A/N: I'm really sorry about not updating. You can blame the bog and an over-excited kitten.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Van Allen's, excluding Bella.

BPOV

I'd used one of my powers in front of the Cullen's. I'd used one of my powers in front of Alice. I'd used one of my powers on her brother.

But what was I supposed to do? Jasper was going to kill that girl if I didn't do something, I couldn't just let that happen.

What if they find out?

Of course they won't find out, it wasn't like I hung a neon sign over my head that said 'Hey look, I'm a-'

"Bella. Bella are you ok?" The concerned voice of my sister broke me out of my thoughts.

We were still in the car after driving out of the parking lot. The leather seats felt warm under me, heating up from my high body temperature. The air smelled like oranges. It wasn't the air-freshener that humans used, which smelled like chemicals to our noses, but actual oranges, courtesy of Jesse squeezing thirty-five oranges inside the car to get that tangy smell. It was then down to me to drink the juice.

I could see Lee's eyes in the over-head mirror looking at me, worried.

"I'm fine. I'm good. Happy as a clam," I said back to them. Maybe a clam that was about to be thrown in the pot.

Lee finally turned his eyes back to the road. "It's okay, Bella. There's no way that they can tell what you are by that...incident." His voice was confident and it helped to calm some of my fears.

"I know, I know. It's just that it was such a close call. The humans could have seen him and then we would have been in a lot of trouble."

Jesse gave a relieved sigh and wrapped an arm around me. Both of us had dove into the back, for once avoiding the usual fight over who gets the front seat. "Bella, I'm really proud of you. Not only did you save that girl, but you protected our secret. I'm positive that Clare and Micheal will feel the same way."

As it turned out, they did feel the same way.

Both of them were sitting at the kitchen table and I had just finished telling them what had happened.

Clare stood up and hugged me. "Oh, Bella. Jesse's right, we are proud of you."

Micheal stood up also and came over to me, a smile on his face. "You did the right thing and you saved someone's life in the process."

At this point, I was blushing. "All I did was stop his thirst. It's not like I jumped in front of the van or anything."

Micheal grinned. "You could've done that too, if you wanted."

Clare gave him a look, and turned me to face her. "It doesn't matter what you did, what matters is that that girl is alive right now because of you."

Of course, Lee had to throw in his two cents. "Besides, if you had jumped in front of the van, you would've been fine and that Tyler kid would have been squished."

I knew he was only trying to lighten the mood in the only way he knew how, humour, so I didn't throw something at him.

Jesse poked her head around our group hug so that they could see her. "I want a hug too."

Clare chuckled and opened one of her arms, letting Jesse burrow in like a small, woodland creature.

Afterwards, we spent a while discussing whether or not I should go to school tomorrow. While my absence would be obvious to the Cullen's, I don't think I could concentrate on anything if I did go in, so it was decided that I could skip one day, considering that it was Friday.

That night, we were all sitting around the TV. Every week, we have an official movie night and we all get turns picking the film. It was on nights like these that we really felt like a normal family and it was only when I was with my family that I could take my ring off and enjoy being me without worry.

I was sprawled on the couch with my legs hanging over the edge and my head on Jesse's lap. Micheal and Clare were both sitting on the love seat, and Lee had his own armchair, a practice that we adopted after he continually knocked us off whatever seat we were sharing, claiming that it was an 'accident'.

It had been Jesse's turn to pick the movie and for whatever reason, she chose Finding Nemo, not that I was complaining, because I loved that movie, but for a fifty-seven year old vampire, she sure loved Disney.

That same fifty-seven year old vampire burst out laughing as soon as Dory tried to speak whale. "Man, I freaking love that fish."

I smiled at her exuberance. I wonder if Alice would like Finding Nemo? She seems like the Disney type. Or would she prefer romantic comedies? Why am I asking myself these questions?

Shaking my head in confusion, I went back to watching the movie.

I got as far as the dentist scene, then I was suddenly thinking about Alice's smile. She doesn't smile as much as she should. I felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that I was the reason she was smiling less. My avoidance had gotten to her and at that moment, I felt like the world's biggest a-hole.

Maybe I could talk to her a little. Surely I wouldn't blurt everything out during a simple conversation? My thoughts went back to her smile and I wasn't sure if I could answer that question truthfully.

Clare was the first one to notice my absentmindedness. "Bella, what's got you looking so glum?"

Her question made the others look in my direction.

I sighed. "I was just wondering if maybe I could talk to Alice a little. I mean, she's sorta the first friend that I've ever made and she's...interesting." For some reason, I blushed at my choice of words, something that my entire family noticed.

Clare's eyes widened a fraction before a smile broke out across her face. "I think that it would be fine if you spent a little time with Alice. From what you've told me, she seems like a lovely girl." She turned to look at Micheal, who also smiled.

"I agree with your mother. It's not like you have to tell her everything, but I think it would be good for you. And who knows, maybe you can tell her everything some day."

Lee, who at this point was upside down on the armchair, put his two thumbs up, then twisted his hands until they were more upright to us. "If it's what you want to do, then I say go for it."

