A/N: Chapter 9!

I apologise in advance for the massive A/N's you've got to read here…

Before I get into the next bit about this chapter, I have a few thank yous to dish out. Firstly, all of those who reviewed (I've always wanted to say that), I love you all, you're all awesome.

Secondly, thank you to juniper294 for unintentionally giving me a really good idea, I've panned it out and have now planned three new chapters and have managed to add in two things that needed to be addressed whereas before I didn't know where to put them.

And also thank you to Bite Me Jasper Cullen for firstly making me laugh, and secondly planting an idea of a small one shot from this story – if I get round to writing it, that is.

Okay, now onto the actual relevant author notes.

I'm nervous. Really, really nervous in fact. This chapter is such a big one that I may run off and hide in a cave until you lovely readers have finished reading.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the laptop I'm typing on, technically it's my brothers. Metaphorically, I'm an ant compared to Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 9 - Nine Minutes

6th October 2008

Jasper POV

Another week. Another round of questions.

I thought about ways in which I could get out of answering them when something distracted me.

"Whitlock."

I spun around as soon as I heard my name being called. The person who had called out to me was standing a few metres away. The expression on his face was twisted with hatred. His eyes were dark, almost like my own.

"What do you want, Robbie?" I growled, meeting the glare in his eyes with one of my own.

"I want you to stop talking to Alice," he ordered in a cold voice. Of course this was about Alice.

I took a step towards him so that we were face to face. I had a few inches on him, and I used that to my advantage.

"You need to rethink who it is you're telling that to," I began, my voice deadly. "Alice talks to me, not the other way around."

"Then don't give her a reason to talk to you," he snarled. He sized up to me as if he was showing me he'd fight over this. If he tried anything like that, there wasn't a chance in hell I was backing away.

"Fuck you," I spat. "You don't tell me what I can and can't do."

His upper lip quivered in anger as I saw the fire in his eyes. My own hands were shaking, and I wanted nothing more than to snap my arm back and punch him square on the chin.

"When it comes to Alice, I can tell you what to do, and you will listen to me," he said, sounding as if he was talking to vermin.

I laughed; it was cold, unemotional and heartless. "Or you'll do what exactly?"

The laugh that escaped his lips mimicked my own, but I could hear a hint of smugness in there too, and I wondered if he thought he would win against me; because he wouldn't.

"You continue to talk to Alice, and you'll see what the consequences will be," he murmured darkly. I wanted to retort, with my fists, but someone walked through the doors, stopping us both.

I waited for the person to walk away, even though they kept looking back at us other their shoulder, but finally they disappeared.

"You better stay the fuck away from me, Robbie," I said, fighting the urge to shove him. "And I mean it, because unlike your threats, mine are not empty."

With that I turned around and made my way towards the door and forced it open without breaking stride. As I walked to the Calculus block, I tried to process what just happened. He actually had the nerve to come to me and say that he wanted me to stop talking to Alice when it was her who always persisted in making conversations. What a fucking controlling jackass. Maybe I should let Alice know about our little conversation and see what she thinks about it all.

My little chat with Robbie had made me late to Calculus. Varner was in a mood and whacked me with a tardy slip, arsehole. Emmett must have sensed my mood because he asked me what was wrong. I fobbed him off with some story about missing the bus in the morning. After all, I couldn't exactly tell him it was because of his best friend. It didn't take a genius to work out whose side he would be on.

Varner must have been really pissed off because he gave us a ridiculous amount of homework to complete for next week. I could tell Emmett would still be grumbling about it at lunch time.

I don't know why I made my way to English slowly. It wasn't that I was dreading seeing Robbie again, I was the furthest thing from it in fact. I just didn't want to be in the same room as him, period.

The majority of the class was already seated, including a certain two that I saw out of the corner of my eye. As I sat down it was almost as if I could feel his glare burning a hole into the side of my face. I had to resist the urge to flip him the middle finger.

As the lesson dragged along, I pondered over the idea of deliberately going and talking to Alice, just to wind him up. But as Mrs. Meyer said the lesson was over, I realised that it wasn't necessary.

