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“Good morning, Alice.” Carlisle stood by the corridor that led into the Drawing room. He leaned against the large window which filled the wall, looking out at something distant. It was still early, large pine trees in shadow of the rising sun. ‘Good morning’ was simply a phrase the Cullen's used to distance themselves from the obvious. It was the same reason they joined for breakfast each morning, sitting at an unused, too clean for comfort, dining room table, doing anything but eating. Carlisle would ponder over his laptop and occasionally the paper, missing a coffee mug in hand, while Esme would be in the kitchen, prepping for the day, minus the cooking.
Alice sat herself at the table, Rosalie and Emmett already filling their respective seats. Usually Jasper would be planting himself next to her but today, the seat fell empty. It was rare, but sometimes he’d leave early to hunt nearby. He always said it cleared his mind and who was Alice to protest. The usual element of his disappearance was the fact that Emmett’s seat was happily filled. The off chance that Jasper left early and alone was slim to none. She assumed Edward went instead. That was until she turned to see Edward sliding down the railing of the stairs. His shoes made a thump as he hopped off the wooden bar. In one hand, he held a small pocket sized book. The cover pictured a woman leaning upon a window cill, similar to Carlisle. Her look was just as distant, looking over at the blurry colors of a painted mountainside that hid the sky. As he sat down and placed the book in front of her, Alice got a better view. It was Charlotte Brontë’s Villette. She recognized the name from an old copy she owned of Jane Eyre. It sat on the top shelf of her bookcase, collecting dust on the tips of the pages. Alice was probably the only girl in existence with nothing but time who still couldn’t get anything done. She’d get around to reading it eventually.
“Where’s Jasper?” Alice rested her elbows on the table as she played with a bit of red string. It slid through her fingers effortlessly, creating a complex pattern that only she could understand.
“He’s not with you?” Carlisle turned from the window.
“No. He said he was going to speak with Emmett. I assumed they went out.”
The string wrapped itself around her pointer finger and looped behind her middle as Emmett looked down at the faces now focused on him. He was previously locked on the tv that sat on a skinny side table in the drawing room, only the mention of his name disrupting the trance.
“Uh, He left shortly after.” Emmett only shrugged, his eyes quickly turning back to the seemingly more interesting TV program. “Didn’t say where he was going.” He tagged on after a few short seconds. His shoulders stayed stiff beside him, only relaxing as he caught a glance of her expression.
Leaving early, alone, and with no notice on his whereabouts wasn’t exactly a typical Jasper go to. Alice would have expected that out of Edward, Rosalie even, but not Jasper. She wrapped the string along her wrist before resting her head down on the old wood of the table. She tried to focus, pulling harder on the red thread. WIth her eyes closed and ears covered, she would see and hear much more important things.
A blur of colors filled her mind, spots forming into shapes which transformed into people, things, and places. She started off slow, picturing Carlisle’s hands cramping around the tone arm of their family record player. She heard the assonance of Ottorino Respighi mere seconds before the sound seeped through her muffled ears. She went through each person at the table, the possible decisions that could be made. The sound of pages turning before they’d be read, the pulling of hair through pale fingers before the two would ever make contact. Emmett’s groan of disappointment as the TV audio cut out was no surprise, predetermined by the wave of her mind. Jasper was another case however. Being so close to Alice has its ups and downs, one of the downs being you could never surprise her. Alice got real comfortable in her craft before Jasper found his work around. He always changed his mind to counteract her vision. When she focused on his path, It was a jumble of different ties in the road. Distorted images filled the scene. Some were of trees, dark and low to the ground, while others blinded her with the busy backdrops of downtown Forks.
It was no use, looking upon his path. All Alice could do was keep a passing eye on it. If danger revealed itself to him, she’d know. Otherwise, his choice was blind to her knowledge.
The sun now towered at its peak. Rays shot through the large window that looked upon the dining room, spreading into a rainbow of watercolor across the table. Carlisle had gone to his study while Esme and Rosalie spoke in the front room. Alice was the last one at the table, her skin glistening against the sun. Her eyes strained upon the view of the yellow cedar trees that stood tall compared to the glass. It was frustrating to see that no one else seemed to care about where Jasper was spending his day. Edward and Emmett were also gone now, leaving no note or goodbye. She pondered over the morning when she’d asked about him. No one seemed very concerned, but they also seemed rather surprised by his absence. Emmett’s alibi however didn’t add up. He couldn’t relay a single detail of their conversation or where Jasper went afterwards. The tagged sentence he’d given didn’t help his case either.
