In chapter 5, Alice and Jasper's love is tested when Alice begins to question Jasper's feelings for Leo. Just when Alice and Leo are seeming to bond, a pop quiz on trust is passed out. Will "Jalice" survive? Rated T to be safe, but there is no romance or language to be concerned about, only some mention of gore. I have also been instructed to put the rest as post-BD, AU. Just so we're all clear.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters, but I do own Leo…, Lancaster…, Samantha, Maizer, Seneo, and Navora… (They're from my other stories. Not FanFiction, but if you're interested, plz pm me)

I'm not gonna say about thoughts and POV changes. You know the drill.

Chapter 5: Test

Alice POV

We had been following Leo's scent for over two hours, but it was hard to keep track of. First, we could follow the vampire scent, but had phased into a puma sometime later, and her scent blended with those of other animals of the woods.

It was also hard to concentrate, because I was mainly focused on Jasper.

What must he be going through? What could he be thinking? What would happen if we did find Leo?

We barely spoke as we ran, allowing our sense of smell to envelop our minds. I would grab his hand in reassurance every now and then, but its affects didn't last long.

We suddenly smelled her vampire smell again, this time leading to a huge drooping willow tree. However, none of us dared approach it.

"Jacob was here?" Jasper asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Looks like they met up," I said, finding where their smells mixed and then pointed back in somewhat the same direction we came from. I sighed. "Jazz, it seems they went back to the Mansion."

"Then we go back," Jasper replied simply. I approached him, grabbing his hands.

"You'd go to the ends of the Earth for her, wouldn't you?"

"Ten times over." He pulled back a strand of my black hair. "Alice, why are you sad and…curious?"

"I can't help but wonder if this was what you felt for me. I mean, does Leo mean as much to you as I do?" I looked down at our hands, ashamed for even asking it.

"Oh, Alice," Jasper slowly pulled me to him. "I love you to the death. You know that. I want to feel for Leo like a father would, but I also want to be her friend. I want to be her mentor, but her brother. Something in her makes me want to protect her. To care for her." He took a deep breath. "I can imagine that it would resemble Ness and Jake's Imprint, but I don't love her like that. That love is only for you, my Alice."

He pulled me away, but touched our foreheads. I closed my eyes at the warm giddiness that filled my spirit, the way it encircled me like a blanket… It was Jasper's love for me. I wanted to rest in it forever.

Jasper usually didn't project his emotions on others, except to me. He would enclose me, surrounding me with his love, showing his feelings for me without being intimate. I had to work very hard before I managed to emanate my own love for him, but it was so worth it. I did it now, and we both sighed.

"Let's find her," I said finally.

"Let's."

We ran faster this time, eager to get home. Neither of us spoke, but it wasn't uncomfortable. We had simply said everything on our minds. I felt bad for even thinking Jasper could have more feelings for Leo than he did for me. We were finally five miles from the Main House only an hour later, when Jasper said suddenly "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" I truly did not hear anything.

"Exactly. No talking, movement, or whispering… There's hardly any breathing. Even from this far away, I can sense all of their emotions. It's all the same; a potent chagrin, disappointment and shame. I wonder what's going on…"

Within twenty-eight seconds, we reached Leo's room, where we found everyone standing or sitting together in silence with a grave look on their faces. Stinky Jacob was sitting in the back corner, but his odor was still all over the room. Putrid smelling—

"What's going on?" Jasper asked, interrupting my insult. He looked around, and when both our eyes fell upon the still figure in the bed, I thought I saw a flicker of horror flash across his features. "Leo!"

We rushed to her either side.

What had happened to her? Was she okay? Was she hurt? Why did she look so pained? Why wasn't Carlisle helping her?

"Leo? Leo, can you talk to me?" Jasper shook her shoulder as I took her hand.

"Leo, are you okay, honey?"

Jasper swiped his hand over her forehead, and I watched with relief as her eyelids fluttered open. Jasper and I sighed.

"Leo, you scared me."

"Sorry, Jasper, I didn't mean to." She stood up, barely tired.

"Leo," I asked, "are you okay?" Why did she look so sad?

