Chapter 16

I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR CHARACTERS

For the next three weeks that went by, things got spectacularly weird.

Bella, of course, had no idea what she expected to happen next, but it was not what she got. First of all, Victoria seemed to have given up on her. When Bella went back to school the following Monday, she was gone, and when Alice checked her visions, she saw the redhead boarding a plane to Volterra, Italy, the Volturi capitol city. Bella was stunned, and when she asked why, all she got was a grim look from Alice and a short, "I don't know."

She grew excited and asked Alice, "Isn't that a good thing? Now she won't be after me anymore!"

Alice's reply was very foreboding, "No, Bella. I'd say it's actually a bad thing. And Victoria is most certainly still out for you. She's not the type of girl that just gives up."

Alice's logic for that was that she preferred Victoria where she could keep an eye on her, and that the Volturi must have called her back for a reason; a reason she did not know, and that not knowing what the Volturi were thinking was never a good thing, according to the pixie.

That dashed most of Bella's good feeling about it, as did the news that Victoria was not the only one who had left. The same Monday, Alice informed her that Jasper had also disappeared, and no one was really sure where he was going. When she checked her visions, Alice could not tell where he was headed because Jasper himself could not decide.

Alice told her this news with a straight face, and Bella knew better than to ask any further about the matter. She did not want to press Alice after everything, knowing the girl must be sensitive after the emotional hell she had been through when she had been forced to pick between them and break the heart of her husband when she did not choose him. She figured Alice would talk about it when she was ready…

Except this stance on the matter left them in a totally weird place.

They were in love with each other…But they were still carrying on as if they were just friends. And not talking about it with Alice to give her the time she needed simply translated to both of them practically acting like nothing had ever happened, which was not what Bella wanted to do.

The relationship between her and Alice experienced an exponential shift, but what that shift was and where it left them, she was not exactly sure. Everything had changed between them…And nothing at the same time. It was absolutely maddening and frustrating, but Bella did not know how to bring it up and figured that it needed to be Alice who decided when it would be a good time to talk about it all.

There was, however, at least one very noticeable change in their interactions with each other.

Namely the fact that they now kissed.

A lot.

Like, a lot.

From the day of her near death experience and the profession of both her and Alice's love for each other, the weirdness kicked in, starting most noticeably with the kissing.

It was never public. It always happened in a natural sort of way, whenever they were alone or hanging out together. Bella was afraid that after everything she would have to contend with Alice shying away again, with the pixie distancing herself while she collected herself. But it happened in the entirely opposite way.

Almost every day for three weeks, they hung out together, usually at Bella's house because of what Alice had dubbed 'family issues' that was only one thing on a growing list of things they both seemed to have silently agreed not to talk about.

And they kissed.

They could be goofing around, watching TV, doing homework, lounging around bored, it didn't matter. Bella could be in the middle of debating some random topic with Alice, like over the semantics of using a brush as opposed to a comb, and out of nowhere, when they were in the middle of making joking jabs at each other over their preferences, their lips would get locked up. Bella was never even entirely sure how it happened. One second she was brandishing a brush in one hand and waving a comb at Alice in the other, and Alice was laughing, and the next the vampire leaned in and captured her mouth with her own lovely one, and they kissed.

Alice was never even the one to always start it, much to Bella's surprise and chagrin. Once she had been lying on her bed with her head in Alice's lap, staring at the ceiling and listening to Alice ramble on and on about her passion for fashion when she looked up and saw how gorgeous the underside of Alice's jaw was and how pretty the girl was when her eyes were lit up as she talked about something she loved.

She had leaned up, turned around to face Alice, and kissed her, without thinking about it, like she was allowed to, like it was something they had always done. And Alice kissed her back smoothly, sweetly, her rant about the latest winter wear dying as she did.

They always reciprocated. Every single time. With lips and tongue and sometimes even teeth –but no fangs- when things got heated.

And things definitely got heated sometimes.

How could it not? She was making out with Alice. She could probably kiss Alice forever and never get tired of it. The girl's tongue was stupidly skillful, and the taste of her combined with the feel of her lit both emotional and physical fires inside Bella that she was helpless to stop.

It was both frightening and exhilarating how quickly they could really get into whatever it was that they were doing with each other.

Bella remembered with a blush the time one weekend before that she had been plopped down on the couch, with Alice snuggled into her side and Charlie out running a late night shift, watching some random movie on Netflix. Not only had they been kissing, but they always seemed to be draped over each other in some way as well. That in and of itself wasn't much different from before, but it was the way they did it that had changed.

