Love Bite by Here's To

by Stuckinmichigan

Bella gets a little too rough during a play fight with Alice, which has some unexpected consequences. But in hindsight, she really should have known that vampires would consider biting a turn on.

14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR CHARACTERS

Alice did not return to school for another three days after that incident, and when she and Bella talked on the phone, the pixie claimed it was because there were some issues being cleared up at home. When Bella asked if it had anything to do with the Volturi, Alice told her yes, but she didn't get much more than that. Though the weird air seemed to have been cleared between them Bella couldn't seem to shake the new feelings she had for Alice that she had been forced to acknowledge.

Yet, she was a little more preoccupied with the fact that she wouldn't get her best friend back at school to have her back for days. It was already enough of a pain without her and Bella had been expecting the sailing to be smoother now that she and Alice had made up, but that was not the case.

She did not have Alice to come to school and get in between her and all the prying eyes or the gossip, and she definitely did not have much of a buffer between herself and Victoria. Emmett and Jasper returned to the school and even though Bella still wasn't talking much to Jasper, the guy still seemed to be looking out for her. They shared the occasional polite greeting but not much else, but when Victoria passed by her in the halls and gave her those hungry eyes, he did not hesitate to step between them and block her from view while staring the redhead down until she walked away. Emmett did the same, but still…

Victoria had become a lot more persistent lately. She seemed to hover closer, and Bella consciously had to make the effort to avoid her eyes because they were always undressing her. A few times she actually bumped into Bella at a rare moment when Jasper or Emmett weren't around and blasted her dizzy with pheromones so that Bella was wet between the thighs for the rest of the day with the lingering scent of cinnamon, roses, and wine heavy in her head.

Bitch.

Emmett and Jasper were surely of some help, but it was always Alice that was always at her side, always knowing when and where to be to keep Bella out of the redhead's reach. Without her, Bella felt entirely vulnerable, and for the three days Alice remained absent, she desperately missed her.

She also desperately missed Alice for other reasons. Mostly because of her smile and her laugh and her eyes and her hugs and her scent, but she wasn't allowed to think about that.

On the evening of the third day after school without Alice, she was in one of those moods where all she could think about were the Volturi, Victoria, Alice, and Cassie and her crew and basically anything else bound to give her a headache when she had a visitor at her window that she had not had in quite some time…

She was quietly doodling on a sheaf of notebook paper and listening to music on her laptop when a soft tapping arose at her window. Bella quickly looked up, excited. Alice was at her window, and thus this night was about to hopefully become much less boring. (Hopefully not the way it had the last few times Alice had come through her window, but whatever.)

She rolled off the bed and jogged to her window, unlocking it and sliding it up as she did.

"Alice, I swear to god if you come flying in here like a bat out of hell again, I'm going to-"

Bella cut herself off as someone who was definitely not Alice peered in at her.

Edward crouched on her window sill, looking decidedly more cramped in it than Alice ever did. He was gazing in at her with his familiar heavy golden eyes and his thick, swooping bronze hair and his chiseled jaw that Bella had not seen in months. Her playful expression melted into shock at the sight of him.

"Edward?" she gasped, taking a stunned step back.

"Hullo Bella," Edward greeted in his familiar baritone and then slowly slid into the room. That old scent of incense and dark chocolate greeted her as she took another wary step back, eyes wide.

"What are you doing here?" she gawked, lips parting in astonishment.

When he looked at her then with those deep, brooding eyes of his and stood ramrod straight without saying a word, Bella felt a quiet rage stir inside her. Edward stood in her room as if he belonged here, as if it were okay for him to even be here, out of bum-fucking-nowhere, and Bella suddenly remembered the way that jackass had left things.

"Get out!" Bella blurted. "I don't know what you want, but get out. Just get out."

Edward grimaced and seemed pained by this. "Bella, please, just-"

"No! I don't want to hear it. Whatever you want, you can shove it up your sorry ass! Get out. Get out now!" she snapped, shoving her finger at the window.

"Bella," Edward insisted, frowning at her rising tone.

"Go, or I'll scream for Charlie. I swear I will. Who the hell do you think you are, coming back here now? You son of a bitch, what are you even doing here? Where's Tanya, huh? That woman you left me for in Denali without a word, without even a single goodbye? Are you kidding me right now? Do you have any idea-"

"Bella!" Edward interrupted her tirade, putting his hands on her shoulders to calm her.

How dare he? How dare he?

Bella swelled up and wrenched away from him, furious.

"Don't you touch me! Don't you dare!" she snarled, balling up her fists as her stomach lurched with disgust for him.

I don't care what he wants or why. He can go right to hell, she thought angrily, fuming at his gall.

Edward put his hands up defensively and took a step back to acquiesce to her.

"I'm sorry. I won't, I'm sorry. Bella, will you please just listen to me?" he pleaded.

"No! Why the hell should I? You come back here after being gone for months and think you have the right? No way. Beat it, Edward. I'm not interested," she growled, heart pounding with confrontation.

She had not known her resentment ran so deeply for him, but he had been her best friend next to Alice, and her boyfriend, and maybe she was gay now and didn't even love him like that, never really had, but still.

He was an asshole.

"I know I acted like a jerk, but please, just hear me out. That's all I'm asking for, please," Edward insisted, his shoulders tightening the way they always did when he was tense.

Sensing that shoving him out the window headfirst was unlikely to happen at this point considering his determination, Bella scoffed and threw up her hands. If he wasn't a vampire and she knew it could hurt him, she might have slapped him.

"Fine, let's hear it then! Let me know why you dropped me like a worthless piece of trash for some girl in Alaska, Eddy boy. I'm sure it'll be just as rich as all your usual bullshit!" she scowled, only more infuriated when some of her hurt spilled over into her words. It would not do for him to sense anything but her ire, not how much it hurt that he could ditch her like that.

"Language," Edward huffed, and Bella balked at him.

"Are you kidding me?"

Bella spun on her heel, searching for something, anything to be used as a weapon. She settled on her Biology textbook. She lunged for it, turned and flung it right at his stupid fucking face. Pages fluttered in the air and he looked alarmed as he caught it easily, which only pissed her off even more.

Stupid jerk! She thought. Asinine, sniveling, smug son of a-

She grabbed her History book and hurled that too, but he deflected that with his forearm and it hit the floor with a crash.

"Bella!" he barked, startled at her behavior.

Bella didn't even care. Nope.

Not a damn bit.

"OUT!" she yelled. "Out, or I swear to God the next thing I'm throwing will be your vamp ass out that window! I will find a way, just you wait-"

"I'm sorry!" he jumped in, swiftly cutting her off. Bella clamped her jaw shut as he finally raised his voice to match hers and glowered, shaking with her pent up anger that she had never gotten to take out on him.

"Sorry?" she scoffed. "You're sorry?"

Like I care!

"Yes," he growled back, scowling at her scornful tone. His previously golden eyes were darker, but he did not seem to be getting angry with her, just annoyed. "I'm sorry, Bella. I'm sorry I left like that, I'm sorry I didn't say anything, and I'm sorry I came here without warning you first. I'm sorry I hurt you and I'm sorry I'm such an awful jerk. I'm sorry."

"And what can I do with sorry Edward? Nothing, that's what. I don't care-"

"If you would just listen to me," he continued, speaking over her in a way that made her knuckles go white against her skin when she clenched her fists.

Pretentious bastard.

"You would know that there was a good reason I did what I did."

Bella summoned a brutal mental image of Edward being impaled by a giant wooden stake in a place where no person ever wants to be impaled to show him what she thought of that, knowing that he could see it, and watched him make a face at her.

"That's disgusting," he said and rubbed at the back of his neck. "But I don't deserve that, despite what you might think."

"Are you fucking serious?" Bella snapped.

He winced at her F bomb, as if Bella cared, but hurried on.

"Just let me explain. Please. Please, Bella. If you still hate me afterwards, that's fine. But just give me one chance, that's all I need. Let me tell you why, and then if you want, I will jump headfirst out the window for you and I won't even try and land on my feet. I'll land on my stupid face as you so sweetly thought it," Edward begged.

Bella glared twin daggers at him, arms crossed and seething. She dug one foot into the carpet, eyeing him hatefully.

She really shouldn't. She should just keep saying no, but that tiny aching part of her that felt so betrayed couldn't help but really want to know his reasoning behind what he had done. She knew it could only be pitiful and that he would probably only reinforce her despise of him, but…

But as angry and pissed off as she rightfully was, she still needed something to soothe that sense of abandonment. Closure was a powerful incentive as it turned out.

"Fine," she snapped and then sat back down on her bed, crossing her legs to match her arms. She was aware she probably looked foolish, dropping down like an angry five year old, but oh well. "Go ahead, tell me why you're such a jerk. I'm dying to hear it."

She waved a flippant hand at him, adopting an unaffected, superior air, but Edward only sighed and ignored it.

"Thank you," he muttered. "Now…The reason I left you like that Bella, was because of a lot of things, but mostly because of a key few. Carlisle told you that I believed it was what you wanted anyway. I could hear it in your thoughts-"

"You still shouldn't have-"

"But I knew I still should have ended it better," he continued as if she hadn't spoken and ignored the new mental image she conjured of him falling into a boiling volcano for it. "But that wasn't the only thing I could hear in your mind. Bella, you know I make it a point to try and tune people's thoughts out most of the time out of respect, but sometimes things slip through-Things I never should know, that even they might now know…"

Bella stared at him, grinding her teeth but grudgingly listening.

