Author's Note: Hi, this may start out kind of slow, and you may think Alice is a little out of character, but honestly people. Can a person be bubbly ALL the time??? I don't think so. I hope you all like it, or at least don't hate me. I think that there ARE hints of this happening later in the series, but I'm having this set in the summer between Twilight and New Moon.

I promise that a- Edward doesn't leave, b- Bella doesn't leave Edward, and c- The aforementioned people don't have a kid. Frankly, none of those could happen (a second time, for a), although some of those fanfictions are good. This just isn't one of them.

Disclaimer: Twilight and New Moon are not mine. I could never come up with something entirely creative, although I do think that I've actually come up with a plot for fanfiction that hasn't been used, oh, fifty times or so.

Solitude

Alice Cullen usually thrived on excitement, but sometimes even she needed some time alone. The deserted forests of the Olympic Peninsula provided an ideal retreat for the troubled vampire.

Only a few small rays of light penetrated the thick canopy of trees to throw sparks off of her pale skin as she looked around her, unable to hear anything other than the slight crack of a branch she stepped on. The utter silence of the dense wood still amazed her, despite her 100 plus years of life.

Alice lay down on the ground to study a small line of ants working their way through the layers of dead leaves coating the forest floor. According to the countless biology classes she had taken, these little creatures could lift weights far in excess of their own size. Not unlike vampires. They were also, Alice discovered, hard to kill. She jabbed a convenient stick at the parade of marching ants to see them scatter for a moment, and then return to their path unharmed.

She rolled onto her back and immediately regretted the action; the designer clothes she had, very unwisely, worn for her excursion would be stained beyond recognition by the time she made it back to Forks.

She could see the looks on her family's faces: Rosalie would be appalled by her rough treatment of the outfit , especially since the shirt Alice had just ruined belonged to none other than Rosalie herself; Jasper would be understanding, he knew that she was going through something, although she refused to tell him what; Edward would wonder why she continued to block him out of her mind before trying again in his persistent quest to discover what her secret was; the rest of the family would shrug it off as just another of Alice's unusual antics.

Alice took a minute to marvel at how her mind could focus on such trivial concerns with something so much more serious to think about. Unfortunately, that thought made her problems seem even more difficult in contrast.

Not for the first time, Alice wished that her family could be normal. Long ago, she had adjusted to the diet they restricted themselves to; she had always known that it would be her way of life, so she didn't have a very hard time adjusting.

That part of the deal, as well as the attention brought by her unusual appearance, was something that Alice could easily accept. Unfortunately, the additional abilities possessed by her brother and husband, as well as her self, were a little more frustrating, especially given the natures of their gifts.

Jasper, Alice's husband, very rarely voiced any of the information he garnered with the use of his gift, out of respect for others' privacy. As Jasper could feel and alter the emotions of those around him, this concession was much appreciated by his family. Lately, however, he had noticed her emotional turmoil.

Jasper never brought up his concerns with Alice, although she had seen him discussing it with Edward. She noticed him stop himself from mentioning anything to her on several occasions. Maybe he thought that he was very secretive with his suspicions, but after a few decades of marriage, she could tell what he was thinking. It also helped that she could see him questioning her before he changed his mind.

Contrary to Jasper's subtlety, Edward was very open with the use of his gift. He could hear every thought a person had as they thought it, with the exception of Bella, his human girlfriend, and rarely hesitated to share his findings. The Cullens had grown used to this, and often thought comments directed at Edward, rather than speaking aloud.

Although Edward's power was strong, Alice had prevented him from learning of her particular problem so far. It hadn't been easy, to say the least. For weeks now, Alice had guarded her thoughts, forcing herself to concentrate on reciting the contents of one of Carlisle's old books to herself, or counting the tiles in their entryway if she was surprised, which was rare, but possible when Edward was especially sneaky.

Edward might be kind and try to help her as she had helped him through his many problems, Alice knew that somehow, someday, he would tell Bella, and, above all else, she knew that Bella must never know.

While the abilities of Edward and Jasper were avoidable, if not easily so, Alice could do nothing to stop the stream of visions she was plagued with daily. This power was the stuff of myths, as, Alice supposed, she herself was. During her human life, Alice had had visions which, although no where near as potent as those she had as a vampire, startled her family enough that they had her committed.

Now, Alice thought, she would rather sit in the electric chair for the rest of eternity than spend one more day with this "curse," as she had recently named her ability.

The things it showed her. . . They just couldn't be true. No world could be that cruel, to put her into such an . . . unusual predicament.

Her sight had never been wrong before, so she had no reason to doubt what it was showing her, except, of course, for the obvious reason that she wished it wasn't true. The future did change, though.

Maybe it would.

Maybe it wouldn't.

While she continued her efforts to convince herself, Alice had to face the facts: as of this moment, there were two men in love with her.

One was her husband.

And the other . . . well, she didn't want to think about him.

Alice shoved that thought away. It continued to lurk in the back of her mind, but at least she could ignore it for the time being. This inner battle had taken a surprising amount of time; the sun was setting, leaving her secluded spot in near darkness.

Her family must be wondering where she had gotten to. Alice rose slowly to begin her way home. With her speed, she could have gotten to her car and home in mere moments, but getting anywhere quickly was not on the top of Alice's priorities.

She would have preferred the blissful solitude of the forest to her bright room, but knew that her mother would worry.

With that in mind, Alice set off for Forks, wondering how she could ever fall in love with the police chief.