Wow...didn't expect that reaction for Jessica/Jasper ... you guys do realise it was a joke right? Seeing as Edward's gone Jessica's just transferred her affections to Jasper...nothing's going to happen...
Oh and thanks muchly to avic16 for the idea of an Alice fanclub :)
Alice ran her circuit around the gym at her usual infuriatingly human pace. It dawned on her halfway around her third lap that she only ran when her heart ached. She only ran after Bella. She determinedly ignored Emmett and Jasper who had followed her to the gym and sat on the bleachers to watch, focusing on the feel of the false wood floor under the thin soles of her shoes. "Hey Cullen!" Jet's voice cut through the calming haze her running had cast over her mind and she slowed to a stop in time to see the boy jog over and envelope her in a hug. "We missed you after the match. And for the past two days. What's up?" Alice shrugged and smiled as a small group of other students piled into the room obviously following Jet. Jasper and Emmett watched the group with slight frowns.
"You've managed to get yourself a fan club for those saves the other day." She quirked a delicate eyebrow. "I'm serious Cullen, they loved you. Stole my spotlight out there you did. Your club's bigger than mine." There was mock anger in his voice but the wide smile countered it perfectly.
"Oh I'm sorry Jet." The crowd of students had surrounded the pair now and her eyes darted around for an escape route; Alice Cullen was not a fan of being closed in.
"Don't be. It's nice to see someone else suffer with them for a while." He nodded at the group and subtly guided Alice away from them. "You did good out there Cullen. Coach wants to make you a fixture for the last few matches before we leave and I hope you'll say yes." Jet held out a hand, which she shook, her smile threatening to split her face in two.
"Thanks. You know you've changed a lot in the past few years." The ex-prankster shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.
"For the better I hope." Jasper wandered over to the pair with a bemused smile. Jet cast him a glance but quickly looked back to the girl.
"Yeah, for the better…" She gave her tinkling laugh as Jasper laid a hand on her shoulder and the school bell cut through the air of the gym. The crowd dispersed quickly.
"I'll see you Cullen." Jet nodded at Jasper and left.
"A fan club?" Jasper looked down at her and she shrugged, leading both of her boys from the room. "Like you haven't got enough humans hanging onto your every word." Alice stopped abruptly in the near empty corridor.
"What do you mean?" Jasper's eyes danced with mirth.
"You haven't noticed?" Emmett chuckled at his tiny sister. She shook her head, dark spikes flying wildly.
"Noticed what?"
"Nothing Allie. Go on or you'll be late." Jasper wandered away toward his calculus class while Emmett darted off to find Rosalie. Alice had no choice but to make her way towards art class; a class that she shared with Bella.
/
"Nice of you to join us Miss Cullen." Her teacher, Mr Flagstaff muttered, barely looking up from the register as she walked in only a few minutes late. Nevertheless she bowed her head and made her way to the only free seat in the room with a quiet apology. As she passed Bella the girl gave her an apologetic smile and Alice couldn't decide if it was for the cafeteria incident or for the fact that she'd let Mike Newton take her usual seat. Alice didn't really mind not having to sit with the human; it would make it so much easier to concentrate. Instead she found herself sat next to a lean young man whose name escaped her. He had dark hair and piercing blue eyes that threatened to drown her if she stared into them for too long.
"You're Alice Cullen right?" He had a smoky voice and a soft English accent. "I'm Tobias Correll but call me Toby." She smiled at him and offered a mock bow.
"Nice to meet you Toby." He returned the smile as she retrieved her sketchpad and pencil case from her bag.
"You're on the soccer team aren't you?" The question made her cringe inwardly but she nodded, flicking her book open and continuing her sketch of a wolf howling to the moon from a rocky outcrop. "Sorry that was hardly fair; I already knew the answer. I was watching the match a few days ago. You played fantastically well for…" He let the sentence hang.
"For a girl?" Alice muttered under her breath with a cynical giggle.
"For someone so slight. For a dancer. I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you." She sighed as she switched her pencil for a golden brown crayon; she had decided that the wolf would pay homage to Jacob.
"It's ok, I'm just a little uptight right now, that's all." She barely saw Toby's deep blue eyes dart towards Bella a cloud passing across their depths but when he looked back at Alice they were perfectly clear.
"Because of your brother?"
"Partly I suppose but I guess everything's just hit me at once you know." He nodded his sympathy and began sketching on his own page. When Alice leaned over to peek he placed a hand across the drawing and a playful glint was born in his eyes. "Wait, you're not from that fan club I've been warned about are you?"
"You caught me." They shared a quiet laugh. "Who told you, there was going to a surprise party to honour your return." There was laughter dancing in the twin blue pools and Alice found they had the same effect on her as Jacob's brown. They made her feel safe.
"You had better be joking boy." He snickered.
"Of course I am. I wouldn't do that to you." Her brown crayon was switched for a sickly yellow for the crescent moon. "I doubt your brothers would let me live if I offended you anyway."
"They would. I wouldn't let them hurt you." The statement was out of her mouth before she could stop it but once she heard it, she knew it was true. She'd only just met the boy but she found he could be a good friend.
"Thank you. Most girls would lord their brothers over a lowly young man like myself." Alice giggled at the cliché line she was about to utter.
"I'm not exactly most girls Toby." She reached for the midnight blue but Tobias beat her there and held it out to her with a flourish. As she took it his warm hand brushed against hers and the sparkle in his eyes grew more apparent.
"No. I don't suppose you are."
/
Bella looked over her shoulder every few minutes at Alice and the boy beside her, wishing with all her heart that she hadn't let Mike sit in Alice's usual seat to save herself some embarrassment. She couldn't understand why it irritated her so much that Alice was laughing with the boy but it didn't take her heart long to reply with 'because she isn't laughing with you'. Mike touched her arm gently and dragged her from her thoughts. "Are you ok?" Bella rolled her eyes; she'd been asked the question numerous times already and she was thankful that the lesson was nearly over. That she could go home soon.
"Yes Mike. I'm fine, just like I was five minutes ago." Hurt flickered in her friend's puppy-brown eyes and guilt blossomed in her chest. "I'm sorry. That was out of line." Mike shrugged, scribbling red crayon across his page.
"It's ok. You're just depressed 'cause Cullen left you again. I get it." Bella sighed as the bell rang and swept her things into her desk. By the time she was out of her seat though Alice was already gone. And so was the boy she'd been sat with. Bella left the room, intent on catching up with the vampire, to rectify her mistake and agree to prom. Just outside the room however was Alice and the boy was speaking to her in a hushed British accent.
"For you. It was the best I could do on short notice." He handed her Alice, except she wasn't really her Alice anymore, a sketched red rose. The vampire accepted it with a sweet smile.
"Thank you Toby. You're sweet."
"You're sweeter." Toby replied without missing a beat and Bella immediately felt like hitting him. "This is going to seem really forward Alice but I would be honoured if you would go to prom with me." Alice's smile grew wider and Rosalie's words echoed in Bella's ears: 'if you don't choose, you'll lose both of them'. A strangled cough escaped her throat as she turned on her heel. She now knew how Alice had felt when she'd been in the closet while Edward proposed. She knew she'd lost Alice for good. Bella paced from the school as fast as she could without breaking into a run, her phone in her hand.
Ok. What is it with the guys and getting in the way . but I do think that was the wake up call Bella needed don't you?
