For a couple days, Alice simply caught up on everything she'd missed. She wrote back to Josie's letters; her own ended up being close to nine handwritten pages, front and back, and that was still while leaving out a lot of the things she couldn't talk about.
It felt weird to keep anything from Josie, even simple tasks she'd performed while at the containment centers, but she had a serious job that now required maintaining strict confidentiality. She had been sure to mention everything she could about cell phones. If she could even get Josie to be a little bit responsive to that topic, she'd buy and send her one the second the woman's decision was made.
It would certainly be loads easier to simply text the woman instead of having to wait for the mail every other week. She hoped Josie would agree.
During those first days back she also spent a bit of time with Bella. When the woman had come to find her after Jasper had relieved her in the library, Alice had finally pulled herself together enough, even putting on an outfit Bella and Rosalie had picked out for her during their shopping trip. Although by the time Bella had hugged her and asked her, in a quiet voice, how she was, Alice's composure was quick to crumble as she held her friend closely.
What she loved about Bella was that she knew when to pry and when to leave something alone. So Bella didn't ask her much, only trying to make sure that her friend was alright and that there wasn't anything that she needed to talk about in that moment.
Alice had merely held her friend close and shaken her head. "Things are just dumb." She had grumbled in a more-composed moment.
Bella had snorted. "They often are."
The rest of her first week back passed relatively slowly. She initially revelled in the feeling of having time to herself for the first time in several weeks. She took long baths, reorganized her closet, and began to fill the empty bookshelf that was taking up space in her room.
Two days after she sent Josie her letter she was hit with a very solid vision of the woman writing back, relenting to give trying out a phone a try. (Only for this texting nonsense though—you know my hearing is horrid, the woman would emphasize in her letter.) Within an hour, and with help from Bella, Alice had purchased and shipped a phone to her, her excitement even forcing Jasper to emerge from the library for the first time since their arrival.
He'd raised an eyebrow at Bella when he'd walked into the room they were in—Alice was leaning over her laptop, comparing the pros and cons of each phone before deciding on the simplest one the carrier offered. He'd likely sensed her overwhelming excitement and happiness and come to investigate.
"We're hooking Josie up with her first piece of modern technology," Bella had grinned.
"Jazz, come here," Alice had waved him forward without looking up. "Black or white? I know it doesn't matter because I'm buying her an orange—but what do you think?" Before he opened his mouth she'd rolled her eyes. "Because it's her first phone, that's why. I want her to love it."
"You liked the phone we picked out for you," Bella supplied.
"True, but I want it to be perfect for her."
Before his eyes flickered to the black one for half of a second, Alice beamed. "I thought so, too. Okay, thanks!" Quickly finishing the order and sending the transaction through, she closed the laptop and picked it up, turning to scurry back to her room. She had to write back ASAP so Josie could get her next letter by the time her phone arrived. Alice had a lot of explaining of the mechanisms of it to do—she knew if she left any detail out, Josie would likely give up on the odd little device.
As she made her way toward the stairs she clearly heard Bella's resounding laughter. She could only imagine what Jasper's face looked like.
"I didn't even say anything." He sounded mildly taken aback.
"You didn't have to," Bella laughed. "She's not nearly as tuned in to me."
That had been a bit embarrassing to hear. Of course she was more tuned in to Jasper though, they'd spent several weeks together, not to mention she'd seen him more often than anyone else in her mind. The amount of visions she had of him in his day to day life were almost enough to rival the frequency in which she saw Josie.
When Bella left the following day, Alice found herself growing a bit restless without the company. She spent most of her time with her face glued to her phone and the various books she'd been snagging from the library, doing her own bits of research. She read more news articles than ever before, marveling at the ease of accessing information, and hating how often she saw Maria's name in a headline.
At some point she had attempted to look up more information about herself, opening her laptop to look up her own name, as well as the names of her parents. Alice quickly realized that she wasn't very good at digging for information if it wasn't already easy to find. But she was a fast learner, so when, after nearly thirteen hours of non-stop digging, she eventually traced the name Edgar Brandon to a small town just west of Tuscaloosa, Alabama—the name had come up on an old advertisement that had a short run in some newspapers back in the 90s for a small chain of jewelry stores—she was shocked.
As she went to bookmark the page, she was dismayed when the entire laptop shut off. She sat there for several minutes, pressing the power button and frowning when the screen remained blank. Of course, she had all of the information committed to memory, but for all that research to suddenly disappear made her feel lousy. She'd have to tell Jasper that his gift was broken, and at that thought her frown deepened.
