A/N: A huuuge thank you to everyone who reviewed! You made my day :')

This chapter is only in Alison's POV because I thought Colby's would be a little repetitive in some parts. Enjoy!

ALISON ANDERSON

A few weeks had passed since the day I spent on First Beach. I went out with Bryce a couple of times - we went to the movies, twice, and I had dinner with him, at his house, with his parents, yesterday. It was no big deal, really. We weren't officially together, but we just enjoyed each other's company, and his parents were easy to hang out with. We said we wouldn't really define anything for now, and just lived the moment. I was particularly comfortable with that decision because, let's face it, it wasn't going to last very long. I knew that Bryce was the son of a wolf, and vampires are around almost all the time now (part of me included) so he was bound to phase, and he was bound to imprint, I thought - or at least know I was somebody else's imprint. I doubted he would go against the Alpha of his pack for me, and it wasn't like I would want him to anyway. I told Colby we were friends, which I guessed was the closest thing that could describe our relationship, since we hadn't had anything..physical.

Speaking of the Alpha, Colby was around all the time, except when I went out with Bryce. My eyes were still golden, which meant I probably had a lot of 'transitions' to go through still. Over the past few weeks, I had four phases of excruciating pain in my back, head, limbs, and chest. During every single one of those, I thought I was going to die. To say it felt like someone was pulling me apart and setting me on fire, over and over again, would be an understatement. But, every time, Colby was there. He sat next to me, talked to me, comforted me. When it wasn't my back that was hurting, it didn't burn to touch other people, so he held me, stroked my hair, sang in my ear, kissed my forehead. He listened to me scream, cry, beg for him to kill me. He listened and he was calm all the way through. When it was over he would carry me to my bed, tuck me in, and let me rest. I usually slept eight to twelve hours after it, even if I'd had a good night's sleep.

On the up side, I had grown a couple of more inches, and I got...fuller in some places. In less than a month, I looked at least a year older. My skin also got pretty smooth, and, with the exception of the times I was going through pain, I didn't get tired, at all, no matter how much physical activity I'd done. Colby took me out on runs a couple of times, when my limbs were sore. Those weren't the only times I'd gone out though; I went out, on multiple days, with Alice, shopping. I refused to let them pay for anything, as Dad was sending me money regularly now. At some point, though, I found a box with everything I'd ever given Alice to pay with. I wasn't exactly full on resources, and I knew I couldn't argue with a vampire, let alone Alice Cullen of all vampires, or Colby, so I let it go.

I had heard from Dad again a week after the first letter he sent me. He was settled in Canada; he got a job in private security. It was sad, because at that point, I had just wanted to confide in him and hug him and just be with my father again. I'd missed him terribly. But when I found out he was happy, settled and in a steady relationship with his imprint, I thought I would rather keep my drama for myself. I had reached a point where I needed Colby; I relied on him completely, with pretty much everything. I knew I couldn't leave him behind, I couldn't burden my father with my secret, and I couldn't ask Colby to come with me and leave his pack and loved ones behind. It was enough that I was probably going to take away his years of forever with them if I ended up mortal, I wasn't about to claim him right away. I just kept in touch with my father through the internet, for now.

"Earth to Allie."

I snapped out of my trance and looked up. Bryce was handing me a sandwich. We sat on the grass, in the woods. He had planned a picnic for both of us - brought sandwiches and whatnot. It was nice, quiet. I liked quiet, and he knew I did. I smiled and took it. "Looks so good."

He grinned proudly, even though I knew for sure he didn't make them himself, and took a rather huge bite of his sandwich. I nibbled on mine; I had lost a lot of my appetite these last few weeks - something Colby was constantly whining about. "You look so different every time I see you," he said, "I don't wanna sound too cheesy, but you do get more beautiful each and every time."

I felt my cheeks get warmer. If he only knew. "Well, duh."

He put down his sandwich and looked at me straight in the eyes. His dark brown eyes had a glow in them. His lips curled up into a lopsided smile. He moved his head so our faces were mere inches apart. I could feel his breath on my nose. I felt my heart flutter and I held into the grass beneath me, curling my legs beside me, the pink, fluttery skirt Alice had bought me flying a little with the breeze. He closed the distance between us, his lips on mine, kissing me, for just a second.

