DISCLAIMER: All things TWILIGHT belong to Stephanie Meyer

A/N: Thank you all for the outpouring of love in the comments and Pms I received. They meant so much to me. It was a very emotional last few months, and I honestly didn't think I would come back and finish this story, but those words pushed me to continue. I really hope you all like where this is going, and I hope I didn't lose anyone since my last update. This story is taking a new turn from where I thought it was originally going.. so to the people I emailed spoilers to before I left, there will be some new things and some changes coming.. starting with this chapter!

(( I tried to post this a few days ago and the site was having issues with me.. But it just means you'll get Chapter 13 sooner than I first anticipated! ))

CH. 12.
'Unseen'

(( ANNALEIGH'S POV ))

I was hesitating. My fingers were clutched around my house keys as I stood looking out at the Volvo parked in my driveway. I had this prickly feeling tingling along my neck telling me that I should just go back inside and lock the door.

It was the morning after I had agreed to Alice that I would let them drive me to school, and later take me hostage at their home. Though Alice had told me that her family didn't eat.. Or I guess, drink, was a better word.. Humans.. I still didn't think being locked in their house would be a good thing. Maybe Bella would be there, but I had come to the conclusion that she was crazy. She was working with them. I bet they made her be my friend so I would come over as a willing dinner participant. I smirked as I thought about seasoning myself with pepper and salt instead of my usual coconut body spray. Or maybe they liked coconut.

Oh God, what was I thinking? Did I actually want to be their meal? The answer is no. With the keys cutting into the tightened grip of my fist, I made the decision to go back up to my room and wait for them to leave. Surely they'd get bored, and just go to school. I would drive myself later. I didn't care if I ended up late for first period. Just as my foot turned, my phone from my pocket rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Quit messing around and get out here."

"Alice?" I asked with a soft voice.

"Yes." She sighed heavily, exaggerated in my opinion. "Do I have to come in and get you?"

I decided to test her to see what she would do and took a deliberate step towards the stairs. If she was watching me, surly she saw that.

"Fine." She said nonchalantly, and hung up the phone.

I felt like I had won. With a happy click, I closed my phone, and slipped it back into my pocket. I jogged up the stairs and when my foot stepped onto the upstairs landing I saw a pair of legs.

"Shit!"

Alice, stood there, blocking my way. The little crazy woman looked pissed. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was tapping her foot impatiently. This was it. I was done for. I turned around, with the thoughts of getting away. Maybe then I'd be safe from the wrath of Alice.

When I turned to go back down stairs, she was there. I groaned inwardly, suddenly remembering that she could see the future. No matter what I did, she would know, and would foil all my attempts at escape.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." She stood on the step below me, as if waiting for my reply. I dreaded to think of what the 'hard way' was, but I really didn't want to go with her right now. She'd have to drag me to her car.

She smirked, lifting a perfectly raised brow, "The hard way? You sure?" I opened my mouth to say something, but only a squeak came out as I found myself thrown over her shoulder and carried down the stairs. The walls around me became a blur, and before I knew it the brisk air hit my body and I was outside. She didn't put me down when we reached the car.

"Are you crazy!?" I yelled, wiggling around in attempt to get her to drop me.

"Now, now.. We're practically family. Be nice." I could tell she was loving this and it made me wiggle more. She set me down, and opened the car door for me. I sat in the backseat, happy to find it empty, but wondering where everyone else was. Before I could ask the question, Alice was in the front passenger side seat, and Edward was backing the car onto the main road.

"Rosalie wanted to drive, so Emmett and Jasper rode with her. We're picking up Bella on the way." He said. I guess it made sense. With their two humans coming for 'dinner', there wouldn't be enough room for everyone to ride in one car.

The car was silent, and I reveled in that for the moment, knowing it wouldn't last. What did Alice mean by 'we're practically family'. I knew I was practically family with Jasper. Was she some crazy Aunt I was related to also? I'm sure if she was human she'd be that lady with all the cats. I laughed in thought. She could still be the 'cat lady' now, but I wonder if that's her favorite thing to eat. Whatever it is, she's out of this world. I'm not sure if its in a good way or not. Right now I just feel annoyed.

My attention was brought to the front of the car upon hearing Edward chuckle.

"What?" I demanded.

