Not even a day-well, an hour short of 24 hours :P-between updates. Hehe, I'd say I'm doing much better. As always, enjoy.

Charlie started to pester me about colleges and whether I'd applied to the ones in Washington yet.

"I'm not sure yet, Dad. Maybe I'll take a gap year, I don't know."

Honestly I'd gotten so burnt out on the subject, Edward constantly pushing applications and pressure at me. There was a world of possibilities, more since my grades were good. I did like the sound of college but had no idea what my major would be or where I wanted to live for four or more years of my life. Did I want to stay in Washington or maybe move back to Phoenix? Of course I wanted to stay near the Cullens but I had no idea where Alice would be going. To Edward's dismay, we'd discussed taking off a year together-Alice and I. He firmly stated that it was a waste of good study time and I'd probably never go back to school once I left. I had to remind him that only Alice could guess such things. After science heading to lunch at school I decided to ask Alice about it. Whenever I saw her I'd press my palm against my pocked, feeling for the small box containing her gift. I was waiting for the right time to surprise her with it. I hoped she hadn't already Seen me presenting her with it. I thought she might feign surprise anyway just to make me happy, knowing her.

"I've gotten accepted to a couple universities but I may travel first. I've already been to college a few times, it hasn't changed a whole lot."

"Where would you want to travel?' I asked, getting one of the lunch trays and stepping in line. She walked beside me sporting a flattering leather jacket and a cute beret. Her amber eyes shone so clearly I knew she probably skipped a class to go hunting. They reminded me of the way the light scooped down upon the desert landscapes of Arizona, specks of red and brown mixed in. I felt all warm and sentimental whenever they were like this, like two suns smiling out at me, I grabbed some pizza and a bottle of water as I listened to Alice's travel destinations and the amazing stories of the places she'd already been. I felt so lucky; who else had a friend who'd been through so much history but was still young? She'd been alive when JFK was shot, when the first nuclear bomb was detonated, witnessed the invention of television, the first lunar landing and the Holocaust. She'd predicted the stock market crash and tried to warn the right officials to no affect. Ground breaking medicines, swing music, the internet... the list went on. I kept asking so many questions the thought of college was long lost. In a matter of seconds, an uneaten slice of pizza on my plate, lunch was over and it was time for drama class.

We talked more along the way, each hugging Cassidy when she cam up to greet us, Alice of course less awkwardly than me. There was definitely a decline of sparks between them but I felt weird asking Alice about it. Maybe they'd really just been friends all along and my jealousy had made it seem like more of a big deal than it was. Some girls were like that. Anyway, they weren't going to the dance together. It appeared Cassidy was going with Jason, who was the understudy of Captain Hook. They flirted nonstop through rehearsals which was almost painful to watch, always sneaking off to make out back stage. But finally things were coming together, all costumes fitted and lines rehearsed. We all felt pretty good. The actors enjoyed their last deep breath of calm before the nerves of opening night befell them. Except Alice. She could-and did-recite her lines and a few of the others by heart in French and English. I liked the way her voice sounded when she spoke in foreign languages, especially Italian.

After school I saw Alice off and hung back in the library. Just for the hell of it I finalized some scholarship applications and browsed the universities Alice was looking into, all of them highly competitive. After an hour of homework and the beginnings of an English essay, I was ready to head home. I liked coming to the school's library every now and then. The computers were better than mine at home. I was saving my files and packing up my stuff when I heard someone come in. I didn't look, I didn't have to.

If a whisper could sound like a yell, Rosalie had perfected it with equal amounts of venom and persuasion.

"If I knew where don't you think I'd have told you all by now?" whispered back Emmett. He spoke louder when he realized no one else was around. He must not have been paying very close attention but even so I didn't want to interrupt them and stayed glued to my seat, staring at the screen. "I wouldn't keep that from you, Rose."

"It's not right. You don't just do that to your family. It's disrespectful." At first I thought she was referring to Emmet, but then heard more.

"He's not thinking about us right now. We shouldn't expect him to. He had to leave. I don't blame him."

"So if I divorced you would you simply run away?"

"That's completely different. We're married. What we have is far stronger than what they did. That was obvious from the get go."

"He loved her." Rosalie hissed. "She was always indifferent."

"That's being a little harsh, don't you think? She wanted to love him, and might have for a while. Those things aren't always plain to see."

I could hear shuffling and then, even lower, Emmett said, "And sometimes they are." There was a pause. I could hear them kissing and then Rosalie sigh.

"I just hope he doesn't do something idiotic as usual when he's upset."

"He'll get over it."

I could imagine Rosalie shaking her head. "No. I dare say he won't."