Jesse was the last to speak. She looked down at me seriously. "I'm too lazy to think of my own encouraging statement, so I'm going to steal Lee's, it's fresh in your mind." Her laziness knows no bounds.

Lee scoffed. "Bella, never go to your sister for a pep talk. It will only end up with you being as depressed as you were and her cackling in her head." Jesse gave him a mock scowl and threw the pillow I was using as padding at him.

With the pillow gone so abruptly, my head smacked into her lap. "Hey! I was using that." I scowled up at her.

She laughed and ruffled my hair, white strands going everywhere. "My need was much more pressing."

I couldn't help but smile at the expression on Lee's face, pillow clutched in one hand.

Seeing a pillow-fight about to begin, which would invariably end up with something being thrown in the wood-chipper, Clare stepped in. "Ok, you two. The movie just ended while you were being childish. It's time that we go hunt."

She stood up, quickly followed by the others and was about to go out the door when I remembered something. With all the Cullen-avoiding, I had completely forgotten about it. "Hey, before you go, Angela, a friend from school, invited me to go dress shopping on Saturday. Is that ok?" I may be a non-human, but I was still seventeen.

"Sure, but don't be out too late, you may not need much sleep but we need to keep up appearances." With that they ran out into the woods to go kill something and eat it, leaving me with Sanderson, who was stretched out in front of the fire.

I got up to make something to eat, thinking about how I was going to start talking to Alice. I mean, I could just go up to her and, you know, say something, but how would I explain my reasons for suddenly starting a conversation after three solid weeks of avoiding her.

I couldn't believe that it had been that easy to convince my family. I'm sure that I could talk to Alice, maybe even be her friend and not spill my guts. Maybe.

I was putting the pasta that would become my dinner into the pot when another thought struck me.

What if Alice didn't want to talk to me? I did ignore her, regardless of my reasons. Here I was just expecting her to jump at the chance to talk to me. I really needed to apologise to her. Profusely.

I heard a meow coming from the living room. Walking in, I found Sanderson in the exact same position that I'd left him. He meowed again and stretched his paw out towards me.

"You are one lazy cat. You're not getting dinner in bed and if you want sustenance, you have to come out into the kitchen." The fact that I was having a conversation with my cat didn't escape my notice.

He stood up, stretched and padded into the kitchen, sitting beside his bowl.

I put his favourite cat kibble in the bowl and filled his other bowl with water. I'd never met a cat that loved water more than Sanderson. I'd even found him laying in a puddle on one of the rare hot days.

I hurriedly went to pull the pasta off the hob, and put it in the strainer. I was about to strain it fully when the phone rang, a fairly rare occurrence

I flashed to the phone and picked it up. "Van Allen residence."

The voice on the other end was Angela's. "Hey Bella. I was just calling to make sure that we were still on for Friday."

I was confused for a moment. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"The accident at school today." Oh, right. Nice one, Bella.

"Oh. Well, I'm still willing to go if you are. You're still going, right?" My voice seemed kind of desperate at the end, but the thought of going dress shopping with only Jessica for company was just too painful.

She laughed. "Yes, I'm still going. I wouldn't leave you alone with Jessica. It's just a shame that you're not going to the dance, I'm sure that there are plenty of guys at school trying to work up the courage to ask you."

I cringed at the thought. When I was nine, Jesse had forcibly given me the talk, something that Clare had been intending to do, but Jesse had wanted to see the look on my face. According to her, I should have been looking at boys a different way for a few years now, but they still seemed the same to me. It's not like I had much contact with them in general, but I did see them quite often now and I felt nothing when I looked at them. Except maybe mild annoyance.

"Don't worry about me, you just go on and enjoy yourself. With Ben of course."

I could almost feel her blushing on the other end.

"How did you—?"

I chuckled. After another impromptu crash course from my sister, I could now spot someone hitting on someone else from a mile away. Unless of course it had to do with me, in which case, I was unbelievably dense. On more than one occasion, I had heard Lee mumble something about a show called The Big Bang Theory, a guy called Sheldon and sarcasm, whatever that meant, but it always happened after some guy, which forty percent of the time was Mike, hit on me and I just stared at him with a confused expression on my face.

I was really starting to get annoyed with his constant advances and had tried to let him down the easy way, but he just won't quit. I knew that I wasn't the only one who didn't like him, as I'd seen Alice sending very dirty looks in his direction. I wonder if he'd tried to hit on Alice, too. The thought brought a feeling of anger. Alice was a really nice person and she didn't need a jerk like Mike harassing her.

"Angela, I hate to break it to you, but everyone knows. Kinda hard not to notice you two making goo-goo eyes at each other."

There was a slight pause, then Angela's voice became very excited. "Okay, so I'm going out with Ben. He's fantastic and sweet and really romantic. On our first date, he brought me a rose. Honestly, I can't stop thinking about him. Even if I'm talking about something completely different, I find a way to tie it in with him."

That must be nice. To like someone enough that they were always on your mind. I wonder if Alice had someone like that. Of course she did, she was Alice.

"Well, in that case, we're going to have to pick out a great dress, so he won't take his eyes off of you all night."

