Chapter Nineteen: An Artist's Rendering of a Bowl of Fruit

Forks High School - January 31st

Isabella hurried to her next class, not really paying attention to the looks she was getting from anyone who witnessed her actions in the cafeteria. This was the only class she was actually looking forward to attending; Art.

She entered the classroom and handed the art teacher her tablet. He was an older man with a gray beard stubble and a weathered but very kind face. He gave her a pleasant smile, and then gestured for her to take a seat.

Isabella sighed as she moved toward the back of the room coming face to face with the one Cullen she didn't want to see or speak with, yet everything seemed to be pushing the diminutive vampire back into her life.

"Alice." Isabella said darkly as she took her seat, keeping her attention focused on the bowl of fruit in the center of the room. It was the first time she had openly acknowledged one of the Cullens, and she did it almost automatically for reasons she couldn't explain. She sat in confusion, staring at the fruit but thinking about the person next to her.

Alice looked as good as always. She wore a dark blue vest over a white button up silk blouse, to go along with a pair of low waisted tight black jeans. Her dark hair was no longer styled, hanging loosely around her shoulders. Isabella was momentarily lost in the acute, albeit mixed, emotions she felt about Alice. Of all the Cullens, Alice was the one whose absence could still make her wince with a sense of loss.

It was another life, and while it may have even been a better life, it was gone forever. Isabella took a deep calming breath, taking in the familiar scent of Alice, and felt her mind race as hints of cinnamon and lilacs washed over her. When Isabella was human, she had never gotten up the courage to ask her whether it was a perfume or something else. Afraid of admitting she longed to be close to Alice most of the time all those years ago. Now she felt a pang of that remembered longing, a ghost of the feelings she once had. But she ignored it, as she stared at the shine of the apple perched precariously on the edge of the blue plastic bowl.

Alice hadn't looked up, even when Isabella said her name. Until finally she took a deep breath, letting in the scents she had so longed to experience again. Isabella had changed, it was evident in her voice and her scent. The change wasn't just because she had become a vampire, there was something else, something elusive and dark about this woman now sitting next to her. Yet when she looked over at her, she found Isabella's eyes were still mostly the same, despite their color. She could see that same expressiveness in her features and the beautiful inquisitive gaze she always had as she took in the world. Yet it wasn't all the same, as Alice peered deeper into those false brown eyes with hints of bright red. Hate and pain could be seen in the crinkle of those eyes and the curve of the brow, but mostly it was clear that Isabella's innocence was gone. It made Alice's heart ache, because she was sure that was at least partially her fault.

"I have no patience for lies or games. Eliza may have been okay without the full story, but I am not." Isabella's voice cemented Alice's analysis of her eyes, it was cold and dark and full of anger just below the surface. Alice nodded at once, not wanting to stir up anything.

"Of course. I just needed to confirm it first. Edward left school this afternoon in a huff, so we have some privacy. Which means I'm free to tell you everything." Alice hoped her tone conveyed the desperation she felt. Isabella had to believe her, she didn't have any other option or plans. Isabella was it, her last chance for a life. But she would never let Isabella know that she held Alice's future completely in her hands, it was far too much to put on her. Especially when Alice had no idea if Isabella could ever reciprocate her feelings.

"Let's start with what you were so upset about, what is the lie?" There was a harshness to Isabella's voice that almost physically hurt Alice. There was no trust in her voice at all.

"When Edward went out that day to talk to you, it was under the promise that he would offer you a place in the family. We wanted you to come with us. He took it upon himself to not give you that option." Alice said with a stilted tone of voice. Isabella blinked at her, not believing what she was hearing, but Alice continued without looking at Isabella's reaction. "When he told us you chose your human life over joining us, a part of me didn't believe it. But I couldn't bear saying goodbye, neither could Esme. So we left, trusting in him. Which is something I'll regret for the rest of my existence."

The teacher got up once the class had all arrived, and began to hand out paper sketchbooks and smart-pencils to the entire class. Both Alice and Isabella took one mechanically, their eyes plastered on each other. Isabella broke eye contact first and looked down to focus on her sketch pad. She fiddled with the smart-pencil until she found the right setting, and then started with the red curve of the apple. Alice followed suit, beginning with the bowl instead, having watched Esme paint countless paintings over the years but never really getting into art outside of fashion sketches.

