Meyer owns the characters…
AN: Thanks for the reviews! It means a lot to me to get feed back. So Bella and Alice will have girl bonding time and Jasper will get to know the Cullen boys a little better. Also I reposted the previous chapters after editing some more so less mistakes :)
On with the tale…
Chapter 9: Shopping Secrets
BPOV:
"Bella I don't know if I like this we are getting too involved it could be dangerous for either party." Jasper had met me by the door of my study hall and was fiddling with his keys as we were walking towards the side doors.
"Jasper come on we have been alright so far and you still havn't been able to pick up any signs of a threat calm down. Remember that they are vegetarians so they won't be like the other large covens or armies that we have encountered before. I have looked Jasper no horrible dark secrets though Alice seems to have no recollection of her past at all." I trailed off and Jasper looked a bit troubled at this.
"Would that be why she feels lost? Or why she feels loss when she is walking away." Jasper was talking to himself and though her past may be why she feels lost sometimes it wasn't the reason she feels loss when she walks away. She secretly loves Jasper how she came to loving him before they even met well, I will find out this weekend.
"See you two tomorrow!" Alice smiled and waved as she hopped into the Volvo a few cars down from ours.
"Alright!" I smiled and waved back before getting into the car. I turned to Jasper with a sudden thought of fear.
"You don't think she will try to dress me up do you?" Jasper laughed it was reassuring because I knew the answer before I asked but it would have been nice to pretend at least for the ride home.
Xxx xxxx
"Just bring the cards Jasper I have a feeling that Alice is going to drag me shopping so you might need something to entertain yourself with." It was seven in the morning but Alice could deal with us being late she is lucky I don't need sleep because I got cranky when I was woken up too early. Jasper was fidgeting with his shirt cuffs I held back a giggle it was funny to see Major Whitlock nervous.
"Jasper if you mess with that shirt much more it will end up as green rags with buttons" Jasper just huffed I smiled thinking reassuringly he wasn't going to be dragged shopping like I was so he had little to worry about.
When we got to the Cullen's house Alice was already on the porch waiting and bounceing. I laughed at this thinking how she was like I use to be when I was waiting for my grandparents to visit.
"Excited are we Alice?" I asked as we walked onto the porch.
"I can't wait to start shopping oh and Jasper if Emmett asks you for a wrestling match, don't worry it is just how he is." Alice was already draging me to the Volvo and I laughted at the thought of Emmett trying to beat Jasper I had yet to see anyone do that.
"Bye Jass don't beat them too badly at any of the games it would be rude. Okay Alice okay we are going sheesh!"
As we were pulling out I heard Edward yelling to be careful with his car causing Alice to giggle.
"He and Emmett should be more worried about loseing to Jasper" I remarked. The ride to wherever we were shopping was full of questions about Jasper.
"How about I just start listing things then you don't have to ask?" I watched Alice nod before I continued.
"Okay, his favorite color is a gray or green depending on his mood, he doesn't like being out numbered or taken by surprise but that is difficult to pull of anyway, he until now had yet to meet a Mary he could stand, he can clean house at card games so I hope your brothers aren't dumb enough to try and gamble with him." Alices eyes glased over as we parked Thank the Lord we were already parked.
"umm Alice? Are you okay?" she giggled and nodded before answering my silent request of 'What?'
"Well my brothers didn't seem to take your warning very seriously." I sighed and was shaking my head getting out of the car when Alice asked
"Was Jasper was always good a poker?" I turned to look at her before answering.
"Well he really didn't play very much when he was human but after our changes he would use his luck at gambling to get money for clothes and that sort of thing. Which resulted in our small fortune we are now living off of, most of which is invested in gold or jewels in safe boxes all over the country now." I glanced at Alice as we entered the mall and I held back a shiver.
"Why do you ask?" Alice had a miscivious look about her when she replied.
"Well Edward and Emmett will be loseing a good amount of money to him playing poker. I'll tell you now Edward won't like it but even when he deals he still loses." I laughed Serves them right.
"Don't worry Jasper will most likely find a way to give it back to them or he will just give it to Esme or Carlisle." Most likely saying he won't take children's money since both of those two are younger than him.
"Oh I hope not it will be fun to see them both so confused. Though it would be funny to see him giving the money back to Carlisle a perfect family moment no doubt." I shrugged and didn't nearly have time to blink before I was tossed into a dressing room. Pushy Pixe.
"Try these on and then I will know what size from my online orders to pick up." I looked at the clothes and cringed lots of pink Not my first choice. I tried one on anyway not wanting to cause a scene. Other than the color it wasn't as bad as I though it was but there was no way I was going to say that out loud. The shirt was a deep magenta sweater of sorts and the cargo gray pants worked quite nicely just a bit pink for me. I opened the door to see Alice's face flash from curiosity to joy before she nearly squealed.
"We have to get that! Ok once we do that we can pick up my two online orders and then we can talk right?" I nodded slowly but had to ask.
