{

The door opened as I moved to the kitchen doorway, practically shaking from fright. I had no weapons to defend myself with, though I doubted I would have been able to use them now as the adrenaline pumped through my veins.

My heartbeat was loud as it pounded in my temples, growing louder as the seconds went by and my lungs burned from holding my breath. I could hear quiet breathing from inside the kitchen and the gentle scuff of feet on the floor. I eyed the staircase at the end of the hallway. If I could get to it, I could go up to my room and lock the door – escape out of the window.

I took a measured step past the kitchen doorway when the outside door that had been opened by the intruder clicked shut, causing me to flinch out a gasp of surprise. My own hand smothered my mouth as I exhaled hot, nervous breaths through my shaking fingers. I took a clumsy step backward and scuffed my heel on the hardwood floor, panicking even more as the footsteps in the kitchen headed for me.

The door swung open and I prepared my body for flight, but I was frozen in place instead. The person before me stood with eyes as wide with fear as my own were.

"Bella?" I choked out, taking a step toward her.

}

-Chapter 8: Fight Club-

"Oh." Both of us stood there amongst the trees for a moment in silence.

Alice took a hesitant step closer to me, watching my expression as she approached like I would snap at any moment. The whole of it would have been funny if wariness hadn't been practically painted across Alice's pale face, and I mentally reminded myself that I was desensitized to my shape shifting abilities where Alice was not.

She took my hand in hers again, though her movement was more deliberate and robotic than the other couple of times she had held it. Her cool touch was feather-light on the back of my hand; barely any pressure at all. I squeezed her fingers as she continued to inspect my perfectly-normal-looking skin, smiling guiltily as she jerked her hand away at the sudden sensation.

"Sorry," I grinned and lowered my hand. Alice shook her head, appearing to lose the fear of me completely.

"No, it's fine," Alice assured me. "So…what else can you do?"

"Well," I considered. "I'm strong, too – I haven't found anything I couldn't lift, except for a house or something enormous." Alice's face cracked wide in a white smile.

"Oh, we have to test this," she chirped. "Come on, follow me." And just like that, she practically vanished. Oh, my eyes were able to track her as she rocketed away in a blur of speed, but she was literally here one second and gone the next.

I hesitated for only a moment before I started after her, moving deeper into the woods as I accelerated to speeds my poor truck would never reach. As the trees thinned, I caught sight of her sprinting form, but that was only because of my supernatural eyesight. She was much faster than I could ever hope to be; like riding a bicycle trying to catch a car on the highway.

She stopped in the middle of a large clearing, patiently waiting for me to catch up. I skidded to a stop as I reached the edge of the tree line, my heels digging into the soft ground to stop my momentum. Alice wore a thoughtful expression, and I wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing – but it couldn't be as bad as the Walmart incident, right?

"You're fast, too," she nodded as she looked around, as if she were searching for something.

"But not as fast as you," I shook my head in disbelief. "Jeeze, Alice; how do you move so fast?" She laughed as she danced away from me and picked up one of the many boulders that were scattered around the clearing like it was made of Styrofoam. I was frozen in place as she blurred back to where I was standing, still holding the muddy piece of rock out in front of her.

"Are you able to hold this?" she asked, shifting the weight of the boulder onto one hand so she could see me. I nodded quickly and took the large rock from her, holding it awkwardly in front of me as she had done. She hummed from somewhere in front of me, my view completely blocked by the sight of dirt-filled cracks and pores in granite. "How about an arm-wrestling match?" I dropped the boulder in front of me and frowned at Alice.

"You mean me against you?" I asked with a small bite of sarcasm, raising an eyebrow. Alice nodded, triggering a snort of disbelief.

I had no doubt she was strong – she had lifted the boulder as effortlessly as I had – but she was so tiny. I had tested my limits in Phoenix, before I left to come here. What I had – it went beyond mere 'super-strength.' It was a sort of terrifying, boundless strength that had to be constantly restrained. I had meant what I said: I hadn't found anything I couldn't lift that was able to be moved – including tanks and 16-wheelers.

"You're not going to hurt me, Bella," Alice rolled her eyes like my reaction was ridiculous. "I am way stronger than I look. Don't you want to see if you're stronger than a vampire?" I grumbled at her bait; she clearly knew I was eager to test out my abilities on something more durable than inanimate objects.

