A/N: Okay, next chapter up and running.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Van Allen's, excluding Bella. If I did own Twilight, which I don't, Alice and Bella would be together...*sigh*

Really sorry for the late update, but I need to be in a certain frame of mind to write and it takes time. Also, I'm getting my leaving cert results soon and I'm panicking slightly, not to mention the fact that my cousin keeps stealing the laptop...

APOV

We had been walking together for about three minutes, Bella still blushing slightly from my 'date' comment and me still internally smacking myself for letting that slip out. After she realised that I was following, Bella had let go of my hand and I was already missing the warm touch.

I still couldn't help but be curious about her reaction. Blushing wasn't exactly uncommon for her, but the look she gave me before succumbing to the awkwardness was one that I couldn't decipher. In the temporary privacy of my own mind, I truly wished that it was hope that I had seen in that brief moment.

I sighed quietly, thinking about Edward's words. He was right; I shouldn't get my hopes up over nothing, not even a phantom-hopefulness in her eyes.

It was nearly full dark out now and the streetlights had turned on, bathing their surroundings in a warm yellow glow, casting shadows from objects such as cars, trees and the few people who were walking along the street with us. More than a few of them looked at us. I focused on the shadow that Bella threw, moving in sync with her, just as graceful as she was. Streetlights had never been my favourite things, they were too artificial, but now I could see the beauty of them. I had no doubt that Bella was responsible for my newfound appreciation. Everything just seemed so much better when she was around.

"I would start an extremely interesting conversation with you, but I have no idea what to say." Her voice broke me out of my revere, soft in the encroaching darkness. "Besides, you seem very interested in the ground right now; I'd hate to distract you."

I looked up from her shadow, facing the real thing, an amused expression on my face. "We do seem to be at an impasse of sorts when it comes to conversation right now, don't we?"

She seemed to be thinking about something, eyes tilted up and to the left. After about a second, she seemed to come to a decision, turning her head to face me. "Okay then, ask me a question and we'll go from there."

I was so tempted to ask the question that had been on my mind ever since I met her: What are you? That probably wouldn't go over too well and while I still hoped that she would tell me eventually, I wanted her to trust me enough to tell me in her own time. It wouldn't mean the same if she told me because she was forced to. I also didn't want to start our conversation with questions about tonight's events. So instead, I settled on something nice and simple that was easily answered. "What CD do you have in your CD player right now?"

She scoffed. "That's your question?"

I gave her a menacing look. "Don't question my questions. Now, answer me. I wouldn't want to have to force it out of you."

She chuckled slightly before sighing in resignation. "Celine Dion."

Now it was my turn to chuckle. "Celine Dion?"

Her voice became defensive."What? She's a legitimate artist, not to mention a really talented one." I chuckled again and she turned to face me. "Oh shut up. It's my turn. What's your favourite colour?"

"And you honestly thought that my question was lame?" She didn't respond, just continued looking at me. "Fine. My favourite colour is yellow, but I also like blue. Yours?"

"I like green, but I love blue and grey." I saw her look up at the sky, an emotion I couldn't read in her eyes.

"Grey? Who likes grey? That has to be the most boring colour of all time."

She scowled at me. "Hey, you told me not to question your questions, now I'm telling you not to question my answers." She faced forwards, arms crossed over her chest. "Besides, yellow is an ostentatious colour that only looks respectable on plants, and even then I assure you that those would be the most in-your-face plants in the whole garden."

I scowled back at her. "Yellow is a beautiful colour, I'll have you know."

She scoffed. "Oh, please. That would be the colour of the floor if SpongeBob were to get drunk and hurl all over it." At my expression, she smirked. "Yeah, not such a pretty colour now, is it?"

"Firstly, SpongeBob would never get drunk; he has more principles than that. Secondly, if you don't stop insulting my colour, I'm going to throw a nice bucket of SpongeBob-vomit yellow all over you." What she probably didn't know is that I would gladly do it, if only for the look on her face.

She gave me a look of mock horror, and then seemed to think about something. "I'd threaten to dye all of your clothes grey but I'm fairly certain that that would result in a slow and painful death for me and a mental breakdown for you and that's something that neither of us wants."

The look of horror that I gave her was in no way mocking. "How could that thought have even entered your head? It's...it's...a crime to even think about it, a pure sin to even contemplate it." I was having trouble getting my words out, images of all-gray clothing playing out before my eyes. I shivered visibly and Bella laughed, a sound that flowed from her mouth and wrapped around me, causing a warm feeling to settle in the pit of my stomach. I should really get her to laugh more.

