A/N: Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

WinterBallad, thanks for your review! It's appreciated and I'm glad you liked the story. I got this idea right after I'd finished writing a novel just for fun. I decided to go back to writing short stories for a while, so I was trying to think of a good idea with the other characters of Twilight. I'd already re-written the series using Edward and another character to replace Bella. I ended up coming up with this idea out of nowhere and after I get the idea and the first few pages down, I can write without too much of a problem. My boyfriend helps with ideas too. :)

Chapter Twelve: More

JPOV

I'd been walking all day now. I couldn't get past my anger towards my entire family.

We returned from campus apart. I didn't get home until after eleven. Immediately after I walked in the door, Edward jumped down my throat, claiming I was putting Lace in mindless, pointless danger.

He was right about it and that wasn't why I was angry. He said that he knew I would kill her in the end, then they would all have to move.

So I left. I turned around and left, ignoring Carlisle as he called my name.

It wasn't as if he'd stepped in to defend me!

I wasn't going to put up with that!

I sighed, leaning against the closest tree. I'd walked several miles at human speed already and the only time I stopped was to punch a tree as a way of venting my anger.

Some family! Why did they have so little faith in me? What had I done to make them doubt?

I had only been still for seconds when I heard Rosalie's distant steps coming towards me. They were distinct from her heels. She stopped when she was feet away, waited there. I glared down at the ground for several minutes, then looked up at her, ready to yell if she came to defend Edward, which seemed most likely to me.

I was tired of being polite!

Rose looked apologetic though. "Jasper, Edward didn't mean it that way. He's just being too protective--"

"Of what?" I demanded. "Alice is fine."

"Of MaRai and you!" Rose replied sharply.

I took a deep breath. "I was wrong to yell," I told her softly. She wasn't there to fight. I was wrong to take my anger out on her. "I'm sorry."

Rose offered a small smile that was somewhat comforting.

"Edward doesn't want you to deal with the guilt if something does happen. It's not as if we're perfect. He's slipped before, Jasper. We've moved around so much that we know it keeps getting harder when you're constantly challenged with new scents so soon. MaRai has only been with us for so long. She still struggles as much as you do, even if she hides it. Edward wasn't trying to cause a fight or to say he doesn't have faith in you."

"He knows what I think, Rosalie! He would know if I was tempted to kill her."

Rose stared at me until I looked away. "He did read your mind and all he heard was 'I'm going to kill her. I'm going to hurt her. She smell so good. What if I do kill her?' He had reason to be concerned!"

"That was when I first met her." I closed my eyes in anger. Rose was trying to play the peace maker. She wasn't usually the one to care about it. I shook my head. "You don't understand, Rose. I want to be alone for a while, please."

"I think I understand better than you think."

I looked to her again. I was doubtful. How could she understand? I crouched down, using my hands to balance myself even though it wasn't needed. "You don't know what she's like and I'm tired of having no control over my life, Rose. If I can't have a friend without fighting about it with my family, I just want to leave."

Rose sat on a rock close by. "We do want you to have friends, but--"

"But you still scowl at her like she's murdered someone," I interrupted furiously. Rosalie didn't reply then, so I waited. I had to find some way to make one person understand. She was there. I looked up at the sky. It was sunny outside the forest. I missed the sun more than I could describe.

I opened my mouth to speak, Alice's face in my mind. "Haven't you ever met one human that smelled so good, better than all the rest, but you cared so much or you saw something different in that person with a glance that it didn't bother you?" I asked in a whisper.

Rosalie nodded quickly. "Yes."

I let my head shoot up in surprise. "You have?"

She nodded again with a smile. "Emmett, when I found him," she replied. "I do understand, Jasper, but things can change. She's not dying like we were." Them, not we. My death began after the transformation. "She's not becoming one of us. I don't know if it's a good idea to befriend anyone like her. Not because she's human, just because she's not one of us."

"It's too late to question that. She's helped me more than anyone else, more than I can describe."

Rosalie studied me, meeting my eyes. She waited out the minutes, then she turned. "Then don't let us stop you, Jasper. But it's almost six. You should hunt and get ready."

