Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did, Edward and Jacob would never exist or I would have killed them off a long time ago.

A/n thank you to everyone who reviewed. Your feedback is appreciated a lot.

Chapter 3

It's been a month. It's been a month since Alice came back to Forks. It has only been one month since she entered my life but I can't seem to think of a time when she was not part of my life.

Things were still a little strange. In parts of our conversations, she would sometimes shake her head slightly. Or she would close her eyes taking a deep breathe, as if she was in pain and had to force herself to breathe. Sometimes she would just leave suddenly. Saying she had forgotten something or that she remembered something that she promised someone that she would do.

This someone might be dead or imaginary because he/she/it is most definitely invisible or a ghost. Either way, I have never met the someone's she always referred to.

No one seemed to notice this about her. I have even considered that I might be imagining things. It wouldn't be the first time. I tended to daydream a lot in class. Edward says that Alice was always a little weird and that I shouldn't worry about it.

But weird does not explain the tingles I feel whenever we made some form of physical contact. Weird does not explain the effect she has on me. I still stutter around her. I can't seem to remember certain parts of a conversation when she is around. And, I am more than certain that a normal friendship does not involve someone constantly thinking about their friend.

For the life of me, I still can't figure it out. If she were a guy, I would say that it was a crush but SHE is not a guy. I for one was certainly not gay. I mean I like penis. I am a huge fan of penis. I am a huge fan of Edward's penis. I loved Edward. I was in love with Edward. The more and more I repeat this the more it seems as a way to convince myself of these facts.

Still I haven't spent as much time with Edward as I used to. Lately Edward did some stuff that irritated me. He was controlling and a little possessive. Two things I hated most in a relationship. That was no excuse for why we haven't been out on our own this month. Alice or some other friend is always with us.

The lunch bell suddenly rang and shook me out of my reverie. "Hey Bella you are friends with Alice right?" Adrian suddenly asked as I crammed my things into my school bag.

"Why?" I asked glancing at him quickly. He was cute I guess, he had the surfer look going for him. Blonde hair, a nice pair of baby blue eyes and an athletic built. I knew that most girls had a crush on him. Some even said that after Edward he was the hottest guy in school.

"I just wondered if she…." He looked uncertain all of a sudden and then smiled shyly. "Had a boyfriend." He whispered the last part of the sentence. I stopped what I was doing briefly as my heart skipped a few beats.

What was that reaction just now?

I swung my bag over my shoulder turning to face him. He looked at me, his cheeks a little red but a glint of hope shining in his eyes. He and Alice would make a nice couple. The black haired beauty with the gorgeous blonde hunk, I could just picture it now. They would walk hand in hand at school. Going out on dates and then she would tell me all about their perfect first kiss.

Suddenly I felt sick. I wanted to squish his hope with a sharp comment like, "You wouldn't even stand a chance."

What the fuck? Why was the mere thought of some guy and Alice making me all jealous?

"Uh, no she doesn't." I replied quickly before I could really be a bitch. He smiled and seemed a little relieved.

"Great." He said and looking all giddy, he walked away.

I walked to the cafeteria slowly. What the fuck was going on with me? I was still trying to figure out why I had such a strong reaction to Adrian's question that I blinked in surprise when I entered the cafeteria.

I picked some random sandwich and a can of soda and made my way over to my friends. The other students still ignored Alice's table but that gave us some privacy. Some students still treated her like the plague while others talked to her and started treating her just like any other student. Angela, Eric, Edward and Alice seemed to be in deep discussion about something. They barely even noticed as I sat down.

"All I'm saying is that there is nothing wrong with a girl crush." Angela said as Edward gave me a quick kiss. As he pulled away, I noticed that Alice was finding something on her plate very interesting.

Then it dawned on me what the topic of discussion was. "Girl crush?" I asked to no one in particular.

"Yes, you know that one person you would cross the line for. It doesn't make you gay or anything." Angela informed me.

But, that would make you bisexual, right?

