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 RIP Nat Ember ILoveYou, Rachh93, Ilove4everJasperHale, prettykitty8694, Fox's-Pen, Gayle7, VoldieBeth, Euffie, Mznickwhite, THIS IS NICOLE CULLEN, JSod93, RLNTonks, JonasLove30, silksoft96, Beauty Eclipsed, MaleficentKnits, Homegrl aka Amanda, Charlotte1993, iluvshim, Twilight06, JackedUp, pureambitionwriting, xFender'sGirlx, 2honest4myowngood, redheads-have-more-fun-HPLVR, raindropsX, keiraliz, justanotherditzyredhead, Russetstorm, tomato soup, Lagoon Dreams, tiny-irritating-pixie, Bozu, Briony97, k-pattttttttz, MissLoonyLovegood, SammieSamSam, VampireCheeseWhiz, FantasyMind1, Patastic, AliceJasperIsLove, Agent 37- Adams, twilighter97, Jazzy-kins, StantonDimitriCullen, and Remy Masen.
It Takes a Long Time to Grow Young
Alice POV
"It's Bella's birthday!" I sang as I ran around the house, gathering the needed materials. I quickly snatched up some silver gift wrapping paper. Perfect.
"Esme, is the cake ready?" I shouted as I went to find the scissors. I pulled open a drawer and began to rifle through it.
"It is now." Esme pulled the cake out of the oven and set it on the kitchen island countertop. She took a deep breath and blew. The cake was automatically cooled. My mouth watered at the scent of the chocolate cake.
I finally found the scissors and began heading back up the stairs.
"Alice, don't run with scissors! That's the first rule that they teach you in kindergarten," Esme scolded me as I slowed down my pace.
I got to work wrapping the gifts. Plane tickets, a new car radio (which I didn't need to wrap, as Emmett was going to be installing it into Bella's truck as soon as she arrived), a CD…
I exhaled and closed my eyes, trying to clear my mind. I sometimes found that, in the right circumstances, I could call my visions. But those times were very rare.
This wasn't one of those times. I sighed in disappointment and continued to wrap the presents.
I felt someone kneeling down behind me. "Good afternoon, love," Jasper murmured, propping his chin on my shoulder.
"Love you, Jazzy." I turned my face and kissed his cheek before looking back down at the presents. I tore off a piece of tape and began to place it very carefully in the perfect spot.
"ALICE!" I jumped, losing my focus. I turned around to glare at Emmett, who was grinning unabashedly.
"What?"
"Bella's pulling up the driveway now!"
I gasped and turned back around to my gift wrapping. I had to finish before she arrived. Esme, what with her vampire sped, was probably long done with decorating the cake. I stared at the pile of now perfectly wrapped presents, sitting in front of me.
Jasper smiled and wrapped his arms around me. "Now you can focus on other stuff instead."
Emmett coughed very loudly. "Cough remember cough your cough promises cough."
Jasper frowned, but then smiled as he pulled me up. He gathered the presents in his arms. "Shall we go downstairs, my lady?"
I giggled.
He looked a bit confused. "What is it?"
"Your accent is… well… sexy."
He smirked and leaned closer. "Oh, really?" His accent became even more pronounced now. His eyes were luring me in.
"Incubus," I accused him. Then it hit me. "Hey… what do you do while I'm asleep?"
"Nothing of importance," he said evasively. "Now come, let's go greet Bella."
I hugged Bella as she came inside. "Happy Birthday, Bella!"
"You didn't have to do this," she muttered sourly. I looked up innocently. I suppose that I might have overdone it with all of the decorations.
I knew that Bella was unhappy with getting older, because with every second that passed, she was a second older than Edward.
But for now, I enjoyed the party, hoping that she would do the same. When she blew out the candles, Bella and I were the only ones to get birthday cake. After all, the others had no desire to be coughing up the food later.
Bella was staring dumbfounded at the empty box that used to hold the car radio. "Um… thank you… nice box?"
"Oh, no, Emmett's installing the car radio in your truck right now," I replied cheerfully.
"Okay. Thanks, everybody. Thanks, Emmett!" she called in a slightly louder voice. I could hear Emmett laughing from outside.
Emmett finished installing the radio and came back inside, wrapping his arms around Rosalie's waist. I leaned into Jasper, intertwining my fingers with his.
Bella slid her finger beneath the wrapping paper. "Ouch," she muttered, staring at the paper cut. I felt Jasper's grip getting harder.
Rosalie leapt forward and quickly grabbed me out from Jasper's arms. His eyes were turning black.
Edward snarled and crouched in front of Bella. I could only stare in shock at the scene unfolding in front of me.
Jasper was stalking forward towards Bella now. Edward lunged at him, knocking him back, but also accidentally pushing Bella back as he did so. Bella stumbled and fell against the glass bowl. It shattered, and the shards pierced her arms. There was a wound bleeding profusely there.
Rosalie quickly shoved me away from her, before she lost control. I stared around at my family. Emmett, Rosalie, Esme, Edward, Jasper… their eyes had all turned black in thirst. Only Carlisle's eyes were still golden colored.
"Stop it, guys!" I pleaded, reaching out to grab Jasper's hand. I was flung back, and I hit the wall. Everything faded into black, as I heard Carlisle's fuzzy voice speaking.
I didn't know how long I was out of it, but I found myself waking up some time later. The decorations were gone, and the blood had been cleaned up. Rosalie and Esme were sitting beside me.
"Where's Jasper?" I asked, panicking.
"He's out in the woods, berating himself for almost killing Bella," Rosalie muttered. "He's by the stream." I ran out of the room. "Hey, Alice, get back here!"
"No, let her go," Esme murmured as I ran. I hurried outside and into the woods. I followed the stream, until I saw a figure crouching by the water, staring at nothing.
"Jazzy?"
He let out a deep sigh. "I'm so weak."
"No, you're not, Jasper."
"I lost control today. I almost killed Bella!"
"But you didn't."
"Only because the others managed to hold me back." He turned to me, his eyes slightly lighter now. "And I hurt you. I could never live with that knowledge."
"I forgive you, Jazzy. And I'm pretty sure that Bella doesn't blame you, either."
"I should just leave."
"No, you are not leaving me, or I'll… I'll… I'll make you go shopping with me every day," I threatened weakly.
Jasper chuckled quietly. "Alright, I'll stay for the sake of my sanity. Let's go home." He picked me up and ran us back.
I stared around the house in shock. There were white tarps over the furniture, and boxes everywhere. "What's happening?"
"It's almost time, anyway," Edward answered. He was back. "Carlisle can't pass for his supposed age for much longer. And today just proved that I can't stay. We're moving."
"What? How could you do that? Why?"
"Bella's in danger from us."
"What about me? I've been living with you guys my whole life! I haven't been killed."
"I'm not taking any risks with Bella."
And he'd take risks with me. He was taking my sister away from me!
"She'll move on. And so will you. You're both still human."
"I will never forgive you for this, Edward," I whispered coldly. Then I uttered the words that I never thought that I would hear myself say. "I hate you, Edward Cullen."
And yes. She really, really, really does hate Edward right now.
(Cries)
Anyway, the next couple of chapters will be - wait, why am I telling you this? You have to wait and see!
Review = preview.