recently, well, not in front of my sister and me, but I know that dad has been sleeping on the sofa downstairs and he's barely around anymore.

Jasper keeps telling me that the 'no fighting' is a good sign but I can't really take his word for it, his family seems to like each other more than mine do so I'm not sure he has a lot of experience in the matter.

Rosalie and Jasper were currently jumping around and climbing up the bales of hay whilst I placed my fourth box of decorations on the ground.

It's been a couple of months and Rosalie still hasn't warmed to me, the rest of the Whitlock family has been kinder. I think I spend more time at their house than at my own – much to my parent's disgust. They have no problem with me being friends with Jasper and Rosalie but I always hear them making comments about how Kate and Jude are bringing up their children.

"Alice you've still got more boxes to bring out from the car," Cynthia came up from behind me carrying a tangled mess of fairy lights; "and then you can help me sort these out."

By 'help' Cynthia generally means 'do it for me'.

I continued to bring the boxes out from the car as the adults talked and the rest of the children played. I untangled the fairy lights for Cynthia and I helped Jude move a stack of sound equipment and chairs into a section of the barn.

The decorations were hung by the time my mum and I managed to move all of the hay bales around the area for people to sit on as they ate food that was to be cooked on the barbecue that Kate had just rolled in.

By this point Jasper and Rosalie were nowhere to be seen, neither were any of the other children from the village. I hadn't really gotten to know them yet as I wasn't starting the primary school till the new term arrived. Apparently I wouldn't be in the same year as any of the people I had already met. Rosalie and I were both born in the same year but there was some strange cut off date for birthdays in September, so I was put in the year below.

I wasn't looking forward to school.

Cynthia got a lift back to the house with my mother after we had finished our work on the barn for the party; I chose to walk as it would lead me past the Whitlock's house.

Kate walked with me across the village.

"How was your Christmas Alice?" She asked as we strolled through the high street. Her hands were in her pocket and a wool hat was pulled down over her forehead, highlighting her rosy cheeks caused by the chill.

"Quiet," I replied, "Gran came down from Scotland but fell asleep on the sofa when we opened our presents." Not a lot else happened, there was some arguing between my sister and my mum. And then my mum and my dad. And then my mum and her mum. But other than that it was quiet.

We filled the rest of the walk with a discussion about the local primary school I would be attending.

When we finally reached the Whitlock's house my legs ached and my hands were numb from the cold. I was tired from carrying boxes and hay bales and chairs from earlier and the party hadn't even started yet. Kate invited me in for hot chocolate before I went through the woods to my own home.

Jasper and his older sister, Mary, were playing chess in the kitchen and the kettle was already boiling.

Mary invited me to sit on her lap as Kate organised the cups.

"This piece here," she pointed to a figure which looked like a horse head, "is a knight. They can only move like this." Mary proceeded to show me the L shaped pattern in which the horse figure could move.

I drank my hot chocolate as Mary continued to show me how chess worked, which pieces could move which way. We were interrupted when the phone rang and Kate told me my mum wanted me home.

I wrapped myself up and trudged through the woods back to my own house, still with a belly full of warm hot chocolate.

By the time my sister had chosen the perfect outfit to wear to this millennium party it was around seven o' clock. My mother piled us into the car, dad still wasn't here but nothing was said about his absence. We drove down to the barn in the village and parked with all of the other residents that lived on the outskirts of the village. The lights were flashing in the large metal building, illuminating the entranceway floor with blues and pinks.

I followed my family inside tugging at the dress that my mum had forced me to wear for the occasion. Cynthia and our mum walked off towards the adults, leaving me to find my own friends.

The party was smoky from some sort of machine by the DJ equipment; I found Jasper and Rosalie with a few other kids sitting at the top of a pile of hay bales at the back of the barn. I climbed closer to them and began to realise they were playing a game with cards.

