Chapter 2- Naive
Edward's Point of View.

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The following hours proceeded in a long, strenuous fashion. Alice continued to drag us in and out of every store, seemingly untroubled by my mood or Jasper's thirst. She pranced along in front of us as we walked along the crowded streets towards the next store, turning her head every few seconds, obviously checking to see if we really did have plans to escape from her torturous grasps. Jasper walked not a step behind her, his face turned down in an unmistakable grimace. I didn't need to know his thoughts to understand that he was managing our situation with obvious difficulty.

I remained beside Bella; one arm rapped protectively around her waist as we followed Alice's bobbing head threw the crowded streets. I was no longer trying to ignore Jasper or Alice's thoughts, either. My mind was an open door, now, allowing their thoughts to flood my mind along with at least a couple thousand others. But unlike those countless others, Alice and Jasper's were particularly distinct in their own way. Familiar.

There is absolutely no way I will…or could ever harm anyone. Jasper's thoughts rang clearly inside my head. Obviously, he was still raging a rebellion against his other, blood-lusting half.

...I don't know what she was thinking! My attention was immediately caught by Alice's thoughts. Honestly! How could Bella actually like that shirt! It was so…last month! Uh!

False alarm. Of course. Alice was never worried when she had the power to see the future on her side. Even when she knew it to be an imprecise art, she still depended on it more then she trusted fate itself or for that matter, pure logic. I grimaced. I really would have to have to speak with her about this.

We continued to weave through the many crowds of people teeming the sidewalks, my arm never unlocking its position around Bella's tiny waist.

Bella groaned. "How many shops have we been to, today?"

Ever since I had told her about Jasper's position, she had had a worried look in her eyes, as if she feared for the worst. I could not blame her. I did not approve of this, myself.

"I lost count after thirty," I said, playing along. I leaned my head in, putting my lips to her ear and whispered reassuringly, "Everything will be OK. I'm going to speak with Alice as soon as we're in the next shop. I believe that it is about time we leave. This is getting to be ridiculous."

"It's not that I'm afraid that I'm in danger, Edward," She whispered back in response.

We walked through the large, double doors of yet another high-fashioned and very expensive clothing store. Alice bolted for the first rack in sight, immediately immersed in the selections it had to offer. Jasper let go of Alice's tiny hand and began walking towards the men's section at the far corner of the room, clearly pleased by its lack of occupants.

I towed Bella to a section at the far opposite side of the large room, unoccupied by anyone, and unwound my arm from around her waist and placed the large number of bags I had been carrying, down. With a slow sigh, I turned around to face her.

'Then what are you afraid of?" I asked in a low voice.

She seemed to ponder this for a moment or two, obviously not sure whether she should answer. When I did not remove my eyes from her, she sighed.

"I'm afraid that…my arms are going to fall off soon from all these shopping bags," She told me, pointing to the large stack that only moments ago, her and I had been carrying.

I merely cocked an eyebrow and waited, not swayed in her attempt at distracting me. I knew she was avoiding telling me the real reason and I was prepared to wait, no matter how much it ate at my patience.

"And…," She finally added, "I'm afraid…I'm afraid of seeing someone else getting hurt."

I stiffened slightly, an impulse reaction.

She looked up at me, her eyes wary.

"I'm not going to leave your side, whether Alice wishes me to or not," I stated blatantly.

"Edward, that's not what I-"

I heard a gasp escape Alice from across the room and a vision flickered threw her mind. My eyes met her wide, fearful eyes and I cursed silently.

Bella did not have time to finish her sentence. She caught one glimpse of my suddenly rigged body, my tense posture, and she let out a small gasp.

"Edward wha-" Within the second, her back was against the wall and I had position myself in front of her. Immediately afterwards, my eyes locked with Alice's once again, across the room for a mere fraction of a second before they whipped to a sale's attendant heading right for Jasper.

No!

On any other occasion, a human walking by would be no cause for panic. This, however, was much different. The vent on the wall just behind Jasper's head blew warm air mixed with a concentrated dosage of her scent, towards him. He stopped what he was doing and immediately stiffened.

His eyes were dark, more so then before. And the once pained look that had taken presence on his face had now obliterated. Completely wiped clean. But, despite all these sudden changes, that was not why my attention was so quickly drawn to him.

Jasper's thoughts had abruptly changed, and his rebellion ceased.

There were no more battles raging in his head, no more silent revolt against the monster. There was only one thought now lingering on his mind.

Blood.

I was silently cussing myself for being so naive, so ridiculously unobservant. My protective stance in front of Bella and her position against the wall had drawn a couple of curious eyes. I hardly noticed them.

"Edward!" Bella hissed from behind my protective stance, her tone a mixture of confusion and worry. I ignored her.

Get Bella out of here first, or stop Jasper... I asked myself frantically. Get Bella out of here first, or stop Jasper…

Alice was by Jasper's side in a flash, far to quickly for the three sets of curious eyes now drawn to our strange activities. She grabbed him by the arm and proceeded to try to drag him towards the door.

"Jasper, please," Alice murmured as he refused to move, his eyes locked on the sales attendant that had just walked by. She was now making her way towards the shelves not two meters from Bella and I, a bundle of folded clothing in her arms. During these few seconds, Jasper's ravenous eyes had never left her. She was making her way around the store, completely oblivious to the impending danger.

It would be so very simple. Snap the women's neck while her attention's drawn to folding clothing. Neither Edward nor Alice could do anything about it. It's all so simple.

His thoughts reminded me similar to what James's had been; desperate, excited and hungry. He had the thoughts of a hunter, his black eyes flickering between the innocent, unknowing woman and then towards Alice and I. And while his thoughts reminded me of James, I knew the difference between them in almost an instant. The lifestyle of a hunter was not Jasper's choice.

There seemed to be a change in Jasper's thoughts in that instant; he was no longer persuading himself to control his hunger. I contemplated pouncing on Jasper at that moment and ordering Alice to get Bella out of here, but I knew that with his thirst acting as a catalyst, that he would be able to escape my grasp easily.

Jasper had been fighting with all his strength against his other half, the bloodthirsty, and voracious half, but it had proven to be in vain and now everyone in this store was in danger. He was no longer fighting back his thirst. He wasn't even a vampire pretending to be human anymore.

He was a hunter.

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Author's Note: Finally! The second chapter of 'Misconception,' is complete. Thank you, again, to Meg for editing it for me!
If I receive enough positive reviews on the second chapter, I will continue on and write the third chapter for hopefully the middle or towards the end of the week.