I watched her smile before she raced ahead of me toward the scent of a herd of deer. I waited, still shocked. My anger was gone. Rosalie was the one I least expected to come, but she had helped and I did need to hunt. I would be close to Alice again in just over an hour.

So I hunted, and my throat's burn faded some for only a time. I ran the way back home to clean up and change. Emmett was watching television and looked cautious when I came in jogging. Carlisle and Edward looked up from their chess game. I didn't bother replying to any of the gestures. I darted upstairs for a quick shower and to change into the suit Alice had bought me. With a white shirt and a loose black tie, I ran downstairs again, shoes in hand.

Esme stopped me to straighten my tie. "I'm going to be late," I told her impatiently. And I still have to stop by your garden to get Alice some flowers, I added silently. Esme could scold me for it later as long as I was on time to pick up Alice.

"Have fun," Esme called after me.

"Safe sex!" Emmett yelled around his laughter.

I slipped on my boots as I was walking, balancing on one foot as I went. I backed my car out of the garage, stopping to lean out and pick three roses from the garden, the best and I picked off the thorns as I drove my Jaguar full speed down the road.

Attacking Alice was not in my plans for the night, neither was sex.

I wanted to learn more about her. It was that simple.

I arrived fifteen minutes early, but I still ran up to Alice's apartment and knocked. Brit opened it, dressed in a blue silk dress with her hair pinned up in a pile on top of her head. "Hey, Lace babes--" I heard Alice laugh, which told me the nickname had some inside joke to it. "--Your date is here." Brit smiled in a mischievous way and that told me that there had been some whispers and gossip at least. Some could mean any amount though.

"What? What time is it? Damn. Uh, let him in," Lace said, and I could hear the panicked tone around an obvious smile. I followed the sound of her voice to the bathroom. She had Amber on the toilet, curling her hair. Amber saw me first and smiled with the same look Brittany had moments earlier.

I glanced at my watch, pressing a finger to my lips. Alice was unaware of my presence behind her. "It's 6:48PM," I said.

Alice spun around. "Oh, god!" she exclaimed in fright, then she grinned up at me. It was a fast recovery, faster than I had expected! "You look great. Hey, I'll be ready in like five minutes, okay? I have to curl her hair and go change."

I glanced down at her torn jeans and tank top, then nodded. Personally, I believed she looked fine. Even the hair clips in her mouth were endearing. "Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked, fingering my keys. I'd left her roses out in the car!

"No, no, just relax." She turned back to Amber and released the last curl from the iron, then pinned three strands back on each side.

"Relax," I breathed out. I doubted it was as simple as just that. I went to sit down on the couch with some hesitance. Alice ran out of the bathroom and into her room. I waited, listening to her mumble things under her breath as she changed. The door was open and I could hear everything she did or said. She took only a few minutes, but she emerged in a beautiful, vibrant red dress with a light gray leather zip up jacket over her arm. Her shoes were simple stilettos that looked horribly uncomfortable to me. Her toenails were painted a red that matched her dress.

She looked stunning! Cheerful and beautiful.

I jumped to my feet. She moved forward to greet me properly. She had to tiptoe to be tall enough to just barely peck my cheek. I put my hand in the small of her back. She grabbed a clutch purse off the counter and led the way towards the front door. Without looking, she caught my hand in hers. I opened the door for her, wishing I hadn't been so shocked or I would have responded to her touch.

She smiled at me. "Thanks."

"You look impeccable," I told her as we walked down the hall, her room mates watching the whole way and whispering. It felt awkward without Amber and Brittany there. It was one of the most honest things I had ever said before, but it surprised me that I said it. I kept my hand a few inches away from her back as I guided her towards the elevator door.

"You too," she replied.

"Sorry if I came too early."

"No, I like when a date is early actually," she said.

I smiled, letting her go in the elevator ahead of me. I came close to tapping my foot in impatience as we were carried down to the lobby. We were too quiet. I cleared my throat and Alice slipped into her jacket. The wide collar came down around her collar bone and it zipped slightly to the left, the zipper hidden by another piece of leather, slightly lighter than the rest of the jacket. The combination of color brought out her eyes...