"…Things like how you feel about Alice," Edward revealed slowly.

Bella froze, her breath hitching.

What?

"What are you talking about?" she squirmed, arms tightening over her chest.

Did he know? Had anyone told him about what had been happening? Or was he in her mind right now, rooting around to psychoanalyze her to get back on her good side or something?

God, she had forgotten how much she hated Edward's powers. She had forgotten how it felt to be around someone who could learn your darkest secrets should you slip for even a second around him.

"Get out of my head!" Bella demanded, feeling violated, but he shook his.

"I'm not in it, no more than what I cannot block out. And yet even now I can hear the whispers in it, Bella. I hear her name, always vaguely in the back of your mind. Even before Carlisle informed me of what has been happening and before I returned and spoke with the family, I heard these kinds of things. I know you like her, Bella. I think I knew before you even had any idea…" Edward declared, looking uncomfortable.

Bella's cheeks flamed and she remained stunned silent, chest heaving.

What is he talking about? He knew before I did?

She supposed it should not have been surprising that he could hear Alice in her thoughts. The pixie had been on her mind so much lately for obvious reasons.

"What does this have to do with anything?" she snapped. What, was he going to start lecturing her about God and gays being an abomination or something? He had always been devoutly religious, maybe that's why he was bringing it up. Maybe he thought he had turned her gay or something stupid like that.

"It's part of why I left the way I did. Bella…Bella, you never really loved me, did you? Not really," Edward murmured, and sounded sad as he did so.

Bella scrunched her face at him, disliking having the heat pushed onto her.

"You never loved me either, obviously," she glowered, and hated the way he shook his head at her.

"But I did. It wasn't easy for me to go, especially not because of why I felt like I had to. I heard your thoughts Bella. I always had the feeling when you were with me, you wanted to be with Alice. You preferred her company to mine. Sometimes when you curled up against me at night, all I could hear was the softest thoughts in the back of your mind about how much you wished I were as comfortable as her. And when you got around her…She was the only thing on your mind. How funny she was, how beautiful and stunning, how much you liked to be around her. You never were that way around me," Edward admitted, his voice thick and heavy.

Bella tensed, blushing brightly. She didn't want to hear this, not from him. Had she really been having thoughts about Alice like that as far back as when she was with Edward? Those thoughts were private too, and so what if he had not meant to hear them? He still had and it was embarrassing as hell.

She struggled to swallow, but Edward only went on.

"And it wasn't just you. It was Alice too. I've lived around her for a very long time, and I'm so used to the endless chatter in her brain. You know how she is, always moving, thinking, doing. Being energetic Alice. It translates into her brain the same way, but…But when it came to you, I couldn't block it out. Her thoughts became more pronounced, and somehow all the brainwaves tuned to you whenever we were all around each other at the same time…"

Bella stiffened as he revealed more to her, starting to get an idea of where this was headed.

"And of course, I wanted to believe it was just her vampire side, her wanting your blood. But it wasn't. She didn't hunger for you only because of what is in your veins. I was around when she and Jasper met, you know. And she never locked on to him the way she did to you. Her thoughts have never been so consumed by anyone like that…No one but you, Bella…Your eyes, your lips, your smile, your heart and soul…" Edward said, sounding both unhappy and pensive at the same time.

"What are you saying, Edward?" Bella mumbled, her anger being replaced with uncertainty. Her heart stirred as he told her of how Alice harbored thoughts like that too, and as he told her he believed them to be deeper than what either of them assumed.

He was wrong though. Alice had made that clear already.

"She doesn't get that though. Not yet, at least. Or she's lying to herself. Alice may love Jasper, but I'm saying that you, Bella? You are a whole different story…" Edward shrugged and gave a soft, bitter chuckle.

Shocked at his audacity, Bella's lips parted. Edward seemed to be insinuating that he didn't think Alice was in love with Jasper? Or at least, that Alice loved her, too?

Love? She wondered. The word suddenly took on so many more connotations than Bella had ever associated it with when it came to Alice.

"And so I left. I knew I was not what you wanted. I knew there was something growing between you two, something I couldn't hope to divert or stop. The most I could do was get out of the way. The most I could do was to give you a clean break, Bella. I figured it would be easier for you to accept the truth of who you are if you could just let go of me easily. There's no better way to do that than to make you hate me, which seems to have worked out fairly well…"

Bella shifted uncomfortably on her bed, uncrossing her arms. "Edward…That doesn't make sense. You left like that because you thought it would be good for me?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed, but nodded.

"Yes, I know, I'm an idiot, and it was unfair. But you can't tell me you wouldn't have accepted the fact that you're homosexual half as fast if I were still around to further confuse you," Edward said to her mortification.

Homosexual. That was such a stiff way to put it. Why did he have to talk like he came from an entirely different era?

"Because I do come from an entirely different era," he snorted, listening in apparently.

"Get out of my head, jerk," Bella huffed, but without nearly as much malice as she had carried before.

He had his point, but still…It had been a pretty shitty way to go about things.

"Sorry," Edward murmured genuinely. "And Bella? I mean that. I really am sorry. About everything. About leaving you like that, and about not being there for you when you needed me. I haven't been here to keep you safe from the Volturi, or Victoria. They've told me everything. I am so sincerely sorry that I have been so terrible to you. I was just…Hurting, you know? I did love you, really. And to be second best to my sister bruised my ego, honestly. So I'm sorry for that."

This time when he apologized, Bella really heard him. She sighed deeply and eyed him warily, running a hand through her hair.

"You're still a jerk," she mumbled, and he nodded. Bella tried to grasp at the anger slipping through her fingers, but when Edward looked so contrite and was making his point so well, she simply couldn't.

She had not forgiven him, but when she rolled her eyes at him, he gave her that crooked smirk she used to adore and she did not even get mad over it.

"So…You know about me and Alice then…" Bella drawled as apathetically as she could, pulled into conversing civilly with him despite herself.

"I know," he replied. "Like I said, I think I've known before either of you even had a clue. But I don't hate you even if you hate me, Bella. If there is one thing I have learned over the course of my life, it is that we do not pick and choose who we fall for. It still hurts, but I understand."

God damn it, Edward made it so hard to hate him when he was being a good guy instead of an arrogant asshole.

"Is that why you went to Tanya?" she asked slowly, containing most of her annoyance. "To get over me?"

"Yes," he said simply.

"Well…Did it work, at least?" Bella inquired against her better judgment.

He gave her a pained smile that made her finally understand exactly where he was coming from.

Edward had sensed how deep her feelings for Alice ran while they were supposed to be head over heels for each other, and Bella had to know how much that must have sucked. She could read it in his eyes and the furrow of his brow, in the posture of his body. He had been her closest friend next to Alice, and it was still easy to read him.

Bella may not have loved Edward, but Edward had loved her, and the brunette softened immensely at his expression.

He was still an asshole…But now she felt kind of bad for him. He had to hear all her lesbian thoughts and less than platonic shit before anyone else even knew about it, had to deal with it in whatever way he could without giving anything away.

"It is in the process of working, yes. Tanya is a wonderful woman," Edward answered shortly. "She's here, actually. Outside the house."

"She's here?" Alarmed, Bella sat up straight, but he put up a hand to reassure her. Surely he did not want them to meet or something? How awkward and wrong would that be?

"Yes, but only because we're riding together. We came straight over after we unpacked at home. She's um…She's fairly enamored with me, as I am with her. She's very, er…Possessive. We were together for a long time. She's the only woman besides you who I have ever loved, and the only reason we never stayed together was for reasons that have now been taken care of."

Bella nodded, both relieved that he seemed to be moving on well and resentful of it.

"That's…Good, I guess," Bella mumbled. The next question she framed so tentatively that he could undoubtedly sense her trepidation. "So…You don't think Alice is in love with Jasper?"

Edward became contemplative at that question, and Bella waited on pins and needles for the answer when she really should not have cared so much. What answer was she hoping for anyway? Yes? No?

She was frightened that she didn't really know.

"I didn't say that. I don't really completely know, Bella. Like I said, all I've caught are the faintest, deepest whispers from either of you…But it's enough for me to know that she likes you, too, in a way that's more than just friends, and more than she wants to admit," he answered vaguely.

"Well…It doesn't matter what you've heard from either of us. Alice and Jasper are in love, and she made it really clear that nothing is ever going to happen between us. Not that it should anyway. I wouldn't…I don't want that from her. I don't want to get between them like that. I don't even like her all that much anyway."

Edward looked at her in that way he always did when she wasn't fooling him for a second, and not because he was reading her mind to find out, but because of how blatantly transparent she was being.

"Right. I wouldn't assume too much, Bella. Alice and Jasper do love each other, yes, but…"

He didn't finish, only trailed away. The fact that he didn't finish whatever he was going to say made Bella's breathing pick up, mind interpreting it in a hundred different ways, all of them frightening at the same time that they were exciting.

No.

Nope.

She wasn't going there. Edward could guess all he wanted about the true nature of what everyone felt, but Bella knew the real deal.

She and Alice were just friends, nothing more. And that was all it ever would be. They would get over whatever crushes they might have and move on…As friends.

Just friends…

"You're one to talk about assuming," Bella hiked an eyebrow at him. "I still can't believe you thought it was a good idea to drop me like that."

