4. Nibbles

Bella walked into English, and some of the tension that had settled over Alice finally lifted. Her shoulders relaxed and she breathed, inhaling that same peculiar scent that she had been trying to catch traces of all morning.

Alice frowned. Was she imagining it, or were the malign undertones of the girl's scent stronger than yesterday?

She observed Bella as she came down the aisle between the tables. She seemed to be curled in on herself a little more. Her face was gaunter, the bruises under her eyes more pronounced. Alice even thought she perceived a slight shake in the girl's legs with every step.

There was more she noticed now though too—things she couldn't believe she'd overlooked yesterday. Bella's features found compliment in each other through contradiction. Like how strong her cheekbones were, almost too much so for the contour of her jaw. How large her eyes were, for the delicate line of her nose. The way her lower lip was a little fuller than the top, giving her a permanent pout.

She wore the same suede, Sherpa jacket as yesterday. An old thing, worn at the sleeves, the wool lining thinning out around the cuffs and collar. There was a rip in the knee of her jeans, and her boots had dried mud caked around the outsole.

Alice didn't mind the grungy aesthetic so much—after all, she had spent the eighties here in the Pacific Northwest—but already she'd sketched out half a dozen new outfits in her mind that she knew would flatter Bella far better.

Bella didn't look down at Alice when she passed, just walked to the back, taking her seat at the table she shared with an acne scarred boy. Alice tried to catch her eye throughout the class, but Bella stayed hunched over her text book, and never looked up except to check the board.

When the shrill, little bell rang, signalling the end of first period, Alice had planned to try and strike up a conversation in the hall, but Bella had slipped away before she could work up the nerve. Alice weighed her options, but decided chasing after her down the halls probably wasn't the wisest course of action.

Her next few classes dragged on without end, with nothing to hold her interest or distract her. Nothing to keep her thoughts from circling around and around inside her head like a train.

When she was finally released, she beelined for the cafeteria, and joined Edward in the queue where he already carried a tray for her.

He raised his eyebrows at her, tilted his head in the direction she'd come from. The silent question was easy enough to decode.

She didn't even look at me, Alice thought. I'm losing my mind here, Edward. I can't plan out anything ahead with her. My visions just get torn to ribbons.

His eyes flicked up to the corner of the ceiling and he raised his shoulders in a shrug.

How could it possibly be any worse? Alice thought. This morning it took me four hours to decide on an outfit. I had to go to Esme for help. She was acting all coy about it, pretending nothing was out of the ordinary. It was obnoxious.

He flashed her a lopsided grin, without an ounce of sympathy. Over the years he had suffered worse than any of them under Esme's preening—whether it was well-meaning or not.

They finished piling food onto their trays, all of it ultimately destined for the trash. Alice searched the cafeteria with her eyes but Bella still hadn't arrived. They paid and she followed along after Edward over to the table where their siblings were already seated.

She spent her lunch break watching the door, trying to foresee when Bella would walk through it, but the maelstrom in her head wouldn't straighten itself out.

How did people put up with this? This not knowing?

"Alice," Edward said. "Can you give it a rest for just a few minutes, please? You're starting to give me a headache."

"Why don't you go dunk your head in someone else's thoughts then," Alice said. "Rosalie's should be shallow enough for you."

Rosalie flashed her teeth, and it would have almost been a smile if it weren't so predatory. "You know I love it when you're feisty, but don't start with me today. I'm still annoyed with you."

Alice grumbled and lay her temple down on the cool metal of the cafeteria table—about the same temperature as her own skin. She shut her eyes and tried to clear her mind.

It wasn't until a few minutes before the end of lunch that Bella Swan decided to bless the rest of the student body with her presence. She bypassed the vacant lunch line and went straight to her table on the other side of the room without even picking up a tray.

Alice wanted to go over to her, but she had no idea what she would say, and Bella's posture was entirely closed off.