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?" Jasper inquired.

"Its fine, Jasper. I'm going to go pick out some new clothes with Alice."

She gave me a pleading look, and I didn't need Edward's gift to know what she was thinking: Please, just go with it. While I was delighted to be trusted with dressing Leo, I wished it didn't have to be like this.

I squealed as I was overcome with joy, grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the room, saying "I can totally see you in some cropped Bermudas with a Niman Marcus sweater that we bought for Renesmee, but I think it would be rather flattering on you—"

We left hand in hand, and I reminded myself to ask Jasper for the explanation that our family would surely give him.

_ _ _ _

Jasper POV

I let my two girls leave hand in hand (A/N: yes, you did read that right, "MY two girls"), but I couldn't help noticing Leo's begging, desperate emotions. The clothes were just an excuse.

I turned to my family. "What happened?"

No one moved.

Odorous Jacob finally stood. "I…found her running by Fargo. I could tell something was wrong, but she wouldn't say what it was. Later, I saw her lying under a willow tree, sleeping. Except it was more like she was trapped in her own nightmare." He shuffled his feet and emanated nervousness. "This guy named Lancaster, who, I've gathered turned her, started speaking through her, to me. Another man's voice also began speaking to Lancaster, but Leo was also speaking for him." Jake looked at the wall. "The other man was Alec."

I dropped onto the bed. Alec was associated with the little punk— Lancaster? Lancaster was associated with the Volturi? Was he the face Alice couldn't make out? Would he dare come in three weeks? Would he come to hurt Leo?

"She was able to tell me to bring her here, and she asked for you. She was trapped in her dream until just now, when you woke her up."

"Jazz," Edward stood up and sat next to me. I could sense his shame and chagrin more potently now. "The reason Leo couldn't wake up was because you weren't here."

?

"I heard Lancaster's mind when Leo was having her first dream. He said that the only way she could have escaped was if someone who was in love with her or cared for her dearly was there."

I wasn't following.

'When Leo arrived back here, even though Lancaster and Alec had left her mind, she was still trapped in her dream, which meant that only someone who loved her dearly could let her go."

"Wait," I said, holding up one finger, "so, even though she was here, surrounded by all of you—"

"Yes," Edward replied sadly.

No one said anything.

"Look, Jazzy, we're sorry," Emmett said.

I twisted my fingers, ignoring the annoying nickname. "There's nothing to apologize for. No one could expect you to love someone you just met."

"But Uncle Jasper," Renesmee said softly, "you love Leo, even though you just met."

Wise little Renesmee. "That's something that I myself am still trying to figure out." I stood up, planning to leave.

"Where are you going to go, Jazz?" Edward asked.

"I think I'll go read a book by the pond." I pretended to look around while actually asking Edward with my thoughts Edward; could not even Esme's love have awoken Leo?

Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Edward discreetly shake his head. I sighed slightly, and then left the room.

I realized that, even surrounded by nine significantly older vampires, Leo was still alone and vulnerable. I realized that she was still the outsider in a family of outsiders. The freak of freaks. The one destined to roam the world alone.

_ _ _ _

Leora POV

To tell the truth, I really couldn't care less about clothes. Or my hair or…personal hygiene. However, if clothes would get me away from that embarrassing situation back at the Mansion, I would cope.

Alice was currently taking measurements of every part of my anatomy: my bust, my hair, my head, my legs, even my toes! She was measuring my palms when I finally had the courage to speak.

"Alice…I wanted to thank you for…escaping with me."

"Oh, anytime Leo. I didn't need Jasper's ability to see how uncomfortable you were."

"Yeah," I muttered stupidly. When she moved to measure my ears, I spoke again. "Hey, Alice?"

"Yes?"

"How does the whole vampire thing work with…being a girl?"

Alice smiled. "I forget how new to this you are. Well, we don't have periods, and we can't have kids." I swallowed, nodding. It's not like I wanted kids right now, but would I want them in the future? "We can still grow our hair, but it doesn't grow as quickly. Our head hair gets like ten times more luster, body, volume, and the color is phenomenal. Much like yours," she rested a couple of strands in her hand. "Your hair is a beautiful auburn-tinted sandy brown. (A/N: I might have put Leo's hair color as something else before, but this is the real color, based on the color of mountain lions. All right, back to the story) I haven't seen hair like this in a while." She turned to me, smiling. "And that's saying something."