Edward did not even try to deny it or fight it, just gave her his brooding, shameful look, with his stupid fucking face that Bella did not want to acknowledge how much she had missed. Edward had always sort of been the opposite of Alice. Where Alice always brought life, he was always a steady rock, himself to the point of being droll, but comforting all the same. He was stubborn, pigheaded, annoyingly arrogant sometimes, but he was also a genuine gentleman, a superb listener even if he didn't talk much back, and with a subtle sense of humor that always made it impossible to stay mad at him for too long. It was probably part of why she had determinedly stayed with him for so long despite how much they obviously weren't right for each other, relationship wise at least.

But friendship wise…Yeah. That was much better, and after hearing him speak his piece, Bella was finding it hard to stay pissed at him.

"You're still not forgiven," she told him when they both stayed silent.

"I know."

"And you won't be for quite a while," Bella added, staring at him pointedly.

"I know."

"And you know you totally still deserve to be thrown face first out the window, right?"

"Got it. Face first out the window it is then," Edward nodded and promptly turned towards it.

God damn it, Bella thought, biting hard on the inside of her lip to keep from grinning.

"Edward!" she called when he opened the window and began leaning way out of it.

He popped back in and turned back to her with his stupid crooked grin, and Bella had to laugh. That was something he and Alice shared. They could both make her smile when she was trying to be mad at them.

"I'm sorry," Bella blurted, though she wasn't really. It was more of a formality, a gnawing feeling that Edward really did get hurt and had not been doing any of this to deliberately hurt her, too. "I'm sorry it worked out like this. I still think you acted like an asshole and you should have talked to me about this instead of just running off, but I'm sorry I didn't love you back."

It was true. Bella knew it now without doubt. All her love had been for him as for a friend, nothing really sexual. Even looking at him now, she felt nothing like physical or emotional attraction. Just a sort of affection like she might feel for a brother and that was at best. Even picturing kissing him did nothing but put her off.

Huh. Maybe I am a full blown lesbian, she mused. It wasn't like Edward was ugly or anything. He was as handsome as any guy, vampire accentuation or no.

She just…Didn't feel any desire for him.

"Don't apologize for that, Bella. That's not something to be sorry for. You should never feel bad for not loving someone back. It's not something you can control, nor is it your fault. We don't pick who we fall in love with. If we did, it wouldn't be love. We love who we love, and we must adjust accordingly," Edward waved her apology off.

Something about his words felt deeper than just her and him, and Bella wasn't sure how to take that. She still got the feeling he was keeping his true thoughts about the whole situation between her and Alice to himself, but she did not have the courage to try and pry them out of him.

"Anyway, I just came by to explain myself. Tanya's getting annoyed. I can hear her cussing me from here, so I've got to be going Bella. I…I will be back at school tomorrow, though. Alice will be back as well and she will probably suffice to keep Victoria away from you. I know she has been giving you trouble. I've always despised that harlot. But…I will do everything I can to keep Victoria away from you, too. If you'll allow me…"

Bella wasn't sure if she was ready to go back to being best pals with Edward yet, but she definitely didn't want to end their friendship entirely anymore, either.

"Yeah. All help in that aspect is greatly appreciated…But that doesn't mean we're all good again, either. You're still on thin ice, and I'm not just going to forget it all, Edward," she told him honestly, and he nodded solemnly.

"I understand. Thank you for hearing me out, Bella. I hope in time that I can make it up to you. Goodbye, and good night," Edward inclined his head towards her.

Bella felt a smidgen of guilt for being so hard on him when he took that regretful tone, so as he was slipping out the window, she called, "And Edward?"

He paused and cocked his head, listening.

"I don't hate you."

Edward only smiled his crooked smile, and then disappeared into the night.

When Alice came back to school the next day, it was like she had a shield formed between herself and the rest of the school. Any staring eyes were diverted by Alice either smiling and acting so brightly and politely that it would be a crime to even try and act rude towards her, or by the vampire responding with such a cold glare that no one dared to say a word to her. The pixie was simply too hard to hate, and even though gossip still hovered around Bella and she still had to suffer the occasional muttered insult in the hallway, Alice became the buffer between her and the madness.

Well…Except for Cassie, Lauren, and Sophie. Those three weren't really shy from Alice, or anyone because they thought they ran that school. Bella could feel their hatred any time they passed in the hallways, but they seemed to be plotting their revenge more than anything. Rosalie still had not returned, though Alice told her the blond was nearly ready to. Bella quite honestly would be just fine if she never came back, the stupid witch. But, she had almost returned to her full vampiric state, and Carlisle said that soon he would want to have her over to talk about the effects of her bite.

She was really sort of dying for that conversation. Her curiosity was eating her alive. Alice told her to be patient.

So for the next two weeks, things passed by almost the same way they always had with a few key differences. Namely that she was not dating Edward anymore, but he still eventually wormed his way almost fully into her good graces. Bella was surprised to find how much better they worked when they weren't dating. There was no fighting, no stress to any of it. She still wasn't quite ready to forgive him entirely, but she knew in time she would. He also did not dote on any feelings he might still have for her, thank God. He seemed entirely infatuated with Tanya, but she'd be damned if she could get any details about the Denali vampire out of him. He was being unreasonably obstinate about his new girlfriend.

And Bella…Bella tried not to dote on any feelings she had for Alice. Jasper had returned to school with her, and he too, eventually warmed almost to the point that they had been at before that biting shenanigan stuff had gone down. Alice being around seemed to soothe him, and gratefully, Bella could see him beginning to remember that she had not been trying to steal his girl.

But still.

Being around Alice when she knew how she really felt for her was harder than she thought it would be. Now when Alice smiled or laughed or touched her like she always did, she felt it deep in her bones how much her heart lifted at it. And she was even surprised to find envy stirred in her when Alice directed her lovely attention to Jasper. When they touched or shared a smile, or kissed, Bella had to look away.

It wasn't jealousy really. She didn't want to call it that. She didn't hate Jasper for it, didn't blame him or want to hurt him in any way for it. She simply wanted…To be him sometimes. She wanted what he had, but despite all that, she never resented him for any of it. She wasn't the kind of person to harbor violent or hateful feelings.

It was the loving ones that became her issue…

She had to accept the fact that whatever she felt for Alice was irrelevant. Alice was in love with Jasper, Edward was wrong, and Bella was doing her damndest to pretend like with time these feelings would fade.

It was nice, though, that with all the Cullens except for one back around, Victoria had virtually no opportunity to get at her. She couldn't even get close. Alice especially wouldn't give her a single chance. She shut the redhead down at every turn, blocking her line of sight towards Bella, guiding the brunette away from her in the best routes with a hand in the small of her back, never, ever giving Victoria the chance to get to her.

But Victoria turned out to be a very patient woman, and even Alice could make mistakes.

And as it turned out, even Alice was not immune to envy.

Or rather, Alice was not immune to jealousy.

It was a rainy Thursday afternoon in History when Bella found that particular fact out. It was a study day, so of course she was dicking around with Alice in the back of the room while pretending to work on their homework. Jasper and Emmett had engaged Eric, Angela, and Jessica in a spirited debate over who was better; Superman or Batman. The vampires firmly supported the Dark Knight and her human friends firmly supported the Man of Steel. Normally, Mr. Gordon would probably be barking at everyone to pipe down, but lately he seemed wary of even glancing at Bella. The brunette suspected he was afraid she might file a law suit on him for sexual harassment over reading her text aloud like that.

It would serve him right, too. Asshole.

Bella and Alice were busy making each other giggle like idiots by doodling increasingly unrealistic caricatures of said teacher when he spoke up.

"Class, attention please!" Mr. Gordon called out about ten minutes before the bell was due to ring for the end of school.

Half the class didn't even bother to look up, but Bella did. She blinked in surprise when she saw an unfamiliar girl standing up at the front of the room next to Fat-Fucking-Fatty as Angela had so elegantly dubbed him. She blushed a little when she immediately noticed how…Well…

'Hot' she was.

The girl was slouching with her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her khaki colored cargo pants. She had long, thick dark brown locks tied up in a messy ponytail, dark almond shaped eyes and a definitively shaped nose, plus an unusually tanned skin tone for Forks, Washington. Bella couldn't help but appreciate the musculature of her toned arms. She guessed the girl was either Native American, or at least mixed with it somehow.

The cliche of tall, dark, and handsome trolled through her brain and she blinked and averted her eyes when the mystery girl abruptly met them across the room. When she glanced back again, the girl still hadn't looked away and she shifted around uncomfortably in her seat because of it.

"Class, this is Leah Clearwater. She has just enrolled here and I expect you all to give her a warm Forks High welcome. Leah, would you please say hello?" Mr. Gordon gestured for 'Leah' to introduce herself. Her last name sounded vaguely familiar.

Leah rolled her eyes slowly and lazily straightened up, finally looking away from Bella.

And then her eyes immediately fell on Alice.

Bella did not miss the way both girls stiffened immediately.

What is it with this girl and unnecessary eye contact? She wondered, and then cocked her head in confusion when Alice suddenly sat back in her chair so hard that it creaked and clenched her fingers so tightly around the pencil between her fingers that it actually snapped.

Whoa, she blinked, glancing back and forth between them at the blatant tension.

"Alice?" she hissed worriedly, but Alice just glanced at her and gave her a tiny, completely not reassuring smile.

Bella wasn't buying it and she was immediately on high alert. Whenever Alice was on edge, so was Bella. There was generally a good reason for it.

