Saturday. 7:00pm.

I hesitated outside, rolling back on my heels. I couldn't decide whether it was worth it.

I could hear them all. They were laughing. They all seemed so happy.

I'd hate to be the one to ruin that.

One foot drifted backwards, scraping over weathered floorboards. Only a second passed for it to snap right back into place.

Then again, I'd also hate to be alone tonight.

I stumbled forward, dragging my feet the whole way up the front stoop.

On top of feeling pervasively antisocial, I wasn't too excited to see Mike.

Any chance he could get to talk to me he'd jump on it like an overeager line-backer. He never managed to take a hint. I would find any old excuse to get away and yet he kept coming back for more. It's like the boy got off on rejection.

It was getting to the point where I'd legitimately contemplated asking Emmett to maybe scare him off a little - not with a tonne of violence, but, perhaps, a burly shove or two? But I figured that would be soaring too close to the sun, and to Alice.

The other day it'd gotten so bad, that he basically ignored Jessica completely and kept cutting her off to talk to me. I'd never seen her look so sour, and I wouldn't have blamed her if she directed her glares at me.

She didn't, though. She just ended up looking down at her shoes like she was somewhere else entirely. It made me feel wretched.

I was so mad when I got home I practically threw my bag on the floor before I rushed out into the backyard. I don't know what had come over me but I needed some sort of release. Hiking into the woodland fringing the house not only seemed like an appealing idea, but the only way to work off my anger.

If I tripped over a few roots and stray rocks, so be it. At least the cuts and bruises would be a distraction.

I followed the trail, half worn by humans and half worn by wild fauna, traversing through bracken and over rocky moss and damp earth for what felt like an hour.

I'd collapsed onto a flat little rock perfect for sitting, and dug the heels of my boots into the loamy soil at its base. My head fell into my hands.

I'd stayed there for a while, doing my darnedest to figure out a way to both rip my heart out of my chest and throw it away, as well as kill Mike.

I hadn't gotten very far regarding the heart issue, but I was sure a wood-chipper would come in handy for the latter.

It only occurred to me that I ought to be getting home when the hairs on the back of my neck started to prickle. I jerked my head up, my eyes darting around the forest. I hadn't noticed it at the time, but it had become deathly still.

I craned my neck, trying to make out a single squeak or bird call, but nothing. Absolute silence.

I'd gotten up quickly, and began to stumble back along the trail in a clumsy mad dash. It was stupid really. Still, for whatever reason, it felt as though death was imminent.

The worst part of it all was, just as I was making my way free, and about to burst out into the clearing of my yard, I swore I spotted two large brown eyes leering at me through the trees. As soon as I looked back to get a better view... It was gone.

No doubt my fantastical mind was at again. Vampires no longer enough, I was now onto boogeymen.

I couldn't tell what was scarier. The woods that evening? Or here and now, standing out front of Eric Yorkie's house.

My knuckles glanced over the wood of the door, barely making a sound. I guess a part of me hoped that if I knocked - albeit quietly - I could say I'd tried; I would be totally guiltless in turning on my heels and escaping back to the safety of my truck. I'm sure the engine was still warm.

"Hey, Bella!" Eric thrust open the door with a beaming smile that could rival a Cheshire Cat, dousing me in bright light surging out from the hallway behind him.

Well, there goes that plan. I felt like one of those prisoners that'd just been caught by a searchlight mid escape.

"Come on in! Everybody's already inside," He coaxed me under warm lamp light and into the comforting smell of roasting meats, spices, and the faintest whiff of a roaring fireplace.

Before I could stop him he started to help me out of my coat.

"If it's too much for you," He whispered as my arms slipped free, "You can go. I won't be upset or anything."

"Why would it be too much for me?" I turned towards him as he hung up weathered khaki.

Eric paused and just stared at me, his mouth opening and closing. It would've been comical if I wasn't already anxiety-ridden and assuming the worst.

"Uh, I guess just... Come on."

I trailed a few feet behind him as he led us down the narrow entry. I'd have paid more attention to his home if it weren't for my incessant nerves. As far as I could tell, it was an older building, yet tastefully renovated in dark colors like mauves and emerald.

I took in slow and deliberate lungfuls, mentally preparing myself for the arduous task of forcing smiles and engaging in needless small talk; And, if Eric's warnings were anything to go by, a room full of photographers at the ready, frothing at the bit to publish my anaemic face across every local newspaper right up to Seattle.

He paused out front of the archway, giving me a panicky look over his shoulder, before ducking into the lounge. I stumbled in after him, more terrified than before.

All heads turned towards us - except for one. She, of course, had been patiently waiting all along.

The room went deathly still.

I don't know what I'd thought. She was invited. It still felt like the floor under my feet was going to crumble out beneath me, though. Like even a room full of photographers with greasy cameras would've been a lot less formidable...

"Guys, let's um... give them some space, or whatever," Jessica mumbled awkwardly, putting her hands on the coffee table as she prepared to push herself up from the floor.