She hadn't spoken to him much. Maybe once every other day they'd exchange a few words in passing or she'd go find him in the library to ask a question or tell him something, but for the most part their first week back home had been spent apart and quietly.
After nine days without anything substantial to do, Alice was shocked to find her frustration mounting. It seemed as if her fellow Protectors were still as busy as ever. Bella had left a few days prior to hit up a few different centers, Emmett was still holding fight trainings around the country, and she had yet to hear anything from Esme.
Rosalie had come back for hardly ten hours, just long enough to pack a fresh bag of clothes, file some paperwork and deliver Jasper some files, and get a quick hunt in. Alice had accompanied her for that, but had been left disappointed when the blonde woman wasn't keen on conversing during their quick trek into the woods.
Even when Alice had asked how long it would be before Esme and Carlisle would be back, she'd simply shrugged and given her a quick, "They're busy," as if that had been a painfully obvious fact.
Alice had stopped trying to initiate conversation after that, so when Rosalie had left, she found herself back downstairs, navigating through bookshelves to find the only other person in the house.
Jasper alternated between holing himself up in the library, where a small office was located at the far end for intelligence purposes, and checking in with Alice periodically, to ask her where someone was at any given time. Last time he'd sought her out had been just before Rosalie had arrived. He'd asked when Carlisle would be back, and Alice had paused, hesitantly informing him that she didn't know.
She hadn't been able to see Carlisle's future or the decisions he made surrounding it for almost a full day now. It wasn't rare, for her to not be able to see someone's future, but since Alice had been a Protector she'd found herself easily able to look into her coworker's immediate futures. The disappearance of Carlisle's off her radar made her anxiety rise.
When Jasper sensed her unease at this admission, he'd assured her that he had spoken to the older man a the night before over the phone.
"He said he'd be back by today, but didn't specify what time of day," he eyed her funnily, "I wouldn't worry. I was just curious to see if you knew the exact time."
She shook her head again, wrapping her arms around herself, trying again, only to see nothing. "I don't see anything," she swallowed, looking up at him with a twinge of fear. "What if something happened?"
"I really doubt it," he seemed confident in his dismissal of her fears. "But he may be bringing someone here so," he eyed her for a long moment, "brace yourself."
Alice hadn't known what he'd meant at that. He had simply disappeared back into the basement, just minutes before Rosalie had arrived at the house.
Now, Alice made a beeline for the office, only to catch him on the way out.
"Hey," she greeted, eyeing the phone in his hand, "any news?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You really don't know?"
Alice huffed. Clearly, she didn't. "Know what?"
"Carlisle just pulled into the driveway," he pocketed the phone. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm fine ," she insisted, unease still plaguing her. She turned and started walking back toward the stairs, ignoring the fact that she could feel his eyes burning a hole into the back of her head as he followed close behind.
Minutes later, when Carlisle walked through the front door, Alice's eyes immediately locked onto the towering human who walked in behind him. The man was taller than Emmett, and just as muscular, his tan skin contrasted by the white shirt he wore.
"Alice, Jasper," Carlisle smiled to the two of them as he hung up his coat—another thing that Alice found funny about Carlisle was his propensity to use things that vampires didn't need. "It's good to see you both."
Wickedly happy to see him again, Alice scurried forward, reading herself to wrap her arms around him in a hug, when the smell hit her like a train. She stopped abruptly, hand going straight to her face as she looked Carlisle up and down, looking at him aghast.
The man behind him began to laugh. "I was waiting for that." Then, he stepped beside Carlisle and offered a hand. "It always catches vamps off guard."
As Alice realized it was the man who stunk like this, not Carlisle—although she was sure he smelled quite a bit too, especially if he'd been in this human's presence for very long—she stepped back, staring at the offending hand as if it would bite her.
This was the first time in her life she'd ever met a human who smelled bad .
When she felt Jasper's fingertips on her back, gently ushering her forward, she nearly jumped.
"Good to see you again, Jacob," Jasper nodded, taking the man's hand instead, shaking it firmly.
"Is it?" The man, Jacob, smirked as he shook Jasper's hand. His cropped hair was jet-black and as Alice studied his young features, she desperately tried searching for the reason he smelled so bad. Surely it couldn't be a natural odor, could it?
"Alice this is Jacob Black, an old friend." Carlisle informed her, nodding to the giant man who stood in front of her. She had thought that Jasper and Emmett were tall, but Alice had to actually look up at him as she studied his face.