"I think that it is hot. There is absolutely nothing wrong with girl on girl action. You know what I'm talking about, right Edward?" Eric said and he and Edward gave each other a high-five, grinning like idiots. Ugh, men! I would never understand their strange fantasies.

"Can you act like mature men for once?" I asked and they just looked at me.

"Mature men? What is that?" Eric asked Edward who just shrugged

"Don't know. I heard they went extinct a long time ago. Or maybe they are a myth like Big Foot or the Yeti." Edward said as if thinking aloud.

"So who is your girl crush Bella?" Angela asked me ignoring Edward and Eric completely. I almost choked on my soda.

"What?"

"Oh come on Bella. I won't feel insulted or anything." Edward said placing his hand on my thigh. If it was supposed to make me feel better, it didn't.

"Yeah, Angela already confessed that she would totally go down on Megan Fox." Eric said waggling his eyebrows at Angela.

Go down on? Men could always make something like sex sound so dirty. "I didn't say it exactly like that." Angela said blushing slightly.

"And Alice said that she wouldn't mind spending the night with Olivia Wild." Edward said bumping her shoulder with his.

"I so totally wouldn't mind. She is hot." Alice said without even blinking. I had a brief flash of Alice and Olivia Wild together and that brief jealous feeling fluttered in my chess again. As if she could feel my eyes on her, she looked in my direction and our eyes met. Her blue eyes reminded me of diamonds today. They sparkled and seemed like to reflect my inner soul.

"So Bella, who would you cross the line for?" Edward asked breaking the moment between Alice and me. She cocked one of her perfect eyebrows, waiting for me to answer. Suddenly I felt like I was on a game show and this was the million dollar question.

"I don't know, Miley Cyrus maybe." I said choosing the first person that jumped into my head. Actually, I named the second person. For just a split second Alice's face swam before my eyes before I thought about Miley Cyrus. Whatever the fuck, that meant. My cheeks warmed and I knew that I was blushing. Alice was chuckling softly.

"What is so funny Alice?" I asked glaring at her.

"Nothing, you just looked so innocent that is all." She said, her eyes sparkling with amusement. She was a freaking tease.

"Well, Bella is not innocent. I can vouch for that." Edward said giving me thigh a squeeze.

Will you stop with the thigh squeezing already?

"Oh I don't need a reminder." Alice joked winking at me. I just glared at her. Suddenly I saw Adrian walking to our table. Motherfucker, was he really going to ask her out on a date?

He looked very nervous. He stopped next to the table and nervously cleared his throat.

"Uh, Alice." She looked at him and gave him one of her dimply smiles. I saw how his eyes widened and how he forced himself to swallow and look at her eyes.

"Yes." Alice said and my stomach fell slightly. Was Alice into him?

"I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go watch a movie with me this Saturday." He said giving her a pearly white smile. I knew that his smile made most girls swoon and sigh. And who could blame them. With a smile like that, he could do toothpaste commercials. How do you say no to someone like that?

Why do I want her to say no? Ugh, she is fucking hot. Guys will ask her out on dates. What do I fucking care in anyway?

"Sorry Adrian, you are really not my type." Alice said touching his arm lightly. I wondered briefly if he felt tingles when she touched him.

"Uh, ok then." He mumbled and sulked away. I sighed in relief although I didn't quite know why.

"We better get to class soon. The bell is going to ring anytime now." Angela said as she and Eric stood up and walked away hand in hand.

"I'll see you after school." Edward said leaning over to kiss me. I was only expecting a light kiss so when he passionately kissed me he completely took me by surprise. Alice's chair scraped on the linoleum and he pulled away, winking at me.

"I would like to see Miley Cyrus do that." He chuckled at his own joke as he walked of to class.

He knew I hated couples that had heavy make-out sessions at school. It was just disgusting to look at. I looked around for Alice but couldn't find her anywhere. I shrugged. We had the last two classes together. She probably just headed there already.

