A Petal For Your Heart
She doesn't particularly like flowers.
That's not to say she particularly dislikes them either. She's never considered them deeply enough to have that strong of an opinion on them, which, when she thinks about it, is maybe a little odd considering the phenomenal gardens her mother tends to every day.
In all honesty, it wouldn't be that much of a stretch to say Alice grew up in a greenhouse. They didn't have a backyard so much as they had a deck overlooking an ocean of colour, in the shape of flowers, plants, and small trees.
You'd think at least some of that experience would rub off on her in the form of knowledge, like what kind of flowers you bring to meet your boyfriend's family for the first time.
In her defense, this is the first time she's done anything like this. Relationships are… hard, for Alice, and she's not really sure why. She's dated decent people, she's a decent person, but the relationships themselves usually crash and burn a few months in.
And then Jasper came along.
Jasper, who treats her like she and she alone put the moon in the sky. It's new and exciting but scary, because she can't mess this up. She may never get another chance like this and she refuses to mess it up just because she doesn't know what kind of flowers to bring with her to dinner or if she should even bring flowers, maybe wine? But she's already waiting outside the flower shop and running late for a meeting, there's no time to run to the market and-
Warm hands cup her cheeks, cradling her face firmly but with a surprisingly gentle touch. Alice blinks a few times, dragged out of her spiraling panic, and looks up into the concerned cosmos.
(In reality, they're just very brown eyes, but she's seeing stars for some reason?)
"Whatever has you freaking out, I promise it's not as bad as you're making it seem," smooth velvet slides over her skin, elicits a shiver and has her eyes fluttering, "unless you're dying. In which case. You know. Awkward."
A chuckle shakes the young woman's shoulders and Alice can feel it.
(How close are they?
Who is this?!)
The silence that stretches on has her laughter slowly dying out, until they're just standing there, in an objectively intimate embrace that Alice can't wrap her head around. Seriously, who is this? Where did she come from? How is she so warm?
Dark eyebrows tug together in concern again, fingers disappearing into her hair at the base of her neck. Intimate, too intimate. Kill Bill sirens are going off in Alice's head and she finally starts to slowly pull away, leaning more into the glass wall behind her. "Please let go," she whispers weakly.
The young woman jumps slightly, as if just realizing their positions. She drops her hands quickly, like she's been burned, and staggers back. "Yup, sorry! Hah. That was weird. Sorry. You looked very upset."
"So you caressed my face?" Alice asks skeptically.
The stranger blinks a few times and Alice can see a blush creeping up into her cheeks. "W-yeah, apparently." She shakes her head, the smile embarrassed but easy and free. "Are you okay, though?"
"Yes, thank you." Alice pushes off from the wall again, stepping out into the sidewalk once more to stare up at the sign above the door. "I'm just waiting for the shop to open and I'm running late for a meeting."
"Shit, sorry!" Again, the girl hops, but this time to yank out a keyring from her pocket. "Come in, tell me what I can get ya."
Alice follows her into the big, open store front and it's like walking into a wall of fragrance. On the verge of being overpowering, but mostly just… clean. Fresh. Alice sucks in a lungful of air and feels better, feels the stress fade away to something a little more manageable. She turns blue eyes onto the stranger, watching her curiously, as she hops the counter in the back instead of walking around it. "You work here?" she asks.
"Sorta," the girl replies and opens a door to toss her bag inside. The dozens of buttons pinned to it rattle when it very obviously hits the ground, and her dark denim coat goes next. She offers another grin and holds up arms. "I own it."
And all over, Alice is confused. She feels like she's stuck on an emotional rollercoaster this morning and she desperately wants to get off. Wants to leave, to run across the city, and hide in her office for the rest of the day. To call Jasper and tell him that she's sick and can't make it tonight.
Wants to be anything other than a responsible adult.
"You?" she asks instead.
"Me, yes."
"Not only work here, but own it?"
"Quite right, pretty lady."
"You."
"Me."
"...Here."
"Sorry, are you having a stroke? Should I call someone?"
Again, Alice is snapped out of her musings. She shakes her head and taps her fingers on the countertop, an apologetic smile playing at her painted lips. "No, I'm sorry. You just don't seem the type."
It's a fair assumption, the girl looks like the abrasive owner of a tattoo parlour rather than a floral shop. Ink etched into her skin all up her arms, the side of her neck, disappearing into her hair in the back. A piercing glints at Alice with every word, some kind of silver tongue stud. Her shirt is covered in splotches of paint and Alice isn't sure if it's actual paint or the design, her jeans ripped in the knees, with a pair of impressive looking combat boots.
She looks the kind of person you might think twice about approaching in a bar… until you get to her face.
