Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Please, please read and review if you can spare a moment. They make my day.
Author's note: I'd like to clarify something a few people mentioned in the reviews. This is NOT a Bella/Rosalie/Emmett fic. There will be Bella/Rosalie, and there will probably be some mild Emmett/Rosalie since their relationship is so integral to this story. I hope this is clear now.
Bella sighed in relief when the last bell rang and she could finally flee. In the last couple of hours her tolerance for pain had reached new heights. She could feel Emmett and Rosalie staring at her all through their classes together, and could only pray that her stiff, focused demeanor hadn't made them suspicious.
Though her head was practically vibrating with the power coursing through her body, Bella was still able to reflect on what had happened earlier. She knew she was incredibly lucky. Bella was quite familiar with her body and the way it reacted...if what she felt had occurred just a few months ago, everyone in the cafeteria would be dead. In the past, when she'd come this close to disaster she'd take it as a cue to leave town. But this was the second time in as many days that she had this reaction and was able to contain it. Did that mean she'd finally found a way to live with it? Or was there some unforeseen consequence to keeping that power locked in?
God, what if she hurt someone again? She had worked so hard to keep her distance from people for the express purpose of never, ever repeating the accident that killed her mother. What if in the last couple of years, she had just been lulled into a false sense of security? What if she wasn't as strong as she thought she was?
She glanced at Rosalie and Emmett who were walking beside her out of the classroom. What if she hurt them? Or Alice or Jasper or Carlisle or Esme? Esme...Esme had become so much more to her than her friends' mother. Bella was not a fool-she knew what her behavior and her feelings for the woman meant... that she now very much considered her a surrogate parent. She doubted Esme felt the same way, but her treatment of Bella while she was practically living with them last week suggested she at the very least felt a sympathy and compassion toward the younger girl. A week ago, Bella was so starved for any kind of emotional connection that she had latched onto Esme with everything she had.
She blinked back a tear as the thought of hurting Esme, hurting any of the Cullens...
"Bella Bear, are you ok?" Emmett was asking quietly.
Bella nodded, not trusting her own voice at the moment. The pain she felt in her heart was in many ways more powerful and debilitating than the burning all over her body. She had to stay away from the Cullens. Every second she spent with them, she was putting them in grave danger. They had shown her love, compassion, friendship. They had filled the shell that Bella used to be with something that resembled a human being. The best way to repay them now was to leave them in peace before she made a fatal mistake.
"Hey," Rosalie's soft voice reached her, and Bella felt herself be maneuvered so she was looking directly into her eyes. "What's going on, Bella?"
Even as she repeated the words to herself, she knew she couldn't leave. One look in Rosalie's eyes and Bella could feel her resolve crumbling into dust. Bella could endure the pain her power forced on her. She could endure a thousand times the pain she felt in the cafeteria. But she didn't have the strength to leave these people...not if she wanted to hold on to the last shreds of her humanity.
"Yeah," Bella said to Rosalie. "I'm-I'll be ok. First day jitters that's all."
Bella smiled lightly. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she said to both of them.
"We can give you a ride if you'd like, Bells," said Emmett. "Your bike will fit in my car, no problem."
"No! No, that's ok," Bella said quickly. She would rather none of them see her pitiful accommodations. "I need to get groceries and a few other things for my room. I'd be holding you up."
"It's no trouble," insisted Emmett. "Besides you won't be able to carry much on that bike."
"Really, I'm ok," Bella silently begged him to get the hint. Rosalie, thankfully, seemed to sense her panic. She put a hand on Emmett's arm and gave him a meaningful look. Bella sent her a grateful smile and, after saying a hurried goodbye, pedaled herself away.
"Don't take it personally, love," Rosalie said. "I don't think she wants us to see where she lives."
"Huh?" Asked Emmet. "Why not?"
Rosalie sighed. She would rather let Bella explain in her own time, but she couldn't lie to Emmett.
"Come on," she said, leading him to the jeep. "We'll talk on the way."
They waved to their siblings to meet them at home. After they'd driven a mile or so away from the school, Rosalie turned to her husband.
