I choked out a gasp as a shiver of terror rolled forcefully down my spine.
I could hear them drawing closer - their gait heavy and their chortles echoing between flickering lamp-posts. I hadn't realized how late it'd gotten - the sky ebbing into an inky black.
My limbs locked up of their own accord and I struggled to get them to obey. After much teeth gritting, I eventually mustered the courage to turn around and face them.
They all looked eerily similar to the men out front of one of the bars I'd passed on my way to the bookshop. Just as drunken. Just as despicable.
I stumbled backwards until my back pressed up against a metal fence. The largest of the four took a few more steps forward, calling over his shoulder for his friends to follow. He must be the leader.
His eyes were glazed over - I assumed from the effects of alcohol - but that didn't make his grin any less menacing. He was a little chubby around the face and he wore a blue baseball cap and faded red-grey hoodie. If he wasn't drunk and cornering me in a dark and damp backstreet along with a bunch of his cronies, I'd never have suspected him capable of leaving someone feeling so completely helpless.
Those that loitered behind him laughed and excitedly lumbered closer. I tried to block out what they were saying but it was no use. Their grotesque threats and perverse banter pounded inside my skull.
If I didn't think of something quick, I wasn't getting out of here unscathed. Maybe not even alive.
I closed my eyes and tried to recount the self-defense classes from my old high school.
I knew that there was no way I could possibly take on all of them, but one thing my Dad had always said stuck with me; Target the leader, or the biggest one, first. If you take him down, nine times out of ten the others would fold, too. I wasn't so sure that applied for teenage girls going up against a group of drunken men, but it was the best shot I had.
I opened my eyes, my fists clenched in determination. Right, one step forward and then...
Yes! Right to the face.
The sound of skidding tires drowned in my ears but I was far too focused.
My upward palm hit square on target, as did my left hook to the jaw. The chubby-faced leader fell forward and instinctively cupped his nose. He let out a whining yelp as tears instantly streamed down his cheeks.
I stood, mesmerized, as a trickle of blood slid down the length of his fingers, pooling in the crevices between his knuckles. Did I really do that?
The sound of the car roared closer and closer. For a minute I thought I was getting flashbacks to Tyler's van, but then I saw the vehicle.
A silver Volvo skirted nimbly around the corner and squealed to a halt in front of the disoriented group of men. They all jumped back. One of the others pulled the bloodied leader upright and back into the group.
I know that car.
God... I know that car!
Edward leaped out of the driver's seat and stormed forward, his teeth glinting intimidatingly underneath the malfunctioning street lights. His golden eyes were quickly swallowed up in thick oozing rivulets of charcoal.
I swallowed back a gasp, trying to shake myself free of the fear that now drenched me through to the bone.
"Get in the car," He growled, his eyes wild and animalistic. He crouched down, his fingers splayed out into marble claws, "Now."
I didn't think. I just ran.
I spun on my heels and ducked down a narrow alleyway, wedged innocuously between two dark heavily-shadowed apartment blocks. I felt like a fool for failing to notice it sooner, but I was glad I'd spotted it now.
My feet slapped against the pavement as I ran. My lungs felt tight and heavy, and I was gasping for air. Unable to help myself, I threw one last glance over my shoulder as thrust myself onwards.
I don't know what I'd been thinking. I tore my eyes away.
Images of Edward holding the broken-nosed leader in the air ripped through my mind in a violent swirl of movement and color.
Feet dangling helplessly off the ground. Pale fingers digging into his throat. The man's eyes bulging out of his head.
I pushed with all of my strength, forcing myself to run faster and harder. I had to get as far away from Edward as possible.
I broke free onto a main street and dashed round the corner, hoping I'd find a familiar landmark, street name, anything at all, to steer me towards safety and as far away from Edward as humanly possible. Instead, what I got was the wind knocked right out of me.
I slammed hard into what felt like stone. Reeling backwards, trying desperately to suck in lungfuls of air, I tripped over my feet and plummeted to the ground.
Just as I was about to smash down into hard cement, cold fingers wrapped around my wrists and pulled me upright.
I was about to scream when I saw my savior's equally horrified, yet angelic, face.
"Alice?" I choked, incredulous.
Her eyes glazed over as if she were in a daze, her lips compressed into a firm line.
What the fuck was going on?
The fear was bubbling up in torrents and I didn't know what to do. My head started to spin but one look over my shoulder at the dark alleyway reminded me of what I was fleeing from.
"I- I've got to get out of here."
"I know, follow me. I promise I will not hurt you," Alice whispered softly, refocusing on her frantic charge.
Her hand drifted down to clasp my own, and I let her.