Leah was taking an unusually long time to respond to Mr. Gordon as she stared directly at Alice. Bella was bewildered when the new girl's nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed at her best friend. Mr. Gordon was shuffling uncertainly when she finally did.

"Sup," Leah spoke, popping the 'p' and not even giving anyone else in the room a single glance. Bella barely detected a faint accent, a barely noticeable lilt in the word.

"Um…" Mr. Gordon had obviously been expecting more, but at Leah's apathetic attitude and the way nobody was even really paying attention, he gave up.

"Thank you, Leah. You may go sit wherever you like. It's a study day today, so we have not begun any new material," he told her.

Leah walked away from him without a word. If Bella had still tolerated Mr. Gordon, she would have found her disrespectful, something she usually did not admire in a person. But the cool air to the girl's uncaring attitude, her tight black wife beater and baggy pants made her come across almost badass instead.

Okay, well, fine.

So Leah Clearwater was very attractive and that might have had something to do with it but-

But why was she walking directly towards Bella?

"You mind if I sit here?" Leah said the moment she arrived. Bella only blinked some more, unnerved by the way Leah always looked her right in the eyes when they spoke. The new girl also stopped right next to her, close enough so that Bella's nose picked up the scent of earth and heat. She swallowed hard, alarmed at how delicious the girl smelled. Leah gazed down at her with those deep dark eyes of hers, waiting for an answer. Generally only vampires ever made such an impact with their aroma…

She's very…Forward, Bella thought.

"That seat's taken," Alice interjected when Bella just stared, unable to find her voice.

"No it's not?" Bella finally found it, tilting her head at Alice in confusion. The vampire sat on her right, both of their desks pressed together because it was allowed on study days. Leah was standing on her left, hands still shoved into her pockets.

"Yes, it is," Alice insisted, her tone unreasonably hard. Bella stared at her, perplexed by the strained edge Alice's voice was taking on. What was her deal? "Joseph sits there. Sorry. You'll have to sit somewhere else."

That was rude. Bella didn't understand why Alice was acting like this towards the new girl. This wasn't like her at all.

"Um…" Bella mumbled, glancing apologetically back at Leah and giving Alice a WTF look.

Yet Leah took it all in stride.

"Well, Joseph doesn't appear to be here right now, so I guess it's free game," Leah shrugged, and then sat down anyway, right on Bella's other side.

Bella felt Alice stiffen next to her again, and this time she stayed tense. She did not get a chance to ask her friend what was wrong, because Leah immediately diverted her attention back to herself.

"So. You're Bella Swan, right?" Leah inquired, propping her elbows up on the back of the seat and the desk both as she turned to sit in the desk and face Bella.

Surprised that the new girl was so fearlessly talking to her, and also impressed because new kids never did that at Forks High, she replied almost eagerly.

Yeah.

Leah was really pretty. And she smelled good too. Not as good as Alice, or even Victoria, but still good, especially for a fellow human. And maybe she was kind of into that whole bad girl attitude

"Yeah. Hi. How do you know that?" Bella responded warily, turning to face her too.

She felt it only because of how close she was to Alice. She knew instinctively that Alice had just bristled, and she had no idea why.

"Oh, I've been here for less than thirty minutes and already some group of girls tried to warn me to stay away from you. Said you and some short haired girl were a lesbian couple and that I might catch your germs if I didn't. Plus, I recognize you by how much you look like your dad. Charlie comes down to La Push all the time to swig beers with my dad," Leah revealed.

Ah, so she was from La Push. That explained the faint accent. And Bella had been right. La Push was a native reservation. Leah definitely had some Native American blood in her.

Some very attractive Native American blood…

"Oh, dude, I knew I recognized your last name! Your dad is Harry? Harry Clearwater?" Bella lit up, remembering where she had heard the name Clearwater before. Harry was pretty much Charlie's best friend.

"Yep. The one and only," Leah drawled.

Bella, however, just registered the rest of Leah's explanation.

"So um…They already told you about the whole gay thing?" Bella mumbled nervously, mentally pulverizing Cassie Streeter. Great. The cool new girl already would think she was a freak before she even got the chance to make friends.

"Yep. Jokes on them though. I caught the gay germs back in eighth grade. So no worries, Swan," Leah chuckled in a smoky tone that made something inside Bella shiver. She couldn't help but grin a little in surprise, too.

Oh…So Leah was into the ladies too? That was certainly some nice news to hear…Bella was more excited by that than she should be.

"You're gay too?" she inquired cautiously. "Hey, you might want to keep that quiet, people aren't exactly cool about it around here-"

"Fuck 'em," Leah scoffed, dark eyes rolling. "Like I give a fuck. What do I care if those preppy bitches don't like me? Most people don't. They'll get over it. Or they won't. I'm going to be gay either way, so why should I care?"

Yep.

She was a bad ass type of girl, and Bella couldn't lie; it was hot. Hearing her swear was, too. And she was into girls. Bella couldn't help but feel thrilled about all of that.

It was tempered when she felt Alice shift next to her and that lovely white chocolate and berries scent wafted under her nose, reminding her with a sharp pang how much more she wished that it was Alice who was available.

But hey, though. She wasn't. And maybe this was just the pick me up Bella needed. Leah was certainly friendly enough, their dads were friends too, they both liked girls and Bella definitely thought she was physically appealing.

So why shouldn't she be a little excited about meeting a fellow homo? It wasn't like she had many options around here. Not that she was planning on trying to get with Leah or anything, but it was still nice that there might be some possibility.

"What about you?" Leah went on, peering around Bella to gaze at Alice with some weird, hard emotion in her eyes. For a split second, Bella thought she saw them flash yellow, and shook her head, thinking the light was playing tricks on her.

Huh. That was weird…

"You two a couple as well?"

"Oh, uh…" Bella blushed at that and squirmed when she noticed Jasper glance back at them out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to really dislike that question, because he moved around in his seat and Emmett subtly put a hand on his elbow. Bella thought he was being a little too territorial, but then again, he had the right to be by now. Plus, he was still having control issues occasionally.

"No, we're not. That's a really invasive question to ask two people you just met, by the way," Alice snapped before she could reply.

Startled, Bella faced her, eyeing her in bewilderment. Why was Alice being so cold towards Leah?

What's her issue? Bella thought. It's like Leah walked in here and spat on her by the way she's acting. This isn't her at all…

"Sorry, Pixie Sticks," Leah hummed, not sounding very sorry at all. The nickname 'Pixie Sticks' seemed to anger Alice further, however. The vampire's face tightened and Bella looked back and forth between them, feeling tension radiating off of both of them. Leah's fingers flexed on the desktop.

What the hell was their deal? From the moment Leah had walked in, they had been eyeing each other like two rival gang members.

"Bella, you didn't finish your drawing," Alice said abruptly and indicated the indeed half finished image of Mr. Gordon with a penis for a nose on Bella's desk.

"Uh, yeah," Bella narrowed her eyes, thrown by the sudden change in subject. "I guess I didn't…"

"So, Swan. What do you all do for fun around here? La Push has a beach but there seems to be not much to do in this town," Leah broke in and Bella turned back to her again. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn she heard Alice growl.

Choosing to ignore that, Bella answered Leah. She might have been a teensy bit distracted by the slope of Leah's collarbone and the way it dipped when she moved.

"Movies mostly. There's a park, but it's not much."

"Movies, huh? I haven't been to the movies in like, three months. Seen any good ones lately?" Leah inquired amiably.

No, lately Bella had been too preoccupied with the crap going on with the Volturi so she hadn't had a chance.

"No, sadly. They have though. Angela swears by Iron Man 3. I've been dying to go see it," Bella said, gesturing at the group sitting in front of them and still arguing about superheroes. Emmett was still chattering, but Jasper was silently gazing at them over one shoulder, and the bigger boy's hand did not leave his elbow even while he talked.

Okay. Why was everyone acting so damn weird?

Leah was being pretty freaking cool in her opinion. Why were they looking at her like that? Especially Alice? She of all people should have been chattering up a hospitable, sociable storm with the new girl, as was her nature.

"Oh, yeah? I've always liked Iron Man. Hey, maybe me and you could go see it together some time, Swan," Leah offered and Bella started.

Did she…

Did she just ask Bella out?

If so, that was really fast.

"Like…You mean, together?" she blushed, then internally swore. She was going to look really dumb if Leah hadn't meant it that way.

Leah, however, only let a slow smirk make its way onto her face. The expression spoke of mischief that drew Bella in way more than she wanted to admit.

Stupid bad girl attitude distracting her.

"Well, only if you wanted it to be that way," Leah murmured, quirking an eyebrow at her, which made Bella's stomach flip flop in excitement.

Oh yeah. Leah was definitely a smooth talker, and Bella was delighted, flattered.

"Don't you think that's a little fast though?" she said despite herself.

"Oh, I don't know. You seem pretty cool, Izzy. Why not? Worst that can happen is it doesn't work out and we go back to the whole friends thing. It's up to you though. I'm chill either way."

Bella was turning crimson and trying her best not to smile when the bell rang. Izzy, huh? Nobody had ever called her that nickname before. Just Bella, or Bells. Never Izzy though. She found it seemed to fit coming from Leah.

"Here, let me give you my number. You just let me know if you ever want to get something together," Leah said and lazily reached over to Bella's desk to grab the piece of paper and pen she had been doodling with as everyone began to stand up and file out of the classroom eagerly as it was the end of the day.