As Emmett opened the front door, Alice was already waiting for him in the mud room. She sat on the entry table, swinging her legs back and forth as her shoes clicked against the drywall.
“Oh. Hey, Alice.” Emmett stood in the walkway, his hands still holding the door open. It was as if he’d make a full 180 if he could and shut the door right in her face.
“Where were you?” Her voice was still just as perky.
“Just a run.”
“Just a run?”
“Just a run.” He reinforced, ultimately deciding against his supposed plan of running back out. Emmett's shoulders stood stiff once again. His eyes were fixed on the floor as he strode to join Esme and Rosalie on the couch.
“Did you happen to see Jasper? Or Edward for that matter?” Alice was right behind him. She wasn’t going to let this go so easily. It was clear Emmett was keeping something from her and if Alice was being honest with herself, he’d be the easiest one to pry the answer out of.
“No. I went out on my own. Jasper probably just needs some alone time, yeah? A guy needs his peace.” He awkwardly sunk into the cushions, sandwiched between Alice and Rosalie who Alice now noticed was giving Emmett a death glare.
“So you’re meaning to tell me you, Jasper, and Edward were out all day, but not together. Just coincidentally having guy time at the same time? Alone?”
“Yeah! That’s exactly what I'm telling you! Besides, how could I lie? You’d see what we were doing anyways.”
“I never accused you of lying.”
“Oh.”
“But on the subject, that’s a good idea. I’ll check on Edward’s path-”
“No!” Both Emmett and Rosalie leaned forward, practically grabbing Alice shoulder by shoulder. Rosalie sighed, pushing Emmett out of the way with her nail. “Alice, I’m sure they’re fine. There’s no use worrying over them.” She stood up and took Alice by her hands. She turned her palm over, fixed on the remnants of string still wrapped tightly against her wrist.
“You know what we should do? We should get ready together. That’ll take your mind off of Jasper until he returns. I’ll meet you upstairs, okay?” Alice was about to object yet no sound left her lips. Rosalie’s offer was tempting and her smile only sealed the invitation. Alice gave her a hesitant nod, pulling away to head upstairs. As she made her way out of sight, she bent her torso over the railing, peeking her head down at the three. Rosalie threw her hands up, muttering something to Emmett as he crossed his arms. No matter how enticing Rosalie’s offer of dress up was, it was maddening to see her also caught up in this charade of clue. Alice quickly hid from view as she caught a glimpse of Esme glancing at the stairway.
Alice would never admit it but, this whole makeover genuinely took her mind off the Jasper situation. Clothes were in piles on the floor, arranged in some type of organization. It began as color coded, then by how practical the outfit was, to a scale 1-10 of how much Alice adored it, back to color coded, and now it was… a mess of century old clothing on the floor. She held up a maroon blouse to Rosalie’s chest, occasionally switching it to a teal off the shoulder.
“We’re supposed to be dressing you up, remember?” Rosalie pushed Alice’s picks away, bending down to search through the growing sea of options on the floor.
“I know! I just can’t help myself! You can’t decide on a makeover and not expect me to be a visionary.” She sighed, searching through her closet which was seemingly still full despite half of it on the ground.
“You can still be a visionary. Just be one for yourself.” Alice felt hands on her back as Rosalie spun her around. “How about this?” She held up a slim dress, the straps only bands around the shoulder with a drawn out slit in the leg.
“Purple does go well with my hair.” Alice remarked as she pulled it up to her own chest and turned to face the mirror. The silk slid through her fingers as she ran them down the dress. She twisted a bit to either side. “Well I suppose we can go with this one. I wasn’t expecting to find one so quickly.”
“I stand by my statement. You enjoy going through your clothes more than you like actually wearing them.” Rosalie held the back together as she lifted the zipper up Alice’s back.
Jasper still lingered in the back of her mind as she stood, staring back at her reflection. Rosalie was indeed distracting her from something Emmett almost ruined, but what? Esme and Carlisle weren’t acting too suspicious, though their distance from the situation was a bit out of the norm. Her reflection endured every small movement as Alice pointed her leg from side to side. The slit draped over her knee which exposed the contrasted palette of her skin to that of the purple silk. She admired the way it melted around her form, how it moved with her. As she looked up to see the outfit as a whole once more, a new form filled the space of her mirror. Jasper stood behind her.
