A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out, guys! Okay, it's only been like a week, but I keep freaking out that it's been more. Um, yeah. School's so busy so new stories will be scattered. Shoutout to Lonely-Soldier for helping me out with the ending and editing it a bit! Love ya, girlie! I think that's all I have to say. Read on.

Disclaimer: Emma is not the same name as Stephenie so anything you recognize in here is not mine. I own nothing.

"Hey, um, Alice, have you had a boyfriend?" Jasper asked as Alice hopped onto the wall next to him. They had been catching up from three years of not talking.

Of course, the lack of contact between the two wasn't because they had gotten into a fight or anything like that. Jasper had moved from Forks to Texas because of his father's work. At first, they kept in touch, but they soon got busier with school and everything and eventually both either forgot their emails or had them changed. Now that he was back, he and Alice had gotten back in touch.

"Oh, no," Alice muttered sheepishly. "No one here has taken my interest."

"Understandable," Jasper laughed. "Most guys are jerks."

"Yeah," Alice said, wondering why her heart was thundering. "They just don't understand that disrespecting woman will not earn them attention. I'm looking for the perfect gentleman. I'll probably be forever searching."

"I'm sure the right guy is out there somewhere," Jasper said, his fingers brushing against hers. Alice bit her lip and looked into his green eyes. They were sincere, and full of care.

Alice's eyes flew open and she instantly looked at the clock.

"Ugh," she moaned when she realized she had been asleep for only five minutes.

Alice rolled over and closed her eyes, knowing how tired she felt. She needed to sleep—she had school tomorrow. But her mind wouldn't allow her to. Every time she closed her eyes, she'd think of that exact conversation she had had earlier that day.

"Might as well get myself even more tired," Alice grumbled, eyeing the door and shoving her boots on. Pulling a jacket over her T-shirt, she tiptoed out of her room and walked out of the house. Rain soaked her immediately as she fumbled for her house key to lock up.

Maybe this wasn't the best idea, Alice mused as the rain woke her up more than ever before. But it was also a good thing; she needed to think. Her mind was working too fast to actually allow her to sleep. Her mind was too busy thinking of her best friend, Jasper.

Why was she acting so weird? She never thought of Jasper…period. Well, except when she was younger and foolishly in love with him.

No, it wasn't love, Alice reminded herself. Just a crush because crushes were cool back then. You had to choose someone to make life dramatic in Forks Middle School. And you know how Jessica and Lauren thought it was the worst case scenario to crush on your best friend.

Alice had once claimed to have a crush on Jasper Whitlock—and it was a crush. She did find him attractive, but he could be so mean to her. Of all the times he called her a loser for not wanting to rebel against the teachers and not do her homework, Alice had never believed that he truly felt that way. Granted, she was too busy drooling over his looks so she could write them down in her diary to notice whether he was joking or not.

How childish she had been back then! Alice cringed at those memories. That wasn't love whatsoever. Maybe not even a crush. Just a desperate need for drama in the dry life of a Forks resident.

Over the summer before Jasper moved back to Forks, Alice began thinking about him when she stumbled across her old diary. She had read it and rolled her eyes at how stupid she had been. How had she believed that was love? He practically insulted her every day and treated her like a guy. It was only because it was cool, right? She was an impressionable girl back then who wore crazy revealing outfits and acted like a total snob. When she was separated from her friends Lauren and Jessica for high school (they had moved to a different city), she had matured and realized who she really was: a nice girl who didn't quite care about her appearance. And that's when she realized that she wasn't in love with Jasper Whitlock.

Jasper was still just as gorgeous as she remembered him, but the one thing that shocked Alice was how nice he was being. And not just to everyone, but especially nice to her. He was holding doors open for her, he was complementing her, he was listening to her, and she was enjoying it. They had both changed. Both matured. Both really realized who they actually were, that's what.

During the week (it seemed like months) that they had been catching up, Alice had found herself contemplating the idea of a relationship with Jasper. Now why had she done that?

