A/N: Updating because my trusty voice of reason known as Paige suggested not waiting lmao

So has anyone put together what Alice had a light bulb go off about in regards to Bella last chapter that I've hinted at a few times?

"It's November 1st."

"Yes." Still, Alice's excited expression didn't falter at Bella's tired one.

Adjusting her backpack and idly scratching her cheek, Bella mumbled, "The first of November."

"Yes."

"It's not even nine in the morning yet."

Alice pointed at the black santa hat on her head. "Look. I thought about this, okay? I wear this one because you're grumpy and you wear this one because I'm the positive, better part of this duo. We're representing each other."

"You want me to wear that. Today." Bella didn't look up from it as she jerked her thumb over her shoulder toward the school. "In front of people. And I'm guessing until Christmas."

"Yes."

"Like...every day?"

"Bella, you're starting to sound like Rose."

She looked up toward Rosalie by Emmett's Jeep and noticed she seemed very excited about Bella wearing the bright santa hat. The sadist. "I see she doesn't have one."

"No, because this is about us. Aren't you listening?"

"I'm sorry. I've only been awake for thirty minutes and you're already testing the depth of our friendship." When Jessica shouted her name across the parking lot, she called over her shoulder, "Hang on!"

"Well, you're making me reevaluate our friendship, Bella."

She sighed. "Okay."

"Really?"

Green eyes got the widest they'd been all morning because of Alice's squeal and bounce. "Yeah. But, can I—"

"Bella!"

She whirled around. "Give me a fucking second, Jessica!"

"Any clue what she wants?"

"No, but she looks excited and that's never a good sign. Anyway. Can I put it on in second period? Like, so I can have a chance to wake up and understand the new reality of my life?"

"That's fair. I didn't expect you to agree."

"What!"

Alice grinned and shooed her away. "Go on, now. Before she starts screeching."

As Bella huffed and started dragging herself across the parking lot, Alice went over to her family and quirked an eyebrow at the faces awaiting her. "What?"

"Ah, nothing, little freak." Edward slung an arm around her shoulder and held her close.

Emmett, however, was pretending to eat popcorn out of a large bucket.

Rosalie sighed.

Jasper just stared at Bella finally demanding what had Jessica yelling so early in the morning and Alice followed his gaze.

Angela didn't share the enthusiasm or anticipation those around her had.

"Well," Jessica gestured pointlessly with her hand as she leaned against Mike, "We were just talking. You know?"

"I would imagine."

Mike nodded. "And the winter dance is coming up."

Edward's grip on Alice tightened when she twitched.

"Ugh, right. I forgot we had one of those."

"You like Rosalie Hale, huh?" Jules piped up, moving ahead of Tyler and a little past Jessica.

Bella's shoulders rose and fell. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Bit of a bitch, don't you think?"

"If you mean intelligent, driven...proud, charismatic, witty, and unforgiving, then yeah. She's one of the biggest bitches I've ever met."

Jessica had already slapped a hand to her face while Jules ran through a series of facial expressions, including tired, surprised, regretful, and determined. "I didn't mean it in a negative way."

Bella took half a step back. "I'm not really sure what we're talking about? But maybe that's because I'm not fully awake."

"I was wondering if bitches are your type? Because if so we figured you should go to the dance with one."

"This is painful," Rosalie muttered.

"The fuck? Why would I ask her to the dance when she has a boyfriend?"

While Edward sighed and loosened his hold on her, Alice shook her head. "I can't tell if it's the morning or she's that oblivious."

Jessica jumped back in. "No. Bella. Wake up. Jules wants to go to the dance with you."

Bella's head whipped to the side to look at Jules. "Why?"

"I—"

"Never mind. Sorry. Uhm. Not interested in the dance. Thanks. I need to get something out my locker, so—"

"Dinner this Saturday?"

"Dude, I asked you your name last week when we've even done a project in class together."