Soon there began some low murmurs around the class as people began talking quietly and started their attempts to reproduce the display. Some were gossipping about the fight during lunch, some about private matters both of them ignored. The teacher obviously didn't object to the conversations and went to work on his own sketches at his desk. Isabella tried to focus on the fruit in front of her, and began to sketch the line of the orange behind the apple. She couldn't really process what she had just heard. Her morning had been an emotional rollercoaster, and she wasn't about to have another breakdown even though she was close, her anger rising to a feverish pitch.

"I don't believe you." Isabella finally managed to say, her voice trembling.

"It doesn't matter, you're here." Alice's quiet reverence and obvious joy drew Isabella's attention and she realized that Alice was now looking at her again.

"It doesn't matter? Bullshit!" Isabella raised her voice, and the rest of the room including the teacher looked over at them.

"Sorry." Alice said, wincing.

The teacher sighed slightly, got up and handed both of them hall passes. "Please take it outside ladies." They looked up at him in confusion at first, but Alice quickly nodded with a thankful smile. She stood immediately and headed for the nearest entrance, Isabella took a few deep breaths and followed. Isabella expected her to go somewhere like the place Alice took Eliza, but instead she kept going until they reached a familiar clearing. Isabella looked around in confusion, until she placed where they were.

"I have no interest in baseball." Isabella frowned, hiding a tremble in her voice as a flash of Victoria's face filled her mind for a fraction of a second, almost bringing her to her knees.

"This isn't the first place I screwed up. I should've seen them coming. But there was another vision I never told you about." Alice explained, turning to face Isabella.

"I don't care. Why bring me out here Alice? Why shouldn't I just leave, or tear you apart like you tore me apart?" Isabella didn't want to hear anything else. It was bad enough to be dragged all the way out to a place she would rather forget, now she had to listen to Alice rattle on about ancient history.

"I don't have a good answer, I just needed to get away from that school. Do you remember that first day?" Alice was tentative, not wanting to press too hard on Isabella's temper.

"Hard to forget, but that hardly matters. I'm not that girl anymore." Isabella's response came out as someone hurt both physically and emotionally, rather than hateful or angry.

"I know, god I know. You suffered, and I only have the vaguest idea how much. I know it changed you, ripped away the person you used to be. But please understand, I have no desire to hold on to who you used to be. I want to know who you are now." Alice wanted to go to her, let her know that she would accept her no matter what, but she could see the mistrust in Isabella's eyes.

"No you don't. I'm barely functional." Isabella gave Alice a desperate and dangerous look, trying to convey the monster she had become. Yet she felt raw, like Alice had opened something inside of her that was now bleeding after being scabbed over for decades.

"You're together enough to be a mother." Alice countered, and Isabella took a shaky breath and nodded.

"Eliza is the only thing that I have left that is remotely human. She means everything to me. She patched my soul up, but it's a fragile thing. My darkness seeps out all the time, even at her. So when I say I'm not functional I mean that beyond violence, the only thing I feel is for Eliza. There is nothing left for anything else." Isabella wanted to run, especially if this conversation went the way she was starting to feel it was going.

"Eliza's wonderful, you must be so proud of her. I'm awed by how you were able to be a mother to her. If I knew nothing else about you, that would be enough to convince me that you were more than darkness and hate. Yet you're here, with me right now. Which means you still have that innate curiosity and perhaps a glimmer of hope buried deep inside of you."

"What the hell Alice, I'm here for an explanation. Not to have you tell me who I am. I already know who I am. I'm nothing. I'm a broken monster who knows only violence and death. I'm infected with that darkness, and I have to fight everyday to keep myself in check so that I don't lose my daughter." Isabella felt her tear ducts sting, but she couldn't show her tears. Alice didn't deserve to know about her secrets yet. Alice looked like she was punched in the gut, and almost held out a hand towards Isabella, she swallowed hard before replying.

"You are far from nothing, you're everything. If you don't believe me, at least try to accept that you have been a good mother to Eliza. The love she has shown for you in our short interaction convinced me that you could never lose her." Alice couldn't tell if her sobs could be heard in her voice, but she wished her body could produce something as simple as tears. Isabella almost lost her composure, even hearing the words come from a Cullen made her feel as though she wasn't completely worthless.