~.~

Alice was already sitting at her desk when I arrived at the class. Because these seats were assigned, we didn't sit next to each other. She looked up at me as I walked passed her and she gave me a wink. A warm tingle spread down my spine. Paying attention in class was harder than usual. Did I have a girl crush on Alice? Does that mean that all these strange feelings will go away? Was I just imagining things? Was I crazy?

When the bell finally rang, Alice waited for me just outside the classroom. We walked to the art classroom in silence. Even though we hurried to class, we were the last ones to arrive so we sat down quickly at our joined desk.

Mr. Clark was our art teacher and he was by far my favorite teacher. He did not mind if we talked during class as long as we did our work and kept the noise level to a minimum.

"Right, today we are going to work in pairs. You are going to ask each other five questions. Anything goes."

"Seriously?" Heath interrupted him.

"Yes when you are done, I want you to draw something that best describes your partner. For example, I like walking outdoors, I love dogs and I've never been drunk. So the picture my partner would have drawn would be something like, me walking a dog in the park with a warning sign of no alcohol allowed…." The class giggled. "Or something like that. So you get the picture." We laughed again at his stupid pun. "So what are you waiting for?"

Alice and I looked at each other. "Do you want to go first?" I asked and she shrugged.

"Ok. One, what is your worst pet peeve?" She asked. Leave it to Alice to start with the most random question ever.

"People that talk while they eat." She nodded as if in agreement. "What is your favorite past time?"

"You know the answer to this silly…..I love fashion. Designing it, wearing it or buying it." I smiled. I did know that. "Two, why don't you have pets?"

"I had a pet once, a gold fish. He died. I had to flush him down the toilette. It was really tragic. I never recovered." Alice giggled. "What is your dream destination?"

"Oh Greece. I would love to spend a year in Greece." Alice smiled, her eyes glazed over as she imagined herself doing something in Greece. "Why a year?"

"Nuh uh, it's my turn to ask the question now." She chastised making a stern face, some emotion rushed through me. Excitement maybe? She gave in and answered my question in anyway. "I want to see it in all the seasons of the year." Well that did make sense. But, it was not the answer I was expecting. "Three, Do you have any hidden talents?"

"I did ballet once. It was a disaster. The other students were more relieved that I stopped than I was."

Alice shook her head slightly. "I can't believe you actually did ballet."

I shrugged. "Ok, moving on. What are you secretly addicted to?" She whispered something that sounded like tingles. "What was that?"

"Pringles. I have a weak spot for Pringles." Alice said in a rush looking a little relieved for some reason.

See Bella only Pringles. Not tingles. Moron.

"Four, what is your greatest fear?" Alice asked before I could linger on her answer.

"Loosing someone I love." I answered without hesitating. I hesitated slightly before asking my next question but then decided I might as well ask. "Would you rather risk and love or not love at all?"

She bit her lower lip again. I had to force myself to look away from her luscious lips. "Not love at all." I finally tore my eyes away from her lips only to be sucked into her ocean blue eyes.

"W…..why?" I mumbled.

"Because, love is not always black and white. There are major shades of grey in-between." She said looking down at her hands avoiding my eyes.

She looked so sad that I instinctively reached out and touched her hand. I knew that tingles were going to spread up my hand to the rest of my arm. Yet I still let out a silent sigh of contentment when they did. Alice slid her hand from beneath mine. Instantly my hand felt colder and empty.

"Five, would you ever cheat on Edward, if you felt something for someone else?" Her question took me by surprise. Why would she ask me something like that?

"No. You might not be able to control your emotions but you can control your actions. And I would like to think that if I ever felt something for someone else then I would break things of with Edward first. It is just the right thing to do." I answered hoping that I won't go against this one day.

"What is the hardest thing you ever had to do?" I asked changing the subject away from love. Alice looked at her hands. She bit her bottom lip and I had to suppress a moan.

Ok my reactions were getting crazier than before. Why can't I just act like a normal fucking human being around her?

She was quiet for a few seconds and then she looked at me with half a smile. "Watch the person I have feelings for love someone else."

She had feelings for someone. "Alice, you like someone?"

