A/N A million apologies to all you lovely people who reviewed and favved. As it tends to do, life has thrown shit my way and gotten in the way of my writing. Still, i should be able to update more soon. For now, enjoy the next chapter! Oh, and Stephenie Meyer owns all.

APOV

I was positively vibrating as I slid into the backseat of Edward's Volvo. The family kept on giving me funny looks, and Edward was scowling at my thoughts, but I couldn't help it. I'll finally get to meet her today…

We pulled up in our usual space in the lot, but before I could look around for Bella the bell rang. Damn it! Worst timing ever. Skipping quietly to lessons in my usual bubbly manner, I took a seat and let my mind wander to the events that had come to pass since I'd been at Bella's window.

Edward hadn't caught me there, nor did he know that I'd stayed after he left from my thoughts – I'd been very careful with my thinking. I'd gone to find Jasper soon after, hoping that he'd cooled off enough to allow me to explain. But what I found was Esme dry sobbing, saying that he'd said he was 'leaving the family for a while'. My heart shattered further. Jasper was safe, and he was natural to me; he was a known quantity, and comforting. That comfort was now gone, for at least ten years, if my visions were right.

After apologising profusely to Esme, I'd returned to the house to pick out an outfit for tomorrow, to reflect my new decision; I wasn't allowed to reveal my romantic feelings to Bella, but that didn't stop me from being her friend, did it now? And if in doing so she developed feelings for me, then I couldn't be blamed, could I?

I was zipping in and out of my closet like a mad person, getting frustrated that I couldn't find the right outfit, when Rosalie surprised me by appearing at the door. I acknowledged her, then went back to my task. She spoke whilst I moved.

"Y'know, I really have nothing against you at all, Alice. You know that. But if you are both so adamant that one of you be involved with this…human, well…" She took a deep breath. "But we all know that it is Edward who has the most control." She said this last part in a rush. I moved to stand in front of her, giving her eye contact.

"I know, Rose. I'm not mad at you. I'm just a little upset that people even agreed to vote on the girl's fate. Shouldn't it be her choice, really?" She had nothing to say. And that, my friend, is Edward's manipulation at work. In the heat of the moment, they don't question. But afterwards, it doesn't hold up…

In the end I was forced to simply shove on the clothes I had to hand, as we were already late and I was still undecided. Unsatisfied, I'd made my way over to Edward's stupid, ugly car. Can't believe he chose that for a car…

"Miss Cullen, would you like to repeat what I just said?"

Snapping out of my reverie, I sweetly dictated the last two minutes of his lecture, then went back to staring out of the window. Damn stupid teachers. Can't you recognise a bored pupil when you see one?

Lunchtime was usually a quiet affair, although I always thought we looked like idiots getting whole trays of food just to sit there and not eat it; couldn't we go home for 'lunch', or something? But today, everyone was talking, and according to Edward thinking, about the new girl. Bella Swan. Her name certainly befitted her. As soon as we entered the cafeteria, I scanned the tables for her unforgettable face. And there she was, a light blush on her cheeks, from the embarrassment of attention presumably, deep melted chocolate eyes as expressive as before, yet I couldn't fathom her mood. Where's Jasper when you need him? I felt guilty as soon as I had thought this. Jasper. When I snapped out of my melancholy state, I realised that the others had left me behind, and danced over to our usual table. Half way there, I brought my eyes up to look at Bella once more, and our eyes connected. Her blush deepened as I held her gaze, then slid with ultimate grace into my seat.

She was sitting at the table with Mike and his friends. I shuddered as I saw Jessica seated across from her, and felt sorry that she had to put up with her. How many times had I wanted to put that girl in her place? But we couldn't do that for fear that a fight would break out, and that would raise questions…subconsciously, I listened more carefully to what Jessica was talking to her about. Oh. She was talking about us.

"…And the short one, Alice, she's with Jasper." My heart spiked. Not anymore.

"The guy with bed hair?" she inquired in the most exquisite voice. It was husky, almost inappropriately so, but still strong and clear. I reigned in my thoughts as I realised what she had just asked. Me with Edward? I snorted at the same time he did. Hee hee, she said he had bed hair! My more immature inner thoughts giggled away to themselves.

I tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Bella asking when my brother had turned Jessica down. I began chuckling quietly as I recalled Edward's interesting encounter with the girl. She had practically thrown herself at him on our first day here, in fact, it had taken him prying her off of him like a limpet and a stern reprimand for her to even get the idea that he wasn't interested.

"Nasty slut…" he muttered under his breath. I kicked him gently under the table. Hey! That's not nice. I know she's a bitch and everything, but you don't have to go around insulting her! She can't help it y'know; we are vampires. He rolled his eyes and poked at his food, scrunching up his nose slightly at the smell.

