A/N: For Morphy. Thank you, darlin.

Slightly shorter than I originally planned. The reason being, I decided at the last minute that I wanted this one to be 100% Bella/Alice. Enjoy :)

Chapter 13

There it was, finally out in the open. The feelings I'd been keeping inside for weeks. The feelings I had been petrified to admit to myself, never mind say aloud to anyone else; least of all Alice.

As I stood there staring into Alice's hypnotic, blue eyes, with my hands still framing her beautiful face, I felt my knees begin to tremble and my throat became drier and drier with every second that she remained silent. Why isn't she saying anything? I said it out loud, right?

Just when I was beginning to panic, Alice slowly shut her eyes and closed the infinitesimal amount of space still left between us, resting her head in the crook of my neck. Her tiny hands clutched at the front of my t-shirt while my hands repositioned themselves; one cradling the back of her head, the other wrapped around her petite waist.

My heart was hammering in my chest and the tremble in my knees hadn't gone away. We were pressed, flush against each other but it still didn't feel close enough. I don't think I could ever feel close enough to her. I turned my head slightly and closed my eyes, burying my face in her silky, black hair and it helped to calm me down. Alice's scent was intoxicating, as it always was to me, and I was so captivated by the angel that stood, protected in my arms, that it took me a few moments to realise she still hadn't said anything.

"Alice?" I whispered in her ear. My quiet plea only made her grip on my t-shirt tighten and I took that as a sign that she wasn't ready to speak yet. I tightened my embrace around her and ran one hand up and down her back, soothingly, while the other remained at the back of her head.

After an untold period of time, I felt Alice move within my arms, so I relinquished my vice like grip on her but still kept one hand on the side of her face, the other falling limply by my side. The tiny woman slowly raised her head and looked deep into my eyes. My breath caught in my chest when I saw the conflicting emotions radiating from her blue, tear-filled orbs. Uncertainty, hope, pain, adoration… they were all there. Alice shifted her gaze and studied each and every inch of my face with curious eyes.

Without warning, the tiny object of my affections raised her right hand, ghosting it across my features. My eyes fluttered shut as her fingertips caressed my cheek, traced gentle lines down my nose and brushed across my jaw. I opened my eyes again and saw that Alice's line of sight was now focused on my chest. Her hand fell from my face and slowly settled itself above my left breast, over my heart. I couldn't stop the shuddering breath that escaped me, as a result of her actions.

"Say it again," Alice whispered, in a hoarse voice, staring at her strategically placed hand. It took me a moment to realise she had even spoken. All I seemed to be able to focus on was the position of that hand.

"W-What?" I stuttered out, my eyes going slightly wide in confusion and my hand that was still resting against her beautiful face, fell to my side, just like the other one.

"I want to hear you say it again," she replied, still not making eye contact. What is she doing? My heart began to race at her request and as it did, I saw a small smile tug at her lips. "Say it, Bella," Alice demanded, finally looking into my eyes again. Both my hands returned to their original position, cradling her face, and I made sure I had her full attention before speaking.

"Alice, I want you. Only you."

The tiny woman held my gaze for a moment, before lowering her eyes to my chest, yet again. "You really do," she whispered, to herself more than me, sounding astonished. "I can feel it," she finished, lifting her head once more and staring at me, adoringly, with fresh tears shining in her eyes. Did I really make her doubt it that much?

"It's always been you, Alice," I choked out, resting my forehead against hers.

"Show me," my angel whispered. I could feel her sweet breath dance across my face and I couldn't hold myself back any longer. I slowly leaned in and tentatively touched my lips to hers. That brief second with Alice was better than any lifetime I could ever hope to spend with anyone else. The feeling of finally being able to be with her this way was indescribable.