She continued laughing and I was so focused on the sound that I almost didn't notice the highly amused glances that she was throwing my way. "What?"

She shook her head, still chuckling. "Why does it not surprise me that you watch SpongeBob?"

"What? It's a legitimate TV show, not to mention a really funny one." I stated, throwing her words back at her.

She raised her hands in defeat, brown eyes twinkling in amusement. "Ok, I give. SpongeBob is an amazing show that deserves recognition."

I smiled in triumph. "Damn right it is. You know, this would go a lot smoother if you just accepted the fact that I'm right about everything."

She raised an eyebrow at me, deftly avoiding the puddles that were littering the pot-hole laden street. We were getting closer to the bay, the scent of salt-water permeating the air, street lights left behind as we made for more populated areas, where shop windows provided all the lights needed for humans to see by. "Don't let my acknowledgement of your superior television know-how go to your head."

"Oh, Bella, it's way too late for that."

She widened her eyes. "Oh dear Lord, what have I done? I can practically see your ego inflating, like a giant balloon of arrogance."

"A giant balloon of arrogance? I'm going to choose to be insulted by that and retaliate accordingly." I looked her up and down, trying to find something to insult her about. She continued walking, waiting for my no-doubt lame comeback. Realising that I couldn't think of anything, I resorted to simple measures. "You're childish and I refuse to stoop to your level."

She gave me a look. "I'm childish? Says the girl who watches SpongeBob."

"I thought we agreed that SpongeBob was awesome?"

She shrugged. "Doesn't mean I can't make fun of you for it. Besides, I was always more of a Power Ranger kinda girl myself."

While I normally would have made fun of her for that little nugget of information, my mind went in a totally different direction, choosing instead to imagine Bella in one of those tight spandex outfits. It was at times like these that I was very glad I couldn't blush.

"We're almost there." Bella's soft voice broke me out of my revere for the second time that night, this one a little less innocent than the last one. This was something that I was wholly unprepared for. Bella was affecting me a lot more than I would care to admit.

We came into a more shopping-oriented area, people dotting the street and carefully cultivated plants lining the entrances to the shops off to the side. It was a cheerful place, the kind of place I could happily spend hours to the exclusion of all else, including whining family members begging me to go home. The shop windows cast light onto the street, creating a dome of illumination within the darkness, wares of all kinds on display to entice customers.

I looked around me at all of the different stores, my natural impulse to shop coming back full force. "You know, if I didn't need to feed you, I'd go in to that store and buy something. I love their merchandise."

She looked up from where she had been watching a pigeon and glanced in the direction I was looking at. Suddenly her eyes widened and a blush spread across her face. She coughed slightly and looked away.

Confused by her reaction, I looked back at the scented candle store I had been contemplating. Looking back at Bella, I saw her eyes flicker towards me, then to the store directly beside the candle shop. Victoria's Secret was written above the door in an elegant cursive, mannequins in the windows showing samples.

My head snapped in Bella's direction, then back to the lingerie store. She thought..? Embarrassment welled up in me to such an extent that had I been able to, I'd have been as red as a tomato. "Um...I...uh...meant the candle store. I like candles, especially scented candles, they smell nice and I like smelling nice things, like candles." I was babbling, but I couldn't seem to stop. Why didn't I specify the freaking store I was talking about? My voice was higher than normal and I could tell that my eyes were a little wide.

Bella's blush deepened. "Sorry, my mistake."She smiled sheepishly and by unspoken agreement, we didn't speak of it again, both lapsing into an uncomfortable silence.

That didn't mean that I didn't think about it. Bella's reaction was just like before, due to two things that seemed to have a deeper meaning to her. That small seed of hope that had been there from the start beginning to grow.

As we walked, I noticed that the stones beneath our feet had given way to dark wooden planks, fluorescent window lights being replaced with long strings of fairy lights, travelling down the length of the boardwalk, which had several vendors and a mere handful of people. Like everywhere else in this town, there were plants at regular intervals, coinciding with the wooden posts that held the guard-rails in place.

Bella smiled. "We're here."

"It's beautiful," I said, staring at the twinkling of the lights and the ripples of water on either side of the wooden structure.

"Yeah, beautiful," Bella murmured from behind me, her voice taking on a strange tone. I turned, looking at her curiously and she averted her eyes, looking around the boardwalk before her gaze landed on one of the vendors. Grinning, she grabbed my hand and shot forward, tugging me along with her. The feel of her warm hand around my freezing cold one sent a slight shiver up my spine. The good kind.