(Alice has never seen such kindness.
Dark eyes that shine so bright.
The infinite cosmos reflecting back at her.)
With a shrug, the girl waves the comments off. "I get that a lot. There's an analogy about roses and thorns in there somewhere, but I'm not gonna touch that cliche," she laughs and Alice's shoulders relax with the ease it brings about. "I'm Bella, by the way."
"Alice." Their hands clasp to shake, contact once again, and Alice marvels at how difficult it is to force herself to let go. (Part of her marvels at the fact that, despite this, she's the one to let go and not Bella)
Bella watches her, those dark eyes alight with... Something. Alice isn't sure. She's not sure if she wants to know. She thinks of Jasper's golden curls instead and looks away. "Alice," Bella tests out and hums. "That's an old name."
"Says Bella."
"Bella's not that old, it's pretty common, actually."
"Maybe in Italy," Alice scoffs.
And Bella's all grins. "Spain, actually."
"Whatever." Alice shakes her head, hates that she's smiling and laughing, goofing around with this stranger when there are so many more important things to be doing. "Like nobody's named Bella in Italy."
"So many people," Bella agrees. "But not as many as Spain."
"Listen, you Spain in my ass," Alice points up at her, "I need some flowers."
"But wherever shall you get them?"
"Bella."
Bella sighs, long and exasperated, but the smile on her face never leaves. She drums her fingers on the top of the counter for a moment, staring down at Alice with a thoughtful look. "Extremely early Mother's Day?"
It's silly, how Alice very suddenly feels guilty, of all things. Guilty for telling this stranger a regular, ordinary fact. A fact that shouldn't matter. A fact that doesn't. It doesn't. It definitely doesn't. "Meeting my boyfriend's family for the first time."
An ink covered hand reaches up to dramatically clutch at Bella's heart. "I knew it was too good to be true."
"What?"
She shrugs and smirks but it doesn't feel that playful, not when she turns away to grab something under the counter. "Oh just, you know, dumb fairy tale meetings."
"Is that why you grabbed my face?" Alice asks with a laugh or maybe she's just very suddenly breathless.
No, no she's not. That's… illogical. It doesn't make sense.
Who is this stranger?
Bella pops back up and the light is back, the room is bright once more. "Maybe!" she grins with another shrug. "Ah well, seems we're not star-crossed lovers after all."
"Certainly not!" Alice gasps in surprise.
(Definitely surprise and not because her heart jumped into her throat.)
There's a lull where Alice's cheeks burn and she's not entirely sure why. A moment where she regrets ever stepping foot in here. A moment where nothing in life makes sense and she wonders if it ever did. Wonders where Bella's been all her life because now she can't really imagine Bella ever not being there.
Part of her wonders what Bella's thinking, if she's going through something similar.
Surely this entire encounter, this very weird encounter, is not one-sided.
Looking at Bella, she's still unsure. (Surprise.) But the girl throws her arms up in the air. "Look more offended, why don't you!"
"Not - I just meant - Bella, I have a boyfriend! A boyfriend whose parents deserve really nice flowers, but I don't know what kind of flowers those are," she rants in exasperation.
Bella's holding up her hands, easy smile back in place. "Calm down, calm down. I'm just joking. We both know you'd be lucky to have me," she teases with a wicked grin. Alice finds that her rebuttal is stuck in her throat, the words, playful as they may be, feel… weird. So she simply watches Bella, watches the fire of laughter in her eyes fade down to burning embers of something.
Something more.
Yet again, the two stare at each other in a silence that they can feel.
Bella saves her this time. She shakes her head, as if breaking a spell, and hops the counter again. (Alice wonders if this is for her and Bella's trying to show off, or if she's truly just too lazy to walk around). She hooks her thumb over her shoulder towards an area of the shop designated specifically for flowers. "Let's go have a look, hm?"
Her pocket vibrates with the buzzing phone, someone from the office calling to ask where she is, probably. If she'll make it in time for the meeting. It goes unnoticed - or, more accurately, ignored, as Alice follows Bella down the little aisle of colour. "Do you like flowers?"
Bella turns very slightly on her tour, enough to catch Alice's gaze and quirk her eyebrow. "Flowers killed my family. I'm only here to infiltrate and take the bastards down from the inside. Don't tell the daisies."
"Dumb question," Alice chastises herself with an amused smile. "Did you have to go to school for this?"
A lovely shade of orange is offered to Alice in the form of a Begonia, and yes, she supposes some of Esme's teachings rubbed off on her. Bella hums thoughtfully while Alice tucks the flower up behind her ear. "Little bit of water, little bit of sunshine, it's actually not that complicated."
