A/N: The next chapter will be in Alice's point of view and I'm really nervous about it. If I do a bad job, I won't be offended if you tell me so.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the van Allen's, excluding Bella.
APOV
I was sitting in the huge oak tree just outside of our house when it happened again. It had been happening for the past few weeks and I still didn't understand why. Instead of my usual visions, I had been getting this feeling, like something big was about to happen and no matter how hard I tried or what I focused on, it was all I could get.
Sighing, I jumped from the tree, landing gracefully on the ground, twenty feet below and began walking into the house to get ready for the first day of school.
After so many years and so many repeated academic ventures, everything always ran smoothly, we always knew what to expect and we planned accordingly. This year, however, it was different. We could no longer depend on my visions to inform us of problems we would have and it was making all of us nervous.
Walking inside, I glanced at the clock hanging above the living-room door. It was only 7:30am and we still had plenty of time but for some reason, I was eager to get to school today, which in itself was a strange occurrence. It's not that I disliked school per se; I usually had no feelings towards it either way. But it could get rather monotonous.
"Good morning, Alice. How are you feeling?" my adoptive mother, Esme, asked me in a worried tone. For the past few weeks, everyone had been walking on eggshells around me. They all knew how much I depended on my visions and they correctly assumed that this was uncomfortable for me. What they didn't realise, however, was that I also found it exciting. Not the fact that there might be something wrong with me, but after so many years of knowing exactly what was coming next, not knowing was...refreshing.
"Really, Esme, I'm fine. You and all the others can stop worrying so much. Carlisle thinks that it's because I'm living in such close proximity to the wolves for an extended period of time. If that's the case, then the next time we move, they'll come back." I tried not to let it show how much it bothered me. Being blind to the future might be interesting for a few weeks, but if we left and my visions didn't come back, then I'd be terrified.
I smiled my well-known cheery smile to dissuade her fears and she smiled back at me.
Feeling better, I tried to hurry my siblings up. If I was impartial to school, they hated it. Then again, I could find entertainment in any kind of situation. "Come on guys, first day again! We don't want to be late."
Rosalie came gliding down the stairs, Emmet hot on her tail. "God forbid we would be late for something we've done countless times before." Her voice held all of the contempt that she felt for the education system.
Jasper chuckled as he walked into the room. "Come now, Rosalie, you know you enjoy lording your superior beauty over the humans."
Emmet grinned over his mates head. "Yeah, and you know I love having all of them know that my girlfriend is a goddess. Gives me a whole load of cool points."
Looking around, I noticed that a certain bronze-haired bother of mine wasn't present. "Where is Edward? Just once, I'd like to go to school without having to start a man-hunt."
Sill grinning, Emmet wrapped his arm around Rosalie's waist. "You know how Eddie is when it comes to school. Besides, I think he's afraid that today will be the day that Jessica finally corners him."
Rosalie leaned into her mate, a disgusted look on her face just thinking about Jessica. "I don't know why he doesn't just tell that odious girl that he's not interested and to leave him alone."
I smiled, thinking of all the times that the 'odious girl' had ignored Edward's subtle hints and thrown herself at him. "Edward refuses to get with the times. He still can't be rude to a 'lady', regardless of how un-lady-like she is."
"Well, I'm sick of her coming up to our table. If he doesn't tell her soon, then I will." Turning on her heel, she walked out to the car with Emmet on her arm.
Jasper snickered and followed them both out. "I'd pay good money to see that."
Edward chose that very moment to appear. Upon hearing the previous conversation in my head, he turned to look at me. "If Rosalie could do that, I'd be forever in her debt. I just..I can't take it anymore. I'm afraid that I might say something..."
"Unbefitting of a gentleman?" I supplied, thoroughly amused by the expression on his face.
"Exactly." Still lost in thought, he began walking to the garage, quickly followed by me.
Despite the fact that Emmet was about three times my size, I always got the front seat. All I had to do was pull the 'puppy-dog-look', and any one of my family members would cave, even Rosalie.