They sat impossibly close. Alice's head was lying on her shoulder, and Bella could smell her amazing aroma and her shampoo, that smelled faintly of fresh grapes. Bella had one arm around her waist and could not ignore the fact that her hand was on Alice's curved hip. Her feet were on the floor, but Alice's were curled on the couch beside her.

Bella was actually almost used to the unusually intimate positions by now, and as such was not completely distracted by Alice as she watched the movie. Just mostly.

That is to say, until she felt Alice's lips on her neck.

It was in the middle of some explosive action scene when Bella felt cool lips gently press to the crook where her shoulder sloped into her neck. She blinked a little and her breath hitched, but she did not dare look at Alice and chance ruining the sensation if the girl pulled away. Her eyes stayed glued on the flashing TV screen as Alice slowly trailed kisses up her neck, and Bella shivered when the vampire pressed one hand against her stomach, clearly uninterested in whatever they were watching.

"Alice?" Bella breathed.

"Shh," Alice murmured against the corner of her mouth, and then kissed her with no further preamble.

When Bella felt Alice's tongue in her mouth that night, a hunger awoke inside her. Heat and desire pooled low in her belly as she kissed her back, their tongues dancing eagerly as Bella lost herself to the taste of Alice's mouth. They turned into each other, and she moaned helplessly when Alice boldly crawled into her lap and straddled her.

She had no idea what had gotten into the vampire that night, but she certainly wasn't complaining.

It was a different kind of hunger than Victoria produced inside her, or even Rosalie. It was an unstoppable head rush that made her whole body wake up eagerly, made her squirm and whimper helplessly against Alice's mouth again and again, not just wanting Alice, but needing her with everything she had.

Bella's hormones went through the roof when she felt Alice's ass on her lap and she put her trembling hands on those tiny hips as their kiss deepened with soft whimpers and moans. Every noise Alice released was pitched perfectly and only stirred the human on further.

Maybe the love she had for Alice only amplified the already fucking sexy girl, but either way, it was incredible how easily Alice turned her on. And how fast.

Somehow Bella ended up with her head on the arm of the couch and Alice lying on top of her, and somehow Alice's hand was up her shirt, under her bra, and cupping her breast, and Bella couldn't even breathe from how good it felt to be in Alice's hands. They were grinding, trembling, moaning, kissing, and Bella was wet and hot between her legs with Alice's mouth sucking hotly at her neck, vaguely wondering how far and fast this was about to go.

All the way, her libido groaned as Alice plucked Bella's hand off her lower back and placed it on her ass. Bella died at the way it felt in her hand, and when she couldn't resist giving Alice a good squeeze, she almost came right then and there under the stress of Alice's pheromones and the growl that vibrated into her mouth in response.

She had no idea what the fuck they were doing or where it would leave them, only how good it felt and how much she loved Alice more and more with every hungry kiss and moan.

That little session had been broken up by the sound of Charlie's keys in the lock, her own gasp, and Alice's muffled swear that was way more erotic than it should be as the vampire rolled off of her. When Charlie walked into the living room, they were sitting on opposite ends of the couch, and Alice smiled serenely, looking unruffled as she greeted him. The only thing that might have given her away was the dark shade of her eyes.

Who knew she was such an actress? Only Bella could sense the desire swirling in her irises, having learned the delicious expression well by now.

Bella, however, could not look Charlie in the eyes, because her hair was a mess and her shirt was crooked, and she was pretty sure that her hand was clapped over a brand new hickey, not to mention the hot throb pulsing between her thighs.

Thanks, Alice.

That was how it always ended. They would break apart for some reason or another, with swollen lips and dark eyes. That was the farthest they had been, Alice's hand on her breast, kneading away. As good as that felt, as amazing as it was, and how much Bella truly loved Alice…

She was determined that it would go no farther until they talked about what the hell they were doing. Actual sex was a much bigger thing than a measly second base. (Measly, right. Bella still masturbated to the thought of it. Stupid hormones.)

They were kissing and making out and groping each other. Were they still just friends? Surely not. But then what exactly was this? Were they girlfriends? No, it felt weird to say that, even though Bella really kind of wished they were…What did Alice really want out of this, anyway? What did Bella do? How did Alice feel about all of it? She did not seem to shy from Bella when things got hot and heavy, but she also never really pushed it all the way, either.

They were in love with each other, but they never talked about that. They kissed, but had no idea what their relationship really was.

