A/N: Hello to anyone who is still reading this story. I'm so sorry that it's been...a while...since I've posted anything. I promise you I haven't given up on it, but this semester has really kicked my butt. I was so much busier than I thought I was going to be. But, exams are upon me, so I will have more time to write when they're over and next semster I'll have more time to write! I promise!

Alice stared at the ceiling, her eyes red and puffy. She hadn't slept at all last night. Every time she closed her eyes she pictured Rosalie with Jasper—having sex. It made her physically sick to think about. It's not like she didn't know that Jasper and Rosalie had been intimate, but ever since she'd been with Jasper, she never thought that they would continue to have sex.

She blinked fresh tears from her eyes, not even bothering to wipe them off her face. She let them roll onto her pillow. As much as she wanted to blame her heartbreak on the fact that Rosalie and Jasper were together last night, she was angry at herself. She was so stupid to even consider telling Jasper how she felt. What the hell had she been thinking?

She wasn't, that's the thing. She had just thrown caution to the wind and was willing to risk everything to tell him how she felt. It won't matter to Jasper how she feels—he'll still want to be with Rosalie. Why wouldn't he? She's gorgeous, successful, and loved by everyone. And Alice, she's…none of those things.

She sighed, rolling over onto her side, curling into herself. She had been seconds away from telling Jasper that she loved him. If she'd told him, he'd probably laugh and then go and fuck Rosalie to get Alice out of his mind.

She wanted to be angry at Jasper—to hate him for wanting to be with Rosalie instead of her. But she couldn't; she understood why he wanted her because everyone wanted her.

"Alice?" Emmett called from outside the door. When he got no response, he gently opened the door and glanced inside. He saw Alice lying there, her eyes staring at him. She had bags under her eyes and it looked like she hadn't slept at all. Her eyes were still swollen—he could see that from the doorway. He rushed in, closing the door behind him and sat on the bed by her. "Alice, what's wrong?"

She chuckled darkly, "I'm so stupid, Emmett."

He moved to rest against the headboard, looking at her intently. She was avoiding his gaze but he could see the liquid pooling in her eyes. "Alice…just talk to me. Tell me what happened."

She glanced at him, saw only care and concern in his eyes and broke. "I almost told him last night, Em. I called him—Jasper—and was going to tell him that I think I'm in love with him and don't want him to marry Rosalie. But then…right as I was about to tell him, Rosalie comes into the room and tells me that Jasper's going to be really busy soon and to just tell him what I wanted." She sniffed, wiping at her eyes.

Emmett pulled Alice into his arms, rubbing her back gently. "I'm sorry, Alice." He didn't really know what to say to her. How do you make someone feel better about this?

"It's just…I always tried not to think about their sex life because it hurt to know that Jasper was with her. But then, after we were together, I just assumed that they weren't…intimate anymore. But then, last night, I realized how that wasn't true." She sighed. "I just feel so…cast aside."

"Alice…I'm sure it's not like that. Jasper wouldn't just throw you aside like that—he cares about you too much ."

Alice shrugged. "I don't think so. I know I have no right to feel this way, but I do. I really care about him, Emmett, and I thought he might care about me. But after last night…I know that's not true."

Emmett shook his head. "Alice…he does care about you. We all can see that."

"Then why would he still be with Rosalie if he cared about me so much? That's what I don't understand," Alice told him.

Emmett was quiet for a few minutes, thinking about everything. "Maybe…maybe he's still with her because he thinks you don't want him?" he suggested quietly.

Alice pondered that for a minute. "I guess that makes sense. But why does he have to wait for me to tell him? Why can't he just tell me how he feels—if he even feels anything for me."

"Alice, he might be nervous to tell you. I mean, you haven't exactly been welcoming to him." Alice just looked at him. "You did all that pushing away with good intentions—you knew you two shouldn't have been together, so you tried to push it all away, push him away so he could be with Rosalie."

"I did. I didn't want to cause any more problems so I thought that pushing him away would help me get over him." She took a deep, shaky breath in. "It didn't."

Emmett held Alice tighter, trying to give her comfort. "You did the only thing you thought you could do. But Jasper might be seeing it as rejection—that you don't want anything to do with him."

"But why can't he take a chance on me? Why does it have to be me that makes the first move?" Alice complained.