When lunch ended, Edward leaned in. "I share a table with her in Biology. I could try and talk to her again, if you like?"

"Because you told me that went so well last time." Alice shook her head. "Forget it, Edward. Just … keep an eye on her for me. But not, you know, in a creepy, stalkerish way."

"Sorry, Al," Edward said, rising out of his seat. "That's the only way I know how."

She sighed and he grinned, sauntering off towards class. Alice stood up too, taking her tray and dumping its contents into the bin on her way out the door. She only had to soldier through the next period of Social Studies and then she'd see her little obsession again in Gym.

Maybe in that time she'd even build up the courage to say something.


Coach Clapp was going to have them playing volleyball today. They had been due to start almost four minutes ago, but most of the class was still lingering in the locker rooms, and Bella, once again, was yet to even show up.

Alice had already changed into her Gym gear, but she stayed in the locker room, sitting cross-legged on one of the benches and pretending to be absorbed by her phone. She did her best to filter out the conversations around her, as the other girls chatted and gossiped, sharing plans for the coming weekend. They didn't try to include her, and for that Alice was grateful.

She heard the creaking door to the gym open. The weather had picked up outside, and as the wind rushed in, Bella's scent made its way through the building to her.

Alice put her phone away and stood up, wringing her hands and wishing, for the thousandth time that day, if only she could rely on her powers again.

She'd been spoilt, she realised.

When Bella trudged in, she did so with her head down, her hands stuffed into the slash pockets of her jacket.

Alice stepped forward, already fumbling the words she'd so meticulously rehearsed in her head.

Just like the previous day, as soon as Alice entered the bubble of space Bella seemed to keep around herself, the girl sensed her. The reaction it provoked, however, was far more severe.

Bella recoiled from her, staggering into the line of lockers against the wall.

"Sorry—sorry," Alice said quickly, "I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to—"

"What the hell is your problem?" Bella shouted, and then immediately shrunk back from her own outburst. She squeezed her eyes shut, a hand going to her throat.

They had drawn the attention of a few of the other girls, who's chatter had petered out.

Alice could hear Bella's heart, too rapid, thudding beneath her breast like a hammer against a pillow. She noted, grimly, that Bella was looking even worse now than she had only a few hours ago. Her hair was lank, and a thin sheen of sweat coated her pale skin.

"I'm sorry," Alice said.

"J—just, leave me alone," Bella said, though it was barely a whisper, spoken more to herself. She pushed herself off the lockers, went to move past Alice, but froze. Something dripped down onto the floor at her feet.

Alice looked down and saw a drop of blood. She traced it back up to Bella's nose, as another drop ran down over the girl's top lip. The scent of dying flowers was suddenly suffocating and Alice took an involuntary step back.

Bella's eyes were wide with animal panic. She threw a hand over her mouth and nose, and half ran, half stumbled, towards the shower stalls.

The brunette from yesterday—Jessica, Alice thought—whistled after her. "Way to go, Nibbles!"

There was some scattered laughter, and Jessica and the other girls filed out of the locker room.

Alice was rooted to the spot. The rational part of her mind wanted to run after Bella, make sure she was okay, but the smell of her blood had triggered something inside of her. Her muscles should have coiled, and her mouth should have flooded with venom. She should have been urged towards a frenzy—but instead her instincts were screaming for her to bolt in the other direction.

She locked her body down—though she trembled with the effort to keep still—and cut off her breathing. It took a few minutes, but as soon as she felt calm enough to move, she darted out of the now empty locker room and joined the rest of the class.

She knew she wouldn't be able to keep this from Edward, but didn't know how he and the others would react when they found out. It was definitely another notch in the 'not human' column for Bella. Would her vision still be enough to keep Edward on her side? A few loose scraps torn from the tapestry of a future that would very likely never come to be?

The Coach did not appreciate his class's tardiness, and he started them on series of warm-up exercises with the sort of malice usually reserved for drill instructors.

