Will You take my Freezing Hands and Dance?

A blanket of shock settled over us. I could feel Jasper's eyes boring a hole into the side of my face, but I didn't look over at him. I shifted my gaze downward after a moment and spoke, not able to handle the silence any longer.

"It's not like it was some kind of horrible experience," I started, trying to keep my voice light. "Mental hospitals now aren't like they were, now that we know more about psychological disorders and the medicine to treat them. The food is pretty terrible, though." I muttered, hoping to lighten the mood. I slid my eyes over to look at Jasper in time to see the edge of his lips quirk up. I took a small breath and continued, the shock dissipating. "I've met a lot of… interesting people." I laughed. "But they're nice. They're still people, just a little… broken."

There was a small pause afterward as I waited for him to ask the questions I knew were rushing through his head. I took this time to shift and face him, now that I felt the tense moment had passed.

"…w-why…?" he asked in a quiet voice.

I sighed. "Well, in theory, it's safer for us." I thought about this for a moment. "I mean, the Suits go to mental hospitals to find special people, because in most cases, they tell their families and their families send them to mental hospitals because they don't believe them. It's easy to just go in and sweep them away." My eyebrows furrowed as I recalled what my mom told me when I asked her. "The way my mom saw it, though, was that it was safer than say a crowded New York street, or a suburban neighborhood in California. It probably helped that she could also see the future.

"I've only been to two different mental hospitals but in each, I've met a few vampires who've worked there. They have the same agenda as the Suits, only they're there to feed and only prey on the ones who won't be missed." I stopped there, not wanting to get too carried away with the negative. "Uh, my mom would befriend them. They would keep the Suits away from us for the most part. Vampires seem to really like future-tellers." I smiled at some of the memories, the fascinated looks in their ruby eyes. "I didn't usually get close to them, what with my generalized fear of vampires and all, especially those with red eyes, but my mom had been at it for a long time, so she was able to control that… uh, fear."

"Don't they… don't they do psych evals, though?" he asked, starting to unthaw. He finally blinked after what seemed like at least three minutes.

I chuckled darkly. "Yes, they do, but it's not hard to sound mentally sick when you talk constantly about vampires coming to take you away." I sobered up quickly as I continued, though, because after having been around mentally ill people almost all my life, I found nothing funny about it. "I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Do they give you medication?"

"They do, but I've mastered the art of fake swallowing." I shrugged. Jasper made a noise that sounded similar to a chuckle or something, at the very least amused, but it hadn't quite made it.

"Why don't I take you inside, now," Jasper finally said with a tender smile that melted my heart.

"No more questions?" I asked, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow as he reached over to open his door. I blinked and suddenly my door was opening. I looked up at Jasper who had a mischievous smile on his lips, his eyes smoldering again.

"No, I'm finished," he told me, opening the door wider and offering me his hand. As I took it and carefully stepped out of the car he added, "For now, anyway." I gave him a rueful look, pulling my hand from his as he closed the door. I seemed to be doing fine standing on my own right now. I'd gotten so used to the nausea and vertigo that I was practically oblivious to their presence now.

We walked silently to the mansion, Jasper making sure to get to the door first to hold it open for me.

"I'm flattered, Mr. President," I told him, putting a hand to my chest dramatically.

Jasper rolled his eyes but bowed slightly like the southern gentleman he was and said, "It was my pleasure, ma'am."

An unexpected blush rushed into my face and I quickly turned away, walking into the house, my heart speeding away in my chest. He made sure I made it up to the third floor safely, before going back to school to pick up his siblings. (Or rather, hand the keys back to Edward, so he could drive them home.)

Eric was a bit upset that I didn't leave a note or call him to inform him about what happened and had to hear from Mike after the last bell as he waited for me by my locker—he walked me to my car after school. (Oh and just if you were wondering, Jasper drove Cynthia and the bug back to the Cullens' house.) I explained the rest, telling him I went home, and apologized the next day and he forgave me, but I could still see he was upset. I wasn't quite sure why, because Eric wasn't the type to say he'd forgiven you if he really hadn't.