She went over to some rectangle rolls of fabric and grabbed one purple with dark purple flower-like patterns, one that was an olive-ish green, and one silver-ish roll. I was almost scared at the level of Alice's excitement.

"So, what's this gonna be?" I asked.

"A beautiful summer dress with a silver empire waist, inch-wide straps and a silver headband. Or an olive one. I still can't decide!" she giggled. "It'll be beautiful, though."

"Ah," was all I could say. I never got into the whole dressing-up thing. Living in the woods, detached from society, kinda eliminated that component from my life.
I got up and walked over to all the different dress bags and piles of clothes by the wall mirrors. I could smell different scents, but they overlapped so much that not even I could tell one apart from another. I, the one who, even when I was mortal, had the sense of smell as strong as a dog or cat's, and now that was heightened even more with my vampirism.

I looked away from the random, probably designer-label clothes and turned my head as I caught a reflection in the mirrors. I nearly fainted at the sight.

I never saw my reflection every day, but I saw it in the river plenty of times, or on our occasional trips into the city. I knew what I looked like. This person in the mirror was not me. However, who else could it be?

This model's hair was tinted slightly darker auburn than mine was. It was a shade that I had always dreamed of on top of my dull, sandy brown. The model's eyes were a darker tint of red, like red jasper, nothing like my mortal grayish-brown. The model had a beautiful, angular nose, almost opposite of my blackhead-speckled mushroom nose, but the model also had the deep nose ridge my mother's family inherited. Her lips: soft but not slimy, plump but not fat, curved but not smiling. Her chin quivered, but had no strange lines on them as mine had. Her neck, longer and more graceful than I could ever dream of having, led to a perfectly curved chest for my age. Like nectarines. The model had a beautiful hourglass figure that revealed itself under the blue tank top that bagged slightly, as if it were one size too big for her. And her legs…they turned and curved with such grace that they didn't belong on a girl in her early teens. Her arms were just the same, but did not hint at the awkward in-between stages that everyone her age should have: a head slightly too big for their body, arms that extended past what they should, or feet that were too long compared to the height of the person to which they were attached.

It was as if the body knew it was done growing. As if this was what she would be like forever, and it gave her qualities too vibrant and young for an adult, but too mature and collected for a girl.

She was simply ageless.

"Who…" I began, but was unable to finish.

"Oh my God! I completely forgot that you haven't seen yourself since the Change! What do you think?"

"That's…not…me…" I breathed. How could I be a model? How could I appear to be the most beautiful girl on the planet…with very, very chalky skin that was marble white and smooth?

"Of course it is, silly! Who else could this pretty of a girl be?"

Pretty wasn't right. This new me wasn't pretty or beautiful or gorgeous…she was striking.

"I'm shocked that your eye color is already darkening. I mean, your self-control is amazing. It's almost identical to Bella's."

"I'm surprised myself."

Alice gave me a politely curious gaze.

"Having joined the Alphas and Elders of my Troop on the hunt for newborn vampires, I've seen the way some can just…loose it. Every time we went on a hunt, we learned and practiced the importance of containing our hunger for as long as possible--to practice for the scarcity of natural food in Minnesota's long winters. It's rough the first few times, but once you've built up the endurance, it's nice to know you won't go crazy with hunger." I thought for a moment. "Maybe I carried that through my Transformation."

"That's probably it." Alice began sketching on a piece of thick, canvas paper. After a few moments, she turned to me. "Do you want to go hunting?"

"Yeah," I admitted. The ache in the back of my throat was becoming annoying, even though I had hunted just a few hours before.

"I'm a little thirsty myself." She stood up and moved next to me. "The drawing can wait."

"Um, Alice?"

"M-Hm?"

"The way I hunt is a little…gross."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I suppose I hunt the same way you do, but when I turn into a mountain lion, I sort of…eat."

"'Eat', like—"

"Yeah."

