Alice was waiting on the front porch when Lissa and Emmett returned from their hunt. Lissa felt slightly better having properly fed, but Alice's expression was unreadable and it unnerved Lissa. "Go ahead inside," she said softly to Emmett, forcing a smile for his benefit when he hesitated in the doorway.

She was tempted to follow Emmett without a second glance to Alice. She wanted to tell her sister to shove off, that what she did at school was none of her damn business so long as she didn't attract attention and didn't seriously hurt any of the humans. After all, no one there knew she was responsible, and she hadn't hurt Josh.

Instead, her feet stilled just as she reached Alice. "I didn't mean to do it," she told the pixie softly.

"I know."

"So, are you here to scold me some more?" Lissa muttered as she folded her arms protectively over her chest. "I'm sure you've already told Carlisle and Esme what happened… Jasper too, since you said you would."

Alice gave her head a slight shake. "I've only spoken with Esme, and I only told her that you were stressed and needed the rest of the day off."

Lissa didn't know what to make of Alice's behavior. She had yet to show any real emotion. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to talk to me," Alice said, taking a step forward and placing one hand on Lissa's shoulder. "I knew the fallout from this thing with Josh was going to be messy, but I never foresaw what happened Friday night, and I certainly didn't see what happened today."

"There's nothing to talk about," insisted Lissa. "So, are you going to tell Jasper and Carlisle?"

"They need to know."

She had expected his presence sooner or later – their conversation was bound to be overheard, despite their lowered voices – so Lissa wasn't entirely surprised when Jasper appeared in the doorway. "What do I need to know?"

Raising an eyebrow at Alice, Lissa gestured toward Jasper. "Go ahead. Tell him. I don't need to be here for that." Catching the pair momentarily off guard, Lissa managed to zip past them into the house.

Lissa was tempted to plant herself at the piano and play a bit. It wouldn't completely take her mind off of the situation, since her enhanced mind could mull over several things at once, but it would be soothing. However, she didn't particularly like the fact that she could be attacked on all sides, so to speak. If Jasper was going to be all parental (and she was sure he would), she'd prefer to have some sort of barrier, however temporary. With that thought in mind, Lissa wasted no time in running to her room and locking the door behind her. It occurred to her that being in her room, door locked, she was acting very much like a guilty child avoiding a scolding.

She didn't think she'd have the luxury of being alone for very long, but the speed at which they followed her surprised her.

"Open the door, Lissa."

Alice's voice was gentle; not at all what Lissa had expected. Actually, she'd expected Jasper to come banging on her door demanding to be let in. While she could tell he was there, standing next to Alice, he hadn't said anything yet.

"I'd rather not, thanks," Lissa responded, having backed up against a wall, arms crossed protectively over her chest.

"Lissa… We need to talk and you know it."

"We can talk just fine through the door."

She heard Alice sigh. "I'm trying to be polite here, but you know I can unlock this door in less than five seconds."

"By all means then."

Lissa swore she could hear Alice's eyes roll. Three and forty-six hundredths seconds later, the door opened and Alice strode into the room, followed closely by Jasper. Alice seemed slightly annoyed, though Lissa figured it probably had more to do with the door than anything else. Jasper seemed confused and… was that concern? 'Right,' she thought. 'He can feel my emotions. Super.'

"I was never this dramatic when I was your age," huffed Alice.

"You wanted to talk," Lissa reminded her, making no move to vacate her spot against the wall. "So talk…"

Alice shot Lissa a look that might have made her shrink back had she anywhere further to retreat. "I swear, right now I'm half tempted to toss you over my knee and spank you out of this funk." Lissa's eyes widened of their own accord. "I know you're hurting, but you're wallowing in anger and indignation instead of dealing with your feelings."

That indignation engulfed Lissa like flames as she glared back at Alice. "I'd like to see you try…"

The pixie took a quick step forward, a steely determination in her eyes, but stilled when Jasper placed a hand on her arm. She turned to him, her expression a mix of amusement and exasperation. "I know what you're doing, Jazz," she said softly.

"You promised you'd tell me what's going on," he reminded her. "No maiming Lissa until then."

"I wasn't going to maim her…"

Jasper leaned down to kiss Alice. Feelings Lissa didn't care for bubbled up inside, and she forced an eye roll as she pushed those feelings back down. "If you two want to make out please do so somewhere other than my room."

It was Jasper's turn to closely study Lissa. The youngest was determined not to squirm under his intense gaze. "Have a seat, Lissa."

"I'm fine where I am, thank you."

He shook his head slightly at her stubbornness. "Just sit down."

Lissa made no move to comply. "You're not my father, so…"

"You're right," Jasper agreed. "We can call Carlisle and ask him to come home early, if you'd prefer."

She most definitely did not prefer. Reluctantly, Lissa took a few steps to her side and lowered her body until she was seated on the ottoman. "There. Happy?"

Jasper didn't speak for what seemed like ages, making Lissa extremely uncomfortable. Thus far, it seemed like the roles were reversed – Alice was the one lecturing her while Jasper was more levelheaded. Had she entered some sort of alternate reality? She was so used to verbally sparring with Jasper that she didn't know how to react to this side of him.