I was perfectly okay with that, I would've talked about it as long as he wanted until he felt he could forgive me, but he didn't want to talk about it. It worried me and made me feel slightly guilty, though I had no real reason to.

I was pondering this as I walked with Mike and Angela to Forensics, and I guess I'd pondered out loud.

"It's probably because I told him everything, Alice. Even the part about Hale." Mike suddenly said, pulling me away from my thoughts.

I looked at him, furrowing my eyebrows. "And what exactly did you tell him?" I ignored the fact that I had been thinking out loud. I was afraid Mike might've spun it to make it look like Jasper and I were secretly dating or something.

"Nothing bad, I promise," Mike assured. "I merely told him what I saw: Hale seemed extremely worried about you is all." He shrugged.

"Well… okay," I mumbled. It wasn't that bad, was it? So why was Eric still upset with me?

"It was kind of odd, really," Angela added a bit off-handedly, "just how worried Jasper seemed, though."

I was taken aback by this. "What do you mean by that?" I asked frowning. One person telling me wasn't such a big deal, but from two different perspectives with the same conclusion had me questioning things. It wasn't just about Eric anymore, it was about Jasper. I mean, I knew he was worried yesterday, and he'd outwardly admitted he cared about me, but this just brought back my suspicions he was hiding something from me.

"Well," Angela blinked like she was coming out of reverie and looked at me. "I mean, I was inside the classroom measuring the size of one of the blood drops when suddenly Jasper rushed passed my table and out the door. His movements were stiff and urgent. I followed, suddenly worried by his worry and he was at your side when I got out there."

"What?" I asked.

"Yeah, Angela's right, he seemed awfully concerned." Mike repeated. "I mean, I guess everyone was, but for not talking to you for weeks on end, he seemed more concerned than he should be." He looked put out suddenly. "How fast he caught you when you started falling… and when Mr. Banner asked someone to take you to the nurse's office, how quickly he volunteered." He was mostly muttering to himself now.

"Well, why is that a bad thing?" I questioned, feeling insulted, the need to defend Jasper swelling like a tidal wave within me.

Angela smiled and chuckled. "No one's saying it's bad," she assured noticing how irritated I was. "I actually think it's really sweet."

"The Cullens stick to themselves, Alice," Mike told me. "They always have. They're kind of stuck-up and arrogant about it too, like they're better than everyone else here. For one of them to care about someone other than their little family is just out of the ordinary. That's all."

We fell into silence after that as I mulled over what they'd told me. I became irritated with Jasper again for not elaborating when he'd told me I didn't understand the enormity of his concern for me. At the same time, I might frustratingly add, it was sweet, like Angela had said, and more of those butterflies formed in my stomach as we neared the door to the classroom.

I guess at some point I would have to confront him about this.

The rest of the week went by pretty smoothly. After a few days, Eric had finally voiced his concerns about Jasper and I reassured him nothing was going on between us romantically. He seemed more comforted by this and I was relieved. There were no more triggered memories, no sickness, and Jasper was talking to me again. We didn't talk much in Forensics, but back at the Cullens' house, he engaged with me more, getting to know me better. I did most of the talking, while he asked the questions.

And then it was Christmas break. Two whole weeks of no school. It was nice in a way, getting a break after a hard couple of months adjusting to a somewhat normal life. At the very least, living in a house again. Usually, by this time, Cynthia and I had already moved because the Suits were planning on pushing in on us. It was odd to stay at the same school, live in the same town for more than a few weeks.

The Suits still sat in the wings, though, I could feel it. They were waiting for a decision to be made. The Cullens were still holding them off from doing anything too drastic.