"Fine, fine," I acquiesced and squatted next to the boulder, propping my elbow on the rough surface. "Let's go, then." Alice moved to the boulder and placed her arm down as well, pushing her hand against mine and clasping them together.

"On three?" I nodded. "One…two…three!" I locked the muscles in my arm, not wanting to go for the win immediately – I was eager to see how strong Alice really was.

Alice pushed, though; she was going for the win. The look of complete shock on her face when my arm didn't move made me snicker. I could feel her strength, though; it wasn't insubstantial, but it was completely irrelevant against my own. Alice recovered and gritted her teeth, putting more force behind her grip. Her stone-like hand clenched harder against my own, but I still held.

"It looks like you're faster, but I'm stronger," I flexed my fingers against Alice's and pushed forward, the boulder creaking as her arm moved backward slowly but steadily. With a final push, Alice's arm hit the boulder and cracked it into pieces.

"Wow," Alice said as she stared at the destroyed boulder and flexed her fingers. Another smile crept upon her face, quickly morphing into giggles of laughter. "Oh, Bella; you have to challenge Emmett to an arm-wrestling contest. He will be so pissed when he loses to you." I smiled at the thought of the enormous, brute of a vampire losing a contest of strength to someone my size.

"I guess I will," I told her, leaping up into a tree and hanging my feet over one of the larger limbs; Alice climbed up after me and sat down as well. We lapsed into a comfortable silence for a good amount of time, occasionally breaking it with questions not related to our different abilities.

"What's with Edward and Angela?" I asked. "Does she know you guys are vampires?" Alice sighed, and I had a feeling the subject was immensely more complicated than it appeared.

"Yes, she knows," Alice answered. "Angela is Edward's mate." I gave a questioning look to Alice, who continued. "Vampires mate for life – or eternity, or whatever. Apparently everyone has one – Carlisle has Esme, Emmett is with Rosalie, and now Edward found his mate in Angela."

"Oh yeah; vampires are immortal, right? I forgot to ask about that," Alice nodded. "But then, won't Angela have to become a vampire as well to be with Edward?"

"Yes, thank you!" Alice exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Edward and Angela make the whole thing seem much more complicated and dramatic than it needs to be."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"They're both religious," Alice sighed. "Angela's father is actually a minister, so she and Edward were hesitant to broach the topic. She eventually got over her fears and asked him to change her, but Edward is being difficult. He doesn't think we vampires have souls." Alice rolled her eyes. I huffed out a laugh of my own, turning my head toward the horizon as I caught the faint, ultra-violet light beginning to shimmer.

"I need to get back before Charlie wakes up," I said, standing up on my branch. Alice's eyes glazed over, like I had seen her do before, and she shook her head.

"He's not going to check on you," she told me with complete confidence in her voice. "You'll be fine." I frowned.

"How do you know?" I asked, doubt seeping heavily.

"Oh wow, we haven't even covered vampire gifts yet," Alice laughed to herself.

"Can you give me the abridged version?" I asked, leaping out of the tree and landing on the ground with a soft thud. Alice landed beside me with a much quieter impact, even though she was made of stone.

"Hmm," Alice hummed, tapping her finger against her chin. "Certain vampires – not all – wake up from the change with extra gifts, apart from the strength and speed all vampires have. I can see the future based on decisions – it's not infallible, but it's accurate most of the time as long as the person I am looking for doesn't change their mind."

"Holy shit, Alice; you can see the future?" I exclaimed, making the tiny vampire smile and nod.

"Yes, I can," she said. "Edward has a gift as well; he can read minds."

"Oh," I said, unsure whether or not to be upset at the invasion of privacy, or impressed at the extremely useful talent. A thought came to me suddenly, and I turned to Alice. "He can't read my mind, can he?" Alice frowned at me.

"How did you know that?"

"You would have known a lot more about me before today if he was able to," I reasoned. "I wasn't exactly careful with my thoughts when I was sitting at lunch with your family." Alice nodded, accepting my explanation.

"He can't read you at all," Alice confirmed. "And I can't see your future, either." She looked mildly upset at this, but all I felt was relief. It had to be annoying living with two psychics.

"Has that ever happened before?" I asked.