"No uh-" I halted her, ushering her back down, "Alice, can I talk to you? In private?"

Amber, wide like radar dishes, pierced out from the mixture of ordinary blue, brown, and hazel.

I was certain she'd come here for me, but... she seemed surprised. Perhaps she had assumed I'd just bail without a word? I couldn't blame her. That had been my modus operandi so far.

"Of course, Bella," Alice's surprise quickly mellowed into a carefully curated smile.

I wasn't entirely sure whether the mask served to hide her glee at the prospect of further proximity, or fear of any rebukes I might have to offer her later.

"Hey, don't forget this!" Angela picked up a neatly wrapped gift from the sofa.

"Oh, right! Thank you, Angela," She smiled in thanks before turning her attention back to me.

She edged out of the room, nimbly darting between Ben and Jessica, as well as evading my questioning gaze, which flicked between her and the gift held precariously between forefinger and thumb.

I shook my head and rushed down the hall, gulping as the anxiety finally started to kick in. I was surprised that she didn't keep pace.

I stood a little ways down and watched her approach, naturally, with arms folded, all in a terrible attempt at aloofness. I figured some degree of forced austerity would make it seem like I was more put together than I actually was.

Against all of my self-imposed principles, I took her in. I let myself bask...

My breath hitched and I was instantly consumed, and it was like I was seeing her for the first time all over again. I was glued to Alice's every luxurious movement, unable to remember how I'd kept myself away in the first place.

I had always been captivated by her, but the pull felt especially powerful tonight. Something about the narrow hallway and her looming approach amplifying fear and desire alike.

It was hard not to notice what she was wearing. Not when they accentuated every part of her in the most intoxicating of ways.

She wore form-fitting jeans that hung tightly to her slender yet perfectly sculpted legs. As my eyes drifted further up, reaching a white tucked chiffon blouse, I spied the subtle outline of a black bra peeping shamelessly through. I traced a path beyond the sheer material until I reached the slope of her collarbone, too happy that she'd left the first few buttons undone to reveal snow-white skin.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, shaking myself free of traitorous thoughts far too late, "And what's that?"

My eyes zeroed in on the package she gripped firmly in her hands. Gold and blue wrapping paper crinkled beneath her fingertips, a perfectly tied red bow flopping down the sides.

We faced each other - my back pressed firmly to green wallpaper, hers to the wall opposite. So close, yet so far away.

She didn't answer me. She just stared. Scrutinizing what I imagined was every line, crease, and furrow on my face. Perhaps, trying to divulge the truth hidden beneath skin and bone.

Wordlessly, and with speed bordering on the supernatural, she pushed herself off of the wall and propelled herself forward. Her free hand enveloped my cheek with gentle yet passionate finality.

God she was cold. I missed that about her.

"Alice I-" She swallowed up my words and pressed her lips against mine.

Her mouth moved rough and hard - completely unrelenting. I raised my hands to push her away but, as I knew they would, they betrayed me and pulled her closer instead.

Fuck.

All of my defences fell, one by one. Soon, my lips were parting, and she didn't hesitate. Her tongue plunged into my mouth and I gasped. She tilted my head so she could explore and plunder as freely as she wished, forcing a moan to hum its way up the back of my throat.

She chuckled breathlessly against my lips, before pressing her forehead to mine.

"My love, please do not be mad with me. I have missed you so desperately. So terribly. It has been harder than you can imagine playing by these awful rules - Playing by the rules instead of going right ahead and claiming you however, and whenever, I deem fit."

She lifted her head to look into my eyes. For a moment I thought I was hypnotized by pure swirling rivers of gold.

When she looked at me like that, with such an intensity, it burned me right through until I felt nothing else but her. The only thing I could still feel? My thundering heart and flaming cheeks.

With her so close, it was hard to argue the point. If she really wanted to, she could claim me. Thoroughly. Not necessarily by strength or speed, although that would certainly work, too. But by pure desire alone.

I was at her mercy. I always had been. I'd been relying on smoke and mirrors to make it seem like I had more courage and willpower than I ever really did.

Through my shallow, sharp breaths, and thumping chest - undoubtedly something she was perfectly in tune with by now - I took brief respite. I grazed my head upwards and rested against the wall to admire her marble skin peaking out through her blouse - hinting at glimmering pearlescence.

All too soon the haze faded and I met her eyes again, fear of further hypnosis be damned.

Although they were aflame with both the longing and adoration I'd come to expect but not deserve, there was also something else dwelling within their guarded depths.

She was so close that I could feel her sadness cutting into my skin like thorns. It resounded through me so profoundly, and with such fullness, that it made my chest ache from the pain of it.

"Alice," I gasped, moving my hands down to her shoulders in an attempt to gently pry her away, "We can't do this. You know what Carlisle said."

"Carlisle be damned! I do not care what he has said, or what he will say, and I do not care about this futile separation any longer! I am tired of trying to do the right thing and respect your wishes - especially when this is all so wrong!" She growled, her eyes suddenly burning, her body an unmovable rock, "You know just as well as I do that this is not worth it. It is killing us. It is killing me..."