Meanwhile I tried to find things to occupy my time now that I didn't have school. I picked up some extra shifts at The Lodge, but when I wasn't working, I was usually on the computer. Esme had been thoughtful enough to buy a wireless mouse for the computers, since the touch screens no longer responded to heat. I was hesitant to use them at first, but then Jessica had told me about a website called Polyvore, where you could design clothes and outfits in any style and for any occasion, and I found myself using them often. She'd noticed my liking for fashion and suggested that site to me if I ever got bored.

I'd gone on it anytime I had free time, designing outfits. I started with the seasons first but when I got bored I started picking things out for the Cullens. What they wore wasn't bad, Rosalie seemed to keep them in good shape—except for Bella, who I was determined to get to wear things other than ratty t-shirts and jeans—but I wanted to add my own style to their wardrobes, so to speak. I wasn't brave enough to tell them this. I'm sure Edward had a chuckle over it now and again, being the annoying mind reader he is, but I knew he wouldn't tell anyone. If he did, it'd probably be Bella, who wouldn't tell anyone else in the family… I hoped.

Today was one of those days where I had nothing to do so I went downstairs to the computers to log onto Polyvore. Emmett and Jasper were wrestling in the backyard. It was hard to get used to the thunderous clashes they made when they rammed into each other, but they were nice enough to not wrestle at night. Edward was teaching Cynthia a song on the piano, while Bella sat cross-legged on the floor, near Edward, reading Wuthering Heights. Carlisle was at the hospital. I didn't see Esme and Rosalie, but I assumed Esme was working on blueprints again while Rosalie was working on one their many cars in the garage.

I'm not sure how long I'd been designing outfits, but suddenly someone said, "That's pretty."

I looked over to see who it was before jumping out of my seat in the opposite direction of where they were sitting next to me, my hand coming up to cover my mouth as a scream formed in my throat, coming out sounding more like a squeak. My heart, which had lurched in my chest painfully at the scare, was now hammering painfully against my ribcage.

Rosalie sat there, staring at me, unfazed by adverse reaction.

"Sorry, I… didn't mean to scare you," she said, turning back to the screen, her lips lifting at the edges slightly.

"Yes, you did," I retorted, removing my hand from my mouth, and narrowing my eyes at her.

Her small smile stretched into an amused grin. "I wasn't actually sure I would be able to, what with your abilities and all. You must've been really focused."

I barked a half-sarcastic, half-nervous laugh as I grabbed the chair and pulled it slightly away from her before sitting down. I was feeling a bit unnerved, not just because she was talking to me suddenly, but because, well… that whole aversion to vampires thing.

"You have a good fashion sense," Rosalie continued, still ignoring my reactions to this.

"Why are you talking to me?" I asked, not wanting to beat around the bush. "I thought you hated me."

Rosalie smiled, giving a small chuckle and looked down. "I suppose I should've expected that. I was—and I suppose still am—jealous of you, Alice. I thought by your coming here, you were carelessly giving up your human life. It made me angry that you would thoughtlessly throw away something I would give anything to be again." Her eyebrows furrowed and her teeth clenched as she said this. But just as quickly as her anger appeared, it disappeared, her face smoothing over, her voice becoming softer. "Now that I know you weren't given a choice, I'm not angry at you anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm still jealous, but I can easily put that aside now that I can put your situation into perspective."

I stared at her still in shock for a moment before a smile stretched across my lips. This seemed to startle Rosalie a bit, but she returned my smile, a little smaller than mine, after a moment.

"Well, I'm glad," I told her. "Does this mean we're… friends?" I asked hesitantly, not sure if we were at that stage yet. It felt more like an acquaintanceship right now.

To my relief, Rosalie nodded. "Friends," she agreed. I turned back to the screen, then, thinking she was going to go off and do her own thing but she commented about what I was working on instead. We started discussing the outfits and she even taught me a few things I hadn't known. At one point she guessed what all these outfits were and I sheepishly admitted what I was doing.