"Something on your mind?" she asked suddenly.

I nodded. "I don't get it."

She looked up. "Sorry?"

I smiled at her tone. "You're so easy to talk to. I understand that in a way, but we're almost strangers. I don't know why it's so unquestioned I suppose."

"Because it feels right," she replied. I nodded during her pause--nothing had ever felt so right before. "We're more alike than you think too. We're both searching, we're both different from other people, we both have had family problems, neither of us have a lot of close friends, and the list does go on, Jasper. I can continue if you need more evidence." Evidence? Those were examples, but arguing would have been pointless because she would have won anyway.

"We're not as alike as you think, Alice," I retorted softly.

Alice looked at me in disbelief. "Prove it," she commanded, and she stepped out of the elevator.

My whole body froze in surprise, then I just barely slipped out of the elevator before the doors closed. I ran to catch up with Alice. She glanced at me when I fell into step next to her. She leaned back into my car once we made it outside. "Can't you just accept the positive?" she inquired.

"It's not so easy."

"Quite the pessimist, aren't we?"

"Only because you're the optimist of the world."

Alice smiled, showing her dimples. "If you say so, but I suppose I would cancel out your pessimism then and we would be neutral, right?" she said with a shrug.

"If we're neutral, why are you glowering at me?"

"Because you frustrate me," she admitted with the exact same smile on her face. "You're... surreal and different, but both in a good way."

"I wouldn't call it good necessarily," I replied.

Alice glared at me more angrily then. I waited for her to back down, but she didn't. Her eyes got more and more fiery, demanding that I surrender and she meant it. I stared back at her, unrelenting to a certain point. Then she got even more angry. I raised my hands in surrender, damning my pride completely. "All right! All right!" I exclaimed. "Fine, I will open my mind to optimism and I won't cancel out the cheerfulness anymore."

Alice laughed. "That wasn't my goal, but it is better. Thank you. Can we just start over from the first step and wing it without all the confusion?"

I paused, then nodded. "Of course." I grinned. "I'm Jasper Whitlock of the Texas Hales, owner of the West Oaks estate in Montgomery. Who might you be, fair maiden?"

Alice giggled, turning away as a car horn was honked. She shook her head in amusement, shock, all other things I couldn't read. "Alice Brecht of Los Angeles. I own no estate, but I own a truck."

"Really? And what's its name?" I shocked myself then! I hadn't joked around like that in ages or played at all.

"Um... Gregory."

I cringed, looking away. That was the first time I'd felt any form of jealousy in forever, and it was just a dumb truck. Why had she named it a boy's name though? A boy's name wouldn't do! I leaned forward to whisper my suggestion. "I think it's name is Rebbecca," I corrected, and Alice bobbed her head in a more serious manner, if it was coated with sarcasm. I couldn't read her eyes. Amusement was there, but she looked more thoughtful now. Perhaps my renaming the truck a female's name was too much? It'd been too long since I'd gone on a date, and this was my best friend. Everything was different.

"Oh, okay, her name is Rebbecca then."

"It's nice to meet you, Alice Brecht of Los Angeles with the truck named Rebbecca," I said, holding out my hand to shake hers.

She eyed me suspiciously for a few moments. A game was a game and she understood that all too well apparently. She slipped her hand into mine then, and I kissed it softly, bowing my head. She laughed again, clearly as uncertain as she was amazed. Surely she couldn't be feeling what I did at that moment, but her heart was pounding harder than ever before. She swallowed. "It's nice to meet you also, Mr. Whitlock," she replied, adding a Scarlet O'Hara-like Georgian accent. It sounded real and she used the same manners as the girls I would have danced with and escorted to balls ages ago. She made me uncomfortable suddenly, and I smiled down at her.

"Shall I help you into the horse carriage?" I offered, trying to back my way out of the heart-pounding situation. But I still wanted to see how far she would let me go before she gave up encouraging me. Childish as it was, I was enjoying myself.

