Note: Sky's party appearance can be found by typing into google "Alexis Bledel yellow dress." It's the one where she has straight hair flipped at the ends. And now, the moment you've all been waiting for…

Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine. If it was…well, the fourth book would end quite a bit differently…Speaking of which, there is a sequel to this story that I've been working on that covers the fourth book and it does, indeed, have a big ol' twist in it. If you thought this story was getting nutty, wait to you read that!

Chapter 23

To Say Those Three Words

"Wow."

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to open the door?"

"Hey, what's going on—WOW."

"I hate you both."

"SKY!"

"Finally," I rolled my eyes and pushed past the two buffoons, "Someone who doesn't drool." I used my knee to help steady the boxes in my hands before proceeding past the two bumbling idiots (also known as Mike Newton and Emmett Cullen) towards the buffet. Alice helped out by grabbing a few boxes and helping me push past our graduated classmates. Ah, graduation. No more school. It's music to my ears. In fact, I think I'll write a song.

"Lor! It's about time!" Jared and Jensen met us at the table and took the boxes off our hands. "I can't believe they've eaten so much!" Jared muttered as he started to unpack cartons of food as Jensen set them out on dishes. "No one's dancing," I frowned as I surveyed the room. The music was bumping, the decorations were awesome, and the Cullen's living room had been transformed into a dance floor, yet not one teenager was dancing. I looked closer at the occupants of the room. I recognized several of my classmates and frowned when I noticed that each and every one was standing awkwardly in their group of friends, completely unsure of what to do. The Cullens weren't any better. Bella and Edward were practically glued together (return of Edward the worry wart) and were bouncing from one group to another. Emmett (after leaving Mike Newton at the door) and Rosalie were talking in hushed whispers in a corner. Emmett had a big grin on his face and Rosalie bore a scowl. Esme and Carlisle were walking about arm-in-arm as if on a stroll and were mingling with a clump of parents in another corner. Jasper was nowhere to be seen; at this point, I could only assume he was waiting upstairs until the crowd thinned out.

"I won't stand for this," I frowned, already finding myself swaying to the beat of a popular pop song. I looked around the room again and nearly jumped out of my skin when I found two eyes—one green, one blue—staring back at me. My reflection, I sighed in relief as I covered my racing heart with a gloved hand. Since when was there a mirror in here? I looked closer at my reflection in the floor length mirror and chuckled.

I look so different, I beamed, and all for a certain someone. My hair, for once, was straightened and flipped at the edges. My bangs were puffed slightly and brushed to one side. And as I had decided in Paris, I set my appearance towards contrast. My eyes were bright, almost glowing in excitement, set against my milky white skin. To further utilize contrast, I had applied black eyeliner, light eye shadow, and ruby red lipstick. And my apparel? I chose a simple, yet effective knee-length yellow dress and light blue heels. Judging from all of the remarks I'd gotten so far, I assumed that my goal—to stand out and knock 'em dead—had been achieved.

Turning my attention back to the attention at hand, the frown on my lips deepened as my hands found their way to my hips. "This simply will not do," I shook my head in disappointment. Catching my drift, Jensen held out his hand, "Shall we?" "We shall," I smiled with a giggle and a wink. Alice stood close to Jared's side and watched with wide-eyed wonder. "What are they doing?" Alice asked Jared as he offered her his arm. She gladly took hold of it as he whispered back with an amused smirk, "Watch."

"Try and keep up," I mocked my beloved brother as we walked hand in hand onto the dance floor accompanied by the ever curious eyes. We stood opposite each other and waited for another song to start. A jazzy, neo-soul single by Fitz & The Tantrums began to play. Instantly, our bodies found the rhythm and the dance moves poured in from there; a twist, a twirl, a dip, a throw. Closely followed by parading around the room with laughter; another twirl, a shake, a pattern of feet.

We'd succeed in catching attention.

"Time to go!" I laughed as I twirled away from a bemused Jensen and into the crowd. "Come on!" I cheered as I grabbed the hands of two bashful boys whilst Jensen wooed an entire cluster of infatuated teenage girls. Jared chuckled and shook his head at the method. Figuring his family would drag him in anyway, he turned to Alice. "May I have this dance?" Jared blushed as he held a hand out to Alice. Alice, if human would have surely blushed, happily accepted and the two swept onto the floor like a summer breeze. "Come on, dance!" I beamed to another lot—Mike Newton and Tyler. Mike had a stupid grin and eagerly accepted and Tyler, who was taken off guard by my appearance, could not refuse. I pulled them into the crowd and got them going. Then, once they were absorbed in the music, I weaved through the crowd and out of sight.

