A big thanks to everyone who reviewed or added this story to their favourites, I love you guys!

And just to clear things up: Bella and Alice are eleven and twelve in chapter three and chapter four. ;)

Four

The UnBellable Lightness of Being

As Isabella Swan opened her eyes the next morning, the first sight she registered was one most would covet and love to wake up to. The serene face of her beloved, still fast asleep.

Her light, brown eyes slowly studied the beautiful sight in front of her. Some strands of hair were barely covering her forehead, the skin light as porcelain and free of flaws. Her eyelashes long, thick and black, like any girl would wish for. Behind those eyelids lay the most beautiful gray eyes Isabella had ever known of. She had the finest defined cheekbones and a cute, sharp nose. Saving the best for last, she finally rested her eyes upon the rosy lips of her friend. How soft they looked.. Inviting even.

Isabella sighed before closing her eyes and just revelling in the warmth of their bed and the closeness of Alice. With nothing to distract her, the thoughts of her past found the moment appropriate enough to invite themselves up to the surface. She unwillingly felt herself going back to that one night, the last night she felt her mother hug her so tightly, so very tightly as if she never wanted to let go again. She remembered her eyes, filled with tears, regret and pain but still a bit glazy after all the drinks she'd had back at home.

Perhaps that was where her courage came from..

See, as far as Isabella could remember, her mother had never been very brave. Spiders scared her to death, heights made her uneasy and darkness made her paranoid, just to name a few. When she was under influence though, none of those things seemed to matter anymore. She'd take walks in the dark, climb up hills and walk through forests that kept the scariest of scary bugs in Isabella's book.

The thing was, Renee wasn't scared at all.. She just looked tired, so tired.. Isabella had never seen her so tired, not even after walking all the way to town to dispose of their garbage, which mostly consisted of heavy, glass bottles.

Isabella knew what had taken the life out of Renee though. She had. She was the only one with Renee, all day long. The only one her mother spent time with. On top of that, during the time they spent together Renee had to be taking care of Isabella constantly. She wasn't the perfect child though, far from it even.. She was quiet, shy, quite boring even. Renee had always been passionate about hobbies, she had so many of them. She tried to inspire Isabella into finding something too, but Isabella was never good at any of the things they tried. Every single time she failed at something, she could see the disappointment in the eyes of her mother. Eventually she just gave up and spent less and less time with Isabella and all the more with her favourite healing liquid.

She remembered her mothers' tear on her cheek, she could still feel it haunting over her skin. Renee had been so sweet to her before she'd gone, so much sweeter than Isabella deserved..

She felt soft fingertips stroking her face, putting a lost stray of mahogany hair behind her ear before returning to her face to tenderly stroke away her tears. She could feel her entire body heat up at the touch.

She opened up her eyes to find a pair of gray ones gazing at her sadly.

"Bella, you were crying.." She wasn't even hiding the pain, and as Isabella heard her voice breaking at the last word, so did Bella's heart.

It broke for her mother, whose blood was on her hands. Her father, who was left all alone because of her. But most of all, for herself, since she had been doomed to a life of misery.

Alice must've been her punishment, she thought. She was always there, always so close to Isabella, but the knowledge that she'd never be hers killed her. It tortured her. Every touch was a blessing and a curse, making her feel so alive yet making her aware of how lifeless she really was.

She closed her eyes again, knowing she could do nothing to stop the tears from coming.

Alice embraced her then, softly stroking her hair and back, knowing she'd never get an explanation for Bella's sudden breakdown.

And Bella let her, closing her eyes in defeat since sleep was her only getaway.

When Isabella opened up her eyes again, she was greeted with a lone spot on the side where Alice slept. She sighed softly before deciding it would be best to get out of this bed, what good would it do her to waste the rest of her day pondering about the unfortunate event of her life.

As she sat on the side of the bed, she saw the curtains covering the door to the balcony dancing along with the wind blowing inside. Alice must've gone outside she assumed.

She moved towards the balcony, cautiously, as if she were approaching a frightened kitten and didn't want to scare the poor thing off. Once she was able to look through the curtains, she could make out the frail figure of Alice, leaning on the marble. The sun was shining brightly yet Isabella could see the sadness Alice seemed to be radiating. She noticed it in her stance, the way she carried herself.