“Jasper!” Alice spun on her toes to get a better look. She knew he’d arrive at some point. It was quite rude to sneak up on her like this and she made a note to tell him. In place of Jasper’s tall figure, The walls of her room deteriorated, thick wood emerging from the drywall. It rose around her until a canopy of ripe leaves covered her. The piles of clothes were now mere flowers in the dirt, crunching under her flats. It took Alice a second to process the horrific transformation as a forest now lay ahead of her. “Jasper…?” Her voice had grown in opposition to the trees. It shrunk into a small whistle of breath. Jasper appeared to have vanished, only leaving behind the crinkling of leaves. The sound bounced from ear to ear which caused Alice’s vision to twitch and shake against her socket. She followed the trail out of pure desperation. What else was she to do? Stand there and wait for him to come back? She had tried that all day and it’d be idiotic to say it was working out any better than this. More noise crowded itself by Alice, emerging from all directions. Figures would occasionally peak their heads out from behind the bark. The faces morphed from Jasper to other familiar illusions. Edward ran beside her peripheral while Emmett would laugh from seemingly right behind her. Alice began to run from rather than to. Each tone had a loud, squeaky echo afterwards, lingering like a rotten stench.
“Alice, close your eyes.”
A sound much similar to the warm, ripe voice of Jasper’s rang. Her heels planted themselves into the dirt as she came to an abrupt stop. Jasper was nowhere in view yet his voice stuck to her. In swift move, hands tangled around her shoulders when her sight was no more.
“Alice, open your eyes.” Jasper whispered.
“Alice, open your eyes.”
“Alice, open your eyes!” Rosalie shrieked.
Her room fell back into proportion. Rosalie stood there with her hands gripped onto Alice, shaking her. “What was that? You started calling out for Jasper and shutting your eyes. What was your vision?” A vision. Of course it was. She’d never had one so realistic, so self centering. She’d see still frames, occasionally small bobbles of motion, but not this. Never has she ever incorporated herself so vividly. She stood there, stiff against Rosalie’s fingers. “I don’t know. I can’t do this.” Silk slid down her legs and to her ankles. “Alice can’t we be rational?” Rosalie pleaded despite Alice already buttoning on an old pair of jeans. On any other day, these would be an Alice fashion don’t but, when it came to Jasper? The flared edges didn’t seem to matter as much.
“No, we cannot be rational. I’m going to look for him.” With that, the room was now void of her. It wasn’t long before she gazed upon a scene not so foreign. The same spruce and pine hung over the backside of their property. Rosalie wasn’t far behind, spitting out any excuses she could in hopes Alice would turn around.
Alice refused to look back. She kept one foot after the other until they mounted into the same dip of dirt from her vision. She knew she’d just been here once the wind blew against the marble of her skin. There in the clearing stood a more definitive, permanent version of him.
“Darling. I thought I told you to get her all dressed up?” Jasper spoke rather through her, his attention fixed on someone else.
“I tried. She was worried sick about you.” Rosalie stepped into the clearing, keeping her ground further back from Alice.
“It wasn’t meant to scare her. Alice, come here.” The fear had drained from her system now, replaced with mere confusion. “I don’t get it.” She interjected the conversation, interchanging her glare with Jasper and Rosalie. Whoever she believed deserved it more in that moment. “You don’t need to get it. I was hoping you’d be brought in a more appropriate fashion, but seeing as you’re already here…” Jasper treaded behind her, covering her eyes now with his hands.
“Close your eyes Alice.” She was beginning to get tired of this phrase. Where Alice was being taken now was a mystery. She followed along for what seemed like minutes before Jasper slowed. As his fingers pulled away, She was met with the sparkling of tiny pops of glow. From the trees hung strings of lights, wrapped and tangled into a complex array. Edward and Emmett stood by a table draped in a mauve cloth. It held a tower of gifts wrapped in obnoxious patterns and colors. Just the way she liked it.
“What is all of this?”
“Your birthday party.” Jasper grinned, quite proud of himself.
“But I don’t-”
“I made one up.”