"Mission accomplished," I muttered to myself as I stood on the steps of the staircase to look upon my work with appreciation. My eyes skimmed over every face and my ears picked up every voice… all except for one. My smile fell when I realized what the missing piece was—Jasper. I wanted to go find him, if only to steal a single glance. It just isn't a good party unless Jasper shows up.

"Stunning…" The words, laced deeply with the tone of the south, were like chimes in the wind to my ears. I turned to find the origin of the heavenly sound to my left, and there he was in all of his blazing glory. "You look absolutely ravishing," he smiled, his eyes golden brown and alight with awe. I felt a light burning in my face at the comment, "You look quite enticing yourself." He really did look nice; he wore a nice pair of black slacks and a black button-up shirt. In fact, the garments made him sharp and all the more surreal. Drool… "I do believe that this is our song," he announced as his grin widened its reach from ear to ear. I snapped out of my ogling and listened. He was right. "So Far Away" by Staind was just starting and each starting chord was like an individual pull at my heart's strings. Like a puppeteer, Jasper asked for my hand, "May I have this dance?" As if he had to ask. "I could imagine nothing but," I replied as I accepted his hand. With unrivaled grace, we swept down the staircase and flittered across the hardwood floors dancing to our own beat.

As the song drew to a close, Jasper led me towards the least crowded part of the living room—a shadowed corner near the stairs. Even as the song ended and a new one began, we continued swaying in each other's arms in perfect harmony. The moment, I thought, was perfect, something to always cherish. I looked deeply into his golden eyes and found so much inside; adoration, belief, bliss… love. My eyes were no doubt the same. My heart sang to me with the intensity of a thousand angels and I felt my spirit float higher and higher, now reaching the acclaimed cloud nine. I've never been so happy; I thought as I gazed into gold, I've never been so much in love.

"I love you."

…

…

Did I…?

I did.

Oh, fiddlesticks.

My eyes widened and my hand flew from around his neck to clamp my stupid mouth shut. I can't believe I said that out loud! I withdrew my other arm from under his arm and stepped back. I looked around to every person, to every person but the one who stood in astonishment before me. No one looked back. Instinct, like it had many times, took over. My feet, of their own accord, continued a brisk pace backward. Tiring after a few steps, I turned with full intention to run. Where? I wasn't sure, so long as it wasn't here. I'm so stupid, I yelled at myself as I turned away. Love? What do I, of all people, know of love? I know that I know nothing.

"Wait." An icy cold vice gripped my wrist. I didn't dare turn to face him. "Zijn spijt," I whispered softly, my heart racing and breaking all at once. It took me a moment to realize that I hadn't spoken in English; I had the nasty habit of switching over to Dutch when I was either terrified or really excited. This was a definite case of terror. I gulped and attempted again to apologize, and hopefully this time in English.

"Niet," he responded strongly. No? No? No, what? The terror was quickly replaced by confusion and curiosity. Jasper, as I was now coming to learn, was quite fluent in Dutch. "Ik hou van je," he whispered and pulled me by the wrist to face him. I stared into his brightened eyes in wonder. He loved me? Me?

"Are you sure?" I blurted out. He gave me a bewildered look, "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it." Again, like a broken record, I repeated, "Are you really, really sure?" He rolled his eyes to stare at an opposite wall, a sure sign of embarrassment, "Yes." I opened my mouth again to blurt some other stupid remark when he saved me…

By grabbing hold of my waist and twirling me around into a dip…

And kissing me…

In front of everyone.

To hell with everyone else! I smiled into the kiss as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Because, I'm in love! Yeah, I admit it. The kiss felt like infinite words, unspeakable feelings all poured out from one soul into the next. Then, the oddest thing happened when we parted. I felt a light shock. When Jasper swung me back to a straight standing position, I found him staring in even greater wonder. In that instant I knew something, other than our confessions, had happened.