I could taste the saltiness of her tears as I ran my tongue across her bottom lip, begging for her to let me in; to let me discover her. And she did. I was still holding her beautiful face when I felt her tiny hands grab at my hips, pulling me harder against her as we began to kiss more passionately. I had never experienced a feeling like this before, simply from locking lips with another person. Normally, it felt awkward and sloppy and nothing more than an automatic expectation of any romantic relationship. The term, 'going through the motions,' always came to mind. But with Alice? All of that disappeared. I was already creating new benchmarks in my mind and I knew that nobody else on the planet could ever live up to them. Nobody, but my Alice.

I was beginning to feel light headed and I knew I needed to tear myself away from Alice's luscious lips for much needed air. With one final, lingering kiss, I pulled back, letting my forehead rest against Alice's once more.

"Please, don't leave me alone tonight," she begged, her face looking suddenly panicked.

"I won't leave you," I reassured her, stroking her soft hair. I'll never leave you.

We stood like that for a few moments before Alice gently took my hand in her own and led us towards the pull-out bed. She sat on the edge, her eyes never leaving mine, before shimmying her way across the bed and under the covers. After removing my shoes and socks, I crawled in after her, positioning myself so that we were both lying on our sides, facing each other. I didn't care that I was still wearing my jeans and a t-shirt and I'm fairly certain Alice didn't care either.

There was barely an inch of space between us as I reached my hand up to brush a few strands of her hair behind her ear. A contented smile briefly crept over Alice's features, before she slowly leaned towards me and claimed my lips in a slow, lingering kiss that made a pleasant tingle travel down my spine. Within seconds, Alice's head was once again tucked into the crook of my neck and her tiny hands were gripping at my t-shirt, like she thought I would disappear if she didn't hold onto me. One of my arms snaked around her waist, while the other prized her fingers from my top. I laced one of her hands together with my own and waited for her to look up, before gazing into her enchanting eyes.

"Alice, I'm not going anywhere," I said quietly, trying to muster as much sincerity as possible. After a moment she nodded slowly and returned her head to it's previous position.

"Promise me?" She implored, her voice sounding slightly muffled and shaky against my chest. I hugged her closer to me before repeating,

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay, so, let me get this straight," Alice began the next morning, as we both lounged on the couch, me sitting with Alice's head in my lap as she lay, sprawled across the cushions. "You thought Rosalie was cheating on my brother, with a guy she once set you up on a blind date with, so you and Jacob followed her into a bar. She caught you, you and Jake both panicked and now Rosalie thinks you two are dating?" She spoke in a monotone, still trying to get her head around the situation, finishing with a raised and questioning eyebrow.

"Yep, that sounds about right," I replied, nervously smiling down and her, before taking a sip from my coffee cup. To my surprise, the tiny woman actually giggled.

"How do you keep getting yourself into these weird situations, Bella?" Alice asked, still laughing lightly. God, I love that sound. I smiled again and ran the fingers of my free hand through her hair.

"I've been asking myself that question for years."

We both smiled at each other as I continued to play with the rogue tendrils of her black hair, but Alice's countenance soon became slightly apprehensive and I stilled my movements.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my brow furrowing.

Alice broke eye contact and slowly moved into a sitting position, still close beside me on the couch, her body turned towards me. "It's just…" she began, but trailed off, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Well, what happens now? I mean, do we tell people about this?" The tiny pixie questioned, gesturing between our two bodies with her hand.

The way she said the word 'people,' I knew exactly who she was talking about: Rosalie and Emmett. I sighed, audibly, and ran a hand through my chestnut locks.

"Well, we don't have to tell them straight away, do we?" I ventured, shifting my own body towards her, too. "Emmett should be fine with it. A bit shocked, maybe, but fine. Rose on the other hand…" I trailed off and Alice just nodded, her eyes darting around the room. "How will she react to this?" I asked, somewhat rhetorically, and Alice scoffed.

"I think we both know exactly how she will react to this."

