Alice stared at her brother in bemusement; his eternally brooding features held an extra degree of severity since he'd returned from his self-imposed exile in Alaska. The family had been worried about his control, but after taking a week to calm himself, he'd returned with a rather wild idea.
"Edward, are you sure you want to do this?" she asked as he navigated the car out of the driveway. Their destination was the newly reopened bookstore that Carlisle had mentioned earlier in the week.
Edward clutched the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white. "I... I just need to see her," he admitted pensively.
"But why do you need to see her? You mentioned her blood sang to you; it seems idiotic to subject yourself to more torture than necessary. You'll have to spend the rest of the year in class with her anyway."
"You don't understand, Alice. It's like there's a force pulling me towards her. I can't read her mind, and the harder I try to stay away, the more I want to be close to her."
Alice sighed at how confusing her brother-in-all-but-blood could be. He'd spent the majority of his immortal life trying to avoid humanity, but on a random Monday, he'd found his blood singer and completely flipped the switch.
She'd seen the girl in her visions days before she'd arrived in town. Her powers were quite finicky, but they worked effectively on people she had met before or was destined to meet. She had seen the connection that Edward and Bella would have, though how much of that would become reality, she couldn't say. Her visions were always subject to change, and she did her best to let them pan out without interference unless intervention would prevent significant issues later on.
"Just... don't be all creepy, okay?" Alice said as she watched the evergreen trees blur past, her brother's lead foot making quick work of the distance.
Edward merely grunted in response. He was usually much more eloquent, but since the arrival of Bella Swan, his mind had been a mess of tangled thoughts.
"Why did you come with me, Alice? You know I could do this on my own."
"Because you're not yourself right now. Carlisle and Esme asked me to come as your chaperone; I'll know in case something happens even before you do."
That was almost the complete truth, but she wouldn't mention the rest to him. Ever since Carlisle had mentioned the new store—or specifically, the new owner—she'd been intrigued. When she found out Edward was planning on 'visiting' to see Bella working, she'd jumped at the opportunity to observe the two latest additions to the town.
"This is it," Edward said suddenly, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Doesn't look too bad, does it? Not exactly Forks-fitting, but I can see why Carlisle went inside to have a look."
Hopping out of the car, Alice smiled lightly as she watched the tension escalate in her brother's body. She knew it was cruel, but seeing him squirm was occasionally hilarious.
Grabbing his hand, Alice pulled Edward through the door. He would have stayed outside for hours overthinking his next steps otherwise.
"Afternoon guys, welcome to The Common Ground. Anything I can help you with?"
She'd heard his voice before seeing him. Turning to look at the source, her mind ground to a halt as she laid eyes on the man named Theo.
He was tall, nearing the height of her 'brother' Emmett, but his stature was the least of the details she noticed. Theo possessed the brightest blue eyes she'd ever seen in her vampiric life, framed by messy, glossy black hair. He wore a genuinely gentle smile, deep dimples appearing on either side of his mouth.
'Oh, my,' Alice thought. Aware that her brother could hear surface thoughts, she quickly pushed down her surprise and flashed a bright smile at the store owner.
"Hiya! Our dad told us about this place, so we thought we'd check it out."
She watched as his eyes flickered between herself and Edward before settling back on her. She didn't believe in love at first sight, but his gaze was doing something magical to her insides.
"You're more than welcome to browse; each section has a name above it, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask me or Bella over there."
Pushing through the foreign feelings that blossomed the moment she'd entered, Alice turned her attention towards Edward. She could see how tightly wound he had become, his eyes boring into the poor, nervous girl before he settled back on scanning the store.
Edward nodded at Theo, thanking him, before spinning around and moving deeper into the aisles.
Alice followed behind him in a subdued manner, cautious about how he'd act but also enjoying the ambience of the store. Arriving behind a particularly large section of books, she turned to him and asked gently, "You okay? I can smell her too; it's pretty strong."
"It's unbearable, Alice. I'm doing everything I can to not tear through the store and drink her blood."
Though they spoke openly, their voices were pitched so low that only other vampires would be able to hear them. Looking through the selection of books, Alice grimaced slightly at how outdated most of the items were.
"Weird," Edward said, his head tilting slightly towards the two humans in the store.