"What is it?" I asked as I grabbed hold of his hands. "You're worried," he mumbled as he stared into space and squeezed my hands. Huh? Yeah, I'm worried he's lost his mind. "And happy," he continued, "Scared, overwhelmed, and so very much in love." Okay, two words. Fortune cookie? "Yes," I confirmed with a slight nod, having not even a faint idea of where he was going. "I can feel it," he muttered, again astounded. Huh? My eyebrows furrowed. Feel? As in ability feel? "I thought your ability didn't work on me?" I retorted. "It didn't," he answered in response. He suddenly broke into a smile, "But not to worry. We have all of time to ponder the event. Tonight, however, comes only once." I smiled back, "Jasper, will you dance with me?" He leaned down and kissed me with renewed vigor. I kissed back with all intensity and leaned as far forward as my tippy toes would allow. Once we parted, he led me onto the dance floor.

Jasper's Point of View

She loved me. A lot. I could tell by the pulsing waves of emotion that emanated from her. It hit me with the force of a brick wall every time and shot me past cloud nine and straight into heaven. How could one so beautiful, I wondered as I danced with the ninth world wonder, so amazing, have fallen in love with me? Surely, God has made a mistake. An amazing mistake that I would gladly trade anything and everything in the world to keep, my Schuyler.

"You're kidding!" "I can't believe a Cullen snagged her!" "She's really taken?" "Bummer." "Why's he with her?" "No way! How'd she get him?" I laughed. All of the humans were as baffled as we were. How did this happen? I sure as hell didn't know and neither did Schuyler. And, quite frankly, we didn't care. We were here, together, and we wanted it to stay that way.

"What are you laughing at?" Schuyler asked, a giant grin never leaving her face. "Nothing," I answered back with a shrug. I picked up her hands with my own and spun her around. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Alice in a corner of the room with a blank stare upon her face; a vision. I ceased all motion. Sky, noticing me stilled, slowed as well and tried to find the object of my attention. "I'll be right back," I whispered before planting a soft kiss upon her forehead. She was confused, but let me go with a nod. As I walked towards the corner Alice was frozen in, I turned back to see Sky catch Emmett in the middle of the crowd and they started to dance. I quickly hurried over to Alice.

Schuyler's Point of View

"I don't care what my brother says, you owe me a dance," Emmett chuckled as he spun me in a circle at the end of the song. "Sure, Big Bear," I chuckled and slapped his chest. In turn, he ruffled my hair with an evil chuckle and ran off before I could throw something at him. Sneaky vampire.

Ding-dong. Isn't it sort of late for people to still be arriving? I wondered, but went to answer the door anyway, seeing as I was so close. Imagine my surprise when I found three giant free-loading wolves on the other side.

"I think you have the wrong house," I announced flatly. Their radar must be broken; this was the Cullen's, their immortal enemies, house. Is this even allowed? Jacob, who looked the most confident (by miles) in comparison to the other boys, who were looking around in paranoia as if they were walking into a haunted crypt, squinted, "Is that you, old hag?" I huffed for a second but didn't lose my smile; I was far too happy and nothing, be it natural or supernatural, could change that at the moment. "Funny, Junior. What'll be even funnier is the house's owners reaction to you setting foot on their property. Hilarious!" Jacob smirked smugly, "We were invited." What? Who would invite them—Oh, wait. "Bella," we said at the same time.

"Well," I shrugged, "In that case, come on in." They followed my advice and stepped inside, although they were uncomfortable. Quil and Embry were more reluctant; I could easily tell that the two didn't want to be here. Embry showed clear proof of that, I chuckled as I spotted his trembling hand still attached to the doorknob. "Where's-" "Izzy?" I cut him off as I shrugged, "She tends to be a magnet for trouble, so we'll probably run into her any minute now-" "Hey, Bella!" "See?"

Bella turned and spotted the three. Jacob lifted a hand to wave her down. In response, Bella waved back… then turned around and high-tailed it through the crowd. "Rejected!" I sang amusedly as I faced the dog with a quirky smile. He snarled under his breath and swept away through the crowd after Bella. He intercepted her somewhere in the crowd and whisked her by the wrist into the shadowy kitchen. Once inside, they began a bit of a squabble. "To spy or not to spy," I tapped my cheek in thought. "What do you guys think?" I flashed my smile to them. I tried not to giggle when they were caught off guard. Both of their faces turned blood red. "Spy!" Quil blurted out. Embry threw him a glare, although the intensity of the blood flow to his faced numbed the threat down. "Spy, it is," I smirked as I grabbed hold of both their hands and pulled them through the crowd. I have to admit, I liked their style. They both danced alongside me through the crowd, making us completely unnoticed as we reached the kitchen.