"No," Alice shook her head. "Well…I can't see the wolves' future, either, but Edward doesn't have any trouble reading their thoughts. This is the sort of thing we should be talking to Carlisle about; he loves a good mystery." I nodded absentmindedly.

"Maybe today, after school?" I asked, mentally wondering if I should head back to the house and get ready for school soon. The sun was halfway over the horizon now, shining brighter than I had ever seen it in Forks.

"I can't go to school today," Alice shook her head, pulling out her phone and typing a message on the keypad. "The sun is going to be out until one thirty."

"You still haven't shown me what happens to a vampire in the sun," I said, tilting my head to the side. Alice clasped her hands together and beamed at me.

"Well then, I suppose you'll just have to skip class today as well so I can show you."

"What?" I scoffed. "No. I've only been to class twice – I can't just skip out!" I scowled at Alice, even though the thought of a whole day free of high school was absolutely tempting.

"Carlisle's a doctor, remember?" Alice cocked an eyebrow at me. "He'll write you a note and excuse you from class, no problems – he's done it for us before, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind if he finally got to meet you." It was my turn to cock the eyebrow.

"You expect me to go over to your house?" I asked. Alice nodded. "I got the strangest feeling that Edward and Rosalie didn't like me very much; why in the world would I go over there?"

"Edward will probably be with Angela – or at least watching out for her in the trees behind the school," Alice said. "And Esme and Emmett will be there to keep Rosalie in line; she won't try anything."

"I'm not worrying about me," I rolled my eyes. "I just don't think I should go over to your house when a third of your family doesn't want me there."

"I am inviting you over, Bella," Alice sighed in exasperation. "Whether or not you show up is up to you, but don't let Rosalie or Edward sway your decision."

I considered it. I had the feeling Alice didn't really care about what I was – she was inviting me over because she wanted to. But she had also come right out and said her father wanted to study me. Maybe she didn't say that exactly, but that was what I got out of her invitation. The stubborn, prideful part of me objected vehemently; I shoved the wolves' demand to meet with them, so why shouldn't I do the same with the vampires?

Except they hadn't demanded it of me like Sam did.

It was strongly suggested I go over to speak with them – perhaps that was a vampire custom? If I were a vampire encroaching on their territory, wouldn't they expect me to still meet with them? I didn't really know that much about vampires to answer that question absolutely, but it seemed like the proper thing to do.

And then I remembered Edward would know all about Alice's and my conversation. He couldn't read my mind, but he could read Alice's, and I doubted she could keep everything we discussed away from him. That alone was incentive enough to go, if only to defend myself in person if Edward should begin to evaluate my inhumanity from Alice's thoughts.

"Alright," I told Alice. "But only if you can convince Charlie and the school that I'm really out sick." Alice smiled wildly, almost beginning to vibrate in her excitement. "And I'll leave whenever I like, for whatever reason." Alice continued to nod like she hadn't heard me, whipping out her phone and typing away.

I ran behind Alice as we sped through the perpetual green of the forest surrounding Forks, thankful that she had agreed to slow down to a speed I could keep up with. The early morning light could not penetrate the thick sea of trees yet, but I could already tell Alice was right – it was going to be a rare sunny day.

Alice had pulled off my official excuse, much to my surprise. The story was that Alice, being my newly-made friend, had met me at my house to drive me to school when she saw that I was rather sick. She had Carlisle call both Charlie and the school, explaining that Alice had decided to forgo her family's camping expedition – as this was their excuse for not being in class – to look after me.

I followed Alice as she leaped over a creek and through a condensed patch of trees, appearing on the other side in a thin gathering of the tall evergreens. I slowed to a stop as the light of the morning sun was finally able to touch down around us, my eyes drawn to Alice's skin like a tractor beam.

It was completely unexpected. She had told me she didn't burn in the sun, but I never would have guessed she would…glow. But it wasn't quite a glow – that wasn't the right word. No; she shimmered – her skin seemed to refract the light that hit it into a rainbow of fractal beams. It was overwhelmingly attractive and held a sort of otherworldly hypnotism to it.

"Alice," I gasped. She turned around and gave me a nervous smile, walking over to me at a slow pace.

"I was wondering when that was going to happen," Alice admitted. "So, not exactly what you thought it would be?" I shook my head.