"How did she hear me from there?" I heard Jessica whisper, slightly panicked. Huh? My head snapped up and round to see Bella smirking at Jessica and Lauren, who were clearly in the process of walking away, and the rest of her table looking at her admiringly. Before anyone else could comment, her cell started ringing. I watched her as she hastily left the cafeteria, letting out a long breath as she went. Everyone else seemed to just shrug and go back to their conversations, but I'm afraid to say that I concentrated on the phone conversation that was now taking place outside.

"Hey Rick!" She greeted the guy on the phone, elated. Rick? Who's Rick? My inner thoughts ranted.

"Hey baby doll! How's it goin'? Bummer that you had to move, but y'know, I always was telling you to be more careful." A masculine voice on the other end returned her greeting with an easy nickname and some light banter. Is he her boyfriend? Damn, never thought of that one. No, of course she'd have a boyfriend. Ugh! Stupid, stupid…

"Sure, sure, Rick. So when you comin' down?" He's moving here too? Ohh this is soo going down the pan… I felt my heart sinking as I slumped further into my seat. Edward had a noticeable frown plastered across his face, his thick eyebrows knotting together.

"Come on. Let's go." He got up abruptly, and went to dump his tray, leaving the rest of us in his wake. Rosalie gave me a questioning look, but Emmett, who had clearly been listening also, took this opportunity to voice his opinion.

"Whoo hoo! Eddie boy didn't like that much, now did he Sprite?" I grinned at his affectionate nickname for me, and at his joking expression. He really was a great guy to have around.

"No Emmett, I believe Eddie boy did not like that at all," I replied. Of course, I was definitely bummed out about that myself, but the way Edward didn't even bother to hide it was quite amusing. I giggled again. "Come on, let's get to class."

Despite the possibility of Bella having a boyfriend, I was still excited to meet her. I'd had a vision of her sitting next to me in Bio earlier on today, so now I would finally get to talk to her! Still, I really did have to be cautious. I just knew Edward would be listening to my every thought, and if I put a toe out of line there would be hell to pay; I swear Edward must have a gift for mind control as well as mind reading. Stupid control freak brother.

So when Mr Banner directed her to the seat beside me, my smile was controlled, not a natural jaw-splitting grin that I wanted. She returned it ever so slightly, the corner of her rose-coloured lips tilting upwards slightly. It took a noticeable effort for me not to close my eyes as her incredible scent washed over me, relieved to discover that it did not make my throat burn in the slightest. With my head spinning, I stuck out my hand and introduced myself. She took it gently, and I noticed her own nostrils flaring. This puzzled me, but I promptly shook it off. We all smelled nice to humans, it was part of our hunter-prey thing.

The warmth of her hand was blissful and strangely comforting…and then suddenly it was gone. She ripped her hand from mine. Sadness passed over me as I turned to pay attention to the teacher, masking over the sudden emotion. I bet Eddie is laughing himself silly now. Was my hand too cold? Does she not like me? I turned back to gaze at her face, memorising the features; the subtle curve of her brows and the small line between them that seemed to appear when she was concentrating, her thick, dark lashes framing those enchanting eyes…which were currently gazing into my own with an amused sparkle; she raised an eyebrow at me.

Embarrassed at having been caught staring, but not wanting to show it, I shrugged nonchalantly, and she grinned in return. Mr Banner had just started briefing us on the projects we were doing this week, when suddenly the future changed course. I saw Edward sitting in my seat, Edward working with her in Bio. I came back to the present to see a hand being waved in front of my face. Oh good, she's gonna think that I'm some kinda freak too. I groaned too low for human ears at the prospect of losing time with Bella, but the girl in question sat back on her stool, looking hurt. Maybe I hadn't been as quiet as I'd thought, and she'd interpreted my annoyance to be directed at her…Well this is a great first meeting, isn't it Alice?

"So-" She began to speak, but was distracted when my prima donna brother entered the classroom. With much effort I held back the growl that threatened to burst forth as he swaggered up to Bella and I. Scowling and burning a hole in his forehead, I got up from my stool, flashing an apologetic smile towards Bella as I went, and left the classroom.

Since I'd been kicked out of my lesson, I presumed that I was required to attend the lesson that Edward was supposed to be in. Hmm, Drama. Well, I always did love the arts. I was trudging off in the direction of the relevant classroom when I felt the tingling of a vision begin. Ducking into the nearest bathroom, I braced myself against the sink and let it wash over my senses.

At first, all I saw was a blur of images, quick and constantly changing, but after a moment it became more focused, as if someone was tuning a television inside of me. And then the screen went utterly blank; all I could hear were the voices. Or one voice, really. Bella's.

