Disclaimer: The Twilight characters aren't mine. I just borrowed them from Stephenie Meyer to play with.

Special thanks again to Melanie for the beta! :)

**************************************

Chapter 2

She knows that if she ever breaks free,

She will never see the light of day

She's been blinded by the stars and dreams she craved

(Mando Diao – Never seen the light of day)

Entering the bathroom in a hurry, I slammed the door shut behind me. A girl refreshing her make up at the sink cringed and shot me an annoyed glance. I ignored her and locked myself into one of the two cubicles, sitting down on the closed lid.

My breath was ragged as I stared at the blue door in front of me, my thoughts racing. Knowing I was close to a panic attack, I tried to calm down, listening as the girl left the bathroom. Now alone, I leaned back against the tank and took off my hat, trying to sort out the chaos in my head.

I couldn't believe what I had just seen. They weren't supposed to be here, they belonged to my other life, my past life. Frustrated, I let my head sink to my knees.

I must have imagined this - it just wasn't possible, period.

But still, I couldn't bring myself to go back out. I was too afraid. What if they really were there? What should I say? Were they here for me or was it a coincidence?

Coincidence? With her being involved?

Okay, so not a coincidence. Damn, this was bad.

I was still pondering whether I should get out and face whatever expected me outside, when I heard the door being opened. Instinctively, I held my breath, then slowly lifted my head, sitting straight again.

"Bella?"

I exhaled audibly. Just Sarah, no reason to panic.

"I'm in here." Dammit, my voice was shaky.

"Are you okay? You seemed a little – rushed." I could hear her approaching my cubicle, then stopping near the sink.

"Yeah, I'm fine, really. I just really needed to pee." Okay, that wasn't a very credible excuse, but it would have to do for now.

"Alright then." Sarah clearly wasn't a hundred percent convinced. "But if you need anything, if you want to talk – whatever it is, I'm here okay?"

I sighed. "Okay. Now, would you mind…" I didn't want to be rude, but I needed a minute alone right now.

"Oh. Sure, I'm on my way. But come see me before you leave, okay?" she answered, turning around and closing the door again.

So she really had realized there was something weird going on. Crap, now she probably thought it had to do something with her.

My head was still spinning. To clear my thoughts, I decided to go for the cold water splash and then go back inside. I couldn't spend the night in here, after all. And I really didn't want Sarah to be angry with me.

Just as I was about to head for the sink, the door opened again. I sighed.

"Sarah, really, I'm okay! I'll be there in a-"

"Bella? Is that you?"

I blinked, my mouth hanging open in shock; my mind had instantly recognized the brilliant voice that had spoken my name. Okay, so I definitely had not hallucinated. Still, the knowledge didn't make me feel any better, on the contrary: I felt dizzy suddenly.

I didn't answer, just balled my hands into fists.

"Isabella Swan! I know you're in there, just come out already."

"N-no." It was nothing more than a whisper, although I had wanted it to sound stubborn and harsh. "You're not there. You can't be."

"Bella, don't be ridiculous." The voice sounded very impatient now. Very like her.

"I'm not." I responded, still shaky. I'd stay in here until she had disappeared again – facing her would make it absolutely real.

"Open the door or I will remove it my way. You don't want to explain that to the owner, do you?"

Not that she would actually do it, I was pretty sure about that. She never was the overly dramatic person, so I ignored her threat.

"Please. Just leave, okay?"

"I'll count to three." Alright, maybe she was.

"One."

I gulped, my heart still racing.

"Two."

I put my now shaking hand on the lock. Taking a deep breath, I slid it to the side, then slowly pushed the door open.

"Three."

I stepped out, still not breathing.

Alice Cullen stood less than five feet away from me, leaning casually against the sink, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

She smiled at me.

"Finally! I'm really sorry, but if I hadn't threatened you, you'd have never left that your smelly hiding place."

I couldn't speak. Of course I knew that she hadn't changed, but it was still weird to see her looking exactly the same as she had three years ago. Catching my reflection in the mirror behind her, I recognized that I, on the other hand, looked horrible, almost like I had seen a ghost. Which was true, in a way.

"Hey," I managed, my voice rough. I glanced around nervously, not daring to look at her though I could feel her eyes on me. "This is – a surprise."

"It is indeed. Well, not so much for me," she laughed and I smiled slightly. The sound of her voice made my mind be flooded with many happy memories - memories I had suppressed for a very long time.

Shaking my head, I tried to get rid of the images. I had suppressed them for a reason after all.

I was still pretty much speechless, unable to wrap my mind around what was happening. But I knew that I had to do something, say something, now.

