A Letter From Edward ch 12: "Forget Me Not"

Disclaimer:

Me: I own nothing.

Emmett: Except me!

Me: No, Emmett, I don't own you. Stephenie Meyer and… other… owner-type-people do.

Emmett: *confused*Oh.

Me: Yup.

Emmett: *scratches head* Wait, so… Some random lady owns me…?

Me: *sigh* No… Stephenie Meyer owns you. She's an excellent author, not "some random lady."

Emmett: *satisfied with answer* Okay then.

Me: Well, enjoy th-

Emmett: *confused once again* But, I thought…

Me: Emmett, we will talk about this later, okay?

Emmett: But-

Me: LATER.

Emmett: *fear in eyes* Yes ma'am.

Me: Good. Now, please enjoy Chapter eleven!

….

*Jacob's POV*

What…?

Jacob… They've returned. Sam thought the words so softly, so delicately, almost like he was worried about shattering them. The smell in the air? On the ground? It's one of them. His voice was gentle, clearly trying to help me keep my cool. It didn't work, of course.

No… No...! Th-that's not possible…! They can't be back!

Embry whined, and everybody took a few cautious steps backwards. Nobody dared to say anything. Nobody but Sam, that is.

Jacob…

No! My blood boiled as it coursed through my veins. Every muscle in my wolf body tensed, and everything around me turned red. There's… there's no way! This can't be happening! This is just… My body started to shake. This was a rage like nothing I'd ever felt.

It was so… powerful…

Nothing had ever made the tremors start while I was in wolf form before. Nothing had ever been strong enough.

Jacob?

Jake?

What's happening to him?

Sam, what's going on?

I… I'm not sure… Nothing like this has ever happened before…

For a brief moment, I wondered which one of the pack members was snarling so angrily that it sounded almost like a roar. Then I realized that it was me.

Everybody else was silent, watching me in complete shock.

Jake…? Quil whined and stepped forward. Sam blocked him.

That was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

*Alice's POV*

"Jasper?"

"Up here."

I went up the stars in Tanya's house to the room that she was letting Jasper and I stay in.

"Hey you," I smiled and leaned against the door jamb. He looked up from the book he was reading and patted the spot next to him on the bed.

As I made my way over to him, he smiled and playfully said "you feel happy… Anything I should know about?"

"No," I answered simply as I sat down. I cuddled up to him in a way only I can, and added "it's just you. I'm always happy when I'm with you."

"Well I'm pretty fond of being with you, too! And, of course, there are those times. You know, those times when I'm just a bit more fond of being with you…" He winked.

I smacked his arm. "Jasper…!" He laughed.

"Aw, darlin'… You know I'm only kidding."

"I know." I kissed him quickly. "You know, sometimes, you still sound like that cowboy you were when we met eighty years ago."

"Well," he said in a mock British accent. "I am terribly sorry about that, my love. Tell me, is this satisfactory?"

"No. No it is not. I like your cowboy voice. It reminds me of the fact that you're my very own southern gentleman," I said with a small grin.

A very suggestive smile spread itself across his face. "Only sometimes."

"Easy there, buckaroo! We're in somebody else's house, remember?"

The smile only grew. "That reminds me…" He grasped my small hand in his large, scarred one and stood, bringing me up with him. "There's something I wanted to show you."

"Okay…" He just smiled again, led me down the stairs, out the front door, and pulled me through the snow outside. "Jasper…?" I had grown quite good at pretending I didn't see his 'surprises' ahead of time. I liked being able to give the secret romantic something to look forward to every once in a while. I looked up into his smiling eyes. "Jasper, where are we going?"

"You'll see soon enough." He turned his face forward, suddenly very intent on finding where we were going. We were in the woods now, the snow on the ground crunching under our feet as he led me along.

"Jasper… what are you planning?" My eyebrow rose as he looked at me, further adding to my façade of suspicion.

"Nothing," he answered. His face, framed with blonde curls, was the picture of innocence. "Just this." He extended his arm forward, allowing me to step forward and take everything in.

"Jasper, it's… I don't know what to say…"

"Well, that's a first." I shot a sour glance back over my shoulder, and he chuckled. "I hope that's a good thing." All I could do was nod. "Would you care to look around?"

"Uh-huh…" He chuckled again. I felt him walk up behind me and take my hand once more.

"Come on then, Mrs. Hale. And happy anniversary, sugar."

My brows furrowed in confusion. It was our anniversary? I looked away so he couldn't see my expression.

"Alice, you didn't remember, did you?"

Damn him and his ability to sense emotions. "Uh-um…" I looked back up at him, expecting and dreading a furious man.

He… he looked…

Amused?

"Darlin', today is the anniversary of the day you found me in that diner."

"Are you sure…? What's today's date?"

His amused expression melted into one of concern. "The eighteenth of February."

My mind went blank. "Oh…" I haven't forgotten our anniversary since… well, I've never forgotten it. I've never forgotten anything.

"Alice, is everything alright? We can go back to the house and just relax, if you want to. You should probably lay down for a while."

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the hazy darkness that suddenly surrounded me. "No, no…! You did all this work… I want nothing more than to spend our anniversary here with you." His smile returned and he hugged me gently.

"I love you, Alice." He kissed my forehead.

"Love you more, Jazzy…!"