Then, a realization struck her. "It's you."
The man's smile faltered at that as he turned and shot Carlisle a glance.
"She hasn't been able to see you in over a day," Jasper explained, tapping his head and causing her to shoot him a wide-eyed look. And for a second, Alice was panicked. Hadn't they been the ones to tell her that her gift had to be kept a secret? And there they stood, talking about it with a massive human in their foyer.
Carlisle looked shocked at that. "Really? Interesting…"
"Um, am I missing something here?" She looked from Jasper to Jacob and then back to Jasper, clenching her jaw with barely-contained frustration.
"Nah, not really." Jacob grinned again, for some reason enjoying the confusion.
"I take it I'm coming with you?" Jasper asked, to which Jacob nodded.
"If you don't mind."
"Not until Esme and Edward are back," Carlisle commented. "I'll need someone to take over for you."
When Jasper's immediate future disappeared then, Alice's anxiety skyrocketed, a twinge of fear shooting up her spine.
Immediately, he grabbed her arm, turning her toward him. But before he could assure her or calm her down her fear turned into anger. "What the hell is going on!" Stomping her foot, the entire room shook, the chandelier above their heads shaking fiercely with the movement. "I can't see you anymore," she looked at Jasper, overwhelmed. "Where are you going?"
"It's fine," he assured her, and Alice felt her fear began to leave as Jasper used his ability. "I'm going to Arizona for a little while for a training."
"But I can't see you!" She cried. "My visions of you—they're gone!"
"Visions?" He turned toward Carlisle. "Oh you've got to be shitting me. And I thought Edward was the odd one out."
Carlisle only grimaced at him before turning his attention toward Alice. "Jacob isn't like most humans, Alice. He's… something of a supernatural cousin of ours."
Jacob scoffed at that. "As if. But yeah," he looked down at Alice. "If anything you should be worried about Edward. He's going to get his ass handed to him over and over while Scars here teaches my guys how to take these bloodsuckers out." He threw a thumb at Jasper and suddenly Alice didn't think she liked this Jacob guy very much.
"He's right," Jasper's hand fell from her arm as he straightened, "It's just another training. Edward will be there, too. Check his future, too. Is it gone?" She checked, and then nodded. "And what about yours. Check yours for about," he thought for a second, "the next two hours. Anything?"
She checked, and her entire body tensed when she noted the black out that would fall over her vision for the next six hours Jacob would be there. "Nothing. Not until two."
"It must be them then," Jasper remarked to Carlisle, who nodded in reply. He turned back toward Alice. "It's just Jacob and his… people."
"So we're a supernatural blind-spot?" Jacob folded his arms, far too pleased with the information. "Cool. Too bad it doesn't work with Eddie-boy."
Her thoughts still on Edward, and how she couldn't see any further than the next hour ahead, she spoke. "He'll be here within the hour. And Esme will be back around one." That would likely be when Jacob, Jasper, and Edward would leave, finally freeing up her vision but taking all visions of Jasper and Edward from her for an indefinite amount of time.
The prospect left her entirely too anxious.
"Damn. That's really something," Jacob was genuinely impressed. "Can you see Maria?"
Alice frowned and shook her head. She'd only recently begun to even try. At first, the idea of actively seeking out one of the subjects of her nightmares terrified her too much, but now that her arrival was a certainty, Alice had been putting her feelings aside and trying now. Of course, with no luck.
"Too bad," he grimaced as he crossed his arms, bulking triceps flexing at the motion, "but I guess that would make things too easy, huh?"
Inhaling again to speak, Alice nearly choked on the stench. Instead shaking her head, trying to clear it. With the combination of this and the fact that she was left blind, Alice felt panicked.
"Hey," hand on her elbow again, Jasper looked toward Carlisle and Jacob as he ushered her forward. "We'll be right back." And quickly, he led her out the door, and in an instant they were off into the forest.
After they were about seven miles away from the house, and Alice's vision began to return to herself, she slowed to a human-paced run, letting the visions flood her mind and breathing out in relief, checking quickly to confirm that yes, Edward would be home soon and so would Esme.
"Better?" Jasper asked as she slowed to a walk, nothing but genuine concern for her in his gaze.
She inhaled a few deep breaths of fresh air, frowning when she still could smell the lingering stench. "A heads up would have been nice."
"I didn't think you'd have such a reaction. Other than the stink."
"Why does he smell so bad?" Alice asked, gesturing back toward the house. "Humans usually smell good ." At the statement, venom pooled in her mouth. Great. She had just hunted not long ago, but now she'd have to before they went back to the house.