"I won't be the one to ruin you, Alice. I refuse," I avoided her gaze, too much of a coward to bask any further in the pain that I had wrought.

"For crying out loud, Bella. be honest with yourself! If you cannot be honest for your own sake, at least do it for me!" She pulled my face back towards her, her thumb and pointer finger's grip on my chin delicate yet convincingly firm.

She tried to fight it. Her eyes wavered as she stared, flicking between my lips again and again. But, in the end, she caved. She gave into the impulse. Or perhaps she just sought to wake me from a stupor?

She pressed her searing lips to my mouth, before her eyes fluttered open to look at me with more fire than I had the power to withstand.

"This is not just about my visions. It never has been. It is so much more than that. You would not discard what we have so easily, otherwise."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Do not lie to me, Bella!" She growled, topaz darkening as she inched closer with teeth bared.

She looked the perfect picture of death, a menacing angel who, just as easily could cure you of all ills, could kill you with a twist of her wrist or snap of her fingers.

A jolt of electricity sizzled threw me, making me gasp aloud from the surprise of it.

My stomach flipped and I swallowed hurriedly. Not now! This is why we couldn't be together. I was insane!

More than anything, I knew I should be frightened. But... my body and mind was all about betrayal this evening.

A blush quickly wormed its way across my cheeks. I sucked my bottom lip fiercely into my mouth and used every tool in my arsenal not only to ignore the warmth blossoming below my navel, but also hopefully quell it.

No matter how hard I tried, it was pointless. There was nothing I could do to hide from Alice.

Her mouth parted, her eyes sparkling instantly in recognition.

Anger soon gave way - past irritations forgotten - and a coy smile readily quirked at the corners of her lips like it had been waiting to spring into action all this time. I could sense, beneath all the heat and muddled thoughts, that it was ever so slightly contrived. That didn't stop her efforts from eliciting the desired response, though.

"Bella," She drawled almost like a purr, pressing herself closer until her body skimmed mine.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to drown out the feeling of her breasts brushing up against mine and the tantalizing swirl of her breath flowing over my lips.

"If sex is what it takes, my love," Alice pulled away to get a better look at my face, "If that is what you want. What you need for me to convince you? You can have it. You can have anything."

"Alice!" I gawped incredulously, suddenly crashing back down to earth like a meteor, "I would never... I'd never use you like that. Do you really think I'm that kind of person? Somebody who'd take advantage of a situation like this? Of you?"

"No, I do not believe that at all" She flicked her eyes down before dragging them back up to meet mine abashedly, "But I cannot bear to let you go. Not again. You simply cannot make me."

She pushed herself closer, the mysterious gift pressing into my side as her grip tightened over me. I had half a mind to ask her about it, but there were way too many, and much more pressing, thoughts flooding my mind.

"But there is no other way, Alice. Not unless you turn-"

"But there is! Jasper thought of it," She nodded eagerly, her expression pleading.

"Jasper?" I arched my brow, "What else is there that we can possibly do? That he'd know that Carlisle doesn't?"

"He believes that you can hone your abilities just as you are. That you do not have to become like me in order for everything to return as it was."

I stalled for a moment, the cogs in my mind slowly turning over.

I wanted to ask Alice why she cared so much about keeping me human. After all, it hurt. It hurt more than I allowed myself to acknowledge. It hurt so deeply, cut me so thoroughly, because it was the very thing I'd feared all along. But I figured there was enough angst shared between us for one evening. I didn't want to hear her say her excuses - I'm sure they'd all be plenty convincing, anyway.

I wasn't ready to give up the comforting weight of her stony flesh, or the frigid chill of her skin, just yet.

"But I'm just human, Alice. I'm not special. I'm not-"

"Oh heavens, Bella! If you do not stop this I swear I am going to scream. Stop saying such ridiculous things all the time!" She groaned in frustration, "You are. Just listen to me, will you?"

"Okay," I muttered, ducking my head like I was some sort of scolded kindergartner, " If you're so certain, what exactly do I have to do to-... to make this work?"

"Stay with me," She breathed, wide-eyed and with a conviction too steadfast for me to fully immoliate.

"Alice," I chastised, preparing myself to try and futilely push her away again - sure that I'd make the mistake of pulling her closer instead.

"No, listen!" She grabbed one of my hands, "You will need to practice. It makes perfect sense. You will need me to know if it is working! And it is not like spending time away has helped much. If anything, it has just made things worse. I cannot see anything at all now."

"What?" I gasped, "How- Why didn't you say anything to me?" I fumed, lips thinning and brows heavily furrowed.

"I tried!" She bit back with just as much fire, "You hardly let me look at you let alone talk to you, remember? Or is it so easy for you to forget the cold-shoulder once I have proven it to be purposeless, and more of a knife for you to impale yourself with than ever protect or help me?"

"Well that's just... That's-! I-...That's just beside the point!"

"How so?" Alice's eyes widened in disbelief, totally aghast.

