Thanks to all the reviews. It amazes me how many people put Never Again as their favs and story alert. It makes me feel so loved.

So, I'm looking for a beta. If anyone's interested, PM me and let me know.

Now on with the chapter

Chapter 12

JOV

Edward left me alone after our talk.

I knew after everything he said, he was right about what happened. It was my own fault that Bella was gone and I knew nothing about her. Why did I have to be such a jackass when all she wanted was to get to know me again? I didn't even give her the chance. The thought of never seeing her again was painful.

Why was I so pathetic? I didn't deserve her.

I put my hands behind my head and stared up at the ceiling, my mind drifting to the conversation that Edward and I had.

~*~

Edward knocked on the door.

Go away.

The door opened and Edward walked inside, closing it behind him. I turned and glared at him. "I didn't tell you you could come in."

"Yeah, well, get over it. We need to talk."

About what?

"Bella, what else?"

I don't want to talk about Bella. Especially not with you.

"Well that's too bad. Because we need to talk about her." he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

When did Edward start speaking so bluntly?

He snorted.

"Did you know that while Bella was… coaxing you away from the human,"—I flinched, which he ignored—"her shield dropped?"

I stared at him in confusion. "Her shield dropped?"

"It was a totally subconscious move on her part; I doubt she even knows she did it. But do you want to know what she was thinking about?"

Not really.

Again, he ignored me. "She was thinking about you. She was silently begging you to stop drinking. She didn't want to see you beating yourself up for the slip-up. her mind is so pure and full of honest to god, love for you."

I didn't know what to say. Every part of me locked down in surprise.

"I'm sure that if you weren't so focused on the human, you would have felt her emotions. I'll even bet that part of the reason you stopped was because her emotions were seeping into you."

"I-I didn't feel anything." I admitted. "All I could feel is the fear. From the human girl."

"You may not have realized that but your body did. And when something that intense seeps into you, you notice, whether it was consciously or not." Edward walked towards the bed. "You don't realize how much she loves you, Jasper. You were a total idiot. Even without having to read her mind, I know her heart is so true. You avoided her at all costs and I don't have to be a mind reader to know how much that hurt her. You didn't give her the chance. It's not a surprise that she left."

"What is that supposed to mean? She left because of me?"

"Well, duh! When did you become so dense? Honestly, Jasper. Really? God you're an even bigger idiot than I thought."

It felt strange to hear Edward insulting me. He was always so serious. Sometimes he was so much like Carlisle it was scary. I don't think I've ever seen him act like a seventeen year old.

"Would you stop thinking about me when your life is god knows where, when she should be here, comforting you? Don't you find that the least bit odd?

Yes. I did. But Alice is Alice and there isn't anything I can do to change that.

"Do you even want Alice to be here?"

The million dollar question, it seemed. My mind has been all over the place. I don't know what I want anymore.

"Do you want to know the last thing Bella was thinking before her shield went back up?" Edward asked.

Not really, but I get the feeling you're going to tell me anyway.

"She wanted to believe you, when you said you wanted her to stay. But she figured that once you snapped out of the state you were in, you would go back to the way you treated her before. She didn't want to deal with that again. Bella deserves more."

"Don't tell me what Bella deserves." I snarled.

Edward stared at me, then shook his head. "You and Alice have been acting so strange lately."

"Can-can you tell me where Bella is?"

"No, Jasper. I can't. If Bella wants to tell you or talk to you, she'll call."

"I don't know if I can wait." I whispered.

I sounded like a whimp but I honestly couldn't care less. Edward softened. "Jasper, you two need time away from each other. This has been a very uncomfortable reunion for both of you."

Time away. Ha. That's funny. We've had a hundred and forty-five years away from each other. Now that I know she's alive, can I really forget about her?

"I doubt it."

I growled at him. Stay out of my head, Eddie.

"Well, I think I've done my job. Good luck trying to figure it out." Edward turned his back and walked out of the room.

~*~

Stupid know-it-all Edward. Why did he have to make everything so damn difficult.

I needed to get out of the house. I needed to go… somewhere.

Jumping out of the bed, I ran down the stairs. Emmett was playing the new Wii system that he got while Esme flit around the room, dusting. She paused and looked at me. "Where are you heading off to, Jasper?"

"I'm just going to go for a run." I said.