"Sorry but your questions are all done. Now we have to draw." She deadpanned.

I sighed and bumped her shoulder playfully ignoring the tingles. "Ok I'm going to change the subject."

She smiled at me. "I've taught you well."

~.~

Edward and I stopped in front of Alice's house a week later. We were going to watch a movie. Edward asked one of his friends, Jasper to tag along. He was hoping that Alice would feel less like a third wheel. Not that Alice would say anything but, she had become noticeably more drawn back over the last few weeks.

We never talked about her answer to my last question in the art room. I trusted that she would tell me when she thought the time was right. "Babe, would you go get Alice please?" Edward asked and I nodded getting out of the car.

I knocked on her door and her mother opened it. "You must be Bella. Alice had told me so much about you." She was about as tall as I was and looked like an older version of Alice.

I smiled at her. "Only good things I hope."

"Of course. Alice is in the music room. It's just down the hall, second door on your right." I thanked her mother and headed the way she indicated.

As I neared the room, I heard the piano and a soft angelic voice. When I opened the door, I froze. Alice was playing on the piano. Her eyes were closed and she looked so serene I could barely breathe. I had never seen something so beautiful in my life.

"Oh, heart, I hear you beating

But their heart just ain't beating like you

Oh, heart, you gotta watch out now

Or else it's gonna break you in two

Oh, heart, you better believe me

Save yourself for somebody new

Don't make such a fuss, there's no hope for us

Their heart don't care the way that you do

Oh, heart, please stop your pounding

Don't settle yourself for something that's wrong

Oh, heart, now don't let it hear you

Come on now, you gotta be strong

Oh, heart, you better believe me

Save yourself for somebody new

Don't make such a fuss, there's no hope for us

It don't care the way that you do

Let me tell you now, heart

I'm going crazy

Can you hear a word that I say

Oh, heart,

It doesn't want you

There's no use in acting this way

Yes, I'm telling you, heart

You better believe me

Save yourself for somebody new

Don't make such a fuss, there's no hope for us

They don't care the way that you do."

Alice voice carried through the room and it was filled with longing and sadness as if she lost the most important thing to her in the entire world. Suddenly the music stopped and we looked at each other. I smiled at her and when she returned my smile, I walked over sitting down on the bench next to her.

"That was beautiful." I said silently afraid I might spoil the mood.

"Thank you." She replied sincerely.

"Did you write it?" She nodded. "Well whoever you wrote it for is a very lucky person." She opened her mouth to say something. Then she closed it just as quickly. She was silent for a few moments. She tilted her head and rested in on my shoulder. A warm feeling spread through my body and I could smell her shampoo, it smelled like something fruity.

"Actually the person I wrote this for is not lucky at all." She said not moving her head from me shoulder.

"He must be." I said more to myself than to her.

"Why?" She asked pulling away to look at me. I turned to face her and when I saw how close our faces were to each other, I froze. I could practically count her eyelashes. I licked my lips nervously and her eyes darted downwards noticing the movement. She looked up again, right into my eyes.

Was it just my imagination or did her glance on my lips last longer than it was supposed to?

"He must be lucky, because he has your love." I said and she shook her head.

"Bella, there is no he." I frowned, leaning slightly forward.

I must be in her personal space. I mean my nose was almost touching hers. Why isn't she saying anything? Why am I not pulling back?

"There isn't?" I asked stupidly.

"No, it's a…." Suddenly a car's horn went of, making both of us jump.

"Oh crap Edward is waiting for us." I said standing up. How could I have forgotten about him? He was like right outside.

"Edward, always Edward." She mumbled as she stood to follow me. What was that supposed to mean? Edward was like her best friend. Why would she say something like that?

"And Jasper too, I suppose." I said ignoring her comment for now. She frowned but didn't ask too much questions as she grabbed her purse. She called goodbye to her parents and then closed the door behind her.

"Who is Jasper?" She asked squinting at the car.

"Jasper is kind of your date for the evening?" I said as we finally reached the car and before she could kill me, I slid into my seat.