"He's not quite human. Closer to human that we are, what with the heartbeat and all, but he's different."
"Different how?" Alice had sensed his heart, and how it was slightly faster than usual, but all human heartbeats varied depending on a multitude of factors. It hadn't quite been a red flag for her, but she had taken note. "He stinks and I can't see him," she couldn't emphasize that fact enough. never before in her entire life had she encountered anyone she couldn't see.
Even Bella, with her powerful shield, Alice could see with ease.
"He's a shapeshifter."
Alice narrowed her eyes. "What exactly does he shift shapes into?"
"A giant wolf."
Her eyes widened. "So he's a werewolf?"
"No," he dismissed, "those are rare. And very different."
"How did I not know about this? How do people not know about this?"
"It isn't our secret to tell," he said, "Vampires may have chosen to reveal themselves and integrate, but that doesn't mean the shape-shifters want to."
"They absolutely reek though," she pointed out, "how do people not notice?"
"Some vampires know about them," he supplied, "but those who don't know what they are simply find them to be an anomaly. And since they smell so bad it's not like any vampire would willingly get close enough to find out."
"Carlisle called him an old friend. He doesn't look like he's any older than twenty-five maybe. Are they immortal?" Even possibly being not the only immortal being in this world astounded her. Alice didn't know why she hadn't even considered the possibility before.
"Not quite. Shifters aren't unchanging—clearly, they can change back and forth between their wolf form—but as long as they actively choose to change and remain park of their pack, they won't age." He leaned down and pulled a twig out from his shoelace. "Jacob is an old friend of Bella's, from her human days actually."
That would age Jacob Black in his late-70s if they had been around the same age when Bella'd been human. It was astounding that his living body could last that long in such incredible condition. Alice wondered if all shape-shifters were all as tall as he was. It would certainly be a sight to see. Or, to not see, she noted with a frown.
The fact that she wasn't able to see their presence or their futures confused her. Even humans she could see. Although she supposed since she'd at one point been one, it made a little sense. These hulking wolf-people astounded her.
"There aren't as many wolves out there are you seem to be thinking," Jasper informed her. "Jacob's pack and a few others where he's from in the Pacific Northwest are all natives, descendants of spirit warriors of some sort. There are quite a few packs in Arizona, where we'll be going, all descendants of different warriors from millennia ago. They're more prevalent out west, but we know of a pack in New York as well as in North Carolina. I think that one only has maybe three or four members. It's a genetic thing for them so when they eventually pass, sometimes their children or grandchildren will carry the gene."
"What activates a change?"
"Us," he spoke simply. "They only exist because we do. We're their natural enemies."
She hadn't expected that reply. "But they're working with us?"
"They live to protect their families and tribes. And the general human population mainly." He paused, "There's a whole, lengthy history to hear. I can give you some files if you want."
She cocked her head to the side as she watched him through narrowed eyes. "I thought their existence was confidential?"
"Not explicitly. I mean," he half-shrugged, "we have them all recorded here. But it's not easily accessible."
"Any more wild curveballs you guys want to throw at me?" Alice threw her hands up in the air before they settled on her hips. "Is magic real? Is flying possible?
"There's plenty more you don't know," he spoke as if that was obvious. "But you'll learn as you go."
"Great. Thanks," she said sarcastically. Really, if they wanted her to stop reacting so severely to all of this new, insane information they were constantly bombarding her with, they could at least give her hints here and there.
"I'll give you a heads up before we head back," he offered. "That way you'll know when you'll be able to see us again."
"Stay in touch, please?" She nearly begged, looking up at him desperately. "I don't like this." She hated the prospect of Jasper and Edward being away from her foresight. Not that they couldn't protect themselves, but Alice's ability to give them adequate warnings could mean life or death in a worst-case-scenario.
"It'll be okay. We shouldn't be gone too long." He looked down at her, his eyes soft. "I'll keep my phone on me, I promise."
"Okay," Alice nodded, accepting the assurance with as much grace as she could. She would just have to try not to stay glued to her phone for the several days where they'd be gone. "Thank you."
They spent another hour out of the house, running off to hunt quickly before returning. Alice hated how her sight seemed to dim slightly. She could still see some things: Josie, Emmett, Bella, and Rosalie were as clear as day. It seemed that the only people she wasn't able to see was anyone in direct contact with Jacob.
When they got back, Edward was there, smirking at her when she ran back into the house through the glass doors in the back, Jasper following closely.