Alice took a moment before she could continue, "as for an explanation, it's simple; I left because I had no choice. They were leaving, and I was given an ultimatum that I could not fight against. I promise, if you let me, I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

"Even if what you say is true, you picked them over me. You didn't even have the courtesy of saying goodbye. Why should I even pretend to accept what you're saying as the truth?" Isabella pushed back, feeling like she was fraying at the edges. Nothing made sense anymore, Alice was clearly broken, and desperate for her approval and acceptance.

"I wish I could take it back, I kick myself daily for ever trusting Edward with something so important. I stepped aside so that he could be your person, I let him be your mate. I should never have given him the option." She was shaking so hard with emotions she could barely speak, it made getting everything out nearly impossible.

"Wasn't that my choice?" Isabella said feeling defiant, needing to push back for her own sanity.

"Yes, but I suspect he used every one of his advantages to tempt you." Alice countered, knowing how manipulative Edward could be on occasion. He had never let the family see it, or at least he never showed that he was using his vampire traits to lure her in, but Alice was sure now that he had done just that. Isabella's infatuation with Edward happened so quickly, almost as though he had cast a love spell on her.

"So you're saying I didn't have agency over my own choices. That I was just a lovesick idiot?" Isabella looked almost disgusted, but internally she wasn't so sure. Six months after he left, Isabella had started to wonder why she loved Edward so deeply, to the point that it felt like a dream. She held onto that dream until Victoria ripped it away from her, but she had never been sure if her feelings were real or just a fantastic illusion.

"I have no proof, but he could've used our allurements on you. At the time I would've said that was impossible, but now I can't be sure. What I mean is that I stepped back when I should've been strong. I gave up when I should've fought. I left when I should have stayed. It was all my fault." Alice closed her eyes for a moment, and then looked up into the gray sky. Her vision was just able to pierce through the cloud cover to see the blue beyond.

"So why didn't you check on me afterwards?" Isabella was at her end, but she had to know everything.

"I did, for a time. I saw you working on bikes with Jacob and your aborted jump off that cliff when Harry Clearwater died. But I felt like a voyeur, and I couldn't in good conscience keep watching you from afar. It was unfair to you, and an invasion of your privacy. After a few months I checked again, and things were blank. I assumed it had to do with your proximity to the wolves… or you were dead. I couldn't stand it so I just shut down. It was cowardly." Alice braced herself for a big response but Isabella just shook her head.

"It wasn't the wolves. Victoria had me by then, and you would've been checking for a very long time. My world was dark for almost a decade." Isabella's explanation made Alice start to shake with emotion again, so she hugged her arms around her chest to keep from falling apart. Dark… for a decade. Did Victoria bury her alive? The thought drove a hot dagger of pain down Alice's back as she began to grasp what had been done to Isabella.

"I don't…" Alice started, as her legs gave out from under her and she collapsed to her knees. All the strength she had remaining was gone. "What did she do… please tell me you weren't in a hole for a decade. I can't… please… no."

"That was a very long time ago." Isabella tried to cut off her train of thinking, but Alice was too smart and clearly cared too much. Isabella couldn't figure it out, a lie was one thing… but what was the ultimatum. Yet before she could ask Alice lost it and started to respond.

"I'm losing my mind over here, to know that you were hurt and buried alive because my selfish brother decided that I couldn't stay with you! We should've torn that bitch apart when we had the chance. That first moment I knew they were trouble. But Carlisle wouldn't have it. I could see the anger and recriminations over killing them outright. So I let things play out, keeping my mouth shut because I knew we could keep you safe. I never thought…" Alice wasn't even really talking to Isabella anymore, her fractured sense of self coming through entirely. Grieving for a century had warped her already troubled mind, and her sanity was tenuous at best. The family tried to ignore it most of the time, but occasionally she let loose.

"Enough!" Isabella shouted, no longer able to hold back. The woods nearby screamed along with her cry startling Alice back to reality. "I still don't get why you didn't go against Edward in the first place?"

Alice froze, terrified of what was happening around her. Then in a voice that was barely above a whisper, "he threatened to kill you."

"He did what?!" The reverberation echoing from the darkness grew louder and more distorted. Isabella's rage made manifest as spiky tendrils of shadow began to dance along the tree line.