"Edward, who the hell do you think you are to presume what I will do and who I will do it with? I barely even know you, and yet you seem to think you have the authority to order me around? Fuck that, Edward, and fuck you too!"

"Edward, I don't like guys like that, I like girls, okay? So just piss off and leave me alone, because I don't want you constantly babbling in my ear and giving me a headache!"

"Edward, I don't know what you're trying to pull, but I'm just not interested."

Her decisions were changing rapidly, every couple of seconds or so. But one thing was very clear; she did not like Edward. As I emerged from the vision, I was simply too elated to worry about the strangeness in the manner that the vision had come, and instead jumped for joy. In one of the scenarios, she'd even said she was gay! Did I really have a chance with her after all? Rick could just be her friend, really; I'd jumped to conclusions.

Since there wasn't really any point in going to Drama by the time I emerged from the bathroom, I headed towards Gym instead. Now here was the most frustrating class of the day. It took more concentration than you might think to play dodge ball in pace with other humans when you are a future-seeing vampire. And of course, at some point I needed to let myself get hit before someone took too much notice of me. After I'd let myself get out for the third time, I twisted towards the bleachers, from where I had felt eyes watching me. My eyes came to rest on Bella, who was currently talking with the Coach, but I knew she had been watching me a moment ago. A small smile tugged at my lips as the whistle blew for us to go again.

As I changed, I pondered on what I could do to spend more time with Bella. Since that vision had all but proved Bella's dislike for Edward, there was now nothing to stop me from taking her out. And I knew exactly where we would go – shopping! I hadn't been so captivated by her flawless face that I hadn't also subconsciously taken in what she was wearing, and I knew for a fact that she definitely didn't flaunt her body like she could. Well, a day's shopping with me could fix that! If she wants to go with me that is…she might be scared of us like most of the student body is. I shook my head before the doubts swirling around my head could take root. I'll just have to take my chances.

I walked out into the parking lot, pleased to see that Bella hadn't left yet, and was heading towards her truck. But before I could get to her, there was Edward, jogging over and asking her something about the project that they were supposed to be doing. Again, I barely suppressed a growl, but I was happy to see that Bella wasn't enthused either. In fact, she looked pretty fed up. Maybe it was time to go rescue her.

I bounced up beside her, grinning probably a little too widely. "Hi Bella! How was Bio? Sorry we didn't get to talk much, but I was needed elsewhere."

Her frown quickly turned into a grin when she registered my presence. "It wasn't too bad, thanks. Although it really is the most boring subject in itself." She rolled her eyes and I giggled as I guessed Edward had bugged her throughout.

"Oh believe me, I know. So I was thinking that you could come shopping with me this Saturday, since I couldn't help but notice that your current style doesn't really flatter your body like it could, and I could help you?" I asked, my voice maybe going a little too high at the last bit. Say yes say yes say yes say yes…

"Yeah, sure Alice," she replied. It took all of my control not to squeal and crush her in a hug.

"Great. So I'll come pick you up around 8am? We'll only be able to go to Port Angeles; Seattle is too far, but we'll still have fun. See you later Bella!" I skipped off again before Edward could say anything, reminding him of Bella's annoyed expression as he was talking to her in my head.

BPOV

I drove home in a cheerful haze, having picked up some food from the store on my way. I was going out with Alice! Well, not on a date, not yet. And shopping too…that would probably bring a few complications. I'd have to ask Rick for advice on that one. Charlie's cruiser wasn't in the driveway, and didn't look like he'd return soon, so I let myself move at my more natural pace.

With me, there were quite a few things out of the ordinary. For one, my senses were a lot stronger than a human's, meaning I had to be very mindful of what I said and to make sure I didn't say anything in reply to something I shouldn't have heard. An easy mistake to make, but a vital one. One that I made today… And possibly my favourite part of this whole crazy thing was that I could move very quickly. And wasn't that a bitch to try and hide from the humans? Imagine trying to walk in slow motion, then imagine having to do that 24/7. Annoying, right? So any chance I got to relax was eagerly taken.

I was interrupted from my mental musings when I heard the phone ring. Zipping to the phone in less than a second, I checked the caller ID. It was Renee. Groaning quietly, I left the phone on the stand and continued to put the food away quickly, before heading to my room and once again throwing myself on the bed. Alice's scent had long since gone, but even the memory of it served to calm me.