Against my better judgement I allowed her to lead me down the street and into a garishly yellow Porsche.
I dipped down into the leather seat and pulled my hood high over my messy brown hair. I wasn't afraid of my would-be attackers seeing me - they wouldn't suspect a grand escape in a sports car as if we were all in some sort of action film.
I was afraid of something - someone - far worse.
"Bella, relax," Alice glanced down at me as she sped through the streets, lights flashing by in a blinding haze of faded white and yellow, "Just breathe. Everything is going to be okay."
"How the hell am I supposed to relax? How is anything okay right now? What, you want me to pretend nothing happened?" I pulled myself up, my teeth grinding in my mouth, "Do you want to know who I was running from? Who I just saw lift a man off the ground, one-handed, like it was fucking NOTHING? Your brother!"
"I know," She muttered tersely, her focus glued to the road. She avoided meeting my eyes but her tight grip around the steering wheel said more than enough.
"What? You knew that he was stalking me? Did you tell him where I was?" I burst out.
She was quick to meet my gaze now, my accusation sizzling in the air between us.
"No! I did not say a word, Bella. I would never? He just- I do not know. He has started to become... enamored... with you and I- I found out too late. I did not know that he was coming down here. I came as soon as I could - as fast as I could. I swear! As soon as I saw where he was I..." She trailed off, fixing her eyes back onto the street, swerving between cars and - holy crow - going 90 miles per hour.
"Slow down, Alice!" I squealed, my fingers clutching tightly onto the edges of my seat. She immediately threw on the breaks, my head whipping from the force.
We skidded into a parking space to the side of the road between two tightly packed SUVs while I did my best to swallow down vomit.
Sucking in a ragged breath, I lifted my head and glowered.
Alice gave me a cowed smile before swiftly pulling the keys out of the ignition. Now that I had time to take her in, I noticed her blue-buttoned dress, and how it contrasted beautifully with her delicate snow-white skin.
"Sorry."
I closed my eyes and breathed in and out slowly, a futile attempt at calming my racing heart and my queasy stomach.
"What do you mean you saw where he was? Were you following me, too?"
"No, Bella! Please just stop it. All these accusations... God, you must really think the worst of me?" She jutted her lower lip and turned away.
Her eyes glistened and, from how they shimmered in the moonlight, I was expecting tears, but none ever came.
"What would you have me believe?" I bit back, anger and fear driving me forward, "Your family is... is insane. You're insane! You save me from a van that should have crushed us both with your bare hands, racing across the parking lot in seconds, and-."
I swallowed loudly before finally dragging up the strength to force everything else out, "Your skin is cold as ice. And, now I know your body feels like stone, because fuck my head's still ringing from slamming into you! And- and worst of all... Your brother, who always looks like he wants to rip me to shreds and eat me alive, just followed me here and is now doing god knows what to some drunk idiots back there! But no, I'm supposed to trust you completely, am I? I may be horribly and delusionally infatuated with you, Alice, but that doesn't change a damn thing. That doesn't give you the right to take... liberties."
I scrunched my clammy hands together in a bid to hold myself together, Alice's topaz eyes glowing under the street lights. Her unwavering examinations didn't help. It only mixed my feelings around and around until I didn't know what I was feeling anymore. All I knew was that my breaths were shaky and it hurt to think.
Wait, what did I just say?
I flicked a nervous glance to the driver's seat and watched as she tried to keep at bay the smile that prickled at the corners of her lips. I was still disastrously upset, but a small part of me was glad to see she wasn't looking at me like some sort of hideous leper.
She ducked her head and took a deep measured breath of her own before lifting her eyes to meet mine, her voice soft and precise, "I know. You are completely right, Bella. I am not saying that you should not feel the way you do. You have every right in the whole blasted world. I am not simple-minded or a fool, and I do not think you are, either. I have not made this very easy for you and neither has my family. We are just..."
She paused in thought.
"We are very careful about revealing what we are. Especially to... humans."
I gulped back more air. I knew it. But, if I'm human...?
"What- what are you?" I locked my eyes on hers, determined to pull the truth out of her no matter what.
Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak... my phone started ringing.
Of course.
OF. COURSE.
She tried to stifle nervous giggles as I angrily flipped my phone open and pressed answer, biting back expletives.
"Yes?"
Concealing the frustration from my voice was a lot harder than I'd thought it would be.
"Oh thank heavens you're okay!" Angela cried down the phone, "We were so worried, Bella! Where have you been?"
I could faintly hear Jessica in the background. Apparently, at least from what I could make out through poor reception, she'd known I'd been 'okay all along' and 'didn't at all feel guilty for having eaten dinner without me'.