It all started coming together: Jasper’s absence, Emmett and Rosalie’s distractions, even the vision came into full view. Carlisle was bent over by some speakers resting against the tables. Esme stood over him, her arms full of cables and extension cords that led back to the house. “This is amazing!” It truly was. Even Jasper, who had no sense of vision when it came to exterior decoration, lived up to her high standards. She almost let the music and decor dazzle her, her eyes scanning the area as she practically danced to the table of gifts. That’s when it all hit her again. “Wait one moment Jasper. Why were you gone all day! You couldn’t have come up with one excuse? I was worried sick!” Jasper only laughed at this remark. “This surprise was meant to come much earlier in the day. We ran into some… complications.”
“What complications?” She raised her brow.
“Well for starters, I had gone to Emmett’s room last night which was my first mistake. I wanted to get everything ready while you were distracted. You’d never see it coming in the morning. Emmett freaked out because he was nervous you’d see him on a path. Edward decided to help instead but could only help in the morning so that pushed the set up back a far amount. We were missing the strength because Emmett didn’t want to ruin the surprise, our visionary was the birthday girl, and our stylist was busy distracting you. That left Edward and I as the sole planners while Carlisle and Esme bought supplies and wrapped gifts.”
“You guys really did all of this for me?” Her eyes lit up as she saw everyone in agreement with Jasper’s convoluted story. Because there was no cake to be had, they went straight to gifts. Alice sat crisscross in the grass as everyone crowded around her. Unwrapped antiquities and dresses replaced the space on the gift table. Some books from Edward sat in her lap while Emmett’s jewelry crafting set laid in a plastic box leaned up against her knee. She had gone through almost everyone’s gifts, yet none had Jasper’s name written upon them. Soon only the moon and string lights lit the party. Esme and Carlisle danced alongside Rosalie and Emmett. Usually Alice would be first and last on the dance floor but just like everything else today, she decided against the norm.
She sat a bit away from the music, looking over the books Edward has so kindly gifted her. Her fingers rubbed against the glossy cover, staring at that familiar woman looking beyond. The copy of Charlotte Brontë’s Villette from breakfast now laid in her hands along with another copy of Jane Eyre, The other, and The Blackwater series.
Jasper sat next to her, his knees bent up to press against his chest. “Are you having fun? Was it everything you’d hope a birthday would be?” His southern accent occasionally seeped into his speech.
“It’s good. No, I’m sorry. It’s amazing. It’s truly everything I could think of for a birthday. I suppose I’m just confused. What brought you to an idea as grand as this?” She maneuvered herself so she could lean against him. “Well –” Jasper thought for a moment. It was times like these that Alice would’ve traded her ability with Edward’s in a heartbeat. “– I remembered your reaction when we celebrated Emmett’s birthday. You were desperately trying to remain cheerful yet there was something in your eye. I couldn’t stop noticing it.” He wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t easy celebrating something you'd longed for. Not remembering anything has its perks some days. It was easier, not having anything to miss, not knowing the difference between blood pumping and manual breathing. Other days, it was watching as everyone else had an identity other than this life. Who they were rather than what they were. Not having a birthday was just another addition to the desolation.
“Why did you choose today?”
“It felt right.” He let out a sigh. “Figures. Today has been all sorts of unusual. Everyone was acting strange, I was alone at breakfast, I had this horrible vivid vision. I’m not even dancing!” Alice rested her cheek in her hand which sat against her knee.
“Then Maybe it’s a perfect day.”
“What, How?”
Jasper turned his attention to her face, pulling her cheek up to meet his gaze. He pulled out with his free hand, a small hand crafted candle, burning small embers of fire between them. “The day was unusual. You’re quite unusual. I think it fits. Now make a wish before we both burn at the steak.” Alice was going to question how long he had that burning besides him but ultimately decided against it. She wasn’t going to protest his romanticism. She happily blew out the candle, replacing his hands on it with her own. “What did you wish for?”He wiped his hand on his pants, smearing wax.
“I can’t tell you that!”
“Then how will I know it’s going to come true?”
Alice gave him a look before tapping the side of her eye with her nail. “I'll see, I’ll know. You won’t have to worry your little head about it.”
“I’ll trust you on that. Also, I almost forgot this.” He reached back by where the candle sat, pulling out a small bracelet. The charms holding it together were made up of rich black beads. Layered onto the metal were small hoops which held a silver heart that ever so slightly dangled.
“Now don’t go on thinking I planned a whole party just to forget your birthday present.” He unhooked the bracelet, carefully wrapping it around her wrist. “You shouldn’t have Jasper. Really, This is all too much.”
He was quick to interrupt her. “Happy Birthday, Alice.”
“You’re right… Happy Birthday to me.”