A laugh bubbled up and out of my mouth when I saw her eager expression and realized that she was heading straight for the pretzels. "Eager little thing, aren't you?" She glanced back at me, managing to tear her eyes away from the baked goods.

"They're pretzels," she said, as though that were explanation enough.

We reached the counter a moment later, Bella almost hopping up and down in her excitement. Much to my surprise and pleasure, she loosened her hand but didn't let go, allowing me to release it if I wanted to. Calm down, Alice. Some people are just naturally touchy-feely, you're touchy-feely it probably doesn't mean anything.

The man behind the counter was in his early fifties, with steel-grey hair and a happy smile. I had no idea that selling pretzels was such a rewarding job. "Hello girls. What can I get you?"

Bella, grin still firmly in place, looked up at the old pretzel-vendor. "Hello, sir. Could I get a soft-dough pretzel with a sprinkling of icing sugar and a honey glaze, please?"

"Sure thing. That'll be one-fifty and it'll take a minute."

Bella gave him the money one-handed, her other hand still loose but unmoving.

The vendor accepted the money, gave out her change and proceeded to make the pretzel, which Bella watched with avid interest.

I chuckled, which caused both Bella and the pretzel vendor to look at me. "You really like pretzels, don't you?"

Bella looked back at the pretzel. "Of course. They're the best baked goods out there."

The vendor smiled. "A woman after my own heart. Here you go. Enjoy." He held out a large, lightly brown knot of cooked dough and a white napkin. Bella took it and thanked him, walking back out into the centre of the boardwalk.

I watched in fascination as she bit into the pretzel and closed her eyes in appreciation.

"Good?"

She nodded, still in pretzel heaven and, consequently, unable to talk.

We continued walking, fairy lights casting everything in a gentle glow, so very different from the harsh light of the street lamps from earlier. Some of the things that I had noticed about Bella from weeks of watching her, (in a non-stalker-ish kind of way of course), was that she was an incredibly slow eater. She took very small bites and gave them her full attention. It was amusing to watch, to say the least.

I gestured towards one of the wooden benches that littered the boardwalk and Bella nodded, angling towards it. We sat down, watching the waves swell and recede, swirling around the wooden poles and crashing against the small rocks.

Relaxing against the back, I watched Bella finish the last few bites of the pretzel before asking her a question that had been on my mind since the incident in the alley. "What happened tonight, it's not going to cause you any problems, is it?" The police knew her name and she was a witness to a crime, not to mention the fact that she had beaten up the perpetrators.

She sighed. "Not really, no. It's similar to your father working at the hospital. I mean, there'll be files about him and the state has his name and everything. Like him, any background info I give will be fake and the police will be more focused on the victim and the criminals. After I give my statement, I'm not obliged to do anything. Once we eventually move towns, we'll change our back-stories. My family has done it lots of times, just like yours, although I myself am still new to it."

I chose not to think about Bella leaving town in a few years, or the fact that I'd have to do the same. And what did she mean, 'still new to it'? How old was she? And how long had she been with the Van Allen's? Then something else occurred to me. "Why do you sound like you've done this before?"

"Um...cause I have. It's not like I'm a vigilante or anything, I don't go out looking, but if I see someone in trouble, I'll help. And it was only two other times, both of which were in the same town."

"And that's not going to be noticed by the police in this town?"

"No. It was in a different state altogether and police officers of differing states stay out of each other's business in simple cases like this. It's all about proper jurisdiction or some such, they won't even look because it's not something someone would think to check and they have no reason to."

I nodded, relieved that this wasn't going to cause any problems for her. She had done the right thing, saving that girl from a traumatizing experience and she shouldn't have to regret it. "And your family? If I'm not over-stepping my bounds, may I ask if they'll take this news well or not?"

She smiled. "You don't seem to have any bounds, Alice." She looked out towards the water, thinking. "In all honesty, they'll think that I did the right thing. I mean, they did want me to lay low and I want the same thing, but they'll understand that I really didn't have a choice. I couldn't just...let it happen. And the only reason that I gave my real name and number was because I was the only witness other than the girl. Running away from the scene would have caused even more problems, for me and Kasey. Besides," she looked back over at me, "They're the ones who taught me to do the right thing. They raised me to be a good person and they would have done the same in my position. All of them have a strong sense of right and wrong."

I listened with interest as Bella talked about her family, but one thing that she had said jumped out at me. "When you say 'raised me', what do you mean by that, exactly?"

She began to look slightly uncomfortable and I quickly backtracked. "Never mind, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

She was silent for so long that I thought she had decided not to answer me, but then she spoke, her voice soft, yet sounding sure. "I joined the Van Allen family when I was about one month old, give or take a few days and I've been with them ever since."