It was kind of fun talking to her and learning new things about something I loved. Especially because our relationship had been all but nonexistent, tense on good days. Whenever she got the chance to glare at me she would. Now we could put that behind us. It made me almost giddy; it almost felt like I had a family again.

Christmas Eve came and it was off to Eric's party. I was nervous and felt uncomfortable at first, but his family welcomed me and my sister like we were a part of their family. It was so nice and absolutely amazing. The Christmas celebrations at the psychiatric hospital weren't bad, families came and dropped off goodies and presents, they had a tree we could decorate, they cooked a feast, and there was dancing and music. It was like any other celebration outside of the hospital, just with an array of strangers who were all suffering in silence in one way or another, not necessarily by their own choice.

Obviously, being on the run, we couldn't celebrate Christmas properly. To be able to again, to feel comfortable enough, safe enough, to go to a party was one of the best feelings in the world. I was still as cautious as ever, having learned this the hard way, but I allowed myself to enjoy what we'd made here in this small town of Forks. I allowed myself for just a tiny moment to forget about vampires, and the Suits, and bask in this moment where I had a boyfriend, good friends, and a large, loving family. Because if I didn't, surely I'd go mad.

The party was very laid back, Christmas music played in the background while the first floor of the house was open for the guests to wander and chat. They even had a small area for dancing—Eric and I danced a few times that night. There were glasses of champagne for those old enough and sparkling cider for those not. There were hors d'oeuvres as well as sweet treats, and they had a lovely Christmas tree, the star just skimming the top of their ceiling.

Cynthia and I hung out for quite a while before we decided that it was probably time to get going. Some of his guests had already left, and it was getting close to half past eleven. On our way out, and after Cynthia had gone to wait for me in the car, Eric handed me a gift. They were beautiful dangling earrings. The design was of a sun with the crescent moon within it. I was speechless and almost to the point of tears.

I had gotten him a gift, too, but didn't think to bring it, I'd gotten so caught up in everything else. It was one of James Patterson's books from his Alex Cross collection, because Eric had mentioned at some point he liked Patterson, especially his Cross books and was currently making his way through all of them. I had meant to give it to him the week before the break, but after passing out during class, you can imagine it slipped my mind.

Eric didn't mind at all, and said he was a patient guy. I gave him a thank you and goodbye kiss that lingered long enough Cynthia felt the need to honk the horn. With a blush and a giggle, I pulled away said goodnight and Merry Christmas to Eric before we headed back to the Cullens' house.

They were, obviously, awake when we got back. Cynthia went straight upstairs, exhausted. I stayed for a few minutes, when Jasper asked me how it went. I showed him my earrings before turning in myself… only I tossed and turned for almost a half hour, suddenly unable to sleep. I had felt tired enough when I got upstairs to our room, but after I changed and as soon as I laid down to the go to sleep, sleep evaded me.

I gave up after a while and decided to venture downstairs, maybe talk with one of the Cullens if they were up to it to pass the time until I did feel tired. Christmas music being played on the piano floated up to me as I descended the stairs. When I got the bottom, I sat on the last step and listened, with my eyes closed, leaning against the banister. Maybe this would help me sleep.

Though I didn't think the song was over—hard to tell without lyrics—it smoothly transitioned in to a slow melody that I recognized as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

"Alice," Jasper voice came quietly, hesitant, almost. I opened my eyes, blinked as they adjusted to the lights, and looked up at Jasper, who was standing in front of me. He almost looked… nervous, which made me want to giggle. This war veteran, nervous? Whatever for?

"Yes?" I prompted when he hadn't continued.

Jasper cleared his throat unnecessarily, opening his mouth to say what he had wanted to, but before he could a snicker came from somewhere else in the room. I leaned around the banister and upon further inspection noticed Emmett sitting on the sofa, eyes on the television, but shaking with silent laughter. My eyes slid back to Jasper who glared at his brother and hissed. I had to stifle my own laughter.