Did I just get a girl's number in one conversation? She stared in astonishment. I did! She totally is asking me out! Damn, she works fast…

The scent of heat and earth fluttered under her nose and just like that, Alice's hand shot out and snapped closed around Leah's wrist, halting her.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Alice hissed in a voice like ice cold steel as Bella jumped in surprise. The vampire leaned over her, her arm pressing into Bella as the hand at its end squeezed the tanned wrist it had captured.

"Alice!" Bella gasped, reprimanding.

What is she doing?

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to touch me you fuckin' leech," Leah snarled back. Bella stiffened at how low and ferocious Leah's tone had gone, though something inside her bristled at the insulting of Alice. She watched as Leah's shoulders drew together so fast that the muscles in them bunched visibly beneath the straps of her tank top.

What the crap? What is even happening? Bella thought, bewildered by the hostility being displayed before her, especially from Alice!

"Then stay the hell away from her you filthy mutt!" Alice rumbled back, her upper lip curling and her honey golden eyes melting quickly to black. Her hand tightened on Leah's wrist so hard that Bella could see her hand flexing and she had no idea how Alice wasn't breaking the girl's wrist at this point.

"Alice!" Bella yelped, scandalized. Jasper and Emmett were suddenly there, towering over all three of them, and a few people, including Jessica and Angela, had stopped to watch.

Alice is really going to hurt her if she doesn't stop! What the hell is wrong with her! Bella thought frantically, not knowing how to defuse the situation, or why there was even a situation to be had in the first place.

But Leah stood her ground, not flinching away. Bella did not understand how Leah wasn't on the floor, writhing in pain from the vampire's strength.

"You either let go of me right now or I'm going to show you a filthy mutt real fucking quick," Leah said in a rugged tone, and this time Bella swore to God her eyes really did flash a bright, obnoxiously luminous yellow.

She could feel the way Alice's arm was tensed so tightly up against her and the vampire was bent over across her, practically nose to nose with the La Push native. Both of their chests were heaving, and Bella noticed the way Leah's skin seemed to shake with a palpable rage, and the way Alice's now black eyes glittered with rage too. The scent of wet earth and heat fought with a thickening aroma of white chocolate, mint, and berries that made her stomach knot and her head dizzy.

But when all the vampires around her shifted in a threatening sort of motion and Alice's grip only further tightened on Leah's wrist, she had enough.

"Alice, stop it!" Bella snapped and grabbed Alice's own wrist, tugging on it furiously. "What the hell is wrong with you? Lay off!"

Alice hesitated, but when Mr. Gordon called back to them to see what was going on, she quickly shoved Leah's wrist away from her like it carried the plague. The La Push native yanked it back just as harshly and stood up fast, scowling with such an ugly loathing expression on her pretty face that it actually put Bella off.

Before Bella could even get an apology out to her, Leah stormed away, shoving past Angela and Jessica. Her whole body seemed to shake with her fury and Bella felt her own fury well up as she stood and glared when Alice mimicked her movements.

"What the hell was that?" Bella demanded.

Alice gazed back at her with swirling black eyes, her jaw locking when the human turned on her like that.

"That," she snapped, "was me preventing you from making a really stupid mistake."

"What-Are you joking? You're acting ridiculous! We were just talking!" Bella protested irately.

"Talking? You were about to take her number and go on a date with her after one five minute conversation! You don't even know her!" Alice scoffed and shoved her desk back where it was supposed to be with so much force that it skidded across the floor. The vampire leaned down and snatched her backpack off the floor as Bella stared with her jaw dropped, dumbfounded.

"What-How-That's not even-Dude!" Bella stammered furiously, unable to string together a coherent sentence in her outrage.

Alice just scowled at her and Bella became all the more pissed for it.

"Where do you get off?" she shrieked indignantly. "What do you care? How is that even your business? What is up with you? Alice, you're acting crazy!"

Bella realized her mistake the moment the word left her mouth.

There were, of course, precious few things that could piss Alice Cullen off. Rudeness, homophobia, and going after the people she loved were some of them.

Calling her crazy, as it turns out, was on that short list.

You learn something new every day.

Instant regret flooded through her as Alice's eyes flashed and Bella could see the muscle going in her jaw, the way her upper lip twitched.

Crap, she shut her eyes for a bit longer than a standard blink, kicking herself. Crap. She could barely open them again, barely face Alice now.

"Crazy?" Alice murmured the word back to her, barely audible. Her tone was so soft and icy that it gave Bella chills.

"Alice-No, I didn't mean-"

It was too late. Bella had royally fucked up, and nothing she could say was going to take it back.

"Fine. Go on a date with Leah, see if I give a damn, but don't come crying to me when she turns out to want you for nothing more than sex. Oh, but you'd probably like that, wouldn't you, swooning over her stupid bad girl crap? Well don't come crying to me when that bad girl stuff turns out to be legit. It's not like you ever listen to me anyway!" Alice spat spitefully, then shoved past Emmett and Jasper and stormed out of the room.

Okay. That stung. A lot.

Alice had never spoken to her like that, with so much disgust and hurt. Bella was still grimacing as Jasper hurried after her and Jessica let out a low whistle.

"Damn, Bella," Angela winced sympathetically and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Why is she so angry at me? What did I do?" Bella lamented, looking from her to Emmett and then to Jessica.

"You really don't know?" Jessica looked at her as if she were stupid.

"No!" she huffed, bewildered and felt tears tugging at the corners of her eyes when she remembered the vicious way Alice had gone at her.

She and Alice never fought like this. Never. What the fuck did she do?

"You never call a girl crazy, Bells. Especially not Alice," Emmett told her sagely, rubbing the back of his neck.

"But she was being crazy. There was no reason for her to act like that! And that definitely wasn't a reason to blow up on me!" Bella protested, not getting what they were obviously getting.

"Bella," Jessica sighed and rolled her eyes as if she were being exasperated.

"What? I don't get it!" Bella threw up her hands, turning to Angela for help.

"Bella," Angela clicked her tongue and gave her a compassionate stare. "Alice wasn't acting crazy. She was acting jealous."

Bella's lips parted in shock, and she was so surprised that Angela and Jessica had to take her by the arms and drag her out of the room when Mr. Gordon reminded them that the day was over and it was time to go home.

Alice did not pick up the phone when she called that night, and refused to say a word to her the next day at school, no matter how hard Bella tried to get near her. It was ironic, actually. Victoria seemed to be absent that day, so now it was not Bella avoiding the redhead, it was Alice avoiding her.

Alice was being really un-fucking-fair about all of this. Bella tried multiple times in Biology to talk to her and didn't even get a glance from the vampire.

Maybe Angela and Jessica had it right. Maybe she really was jealous. But none of that was a reason for her to be so…So…

Bella had to cut her train of thought short before she started calling Alice a bunch of bad names she really didn't mean. It's not like she could figure out what Alice's problem was when the girl wouldn't even give her a chance to apologize or yell at her some more. Both were sounding like really great options.

She finally managed to pin Alice right before walking into gym class when they both coincidentally arrived at the same time -that is to say, Bella had been waiting for her to arrive. She had correctly predicted Alice would try and avoid her by coming late, which turned out to be cutting it super close at one minute before the late bell would ring.

"Alice!" Bella stood up straight off the wall when she saw the pixie approaching, and at that exact moment, Leah walked by and gave her a smile and a wave.

"Sup Bella?" she called while giving Alice the evil eye, and kept right on going.

Bella winced and didn't answer, only turned back to her fuming best friend.

"Alice-"

Alice glared right through her and with one wickedly cold shoulder, walked on into the gymnasium without a word.

Oh for God's sake! Bella thought irritably and stalked after her.

She did not get another chance to speak to Alice because the vampire speed walked to the locker room and was changed and back out before Bella even reached it the door behind her. The pixie blew past her just as she was reaching for the door handle.

Stupid vampire speed, letting her change in ten seconds flat.

"Swan!" Coach Basselor bellowed at her from across the gym when she stood there and beat her forehead against the door a few times. "What are you doing? Get changed! You're late enough as it is! Move it!"

Bella wondered how many days of detention she would get for flipping Basselor the bird but decided it probably wasn't worth it. She yanked the locker room door open and stomped in, muttering under her breath about the injustice of it all.

Bella hurried over to her locker and began spinning the combination lock harshly, grumbling the whole time. In her annoyed state, she rolled the number dial too far and had to start over. When she did it again a second time, she actually shrieked in frustration.

"For God's sake, open!" Bella snapped and slammed her palm angrily into it, her temper flaring wildly.

When that didn't work, she ground her teeth together and grudgingly spun the dial for the third time, slower, and this time it worked. She faintly heard the whistle blow back out in the gym and rolled her eyes, knowing she was going to catch flak for taking too long to get out there. She popped the locker open and immediately began to strip, pulling off her shirt and bra while unsnapping the button on her jeans and haphazardly pushing them down so they hung low on her hips.

She had just reached up a hand to begin pulling out her change of clothes (having learned from her previous mistake of forgetting them in her truck) when a hand that was most definitely not hers shot out and slammed it closed again with a crash.

Bella jumped a foot in the air, yelped and spun around. She had only enough time to register a flash of wild red hair when the scent of cinnamon and ice wine blasted her senseless.

"Well hello there, kitten," Victoria purred, towering over her and less than an inch away, her hand still pressed to the lockers next to Bella's head.

"Oh shit," Bella breathed, and cried out when Victoria laughed, molten red-gold eyes glittering maliciously as her fangs peeked out from under her ruby red lips and her pheromones assaulted Bella.

