**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my good friend Jess, whose crazy life I vicariously live through, and essentially live on. Also, my apologies to my readers for taking so long to update. The book writing I've been doing has been taking up all of my time**
Occasionally, Alice got it in her head that we didn't do enough. Sometimes we'd end up at the theater in Port Angeles seeing some of the worst films ever made, sometimes, when she felt we lacked sophistication in our lives, we'd end up at the Seattle Art Museum. Last time she'd dragged all of us, even Carlisle and Esme, out to the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. That ended up being a fiasco because Alice was in such a hurry to get out, she hadn't allowed us to feed well enough before leaving, and we'd all spent the whole day trying to keep Jasper from attacking the wildlife, as well as the occasional lone human wandering in and out of the secluded areas.
Even I'd nearly lost my cool when I saw the polar bear they had. We'd all walked out, past Alice, each of us glaring at her. Carlisle had sternly warned Alice. "I beg you Alice, never choose such a frivolous activity for all of us again. That was the most flagrant display of our weaknesses I've ever had to curb. Please use better judgment in the future."
Alice had walked slowly behind us with Jasper who wouldn't look at her for the embarrassment the day had caused him. Rosalie was furious with Alice, because everyone had let Edward leave with Bella, and since she herself wanted to leave, she blamed Alice for the fact that she'd arranged it all in the first place. I hung behind Rosalie and chuckled to myself while my wife gave Alice the cold shoulder. Edward, who was afraid one of us might harm Bella with our sudden urges, walked around the garden area out front until we walked back out in varying levels of annoyance. The quiet ride home was broken only when Bella blushingly begged Carlisle to pull over so she could have a human moment, her cutesy phrase for her human needs.
Tonight was probably Alice's worst idea of all. I couldn't really be mad at Alice for it, I'd agreed to come, we all had. But the night sucked, a phrase that ordinarily had pretty good connotations for us. Not this night though.
Alice had found out about a club in downtown Seattle, nestled beneath a hotel. Bella and Edward had taken his Volvo, and we'd climbed into Rosalie's BMW, and driven clear to Seattle on a wet night during one of the worst rainstorms we'd had all year. It didn't cause us any discomfort, but it was fairly plain that Bella was miserable. None of us were exactly happy about having to don bulky raincoats to keep up appearances either.
We'd been there for about an hour, all of us sitting on bar stools around the bar, and no one was having a good time. I looked like a glittering rainbow clown, because Alice had convinced me to wear a leather vest with no buttons, and nothing else, the club lighting gleamed off my body, Bella said I just glowed strangely, human eyes were so different.
Jasper was leaning against the bar next to Alice who stood with him, dancing alone with her back to Jasper, watching the kids on the dance floor. Between us, Edward stood behind Bella, looming protectively over her from the back, Bella herself looked bored. I was standing next to Edward and Bella with Rosalie between my legs. We stood there looking around at the dancing fools and trying to decide if we were all going to gang up on Alice together and force her to leave.
Rose looked back at me finally, "This is just ridiculous! I'm going over to the coat check, to get my coat."
I nodded my head to her and kissed her. Rose's angry expression softened just a little and she smiled slightly. Then she glared back at Alice again, who was oblivious, dancing still. Catching Edward's eyes, Rose jerked her head to him as she stepped away, indicating that she wanted him to follow her. She probably figured if she and Edward ganged up on Alice together, she'd have to give in. Edward shot a look towards me and then looked down at Bella pointedly. I stepped over next to Bella, Edward and I both knew no one would bother her with me there.
I leaned over to Bella's ear so she could hear me over the loud music with her human hearing. I watched as Alice danced out towards the floor next to two much younger boys who were giving her come hither eyes. I hoped I wouldn't have to do anything bad to them before we'd be able to get out of there. "Rose wants to go, she went to get her coat. Are you ready?" I said into Bella's ear. Bella reached forward and grabbed her nearly empty soda, and guzzled the last few drops. She dropped it down, and then reached into it and, grabbed an ice cube out. She turned to me and nodded her head, "I've been ready since we got here." she said with a pleading look on her face. She stood then, and reached up with her hand and placed the icecube between her lips, she froze suddenly her eyes widening.
She took the ice cube back out from between her lips and placed it on my lips, rubbing it from one corner of my mouth to the other across my top lip, then did the same on my bottom lip. She then she ran it over my chin and down my throat, she made little S's down my chest, stopping just above the waist line of my pants. She then leaned and dipping her head a little, ran her warm tongue back along the same line in the opposite direction. Her warm tongue on my skin caused my body to shake as she ran it up my stomach and chest, across my neck and then wrapped her lips around my chin and...