Hearing my thoughts, Edward gave me a look that said 'you're evil', and pulled into the parking lot. We were early, so only a few cars were present.
For some reason feeling excited, I turned to look at my siblings. "So, what do you think the new students are gonna be like?" The fact that there was a new family in Forks, the Van Allen's, was the talk of the entire town.
"Alice, you've been spending way too much time with teenage humans. You're beginning to gossip as much as they do. Besides, it's just a few new students, nothing we haven't seen before." Rosalie stated in an impartial voice. Clearly the thought of new students didn't pique her interest at all.
Grinning, I looked at her. "But that's the thing, we haven't seen this before. Or, at least, I haven't. These people are completely new to me, no visions to tell whether or not they have any kind of fashion sense," Edward rolled his eyes, which I ignored, "Or what they're like. I'll have to see for myself for once. Can you blame me for being a tad excited?"
Come to think of it, this will be the first time that I'll have to have a conversation with a human without knowing what they'll say next. At Edwards look, I quickly amended. Not that I'd be starting a conversation with them or anything, but if they said hi, then I'd ask how they like Forks. In which case, I'd get to wait for their answer instead of already knowing what it was going to be.
Edwards gaze softened in understanding as he got out of the car, walking around to my side to open it for me. Always the perfect gentleman.
Looking around the parking lot again, I sighed in disappointment. "They're not here yet."
Rosalie scoffed at my earnest attitude. "Whatever, I'll see you guys at lunch." Emmet waved as he followed her into the school building, both of them being bombarded with the stares of the students in their visual field.
Feeling a wave of optimism, I looked at Jasper, who smiled at me before walking off after Emmet and Rosalie.
Taking in a deep lungful of air and letting it out slowly, Edward started walking forward, with me falling into step beside him. "Well, looks like it's just you and me, Alice. What's your first class?"
Still feeling Jasper's wave of optimism, I answered immediately. "English, room 3 with Mr. Mason. You?"
"I have Ms. Francis, room 6. I guess I'll see you third period, we both have French."
"Sure, I'll see you then. Maybe there'll be one of the new students in my class." I added hopefully to Edwards retreating back, to which he waved over his shoulder.
On my way to room 3, I couldn't help but feel like something weird was about to happen. I may not have been having my full visions, but whenever I got a feeling about something, it always turned out to be right, no matter what.
Giving Mr. Mason a bright smile I went to sit down at the back of the classroom, noticing that the rest of the students had materialised from somewhere. I couldn't help but find the high-backed chairs uncomfortable, and I was a vampire that could stand still for hours. How the humans do it I'll never know.
I was still thinking about the ridiculous chairs when I heard footsteps that were way too quiet to be normal, they were almost silent, even to my sensitive ears.
Pulling my head up from where I had been staring at the hard-topped table, I looked to the front of the room and could feel my bland expression morph into one of shock.
The girl that walked into the room and gave Mr. Mason her slip was not human. The first clue I got were the footsteps, the next was the fact that her heart was beating so low that if she were human, she would be in a coma, or soon-to-be-dead. The final clue that I got was her scent. It was, to put it simply, stunning. Despite this, I felt absolutely no urge to drain her, no burn in the back of my throat. She wasn't a vampire and she was definitely not a werewolf. Did this mean, as Carlisle suspected but could never prove, that there were other kinds of supernatural creatures in the world? If this was the case and she was one of them, then he'd be ecstatic.
It was then that I noticed that the feeling I had been getting for the past few weeks had suddenly intensified. The thing, or should I say person, that I had been anticipating was now standing right in front of me and I had no idea what to do. I almost didn't notice Mr. Mason tell her to sit next to me.
Why was I so certain that my feelings pertained to her? Did this mean that it wasn't the wolves that had been affecting my visions, but her? What was she? Was she a threat?
