Fire and Water
The next two chapters are the first meeting involving Alice and Jasper. You now have three choices.
1. you can read from Alice's POV (Chapter 9)
2. you can read from Jasper's POV (Chapter 10)
3. you can read both.....very very strongly recommended
Enjoy choosing.
APOV
The breeze blew my hair softly as I leaned against a tree to admire my work. I kind of hoped that no one heard me, but then again I really didn't care at this point. I was mad enough to take on the biggest vampire that the Volturi could send my way. After all I did a lot of my training with Emmett before Rose and him departed. He was or well I hope he still is the biggest vampire out there.
I'm sure that Bella and Edward were just as frustrated as I was, but then again it wasn't there lives in danger. Neither one of them could possibly take the heart ache of losing someone else…but who was I to anyone anymore? I felt used and practically out of commission considering that my visions were doing no one any good right at this very moment. Maybe I had just hit a dry spot? A hill to climb? The possibilities were endless and yet my patience were running thin to nothing.
I am a freaking vampire I should be able to use my strength to bulldoze through that stupid hill instead of climbing it! I took a step forward and then another step back, I heard in the distance leaves crunching and this was not due to the wind. I crouched down ready to attack anything that was not Bella or Edward.
"Who's there?"
Nothing, dead silence, so I peered into the distant dark forest that surrounded me and watched for any shadows that may be lurking. I have a pretty healthy dose of paranoia but I am not that damn paranoid to be hearing things when I shouldn't be. I searched the future and came up empty, so instead of blacking out and searching further I held my position.
"I said, who's there?"
The leaves made a second crunching noise and knew at that moment I was not talking to myself, proof that I am not crazy exist in these woods and they had better stop keeping me waiting. I chuckled softly to myself thinking of how nice it would be to have Bella and Edward here to show them proof that I was not crazy…if only my family could see me now. I shook my head and stood up to move toward a much bigger tree when a far away shadow moved.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Jasper. And who are you?"
I took a few steps closer watching as the moonlight began to light his features. This man was strangely familiar, It took me a second to realize that he was the stranger I had driven by and then left standing on the side of the street a few nights earlier. "Jasper..." I let his name trail off my tongue in almost a whisper before taking another step closer to him. There was a strange pull in his direction and I felt like my dead heart was trying to come back to life with each minor step I took closer to him.
"Alice. How long have you been watching me?"
"Honestly, just since tonight. I've never met someone like you."
I couldn't help but feel struck with a little confusion, someone like me? An overwhelming feeling built up in my stomach as he took a step back from me. Did I scare him? I took another cautious step closer to him and stuck my hands shyly into my jean pockets. I was normally not a shy person...actually I was normally a little hyper active and to have contact with someone other than Edward and Bella was exciting to say the least.
I searched the future shortly seeing where talking to this man could lead me but there were so many things that flashed in my mind that made me even regret searching. Everything was hazy and zooming in and out, hate, love and confusion were of the many feelings I got from these visions and they made my next step a little bit more cautious.
"I'm sorry about leaving so quickly the other night. Are you new around here, I don't think I had seen or heard too much of you?"
"I am new. My com......what do you mean by heard 'too much' about me?"
His expression moved from curious to on guard. I ran his words over in my head a few more times analyzing them. His beautiful southern accent emphasized the 'too much' part of my question, but then again he was going to say something else 'com' something or another but he stopped himself. People could not have secrets around me...that was a for sure impossibility. I smiled at him knowing that he did not yet know of my capabilities. Maybe he had a few tricks up his sleeve but there was no way he was keeping a secret from me.
I searched again but this time I focused my attention on him, just him, his beautiful southern accent the way his drawl accented each syllable. I tried not show too much cockiness in my expression but I couldn't help the playful side that was threatening to take over me and whoever this Jasper was.
Like a whisper his last name came to me, Whitlock, and then I saw images that I refuse to believe. I saw suffering and extreme sadness, he needed me and he didn't even know it. Maybe I needed him too? I turned my focus back to the man standing before me and took another step closer to him locking my eyes on his and taking a deep breath before speaking so that I could allow the cool night air to take over my lungs and fill my chest.
"You're reading too much into the 'too much' remark. Tell me Jasper, what do you do for fun?"
"I'm not a 'fun' type person. I do what I must. What about you? You've been asking the questions. Do you live around here?"
I smirked, he was playing hard to get information and I had nothing better to do and could use the distraction. Surely he had fun doing something, every single person has there quirk...I searched again but could only come up with history and war related items...war, I rolled my eyes a scoffed at the images...he was a warrior, well I was willing to play this game. Like I said before, he needed me and he didn't even know it yet.
