A/N: Hi, sorry it took so long, but I was immersed in Breaking Dawn for . . . well, about three or four days and then spent a looooong time thinking about the whole book (yes, I am bookish). Don't worry, no spoilers! I have to wait for a little while after it comes out to actually talk about it with people I don't know, I guess. Personal standards, you know.

Well, if you haven't finished Breaking Dawn, then why are you reading this?? It's okay if you're waiting for your book, but if you're in the middle of it . . . Anyway, on the list of chapters, I'm shortening this chapter name to just "Hectic". It's just too long to put on there.

Okay, without further ado, I give you Chapter 9!

Chapter 9: Hats, Flicking, and All With Small Amounts of Oxygen – Yeah, it's Getting Hectic

"You promised!" I shrieked at him. He put his hand over my mouth. "You're making a scene, Alice, calm yourself." I licked his hand. He pulled back abruptly and wiped his hand off on his pants leg. "Real mature, little one," he sneered. "Hey, I'm a newborn; I can act like one if I want to."

"Alice, in case you haven't noticed, you aren't an every-day newborn." I flicked his nose. "Ha, I know!"

We were standing in front of a hat store, and I was trying to get him to come inside and buy me a hat. He looked disgruntle now. "you know, it's really not that easy being around humans for me. Well, it's harder than I make it look. Right now, I wanna slit that clerk's throat. And it's weird because my eyes should be watering. It burns." Then Jasper's reaction was unexpected, which is something I'm not used to. He gave me a hug. "It doesn't get better. Maybe by a fraction, but it doesn't help. And what makes it worse is that we have that stupid Italian clan up our butts."

"Eew, nice visual," I said into his chest. "I mean, if we could just go about our own buisness and hunt without worrying someone will see us, then it would be a whole lot easier to be a vampire. But we can't. So we have to stay strong, Alice. We can help each other." He let go of me, and I noticed that I didn't want him to let go. I wanted to just stand there with him forever. Right then I vowed that I wouldn't go anywhere without him.

And that's why he's going in the store with me whether he likes it or not – and he will most likely not like it. I grabbed his hand roughly and dragged him into the store. The clerk came out from behind the counter. He had a bewildered look on his face. He didn't see the hat box that fell a couple feet from me, and tripped over it. When he fell, it sent a burst of wind towards me. I made the mistake of gasping, and the large amount of scented air that I took in almost sent me over the edge. My throat burned, and I was quivering with effort.



"Clumsy old me," said the clerk. The air that came out his mouth was torture. Jasper leaned down to my ear. "Hold your breath. Use what air you have to talk." I nodded, not wanting to use any of my limited oxygen supply.

"Sorry to frighten you, miss! Are you okay?" I nodded to him. "Very well. My name is Jonathan, and if you need any help finding something, just give me a call, okay?" I nodded again. He gave us a friendly gesture. I pulled Jasper towards the back of the store, all the while being careful not to get too close to the clerk. He was nice, and the non-predator part of my brain told me that I didn't really want to hurt him.

I was doing fine; as long as I don't breathe I'll be okay. Yeah, I'll just keep telling myself that.

I communicated with Jasper through hand signals. Against my better judgment, I was still shopping for a hat. We spent about a half hour of me trying on hats and Jasper shaking his head. Sometimes he pointed at the price tag and held up the couple of dollars that he had. Other times there were inexpensive hats that he just didn't like. "What's your problem?" I said quickly. "I like your hair just the –"he broke off. He had run out of air. "I'm not getting a hat . . . am I?" Well, that's it for talking. He shook his head with a mocking smirk. I kicked his shin. He flinched a little and ruffled my hair endearingly.

I nodded towards the front door – asking if he wanted to go. He nodded his head vigorously. We ran as fast as we could out the door so that we wouldn't have to face any questions from the clerk. We didn't stop until we couldn't be seen by humans. When we stopped, I took a deep breath."I'm so glad that's over. I think it's because that was closer than I've ever been to people without killing them."

Jasper chuckled darkly. "You get used to it after a while . . . Actually, I lied. You never get used to it, you just expect it because you can't hide from them forever." I stood closer to him and flicked my finger on his forehead. He shook his head in confusion. "What was that for?!" I shouted. He tried to get me to relax again. "Stop that!! I am perfectly calm," I claimed falsely. Apparently, he could sense that. "Ha, I've seen victims less calm than you, Alice."

"Whatever, let's just go," I replied. "Where are we going?" I turned to look at him. "You've got to be kidding. Northeast, dumb-dumb." He sighed and looked up at the sky. "I thought you were joking about that. I didn't think you were actually serious about that."

"Does this face look like the face of a joker? . . . I didn't think so."

Again, sorry it took so long to get this one up! Fall is probably one of the most hectic seasons in the history of mankind. Well, enjoy! And props to Captain Tash! Thank you!