It wasn't that I didn't want to speak to my mom; I just couldn't. I'd told her I was leaving for Forks, and she'd finally okayed it, but insisted that she went to see me off. I couldn't have handled that, because that would mean it was final; that I would never come back. So I'd changed the time of the plane ticket online and slipped out of my window before sunrise, leaving a note so she wouldn't be worried. But she'd definitely be mad at me now, and I don't think I was quite ready for my good mood to be spoilt. Instead, I reached for an extra mirror, pulled my shirt off and stood in front of the full-length. Slowly, and angling the mirror so I could see my back, I smeared off the concealer that was on my neck and back. Where my hand moved, there was left deep, inky black swirls, almost like rose vines.

I sighed, contemplating them for a bit. They were what marked me as different. And what I needed to hide at all costs; with changing in and out of outfits all day, it was very likely that the make-up would start to come off, or at the very least flake. It only took a small amount to be revealed before it was game over. And I wanted to stay here, with Alice, a bit longer than that.

Removing the rest of the make-up, I decided that tonight would be a good night to scout the area, and familiarise myself with the place. I'd need it if anything did show up here, and I was mindful of what Rick had told me earlier today. So I changed into a plain black tank top, hoodie and some nice, loose fitting jog pants, scribbled a note to Charlie that I'd gone out with friends and hopped out of my window, onto the tree branch next to it. Hmm, very convenient. I might have to use this exit more often…Pulling up my hood, I ran.

At first I simply ran for the fun of it. It'd been a few days since I'd really let myself go, and I revelled at the speed that I could never reach in the rust bucket I had just driven from school. I pushed myself until my muscles burned, and then some. After a while though, I suddenly detected a shift in the air. Or, more a shift in the nature around me. Sniffing carefully, I detected a definite border between scents; whereas now I could smell all the odours of the forest, if I just took one step forward…all I got was wet dog. My nose crinkled. Why does it smell of Jacob here?

Behind me, I heard something move. A twig snapped, and I whirled around, my muscles taught, eyes searching. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! You forgot your blades, you idiot! I felt my muscles tense further as adrenaline coursed through my veins, and inside my brain was screaming a mantra that was all too familiar: Fight or flight? Fight or flight? FIGHT OR FLIGHT?

Narrowing my eyes, I tried to make out what it was. But without my sense of smell, I couldn't focus in on where it was. Panic rose in my throat. FLIGHT!

Without another thought, my coiled up limbs released in a frenzy as I sprinted back through the forest at breakneck speed, taking a flying leap straight through my window and with great effort managing not to crash into the wardrobe. Holy hell. My door creaked open.

"You alright Bells? I thought I heard a thump up here?" My clueless father's face appeared round the door, eyebrows knitted together in worry. Trying my hardest not to look like I was lying, I rubbed the back of my head.

"Uh, yeah. No biggie Ch-Dad; I just fell off my bed."

"Well, alright then. Glad to hear you've been making friends already." For a moment I stared at him blankly. Then I remembered the note I'd left on the table; I'd been so preoccupied with my previous carelessness that I'd made yet another little slip up. Dammit.

"Uh, yeah. I'm glad too. First days are always the worst," I laughed nervously. Charlie nodded slowly, then disappeared from sight. I let out a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding.

Shakily, I sat down on my bed. I could feel my body beginning to ache, and I knew that I would have to sleep soon; the disadvantage of super speed was you got tired out quite easily if a lot of exertion is carried out at once. But I needed to contact Rick first. Dialling his number, I fell back on my pillow and waited for it to connect.

"Heya Bells!"

"Hey Rick. How's it been going?"

"Ah, not too bad actually. I'm coping without you, at least!"

"Aww, I feel so loved, Rick" He chuckled at our playful banter.

"But you didn't call to hear me take the piss outta you. What's up?"

"I'm kinda going shopping with a friend at the weekend, and I was wondering if you had any advice tattoo-wise." There was a slight pause.

"Can't say I've really been in that situation myself Bells, so I wouldn't know. I guess all you can really do is apply the stuff extra thick and cross your fingers. Who's the friend?"

"Her name's Alice. She's really nice, and I think we're gonna be good friends."

"Glad you've got a friend already. You were always so lonely here in Phoenix. She's not suspicious, right? 'Cos you know you have to bail if things get too iffy." I sighed at his stern tone.

"Yeah, I know Rick. Laters." I pressed the 'end call' button.

Why didn't I tell him about all the weird things going on? I should have done really. But maybe I didn't feel comfortable talking about these things when Charlie could be listening in (hey, you never know what cop equipment he might be using). Whatever it was, I really had a feeling that telling Rick about Alice and Edward would not be a good idea. But I did know that something strange was going on in this town, specifically with the Cullens, it seemed.

Stripping off my clothes, I flung them into the laundry hamper and slipped on an oversized shirt, then clambered into bed. And as my eyes started to droop, I could have sworn that Alice's scent was there once more, enveloping me like a blanket. I smiled.