For Sally who has been sending me on serious ego trips over the last few days ;)


"What?" Alice choked on unneeded air, freezing in the doorway with her pain actually disappearing in favour of pure, unadulterated shock tinged with rage that Bella, of all people, seemed to be jealous. "What is that supposed to mean?" Bella folded her arms, one of the warning signs of the girl's temper that Alice had learned long ago.

"I heard you. You and Jacob in the forest, confessing your feelings for each other." Bella's eyes burned with betrayal and Alice couldn't help the bitter laugh that bubbled in her chest. "Why are you laughing?"
"You're being hypocritical Sweetheart." Once the endearment left her lips her smile faded. Something had crossed the depths of Bella's eyes at the word. Something that looked terribly like the lust that was still smouldering in Alice's heart. The look on the human's face made the vampire want to sweep her into an embrace but she knew she couldn't, not knowing that Edward would be along any minute to reclaim his bride. It took all her concentration to stay rooted to the spot by the door.

"And you're being evasive Love." Bella leered down at her, moving closer. That was Edward's word. Edward's nickname not Alice's. Bella realised her mistake and reached out to take Alice's hand before the vampire could flee. She knew she could break her grip but she didn't dare move. "I'm sorry, I just…you and Jacob huh?" Bella tried a friendly smile but it just didn't reach her eyes.

"You spied on us." Alice murmured, part of her dead heart glad that Bella now knew a fraction of what she was putting Alice through, even if it wasn't true.

"Bell?" Jacob's voice cut through anything Bella could have said and Alice had never been so happy to hear him speak. "I think you can let go now." Both girls looked down at Alice's arm to see that Bella's hand was clenched tightly around the thin wrist and if the other girl had been human; she'd probably have broken the bone. Bella slowly released her grip and Alice gasped. Where Bella's hand had been there was a small crack in her marble flesh. Alice ran a delicate finger along the mark, eyebrows knitting together in confusion; Bella shouldn't have been break vampire skin. Only another vampire or a werewolf could do that, and then only with their teeth, or a lot of effort.

"Oh God, I am so sorry." Bella reached out for Alice but the vampire pulled away, just out of reach with one hand covering the break and Jacob's hand resting on her shoulder in a silent show of support. "I didn't mean to hurt you." Alice squashed the laughter that bubbled in her chest.

"You never do." She whispered instead knowing that if she could cry she would be sobbing uncontrollably right now. Tears were welling up in Bella's eyes however and Alice hated herself for being the one to put them there. She brushed Jacob's hand from her shoulder and caught the first of Bella's tears on her finger as it fell. "Don't cry. It's your engagement party; you should be happy, inside and dancing with Edward. Let him lead so you don't fall and ruin your dress." She cracked a half smile, hoping that Bella wouldn't see it for what it was. A lie. The human sniffled and the vampire wiped the rest of her tears away, the warmth racing from her hand to her heart and thawing the ice that had reigned there for three weeks.

"Ok. Save the last dance?" Bella raised her head to look into Alice's still darkened eyes and forced a thin smile. Alice tried not to flinch away from the searching look, finally realising her traitorous hand was still caressing a warm cheek and returning it to her side.

"Don't." Alice whispered barely loud enough for the human to hear. It would be torture to be so close to something she could not have. Bella nodded to herself and brushed past her ex-lover and her best friend to find her fiancé. The vampire sighed and seemed to shrink into herself, the last of her courage used up. Jacob pulled her to his chest, cradling her small frame while she gulped mouthfuls of air as if she'd been drowning. In reality she had been. But instead of water there had only been Bella's scent.
"You'll be ok. I promise." He murmured as the vampire pulled away.

"I thought I was supposed to be the one with the visions." She smiled weakly, the sick feeling had settled back into her stomach but somehow less than before.

"How do you know you're the only one?" Alice now knew why Bella had turned to Jacob when Edward left her; he was good for the soul. She gave a dry chuckle as they watched the happy couple dance through the Cullen's living room.

"I realised something over the last few weeks." Jacob made a questioning noise in his throat. "I don't know anywhere near as much as I thought I did. But I do know that you can't see the future." They laughed softly together, neither seeing the glance Bella shot them from across the room.

/

Alice returned to school the next day feeling a little lighter and sitting beside Mike Newton she found she could breath without hurting. "It's good to see you back again." The human boy had smiled as she sat down, it was a genuine smile and she returned it. She doodled random patterns on the top sheet of her notepad and he talked while they waited for the teacher to arrive. "Bella hi." Mike's voice was suddenly uncertain and Alice froze as Bella and Edward took the desk beside hers and Mike's. She took a deep breath and forced herself back to her drawing, the lines becoming more deliberate as she began to draw Mike.

Mr Hawkins finally entered the room, pushing a TV on a trolley in front of him. The class descended into hushed chatter as he set it up but Alice only continued to draw. Once she'd finished, she passed it to Mike who smiled brightly and thanked her. She grinned.
As the lights flickered out and the starting credits for 'Hamlet' began Alice placed her notebook into her bag and settled her head onto the desk, trying to lose herself in the various Shakespearean murders and suicide. While old King Hamlet's ghost appeared before his son however, from the corner of her eye, she saw Bella lean into Edward, her face buried in his chest. Edward dropped a kiss onto the girl's temple in comfort. By the time Ophelia was drowned, her skirts floating around her corpse Alice had witnessed many such affections and she'd taken as much as she could.

Swiftly and with all the grace of a gazelle fleeing a lion she ran from the classroom, never stopping until she reached the relatively safety of the girl's bathroom. Alice leaned on the sink and splashed cold water across her face until she could no longer feel it. Her normally steady hands were shaking and she clenched them into tight fists in a vain attempt to stop them.

The door opened again but Alice didn't move to see who had followed her, the intoxicating scent was enough. "Alice. Are you ok?" Bella's voice trembled with worry and Alice was grateful that she stayed back, remembering the recently healed crack in her wrist.

"I think I had some bad blood." She muttered, watching the tap spew water into the sink and across her still shaking hands. "I'll be fine."
"You haven't hunted. Edward said so." Alice cringed, caught in her lie. Bella took a step closer and placed a hand on the smaller girl's arm. "You're shaking." The vampire shook her off.

"I'm fine."
"Damn it Alice you are not fine! Don't lie to me!" Alice quirked an eyebrow, twice in as many days the human had resorted to yelling at her but she had never heard the girl swear before. Ever. Bella placed her hands on Alice's shoulders and gently turned her around. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing." Bella rolled her eyes, making Alice feel like a child. "Everything."
"Alice? Is it Jacob?" The tiny vampire finally looked the human in the eyes and something inside snapped. She pushed Bella backwards until she was pressed between the door and Alice herself. The human barely had time to gasp her surprise before Alice's lips were on hers. Bella's hands settled back into spiky hair.

Alice's head screamed that she was doing wrong, that she was weak.

Alice's heart rejoiced and sighed that she was home.


Aw...happy Alice...wonder how long that'll last...