"God. I don't know! I'm just...," I sighed, rubbing my hands over my face, "This hasn't been easy on me, either. I- I've been a mess. I did want to help! I really did. You cannot blame me for thinking your world is better without me in it."

"I can, and I do. You did not have to walk away. You-... You did not have to do any of this!" Alice's eyes softened despite the hurt, her fingers gently tracing where my hands had brusquely rubbed.

"Yes. Yes, I did."

"You are not saving me by leaving me, Bella," Softened eyes hardened once again , "You do not get to decide what is good for me. Or who is good for me. You do not get to use this- this... little hiccup... as a way to disappear into the background! To pretend that you are somehow being noble by withholding the one thing, one person, I could ever want or need."

I inhaled harshly. I looked to and thro, instinctively seeking out the closest exits. Maybe this is why I had been avoiding her. She knew. She always knew.

She saw through me better than anyone else did. There was never any hiding with her, or seeking refuge in delusion.

"How long are you going to keep making me restate the obvious? How long must I wait for you to look in the mirror and see the truth, and not the monster you think yourself to be?"

I felt cold all over. It wasn't the familiar chill of her frozen immortality. It wasn't hopeful, or kind. It wasn't loving, or satiating. It was that sinking moment when your world crumbles, and you peer past the veil to see all the harm caused from selfish phantasms. It was a frigidness like no other, and it sank right to the depths of me.

"You are so much more than you think you are. It is high time that you stop believing your own lies and just accept this. Accept us. I love you. I am bound to you - body, mind, and soul. There is no changing that! Even if, and this is a big if, you are bad for me? It would hurt me so much more to lose you than it would to be destroyed by you."

"How can you say that?" My voice wobbled, throat closing of its own accord.

I clenched my eyes shut, willing the tears to go away. They didn't and instead just forced their way past wet lashes and rolled down my cheeks.

Alice quietly caught them with her fingertips before kissing the salty trails left behind.

"I am yours, Bella. I have always been yours. You are my mate. There is no greater force in this world than the bond felt between a vampire and their lover. I live and breathe for you. If destruction is what you offer - which I firmly and adamantly know to be untrue - then, regardless, I gladly accept it. I welcome it wholeheartedly! There is nothing more that I want in this whole world than to be utterly destroyed by you if that is all I am to ever have from you."

I opened my eyes, lips trembling.

She glared at me with conviction, before the silence began to make her lip quiver, too.

"Please. I beg you, Bella. Have me. Have me and keep me completely..." She fell forward, nestling her head under my chin as her fingers pulled on fabric and tightened indiscriminately, "Do not let go of me. Not again. I simply cannot bear it!"

Her breaths came short and fast. Desperate for me to give in. Desperate for me to stay.

I let the back of my head roll against the wall.

It should be so easy to just say yes. To agree to stay with her and never leave. She was everything.

She had crawled her way out of a fairy tale and entered my mortal world, ensnaring me before I ever stood a chance. The blood, perhaps marring the story for others, had done nothing in my eyes to condemn her or deter desire. As soon as she had laid eyes on me, and I her, I was ruined beyond repair. Nobody would ever be able to compare to her.

She was the one.

In one month - just one - my life was completely rewritten in her perfect cursive script; Any and all inkblots, wrinkled edges, and misspellings, doodled over by another's hand. In a few more... I was inexplicably tied to her world and severed from my own.

Yet, to accept her... To accept holding her captive for as long as I lived? Something inside of me burned at the thought. Screamed at me that it would be a cruelty.

I would give everything I had to Alice, but it would never be enough. I couldn't help but wonder if there was somebody else out there. Somebody who could do it. Someone who could manage to offer her exactly what she deserved.

Then again, as much as I tried to fight it, I was a selfish creature.

Covetous.

Weak.

Human.

There was nothing to it, really.

"Okay..."

I wrapped my arms around her, my hands drifting down to rest against the small of her back. She let out a loud sigh - wearier than I dared believe her capable of - and I let go of any fight I had left.

"Thank you. Oh thank you."

Her mouth grazed across sensitive skin until eager lips found mine.

Instead of the passion and fire of earlier, she didn't rush. Slow, tender, enthralling.

Methodical and wholly breath-taking.

Like she was both etching me permanently into memory, and solidifying my acquiescence into stony flesh.

I supposed I shouldn't be too disappointed in my weakness. I never really had the heart to stay away. Not when being with her felt like this. Not when my lies were made of glass.

For good or for worse, I was done running.

I moved my hands down the lengths of her petite arms, gliding over chiffon until I jarringly found crinkling paper at her fingers.

"What is this?" I prodded, mumbling into her mouth as my nails scratched at gift-wrapping, "It's not Eric's birthday, you know. You don't have to bring people presents just because they've invited you to hang out at their place."

"I know that. Stop being cheeky," Alice lifted the package to rap it lightly across my chest in admonishment, "It is for you, if you must know."

"Me?" I stared down in bewilderment as she shoved the gift into my hands, "What for? Are you trying to buy my love, or something?"