"I heard you can't see Jacob."
"And thanks to him, I can't see you or Jasper's future either," she snapped quietly, not wanting Jacob to overhear. "I'm not happy about this."
"Sorry," a deep voice called from another room. Alice was shocked he'd heard her.
"Jacob has much better senses than normal humans," Edward grinned again. "Don't worry. We'll be back before you know it." He met Jasper's eyes as the blond went to leave the room, "I'll send Esme down when she gets here."
"Thanks," and with that he was gone again, back into the basement to work until Esme got there to relieve him.
Watching his form disappear around a corner, Alice hated how she couldn't even see what he'd be doing for the next few hours, despite him being in the same house as her. Jacob's presence was truly starting to make her mad.
"We'll be out of here soon," Edward said, as if it were comforting.
"And then I won't be able to see you two. How will I know that you're okay?" Feeling a swell of sadness rush over her, she hoped Jasper was far enough away that it wouldn't affect him too badly.
"By trusting us," Edward spoke simply. "You don't need to keep an eye on him every day, you know."
Alice pouted at that, flickers of her old vision flashing through her mind. But if Maria got to him, that would just ensure her vision's accuracy.
"He's no safer with you than he is with me, Alice," he pointed out. "And from what I heard," he lowered his voice slightly, "you two seem to need a break from one another."
Turning on her heel Alice made a swift exit, not wanting to talk about this with someone who would be able to read her every thought and insecurity on the matter.
"Hey, hey," he flashed in front of her before she could exit the room, "sorry. Bella told me you've been upset. And I know you've been in touch with Rosalie. That can never mean anything good."
"I'm fine," she assured through gritted teeth. She was not about to talk about her failed not-quite-relationship with the one person who knew exactly what was going on in the two of their minds. Any other person would likely love that, being able to talk with someone who could likely figure out the core issue in any social situation, but not Alice.
It's not like there was anything to figure out. They couldn't be together because Maria, so they wouldn't. They'd focus on their jobs and what was important. Then, maybe if they survived this impending confrontation, they'd give it a try.
"I should be back before Jasper is," he supplied. "I'll be helping for the first few days and then Emmett will for the remainder. When I get back I'll work with you on some things. In the meantime, try and get Carlisle to give you something to do. If not, at least ask him to let you shadow him."
"Okay," she nodded. Having something to do and anything to keep her mind off of things that were currently plaguing her would certainly help the time pass. Edward seemed to know this.
Although being around Jacob didn't get much easier as the hours passed, Alice came to learn that she didn't quite dislike him. He reminded her of Emmett a little bit, and the way he and Edward talked, their banter flowing smoothly, she wondered just how close the two were.
But, as she listened to Jacob recount a few stories from the past, she found herself captivated.
It turned out, he and Bella literally grew up together. Their fathers had been best friends and when Bella would come up to visit in the summer—a child of divorce, Alice learned—they'd spend most of their time on forced play dates. Then, Bella had moved there when she was a teenager, and they were properly reunited. Their hang outs grew less forced as teens and Jacob just about bragged about being Bella's first best friend.
It was fascinating to hear stories from Bella's human life. Even imagining the dark brown eyes Jacob said she'd had was hard to do without Alice feeling like she was imagining someone completely different.
"She was such a klutz, always bruising and bloodying herself up. For the record, I was entirely against her change, but at least I don't have to worry about her getting a concussion every time she walks down the stairs by herself."
Edward had rolled his eyes at that but cracked half of a smile. Alice wondered if Jacob's exaggeration wasn't much of a stretch at all.
She wondered if there was anyone out there who had any stories about this like her. Had she been clumsy? Maybe she'd been well-read or musical to some extent? Edward did have a piano in the den, maybe if she sat down at it, something would come back to her.
But remembering the thick, faded lettering on the asylum's forms, she figured she probably hadn't done much of anything notable if she'd been as crazy as the forms said she was.
The wolves had stayed out of the War of 64' for the most part, she learned. They didn't join the fray, instead choosing to stay back and individually protect their cities and towns; but with great success apparently. According to Jacob, out of all the packs he knew of back then, they only suffered two fatalities.
"But with the loss of life everywhere else," he trailed off for a moment, his memories far away, "we knew that if anything like this ever happened again, we wouldn't be able to sit by and let people die."
The thought of so many people out there preparing for an attack made Alice immensely emotional. Containment centers were dedicating hours a day to training, shape-shifters—despite their natural inclination to hate vampires—were willingly allowing themselves to be taught by them, and Alice hardly even know what the human world was doing to prepare.
