Hello everyone!

Sorry for the loooong wait, but as always, I've been uber busy. I just got back from New York City a few days ago, and it was AMAZING! I saw Wicked on Broadway, which was phenomenal! My beta/co-author Alex went with me, and we had a marvelous time. I've had the majority of this chapter done for the past few weeks, but I just couldn't finish it up well. Finally did it though... during Chemistry class I believe. (Hate Chemistry)

Enjoy! Read and review!

-TG

Chapter 2- A New Life

Alice Point of View

I could feel the energy accumulating instantaneously in my calf and quad muscles, preparing to launch my body into the air until I could be considered flying. My legs bent only slightly at the knees, though I knew it didn't require even that much strain in order to jump over the short fifty meters from one area of land to the next. Finally, though the time of my thoughts had only lasted a fraction of a second, my calves stretched and expanded, shooting me forward into the air. It seemed like I was tumbling through the air in slow motion, the rushing water of the river flowing beneath me without threatening to come close to me while I was this high over the surface. These moments, where I could feel like I was lighter than air, no longer held down by constant burdens, were some of the best moments of my existence. I laughed, enjoying the sound, but no longer baffled by the light trilling noise that came from me. I was accustomed to these things now, so they were no longer strange or foreign to me. I somersaulted through the air, relishing in the feeling of the warm air whipping around my hair and cheeks. After a few rotations through the air, I finally returned to upright position just in time for my shoes to come into contact with the soft ground on the other side of the river. I focused my weight onto the front of my feet, so as not to break the thin, fragile heels of my shoes.

I didn't pause to regain my balance or wait for the muffled thud that would signal that he had landed as well. I immediately raced forward toward the bronze-haired boy up ahead. He was so fast that it was frustrating to be unable to catch with. There were very few things I could not outrun; not even Olympic runners, horses, cars, or even trains for that matter, but under no circumstances could I outrun Edward. I heard Jasper's feet hit the ground behind me as he followed us, but I didn't turn back or slow down to wait for his approach. I narrowed my eyes in determination and tried to pump my legs a little faster, work my muscles a little more, use the very, very small amount of newborn strength I had left to propel myself a little farther with each stride. I heard Edward's deep laugh up ahead, and I knew he could sense the competitiveness in my mind. Sensing this, he sped up even faster, and I knew my attempts were more than futile. I was no match for Edward.

Finally, giving up on my efforts, I listened to see how far behind me Jasper was. I was surprised that he was farther than I had remembered, but I supposed that it was due to my fierce determination to run as fast as Edward. I slowed a little to wait for him, and he immediately sensed my purpose, speeding his pace until he matched my stride. We were running much slower than we were capable of, not really caring anymore to speed off ahead like Edward. Edward was long out of our range of sight, so we slowed to a jogging pace, simply enjoying each other's company.

"How long do you think it will take him to slow down, this time?" I asked, though I knew the answer already and laughed a little, knowing what Jasper would say. He scoffed, knowing as well as I that Edward never slowed down. He had exactly three speeds: Fast, faster, and stopped. Slow may be in his extensive vocabulary, but it was a rare occasion to hear him use the word beyond something along the lines of 'You're too slow.' or 'I hate driving slow.'

Jasper answered my question, none the less, as he always did. "Trust me, for I know from personal experience in this particular area; Edward won't slow down until he finds a reason to stop and realize how great existence really is." I smiled at his words, amazed that one person could be so sweet. I reached up and pecked him on the lips, not hindering the pace of our jog. He smiled beneath my lips, and I was sure he was right. I sort of felt bad for Edward. Carlisle has Esme. Carlisle had tried to pair Rosalie with Edward, but neither had been particularly interested in the other. When Rosalie had found Emmett in the 1930's, Edward had once again been the fifth wheel. Then, Jasper and I had joined the Cullens two years ago, and Edward was even more the odd one out. I was by far the youngest in our family, appearing only seventeen and actually being nineteen years old. Jasper appeared 21 or older, but in truth he was over two hundred years old. He had seen more than my eyes could ever hope to have seen. The same went for Carlisle, who appeared to be no more than twenty-four, but had actually existed for almost four hundred years. Though Esme was seventy or so years old and appeared only twenty-three, it seemed like she was older than all but Carlisle. She was so maternal to us, including Jasper and I almost instantly as though she was our real mother. Not being able to remember my own mother, Esme was the most closest person to a parental figure I could ask for. Of course, Emmett was so huge that he could pass for twenty-eight or so and Rosalie was so remarkable beautiful that you wouldn't believe that she was anything but an angel from heaven (This made me laugh now that I knew Rosalie like a sister and a best friend. She was far from angelic.) Rosalie and Emmett were both over sixty years old though. I was like a baby to all these people, but some how I had managed to fit perfectly in as a Cullen as though there had been a spot open for Jasper and I all along.

