Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Chapter 9.- All the things that you went through.


The brunette has a hard time comprehending where all the familiarity came from. Alice hadn't seen her in eight months and now she was hugging her like nothing ever happened. It was weird how familiar yet foreign her hug felt – It was still the same cold skin and the same sweet smell, but it now seemed less captivating than what it once was. Bella had to tap Alice's back when the air wasn't coming into her lungs anymore. The vampire let go and stepped back, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, it's been a while since I had contact with a human… I guess I was a little too strong." She giggled.

"It's okay." Bella said, putting some distance from the pixie-like vampire and herself. "What brings you here so early? Your text said you'd take a couple hours."

"Uh… to be honest, I was just excited to see you." Alice cocked her head and saw Paul standing behind Bella, a few feet away. Alice had forgotten about the obvious presence of the wolf for a second, and he didn't seem happy with her at all. "But if it's a bad moment, I can leave and come back."

"Why would you?" Bella followed Alice's line of vision and came to realize that she was staring at Paul. "It's fine, he won't do anything."

Alice's eyes immediately went to Bella's face, surprised. "You know about them." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah." The brunette nodded awkwardly. "Actually, that's why he's here."

"You brought a wolf. To protect you. From me." Alice articulated, looking somewhat hurt by it.

"It's nothing personal, Alice." Bella dismissed her. "He just wants to make sure everything's okay, since you came so suddenly." She quickly glanced at Paul to confirm he was still there and felt a little relieved that he didn't seem angry. "Why don't we talk inside?"

"Is he coming?" Alice asked, reluctant.

"He won't bite, I promise." Bella stepped aside, hinting for Alice to go ahead.

Alice followed the invitation and walked to the house, followed by the brunette and then the wolf. The house hadn't changed a bit, except it smelled like wet dog. She thought that the smell was bad enough when the others were following her around but the one Paul left behind was almost unbearable. If Alice could puke, she probably would have. Even when she hugged Bella, the smell was all over her hair and clothes. The vampire wondered about the type of relationship they shared – Paul seemed to float around Bella in a protective manner, but was still subtle enough that only those with a sharp eye would notice. Bella seemed to be comfortable around him and would look out for him, like checking that he hand't disappeared into nothing. It was all too weird, and she had a couple things to say about that, but she would wait to open up her big mouth. It was a precious opportunity already, and pointing fingers so quickly wasn't going to help. The human girl led her into her kitchen and offered a seat on the table where the food was still untouched on the plates.

"We didn't get to eat." Bella explained. Alice grew concerned as she noticed that Paul was part of her breakfast plans, and that most likely had spent the night.

"You go ahead." She smiled cheerfully. "But… if you don't mind me saying this," now she looked at Paul, "this place smells." A playful smile appeared in Alice's face, but this time her eyes remained inexpressive.

"You don't smell great either." Paul hissed while sitting down next to Bella. "You almost make me lose my apatite." Bella frowned at both.

"Can you be a little more civil?" She scolded the guy, although Alice felt a little targeted too. She looked away, embarrassed, while the wolf took his plate and stood up.

"… I'll go to the living room so you guys can talk." He didn't look like he wanted to leave at all as he pierced Alice with his dark eyes until he left the kitchen. It was obvious he didn't trust her alone with Bella.

"I'm sorry about that." Bella excused him, before turning her attention to Alice once more. "I didn't know wolfs smelled…"

"I don't think you could tell even if you tried." Alice said. "But in case you're curious, it smells like a wet dog that hasn't had a bath in a long, long time." That made both of them chuckle. Alice put out her cold hand and touched Bella's across the table. "I am glad you asked me to come."

The other girl's reaction wasn't what Alice expected. Bella smiled awkwardly and removed her hand slowly, avoiding her eyes. She was obviously wary of her and seemed to trust her as much as the wolf guy did.

"Listen, Alice." She said and finally looked at the vampire in the eyes. "Before you say anything, I think you owe me some answers." Alice nodded, knowing that she would eventually ask, although it was a little out of character for Bella to be so proactive.

"Shoot."