"That's okay," she said surprisingly, "this'll be a new experience for the both of us."

"How so?"
"You've never hunted with a vampire before, and I've never hunted alongside a puma." She took my hand. "At least not one that I was planning to eat." She smiled at me and giggled. I chuckled along at the strange joke. She squeezed my hand.

"Oh, wait, just let me phase first." I let go of her icy cold hand and grabbed my elastic fanny-pack thing. I slipped behind the dressing screen, took off my clothes, crammed them into my bag, and began searching for my inner animal.

_ _ _ _

Alice POV

It took a few minutes for Leo to phase, nothing like stinky Jake's split-second change. Thankfully, Leo's shadow was silhouette through the screen, and I got to watch the whole fascinating process.

First came the tail, which protruded swishing and twitching. Then, pointy cat ears on top of her head, paws, whiskers, then she dropped to all fours, and the transformation completed itself. She walked out a beautiful, sleek, auburn-tinted sandy brown puma. She was a tad bigger than your average Rottweiler. Just walking, she looked absolutely lethal.

She looked at me and tilted her head in the direction of the door, as if to say Lets go. I couldn't help but chuckle.

She turned her head sideways.

"Your fanny pack, it's…creative."

She gave an annoyed huff, then stalked out the door, me right behind her.

Hunting with Leo was…interesting. She easily kept up with me, but was not as graceful as a vampire/puma could have been.

There was one thing, though. Every three minutes, like clockwork, there was a thud. It boomed for only a beat, and then disappeared, only to boom three minutes later. Leo didn't seem to notice it, but I reminded myself to ask her and Carlisle about it later.

Leo also smelled strange; stranger than she did when she was in her "human" form. She smelt slightly like Stinky Jacob, but also sort of sweet smelling like maple and potent cedar trees. I liked to think of it like tootsie rolls for that Angela girl. It was there, but not particularly appetizing. There only if you were really desperate for something sweet.

I did mean what I said earlier about Leo's self-control. It was amazing, considering how young she was in both ages.

I was also still marveling at how little time it took her to Change. It usually takes three days, but for her, it only took a day and a half. No one would say anything, just thinking it was her only personal thing, but I knew everyone was curious. I think it has something to do with you being half shape-shifter, I mean, if she grew quickly as a shape-shifter, wouldn't she keep growing, even when she was going through the Transformation? I remembered to keep my thoughts for when we would discuss it.

Leo suddenly stopped, and I was able to stop a foot in front of her.

"What is it?" She sniffed the air, and then turned to me, licking her lips. I could assume this meant food up ahead. I took a whiff for myself, and, sure enough, I smelled a herd of elk about three hundred yards away. We both looked at each other. "Beat you there," I said with a smile.

She took off with amazing grace and speed for an animal. I caught up with her easily, not going as fast as I could, just to allow Leo a chance. She must have noticed, because she looked at me, gave, what reminded me of, a smile, and then began running somehow faster.

"Oh, it is so on!" I giggled, matching her speed.

We raced until we were about fifteen yards from the herd, when Leo suddenly stopped. I didn't dare speak, but I tilted my head, giving her a puzzled look.

She took a talon-like nail and drew about twenty small dots in the dirt. After, she looked at me and drew and A underneath the dots. Next, she traced a line starting from the A around the dots, and then spiraling right into the middle of them. Later, she drew an L and a line toward the left half of where "my" spiral separated the dots. She then traced another line from the A to the right half. I could understand this was a hunting strategy.

I nodded in agreement. It looked easy enough. We took our positions; when she nodded at me, the hunt began.

I did as she showed me, circling right around the herd, causing them to bunch together in confusion. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an auburn-tinted sandy brown figure crouched and ready to spring. I spiraled, driving right into the middle of the group. Just as Leo predicted, the herd separated into two groups in panic. I remembered to take the right group as I heard Leo's growl as she sprang onto the left group. It didn't take either of us very long to bring down two to three bucks… Okay, I got two, and she got three. Unfair as it was, two was plenty for me.

Finishing before Leo, I watched as she drained the third elk, and then drove her face into its side, chewing out the muscles and insides. Leo was right it was kinda gross.

