A/N: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been so busy with moving and starting classes. I just got my laptop back, though, so hopefully I'll have time to update more often now. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Reviews would be very much appreciated.

Also, just to clarify, I do not own these characters.

Ch. 4

Bella's POV

After leaving the rooftop and finishing my final two classes, I decided I needed to do something to get my mind off of Alice and our conversation. I rode my longboard home, and decided it'd be a good time for a long run. I changed into my black Under Armour workout tank and shorts, and laced up my Nike LunarGlides. Dad had bought the shoes for me as a gift because he'd found the name comical. I had hardly used them, since I usually ran in wolf form.

I tied my hair up into a ponytail and grabbed my iPod and watch off of my dresser. When I left the house to begin my run, it was 4:30 in the afternoon.

I'd hardly noticed the sun going down, and hadn't really paid attention to time at all until shops and diners started closing down. I checked my watch for the first time since I left the house. It was almost 10 pm. I was hardly winded, and felt the slightest burn in my calves – the only indication that I'd been running for nearly 6 hours.

As I rounded the corner I realized I was coming up on the diner that Alice's mother owned. Just as the thought hit me, I saw her and her mother walk out. Panicking, I ducked into a nearby ally. I don't know why I felt I needed to hide, but I did. I stayed there until Alice's mother had gotten into her car and driven away, and realized Alice was walking to where she lived. I was curious as to where she lived, but I didn't want to be a stalker. I decided to cut through the ally and come out on the next block and continue my run.

I jogged down two more blocks and cut left to loop back towards my house. As I rounded another corner, Alice was yet again in my line of vision.

Fuck, are you serious?

I saw Alice begin making her way up the stairs of an apartment building, and without thinking, I walked over to her.

I didn't know what to say once I was there, I just took a deep breath. Apparently that was all I needed to do, because Alice turned around as I exhaled.

"Bella?" I couldn't tell if she was glad to see me or not, but Alice was definitely surprised.

"Um...heyyy," I said, wiping my forehead on my arm. I think I was sweating more now than I had been during my run.

"Hi there. Mind telling me what you're doing here?"

Okay, she didn't seem too happy about my appearance.

"I was...I've been jogging around town all night, and happened to come around the corner here and saw you walking up. I guess I just thought I'd say hi?" I really didn't know what I was doing there any more than she did. I wasn't sure what made me walk up and try talking to her. But here I was, and I was definitely making a fool of myself.

"Ahh, I see. Well, would you like to come inside? My brothers are out, and you look like you could use a water break," she said.

Now that she mentioned it, I was pretty thirsty. I wasn't sure I should go in, but it wouldn't do any harm just to grab a drink and head on my way.

"Uh, sure. Thanks.," I said, and followed Alice into the building.

Once inside, we headed toward and elevator. The whole ride up was awkwardly silent.

We stopped on the top floor. I followed her to the door, and waited as she unlocked it. When she opened it up and led me inside, I couldn't believe the place. It was a massive loft, which had obviously been decorated by Alice. It was absolutely gorgeous.

"I'll get you a water, then give you a tour of the place," Alice said, as she headed toward the kitchen area.

I gave a nod and continued to look around the place. To the left of the entrance was the living room. The walls were a light gray, and hung on one wall was a 72" flat screen television. On another wall were 3 paintings, which I was immediately intrigued by. I walked to the wall to get a closer look.

When I got closer, I realized they were actually 3 canvases making up one painting. It was a scenic painting of a sunset. It hit me then that that was the view from the rooftop where Alice and I went to talk.

"Like what you see," Alice asked as she walked up behind me, my water in hand.

I reached to take the water from her, and felt our fingers graze. Instantly, my arm tingled as though I'd just been struck by the most delightful bolt of lightning. I pulled away and cleared my throat nervously, wondering if she'd felt it to. When I looked at her, she was looking at the paintings.

"Did you do these," I asked, turning back to face the three canvases.

"I did. The rooftop is where I do almost all of my work. This is one of my favorites that I've done."

"It's beautiful." I truly meant that. It was one of the best pieces I'd ever seen. I was beyond impressed, and really wanted to see more of her work.

"Thank you," she said, and gave me one of her brightest grins. I couldn't help but mirror her grin, it was infectious. "Would you like me to show you around the rest of the place?"

"Sounds good," I said, and followed her as we began our tour. She showed me the kitchen, which was decked out with all the latest appliances. I found it odd that they had anything in the kitchen, but she informed me that it was mostly for looks, though her brother Jasper would occasionally invite friends from work over for dinner. Apparently he was an amazing cook, despite the fact that they didn't eat human food.

Next was Jasper and Edward's room. It was a fairly large room, with a large bookshelf taking up one wall, half with books and the other half with records and CDs. In the far right corner, across from the bookshelf, were two comfy looking lounge chairs. Down from the chairs was a large bed, with a midnight blue comforter and matching pillows. Seeing the bed made me realize how tired I was. I would've loved to jump onto it and rest my head in the middle of all the pillows.

"Now to show you my room," said Alice, and she turned and gave me a wink.

I gave a small chuckle and swallowed the lump in my throat.

As we got closer to her room, my stomach knotted more and more and my palms grew sweaty. I didn't know why, but suddenly I was nervous and my brain was running through thoughts of Alice and I in her room. God, I was losing all control. This should not be happening.

