Disclaimer: Ah, nope. My first name may start with an "S," but it's certainly not Stephenie, so I'm afraid I don't own her characters.

A/N: Hey, I'm back with another update! Sorry for the cliffie last time. But thank you so much, guys! Wow, I got a lot of reviews! I'm glad you're all liking it so much! I'll keep it up if you guys will! Um, let's see… This might be the last time I'll get to update for a little while, so just be forewarned. Oh, warning. The first part of this chapter's kinda violent, just to let you know, and it contains death… Anyway, now since that warning's out of the way, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 10- It's My Life

"Alice!"

My brothers' shouts of worry completely faded as the scene played out in my mind.

I was standing by the edge of the lake with Edward and Emmett like I had been, except now it was dark and the three of us were completely alone.

I heard a nearly silent footstep behind me, and I quickly whirled around. My face completely drained of color when I saw a man with blond hair tied back in a ponytail walking toward us, his red eyes glowing maliciously. I took an automatic step backward when I realized that this was the same man I thought I had seen at our cabin…

"Hello, Alice," he said in a smooth, sneering tone as a grin appeared on his pale face. "We finally meet…"

My eyes widened with surprise when Edward's arms suddenly wrapped around me protectively as he pulled me close and Emmett stepped in front of us with an angry glint to his eyes. "What do you want with our sister?" he demanded.

The man merely laughed as he came to a stop a short distance ahead of us. "I don't know why you bother wasting your time," he muttered. "You won't be able to defend her."

Emmett growled angrily as he ran toward the man with his fist raised, ready to punch him. But from where I stood in Edward's secure arms, I suddenly had a terrible feeling in my heart as something about the strange man's presence told me that my oldest brother's strength would do no good against him…

"Emmett, stop!" I cried, struggling to fight out of Edward's hold, but to no avail. "Emmett!"

But I was too late.

The man easily grabbed Emmett's wrist when he threw the punch. His eyes were gleaming spitefully as he looked into my brother's shocked expression, and then he yanked on his arm forcefully. I winced when I could hear from the loud crack and Emmett's cry of pain that he had pulled his arm clean out its socket. I thought I was going to be sick…

Then, this… monster lashed his foot out into Emmett's back, and I could hear from another long, loud series of cracks that his spine had snapped. He then dropped my brother's broken, lifeless body to the ground before walking toward us again.

Edward's arms tightened around me as I sobbed and clung to him tightly, feeling incredibly weak. I couldn't believe that Emmett was actually… dead. I wouldn't let the same thing happen to Edward too…

When the man reached us, Edward tensed around me protectively, but he simply reached forward and grabbed his shoulder, pulling my brother from me as easily as if he was a rag doll even though I tried to hold onto him. I watched with terror as the man leaned forward and bit Edward's neck, his scream echoing around the area as I sank weakly to my knees and cried. I slowly looked up and watched as the man dropped my second brother to the ground as well, and I could see by his pale face that he had been completely drained of blood. I trembled as he towered over me, cowering at his feet. Emmett and Edward had both died to save me, but I knew that I was his main target…

Then, my eyes widened when I saw Jasper crash through the trees a long distance behind this animal of a man, running toward us at an inhuman speed. But he was too late when the creature that had killed my brothers lunged at me, snarling viciously. I was barely able to scream, "Jasper, help me!" before his teeth clamped tightly onto my neck.


"Jasper, help me!"

"Alice, it's all right. Calm down…"

"Jasper!" My eyes snapped open in a panic as I quickly looked around the area. It was still light out- as light as it could be on a cloudy day, that is- and I was sitting at the edge of the lake with Edward and Emmett on either side of me, who both looked worried and confused. Edward's hands were wrapped tightly around my arms as he tried to calm me down.

"It's all right, Al," Emmett told me unsurely, rubbing my back a little. "Nothing's happening…"

But I shook my head in protest as tears quickly filled my eyes again and began to fall. Though I was terrified for him and Edward, for the first time since I could remember, I didn't want them with me as I got over my vision since it was because of me that I had that image. I wanted someone else… "Jasper…" I muttered pleadingly through my tears.