Angela actually giggled. "I hope so. Well, I gotta go and call Jessica to make sure that she's still going. I'll see you tomorrow"

"Bye." Maybe Jessica would cancel.

I hung up the phone, went back into the kitchen and was putting the pasta sauce in when I really thought about what she'd said. Always thinking about someone, finding them really sweet, being able to associate almost anything with them.

The pasta sauce jar tipped forward and the entire contents went in.

No, it couldn't be.

But what if it is?

It's not possible.

You know it is.

Holy crap.

After thinking all of this, I found myself sitting on the closest chair, still in shock.

It actually made sense. I was always thinking about her, she was sweet and I loved talking with her, I wanted to spend more time with her, even at the risk of my secret and no matter what I was doing, I always managed to tie her into it.

The realisation was totally unexpected.

I had a crush on Alice Cullen.

APOV

Bella wasn't at school the next day. It was also a Friday, so I'd have to wait two extra days to get to see her.

My family couldn't stop thinking about yesterday's incident and I was no exception. It seemed to be on repeat in my head, Jasper running towards that girl, eyes black and teeth bared. Seeing Bella step out in front of the charging vampire and placing her hand on him. His instant transformation.

When she had taken that step forward, I had felt true fear. She could've been hurt, or even killed.

I had come to the somewhat surprising conclusion that I liked Isabella Van Allen in that very moment. It had only been further solidified during the talk with Carlisle and Esme. We had brainstormed what we knew about Bella and when everything I said was positive, I just knew.

Of course, Edward had been in the same room when I came to that conclusion, so he knew too. He had asked me if he could talk to me outside, so we went into the forest, far enough away that the rest of our family couldn't hear us.

"Alice, are you crazy? You've only known this girl for three weeks and she spent most of that time avoiding you. You don't even know what species she is." He was pacing. I hated it when he paced.

I knew why he was in such a mood. This wasn't like a human thing, easily brushed aside. Vampires were different and we only had one mate during our...existence and when we found them, that was it. It wasn't as instantaneous as the wolves' imprinting, but it was just as strong, if given the time to build up.

"I know, Edward, but you know that I can't help how I feel. It was a surprise to me too." But in the back of my head, I wondered if it had been such a surprise. I knew how much her ignoring me had hurt me, how much I wanted to talk to her, spend time with her.

Edward scoffed. "And what if she doesn't feel the same way about you. What will you do then."

I had been so caught up in these new feelings, that I hadn't thought about what I'd do if she didn't like me back. The thought was like a stab of pain.

Edwards gaze immediately softened. "I'm sorry, Alice. That was incredibly insensitive of me."

"But it was true. I don't even know if she likes girls, let alone if she'll like me."

I sighed and sat down on a nearby log. I couldn't even rely on my visions to help me figure this out.

Edward sat down beside me. "It'll be okay, Alice."

I looked up at him. "Which one of us in the clairvoyant here?"

He chuckled. "I'm just saying that we'll figure this out, somehow."

I gave a little smile and leaned into him. "I know, I'm just scared is all. And...excited. I've never really felt this way before and if I did in my human life, then I don't think that I would've forgotten."

I was panicking ever so slightly. I had been waiting for this for so long and now that I had found her, I was afraid that I'd lose her. What if something happened to her? She was going into Port Angeles tomorrow with Angela and Jessica. The wolves had informed us of killings about ten miles away from there, well, they'd come to see if we'd done the killings, but they still informed us. They also intended to go see Bella's family sometime in the near future and after I made them promise, they assured us that it was only to make a treaty because they were 'golden-eyes'.

The humans had chalked the deaths up to animal attacks, but all of us knew that it could very well be a vampire. What if it was a vampire and it smelled Bella? Her scent was unusual enough for the

Edwards gaze snapped to mine. "No, Alice. You are not going to Port Angeles so that you can spy on her."

I stiffened and looked at him. "Firstly, Edward, you don't own me, I can make my own decisions and secondly, I would not be spying on her, just the area around her, in case there's any danger. We may not yet know if it's a vampire or not, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

He looked at me once again. "Ok, but you get to tell the rest of them."

That yielded surprising results.

Carlisle and Esme were supportive. They believed that Bella seemed like a nice person and they really wanted to meet her someday. Emmett made a few jokes about me needing a trench coat an dark glasses, but he was fine with it. Jasper was grateful to Bella, so he wanted to be sure that she was safe also. This brought a smile from me; he was such a great brother to have. Rosalie, strangely enough, was also fine with it.

After my mouth dropped open, she scoffed at me. "Look, Alice, while I don't approve of the way she's been treating you and I still think that you should tie her down and make her talk to you if you want it that badly, she did stop Jasper and she protected our secret at risk to her own and for that, I don't hate her."

After his initial outburst, Edward eventually agreed to me going, knowing that I would go whether he approved or not.

After that was all settled, I waited and hoped that Bella wouldn't find out just yet and think that I was some crazy stalker.

A/N: Sorry that it's shorter than usual, but I needed to get this up there today. I hope the realisation was realistic and not too rushed. Hopefully, the next chapter will have a little action.

As always, R&R, they're what keep me writing.