I thought back to our previous conversation and spoke, "That's the problem with Edward, though. He needs someone to slow him down, but how can he find that person if he passes them up? He'll never be able to slow down long enough to find that person?" I was overcome with a vision suddenly.

Edward sat at his piano, playing a slow beautiful melody that sounded so soothing that it could practically make a vampire fall asleep. I had never heard this piece before, and I was sure I had heard everything Edward had ever played and remembered it by heart. He smiled slowly, a smile that I had seen many times before, but never on this face. Edward actually looked completely, utterly content—as if nothing in the world could make him happier than he was right then. I had seen the same expression on Jasper's face when he looked at me, on Emmett's face when he looked at Rosalie, and Carlisle's face when he looked at Esme. This expression was one that could only be seen when a man loves a woman so irrevocably that he knows that she is everything he could ever need or want. That expression was one that had never been present on Edward's face before.

I knew exactly what was happening in this vision, but I was annoyed with its limitations. Though I tried desperately to expand the line of sight in the vision, it would not budge. I could only see Edward at his grand piano, that expression clear, but I could not see who he was so intently and affectionately gazing at. I cursed under my breath in real life, straining to push the boundaries of my vision. Nothing. It was almost as if my vision was taunting my cynical thoughts. I had thought that Edward would never fall in love, so my vision proved me wrong but left me completely ignorant to the object of Edward's future affections. I frowned and let go of the vision.

"Hmm…" I muttered curiously. That would be another thing I'd have to look to the future for. I already had an accumulating pile of things to worry about in the future. Though this seemed like a lesser priority, I was way too excited about this to simply let it go. I couldn't let Edward know… How should I keep him in the dark about this one?

"What annoys… or, I suppose, confuses you? What did you see in your vision?" Jasper's talents still amazed me, how he could sense and remember everything I felt. Every girl asked for a sensitive guy who could appropriately sense her feelings, but Jasper was the only one who could literally always know what I was feeling. I smiled knowingly, wondering if I should tell him and risk his thoughts about the matter getting to Edward. Still, it was too exciting. This kind of information needed to be told. I had to tell someone about this.

"Oh… um, nothing…" I said in a sing-song voice. Jasper smirked in amusement and. Without missing a stride, picked me up bridal style. He kissed up my jaw bone, teasingly avoiding my mouth, which was pulled into a playful pout. Finally, after he kissed my nose, I couldn't hold in my giggle any longer. I covered my face, shielding it from his constant kisses. "Ok! Ok! Ok! I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" More giggling from me, and he smirked in triumph, the arrogant dog. I peered through the cracks between my fingers, seeing if I was safe from another onslaught of his kisses. I grinned beneath my palm, payback forming in my mind. Without hesitation, I moved my hands from my cheeks to his, pulling my face to his until his lips had no choice but to meet mine, not that he was opposed to kissing me. If he was going to get information from me, I got my reward. He couldn't get away that easy. I couldn't have him thinking he could get anything he wanted from me now, could I?

As we broke away from the kiss, I couldn't hold the information any longer. As soon as my mouth was available for speech, I blurted out, "Edward's going to fall in love!!" Jasper's cocky grin vanished. Out of everything I could have possibly seen, he had not been expecting that. My mouth turned into a satisfied smirk at my ability to shock him, for Jasper was not easily surprised.

