I. Tides of a Moment

The murder of Charles Evenson was not one Edward would regret. Even before he'd made the decision that he would no longer curb his natural appetite, his hatred for the man who had hurt the woman he called mother had never once abated. Instead, it grew with scorching intensity, his skin crawling with revulsion any time Esme spared a thought to that wretched man. Until it bubbled like poison under his skin, and something sinister clenched darkly in his chest.

Finding the monster was easier than Edward expected. He still lived in the home that had once housed Esme.

Now, it housed a different woman―one who was just as hurt and just as abused as his mother had once been.

He approached her first, where she was preparing dinner in the kitchen. Her belly was as swollen as her right eye.

Edward had to contain a snarl lest he frightened her. "Pardon me."

She startled badly, and Edward had to pull her aside before she could burn her hand.

"W-who are you?" she stammered. In her thoughts Edward saw that she was afraid. No one was supposed to see her until her bruises had shrunken enough to be concealed with powder.

"Leave," he ordered instead. "Go to a relative's for the night. Your husband will no longer be a problem."

"I-I can't―"

He cut her off. "Do you want to be implicated for this crime?"

In her mind, Edward saw a reflection of his black gaze, wrathful in its intensity.

Without another word, the woman turned and fled through the kitchen door.

Edward waited a long time after, until he could hear the woman knocking on the front door of a house a mile down.

Satisfied with knowing she would have an alibi for the night, Edward pivoted on his heel and flashed through the house, following the wet thumps of the monster's heartbeat. He found him in his study, already sluggish and reeking of alcohol.

Edward tore the door down at the hinges with a thunderous slam.

Charles scrambled to his feet, eyes wide with terror.

"Who the hell―"

But Edward was already curling his fingers around his throat, strangling the remainder of his words, and slamming his head through the glass table.

Fortunately, he was still conscious enough to be frightened.

"Do you remember Esme?" Edward snarled.

In the next second, depraved memories of moments in which he mistreated and molested her came to the forefront of his mind.

The hand around his throat tightened and cut his airways completely.

"You will never harm another woman, the way you harmed her."

Edward paused, allowing the fear to mount in Charles' blue face, before snapping his neck and tearing his throat open with his teeth.

Every muscle in his body burst with a kind of pleasure he had never known.

But it was over faster than he imagined, though every second was savored.

Charles' body dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. And in the broken glass surrounding his cooling corpse, Edward saw the gold of his eyes was now veiled in crimson.

For the first time in his life, the blood pooling in his stomach satisfied him to the fullest. But it paled in comparison to the sickening feeling now gushing in his veins. And for a moment, Edward imagined he wasn't much different from the monster that laid dead at his feet.

One, an abuser of the worst kind. The other, a murderer.

Then suddenly, the dreams and thoughts of the townspeople were drowned out by a clear inaudible voice behind him.

This is not the path meant for us.

And then, he was thrown into a different life. Images of him, but his eyes were as golden as the sun, and beside him stood a girl―she was small and petite, all slender legs and arms with spiking black hair and honeycomb eyes framed by long, dark lashes. She was all smiles and laughter. And when she stood beside him, he was joy and gladness and everything in between. More than that―there was love. One Edward had never known.

Who is she?

Alice, she answered.

But before he could turn to her, he was thrown into a different life. One where his eyes remained red and he hunted predators, the lowest scum society had to offer; those barely considered human. But in this life, he was alone and tormented, every death taking a piece of his innocence with it.

Won't you choose us?

Finally released from the grasp of her clairvoyance, Edward turned around, and found her―an exact replica of her in her visions.

"Alice." His tongue wrapped around her name, uncertain of its form. It was frustrating. Already, she knew him, and he was still left reeling.

But there was a corpse between them.

Shame burned across his face.

Alice stepped around it and stood before him, head tilted back to meet his eyes.

"Edward." Her voice was a high soprano, a song that caressed his ears.

She was the most exquisite creature Edward had ever had the pleasure of seeing and everything he knew about how to form words, fell out of his head.

Alice grinned.

Before he could think about what he was doing, he lifted his hand, fingers curling into the soft hair spiking behind her ear, palm pressed against her cheek.

And then he was thrown into another vision. One in which he held Alice close, and their lips touched.

For a heart-stopping moment, he meant to kiss her. Her honeycomb eyes were blown wide and she stood on the tips of her toes. He leaned forward, until he quite suddenly remembered the corpse rotting at their feet.

"Perhaps this isn't the place," he finally answered her impatient thoughts.

And then her small hand was wrapped around his wrist, pulling him. And like a magnet, Edward could do nothing but chase after her, wrist still caught in her grasp.

They ran far into the surrounding forests, until the only voices Edward could hear was her's and his alone.

Is this better? Her eyes glittered with mirth.

A wave of affection surged through him.

But this time, he wasn't as confident to fulfill her wishes. He had only known her for a few minutes after all.

As though she were the mind reader, Alice grinned and moved to his side, until she was thrillingly close. Everything in him thrummed with delight as she slid her hand down his wrist and entwined her fingers with his. Then, she leaned up to whisper in his ear, "I've already loved you for many years. You will too."

The words were like a shock through Edward's system. An explosion of rapture through his bones. And he was so blindingly happy, that he couldn't even remember his earlier strife. Could hardly recall the red of his eyes or the blood staining his shirt.

In the middle of the night, the world suddenly became ablaze. The forest around them was bright and sung with life. The moon was round and resplendent with a smear of shimmering stars at its back. Edward could barely contain the grin that curved at his lips.

"Alice, may I kiss you?"

"You may."

Her petite body melted against his as their lips met. They moved slowly first, before growing with intensity, and Edward's body burned with desires he'd never in his life experienced before.

And for a delirious moment, he wasn't sure he would stop. Until Alice's pleasure turned into a series of visions where they did much more than kiss. And if Edward kissed her for much longer, he knew he'd do something foolish.

He pulled back and she pouted.

But then she asked, "Are you ready to return home?"

For a brief moment, shame gripped him with its sharp claws, before he remembered the two paths Alice had seen. Only in one of them, did Carlisle and Esme remain his father and mother.

"I am."

A/N: Edward and Alice don't get a meet-cute. They get murder instead. Typical.

Anyways…I've always had a soft spot for Edward/Alice, considering they're best friends. I haven't found much written for them, hence this one-shot!

Thanks for reading! :)