Not well, was the simplistic answer. What's worse was that Rose had come straight out and asked me, several weeks ago at her mother's house, if anything was going on between Alice and I and I had denied it; not outright, but I had stuttered and stumbled over my words enough for her to draw her own conclusions. Then again, there wasn't anything going on at that stage. Now, she was convinced that Jacob and I were together and she seemed to be over the moon at the prospect of being able to rub Alice's nose in it.

My inner musings stopped when I thought of Jacob. Shit. Dinner at Rose and Emmett's…

Alice must have noticed the change in my demeanor because she proceeded to place her hand on my thigh. "What?" She asked.

"Dinner," was all I said and Alice's eyebrows knit together.

"…Bella, it's nine thirty in the morning," she stated, matter-of-factly.

"No, no. Dinner at Rose and Emmett's," I explained. "Rosalie is hosting a dinner in the next couple of days for Jacob and I and she wants you to come as well."

"Of course she does," Alice mumbled, looking down at her hand, which was still on my thigh. I placed my own hand over hers and stroked soothing patterns across her porcelain skin.

"She mentioned it last night, don't you remember?" I asked quietly, after she had lifted her head again. The tiny beauty thought for a second before answering.

"No," she said in a murmur. "I guess I had other things on my mind." A bashful look came across her face and I saw her cheeks flush with colour. I raised her hand to my lips and kissed it lovingly, trying to convey that I understood; that I was sorry and I understood. I don't know if one chaste kiss to the hand can do all that, but it made her smile and that's all that mattered to me.

"So, what do we do?" I asked apprehensively, after a few silent moments, trying to distract Alice from the unsavory dialogues of last night. "That dinner is something Jake and I can't get out of. Even if I pretended to 'break up' with him, she would probably still find a way to get in touch with him and make him come over. You have no idea what she's like when she latches on to one of my… suitors," I tried to explain, mumbling the last word.

Alice was quiet for a moment and she stared down at our hands, which were now entwined. "The way I see it, we have two options," she finally said, sounding very sure of herself. "Either, we tell Em and Rosalie about us, or, we keep it to ourselves for a little while and pretend you and Jacob are together. It's your choice."

I was saved from responding to Alice's impossible question, due to her cell phone vibrating against the coffee table. She reached forward and took the phone in her hand, answering the call.

"Hey, Em," she greeted down the receiver, after realising who it was. "What? Today?" She barked out, her demeanor suddenly changing, completely. Her tone was enough to make me slightly concerned. "What day is it?" She asked her brother, her voice slightly higher than normal.

I watched as her face creased into a look of confusion, before an almost sad expression adorned her flawless features. "Yeah, I'm still here, Em," Alice mumbled, after a prolonged silence. "Okay, um, just give me an hour to get ready." The phone call came to an end and Alice sat unmoving on the couch.

"What's the matter?" I asked, touching Alice's leg after she flung her phone back onto the table.

"Emmett and I are going to see mom and dad today," the tiny woman informed me. "I completely forgot about it. I didn't even realise today was Saturday," she finished, running her hands through her hair.

"Oh," I said, moronically, before looking down at the couch cushion and playing with a loose thread. "I was kind of hoping we could spend today together," I muttered.

"I know, me too," Alice responded quickly, bouncing herself closer to me. "We're not staying, though. I'll be back home tonight," she said, sounding genuinely happy at the prospect.

The way that Alice referred to my house as her 'home,' made me immensely happy. I couldn't even remember anymore what it was like to live here without her. Or, perhaps, I just didn't want to remember.

"Are you going to tell them today?" I asked gently. I didn't need to say anything else. She knew what I was talking about.

"Yeah," she replied, in a similar tone of voice. "Yeah, I am." Alice nodded her head as she finished speaking. It was almost like she was trying to convince herself that it was the right thing to do.

"I'm sure they'll be fine with it," I tried to reassure her, running my hand up and down her arm.

"We'll soon find out."