And though the hormonal part of Bella wanted to go all the way despite all of that, the logical part of her knew that that was definitely not a good idea. She shouldn't even be considering sex with Alice already, Jesus. Still, it was kind of hard not to think about that stuff when the vampire's tongue was practically in her throat.

But reality and practicality could easily dissuade any fantasies. That was a huge step, and they had not even addressed the most important step of even talking about everything that had happened.

The heart of her was beginning to ache with confusion and a want for something more than kisses with uncertain meanings, but every time she tried to breach the subject, it never felt right, and she would chicken out.

So everything stayed completely and utterly weird between them. Different, but the same.

The weirdness was not relegated solely to her and Alice, though. Back at school, things were weird, too, but in an entirely different way, notably concerning Leah Clearwater.

And it was that weirdness with Leah that happened to be the deciding factor that inevitably broke the weirdness between Bella and Alice.

"Sup, Bella?" the La Push girl greeted as she dropped down beside her in the gymnasium bleachers. Over the past three weeks, Bella had gotten closer to Leah, much to Alice's growing irritation. Bella watched as Alice glanced over at them immediately from her position out on the floor, in the competitive game of volleyball going on. Bella's team had already lost and that's why she was sprawled out in the bleachers, watching Angela's and Alice's teams go at it.

A guilty part of Bella was unquestionably turned on by the hard look Alice always got every time Leah came around her. She hated to admit it, but Alice was undeniably sexy when she was angry, and she was angry every time Leah got near her. For the life of her, Bella did not know why. For three weeks it had been almost non stop glaring between the both of them, and despite Alice's hostility towards the La Push native, Leah still made an effort to befriend her, and being the person that she was, Bella happily let it happen.

Seriously. Leah was chill, and funny, and she was one of the few girls in the school who was not only gay herself, but took no crap from Cassie and her crew. More than once Bella had watched Leah come to her defense when anyone tried to give her crap, and that was part of what made it so easy to like her.

So why the hell did Alice dislike her so much? That should have instantly put Leah in her good books, if she was looking out for Bella.

Okay, well…Bella had come to learn that Alice was actually a pretty possessive person, and so the jealousy was what kept Alice from liking Leah. Sometimes Bella still got the feeling Leah might be into her, but with how mysterious the girl was, she was never sure. But that did not explain why Alice had hated her from the get go, and whenever Bella asked her about it, she got nothing but a scowl in response and a vague, "She's just bad news, Bella! Why can't you understand that?"

Because you won't tell me why she's bad news, Bella thought with a flash of annoyance as Alice spiked the ball particularly hard and it hit the floor with a slam as Leah sat down next to her.

The fact of the matter was, Bella liked Leah. She was a good friend, something she was definitely appreciated in the hostile environment her homophobic school had become.

If Alice hated Leah so much, if she hated the fact that Leah seemed to think that Bella was available and hated that because of that the girl sometimes hit on her, she should do something about it.

Not kiss Bella all the time, but never talk about what happened. Not grope her and then act like everything was still the same between them. Not pretend like they weren't in love with each other.

If she was so freaking jealous, why didn't she do something about it?

"Hey," Bella greeted her. "You tired of the boys or something?" she inquired, gesturing across the gym at a group of tall, tanned, and stupidly muscular guys that looked a whole lot like the girl sitting beside her.

Leah had not been the only La Push transfer. She was one of four of the Quileute natives that had switched to Forks High. Embry, Quil, and Jake, her cousins, had also entered the school, and just like Alice hated Leah, she also seemed to hate the rest of the guys joking around making obnoxious amounts of noise as usual. But even the rest of the Cullens seemed to have little patience for the group. The Quileutes seemed to return the sentiments, too. Emmett had bumped into Embry and Quil both while walking down the hall one day, and Bella had watched in astonishment as both boys shoved him back, so hard he hit the lockers.

Emmett had not physically responded, but the menacing look on his face had made everyone watching back off a few steps. Embry and Quil had glared at him, but Jake, the one guy out of all of them that Bella could actually stand, had grabbed them by the shoulders and steered them away.

Bella was starting to wonder if maybe the Cullens were racist…No, that couldn't be it.

Since when had they ever indicated they were prejudiced people? But then why else did they hate the La Push kids so much? And why did the La Push kids seem to hate them back? Even Leah did not come around her when Alice was at her side, where Alice always made a point to be.

Bella had no idea. They all acted like two rival gangs, seconds away from having a shootout.