"Not possible." He stepped away from me, but kept my hand in his. Well, come on then. Let me take you away for a while."

"Okay," I grinned. He took me through the trees to the edge of the clearing, where the snow at the center was shoveled away in the shape of a heart. A big burgundy blanket lay in the heart, with an adorable little picnic basket and three white candles decorating it. There were more white candles lining the perimeter of the heart, making the snow glisten as they flickered. The tree trunks were wrapped with thick velvet ribbons, alternating between deep red and pale pink. There were twinkle lights everywhere, and small Chinese style paper lanterns hung from almost every branch. The sun was setting over the horizon, and the beautiful magenta light of the sky shone through the trees, further adding to the romantic aura.

I was only vaguely aware of Jasper softly tugging on my hand. I hadn't even realized that I'd stopped walking. "Jasper, I-I…" I was speechless. The vision I'd had looked nothing like this. This was so much better than anything I could have imagined. It was just so beautiful…

"Alice?" Jasper's voice pulled me from my reverie.

"Huh?"

"Are you coming, or are we just going to stand here all night?" He cocked his head to one side, mocking me.

"Hey, you put this together for me, remember? Give me some time to admire your work." He sighed.

"I thought something like this might happen." I felt the question mark on my face. He smiled at me as he suddenly pulled a small, aqua colored digital camera out of his pocket and offered it to me. "Care to do the honors?"

I squeaked and bounced a little, absolutely thrilled with my gift. "I would love to!" I took the camera and snapped a picture of the whole scene, then zoomed in on certain items, capturing every detail. I wanted this moment to be something we could both remember forever.

Jasper put his hand on the small of my back as I pivoted and spun, clicking the camera at every inch of my anniversary surprise. When I was satisfied with the amount of photos I had taken, I extended my arm out with the camera facing the two of us, leaned closer to Jasper, and was almost blinded by the flash that lit the cute picture.

Letting me keep my new toy in my hands, he scooped me up into his arms and jumped over the snow into our heart shaped picnic site, careful not to disturb one single ice crystal. He gently placed me down on the blanket, laid down on his side next to me, and propped himself up on his elbow.

"Jasper," I asked, looking up at the darkening sky.

"Hmm?"

"What's in the picnic basket? We don't eat food, so…"

"Oh, that," he said. "That's just for show. It added a certain 'something' to the whole setting."

"Oh. Okay then. It does add a cute little something. A nostalgic feeling, of sorts." I pulled my eyes off the sky and looked over at him, meeting his loving gaze. "I love you, you know."

At that moment, we were just normal teenagers in love. We weren't vampires, we weren't immortal, we weren't any older than eighteen. Just two young lovers destined to be together until the day they died.

"Yeah, I know." He smirked. "I love you, too." He picked up my camera from where I had placed it next to me and turned it on, kissing my cheek and taking pictures of us, making me feel even more like a human girl. That was a feeling I'd never experienced. A feeling that I didn't think I'd ever want to let go of.

Now I understand why Rosalie doesn't like being a vampire, I thought. If I had ever lived like this… I wouldn't ever want to give it up. I would-

The air flew out of my lungs with a soft 'whoosh.' The scene in front of my eyes was no longer one of Jasper in our romantic anniversary setting, but of a person.

No, a vampire.

I did not know his name; I had not seen or heard of this man before. He was clearly sinister.

"Alice?" Jasper's voice was faint and distant. "Alice, what is it? What do you see?" I felt his hands touch my face, resting on my cheeks.

"Jasper, I… I don't know." The man in my vision moved toward a small, dark figure cowering in the shadows of nothing. The scene behind them was blank. Just a black abyss. "There's a vampire; one that I don't know. He's towering over something… A girl?" The silhouetted girl turned her head to the man, and light from nowhere touched her face. Tears of blood rolled down her cheeks, staining her shredded white frock.

"Tell me, Alice," Jasper said. "What does the girl look like?"

"Sh-she… it's…"

"Alice."

The man reached out and touched the girl's forehead. She shivered, shrunk back, and squeezed her eyes shut. A dark fog surrounded them, reaching no higher than the man's knees, but it almost completely swallowed the girl.

"Alice…! Who is the girl?"

"Jasper, she's… She's me."

The strange vampire laughed in my head, and I could feel my mind becoming cloudy, as if the fog from my vision was somehow escaping and shrouding my brain. He lifted his hand, but the fog remained. My vision self opened her eyes, bloody tears still falling. She looked around madly, as if waking from a nightmare and trying to determine where she was. One by one, my family members appeared out of the blackness and lined up in front her. Each person only brought more fear and confusion to her face.

The fog in my mind thickened, making thinking virtually impossible. "Jasper," I gasped. "The pictures… Whatever you do, do not delete them."

"Wha…?"

"Show them to me. Soon. Do not let me forget. Make me remember, Jasper."

"Alice, what… what are you talking about?" The vision dissipated, and I was back on the blanket in the snow. The fog still remained, however, and it was heavy now; growing darker and more dangerous with each passing second. "Alice…" Jasper kissed my forehead. "Alice, what's going on?"

I looked at him desperately. "Jasper, please," I breathed. "Don't let me forget…"

My eyelids closed as the fog took hold, and for the first time in a hundred years, I fell into unconsciousness.