A/N: Here. A longer chapter. Sometimes, I really dislike the way I write, and this is just another one of the chapters which I feel isn't that good... but whatever, hopefully the next chapter will be better. Thanks to everybody who's been reviewing, and yes, I did make Victoria have powers. Hope you guys enjoy it! REMEMBER TO REVIEW PLEASE :)


JASPER POV

Alice.

She was in trouble.

I didn't know why or how I felt it, but the sense of urgency my instincts were screaming at me scared me. The thoughts flitted through my head, each worse than the last. What if the other vampire had gotten to her first? I would never have forgiven myself if that happened to her. That was the whole reason why I was here in the first place, to protect her. As if on cue, an image involuntarily hit me—Alice, her tiny body lying across the floor, drained, leaving a sheen of gray on her creamy skin.

I stopped in front of her door and hastily broke open the lock that led into the room she was quarantined in, to find her crouched above the sink, her body jerking violently. I felt my tense body loosen imperceptibly, a strange sort of relief washing over me which quickly disappeared when I smelled a scent that shouldn't have been there—it was her blood. The smell was overpowering, more so than it usually was, so she must have been vomiting blood.

The news of her sickness had gotten to me quickly, since I had asked Michael, her nurse, and my fellow friend, why she hadn't been attending sessions, but what the fuck was this? Didn't they have anyone taking care of her in here? Hadn't they ever heard of people called doctors? They were supposed to be cleaning up this mess, not me.

Still, I simply couldn't bring myself to walk away from her when she was in this state. I had been trying to do what I felt was best for her all this while, but I couldn't do that now. I needed to help her. The guilt I felt for leaving her was a good enough reason for that, but I knew the bigger reason of it was because I just couldn't bear seeing her torn up like this. My feet moved on automatic, as my mind repeated the same sentence over and over again.

How could she do this to me?

I understood that I was being selfish, seeing how it was I who had left her. Still, I had always been watching. Listening to the snippets of news the workers exchanged each day to be sure that she was alright, that nothing had ever happened to her. She, as I was starting to realize, was rapidly becoming a part of my life, whether I liked it or not.

"Alice." I choked out, gently placing my hands on her slender waist to support her.

"M-my angel." She whispered in a paper thin voice as she shakily released the edge of the sink and put her overly hot palm on my arm. Her body immediately flew backwards, out of balance, and I tightened my grip around her, all the while assuring her that she would be alright, that I would take care of her.

Sweet nothings that I wanted so badly to fulfill.

I lifted her easily and softly placed her on her bed, then splashed some water on a washcloth to wipe her face with. As I was attempting to make her temperature die down, her eyes flitted open, and I automatically froze at the sight of her cat-like green eyes that I had been yearning to see again.

She blinked, once, twice, emanating outright confusion. I was bewildered too, especially with my actions. I was supposed to be leaving her alone, to make this easier for the both of us. Yet, here I was, crouched by her side and tending to her. I opened my mouth to explain to her, but the two words that came out were not what I had been expecting to say.

"You're okay." I reassured her, and I felt her warm hand reach over to take mine as a smile braced her face. Not good. Definitely not good. Why did I have to be so damn indecisive all the time? I was the one who had caused all this.

"You came back." She murmured, gingerly sitting up from the position she was previously in. Her warm hand slipped into mine, and warning signals instantly flared up in my brain. I stubbornly ignored them, blissfully enjoying the feel of her warmth against my iciness.

Something clicked in my mind. She needed to know what I was, what I was here for. She needed to know it before she could decide whether she really truly loved me or not. She needed to know it... now.

"Alice, there's something you need to know." I voiced out my thoughts, glancing down at her worried expression. Might as well utter an official goodbye, since there was no way she would ever want me after keeping the truth away from her for so long.

She nodded vaguely, though she clutched my hand tighter, scared that I would leave her again. As if that could happen. I thought grimly to myself. There was no way I could leave her side now.

"I'm not who—what you think I am. I'm…" I heard her sharp intake of breath, felt the worry that she felt for me. I took a deep breath before spitting out the forbidden word.

"A vampire." I finished, carefully studying her reaction.

She pulled her hand away from mine, her eyes widening as her expression became impossible to read. Then a thoughtful smile turned up the corners of her lips again.

"That's what you've been hiding from me this whole time. It would explain… well… a lot of things. Like your constant temperature, for one." She muttered to herself, before looking up at me expectantly.

"That's not all, is it?" She asked again, twirling a strand of black hair on her index finger nervously. I shook my head, wishing I could pull her against me, wishing my arms could save her from everything she didn't know. She didn't deserve all this.

"There's this other… vampire. His name is James and he's a tracker, which means that he never gives up on the chase when he finds one. Well—"

"He found me, didn't he?" She whispered, barely audible, her face turning alarmingly pale.

"He… He saw you out when you were out riding in the woods one day. He's been planning his every move to get you—he knows you're here because his mate, Victoria is a psychic, like you." There. That was proof that she wasn't insane, wasn't it?