"Hey, Jasper," Alice chirped as she stood beside my desk. I had to hold back the smirk on my face. I could just picture Robbie spitting fire right about now.

"Hey," I replied, turning my head to look at her. She smiled at me warmly seeming happy by my response for some reason. I couldn't help but notice how she always seemed to smile.

"You finished the work set for History?"

"Yeah, finished it off last night," I replied as I finished packing up my bag. I stood up, completely towering over her, and pushed my chair under the table.

"You're going to be sitting with us at lunch, right?" she asked. I stared at her briefly, taking in her hopeful expression.

"I don't know," I hedged, but as I saw her expression drop, I sighed and knew I would have to prepare myself for possible awkward questions.

"Save me a seat, okay?"

She smiled triumphantly and clapped her hands. "Will do," she chirped then turned away from me and all but skipped over to where Robbie was standing with his hands clenched into fists. A cruel side of me took over, and as I glanced back at them, an evil smirk spreading across my face.

In that moment, I was glad Alice had her back to me.

The rest of the day came and went by slowly. Lunchtime was filled with evil glares from Robbie and jokes from Emmett. Lucky for everyone sitting around the table, Robbie and I were sitting at either ends and didn't have to look at each other directly. I was certain that something would have passed between us, and knowing my anger, it wouldn't just have been my words.

I wondered to myself idly as I waited for Alice to say goodbye to him, whether I would ever find out what it was he had against me. It wasn't as if I did something to intentionally anger him when I first came to Forks. And yet there he was warning me off his girlfriend as if I was bad news. Although, if I were honest, I couldn't blame him because if I was in his position and Alice was my girlfriend, I'd do the exact same thing.

I could tell, as he walked away from Alice, that he didn't want to leave her alone with me. Was it jealously, perhaps? Maybe I could tell him that I was in no way interested in stealing his girlfriend, and then maybe he'd stop plotting to kill me with his death glares.

We were early to our History class, which meant we had a few minutes of free time before the class started. I wasn't completely sure whether we were what you would call okay after what happened between us last Monday. I still couldn't understand what had been wrong with her that day. But even as I thought about it now, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was the cause. And then not to mention what happened the following day. She'd somehow managed to catch me out on my lie and had had the guts to actually confront me about it.

And then she had said it again, you can talk to me, and I knew that she'd never let it go. And so I'd answered her as honestly as I could. Sometimes it better not knowing. And in this case, it was true.

"So," she began, breaking me from my musings. "How's your sister?"

"Yeah, she's fine," I replied. I could tell from the look on her face that she was thinking about our conversation last Tuesday as well.

"You seem really close to her," she murmured, a soft smile on her face.

I nodded. "Yeah, we've been through a lot together. And without sounding too cliché, we're like two peas in a pod. There isn't anyone who knows me better than what she does."

And then as an afterthought, I added, "Sometimes, I think she knows me better than what I know myself."

I was silent then and a small smile formed on my face as I thought about Emily. I don't think there was anyone who truly understood the connection we had.

"So, what about you then?" I asked after she didn't say anything more. "Got any brothers of sisters?"

"Yeah, I've got a little sister called Cynthia. She's going to be thirteen in a couple of months."

"What is she like?" I asked. I was surprising myself at how chatty I had become today. Maybe Robbie's threat had had a reverse effect on me?

"She's me, just five years younger," she said, a faint smile on her face. "She looks like me. She has the same hair, same eyes and same height."

She glanced at me then as if checking my reaction to what she was saying, but when she didn't get a reaction, she looked away and started to draw in her planner. I noticed that she had her address, cell number and email all listed on the front page. She was so trusting with her personal details. If someone found her planner they'd know where she lived and how to contact her. I was about to make a comment when Miss Williams called the class to attention and started with the lesson, effectively ending our conversation.

We didn't get to talk much in the lesson, but if we did, it was about the work. Miss Williams was really working us hard. The school bell rang while we were all still working, none of us had even realised that the lesson was almost over.