Before, she would match herself up with other boys and imagine how it would work out. When she had gotten to Jasper, she couldn't see anything happening. For one, she knew he would be criticizing her. If that wasn't enough, she could hardly stand the thought of kissing him. Oh, and if they got married…Alice had shuddered at the thought.

But now, she found herself staring at his lips and wanting to press hers to them, just so she could see if they felt as soft as they looked. She found herself dreaming about Jasper actually showing her signs that he liked her. She had dreams where he'd wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close, of him kissing her gently on the lips, of him just whispering in her ear everything he loved about her. What was wrong with her?

Well, some might say that nothing was wrong with Alice Brandon, but she knew something must be. Why would she suddenly have feelings for her best friend? If they were really meant to be in love, wouldn't she have feelings for him from the start? From when they met in kindergarten? Alice bit her lip as she remembered a memory in third grade of Jasper saying that he had had a crush on her in kindergarten, but he was over it now. Everybody had pestered her about how she felt about it and Alice surely had no clue what to say. On one hand, she was flattered he had actually liked her back then. On the other, she was angry that he had the nerve to tell her that he was suddenly not attracted to her.

Okay, she was being stupid. Kindergarten. That's when kids just randomly say that they're in love because they see TV shows about it or know that their parents are married. For crying out loud, she was "engaged" in preschool! It's just something kids do. Nothing that her heart should flutter over.

Alice checked her watch. It was two in the morning now and she had stumbled into someplace unrecognizable in the dark.

It was official, she was going to throttle Jasper Whitlock the next time she saw him for making her stay up so late before a big test day at school. How was she even going to get home? Did she even want to go home? Home was where she'd have to go to school and face Jasper. Facing Jasper would make her even more confused and rather annoyed seeing as they always had the most childish ridicules made about them. "Alice and Jasper, sitting in a bush. All you hear is push, push, push…"

How she hated her classmates. How she hated Jasper. How she hated her mind. Couldn't she just forget about everything and enjoy life? Why was it so confusing right now? Why did being a teenager, probably one of the most important parts of life where the biggest decisions were made, have to be so awkward and disconcerting?

All this rain was driving Alice insane. Living in Forks her whole life, she had learned to tolerate all the precipitation the small town got. Sometimes she even enjoyed it. Not now. Not when she was trying to figure out something and the rain was just standing by and watching.

Alice stumbled across a lone bench under a shade. Perfect. She could sit here until the storm cleared up. Hopefully, it would die down to the point she could see and find her way back home. How stupid, getting lost in a town as small as Forks!

Alice laughed to herself as she remembered of the other time she got lost this late at night. Jasper had thrown rocks at her window and had her come with him to go and try to see the shooting stars. It was cloudy, but there was a small break in the overcast sky. They just had to get there and wait. The meteors were scheduled to appear at two in the morning, which was too late for her, according to her father. So, she and Jasper had planned to sneak out and go see them. Just the thought of it brought thrills through their bodies. They were thirteen at the time, with Jasper nearly fourteen, and teenage rebellion seemed like the coolest thing in the world.

It had been pouring when they rode their bikes, trying to get to the patch of clear sky. If they made it, they'd be the only ones in the eighth grade to see the meteor shower. But, fate had a different plan for them. The cloud clearing seemed to be farther than they thought, practically in a different town and they found themselves lost quickly. Alice had freaked out, knowing they'd get caught and Jasper calmed her down, taking her into his arms.

"That's my Ali-Girl," he had whispered in her ear that night. They sat under the exact bench Alice was sitting at now, reveling in the past. Her first kiss was that night. Sure, nothing had happened afterward, but it definitely rocked her world.

Alice smiled, shaking her head and feeling her cheeks heat up. Her smile instantly faded as she realized one thing: she was in love with Jasper Whitlock!

A/N: Did ya like? Please tell me in a review!

~Eclipse-Vamp :)