I stared at her, her revelation totally unexpected. She joined a coven of vampires when she was one month old? What the hell happened to cause such an event and where were her biological parents? I was insanely curious about the events leading up to her joining her family, but I knew better than to push her on the matter. When and if she was ready to talk, she would.

"That was very kind of your family, you all must be very close," I observed.

She smiled, expression reminiscent. "Yeah, they're great. My parents always wanted children, even when they were human but they became vampires before that could happen. When they chose to raise me, they got their chance." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Although, couple vampire and maternal instincts and you get very overprotective parents. And not just parents, Jesse and Lee are really protective too. I'm still the kid of the family and I've spent my entire life with them, so I guess I can understand but it can be annoying at times."

I could understand too. If my family were to raise someone from infancy, we'd all be insanely protective, especially Esme and Rosalie. Just thinking about that made me realise how much Bella likely meant to her family.

"That must have been an...interesting childhood." I couldn't imagine spending my childhood with vampires, not that I could actually remember my childhood, but still.

Bella laughed, a carefree sound. "Interesting is one way of putting it."

"Could you tell me a bit about them, your family I mean? It's not exactly often that we come across another vegetarian vampire coven."

She released my hand and I watched her fold the napkin left over from her pretzel in exact lines before she responded. "Like I said, my family are great. I have great respect for them, and for you and your family, for the choices that you all made." She smiled and looked over at me. "It was actually stories of your father that made my parents choose this lifestyle." At my raised eyebrow, she continued, beginning to tear at the napkin. "They were already married when they were turned and they spent about a year feeding on humans, not knowing that there was an alternative and still in their newborn phase. They ran into a nomad, the first vampire that they met other than the one who changed them, and he told them a bit more about vampires, which included stories about the mysterious 'golden-eyed vampire', Carlisle Cullen. As soon as they realised that they could live off animals, they left populated areas behind and went into the wilderness until they had enough control to walk among humans."

"It would really mean a lot to Carlisle for him to know that he was responsible for your parents' lifestyle choice. He always wanted vampires to see that there was another way."

She smiled. "And it would really mean a lot to my parents to meet the man that changed their life. Heck, even Jesse and Lee would behave themselves if he was around."

I thought about Bella's two siblings and how close they seemed and asked another question that I had been thinking about for a while. "Are Jesse and Lee mated?"

"Yes. I know they act more like siblings with a serious rivalry, but they really love each other and when the chips are down, they'll drop their joking attitudes and do anything to protect their family and each other. It may seem like all they do is goof around, much like your brother, but Lee is actually pretty serious until Jesse is around to corrupt him." She grinned. "Mom and Dad have their hands full with them. Then again, they're not exactly the most stereotypical of parents. Clare has a very diverse interest range and does something new in every town, from bank manager to dance instructor. She's also one of the best paint-baller's around. And Micheal, he's very art-oriented. He loves painting, but his real passion is stone-carving. He sells his pieces for a fair sum and sometimes gets commissions for work."

I smiled at the descriptions of her family. While she was talking about them she had a content and happy look on her face, showing that she cared a great deal about them.

I thought about my own family and how close we were. They knew that I wanted to be Bella's friend, but only Edward knew that I wished for more. I genuinely hoped that they wouldn't mind, not that anything would happen between us, but still.

"So what about you?"

"What?"

"What's your family like?"

I grinned, eager for Bella to hear about my family. "They're fantastic. Carlisle and Esme are the best parents I could hope for and the only ones I'd ever want. Esme is the sweetest person in the world, but if push comes to shove, she's very protective and a ferocious fighter, kinda like a mamma bear. Despite that, she abhors violence, just like Carlisle. And Carlisle, well, he's the kind of person who you respect whether you like him or not, and most people do like him. He's brilliant and always tries to solve problems through talking, which actually works more often than not."

I looked at Bella and saw the curiosity in her gaze, the way she had leaned towards me ever so slightly. "And what about your siblings? I didn't interact with them much and I'm ashamed to admit that I spent all of my biology classes studiously ignoring Edward."

I laughed. "I know, he's complained about that a lot."

Bella winced, looking at me apologetically. "Yeah, could you tell him that I'm sorry about that? Actually, on second thought, I'll tell him myself, he deserves that much."

"Don't worry about it, he understands your reasoning. And about my siblings, well, they're very different, but I love them for it. Emmett's the joker of the family and I suspect he'll get along well with your sister. He may come across as all brawn and no brain, but he's actually quite intelligent underneath it all and he does have his serious moments, although they are few and far between. In all honesty, he realises that in a tense situation, laughter can help relieve the pressure, so he's taken it upon himself to be the comic relief."