My lips felt like they were on fire - not in the good heart-warming way, in the excruciating-pain-Im-going-to-explode way. It was like they were covered in gasoline and he lit a match.

For his sake, I tried to contain my reaction. I did my best to pull my lips into a smile. It felt like someone was ripping them apart. I liked the kiss, really, I just wasn't fond of what was happening after. I closed my eyes and looked down, as if embarrassed. I opened my eyes to look at him - he looked quite amused - and smiled again, even though it was getting more difficult by the second, "I should really go now."

It was taking every part of me not to scream, especially when the pain started crawling from my lips to my face, and soon enough, my whole skin was lit up. His eyebrows furrowed, "But, why? I thought we were having a good time.."

"Yes!" It came out a little louder than I wanted it to, but it was getting harder to contain my voice. "I loved this, I just, ermm, have to go. It's getting late, y'know." I stood up and grabbed my back. He stood up as well. "Thank you, for everything - the food was great an-and ermm." I really needed to go. To scream. "I'll text you later tonight, I promise."

He looked confused as hell, but he nodded and shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Let me walk y-"

I didn't let him finish. "No!" He looked even more confused. "No, no, I know the way out, don't worry." I tried to smile again, and before he could say anything, I had already run half the way out of there. I knew how it seemed, especially right after he'd kissed me, but I couldn't stay one more second before screaming my guts off - and that was going to leave an even worse impression. I could always explain the running later - I thought.

As soon as I was out of hearing distance, I let out a scream so loud and so powerful I thought the trees would shake. As soon as I did, I fell down to my knees and lay on the grass. At that point, I couldn't feel anything that touched my skin. I couldn't even feel the rain that had started dropping. I wanted to call Colby, to reach him. I wanted him to come here and take me home. Scratch that. I just wanted him to be here. I needed him to.

I tried to grab my phone from my bag but the loss of sensation combined with the pain made it impossible to concentrate and actually get it right. I had never thought that opening a simple zipper would ever be such a torturous procedure. I sobbed, both for the pain and for my helplessness. I let out another gut-wrenching scream, which was answered.

By a howl.

It wasn't Colby - I knew Colby's howl - but if it was someone else they were bound to tell him, or come for me. A few minutes later, a huge, black wolf appeared in front of me. I didn't know who it was, but he looked familiar. I must have looked like a mess because he howled again - this time, it sounded more urgent. Then he turned around and hid behind the bushes. He came out a minute later in shorts. I knew him. It was Randy Uley, Sarah Black's imprint.

"What happened?" I just looked at him, unwilling and too exhausted to try to move my lips. "Are you okay?" I blinked once, hoping he would get it. Nothing had happened to me, except my own body. There was no need for the pack to be concerned about this. He knelt down and lifted me up, not bothering to ask if I could walk. I could, but I would need a lot of help, and it was going to slow him down anyway. He ran all the way back in silence, which I truly appreciated. Instead of taking me to the Call's, though, I found myself at the Black's cottage. No one was there except for Sarah, who gasped when she saw me. He lay me down on the couch and I closed my eyes, every inch of my skin still burning. Both of them talked to each other in really low voices that I didn't bother to listen to.

It took me all my will and breath, but I finally got it out. "P-please," I breathed, "Colby." I closed my eyes. Sarah said something but I didn't register it.

What felt like hours later I opened my eyes to find myself resting on someone's chest. I looked up and it was Colby, who was awake, even though, from the looks of it, it seemed to be early in the next morning. He smiled down at me, his emerald eyes warm, his dimples welcoming, his hand patting my back. "G'morning."

I had restored feeling in my skin, and it was no longer painful. I sighed, relieved. "Morning. What time is it?"

"It's 6AM," he said, "Of Thursday morning."

I frowned. "What? Thursday?" No way. Yesterday - the day I had been to the woods with Bryce - was Saturday. Satur-freaking-day. There was no way I was asleep for five whole days, it only felt like a few hours!

