One last time i will say: read. enjoy. review. thanks.

Alice sometimes wondered what Vincent had taken away. No one could ever tell her, of course. They could never reassure her that the memories lost were pointless. Alice hoped they were very minor, but some were not so.

Esme had asked Alice if she would like the dirt stained dress to be thrown away, and the young vampire had ran to her, shouting her disagreement.

Confused, Esme had handed her back the ruined garment and fluttered away. Alice sat at the kitchen table for two hours after that, staring and touching the dress. The beads glinted weakly in spots under the fluorescent lighting, and she desperately tried to remember something--anything about it. It felt important to her. She fingered the lace and let the cloth whisper over her healing arms, and yet, nothing came.

She walked upstairs and hung it up in her closet, in the very back. It looked like a phantom amongst her new clothes--she'd never had so many.

She found that shopping was a wonderfully entertaining thing to do, and she loved to watch Jasper's eyes dance when she met up with him in a new purchase. The ragged edges peeked from behind the cleanliness of the others. Yet, she would not throw it out.

Esme hadn't even gotten a chance to wash it, and when Alice found her adopted mother in her room with the dying thing in her hands, she assumed the worst and ripped it away. Esme had to soothe her to return in to her gentle hands--it only needed washing. Alice grimaced at the dirt and pine needles still lodged into the stitching and handed it over with care, as if it were a bird with a broken wing. Esme strolled down the hall, glancing back at her newest daughter with sympathy.

Alice never remembered the little town with the diner in it.

She never knew that Jasper was meant to find her at a diner.

She didn't know that the dress had been once a gorgeous outfit and that she was to wear it upon meeting Jasper.

She didn't remember Jocelyn or Janine, either. The two sweet girls at the bright boutique. They waited for a mysterious but beautiful wedding invitation to arrive in their mail slot, but it never came. They asked Figgie what ever happened to Alice, and he shrugged sadly, his eyes watering. They had left with their shoulders slumped. They had whispered to each other under the burning lamplights, "Do you think she ever found him?"

They would never know, and eventually they forgot about their envied friend. They liked to believe that she had been whisked away by her prince charming, and they lived happily ever after and had began a family. Or they would if not already--someday, they assured each other.

Despite the friends Alice never knew she lost, her life was filled with timeless happiness.

Every morning she would stir from her long silence that substitued sleep sometimes and look over to the other side of the bed she and Jasper shared. It would be often empty, and she would get up and dress with a smile balancing on her lips. Only moments later there would be a clatter at the window, and she would hurry to the window sill, where a long and lean blonde vampire would be squeezing in, a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

He would smile shyly; she would sigh and take the flowers from her lover, and he would slide inside as she fussed over them--preparing a home for them out of a crystal vase filled with water.

She would replace yesterday's flowers with these new ones, vibrant and scented, on the dresser and fall into his arms. They would share a kiss to create the rest of the day to be wonderful.

One morning, Esme knocked on Alice's bedroom door when Jasper was out. What Esme held made Alice tear up, minus the watery eyes. Her throat clogged and she gasped, her vocals quivering. Esme beamed back…with a clothes hanger on her arm.

Alice's dress--her little gray dress, was brand new. It looked better than it had before, though Alice could not remember anything but a ruined piece of cloth.

The beading was gorgeous--not one seed bead was misplaced. It matched the original design (that Alice had always imagined) that had been ever so faintly imprinted on the fabric beneath the dirt. The mesh had to be new--the old stuff was riddled with fist-sized holes. Alice suspected new additions to the fabric under the mesh, too, but she also agreed that Esme would be someone able to flawlessly sew.

The beads and newly laced-in glitter fibers sparkled delicately in the morning light creeping into Alice and Jasper's softly painted-alabaster room. Alice was frozen at the doorway, her tiny fingers loosening on the doorjamb.

Esme's eyes crinkled in joy. "Did I do good, sweetie?"

Alice gasped, one of those exhales of pure happiness that I followed with oozing tear drops. That didn't come, but Alice did drabble out a thanks and mashed herself to her mother in a hug. She buried her face into Esme's caramel hair and quivered in delight, while her sneaky little hand grabbed for the hanger eagerly. Esme pulled away and laughed, handing it over.

She gazed at her overwhelmed daughter for a long moment. She tucked a little piece of charcoal hair behind her pixie ear and lightly kissed both of her powder white cheeks. At the sound of the door being closed, Alice tore off her shirt and bottoms, and put the dress over her head like it was ancient lace that would break if handled wrongly. It slid back over her tiny body once again, feeling like airy fabric and not wet seaweed on her frame.