"Do I have to? I was under the impression that I already had a monopoly over your heart," She replied smartly, her eyes twinkling.

Her impish mischief was something I'd missed terribly. I wasn't so foolish to miss the slightest edge in her voice, though.

"No. You do."

"Well, then, consider it a gift for gift's sake. I figured you needed it. And I also figured you were more likely to accept presents if they were practical and serve a genuine purpose, and, perhaps, foisted onto you when you least expect it. I have been dying to spoil you since I first laid eyes on you. Yet, you make it so hard," Alice rolled her eyes, the genuine frustration not lost on me.

I awkwardly investigated the gift, shrugging in response. It was soft and pliable, yet still rather heavy.

"Please, Bella... Sweetie. Ditch all of the frugality, awkwardness, and useless humility for just one night. Eventually, I plan to see you covered in jewels and gold. Only jewels and gold. If you cannot open one simple present, and I do not get my way, I promise you I shall be an utter menace!" She groaned, eyeing my less than confident perusing.

"Wait. You want to see me-... with only expensive jewellery? That's your fantasy?" My mouth fell open, the present all but forgotten.

"One of many, my love. One of many. I have all sorts of ideas, you know," She smirked, her eyes glimmering, "You can hardly imagine."

"But It is so... so... over the top! There's literally starving children and- and so many people living in poverty!"

"Yes, but it is also a really enjoyable image that gives me great pleasure. And I happen to love pleasure," She bit her lip, lashes fluttering, "There is nothing stopping me from both giving a few million to charity, and cuffing you in gold handcuffs the same night, no?"

Before I could even stammer out something entirely incomprehensible - shocked by her newfound vulgar candour - she drew my attention back to the task at hand.

"Hurry up," She tutted, impatiently rapping her knuckles over my unopened gift, "Your friends are already wondering where we are."

Her patience, or lack thereof, was still unchanged. I couldn't say I was exactly surprised.

"Hm, fine," I huffed out, head still spinning from the whiplash as I picked at the tape.

Was it just me, or had I been played? How did I go from all of my walls being up, to being seduced into opening presents, of all things?

Package still half-opened, a strip of gift wrapping in-hand, I lifted my head. Another thought, to Alice's dismay, drawing my attention.

"What would you have done if we hadn't made up? I'd never have accepted this."

"Probably break into your truck and leave it in the backseat?" Alice folded her arms blasély.

"Alice! That's illegal! And incredibly invasive!" I reprimanded.

"Bella, love, I am obviously joking," Alice rolled her eyes, her hands falling to rest on her hips, "I would take it back home, contented by the knowledge that I would be able to successfully accost you another time."

"You are quite self-assured, you know that, right?" I sighed, peeling back the remaining bit of paper.

Alice took the discarded gift-wrapping from my hand as I let folded fabric fall loose. Before I had time to blink, the paper was gone, and the garment was swinging before me, gravity revealing its shape and form.

I held out a thick stylish winter coat, leagues more expensive and fashionable than I'd ever pick out for myself.

Thinking back on the ragged thing hanging up by Eric's front door, I wasn't averse to an upgrade. It was a similar shade of khaki, if not closer to sand, but thankfully was missing the dogged stained cuffs.

"Try it on!" Alice encouraged toothily, prodding the dangling material towards my chest.

"Alright, alright!" I giggled, shifting it around to slip one of my arms inside, "You know, it's actually quite nice. I appreciate that you haven't totally forsaken functionality over form. I'm surprised."

"Of course not," Alice tutted with a frown, her eyes watching piercingly as I slipped in my other arm, "You vulnerable little humans always get so cold up here in the north. It is a wonder your kind survived the ice ages."

Her last words tapered off as I pulled the coat fully over my shoulders. I looked down at myself - no mirror in sight - trying to gauge the finished product.

This coat certainly hugged a little closer than my old one - Dad ever-leaning towards baggy chic, both in his own wardrobe and that of his daughter's.

I ran my hands down my sides, having the distinct feeling Alice had intended to reveal more of my body's curvature than I was usually accustomed.

"You look good," Alice's lips parted to reveal her perfect teeth, her eyes gleaming under the hall lights.

"Mm, you would say that. You bought me the coat, after all," I scoffed, instinctively tucking a lock of hair behind my ear as my cheeks started to warm.

"Bella, do not be fooled. In most things I would do the absolute most to save your feelings - but I would NEVER lie about fashion. Sincerely... You look quite becoming," She glided forward, running her hands up and down along my sides, "I have half a mind to think that it looks so good, you would not need a single thing to accompany it."

I gulped.

"I uh- I could do that for you. Um, sometime," I croaked, "Just wear this... Nothing else."

If Alice's sexual liberation was to stay, I couldn't help myself but try to capitalise, even if it made my stomach flip to do it. Not that I wanted her to know that, of course.

I gestured shakily towards the hem of my coat, "It's much more practical than gold jewellery, obviously."

"Oh?" Alice's mouth parted ever so slightly, an intrigued smirk picking at the corners of her lips, "That sounds wonderfully thrilling."