Lovely.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I just ran into a, um, friend, and time got away from me, is all," I flicked my eyes over to Alice, "I'm so sorry I didn't let you guys know. I'm honestly the worst."
After some more back and forth, and Angela's pressuring to get us back home, Alice mouthed at me that she'd take me instead. A battle of the mimes occurred - all to the sound of Angela's worrying and Jessica's ranting.
I gave in. It was inevitable, really.
"It's okay guys, just go on home without me. I'll get a lift back to Forks with my... friend. I honestly can't tell you enough how sorry I am. Seriously."
Once Angela was certain I was sure, and Jessica was placated with the knowledge that she wouldn't have to wait around for me any longer, I ended the call and shoved my phone back into my pocket.
"Well, that sounded messy," Alice whistled, relaxing into her seat.
When our gazes locked, her eyes softened and she broke out into a tired smile. I couldn't help but return it.
The tension in the air, the righteous anger, had dissipated whether I had wanted it to or not.
"I am going to answer your question, all of your questions, I promise. But first - and no buts, Bella - please let me get you something to eat. You need some food and water. It will help with the adrenaline."
I just sighed and nodded, thumping back to stare out at the closed shop fronts. There was no use in arguing with her.
A short while later Alice and I pulled up onto a curb down the street, the glowing lights of 'La Bella Italia' filtering down over the dashboard. I squinted my eyes suspiciously, giving her a disapproving look.
"What?" She smirked, clearly pleased with herself, "I thought it would be ironic! Also, I have heard quite a few good things about this place."
I just shook my head and followed her out of the car and up the steps of the restaurant. We were quickly seated by a waiter who seemed a little too happy to be serving our table.
"So, what would you ladies like?" The waiter leaned subconsciously towards Alice, his eyes far too appraising.
"Hmm," She glanced across to me, her gaze firm, "Two cokes please. She needs the sugar."
"Right away," He replied very amiably, "I'll be back with your menus while I'm at it... My apologies!"
She beamed at him and I swear the poor guy's heart nearly stopped.
I gnawed on the inside of my cheek. It wasn't like me to feel so jealous over something so silly. And yet, as I sat opposite, watching others fall just as readily under her spell, I burned with envy.
I glared at the back of his head as he walked away from the table.
"You shouldn't do that to people," I grumbled, returning to meet Alice's awaiting eyes.
"What do you mean?" Her brows knitted together, her lips pursing as she surveyed my face.
"Dazzle people."
"What, I dazzle people?" She tossed her wild hair back and laughed, "That is news to me!"
"You do it all the time!" My cheeks flushed red, "That waiter couldn't keep his eyes off you. It doesn't help that your smile can make even blind men weep."
"I do not care about him. Or whoever else is looking, for that matter," Her laughter slowed to a halt as she reached her hands over the table, "I only have eyes for one person. What they think and feel about me is all that I care about."
My heart hammered as hypnotic amber smouldered into inadequate brown. She grazed her hands over the table cloth before her fingers laced themselves through my own.
Our hands. They fit perfectly together. Brilliant alabaster and ashen cream.
Fire and ice.
"So, if my smile can make blind men weep... What about you?" Her eyes moved up from our intertwined hands to pierce me, "Or is a woman, such as yourself, immune to my supposed charms?"
It felt like she could see right into my soul.
My cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red and I averted my gaze.
"I suppose I am similarly affected. Although I'm not fond of weeping."
The waiter returned quickly with our cokes but Alice refused to pull away.
His eyes betrayed him. He left annoyed. I was pleased.
"Drink, please," Alice pushed the coke into my freshly abandoned hands. I frowned briefly before conceding and gulped back the cold fizzy liquid.
I must have been thirsty because I drained the whole cup.
"Here," She pushed the next glass towards me, stealing away the one I'd just emptied.
"But what about you?" I questioned, the syrupy aftertaste of cola coating the back of my mouth.
"I am more than fine. I am thankfully not all that thirsty. Please, go ahead, my love."
My love.
I melted, and so I did exactly as I was told and took another sip. My eyes never leaving hers.
"Do you know why Edward followed me all the way out here to Port Angeles? I know that you said he's 'enamored' with me, or whatever the hell that means, but it still doesn't make any sense," I broached hesitantly, picking a one-use straw out of the silverware box and popping it into my drink.
I swirled the dark liquid around in circles until Alice formulated a response.
"He thinks that if he is near you for long enough he will prove something to himself. I am not really sure, but that is my best guess. My brother has always battled with what we are. What he is. He feels that - if he engages in some grand act of self-restraint - he can restore his lost humanity. Or, maybe, regain lost heroism. Who is to say?" She closed her eyes after the admission and rubbed at her pale temples.