Edward and Emmett looked at each other hesitantly, and I knew instantly that they didn't know where Jasper was. But I remembered Rosalie saying something about her, Bella, and Jasper going to talk to Carlisle. Couldn't we go look for them around where he was working? "Please…" I whispered. He, at least from what I saw in that vision, could have handled that man…

"What happened?"

I gasped when I heard the new voice, and I quickly turned to look at the top of the hill as Edward and Emmett did the same. My eyes filled with more tears when I saw that Jasper was looking down at me with concern with Bella and Rosalie behind him. "Jasper…" I attempted to say, but my voice was choked up by tears.

Jasper looked alarmed when he saw how upset I was, and he ran the short distance down the hill to us with his sisters, kneeling down in front of me as he placed his cold hand on my shoulder. "Alice, what's wrong?" he asked quietly in a tranquil voice in an effort to make me calmer. "What happened?"

I heard Emmett mutter something about how it was lucky that the Cullen siblings happened to be in the area when we needed them, but I ignored him as I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around Jasper, burying my face into his chest as my shoulders shook. Thankfully, Jasper didn't seem to mind, for he simply wrapped his arms around me and allowed me to cry against him.

After a few moments, he shifted so that he could lean down and speak quietly to me. "Let's go somewhere else to talk," he whispered. "I know the perfect place."

When I heard his gentle voice in my ear, I suddenly felt a strange sense of peace as a calming wave passed through me. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at him, seeing that he was giving me a small smile, which gave me the strength to nod in answer and allow him to help me to my feet. I glared a little at Edward when I saw that he was giving Jasper a threatening look, but it immediately disappeared since I felt terrible about it when I thought about the vision I had just had. I saw the complete shock written clearly on his face at my quick change in mood, and I was relieved when Bella knelt down on the grass beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

But Edward's reaction to the situation wasn't the strangest. I was used to him giving Jasper warning looks when he was near me, but this time, he wasn't the only one. Rosalie was standing between Edward and Emmett, glaring daggers at her twin brother. Jasper glared darkly back at her before he took my wrist and gently began to lead me up the hill away from our siblings. I glanced behind me, seeing that Rosalie was still giving Jasper a warning look before we were out of sight.

"What is she so angry about?" I asked quietly as Jasper pulled me across the parking lot.

"It doesn't matter," Jasper answered, almost too quickly, as we took a sharp right when we were about halfway through the lot. "It is not you that she's angry with."

I couldn't even ask where we were going before we were on grass once again, heading down a path through the dense tress I hadn't even known was there before away from the broad path that led to the cabins. I looked around at the forest surrounding us, and I clung to Jasper's sleeve when I saw slight movement and heard a twig snap somewhere off to my right. Why was he wearing a light sweater anyway? It was summer…

"It's just an animal," Jasper muttered to me with a slight laugh, strangely making me feel somewhat calmer. But I still didn't release my tight grip on his arm as we walked. "You really are jumpy, Alice. What has you so shaken up?"

Tears formed in my eyes as I turned away from him to wipe them away, my voice refusing to work. I couldn't tell him what I had seen, not yet. Jasper seemed to understand, so he didn't push the subject further.

The path we were walking on soon sloped uphill, and we reached the top without another word. When I saw where we had ended up, my eyes widened at the beauty of it. Jasper and I were standing on top of a hill with a single tree at its peak, overlooking the lake beneath us. I slowly walked to the edge and looked down, seeing Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, and Bella far beneath us. I turned around, and my heart fluttered when I saw the small smile my friend was giving me. "Jasper, this place is… wonderful," I breathed, a smile appearing on my own tear-stained face. There was something familiar about it also, but I just couldn't put my finger on it… "How did you find it?"

Jasper shrugged as he took a couple of steps toward me, but still stayed in the shadows the lone tree provided, though there wasn't much sun to speak of. "I was having a look around the camp before Rosalie and Bella came to get me so we could speak with Carlisle," he replied. "I found that it's a good place to just speak your thoughts aloud. Plus, I needed to get away from Rosalie for a while."