"Why are you back?" The brunette kept being blunt, for the sake of not showing the vampire any kind of opening. She wanted the truth with no sugar coating. "Why did you show up here after so long?"

Alice exhaled loudly. "I saw you in one of my visions… jumping off the cliff." Bella was taken aback for a second. "I thought you… you know…"

"Killed myself? I can't believe it." Bella was baffled. Alice remained quiet. "Anyhow, why even bother yourself over that? Wasn't your family going to stay away? Looking into my future doesn't seem like staying away for me. Much less showing up in front of Charlie all of a sudden." Bella was angry at the half-assed way they left her behind – Why could Alice know about her when she spent months trying to convince herself they were actually real? It all seemed so one-sided.

"Don't get me wrong, Bella." Alice frowned, trying to gather the correct words to explain herself. " After being able to see you for so long… it's like waves that my radar can read now. I wasn't trying to see you." Alice looked over her shoulder, trying to see if the wolf was paying attention to their conversation, but he was not in sight. In front of her, Bella seemed a little reluctant to believe her. "I promise I wasn't spying on you. I knew very little of your life after we left Forks, and I tried to distance myself like Edward wanted. But… when I saw you jumping, I was convinced that you were gone and thought that putting distance didn't make sense anymore, until I saw Charlie that is. I was surprised to find out that you were okay."

"That's because Paul took me out of the water, didn't you see that too?" Bella perceived Alice's genuine surprise when she explained what happened. "I was in and out of the water in no time, Alice. Didn't you try and look at it again?"

"Bella, I sure tried, but they was nothing on you." Alice grimaced. "I tried looking further ahead but nothing came out of it. Not even you going to school or being home with Charlie. Your whole existence was just 'puff' and there couldn't be any other explanation."

"What about today? You should have known what would happen if you came early right?" Bella asked, referring to Paul's presence at her house.

"I couldn't, actually. It's the first time that it happens aside from…" Alice's eyes opened wide in realization, letting Bella fully appreciate their dark golden color. She had thought that the wolves weren't making any rational decisions when tracking her down, but the answer seemed to change now that Bella brought it up. "It's them."

"Them?" The brunette looked puzzled. "Who's them?"

"Your friends." Alice felt a little annoyed. "I can't see your friends."

"And when I'm with them, you can't see me." Bella finished, quickly catching up. At least for the most part.

There was more it than just that: It wasn't only that Bella was around wolves enough for her not to see her future – it was that Bella's future had become so entangled with theirs that there wasn't anything in her life that didn't involve them anymore. The fogginess she experienced before was an earlier stage of something far more imminent. Alice felt a chill go down her spine when she thought of the way Paul looked at Bella – way too similar to how vampires looked at their mates.

"Bella, may I ask something?" Alice asked in a slightly higher voice. Bella bit her lower lip and reluctantly nodded. "How did you come around these wolves? I know my brother said you're a magnet for trouble but… another mythological being? Isn't that too much?"

Bella looked at Alice like she had just said that the earth was round and revolved around the sun. "They phase when vampires are around… like a defense mechanism." Bella explained. "I figured your family knew that as long as you were around, they would be too."

"I knew that they existed as in past tense. I didn't imagine I would run into them like Carlisle did. I thought all of them had passed." Alice admitted, feeling like she missed out on something. "And that doesn't explain why you are with them. You're not a Quileute, how is this possible? Even if they existed before we left, it makes no sense that you conveniently find out after we leave." Alice's concern grew much more as Bella kept being reluctant to answer. The treaty was made in order to protect both sides from being exposed, so it made Alice curious as to why they would let her in on it. "Bella?"

"Some of the guys in the pack phased a while after you left. I kind of guessed. Jake told me some of the legends in secret and I just put two and two together." She replied, not wanting to give away much about the guys. "I wasn't supposed to know, I just did."

"They phased? After the vampires left?" The room's atmosphere grew heavy on them. There were so many gaps in the whole story and Bella was willing to fill very few of them.