Slowly she approached her friend and filled the empty space next to her.

"Alice, I'm sorry about before.."

"I'm not, Bella. I'm happy that you've showed me a part of yourself.. Sometimes when I see you're upset and you won't talk to me, I feel like there's this huge distance between us, and it scares me."

"You're in the same room, just a million miles away." Isabella thought sadly, the feeling being well familiar to her.

"I know the feeling." She simply stated, looking up to face Alice.

"Why won't you talk to me?" The desperation in her voice started to show, she just didn't care to hide it anymore.

"Do you trust me Alice?"

"Of course I do."

"Then trust me when I say I'll tell you everything, just not now."

Alice sighed deeply, before turning her gaze to face the view from the balcony. It was such a beautiful day after all..

With a loud thud, Isabella closed the book she'd been reading and stared ahead of her in silent contemplation, her expression awfully serious. She had been lying on the leather sofa for what felt like days, just reading, and she felt the need to just do something.

She got up from the couch, deciding that a long walk would be a nice enough way to kill some time. Her gray skirt reached just under her knees and her thin, silk blouse was hanging loosely around her thin frame. She pulled on a pair of black boots, giving her rather girly outfit a tough edge to it. Her brown locks cascaded down her shoulders, shining radiantly with health.

Just as she reached the mahogany door and put her hand on the silver knob, she heard Alice behind her.

"Where exactly does Miss Swan think she's going?" Bella could hear the sly smile in the voice of the girl casually leaning on the doorframe behind her.

"Just out for a walk.. I wish someone would come along to join me on this adventurous and rather dangerous trip so I could chat away without being looked at as a loon for talking to myself, whoever could be as nice to offer?" She countered with an innocent smile of her own.

"Why, I could never let such a young, pretty girl put herself into the dangerous claws of small town gossip just like that! I'll come along then, if that's alright with you?" The effort into making that sound as southern as possible was received well Alice thought, as Bella broke into a laugh after that.

"Yes, yes it's okay with me, go put on your shoes."

"Alright, I'll be back in a second!"

And Alice was quite literally back in a second, boots in hands and a bright smile on her face.

She was wearing black stockings with a cute black dress that accentuated her small waist. She brought a pair of gray leather boots with a fur collar around the ankles.

"I'm impressed, ready to go?" It wasn't really a question, since Bella had already opened the door while talking, seemingly anxious to get out of the house.

Truth was, she really didn't feel like spending more time in the same building as the other Brandons, no matter how enormous that building might be.

As they were walking down the porch together, Alice linked her arm with the one of the girl next to her and started humming happily.

Bella couldn't suppress her grin at that, Alice just had this air of happiness she carried along and infected others with.

As they finally reached the main road, they unconsciously followed the road towards the beach as opposite to the road leading towards the forest.

Bella was happily strolling down the beach with Alice by her side, silently looking out at the ocean. They were the only ones occupying the beach, since most people out in the Hamptons had gone off to parties, dinner or some other social activity, as was the norm for the New York society.

She thought she could see a yacht far out in the water, just as she squinted her eyes to see clearer, she tripped over something and the next moment she was lying flat in the sand. It took her a fraction of a second to realize that her sly little friend had tripped her. She looked up to see Alice running away laughing, that little fox.

Isabella kicked off her shoes and went after her, quickly gaining on her since her longer legs carried her faster. Whenever Alice got this excited she knew she'd collapse and turn into a pile of laughter and giggles sooner or later and experience proved that it was often sooner.

As she finally reached Alice she jumped on her back, earning her a loud pitched yell before they both landed in the sand with a thud. Alice flat on her stomach with Isabella sitting on her back, keeping her wrists pinned next to her shoulders.

"Why, what do I have here?" Bella asked teasingly as Alice squirmed underneath her, trying to get out of Bella's death grip to no avail.

"Your best friend?" Alice tried, doing her best to look all big-eyed and innocent, but since she wasn't able to turn her head enough, she knew Bella wouldn't see it. Which was a great disadvantage for her. She knew Bella would give once she saw the puppy dog face Alice had been practicing on for a long time to use in situations like the one she was facing now.

"Mmm, unfortunately that doesn't quite cut it, you better give me something convincing Brandon." Alice could hear the grin in her voice.