Alice set about the tasks without enthusiasm. She could have run laps until her shoes wore through, it made no difference to her.

Bella emerged from the locker room several minutes later. Her face was clean of blood, but she couldn't wash away the smell of it so easily, and Alice had to hold her breath once more.

Bella kept her chin down as she walked around the edge of the court and over to the coach. She spoke too quietly for the other students to hear, but Alice could pick up the words without issue.

"May I be excused early, Coach? I'm feeling unwell."

"Of course, Ms Swan," he said, without hesitation. "Did you drive today? You can stop by the office and Shelly will let you use the phone to call your dad."

"Thank you, Coach, but I think I'd like to walk."

He shifted on his feet but nodded. "Okay. Go on then."

Bella left, pursued by some jeers from the other students, but Coach Clapp sharply called order back to the room. He instructed them to space out and finish off with some basic stretches.

He has a soft spot for her, Alice thought, as she sank to the ground, easily grasping the toes of her outstretched leg and folding her body forward. She wondered how long this sort of thing had been going on.

"Yo, New Girl," someone whispered at her. "What are you, like, made of neoprene?"

Alice blinked, glanced around. Jessica—and the blonde girl she now recognised as Lauren Mallory—had situated themselves in the space next to her.

"Huh?"

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Never mind. Hey, so what's up with you and Nibbles anyway?"

"Excuse me?" Alice said.

"That thing before?" she said. "And we saw you, like, totally staring at her in the cafeteria too."

"Yeah," Lauren said, much louder. "What's up with that?"

Alice tried to shake the fog from her brain. "Sorry, why is any of this your business? And her name is Bella."

"Duh," Jessica said. "She's been the same since Junior High—never eats practically anything. Like, there's watching your figure, and then there's 'eat a sandwich already'. Plus, Bella—Bells—Nibbles, you know?"

Alice blinked again. "Wow, there is nothing not atrocious about that."

Jessica readied some retort, but snapped her mouth shut when she spotted Coach Clapp heading their way.

He stood over them for a few seconds, then begrudgingly said, "Good form, Ms Cullen," and moved on.

"Nibbles totally does pot, too," Lauren said, as soon as he was out of earshot. "I saw the track marks on her arms one time."

Jessica groaned. "Lauren, you don't inject pot. You're thinking of heroin."

"Whatever," Lauren said. "She totally does it. Probably thinks she can get away with it because her dad's a cop."

"Do you even know her?" Alice said. "Have either of you ever even spoken to her?"

Lauren snorted. "No. That would totally be social bukkake."

"What the frick, Lauren!" Jessica said. "Seppuku! You're thinking of seppuku!"

"Whatever."

"Actually," Jessica said, turning back to Alice, "I used to be friends with Nibbles. Sandbox love, you know? We were tight all the way up through elementary school."

"What?" Lauren's jaw hung open. "Jesus, Jess. Keep your voice down, people could hear you."

"Hey, she used to be kinda cool," Jessica said. "Until her mum died at least. After that she got totally messed in the head."

The offhand remark took Alice by surprise. She'd never even thought—"How did it happen?"

"Morbid much?" Jessica said. "It was a car crash. It was super sad actually. The whole town got a big tragedy-boner over it."

Alice didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure how much merit she could place in the other girls' words, and her mind was drifting with too much to process.

Jessica clicked her fingers, drawing Alice's attention back.

"Hey," she said. "So, is your brother seeing anyone?"

Alice blinked. "Huh?"

"You know, the gorgeous one? With the amazing hair?"

"I, uh—" Alice faltered.

Coach Clapp called the class to attention, and Jessica straightened up and mouthed 'talk later' to Alice.

Alice felt detached from herself, barely participating in the rest of the class. She was just trying to wrap her head around everything—the events that had transpired over the last two days.

What have you gotten yourself into, Alice? she thought to herself. You stupid little vampire.

When she got home that night, her mind still swam with blood and revelations.