"I'm always tired of them," Leah snorted, resting her foot on one knee and leaning back, stretching the toned, tanned muscles of her arms. Her shirt rode up, and Bella glanced at the tiny strip of skin it revealed.

It was ironic, honestly, the way she looked at other girls now. Ever since realizing she loved Alice, she also realized that no matter how beautiful Leah was, she was nothing compared to the attraction Bella felt for the pixie. Looking back on it, Bella knew she never had been, not really. Even Victoria and Rosalie had not called to her the way Alice did, when she smiled or laughed, or just walked on by, simply existing, but pulling Bella's eyes with her wherever she went.

Bella could acknowledge that other girls were beautiful, even hot, but any attraction she felt towards them was just that. An acknowledgment, nothing more. It wasn't a profound want or desire. She could look, but she didn't really want to touch. She had eyes only for one girl, and that girl was Alice.

Too fucking bad she had no idea what was going on with her and the girl, though. Maybe then this epiphany of hers would actually mean something other than heartache and a decidedly unsatisfied libido.

"I can see why," Bella laughed as Embry and Quil jumped on Jake, unsuccessfully trying to give the bigger boy a noogie. Jake easily grabbed them both in a headlock, his huge biceps bulging. He really was a big guy, probably the biggest in the school next to Emmett.

Bella liked Jake okay. Sometimes when she was eating lunch and Leah decided to sit with them instead of her cousins, Jake would stop by. He was a sweet guy, funny, but obviously crushing on her. That put her off, but out of the three of them, he was the only one who seemed to have any level of maturity, and he wasn't a dick about his attraction to her.

Embry and Quil were both jackasses. Rude, and disrespectful. It was no wonder Leah got tired of them.

"Yeah. I deal with that shit twenty four seven. It gets really annoying, honestly. Whatever, though. Let's not talk about boys. It's not like either of us are into them, anyway," Leah shrugged.

"Right," Bella chuckled, glancing at her out of the corner of her eye.

"Sooo…" Leah drawled, and Bella had the sudden feeling that this conversation was going to head into decidedly lesbian territory.

"What's up with you and Pixie Sticks, Swan?" Leah asked slowly.

Close enough to lesbian territory, at least in her opinion. What a loaded question that was. Best to stick with the safest answers she could come up with. At this point, people nosed in on her business with her best friend so much that it wasn't even hard to do so.

"Um…Nothing, really. Me and Alice are just…Me and Alice," Bella replied, crossing her arms when said vampire looked up at them as she tossed the ball in the air to serve it.

Bella realized like a slap to the face that Leah's arm was actually draped along the bleachers behind her head in a way that could easily be mistaken for something more than it was.

It wasn't actually a big deal. Leah always stretched her long limbs out whenever she sat, and after her stretch, she had just dropped it in the most comfortable place, which happened to be in a place that could easily be transformed into it being wrapped around Bella's shoulders if she moved it just an inch forward.

When Alice served the ball, she hit it so hard that it shot straight into the net with so much force that it rebounded into the nearest girl's stomach, making her yelp and nearly drop to her knees. The coach blew her whistle as Bella winced and Alice frantically rushed over to apologize.

Leah laughed.

"Right. Sure you are. That's why she's imagining mutilating me in some twisted fashion every time I get around you," Leah said as Bella squirmed uncomfortably.

"Alice is just…Protective," she said evasively.

"Or jealous," Leah scoffed. "Seriously, you guys are so obvious. And you wonder why everyone's so convinced you two are scissoring it out behind closed doors."

Bella's cheeks flamed, and she spluttered, sitting up straight in protest.

It did not help that Leah's words forcefully put the image of her and Alice…Doing that into her head, and damn it, now she would need to take an ice cold shower after gym just to get rid of it.

Or take a few minutes alone with her right hand…

Damn!

"Dude-We're not-I mean we haven't-Seriously-" she stammered wildly, waving her hands in a crazy fashion as Leah hitched an eyebrow at her, almond shaped eyes narrowing.

"What, you guys aren't? You're telling me you haven't tapped that yet Swan?" Leah said with mock disbelief, sitting up too as Bella floundered.

"What? No!" Bella yelped indignantly, then shrank when a few people sitting around looked at them.

Not that she hadn't wanted to, but that was beside the point!

The point being that she wanted a whole lot more than to 'tap' Alice, and that they weren't even ready for that anyway, second base be damned. They weren't even ready for a lot of things, apparently.

Like talking about anything.

Leah, however, only laughed at the outraged blush on her cheeks.

"Dude, Izzy, chill. I'm just fucking with you," Leah snickered.