With a heartbreaking thought she realized they were probably preparing to hide. That was truly all you could do when a newborn vampire tried to find and drain you. And even then, how could you properly hide from something that could sense you, miles away?
The situation had been bleak from the start, but Alice was starting to wonder how hopeless could it possibly get…
Alice found herself overjoyed when Esme arrived home, wrapping her arms around the woman tightly and holding on for so long that eventually Edward had to tap her on the shoulder, reminding her that they all had duties to attend to.
The urge to spit her tongue out at him was nearly overwhelming, but she did pout, releasing the woman so that she could greet everyone else.
"Go get Jasper," Edward had whispered to her, "Esme will be down for him in a few but," he nodded toward the door of the library and didn't say anything else.
Go say goodbye , was what he said without even opening his mouth.
Alice couldn't even be embarrassed, only secretly grateful that she would get even one more minute to spend with him alone before he was gone for a week.
In a flash, she was downstairs, apparently too quickly for Jasper's liking.
"Everything alright?" He stood up from behind a desk, placing down whatever he had been looking over, paying no mind to whatever was on the computer screen.
His immediate concern made her pause long enough to watch the concern on his face flicker as he took in her entire form, as if scanning her for injury, or seeking out any physical causes for her distress. Her chest ached as she watched him.
"Esme's home."
He nodded, "I was waiting for her. I thought she had bad news or something…" Sitting back down at the desk, Alice deflated slightly when his eyes drifted back to the computer screen. Not that she could foresee anything with Jacob around, but she had hoped that Jasper would've appeared a bit more attentive with her, especially knowing he'd be gone soon.
Alice had to remind herself that she should be glad his attention was on his work and not her. She didn't need his attention, she just childishly wanted it, and that was something she had to come to terms with, she realized with a potent disappointment.
When Jasper sighed, she found herself embarrassed. Of course he'd sense her emotional turmoil as she stood, feet away from him, and agonized over the fact that she missed him, and he wasn't even gone yet. "It's only for a few days."
Alice blinked up at him. Oh. So he knew why she was upset then, it seemed. She didn't know if that made this entire situation better or worse. But when he didn't say anything further, instead typing something quickly across the keyboard, she decided that him knowing that she was sad about his departure, yet not offering any words to her, was definitely worse.
"My computer broke," she blurted out, trying to be conversational. Really, she just wanted him to say anything else to her.
He looked up at that. "Like, completely broken? How?"
She shrugged, hating how happy it made her that now she had his attention. "Screen just went black. It won't turn on no matter what I do."
"And it's fully charged and everything?"
"Charged?"
He stopped typing then, giving her an incredulous look. "Yes. Just like your phone gets plugged in every now and then. You laptop needs that, too."
Alice stared at him then, suddenly feeling very, very stupid. "I didn't think… it needed that…" But of course it would, she realized with acute humiliation.
When Jasper laughed, he lifted a hand, as if trying to physically hold in his chuckles. It made Alice a little happy to hear, but she detested that it was at her expense; she really did feel quite dumb right then, and wished she hadn't mentioned it to him.
"Hey, no. I'm sorry," he shook his head, grin still plastered across his face, "I should have told you. It was my fault for assuming. I'm surprised the battery lasted that long though."
"I've never seen you charge yours," she accused.
"I keep portable chargers on me," he informed her. "DIdn't you ever notice how I'd place our laptops together when we were at the hotels? Wireless charging."
"No," she said, simply because she'd hadn't seen him do that. She had learned, over the years, how to give people privacy during certain times, especially when she was prone to seeing their futures. That was how she avoided looking in to catch anyone in a vision where they were less-than-decent or doing anything sexual. Something as insignificant as charging an electronic, she would've overlooked.
"Oh, well. You didn't throw it out with the box, did you?" He pulled a few drawers open, glancing into each one. "I may have an extra one around here."
"The box is in my closet still. It's probably in there." Alice was still so absurdly flustered by the entire thing that she almost fled the room then. It seemed she couldn't ever think things through when it came to Jasper, and as someone who used to meticulously plan every part of their day, that was more frustrating than anything.
There he was, trying to get potentially life-saving work done, and there she stood, making a fool of herself as she struggled with her misplaced sense of inadequacy.
"Just leave it plugged in and off for a few hours, and it'll be fine. You have to charge it regularly though. Letting it die repeatedly like that is bad for the battery." He typed a few more words before glancing back up at her. "You know, I'm not the psychic here."