Bella was struggling to tell everything to Alice. What help would it do? It would only stir things that she would rather forget. Victoria was still trying to get to her, and if the Cullens became involved it would only fire her up some more. She decided to give her a vague answer.

"There have been some nomads coming and going around the area causing trouble and trying to get into Forks." Bella shrugged.

"It's amazing how willing you are yo put yourself at danger." Alice mumbled in disbelief. "Why stay with them? Bella, this is exactly what Edward was worried about. Aren't they a lot more unstable than vampires? What do you think you're doing? You might have not jumped off that cliff trying to die, but this is even more deadly than that!" Alice was going rampant with her comments. "The moment you found out you should've put some distance. Let them handle the vampires and don't mess in those matters anymore."

She felt betrayed, in a way, by Bella in the place of her adoptive brother. Edward had pushed his whole family out of a perfectly nice life because he feared that Bella could get caught up in the middle of their lifestyle, to 'save her soul', to give her a normal life, and she just wasn't having it? She could've gone out with Mike, Tyler, or anyone that was human for that matter. She could've gone to school, dated, married, had kids even. And she threw it out the window for the next monster that knocked on her door?

"Alice! I won't stand you talking about them like that." Bella hissed. "What right do you have? You left! There's a lot you don't know."

"Well, enlighten me! Why would you throw away all we did for you to have a normal life, and put yourself in this position?" Alice stood up, sending her chair flying out.

"Alice, what normal life?" Bella stood up as well and approached Alice to show her the half-moon scar still on her arm. "I had nightmares for months, I couldn't bring myself to act like a living person, I stopped being me and was more like a zombie. You and your family selfishly left without saying goodbye because it was easier for you, not for me. I shielded myself in other people that eventually had their lives turned around because of your family, because of what you are. Do you think the pack wanted to phase? To stop going to school to patrol endlessly around the reservation? And let's not talk about safety here. Did you even bother to check on Jame's mate? Because she's hunting me down right this moment. Not long ago Laurent showed up to hunt me down too – to spare me from Victoria's revenge, that is. The one who doesn't understand jack shit is you, Alice." Her face had turned red and her firsts were clenched so hard that the palms of her hands hurt. "I thought this was a good idea. To talk and get some closure… but it wasn't. I think you should leave."

"Victoria is back?" The room became quiet.

"Yes. She seems to be hunting me down."

"Bella! This is something you bring up immediately!" Alice took Bella by the arm and started to drag her out. "I need to take you to my family, we need to solve this. We can protect you."

"No! Alice!" Bella struggled with her, but the vampire was way stronger. "The pack is doing that already. It has nothing to do with you anymore. Let me go!" She kept pushing and pulling.

Alice felt the presence of the wolf creeping on her back, and wondered if she could out run him. Alice was upset at Bella and herself. When she saw the guy's ready-to-attack aura, she realized she needed to calm down and gain control of the situation – to make Bella understand that what she was doing was dangerous. She didn't want to fight her.

"Bella… I'm sorry. I freaked." Alice stuttered as she let go, unable to get at the girl who was now looking at her with cold eyes. "Let's talk."

"I think this conversation is over." Paul intervened. "Get out, leech."

Alice glanced at the wolf with anger. "Stay out."

"Alice!" Bella stood between them. "Please leave."

The vampire gave another look at Paul and felt his anger emanating through his pores. She wanted to stay and convince Bella, but as long as the wolf was there, she wouldn't be able to. Alice sighed with resignation and gave Bella a sad smile. "I understand. I'll leave."

Bella moved cautiously behind her, leading her to the door and then outside, with Paul following now very closely. They got to the porch when the phone rang inside.

"It was nice seeing you, Alice." Bella said not that sincerely, before going back inside to pick the home phone. She didn't even look or wave goodbye at Alice. "Hello? Oh, hi Mrs. Newton…" Alice heard her answer inside. It was now only her and the wolf outside.

"I hope you don't show yourself around." Paul said, looking back inside. "She's fine with us."

"You know? She might not notice now… but I can see the way you look at her." Alice whispered to Paul. "You look at her the same way Edward did. Do you know what happened due to that? She was beat and almost turned a vampire. If you love her, get her out all this."