Bella laughed. "I did notice that. Let me guess, he loves to wrestle?"

Her question caught me off guard and I turned to look at her. "He's practically in love with it. How did you know?"

She laughed again. "Lee says he's been sizing him up and won't stop grinning at him."

I sighed, shaking my head. "That sounds like Emmett. He won't do anything until he gets an ok from your brother, but he's been talking about whether or not he could take him for a while now. Honestly, if Rosalie wasn't around he'd get into all kinds of trouble"

At the mention of my surly sister, Bella's interest perked up and she raised an eyebrow. "I've seen Rosalie around and she seems...annoyed."

"That's just the way her face falls. And she sort of is annoyed most of the time, but once you get to know her, she's a real softy."

At this, Bella gave me a sceptical look. "Okay, she seems like an ice queen, and she kinda is, but when she's alone with people she trusts, her true self comes out and she's just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. It may take a while, but once you gain her trust and friendship, she'll do almost anything to protect you. She may not have many, but the friends she does have, she values highly."

Bella grinned. "That's nice to know. She's a bit intimidating."

Truer words were never spoken. Rosalie was very intimidating to most of the people around her, her family being the only exception, but I knew that it was only because she was jealous of the humans. As of yet, she wasn't sure how to act towards Bella. She wasn't jealous, because Bella wasn't human and while Bella might be a threat, she had helped keep our secret when she stopped Jasper. This had lead to conflicting emotions within Rosalie and she was now okay with my wanting a friendship with Bella because she already knew our secret and had reason to protect it. How she'd react to my wanting more than friendship with Bella, I had no idea.

"And what about the rest of them?"

"Then there's Jasper and Edward. Jasper isn't only my brother, he's my best friend. We were travelling together for a few years before we found the Cullen's. In fact, they thought that we were mated when we first showed up." I chuckled, remembering how Jasper and I had looked at each other and burst out laughing when they asked that question, not to mention Edward's satisfied smile. He was smitten from the first moment he'd laid eyes on his future mate. "Jasper was a soldier when he was human and some of it carried over. He seems stoic most of the time, but he knows how to have fun when the mood strikes him. He's also an amazing strategist and could talk for hours about the Civil War, so don't get him started. Edward can be an ass at times, but he means well. He thinks things through before taking any course of action, something that Emmett makes fun of him for, but then again, Emmett can make fun of anything."

Bella regarded me with another curious look, the napkin still in her hand. It looked like she was making something. "You and Jasper do seem really close. So you guys never had a thing?"

"No, Jasper was only ever a friend for me."

She stayed looking at me, her gaze intense and a tiny blush on her face. "If you don't mind my asking, why not? I mean, if you guys were so close and all, not to mention the fact that he's not a bad looking guy. Did you not consider him because he was gay, or was it something else?"

I froze. Should I tell her that it was because I liked girls? Would she freak out or would she be okay with it? Despite my fear, I came to the realisation that she would no doubt find out eventually and it might as well come from me. My voice, when I spoke, came out small and quiet. "Not exactly. Jasper is a great guy but I was never interested in him, or any other...male for that matter."

My brief hesitation before I said 'male' was enough. Bella's eyes widened and her blush became more pronounced. But it was her eyes that I was focused on. I saw a myriad of emotions swirling in their brown depths; shock, confusion, thoughtfulness and...hope? I couldn't dwell on the emotion. For all I knew, it was just my mind showing me what I wanted to see and I wouldn't lose this new friendship by scaring Bella off.

"Oh, in that case, I feel sorry for the male population of the world," was all she said, looking me in the eyes, before hopping up and glancing down at me once again, a slight smile on her face. "Come on. Let's go for a walk." Her words made me grin like an idiot, but I couldn't seem to stop.

I stood up and fell into step beside her, thankful that she hadn't made a big deal out of my admission. She raised her hand, a white object resting on it. The napkin had been folded into the form of a graceful bird, delicate wings outstretched. I watched in delight as the wind caught it and lifted it into the air, carrying it out towards the horizon. "You know origami?"

"Yeah, it's something I picked up over the years. I find it interesting."

I stayed watching the paper bird until it disappeared from sight, amazed that it was so well constructed that it could fly for so long. As soon as it was gone from our sight, we began walking again. There was still so much that I didn't know about Bella and every day something new came to light, unexpected but appreciated by me none the less. She was such a fascinating individual.