She raised an eyebrow at that. "What?"
"Meaning, if you're trying to tell me something, I'm not going to know what it is unless you actually tell me."
"I'm just," she bit her lip, looking around at the tiny office, "sad."
"I know that," he reminded her gently, finally pushing away from the computer fully, "doesn't tell me why."
Alice attempted to swallow the lump in her throat. "I'm just," she shifted on her feet slightly, "going to miss you, is all."
She felt so childish standing there, watching out of her peripheral as he stared back at her.
It was odd not to get an influx of visions after each of them said something or made a decision, so when he stood up and slowly made his way over to her, Alice was nervous to realize she had no idea what he was about to do.
"I'll be back in a few days," he repeated himself as he stopped, only a couple feet away. "And then I'll be back. And we'll train some more, and I'll try and teach you some more complicated moves."
"What if I said I wanted to come?" She blurted out, frowning and looking down at their feet. Real smooth, she wanted to chastise herself.
"Alice," she could hear the smile in his voice and her dead heart clenched, "stay here. Work with Carlisle and Esme. Practice with your visions," he offered, "maybe this blackout the wolves caused can be worked around. If not, still, practice them. You'll just get better at everything you're learning."
"There's so much to improve on," she spoke, thinking about all the things she'd learned in the past couple months, and the incredible number of things she still had to learn.
"For someone who just started, you are doing remarkable." He smiled down at her softly, and Alice felt the breath fly out of her body. "Alice, I'll be back in a week. It will be okay."
"What if she gets to you," clenching her hands together, she let some more of her fear take hold of her, "what if this is when she strikes?"
"I'll be with nearly two hundred shape-shifters over the next week. If Maria found me and brought even twenty newborns, they'd be toast. It's going to be okay. Besides," he glanced back at the computer, "as of twenty minutes ago they caught another lead. She's heading back down south for some reason. North of Tomatlan, which is west of Mexico City, by the coast."
"They're sure it was her?"
Jasper walked over to the monitor, typed a few things, and motioned her to come and look.
The video clip, pulled from a gas station security feed at what looked to be the middle of the night, was hardly a second long, slowed-down so much that it looked like she was moving at a human-paced sprint, but despite the grainy video it was so clearly Maria. Her dark brown hair and tiny frame were unmistakable, and the eight bright-eyed vampires she was moving with was concerning.
"It's the clearest picture we've gotten of her since she appeared," he informed her, closing the screen and stepping away from the computer. It seemed he didn't want to look at her face for any longer than was necessary. "Twenty-one Containers were in pursuit just before this, but they ended up killing nine of them—only suffering one newborn casualty—before the captain told them to pull back. They're still in pursuit, trying to herd them back inland but it's... hard to anticipate their moves.
"Mexico is still handling things right now, and we're still preparing."
"You don't think they'll take her out?"
"No. I think if they had the proper and adequate time to train and prepare, like we've been given, then yes, they could. But they have the disadvantage or trying to catch her on the fly. It isn't just Maria at this point. You remember how that trio was executed in Roanoke?"
"They were emulating her," Alice would never forget the callous, remorseless looks on their faces as they were informed of their certain deaths.
"People are doing that in places across Mexico. Not in huge numbers—only two vampires were executed this week down there for doing or planning something like that—but it's still happening. Their Containers have their hands full. They're stretching resources thin right now. It's a desperate time to be a Mexican right now."
"And lending them a hand would be a bad idea, why?" Alice had seen him snap at Carlisle and Edward for suggesting such a thing, but she could only hope that she'd get a proper answer this time.
"Strategy. It's the reason Maria kept me around so long. If we prepare an impenetrable, study defense, she won't get very far when she comes up here." He paused for a second. "Of course, we can't ask anything of them right now, and for me to say this on the record would cause absolute chaos, but," he sighed, "what they're doing now, keeping her at bay as they try to apprehend her is buying us time to prepare. Without their attempts, as fruitless as they may be, and if they were herding her up toward us, which they very easily could do without a second thought, it would save their skins without a doubt."
"They're good neighbors to have, then," Alice realized with a strange sadness, now knowing that these people were doing anything they possibly could to stop this threat before it got worse. Before Maria got to them.
"Have you ever been?" He asked, as if trying to lighten the atmosphere. Alice couldn't help but notice that most of their conversations ended up getting a bit too heavy. She shook her head. "We'll go one day, after all of this." He promised, sending her a wave of confidence along with a comforting smile. "It's a beautiful country."
