Alice
Disclaimer: Ego non operor usus Crepusculum. I have not taken official Latin lessons and am merely using an online translator, but, to all of you Latin scholars, please forgive me for butchering the language. And to all of you non-scholars of Latin – I'm pretty sure, based on all of the other disclaimers on every single other fanfiction on this site, you know what I'm talking about. If not – translate it yourself. XD Sorry if I'm acting bitchy. It's the middle of the night and I can't sleep…
This chapter is dedicated to MaleficentKnits, JonasLove30, keiraliz, Euffie, Mznickwhite, Homegrl aka Amanda, ForgottenLovedOne, 123ogla97, .writing., karencita c28, Agent 37- Adams, oceansand588, justanotherditzyredhead, keeperofthesoup, madeofawesome22, 2honest4myowngood, ~LarissaBabE~, discokiller, siksoft96, You'reTheMoon, VoldieBeth, xoxo-RaNdoM-pIxIE-xoxo, You-will-be-my-Squishy, sakuraxsyaoran-harryxdraco, Horsegal93, Sarah, retroteen, Jazzy-kins, SunnySkies4Life, Briony97, block reino cullen, hush54, VampireCheeseWhiz, Flyingflower666'-'666, margaretng, justjustice, and R.L.N. Tonks.
The Sound of a Kiss Is Not so Loud as That of a Cannon, but It's Echo Lasts a Great Deal Longer
Alice POV
After the van incident, the family was getting split even more as they all argued as to what to do with Bella Swan, my best girl friend. This was one of the times when I was most frustrated that I couldn't just call my visions at will. But I would take what I had.
Carlisle sat at the head of the dining table, that only I used. Edward and Esme sat on each side of him. Rosalie sat opposite of Carlisle. Emmett sat beside Rosalie.
And Jasper, my Jasper… he was leaning against the wall behind Rosalie. I had avoided him since the hospital incident. Then there was only me. But, I thought bitterly, does my opinion really count? After all, I'm "only human".
"Of course your opinion counts, Alice," Edward replied. "You're still just as much a part of the family as the rest of us." They were waiting for me. I shook my head and sat right in the middle. I listened to the arguments silently, wishing that, somehow, I would get a vision, anything at all.
Edward spoke. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put any of you at risk. It was thoughtless, and I take full responsibility for my hasty action."
"What do you mean, 'take full responsibility'?" Rosalie snapped. "Are you going to fix it?"
"Not the way you mean. I'm willing to leave now, if that makes things better."
No. He couldn't leave. Not again!
"No. No, Edward," Esme whispered.
"It's just a few years."
Emmett spoke up. "Esme's right, though. You can't go anywhere now. That would be the opposite of helpful. We have to know what people are thinking, now more than ever."
"Alice will catch anything major," Edward argued.
Excuse me? If he hadn't noticed, my visions weren't exactly foolproof! And they're not exactly a "come hither" thing.
Then Carlisle spoke. "I think Emmett is right, Edward. The girl will be more likely to talk if you disappear. It's all of us leave, or none of us."
"She won't say anything," Edward insisted.
"You don't know her mind," Carlisle reminded.
"I know this much. Alice, back me up."
I stared at him. Was he serious? "Edward, how am I supposed to do this? The visions come to me. I can't decide what I see!"
They were shouting now, standing up, glaring outright at each other. The room seemed to get stuffier and more heated. Then Rosalie spoke up.
"It doesn't have to be any big production. The girl hit her head today. So maybe that injury turns out to be more serious than it looked. Every mortal goes to sleep with the chance of never waking up. The others would expect us to clean up after ourselves. Technically, that would make it Edward's job, but this is obviously beyond him. You know I'm capable of control. I would leave no evidence behind me."
"Oh, aren't you such a wonderful, perfect assassin?" Edward sneered. "So would you rather that I hadn't saved her, then?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying!" Rosalie hissed.
"So you'd rather that I had died, too, then?" I asked quietly. Everyone stared at me in shock.
"What? No!" Rosalie hastily tried to fix.
"Stop, please," I whispered. "Now let me get this straight. You're perfectly fine with Bella dying. But not me. What makes my life more valuable than hers? Should Edward have just saved me and ignored Bella? None of you, none of you, even noticed that I was gone! Edward didn't even see me when he went to save Bella. I only survived because one of Bella's arms accidentally knocked me over. So if Edward hadn't saved her, I'd be dead, too. Think about that." I paused and added, "And she's going to be one of us – you, someday."
I stalked upstairs to my room, slamming the door shut. I glared at the little vase of flowers on my nightstand and picked it up. It shattered against the wall when I threw it.
"Whew, it sounds like little Alice has finally reached her rebellious stage," Emmett whistled. There was the sound of a slap. "Ow."
"Alice, can we talk?"
"No. Now go away, Jasper." I sat down on my bed and crossed my arms. He sat down opposite me, facing me.
"I have to talk to you, Alice," he said softly.
I sighed. "Fine, I'm listening."
"I'm only siding with Rosalie because I don't want anything to hurt you."
"So you're saying that Bella will hurt me?" I demanded. "You're saying that I shouldn't have any human friends at all? You support killing her, my best girl friend. If we had known about this beforehand, you would also have supported Edward not saving her. Would you have supported not saving me?"
"No. I would never let anything hurt you, Alice."
"So you think that killing my best girl friend wouldn't hurt me?"
"I wasn't thinking straight, Alice. All I was thinking was that I wouldn't ever let you be in danger of anything. Please, Alice."
I broke down. "Alright. I forgive you, Jazzy." I leaned forward to hug him.
"So, now can we talk about what happened in the hospital?" he asked.
"Um… sure. I guess." I took a deep breath. "When Emmett said 'the love of your existence'…"
"I meant you, Alice. I love you." His eyes were burning with the truth of his words. As I stared into them, I realized –
I love Jasper.
"I love you, too, Jazzy." I curled up into his arms. "So… how long for you?"
"A while. But don't worry, nothing before your teenage years."
I smiled. "Same thing for me." I paused. "You know, I've never been kissed before."
"Well, Miss Cullen, may I steal your first kiss?"
"Sure thing." Jasper tilted my chin up, and slowly leaned forward. I gasped when our lips met. It was like a universe had exploded in celebration, like giant, mega fireworks. Oh, god…
My body was burning with a freezing fire, like the feeling of Hell actually freezing over… a wonderful sensation.
My head was spinning, but I still felt safe and secure, because I knew that Jasper would catch me.
I was soaring, with my heads in the clouds, because why would I need to stay practical and logical when I had Jasper with me?
"That was…" I trailed off.
"The most amazing thing that I have ever experienced," Jasper finished. He smiled. "So what does this make me now, your boyfriend?"
"You're more than just a boy, Jazzy. More like… my soul mate." I smiled into his chest. Perfect.
I read over the end of this chapter again. It made me smile. Hope you guys like it, too.
Review = preview.