We had only entered the boardwalk and we had a ways to go yet until we reached the end. Going at a slow pace, we began walking down the wooden construct, the sound of languid waves loud in the night.

I watched Bella from the corner of my eye. She was looking straight ahead, eyes focused on something in the distance. The light of the now full moon bathed her face and I was once again struck by how beautiful she was. Her long, flowing chestnut locks cascading around her face and down her back, her deep brown eyes shining, her full lips parted slightly, giving a glimpse of perfect white teeth. She glanced at me and I looked away, embarrassed at having been caught staring.

The silence was interrupted by the harsh shriek of a ringtone. Bella jumped, startled by the loud noise and I couldn't help but laugh at the expression on her face. She stuck her hand into the front pocket of her jeans and pulled out her cell phone. She glared at the offending machine before flipping it open and pressing it to her ear. "Hello."

I could hear Jesse's voice on the other end. "Hey, Bella. Just got a call from Angela telling us of your late night activities." I could practically hear the grin in her voice. "Bet you're glad I made you dress up now, huh?"

Bella blushed and her gaze darted to me before she looked away. "Is there a specific reason that you called, Jess?"

Jesse's voice took on a tone of mock hurt. "What, a girl can't just call her little sister to see how her dat-" The remainder of her sentence was cut off by a harsh sound from Bella that resembled a cough but was most likely some obscenity. "Jeeze, nasty cough ya got there Bells. Maybe Alice could make it better by ki-" Just like before, Bella cut her off before she could finish her sentence, but this time it was by throwing her phone into the water, a slightly panicked look on her face. She kept walking as though nothing had happened, hands behind her back, eyes a tiny bit too wide.

I looked from her to the water. "Um, Bella? Why did you just throw your phone into the water?"

She didn't look at me, just kept walking. "It was getting old. I was going to get a new one soon anyway." So she decided to throw her old one in the sea? It was obvious that Jesse was about to say something embarrassing for Bella that she didn't want me to hear, so I let it go. I was insanely curious, but I let it go.

I noticed that Bella kept shooting me looks full of curiosity, clearly wanting to ask a question but afraid of offending me. "Whatever you want to ask, go ahead."

She looked away again, an embarrassed look on her face. "Sorry. It's stupid anyway and it's none of my business."

"Bella, whatever it is, it's probably not going to bother me."

She waited for a moment, watching me cautiously. "Um, well, you don't have to answer, but I was just wondering...how old you were?"

I grinned. "Afraid of asking a woman her age, huh?"

She sighed in relief, grateful that I wasn't offended. "Something like that."

"Well, to answer your question, I was born in 1901 and was turned into a vampire in 1920. Physically, I'm nineteen, but I'm really one hundred and nine years old."

"Wow. You must have seen some pretty amazing things in your life."

"Yeah, that's true." I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, once again curious about when she joined her family. "And you? How old are you?"

"I'll be eighteen in three months."

We had reached the end of the board walk and we both looked out into the darkness, gazing at the rippling waves. I chuckled. "Ha, you're not even a legal adult yet. You can't even buy alcohol!"

"I don't even know if I can get drunk, why would I need to buy alcohol?"

I stared at her. "You've never tried to get drunk?" She shook her head. "You are one weird twenty-first century teenager."

She gave me a disbelieving look. "I was raised by vampires. What exactly did you expect?"

"Fair enough. I'll just blame how weird you are on your family."

She scoffed. "I'm not the only weird on here. You're the one hundred and nine year old who watches SpongeBob."

Bella had turned to face me, with her back to the water. I smiled sweetly and gave her my best innocent look. She automatically tensed, distrustful of my change in demeanour. "Bella," my voice was honey sweet, "Remember how I said that I'd get you back for ignoring me?"

Her eyes widened in realisation, but it was far too late. My hand flashed out and I shoved against her chest, sending her tipping backwards into the water below, arms wind milling comically. She fell the eight feet, shocked expression still on her face, before she splashed into the freezing liquid. She surfaced a moment later, sputtering and shaking her head to clear away the water. She gasped, moisture dripping from her face as she tread the water. "You...you...little...weasel!"

That was what set me off, unable to hold it in any longer. I roared with laughter, clutching my sides in a vain attempt to stay upright. Failing miserably, I dropped to my knees, only to laugh harder when I saw the pout on Bella's face.

I blame the fact that I was shaking uncontrollably as the reason why I didn't notice her move. Grabbing the wooden pole holding up the boardwalk, she pulled and catapulted herself upwards until she was right next to me. I shrieked and tried to move, but she was faster. She caught my arm and braced her feet on the edge of the wooden ledge. She gave me a wicked grin before pushing off and sending us both into the air.