"I had just put my foot down, refusing to go. Then his exact words were; 'You do that, and I'll end her life. She is my responsibility, my mate. You have no right to make that choice.' You can imagine how I responded, I called him sanctimonious and a coward, Esme called it barbaric. His rebuttal I'll never forget, 'If I have to choose between her life and her soul, I'll gladly take the burden of preserving her soul.' We argued for hours after that. I couldn't believe him to be serious, but he stood his ground. Eventually Carlisle put it to a vote, Emmett sided with Jasper and Edward because of the threat. Rosalie, Esme and I kept firm but were out voted. Carlisle broke the tie, but made it very clear Edward had to give you the choice." Alice finished rambling, and found Isabella staring at her, her expression unreadable.

"You tell me you never wanted to leave, you tell me that you had no choice. That doesn't make it any better. You still left me alone, afraid and vulnerable. Jacob and the rest of the pack did their best, but they didn't know about Victoria or how to move around her tricks. They didn't have Edward's telepathy or your visions to protect me. What do you want me to do? Push all the blame on him?" Isabella asked incredulously, goading Alice to make that play.

"That would make it easier. He's a convenient excuse for my actions. But that isn't entirely why I left. In truth, I was terrified." Alice admitted, feeling ashamed and angry about her inability to just say the words.

"Of Victoria?" Isabella shook her head, not really understanding what Alice was trying to say.

Alice shook her head, her eyes lowered, unable to meet Isabella's intense gaze. Finally she said softly, "of you."

Isabella clenched her jaw and turned her head to look away as she asked through gritted teeth. "Another riddle? Can you at least answer one thing honestly?" Alice nodded quickly, looking up at Isabella and meeting her eyes. "Did you agree with his reasoning for leaving?"

Alice immediately shook her head. "No. I could understand his point of view, even though I didn't agree with it, he said he was concerned that you could be hurt, and were missing out on a normal human life. I just could never figure out why he refused to turn you."

Isabella pursed her lips, "and the part about me not being good enough?"

"What do you mean, not good enough?" Alice's brow furrowed and she was clearly upset by the idea.

"I mean the part where Edward told me I wasn't good enough for him. I wasn't good for your family." Her voice was cold again, reverting back to the easy emotions. Distrust, hate and anger.

"He… I'm… I can't do this… oh god. What a miserable, loathsome piece of shit!" Alice uttered an inarticulate cry of rage and slammed her fist into a nearby tree, splinters flying everywhere. Alice didn't pause as she pulled back her fist and slammed the other one into the same tree knocking it over with a loud crash. Afterward she stood there, her fist fallen to her side staring at the destruction she had just caused. Her shoulders shaking in anger, she exhaled in a long hiss. Then she slowly turned to look at Isabella. Her voice was still furious. "When he came back he said that you couldn't abandon your father or mother for us. It hurt, but we understood. Then he went on to say that you were very upset, that you never wanted to see him or us again because we were leaving."

Isabella blinked in surprise, then her eyes narrowed. "I begged him to stay, and offered him anything. I even tried to figure out what I would say to Charlie, but he was adamant that I couldn't come with him or the rest of you because I wasn't wanted."

"That means he betrayed us utterly and completely. We've been mourning you for a century. Esme has painted your portrait a dozen times just to be close to you. Carlisle lost all his passion for healing. Rosalie only does repairs on cars because she doesn't have the heart to do anything else. Even Emmett and Jasper haven't been the same. Edward tore us apart with his choice, and we only let him because he was your mate."

Isabella tried to ignore most of what Alice was saying, because it was too hard to hear anything else so she focused on one thing… the truth about Edward's attraction for her. "I spent a long time figuring this one out, but I was never his mate."

Alice nodded, "I know you two never actually…"

Isabella quickly shook her head, "No, that's not what I mean. I mean I was never his true mate. I was merely 'il suo cantante', his singer."

"I… of course." Alice said under her breath. Isabella continued as if she didn't hear her.

"Aro explained it to me once. I was only a temptation to Edward, a challenge for his willpower. A test of his humanity. That is really the only thing I can say was impressive about him. But he never loved me, he loved the idea of me. He craved my scent and desperately wanted my blood but was enraptured with the proof that he wasn't a soulless monster because he fought against that temptation." Isabella kept her expression flat and emotionless, then she smiled a humorless smile, and turned her head to regard Alice out of the corner of her eyes. "Actually, you were a singer at one point too. Do you remember when James confessed to me that my blood smelled good, but not as good as yours?"