"With whom?!" He asked incredulously. I giggled, though this was a half-hearted attempt. I felt sort of bad for the man I now considered my brother, as I was closer to Edward than I was to any one else in our little vampire family—apart from Jasper of course. Was it really that unbelievable that he was capable of such a complex emotion as love? Was it so astonishing that Edward could feel something beyond boredom, anger, and masochism? I chuckled to myself a little at the last emotion. Jasper's brow furrowed in frustration as I did not immediately answer him.

I furrowed mine as well with a different frustration. I hated any blind spots in my visions, and this particular one was shielding some very juicy information from me. I groaned, aggravated. "Ugh… I don't know! I couldn't see her…"

"Well at least we know it is a her…" He quipped, and I blinked once in shock. Had Jasper just implied the question of Edward's heterosexuality? Realizing quickly that he indeed had, I looked at him dubiously. He grinned sheepishly, and I whacked him on the shoulder (and not lightly, I might add).

"Jasper Whitlock Cullen, how could you say that?!" He laughed, shrugging and kissing my forehead before setting my back on my feet. I blinked again, realizing something. "Well, actually, now that I think about it, I didn't see the other person at all… but it was a she, I'm sure of it! EDWARD IS NOT GAY!" I yelled, not realizing that the subject of our conversation had stepped through the trees in front of us.

I looked at him in horror as his eye brow rose in question. I couldn't tell if he was angry, though there was no reason to be mad at me; I had been defending his masculinity, while Jasper had called him a homosexual. Still… if he killed my fiancée, I would have to be mad at him. "I'm not mad at you Alice, and I'm not going to kill Jasper unless he gives me reason to." I sighed in relief, and mumbled a quick thanks in my thoughts, though I was still worried what he would think after he caught the drift of our previous conversation.

"So… what have you two been talking about, or- more appropriately, or should I say inappropriately –what were you two talking about that led to the question of my sexuality?" His face, somehow annoyed and amused, forced me to hold a hand to my mouth to muffle my laugh. He peered over at me, and I quickly recited the greatest French designers of all time in alphabetical order to avoid thinking about what I had seen. He stared at me for a few seconds, probably trying to figure out what I was hiding. When I was done listing French designers, I moved on to the Italians…

"Alice…?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest and squared his shoulders threateningly. A little growl emitted from Jasper's chest as if by its own will. I placed my hand on his shoulder, squeezing his arm a little to warn him to stop. They were not going to fight in front of me.

I laughed nervously and responded using my best innocent-as-an-angel voice, "Yes, Edward?" Jasper still did not like Edward's menacing stance, so purposefully placed myself in front of him and drew his arms around me, keeping them occupied. Edward snickered a little at my attempts to calm the only pacifier in the family. I waited for Edward's response, but I suppose he thought it was too obvious a question to voice. He nodded, affirming my thoughts. I sighed and spoke, "Ok, boys, let's be civil now. How about we do what we came out here to do, ok? Let's hunt!" I tugged on one of Jasper's arms to try to pull him forward, but now he was a motionless, angry, statue. I sighed again, before looping my arm through his and tugging a little more forcefully. He finally budged and we started strolling forward past Edward, who was still eyeing Jasper. I suppose it wasn't a good idea to have Jasper on the side closest to Edward, for as we passed Edward's still figure he muttered, "Hundred year old Virgin." to Edward.

I stopped dead in my tracks (excuse the pun). Edward's icy form seemed to crackle as he broke out of his completely motionlessness. He backed a few steps away, moving not because he was angry with Jasper's tactless comment, but because he was afraid. Oh, and a boy had a reason to afraid, but it was not Edward.

"What did you just call him?" I asked, the words hissing out through my teeth. I was now clenching onto his thick arm not out of love or haste, but out of anger. I squeeze the rock hard muscle between my arms until I could feel it clench and I heard him wince in pain.

Finally realizing what he had done, Jasper attempted to take his arm out of my grasp before I broke it off. I wasn't budging though. He attempted to talk his way out before it was too late. "Alice, honey, by 'virgin' I just meant that he-"

"Are you trying to tell me that when I met you, you, yourself, were not a two-hundred year old virgin?" He chuckled nervously, and my hands clenched a little harder, seemingly unaware of the ripping sensation beneath my hands.