"No," I admitted, moving closer and stretching one of my hands out toward her. I looked at Alice and she nodded her permission.

My fingers grazed her right arm, touching the smooth, cool surface of her skin. I had known what her skin felt like from her habit of holding my hand, but my brain couldn't reconcile the dancing sparkles of light with the completely unmarred and blemish-free texture of her skin. I hovered my hand a centimeter above her arm, watching the sparkle-free shadow of my fingers blur with the harsh refracting light, creating a soft glow around the edges.

"Well," I smirked, dropping my hand. "I can see why you wouldn't want to go out in the sunlight now." Alice laughed, obviously relieved at my reaction, and grabbed my hand, tugging me in the direction we were heading in. Before I knew it, we crossed over into another clearing – at least, that's what I thought it was until I saw the enormous mansion sitting on the other end.

The building was unreasonably large for a home, but it also held a prestigious air to it. The outside was painted a pure white, and though I could see minute traces of grime and surface scratches on the panels that gave it an off-white sheen, it was remarkably well-maintained. Off to the side, connected to the mansion but obviously an add-on, was an equally-impressive garage.

The entire look of it struck me as a sort of contradiction: a house this pristine and extravagant sitting in the middle of wild, muddy, and stifling forest. It was at that moment, when the shock of the envy-inducing home wore off, that I recognized this wasn't at all what I pictured when I imagined a vampire lair. Rundown, abandoned buildings with creaky floors and spider webs spun up around the beams and ceiling were what I had subconsciously drawn.

I realized what we were in wasn't a clearing at all – it was an oversized front yard. I gaped at it again, imagining what the back yard must look like if this was the front. Somewhere off to the side, not too far away into the forest, I could hear the gentle rushing water of a large creek or river – the Calawah, if I remembered my geography.

My arm was tugged toward the front of the mansion by Alice; I hadn't even realized I had slowed us to a near standstill. Alice pulled me into her home, opening up the front door quickly and ushering me inside. The inside of the mansion was doubly as impressing, and further shattered my preconceived expectations of a vampire home.

The entire floor – most of it anyway – was one big, open space with the wall facing the river composed entirely of glass panels. A grand staircase took up the left side of the space, with a piano on the right. There was a door lodged under the stairs and a kitchen area on the opposite side of the front door, but that was it as far as the partitions went. It was very stark in its design, but completely effective.

I could hear two people talking quietly to each other somewhere above me, but the voices were too low to pick up any words. Quick, silent footsteps came from higher up, descending quickly; I turned to the staircase as the two vampires came into view. These must be Alice's 'parents,' since I had never seen either one before now.

Carlisle looked…young. My brain had a difficult time imagining someone of his apparent age – early-to-mid-twenties – to be a respected doctor and the family patriarch. He had the trademark golden eyes, pale skin, and supernatural beauty about him, but he seemed more…contained. He had combed-back blond hair and he wore a warm smile that instantly made me more at ease.

Esme seemed a year or two older than Carlisle, but she still held that disconcerting youthful appearance that seemed just as odd with her husband. Caramel-brown hair flowed around her heart-shaped face that could only be described as motherly. My insides reeled at the aura of affection that seemed to emanate from her welcoming expression and I had to look away from her to keep from embarrassing myself.

"Carlisle, Esme; this is Bella Swan," Alice chirped speedily. "Bella, meet my parental unit: Carlisle and Esme."

"Hello, Bella," Carlisle spoke, descending the stairs with Esme and clasping my hand. "Welcome to our home."

"Hi," I squeaked, releasing his hand. "Thanks for the invitation." I tried, and mostly succeeded, in not making it sound like a question. I was still a bit unsure how the back and forth about what I am – verses what they were – was to take place.

"It's good to meet you, Bella," Esme surprised me with a hug. My shoulders stiffened, but I didn't cringe away from the contact like I would have if she were human. She gave my shoulders a gentle squeeze as she pulled away from me. "Alice has spoken of you often." I nodded dumbly at her statement.

"Good; introductions are out of the way," Alice spoke, grabbing my hand again and tugging me past a smiling Carlisle and Esme as we jogged up the stairs. "Come on; I'll show you my room." I laughed quietly at her exuberance as we entered the second – of three – floor and went down the long hallway to her room.