"What's weird?"
"I... I can't hear their thoughts anymore. When we first came in, Bella was naturally blocking my power, but the owner, Theo... I could hear fragmented thoughts," he whispered, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
"Not being able to completely hear his surface thoughts is weird," she agreed in passing, but the shake of Edward's head made her pause.
"No, it was fragmented, but now it's the same as Bella. Blank. Like a void, or static. I don't know, but it's like he switched to another frequency and cut me off."
Now that was intriguing. Having one person immune to her brother's invasive powers was unheard of, but two in the same room? That was something else entirely.
The two vampires listened in on the conversation the humans were having, and Alice couldn't help but snicker at Theo's words. He sounded kind, and by the way he calmed Bella's nerves, it seemed as though he genuinely cared for his friends and employees.
Theo approached them a couple of minutes later, letting them know they were closing soon, and Alice seized the opportunity to introduce herself. She didn't know exactly why she went out of her way, but it felt right to become friendly with him. After some idle banter, she and Edward thanked him and left.
Back in the car, Alice sank deeply into her seat, her mind a swirl of thoughts. Edward was calming down, a small smile on his face at the success of being nearly alone with Bella for a period without incident. He turned to Alice, his eyebrow raised slightly at her expression.
"Why are you thinking so much about him?" he asked, unable to hide his curiosity.
"Gosh! Can you not try and read my mind when you're trying to distract yourself? We both know you have better control over your powers. You're just being snoopy now." With a pout, Alice turned to the window and fell silent.
"I'm just wondering. We both know why I wanted to stay there, but the moment you saw him, your mind was a mess of thoughts all swirling around him."
Alice mumbled a short response, but Edward almost choked on air at the words.
"Sorry, what was that?"
"He's a damn hottie, if you must know," Alice ground out.
Confirming what he'd heard, Edward momentarily forgot about his issues with Bella and broke out in laughter. Scowling at her 'brother', Alice slapped his arm lightly.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, nothing," he said, raising his hands in surrender. "It's just, dear Alice... I never thought I'd see the day you'd be interested in a human. Jasper and I thought you were asexual or something."
With a light scoff, Alice slapped him on the shoulder again.
"That's just being mean. What happened to my sweet Edward who was brooding ten minutes ag—"
Edward turned to Alice, wondering why she had cut off her sentence, before he quickly pulled over to the side of the road. She was leaning back in her seat, eyes unfocused and staring far into the distance, her body frozen. All the hallmarks of a vision.
Alice watched in wonder as the most beautiful scene she'd ever witnessed played out in her mind. She was seated in a lavish living room, her body curled up in comfort as a fireplace roared in the distant corner. A warm body sat beside her, an arm draped over her shoulders, whilst the other hand slowly stroked her hair. Looking up at the person holding her tenderly, Alice gasped as she recognized the man she was just talking about.
Theo held a loving smile on his face, his blue eyes twinkling in the firelight. He looked different—stranger, sharper, more dangerous. But in that moment, it was just the two of them watching the fireplace, exchanging loving words whilst soft music played in the background.
She watched as the vision shifted, the colors melting away before congealing back together to paint a new, starker image.
She stood with her family, which surprisingly included Bella. They were standing a distance away from Theo, their mouths agape at the sight before them. Theo stood on a snowy field, his shirt torn into scraps that barely clung to his body. Dozens of vampire bodies littered the ground, their forms torn asunder, appendages separated from bodies like discarded dolls.
He held a feral grin on his face as he scanned the surroundings. Though it looked as if he was the sole victor of some newborn war, his body was pristine—not an inch of dirt on his skin, no wounds visible. It was like looking at the reincarnation of a war god. He tilted his head to the side, glancing at Alice, and his smile turned gentle.
With a gasp, Alice snapped out of the vision, her body trembling at the sheer emotion she felt from the future sight. She snapped her head toward Edward, his eyes wide with shock, mouth slightly open.
"Alice, was that a vision?" he asked carefully.
Taking an unnecessary breath, she nodded. "It was, and it was the most intense vision I've ever had. I felt like I was there."
"And it all revolved around you and Theo, the man we just saw in the store? The human man who somehow turned into a one-man machine of destruction?"