"What could he be that's so monstrous he has to climb the proverbial ladder to what-, back into heaven's good graces or something?" I took another tentative sip from my drink, "I don't really see how I can help him with that."
"It is all about interpretation, really. I do not think we are soulless brutes, if that is any consolation," She shrugged, opening her mouth to continue before closing it again.
She tilted slightly in her seat, looking over my shoulder. When I craned my neck to look behind us, no one was there.
A few short beats later the waiter bustled around the corner and approached our table.
"So, ladies, are you ready to order?"
"Uh-"
"She will have the mushroom ravioli," Alice cut in, "And I will have another coke, please."
She handed the waiter my empty glass, ignoring my pointed looks.
"Why did you order for me? I'm not a baby. I can order for myself," I frowned, chewing on my lower lip.
Her eyes danced there for a moment or two before returning to meet my stern glare.
"Trust me, I know. Regardless, you would not have enjoyed anything else nearly as much. I saw it... Well, sort of, anyway. This is the only meal where you actually finish your plate," She clasped her hands together and pressed her lips into a thin line, well aware that she'd both revealed a great deal and nothing at all.
"What do you mean 'you saw it'?" I tilted my head, raising my eyebrow as I watched her anxiously rifle her fingers through her disorderly tangle of hair.
"Think about it, Bella. I always know something I should not, hm? I am always one step ahead of everyone else. Why would that be?" She eased forward onto her forearms, her eyes simultaneously nervous and zealous, "Come on, you know this. It is not a hard one."
"What are you saying? You can see the future?"
"Ding ding ding, we have a winner," She lounged back into her chair, a short peal of laughter covering up some of the nerves that still glinted behind her eyes.
I watched her carefully, taking my time to mull it all over.
For some reason, I believed her. She was telling the truth. It all made too much sense. But, then again... there were still some things that didn't add up.
"But if you can see the future why didn't you stop Tyler's van from crashing into us in the first place? You could have stopped me from walking over to my car? It would have saved you and your family a whole heap of trouble. Especially Edward. Back at the hospital it- it sounded like he'd rather I'd died," I rubbed the back of my neck.
Images of his snarling teeth, scathing words, and piercing black eyes, not so easy to forget.
"He does not think that at all! Do not be so silly, Bella," She leaned over and slapped my wrist lightly, tutting in disappointment, "Again, my family... it is just all so very complicated. And, anyway, if he does think that, he will have me to contend with. And trust that I am a lot scarier than he will ever be."
Her nostrils flared almost imperceptibly, but her eyes were harder to ignore. Her brilliant topaz darkened of their own accord. Charcoal skated along the edges and dulled their shine. It reminded me of her brother, but, somehow, it did anything but frighten me.
She closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath before opening them again, her lashes fluttering to reveal a more comforting amber.
"My visions are not exactly perfect. Life is so complex, so... ever-changing. It is hard to pin down the future. Or, at least, the right future. See, that is the thing!" Alice's eyes widened animatedly, "I can see everything. All the will be's, all that could be's. It is hard to sift through it all and know which future will be the right one. The more decided a person becomes - the more their choices become limited and refine themselves - the easier it gets. But, people are so flippant and most will change at the drop of a hat to pursue a whole other line of choices before I ever have time to catch up! Tyler never intended to skid around the ice so I did not see it. When I did, when the choice had been made for him, it was far too late..."
I bobbed my head, absorbing her words like they were well-known facts written away somewhere in a textbook. It wasn't shocking to hear her speak so candidly about the unknown. Perhaps the night's earlier trauma had left my mind open and malleable, numb to the mysterious and shocking. Or, maybe, and perhaps more likely, I'd always been susceptible to madness.
"It also did not help that, on that particular day, I was so caught up with other things. So wrapped up in another person that I drowned out my visions just to focus on-... focus on what I truly wanted," She licked her lower lip anxiously, "I have been waiting for you for a long time, Bella."
A hesitant smile plumped her cheeks and she slid her hand once more over the tabletop. It was a no-brainer. My hand immediately found hers. I'd missed the coolness of her touch, anyway.
"You've been waiting for me?"
The more strange things sounded, the more I seemed to feel at ease. What's that old saying? Truth is stranger than fiction.
"Yes, you. You honestly do not know how wonderful it is to finally meet you. Finally start a future that I can be truly certain of."
I was about to ask more questions when the waiter returned with my food and Alice's coke. Or, rather, my coke, because she slid it over to me as soon as he left.
I might not have been as sly as I intended, but I had to do it. I let out a pleased sigh when I confirmed that she was no longer dazzling him with her smile.