"Five hundred and ten is a lot of horses," she pointed out while I opened her door. So she knew quite a bit about cars! She knew enough to know the exact horsepower of my car. She never ceased to amaze me, but I nodded--it was a fair amount.

"I'm a good horseman," I replied.

"Good, I wouldn't want to get trampled by a full herd of horses pulling one carriage," she muttered softly and thoughtfully, staring at me.

I grinned as I got in next to her and started my engine. The sound with Alice's presence was relaxing! I handed her the roses casually as I whipped my car into reverse and swerved around the cars parked around me. She only smiled in what appeared to be a shy manner. She smiled them, running her finger over a place where a thorn had once been.

"Where did your estate get its name?" she asked, glancing at my speedometer as my speed continued to climb.

"There's four oak trees on the west side of where the house was at once. They're probably dead by now,, but they were the most beautiful treas I'd ever seen. My father chose our land by those four trees," I explained. Alice quite obviously saw the pattern of how my mood changed when she spoke of my past or when I brought up my family.

It was a continuous mistake on my part.

"Mm," she whispered, looking down at the roses again. "These are beautiful. I love roses."

I smiled. She was trying to find a good subject we could both discuss. I accelerated my car more, cut into oncoming traffic and out again to get around a car. "They're from Esme's garden," I admitted, slightly embarrassed that I didn't think to buy some. None were as beautiful as Esme's though. She took good care of them well into the year until they would die soon, then she made beautiful displays for the tables around the house. They were my first choice if I had to bring this girl a bouquet. "I'll have to apologize later. I was running late and didn't have time to stop and buy some," I explained with a grin.

"You didn't have to bring me anything."

"I wanted to, Alice. You're my best friend already. I wanted to tell you how much you mean to me. I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the fact that you agreed to come. It means a lot to me."

"Stop thanking me because I wanted to come also," she told me with a perfectly sweet smile. She turned sideways a bit to face me. "Did you ever listen to those songs I told you about?" Finally! A topic that could truly catch on. I had quite a bit to say and I was ready with all the comments in the world.

"A Praise Chorus" by Jimmy Eat World was exactly the kind of song that reminded me of Alice. Cheerful and upbeat. It made sense that it was one of her favorites.

"Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse wasn't like the other songs she told me about. To me, it wasn't quite so appealing because the song seemed so complicated to me. I'd still listened to it more than enough times for a human to memorize all the lyrics though.

"Little House" by The Fray did not remind me of Alice, but it made sense also. The line "something is scratching its way out, something you want to forget about" reminded me of the story she told me about being locked away in the psychiatric hospital. No one expected her to get away and she was alone. Yes, the song did make sense. I explained that it angered me that there was a line that mentioned suicide. I hated that there was pain in the song. If Alice said the song described her, she was in pain too.

At least that was my interpretation, and Alice didn't argue with it.

Then there was "Animal I Have Become" by Three Days Grace to describe me. It was more metal than rock in my limited experience with music, but she hit the bulls eye with it. I couldn't escape the hell I lived in and it was a hell, yet I continued to try. I was caged inside. I was begging someone to see what I was because no one could change it. I was pleading that they would make me believe it wasn't who I was as a person. I wanted to escape myself because I translated the monster into me as a person also now. I'd lied about my true nature so many times! I wanted them to tame the animal--instincts and all. Alice was the only one who could tame anything so far. There was that rage inside me, and it controlled some parts of me. It was a nightmare! Every part of me, every part of it, every part of us. We were part of a horror movie, and I was the only one asking for help through the bad dream. The animal remained strong. I felt out of control and I was in some ways. I did feel as if I had become an animal, and not just because of the things I had done. The animal was the darkest side of me. Alice saw it, but she tamed it and she didn't understand it...

How did Alice know all of this?

She'd put the thoughts in my head into the form of a song. No one could change it, just parts of being what I was.

I pulled up to the party after I finished describing my feelings about each song, and I'd slowed down quite a bit during the process. Alice listened to my babbling, smiling when the situation warranted it, nodding. I turned off my engine and looked to her. "I figured out why you're so easy to talk to," I announced.

"Why's that?" she pressed pleasantly.