"Leave, leech. Before I lose my temper with you." Paul grunted.

"Oh, I would love for that to happen." Alice smirked. "Do you think that she would realize how dangerous you are if you hurt me?"

"I would never hurt Bella." Paul said, trying to contain himself.

"You can't prove that!" Alice spat. "I thought that it was okay for our family to leave but, I see that we might need to make a little visit and make sure Bella isn't being taken care of by just the lesser of two evils. This isn't over for me."

The next thing that Alice remembered was that Bella suddenly appeared in the front yard, and stood between her and the wolf. Alice panicked and couldn't find the words to tell her to move away, to put herself somewhere safe. Her gaze met with that of the wolf for a fraction of a second and she knew that he was ready to attack. Acting on her instincts, Alice rushed to grab Bella and push her aside before the wolf jumped on her and started to tug with her. Feeling trapped, Alice dug her teeth into the wolf's skin and pushed him aside when he howled in pain. A few feet away, Bella saw everything unfold, covered in scratches and dirt. Her eyes were set on the wolf now laying on the ground.

"Oh my god, Bella!" Once out of the stupor, Alice ran to her and offered her hand to her. "I'm so sorry, so, so sorry. I told you this could happen! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Bella said, rejecting Alice's hand and running towards Paul. "What did you do Alice?" She asked after examining the wolf. Paul wasn't responding, and he was just laying, whining and shivering.

"I-I bit him… I didn't know what else to do." She mumbled. "I'm sorry… Bella, I'll help."

"No, just get out." Bella looked desperately around her, not knowing what to do. She felt the tears accumulating in her eyes. "I don't want to see you anymore around here, Alice. Damnit. Just leave."

After freezing for a second, the short girl ran to the black sedan and rushed away, leaving behind the smell of burnt rubber. Bella didn't care much for that, as she was more concerned about the grey wolf in front of her. She was panicking. The anger and desperation were building up as she didn't know what to do. Calling Jacob or Sam would have been the best option, but tending to Paul seemed way more urgent. Bella felt completely lost until she saw Jacob coming out of the nearby woods. It could have been a minute or two since Alice had left, but it felt like an eternity. She cried for help and begged Jacob to rush.

"Bella." Jacob held her by the shoulder and shook her as a way to bring her back into reality. "It's fine, I'm here now."

"No, Paul is, he…" The tears started pouring. "Alice."

"I know, we know." Jacob ducked down to check on Paul. "The others are in their way to help out. We have to make him phase back, but it seems like he took in too much venom. We won't be able to move him too far after that."

"Bring him upstairs. I'll go make some space."

Bella didn't wait a second to rush inside, to her room. Trying to make as much space for them as possible, she found herself growing more frustrated and concerned. She needed to think quickly as there was a big wolf in her front lawn and not too much time before someone could notice him. Things were thrown into the bathroom and pillows were taken from Charlie's bed, and new sheet put on her own. She took the first aid kid out of her closet and laid it over on her desk. She heard the pack coming out of the woods, coming all together. All the guys had gathered around Paul to lift him and carry him to the back of the Swan Residence, with Bella not being able to look too long at the hurt silver wolf. She rushed back downstairs when the phone rang for a second time.

"Mrs. Newton, I will have to call you back." Bella said, concerned for Paul.

"Bella?" A melodic voice said through the phone, obviously not that of Karen Newton. "...It's Carlisle."

"Doctor Cullen." Bella cleared her voice, impatient to hang up the phone. "I would like to say that I want to talk to you right now, but I don't. Please don't call again."

Bella pushed the hang button way to hard and threw the phone away in anger, before heading out back to where Paul was.


Hello everyone! Chapter 9 is here, and it's a little longer than what we're used to. I am conflicted about this chapter myself, so I understand if you are too haha. There's a lot coming Bella's way and not all of it will be easy to deal with. Again, I did my best with grammar and editing mistakes, but this chapter hasn't been revised – I will wait until chapter 10 is posted to go back and start revising from chapter 1! Hope to read you guys soon xx

-Xavier.