We walked in just as the storm had cleared and the two were on better terms. Phooey. There goes my entertainment for the evening. "Awe," I cooed as I linked my arms with the other two werewolves (hey, they didn't seem to mind), "Junior got Izzy a present!" Both Bella and Jacob turned to give me the dirtiest look they could muster. I smiled innocently and shrugged. Jacob sighed and dropped small multi-colored bag into Bella's waiting hands. "Hey, that's pretty, Jake. Thanks!" "The present is inside, Bella." "Oh."

Bella and I gaped at the gift. "It's beautiful," she whispered as she ran her fingers over the small wooden trinket, a wooden carving of a wolf attached to a silver bracelet. "I really need to invest in patents," I frowned as I drew the blue and green wrap from my hair for inspection. My fingers caressed the precious treasure, the wooden carving of a wolf. "You made this?" She looked up in amazement, "How?" Jacob threw me a weary glance and his eyes locked on the miniature wolf in my hand, "It's something Billy taught me. He's better at it than I am." They exchanged a few compliments that set Jacob on an all time high. Jacob helped put the bracelet onto Bella's wrist. To say in the least, her attention quickly went elsewhere.

"Why are you so distracted?" I wondered about that too. Maybe she had seen that Alice had a vision? My interest peaked. Jacob's suspicion grew, "Something's going on, isn't it?" Bella and Jacob continued at their game; Jacob asking questions and Bella denying. Finally, Bella spilled the beans; she admitted to looking for Alice. "The psychic saw something," he realized, eyes wide. I frowned, cat's out of the bag. Bella continued to pass out the hints, however tiny they were. They knew something big was going down. Quil and Embry unraveled their arms from mine and drifted over to either side of Jacob. "I don't know anything," Bella insisted, although her lies were easily discovered. Poor girl can't lie for her life. The trio folded their arms over their chests at the same time.

That did it.

I burst into a giggle fit. Jacob's eyebrow twitched in irritation, but he didn't look away. I wanted to help Bella, I really did. But instead, I collapsed onto the floor behind the island, still giggling like crazy. Oh, dear wolves, to whom shall I compare thee? Shall I compare thee to the three stooges? The three amigos? LFO, or any other boy band for that matter? Ah, the possibilities are endless.

"Alice!" The squeak was enough to bring me back. In a flash, I was right between the spiky haired girl and the only human in the kitchen. All three wolves leaped back in surprise. "Good God, woman!" Jacob seethed as he clenched his heart. The other two didn't look any better. I sneered, "Not human." He glared.

"I need to talk to you, both of you," Alice whispered, eyeing us, then the wolves. "Er, Jake, I'll see you later," Bella mumbled as she, Alice, and I eased around them. Jacob threw his arm out to block us, his hand nearly hitting my face, "Why so fast, songbird?" I froze. Those words… they came from Jacob's mouth, but it wasn't his voice, his words. My heart stopped beating and I couldn't breathe. "You're not thinking of leaving, are you?" His laugh echoed throughout the room. My head snapped back and forth and my eyes darted from every crook to every nanny. Before my eyes, the room began to darken as if a black fog was rolling into the room. The voices, my friend's voices, melted into nothing and I was left alone in deafening silence.

The silence, however, did not last.

After what seemed like hours without sense, I heard a distinct, yet far away, hushed, sound. The sound was like a melodic call to all, to all who felt its cry.

The sound, I realized as it grew louder, drew closer, was a wolf.

His laughter outweighed the call of the wolf. Soon, in the peering darkness, I came face to face with those eyes. The once green acidic orbs, now blood red were wild with rage and overtaken by insanity. I saw so much in those terrifying eyes. I saw hate, lust, envy, insanity… murder.

The boy from my other visions returned. This time, he had a look of awed distraught. I could clearly see his face, the disbelief and pain were evident. He, I thought as I struggled to look closer, looked a man who had done the most terrible of things. He closely resembled the soldiers, my comrades, from the past. Guilt…that was the look. He had an overwhelming feel of sadness and guilt. Then, with trembling hands, the orange eyed boy lifted a cell phone to his ear. He talked quickly, so fast that I could only make out one word, "help".