"You're not scared of Alice." He stated simply. Oh right, he can read minds.

"Yep." He grinned, answering my thoughts. "Maybe you should take her shopping Alice, that'll scare her for sure." He said.

I saw Alice's movements stop for a moment, her gaze out the front window seemed to be unfocused. I watched with a frown trying to figure out what she was doing. No more than a second later she seemed to focus again, a grin spreading across her face.

"She'd like it." She said. Like it? Like what?

"Shopping, apparently." Edward said, again answering my questions. This would get really annoying. How did the others stand it with Edward in their head all the time? What about Bella? I don't think I could date a guy who knew what I was thinking. How could you be intimate with someone like that?

"Its not a problem for us." He said. I looked at Edward again, and saw from the view of his profile that his jaw was clenched. And if he didn't loosen his grip on the steering wheel it would probably break. Was he embarrassed, or bored with my ramblings? Did I hit a nerve with the intimate comment?

I waited to see if he'd answer my thoughts again, a little smug that I found a way to stop that annoying habit. Maybe thinking about Bella was all it took. I heard a low growl that seemed to be coming from him.

"I wouldn't talk about Bella like that." Alice said. I turned to look at her again. I was getting dizzy with this constant turning back and forth. She was focused on Edward, sending him a stern look. Was he in trouble with the Queen of annoyance? I wonder what she was 'thinking' at him. I sighed, maybe I pushed him too far with the Bella thoughts and questions. He was a really moody vampire.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

We pulled into Bella's driveway and Edward got out of the car, and stood next to it, leaning his body on the metal frame.

"Does he think he's James Dean or something? All he needs is a leather jacket and a cigarette and he'd be set." I mumbled, lost again in my thoughts. Alice tried to smother a laugh, and Edward turned to shoot us both a glare.

I settled back in my seat, trying hard not to think of everything going on around me. Bella offered me a small hi as she sat behind Edward in the seat next to me. The feeling of being captured washed over me again. It was almost like being in a cop car with the way the 'predators' sat in the front seat, keeping guard over their dinner.

"We're not going to eat you Annaleigh." Edward sighed heavily. I saw Bella bite her lip to hide her smirk as she stared out the window. I knew Edward wouldn't have any interest in eating me, but I bet he wouldn't mind having a taste of Bella. He growled again and slammed on the breaks. My seat belt dug into where it lay across my neck as I lurched forward in my seat.

"You. Have. Got. To. Stop!" His voice almost shook the car; his tone loud and firm. Each word punctuated. I shrunk back in my seat, afraid to make a sound.

Alice reached across to him, putting a hand on his arm. "Don't." She whispered. I was sure I wouldn't have heard it if the car hadn't been so quiet.

I looked at Bella and her eyes were wide. "Edward." her voice was soft and tender. She reached an arm forward resting her fingers lightly on his shoulder. He flinched away from her touch.

I could hear my heartbeat in my ears, the constant drumming was pulsating fast as adrenaline ran through my veins. I watched Edward closely. He wasn't breathing. Alice's hand was still gripping his arm, her eyes intent on his. I looked down to her mouth and saw it moving slightly. My concentration on her lips was so focused that I didn't realize Edward had left the car until I heard the door slam closed.

"Don't move Bella." Alice's voice rang through the car. I looked back at Bella who had her hand on the door handle. "Let him go. He'll meet us at school."

Alice shot me a pointed look before climbing over the middle consol and into the drivers seat. She put the car back into drive and continued on our way.

"What happened?" I asked after several minutes of silence. I noticed that Bella was still looking out of the window, gnawing on her bottom lip.

"Edward has been having some.. Control.. Issues lately." Alice spoke carefully, "Your thoughts were just a little too truthful about his situation and hit him a little hard."

What had I said that could have driven him away like that? Sure I kept ribbing that they were going to eat me, and possibly Bella too. Was it the comment about being intimate? I had seen the way he looked at Bella. They were so comfortable around each other. Surely they had already been there.

"What did I say?" I was extremely baffled at this point.

"Did you think about Edward tasting Bella?" Alice asked.

"Well, yeah.. But it was just like a joke. I didn't mean to get so personal. If he's embarrassed or something.." I stammered trying to figure out how someone like him could be embarrassed about a comment I thought.