"I meant the business aspect, of owning the store," Alice points out with a small, playful shove that keeps Bella moving.
It earns her another overly dramatic sigh. "Nope, I'm a billionaire. When this business tanks, I'll just buy a new one."
"Are you incapable of answering just one simple little question truthfully?"
She nods agreeably. "Seems that way, doesn't it." Bella turns the next corner, gathering a few purple flowers together, staring down at their petals intently. "Tell you what, you answer mine and I'll answer yours."
"Deal," Alice agrees hesitantly. She's startled but not surprised when Bella whirls around, holding out her hand to shake on it. There's something familiar about the bold blue arrowhead on the back of her hand, hidden amongst the other ink as she takes it. "So no schooling?"
"Lots of schooling," Bella replies helpfully. She considers it and nods, still holding Alice's hand. "First for writing, then for art, then for business. I sincerely hope I'm done."
"Not one for settling down into just one thing?"
Those dark eyes hold Alice's, like a gravitational pull. "Not for just anything. But for one specific thing? For my thing? Without a second thought, absolutely." There's no time for Alice to do or think much of anything, certainly not about that, no time to notice her heart skip a beat. "So, this owner of the parents for which these flowers brought you here to me this morning…"
Alice follows the word train and deduces she's asking about Jasper. "Yes?"
"Is he kind?"
Blue eyes blink a few times. "Sorry?"
"Is he kind?" Bella repeats, leaning her hip against one of the barrels of flowers, They're pre-plucked, just the heads and petals, possibly for potpourri. "Does he have a gentle heart, with goodness being the only face of his coin?"
It's definitely not the question she was expecting and Alice takes a moment to find her voice.
(Where did it go?
Who did she become when she stepped into this store?
Why can't she just get a hold of herself?)
"Yes, of course," she answers. "He is a very good man, he treats me very well. I'm - I am quite lucky to have found him."
A pinch of petals are flicked at her, raining brilliant colours around her. Bella hums again. "Funny how people find people, eh? It's pretty cute. We bumble about our lives, none the wiser, until one day we just… find someone. Someone. Someone. Who are you, Alice?"
"I don't know," she replies honestly.
Bella shrugs. "Does anyone?"
"Who are you, Bella?"
Brows tug together in concentration, dark eyes staring down into the barrel. It's the most serious Alice has ever seen the girl, and it's both odd and endearing. Eventually, Bella lifts a shoulder in a another shrug. "I think we're defined by the people we surround ourselves with. We recognize pieces of ourselves in them, latch onto it. We're too close to ourselves to properly analyze it, but in someone else, you have that distance. You know?"
She's not sure if she does know, but Alice nods all the same. "The more people we know, the more we know ourselves?"
"Careful," Bella warns playfully. "Keep that up and I might just fall in love with you." There's a dangerous glint in her eye, something like a dare, and Alice has the very sudden urge to test it. She laces her fingers behind her back, swaying forward on her feet, and bites her lip. Bella watches her with interest and Alice is certain there hasn't been a moment since they met that those eyes haven't held intrigue. "What's your favourite colour, Alice?"
"Yellow," Alice breathes and clears her throat. "Yellow, if the Porsche out front isn't a big enough hint."
Eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "That's yours?"
"Yes."
"Porsche."
Is she…? "My Porsche, yes."
"That you own."
"Me," Alice laughs.
"Are you not going to offer an ambulance?" Bella grins and ducks back away from Alice's playful swatting. "It's the least you can do after such grand hospitality on my part, your majesty."
"Majesty?" Alice echoes with a laugh, following Bella farther down the aisles until they get to a section that has such vibrant greens hanging and looping that they need to duck around.
As they go, Bella gathers more and more flowers, handing different ones to Alice, while she holds a specific bunch and adds to it. Hers is nice, but the ones she gives to Alice are… something else.
Something more.
(Always something more, with Bella.)
There's a particularly mossy vine that hangs diagonally across the aisle and Bella holds it up gently while Alice slides underneath to follow. "I've never met a homeless woman who owned a Porsche, ergo - majesty."
"You're so dramatic, that's such an exaggeration!" Alice accuses. Her face is flush, eyes sparkling with mischief.
Bella scoffs. "I am theatrical, not dramatic."
"You could give Edward a run for his money," Alice tells her fondly.
Bella shrugs again and Alice notices. She wonders if Bella shrugs off most things in life. Then she wonders what kinds of things those might be. What makes Bella tick. What makes her smile. What makes her laugh. Makes her cry. Scares her. Inspires her. "Dunno who that is, but he sounds like a good dude."
"He's my little brother," Alice replies and smiles as she adds, "by three minutes."