Her knees buckled as the vampire pumped ruthlessly into her senses. A shock of desire shot through her core and she slumped, gasping for air that suddenly tasted of nothing but the redhead before her.

Oh no, oh no, oh no!

"Don't look so upset to see me, sweet Bella. It's really quite hurtful," Victoria murmured, pursing her lips with a faux hurt look.

Bella sank down further and whimpered piteously when the redhead only smirked again, slowly, tauntingly. She could do nothing but shake and cower when Victoria leaned in and pressed the length of her sinuous, curvy body all along hers. Every inch of it seemed to radiate with her aura and Bella's lips parted at the feel of her, at the way the luxurious silk of her black top slid teasingly against her bare nipples when the woman's ample breasts pressed into hers with a delicious weight.

Victoria had finally caught her alone.

Oh my Jesus Christ, she thought desperately, gasping in pheromones as Victoria put her other hand on the other side of her head, trapping her in. Bella couldn't pry her eyes off of Victoria's as they bore into her, piercing through her. She could feel how cool the redhead was through her top and her nipples went stiff, making another quiet whimper leave her throat before she could stop it. She did not even have the presence of mind to freak out that she was topless in front of the woman, only the fact that the woman was here, and had her completely pinned and alone.

"Oh Bella…Bella, Bella, Bella…You're not the brightest of the bunch are you, sweetheart?" Victoria tsked, giggling lightly when Bella screwed her eyes shut and braced her hands on the vampire's shoulders, desire coursing through her nervous system without her permission. Her heart pounded maddeningly loud in her ears as Victoria dipped her head down and ran the tip of her nose from the base of her neck and back up to her jaw line, inhaling her scent.

I messed up, she realized. What is she doing here? Oh God, it's Victoria! I thought she was absent today! What should I do? What the fuck do I do!

She opened her mouth to scream for help, for Alice, but nothing came out but a wheeze.

"Mm, but that doesn't put me off, don't worry. I do so love a helpless girl. Especially such a lovely one like you…Still, you should have known better than to go arguing with your little protectors with me around. Alice told you everything, I know…And so you should know I'm a very persistent person, Bella…I always get what I want. And right now, what I want is you," Victoria murmured seductively, and to illustrate her words, she rolled her hips into Bella's, their pelvises grinding intimately.

"God!" Bella cried and surged up, arching the small of her back in slightly to escape the bolt of pleasure and want that coursed through her at the motion.

Victoria had finally caught her alone again, and it seemed she wasn't going to waste a second of it on being subtle.

"No kitten, I'm not God. But I can definitely make you see him," Victoria smiled coquettishly, her fangs glinting forebodingly in the fluorescent lighting. "Would you like to see how?"

Victoria lifted her right hand off the lockers and laid it against Bella's shoulder, rubbing slowly at the warm skin there before she let it slide downwards, fingertips trailing over her collarbone. Bella was both mesmerized and repelled by her touch.

"It was very nice of you to strip for me, Bella," Victoria smirked in her face and when she let her palm shift even lower, headed towards the valley between her breasts, panic lit through Bella and she tensed violently.

Oh my god, no, this isn't happening! Say something! Do something, anything you idiot!

But words failed her. She pushed weakly at Victoria's shoulders to no avail, because the vampire just laughed a sexy laugh and scraped her nails lightly over her skin.

"Don't even play that game with me, kitten," Victoria chuckled, and then cupped Bella's right breast with no further warning. "My, my. Your tits are fucking perfect."

Bella mewled helplessly against the lockers when Victoria squeezed her in her hand, the pressure sending delicious pleasure straight between her thighs.

Yeah, no, Victoria was expressing no interest in wasting any time doing anything but molesting her; getting straight to the point as it were.

She yelped and pushed at the woman's shoulders again when two cold fingertips pinched at her nipple, rolling it provocatively. Jolts of pleasure raced down to her throbbing clit at the sensation and she cried out. Her belly rolled over hungrily when Victoria pressed her lips against the side of her neck, dragging them over her sensitive skin.

I don't want this. Not from her. Not from her! She thought desperately.

But she did. Her traitorous body was aching for it.

"Kitten," Victoria sighed into her ear as she fondled her breast. "Don't act like you don't want this. Sweetie, there really is nothing wrong if you do. I know Alice has poisoned you against me, but it's really not fair. So what if I'm here on Volturi orders? Why does that mean we can't have some fun together? We could even be friends. You know you want it, so just relax."

Bella shivered when Victoria licked the shell of her ear and hummed.

Bella's body screamed for her brain to shut up, to turn off completely while pheromones coursed through her veins. But Bella's brain couldn't, even as she felt slick, desperate heat blooming between her thighs, even as Victoria's delicious scent filled her skull more powerfully than it ever had before.

"I don't," Bella breathed, chest heaving, breast trapped in Victoria's palm as long fingers squeezed her again, making her eyes want to roll back. "You're evil and sick and twisted and I…I don't want this. Not from you. Not from you."

Her words were soft, weak, and strained. They sounded flimsy even to her own ears.

"You don't want this Bella? You don't want me?" Victoria laughed derisively and let go of her breast, only to push her hand up against the plane of Bella's trembling stomach. It was so cool and Bella's breath hitched at the feel of it.

"I-" Bella's throat went dry when Victoria's knee pressed to the inside of her thigh and ran up and down it, easing her legs apart even as she tried to keep them shut. Despite her effort, they still seemed to drift further open as Victoria pressed the outside of her pale thigh against the inside of Bella's.

"Is that really true, Bella? Do you really think so?" Victoria hissed, brushing her nose against her cheekbone, her breath cool and sweet as it puffed across Bella's face, striking her dizzy.

"I-I…" she stammered. She couldn't get the words out of her mouth. Part of her was afraid that if she did then Victoria might actually stop touching her, and her body screamed in protest at that.

"Then prove it."

Victoria's hand slipped down so suddenly that Bella tensed, but it was too late. The back of her head slammed into the lockers when three fingers slid over the front of her underwear, dipping in between her legs. They passed so firmly over her stiff clit through the cotton barrier that she moaned outright and shot straight up as tingles spread through her most intimate area.

"Oh fuck!" she keened as Victoria began to massage her, her fingers skimming up and down, again and again, the fabric of her underwear soaking through instantly. Her clit throbbed with every pass of Victoria's fingers and she felt her insides eagerly clench around nothing. She dug her nails so hard into the redhead's shoulders, drowning in pheromones and heat and ice and hunger.

"Because it sure doesn't feel like you don't want this to me," Victoria growled into her ear. "I can feel how wet you are even through your underwear, Bella. You're creaming yourself. If you really don't want me, you go right ahead and make me stop. Push me away, if you can. If you try to push me off right now, I will let you, and I will walk right away…."

Bella's thighs quivered and her heart pounded as heat flooded her, building, a fire being stoked by Victoria's rubbing fingers. She was losing herself to the rhythm of them, her hips rocking forward and her throat bobbing as she moaned and cried out, unable to help herself.

"Tell me to stop kitten and I will. Say the word and I swear I will. Tell me no. All you have to do is say it…But you can't, can you? You can't give me anything to show you don't want it. You couldn't any other time, so why would you now?" Victoria taunted, sucking at the skin of her neck, groaning when she felt Bella's hips begin to chase after her rubbing fingers.

I can't make her stop. I can't, she thought helplessly. I can't talk. I can't do it! Oh god, it feels so good. Why does it have to feel so fucking good? I can't…I can't, I can't, I can't!

She really should have seen this coming.

If she gets you alone, and she wants you, she can take you. And there won't be anything you can do to stop her-And if she's really putting on the charm like she did a minute ago, you might not even want to stop her, Alice whispered in the back of her mind.

And she was right. She was so damn right. Bella couldn't get anything out of her mouth but incoherent mewls of bliss, bucking into Victoria's palm.

She didn't want to make it stop. She could feel the ache stirring inside her reaching a breaking point, the point of climax rushing up on her so fast that she couldn't stand to do anything that might prevent her from falling over that edge.

She didn't want Victoria to stop. She wanted it.

And she hated herself for it.

"Please," she sobbed and began to shamelessly hump at Victoria's hand, striving for the orgasm building between her shaking thighs. "I want it. I want it, please." Her hands spasmed on the redhead's shoulders when Victoria's other hand cupped the side of her neck, holding her still up against the lockers.

"That's what I thought," Victoria sneered and Bella shuddered wildly when she felt the woman's fingertips come up only to dip slowly back into the waistband of her underwear. They had just brushed the naked skin of her clit and were a moment away from ripping her apart at the seams when Victoria let loose a guttural snarl and jerked away from her.

Bella almost collapsed, but in a head rush of white chocolate and berries, Alice appeared, hissing like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs and caught her. She sobbed in surprise and desperation as a pair of arms wrapped around her and hauled her back to her feet.

"You have got to be kidding me," Victoria rumbled, now five feet away as Bella clung to Alice like a lifeline, panting hard.

It's Alice. Alice, Alice, Alice! Oh my god, Alice!

But of course it was Alice. Of course it was her. Of course Alice would never let anything bad happen to her.

Alice stepped in front of her, automatically pushing the human girl behind her at the same time. Bella was once again pinned to the lockers, but now it was Alice's reached back hand on the skin of her stomach keeping her there. It was a stark difference from Victoria's domineering hand on her belly. Alice's was a comforting, protective gesture that turned Bella on even as it made her eyes overflow with relief.