He turned back to me, looking nervous again before he held out his hand, "May I have this dance, ma'am?"

Unexpected warmth and a sort of excitement rushed through me.

"Oh… o-okay," I stuttered, slipping my hand into his. My stomach knotted as I stood up and he led me out into the middle of their giant foyer. It wasn't because of the usual nausea I felt when I came too close to Jasper, because I didn't feel sick in the slightest. At the very least, I'd either gotten so used to it I automatically ignored it, or Jasper was stronger than he believed. The fact was, though, that I didn't feel sick at all, I felt… giddy, actually.

And just like at the Halloween dance, he took my hand in one of his and his other hand came to rest on my waist, while I rested my free hand on his upper forearm.

I wasn't sure if Jasper was slowly using his gift, or if it was the slow tempo of the music, the soft sway of our dance, but I felt my eyelids drooping after a few moments. I unconsciously took a step closer to Jasper, then, resting my head on his chest. I moved my hand on his forearm, sliding my arm underneath his and bringing my hand up and over his shoulder blade, to have it rest on his shoulder. I felt him stiffen.

"You don't… mind do you?" I asked immediately, pulling my head back to look up at him. "I can take a step back."

Jasper's hand gripped mine just a little tighter while his arm came around my waist, pulling me closer to him as I said this.

"No, I'm fine," he assured quietly as we continued to sway. He smiled down at me and though I could tell he'd stopped breathing, he seemed in control. And that true smile of his was just… breathtaking, as always. I returned his sweet smile before resting my head against his chest again, eyes closed.

I don't remember clearly what happened, but I think I might've fallen asleep right there, in his arms, dancing, because the next thing I knew Cynthia was mentally screaming at me to wake up. She was also painfully tugging my arm nearly out of my socket. It wasn't the nicest thing to wake up to, to be real honest.

Get up! Get up! Get up! She yelled excitedly.

"What, what?" I whined, pulling my wrist from her grasp and rolling over onto my other side, trying to get away from her. I had been sleeping so nicely, with no nightmares, which was a first in a long time. Why did she have to go and ruin that?

Cynthia ignored me and continued mentally screaming at me, now pulling the blankets off of me.

Come on, you big oaf! You have to get up and come downstairs!

I shivered at the sudden cold and blindly reached for the blankets again, pulling them back over me, up to my neck.

"Stop it," I groaned. "I'm still tired. Just tell me what you want to show me." I muttered.

Cynthia then jumped up onto my bed and started shaking me while jumping up and down, rocking me.

You have to see if for yourself! It's so amazing! Just get up!

I let out a growl of sorts and finally opened my eyes to glare at her. My eyes flickered to the clock on my nightstand and I got even more annoyed.

"It's only seven, Cynthia! Breaks are meant for sleeping in, not getting up at seven in the morning!" I exclaimed, roughly shoving her off the bed before snuggling up in my warm cocoon of blankets.

With a mental groan of her own, I heard her move toward my bed again. I tensed, bracing myself for what she had in store next, but what she did was not what I expected. I was too tired to look into the future to see what she had planned. I'm not quite sure what happened, but suddenly I was rolling off the bed and landing on the floor. My eyes flew open as Cynthia pulled the tangled blanket around me away from me and threw them up onto the bed.

I glared up at her through narrowed eyes. She glared back with a smirk, hands on her hips.

"All right, all right," I exclaimed. "I'm up, jeez." With a heavy sigh I slowly got to my feet. As soon as I did, Cynthia grabbed one of my wrists and started pulling me toward the door. I made sure to stay close to her as I said, "Uh oh, going boneless," right before I collapsed onto her. We both hit the ground, me half on top of Cynthia.

Ugh, you're such a pest, Alice! She complained trying to wriggle out from underneath me. Get off of me!

I laughed. "I'm sorry, I can't. I've gone boneless."