Emmett chuckled. "Girls always think that they are the only ones who are insecure. Guys are just as insecure, if not more so. We worry that we're not enough for you all." He sighed. "Jasper might think he already tried to be with you and you rejected him then and now you're doing it again. Why would he risk himself, his heart a third time when the first two times failed him?"

Alice sighed, trying to think back to everything that's happened between them. She couldn't think of one time when Jasper asked her out or tried anything other than friendly gestures. "I don't think so, Em. He never tried anything in college—until Rosalie. He was all over her."

Emmett thought that Jasper might have only ever gone out with Rosalie to see how Alice responded and when Alice didn't care and thought they made a good couple, he continued to see her. He'd never told Alice that because he didn't know Jasper like she did. It could very well not even be true. Emmett thought it was wise to remain silent and let Alice work everything out for herself.

"Ugh…this is so not how I wanted my last day here to be like," she complained. She sat up, wiping at her face again, getting rid of any lingering tears. "Okay, enough wallowing. I'm going to go get ready for the day and then I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast or something. Deal?"

Emmett laughed and nodded. "Yeah, of course!" He hugged her before getting up. "See ya later, pix," he called over his shoulder as he continued out.

Alice smiled to herself as she gathered her things to get ready for the day. Emmett had got her rethinking things. Maybe he was right about Jasper's view on the whole situation?

She wouldn't be surprised. Emmett always has pretty good insight into things, but hardly ever uses it. He doesn't prefer to give advice to a lot of people; he saves it up for the people who matter to him—namely, Alice. He's more observant than people give him credit for. They tend to label him as a big moron of sorts. People think he's always oblivious to the world around him, but he never has been. He knows everything that goes on, he just doesn't prefer to act on that knowledge.

There's been many times when Alice has leaned on Emmett for advice and he understood the situation before she had fully explained it. She didn't think Esme and Carlisle knew how understanding their son was.

She glanced at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, all prior thoughts leaving her mind. Her eyes were bloodshot, red and puffy skin surrounded her eyes. There were bags under her eyes and he skin looked…old. Her hair was all over the place and added to her overall look of disaster. She looked horrible and hated that Jasper—a man—was the cause of all this.

But he's never just been any man. He'd always been more than that to her. He probably always would, but she should never have let anyone make her feel this way. She'd always been self sufficient and that shouldn't change just because she was a little hung up on a boy.

That's it. I won't think about Jasper for the rest of my trip.

She turned off her phone, just in case he called. That would help her not think about him. With her phone off, she returned to the bathroom to get ready. She pushed Jasper, Rosalie, and the entire situation out of her mind. She would enjoy the rest of her trip.

"Hi! It's Alice! I'm not around to answer your call so leave a message!"

Jasper snapped his phone shut, rubbing his pounding head. He'd been up over half the night thinking about Alice. What had she been about to tell him last night?

"How you doing, man?" Mike asked him, walking out of his bedroom.

"Alright." Mike had been really understanding about everything. He hadn't questioned Jasper when he showed up, just let him be. Jasper was really grateful that Mike hadn't questioned him too much because Jasper wasn't sure what he would tell him. "I really don't care about Rosalie anymore and the only woman who's captured my heart wants nothing to do with me" just didn't seem appropriate.

Mike just nodded and went into the kitchen. Jasper could hear him rummaging around in there, most likely looking for something to eat.

He looked back down at his phone, wishing he could get a hold of Alice. But every time he calls it goes straight to voicemail. He just wanted to talk to her, to see if there's any chance that she'd tell him what she had wanted to last night.

"Rosalie still not call you?" Mike questioned from the doorway. He'd seen Jasper staring at the phone.

"No, she called about a two dozen times, leaving a dozen threatening and angry messages." Jasper sighed, rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair. "I just don't want to talk to her right now."

"Okay, Japser. What's going on with you?" Mike asked sighing when Jasper shrugged. "You just show up here late in the night talking about how you don't want to be with Rosalie anymore. Then you just clam up and refuse to say anything else."

"What do you want to know, Mike? That I can't stand the sight of Rosalie? That I don't want to be trapped with her anymore?" Jasper laughed, a hollow sound. "I'm tired of being with her. I never actually wanted to be with her in the first place."

Mike glanced at him, surprised. "What? You always seemed so happy together?"