Alice nodded slowly, finally understanding the context for the filmed confession James had filmed before they showed up. It was such a random, off-handed comment that none of the family paid it any mind.

"That's why he was so upset when the other vampire turned you. His hunt was ended before he could have his satisfaction, he never had a chance to taste your blood. According to Aro, when someone's blood sings to a vampire, there's nothing like the taste of it. It's like all the best drugs in the world rolled into one and multiplied by about a thousand. It's almost unheard of for a singer to survive." Isabella shrugged as she finished her explanation. Alice couldn't think of a response, she was still reeling over the idea that her time at that asylum was punctuated by a sadistic vampire hunting her.

"I suspect it's the real reason that Edward wouldn't turn me. Somewhere deep inside, maybe not even consciously, he knew I wasn't his mate. Everything that attracted him to me in the first place was in my blood and scent. If I had been turned into a vampire it would be gone. Not to mention if he killed me the family would never have forgiven him. Especially you and Esme. But god forbid he disappoint Carlisle and lose his 'golden boy' persona." Isabella's voice was full of mocking and sarcasm. Alice was lost in her mind, trying to take everything in, and when she didn't respond Isabella shrugged and started to turn away.

"Please don't go. I should've been stronger. But I am now, I will never turn away again. I will never abandon you again." Alice's plea made Isabella stop in place.

"Why?" Isabella asked without turning around. "I'm no longer that timid little girl who lets others make her choices for her. Tell me Alice, why did you run if it wasn't just his ultimatum, why were you afraid of me?"

"That first day I saw you I had a vision. It was some distant future, we had actually left Earth believe it or not, and you were a vampire like me. We were together, utterly in love. Perfect mates. We even had an adopted daughter, and we were happy." Alice's voice was soft and tender, the fuzzy memory of that dead vision still gave her immeasurable joy. She wished she could turn back the clock and take a hold of that future. But she knew it was gone forever.

Alice took a deep breath before continuing, "Edward shattered that vision, the instant he set his sights on you. But you see, I was already in love with you before we even met. Then, over time that love grew so much stronger. Jasper knew it, it's why he attacked you that day. Your blood just sent him over the edge. So, when I say I don't care how much you've changed I mean it. Because you have gone through so much, raised a wonderful woman and have the strength to face your past. It proves you were exactly the person I always thought you were. I don't give a flying fuck if you're dark, or if you have entire volumes of psychological issues. You are still Isabella!" Alice found her strength as she finished, standing and moving around Isabella so that they were facing each other. Her voice was powerful and confident for the first time in nearly a century as she declared herself. She knew this was it, the last chance she would ever have, and she wasn't about to waste it.

"You love me." Isabella stepped back, her eyes stinging with tears again. Alice had finally said the words Isabella would've given anything to hear a century earlier. Deep inside all she wanted to do was rush over and take Alice into her arms and confess that she had always felt the same, but there was nothing left. The love she once felt was nothing but a distant vague impression left along the tattered edges of her heart. Alice took a step forward, but Isabella shook her head in warning.

Alice blew out a deep breath, "yes I love you, always." Alice met Isabella's eyes unflinchingly, her temporary break in sanity healed for the time being. Isabella stared at her for several seconds without responding.

"I need time." She finally said without breaking eye contact with Alice.

"There is no amount of time that would make me stop waiting for you. I would still be here as the sun envelops this planet." Alice knew it was an overblown and romantic idea, but in a way she had been waiting for a century already. What was another day, week, decade or century.

"Tell the teacher I had to go home." Isabella said without any intonation.

"I will." Alice said with a nod, she was emotionally drained, and couldn't think of anything else to say. Isabella nodded and was gone without another word or glance backwards. Alice took off towards the school, ordering her thoughts before Edward was able to read them in case he had returned to the school. She made it to the class with ten minutes to spare. The teacher gave her a disappointed look, she mumbled something about Isabella needing to go home before sitting down and starting her sketch without really looking. As the bell sounded she looked down and found she had drawn Isabella's face instead.

Parking Lot, Forks High School, January 31st

Eliza made it out of school, worried about Isabella because she had run off in the middle of the day without a word. Her mother had kept her side of their connection closed during her conversation with Alice, and hadn't shared the memories, so Eliza had no idea what was going on. Then to add insult to injury, she discovered Edward waiting by the bikes as she made it outside. It was clear from his expression that Edward wanted to talk, but not to her.