"Well, Jasper, I suppose this means I don't have to deal with you for calling me gay then…" Edward smirked in satisfaction. I shot him a glare that meant I was not playing around, and he instantly flinched back another few yards. "Right, ok… I suppose I'll be going now. Catch up with me later, I suppose." He retreated towards the line of trees, my angry gaze and Jasper's frantic, pleading gaze following him until he disappeared from sight. I heard him call out one more time before he was out of ear-shot. "Oh! And have fun, you two!" I growled loud enough that the responding laugh told me he could hear me.

A few seconds passed of tense silence, before I let go of Jasper's arm in defeat. I turned my face away from him to hide my heartbroken expression. It didn't matter how well I could hide my face though, not with Jasper able to sense my dejection from where he stood behind me. He came up behind me, testing the waters slowly to make sure I was not going to turn and lash at him. He placed his hands on my shoulders tenderly, before whispering to me, "Alice-"

"Just please, please don't tell me it was that dreadful Maria…" I murmured in an agonized voice. His hands tensed on my shoulders, and I could practically feel his shock without being able to see his face.

"Is that what you're so worried about? Oh no, God no, sweetie. Do you honestly think I would ever do that with Maria?" He shivered a little, reinforcing his disgust at the thought.

Though I was relieved beyond belief, I was still concerned. "Then who was she?' I barely spoke above a whisper. He sighed.

"There was only one time before you. I don't even remember who it was now. I was a twenty year old human male in the army. It meant absolutely nothing. I've never felt anything close to the same or even comparable to what I feel with you." I sighed a little in relief, though I tried my best to mask it. Without speaking, I left his arms to walk towards where Edward had just exited from.

When I didn't hear Jasper following behind me, I turned to look at him over my shoulder. "Two hundred and fifty years? Really?" He nodded, still testing to see if he was forgiven. I turned around, and smirked. "Two hundred and fifty years of celibacy… maybe it's your sexuality we should be worried about and not Edward's…" I let the insult trail off as I disappeared through the line of trees. I looked back to see Jasper's shocked expression at the turn of events. Score! I thought, and giggled. I loved shocking him. I started running just as Jasper's stance broke and he began his playful chase after me.

I crouched down, hiding myself completely in the tall grass of the forest. Just as the stag in front of me moved, I moved, purposefully allowing the animal to sense my presence. I liked the chase, though the large animal's fastest gallop was no where near as fast as I could go. Still, I enjoyed the predator and prey game. Well, most of the time I did.

I thought back to the first few weeks after Jasper and I had left Houston, Texas to find our current family. After I had starved myself for so long and found a way out of murder with a vision of what was now my family and we had succeeded in thwarting Maria's army, I had found out exactly what the side effects of a blood starvation really was. Having never been around humans except for the one fateful time in the first week of my new existence, I hadn't been exposed to the scent, the sight, the sound of human blood. I cringe just thinking about it now. Not having been around a human's blood before, how was I supposed to know what happens when a newborn vampire completely starves themselves for a period of time from all blood? How was I supposed to know that that period of numbness other than thirst would make my sensitivity to humans ten times that of a normal newborn? I couldn't have known for it had never been heard of before. How was I supposed to know that the first time I encountered the sense of human blood in our travels to Washington, neither I nor Jasper could control the monster in me. With this vulnerable sensitivity to any and all human blood, there was no longer a monster inside of me—I was the monster. I would never forget and always regret the horrible things I had done—the people I had killed. My now golden eyes would never look right to me, because every time I saw them they would remind me of that horrible bright crimson that had covered them before. I was forever stained with what I had done.

"Alice… It happens to all of us. You have nothing to be ashamed of." If I hadn't known the two voices by heart, I wouldn't have been able to tell if it was Jasper or Edward who had spoken. They both knew my thoughts so well: Edward knew my thoughts because he could hear every one of them. He was now so accustomed to my train of thought that he could predict my thoughts before I could actually think them. Jasper knew my thoughts because he could feel my emotion at those thoughts and knew me better than anyone else. He could take my emotion and- with his knowledge of me- determine exactly what was troubling me. This time it happened to be Edward who acknowledged my overwhelming guilt, as Jasper was off somewhere hunting, probably whilst eavesdropping on Edward's and my conversation.