With another mental groan, she managed to finally shove me off of her. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she then stood up and linked her arms underneath my armpits before she started dragging me to the door. When I realized she was going to drag me all the way down the first floor, I pulled from her grasp and stood up.

"Okay, okay, just let me get dressed," I told her quickly. She rolled her eyes but waited by the door as I quickly changed into a plum turtle neck, dark skinny jeans, and ankle socks. Cynthia grabbed my wrist as soon as I was in reach and started eagerly dragging me downstairs again. This time I had trouble keeping up with her, she was so excited and going so fast.

When we got the top of the last set of stairs, though, I paused, pulling my wrist from Cynthia's grasp. She continued downstairs, practically bouncing with excitement. I needed a moment to take what I saw in. In the curve of the stairs stood a ginormous tree, its star reaching where I was standing. It was decorated with twinkling lights in every color the rainbow, and lavish and antique-looking ornaments hung from the pine's branches. The trees branches stretched so far out as they neared the bottom that I couldn't see if there were presents underneath or not. Soft Christmas music played from speakers somewhere that I couldn't see.

The Cullens were all downstairs, waiting. Rosalie was standing with Emmett near the end of the piano, while Edward and Bella stood near the front of it. Esme and Carlisle stood together as well, but a little off the side of the piano and closer than Rosalie and Emmett. Jasper was waiting at the bottom of the staircase with a mug in his hand. It was steaming. Cynthia already had one in her hands and was sipping it, looking up at me expectantly.

Suddenly nervous, I made my way down the stairs. Jasper handed me the mug when I finally set foot on the ground floor, also giving me a warm smile, before going to stand near Edward and Bella. I couldn't help but return his smile before turning the rest of the Cullens.

"Merry Christmas, Alice," Esme said absolutely beaming. It warmed my heart and I was speechless again… not that I had said anything when I first saw all this.

"M-Merry Christmas," I finally managed to choke out, blushing. "This is so… I mean, you didn't have to—I just… wow." I looked at the tree again, standing so tall and sparkling with all the lights and ornaments.

"It was no trouble," Carlisle said. "We wanted to. We haven't a proper Christmas celebration in a long time." He laughed and the others joined in.

"You and your sister have given us a reason to do this," Bella chimed in. "I forgot how nice it was. I think it's safe to say, we all did."

I was momentarily overwhelmed again, but it was a good overwhelmed. It was so nice of them to do something like this, especially since they had an eternity to celebrate as many Christmases as they wanted. Also, because for some reason, I considered my sister and I simply guests in their house, so for them to do this was so kind. I'd been staying with them for a few months now, but never considered that they had welcomed me into their family.

"Well, thank you," I said sincerely, looking at all of them in turn. "This is… this is just wonderful." I felt my eyes prick with tears and quickly blinked them away.

Suddenly Edward chuckled. I looked at him questioningly as I took a sip of my hot chocolate.

"Cynthia's excited for the presents," he explained.

I rolled my eyes, turning to Cynthia.

"Always," I scoffed, but smiled and winked at her. She stuck her tongue out at me. The Cullens chuckled at this. I took another sip of hot chocolate to hide my embarrassment.

The Cullens had exchanged gifts already, so the focus was on the only two humans in the household, which I thought was kind of unfair to them. Edward assured me it was fine, and with that Carlisle and Esme came forward. I set my mug down on the bottom step so I had both hands to use.

Cynthia and I each got new small, silver phones from Carlisle and Esme. Having never had one before, it would have been all I could've asked for as a Christmas present. But, of course, they didn't stop there.

Emmett, Rosalie, Edward, Bella, and Jasper each got us something. It wasn't a big something like new phones, but it was still just as thoughtful of them. I almost felt bad about them spending money on us, when they really didn't have to.