Staggering back, Bella uses a particularly long stem of a nearby rose to pretend she's been impaled through the heart. "And she's a twin! Damn you, Mystery Boyfriend."
"Bella," Alice warns past her thundering heartbeat.
The girl is down the aisle, picking more flowers, expertly avoiding looking directly at Alice as she passes the flowers or adds them to her own bunch. "Bring him by sometime, I'll teach him about flowers. Someone in the family should know."
"Someone does," Alice counters. She fiddles with the petals of the flowers she has. "My mom has a mighty green thumb."
"Why isn't she here?"
"I-"
"Doesn't wanna help you woo your boyfriend's family?" An eyebrow arches and Bella studies Alice's face. "Or you didn't tell her you're meeting them? Why wouldn't you want her to know? You're scared. Nervous? Or something else? Maybe it's not real if your family doesn't know? Maybe you're not ready for it to be real? Maybe-"
"Maybe you should stop assuming other people's lives," Alice barks out as her cheeks burn and burn and burn. "She's busy today or I would have brought her, because she does know about meeting his family, she supports me, and she loves him. It's very real."
The lies come easier than she thought they would.
The realization that they bring, however, churns like acid in her stomach. She closes her eyes and thinks of Jasper, his friendly smile, his gentle voice, how he always smells like books. His ever calming presence, how easily he can centre her.
She wants Jasper.
She wants Jasper.
(Does she want Jasper?)
"That's fair," Bella's saying and nodding but she won't look up from her hands. Her dark eyes trace the intricate designs on the back of each hand while she chews on her lip. "Hey, sorry, Alice. I keep… I'm, I don't usually come on this strong? I, uh, I actually don't usually come on at all. I don't… I'm done with - people, I guess. That's," she shakes her head while she tries to string her words together, "that's a whole different story. I don't know, there's something about you. That's no excuse, I… I'm sorry if I keep making you uncomfortable."
Her chest feels tight and she's not sure why-
(More lies. So many lies today.)
But she can't fix this, she shouldn't fix this. She should just let it go.
So she does.
"I just need some flowers, Bella."
Again, Bella nods but doesn't look up. "Yup. Let me just get a ribbon and a bag for these guys and it's, you know, don't worry about the charge. Take it as an apology."
"I can pay-"
"No, seriously, I feel like an ass. Please just take them."
Alice nods and feels smaller than an ant, feels like the grime under her shoes. "Okay," she whispers.
She sprints to her car once she leaves the store and doesn't look back.
.
.
.
Edward lays each dress out on the end of the bed, above the shoes he thinks they'll go best with. His beautiful face is pensive, his hair immaculate, chiseled features carved with a brooding knife. He doesn't look up from his task, hand on his hip, the other tapping a finger against his chin. "You're thinking too loud, I can't concentrate."
"I hate that you know me so well," Alice shoots back sourly.
"No, you don't."
Her head hangs. "No, I don't," she grumbles. She sighs and slouches back on the stool, turning to face the vanity mirror again, and forces herself to smile. To look happier than she feels. But it only makes her heart ache more. "Do you think it's a mistake?"
"It's too late to redo your makeup, Alice," he tells her. "Own any mistakes, pretend you did them on purpose."
"No, I-" she throws a hairbrush over her shoulder and it hits him in the back, eliciting a shrill yelp. He finally looks up at her, eyebrows climbing up his forehead. "Not my makeup, dweeb. It's perfection and I'm offended that you would suggest otherwise."
Edward's pensive look deepens, and he sits on the edge of the vanity. "Well, what do you mean, then? What else are you talking about?" He studies her face closely, the shadows of doubt in her eyes. Absently, he reaches out to fix her bangs and watches those brilliant blue eyes roll up to the ceiling as Alice huffs. "You've been in a mood all day. Does this have anything to do with why you missed the meeting this morning?"
"Don't remind me," Alice groans and turns back to the mirror. "Volturi bastards are seriously trying to undermine us and steal talent? Unbelievable."
"Put that out of your mind, dear twin. The company is fine, it'll take more than the Volturi to threaten us." He smiles, full of charm, and pats her shoulder. "Do you feel better?"
Alice bites her lip, watches Edward frown as she marrs her lipstick, and rolls her eyes again. She bounces farther down the bench, closer to him, and lowers her voice. "I met someone today."
"And they offended you?"
"No, well, yes, but… I liked it."
And Edward looks even more confused, like Alice is a puzzle he can't quite figure out. It's a little refreshing, since the boy seems to always know what's going on in everyone's head, and Alice enjoys the moment maybe just a little longer than necessary. Edward hums thoughtfully. "You enjoy being offended?"
"By this girl, yes," Alice agrees after a beat. She can feel the heat creeping up in her face, and it worsens when Edward's eyes widen.