"Its not that.. Bella's blood is quite the temptation for Edward. She's his singer." She stated, as if I knew what that meant.

"Singer?" I looked at Bella who had her eyes closed. I didn't think she could sing, but its always the quiet ones that surprised you the most.

Bella sighed, opening her eyes and looking at me. "He thinks that my blood.." She frowned, as if trying to find the right words.

"Her blood calls to him. We all have someone who's blood tastes the best above all others. Ever since Edward first smelled Bella, he has been fighting the burn in his throat that calls for him to drink.." Alice trailed off, meeting Bella's gaze in the rearview mirror. "Sorry Bella.. Its nothing neither of you did."

"But when I thought that, it reminded him of tasting her?" I thought I was catching on.

"All I saw was a vision of him with red eyes, at Bella's funeral." Bella's eyes opened, her mouth parting in a gasp, at Alice's words. "Its ok. He wouldn't. He would never dare do that Bella. As soon as he calmed down, the vision changed. He needed some fresh air."

An awkward silence filled the car until we pulled into the parking lot. Yet another reason why I didn't want to go to their house. What if I sung to someone there. Was that even the right way to phrase that?

I got out quickly after Alice had pulled into their spot and stopped the engine. I was met with a fierce glare from Rosalie who was leaning against her car parked next to us. I visibly gulped and quickly walked towards the school buildings. I knew, from my previous encounters with her, that Rosalie probably hated me the most. I knew Emmett and Jasper were probably standing with her, but I could only focus on her. A chill ran down my spine, and I hugged my arms around my torso, tucking my jacket closer to my body. I really did not want to go to their home tonight.

I pushed open the door to the main school building and walked swiftly to my English class. Now I was sure I had two very pissed off immortal killing machines out to get me.

I sunk into my regular seat and looked at the top of my desk, lost in my thoughts and afraid to look up in case one of them appeared next to me. They moved too fast; I couldn't keep up. I really had an uneasy feeling being around them. I would walk home before I'd let them drive me to their house after school.

My morning passed in a blur and before I knew it, it was time for history. I was slightly thankful that we were meeting in the library instead of the classroom today, but, then again, there were a lot of places Rosalie could drag me off to amongst the rows of books.

As I pushed the door to the library open I saw her sitting at a table with Jasper. Her eyes met mine and it was like they got darker as her glare deepened. I gulped. This was it. I was done for. She was going to speed across the room to me and snap my neck. She was going to kill me and hide the body and no one would find me for years and years, I was sure of it. What would my aunt tell my dad? Would there be a search party looking for me? Probably not, if Bella's Chief of police dad had anything to do with it. He was probably in on the Cullen's as well.

I averted my eyes from Rosalie's and walked down an isle of books. Looking around and taking note of where the nearest human was, I felt comforted that someone would hear me scream, and sat. Pulling my binder from my backpack, I opened to a blank page as a guise of looking busy. I couldn't focus. All I heard was my heavy breath and heartbeat. I needed a distraction.

I pulled out my phone, darting my eyes around to make sure the teacher wasn't near by, and flipped it open. I did the only thing that I knew would distract me from everything else in my mind. I opened a new text page and started typing, hesitating before hitting the 'send' button.

He had left with out a word the morning after we, well, spent the night together, and I hadn't heard from him since. I knew thinking about Paul was a good distraction for me, but talking to him was even better. Would he even reply to my text? I decided to chance it, and hit 'send'.

Hey.. How are you?

I cringed as the words disappeared on my screen and were sent to Paul's phone. I didn't know what else to say to him. I thought that something like "What the hell happened to you the other day?" was a little blunt. I was going for casual. No more than a minute passed when my phone vibrated and his reply flashed onto the screen.

Hey! I've missed you.

I smiled at the words, knowing I had missed him too. But then, if he missed me, why hadn't he called me? Or come by? Never one for really beating around the bush, I decided to call him on it.

A: Where have you been lately?

P: Around. Been busy.

A: Doing what?

I know I didn't really have a place to ask him about his personal business, we weren't a couple, but I couldn't stop the words from coming as I typed them.

P: Work.

For some reason I didn't picture him with a job. I assumed he worked, but we had never really talked about our personal lives in the time that we had known each other.