I'll admit I was a little hesitant about entering her room. I had seen her car and the way she dressed – not that both weren't awesome, because her car was smoking hot and she definitely had an eye for fashion. Alice was…flashy and colorful, so imagine my surprise when her room wasn't an epileptic's worst nightmare.

Most of the room carried the running theme of white on a-slightly-darker-white, but there were subtle bursts of bright yellow and magenta in her drapes and posters, which featured images of different outfits and various locations around the world. I recognized Paris, St. Louis, and Sydney from the famous landmarks, but there were many others. It had an energetic, urban feel to it, but it also felt cool and relaxing at the same time.

"You don't have a bed?" I asked as soon as I realized the only sort of furniture to be seen was a black leather couch facing a widescreen TV mounted on the wall.

"We don't sleep," Alice said, frowning. "And we've been talking all night..." I shook my head and sat down on the couch.

"Don't worry about me," I told her, hoping to rid her of worry about my health. "I don't sleep either. But I still usually lie down at night, whenever I can."

"Why?" Alice asked as she climbed onto the other end of the couch, crossing her legs as she leaned back against the armrest.

"I use less energy when I'm not moving around," I shrugged. Alice nodded, either understanding why I felt the need to conserve whatever energy I could, or not wanting to pry.

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed, jumping off the couch and blurring over to another door. She opened it to reveal the largest stock of clothes I had ever seen. There were literally racks of clothes sitting in the middle of the room-sized closet like one would find in the clothes section of Walmart. She made positive and negative humming noises as she zoomed around the space, finally coming back to the couch with a bundle of clothes in her arms.

"What…" I trailed off as Alice held several different shirts and blouses up in the air.

"Your t-shirt is still ripped from your little demonstration in the woods," she answered without taking her eyes off the collection of items. "Not that it's a bad thing it was ruined – it was much too bland."

She handed me an assortment of shirts she had deemed acceptable and ushered me into her bathroom to change. New pants were offered as well, but I staunchly defended my bottom attire – after all, they weren't damaged at all, no matter how cheap or 'bland' they were. Alice grudgingly accepted my reasoning, though I could still hear her quietly grumbling under her breath from the bathroom.

I took off my tattered t-shirt and put it on the counter. Creating some faux-clothing of my own would be easily done, but I really wasn't ready to share that much about my strange physiology with Alice. I could tell we were already friends, but I still needed to keep some things to myself, and I knew anything I told Alice would eventually get leaked to Edward. I slipped on a brick-red button-up shirt that was tighter than I was used to wearing, exiting the bathroom with both the leftover clothing and my tattered shirt.

"I'll take these," Alice grabbed the rejected shirts, snagging the ripped shirt out of my other hand as well. "And…I'll burn this one." I scoffed, but it rolled into a chuckle; I couldn't really wear it anymore anyway with the tears.

The scuffing and echoing of footsteps came from the hallway, moving toward Alice's door. There was a knock a fourth of a second before the door was opened, revealing a grinning Emmett and an indifferent Rosalie. I opened my mouth to say hello to them, hoping to put forth an effort to not aggravate the blonde vampire, when I was snatched up into two lumberjack-sized, cold arms.

"So, if it isn't the unknown creature, Bella Swan," Emmett jested, squeezing me a little tighter than he should have if I had been a normal human being. I huffed out a pathetic laugh of my own, unable to squeeze the proper portion of air into my lungs. "What have you two been up to in here, eh?" I could practically feel the insinuation in the air.

Not one to be bested – and remembering what Alice had said about humiliating Emmett in a strength contest – I returned the favor with a squeeze of my own. I didn't put enough pressure behind my grip to harm him, only about the level I had used to beat Alice at arm wrestling. Emmett let out a short huff of surprise as my arms constricted around his hard skin, the granite texture of it giving slightly under the hug.

"Hello, Emmett; Rosalie," I laughed as I let go, Emmett's face a mixture of shock, humiliation, and determination as I peered up at him. Rosalie moved next to him and gave me a stare, shifting her gaze to Emmett as he grinned at me and pounded his fist into his hand. I had to admit, the sound of rock fist hitting rock hand was intimidating – especially with the excited grin on his face that accompanied the gesture.