Eliza just rolled her eyes and began to put on her gloves, "what do you want Edward?"

He frowned slightly and glanced at Eliza who hadn't bothered to hide her scowl at him as she straddled her motorcycle. "I was hoping I could talk to Isabella privately."

"I don't know where she is, so if you can find her, good luck." Eliza put on her helmet and started the engine, revving it a few times to show she had no interest in continuing the conversation. He stepped back frowning and she took off, heading towards home and actively pinging her mom to make sure she was alright. When she was halfway there Isabella finally responded.

"I'll be alright, I had a difficult conversation with Alice and I need time to think, I also have to pick up my bike from school. I'll see you later." Then Isabella shut her side off again, leaving Eliza frustrated. She continued home and took her time pulling into the garage and setting her gloves and helmet on the work table by the house door. She wandered the lower rooms until she encountered Henry.

"Where's Isabella?" Henry ventured cautiously, he was sitting in the dining room with a cup of tea, reading one of the national news sites on his tablet, his eyebrow raised.

"She's off again, and I don't know how she's doing or where she is exactly." Eliza frowned, "It was a rough morning and an even tougher afternoon. She encountered Edward who was a twat, then Rosalie gave her awful news, followed by a confrontation with some bullies at lunch and finally some kind of massive emotional conversation with Alice. She shrugged off most of it, but shut down after talking to Alice."

"Sounds like a busy day, did she actually attend classes too?" Henry asked, his overt curiosity covering for information gathering. He needed to know what to expect if the school called.

"Some, although she skipped most of her afternoon classes." Eliza frowned, and picked up the mail by the door. Mostly catalogs forwarded from Italy, and a letter addressed to Isabella from Marcus.

"I'll be getting a call then, did she give an excuse at least?" Henry sighed, the whole school thing had been a small nightmare, but he respected Eliza's desire to go through the experience. He didn't know why Isabella was bothering to go with her, it did not suit her personality in any way that he could see.

"I don't know. Probably not." Eliza said off hand, setting the letter down on top so her mom would notice it.

"I'll come up with something… and here's the call." Henry frowned and pressed on a black circle below his left earlobe. "This is Henry. Yes, I'm aware. I can get an excuse over to you this afternoon. Understood, thank you Miss Cope."

"She'll be back, this has been all too much too soon. I have a feeling we might have labored under the wrong impression about the Cullens. I don't know exactly what happened, but I'm getting the feeling that maybe there was more going on. Whatever happened, it has to be a lot for her to take in after a century of believing one thing. Not to mention the news about my grandmother and Isabella's high school friends all being… killed." Eliza had sat at the table opposite from Henry, and after explaining the situation took a moment to marvel at the finish, there were no blood stains on the wood and not even a hint of it that she could detect. She was about to remark when she heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Who was killed?" Leah asked as she bounded down the last few steps, her expression suddenly worried.

"Long time ago, I'll tell you later." Eliza said, taking a long slow breath before nodding at Henry and walking over to Leah. "How's your brother doing?"

Leah looked grim, "Seth is doing much better, but we lost Paul."

"What?!" Eliza exclaimed, her face stricken.

"Paul managed to sleepwalk into the adjoining bathroom and ended up sprawled out in the tub." Leah cracked a smile. "It was tense for a minute while we searched for him."

"Don't do that to me again." Eliza managed to hold back her laugh and looked upset for all of twenty seconds. Just long enough to make Leah's face twist with worry that she had pushed the joke too far. Eliza's face was cast down, and she looked deeply hurt before she let out a burst of laughter and crossed the room to pounce on Leah. The two of them wrestled playfully for several seconds, which quickly descended into them rolling on the floor laughing hysterically.

"Isabella is one excuse away from being suspended, in her first week of school." Henry said with a frown, the last thing he had ever expected to do was pretend to be a father to two vampires who were more than twice his age. Eliza let out a deep exaggerated sigh and pulled away from Leah who sat back with a big grin. Eliza rolled her eyes at Henry.

"Well, you wanted to be here. Acting as our father is the cost, seems fair to me." Eliza said playfully, and stood up only to immediately collapse onto the couch. Leah got up and joined her, letting herself fall just close enough to not be intrusive but could feel Eliza's physical presence near her.

"Yeah, she was never great about attendance from what I remember." Leah added, her own memories of Isabella were distant and fuzzy, but through the wolf link she was made aware of all the habits and idiosyncrasies of Isabella's personality from Jake's watchful eye.