Her hands drifted up to my collar before slipping back down and underneath the coat to trace featherlight patterns over my ribs. She was so close, balancing perfectly on her heels, so that her lips hovered just a hair's width away from my own.

Her intoxicating scent skimmed over my lips and cheeks, and my mouth watered.

"Alice," I half gasped half admonished, "Eric's Mom could literally walk out and see us. We can't keep tempting fate."

Oh but I wanted to. I hated myself for staying away. I hated myself for denying something as intoxicating as this.

"Oh hush. She is upstairs reading. No one is going to see us. To disturb us. No one important, that is."

"What do you mean no one important?" I tried to duck out from her embrace, spying the knowing glint in her eyes, but I wasn't quick enough.

"Yeah, I think they made up!"

My head snapped towards the sound like I'd heard a gunshot. I watched in slow motion as the last few words were smugly called over her shoulder.

Jessica's voice echoed down the hall. I wanted to vomit.

It was better than being caught by Eric's mother, but not by much.

She leaned predominantly on one foot, her arms folded across her chest - an unashamed smirk appraising Alice and I's very intimate coupling as if she'd been sure of this outcome all along.

I quickly slipped out from Alice's grasp against the wall, and took a few tentative steps towards the parlor.

"Coming?" I looked back, embarrassment staining my cheeks as I held out a hand.

"Of course, my darling," She beamed, rolling her eyes in teasing mockery before reaching out for me.

She was far too pleased with herself but I wasn't going to reprimand with Jess watching. I was starting to think Alice got off on the exhibitionism, and I would be damned if I gave her the satisfaction.

"Finally!" Eric's exuberant smile nearly knocking me off my feet, "Now we can finally get this party started. Somebody, hit the boombox, pull out the scrabble board, STAT. You losers are going doOooOoown!"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ : *. .* : ﾟ. ───

"So, back together, eh?"

I whipped around, nearly sloshing water all down my front.

"Yes. I suppose so," I shrugged, gently placing my glass onto the counter.

"I mean, it's to be expected I guess. Women are emotional and erratic. You guys'll probably break up in a another month or two," Mike shrugged, jamming his hands into his pockets.

I opened my mouth but then shut it again.

After swallowing back the expletives I actually wanted to say, I spoke very carefully.

"Shouldn't you be in there helping Ben? Eric and Angela are only a few points away from sinking your entire team."

"Oh I was just thirsty," He shrugged again, his mouth quirking at the corners.

"You could have just asked. I'm already getting Jess a glass, too."

"Could've," He skirted slowly around the counter, "But I kinda' wanted to talk."

I briefly glanced past his shoulder, trying to hide the longing in my eyes. If I made a break for it now, maybe I could dash by him and get to the hallway.

"About?" I finally ventured, chewing nervously on the inside of my cheek.

"I was just going to say that-"

"Oh, there you two are!" Alice appeared like an angel, materializing under the doorway. Although, if looks were anything to go by, she had swapped out her halo for horns.

Mike startled before smoothing his hair.

"Hey, Alice," He forced, trying to hide his sneer behind a smarmy grin.

Alice swept past him, gliding across the tiles as if she was skating over an ice rink, and slipped one of her arms around my waist.

"Let us head back on in, shall we? Hate to keep everybody waiting when we have a game to win!" Her face was stretched into a warm smile but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

She stared pointedly at Mike, and something about it deeply unnerved him.

Maybe it was the way she smiled so specifically at him. How it was a little too wide. A little too sharp.

Too inhuman.

Or maybe it was just her gaze? Something about it being so powerful, seething with such an unspoken rage, that it set off all of one's instincts. But he hurried out of the room without saying another word.

I'd never felt more indebted.

"Gosh," I fell forward, wrapping my arms around her neck and nuzzling into her hair, "You saved me. You're literally my hero."

"He has been bothering you for a while," She tilted her head, our noses grazing as her words billowed over my lips. She stated it as a more of a fact than a question.

"Yes, but how would you know about that?" I pulled back slightly, brows furrowing.

"The school has eyes, Bella."

I stared wordlessly. She caved.

"It is hard not to notice these things when you have an astonishing sense of hearing. And, well, amongst other things, it does not go astray that my brothers and sisters are also similarly astute. I, uh... I may have asked them to keep an eye on you," She looked away shyly before immediately flicking them back up.

"I expected as much," I shrugged, any anger or outrage that should be there smothered out by the weight of her rescue and the knowledge that I'd have done the same thing, "You just can't help yourself."

"Sure I can," She grinned, lifting herself gracefully up onto her tippy toes to give me a lingering peck, "It is just a matter of whether or not I want to. Now, come along, we are playing Boggle next and I simply cannot lose!"

I snorted, but still allowed her to tug me out of the room. Alice was a queen of many things - distraction was one of them.

"What? Is Boggle some sort of tried-and-true vampiric past-time? Maybe if you'd led with that when you revealed your big secret, then I'd have been more inclined to start running."