Turning her head toward the door, she heard Esme's approach, realizing, with disappointment, that her time with Jasper was almost out. Turning back toward him she almost gasped when he leaned forward and hugged her, pulling her into an embrace.
He sighed, his breath shuddering as it exited his body. "I'm know I'm not supposed to—"
But before he could pull back, Alice responded eagerly to the hug, holding her tightly against him, feeling like she was finally letting go of a breath she'd been holding onto for weeks now. It felt right so hold him like this. It felt like coming home.
Jasper still pulled back though, gently but firmly pulling her arms off, "Sorry," he muttered, "I shouldn't have."
"I wanted you to," she insisted, praying that he felt every ounce of affection she held toward him. "I wanted to."
But before they could speak any further, Esme was opening the door, shooting them both a gentle smile—and either pretending not to notice Jasper releasing Alice's arms or not caring about their nearly-compromising situation—before closing the door behind her and approaching.
Jasper wasted no time in catching Esme up on whatever it was he had been doing. As he did this Alice quietly turned and left the room, leaving the library and also exiting the basement. She fluttered right by the kitchen where Jacob and Edward were still chatting with Carlisle and instead flew up the stairs.
Distantly, she heard Jacob ask where she was going, but Edward had quickly quieted him, likely sensing the distress in her head. Silently, she mentally thanked him.
Trying to ignore the fact they'd be leaving any minute now, Alice took her time retrieving the nearly discarded computer box and plugging the laptop into the wall, choosing to sit and stare at the dead, blank screen until it would flash with life again.
When she heard a car engine start, she had to resist the urge to sprint down the stairs and watch them leave, but she forced herself to remain fully rooted in her spot on the floor. Counting the seconds after she heard them pull away, it was ninety-two seconds before she could see her own immediate future again, but when she checked up on Jaspers and Edward's, it was completely blank.
It was going to be an unbearable week.
A/N: A few of my readers on AO3 tracked me down on Tumblr and hyped me up a bit too much, so you guys are getting this update several days early—you have them to thank for it. And if you want to track me down on Tumblr to talk Twilight with me: feel free! It would be really nice and refreshing to see some new/old faces on my dashboard. Love live the Twilight Renaissance, truly. (Username is flowerslut, same as on here.)
Also: did you really think I could leave Jacob out of this entire mess? Think again. I love Jacob (well, the Old Jacob—the Jacob we all knew and loved before smeyer got a bit carried away and... y'know... ruined his character—but! that's tea for another party!) and I knew that if I had the vampires in this new world I had to have the wolves, too. It felt wrong to have vampires be the only supernatural beings in this world, even if they are the only ones living amongst the humans openly.
Act III is not a long Act. But it spans over a pretty decent chunk of time story-wise, so a lot is going to happen over the next four chapters.
And before I forget! For my music lovers: I have recently posted a spotify playlist to go along with this story. The link is on my profile page (which honestly might not work, because links don't work on this website for me 95% of the time) as well as linked on my tumblr. There will be a volume II, so this is only the first one you'll get. If you're the type of person (like me) who enjoys listening to music that reminds them of their current content obsession (like this story) you'll likely love it. If you aren't a Spotify user, sorry. But you can still view the playlist if you're interested in some new tunes!
Thanks again for the love and feedback. I admit that I crave it, but I appreciate it so genuinely.
~*~review replies~*~
deltagirl74: Jasper will probably catch a break at some point... like, post-story and all :0) I kid, I kid... but remember... this is an Angst Party essentially
Reinbeau: ah yes, solidarity... the perfect reason :0) honestly if I were you guys (and reading this story, ready to pull my hair out) I'd be like "give them ANY fucking reason to be together. or at least kiss. ANYTHING" so you're all troopers for still letting me string you along with this shit.
Exceptionaldork: grab your coat! it's gonna be a rough one! also THANK YOU so much for all the reviews and the love! it means the world to me and your reviews made me smile and get all emotional :') thank you!
Worldtraveller78: hahahahaokay trust me, I SO understand your frustration. But in Alice's defense, the certaintly of the vision is a firm point in her brain. Despite all the sweet visions she got, the first one never wavered even a little bit. I'm sure if any decision would make that vision even a little less certain she'd act on it in a human's heartbeat, but that hasn't happened, so Alice won't act until she's sure. Very frustrating, but makes sense :0) Remember, she's only been at this life for a couple months now!
And you will learn about Alice's past more thoroughly. It won't happen for a little bit (and potentially not even in this story) but you have my word: you will learn about it. ;) Thanks for the love!