A/N:
Well, here's chapter three. Ittook a little longer than others. Sorry about that, but I've been super busy lately.
People asked for Alice's POV in reviews, so that's what you're getting this chapter. It starts off with Bella, but then changes to Alice. It's a little summary of some of the things from the first two chapters. I didn't want to write them out again in her POV, because that would be too time consuming and be too repetitive for you guys.
Also, in a couple of reviews people commented on the way Bella reacted in biology, and the things that she said to Alice.
Yes, it was harsh of her to say that, but she's trying to protect herself. She wants to drive Alice away so that she won't fall for her even more. She's not just being difficult.
Reviews make me happy. So press the little button and leave me one. Pretty please :)
I'm not paying any attention to the road, only staring blankly outside of the window, so it's a shock when Rose stops the car. I look around in surprise, realising that we're at her place already.
I love this house. It's pretty big, but not so much that you could get lost. It's kinda like my second home.
Rose leaves the car outside (which hardly ever happens. I mean, come on, with a car that expensive, why leave it for the elements?), so I raise an eyebrow at her.
"What? I'm guessing that you don't want to stay here for a while, so I'm going to have to drive you home. Plus, I'm first to leave in the morning. If I put it in the garage now I'm just gonna have to move it later."
Shaking my head at her slightly, I follow her into the house and to her room. Which is huge. Seriously, it's about three times the size of my room. It's decorated in soft blues and purple, because they're her favourite colours.
The centrepiece of the room is her king-sized bed, which could probably fit about five people in it. I'm guessing. I've never really had the wish to be in it with four other people.
She throws her stuff into a corner, before turning to me with a knowing look on her face.
"So, do you maybe think that you're a little physic?"
The question throws me off guard so much that I have to fight back a laugh. Instead I move over to her bed and sit on the edge, looking at her in confusion.
"What? You had a dream last night, right? And you haven't for a while? And then the same day she turns up. It's a little weird, if you ask me."
"Yeah, weird isn't really the word that I'd use."
"I know. My lame attempt to make you feel better isn't working, is it?"
"Definitely not." So she moves to sit next to me and just hugs me for a while. It does make me feel a little better. But I know that as soon as she's gone I won't be. I sigh softly at the thought, and she hears me.
"Wanna stay here tonight? We can watch movies. It'll help. Or just my presence will help. My parents won't mind, they love you."
"Well, if they won't mind . . . "
"Yay! Come on, we need to get back to yours to pick up your stuff. And check that Charlie's ok with you staying over."
"He will be. Unless he thinks I'm sleeping with you. Then we could have a problem."
"So we don't tell him what happened when we were drunk last year?"
"Shut up! I thought we agreed to never talk about that again."
"God, keep your pants on. Or not. You do have an exceptional body. From what I can remember. Which is little, don't panic."
I just push her out of the door instead of responding, knowing that I'd lose any battle with Rose and her dirty mind. Not that mine was any better, mind you. But this was just what I needed – some playful banter to distract me from today.
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APOV
I noticed the second that she arrived at school on my second day. I had watched her get into a red Ferrari yesterday, and I saw the same car that morning. The driver was undeniably gorgeous, but Emmet had already staked a claim on her.
Besides, blonde aren't really my type.
Stunningly beautiful brunettes, on the other hand, with warm brown eyes and a figure that people would kill for, slightly taller than myself – then you're talking.
So I was standing next to Emmet, trying to pretend to listen to the conversation he was having with three other guys when she stepped out of the passenger seat.
Her attire was similar to yesterday – jeans and a long-sleeved top. But it didn't matter to me what she wore, I would always want her regardless.
It hadn't taken me long to realise that I would never, ever get over Bella. I'd tried. But no girl had ever captivated me as much as she had. Ever since the first day I can remember, I knew there was something special about her.
That feeling just developed over time, until it was something that I couldn't ignore. That was when I knew that I loved her.
When it hurt to be away from her, when I got jealous of her mentioning anyone's name but my own, when all I wanted to do whenever we were together was to kiss her.
That made me realise that what I felt for her was a hell of a lot more than friendship.
At first, that had scared me. I mean, I was about eleven. I didn't have a clue if thinking those things was normal. I also didn't know if Bella even felt any of the same stuff I did.
So when she presented me with the perfect opportunity for me to kiss her, I couldn't resist. At first I thought I'd scared her, so I tried not to act as if that had been the single greatest moment of my life.
It still is, actually. One of a few. All of which have occurred when I'm around her.
When she reacted like what we'd done was something we shouldn't do, I think my heart broke a little. But then she was the one who kissed me and I've never looked back.