"It doesn't matter." I said. "I can't change it now. I can't bring those lives back no matter what I do or how wrong it is that I'm immortal because they are not."

Edward frowned, with that odd frustration only he could portray. He pinched the bridge of his nose and spoke again, "Alice, please stop berating yourself. Emmett has killed ten times more humans than you have. I have killed a hundred times more than you have. Jasper has killed a thousand times more than you have." I glared at him for bringing Jasper's record into this conversation. "Don't be angry; Jasper agrees with me. Hell, even Esme has killed as many as you have."

I frowned a little, pouting. "But Carlisle-"

"Don't compare yourself to Carlisle, Alice. Carlisle is practically being entered into sainthood! No one expects you to be perfect, of course." I frowned, wanting to just wallow in my guilt but unable to because of my over-supportive brother. I suppose he was right, though. Everyone had already told me their stories of their horrendous newborn experiences. The only one other than Carlisle who had not drunk human blood was Rosalie, and she had even killed people out of vengeance. Jasper, of course, had lived the life of a normal vampire up until I came along. I didn't even want to think about how many lives had been lost by his hands. All that mattered to me now, though, was that he was there for me—as willing as I was to change our lifestyle. Emmett, Esme, and Edward had all had fairly common newborns accidents, not including those ten rebellious years of Edward's life. Edward grimaced a bit when my mind wandered to those stories.

"I already know I'm far from perfect…" He added in response to my thoughts. You masochist…I responded in my mind. You're practically a saint as well. You give self-degradation a new meaning. The joking tone of my thoughts made Edward laugh, and his self-loathing grimace turned into the smile I was used to in my brother. Still, I thought about the other's experiences. I was suddenly reminded of a legend in vampire history of "the singer," also known as la tua cantante by the Italians. Emmett and Jasper had both found a singer before, and now those people no longer existed. I deeply feared the presence of a person like that for me. If it was impossible for me to resist a normal human, how could I resist one whose blood was made to tempt me? I tried not to think about it, but now the thought would not leave my mind.

I suppose all my thoughts of humans had something to do with hunting. Hunting was always the best and worst moments for me. When I hunted, I could finally have an outlet to release the predatory instincts in me that I constantly had to suppress. But- in turn- hunting made me think of blood, and blood was not something I enjoyed thinking about, for it brought back those painful, guilty memories. By this point, I felt so deeply overwhelmed with guilt that I practically felt sick, if that were possible. The way my breathing shut off in shock, but didn't affect me because I didn't actually need to breathe was frustrating. I just wished that I could properly vent my guilt, but my body and mind were unchanging. This guilt would never diminish no matter how much I was able to move on.

"Wow… you two are real downers, you know that?" I looked up as Jasper walked into view. I smiled a little at his presence, but his joking words struck me a little. Jasper constantly had to deal with my depression, and Edward's masochism. I remembered when I had first awoken as a vampire, I had been so happy with Jasper that he was instantly happy. Whatever the people around him felt affected him.

"Sorry Jazzy!" I forced a smile on my face, reaching up on my tippy toes to plant a chaste kiss on his lips, which were curled up into an amused smile. Seeing our gushy display Edward rolled his eyes and retreated from sight, probably heading back to the house. I tried to slip those thoughts of my vulnerability and my sister from my thoughts, but I could never fully stop thinking about them. My mind went through my calming mantra once again; I can't help who I am, but I can try my hardest to be different. I can love my sister and watch over her, but not seeing her is best. She will be happier this way, and I can live peacefully knowing she will be safe. I repeated this a few times in my mind, trying to not to acknowledge the fact that Edward could hear me, not that he hadn't heard it all before. But just then, when the thoughts of Bella had begun to recede to the backburner in my mind, is when the vision came.

Vision

Bella was walking towards a large cafeteria, books in hand as she scanned the rows of tables and students. I boy came up behind her, slapping her on the butt and whispering something suggestive into her ear. I fumed inside at the sight. How dare he lay a hand on my sister? I wondered briefly how hard it would be to convince Carlisle that it would be a good idea to have Emmett find this boy and show him what happens when he violates a vampire's little sister. But it seemed that pay-back was not needed from me. Bella turned around, swaying her hips seductively. She was actually allowing that kind of behavior! She backed him into a wall, asking him his name. I was shocked. What had happened to my sister in my absence? My sister… my sister was… a slut?