"I would give you a proper slap on the wrist right now if it were not for the fact that I would be worried your pesky human fragility would spoil the sentiment!" She retorted, "But, if you must know, boardgames are an experience my family and I happen to partake in from time to time. Should I tighten my grip? Or will you play nice and decide to trip another day?"

A giddy little giggle was all I could afford in response. I'd have been more indignant but, as much as I'd like to deny it, being back by Alice's side was like a shot of pure ecstasy. I'd forgotten how exhilarating she was, and what an addict she made of me.

We settled down together in the middle of the leather couch between Ben and Tyler after Jessica hopped up to let us pass. Mike sat in the armchair adjacent, pretending to be more focused on the ongoing game of battleship laid out across the coffee table than our entrance.

Jessica quickly retook her spot on one of the cushions on the floor by Angela and Eric, snatching her phone up off the table.

She began animatedly typing and I didn't need to ask to figure out about what. I just hoped she was confiding in someone out of town. Or at least keeping the sordid details to an absolute minimum.

"You getting in on this, Bella?" Tyler looked over at me after torpedoing new coordinates.

Sadly, from my vantage point, he wasn't even close to Angela and Ben's battleship.

"Um, I'm happy to just watch. I don't know about Alice, though. I do know she's terribly excited for a round of Boggle," I glanced briefly at her, unable to sidle out of the way of her prodding digits.

She never poked hard, but always managed to find the most tender spot of flesh every single time. Some things never changed.

"I will sit this one out too, I think," Alice nodded, nuzzling closer into my arms and pretending like she couldn't hear the thunderous roar of my heart, "Looks like you guys have a firm handle on things."

"Yeah, me and Mike have sank nearly all of Angela and Ben's ships. It's the perfect payback for ruining us during monopoly. Isn't that right, Mike?"

"Yeah," Mike muttered gloomily, "Payback."

Tyler stared blankly at him for a second before shrugging and returning his attention back to the game.

"Well, you've managed to really put him in quite the sour mood," I whispered into Alice's ear, furtively looking around the room before continuing, "I should set you on all of my enemies."

Alice's lips quirked ever so slightly before she leaned in to respond, her mouth hardly moving at all, her words a faint whisper.

"I suppose there are benefits to having a vampire up your sleeve. Just another reason for you to keep me close."

"Hey, Bella," Mike suddenly lost all of his doom and gloom, mutiny sizzling in the air, "My Pops said he saw you down on the reservation with Jacob Black. He's got quite a reputation this side of town. You know, for racing the back roads and, at least from what I've heard, trying to scout some of the girls on school grounds. Any thoughts you wanna' share with us about that?"

Alice went deathly still against me.

Her eyes were blazing. Shit.

The whole room fell into an awkward silence.

"Jacob Black? Jacob, while we were-?" She seethed under her breath, barely audible but just loud enough for me to hear, "Anything else I should know? I did not know that your tastes extended to mutts."

"Alice!" I gasped, mouth falling open in tandem with my plummeting heart, "What the hell? It's not even like that, he's just a friend! You don't have to get so personal."

"Come on, guys," Mike mockingly whined, eyes gleaming, "Say it loud enough for us to hear!"

"Mike, you've been a jerk practically the whole night. Do I have to ask you to leave?" Eric folded his arms across his chest, looking meaner than I'd ever seen him - a thickly-set scowl marring his usually cheery face.

"Bro, chill," Mike laughed in astonishment, looking between everyone for allies, "It's only a joke! Obviously Bella's not going to dip on Alice like that. I mean, if she did, she certainly wouldn't pick some dead-end loser like him."

"What are you trying to say, Mike?" I leaned forward, hands balling into fists, "That you're so much 'cooler' than him? He's a better person than you'll ever be! I'm sorry that's too bitter a pill for you to swallow."

"Oh, feisty. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you two do have a thing going after all," He scoffed, lounging back into his armchair like some sort of Machiavellian mastermind, "You better watch out for this one, Alice."

"We don't!" I quickly bit back, glancing frantically at an accusatory Alice, "I swear I don't!"

The others all started to devolve into bitter quips, most directed at Mike for bringing down the atmosphere. Jessica even got in on it, but I wasn't focused on what everybody else was saying.

Instead, I had my eyes fixed permanently on Alice.

She appraised me coolly, her scrutiny not withholding any of its barbs.

"Alice," I whispered, drawing closer to her so only she could hear, "He is just a friend, I promise! Mike's clearly trying to rile you up. Don't believe any of it, please. I know I don't exactly deserve your trust, right now. I wouldn't even trust me! But I swear to god, I'm not lying."

"I just think it is funny how quickly you started making new friends once I was out of the picture," Her mouth twitched, almost as if she was doing her utmost to hold back a growl.

"It isn't like that, Alice," I sighed, swallowing, "I've known him since I was a kid. He's just easy to get along with. And while you were gone, I won't lie, I jumped on any distraction I could get. And they weren't easy to come by, either! Screw me for wanting to escape some of my anguish, right?"

"Do you like him?" She probed, her icy façade wavering for just a second.