Even on the bad days.
Because I've come to see that I will always love her, no matter how far away we are from each other, no matter how much she seems to hate me now. Nothing is going to change.
I know because nothing changed when I was away from her. So how will it get better when I have to see her every day? When I have to sit with her for a half a day? When I have to do a project with her?
Simple. It won't. And that's fine with me. I've learned to live with it. It's been hard; you have no idea how hard. But I will never want anyone else, only her.
Emmet's booming laugh broke me out of my reminiscence, and I looked up, startled, to see that quite a few people had arrived with I had been otherwise occupied.
The girl that he liked was stood next to him. I hadn't even noticed that she'd come over. All I had noticed was the fact that Bella had stalked off to her (our) first period half an hour early.
"Hey, I'm Rosalie. Rosalie Hale. My family only moved out here a few years ago, so I don't remember you from back then. But it's nice to meet you." She's smiling at me softly, and I wonder briefly why she's being so nice to me. I mean, won't Bella have told her to stay away from me?
"Hi, I'm Alice. Nice to meet you, too." The first bell rings before we can have much more of a conversation, so I grab my book bag and head over to my Lit class.
Bella is already sitting there, looking as adorable as ever. I let out a wistful sigh for the old days as I sit down in my seat, and from the corner of my eye I see her glance at me curiously. I bite back a smile.
I know why she's acting like this, of course. She's terrified of what will happen if Charlie suspects anything again. So am I, come to think of it. I mean, the guy managed to persuade my parents to move to Alaska.
Alaska! I suppressed a shudder. God, I hated that place. The people were over-friendly, it was fucking freezing and there were not enough hot girls for me to distract me from my feelings for Bella.
Not that I actually wanted to be distracted. But it's the theory that counts.
Even after living there for four years, I hated the awful place. You couldn't even breathe without someone knowing about it. I swear, it took about an hour before the entire town where we were staying knew the reason why we'd moved out there.
I still regret the day that Charlie found us. If we hadn't have been so careless, then he might not have found out. We could have been happy with each other, still. I just know that we would have been together forever.
The only thing stopping us from being together now is him. I can almost sense that she wants to say something to me, but she holds herself back. I want more than anything to break that barrier between us, but I'm afraid.
I'm afraid that doing that might push you away. Might cause you to resent me. And I don't want that. I cont want to ever push you into anything. I don't ever want to hurt you in such a way again. It would kill me if I was the source of your pain when it could have been avoided.
Again I'm so immersed in my thoughts that I don't notice the teacher walk in and begin the lesson. And I wouldn't have noticed, either, if it hadn't been for the nudge that cam from my left side.
I had to fight another smile. She must have still cared, even if it was only a little.
Not that I really care about failing this class. It's all so boring to me. I'd much rather study Bella.
She hasn't changed much, since we last saw each other. Sure, she's a little older, filled out a little bit more, but she's still the same old Bella. I can still read her like I used to be able too.
Right now she's tapping her pencil impatiently against her notebook. Mike is keeping up a constant whining to her, which I presume is the reason for her impatience.
Why is that kid so annoying? Is he incapable of seeing when somebody isn't interested? God, he's already getting on my nerves and I haven't even known him for a day. I think I might need help.
And speaking of annoying teenage boys, there was one in particular who was driving me insane even more than Mike has been.
Edward.
I guess the reason why I'm starting to hate him so much is that I'm jealous. I would never admit it, not to anyone, but that didn't change the fact that it was true.
Because he had what I wanted. What I wanted so much that it hurt.
It didn't matter to me that Bella disliked him almost as much as I did. He still had her. What did I have? Nothing.
Especially not her.
I had no idea why she's going out with him. I mean, she hated him even when we were little kids. It was obvious that he was infatuated with her, but never the other way around.
My best guess is that she eventually gave in to Charlie. He must have put pressure on her to date after what happened. At least that's what I hope.
Or maybe I was being silly. Maybe she really did like Edward. Maybe they'd been dating for years. Maybe she'd never really liked me all that much, and really she'd just wanted him the whole time.
No. I wouldn't allow myself to think like that. I couldn't. It would kill me.
Besides, I'd seen for myself the way that he'd practically had to corner her in front of half the school to ensure that she wouldn't say to him. And I'd also seen her try to get away, regardless.
And I could tell that when he kissed her she hated it, just from her body language. I liked to fool myself into thinking that she was thinking about me. Wishing that it was me who was kissing her.
Or maybe I'm just a fool.