"And here it is. The best room in the house," she said, as she opened the door.

I took a step inside and the first thing I saw was a guitar in the corner, next to a stack of painting supplies. I headed straight for it and picked it up off of its stand.

"Oh my God. Is this the Kaki King Custom by Andrew White?"

I felt like I was holding baby Jesus. This guitar was amazing.

"It was a gift. I did a show with Kaki a while back."

I stared at her in utter disbelief. A show with Kaki King? And she said that like it was no big thing.

"Are you fucking serious? She's, like...my hero. I play along with her stuff all the time. I would kill to play alongside her. Oh my God."

I was rambling. But I couldn't stop. I still couldn't believe that Alice had performed with Kaki.

Wait, she never mentioned she played guitar?

"Wait, wait, wait. You play?"

"No," she said, "she had seen me perform at a little venue a week or so before her show. I was singing and Jazz was playing the sax, while Edward played piano. She loved my voice, and asked me if I wanted to work on some songs with her. She played, amazingly as always, and I sort of just sang whatever came to mind. It ended up sounding really wonderful. After the show, she gave me the guitar and thanked me for working with her. It was an amazing night," she said. She was staring off into space, recalling that night, and had the biggest smile on her face. I had just been staring at her the whole time she spoke. Alice was truly remarkable. I couldn't deny that, not anymore. She was such an amazing woman.

"Will you sing something for me?"

I didn't know where the question had come from, I didn't mean to ask it. But once it was out, I just went with it. I was pretty decent on guitar, and obviously Alice was good at coming up with songs on the spot.

"You want me to sing," she asked. I just nodded, and went into playing one of the songs I'd been working on. It was a soft tune, but full of emotion. I'd gotten into fingerpicking just before my mother passed. When I couldn't sleep at night, I would stay up and pick away until my fingers were numb and bleeding. I'd come up with quite a few good songs, in my opinion. I'd never played in front of anyone before, though. I guess it was time for an outside opinion.

Alice took a seat next to me on the floor, and as I began the second bar of the song, she came in with vocals. She wasn't singing words, she was simply humming in harmony with my playing. And it was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. I played the rest of the song, and slowly drew it to an end.

I couldn't believe how amazing that had just sounded. I felt like a giddy little kid. It went so smoothly, and Alice was so wonderful. I couldn't contain my excitement, and a smile took over my entire face. I turned to see what Alice thought, and she had a similar smile on her face.

"That was beautiful. Your voice is amazing," I said, in a breathy voice.

"So is your playing. Did you write that song," she asked.

"Yeah, I did. I have a lot of sleepless nights," I said, with a small chuckle.

"I'd love to hear more," she said. I nodded my head.

I couldn't shake the smile from my face, and it didn't seem Alice could either.

We just sat their and looked at each other, smiling and admiring the music we'd just created. Not wanting to spoil the moment.

I found myself staring into Alice's eyes, then my gaze lowered to her lips. They were a perfect shade of pink, and looked so soft. Her smile only made them seem more perfect.

I hadn't realized I was leaning in until I heard Alice's breath hitch.

"Bella," she whispered.

I knew now what I was doing. And I didn't want to stop. I couldn't make myself stop. I was already this close.

"Yes, Alice?"

"What's ha-"

Before she could finish, my lips crashed into hers. We both took in a deep breath, and I wondered if Alice felt the same electricity that I did.

Suddenly, her hands were in my hair and our kiss was getting deeper. I traced my tongue across her bottom lip, and she allowed me entrance. The electricity increased as our tongues fought for dominance, and to my surprise, Alice won.

Soon, she was pulling me on top of her, our bodies flush against one another and our legs tangled.

My mind was swimming, and I was caught in the current of her lips and body against mine.

But then I felt my wolf thrashing inside. Not in a bad way, but in a way that I wasn't ready to allow release. I had to stop.

I pulled away from Alice and sat up. My lips tingled, and my body felt hot. Alice leaned up on her shoulders and looked both shocked and slightly hurt.

The weight of what had just happened finally hit me, and I couldn't believe what was going on.

What did this mean?

"I'm sorry," I said, "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

But I don't regret it, I thought to myself. And I didn't. As soon as I had pulled away, I only wanted to go back to kissing her. I needed to feel her lips on mine again.

"Bella, look at me," she said, quietly.

I slowly turned my head to look at her. She was sitting up now and we were only a few inches apart. Her golden eyes were locked on mine.

"Bella, I don't know what's going on here, but I know I'm not the only one feeling this. That kiss...was. Wow. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing that was." I couldn't help but grin. She didn't need to tell me, I already knew.

I didn't say anything, though, and let her continue.

"I knew something was different from the moment I saw you, Bella. And when we began talking, it only became more apparent that there was something there, between us. Our kinds are not supposed to mesh, at all. Yet we've carried conversations like it was nothing and have gotten along rather wonderfully. Honestly, I felt an attraction you the moment I laid eyes on you. Bella, please tell me you feel it, too?"

I continued to look Alice in the eyes. I wasn't sure what to say, or even how to say it. I did feel it. I felt it to my core. But what would happen when I finally admitted that aloud?

Her face began to look worried. I took her cheek into my left hand, letting my thumb rub over the soft, cold skin. Alice leaned into my touch, and I continued to think of what to say.

"Bella," Alice whispered once more, pleading for an answer.