She didn't know what to say. His words were the truth, but they seemed almost too fanciful to believe.
"We need to talk to the family."
Alice looked at her family, each one of them seated in the living room. Carlisle was holding Esme gently on their loveseat, whilst Emmett and Rosalie sat on the couch. Jasper paced in the corner as Edward sat at the piano. He was currently recounting the vision, as she was unable to verbalize her thoughts at the moment.
She watched as eyebrows rose with the description of the vision, eyes flickering to her before settling back on Edward's recount. After almost five minutes of speaking, Edward released a stressful sigh and stopped talking.
Carlisle was the first one to speak. "Alice, we haven't heard anything from you. What are your thoughts?"
She opened her mouth before closing it, repeating the cycle for a minute before releasing a frustrated sigh and plopping onto the floor.
"I don't know! My visions are usually little bits of information—things to help the family, or what I'll wear for the next day. But this? I've pretty much just been shown that I have someone who will love me with such pure affection, it's insane."
She wasn't opposed to it; if anything, the excitement bubbling inside her stomach was in sync with the deeper thoughts in her mind. He was everything she looked for in aesthetics, and from what she'd gleaned from his talking in the store, he was a kind man. If that was it, she'd be fine. But the second vision showed him single-handedly destroying an entire army of newborns. It was insane.
"Sounds like a badass to me," Emmett chimed in, a grin plastered on his face. "C'mon guys, how sick would it be to have him join us? I bet he'd be down to fight, unlike the rest of you."
"But he's a human, and with the mess Edward is inevitably going to make with his blood singer, are we prepared for someone like him? We can't make decisions for him; you all know how cursed this life can be," Rosalie said, her tone solemn but carrying a hint of heat.
Alice watched as the family had a quiet discussion, weighing the pros and cons of the situation. She was happy they cared enough about her to be open to the suggestion of him joining the family. She noted that Edward was somewhat pensive, and she knew why. Unlike Theo, a legal adult with no family, Bella was a student; she had a father and mother. If something happened to her, they'd be in trouble.
She thought about the vision and the feeling growing by the moment inside her. The warmth of his touch, the kind eyes, and the love shared between them. Even though it was a glimpse at a possible future, she was already cherishing it.
Her life hadn't been easy. Turning into a vampire, especially one in the Cullen family, was a godsend—a place where someone would always be there to ensure you were okay.
The first memory she could recall was waking up as a vampire; the memories of being human were lost in her transition. Unlike others, she had no idea of who she was, waking up alone in the wilderness. No name, no understanding of her location, she wandered the world as a newborn vampire. It took a long time, and with the inclusion of her future visions, she was overwhelmed, scared, and lost.
The first time she'd drank blood, she thought herself a monster. But as the days passed without direction, she succumbed to her vampiric instincts, consuming the blood of wayward strangers. It took years before she met Jasper, her visions leading to him. Two lost souls who bonded into a family as they attempted to find purpose, until she saw the Cullens in a vision.
From there, life had become easier. She had a large family, a support network, a roof over her head, and a routine. But there was always something missing. She'd see the love between Carlisle and Esme, or the lust between Emmett and Rosalie. She longed for it, and now that she'd finally found the person the fates had brought into her life, she wouldn't miss the opportunity.
"I'm going to be with him," she said quietly, but a smile blossomed on her face as the words came out, cementing the decision. "I don't care how long it takes, but I've finally found him, and I'm not going to let go."
She watched as her family settled on her words; most smiled, whilst some merely nodded in understanding.
"You understand that he may not want this, right?" Carlisle asked gently.
"It'll be fine," she said, her bubbly personality returning with vigor. "I have this feeling that everything will work out, Carlisle. I want to get to know him, understand the man inside, and let him see me for who I am."
"How are you going to do it, Alice?" Esme asked.
With a light giggle, she stood up and spun to look at her family.
"I'm going to stick to his side until he falls in love with me, duh!"
**********
I'll be real, I had to rewrite this chapter multiple times, and I don't know how well I feel about it, but I did my best. I hope you all enjoy the POV switch, backstory and Alices thoughts.
Let me know your thoughts on this latest chapter, leave a review and donate some powerstones!