"Probably thinking about how much he screwed up with Bella." Emmett said.

Esme smacked him upside the head.

"Ow! What is it with you women and smacking me? What good does it bring?"

Another smack. This time from Rosalie.

"Don't say 'you women'. It's degrading."

"Yes, Rosie." Emmett drew her close and planted a sloppy kiss on her. Rose squealed and the lust radiating off the two made me glad I was leaving.

Esme came to me, ignoring them. I tasted her emotions. Love and concern. I hated how much I made her worry. "Please be careful, Jasper. I know you're confused right now but the answer will come. You just have to be patient."

I smiled at her weakly. "Thanks Mom."

She smiled hugely and I felt her pride. I kissed her cheek and ran out the door.

I paid no attention to where I was running. All I knew was that I needed to be free and forget. I needed something to distract me.

APOV

"We both have something against Isabella Swan." I said.

"Do we? And what is it that you have against her?"

"Simple. She tried to steal my husband from me." I answered. "And there is no way I'm going to let that little bitch outsmart me. I'd rather see her dead then in my husband's arms again."

"Well, that's all I needed to hear."

I nodded. "There is only a small problem. While she is in Alaska, she is surrounded by rather strong vampires."

"Any of them gifted?"

"Just one." I explained the gift that Kate had. "Although, she needs physical contact for her gift to do any good."

"So it should be easy."

"Not necessarily. They are friends of Carlisle's. If they believe that she is in danger, they will fight for her. There is no denying that fact."

"But we have the element of surprise."

"No." I said. "We don't. Because of that stupid shield, I can't see anything about Bella or the Denali, seeing how they're all intermingled with her."

Master sighed in annoyance. "But how will they know we are coming?"

"Edward. He already believes there is something different about me. If he thinks things get any more suspicious, he's going to warn her. Edward is very… taken with her. He would do anything to protect her."

"Hmm. That does pose as an issue." Master paused. "Though there is a way into tricking him into believing that nothing has changed."

"How?" I demanded. I've tried everything I could to convince them that things were normal. But you can't hide things from Edward. Eventually you slip and he'll see it.

"Simple. You behaved the way you did because of Isabella. When your mate is being threatened, you start behaving differently in order to protect them."

That was, of course, very true and I couldn't believe I hadn't thought about it myself. I huffed out in annoyance.

"Now, you must leave before anyone else becomes too suspicious."

"I probably should go and see how Jasper is." I mused. "We will meet back here at midnight the night of the full moon. I'll let you know how things are then."

"Good."

I turned my back and ran to the house. I slowed to a walk as I approached the big white house. I could sense four vampires in the house.

"Alice is back." I heard Edward say.

"It's about time." Rosalie growled. "She should be taking care of Jasper, not prancing around outside doing who knows what."

"Rosalie, she may have gone hunting." Esme said in her maternal voice. "Perhaps she needed time to adjust."

I walked through the door and into the living room. "Hello, dear." Esme said.

"Where's Jasper?" I asked innocently.

"He went for a run."

"When?"

They all looked at each other. "A couple of hours ago. He should be back any minute."

I searched for Jasper's future. "Oh. He should be back in seven minutes." I danced towards the computer. "I think I'll do some online shopping until he gets here."

I knew they were all paying some attention to me. so I let my head wander until it was frivolous and more myself.

When Jasper came inside, covered in dirt, I frowned. "What happened to you, Jasper?" I asked, pouting.

"I went for a run, Alice." He said without looking at me. "I'm going to go and take a shower."

Uh oh. This is worse than I thought. I followed him up the stairs and into our room. "Jazzy, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to run from you."

"It's okay, Alice. I'm used to it."

Ouch, that's harsh. I went to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Do you think you can forgive me, Jazzy?"

He didn't answer me. The silence dragged on longer than I would have hoped. Then he said the words I knew were coming.

"I forgive you Alice."

I walked around so I was facing him and leaned up to kiss him. He wasn't quite as responsive but the more I pushed, the more the dominant part of him started to surface and he fought back.

His lips trailed down my neck and sucked on the skin while his hands moved to push the shirt up and over my head.

Okay, that's all. Yes, Alice is different and evil. But in some of the FF stories that I've read, she's too nice. It's a love/hate situation for me. Tell me what you think. Review Please!