Bella glared at her for a moment, and then shoved the native girl's shoulder as Leah mimicked her expression of outrage, which only made the Quileute girl laugh harder. Bella couldn't help but roll her eyes and smile, knowing she had overreacted.

"Jeez, I didn't think you were such a prude Swan," Leah said after a minute, noticing the faint blush on Bella's cheeks.

"What? I'm not! You're just a pervert," Bella huffed, offended.

Bella was not a prude. If Leah could hear her thoughts half the time when Alice was around, and even when she wasn't, she would know that. Edward could probably vouch for her.

Poor Edward. Sometimes she forgot he could read minds.

Until she saw the grimace on his face when she was pulled out of a particularly graphic day dream involving Alice and an entirely different ending to that night with her on the couch.

Yeah. That was pretty embarrassing, to say the least. She was much more careful with her thoughts whenever he was around now.

"You're blushing," Leah pointed out as if that proved her point, and Bella only blushed more because of it.

Ugh. Stupid blood, get the fuck out of my face, she thought in annoyance.

She was not a prude, damn it. She liked kissing and groping and touching, and would happily do so, had been happily doing so with Alice for the past few weeks. Even with Edward she had been the aggressor, always trying for more.

Seriously. If anyone was a prude, it was Edward. That boy was abstinent to the bone.

Her inner lesbian was now thankful for that, though.

But just because she liked getting to second base with Alice did not mean she was a prude if she wanted to keep that to herself.

"So? I'm not a prude," she snapped when Leah smirked. "I just like private things to be kept private. You, on the other hand, are lewd, obscene, and shameless."

"Sure. According to you, there is nothing for you to keep private anyway," Leah said, reclining back into the bleachers again.

If by nothing she meant how often she was playing tonsil hockey with Alice, no.

But she was lying about that, which was what started this in the first place, so…

When Bella decided to plead the fifth on that one and remain silent, Leah glanced at her.

"So…There really is nothing going on between you and Cullen?" she said slowly.

Bella looked at her, curiosity stirred by the fishing tone Leah's voice had taken on.

"Nope," Bella stated.

"Nothing at all…?"

"No," she repeated, feeling guilty about lying for some reason, as if somehow she was betraying Alice.

Hell, it's not like they were dating or anything.

But still…

"Why are you asking anyway?" Bella inquired when Leah fell silent, watching the volleyball game before them.

Bella watched for a moment too, mostly because Alice was wearing short shorts and bouncing all over the place, never letting the ball hit the ground.

Maybe I'm not a prude. Maybe I'm just a pervert, she reprimanded herself, feeling exactly like one as her gaze lingered on Alice's butt for a little too long.

Her hormones were out of control lately. Making out with a vampire all the time was bound to do that to you, though. It felt somehow disrespectful to look at Alice's body like that without her permission, even though Alice had once told her that there was no shame in appreciating someone else's body, as long as you weren't rude about it.

"Because…" Leah sighed, and turned to look at her face to face. "If there isn't anything between you two, then I don't have to feel badly about doing this."

Leah reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked to be two movie tickets, and Bella was stunned as the Quileute girl handed one to her.

Did she just…?

Bella took it wordlessly, surprise sewing her mouth shut.

"Leah," she mumbled, gazing down at it.

"Look, the offer stands the same as it did before. We can go together as friends, or…We can go together."

Together.

Bella looked up sharply at that particular word, hearing Alice whisper it again in the back of her mind.

Together…

Leah had just effectively asked her out on a date. She wanted to go to the movies with Bella, together.

"It's whatever you want, Izzy. We don't even have to go at all if you don't want to. But I figured I might as well try one more time," Leah continued, sounding as if she didn't care either way.

Bella looked at her again, the ticket held in both hands. She could see the contours of Leah's pretty eyes, the shade of her tanned skin, the flex of her neck muscles when she shifted in her black tank top.

And all she could think of was Alice, and how the only together she wanted was the together with her.

Not Leah, or anyone else.

Yet despite that yearning for Alice, none of it was coming to fruition between them. They had not talked about it at all, and the only indication that anything had ever happened at all was the faintly lingering taste of white chocolate, spearmint, and berries on her lips that seemed to follow her everywhere nowadays, and the persistent absence of Jasper Hale.

Together, Alice had said. We'll figure it out together.

But they had not figured anything out other than the fact that Alice had a super sensitive back and Bella had super sensitive ears, and that when they kissed a certain way, they would moan at exactly the same time.