"Your best friend, who is dying a slow, painful death beneath you, which you really don't want to happen, since she is awfully sorry for letting you trip. If I die now you'll be wracked with guilt forever, and being the good, caring person I am, I wouldn't want that for you. So really, it's in your best interest when I tell you; you should really let me go?"

Bella's smile faltered immediately at hearing those words. She sat there stunned, mulling over what Alice just said. How close it hit home, since she was already wracked with guilt over her mothers' death, which she caused.

She quickly recovered though, getting off of Alice as she took her spot sitting in the sand next to her.

"I'll let you go, but I might not be so forgiving next time." The smile on her lips didn't quite meet her eyes.

Alice sighed deeply while standing up, making sure to act as dramatic as possible as she wiped the sand off her dress before taking her seat next to Bella in the sand.

The sun was slowly making its departure, granting New York with a beautiful orange glow in the sky that faded into different shades of red, orange and pink. Besides the sky, the ocean got its' fair share of attention as well, reflecting the bright colours with sparks to add to the magic. It almost seemed as though there were countless diamonds spread out over the water, for Isabella, it was the most peaceful sight she could imagine.

No words were spoken, not even when Alice rested her head on Isabella's shoulder and linked their arms while cuddling up closer to her. The warmth Isabella felt tingling through her skin in all the places Alice was leaning on her, combined with the magnificent sight of a New York sunset and the privacy they had on the beach, made her feel as though the happiness she carried could lift her and carry her through the sky to her own cloud nine.

She looked down to see Alice staring dreamily at the sunset ahead of them, looking utterly content. Right at that moment, she couldn't think of any other place she'd rather be.

Shortly after the sun had made her grand depart, both the girls had hurried back to the Mansion, knowing fully well they weren't allowed to be outside alone after dark. Bella went inside first, silently creeping through the hall to make sure no one had taken note of their absence. The halls were lifeless, void of movement or sound, which meant the coast was clear. She motioned for Alice to come inside.

Just as Alice stepped inside the hall, she seemed startled by something and froze in her tracks. As she was standing there, Isabella suddenly noticed her short black hair looked as though it had panicked and tried to get away, which only made it look messy and disarrayed. Her big, gray eyes looked panicked and her naturally red lips were slightly apart. A slight blush crept up her cheeks and Isabella couldn't help but stare at the sight.

"Do you hear that?" Alice whispered. Making Isabella present of her surroundings once again. Whenever she got distracted she just forgot all about the world around her it seemed.

As she focused on listening if she could hear anything, a deep frown formed on her forehead.

"Well frankly, I don't feel like we're married at all lately. I don't even feel like I know you anymore!"

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm always home, you're the one who's never around!"

"I don't have much reason to stick around. What do you expect me to do, sit in your study and listen to you reading stories all day? I'm not your child you know, I have better things to do."

"And none of those involve me then?" The desperation in Marcus' voice was starting to get visible.

"Honestly.. I'm not sure anymore lately."

"Is that it then? You've just decided you've had enough of me like that?"

"Marcus, don't be like this, you know bloody well that I never meant for this! I never meant to feel this way, I liked the way we were, I never asked for this to happen."

"For what to happen exactly?"

It seemed Loïs didn't have an answer for that, since she went silent for a moment before tiredly replying;

"Never mind, I can't deal with this right now. I'm going to bed."

The conversation was all too familiar for Isabella, since it wasn't the first parental fight she had witnessed. Was she never to be granted a break? It seemed as though misery had decided to follow her like an annoying, insistent bee, unwilling to give up until he had stung her often enough to make the kill.

"Let's go upstairs." Alice said flatly.

Isabella caught a quick glimpse of her teary eyes before Alice silently climbed the stairways and followed after her friend quickly.

When she reached their bedroom, Alice was sitting on her side of the bed, clutching her pillow tight to her chest. She looked so forlorn, it broke Bella's heart to see her friend like this.

Bella sat next to her, letting her arm rest on her shoulders, pulling her into her side.

"Alice, don't worry. Adults have fights like that all the time, you don't have to be afraid." She was whispering, but she didn't know why. Perhaps whispering a lie lessened the guilt? What else could she do though, she didn't want to frighten Alice even more.

She stroked a tear away with her thumb before Alice lifted her eyes to face her.

"I'm just afraid.. If they leave.. I.." She couldn't finish the sentence, her big, gray eyes shining because of the wetness of her tears.