Cynthia got an assortment of games for a game system they already had at the house. She'd recently gotten really into them because of the friends she'd made at Forks. Being a mute might've made their job a bit more difficult, but having a mind-reader made it easier than if Cynthia wasn't a mute. One was a little violent for my sister—Call of Duty—but the rest weren't as bad. I saw one called Bioshock, another from the Sims collection, and two others from the Kingdom Hearts series. I had a guess at who thought to choose Call of Duty.

I heard Edward chuckle at where my thoughts were headed involving a certain muscled, curly-haired vampire standing across from me. It was probably a good thing he was currently standing on the other side the room.

"You're in big trouble, Emmett," Edward warned with a grin.

He shrugged his massive shoulders and gave me a challenging look. "Bring it, psychic," He smirked.

I glared at him, gritting my teeth. To my surprise Jasper growled lightly at his brother, who simply guffawed.

"Still want that rematch, Emmett?" Jasper jeered. "We all know who the better fighter here is."

That stopped Emmett's laughter cold and he snarled at Jasper. "Oh, you're on." He took a step forward and I saw Esme open her mouth to object, worry all over her features. Rosalie quickly put a hand on Emmett's chest.

"Babe, not right now," she coaxed. Emmett looked down at his wife and they had a silent conversation before Emmett slightly relaxed, taking a step back and crossing his arm, glowering at Jasper.

I turned to Cynthia, "I'm not going to let you play that." I told her, pointing to the pile of games in her hands.

Her mouth popped open, her eyebrows mashing together.

Not fair, Alice! She complained.

"You're not old enough; I'm not going to let you play." I crossed my arms.

Christmas spirit, Alice, please! Cynthia begged, looking at me with wide eyes.

I chuckled. "Puppy dog eyes don't work on me, you know that." Her wide eyes turned into a pout, but she didn't say anything more on the matter. For now.

I turned back to the Cullen children and they stepped forward to hand me my presents. Rosalie and Emmett came forward first, but Emmett went straight to my sister, leaning down and whispering something in her ear. Cynthia's eyes lit up and she nodded. I blinked and they were gone.

My heart jumped in my chest and I turned toward the stairs, calling, "Emmett!"

"It's okay, Alice," Edward assured. He looked like he wanted to burst out laughing but was fighting not to. I narrowed my eyes at him. "They're not planning anything bad." A snicker escaped.

I huffed and searched ahead, but blurry figures flickered as they switched decisions. I let out a frustrated growl before just giving it up.

"I'm trusting you on this one, mind reader," I muttered. Edward nearly lost it then, bringing his hand to cover his mouth as he shook with laughter, some escaping every now and again.

"Edward," Esme reprimanded. He looked at her apologetically.

"…sorry, Mom," he choked through his chortles. Bella simply sighed and shook her head, giving me an apologetic smile. I mouthed a thanks before turning back to Rosalie. She held out two movies. More specifically musicals. The one on top was the 1997 version of Roger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella, and the other one was Sweeney Todd.

I tried to remember when I'd told any of them which musicals I liked most. Other than Jasper's question about it, I couldn't remember mentioning Sweeney Todd, or that specific Cinderella, either. Of course, I'd seen both of them, but had I told any of the Cullens…?

"We took the songs you hummed the most and then matched them to their musicals, picking the top five." Edward explained, hearing my confused thoughts.

I felt a blush creep up into my face and I swallowed hard.

"I hum?" I mumbled. How hadn't I even noticed that?

"Quite frequently, actually," Edward confirmed.

"How often did I hum Sweeney Todd?" I asked hesitantly, afraid of the answer.

"It was three on the list," Edward answered. Three wasn't bad.

"Catchy tune," Esme commented.

"Frightening lyrics," Carlisle added. He smiled with amusement, though, when I looked at him mortified. I knew what song they were talking about it: "A Little Priest."

"Can I see the others?" I asked, my voice breathy and a little higher, my face feeling even warmer now. They all chuckled but Rosalie stepped back with a smile and Edward and Bella handed me the next two: Thoroughly Modern Millie and Guys and Dolls.