I don't register that the whole hour has gone by without me listening to a word until I'm halfway to biology. How I got there, I have no idea. None at all. Then I hear the endless chatter from Mike (who is, unfortunately, at my side), and realise that he must have steered me in this general direction.
I really need to stop thinking so much. But damn, it isn't easy when I'm around her so much.
She's already there when I walk into the class, and I mentally prepare myself for the lesson ahead. I can't daydream now. It would be too much of a wasted opportunity to sit there for the whole hour without paying any attention to her.
Plus the fact that she couldn't talk to anyone else, seeing as or desk was next to the window and I had the isle seat. It's a shame, really. Not.
"Hey." I'm sure I must look surprised when she speaks to me, I'm so shocked. Then she smiles at me a little sheepishly. "Sorry about the other day. I shouldn't have said those things. Buttttt, I'm only doing this because of our project."
"What, being nice?" It'd be so easy to fall back into our old routine. I can already feel myself slipping into it. Talking to her is effortless. Laughing with her is effortless. Teasing her is effortless. Flirting with her is effortless.
Damn her for being so perfect.
"Well, I was going more for civil. Because I did mean what I said yesterday, Alice. But, as was pointed out to me yesterday, there's no point in making a bad situation worse. So I'm going to try and be nice."
"Wow. I'm impressed. Pointed out by who?"
"Rose. You probably don't know her. Although she does have a thing for your brother."
"Oh, yeah, she introduced herself before. She seems nice. And Emmet definitely likes her."
"Good. She deserves some good luck for a change." I smiled softly at that response, but figured seeing as for now the barriers between us were gone, I may as well try my luck.
"So, what? Is this the only lesson you're going to talk to me in? You didn't in Lit."
"No, I know. It's because you looking so focused. I didn't want to disturb you."
"Thanks, I guess I was a little gone. And you didn't answer my first question." I remind her gently, not wanting to push her too far, but also wanting a straight answer.
"I don't know." Her voice is so soft that I don't even think I'm meant to hear her. But I do. She's turned away from me now, staring once again out of the window. She did that a lot yesterday.
"Why?" My voice is soft, too.
"Because I don't know how to react around you. I don't things to end up like they did last time. And I think that it would be so easy to slip into that pattern again. And I'm scared, Alice. Scared of what'll happen.
I'm not sure I even want to know what'll happen. Even talking to you right now isn't doing me any good. But I have to. I cant avoid you forever. I don't want to avoid you forever. But I don't know how much of you I can take in one day."
I just let everything sink in for a while. I don't know what to say. She's said basically everything that I've been thinking, but to think them and to then have it proved is a different matter entirely.
"Say something. Please." She's turned back to me now, and in her eyes is a vulnerability that I never thought I'd see again. It makes me want to kiss her until it's faded. But considering what she's just admitted to me and the fact that we're in a crowded classroom, I don't think that that's the best idea.
"Ok. I understand. Everything. It might not seem like it, but I do. So whatever you want to do is fie with me. As long as I don't fail this project. It really wouldn't give a good first impression."
I can see the relief pass over her face at my words, and she even manages a weak smile. I haven't realised how close we've moved, unconsciously. We're almost touching, leaning into each other. We both notice at the exact same moment and straighten up quickly.
Which is just as well, because about a second later, Banner has come over to 'see how we're doing'. After reassuring him that we're fine, we spend the rest of the hour debating on what to do our project on.
And then I invite her over to my place so that we can do some research outside of school. When she says yes I almost faint from happiness.
She disappears at break, but it doesn't bother me because I saw her dodge Edward before he can grab her. It makes me smile.
Gym is an absolute nightmare.
Yesterday I got away with not participating because I was new. Today? Not so much. Luckily, I arrived later than pretty much everyone else. Bella included. Meaning that she was already changed when I got there. Thank God.
Throughout the lesson she was the only think that I could concentrate on. We were playing dodge ball. I nearly got hit in the face three times. All because I couldn't take my eyes off of Bella.
Stupid me.
She was just so . . . .I don't even know how to describe her. Incredible. Perfect. Athletic. She's definitely improved on the sports front since I last saw her. She's amazing.
And if that episode wasn't even then we had to get changed before out next class. Together. In the same room. God, I nearly died of a heart attack.
She was across the room from, so it really shouldn't have been as hard for me to avoid looking at her as it was. But it was hard. I had to catch myself continuously so that she wouldn't see me looking at her.
It was torture.
The rest of the day passed without incident. Thankfully. All I had to do that night was to determinedly not think about what the next day would bring.
I was especially looking forward to Biology. And the after-school meeting between myself and Bella. But think about that was bad. Very, very bad.
That wasn't going to stop me though.