CHAPTER FIVE: Move over Alice

EDWARD: (Same time frame as Bella)

I had searched Africa once and then given up; well not entirely. It had only taken me a year; and I hadn't smelt her or see her anywhere. Poor Bella. I miss her so much. AHHH! Why us?

I had wanted to give up completely so, so many times. I didn't though. After my year in Africa I went back to my family. All of them had missed me terribly, Esme especially. My family are all so good to me. god I don't deserve any of the people I have...or had.

I took another deep breath. Why did I even exist? I had ruined the life of the one I love so badly and horribly. I mean first there was that whole James thing. Then when I tried to make her life better after her 18th birthday by moving away; only making it worse.

Of course then she came to Italy to save my sorry butt from the Volturi and killing myself. GOD I hadn't even thought about the Volturi. They had doomed her to a life of fear and immortality.

Oh I forgot to mention the foul smelling wolves. Jacob really wasn't that bad of a person, he was just dangerous to be around. Well so I thought, not Bella. He and his friends did save my Bella many a time though.

He and his friends also saved my family when Victoria and her newborn army attacked us. I guess I couldn't hate him. Well maybe just a little... he is my mortal enemy!

"Edward? Can I come in?" It was Alice. Great she was blocking her thoughts from me.

"Yes you can Alice. What is it?" I asked, why couldn't she just let me hear them? I honestly just wanted to be alone, like I always did. Nobody but Bella could fill the hole in my heart- even though it wasn't beating.

"Edward...Bella is in Africa. I've seen it. I don't know where exactly, because she's so blurry! It's almost the same as the wolves, but I can get glimpses!" Alice said in a rushed sentence. I think I pretty much tackled Alice to the ground, Jasper came in the room and tried to pry me off his small wife.

I was on top of her, crushing her tiny body with mine. I was also smiling like an idiot.

"Alice, have I ever told you I love you?" I asked and she laughed. I got off her now.

"Why were you just on top of my wife, or tackling her to the ground and telling her you love her?" Jasper asked while smiling at us.

"Because she is the best! Let's go!" I said.

"Hold up Edward! All we know is that she's in Africa. We don't know where! Look, I think you, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper and I should go looking for her, or for blank spots! Carlisle and Esme can stay here." Alice said.

"I guess you're right Alice. I just got a little over-excited. Maybe we should go talk this over with the whole family." I suggested. Alice nodded and we went downstairs to wait for Carlisle to come back from work and Esme, Rosalie and Emmett to get back from hunting.

You couldn't wipe the smile off my face if you tried. This was the hope I'd been waiting for. I couldn't stop fidgeting for the next three hours. The one's we were waiting on all arrived at exactly the same time. "Took you all long enough!" I joked. Their confused faces just made me laugh.

"I'm over-excited..." Still confused, "Bella is in Africa..." I trailed off. Esme jumped up and hugged me. Everybody was smiling like morons, but none of them were as happy as me.

"This is FANTASTIC!" Esme said.

That night was spent making plans. We would all go to Africa, Carlisle and Esme were going to buy a house in Congo, they were in dire need of a doctor.

The rest of us would split up; I was going with Rosalie and Emmett. Alice and Jasper were going together. We decided it would be better if we had one person who had an extra ability and who was well attuned to Bella's scent well in each group.

We were leaving at the end of the week; which was four days away.

I wanted to leave right now, but Carlisle had to set up the new place and job and such. He and Esme would search around near where they would be. To help us, me.

My group were going on the east side of Africa, Alice and Jasper were going on the west. Our groups would search our side of the country once, then we would swap over, unless of course we found Bella. Well of course we would find her, I was positive on that.

Move over Alice, its Edward's time to be the optimistic one!

I made my way up to my room to pack. I only needed a few changes of clothes, a book or two, even though I knew the map off by heart (in a figurative sense) I still packed one, just to mark where we had been. I made sure that Jasper and Alice packed one too.

I had been in the process of writing another song, this one was depressing. I grabbed my notepad, it was going to change.

My song was now complete, and completely different. This song was full of hope, love, compassion and sorrow of being alone. It was much better than the first one.

"Hey Edward." Rosalie said as she made her way into my room. I smiled at her, I could hear what she was thinking. I didn't realise she felt like that. "I don't know if you know this or not, well you probably do now seeing as you read my thoughts, but I really do hope we find her."

I smiled, "She makes you happy, which in turn makes the rest of us happy. I don't approve of her choices while she was human, but I can't really do anything about that now. I'm sorry I was so mean to her, and you, I really am."

I knew she meant it. Rosalie had said it with sincerity. I smiled again at her. "Thanks Rosalie. I appreciate it."

"Don't mind about it. Oh and I'm making a promise now. I won't make snide, rude comments about Bella or you. And when we do find her, I'll make sure Emmett doesn't make rude comments about your sex life." She said. I laughed.

"I'll take you up on the first part Rose, but I don't think anyone can get Emmett to do that. When he found out- although I never did find out how- about what happened between Bella and I on the night before she left, he didn't stop making comments about it for two weeks. He would have kept going if she hadn't been taken." I said.

"Yeah I guess you're right. Well I can always threaten him." She said and walked out the room. Probably to Emmett. I saw what was in her head with the threatening. No sex until he stops making comments for a whole week. That would kill him.

It did before.

My family had tried to cut down on all of the sex after Bella was taken, it was quite funny watching them struggle. In the end, well about three months maybe not even that long, I told them I didn't care what they did.

Rosalie and Emmett were up the stairs two seconds after I had said it. The others had a little more self control. A real little. As in hardly any self control. They almost all broke something that night.

After Rosalie had left I worked out a route we would taken, unless we found her scent. Our plan was to work our way from the top of Africa down. We would zigzag and cover the middle as well. We would meet up at the bottom of Africa and crossover, winding our way back up.

When we were all standing in the living room of the house awaiting to leave (this is four days gone) Jasper brought something up. "What if Bella is untraceable?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Rosalie replied.

"Well, you know how Edward couldn't read her mind and members of the Volturi couldn't do anything to her? Maybe she gained a power when she was turned, she could be some form of shield...she could use it to stop people from following her..." He said.

"Yeah, if she escaped from whoever took her then she could maybe stop them from following her. It would be difficult to escape any other way." Alice contributed. I was frowning at the conversation.

"We still will try. We don't even know if this is possible!" I said. Slightly angry.

"It was just a thought...let's head off then." Jasper said, calming the mood in the room. Typical Jasper.

"Okay...remember our plans of action! Team huddle!" Emmett said. We all walked away and he frowned. He did follow us though.

We were going to find her.

I had been right, Africa. I had had a feeling, just too early. I knew Bella better than she knew herself. I chuckled at this thought. Rosalie and Emmett gave me a look. "Oh...nothing! I'm just happy." They both rolled they eyes at me.

"Well if either of you went missing and then the other got a hope, you'd be happy too!" They nodded saying yes. Ha! Beat you! I am in a way too good mood; it's freaking me out a little. We ran, searching until morning. We stayed in a hotel during the day because it would be too obvious if we were out. Hello, sparkly, sparkly.

Did I just think that?

"God Edward, STOP SMILING!" Emmett yelled at me. I shook my head.

"I won't stop smiling until the last smidgen of hope is gone!"

AN: That was chapter five. Hope you all liked it. Sort of a filler chapter, I wrote it in the car...yeah...Questions? Comments? Let me know.

Nickynoo! :)