A/N: I'm not sure what the legal rules for being able to drive a car are, but how about, for the purpose of this story, we make it sixteen, because I know it was like that at some point in time. lol

Alice's POV – Age 16

I didn't believe what I was seeing. It couldn't be Jasper. It just couldn't.

And yet it was. As we neared the house, I could see his parents standing in the background. Rose stood next to him, waving excitedly at the car. I rolled down the window, despite the pouring rain. Jasper's eyes locked with mine and he gave a sheepish smile. My mind wasn't functioning enough to formulate a response.

"Ooh, who's the cutie in your driveway, Alice?" Charlotte crooned. My head snapped to the side, where I saw her combing out her flawless hair with her fingers and straightening her beret. She took a mirror out of her pocket, admired her reflection for a second, and put it away again. I felt a pang of anger that I shook away instantly. Why should I care if she thinks Jasper's handsome? He definitely was—I told him all the time. Or, I used to tell him, before he started ignoring me.

Mom stopped the car at the curb and climbed out as if she were in a dream. The rain turned to drizzle, which cleared away after a few moments. Bella and Charlotte got out of the car. I couldn't move.

I saw Mom embrace Jasper's mother, then his father, then Rosalie, then Jasper. Bella followed suit. Charlotte waved politely to his parents and Rosalie before flashing a flirtatious smile at Jazz and saying something I couldn't hear. Jasper didn't seem to hear her either.

He was walking toward my car door now, his pace quickening with every step he took until he broke into a jog. He was so much taller than I remembered, and more muscular. His face had lost the roundness it'd had so many years before and his hair was sharper. He was paler and there were some dark circles under his eyes, but the Jasper I'd loved like a brother all my life was still there.

The second he opened the car door, I leapt out, throwing myself into his arms. He responded with such enthusiasm that he swept me off my feet and into the air. I held on tight to him, as if letting go would mean he'd leave again.

I couldn't see the red face of Charlotte, or the smug faces of Rose and Bella. There was just Jasper, my big brother, my best friend. He was everything. Everything was him. Until…

"Alice?"

Peter's voice snapped me out of it. Jasper set me on my feet and took a few steps to the side. Peter was standing in front of me, looking dumbstruck and jealous. There was a rose in his hand—he'd always bring me one, even if it was a casual visit. It was sort of a tradition.

"Hi, Peter," I said, moving forward awkwardly to give him a hug. He stepped back and handed me the flower instead. As I took it, I felt my face turning red. Peter looked hurt.

"I swear it's not what you think," I whispered.

"Oh, I know it's not," he answered, his attempt at appearing unbothered failing miserably. "You were just happy at seeing an old friend. I get it. How've you been, Jasper?"

Peter held out his hand toward Jazz, who responded with a firm shake. His hands were bigger than Peter's by a long shot, yet he still moved them with grace.

"Fine, thanks," Jazz responded. His voice was deeper and had a slight Southern twang to it. It was melodic, musical.

"I see I'm interrupting a bit of a reunion," Peter said. "So I think I'll just go."

"No!" I said, a second too late to be considered a coherent response. "Stay. You told me you wanted to go to lunch. I'm sure I can catch up with them later. It's okay if I go with Peter, right, Mom?"
Mom looked slightly confused and caught off guard.

"Um, Alice, the Hales just got back from being in Texas for years," she said hesitantly. "Don't you want to catch up, or something?"

"She can do that later," Jasper said coldly, as if we hadn't just shared a warm, friendly hug. How sad. "Let her go."

Mom's eyes were wide, as if she didn't know what to think or say about the situation.

"Oh, Marissa, let the girl go. We'll still be here when she gets back," Jasper's mom said, winking at me. I smiled gratefully, yet uncomfortably.

"Alright," Mom said. "Be home by five, please. You need to show Charlotte around town."

"I could do that," Jasper offered. I saw Charlotte turn red and smile shyly. Ugh. That was not sickening at all; that did not piss me off at all.

"Perfect," Mom said. "Well, off you go, Alice. It was nice seeing you, too, Peter. Be home by five!" she tacked on as a reminder.

I barely heard her. We were already heading toward Peter's car. He held my hand in his, stroking my thumb. And yet, I felt cold. It wasn't as if his every touch sent shivers up and down my spine and made my cheeks go red, but at least I felt something on a normal basis.

Today, I felt nothing.

I felt nothing as I sat down in his hair next to him; I felt nothing as he took my hand in his once more. Jasper had always held my hand with such tenderness and care. Peter's hold was more protective. It made me feel awkward.

"So, Jasper's back, is he?" Peter said, breaking the silence. His voice startled me.

"What?" I said instinctively, unable to process his words immediately. "Oh. Yeah."

"You happy?"

"Insanely."

"You don't sound too happy."

"Well I am."

It was quiet again for a few more seconds other than Peter's sharp intakes of breath and my slow breathing.

"And that short girl with the blonde hair is your cousin?" he asked.

"Uh-huh."

"She has a thing for Jasper."

"No kidding."

"That bug you?"

"Little bit," I said before I could stop myself.