He leans forward to brush his knuckle against her cheek. "You're blushing! You haven't blushed over a crush since we were thirteen."
"I don't have a crush!" she shrieks and slams her open palm against his leg until he jumps off the vanity and across the room, chortling all the way. "You have a crush, Edward!"
"You like her!" he sings and in all his elegance, jumps on the bed like a toddler. "You love her, you wanna have her babies and marry her!"
Snaking her hand around his ankle, Alice yanks her brother right off his feet. "Edward!" she hisses and watches him bounce once on the bed and right off onto the floor on the other side.
"Wait." A mess of bronze peeks over the edge of the bed, followed closely by blue eyes that match her own. "What about Jasper? He's going to be here in ten minutes. Alice? Alice. What about Jasper?"
"Stop saying his name!" she snaps, hands over her face. "Okay, relax. I'm okay, everything's fine. Jasper is great and I'm going to meet his family and Bella is nobody."
Edward's frown deepens. "That's a little harsh."
"Not - God, Edward! You don't make this easy, do you?" Alice returns to the vanity to fix her hair and straighten her pyjamas. "I meant she's nobody to me romantically."
He towers over her from behind, pale hands on her shoulders and concern in his eyes. "Then why did you blush?"
"I was - I didn't! I'm a grown woman, I do not blush-"
"You're doing it now!" he accuses.
And Alice is loathe to see the scarlet tint in her cheeks again. "I don't know why they keep doing that but it means nothing. Nothing, Edward!"
"I like Jasper. He's so kind and handsome," the boy sighs deeply.
Alice has to bite her lip to keep from picking a fight with her brother. The words well then you date him on the tip of her tongue. "Yes, he is, and that is exactly why I'm going to forget I ever met Bella."
"But she's so romantic!"
"For the love of God, make up your mind. Jasper or Bella, Edward."
The look aimed her way has her quickly averting her eyes. "I'm not the one that can't choose."
"I can choose," Alice grumbles under her breath. She can.
She can.
(But has she?)
She shakes her head, trying to find her focus again. Tries to throw herself into the bright green of Jasper's eyes and not lose herself in the deep brown of Bella's, golden specs making them smoulder like molten earth. "What makes you think she's romantic?"
Edward's thrown himself back onto her bed, careful not to land on her dresses, with his arm tossed over his eyes. "I saw the flowers. The ones you're bringing to dinner and the ones you're keeping. You know what makes up your bouquet and what they mean."
"I know no such thing."
"Shall I go down and ask mom for you then?"
"No, don't!" Alice gasps and spins around, her hand outreached. Edward lifts his arm just so he can lift an eyebrow at her. She shrinks back again, suddenly nervous. "I know some of them. She's very…"
"Romantic?"
"More like infuriating," Alice smiles softly down at her lap, "in a good way, though."
The silence that falls over the room is comforting, as it always is in the presence of her twin. Edward stares up at the ceiling of her bedroom, deep in thought. Time is the one thing they don't have, and he can feel her anxiety all the way across the room. There's no way Jasper is going to miss it. "You don't owe anyone anything," he tells her.
"Well that's just not true, now is it."
"You're right." Alice looks up to see Edward perched on the edge of her bed, staring at her seriously. "You owe yourself a chance, Alice. You owe yourself this choice. I know in the past you've been burnt more times than not, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve the fairy tale."
(Alice's heart lodges itself in her throat.
"Oh just, you know, dumb fairy tale meetings.")
She blinks and comes back to the present, to Edward's compassion and understanding and patience. "Alice, you're not stuck here. If it's Jasper, great, but if it's not, that's okay, too."
"Of course it's Jasper," Alice repeats idly, breathlessly as her mind tries to fathom the possibilities laid before her. But it's not Edward's face she sees, it's not her room she's in.
She's back at the flower shop, following her dark stranger through a room of colour. A presence so magnetic that she will always be doomed to trail after. A gaze so intense and alluring that Alice wants to follow, that she wants to see where it will lead.
She wants.
She wants.
She wants…
The doorbell rings and echoes through the manor, Jasper announcing his arrival. Exactly on time, not a minute too soon, not a minute too late.
Past her roaring heart that she can hear in her ears, Alice can just make out Edward trying to talk to her. Tell her something, as she shuffles him out of her room so she can change out of her sweats.
Jasper is here.
And Alice… Alice doesn't know.
.
.
.
The car ride is long and awkward, and she's never felt so uncomfortable around Jasper before. She can't help the guilt from eating away at her the entire time, and even flinches when he tries to take her hand. It's all she can do, to laugh it off as nervous jitters about meeting his family.