I crossed my arms in front of me. "And you're not going to tell me why she's so angry with you, are you?" I muttered, my tone making it more of a statement than a question.

The amused smirk on Jasper's face annoyed me. "Nope," he confirmed. "That would be a… family matter."

I sighed with irritation, an action which caused Jasper to laugh a little. But then, his smile vanished and was replaced by a concerned look. "But the main reason I wanted to speak with you alone is because… I am worried about you, especially after what happened a little while ago. I could feel the emotions of you and your brothers as Bella, Rose, and I approached the lake, but then yours completely left you. And then, a short time later, you screamed with terrible fear. You cried my name and asked for my help, but I didn't know what I could do to help you though I greatly wanted to. All I could feel from you was fear… and sorrow…"

Tears formed in my eyes at his words, and I took a couple of steps in his direction so that I was standing closer to him. I looked up into his face, into his brilliant, golden eyes, and saw that he was looking back at me with concern… and was that a little compassion? I must have been imagining that last part… Wishful thinking, you know?

"You are an amazingly strong person after all you've been through, Alice," Jasper said so quietly and gently that it was almost a whisper. "Tell me what has hurt you so badly, and I will help you in any way that I can."

I fought the urge to hug him tightly as my tears started to fall. I began to raise my hand to try to wipe them away, but Jasper beat me to it. He used his thumb to gently wipe away my tears, his touch leaving a trail of coldness behind. I looked up at him, hoping for some source of strength as my shoulders shook, my next words coming out as broken as I felt.

"Edward and Emmett are going to die… I saw it, Jasper, I saw it…"

Jasper's eyes narrowed as he placed his arm around me lightly. Clearly, that hadn't been what he had been expecting to hear. "Hold on," he muttered. "What do you mean you saw it?"

For a moment, I wondered what I should tell him. Bella knew about my unique ability, but I considered her to be my sister. Of course she knew since I could tell her anything. But if I told Jasper, would he think that I was crazy? Worth a shot, I guess…

"This is going to make me sound as though I belong in an asylum, but you have to believe me," I said, surprised as my tears slowed and I suddenly felt much more confident. I slowly looked up into Jasper's face, and I saw that he was giving me an encouraging look, though there was an underlying spark of emotion I couldn't read at the sound of the word asylum… But, I took a deep breath and continued on. "When my emotions leave me, as you say, I see things… things that could happen. It's not always right since people constantly change their minds, but I have seen a lot of things that actually come to pass… Who am I kidding? You probably think I've lost my mind…"

Jasper didn't say anything for a long moment, and I sighed as I looked down, afraid to look into his face. Then, his arm around me tightened a little, and I looked up again with confusion to see that he was smiling. "Believe it or not, that doesn't seem as shocking to me as you may thing," he told me quietly. "When you're a part of my family, much stranger things happen. But anyway, you said that you saw your brothers…"

I nodded since that was the only thing I could do at the moment. I didn't trust my voice right now. But for some reason, he seemed much too casual about the fact that I could had these visions… He hadn't known that already, had he? How could he have?

"Well, I don't believe you have to worry about Emmett and Edward," Jasper said, running a finger lightly over my neck right under my chin, which made me smile broadly since that was one of my many ticklish spots. "You even said yourself that things can change. Believe me, I'm sure everything will be fine."

After another moment, I sighed and wiped my tears away. For some reason, I had a feeling that what Jasper said was true… "Thanks, Jazz."

At my quiet statement, I watched as Jasper's eyes shone with amusement as he looked at me curiously. I was instantly confused. "What? Did I say something wrong?" It had only been a thank you

"No, no. It's not that." He smiled. "It's just that this is the first time you've ever called me that. Bella's typically the only one who does."

Did I really just call him Jazz? I hadn't meant to… I had just heard Bella say it so much that I was used to it, I guess. "I'm sorry. I won't call you that again if you don't want me to."

Jasper laughed. "No, it's fine," he said. "I just wasn't expecting it coming from you, that's all."