"Please eat and drink, Bella. I will worry if you abstain," She nodded her head towards the steaming plate of fresh ravioli and bubbling liquid swirling in the glass.
"Wait, you didn't order anything. You're not hungry?"
"Mm, no. Not right now. Please, go ahead," She gestured towards the plate.
She only spoke again when I began to chew and I'd finished my third glass - now starting on the next one. I was going to need the bathroom at this rate.
"I have been wondering - if it is not too impudent for me to ask - but what is that book you have tucked away underneath your clothes?"
I looked down, realization dawning on me. I'd totally forgotten.
I peeled the book off my skin and pulled it out from under my sweater. It felt warm to the touch after being pressed firmly up against my belly all night.
I placed it on the table between us and watched for Alice's reaction. She seemed completely nonplussed, until she met my awaiting gaze - her eyes creased and a quirk of her scarlet mouth revealing her.
Was she impressed?
"So, I'm on the right track, then?" I stated matter-of-factly, stabbing another ravioli and raising it to my lips.
She nodded, and I took a bite and chewed.
"You are handling this far better than I ever could have expected," She smiled tightly, playing with the collar of her dark blue button-up.
"You're supposed to see the future so I don't see how that's possible," I shrugged, "Even if choices affect everything you still should've been able to see this," I used my fork to gesture between myself and her.
"It is- Well. With you, things are different. I cannot see you as clearly as I can see everyone else. It is like I have always seen you through frosted glass. The one certainty? The one thing I could always be sure of? Your face. It is the clearest image I have. And, Bella, you are more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed of. My visions do not do you justice."
I nearly choked.
I snapped my eyes away in an attempt to stop them from bugging out of my head.
"So, that's why...," I turned back, another epiphany hitting like a ton of bricks, "My first day... The first time we laid eyes on each other... The first time we spoke... That's why it- why you-. Huh. Checks out."
I laughed.
Another puzzle piece slid into its rightful place.
"Usually I do not drop things. Actually, I never drop things. I definitely do not drop food trays in a cafeteria full of bustling, sweaty, kids. But, when I saw you - saw you in real life instead of through frosted glass - my world just... stood still. You were all that I could see, all that I wanted to see," Her voice drifted into a strained whisper, her fingers tightening around the table cloth.
I automatically reached for her, replacing the cloth with my warm fleshy palm.
We were fated to do a lot of hand-holding this evening. I'd grown accustomed to the butterflies. In fact, I was starting to become addicted.
"So, just so I have this straight, you're telling me that you're a psychic vampire who's been waiting for me for... however long-," Everything was surging past my lips in a torrent of unstoppable word vomit and I didn't have enough willpower to quell the deluge, "-and your vampire brother believes I'm somehow going to be the saving grace that pulls him up from the depths of hellish perdition?"
I was finally able to catch a breath, "Sounds like I have my hands full, then."
She let out a short, sharp, giggle. Whether she was surprised by my blunt delivery, or the truth of what I'd delivered, there was no telling.
After much deliberation, and fitful silence, she acquiesced with a taciturn nod.
"Well, shit..."
Ouch.
My head started to bang - the dull throb of a headache creeping along my forehead and down towards my temples. I guess, just because I could accept what I was being told, didn't necessarily mean my body could tolerate it. It was a lot for one evening. It was a lot for the whole week. Ha. It was a lot for a lifetime.
"Here, drink some more..." She pushed the glass of coke back into my hands.
"Alice, really, thank you, but no thank you. I don't think sugar water is going to help me right now."
"But it is sparkling sugar water," She encouraged, wriggling her eyebrows.
I couldn't help myself and smiled.
Just like that, my head ached that little bit less.
Alice had a way of severing tension cleanly through, no grizzled edges or tearing. Perhaps she had more supernatural gifts than just the one. Or, perhaps, I was just in too deep.
She left what she'd divulged and I left what I'd heard and, miraculously, we managed normalcy and fell into comfortable small talk.
I think we both needed to just feel somewhat conventional, if only for a moment. Well, as conventional as Alice could get while being a vampire for - how long I still didn't know - and me being, well, me.
Hm. Such an odd thought.
Vampire.
Alice was a vampire.
I watched her animatedly describe her love affair with fashion and the arts. How she wanted to learn every language in the world - regardless of how many speakers it had. And how she wanted to do gardening - more than that, really. She wanted to build herself her own personal 'jungle', as she called it.
A sanctuary. A vendure-filled haven all to herself - fruiting trees, endless pastel flowers, and swathes of light showering it all in unrelenting flaxen rays. I loved her hopes and her dreams.