"Yeah, but you forget yours, too. And life, it seems. You're hot and a little broody and a little angry and I like it. It doesn't have to be complicated."

"Thanks?"

"Besides, don't you think it'd be good for you? Half the time people are saying you're trailing after Rosalie Hale or you're into Alice Cullen," she trailed off in a laugh.

"Bitch, I might be. You wanna tell me what joke you told? Because I sure as hell didn't hear it."

"Bella—"

She held up a slightly trembling hand toward Jessica. "There is nothing immediately wrong with developing feelings for a friend in a relationship, but you can't call that trailing after them. And you're taking shots at Alice like it's impossible for someone to be interested in her, but I literally have to be reminded of your name every day so I guess you're just projecting your lack of self-worth?"

When Bella moved out of the way of Jules trying to slap her, Angela grabbed her arm and led them toward the building, talking about her plans for the weekend.

"I really do like her," Jasper said.

Emmett had his fist pressed tightly against his mouth, but it did nothing to diminish his grin or the amusement in his eyes. "'Bitch, I might be.' Fucking Bells, man. But which part might she be?"

The slam of the microwave drew gold eyes away from her sketchbook and across the kitchen. Bella huffed, spinning around and crossing her arms as she leaned back against the counter. Her jaw was tight and her eyes hard, but the yellow santa hat she still hadn't taken off made her seem more so pouty than angry.

"You know there's nothing wrong with you, right?"

An unhappy smile twitched at the corner of her lips before she turned back to her drawing and started filling in part of the background. Halfway through a tree, she paused, setting down her pencil, but she didn't look up. "Bella, these people have seen me have visions. I tune out and back in or freeze up or my eyes glaze over and I keep doing what I'm doing. I'm the crazy girl of Forks."

Bella dropped into the chair next to her and her fist hit the table hard enough that the pencil bounced. "And that's bullshit!"

After a beat of silence, Alice whispered, "In 1920, I woke up alone in the forest in a shirt with 'Alice-251' on it. It was from an asylum. Wherever I go, I'll always be the crazy girl."

The microwave beeped.

"Never, to me." A warm hand covered hers and held it tightly. "Never with me."

She stared at their point of contact. At the fourth time Bella initiated in the month and a half they'd been friends.

"Fuck. No. Don't cry."

Alice swallowed and dragged her gaze to alarmed green eyes. "I—Bella?" She watched the shifter pull away and stand up. Before she knew it, Bella was sweeping her up in her arms, her feet far from the ground. It took a little over five seconds for her to reciprocate and bury her face in Bella's hair and settle her arms on strong shoulders. She sniffled.

"You're wonderful, you silly little vampire."

"I love you," Alice whispered into her ear.

Bella gave her a tight squeeze, the kind that made you forget other people existed.

The next day, even though there was some snow and ice, Bella Swan cartwheeled across a good fourth of the parking lot in front of a majority of the student body.

Considering the positive events of the week, she was hyper aware of Bella distancing herself. It was small things when, combined, made Alice feel sick. A tight jaw when she smiled. She spaced out more. Green eyes met gold less. Her phone was silenced. They walked farther apart.

By the second day of it, Alice had argued with Rosalie at least five times about not harassing Bella.

Even though Bella had started walking with both hands in her jacket pockets again.

Even though Bella was still wearing the santa hat, as promised.

Alice fidgeted with her pencil, glancing at the teacher busy at his desk before casting her eyes over to Bella's sketchbook. The shifter had stopped drawing and just stared down at the page. At the two renditions she'd crammed onto it.

There was a portrait of an older woman with lines in her face that suggested she'd smiled her way through life. She had a large hat and love in her eyes.

A boy who appeared a little older than Bella and had the same dimple as Charlie. He was kneeling on the ground, thumbs up as he grinned over a small fire. Some of his bangs fell into his eyes.

The grin puckered and distorted as a tear hit the ink.

"Bella?" Alice reached for her arm, but she checked the motion.

"This was the last time they smiled at me."