I laughed a little myself. "All right, I just might have to call you that then," I told him. "I like it. The only nickname I have is Al, and Emmett's really the only one who calls me that. But, if you wanted to…"

My sentence trailed off as Jasper shook his head, and I looked at him quizzically. "I much prefer Alice," he explained, a statement which made me smile again. I would ask him how he felt about my real name, but at another time.

Jasper then looked over the edge of the hill down at the lake before turning back to me. "Let's get heading back," he suggested. "More people are beginning to gather, and the campfire should be starting in a little while. Besides, I'm sure that your brothers are concerned about you since you're with me. After all, it's not often that I steal you away."


"Hey, Ali! Good to see you alive and well!"

Ali?! Okay, after the campfire-gathering thing started, I was in a much better mood. I had even been able to almost forget about my terrible vision after the talk I had with Jasper, and now Edward and I were standing in line as we waited to grab our food, which consisted of hot dogs, brats, and hamburger being grilled. That's when he had to show up and ruin things.

I quickly spun around, my eyes like daggers, and watched as Jacob Black ran up to me, a large smile on his face. Unfortunately, my glare didn't pass of as too intimidating since he was so much taller than me. "First off, my name is Alice," I snapped. "What do you want anyway?"

As I said, not very intimidating. "Nice to see you too!" Jacob laughed. Then, he leaned in forward so that his face was close to my neck, and he sniffed quickly but pretty loudly. "Hmm, you still smell really good…"

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded, pushing him away. At least, I tried to push him away. Almost like Jasper, his skin was hard, and I didn't even budge him.

Jacob raised his head and slowly looked into my face with confusion, and my angry look quickly faded away. "You don't know, do you?" he asked quietly in nearly a whisper. "He still didn't tell you…"

I suddenly felt very uneasy. "Who didn't tell me what?" I muttered. "And I smell good? I thought I'd heard all the bad pick-up lines…"

But Jacob didn't seem to hear my last statement. His eyes were away from me entirely, trained on someone else in the crowd. I followed his gaze, and I saw that they were locked on Jasper where he sat at the edge of the lake with Bella and Rosalie. I watched as he slowly looked up at where we were standing, and his golden eyes narrowed as he glared back at the guy with me.

"Nothing," Jacob said as he slowly looked back at me, his expression softening. "It's nothing. But you smell good because… I like your shampoo."

I raised my eyebrow, not believing a word of what he was saying. Something was up… But as Jacob awkwardly turned to go, an idea suddenly came to me. "Jacob, wait!"

Jacob turned back to look at me, confused. "Yeah, Ali?"

I frowned. "Alice."

Jacob laughed. "Hey, I wouldn't mind if you called me Jake," he said.

All right, I may not have completely followed his logic, but I didn't have to right now. It wasn't important what his name was. But his eyes did shine beautifully when he smiled… No, don't think like that! I shook my head, trying to drive the thought from my mind. "Uh, you seem to have a… history with the Cullen family, Jake," I muttered, trying to see if he would respond better to me if I used his preferred nickname. "I know that something is different about them since I've been close to them for the past two years, but I don't know what it is. Do you happen to know anything?"

What happened next, I did not expect. Jacob's smile vanished, and he slowly, almost hesitantly, reached out and took my hand in his larger one. I gasped as his long fingers wrapped around mine. Unlike the cold hands of the Cullens that I had grown accustomed to, Jacob's hands were hot- almost as if they were on fire. "Jake, are you okay? You're burning up!"

"I'm fine," Jacob assured me, quickly pulling his hand away and clearing his throat. Though the air around me was arm, my hand was now cold from where he had touched it. "But as for the Cullens… if you really want to know, that will be something only he can tell you. But just believe me when I say that they're dangerous, Alice. It would be better for you if you stayed away from them. You'll be safe then." And before I could say anything else, Jacob turned from me and walked away, walking over to join two other teenagers that were helping with the camp- the only girl in the group and the boy who appeared to be her younger brother.

The Cullens were dangerous? I somehow didn't believe that, no matter how many times I heard it. For a minute, the crazy thought that Jacob was just jealous crossed my mind. But he had nothing to be jealous of- I wasn't dating anyone, and Jasper and I were only good friends, nothing more.