He definitely knows something is up, and if he didn't before, he certainly does when Alice drops a picture in the living room.
It's a nice picture, the frame is a sturdy silver. Simple but elegant, much like the rest of the room. It lands on the corner of the coffee table and she can hear the glass crack, winces, and quickly reaches down to pick it up.
Yup. One giant crack across the picture.
In her defense, she had been thinking about Bella all night, that when she finally saw her, it came as quite the shock to her system.
But there she is. Staring up at Alice from the picture, her arm wrapped around Jasper's neck as she wrestled her way up onto his back. Their matching graduation gowns and caps, massive grins on their faces. Alice traces her finger over their faces and wonders why the universe is so cruel.
Jasper's presence falls on her like a warm blanket on a cold night. He hums and runs his thumb over her wrist that holds the frame. "Don't worry about it, it's an old picture frame, and I'm sure my mom has dozens of copies of the picture. Bella was shockingly cooperative that day, emphasis on the shockingly."
The agreeable snort tears from Alice before she can stop it, "I believe it."
And Jasper tilts his head, curious green eyes regarding her. "You know Bella?"
"You know Bella?" Alice fires back anxiously.
Maybe this is some kind of nightmare?
Maybe she'll wake up?
He nods and shrugs his shoulders, all at once, and the action is familiar. So, so familiar…
Because Bella had done the very same thing this morning.
Jasper looks back down at the picture. "Quite well. Bella is my other half," he tells her and smiles fondly. "Platonically, of course. We've been best friends since we could walk. Well, I walked, she usually ran, from one heap of trouble to another. Actually, she dated my cousin, Rosalie, for a few years."
Alice squints, shaking her head. "She's so gay," she murmurs under her breath.
"Yes!" Jasper laughs, all the same. A thoughtful look returns to his face eventually, as he scrutinizes her, studies her. Looking for… something. She knows he'll find it soon enough. "You went to her shop for the flowers today, didn't you?"
She nods ever so slowly.
He also nods but it's more absent than anything, hands falling down to his hips. He chews on his bottom lip, still nodding, but she can see a sort of… resigned pain in his eyes. A practised patience. "That's why you've been acting weird tonight."
It wasn't a question but Alice still feels like she should answer, still feels like she owes him honesty, at least. "Yes."
He falls, well sort of. He sits down really fast. So fast, that Alice thinks he's falling and jolts forward, but he's already on the corner of the coffee table. Staring down at the picture frame in his hands, a bittersweet look on his face. "Damn it," he sighs and shakes his head. "This was it. You? You were… it. My future."
"I'm so sorry, Jasper, I didn't… I mean, I haven't even. We can…"
Alice fumbles for words that simply bounce off the stoic looking man. He sits there, as if he is the last person on the face of the planet, carrying the weight of the world.
Edward was right. Jasper is a painfully beautiful man, and Alice feels… something. Maybe not her heart breaking. It hurts, but it also feels kinda good. Kind of like relief, maybe.
The silence is broken. Jasper sets the frame down on the table beside him, looks up into Alice's face. Finds what he was searching for before. "Nah, it's. You don't worry about that, Alice." He laughs and it's sad but hopeful too. "Actually, when we first met, I couldn't help thinking wow, she's perfect for Bella." He groans and runs his hands through his hair, staring up at the ceiling. "But then we got to know each other more, and you were perfect for me! Turns out, you're just perfect."
"I'm really not," Alice tries to tell him and it feels so foreign. She's constantly teasing Edward that she's perfect and responsible for every single good thing in his life, and she misses him terribly in this moment. "I just… met a girl today."
"And she changed your whole world, right?"
Was that how Jasper felt meeting Alice?
"Well, she certainly forced it to a grinding halt," Alice jokes weakly.
A genuine grin pulls free from Jasper's face. "Better get used to that. Bella is weird."
"Of that, I have no doubt."
"But so are you, so I guess you fit," he chuckles. Alice swats his shoulder playfully and he finally looks at her. Really looks at her. There's ache in his eyes but they're still bright, they're still friendly and kind. "Don't hurt her, Ali."
"I'm not sure I could," she replies truthfully.
He stares up at her, works his jaw a few times, and nods. "I think you could."
"I'm so sorry, Jasper!" Alice repeats and sits on the table beside him. She takes his hand, squeezes it emphatically. "I really… I really thought it was you. I had everything planned out."
"Can't plan out your whole life, Alice, no matter how hard you try," he tells her softly. He rubs at his eyebrow with his knuckle and Alice sees he's falling apart fairly quickly. "Hey, listen-"
"You should," she turns to him, patting his arm as her mind whirls, "you should call Edward," she says quickly and nods at his confused look. "No, yes. He's very thoughtful and he knows the situation? You can talk to him. I think you should talk to someone, but you probably don't want to talk to me."