We all quickly packed our bags up and left the classroom at 3.05. It was a mad rush to get to the parking lot. Ice covered most of the ground, which meant it took us longer to get to the parking lot than normal. I swear at one point Alice was going to get trampled on by some guy in the lower year that skidded on the ground. But I grabbed hold of her at the last minute and kept her upright. She turned to look at me with a strange look on her face. I couldn't decipher what it meant, but the smile on her face told me that it was something good, well, to her at least. It was only when we remained standing still that I realised I still had my hands on her arms. I pulled them away instantly and slowly we made our way to the exit.

The cold air hit us as we got to the parking lot. We'd gone all of about three metres when we heard it.

There was a sharp sound of wheels screeching along the floor as the driver pressed on the brakes. We both looked up in the direction of the sound and what I saw froze me in my tracks.

Alice's blood curdling scream filled the air as we all watched Robbie's body slam into the car's windscreen and fly over the top of the car. It was as if it all happened in slow motion. His body fell to the floor behind the car, his left leg sticking out in a disjointed manner.

There was an eerie silence as the first few second passed, and suddenly she was running. She tore across the parking lot and fell to the ground in front of him. I could see Emmett and Bella running from the other side of the parking lot. Emmett jumped over the bonnet of the car and fell to the ground beside Alice while Bella faltered and fell to the ground about a metre away.

Edward and Rosalie were frozen but moved forward after a moment and were by Bella's side in a second. Everyone else was completely frozen as we watched the situation unfold before our very eyes.

There was no sound, no noise, only two voices. Emmett and Alice. Pleading. Begging. Praying for him to stay with them, to hang in there until the paramedics arrived.

Which they did only minutes later. They didn't even park properly in their hurry. Three of them crowded around Robbie, demanding that Alice and Emmett moved back. Emmett had to practically drag her away. I could see from where I stood that the tears were pouring down her face as her body shook violently. Emmett's wasn't much different.

Everyone watched with bated breaths as they worked over Robbie. It was then that I saw them look at each other. It was that look that told me and everyone around them that he was gone.

"No! You bring him BACK! BRING HIM BACK," Alice screamed at them, straining against Emmett's grip in her attempt to get to Robbie. Her voice was strangled and it broke at the end.

The paramedics shared a glance and the male shook his head slowly and looked at Alice and Emmett. His words, when he spoke, were quiet, but everyone heard.

"I'm really sorry, but there's nothing we can do."

Then Alice screamed. It was the heart wrenching scream of someone whose heart had just shattered into a thousand pieces. Her body seemed to shake uncontrollably and suddenly she fell, her body going limp in Emmett's arms.

The head paramedic moved forward and checked over her. He looked back at his partner and said something I didn't hear. He muttered something to Emmett and tried to take her from his arms, but he practically growled that he would carry her. They didn't try taking her again.

And somehow, even though he was crying uncontrollably, his whole body shaking with the effort, he managed to stand up, with Alice cradled in his arms, and carry her to the ambulance.

Bella got up from the ground and stumbled forward, tears pouring down her face and followed them into the ambulance. She didn't even ask whether she was allowed in there. It all happened so quickly then. The paramedics put up some sort of makeshift wall around where Robbie's body was. Mr. Greene stepped out from somewhere with a mega phone, and commanded that everyone left the premises without their cars and came back for them later when the situation was under control.

Somehow, I managed to force my legs to move, but as I did, my leg collided with something on the floor. As I looked down, I saw it was Alice's bag from where she must have dropped it. I bent down without thinking and grabbed it. The ambulance was cordoned off, no one could get to it, and so I just started to walk towards the exit.

I looked down at my watch briefly, it was 3.14pm. Nine minutes, that was all it took for her world to fall down around her.

I had to walk to pick up Emily. I was going to be very late. I just hope there was a teacher available to stay with her until I arrived. I was in a trance, not thinking about where it was I was going. I just walked.

It was like some kind of twisted kismet. I hated him. I hated how perfect a couple they were. And now it was gone. All of it.

Gone.

Emily was waiting for me when I finally got there. I composed myself enough so I could at least respond to her, but I could tell I was still in shock and would be for a while. She eyed Alice's bag as we walked, I could tell she was wondering who it belonged to.

"Jasper, what's wrong?" she asked, looking up at me with her large beseeching eyes.