"Why did you order stuff off line for pickup when you could have just had it delivered to your house and save the trip? Also there is no way I am going to let you pay for one order for me let alone two." I had just handed Alice the clothes I she picked out for me. She gave me an odd look before telling me that only one was for me the other was for Jasper. I shook my head
"Alice those could still be delivered to your house." I would find a way to pay for them anyway.
"Because I can't 'see' you so I needed to see if the clothes would fit I knew the ones I picked out for Jasper would fit him. Plus the only reason that we aren't going through the store today is because we need to talk but still make it look like I dragged you shopping to aleiviate suspicion." That made sense and Edward can't read my mind to see that we didn't but Alices…
"Well this will be our little secret huh?" I said with a smile that Alice returned. No need to worry now.
"Why don't we go to the library? It would be a good place for this conversation." I remarked as we were putting the 23 yes 23 bags into the Volvos trunk.
"To the library then! Umm do you know where it is because I can't see it with you here?" Alice asked sheepishly. I smiled and pointed at the sign of the library that was down the road. Once we got put together in a study room it got down to business and I would have laughed seeing Alice so serious but that would have been ill mannered.
"Ok so how do you know my name?" Well simple question simple answer right? Not! I wish.
"Let me start with the bits smoothed over when I was talking about my power yesterday" Alice nodded and I took a breath before starting.
"Ok you know how I said the best way to describe my power is an enigma? Well that's a loose phrasing for it. A better or more precise wording would be that I can find and keep secrets of sorts. It is kind of a sixth sense of how people are it just can be more detailed depending on how honed in I am looking. After that I can keep it a secret from others to the point that only if that person really wants to tell someone will it be told. I am guessing something close to this happened to Edward when he was listening to Jasper."
"So you can protect others thoughts by just thinking of keeping it a secret? Oh that's what you were doing at the mall? Our little secret…" she trailed off eyes wide and I was afraid that she wasn't going to take it as well as I thought.
"That is so cool now I don't have to worry about blocking my thoughts about this from Edward do I?" I smiled with relief.
"Nope but I think we should limit this so he doesn't get too suspicious. I still feel bad about not telling the full truth yesterday but well other covens that found out about it had to be taken care of so that we would be left alone in peace." Alice gave me a sad smile and suddenly perked up.
"Wait do you know my full name?" she almost to the point of jumping out of the chair with excitement when I nodded my head and answered
"Mary Alice Brandon I am pleased to meet you. Hey do you want to go through the archives and see if we can find some stuff about you? Before you ask me questions that we could get answered on the computer please..." Alice looked like she would have cried if she could, nodding with a small smile.
"Well let's hop to it." I remarked as we made our way to the computers at the back of the library
Xxx xxxx
We had only been able to find that she was from the now Denver Co area and had 'died' at sixteen leaving her parents and younger sister who were now desesed. But there had to have been more to it than this like search parties etc. So I asked her if she would like me to look farther I didn't want to push her and it didn't seem like it would be a happy tale.
I shouldn't have concentrated so hard because I sure wasn't prepared for what I saw or the fact that it felt like a sledge hammer was being taken to my head.
I saw some sort of hospital, a mental hosptital, and a vampire carrying what looked to be a small child out the third story building window and into the forest behind it. Then my vision blured hearing phrases and seeing flashes of people. I saw and heard a loveing sister, doting but fearful parents, another caring voice scared that someone was going to hurt her…
"Oh Lord I am never doing that again" I rubbed my temples as I sat up from the floor Good thing we are back in the study room or me colapsing out of my chair would have caused a scene. Alice was sitting next to me absolutely terrified; I smiled and patted her on the arm.
"Well it isn't a pretty picture but your family loved you very much and did what the thought was best for you." I stopped and thought for a moment.
"Actually if you had not been sent to the mental hospital the vampire there would not have been able to change you preventing another vampire from killing you so sending you there saved your life sort of…" I felt moisture on my cheeks Great I am weeping venom again dang the whole human façade.
"How are you able to cry? Was it really that bad?" I shrugged my sholders.
"I can keep a secret of what I am thus why I seem so human. Yeah it wasn't that bad but you spent almost two years in that place and almost died twice if you think about it. Once if the vampire lost control or if the other one got to you…" Alice put her arms around my shoulders resting her head on one.
"Thank you for looking and helping me and thank you for cring for me when I can't." I laughed and hugged her back.
"It stinks because here I am crying about what happened to you but I should be comforting you letting you cry on my shoulder as it were." I sniffed hugging Alice tighter No one and I mean NO ONE should have been treated like that.
"We are having a sleepover tonight." I let go of Alice and smirked
"Only if it is at my house because Jasper will be able to tell something is up and I think he would want to know about this and tell you a couple things about himself…" Alice's smile truned devilish as if to say Bella Barbie time.
"Fine Alice you can plan my cloths but you have to talk your parents into letting you come over" I smiled at the thought of getting her parents premission and as odd as it sounded it seemed nice to be able to have that. Alice squealed as we got back into the car I am going to regret this I just know it… hopefully she will forget makeup this time.
AN: Now we see the boy's day pan out… in the next chapter which should be up at a max of 5minutes after this one Sorry I just wanted to keep a constant chapter length...
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-Ladybug