As I watched her chew, I froze and gasped, recognizing a vision beginning.

This vision was of the near-future one. Jasper was sitting by the pond, beautiful as ever, but a dark black figure sat next to him, not cloaked, but as if she was wearing a black unitard that covered her face as well. I could guess that it was Leo. Huh, her figure was becoming easier to see.

Jasper was smirking, and Leo scooted closer, as if it were unintentional, and Jasper mindlessly rubbed his arms, revealing his curious, horrid, and striking scars.

I felt a nudge to my leg, and as the vision faded, the real world came into focus, where Leo stood by my side, staring at me with adorable, concerned dark-red eyes. I patted her head and scratched her ear.

"It's fine. Just Jasper and you sitting by the pond," I responded to her wordless question.

She tilted her head in confusion. She then must have realized that she wanted to go, because she looked in the pond's direction, then back at me.

"Oh, go ahead, I'll catch up later."

She bounded off, almost smiling. She really did love him, even if she hadn't said it yet. I headed back to the cottage. It couldn't hurt to see what Rose thought of my idea for Leo's dress. We would so have to go on a shopping spree with Leo. I could see her in that mint green Valentino ball gown, the one with spaghetti straps and an open back. Paired with Prada pumps…

I heard a sharp rip come from under me. Oh, no… No! I couldn't have ripped my silver Gucci ballet slippers! No, no, no! These were from Paris! No!

I took off the ripped slipper and ran home at full speed. I guess my silver Ralph Lauren flats would go with my dress, but still! This sucked! I finally entered, found my shoe wall (yes, my shoe wall), located the flats, and sighed as they sparkled like my skin in the sunshine. They were pretty, but not my Gucci's. I threw the slippers away, along with yesterday's outfit from Rock & Republic.

I went and began sewing and cutting the pieces of Leo's dress together. I looked at the measurements, making sure my work was flawless and without human imperfections. My lovely sewing machine didn't catch (sometimes its nice to have things that really work—even if they cost fifteen-hundred dollars…). I finished the dress twenty minutes later, making it thirty-seven minutes since I let Leo leave to see Jasper. I put the dress into a hanging bag, writing a note for Rose, planning to leave it at their doorstep and go see what Leo and Jasper were doing. Little did I know, the universe had more in store for me.

I managed to leave the dress with Rose before I began wondering about Jasper and Leo. What were they talking about? How did they feel about each other? Jasper had already told me his feelings toward Leo, but how did she feel? There was something about the way they looked at each other… The sparkle in Jazz' eyes, the fluttering of Leo's eyelashes…

One word screamed at me: Imprint. No, Leo wouldn't dare…! Then again, Jake never asked to Imprint with Renesmee… Jasper would never—although he was always concerned with her safety, and it seemed he was always in awe of her.

The pieces clicked together, and I saw the puzzle as a whole, proving the undeniable truth: Leo had Imprinted with Jasper, and it was an Imprint that could last forever.

Would Jasper's Imprint with Leo be stronger than his love for me?

Fearing the answer, I bounded in the direction of the pond, looking into Leo's "future".

I could only see the present. The same birds called as they did in my ears, at the same time. It was difficult to hear, but I could make out some of Jasper's words.

"There…diner… (Unintelligible) I felt…emotions… (Unintelligible) attack?"

I was close to them, because I could hear them, and the vision was fading, but my sight simply mirrored my vision. Jasper held Leo's cheek in one hand, her waist in the other.

"You've kept me waiting," he said lovingly. I recognized instantly the words that I had said to him so long ago. He leaned down and forward, as if to kiss her. I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands and darted away while they looked on. I didn't bother to try to stop the broken sobs.

Yes, an Imprint must be stronger than love.

I hope you readers like the story, but I can't tell, because I don't have any reviews. ;) I would like to acknowledge my readers from the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, etc… I think it's SO cool! I am currently writing chap 10, but I am very behind in my typing… Keep reading, the ending will be a total twist and a huge shocker! (Even though I haven't written it yet…he he…) Please keep reading, I appreciate you all! ~maplebird