"I live around here...I have on and off for many years. I enjoy shopping, decorating, and a bunch of other girlie things that I am fairly sure you have no interest in but you are more than welcome to accompany me on my next shopping trip Jasper. I don't mind the fresh mind and new company."
I smiled again and took another step closer to him, he had already backed himself up against a tree but I didn't care. I was nothing to be afraid of, and he was so refreshing and new to me. I was like a kid in a toy shop, he had kept me waiting long enough and there was no way I could let him leave now.
"Shopping?"
He took a step closer to me which was some what surprising being that he had been taking cautious steps back from me since I saw him. What surprised me the most was the tingling sensation that wrapped around me when his hand slightly grazed my face. My eyes fluttered shut for a moment until I had a vision of Edward and Bella searching for me. They were in the meadow not far from here and I wasn't too sure on whether or not I wanted him to meet the family just yet.
I liked the idea of having him as my little secret, and as much as I didn't want this moment to end it had to. They would be approaching quickly so I had to think fast, I could run and meet up with Edward and Bella to distract them from coming into this area, but what about meeting up with him again? Would we find each other? I know I felt drawn to him by some magnetic force telling me that he was right in a very wrong kind of way. It sent chills down my spine and filled my stomach with butterflies.
"My family is coming, I have to go…"
I didn't know what else to say but I could tell he was somewhat hurt by my sudden departure. I leaned into him taking a breath allowing his scent to over power me and kissed him on his cheek before I took off running through the woods. He wouldn't follow, that was I sure about…and well I am never wrong about these things.
I didn't dare look back, something told me that if I did I wouldn't be able to continue running away from him. So I ran faster until I could sense Edward and Bella close by. I slowed my running to a light walk and then an abrupt stop when I was again face to face with my family.
"Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you."
Edward was obviously concerned and Bella just stood there rolling her eyes, her concern was evident in the silent but deadly kind of way, Edward had no problem voicing his opinions and I liked the way they melted together that way. I cleared my mind of the beautiful stranger I had just met and answered as best as I could without giving out too much information.
"I was upset about tonight, so I took my frustrations out on a tree…when I saw that you two were looking for me I came to find you."
Edward let out a frustrated sigh and wrapped his arm around Bella. His eyes told me to walk so I did. We walked in a calm silence together back to the house where all of the lights were left on and everything seemed normal or well as normal as our lives can be.
Once we were in the house we sat down and began discussing what everyone had found out over the nights adventures. Edward had uncovered a few stones from the Denali Clan back in Alaska, Tanya had said that she hear a rumor that Rose and Emmett were working for the other side with another unknown vampire. She didn't provide too much information in regards to there assignment but felt that it had no threat against us. It was the first I heard about Rose and Emmett in a very long time and I actually kind of hoped that even if we were on different sides of the war that we would run into each other. I missed them in a weird sort of way.
We stayed productive into much of the evening discussing the possibilities of running into Rose and Emmett, even Edward didn't harbor any bad feelings towards them, Bella was always kind and caring but I knew that she would have trust issues if the two ever came back around. We tried to keep the conversation over the past as light as possible, we all had old wounds that needed to stay in the past, we were too hurt over it all to dig it up just yet.
"I think I am going to go to my room and catch up on some designs I had been working on."
Bella and Edward barely acknowledged me as they were lost in there own loving gazes and thoughts. I walked up the stairs and stopped in front of Rose and Emmett's old room. Even when we rebuilt the house we created there room. I did it in case they ever wanted to come back home, I even decorated it for Rose and made sure to invest in some top of the line video games for Emmett. It was relief to know that they were alive still. I placed my hand over the door knob but I didn't dare enter the room…there was always an eerie chill about this side of the house so I took a step back and walked across the hall over to my room.
The window was open and the curtains flapped in the air from the light breeze. The moon was full and the stars magnificent. I sat down on the window seal letting one leg hang out of the window as I cradled my other leg tightly to my chest. Who the hell has time to work on fashion designs when there mind is spinning from an intoxicating encounter with a strange man? I sure as hell couldn't wrap my mind around him. I leaned back into the window seal and let out a chilling breath of relief. Maybe this was the bright side to my dark tunnel?
A roar of noise erupted around me, lines where drawn a heavy musk surrounded me as the evening poured on, fires where everywhere with glowing charred pieces of vampire remains. The war appeared to have hit a breaking point as the hurt and wounded remained in stand stills with there opponents. I looked around me and found Edward and Bella, they were unscratched…unharmed and embracing each other. That is the way it is supposed to be, I turned my head to the other side and saw the same image but on the other side of the line…Rose and Emmett. I felt my body do a full and complete circle and felt like I was searching for someone, but there was no one but me. It felt wrong, I was missing something…