But the important thing was, Jacob had admitted that there was something up with the Cullen family. And though he had said that I would have to hear it from Jasper, I knew that he wouldn't tell me, which meant that Jacob would have to be my source.


After I ate my hot dog and bag of cheddar-flavored chips, I spent a lot of time playing beach volleyball with Angela, Eric, Mike, Jessica, and Tyler. But when I got tired of that, I sat with Jasper and just looked out at the lake, talking about things that randomly came to mind. Edward and Rosalie both seemed to be disapproving of this, but not as disapproving as Jacob. He was constantly standing a short distance away from where I sat, always seeming like he wanted to say something but never did, and instead, walked away.

I left Jasper for a short time to get some water, seeing that Emmett and Edward were already by the cooler, but I stopped and listened in when I heard them having a quiet conversation. It was about me.

"I don't know, Emmett. I just don't think that Jasper would be good for her."

"Come on, lighten up, Ed," Emmett said with frustration as he grabbed a water bottle out of the cooler. "Jasper's a good guy. We sometimes talked at school during that last week when he was there. I don't see anything wrong with it if Al wants to go to the dance with him or something." How did they know about that? Was I really that obvious? "Besides, you'll have to get used to him since we're sharing a cabin with him for the next three months."

"There's just something not right about him, something that I don't trust," Edward muttered thoughtfully as he took the water bottle Emmett offered him. "I think someone else would be better for her, that's all."

Emmett laughed. "Like who? Jacob Black? Dude, that guy hovers around her like a hungry vulture! And whenever he looks at her, I can see that it's in a possessive way, like he's the only guy who can have her. Or how about Mike Newton, the kid that's always trailing along after her like some sort of golden retriever or something? No way, Man. I don't want that for my little sister. Jasper doesn't do that. From what I can see, he cares about her, and they seem to be really good friends already."

Okay, enough was enough. It was my life after all, and I made my own decisions… "I think I can decide who I want for myself, guys," I announced in an irritated tone.

Edward and Emmett jumped and turned around, staring at me with shock as if they had seen a ghost. "Oh, hey, Al," the older of the two said. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," I snapped. I strode forward and grabbed a water bottle out of the cooler without a word before turning and hurrying away from my brothers as I head back toward the lake. I was frustrated to no end about how much they wanted to control my life, at least when it came to relationships. I knew that all they wanted to do was protect me, but I was old enough now to make decisions for myself.

Besides, if it ever came down to making a choice between Jasper and Jacob- Mike wasn't even an option- I already knew who I would choose.

A/N: All right, that's it for this one! The next chapter really start things off, I promise. But just a reminder, there is a reason why Jasper cares so much about Alice, which will be explained in the sequel. But, there are some clues (there were some in this chapter) that will be dispersed through the story about why their relationship is so deep. So, keep an eye out for them! Thanks for reading! Oh, and like always, enjoy the preview!

Next Chapter: Scary Stories and a Midnight Swim

Sam paused in his pacing as he paused in the story, and his eyes landed directly on me. I looked back at him, my horror and confusion showing through in my eyes as I hoped that he could give me some answers. Sam took a couple of steps forward in my direction, closer to the fire, his eyes never leaving me as he spoke the next words.

Xxx

I didn't need his begging- I already knew what Sam was trying to warn me about, though I didn't believe it at all.

But though it was completely crazy, I still couldn't get the nagging sensation out of my mind, nor could I get the dark feeling to leave my heart. I realized with a chilling feeling that Jasper fit the descriptions of a vampire.

Xxx

He was coming for me, I knew that now. He just kept changing his mind about how he was going to get to me. The man, the monster, I thought I had seen at our cabin window truly was out there somewhere. He wanted my blood. But each time he thought of a way to reach me, someone I loved was killed. I knew that this man would find me one day and kill me, it was just a matter of time. But I wasn't afraid. I was just afraid for the lives of the people close to me. I would have to make sure that I was completely alone when this man came to claim my life.