A: Where do you work?

P: The rez.. What are you doing?

I was trying to avoid being killed, but I couldn't exactly tell him that. He'd never believe me if I told him the Cullen's were vampires. When I had brought it up all he seemed interested in was which side I'd be on. He didn't really seem into vampires.

A: I'm at school.. History class

P: Sounds.. Intesting. Lol

I found myself relaxing as we texted back and forth, and wanting to see him again. Maybe he could be my ride home from school, since there was no way I would get back in the car with them.

"No, Annaleigh."

I jumped at the voice that whispered in my ear. I looked behind me and groaned loudly. She was right there with an annoyed look on her face. It seemed like Alice was always scowling. I snapped my phone shut and turned back to my book. She sat next to me.

"This is getting really old Alice."

"Look, I'm sorry ok? We're all a little on edge.. Me more so than the others actually."

I looked at her, and she had a frown on her face. Something was bugging her and I wasn't sure what.

"I just can't get a good reading on you. You keep changing your mind and its messing with my vision. And if you keep spending time with Paul I'll never know what you're up to. Just, can you please make a decision and stick with it for a few hours?"

Well that cleared up why she was so annoyed, but something she said brought my attention.

"Why would spending time with Paul do anything to your vision?" I didn't even bother asking how she knew I was spending time with him. I know she saw my text from the first time I went to her home.

"All I know is that you were going to come home with us, and then it went blurry. Which I guess was you re-thinking the idea and trying to find a new way home. Then, it went black." she shrugged, "That's when I knew what had happened."

"What happened?" I asked, still confused as to how this related to Paul.

"You went with Paul." she said simply, as if that explained everything.

"So?"

"Whenever Bella goes to see Jacob I can't see her anymore. It's the same when you spend time with Paul. I can't see my visions because they block it." Somehow the guys from La Push had found a way to stop themselves from being seen by Alice. My excitement grew. I would go home with Paul tonight, and I would find out how they did it. Maybe they could teach me how to block her. I didn't want her having anymore say in what I did or did not do.

"I know you don't want to come home with us tonight, and that's fine. I can't see you after the last class of the day, so I already know where you'll be. But try to give us a chance - for Jasper." Her eyes pleaded with mine, and I found it hard to say no. I wanted to spend time with Jasper and explore the relationship we had. I wanted to learn about the family members that died before I was born, and tell him about the ones I grew up with. When I really thought about it, spending time with the rest of the Cullen's wouldn't be so bad; as long as Edward and Rosalie weren't around I'm sure I'd survive.

Alice's bright smile snapped me from my thoughts. "Great! I knew you'd make the right decision!"

"What? I didn't decide anything!" I yelled in a hushed whisper.

"Jasper and I will see you later." She grinned, standing up and walking away with a spring in her step. She had only mentioned herself with Jasper, so whatever I had apparently decided or agreed to couldn't be that bad if it was just the three of us.

I turned back to my book trying to focus on normalcy again. It was going to take a while to get used to the intensity of the rest of them. I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

My phone vibrated again and I picked it up quickly to read Paul's next text.

P: When can I see you again?

A: Pick me up after school?

I sent my reply quickly, not giving Alice a chance to sneak up on me again. If Paul could take me home, and we could spend some time together I'd have a few Alice-Free hours on my hands. The thought sounded way too appealing.

A/N: I apologize for Edward.. I'm not his biggest fan, and have a little too much fun making fun of him and his sexual and blood related frustrations..

I am a fan of Alice, and promise she'll be her chipper little old self next time we see her. She's just frustrated right now because Annaleigh is all over the place with her decisions, and wants to spend more time with Paul.. So she's blurry and blank whenever Alice 'sees' her.. Alice needs to keep an eye on her so she can tell if Anna is going to expose them or not..

Also.. I know Annaleigh was meant to spend some time with the Cullen's this chapter, and she will, but this chapter took off and I couldn't turn it around to its original intent, so please don't be mad! She's too scared of them right now anyway, so for her to jump in their car and go to their house wouldn't make much sense.

Anyway.. Next chapter will be Paul's POV and we'll find out what he's been up to since we saw him last, and get to see more Paul/Annaleigh interactions..

Read and Review.. Be kind!!

- Lau