"I'm just a bit tired, that's all," I lied. She might have only been five years old, but she would know that I was lying.

I tried to act normal around her when we got back home, to save any suspicion on her part, but it was hard. I just couldn't think straight. This whole situation, it was just so... I shook my head and looked down at the bag which was sitting on the table in front of me.

I didn't know when I would be able to give that back to her. I knew for sure she wouldn't be at school any time in the near future. I guess I could give it to one of the others. But I had to somehow let them know that I had it. Although right now, the whereabouts of her bag was the last thing on their mind.

A while later, as I sat there staring at the bag, I remembered looking at Alice's planner in History. She had her address written out in full in there. I could take the bag to her house tomorrow. But that would require me having to go through her bag.

I stared at it long and hard, for what seemed ages before I reached out for it and pulled out the small planner. It was covered in drawings and sketches. In any other circumstances, I would have noticed just how brilliant those drawings actually were. But all I could think of was getting Alice's address. I flipped open the front cover and noted down the address on a sheet of paper. It was only a few streets away. It shouldn't take very long to get there.

I was about to close the planner again when something caught my eye. It was an intricate design of a heart with roses intertwined around the edge. Written in the middle was Alice and Robbie. I idly ran my finger over the writing and shook my head at how things had turned out. I closed the planner and placed it back in the bag. I ran my fingers through my hair and closed my eyes, resting my head against the back of the chair.

At some point, the door opened and Mom came in from her first AA meeting. She found me sitting in the kitchen, I hadn't moved. I could tell from the way that she looked at me that she knew something was wrong. I could see it in the way she kept glancing at me.

"Jas, hunny, what's wrong?" she finally asked, after I'd spent the last fifteen minutes staring at the wall.

I turned in her direction and stared into her eyes. I didn't even know how to put it into words.

"There was a… accident," I choked, surprising myself at how quiet my voice sounded. "A car accident… someone died."

She gasped and brought her hand up to her mouth. "Oh my God! How did that happen?"

I shook my head slowly. "I don't know… we were just walking and suddenly…" I couldn't continue.

She walked over to me and placed her hand on my shoulder comfortingly. "Did you know them?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said my voice barely a whisper. "I used to sit with him and his friends at lunchtime."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Jas," she murmured as she wrapped her arms around me and cradled me how only a mother could. I wasn't sure whether she was expecting me to cry, or tell her how much I would miss him, because I wouldn't. It felt harsh to think like that, but I hated him, and he made it quite clear that he hated me right back.

I was in shock, but it would pass. However, I doubted whether it would ever pass for Alice.

"He had a girlfriend," I continued. "They knew each other all their lives."

And then after a moment, I continued. "That's her bag," I said as I pointed to the bag still sitting on the table.

"That's so sad," she said as she shook her head slowly. "That poor girl, what she has to go through…"

I looked up at her and met her eye. I knew what was coming next, and I didn't want to hear it.

"It's so similar to-" she began, but I stopped her as I stood up abruptly. The chair slid across the room, making it screech noisily against the floor.

"Don't say it," I growled at her before reaching for Alice's bag on the table and storming from the room.

I couldn't bear to stay in the same room as her if she was going to bring that up. I didn't need to hear it. I didn't need reminding.

A/N: *hides behind a rock* Oh my god. I killed him, I actually friggin' killed him. (Please don't cheer!) I kept saying how much I love Robbie, and I go do this to him. Disgraceful! Although I'm sure this now answers the question: Are Robbie and Alice going to be together for the whole story? Surprisingly, no.

Now please, I want you to review. Because this chapter is such a pivotal section of the story that I really need a response from you guys. I beg you (you know you love me).

If you're sitting there wondering how the hell someone can get run over in a school car park… well I have three words for you, Tyler Crowley's van, yeah that's right, Stephenie Meyer did it! Well sort of, but you catch my drift. There was ice, there was someone driving too fast and there was Robbie in the wrong place at the wrong time. It happens. Which also rhymes with shit happens. Lol.

(I laugh at myself for the mammoth A/N's. They are practically another chapter length by themselves)