Ice cold water suddenly shocked me. I spluttered as I took several steps back, wiping water out of my eyes. I bumped into some poor jerk standing at the bar, causing him to dump his drink on the girl he was trying to pick up on. A stream of bad language was called out behind me, but I was too focused on the black eyes glaring at me from before me. I glared back at him, dropping into a defensive crouch as Edward did the same. I growled viciously, challenging him. Edward was looking at me like I'd just killed his sister, or...I suddenly remembered the vision I was having before the ice water had struck my face and I immediately stood up fully, and allowed my shoulders to drop. I looked Edward in the face.
"Edward, I-" I began.
But Edward threw two hands up quickly in a blocking gesture. "Don't Emmett. Just go with Bella to get her coat, and take her outside for me. I need to take care of something and then I'm going to get my car and bring it around. Bring her out the side door, I noticed there's an awning out there, it'll keep her dryer than waiting out front."
Edward turned to Bella, kissed her forehead and told her something similar, he pressed his hand gently against her cheek, then turned and walked quickly, inhumanly fast, away from us. He bumped people who didn't really even see him go by on his way out. Bella looked at me warily, "Emmett, are you okay?" she asked.
I nodded, "I'm fine little sister, let's go get your coat." I put an arm protectively around her back at waist height and walked her over towards the area where the coat check was. Alice stepped in front of me half way across the dance floor. "Where is everyone?" She asked.
I was pretty annoyed things had gone down the way they had, so I answered a bit sarcastically, "Why don't you look, and see."
Alice's eyes widened for a moment at my tone, but then they unfocused. Bella and I watched her for a moment, until they focused again, "Oh. I see, okay." Alice leaned over to Bella and said something in her ear, and Bella handed her a small scrap of paper, then she spun on her heel and led the way into the coat check room. She walked up to Rose who was waiting in line, and said something to her, Rose also passed a small piece of paper to her. Alice then walked straight up to the counter past all the women waiting in line, "I need these." She said, putting three papers down on the counter, "Now. It's an emergency, I'm sorry." The girl behind the counter took a deep breath and looked at Alice in a way that said it wasn't the first time that she'd heard that one.
Suddenly something flew across the room, over the heads of the girls waiting in line, and slammed into the wall opposite from us causing everyone around us to scream. We watched as whatever it was unbundled itself from the ground where it had dropped. We realized it was Jasper. I was stunned, Bella looked horrified, and Rosalie was shocked, completely. Alice looked over her shoulder in the bored way I recognized as being something she'd already seen, then she turned back to the coat check girl, "That's my fiance', any questions?"
The girl gave Alice the coats without further comment, and a slightly stupified expression on her simple face, her wide eyes staring at Jasper as he dusted himself off. Alice handed Bella and Rose their coats, then walked over to the now standing, but slightly dazed looking, Jasper. She took his hand and pulled him out of the room towards the front door. As they reached the entry way to the coatcheck room, two large guys who were obviously security stepped past Alice and Jasper as they walked out. They ran over to the coat check girl and started talking to her, asking questions about what had happened.
Alice and Jasper walked through a parted crowd, all the men were looking at Jasper in awe. Everyone was whispering around him. I knew we had to get out of there before the speculation began. I began pushing the girls through the crowd in the opposite direction Alice and Jasper had gone, heading towards the side door. A moment later, I had Rose and Bella standing out under the awning as Edward pulled up. I opened the passenger door, got Bella inside, leaned down and locked eyes with Edward. You okay bro? I thought. He nodded his head, letting me know he was okay. I nodded back, letting him know I understood, then I closed the door. Edward drove off, and I turned with Rose towards where her car was parked.
When we reached the car, Alice and Jasper were standing next to it, Alice was leaning against it, while Jasper was staring off into the distance. Rose unlocked, and we all climbed in, Alice and Jasper into the backseat, me and Rose upfront. Rose started the car, turned around to look over her shoulder and back out, then pulled out of the parking structure. We drove down the winding exit and out onto the street. Once we hit the street, Rose hit the pedal. In no time at all we were streaking down the tree lined highway back towards Forks.
As soon as we hit the open road, Rosalie turned on Alice and Jasper, "Would you mind telling me what that was all about?"
Alice looked at Jasper, who still be looked a little dazed. Alice answered for him, "Edward and Jasper haven't been seeing eye to eye on some things recently. Tonight apparently things came to a head." Alice glared slightly at Jasper, but cleared her features quickly when she looked away from Jasper and realized I was looking back at her.
Jasper exhaled loudly, and his eyes seemed to clear, as if he'd just come out of a trance. He was looking right at me, his eyes widened and he exclaimed, "He.....he....Edward threw me!".