Lila and I continued up the stairs and headed for our first classes.

"Meet up for lunch?" I asked Lila before we separated for the morning.

"As long as you don't ditch me again," she teased.

"I'll save you a seat," I promised. Feeling slightly guilty about yesterday I headed down the corridor to the right classroom.

I hadn't gotten far when a certain pixie-like vampire caught up to me. It was then I realised that my first class was English and said pixie now sat next to me.

"Hey Marie," Alice greeted as she linked arms with me, "I'm so glad you are still here, I couldn't read your future last night after you ran away and I thought you might have decided to end your life. I'm sorry if we caused you any pain."

I searched her face, looking for any sign of deception. All I found was sincerity and my heart melted a fraction.

"Don't worry about it, I just went to La Push," I replied, trying to ignore the fact that she seemed to be worming her way back into my heart despite the fact I had worked so hard to get her out.

"That explains the stink then," Alice stated as if commenting on the weather.

I raised an eyebrow at her, she smiled innocently back at me. I shook my head and sighed, maybe she was right, perhaps we were always meant to be the best of friends. Besides, if she had already seen it, what was the point of fighting?

'Well, you did say you wanted to get to know them,' I thought. 'Here goes nothing!'

"Come on," I said to her as I led us into the classroom, "I want to know all about you and your family."

Alice was positively beaming as we took our seats. It was hard to believe that I had made her this happy, but there was no way I could deny it and just for a moment I allowed myself to feel happy as well.

Then the teacher walked in and the moment ended. Once the work was set, Alice turned to me and whispered so only I could hear, "So what do you want to know?"

I thought about it, momentarily weighing the risks and benefits of asking about their sense, or lack thereof, of de ja vu. In the end I decided that it was something that I really needed to know.

"You guys have been here before right?" I asked, she nodded in reply. "Do you ever get the sense of de ja vu?" I continued.

Alice looked at me strangely and for a moment I thought that I had given too much away.

"Yes, actually, it's been a bit worse this time though, but it doesn't make sense. It's like we are all missing something, like its right in front of us but we just aren't seeing it. All of us are feel the same," she finally replied.

I nodded in response and made a start on the work we were supposed to be doing while I processed her words. So they were feeling it too. Was it my presence that was causing it, like theirs was for me, or was it something else entirely? Or were they just refusing to see what was right there in front of them?

"Why did you come back here?" Alice asked me abruptly, breaking my chain of thought.

I looked at her as I thought about the question. To be honest I wasn't sure. This was the fifth time I had come back to Forks and La Push. The first time, I couldn't leave the reservation. By my third visit I was making short trips into Forks. Last time I even managed to visit their house. I didn't go in, I don't think I could, but I stared at it for a very long time. That was over thirty years ago now.

"To make peace and visit old friends," I answered as honestly as I could. Truthfully, I think I was preparing myself. Getting ready to face them as a vampire and becoming someone almost the complete opposite of Bella. Perhaps I was even trying to prove to myself that I could handle the constant reminders of what was brutally taken away from me.

"What do you have to make peace with?" Alice wanted to know.

"Oh, just the usual evil vampire turned good stuff," I joked, trying to lighten the mood and divert the conversation. "Tell me how you got your family back together?"

Alice smirked at my silly answer to her loaded question. "How did you know it was me?" she replied.

"Oh please, with your talent? I bet you could have lied to them all and they wouldn't have thought about going against you," I said, giving her a thoroughly deserved 'You have got to be kidding me, right?' look.

Alice had the good grace to look a touch sheepish. "Sorry, I keep forgetting how much you know about all of us. I had a vision of us all here and we were so happy, all eight of us..." She said before I interrupted.

"Eight? But there are only seven of you?" I stated, pointing out the obvious. Did that mean Edward found someone else? Did it mean that they accepted me into their family?

"Yeah, there is this person, and they are the reason we are so happy. It's like we found our missing piece," Alice replied, disturbing my inner monologue. "I wish I know who they were though, all I see is a blur. It's like they haven't decided who they are yet, but that makes no sense, everyone knows who they are."

"Weird," I commented. My mind began working overtime trying to figure out what Alice's cryptic visions meant for me. Maybe they didn't mean a thing; it could easily be someone else. I began bargaining with myself in an effort to convince myself to stay in Forks, desperate to keep my promise to Jake and Leah.

"You know what's cool?" Alice said, bringing me back to reality. I shook my head.

She smiled before continuing, "It feels like we are friends that have reunited after a long time apart. It feels familiar, I like it."

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I was stunned. Alice's statement ran so close to the truth that would have been had she not left me when I needed her the most.

Suddenly the bell went signalling the end of class. I was so flustered that I almost forgot to say good bye to Alice on my way out.

"See you at lunch," She called as I headed towards my next class.

'Biology, great, now I get to deal with Mr Depressing,' I thought, 'Hooray for me...not!'

I really wasn't looking forward to it. For one, I think we were doing the onion skin-stages of mitosis thing again, and two, I wasn't sure if I could be in the same room as Edward for an hour and still be sane at the end it.

So, I began thinking of ways in which I could stay sane in class and I came to one, solitary, conclusion. If I was to stay sane, Edward would have to be the one going crazy.

I have to admit, I was stumped. How was I going to get Edward to go loopy? He had been around a lot longer than me and I was pretty sure he would be immune to most annoying things.

I took my seat while going through a list of things I could do to make him lose it. It wasn't until Edward walked in the room that it hit me.

Edward could hear everyone's thoughts and as much as it annoyed him at times, he had come to rely on it. I remembered his frustration yesterday at lunch when he realised he was unable to read my thoughts.

I smiled, probably quite an evil smile. I knew exactly how to make Edward certifiably insane.