We were suspended in mid-air for a few moments, the air whistling past us before we crashed into the waves. Water covered me as I went under, seeping into my clothes and soaking my hair. I was upside down, so I twisted and kicked upwards, breaking the surface with a gasp for unneeded oxygen. The sweet sound of Bella's laughter filled the night. I spun, staring directly into her face, only about a foot away. "Not so funny now, is it?"

I mock-scowled at her and said, "That wasn't nice", before bringing my arm up and sending a wave of water directly into her laughing face.

She saw this coming and right before it hit her, she dove under the surface. She was so fast. I didn't have time to react when I felt a blast of water hit me from below, almost sending me out of the water entirely. I flipped and landed right next to the wooden pole that Bella had used to pull herself up. Pressing my back against it, I surveyed the water, catching sight of a dark blur before Bella's head popped up right in front of me. She was still laughing and it was so infectious that I couldn't help but join her. The water was so deep that neither of us could touch the bottom, our heads tipped upwards to prevent the salty water from getting into our mouths.

"I love to swim. It's so...relaxing."She was smiling happily, thoroughly enjoying this little dip, which was the opposite of what I had wanted but I loved it just the same.

She wasn't the only one who loved to swim. My family had spent a few years in a port town and our house was right beside the sea. I spent so much time out there that they built a dock just so they could spend time with me.

I was about to reply, when the full moon came out from behind a cloud and struck the water around us. I heard Bella's breath catch, a small sound that I wouldn't have noticed had I been human. The moon light shone on the small waves surrounding us and caused tiny lights to dance on Bella's face, highlighting her beautiful features to new heights. Her hair was slicked back by the water that was still dripping down her skin. I watched a drop slide down over her lips, her tongue darting out of its own accord to swipe it away.

It was then that I noticed how close we were, our faces only inches apart. Bella's gaze flickered down towards my lips and I heard her gulp slightly as her breathing quickened. She leaned forwards slightly, moving slowly to give me time to move away. The closer she came, the stronger her scent was and I breathed deeply, fighting the urge to close my eyes and moan. It was a heavenly scent, light and airy, yet somehow...exotic.

She stared intensely into my eyes, never breaking contact until I felt her astonishingly warm lips on mine. She hesitated slightly, still unsure of my reaction. My eyes drifted shut and I pressed into her, moving my lips against hers. It took only a moment for her to respond and soon she matched my pace, our lips moving in sync. The kiss was soft and sweet, both of us still new to the sensation. She tasted amazing, as though her beautiful scent had been compounded. Her lips were soft and smooth, like the most expensive of silks and I couldn't think about anything other than the fact that Isabella Van Allen was kissing me.

I don't know how long we kissed for; it could have been moments or minutes, neither of us wanting to break the contact, but eventually we did. We separated, breathing heavily. I opened my eyes slowly, sluggishly and looked at Bella again, taking in her features, wanting to preserve this moment somehow.

She had a silly grin on her face; something that I'm sure was also present on mine. Her heart, usually moving at an incredibly slow pace, had sped up to normal human levels and she had to try twice to make words come. "I've wanted to do that for a while now."

I was still a little lightheaded and my emotions were all over the place. The ramifications of this moment only beginning to hit me. This was something that I had been hoping for but never really expected. "Likewise," I gasped.

The wind had picked up, causing the waves to become more powerful. They buffeted us slightly, throwing up small splashes against our faces. I was so caught up in the moment that it took me a few seconds to notice that the water surrounding Bella and I was no longer freezing, but actually quite warm. For me, the freezing water hadn't really been cold, but now it was above human temperature. I moved my hand forward and noticed that the closer it got to Bella, the warmer it got. Her body heat was higher than usual and was causing the water to heat up.

She noticed what I was doing and smiled sheepishly. The heat coming from her quickly dissipated. "Sorry, that...happens sometimes."

"I don't mind. It was actually kinda nice," I said, fighting the urge to lean in and kiss her again while at the same time, wanting to give in to it.

The moonlight glinted off of something silver and Bella's eyes snapped towards it. She raised her right arm from where it had been treading the water and glanced at the silver watch on her wrist. Once her hand was out of the water, I glimpsed the beautiful silver ring that she was always wearing, the dark blue stone almost glowing.

She sighed, grin slipping off her face. "We should be heading back. It's getting late."Her voice screamed reluctance and it caused me to smile slightly.

I nodded my agreement, not pleased that I'd have to leave Bella soon.