All of these thoughts were running through my head, when she looked up with a shocked expression on her face, which on closer inspection turned out to be beautiful. She had large, brown eyes that seemed to convey innocence along with shock. Her long, mahogany hair fell in waves down her shoulders and her skin was almost as pale as a vampire's.
She seemed to unfreeze and began walking towards me. When she passed me and sat down, I couldn't help but gasp as her scent enveloped me. It was beautiful. I couldn't help but stare at her and when she looked at me from the depths of her hair she blushed and looked away.
Mr. Mason began his lecture and I felt compelled to get to know this girl, not just to figure out what she was and if she was a threat, because my instincts were telling me that, while she could be if she wanted to, she wouldn't, but also because I was curious about her and why I felt that she was important.
Leaning towards her, I started with something simple. "Hi, I'm Alice Cullen and you must be Isabella Van Allen. It's nice to meet you." Maybe I should have let her introduce herself. I only knew her name because there were meant to be three teenagers in the family and Isabella was the only junior.
"Yeah, that's me, but I prefer Bella. It's nice to meet you too." Her voice sounded slightly disinterested. I knew that she must be nervous about talking with other people because she had a secret. My family and I had to do the same thing. I'd just have to persist and hope that eventually, she wouldn't be so tense around me.
"So, how are you liking Forks so far, Bella?" Internally I groaned. Like she hasn't been asked that question already.
When she replied, her tone was slightly angry, which surprised me. "There are some things that I could do without." Was I annoying her? I couldn't help the flash of hurt that crossed my face. She quickly continued. "The rain, for example, it's way too wet here." Oh, so it wasn't me.
Smiling a relieved smile that I hoped she missed, I continued our conversation. "Really? Personally I like the rain. I think it's beautiful."
Mr. Mason chose that moment to notice us. "Well, it's nice to see that you are making friends, Ms. Van Allen, but could you please do it outside of my classroom? That goes for you too, Ms. Cullen." Suppressing a growl at the interruption, I paid attention to the rest of the class, all too aware of Bella sitting beside me.
It wasn't long until that damn bell rang and my first chance to get to know this girl was gone. Soon, however, I noticed that I wasn't the only person trying to make a new friend. Not that I was trying to be friends with her. Or was I? No, of course not, that was ridiculous. I was only trying to be polite and ensure that she wasn't a threat to my family.
A guy that I could only describe as the 'chess-club' type, leaned across the aisle towards Bella, giving me a look as though he thought that I was going to eat him. Luckily for him, I wasn't hungry and, of course, I had morals.
"Hey, I'm Eric. You're Isabella van Allen, aren't you?" Bella seemed confused by this statement/question for some reason.
"Bella," She corrected him, almost blushing again when people turned around to stare. She sure blushed a lot.
"Where's your next class?" He asked, obviously trying to find an opportunity to hit on her. This annoyed me. She was new and not even human, she didn't need this kind of hassle.
I found myself curious about what her next class was and I slowed down my packing. If we had the same class, maybe I could talk to her some more.
"Government, with Jefferson, in building six," She responded immediately, much like I had with Edward this morning. A flash of disappointment went through me. I'd missed my chance this round, but next time, I'd get her to talk to me if I had to tie her to a chair, which would be stupid considering that I didn't yet know what she was.
Standing up, I turned to face her, hiding my disappointment. "Looks like we won't be sharing the next class. Well, it was nice meeting you, Bella. I'll see you around." With that, I walked out of the classroom, past the shocked faces of the other students. God, it's not like I'm never nice or anything.
As I was about to leave the room, I heard Eric say that it was only because she was new that I was being nice. I cringed. I didn't want people to be telling her bad things about me, I wanted to make my own impression.
The moment I thought that, I could have kicked myself. If I knew that she wasn't human, then maybe she knew that I wasn't human either. What if she'd met others of my kind before? Maybe that was why she seemed so tense. What if she was afraid of me? For some reason, that line of thought bothered me. I didn't want her to be afraid of me. Or maybe I had gotten it all wrong, maybe she didn't know what I was and she wasn't afraid of me. In which case, she would eventually find out. That wasn't possible. I couldn't reveal my family's secret. Then what was I supposed to do?
