Midnight's Pixie

I own nothing. Stephenie does. Some lines from Midnight Sun have been used in this chapter. No infringement of rights intended.

My surroundings went hazy and I let a small gasp escape between my lips. Jasper's arms immediately encircled around my waist. Until this moment, I had tried to give Edward as much privacy as I could. And yet, he had always been on my mind, my visions catching little peeks of him as he wavered from one decision to the next. Now his mind was made up.

A car speeding through the snow covered roads. Crossing the Washington state line. Carlisle's black Mercedes whipping into the familiar hidden drive.

I sighed and Jasper's hands softly caressed my hair. His lips pressed softly to my bare shoulder and I shivered at the contact. After over half a century together, his touch still set a fire burning in my skin. His chin nestled into the crook of my neck and I leaned back into his sculpted chest.

"Your mood changed. You're not anxious anymore. Edward made his choice, didn't he? And you're happy, so that must mean he's coming back."

I smiled. "Yes; he'll be back in time for school tomorrow." I twisted my head to press my cool lips to Jasper's cheek and then slid off our bed. I shimmied into a light cotton sundress and danced out the door to tell Carlisle and Esme the good news.

We were on top alert at school. Today, I was keeping my psychic eyes on Edward instead of Jasper. I knew it was driving him insane, but it was for his own good – for all of us. As we entered the cafeteria, I quickly scrutinized the future.

"It's going to be okay," I breathed in relief. Nothing had been out of place. We moved forward, Jasper guiding me as I kept an eye on the future, Rosalie and Emmett in front of us.

"Of course it is," Edward mumbled. I knew he was not enjoying this. The others had been in a more playful mood due to the light dusting of snow outside, but that had immediately transformed into a bodyguard mindset, at least from Jasper and Emmett. Rosalie was moving cautiously as well, but her annoyance with the entire situation flowed from her every movement.

Isabella Swan – Bella, as Edward had corrected me earlier -- would be entering the cafeteria upwind from our usual table.

"She's not here yet," I said softly. "But the way she's going to come in… she won't be downwind if we sit in our regular spot." I glanced into the future to see how Edward to take it if she scent reached us.

He was beyond irritated. Beside him, I feel that Jasper was a bit assumed at the change of positions that fate had put Edward in. "Of course we'll sit in our regular spot. Stop it, Alice. You're getting on my nerves. I'm absolutely fine."

I vaguely felt Jasper lower me onto a chair and then blinked as my surrounding became clear once again. I stared at Edward for a moment, seeking out anything in his expression that might suggest his control was less than perfect. All I could see was frustration.

"Hmmm" I pondered for a second. "I think you're right," I finally decided, a little shocked that he was so in charge of himself after the unexpected reaction we had seen from him last week.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Of course I am." He glanced over at Jasper for a moment and then lowered his eyes, frowning at the table.

Jasper leaned back in his chair and gave me a little smirk. Apparently, he was very amused at the turn of events. I smiled softly at him and then refocused my thoughts back on Edward's immediate future.

Jasper's voice broke me out of my haze. "Anything new?" he had asked Edward.

Edward's face crumpled. I was sure than he had been searching the student's minds around us, listening to any thought about what the girl would have told them about her bizarre interaction with a Cullen last week.

He shook his head slightly. "Nothing. She… must not have said anything."

We all stared at him in shock. Even someone who had not known the reasons behind his behavior would have found it strange, frightening even.

Emmett was the first of us to recover. He chuckled quietly. "Maybe you're not as scary as you think you are. I bet I could have frightened her better than that."

Edward rolled his eyes, not very amused.

"Wonder why…" Emmett voiced the question I was sure all of us were mulling around in our heads.

"We've been over that. I don't know." The fact that this human girl's mind was inaccessible to Edward was definitely a first. Carlisle had tried to think of a reason behind it, but was still at a loss.

Isabella – Bella, I corrected myself – was right outside the cafeteria, following slightly behind Jessica and Mike.

"She's coming in," I warned the others. "Try to look human."

I saw Edward go rigid at my words. Emmett, however, chuckled. "Human, you say?" He raised his hand slightly, revealing a clump of ice that, no doubt, had started out as a snowball. He eyed Jasper, but I saw what he truly intended. My hand was in position before he had even released the chunk of ice and I flicked it away with a twitch of my fingers. The smallest chuck fell into my laps and I quickly shredded it into a hundred shards my palms. I was already plotting my revenge.

The ice ball flew across the cafeteria into the wall at the opposite end of the room. I heard the brick shutter and crack under the force of the ice. The ice shattered and fell wetly to the tile floor. A soft murmur rippled through the students closest to the impact, whispers questioning who had thrown the ice.

Rosalie looked sharply at Emmett. "Very human, Emmett. Why don't you punch through a wall while you're at it?"

Emmett smirked and dipped his head into the crook of Rosalie's neck. "It would look more impressive if you did it, baby," He cooed softly to her. A small smile pulled her lips up and she leaned her golden head onto his massive black curls.

"You're so foolish and reckless," she chided him lovingly.