"I just.. I don't want to be left alone." She finally admitted, whispering the last part, before breaking out into tears again.

Bella just hugged her closer, resting her chin on top of her friends silky locks.

"You'll never be alone Alice, never, I'll make sure of that."

Her reassurance was of no use though, since the little heap of tears in her arms hadn't stopped crying. It was getting harder and harder for Isabella to hold her own tears in, it was killing her to see the person she loved most on this planet so hurt.

Then she suddenly thought of something. Renée used to sing to her to calm her down when she was sad, and it always comforted her. Perhaps.. ?

"If I sang I'd probably make her cry even harder.. I don't even know if I can! But I have to do something, I can't stand this any more. I hate seeing her cry.."

Deciding that she had to do something, Isabella started singing the one song she knew always worked when her mother used it on her.

"When the rain is blowing in your face

And the whole world is on your case

I could offer you a warm embrace

To make you feel my love"

Alice looked up at her, still sniffling, but looking more curious than sad. Isabella just stared back at her, too nervous to continue singing when Alice was looking at her like that.

"Don't stop.. That was beautiful." Alice whispered.

Isabella took a deep breath before continuing, her soft, feminine voice giving the words an intimate quality, yet there was still some sort of rawness to it.

"When the evening shadows and the stars appear

And there is no one there to dry your tears

I could hold you for a million years

To make you feel my love"

Isabella softly stroked Alice' cheek with the back of her long, slender fingers while singing.

"The storms are raging on the rolling sea

And on the highway of regret

Though winds of change

Are throwing wild and free

You haven't seen nothing like me yet"

As Isabella dropped her hand to the bed, Alice grabbed hold of it. Clutching it firmly in her own, making Isabella's voice tremble just the slightest bit at the final part.

"I could make you happy

Make your dreams come true

Nothing that I wouldn't do

Go to the ends of the Earth for you

To make you feel my love"

The whole room went silent at that. The soft whistle of the wind could be heard and even the ruffling of the leaves on the branches of the grand trees outside of their room. Alice could hear the faint thump of Bella's heart pounding in her ribcage.

Bella couldn't believe she had just done that, it was completely out of character for the timid girl, though she suspected she could've gone much further when it came to making her friend happy. Quite like she sang actually.

Alice looked at her hesitantly, before she started leaning forward, Bella closed her eyes. She could feel Alices' searing hot breath on her lips, spreading a fire throughout her entire body. For a moment, it felt like time stood still, as if the whole world had decided to hold its' breath in anticipation.

A pair of lips pressed against Bella's cheek, they were as soft as she had imagined, had dreamed even. She inhaled the sweet, aromatic scent of her friend. Right at that moment, she felt like all the pieces had come together. She didn't need anything more in life.

Just the feel of Alice was enough to live by.

As Alice pulled back again, the feel of her lips lingered on Bella's cheek. She opened her eyes to look into the gray eyes of Alice. She could make out slight specks of a darker shade of gray in her eyes. A slight smile crept onto her lips, and only a second later they were called down for dinner.

That night as they went to bed, both went to lie on their own sides. Isabella felt restless though, painfully aware of every movement or sound surrounding her. She could hear the breathing of the girl next to her, a howl coming from outside and a soft rustle coming from the curtains that were stirred by the soft breeze.

However, she didn't hear Alice moving closer, which made the slender arms that snaked around her waist make her gasp in surprise.

"I hope this is okay?" Alice whispered in her ear. The intimacy of the action made Bella shudder.

Isabella could feel an all familiar heat spread throughout her body before settling in her abdomen. Alice was pressed tightly against her from behind, one leg snaking between her own. She clasped her hands together, keeping Isabella in the circle of her arms.

"It's okay."

"Good."

Isabella sighed contently.

"I can't believe I ever thought I'd be able to stay away, I could never walk away from her."

And with that final thought, Isabella finally closed her eyes and drifted off to her own world, the one where no parents bothered her, the only weight on her shoulders was that of her brown locks and she spent her happily ever after with Alice.

That's it for chapter Four, anything you didn't like? Thoughts, complaints? Anything is welcome. ;)

PS. I'll update as fast as I can, but I'm writing the story as I go so I'm still playing with a lot of different ideas every chapter which is why it might take some time. XO