"Leah, I…" Bella swallowed uncertainly, not knowing what to say.

I should say no. What would be the point? You want Alice. Not Leah…

But she wasn't getting Alice. Not the way she wanted her. Completely, fully, heart, mind, and soul, not just her lips.

Leah shifted, apparently growing visibly uncomfortable for the first time.

"Hey, don't make this weird, alright? It's okay if you don't want to. I'll understand, Bella," Leah muttered, waving the other ticket around flippantly.

Just say no. Let her down now, when it's easy…

Still Bella hesitated, rubbing her fingers over the texture of the ticket to the movie Iron Man 3.

But why should I say no? Because of Alice? Because I love her, and she loves me…And we've been kissing. And…

But they weren't dating. What even were they? What did all that kissing even mean?

And what if they never did, never figured it out? What if Alice didn't really love her anymore? She wasn't talking about it, and Bella did not know if she ever would want to again.

So she panicked.

"Yes!" Bella blurted.

Shit!

"Yes?" Leah's eyes widened the slightest bit. She seemed pleasantly surprised, and Bella fought not to visibly wince.

Shit, why did I say that?

"Uh…No?" Bella said, squirming.

"No?" Leah cocked her head, now looking perplexed.

Backpedal mode: Engaged.

"I m-meant-I just meant yeah, we can go together. As friends, or whatever. Either one, I mean-Hey, why uh-W-why don't we just go together, and then while we're there we can…We'll figure it out if we work together together…"

Shitty shit shit, Bella thought. Shit.

All feces aside, Leah seemed to be taking her babbling extremely well.

"Actually…That sounds like a great idea," Leah said thoughtfully. "Yeah, alright. You're on, Izzy. The tickets are for this Friday at 8:30. I can pop by at like eight to pick you up, and it will only be a date if it works out like one…If you want it to be. Sound good?"

"Sounds good," Bella smiled feebly, cursing her foot-in-mouth syndrome.

Leah smiled back, a pretty genuine smile that Bella had never seen on her before, and then they both turned back to face the volleyball game.

What did I just do? Bella wondered miserably, crossing her arms anxiously.

Her eyes sought out Alice, and she blinked when she saw Alice staring right at her with the most vicious look the pixie had ever aimed at her before. She blushed, and had the distinct feeling that Alice somehow knew what had just happened between her and Leah.

And she did not like it.

One.

Damn.

Bit.

When the ball was served onto Alice's side of the net a moment later, Alice quickly turned and jumped straight up in the air, treading the line between human and inhuman ability and spiked the ball so hard that when it slammed into the floor, it exploded.

With a loud pop, the volleyball blew open and several girls, including Jessica and Angela, shrieked and leapt back from the net, startled.

Oh my god, Bella tensed, heart skipping a beat when Alice landed nimbly, still glaring right into her eyes.

The high squeal of the whistle blowing was the only sound that followed in the stunned hush.

"Jesus Christ, Cullen, I said no spiking!" Coach Basselor yelled, though she seemed incredibly impressed.

Alice didn't even look at her. She had eyes only for Bella, and those eyes were dark and angry and, unbelievably, making Bella wet with the cold hard possessiveness she could read in them.

"Cullen, hit the bench!" Basselor demanded.

Alice did not storm over and yank Bella away from Leah to show the Quileute who she belonged to as Bella may or may not have been fantasizing about her doing, or even come and sit on their side of the gym. She walked over to the opposite bleachers and sat on the bottom most one, never breaking her steely gaze from Bella's as everyone watched her go, shocked by the power the tiny girl had displayed.

Bella found it was getting harder to breathe, and she actually clenched her thighs, undeniably aroused. She probably shouldn't be, but Alice always was the most beautiful when she was impassioned, and right then, she was the epitome of that. She shivered when Alice's eyes flickered to where her thighs pressed together, exposed in her gym shorts.

Yet slowly, Bella's own eyes hardened.

Are you angry at me, Alice? Bella thought, trying to communicate silently with the seething vampire from across the gym. Do you even know what we're talking about, or do you just hate the fact that I'm talking to Leah at all when you know she's into me? Do you even have the right to be angry with me at all?

As if Alice could actually hear her, she practically saw the yes burning across her face as Alice's fists clenched.

Then why don't you do something about it?

And Bella knew by the way Alice moved when the bell rang twenty minutes later that something was definitely what she intended to do as she shot up off the bench and disappeared into the locker room with that look on her face.

Bella just wasn't sure what that something would turn out to be.