"Alice," she whimpered. "Alice, Jesus…"

She had never been so happy to see the girl in her whole life. Even the time Victoria had her trapped in the car did not compare. Alice saving her this time was like her salvation.

"Oh, well, don't you just deserve a round of applause, Alice?" Victoria sneered, crossing her arms even though her features were twisted with barely concealed anger. "You have an annoyingly bad habit of showing up just when Bella and I are getting to the best part."

Alice didn't say a word. Not a single one. She only glared right into Victoria's eyes, her fangs peeking out under her lip and the hand not against Bella held out before her, splayed open, fingers crooked into claws.

"Don't look so irritable, you little brat," Victoria snapped at Alice's lack of response. "You knew if you left her alone for even a moment that I would be on her. You don't get to play the jealous girlfriend card when you won't even put a claim on her. If you really wanted to keep her out of my hands, you'd have left your mark on her by now. But you're a coward, and a poor excuse for a vampire. Don't get mad at me when Bella here comes crawling to me on hands and knees for what you refuse to give her…"

"Leave," Alice snarled. "You have crossed the line. I told you not to lay a hand on her again. How dare you touch her without her permission?"

But Victoria threw back her head and howled with scorn. The sound of her derisive laughter made Bella cower and she felt Alice's fingers flex against her abdomen.

"Oh my god, are you seriously playing dumb right now? You heard her as well as I did, sweetling. I gave her the opportunity to push me away, to tell me to stop. And you know what I got instead? Please. I got her begging me to give it to her the way you won't…And can't. Face it, Alice. She wants me, and you can't do a thing about it."

Alice lurched forward and Bella never felt more naked in her entire life, or vulnerable. She instinctively crossed her arms over her chest and slid down the lockers, trembling and flinching when Alice snarled right in Victoria's face, going nose to nose with her, staring up into those darkening blood gold eyes with her own ebony ones.

"Leave, now. This is the last time you ever put your hands on her. I'm calling your superiors the first chance I get. You can try and twist it anyway you want to but you will not turn her into another one of your blood pets. I won't let you," Alice ground out through clenched teeth.

Bella shrank as both vampires postured, Victoria's eyes narrowing at how close the pixie stood to her, trying to back her down.

"Is that supposed to be a threat, Alice? Is that supposed to scare me?" Victoria murmured, expression melting into that foreboding emotionless mien. "What do you expect the Volturi to do? Fire me? For what? Doing my job?"

"Touching her is not-"

"Isn't it?" Victoria interrupted and drew up to her full height, bearing down on Alice as she did, but Alice didn't give her an inch. "Bella's so much more likely to come along willingly if I fuck. Her. Stupid. Don't you think? Who's she going to follow, Alice? The woman who can and will give her what she wants, or the stupid little girl who will only break her pathetic human heart?"

Alice shoved Victoria so hard that she careened back into the row of lockers behind her with an almighty bang that dented them horribly. Bella blanched at the violence as Victoria's eyes flashed black and she bared her fangs with a gut wrenching snarl.

Victoria stood slowly, so slowly as Alice heaved and did not make another move, just watched the redhead with cold, hating eyes. Victoria took one step forward, then another, every single one putting Bella ever more on edge. The tension crackled through the room, pheromones pulsating in the air as the two female vampires glared, fangs out and hands splayed. Victoria only stopped when she stood so close to Alice that she could kiss her, but by the way her fingers twitched, Bella knew all the redhead wanted to do was kill her.

And then silence. Absolute and total suffocating silence.

For the longest moment, nothing happened. It pressed down on Bella's sanity, watching, waiting for one of them to make a move, for them to explode and go at each other, to start yelling, something, anything.

But no. Victoria only towered over Alice, daunting and intimidating, and Alice did not back down for even a second.

And Bella couldn't stand it another second.

"The girl," she blurted, flinching when Victoria's eyes whipped towards her and Alice perked but did not turn around, though Bella could tell she was hanging on every word.

"What?" Victoria said softly, emotionless. Being spoken to by the woman made Bella tremble and nearly swallow her tongue, but she fought it back the best that she could, insides aching with left over arousal.

"You asked who I would follow…You or Alice. And I'm saying it's Alice. I would pick Alice over you any time. Every time. I would follow Alice. I'd follow Alice to the ends of the earth, but I will never follow you," Bella gasped, shocked at her own defiance, the fact that she could even speak to the redhead now.

For the first time, Bella saw the rage cut across Victoria's face, the way her nose wrinkled as she rumbled loudly, and Alice's answering hiss was the only thing that made Bella feel safe enough to keep staring right back at her. That, as well as the rising anger growing in her for this bitch of a woman, for the way she had turned Bella into a whining, whimpering puppy begging to be touched, for threatening Alice.

"You will both regret this day. Next time won't be so pleasant, Isabella. Next time I'm going to make it hurt. And Alice? Those marks on your back weren't even the start of what you have coming to you," Victoria spat, and in a blur she took off, disappearing out of the locker room with the door slamming shut to punctuate her abrupt departure.

The change in Alice was so fast Bella didn't even get the chance to process it.

"Jesus Christ, Bella," the pixie breathed and took three quick steps back over to her. Bella swallowed hard, expecting a repeat of the last time Alice had gone off on her and fully ready to defend herself even if her sex was aching so profoundly that it was almost all she could think about, but that was not what happened.

Alice leaned down and snatched her shirt and bra off the floor and held them out to her. Bella took them quickly, blinking, but blushed brightly when Alice grabbed the front of her jeans and did up her button and zipper within a split second. She hurriedly slid her bra on and scrambled into her t shirt as Alice briefly looked away to give her some privacy. The moment her head cleared the hole, though, all she could see was Alice, so close, and smelling so fantastic and looking so hurt with her bright black eyes swirling with some unknown emotion after saving her for what felt like the millionth time.

"God, Bella, I'm so sorry," Alice choked out. "I'm so sorry. She almost-I should have known-I didn't mean to…God, I should have known. I'm so stupid. I'm so stupid!"

"Alice," Bella breathed, surprised by the way Alice's eyes shined with tears. "No, don't…Hey, stop, I'm okay. It's okay, don't-"

"No it's not! God damn it, Bella, she was practically raping you and I-I let her get to you. I let her slip past me. I was so angry at you after yesterday and I thought she wasn't here so I let her slip in my visions and I didn't see her coming. Bella," Alice cried forlornly, shaking her head brokenly when Bella immediately switched to concerned mode.

"Alice, stop it. Hey look at me, it's okay. I'm-She didn't rape me. I'm fine. Don't, okay? Please don't cry," Bella pleaded and though she knew it was a monumentally bad idea, she reached out and cupped the pixie's face in her hands when she heard the softest little sob bubble out of her mouth.

It was such a heartbreaking sound that Bella never wanted to hear again, ever. So she ignored the electric tingles that raced through her because she was touching Alice and the lingering ache in her sex from Victoria's latest attack, and held her gaze, trying to convey to Alice that she really was okay even if she kind of wasn't.

"I'm sorry," Alice whispered hopelessly, cupping the hands on each of her cheeks. She was trembling and Bella's heart went out to her because of it.

Alice was really, really falling apart in front of her.

"I'm sorry I failed again. I'm sorry. I didn't keep you safe. I'm so sorry," Alice whimpered.

"No, Alice, no. Stop apologizing. Everything is fine. You did keep me safe. You came just in time. She didn't even…You know. So it's not even a big deal. She just got a little farther this time is all…And it wasn't rape. You were right…When she put on her charm, I couldn't say no. I asked her to, Alice so don't…" It was hard to admit that, that she had genuinely wanted it this time. It was hard to admit that she had actually asked-no, pleaded with Victoria for more.

"Making you want it is not the same thing as consent," Alice scowled and tried to pull away, but Bella held her firmly.

"No, it's not, but she didn't make me do anything. I'm pretty gay in case you haven't noticed. And she may be a fucking bitch and a whore and I hate her, but I-I could have made her stop if I wanted to, but I didn't. I didn't want her to, Alice…I never even said no. I…I all but said yes."

Alice shook her head, not believing her, and Bella sighed softly.

"I don't feel raped if that makes you feel any better," Bella tried again and Alice's eyes swam with more tears.

She meant it. She honestly didn't believe that Victoria had been out to rape her. No, the vibe she got from the redhead was that the vampire wanted her willing more than anything else. Undoubtedly she would get a thrill out of Bella willingly giving into her than having to take it by force. That would definitely be much sweeter when she rubbed it back in Alice's face.

And Bella hated to admit it, but she had certainly been willing once the touching really kicked in.

"It doesn't," Alice murmured back, but she did take a heavy, unneeded breath and her eyes seemed to clear a little.

Bella released her face as the pheromones pulsing around her made her too uncomfortable to keep touching Alice. The girl looked beautiful even when she was hurting, with her wet shimmering irises and quivering heart shaped lips, and Bella did not want to look at her like that at a time like this.

"Alice…Out of a more than mild curiosity, why were you so pissed at me? I don't know what I did to make you so mad at me. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I wasn't trying to, I just didn't get why you were so angry," Bella breached the subject of why Alice had not been watching over her so closely in the first place.

At her question, Alice looked immeasurably pained, her glossy pupils shining.

"Bella, I…It was nothing. I just really, really hate…That word. I don't like to be called crazy," Alice replied heavily.

Bella knew by now what it sounded like when someone was keeping something from her, and she was so not in the mood for that.