Ignoring the rest of their conversation, I went to my next class, barely paying any attention to the teacher, who stopped trying after I ignored her third question.
I didn't begin focusing until third period French, the class that I shared with Edward. As soon as I was in the door, I began relaying what had happened to him, via his telepathy. We sat on opposite sides of the room, but I could easily see the widening of his eyes, the slight parting of his lips that conveyed his surprise. Raising his hand, he spoke to Ms. Francis in a honey-sweet voice. "Ma'am, I'm not feeling very well, may I please be excused?"
She looked at him with a worried expression on her face. It was well known that none of the Cullen kids ever got sick, something that the humans attributed to the fact that our father was a doctor. "Do you need to see the nurse?"
Smiling at her slightly he responded quietly, "No, I just need some fresh air and I'll be fine."
She agreed, watching as he stood up and walked out of the room. Knowing full well that he intended to call Carlisle to inform him of the situation, I was able to relax and pay some attention to the teacher. Hopefully, Carlisle would know what to do.
Edward didn't return for the rest of the class and I didn't see him again until I heard him call me over to him in the hall, before we entered the cafeteria. Jasper, Rosalie and Emmet were with him, wearing identical confused expressions.
As soon as I reached him, he spoke in a quiet whisper. "That girl, Bella, isn't the only news. Rosalie had class with two new vegetarian vampires," At my gasp, he continued, "I called Carlisle and he has no idea what Bella is, but she knows about us considering the fact that the two vampires are her siblings." Her siblings? Bella lived with vampires?
Edward glanced around him uneasily. "Yes. Carlisle thinks that we should do our best to figure out what she is, but not pry. He actually wants to meet these vampires and he is quiet curious about what Bella could be."
He wanted to meet them? I looked over at Rosalie, surprised that she had not protested to this. Seeing my glance, she scoffed. "I know what you're thinking and no, I don't approve but what other choice do we have? It's not like we meet other vegetarian vampires often, not to mention new species, it would be impossible to dissuade Carlisle." That was true. The very notion of new discoveries excited our adoptive father to no end.
Edward turned to her once again. "As it turns out, I have a class with Bella. Carlisle suggested asking her straight out what she was and offering relations between our families."
I stared at him. "Just ask her straight out? Just like that?"
"She does live with vampires and while it may be a small chance, she and her family could be eager to meet another vegetarian vampire coven, in which case, I'm sure we will eventually find out. Now, however, it's time for lunch. Rose, Jasper and Emmet have yet to see her and they want to." I could see that from the looks on their faces, all of which were trained on the door to the cafeteria.
"Before I forget, those feelings that I've been getting the past few weeks, I'm certain that they relate to her."
They all looked at me and it was Jasper who spoke. "We should tell Carlisle about this as soon as we can."
The others agreed and we all began walking at the same time; decades of living together meant that we could basically communicate without talking. Being highly sensitive vampires didn't hurt either.
Pushing the doors open, we tried our best to ignore the student population and only looked for Bella and her siblings when we had sat down with our trays of useless food in front of us.
Turning, I found her and her family sitting at an empty table. Just as I focused on Bella, she turned and met my eyes. Once again, she blushed and looked at the other members of my family, who were all looking at her table curiously.
Wondering if close proximity would help, I tried to get a vision, feeling frustrated when I failed. I noticed that both Edward and Jasper had identical looks of frustration on their faces. Did that mean that their powers failed to work on this family also? Glancing in my direction, Edward nodded slightly, confirming my theory. One of the vampires must have had a powerful shielding ability. Or, it could be Bella.
Before anything else could happen, the 'odious girl', also known as Jessica, detached herself from her friends and made a bee-line for the Van Allen table, particularly the dark-haired male, whose name I remembered was Lee.