We heard the cafeteria door hinges grind open and three pairs of shoes squeak as their wet treads marched across the tile floor. Edward gulped in a quick breath of air and then held his breath. I saw him glance quickly toward the lunch line and then back to the table. His expression, which had been set in a gentle smile, twisted into a painful grimace for a moment before he composed his feature back into a casual grin.

Bella Swan looking toward the Cullen table.

I elbowed Edward in the ribs. She's going to look up soon, act human.

Edward's teeth snapped together behind his grin.

"Ease up, Edward," Emmett said. He straightened up in his seat and shrugged. "Honestly. So you kill one human. That's hardly the end of the world."

"You would know," Edward whispered harshly.

Emmett's curls shook as he laughed. "You've got to learn to get over things. Like I do. Eternity is a long time to wallow in guilt."

Ah, my perfect time to strike. Bella would see this moment and I was sure it would defuse any question in her mind that our family was strange and vicious. I swiftly gathered the shredded ice into my hand and flicked it into Emmett's face. He blinked, taken aback by my actions and then grinned mischievously.

"You asked for it!" He shook out his ice covered curls at me and I giggled as the ice caressed my skin.

Rosalie cringed away from the half melted ice. I raised my tray as a shield, which Rose and I hid behind. Jasper and Edward chuckled as well, shaking out the dampness that still clung to their hair as well.

The mood had definitely been lightened. Even when Edward turned his stare toward Bella, the rest of us kept up the appearance of a regular, normal teenage family. Emmett was smoothing Rosalie's already perfect golden hair, twisting the ends in his fingers as he gazed lovingly at her. Jasper grinned at me from across the table and for a moment, his rich, topaz eyes captured my entire being. I loved it when he looked at me that way. My heart, had it been beating, would have fluttered at a hundred miles an hour. My breath still caught a little in my throat and his lips stretched further into a smile.

Ten minutes later, the bell to dismiss lunch rang shrilly through the hall. We all remained seated, watching Edward. I quickly searched through the next hour. This was Edward's only class without one of us, and that had me worried. Would he be able to endure sitting next to her for 50 minutes? To feel the heat of her body, see her blood pulse through her veins, hear her heartbeat… smell her tempting blood? In my mind, it appeared that he would be able to withstand it… but I wasn't positive. His future, his decision set so firmly for the moment, could change in a split second of weakness.

I hesitated. "I… think its okay. Your mind is set. I think you'll make it through the hour."

"Why push it, Edward?" Jasper asked. I frowned at the hint of smugness I could hear in my husband's tone. "Go home. Take it slow." He should be more encouraging. He, of all people, knew what it was like to have that kind of pressure on you. Yet…I couldn't help feeling that in a way, he was right. Why risk it?

"What's the big deal?" Emmett waved a big, white hand dismissively. "Either he will or he won't kill her. Might as well get it over with, either way."

Rosalie's lips turned down into a frown. "I don't want to move yet," she protested. "I don't want to start over. We're almost out of high school, Emmett. Finally."

We all turned back to Edward, his face a canvas of emotions. He was struggling internally. His future wavered between staying at school and risking our entire livelihood or cutting class and staying away for a while longer. Suddenly, his future became visibly clearer. I could see him walking into the biology room and taking his seat beside Bella.

I cocked my head to the side, contemplating. Finally, I decided he was as set in his decision as he would ever be. "No, Rose," I comforted her. "I think it really will be okay. It's… firming up. I'm ninety-three percent sure that nothing bad will happen if he goes to class." I looked at him curiously, trying to figure out what exactly had set his mind so firmly.

Edward nodded, his determination written on his face. "Go to class," he order. He got up from the table and strode from the cafeteria confidently. I wish I shared that confidence too… for now, all I could do was worry and watch.

Bella ran her fingers through her hair. Edward stiffened and his future wavered.

I shuttered as I reentered into the present. Rosalie looked at me with concern, her brows drawn together and her lips pinched. I released a shaky breath and conveyed through my eyes the anxiety I was feeling.

I quickly raised my hand, trembling slightly. Mr. Jefferson, our government and economics teacher, nodded toward me.

"May I please be excused to the restroom?" I asked urgently.

"By all means," the balding man gestured to the door. "Your sister can catch you up on anything you might miss."

I all but sprinted from the classroom, my book bag and notebook in tow. I was vaguely aware of my surrounding as I walked quickly toward the biology room, visions flashing in and out of my head, checking Edward's every moment. This was a critical situation; one we should have made more preparations for…

Edward grasping the edge of the table.

Edward leaning away from the girl.

I squeezed my eyes tight. Please don't let the monster win. Hold on, Edward, be strong!

Edward… hazy…

Oh no! I was almost to the building. Jasper was suddenly at my side, his hand on my shoulder. The bell rang.

Edward running for the door.

I let out an exhausted sigh and collapsed into Jasper's muscular arms. He half carried me over to a picnic table and set me down on the damp, moss covered wood. He knelt in front of me, rubbing my knees, his face tense with worry.

"Alice," he murmured. He caressed my face and a wave of serenity washed over me from head to toe. The tension faded from my shoulders and my face relaxed. I lowered my head to his shoulder, nestling into his strong neck, breathing in his warm scent.

"It was so close, Jasper," I breathed out a heavy sigh. "So close…"