He ran his hand through my hair. "Yeah, you've been asleep for quite a while." I internally groaned. There was no way I was going to mend things with Bryce now. "I came back minutes after you passed out on Saturday. I was with Dad at the garage when Sarah told me Randy found you. You looked so awful - bruised all over, and one of your ankles was bleeding-" He flinched "-Edward came over and we disinfected your wounds, but before any of us could get to covering them, you were already healed - and a little warmer than usual, but Edward said you were still in pain, and you blacked out because it was too much for your body to handle awake-" He sighed "-You slept very peacefully. We kept an eye on your vitals, though, when you made it to day two, but you were okay, so we let you be."

"Ugh," I said, closing my eyes again, clutching to his T-shirt, noticing how I was sleeping in his huge navy sweatpants and grey T-shirt. Someone must have changed me. "When is this going to end?"

He stroked my back and chuckled. "I think it already did," he said softly, "When you opened your eyes now, they were blue." He pushed a strand of my hair behind my ears. To say it felt like major weight just fell off my shoulders would be taking it lightly; it simply became easier to breathe, just knowing that I most probably wouldn't be going through that type of pain again. Grinning, I got up and headed to the bathroom. On my way out, I caught my reflection in the mirror.

"Holy shit."

I was taller - a lot taller. I think I went from 5'2" to over 6 feet. My skin was the same shade it had always been - creamy white, but it looked absolutely flawless. I mean, I thought it was getting perfect before but, in comparison, this was a major change. My lips were fuller - darker pink as well - and so were my breasts, to my surprise. My face also looked different; I lost most of the baby fat on my cheeks and instead had defined cheekbones. My straight, brown hair grew so much, it was basically at my waist.

I looked, at the very least, 17 or 18, physically, when my actual age was thirteen.

I kept staring at myself in the mirror for a while, zooming in on it, and then standing away - twirling, moving, making sure it was me. I was mentally prepared for a physical change, seeing how I was already changing over the weeks but holy shit.

"You couldn't have mentioned that earlier?!" I yelled through the bathroom door, even though I knew perfectly well he could've heard me even if I'd breathed it. Hell, sometimes I even thought he could hear my thoughts before I spoke them.

He roared with laughter. "Ah, dammit, I wanted to see your face."

I slammed the door open, looking at him still on the couch. "This isn't funny!" I yelled. "Oh God - look at me! How am I going to go back to school? Or - or see anyone I know outside the Rez? Ha? Why? Fuck!"

"Hey - just because you look old enough to say it doesn't mean you should." He shook his head disapprovingly, his hands crossed, though still grinning.

"Why are you taking this lightly?" I asked, "I had four years of growth zipped into five days and you somehow think this is amusing?"

"I'm happy you went through that growth spurt." I narrowed my eyes at him, my hands on my -very new- hips. "Look, you're caught up now. Sarah and I are actually sixteen but look twenty five, and you're actually thirteen but you look seventeen. This means you're somewhat a great deal like us. I don't know what it fully entails, yet, but at least you're not hurting anymore, and at least you're not scared to your bones-" His tone was now dead serious "-clinging to every breath you can take painlessly and asking me to relieve you from your pain and kill you. You're healthy. You're pain-free. You're protected. You're here. There isn't much else I could ask, really." He got up from the couch. "Just think about it - no more panic attacks, no more pain, no more hiding. And if you're not going to be able to fit in here anymore, then, well, we'll move. We'll find you somewhere to exist. It's what my family has been doing for, literally, centuries."

I was speechless. My anger had subsided and his words had actually made a lot of sense. Sure, it was very surprising to see myself like that but getting used to it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, especially compared to what he had just mentioned. I took a deep breath then sighed. "Whatever, douche."

"Did you have a glossary of words you promised yourself you'd say once you looked it?" He tilted his head a little, smiling, his dimples daunting me. I rolled my eyes and turned to the kitchen. "You better get a lot of food in your system before Alice shows up with your new wardrobe."

Ugh.

Ooooooooo!

Yeah, I know u.u

This was a huge transition, let me know what you think of it in a review please v

Also, what do you think will happen next? :P No hints for you . Guess!