Without thinking, without even being invited, I imagined myself included in all of them.
Her lids were heavy, her mouth caught in a blissfully sweet smile as she rested her head on top of her hands. Her eyes fazed back to me and, somehow, seemed even dreamier than before. My breathing hitched and my heart thumped loudly.
"Why does your heart do that?" She snapped out of her reverie, fixating on my beating chest.
Great. She could hear it.
"Um, what do you mean?" I stalled, my eyes frantically searching for a place where I could bury myself.
"Well, it gets loud, gets quiet, speeds up. There's no rhyme or reason to it. Maybe you should visit a doctor? I can call Carlisle?" She was concerned now, her brows scrunching together as her plump lips thinned.
"No- no. There's nothing wrong with me it's just... Oh I don't know. You make me nervous sometimes," I wanted to slump my head into my hands and hide away from the world but I kept my head high. No more backing down or chickening out.
Just say it. Say it all.
"Oh?" She paused for a moment to reflect.
"You are not scared of me, are you? I promise, Bella, there is no way I could ever hurt you. I just... I could never! Everything that should be there in me, begging me to be more like Edward, is not there anymore. Not with you. The thought alone hurts me more than you will ever know."
I was pleased to know that Alice apparently didn't want to drink my blood.
I ignored the displeasure of now knowing - thanks to Alice's implications - that Edward wasn't so similarly inclined.
"No, again. Just no. It's not that. Have you already forgotten what I said to you? You know, back in the car? I mean, it did kind of slip out all on its own, but it's still very much true. Well, the term I used to describe my feelings was rather childish and minimizes the whole thing, but... Anyway, the heart thing is- it's something to do with that."
I could see the cogs turning and then, boom. The switch flicked. The lights turned on. Shock rippled over her porcelain skin before excitement took its hold and settled there instead.
"So, I make you nervous in that way," She squeezed my hand gently and edged across the table, which I now realized was quite small, savoring in the moment before collecting her thoughts to allow more of them to escape past her pink lips.
"Well, it is far from unrequited, Bella," She stilled herself, letting herself speak slowly and deliberately, "If my heart could still beat in my chest, even with your terribly inadequate human ears, you would hear it beating just for you."
She watched me earnestly, her doe-like eyes so sincere and adoring that I squirmed in my seat. I didn't know what to do with myself. Her words, her adoration, left me gasping for air.
"Alice," It should have been an inaudible breath - without shape or form, but I knew she had heard it.
She reached forward, slowly at first, and then with more reassurance, and ran the back of her free hand over my flushed cheeks.
"So warm," She sighed happily.
Perhaps it was overly cliché, and onlookers would cringe at the sight of it, but we didn't care. For a while we just looked into each other's eyes - sharing a secret just between us.
"If we don't leave now, Charlie will begin to fret. You promised him that you would be back by eleven at the latest, and, at least according to my sight, it's going to take us an hour to get back to Forks."
I didn't question how she knew what I'd told my Dad, and instead pulled out my phone to check the time.
She was right.
"Finish what is left on your plate and I will go on ahead and pay the bill," She held her finger out before I could utter any protests, "Hush. It is my treat."
I watched her go before scooping the last few pieces of pasta onto my fork and into my mouth. If this thing we had was going to continue - and it seemed like it would - I was going to have to learn how to tell Alice no.
Somehow, this challenge seemed a whole lot scarier to me than forcing Alice to let slip that she was a soothsaying vampire with no heartbeat.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ : *. .* : ﾟ. ───
We pulled up into the driveway, the Porsche settling behind my beat-up truck. Alice turned off the ignition and her front lights faded until we were left in the dark, only the dim glow from Charlie's TV set splintering through the cracks in the curtains, and the aged street-lamps lining the street, providing visibility.
She turned to me and I turned to her.
Suddenly everything was awfully quiet - a tension hanging in the air that even Alice couldn't cut through.
My eyes followed the delicate curves of her jawline, tracing over the swell of her cheekbones. I followed the swoop of her slender nose and drifted down to reside over a softly-parted mouth.
Her golden eyes were wide - expectant. Her plump lips smacked together invitingly.
I didn't think. I just did.
I crashed into her and she crashed into me. Our mouths moulded together - a perfect fit, a perfect rhythm.
She weaved her fingers into my hair and tugged me closer as my hands fell of their own accord to her hips. Her mouth was cold, soft, and yet, surprisingly inviting. The feel of her stony flesh underneath my tongue made me dizzy.
I could feel my heart once again getting out of control but I didn't care. Our lips worked against one another in unspoken unison; Languid and heavy.