"Dude, it's so on, Bella," Emmett boomed, motioning me to follow him as he blurred out of Alice's room. "Come on! Backyard; let's go!" Emmett's voice carried as he yelled from the back of the house. I laughed and followed him at a slower pace; Alice and Rosalie followed behind me.

Carlisle and Esme were already outside, standing in the shade of the wrap-around porch as they both peered out into the backyard at Emmett. Rosalie flitted past them and joined Emmett, both of them sending refracted light out onto the grass from the harsh sunlight overhead. I jumped down the stairs and landed in the grass, barely able to contain the giggles that had bubbled into my throat.

"What are you laughing at, Swan?" Emmett somehow managed to whine with a deep voice, which actually sent me over the edge and brought on a few short bursts of laughs.

"Sparkles are a good look for you, Emmett," I snickered. "Very…masculine." Emmett growled, clearly unhappy with being the focal point of my humor.

"We'll see who's laughing after I whoop your ass," Emmett pumped his muscles. "First to pin the other wins – don't worry; I'll go easy on you." I scoffed at him and pointedly ignored the concerned whispers from Carlisle and Esme. Alice was grinning from off to the side; she had found her own spot of shade under a tree close by.

"Whatever you say, Emmett," I chuckled, taking a stance with my hands extended by my sides. I wouldn't be fighting with my more gruesome abilities, so I needed to rely on brute strength to win.

Emmett grinned and crouched, digging his feet into the earth like a bull about to charge. With a burst of speed that didn't quite match Alice's grace, the giant lumbered toward me at super speed. I braced myself, digging my planted feet easily into the grass. He hit with a meaty thud that actually hurt. It wasn't extremely painful, but I had gone so long without the familiar aches and pains of humanity that it was a startling surprise.

He was, however, unable to move me very far. His momentum had caused the both of us to slide backward a few meters into the yard, leaving brown trenches in our wake. Emmett grabbed my shoulders and tried to force me down, grunting as I remained steadfast – an immovable object. I wrapped my arms around his biceps and broke his grip, clamping down on his arms as he did mine and spinning him around.

I threw him with moderate strength, enjoying the sight of his flailing arms as he sailed into the tree line, snapping branches and felling trees like Jacob had done when I hit him. Emmett came back faster, apparently finished holding back, and charged me head-on again. We once again slid back, locked in combat as Emmett tried to overcome my insurmountable strength.

I let go of Emmett unexpectedly as he swept my legs out from underneath me, following me to the ground as I fell. He was quick to lock my arms and push down, eager to pin me to the ground. I bucked underneath him and kicked his body over my head. I pushed off the ground and pressed my knee against his throat as I fell on top of him, using my other legs and arms to pin him down.

There wasn't an official call that I had won, but Emmett let out a ceremonious 'fuck,' prompting me to let him up. He looked at me for a moment with an unreadable expression on his face. I was worried he would be angry I had pinned him until his familiar grin grew across his face, dimples forming on his cheeks.

"Nice job," Emmett said, completely disregarding the streaks of mud and grass stains that littered his torn clothing. I was sure I looked much the same, which meant Alice would have another go at redressing me. "I'll beat you next time though, Swan." Emmett seemed completely confident, and I didn't bother to tell him that was unlikely.

My attention was drawn away from the spectacle of the after-fight backyard arena by the sound of an approaching car. Carlisle went inside after giving me a speculative look, Esme trailing behind him. Emmett and Rosalie disappeared into the woods, leaving only Alice and I in the back yard. I jogged over to her as I tried to shrug off some of the loose pieces of debris from my clothes.

"Edward and Angela are here," Alice said, her eyebrows warping on her forehead.

End notes: So, right after I pretty much said I would be updating once a week I was late with the update. Go figure. Not a big deal, though; it was only a day or so behind schedule. I tried to make it up to you with more action and a larger word count. Also, Bella met the Cullens (or, well, most of them; we'll get to see the Edward/Angela interaction next time) which seemed to be a popular 'I look forward to' thing.

So, I pretty much have the story mapped out in my head - allowing for variations as the mood strikes, of course. There will be a bad guy to fight. Well, there'll be more than one, but the other one doesn't really count. Don't worry about it; you'll see soon enough.

I'm out.