Water.

Deep, dark water.

I was floating mindlessly, lost in its peaceful currents.

My lungs burned with an intensity that could only be compared to that of fire…

My heart's beat slowed, faltered…

My head swam with thoughts, promises, faces…

I fell farther and farther…

Until I couldn't feel anymore.

My mind silenced…

My body fell lax…

My heart gave one last thump…

Then it was only the rolling waves…

Just the waves…

The rhythmic melody lulled me to heaviest of all sleeps…

The battle had begun.

My beloved family fought alongside the greatest of beasts, the wolves of legend. I saw each of their battle torn faces, I heard their cries. My heart, even in this dream, tugged and tore at the thought of even one injured. I looked around, for surely, surely I would be fighting alongside them, protecting them from every unspeakable evil. Where was I?

In the chaos, I heard a cry and then, the shattering of bones.

Who was hurt?

Who wouldn't come home?

I felt the tears cascading down my face as I looked frantically around the battlefield.

Where was I!

Why wasn't I protecting them!

Why, God?

Why wasn't I there!

The faceless girl, again.

I saw her for but a second.

She, too, had tears running down her porcelain face. She had the air of a woman who had lived, who had loved, who had room, still, to grow…

She stood in the center of a meadow underneath a willow with a frown. A small breeze blew by; the winds tickled the wildflowers and billowed the bottom of her light-colored dress. Then, like the clouds parting after a storm, she smiled, a smile that believed that life was worth living for.

Then, a paradox.

Her lavender dress became crimson, soaked through with her own blood. Bruises of every color appeared and decorated her milky skin. At several points, her skin began to rip like fabric at a seam. Pain laced her every being as she was thrust into the terrors of reality. Yet, despite the atrocious occurrences that racked her body and make it tremble…her smile never broke, the fire of her spirit never extinguished, and her heart refused to give way.

By now the howl of the wolf had grown to enormous proportions. Its cry also changed; instead of pain, it rejoiced with freedom. I saw the bright silver of its fur; I heard the racing of its paws on mother earth's surfaces. I heard it's heart twitter and flutter like a hummingbird in the summer. Then, a bright flash of light. Warmth, love, affection, freedom… all embraced me alongside the light and I felt like I truly belonged. In the midst of the phenomena, I caught sight of a flash of movement. Time seemed to slow as I turned and caught sight. It was a songbird. A songbird flying free into the shadow of the sun.

I blinked and gasped.

I blinked again.

My eyes were met by two worrisome gold ones. "Jasper?" I whispered, my eyebrows furrowing, "When'd you get here?" I looked around in a daze. I was in the kitchen, but there were no werewolves, no humans, no vampires; just Jasper. I pointed lamely at the space where everyone had just been standing and gaped, struggling for words to describe the situation. "Houdini?" Ifrowned as I scratched my head in confusion. "What happened?" I whispered to my lover.

Jasper sighed with relief and leaned his icy forehead against the top of my skull. He answered calmly, "Alice and the dog created an alliance. They agreed to fight alongside us against the army. They're going to meet us tonight to learn how to fight them." I gaped. My vision… I thought of all the faces, the truly kind wolves I'd met at the bonfire. I'd grown quite fond of them, even if it'd been a short while. I liked Jacob, even if I acted as if I didn't; I loved Billy, hands down; I really liked the youngest member of the pack, Seth (he's adorable!); Quil, Embry, Paul, and Jared weren't bad either. The echoed cry of the broken wolf rang in my ears. My heart sunk. Who would it be?

"I'll help." It was a declaration. Jasper frowned, "Why? We have an even number now. You're not fighting." My eyebrow twitched. I took a deep breath, "The hell I'm not!" Jasper closed his eyes in irritation, "You bleed, Schuyler. The newborns, hell, maybe even I, will come after you. You may be willing to risk the chance, but I'm not."I frowned and puffed my cheeks in anger, "Then I guess I'm going to have to make sure that I don't get hit." I huffed and stalked off, "I've had my share of wars, thank-you. I appreciate the sentiment, but it's not needed." Jasper growled, "Stubborn woman." "Stubborn man," I retorted. He glared, if only slightly.