I inhaled fast and hard, my eyes rolling under my eyelids from her intoxicating scent, and the delicious taste of her.
I could hear her soft gasps and muted squeaks of pleasure, feel them humming against my lips. Her fingers roamed through my locks and caressed the base of my scalp. I squeezed her hips, encouraging her to come closer.
Heat, despite the frigidity of her touch, pulsed throughout my body.
I moaned as another one of her sighs of pleasure vibrated against my lips - she quickly capitalized on my vulnerability, slipping her tongue into my mouth. She explored mercilessly and I opened wider, welcoming her in.
Even though I was unsure if she needed to breathe at all, her chest rose and fell as she took in large ragged lungfuls through her nose. Our chests heaved against one another as we desperately pulled each other ever closer.
All too soon, she reluctantly started to pull away. I looked at her curiously, still panting, and still entirely desperate for more. She batted her lashes apologetically, flicking her eyes down.
"Charlie will pop his head around the curtain soon to look for you. I do not think you will want him to catch us."
"But I don't want you to leave!" I gripped tighter onto her hips, still breathless.
Now, more than ever, I was in fear that my delusional misgivings were true and she'd begin to dematerialize once and for all. That she'd turn into vacuous mist - everything I'd just learned a dream - and all desires some sort of Freudian cruelty.
"Then I will not go. Just go inside and placate your father. I will meet you upstairs. I will only be a moment. I just have to park the car somewhere inconspicuous. And there is no need to ask how, just wait and see," She stole the words out of my mouth before I could question her further.
I shook my head dazedly and did as I was told. I got out of the car, a giddy smile plastered across my face, and headed for the front door. Was it normal for my legs to feel like jelly? I let out a short giggle, putting in a concerted effort to move one foot in front of the other.
I held onto the porch railing, catching myself before I could topple back down the stoop.
"Hey, Dad," I said as I hung up my coat on the coat rack, the warm air from the heater erasing the comforting chill that Alice had left glistening upon my lips.
"Was wonderin' when you'd get in," He grumbled, pulling himself off the couch to wander into the kitchen, "How was Port Angeles? Have fun with the girls?"
"Yeah, it was really quite good, actually," I responded earnestly, "Not everything was... expected. But it all turned out okay in the end. Better than okay, actually," My eyes glazed over briefly as I returned to the car - as I imagined Alice's lips on mine all over again.
Charlie didn't seem to notice my dreamy expression and grabbed some leftovers out of the fridge before returning to the living room.
"I'm watching an old cop movie if you're interested. Think it's from the 80s... maybe 70s? Whatever, it's good," He grunted as he swept past, the cold plate of food in his hand the central focus.
If it were any other night I would've told him off and instructed him to heat it up in the microwave but, right now, all I wanted was to race up to bed and back to Alice.
"No, thank you. It, uh, sounds good, but I'm pretty tired. Think I'll head up to my room and pass out," I called after him once he dipped out of view.
I started to climb the stairs but stalled, something in me telling me to turn around.
I mustered up the courage to say one last but very important thing.
"Goodnight Dad. I- I love you."
With that over with, I raced up the stairs. The faint muttering of a returned, "I love you," climbing its way up the stairs along with me.
I kicked off my shoes and left them at the foot of my bed. Alice wasn't here. I don't know what I'd expected - what, somehow she'd snuck past me and Charlie to lean seductively against the door frame? Stupid.
No matter how she made it up here, I hoped she'd do it soon. I didn't want her to leave me waiting. The fear of her disappearing was real and something I didn't want to repeat. Two or so weeks of truancy was all I could really handle from her. Anything more and I suspected I'd have a breakdown.
As I slipped on some pajamas, the usual affair - old track-pants that pooled around my knees from overuse and a form-fitting singlet top, I debated whether or not to leave my bra on.
I decided to ignore my flaming cheeks.
I knew full well I wouldn't be able to sleep with the bra straps digging into my shoulders. I also knew that a part of me desperately wanted to see Alice's reaction to my newly-found bareness.
I was just about to jump on top of my bed covers and continue my silent vigil when I heard a tap on my window. I looked over. Nothing.
Odd.
A small pebble clattered against the glass. I dashed over, knowing exactly who was behind the rock throwing..
I heaved the window open with more force than necessary and ducked my head out into the chilly night air to look for her. And, there she was. A matching grin glinted in the dark as her golden orbs peered up at me from the grass below.
"Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized," Alice giggled from down in the dark.
"Oh Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo, because she needs to get her butt up here."
Like a readied tigress, she pounced. I wasn't quick enough to move - my feet were glued to the floor, my mouth hanging open as she leaped elegantly from the garden below and arced through the air.