I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw her knee come up to ram him in the groin, though I doubted that he did the same. If I were a man, I might have cringed in sympathy pain. I watched her exhibition in shock, though. No, my sister had not turned into a slut in my absence as I had previously thought, but she had turned into somewhat of a rebel. I shook my head in disbelief. My sister- my little, bashful, loveable sister –had just kneed some boy where it hurts. Not that he hadn't deserved it, but still—my sister! I guess I really hadn't been there for my sister like I had thought. Otherwise, she wouldn't have changed so much since I had left.

Bella pushed the crowd that had accumulated around her, running to the bathroom. When she was safely in the restroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. That's when I saw it; that look that told me nothing really had changed. As her eyes grew glassy, I knew she was still the same Bella I remembered on the inside. Though she didn't seem to recognize it, she was upset. She slumped over and put her hands in her pockets. I suddenly realized what she was wearing as her brow furrowed in confusion. Out from her jean pocket- the very jeans I had bought for her over two years ago- she brought a folded piece of white paper, wrinkled with the time it had spent in the pocket. It couldn't be… I thought. It couldn't have taken her this long to find it. Oh, but it had.

I grimly realized that the neatly written name on the front was in my hand writing, for I had written that name two years ago. She timidly unfolded the paper and began reading. My still heart seemed to lurch in my chest when the moisture that had accumulated in the corners of her eyes finally spilled over and trailed slow tracks down her cheeks. She held the paper away from her face so that her tears didn't touch the paper.

The vision faded away as she ran out of the restroom. The last part of the vision was of Bella in my yellow Porsche. She looked too distressed for me to be bothered by the fact that she was driving my car, when the last time I had seen her she had been too young to drive. She was sixteen now, I realized, but still—the sight of her driving my beloved Porsche would normally be more disconcerting. But now? Right now she looked too hopeless for me to care about my car. She looked to be in complete despair. Finally, after a long time of staying still, her eyes perked up in surprise. She reached over to a bag on the passenger seat and pulled out a plain notebook. Turning to the first page, she took out a pen, writing:

Alice-

I'm coming for you.

As she snapped her notebook shut, my vision closed as well.

End Vision

When I snapped out of the vision, I took a deep, gasping breath as though I was a drowning human finally taking that relieving breath for life. But I was not human, and I had no need for breath no matter how much or how little breathable oxygen was available in my environment. I took that deep, shaky breath because I was shocked. My sister had written a deliberate letter to my vision. She had either figured or hoped that I would be able to see her if she tried to contact me. Not only that, but it had taken two whole years for her to find my letter; for her to know that I wasn't dead as the police had assumed. This whole time- every day of the last two or so years, she had thought that I was dead. I sucked in another deep but unstable breath to try to steady myself. After all this time, Bella was going to try to find me.

"No!" I gasped. Jasper, whom I realized had been frantically trying to speak to me since my vision had ended, put his arms around my shoulders.

"Alice? What is it?" Jasper asked, worried for me as always. I shook my head, my body shaking as though I was crying, though tears were physically impossible. I kept repeating that word: No, no, no, no…

"It's Bella! It's my sister! She's coming for me!" I exclaimed in torment.

"What? What about her?" He was desperate for answers, as he had been so many times before. If Edward were still here to see my vision along with me, he might have told Jasper what I had seen instead of making me tell him. Edward was not here though, so I had to say it out loud. It seemed like such a hard thing to do, for saying it out loud would only confirm the inevitable.

"She's coming to find me. She can't find me! If she does… If she finds me… I-I will…" I couldn't say it. I shut my eyes, unable to bear the pain of the truth.

"Yes?!" Jasper's hands tightened on my shoulders out of frustration. I shook my head, but he only waited for my response.

Without opening my eyes, I whispered. "I'll kill her."

Oohoo, sorry for the epic cliff-hanger there (kind of cliff-hanger, not really). I'll get to work on the next chapter immediately though, so keep watch for it.

Thanks for reading, and reviews are much appreciated!

-TG