"It was just an act, Mike. I was never really happy with Rosalie. But I just never knew how to end it with her and now I'm trapped." He sighed. "I just don't know what to do."

Mike stared at the ground, silent for a minute as he gathered his thoughts. "Maybe, take a break from Rosalie. Stay here for a few days, try to clear your head and organize your thoughts and feelings. Maybe you'll want to start things up again with her, you know, try again. Or maybe you'll want to break it off."

Jasper nodded. "Yeah, I guess I could try that." He couldn't tell Mike that he knew he wouldn't want Rosalie back because he was desperately, hopelessly in love with Alice. "Are you sure you don't mind if I crash here for a few days?"

"Of course not. I know what it's like to be completely confused over a woman. Take Alice, for example. She's hot, successful, and funny. But I get the feeling like she's not completely into me." He sighed.

"What do you mean?" Jasper said through clenched teeth, just barely keeping his jealousy in check.

"I know she had a good time with me—you can't fake that, but I got the impression that there's someone else on her mind."

Jasper couldn't help the hope that bubbled within him. "How did you get that impression?"

Mike shrugged. "I don't know. Like when she'd look at me, it felt like she was picturing someone else. Or when I held her hand, she'd freeze for a second before relaxing. It's just little things like that. Maybe it was just first date jitters. We're going out again this weekend, so we'll see how it goes."

"Where are you taking her? What are you going to do?" Jasper questioned, praying he would take her some where Alice would absolutely hate.

Mike smiled. "Well, I'm going to take her to that dance club—I think it's called Lightening Bolt, or something like that. I feel like it's something she'd like to do…and I'd get to hold her all night. And dance with her," he added with a wink.

Jasper knew how Mike preferred to dance with women and he couldn't control his jealously. He could just see Mike gyrating against Alice, Alice's head leaned back onto his shoulder—his hands all over her. He shook his head, trying desperately to clear the images from his head. "That sounds like something she'd like. I'm going to go and take a shower."

He stood up and practically ran to the bathroom. The images of Alice and Mike ravaging his mind. He saw them leaving the club together and going back to her apartment. He could clearly see the way he would kiss her, him sliding off her dress—much like the way Jasper had the night he was with Alice.

He slammed his hands on the counter, angry that Alice would be willing to go out with Mike, Mike of all people. He was Jasper best friend. Even though Alice had only been with Jasper once, how could she turn around and go out with Mike?

Maybe she's doing the same thing you did with Rosalie.

The thought hit him like a brick wall. Maybe she was trying to get over him or try to make him jealous. Well, that was working for sure. He was so jealous, he couldn't even see straight.

But he'd done the same thing with Rosalie, hadn't he. Alice hadn't agreed with or noticed any of his advances and Rosalie wouldn't stop calling him. He eventually gave into her, agreeing to go out with her. But then Alice had been so supportive of their relationship—even helped him plan their next date. It really killed him to know that Alice hadn't even been slightly interested in him because if she had, she wouldn't have liked that Jasper was going out with Rosalie.

He'd hoped that Alice would react…well, like the way he was now. He chuckled at the irony of the situation. He'd wanted Alice to care enough about him to not want to share him with Rosalie, but she hadn't.

He grabbed his phone, dialing her number. He needed to know what she was going to tell him last night. He needed to know if she wanted him to take a chance. He would drop everything for her if that's what she wanted. He always thought she wanted him to be with Rosalie, so he stayed with her.

He swore when her machine answered without even ringing. She was probably avoiding him. "Hey, Ali…it's Jasper. I was just wondering if you wanted to talk tonight. I know we were supposed to last night but then Rosalie interrupted…I was angry too. Please…don't be upset with me. Nothing happened—I swear nothing happened with her." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Just…call me back. Please."

He slammed his phone down onto the counter, glaring at it. He knew it wasn't its fault that Alice wasn't answering. He knew it was his own damn fault that Alice hated his guts now. If he'd only manned up years ago, things might be differently.

Maybe, if he left Rosalie—showed Alice that he was serious about being there for her, caring for her, she'd be willing to give him a second chance.

A/N: So...what did you think? Because I feel so guilty about not updating for a really long time...I am going to start on the next chapter right away and hope to have it posted within the week. As an apology to those of you who have stuck with me.