She flew through the window with supernatural speed, claiming me in her arms and tackling me down to the carpet.
Her body pressed down on top of mine.
Her lips were feverish and she didn't hesitate - her mouth moulding to my own with renewed fervor. I eagerly returned her kiss, excitedly tracing my fingers up along the curve of her spine.
I squirmed under her hold, my body writhing as she glossed her hands down from my cheek, tracing a path all the way to my collarbone and then over my shoulders.
Her fingers traipsed their way to my ribs. Her touch, although featherlight, eliciting a soft gasp which I breathed headily against her mouth.
She extricated herself slowly - struggling to break away - but soon salvaged the willpower and lifted herself up to scrutinize me. My lips were swollen and desperate from the absence.
Her eyes delved down, curiously following the path of her hands over my ribs.
Her fingertips reached up, fringing along my chest. I saw something dance across her features that I'd never seen before. A heat so palpable it lit my abdomen, and everything below it, aflame. I swallowed loudly.
Her golden eyes blazed into mine, unbridled, and burning hot.
She returned her mouth to mine - her reason for previous cessations all but forgotten. Newly invigorated and desirous, a moan thrummed deep from within her chest and coaxed a whimper from mine.
I didn't know how long we laid on the floor together, tangled completely and wholly in each other. All I cared about was drawing closer, ever nearer. I needed all of Alice, and it felt like she needed all of me, too.
I wanted every part of her pressed against me. Every part of her underneath my searching hands. I needed to map out every inch of her unbelievably soft skin beneath my lips. I wanted to relish in the feel of her slender yet solid frame until I was entirely consumed; A whisper in the air, marked only by my desire.
All too soon she was trying to separate from me again. How is it that she had endless swathes of self control, while I apparently had none?
I held on tightly, but still she slipped free. Although only after bestowing a soft and conciliatory kiss on the tip of my nose. It did nothing to dissuade the ache in my chest at the separation.
I watched curiously as her eyes glanced around my room, searching. I swore I saw her nostrils flare, if only for a split-second.
She reminded me of a scent hound on the hunt. But, I was breathless from the excitement of it all. My mind was reeling. I had other things on my mind and minor curiosities could not stifle them. Not any longer.
"So I guess it's true. You are a vampire, after all!" I chuckled breathlessly, elation and awe, and a whole lot of something else, flooding through my body.
"Of course. I would not lie to you, Bella," A soft smile pulled at her lips before I captured them again in mine, my teeth grazing and my mouth hungry.
I was beyond reproach, now. How would I ever stop? How could I?
"You must be getting sore, my love. You humans being ever so fragile," She hummed into my mouth.
Taking my slowing lips and silence as admission, she teased us apart, her golden eyes perusing my disgruntled features. She traced her fingers up and down the veins on my forearm as I marveled at her disarrayed hair - even more wild if that was at all possible.
"Now that you mention it, it is starting to hurt," I groaned, peeling myself up off the floor to rest on my palms, pain pinching at the base of my lower back.
"Come on, you should really get some sleep. I hear that is something you humans must do rather frequently," Alice cooed good-naturedly, one of her hands sweeping hair out of my face.
One moment she was leaning in front of me - her knees on either side of my hips - and the next minute she was standing with outstretched hands. I took them, enjoying the goosebumps they elicited before she pulled me up onto the balls of my feet.
"So, you're apparently super fast, I know you're super strong, and you can see the future? Are there any superpowers you guys don't have?"
"Honestly? No. Not really," Alice whistled, "We can hear a mouse's scurrying feet miles away. See things the human eye can only dream of. Smell our prey over whole mountains. It is a totally different world, Bella. A totally different life."
As I slipped under the sheets, her words got me thinking. I hadn't thought about it all night, or even when I'd started to suspect. For some reason, I'd subconsciously avoided the subject altogether.
The thought was finally allowed to enter my mind, crossing the threshold from subconscious to conscious.
Everyone knows what a vampire eats.
"Alice," I sighed shakily, for the first time feeling genuine fear churning in my gut, "What exactly do you eat?"
So this chapter was pretty full on! Hope you guys enjoyed a bit of action, and also found Alice and Bella's newfound honesty... invigorating. There's a lot more to unpack regarding Edward's creepin' so get yourself mentally prepared. I never really liked him much in the og series. I just found him far too possessive (and not in the fun way) and whiney. Now, though, I get to do him dirty and I'm not holding back lol. Also I didn't have much time to edit this one so I hope everything's tickity-boo. If not? Well, whoops! P.s. the 'holy crow' thing was meant to be ironic and a homage to steph's excessive usage, do not come at me!
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