"No, not like that! Not at all!" I shook my head fiercely, reaching for her, "I- I feel a strong connection to him, but it's nothing like what I feel for you. It's not... romantic or-or sexual... or whatever."

I gulped away my embarrassment. When was this stuff going to stop feeling so taboo?

"I only feel that way about you."

She searched my face, eyes roving up and down, before her icy mask fell.

"How do you know that he does not feel that way about you? I would not fault him for harboring such feelings, although it does make me want to kill him for it."

My grip tightened around her forearm.

"Alice don't say that. If he does, well, I'll deal with it. He's a good guy, I'm sure he'll understand."

"That is what everybody always thinks. That they are 'good guys'," Alice ground her teeth, "He is young and pubescent. I would not think so highly of him, if I were you."

"And I wouldn't make such sweeping statements!" I frowned, a little grit entering into my voice.

"I do not like you hanging around with somebody like him, Bella," Alice whispered back tersely, lips thinning, "He is not safe."

"Can't we talk about this later?" I whispered just as tersely, starting to notice that the surrounding argument was beginning to die down, "All that matters is that I want you and only you. There is no doubt in my mind, nor will there ever be. I'm not going anywhere. I won't do that to you again, and certainly not for Jacob Black of all people."

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows disbelievingly, "If only that were true! You practically have a death wish. You are clumsy beyond belief - Emmett's told me how he has had to save you from smashing your own skull against the bleachers in gym class, not once, but several times - and it also appears that you are lured in by any and all supernatural creatures within a hundred yard radius."

"Not true," I scrunched my nose, purposefully ignoring the accurate recounting of my gym classes, "I'm only drawn to you."

She gave me a curious look before letting out a low grumble.

"Fine. I will let this go. For now."

I was about to pry, finding her lack of further protest highly suspicious, but the front door slamming dragged my attention back to the rest of the room.

"Good riddance he's gone," Angela let out a long exhale, "He's been acting really weird all week. He needs to take some time to process whatever the hell is going on with him, because it's really not okay taking everything out on all of us."

"Tell me about it," Jessica dropped her head, lower lip jutting ever so slightly, "He's said some really nasty things to me lately. He used to be so kind!"

Alice and I shared a concerned look.

Angela scooted across the carpet and wrapped an arm around Jessica, giving her a consoling squeeze.

"Um, Ben," I shifted in my seat awkwardly, "How, uh, was that convention thing? You know, the one with your favorite... author?"

It wasn't my best work but I figured I had to try something. I'd been the catalyst to this whole mess, it seemed only right I tried to clean it up.

My plan, as fumbling and badly implemented as it was, seemed to work. Ben perked up, taking the bait near instantly.

I slouched back into the couch, letting my head fall into Alice's granite neck. She slid an arm around me, pulling me even closer.

"I just knew you'd be mad about Jacob," I breathed. My intuition was right - somebody got hurt, and it was the one person I'd wanted to keep safe above all others.

She didn't talk for some time and I was about to tilt my head to look at her but she eventually responded.

"Of course. Anything that puts you in harm's way is my personal bane."

"He's really not the hooligan Mike made him out to be. I mean, he does like speeding, which I naturally warned him against, but that's all," I mumbled, fully aware how little my words would reassure her.

"Let it go, Bella," Alice's hand began to slowly caress up and down my back, in complete contradiction to the sudden statuesque stillness of the rest of her body, "I just want to enjoy you, so let me do so in peace."

"Does that mean I can't talk at all?" I felt myself beginning to sulk.

Alice's chest hummed with a chuckle.

"Depends. What do you want to talk about?"

"Not Jacob."

That got me an even louder chuckle. Some of our friends turning their heads.

"Good choice."

Annnd we're back in business. Whoop whoop! Can everyone give me a huuuuuyeaah? Okay, I'm sorry. I'll stop. Anyways, we all knew it wouldn't last long before Alice and Bella got back together. They're too codependent. Or in love, as the romantics say. At least Bella gets an A for effort for sticking to her morals and trying to do the "right thing". Unfortunately, what she thinks is the right thing, is not only boring, but also very unhelpful. By the way I feel so sorry for Eric - he just wants to have fun and feed people his Mother's home-cooking, yet Bella and Alice are being dumb and Mike is an oversensitive douchebag... Poor guy *gags violently*. Anyway we're (I think) getting over the excess of drama that captivated me years ago when I wrote this - may all of you who hated this breathe a sigh of relief! Also please don't expect this high turnover of chapters for the foreseeable future - I've been sick and had extra time as a result to panic about everyone hating the trajectory of Waxing Crescent lmao - sooo yeah the next post should be in a week or two 3

If you would like to follow me on my socials, check out my Twitter and Tumblr handles on my profile page! And ooh thank you so much for reading. It really means a lot... I hope you're enjoying the story so far! If you have any criticisms or just want to say something positive, comment down below. I read every single one :)

If you're interested in showing your support, and helping me hone my craft and develop into a fully-fledged writer, just head on over to my Kofi page - /eld1rt