I thanked them as they stepped back and Jasper stepped forward with his present. Unforeseen anticipation for his present, though I knew it was going to be in the same theme as the others, welled up inside me as I turned toward him to take the last musical: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I bit my lip, a grin stretching across my face.

"Thanks," I mumbled, suddenly feeling shy.

He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners, making my heart flutter, and bowed slightly, "You're very welcome, ma'am." God, damn it! Why did I find that so incredibly charming?

Someone cleared their throat, breaking me out of my little hazy bubble. I turned toward the direction the sound had come from, looking at Carlisle questioningly. He and Esme were smiling like they had a secret, their butterscotch eyes alight with amusement. When I met Carlisle's eyes, they flickered up. I slowly lifted my gaze and it took my mind a moment to work out what was currently hanging above me. When it clicked I let out a strangled squeak, looking back down to meet Jasper's eyes. Behind him, Edward howled with laughter, barely able to keep himself standing he was laughing so hard. Bella was even having trouble keeping her own laughter in.

I looked back up at the mistletoe currently hanging above Jasper and I and noticed that Cynthia and Emmett were standing at the top of the stairs, with a fishing rod. Connected to that? You guessed it, the mistletoe. When I spotted them, Emmett smirked at Jasper before holding out his fist for Cynthia. They fist-bumped, Cynthia sticking her tongue out at me.

I looked back at Jasper, trying to form a coherent sentence, like, "I have a boyfriend." but nothing was coming out. I was too flustered. Before I could organize my thoughts, Jasper took another step closer to me and leaned down. His cold lips brushed my cheek for a second before he pulled away enough to murmur in my ear, "Merry Christmas, Alice." before pulling away fully.

I froze, shocked. Blood slowly rose up my neck and into my face, but I continued to stand there and stare off into the distance, absolutely and completely frozen. Emmett, who was shaking with laughter was at Jasper's side.

"Dude, I think you broke her," he commented, slapping his brother on the back.

It was Jasper's turn to look flustered. He even looked a little worried about me. Though, he had a reason to be, I hadn't moved since he'd kissed me on the cheek and my face was still as red as a tomato. I couldn't be sure, but I think I even stopped breathing for a time.

"I… I didn't mean to—I-I wasn't… I mean—" Jasper uncharacteristically stuttered. If I still wasn't in shock, I would've laughed along with his brothers. Edward came up to him, patting his shoulder. He was also still shaking with laughter.

"C-calm… calm down," he stammered through chuckles. "He's just… messing with you."

Jasper looked back and forth between Emmett and Edward, opening his mouth to say something but the words never came out. With a resigned sigh, he closed his mouth looking 3000 percent done with his siblings antics.

My brain finally unfroze and motor function came back to me, though the blood in my face hadn't receded yet.

I hugged the movies tightly to my chest and looked shyly up at Jasper.

"I'm… I'm fine," I mumbled in a small whisper.

Jasper took a step toward me, looking genuinely sorry. "Alice," he started.

"Really," I continued to whisper. "I-I'm fine. I just… just need a… moment." I gave him a small reassuring smile before spinning and sprinting up the stairs. Cynthia was gone by the time I got the top. Smart move.

Emmett and Cynthia were so going to pay.

Took me longer than I expected for having planned it already. But here it is in all of its eleven pages and 6,679 words of glory. I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing… especially that last part.

Don't know when the next chapter will be up, but that's where the real fun begins. And I know I've been saying that for at least two chapters now, but this time I actually mean it, hence why this chapter is eleven pages in a Word Doc.

Also, if you wanted to know, the title is part of a line taken from a song called, "Don't Look Back" by Alex Day. His songs are simply beautiful and I'd suggest checking him out if you're interesting and/or have the time.

Anyway, as always, hope you enjoyed!

Thank you for reading,
TheBrightestNight