"Then, what are you doing here?" she queried, ignoring the latter statement and pulling her legs up to her chin, her gaze distant.

"To protect you… only one other person here knows that I'm a vampire. We've been planning to get you out of here. Somewhere where you'll be safe." I said firmly.

"It's Michael, isn't it?" The words were weak, soft. It was my turn to nod at her, and she slumped against the white wall behind her.

"Aren't you supposed to be… dangerous to humans, like James?" A grim smile tugged up the corners of my mouth, since that was the first question I had been expecting her to ask.

"Some of us—a very small amount of us, feed on animals. Like Michael and I. That's why we have golden eyes instead of red. It doesn't fully satisfy us, but it satiates the hunger." I explained patiently, and she grew still again, subconsciously biting her bottom lip.

"How am I supposed to take all this? You tell me my life is danger, and that my one other friend is a vampire. The person I love, also, oh, just happens to be a vampire." She suddenly shrieked, her eyes blazing with anger.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I murmured, wishing I could just make everything between us okay again. I knew how she feeling. This was the first time I had ever fallen in love, and as luck my have it, it was with a human. I had no clue what I was doing, and I was scared beyond belief at the thought of losing her, and I would have gladly taken her place in this situation if I could. I would have done anything just to know she was safe.

"We leave tonight." I had no clue whether it was a statement or question, but I agreed. Like I said, anything for her.


ALICE POV

I kept convincing myself that this was all a dream, that I wasn't actually out of that stupid asylum with Jasper protectively poised beside me. I was now changed out of my usual uniform and wore one of Jasper's oversized black jacket on top of a plain white shirt with a pair of black pants. The jacket was because it was dark, and therefore, cold, since it had already hit autumn. I had learnt that Jasper also had the power to manipulate people's emotions—an empath, he called it, which proved useful when he had lulled the guards asleep. That explained why sometimes he could read me like an open book.

The fact that he was an actual vampire was still hard for me to take in. Sure, I had heard plenty of stories about them, but I had turned my nose at the idea that anything but humans roamed our planet. Of course, it did strike me as odd that Michael and Jasper just happened to have the exact same shade of honey gold eyes, and that Jasper was so… cold all the time. But, I was glad that he finally trusted me enough to tell me what was really going on, and vampire or not, I couldn't ignore the feelings I felt for him. I knew it would be hard, working things out, but I was going to fight for this relationship as hard as I could.

Michael had hesitantly forgiven me after Jasper and I had told him of our departure and after I had literally begged for my forgiveness—that also served a part in the calmness I was feeling. Michael had been my only friend back there, and I didn't want him mad at me, because I never knew when I would have seen him again.

"Climb on my back." Jasper whispered to me, once we were out of the main doors. We still had the thorny wire that was on the brick walls to go over, and of course, the security cameras, which I had no idea how we would get past. I shot him a look, but cautiously swung my legs over his hips and wrapped my arms around his neck.

I yelped as he took off, everything around me becoming an incomprehensible blur. We were literally flying.

Then we were over the fence. A massive headache had broken into my head, and I wrinkled my nose in distaste. Okay, flying didn't really seem so appealing anymore, not if I would get a raging headache like this after. Besides, since when did vampires fly anyway?

"You didn't tell me vampires could fly." I grumbled, putting a hand to my head.

He laughed, a breathtaking sound which filled every nerve in my body with joy.

"I didn't fly. I ran. We have super speed, super strength, better senses…" He let his voice trail off. Huh. He might as well have said he was just better than humans. Great, so I was in love with a figure of total perfection, making me the damsel in distress. Was I such particularly interesting person that the world was so insistent to screw me over? I didn't think so, but other forces apparently thought opposite.

"Come on, you silly girl." He pulled me on his back once again and this time I shut my eyes, not anticipating my headache to grow even bigger.

He finally stopped at a small convenient store, which had several cars parked in front of it. I followed him as he walked towards a shiny black motorcycle. He threw me a helmet and I quickly threw out a hand to catch in, suddenly speechless. We were riding on a motorcycle? Didn't he know that this would only quicken my death?

"You'll be alright. I promise. You trust me, don't you?" He was at my side in an instant, his hand just barely brushing against mine. I skeptically put it on, making sure the straps were tightly fastened beneath my chin. He held out his hand and I curled mine around it, using it as a balance for me to get on the motorcycle. He hopped on easily in front of me, and I tightly pulled my hands around his waist.

"Jesus Christ, Jasper! Slow down! Where are we going anyway?" I retorted, once we were speeding down the road. His driving-- or was it steering-- was scaring the living daylights out of me. He drove worse than a maniac, swerving sharp curves and going well over the speed limit... at least, that's what it felt like. I had never rode on the back of a motorcycle before, and I was scared to death.

"Sorry. I like speed, and you'll see." He beamed, barely slowing down.