"Is this attitude really stemming from your breakup with the human?"

Groaning, Lissa shot out of her seat. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed. "I have better things to do than to talk about this…"

Her intention was to find just about any other part of the house to occupy, but before she had the chance to move even one foot forward, Jasper took a step forward. "Sit."

The command caught her off guard, and Lissa sat back down before she had a chance to realize what she was doing. She shot him a glare when it clicked in her head, but Jasper didn't react as he pulled out her desk chair, turned it around, and sat facing her.

"It's like I'm looking at a completely different person," Jasper observed calmly. "I've never seen you act this way toward Alice, and frankly I'm surprised by Alice's sternness. Clearly something big happened to precipitate this."

"I have zero interest in talking about this," Lissa replied, arms still crossed over her chest. "Alice is capable of telling you on her own, and she was the one insisting you know, so I don't see why I need to be involved."

Alice rolled her eyes as she perched on the edge of Lissa's bed. "Has the thought penetrated that thick skull of yours that Jasper might be able to help you through this?"

Lissa heaved a loud sigh. "I don't need to be helped through anything. It was an accident."

"Friday night wasn't an accident," Alice reminded her.

"And you already reamed me out for it. I didn't intend for this morning to happen, so it's not fair to harp at me for something I couldn't control…"

Alice threw her arms up in exasperation. "That's exactly the problem, Lissa! You lost control!"

"Whoa," Jasper said quickly, jumping back into the conversation. "Lissa lost control how?"

Alice looked expectantly at Lissa, but the younger teen stared back unwaveringly. Honestly, Alice thought. How does Carlisle deal with this attitude from Edward? "Lissa used her gift against Josh at the basketball game Friday night," Alice said when it became clear Lissa wasn't going to speak first.

As Jasper's undivided attention fell on Lissa, she saw the side of Jasper she'd expected all along. "What?"

Lissa rolled her eyes. "It isn't as if I seriously hurt him. I merely redirected a basketball toward his head. He wasn't even knocked out, and it's not like I planned it anyway."

Before Jasper could respond, Alice continued. "This morning, Lissa made the water fountain malfunction while Josh was getting a drink. A gush of water sprayed him in the face."

"That was an accident," Lissa ground out. "I wasn't even trying to do anything to him."

"Using your gift on the same human twice in less than a week? Lissa, what were you thinking?" demanded Jasper.

She supposed it was a somewhat positive sign that he was still using her nickname instead of her full name as he seemed to enjoy doing. "Friday was a split second decision, I'll admit, but I wasn't trying to do anything to him today! I was really mad and it just happened! Anyway, I don't know what you and Alice are even so worked up about. I didn't hurt him and there's zero risk of exposure because there's no reason for anyone to expect that anyone was responsible for what happened."

"You were lucky. I've seen you use your gift, and that was a fraction of what I know you're capable of. You may not have hurt that boy today or Friday, but you just as easily could have. You cannot use your gift against humans, Lissa."

Lissa flung her arms in the air. "What do you want me to say?" she demanded. "I didn't mean for anything to happen today, and Friday wasn't premeditated, but I'm not sorry about either incident. Josh is an ass-" She faltered at the severe look Jasper was giving her. "A jerk," she amended, not in the mood to argue with Jasper over her choice of language, "and he deserved it."

This conversation was going nowhere. Jasper didn't think pulling out a full lecture would accomplish anything, but he wanted to have some sort of solution worked out before they brought it to Carlisle. It surprised him that Lissa had lost control twice – she'd exhibited a great deal of control since he'd known her, especially considering she was a few years younger than the others. He wondered if there had been some sort of trigger – more than Lissa's emotional storm over her first heartbreak – that had precipitated these events. Jasper thought about what Lissa had said before, and raised a curious eyebrow. "You said you were really mad. What were you mad about?"

Her arms returned to their previous position across her chest, almost protectively, and she deliberately looked away from Jasper. "I don't want to talk about that."

A-ha. He was definitely onto something there. "It has to be something big for you to lose control like that in public. If you just keep it bottled up, chances are you're going to lose control again."

She wasn't having this conversation. They'd think she was ridiculous. Hell, she half thought she was being ridiculous. Of all of the things for her, an immortal being, to lose her cool over… "Look," she said, blowing out a large breath of air in frustration. "You're going to tell Carlisle anyway, and I'm going to have to deal with a lecture and probably more from him, so there's no point in continuing this conversation. I'd like to be alone now, if that's all right."

Alice sighed. "Lissa…"

"I'd like to be alone now," she repeated. "Please."

It was obvious neither of them wanted to leave, but just when Lissa thought the silence was becoming painful, they relented. She watched Jasper return the chair to its place. He and Alice shared a look before exiting the room, closing the door softly behind them.

Alone at last, Lissa moved to her bed, stretching out on her back and closing her eyes. It was times like this she wished she could still sleep, so she wouldn't have to think or feel for even a few short hours.