"Don't. Don't do that. Tell me what's wrong. Don't keep stuff from me," Bella insisted, her frustration bleeding in when she spoke.

"It's nothing, Bella. Please just-"

"No, I'm serious. Don't do this right now. Tell me," Bella demanded.

"Bella-"

"Just tell me, Alice!" Bella's voice rose when Alice refused to meet her eyes and refused to answer her question. "Please."

"God, Bella, I was jealous, alright? I was jealous!" Alice burst out, throwing up her hands when Bella relentlessly pressed her.

Oh.

Oh.

Angela had been right…

Alice was jealous…Because someone else was interested in her.

Surprised, Bella's lips parted, but Alice wasn't finished.

"Are you happy now? Do you get it? I was jealous that you were talking to her and looking at her and pretty much ignoring me when you've never done that before, and I got angry, alright? And I don't trust her anyway, she's sketchy as mess. And then you called me crazy and I just kind of lost it. I really don't like that word, you know," Alice admitted, pursing her lips when Bella gazed at her as if seeing her for the first time.

Does it really bother her that much? So much that she would throw a fit like that because Leah tried to give me her number? She wondered.

"But you…But you said we weren't supposed to…I mean we're not…We're not supposed to care, Alice," Bella said weakly and the vampire gave a tiny, watery laugh that was anything but amused.

"Yeah, well…Oops, right? And then I walked in here and saw Victoria all over you again and I just-Bella I can't stand it. I can't stand to see anyone touching you. I'm not supposed to care but I do, and that's why I was so angry. I'm still seething. And I can't shake it off. I just can't. Every time I see her hands on you the vampire in me just rages and I…I just…"

Alice shrugged helplessly.

"B-But…But…" Bella stuttered and Alice sighed miserably, running one hand through her hair.

"I know what I said, Bella. You know I have feelings for you. I just didn't think they would be so hard to control," Alice murmured and glanced away as she said it.

For a long moment they stayed silent as Bella processed that.

She…She has feelings for me. And it's hard for her to control them…Was Edward actually on to something? Because it sure is starting to sound like it, she thought, and tried to squelch the eager sensation that arose in her chest.

She couldn't afford to hope for anything like that. She shouldn't want to hope for anything like that…

"I get that, Alice, I really do. I…You know I like you too. But if we're going to…I mean, we have to let it go, right? Like you said? So it's not fair for you to jump on Leah like that. You could have really hurt her…" Bella mumbled.

At the mention of Leah, Alice's face darkened, but all she said was, "I know."

Mildly confused at the brooding look on Alice's face, she decided to switch back to the much less uncomfortable subject of her impending doom at Victoria or the Volturi's hands instead of the frightening one of her and Alice's feelings for each other.

"Anyway, it's okay, Alice, I forgive you. But I think you really pissed Victoria off this time," Bella stated, slumping back against the lockers. "She looked really angry this time, like seriously pissed. But I'm not blaming you," she added hurriedly when Alice looked extremely guilty. "I'm just saying…And what did she mean about the marks on your back?"

At this, Alice's face smoothed out and Bella knew the next thing out of her mouth was going to be a lie.

"Bella-"

"Alice," she warned, having had just about enough of Alice's reluctance to tell her the truth without Bella having to pry it out of her in a game of Twenty Questions.

Alice stared at her, working a muscle in her jaw.

"It's no big deal. Don't be upset, please?" Alice groaned when she didn't let up.

"Alice, what-"

Alice turned around and pulled her shirt up to her neck exposing her entire back to Bella.

"Oh my god!" Bella gasped.

Because where there should have been nothing but creamy white flawless skin was now what looked to be more than a score of scorch marks.

Long black lines marred the marble of Alice's back from the edge of her neck all the way to the base of her spine. They arched and crisscrossed in random patterns as if someone had taken an ash covered whip to her. The marks were blurry at the edges, almost smeared in appearance.

"Jesus, Alice, what the hell is that? What happened?" Bella exclaimed, moving forward and reaching out a tentative hand as if to touch her but stopping just short as Alice tensed.

"It's nothing, Bella. They'll be gone in a few more days. They don't even hurt anymore," Alice said offhandedly and quickly pushed her shirt back down to her waist.

"No, don't even try that with me! Vampires never get injured like that! What happened? Did she do this to you? Was it Victoria?" Bella babbled furiously as Alice turned back to face her, wincing at the volume of her voice.

When Alice remained silent, Bella had her answer. And she had a sudden epiphany as to what exactly had caused those marks on Alice's back.

"That was your punishment, wasn't it?" she said quietly, and scowled when Alice still said nothing, only confirming it again. "Alice, what the hell! That's a lot more than just a 'stern talking to.' You look like someone flayed you!"

Alice squirmed, but said meekly, "Well, they kind of did…"

Bella swelled angrily, her distress over the wounds on Alice's back taking over her.

I can't believe this. She's hurt. She's really, really hurt. Her back looked like hell, and all because she told me what was going on. She took that beating for me. She told me it was nothing!

"That's not nothing, Alice!" she yelled, balling up her fists. "How could you be so stupid? If I had known they would do that I never would have wanted to know! You should never have told me, not if that was the consequence! God, I'm going to kill that bitch for this, I swear! And you too!"

But instead of growing angry at her furious ranting as Bella fully expected her to, Alice only softened, her eyes widening the slightest bit. She peered at Bella with the oddest, most unreadable look that made her pause.

"What?" Bella blushed, some of the hot air going out of her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's just…You're doing what I did, you know. When I pulled you out of Victoria's car. I yelled at you like this. Because I was scared, and I was concerned for you so much that I didn't know what else to do but go off on you," Alice said slowly.

Bella opened her mouth to deny that, saying that this was different, but she halted.

It wasn't, really. It was the same principle, and she found herself floundering for something to say.

"Yeah, well. So what? So I'm freaked out because you're hurt. I worry about you too, you know. You're not the only one who gets concerned about keeping us safe. God, I don't even have a chance of protecting you from that stuff. So sue me if I'm a little upset and freaking out that you're wounded. I can't do anything about it when you are but freak, Alice. I can't stand the idea of you being in pain or getting hurt, especially trying to protect my stupid self…" Bella trailed away.

Something about the way Alice looked at her then was so different. Alice didn't say anything, just stared deeply at her with those expressive eyes piercing, probing, stripping her to something base. Bella suddenly shrank, feeling shy and confused, anxious and a little excited, bewildered by the way Alice continued to just look at her like that.

Like-Like she wanted something, and was holding it back with everything she had, but her lips parted and Bella felt a lovely, tremulous sensation tug at her gut, instinctively knowing something was about to happen.

"Bella," Alice murmured in a voice like heat and stardust and longing, and Bella started when cool hands reached out and cupped either side of her face. Slender fingers lay along her cheeks, ten lines of electrically cool heat that made her breath freeze in her lungs.

What is she-

Alice took a step forward and their eyes locked like the most powerful magnets in the world as Bella took a step back and ended up pressed back into the lockers.

Oh. Oh, oh, oh, her brain short circuited and her hands came up to press down on Alice's, her whole body stiffening with an unstoppable yearning that overcame her without warning.

"I'm so sorry," Alice husked, the sound of her voice low and filled with something the brunette did not think she would ever be able to name, but reminded her weirdly, starkly of sunsets, lonely nights, and a lover's embrace.

And then Alice kissed her.

She dipped her head forward and, Bella's eyes screwed shut instantly and she gasped the moment their lips met, her whole body lighting up like the Fourth of July. Her heart stuttered and went still, and she shivered crazily when she felt the length of Alice lay so gently and effortlessly along hers, fitting them together in all the nooks and soft, sensitive places where two bodies could fit, so tenderly and intimately as opposed to the forceful, intrusive way Victoria did it. Those cool hands soothed her burning cheeks and she gasped when she felt her bottom lip slip between Alice's.

She tasted like rain and spearmint and white chocolate and berries, and Bella melted like cotton candy in Alice's mouth the moment the vampire's tongue dipped into hers insistently, her entire world pitching upside down as she and Alice kissed.

This was different. It was different to any other time they had kissed. It was not a violent rush of pheromones and lust and blood lust. They were not out of their minds, unaware of what they were doing. There was nowhere near enough of Victoria lingering in her system to cause Bella to unwittingly kiss her back, and Alice wasn't hyped up on pheromones from being bitten by the human.

It was soft and sweet, so gentle that it almost hurt.

We're kissing. I'm kissing Alice, and she's kissing me. What is happening? She thought, squeezing Alice's hands until her knuckles strained against her skin, unwittingly slipping her tongue forward to get more of that taste, the taste of Alice, and Alice moaned, moaned into her mouth with the sweetest sound Bella had ever heard. She whimpered back, but the vocalization of what they were doing seemed to snap Alice out of whatever the hell had come over her.

Unfortunately,

"Fuck!" Alice cursed and jerked back, breaking their kiss apart brutally. She surged away and Bella slumped against the lockers, tingling in all the best and worst ways. Her stomach was filled with a thousand little butterflies and her heart pounded like a tribal drum in her heaving chest.

She must have made quite the stupid picture, standing there with her mouth still kind of hanging open and her hands hovering next to her own face where Alice's hands had been a second before.

"Alice-what-" Bella stammered.

But Alice was already gone.

She disappeared so fast that if Bella could not still taste her, still feel her on her lips, she would have wondered if Alice had ever really even been there at all.