"I spent most of yesterday in the woods by Chief Swan's house," she said, cringing a little at his amused expression. "Her father's making her live in the garden shed."
"WHAT?!" He shouted, veering the car close to the yellow line.
"Yeah," she said sadly. "That was pretty much my reaction too."
"I'm gonna kill him," Emmett growled.
"I'll help you," she mumbled. They weren't serious, of course. The both knew that. "But let's find out what his deal is first. Bella has to want to tell us."
They were both quiet for a few minutes as they sped.
"I'm glad you've decided to give her a chance," Emmett said quietly.
Rosalie didn't respond right away. After a few moments of silence she looked out the window and said, "you know why I..."
Emmett reached over the console and held her hand. "I know. Hey," he said, when she continued to frown out the window. "I love you. And I'll say it everyday if I have to...I'll support you no matter what happens. I know you think I'm crazy, Rose, but this girl..., she's different. She's worth it."
Rosalie didn't respond, though she did give Emmett's hand a squeeze. Her heart swelled with love for her husband. She couldn't have found a better man than him.
"A penny for your thoughts, dearest," Alice said playfully.
Jasper looked at his wife. She was in the passenger's seat of his car, radiant as ever.
"It's Bella," he said, slowly. "Did you...did you notice anything off about her after lunch today?"
"Hmm," she said. "I'm not sure. Off in what way? She can run faster than any human I've seen. The gym teacher was begging her to join track." She smiled at the memory of the man's incredulous face as Bella kept refusing his offers.
"That's not what I mean," said Jasper.
"Then what exactly do you mean?" asked Alice impatiently. He still hadn't decided to say anything so she couldn't see what he was talking about.
Jasper chuckled at his wife's impatience. Then he was serious again. "I can't make sense of her emotions. After she left the cafeteria, it felt like Bella was in terrible pain."
"What? Why?" Alice asked, concerned.
"I don't know," said Jasper, frustrated. "Nothing actually happened, physically. But this was much too intense to be just emotional. No, she was in real, physical pain. And it hurt like hell." Jasper winced remembering how he had to excuse himself from class to go outside. He had to put some distance between himself and Bella, it was that bad.
"And when I joined you in the hall after your class together," he continued, "it was still there, only her face betrayed nothing. You'd never know by looking at her that anything was wrong. But Alice, I swear, something was very, very wrong today."
Alice frowned, deep in thought.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Jasper asked as he grinned wryly.
"She's very difficult to see," she said quietly.
"What?" Jasper exclaimed. This was new.
"It's not impossible," she said, "but it's like I have to fight through this really thick fog to get to her. I can get through, but it gives me a terrible headache."
Jasper stared at Alice.
"No," she said, having seen him ask the question on his mind. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. As far as I know, nobody else in the world can block me like that. It's maddening..."
"I wonder if she can block Edward, too..." Jasper mused, wishing for the thousandth time he could acquire that particular ability. Edward was still in Denali, and still pissed off at his family. Any other coven, and Jasper would've been worried Edward would go to the Volturi to rat them out. But one of the benefits of their vegetarian lifestyle was the ability to form familial bonds, and so Jasper didn't really worry about something like that happening. But he sure was angry enough, Jasper thought darkly. He sighed. Tonight was his turn to deliver Bella's scent to his brother. He really wasn't looking forward to a night of Edward's melodrama, but it had to be done. He decided right then and there not to reveal what he'd felt from Bella. No need to fuel the drama.
Alice nodded next to him. "It'll work. He won't hear anything," she said.
They drove in companionable silence once again.
"Hey!" Alice exclaimed, nearly startling him. "We're almost out of clothes," referring to the ones with Bella's scent. "We'll have to get her to try some more! I've got to find a way to get her to take some..."
Jasper chuckled. Poor Bella.
Author's note: Ok, so I've taken a few liberties with Alice's visions. But this Bella is different from Twilight Bella. The gifts she possesses, the experiences she's had have made her a completely different person. If it's possible to block Edward's gift, there's no reason why it can't be possible to block, or, in this case, significantly hamper Alice's.