Smiling, she danced around the bedroom for a while, simply waiting to show Jasper.

The morning light became yellowish afternoon sunshine. Jasper gracefully put his long limbs through the window, his white hand clutching fresh flowers. The pollen clung to his glittering skin in tiny speckles.

His shoes hit the soft white carpet, and his expectant grin faded a little when Alice wasn't there to take the flowers and give him a kiss. The flowers quivered in the warm wind that wooshed after him. He ran a large hand through his messy hair.

"Alice?" he called into the room. His ears picked up a soft pitter patter and sigh from behind the bathroom door conjoined to their bedroom. He chuckled and approached, his hand reaching out to grab the handle. It swung open before he could get to it.

He gasped, his jaw dropping. His face was in shock and he dropped the flowers. They made a soft plink on the wooly carpeting. Alice's bright eyes fell to them. "Oh, Jasper, the flowers. You dropped them." She crouched over them carefully and gathered them in her healed arms.

She tugged on her dress modestly with the bouquet in her tiny hand as she stood. Her eyes glimmered up at Jasper, who hadn't moved. His hand was still left open from when he let the flowers drop from his paralysis. Alice summoned all the love in her tiny body and fixed her golden eyes on his with full seriousness.

His eyes squinted ever so slightly, like he was staring into a brilliant sun. His mouth moved close my a millimeter. Alice's tiny white fingers smoothed over the mesh. "Do you like it?" She could already see how drastically he reacted to this dress than the other zillion she owned. She knew this one was special.

Jasper's face became more composed as he took a step towards Alice. He exhaled and brought his hand to her face. She clutched the flowers as his feathery-soft touch brought tingles through her body. Her spine jangled in adoration.

The ball of his thumb touched her lips, and his fingers gently kneaded against her neck. She sighed and let her eyes flutter close as the love for him whooshed through her body. It felt like a dam was being broken inside of her--just like when they first met. Just like when they kissed.

Her sigh was long and broken by her shudders of delight. Her lips hung slack and relaxed from the intensity she was feeling. His thumb was soft and careful, like she was fragile. Each time she drew a shuddering sigh, his scent stained her tounge.

His thumb stoked across her lips carefully, and her free hand broke from the dress fabric to the back of his hand. She touched it firmer than the way he touched her. Jasper inhaled and whispered to her, "You are…the most beautiful creature to ever grace the earth. I didn't think it was possible for you to look even more beautiful, but here you are, surprising me like you always do."

Alice opened her eyes to gaze into his, wide with the exact same feelings.

"I think my love for you doubles every day I see you. Every time I touch you. Kiss you…think of you. You are the only one I trust with my heart. I really cannot give even a little to anyone just yet. But for now, you need to take my heart, my trust, all of me. Because I know you can truly take care of it." His lips pressed together softly as he waited for her reaction.

Alice's eyes glowed in love, and she was silent.

She didn't need to tell him what she felt, for he could feel it. Her mouth opened into an awed smile, and her chest swelled as the emotion ran rapid through her. Her shoulders shrugged upward as she tried to reign herself in. Her face became a huge grin, big enough that Jasper moved away his hand to let it peak. He watched her face bloom in amazement.

When he leaned in to kiss her, with his brow crinkling and his eyes closing as he wondered how he ever deserved this, Alice let her emotions ebb and flow through her lover. He tasted her sweet emotions and pulled her closer. He touched the mesh and lace and beading of the dress that was originally meant for him with admiration. Alice was like a piece of goddess-like art to him, and he couldn't believe he didn't have to share her with anyone.

His fingers touched the small of her back, and she fell into him, her arms already outstretched to be thrown around his broad shoulders. They pressed to each other, trying to blend in to each other's bodies, for they already shared the emotion.

As Alice kissed Jasper; her meaning of life and reason for sanity, she knew that it was all worth it.

She would have done it all over just to have one more kiss.

One last Time: River Flows Through You by Yiruma

That's it, ladies and gents. My story of love, loss, angst, relief, and joy. Thank you so much for joining me for the ride. It really meant a lot to me. The WORST thing that could have happened was getting no reviewers. Thank you soooo much for even clicking on my link to the story. I hope you don't see Stephenie Meyer's characters any differently, because the way they were created is already perfect. That is why I fell in love with them! Thank you again.

-newcomer77