a/n: I know, I know. I complain about not writing a final note in my third chapter, and then I do it again on my fourth. How stupid was that? Ah well, at least now I won't forget. I'm not S.M., because of I was, I'd seriously be writing another novel instead of writing fanfic, seriously. Well, enjoy the chapter. Sorry it took so long to get it up and running.
Chapter Five: Alice
APOV (Amber)
"Man, you guys did awesome! I was the first one to be found, and I thought my hiding spot was foolproof." Jack said, walking up to Jasper and I when we first walked into camp.
"Climbed a tree." Jasper said, watching me from the corner of my eye. I rolled my eyes at him, smiling. He smiled back, and I chuckled. My eye roll meant that I thought Jack was being silly, and the smile. Jasper's smile meant that he understood. Or was glad that I was smiling at him. Boys, so simple, yet so hard to understand.
"Well…we…um…have a visitor." Carlisle said. "Jasper, please try to be nice." He added, looking at his son warily. Jasper clenched his jaw, but said nothing.
The next thing I knew a little white and black blur flew toward him, stopping just a second before collision. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding, that I didn't really need.
It was a vampire, obviously. She had short, spiky black hair and the usual vegan butterscotch eyes. I could see her clothes from here, and the designs impressed me. All of them were name brand.
"Jasper! I'm so, so, so sorry! Please, forgive- who is this?" The vampire jumped topics so fast I didn't realize she was talking about me until Jasper spoke.
"This is Amber Sterling. Amber, this is Alice." Jasper muttered, looking away awkwardly. Everyone else had tactfully run off, leaving the three of us alone. Great.
"Hello Alice. Nice to meet you." I said, turning away. Jasper caught my wrist and spun me around to face him.
"You don't have to leave because she's here." He said, pulling me closer to his side. I noticed the anger when he mentioned Alice, and it shocked me. Jasper seemed to take everything so calmly, and seeing him so angry made me a little scared.
"Jasper, she's your Mate. You need to be with her more than you need to be with me." I told him, pulling away. Then I turned and walked away, not looking back.
It hurt having to leave him, but it was the right thing to do. He needed to be with his wife, and I needed to get out of the picture. They'd be happier this way, I told myself. It sounded like a lie. Why, oh why did Alistor have to be the one who had changed me? Why couldn't I have been changed by Carlisle, or any of the others? Well, everyone wants something they can't have. Why, of why did I get to be the one Alistor took a liking to? But wishing for things to change won't change them.
JPOV (Jasper)
"Jasper, are you still there?" Alice asked, waving a hand in front of my face. I nodded and turned from where Amber had just disappeared, regrettably looking down at me wife.
"Why did you come back?" I asked her. When she had walked out a year ago, there had been a sense of finality to it. But here she was, her eyes pleading with me to take her back.
"I had to Jazz. I love you no matter what obstacle stands in our way." She said, her eyes drifting to where Amber had been swallowed b the forest around us. I wondered if she knew that I had caught her glance.
"Really? That's not what you said before you left." I reminded her, almost feeling bad when I saw her flinch at the memory. Almost. It served her right.
"Jazz, that wasn't me. You know how edgy I get when I haven't shopped in a while, and you weren't exactly being sensitive. And the vision I had about you really didn't help much either." Alice said. Hearing her use my nickname made me mad, and I lashed out at her verbally.
"Yeah, then who did I see swapping spit with that human guy?" I asked her, taking a threatening step closer. "Why would you even want to kiss a human?"
"At least he was nice to me. You had issues to deal with back then, so I left you alone to sort them out." She said simply. The way she said it, so nonchalantly, made me even angrier than before. I actually wanted to physically hurt her, and I knew I couldn't do that. I had to get out of there, and fast.
"Sorry to cut this short, but I'm too mad to talk to you. I'll deal with this later." I said, walking away without a backward glance at her tiny figure.
RPOV (Raven)
Amber, are you okay?" I asked my little sister. She was sitting in the middle of a clearing, on a rock, in the heart of the forest. She looked smaller, almost withered; as if she'd shrunk in the ten minutes it took for me to locate her.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." She said, turning to me. She had a piece of paper in her hand, a pen tucked behind her ear.
I took the paper from her and read over, glancing at her every once in a while. She looked embarrassed.
"I didn't know you wrote poetry." I said, handing her back the paper. She took it happily, then burned it, using her pyrokinetisism. I stared at her, bewildered.
"I don't." She said, standing up. She walked away, but I grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
"What's wrong?" I asked her, genuine concern in my voice. I loved her like a sister, and I would do anything for her. Even try to understand her feminine mind, a mystery guys like me have yet to figure out.
"Oh, nothing. I'm fine Rave, really." She said, slipping from my grasp. She took a few more steps forward, but Josh was in her way. I hadn't even heard him join us.
"Are you sure?" He asked, grabbing Amber's arm and walking her back to the rock. She sat down wordlessly, frowning at us.
"You guys don't have to so this. I'm fine, really." She said once again, her eyes now cast downward. She was far from fine.
This time I heard the approach before the person spoke. "You're not fine, Amber."
"Yes Vi, I truly am, trust me." She said, and I noticed the stress in her voice.
"We're not just going to disappear." Sue said. Our whole family was now in the clearing, Amber in the middle.
"Please, just leave me alone." She said, her voice almost filled with pain. It made me mad that we couldn't do anything to stop that pain.
"We won't. You're family and we care about you." Jack said. He had one arm wrapped around her, the other resting in his lap, his hand curled into a fist.
"You need to trust us Amber. We need to know what's going on." Helena said gently.
APOV (Amber)
"You guys need to leave me alone." I said. I brought my hands us, flames dancing on my fingertips.
"Amber, come on. You would never do that to us." Rave said confidently. The fire grew bigger, covering my whole hands.
"Are you sure? Do you want to find out?" I asked, my voice dark. I hated acting like this, but nobody was listening to me. Jack removed his arm from my shoulders and walked over to Helena.
"Amber, this isn't like you." Josh said, taking a hesitant step forward. I made the flames grow brighter, and he stepped back. They were actually afraid of me.
"Prove it. Tell me, what do you know about me?" I asked. The whole group, now including Laura and Victor, were completely silent.
"That's not fair, you didn't tell us anything." Jack complained, and I extinguished the fire. The usual ache now covered my hands, but I ignored it.
"Exactly. You didn't need to know, so I never told you. Now I love you all, but you need to stay out of my personal life." I said, and they nodded, silent.
"Amber…" Rave said, pleadingly. I turned to him and smiled wryly.
"I'll be back soon, I promise. Don't wait up." I told him, then stood up. My family separated to let me get out of the mob they had created.
I'd come back to them when my past was cleared up, I had to. I needed to end the ways I had once lived, or else my past would always be there, haunting me and them. I needed to go, and now.
No one said a word as I turned and left, rushing through the forest.
a/n: Okay, I know, all that time waiting, and this was all you got. Don't worry, this isn't the end, and I'll be able to write more often, so I'll probably have the next chapter up by Tuesday or Wednesday. Review, I love hearing from you all, C.