"I don't want to talk to anyone, to be honest."
She frowns. "Yes, but you should. Jasper, I feel horrible."
"Well, good, you kinda broke my heart." At her horrified face, he barks out a laugh and shakes his head, gently gripping her shoulder. "No, I'm kidding! Alice, I'm kidding. I mean, I'm not, but I'm not mad or petty." She keeps staring at him and he relents a little. "Okay, I am petty, but only Bella will suffer for it."
"Jasper!"
He holds up his hands. "In a joking manner that masks my very real pain."
"You're killing me," she groans. "You're the same person, how did I not assume she knew you?" He nods and the smile falls ever so slightly. The sadness creeps back in around the edges of his eyes until she can feel it. "Call Edward. Please."
"Where are you going?"
She gets to her feet, smoothing out her dress, and offers a reassuring smile. "I've never felt more awkward in my life, so I'm going to leave. Again, so, so sorry."
"Let me get my keys-"
"No!" Alice gasps and Jasper freezes, his hand in his pocket midway through standing up. He looks at her expectantly, eyebrow twitching up. She smiles sheepishly. "Hah, yeah, um, no. Thank you. But no. I'm trying to run away and if you drove me, that wouldn't be running away so much as… not running away."
He fires a lazy finger gun at her and nods dejectedly. "Gotcha. There's a bus stop at the end of the street, I guess? I'm gonna go wallow… and call Edward," he huffs when she gives him a look. "God, not even dating anymore and you're still nagging me - seriously, Alice, I'm just kidding. We're gonna have fun with this eventually. Bella's gonna have a field day."
"Goodbye, Jasper." Alice stretches up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek before heading to the front door.
She makes it to the entrance of the living room when Jasper calls out again. "Hey, Alice? She's perfect for you, too."
.
.
.
Outside, Alice hugs her coat tighter to her body as she wanders down the street towards the bus stop. Up in his childhood room, Jasper pulls X-Men blankets over his head and presses the phone to his ear. It rings twice before they answer and Jasper pouts into the phone, "The flowers were lovely."
There's a confused pause on the other end that melts into a deep sigh. "Well, fuck."
.
.
.
It's not a particularly chilly night, but Alice can't stop hugging her coat closer to her body. She's not sure if it's the wind or the guilt making her shiver, and this might just be the worst night of her life. She's done exactly what she promised herself she wouldn't do.
She let another relationship crash and burn.
"Seriously, how does this keep happening to me?" she asks the sky and collapses down on the bus bench.
Jasper's parents live in a pretty nice neighbourhood. It feels a little like her own childhood home, but there are many, many more houses here. It makes her miss the quiet isolation of the woods. Makes her wish that she had talked to her mom about the whole thing and got some trustworthy advice.
Just as Alice prepares to jump down the endless pit of guilt and regret, her ears prick at a faint noise that cuts through the silence of the night.
In the time it takes her to recognize the song and piece together just who has found her, Alice feels her heart skip an eager beat. Her shame takes a backseat to the giddiness that has her almost bouncing on the bench, watching a big, black cadillac roll up to the bus stop.
'I don't care what they say, I'm in love with you. They try to pull me away, but they don't know the truth…'
Blue eyes roll up to the stars even as she tries to tame the grin on her face.
The car bounces a few times though Alice can't see why through the darkly tinted windows and simply waits until the passenger side window begins to slowly roll down. Eventually, Bella's grin -a charming curve dipped in mischief- meets her and Alice sighs softly as something settles in her chest. As something just… clicks.
"Sup, pretty lady?" A two finger salute is sent her way and Alice hates how she swoons just a little.
She lifts her chin and looks away. "You're a pain in my ass, you know that?"
"Yup. Sorry."
The draw is there and Alice can't fight it, can't help but look back at Bella again. "Jasper called you?"
"Yes," dark brows furrowed, "but he said to tell you he also called Edward." Bella stares up at Alice until the playful light in her eye dims. "I didn't know it was him."
"So if it was someone else, you'd be fine with it?"
She nods after a heartbeat. "Yes." There's a moment of hesitation, dark eyes flashing with guilt. "Truth be told, even knowing it's Jasper now, I-" Bella looks around the window, a slight pout on her face, and very quickly starts pulling herself out of it.
"Bella! The door, just open the-"
Her palms hit the pavement, hips wiggling over the window ledge. "It's fine, it's romantic. Gimme a second."