"Do you want to keep looking for him?"
 A pause. "No. If he doesn't want to be found he won't be, but I have a feeling he'll come back. Maybe once she's graduated."

"Or dead," Emmett laughed but Rosalie cut him off. "Sorry."

"I doubt if Alice will allow that now." There was a bitterness in Rosalie's voice I could not decipher.

"How do you mean?"

"After how close they've become do you honestly think Alice will let her get much older? She's in too deep and not just because she likes having her own personal 3D paper doll to play with whenever she likes."

"She won't turn her. Carlisle won't let her."

"He may. Plus he couldn't stop her... She might just love Bella as much as Edward did."

My stomach sank. I didn't breath.

Emmett laughed, as if a bear were laughing. "Come on, admit it, Rosalie. You wouldn't mind having her for a sister."

I heard a loud smacking sound and Emmett groan. "Ow..."

"Let's get back. I want to talk with Alice before she does something irreversible."

"You worry too much," Emmett told her, his voice fading out and the door closed.

I exhaled, feeling a little sick. So they were searching for Edward without luck. And Rosalie of all people thought Alice cared for me that much? I admit I was rather elated to hear something like that from someone so blunt and perceptive as Rosalie, even if she hadn't known I was listening. But she also thought Alice might transform me into a vampire? That part baffled and awed me. I'd thought about it a lot when I was with Edward-being a vampire-but now that he was out of the picture I began to associate immortality with new things. Not to live forever with Edward, but now simply to be like Alice, like Rosalie. Living ice sculptures preserved by time. Free to gain as much knowledge as possible and still be young while being wise. I wanted to scour the planet as Alice had done. With her. Could she really care for me as much as Rosalie said?

I didn't have time to work out much of the facts I had been given. While I pondered I packed up the rest of my things and went to the exit, making sure Emmett and Rosalie weren't in the hall beyond the doors. I pushed on the metal handle and froze.

"You know it's not very polite to eavesdrop on other people's conversations."

I spun around to find Rosalie leaning on one of the bookshelves. Her immense golden curls shone in the half light, dark bronze eyes aglow. She looked like a fairy tale princess who had escaped right from one of the many volumes behind her. The pit of surprise and slight fear was matched with the familiar butterflies I got whenever I saw a vampire of such beauty. I tried to play it cool, pretend I didn't know what she was talking about.

"Oh, hey Rosalie. I didn't see y-"

"That isn't going to work."

Of course I failed. She was younger than Alice but her severeness always made her seem older. Her and Alice were practically polar opposites in that way and I was much better around hyper optimism and charisma.

"I'm sorry. You two came in and I didn't want to interrupt."

"No, you were afraid I'd get angry with you."

I looked down at my shoes.

"You know you really are very human, Bella." I heard her come closer.

"What do you mean?" I didn't meet her eyes. At any moment she was going to rip my head off, I knew it. I tried to slow down my breathing.

"Your fear," she explained. "It's so very human."

My heart was pounding, and she was still advancing. My palms were sweaty.

"When you're able to kill any other creature on the planet, humans included, on a whim, you begin to lose your ability to be scared." She spoke in a whisper that didn't sound quite like malice but wasn't calm either. "You look back on your short time as a human and wish you'd done a little less being afraid." She was very close now. I could smell her sweet aroma and I knew she could smell mine.

"Don't waste your time worrying about a future that'll arrive regardless of your emotions."

I didn't know what to think or do. Whatever her words meant they were not angry, just passionate. Like the other day during our brief crossing on the staircase I got the strange feeling that she was looking after me in a way, that though she might never show it openly, she cared for me. Even if it was only because Alice did, it was farther than most people, especially a human, would come. I held my silence but looked up and met her eyes. I smiled, feeling much more relaxed. She was right of course. I couldn't let fear of the future, of rejection, stop me from living my life.

On her way out she brushed my shoulder and told me, "Don't you have lines to rehearse for that play?" She opened the door and, just before it shut again, glanced back. "Alice is at home."

I didn't need to be told twice. This was Rose's way of letting me know she recognized me as Alice's friend. That though we ourselves were not exactly buddies, she did not hate me. To my surprise this was a huge comfort. One that had taken me completely off guard, for I had been so sure she would be angry.

As I drove to the Cullen's house I thought more about Rosalie's words of wisdom. All my studying, all my applications and worries for the future and I was missing the now, time Ihad to just be a teenager falling in love. When you fall in love with someone who will live forever, time is all you can think about. But I wouldn't waist it. I was going to go for it, tell her how I really felt. I was going to waltz in there and declare my love, not caring who heard or what the world thought. Yes, I was going to do it!

Until my engine died.

A/M: Pleeease review ! xD