"My mom asked me if I was seeing anyone, you know," Alice said into the peaceful quiet of my bedroom that night, after she had returned. I was lying on my back on the bed, with one arm wrapped protectively around Alice as she curled up against me, her head on my chest. I could just lie here forever…

"What did you tell her?" I asked, genuinely interested in the answer.

"I told her I had my eye on someone." I could tell that Alice was smiling when she spoke and it made me smile too.

"Oh, really? Who?" I inquired, sarcastically and Alice playfully swatted my arm. "They were fine with it. That's all that matters," I finished, kissing the top of her head.

Alice coming out to her parents got me thinking about the strange little relationship I had with the girl currently lying in my arms. Am I gay now? Is that how these things work? Maybe it's not all girls, maybe it's just Alice. I've never really looked at other girls like that, though. Maybe it's… My inner monologue was cut off when I felt Alice's hand brush against the side of my face. She had shifted her position, so she was now propped up on one elbow, looking down at me.

"That's your thinking face," she stated, barely above a whisper. "What are you thinking about?"

"Do I really have a thinking face?" I questioned, with a furrowed brow. "Jake says that to me as well."

Alice took her bottom lip between her teeth. "Speaking of Jacob…" She began, placing her hand on my stomach and I was hyper aware of it being there. "Have you decided what you want to do yet?" No I haven't…

I studied the raven-haired beauty for a moment, not really knowing how to answer that question. "You'd really be okay with me pretending to be with someone else?" I asked, reaching up and tucking her hair behind her ear. Alice briefly turned her head to look at the wall, looking deep in thought, before bringing her full attention back to me.

"I know nothing is, or ever has been, going on between you two," she started, and I knew by the tone of her voice that she did know that was true. A slight blush suddenly covered her cheeks and she lowered her head. "Well, now I do," she mumbled, sounding a bit embarrassed. "If you two pretending to be a couple will buy us some time until we decide what to do about Rosalie then, yeah, I'm okay with it." The conviction in her voice was flawless.

I raised my right hand and used my thumb to brush away an eyelash from her cheek. "You're really sure about this?"

Alice responded by shifting herself so the top half of her body now hovered over me, her two hands supporting her weight either side of me. "Bella, all that matters to me right now is that you're with me." With that, my tiny angel lowered herself enough so that her lips touched my own. Within seconds, my hands found themselves buried in Alice's already dishevelled hair, trying to pull her impossibly closer. With one last playful tug at my bottom lip with her teeth, Alice pulled back and rested her forehead against mine.

"I'll call Jacob in the morning," I breathed out, swallowing hard and I felt her nod against me. We remained like that for a few moments, before Alice moved back to her original position of resting her head on my chest.

My mind wandered back to my earlier musings. Does it even matter if I'm gay or not? Either way, my feelings for Alice aren't going to change, so is it really that important? Maybe I should ask Alice…

"Um, Alice?" I spoke quietly, getting her attention. She propped herself up on one elbow again and looked at me, expectantly. "I was just wondering. Um, I mean, do you think… um…"

Alice's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "What is it, Bella? You know you can tell me anything."

"A-Am I gay now?" I stuttered out, looking away from her. "I mean, is that how these things work?" Alice didn't reply, making me turn my gaze back to her. She was staring at me with a small smile tugging at her lips and an endearing tilt of her head.

"You don't have to be anything," she said slowly, lifting her hand and running her thumb across my bottom lip. "Just be Bella. I kind of like Bella," she added, coyly.

"You kind of like me, huh?" I smirked.

"Only kind of," Alice countered, with a mock serious look on her face that soon melted into her normal, beautiful smile again.

"Well, that works out well because I kind of like Alice," I retorted, playfully and she leaned down for one more chaste kiss, before tucking herself up beside me again. "Only kind of, though," I mumbled into her hair and she giggled. Her sweet, vanilla scent was ensnaring every one of my senses and I was certain that if I died tonight, I would die the happiest woman in the world.

"Only kind of."