"You're going to break your neck, Bella! Bella. Seriously. Here, let me-"
Bella turns to land on her shoulder just as Alice bends to help lift her up. They both kind of… fall another half a foot, Bella somehow flat on the back of her shoulders with her legs still sticking in through the window of her car, with Alice kneeling on her coat, her hands on either side of Bella's head.
Blue eyes stare down into brown ones fondly. Bella's grin is back, charming and happy and very much reminding Alice of a puppy. She shifts her weight to one hand so the other can tuck a lock of wild hair behind Bella's ear. "What were you trying to accomplish there?"
"A lasting impression. Did it work?"
"Exceptionally well."
An ink covered fist shoots into the air. "Nailed it."
"That was pathetic and you should feel bad about yourself."
Both girls pause, Bella's grin fading into a sheepish smile, while Alice leans up to peer through the window. Her eyes widen, spotting the woman in the back seat, a heated scowl aimed at Alice. The pixie waves before leaning down again, glaring at Bella. "You're on a date?!"
"No-"
"Yes!" the woman snarls from the backseat again.
Bella winces. "Kinda..?"
"Kinda?" Alice echoes with a sigh.
Bella nods and shrugs. "More like on my way to a date."
"She's in the backseat, Bella."
"She doesn't drive," Bella corrects.
Another sigh heaves Alice shoulders. She shakes her head and stands back up, smoothing out her dress, and returns to the bus bench. "I can't believe you're on a date."
Of all the things she was expecting tonight, that hadn't been one of them. And maybe it's selfish, but part of her had hoped that Bella was sulking at home, or meandering around her shop, thinking about Alice.
There's rustling, Bella flipping over onto her knees to push herself up. She follows Alice to the bench, ignoring the curses being hurled at her from her car. "Well, it's your fault!"
"My fault?!" Alice scoffs.
Nope, this is definitely not going how she planned.
Bella nods again, furrowed brows and pout back in place. Alice can't stand how cute it is. "Yeah. I met my wife earlier today and she's angrily committed to my best friend."
"I wasn't angry!" Alice groans while her heart flips.
"You were yelling at me."
"I was yelling near you."
Bella chuckles, a soft shake of her head while she leans against the lamp post. "My mistake."
Alice looks up at her with an apology in her eyes. "I was confused."
"I'd hate to see you angry then."
"Bella," Alice huffs and points to the car again.
"What?" she shrugs and sits next to Alice, staring down at her boots. "I had to get you out of my head, it was killing me."
"I'm sorry."
That's two people she's hurt today. Two kind, generous, good people.
"Yeah, well," Bella bumps her shoulder against Alice's, "we are who we are. You're worth a little heartache."
Alice leans fully against Bella's shoulder. "I broke up with Jasper."
"I figured he wasn't calling me to sweep his girlfriend off her feet."
More of the guilt slowly ebs away, until it's just Alice and Bella. Sitting on a bench at the end of the street. Alice hums. "I don't even know you."
"But you want to," Bella asks though it comes out a little more certain than a question. "And that's all we need."
"I hate dating."
"Me too."
"Fuck you, Bella!"
Her face falls into her palm. "I'm pretty sure Jane hates my guts now. That's gonna be fun at work on Monday."
Alice decides to ignore that for now because this situation doesn't need to be any more complicated than it already is. She looks over at Bella, watches the way she cradles her face in her hand. The way her hair falls around her in a thick dark curtain. Pretty. Quite possibly the most beautiful person Alice has ever dated. Will ever date? "I can't keep starting over, Bella."
This gets her attention, and dark eyes are back on Alice. Bella studies her face, the most serious Alice has ever seen her. "Luckily, I'm your wife, so this is the last time."
"How can you be so sure?" Alice asks, truly curious. She decides that, fine, sometimes life doesn't turn out the way you plan. Sometimes it doesn't turn out the way you even consider, under the strangest circumstances. That, sometimes, life is unpredictable and out of your control.
She concedes to this.
Life wins.
But what makes Bella so certain? Because she is. She has been, since meeting her. Absolutely, and always certain.
The grin is back and Alice feels like maybe she's seen it all her life, that she's always been here, on this bench, staring at this smile. Bella pats her knee through her dress. "I felt the echo."
Which is just… super unhelpful. Alice tosses her hand in the air and shakes her head, her face an entire question mark.
Bella hums and nods once. "A thousand lives we've lived, Alice, and I find you in them all." She turns, lifting her hand to brush her thumb against Alice's cheek. "It's you and me. Always."
"Lothario," Alice breathes as she feels the blush crawl back up her neck again.
A wink is tossed her way, happy matching smiles lighting up the street. "Get used to it, Tiny Wall."
.
.
.
"We really do have to drive Jane home though, Alice. Sorry."
.
.
.
Prompt numero dos.