Before Alice could say something, or touch Bella, because damn her, Alice would be there for her whether she liked it or not, Bella dragged the tip of her pen across the page, tearing it and the next sheets as she went. Bella shoved her things into her bag and left with an excuse about seeing the nurse.

Bella hadn't come back to school the next two days.

And Alice had been lying on her bed since Friday afternoon and had no idea what time it was except that it was in the daylight hours of Saturday. The ceiling was her whole world.

That and the emptiness in her chest.

Hunting was a good idea.

But instead, she blindly slapped her hand around to find her phone and looked at her unanswered texts to Bella. She rolled onto her stomach and came face to face with a sketchbook. An image of a withdrawn Bella Swan burned into her eyes as if it wasn't already forever a part of her memories. She pushed it off the bed and it bounced, landing on a different page where green eyes still didn't look up at her.

Then a vision struck Alice and she flipped herself out of bed so fast the blanket fell. The hinges of her door shrieked, but it wasn't enough warning for poor Emmett as he got turned around while she rushed past him and down the stairs.

Alice was shifting her weight from foot to foot and staring at the front door like it had the answers to life itself when Esme came up beside her. She didn't say anything. Didn't ask anything. But she did adjust Alice's collar and prompt the first small smile from her in days.

It was another ten minutes before the sound of Charlie's cruiser coming up the long driveway reached them. Esme gave Alice a look as they waited and she threatened to shoot off through the door.

A minute after Charlie rang the doorbell, Esme answered him with a smile while Alice fidgeted off to the side, waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

"Is it Bella?" she asked loudly as she came to Esme's side and ignored the roll of gold eyes directed at her. "Oh. Hi, Charlie."

He nodded at her while he rubbed the back of his neck, still in uniform. "Hey, Alice. I actually came hoping to talk to you. Uhm. Are you alright? Did—Did you two have a fight? I'll drag her here and have her apologize. I don't care how she—"

"No! No, we didn't have a fight. What can I do for you?"

"Ah. Well. Guessing you've noticed Bells being...off. Has she talked to you?"

"I wish she had."

Charlie's hand went into his jacket pocket and stayed there, his eyes never staying in one place. "Well, I'm off early today and spending the weekend at the Reservation. I was hoping you could, well, I don't know. Anything, really. I don't know what to do for her and she won't talk to me. I've barely seen her since Wednesday."

Her lips parted, but she didn't say anything. As much as she wanted to know what happened with Bella, as much as she needed Bella back to herself, the idea of going to her had Alice...afraid.

"If you don't want to, that's fine. The last time she was like this she was pretty volatile and then she just, just clammed up. Skipped right to closing herself off this time." Charlie scratched some stubble on his cheek. "Guessing she didn't want to be hurtful, but I tried cracking that shell anyway and it didn't work."

"I'll give it a go and weaponize my cuteness. She owes me an apology anyway."

Charlie chuckled, pulling a key from his pocket and depositing it into her hand. "Bells is doomed. I don't know how she could say no to cute, rambunctious Ali."

"Similarly, I don't know how Alice can stay away from sweet, silly Bella."

"Esme!" Alice clutched the key to her chest as she glanced between the two laughing at her expense.

"Well, I'll go on my way now and swing by the house. I won't be there long and definitely not letting her know you're coming so you can ambush her."

They bid him farewell and, after scowling at Esme and receiving an affectionate smile, Alice darted off to change her clothes. She paced her room to keep from running straight to Bella's house and tried not to think too much because Bella Swan was hard to plan for.

Just as she was finally about to leave, however, she got an idea and retrieved something from atop her dresser.

A/N: The santa hat! Ugh. Goodness. Don't worry, there's a sharp, upward curve toward lighter notes in the first few hundred words of the next chapter. *points at the genres I marked for the story* And a good time, for more than a few reasons. Next we're getting some answers! And some gay. And some cute. Like, buckle up type of cute and gay. And it might be like 6-9k, just as a warning.