"Because you listen." She looked confused and almost apologetic that she didn't understand my reply. "You listen to whatever I have to say, no matter how little sense it makes to you. You let me go on and on for however long about whatever I choose. You never ask me to explain certain things, despite the fact that they're the most confusing by far. It makes you very approachable and easy to talk to. You don't complicate the conversation," I explained.

Alice smiled, touching my hand gently. "I have a present for you too," she announced.

While it was extremely unexpected, I was also pleased. I watched her open her purse and pull out a CD. She handed the case to me. "It's a list of songs that I thought you would like," she told me. "There's a few that remind me of you or fit you well. I guess it's part of my duty to give you more than four songs to listen to, so there's fourteen more."

I leaned over to put the CD in my glove department. I then stepped out and ran to open her door. I offered her my hand to help her out. A cute smiled was all she gave as a thank you.

"What should we do first?" I asked her. "I'm no good at this party, ball stuff anymore."

"Anymore?" she repeated.

I shrugged. "I used to go to some. Not very often, but when there was time."

"Ah, I see. Um... Drinks, socialization, snacks, we could dance, walk, whatever you want. You have to decide though."

I put my arm around her waist so I wouldn't lose her in the crowd. We moved through it in silence. "Walk," I answered, and she nodded once with another smile. "So what makes a girl like you tick?"

"A girl like me?" she repeated.

"Someone with money, friends, good transportation, etc, etc," I listed, hoping my wording hadn't offended her.

Alice rolled her eyes at my worrying. "Well, nothing specific. I just go with the flow. I don't really have much of a choice in things anyway. Everything happens for a reason, even if we never see the reasoning behind it."

"All right. Do you have any hobbies I don't know about? Anything you want to tell me?" I just wanted more information, more ways to show her what she meant to me. She loved roses, so I would bring her flowers every Monday until I found out her favorite flower.

"Well, I like cars," she answered. "But you knew that from the five hundred ten horsepower thing to be sure." She flashed me a smile.

"Yes, I know. So you used the money in your trust fund to buy a truck," I said, an observation. I knew it was the truth before she nodded. She had wonderful taste in cars actually. The truck showed the tougher side of her, but the color was still feminine. She reminded me of Rosalie in that way. They would be friends if they could even talk for once without resentment on Rosalie's part. I wanted that. I needed someone who turly understood why I loved Alice so much.

"Any dream cars?" I inquired with interest. Cars was one of her hobbies; I wanted to know every detail of it. So I waited for her answer.

She gave a shy smile with a cringe also. That told me that tere was another car she had or wanted to have. "Well, I love all cars basically and I did my research when I was looking to buy one. I've always wanted a yellow Porsche 911 Turbo," she admitted, swinging her arms as an act of nerves. "But that's not going to happen. I'm not going to buy a second car right now. I have student loans and bills to pay. They're more important than another car."

"You have more than enough money in your trust fund," I pointed out, simply curious as to what her reply would be.

She nodded. "Yeah, well, Travis goes crazy with it. I don't need to spend all the money yet. Travis can have his Ferrari and town house, whatever he wants. I'm more than satisfied buying other people things anyway," she explained with another smile. She always smiled! I didn't know why I even noticed it anymore. It was so regular. "And I'm not exactly on good terms with my parents, and spending their money on myself seems like a way to buy my forgiveness to me. Everything runs out eventually, even money. I'm tired of being patient with them when they're not around."

She was beautiful and it was more and more true each time I saw her.

"Where do you get your generosity?" I wondered.

She looked at me with a small amount of confusion, then she shrugged. "I don't remember all my life. I lost a few years of memories when I was like seven through nine, but only select memories. I can't know if those are the best years of my life if I can't remember parts of it. When you're without something and with something else, I guess it makes sense to me to use what you do have," she said.

I fell silent then. We had our time with deeper conversations and now I knew more facts. I was still anxious for more. The more she told me, the more need to learn something new. I wanted more to think about as I spent Sunday and most of Monday without her. Cars wasn't enough for me. Pets, there was that, but so much more was waiting!

Hope you enjoyed! Please review. :)