"Alice – what do you want?" I finally asked, unable to hide the slight anger in my voice. Yes, what was she doing here? Why couldn't she just leave me alone?

After all she had been the reason I had chosen this life over the other alternative.

"I just- thought we might be able to talk," she said, looking at me hopefully. "It's been such a long time and I thought you might want to know-"

"You know what? I don't think so. I don't want to know anything," I snapped, instantly sorry about being so rude. But I couldn't let her go on. This had already gone too far; I shouldn't have talked to her in the first place. The door in my mind behind which I had securely hidden my emotions and memories was now unlocked - it wouldn't take much more to open it completely and all my efforts would have been in vain.

"Bella-" Alice began again, but I ignored the begging edge in her voice. Instead, I bit my lip and stormed past her and out of the bathroom.

This just can't be happening, I thought to myself. This is not part of the plan I've made.

Still in a daze, I made my way back to our table, trying to get back to the real world by taking a few deep breaths. Sarah was looking at me expectantly. She clearly wanted an explanation for my strange behavior, but I really couldn't think of one.

You know, I just ran into this old vampire friend of mine, who is a psychic and therefore knew we would meet. It was kind of weird and that's why I really need to go home now.

Yeah, right. Very plausible.

"There you are!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Yep," I responded curtly. "I don't really feel good though, I think I have to go home." I smiled at her apologetically.

"Oh, well-" Her expression was clearly confused, if not even a little offended. "I mean, if you have to leave…"

"Sarah, I'm really, really sorry," I apologized, and I wasn't lying. The party had just started after all, and without me there she'd be stuck with Chris and his friends.

I quickly put on my coat and hugged her goodbye. My witch hat clamped under my arm, I took my purse and quickly made my way to the exit.

When I stepped outside, the fresh air was a relief. Taking a deep breath I hastily started walking towards my parking spot. I needed to get away from here, back to my apartment, as quickly as possible.

I didn't even bother opening the back door of my car, but instead just climbed into the front seat, then leaned over and threw my stuff ointo the backseat. I started the engine, fumbling with my seatbelt, when I suddenly heard the door open. Before I could even blink, Alice was sitting next to me, closing the door with a thud.

"You don't really think you can run away from me, Bella?" She looked at me, rolling her eyes in a very Alice-like manner.

I sighed audibly. "Apparently not. So- where's Jasper? That was Jasper who came in with you, wasn't it?" I asked, trying to get a harmless conversation going.

She ignored this question, and instead answered another one, one I didn't dare ask aloud.

"I wasn't looking for you, you know? But as soon as we had decided to stay here for a while, I saw us meeting you here."

Although she sounded cheerful, there was a strange edge to her voice; it almost seemed like she was trying to hide something from me. This was getting more and more awkward.

"Who is 'us' then?" I asked, taking my hand off the gear shift and my foot off the brake. As I was stuck here with her now, I might as well face it. Driving with her sitting next to me and talking wouldn't be very safe, I figured.

"Oh, just Jasper and me. We were taking some time off, you know? Thought we might pay a visit to the Great Lakes. And then, the idea of celebrating Halloween seemed very appealing," she explained, her fingers playing around with a bow on her dress.

"Mhm," I answered briefly, my thoughts somewhere far off. I was fighting with myself, fighting the desire to know more. This was a unique opportunity; I probably wouldn't get another one. But should I really do it? Should I ask her about the others? Did I even want to know?

But before I could make up my mind, she continued, still babbling.

"You know what? Why don't I stay with you for a while; I'll just call Jazz and tell him to go back to the hotel on his own and we can go have a coffee or something and catch up?"

It was tempting. For a second, I almost felt like I was eighteen again, with Alice being a great friend. I was already about to invite her over to my apartment when I remembered that I was 22 now and the situation had changed completely.

"Alice – I don't think that is a good idea."

"Why not?" She eyed me curiously, her cellphone already in her hand.

"Because –" I'm not over it yet. And I probably never will be, despite what you might have seen happening someday.

"Because I'm over it," I stated instead, not wanting to admit my pathetic state of mind.
"I'm living a new life now." I looked at her, pleading for her to understand me. "I just don't think it would help if I heard–"

"I know," she answered, avoiding my gaze. She almost sounded remorseful. "I was just curious. Have you found him yet? You know, the guy you'll marry and have children with?" She winked sheepishly, her eyes glittering with the reflected lights of the street lamps.

At first, I had no idea what she was talking about. Then, suddenly, it hit me. The door in my mind swung open and the memories crashed, cascade-like, into me.