Just like the last time, Bella grabbed the post, waiting for me to move out of the way before pulling herself into the air. The movement accentuated her toned athletic physique. She was by no means a body builder, but she did have defined muscles, like that of a swimmer. Those muscles flexed and relaxed as she jumped upwards, shooting through the air before she landed in a graceful crouch on the wooden planks eight feet above. She looked down at me and stretched out a hand. Copying her example, I took a hold of the post and pulled upward, my nails digging into the wood. I was propelled up towards her and I grabbed her hand when I reached it. She pulled me onto the boardwalk and we began our walk back, falling into step beside each other, clothes still soaked and dripping a trail of water after us.

We were both silent on the way back to the centre of town, neither of us wanting to break the comfortable silence, lost in our own thoughts. My hand was still in Bella's and she was still exuding that strange heat. As a vampire, I was always slightly cold, no matter what source of heat I was near, but with Bella's hand around my own, that heat coming from her warmed me more than anything else ever had. Smiling at the sensation, I shifted closer to her. She looked down at me, eyes glinting as she released my hand and put her arm around me, pulling me into her side. I rested my head on her shoulder, utterly content.

As soon as we reached the city centre, I hailed a cab, waiting patiently until one pulled up beside us. The cab driver eyed us, taking in our soaked clothes. "Yer not gettin' in like tha'." I pulled out a wad of cash, handing him the bills and looking him in the eye.

"That should cover the cost of cleaning and our fare."

He stared at the bills, and then smiled at me. "Where to?"

"Forks."

He nodded and we hopped in the back, Bella giving me a look. "You have to let me pay for my half."

I laughed. "Oh, hell no." I could see that she was about to protest, so I quickly continued. "It was my fault that we got wet, so I'm paying. Challenge me if you dare." I gave her my best glare. She seemed more amused than anything, but she didn't press the issue, still looking a bit dazed. I could relate.

The ride back was silent, both of us just content to be in each other's company. Bella's scent was still having that strange effect on me. Despite the fact that I was in a car with a human for an extended period of time, I felt no burn in the back of my throat, no urge to sink my teeth into his neck and drink his lifeblood. I sighed happily and leaned into her.

For the first time in my life, I wanted someone to obey the speed limit and drive slowly. As soon as the car stopped, I would have to get out and leave Bella. To make matters worse, it was going to be sunny for the next week and my family and I were going to a more populated animal reserve out of town, so I wouldn't be able to see Bella at school.

I honestly couldn't believe that this was happening. I kept replaying that kiss in my mind and it astounded me that Bella was interested in me in that way. Never in my life had I been so excited about something. It was taking everything in me to not bounce up and down in my seat like a rabbit on crack.

The journey took a long time, but not long enough. After directing him to my house, which was closer than Bella's, he parked the cab and waited for me to get out.

I looked back at Bella, seeing that she was just as reluctant for me to leave as I was to leave. I sighed. "My family and I are going out of town for the next few days, so I won't be able to see you until next Monday." It was almost painful for me to say it and I could see that Bella felt the same way. She obviously understood why I had to leave for a few days, the sun preventing me from going to school.

I gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, mindful of the cabdriver and got out of the car. I turned to watch it go, but it stopped after only a few yards.

Bella jumped out and walked over to me.

I raised an eyebrow curiously when she reached me. She took a deep breath and faced me. "Um, Alice, I was just wondering if you'd like to maybe...do something this Friday. Maybe a movie or something. If you're free that is." Her words were quiet and she cleared her throat nervously before glancing up at me from under her lashes.

I grinned. Bella had asked me on a date. She wanted this to go somewhere. It wasn't just an in-the-moment kiss that she would realise was a mistake when she went home. I paused for a moment, composing myself lest I jump on her in my excitement. "I'd love to."

She blew out a breath in relief. The next kiss that I gave her was a little less chaste than the last one, but she didn't seem to mind. She did cast a few glances at my house afterwards, fully aware that my family could hear us.

"Great. I'll, um, call your house to arrange it, seeing as neither of us has phones for the moment." It was true; both of our phones had met a watery end tonight.

"See you Friday."

She nodded, smiling at me again before jogging back to the cab and getting in.

I stood in the driveway, watching as it disappeared around the bend and waiting until I could no longer hear the sound of its engine.

Still smiling, I turned around, coming face to face with my entire family.

A/N: Longest chapter ever! Again, sorry for the wait, but I hope the extra length made up for it.

I wasn't sure if I could pull off the first kiss, seeing as it's such an important moment. Tell me what you thought about it and any suggestions that you might have, I'd love to hear them.

R&R.