Internally sighing at what was about to happen and feeling sorry for the vampire who was about to replace Edward regarding Jessica's affections, I gave the table my full attention.
Despite being the entire room away, Jessica's annoying voice reached our table clearly. "Hey there. I'm Jessica, Bella's friend." From the surprised look on Bella's face, it was obvious that this was news to her.
Lee crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, waiting.
Jessica continued in a voice that said she was trying to be seductive and was way off the mark. "I was just wondering how you liked Fork and if there was anything that I could do to make your stay more...enjoyable?" Why don't you just jump on him? From the corner of my eye, I could see the disgusted look on Rosalie's face. Obviously I wasn't the only one who found this girl ridiculous.
Pulling up a chair closer to him, Jessica sat down right in front of the red-headed vampire, whose name was Jesse, if my information was correct.
Suddenly, Lee's entire countenance changed and his eyes narrowed dangerously. He obviously didn't like the insult directed at his sister, or were they mated?
He picked up the apple from his tray and began twirling it. "Something that could make my stay more enjoyable?" His voice was low and sultry and the poor human's heart rate picked up. He leaned towards her in a motion similar to a kiss, but when he was almost close enough to make contact, he said in a low voice, "You could always stand up, walk back to your table, tell your friends I let you down easy and never bother me again."
Everyone at our table stared in shock, then had to quickly suppress laughter at the expression on Jessica's face. Her voice was biting when she spoke again. "Whatever, you're not worth it anyway."
As soon as she had stormed off, Lee immediately started chuckling, while his sister broke out in laughter. "Did you see the look on her face? That was fantastic!"
Despite the situation, I couldn't help but smile along with my family, but when Bella looked over at us, our expressions turned curious as our thoughts once again returned to the mystery of what she was.
She sighed and turned back to her lunch, seemingly occupied with this until the bell rang.
Before she could stand up however, her brother turned to her. "We'll see you at the end of school. Be careful." His eyes flicked to our table, untrusting. I suppose I couldn't blame him for wanting to protect his sister but it still annoyed me. I had no intention of hurting her.
Her reply, when it came, was reassuring. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Besides, I can handle myself." With that slightly unnerving statement, she smiled at the both of them and left the cafeteria.
Edward sighed and stood up. "Wish me luck."
Before he left, I gave him a look that said 'Don't you dare scare her off', watching as he went off to biology and his conversation with Bella.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. I had no more classes with Edward so I had to wait until school was over to get any information on how it went. At that moment, having no visions was just plain annoying.
By the time the final bell rang, I shot out to our car in anticipation. Everyone was already waiting, Edward with a pensive look on his face.
I was about to unleash a whole barrage of questions when a sleek, crimson Toyota pulled out of the parking lot. As it was passing, my eyes once again locked with Bella's and didn't disengage until her car disappeared from view.
Quickly getting in the Volvo, we waited patiently until Edward had cleared the parking lot, then went at it.
"Well, how'd it go?"
"Did you find out what she is?"
"What did she say to you?"
"Did you even get the chance to talk to her?"
Holding up his hand for silence, Edward answered our questions. "Firstly, yes I got the chance to talk to her, seeing as she's my lab partner. I didn't find out what she is, but she was extremely polite in turning down my questions. She doesn't think that it would be a good idea for our families to interact right now."
Seizing the opportunity to speak, I quickly jumped in. "'Right now', does that mean that it would be possible in the future"
Edward thought about that for a moment. "I honestly don't know, we'll have to talk to Carlisle."
Silently agreeing, I waited until we pulled into our driveway and then got out of the car, informing the rest of them that I was going to hunt.
As soon as I heard their affirmations and got Edwards promise that he would tell me whatever happened, I ran into the forest surrounding our house, while my thoughts kept returning to Isabella Van Allen.
What are you?
A/N: Okay, *gasp*, that took a long time. I have a new kitten and he keeps attacking the keys.
Anyhoo, please tell me what you think of my first attempt at writing Alice, I'm not sure if I pulled it off or not. R&R.