"Hey Alice! Come join in, you can be on my team," Jasper grinned at me and patted the space next to him for me to sit. Rosalie rolled her eyes and placed a card face down on the pile in the middle.

"One ace," she smirked as every gave her sceptical looks.

"Ah but is it really an ace?" A stocky boy with short black hair questioned, "or are you a... Cheat!" He turned the card that Rosalie had placed over as he accused her. It was in fact and ace and the boy groaned, collecting all of the cards in the pile and placing them in with the rest of his hand.

"Never doubt me Emmett, for I will always outsmart you," Rosalie grinned.

I grasped the aim of the game as they played; when their game finished I was dealt in as my own team. Safe to say I didn't win on my first go, seeing as I was too afraid to cheat. I feel I have a guilty face.

Jasper quickly placed all of his cards down on the deck and yelled "four fives" and before anyone could call that blatant cheat Emmett placed his card down swiftly and shouted "one six!"

This ended the game, as Jasper had gotten rid of his cards and no one had called him on it.

"No fair!" Rosalie stood up outraged, "you conspired together! You cheated!"

Emmett and Jasper sat back and smirked at her,

"Well that is the aim of the game Rosalie; it's called Cheat isn't it?" Jasper jeered.

Rosalie made a sound of frustration, "I'm going to get something to drink," she said and then stormed off.

"I think I might go too, does anyone want anything?" I asked and proceeded to mentally take down their orders, then followed Rosalie down the hay bales.

Before I could cross the barn to the refreshments table where Rosalie had already got to I was intercepted by my sister and two other people. Cynthia stood blocking my path and the other two flanked her. They both looked around the same age as Jasper and my sister.

"You know I've been talking to James and Victoria here and they say that you don't want to hang around with the Whitlocks," Cynthia sneered.

"Why not?" I asked

The boy stepped forwards, his long greasy pony tail falling over his shoulder as he peered down at me.

"They're weird, I hear they have no money for clothes and all have to share."

"And like has Rose ever had a bath?" Victoria laughed and Cynthia joined in.

"You don't know them," I went red, I didn't stand up to Cynthia let alone anyone else. Ever.

"Awh do you love Rose, do you fancy her Alice?" Cynthia cackled.

"Wouldn't be surprised if Rose was a lesbian, that whole family is weird," James sneered. I looked at Cynthia ready to defend Rose or me or even our Auntie Meredith who actually was a lesbian.

The combination of Cynthia's lack of caring and her friends' jesting made me snap. I leaped at James and knocked him to the ground, punching him over and over until I was taken away by someone I couldn't see. As I was pulled off of the ignorant boy in front of me I noticed I wasn't the only one who had taken action. Rose was on top of Victoria, pulling at her hair as Cynthia was pushing Rosalie trying to get her away.

I was dragged backwards away from the fighting and towards the hay bales where we had sat before. The arms placed me on the lowest of the stack of bales. Jasper walked around from my side and crouched in front of me, brushing hair out of my face and checking something.

"Were you hit at all?" He asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, I could have been hit but I didn't feel it at the time and still didn't now – possibly because of the adrenalin that forced me forwards in the first place.

As I sat and Jasper checked for cuts and bruises I saw Emmett restraining a very disgruntled Rose and pulling her towards us.

He placed her on the hay bale in a similar fashion to Jasper. Rose turned to me with a wide grin and a split lip, "maybe you're not so bad after all Rocky."

I didn't get the reference but I grinned back at her as Jasper rolled his eyes at both of us.

We laughed together and Jasper checked over Rosalie before my mum came along with my sister, who had a blotchy face from crying.

"I don't care who said what and I don't care who started what we're going home and you're both grounded for a month," my mother fumed and grabbed me by the arm, as she had Cynthia, and dragged us both off towards the car.

I looked back towards my friends as I was taken away from the party; Rosalie had two thumbs up and a huge grin.

"I'll see you in a month," she called.

I hid my smile from my mother.