I didn't have to look Peter straight in the eye to see that he looked hurt.

"No, no," I said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's just… I don't know a ton about her, you know? She might be the type of girl that plays games. I don't want my big brother to get hurt if she tries to mess with him." I put a subtle emphasis on the word brother.

"You know, on second thought, Alice, her parents just died," Peter said. "I'm sure dating is the last thing on her mind."

"You'd be surprised," I muttered. "Girls are stupid sometimes."

Heh. No kidding.

Yes, I thought I was being ridiculously stupid. Why did I care about the type of girl Jasper went after? If he wanted to join in whatever game Charlotte could play with him, then I wouldn't have anything to say about it.

But, then again, I was jumping to conclusions. Who said that Charlotte was the type of girl to play games? Who said she was even deeply interested in Jasper? Maybe she was just a flirty girl. Yeah, that was it…

"Alice, did you hear anything I just said?" Peter asked.

"Wait… what?" I searched my mind for any detail I might have picked up from the conversation I didn't realize I was participating in. "Oh. Yeah. Um. How bout them cats?"

He sighed and turned on the street that led to the park. To my surprise, he drove on by.

"What happened?" I asked. "I thought you wanted to go to the park."

"Changed my mind," he answered. "Figured I'd take you somewhere else."

When I saw the sign that signaled the entrance to La Push, I was still confused. Where were we…?

I saw it when he turned again. The beach. We hadn't been to the beach since our first date. I looked at him curiously. He just smiled a half smile and parked the car. He climbed out of the car and was already opening my door when I'd unbuckled my seatbelt. He held out his hand for me. I pretended not to see it and let myself out. I could feel his confusion long before I saw it on his face. I just smiled a very fake smile and pecked him lightly on the cheek, my lips barely touching his face.

We walked an arm's length apart up the cliff until we reached the top. There was a bench at the top, and we both took a seat. Before I could scoot away a few inches, he put his arm around me and drew me close to him. Out of instinct, I rested my head on his shoulder. But the movement felt wrong. I remembered all the times I'd leaned my head on Jasper's shoulder, and how that small motion alone would comfort me in any situation.

We sat in silence, but it wasn't the silence I'd sit through for hours with Jazz. Those silences were comfortable, happy, and calm. But this was different. It was the sort of silence you'd find between two people who hadn't seen each other since they were five and scarcely remembered anything about one another. Vaguely familiar, yet very, very, very ill at ease.

"Alice, could I give you something?" Peter asked me out of the blue. The sun was setting, though it wasn't even five yet. That was what you got during those autumn evenings in the Olympic Peninsula.

"What is it?" I asked, straightening in my seat. He took his arm from around my shoulders and dug in his pockets for something.

"Close your eyes," he instructed.

I did as he told me.

"Now hold out your arm."

I held out the arm that had the bracelet Jasper had given me all those years ago dangling from it. I heard Peter sigh.

"Your other arm."

Done.

I felt something cold clasp around my wrist.

"Now, open."

It was a thin, silver bracelet with small seashells embedded every couple spaces. It was nothing extravagant, but it was nice.

"I love it," I said as sincerely as I could manage. Was it truly so horrible that I had to compare it to the one Jazz had given me?

"Glad you do," he said. He stood up, obviously not expecting any other form of gratitude. I stood as well.

"Now let's get you home," he said. "It's five. Your mom will be expecting you."

"Yeah. Good thinking."

We rode in silence, and he didn't even bother to walk me to my door when we got to the house. I hurried to the door and sighed in relief when Bella answered.

"What took you so long?" she asked, with a piece of bread hanging out of her mouth. "It's nearly six. Mom was ready to bust her top."

"Sorry, we got held up," I lied.

"Where's Peter?" she asked, swallowing her snack.

"He left."

And that was all that was said on the subject.

"Where are Jazz and Rose?" I asked, putting my jacket on the coat rack.

"Rose and her parents went home," she answered. "They have to get settled in their house again. Can you believe they were able to keep that thing this whole time?"

"Yeah, surprising," I muttered. "And Jazz?"

"He's still out with Charlotte," Bella said, leaning against the doorframe. "Does that bug you?"

I flung one of my gloves at her and stomped up the stairs. No, it did not bug me. Not at all. Jasper was a friend, and Charlotte was just a girl who was interested. Why should I care? Huh? Why. Should. I. Care?!

I slammed the door to my room harder than I'd intended. It might've been a minute, it might've been an hour till Charlotte settled herself into the rubber mattress next to my bed. I was still awake, and she didn't go more than thirty seconds without sighing contentedly.

"Your friend Jasper is very kind," she sighed.

"Yep."

"And very… nice looking."

"Uh-huh."

"He's taking me to school on Monday," she said. "He said he'd show me around."

"That's great. Listen, Charlotte, I know you might be jetlagged or something, but I'm tired. Let me sleep."

"Oh. Okay. Sorry. Good night."

I didn't respond. Instead, I punched my pillow repeatedly and imagined tipping over my bedside table right onto her stupid, perfect little face.

But that was irrational. I didn't even have a legit reason to do that… yeah. Nope. No reason whatsoever.