"She didn't really care about school when she realized she would have to go again and again, now I can't imagine she'll actually finish out the year." Eliza said with a heavy sigh, in truth she wasn't entirely sure Isabella would go back to school at all.

"So why the charade?" Henry asked with genuine curiosity.

"Originally I thought it would do her good to interact with people, now… maybe it was the wrong choice." Eliza sighed again, but this time she managed a sad smile.

"Well if you wish to withdraw from school, I took the liberty of drawing up a second set of papers so that you would both be legal adults." Henry gave her a look that told her she needed to answer.

"Good to know, but not yet. Let's see how she feels when she gets home." Eliza gave him a nod and he went back to the dining room to read his tablet. She immediately turned to Leah. "So, in all seriousness, how are they doing?"

"They're fine, Seth's watching anime in his room, and Rachel's asleep with Paul." Leah replied, stretching and resting her arm along the back, wishing she could wrap it around Eliza's shoulders. "They're still in quite a bit of pain. Carlisle dropped by this morning to give them some morphine. They burn through it so fast it doesn't do much good, but he said that the worst of it is over, and the pain should be subsiding over the next couple of days."

"So, what do you want to do tonight?" Eliza glanced over at Leah who shrugged.

"I don't know, what do vampires do in their spare time?" Leah kind of shrugged, she didn't have any ideas.

"Head into Seattle, kill a few homeless guys, rob a bank or three. Maybe go dancing." Eliza quipped, and Leah's nose immediately scrunched up in disgust. Leah knew it was a joke, but she was partially worried Eliza was serious. They didn't know each other that well yet. Eliza gave her a reassuring smile.

"We don't kill unless we have to, and even then only the scum who would kill an innocent without thought or reason." Eliza's eyes were hard. They had fed off living humans for decades, and she didn't really have a major issue with the way the rest of the Volturi conducted themselves. Except when there were children. The first time Heidi had brought in a group of humans to feed off of, Eliza went a little berserk because of the indiscriminate makeup of those gathered. From a ten year old boy, to an old man already close to death. Isabella had defused the situation, but Eliza begged her to find another solution. That's when Isabella had come up with the blood bags.

"Good to know. Do you drink human blood, I never thought to ask." Leah was a bit afraid of the answer, but knew that no matter what it was she would have to accept Eliza completely. Including the less savory aspects of her nature as a vampire.

"I have, but we try to feed exclusively from blood bags. Speaking of which, our supply should be in by now right?" Eliza leaned over the couch to talk loudly enough for Henry to hear.

"It came in this morning." Henry confirmed speaking up, and then came into the living room. "I'm going to go read in my room, enjoy your evening Miss Eliza."

Eliza waved, then turned towards Leah. "Honestly I like quiet evenings where I can continue my trek through each year of movies. I'm up to 2003, wanna join me? Maybe afterward we can play a board game or something, rope in the invalids and Rachel?"

"Sounds like a plan, what movie is first? Wait, did you actually start at the beginning of cinema?" Leah asked a little incredulously. She couldn't grasp watching that many movies.

"Yeah, I have a lot of free time, and I've been going by order of release, and so far 2003 has been weird. I just watched this really stupid comedy with Jason Isaacs called Passionada, but I believe Uptown Girls and Thirteen are next. Which I understand are both pretty good." Eliza's enthusiasm made Leah a little excited for the whole concept. Watching every movie seemed like a ridiculously involved endeavor, but she couldn't deny the audacity of it.

"Never heard of Passionada, but I've seen Uptown Girls... actually I haven't seen that movie…" Leah thought about it and did the math in her head, "in ninety-six years, holy fuck."

"I officially call a movie old if it is older than me, this technically counts." Eliza teased, widening her eyes slightly.

"Are you calling me old?" Leah said with mock anger.

"Exactly!" Eliza widened her smile, exposing teeth. Her eyebrows raised in a playfully evil look.

"You little…" Leah said before pouncing on Eliza again with a small wolfy growl.


Author's Note:

So we finally got Bella and Alice's first meeting. I know this is a big departure, but there is a reason. The characters were not in the same place as the original, so rather than have two scenes separated by a chapter I merged them into one.

Thank you all for reading!

Next Chapter: It Only Hurts When You Lie