Author's note: hi everyone. Thankyou so so so much for your amazing comments. You give me the inspiration to go on. Please keep giving me feedback on the songs that play in your head and the Disney characters you could associate Alice and jasper with…come on think!! Also, what could have inspired Alice's pixie haircut?
This chapter is short and so I will give you another one right after. Have fun.
Chapter 9
Invention
I couldn't say that hunting animals was difficult. Hardly anything could put up much of a fight with me. I did not enjoy it though; it was filling but not satisfying. What I did enjoy though was watching Alice hunt. I stayed near her, not too close to be in her way but just near enough to see. She was like a snake, a viper; the way she arched her back and fixated on her prey, just waiting to strike. That was Alice. It was an amazingly carnal experience. I could watch her for days.
The family was very interested in what I thought of the hunt. I tried to be honest but the mind reader –Edward- would see through me anyway. He smirked at me as I related the event.
That night, when usually I'd be hunting my way in a city or somewhere, the Cullens were staying in. Carlisle and Esme were on the back porch talking, I could sense their emotions even though I could not hear them speaking or moving. Both were serene. Carlisle had been very pleased all evening, he seemed to like us, Alice and I.
Emmett was sitting on the floor leaning back onto the white sofa. Separating him and Rosalie was a chess board. They were already in play. Alice sat on the sofa behind Emmett, alternately watching the game and closing her eyes. She was at peace. She really did enjoy this place, this company. I watched her face, her thin, curved eyebrows, her sharp little features. That was when I noticed the exchange between Alice and Rosalie. Alice was swiftly mouthing Emmett's next moves to Rosalie. Rosalie was smiling deviously. Emmett was…confused.
" Wow babe, I thought you didn't like chess,"
"I don't," she replied unassumingly.
" For someone who doesn't like it, you sure can play. When did you get so good? Last time, you ate your own pawn."
Emmett's king was so very near to being cornered.
"It's a mind thing, Emmett, I just set my mind to it," she beamed conspiratorially at Alice. Alice suppressed her laughter.
"Well, it's a good thing we're not playing strip chess today else I'd be having no fun at all," he muttered and Alice laughed her quiet chime-like laugh. Emmett looked around at her then, and she sobered, returning his stare innocently. Emmett felt suspicious for a millisecond then decided against it. He was won over by her feigned virtuousness. Damn, she was sneaky.
I was standing near the stained glass window. Outside, the bright moon was high in the sky. The trees swayed in the fierce wind. As I pondered Alice's duplicity, the sounds of a piano drifted in from the other room.
Edward was playing. I peeked in; the vampire was seated at a very impressive rich brown piano. A slow melancholy tune flowed out. He struck me as a misanthrope; brooding. His aura felt empty –though that was probably due to unconscious comparison to my own. He was a loner. He was bitter.
His head snapped up then, "Is that what you think I am, bitter?" he asked.
"I don't know, are you?"
"No," he answered with finality. I didn't pretend to understand his life; his history was left vague in our class. What had made him so cold? The music stopped abruptly and Edward stalked out the door into the night.
" Hey Jasper, you want to play some chess? " asked Emmett from the other room. "Sure," I replied, thankful to be around others whose emotions I could comprehend. Emmett was mystified by Rosalie's genius victory against him but he was comfortable at this point, friendly.
As we played I noticed Alice and Rosalie chatting animatedly over at the window. Rosalie was telling her about her new Chrysler Highlander convertible. Rosalie was very excited about it.
"Checkmate," I muttered. Emmett was frustrated. He was a very competitive person and was frustrated at his second loss for the day. I had an idea then.
"You have any more chess sets?" I asked. He looked at me, puzzled.
" Yea, a few actually, glass, wooden, ivory…gifts from Carlisle," he sighed.
"Well lets play a little differently,' I suggested and I could tell that he was interested in my idea by the spike in his excitement.
The four chess boards lay in a square. Each of us had doubled the amount of pieces usually used to play. He rubbed his hands together impatiently as I made up the rules.
" White plays first, pawns cannot double jump but knights can. There can be no castling, unless it is straight across to the other board…."
"And both kings must be in check within ten squares of each other," he added. And so we began to play. Alice and Rosalie came over to watch us but Alice did not attempt to help me, though she was very interested in the game. This was a chance for me to impress her a little bit.
After the first hour, We had gathered quite a crowd; Carlisle and Esme sat on the loveseat across from us and were watching intently. Even Edward was standing in the corner watching. I resisted the urge to soak my opponent in fear or paint him in apprehension to gain the upper hand. The game was very close, he had nine of my pieces and I had six of his…but that included one of his queens.
Our match was cut short when Esme announced that the 'teenagers' had to go to school, to keep up appearances and all that. Carlisle was going to work and it would just be Alice, Esme and I at home until the rest returned.
"We'll finish this later, and don't move any pieces while we are gone," Emmett warned.
"Alice, later today, you should play Edward, that would be a most interesting pairing," said Carlisle. He explained further when he saw Alice's confusion, "A mind reader and a psychic, I wonder who will win." Even Edward was interested, "Yes we'll do that later," and he smiled at Alice.
Author's note: see…I did not love this chapter but I really like the next one. Don't forget to rate it out of ten. Please Review. The button is right there!!!