Hours later, she had yet to move from her bed. She was now curled on her side, reading a book about the Tudor family. Carlisle had arrived just moments earlier, and she could hear hushed whispers coming from the first floor. She was sure Alice and Jasper were telling Carlisle all about what had happened, but unfortunately they were all speaking too low for Lissa to hear from her bedroom.

Based on Jasper's reaction, and the fact that he hadn't lost his cool earlier, Lissa hoped Carlisle's reaction wouldn't be too terrible. He was generally calmer than Jasper anyway, but she didn't think he'd do more than ground her, if he imposed any consequences at all. She could understand them being upset about Friday night – even if it had been a last minute decision, she'd absolutely intended for that ball to hit Josh – but today had been an accident. She hadn't even tried to hurt him – if she had, Lissa mused, that stream of water would have hit him hard enough to knock him off his feet.

The waiting was the worst part, she decided. She could deal with being grounded, even if the Cullen version of grounded was a whole different ballgame from what humans were typically subjected to, but she wanted to know what was going to happen, one way or the other. Lissa was beginning to feel frustrated, knowing they were talking about her, and she didn't think teenage attitude would help matters with Carlisle.

After another minute, the conversation stopped. There was a brief moment of silence, followed by three distinct pairs of feet climbing the stairs. 'Really?' she thought. She was seriously going to have to deal with all three of them at once?

She heard the expected knock on her door, and was half tempted to ignore it. Carlisle didn't typically enter uninvited, but nonetheless she didn't feel up to testing whether or not he would if provoked. "Come in," she murmured, turning the open book upside down on her bed to keep her place.

Carlisle entered, followed by Alice and Jasper. Lissa wasn't entirely sure why they felt the need to accompany him. She was sure they'd already told him everything. While she didn't look forward to this conversation, it wasn't as if she would risk hedging the truth to save herself the grief.

"I hear you've had a rough couple of days," Carlisle said in his endlessly calm voice as he reached for the desk chair Jasper had occupied earlier.

Every day since her breakup with Josh had been rough, but Lissa didn't care to voice that minor fact. Instead, she shrugged one shoulder slightly in response.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

She really didn't, to be honest. "Look, I know it was wrong," she said softly. "I shouldn't have done it and I'm sorry. No offense, but could we skip ahead to the lecture and whatever my punishment is?"

Carlisle furrowed his brow in that concerned way that made Lissa feel guilty for what she'd said, even if she'd said it as politely as she could. "I'm not here to lecture you, Lissa," he confessed. "I'm much more concerned about why you've been having trouble with your self-control."

How to respond without actually having to talk about her feelings? "I'll make sure it doesn't happen again," she promised.

She heard Carlisle sigh. "I need you to talk to me, Lissa. I can't help you if you don't."

Her eyes pleaded for him not to misconstrue her next words as rude or disrespectful. "I really don't want to talk about it, Carlisle," she said softly. "I'll accept whatever punishment you give me, but I don't want to talk."

Carlisle shook his head. "You aren't in trouble, Lissa. I do want to make sure you're in complete control though before you return to school. Perhaps a few days off? We can let them know that you've taken ill with the flu, which should easily excuse you for the remainder of the week.

"No," Lissa objected at once, shaking her head. "Please, Carlisle. I'll go stir crazy staying home. I promise I won't let it happen again."

He didn't seem entirely convinced, but nonetheless said, "I'll think about it. Let's see how you're feeling in the morning. Emmett said you went for a hunt earlier." When he didn't continue, Lissa nodded in confirmation. "Your eyes certainly look lighter than they did this morning, but if you feel like you didn't get enough to drink I'd really like for you to go out again tonight. Feeding more frequently can help when you're stressed."

"I'm good," she assured him.

"All right," Carlisle agreed. "I'll give you your space. If you do decide you'd like to talk, you need only ask."

She mustered what she hoped passed as a smile. "Thanks, Carlisle."

Within seconds she was alone again, and let out a sigh of relief that she'd dodged a bullet. She'd have to make sure she kept her promise to Carlisle and refrained from using her gift anymore at school, intentionally or otherwise. He'd been lenient just now, but she suspected that wouldn't be the case if it happened again.

She moved to pick up her book when a soft ping signaled Lissa that she had a new text message. Reaching for her phone, Lissa read Amber's latest message.

'Party at Kole Ryland's Friday night. Spencer will be there. Interested?'

Kole Ryland was a senior with a reputation. Lissa was sure that her adopted siblings, at least, would have heard of him. His parties were the stuff of legends from what Lissa had heard. She was positive that as relaxed Carlisle had been about her social life, there was no way he'd agree to her attending one of Kole's parties.

She'd have to be extra careful if she was going to pull this off, particularly with a sister who saw practically everything and a brother who could hear her every thought.

"Maybe," she typed back noncommittally, not wanting to just ignore the text but knowing she had to remain undecided in order to keep Alice unaware. "Talk tomorrow?"

Setting down her phone, Lissa returned her attention to her book. She couldn't risk Edward overhearing her thoughts, so she'd have to wait until she was back at school to start plotting.

It was going to be a long night.