The Edge (Alice/Bella, Twilight 15/?)
Title: The Edge
Author: Janine
Fandom: Twilight
Pairing: Alice/Bella, mild-Alice/Jasper
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Stephanie Meyer. I’m just borrowing them.
Summary: Edward breaks the campaign of silence he had launched against Alice, and the two of them have a much needed talk.
Part 1: Skating the Edge
Part 2: My Favorite Mistake
Part 3: The Rules of Attraction
Part 4: Shattered
Part 5: Breakin' All The Rules
Part 6: Good World Gone Bad
Part 7: 'Splaining
Part 8: Sway My Way
Part 9: Fuzzy Wuzzy Wonderland
Part 10a: The Honeymooners
Part 10b:The Honeymooners
Part 11: Complications
Part 12: Uh Oh
Part 13: All Falls Down
Part 14 - A Fortunate Confluence of Events
---
The Cullen House
“Well, what do you think she’ll want to major in?” Jasper asked watching as
“I don’t know,”
“Okay,” Jasper said, looking down at the array of brochures littering his lap, studiously focusing on them instead of the wave of frustration and worry that had just emanated from
Even though
“What are her best subjects, then?” he asked, turning to look at
“Let me guess…” Jasper said, knowing that
“English,” Alice said more seriously once she got her fit of giggles under control. “Literature,” she continued resting her head on Jasper’s shoulder. “I don’t think she actually would have studied it before. She probably would have gone with something more practical. But, now there’s no reason for her not to go with what interests her.”
Jasper nodded, his thumb idly tracing the slick covers of the brochures on his lap. He could hear the affection in
“We don’t have to talk about Bella,”
She didn’t have Jasper’s talent for reading emotions, but she had been with him for a very long time, and she knew how to tell how he was feeling. He was trying very hard to be supportive and seem fine with things, but she knew that it was difficult for him; much more difficult than he wanted her to know.
“As a subject she’s somewhat hard to avoid,” Jasper responded quietly, squeezing Alice’s hand gently in his own before he tilted his head down to press a kiss the top of Alice’s.
He knew she was trying to ease his discomfort by switching the subject to something less painful for him, but whether he liked it or not, Bella was now a significant part of
Jasper breathed in deeply, as his lips brushed against the top of
Her hair was still wet from the shower, and she smelled strongly of mango and papaya. She had only called out a few words to him upon arriving home before heading directly to the bathroom, and he knew the lingering bath she had taken had been to wash Bella’s scent off of her.
He breathed in again, and sighed.
The scent of mango and papaya was a reminder in and of itself of how
“Not true,”
“Your evening?” Jasper asked, his voice a little pointed and wary but not cruel.
“I made up with Charlie,” she said finally, trying to think of something she had done that evening that didn’t involve talking to Bella or rolling around in bed naked with Bella.
“Better,” Jasper said softly, his lips quirking a little. “But still Bella-related,” he continued, his thumb stroking the back of her hand, which was still resting comfortably in his own.
“I found myself singing along to ‘My Humps’ in the car this afternoon,”
Jasper snorted indelicately and the sound making
“I know,” she sighed before resting her head on his shoulder again. “This decade is ruining me,” she continued piteously.
She straightened up with a sudden excitement and grabbed Jasper’s arm.
“We need to go to Seattle and see Shakespeare performed on stage,” she declared, squeezing his arms, emphasizing the last words because she was beginning to think of Leonardo DiCaprio when she heard the words Romeo and Juliet, and the thought would have made her cry, if she still had working tear-ducts.
“Or at the very least we need to attend the symphony,”
Jasper laughed, his eyes crinkling at the sides in the way
“Cultural elitist,” he accused playfully.
“Am not,”
“Not with diction like that, you aren’t,” Jasper returned, laughing lightly as
“Oh, I’m sorry,”
Jasper laughed again and then looked at
“Southern ladies from a certain era,”
“Only in badly written romance novels, my dear,” Jasper said smiling.
“See, that’s the problem,”
Jasper grinned at her, and
“
“Edward,”
“Do you have a minute?” Edward asked. His tone was slightly strained and he was looking everywhere in the room but at her.
“Yeah,”
“I’ll wait for you downstairs,” Edward said, finally turning towards the bed. He didn’t look at
“Any words of wisdom, soldier?” she said softly, turning to look at Jasper from just inside the closet doors.
“If he wants to duel, make sure that you get to choose the weapon,” Jasper responded.
“Thank you,”
That taken care of,
---
Edward was leaning against the base of banister, staring at nothing when
She was in the wrong, and so on the way down she decided that she would follow his cues, allow him to set the pace of the discussion, even though she wanted nothing more than to yell “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” over and over again and throw herself at his feet, begging for forgiveness.
“Feel like a walk?” Edward asked finally, still avoiding her gaze, though his eyes were now facing the front door.
“Yeah,”
Edward gave a terse nod and headed for the door, and sighing deeply,
---
“You saw Bella today?” Edward asked ten minutes into their walk.
“Yeah,”
Edward was silent for a moment.
“Charlie is still fond of you,” he said finally. His voice was a mixture of confusion and irritation.
“Charlie doesn’t worry about me … the same way he worries about you,” Alice responded, knowing that the fact that she was a cute, polite, bubbly girl, who painted his daughter’s toe-nails and got her to listen to obscure sixties music was the reason Charlie was so forgiving with her.
She could be as silly teenage girl at times, but as far as Charlie was concerned she was relatively harmless. Edward however, in Charlie’s mind, was not only a threat to Bella’s chastity, but the cause of all of the disastrous decisions she had made in the past year that had put her in harms way.
Charlie thought that Edward was bad for Bella, whereas he thought that she was good for her, despite certain mistakes she had made that could be written off to youthful carelessness.
Edward snorted unkindly, and
“You knew I was going to see her?” He asked, his head turning minutely in
“I thought you might,”
He had been waffling back and forth about whether to see Bella earlier in the day, and she had actually been debating about whether or not she could get away with staying with Bella until she feel asleep, when Edward’s decision to see Bella came to her in a vision and she knew she had to leave.
“And you still couldn’t stay away?” Edward asked, and his tone was harder than it had been before, angry and accusing.
She knew then that despite the ban Charlie had likely placed on him, that Edward had made it into the house, and into Bella’s bedroom. And that while all physical evidence of her time there had been eradicated that her scent would have been easily detectable to Edward, and that he knew exactly how she had spent her time there.
“Honestly,”
Even before the vision she knew that there was a good chance he would go to see Bella again, but she had been compelled to see Bella as well. Staying away the night before had been hard enough. She couldn’t have gone another day without seeing her.
“Being away from her all those months was torturous,”
Edward heard her words echoed in her mind, and closed his eyes, severing the unconscious connection he had formed with her.
He didn’t want to be in her mind when they were having this conversation. He didn’t want to feel her love, and affection, and desire for Bella pulsing through him. He didn’t want to sympathize with what she was feeling. He didn’t want to feel the truth of her emotions and acknowledge to hopeless of trying to ignore them.
She was in the wrong. She was the interloper. She should have been the one suffering, not him.
“Your hair was wet,” Edward said, automatically pushing a branch up out of
“I had just gotten out of the shower,”
“Oh. Afraid Jasper would try to bite you?” Edward asked; his voice casually cruel.
“He likes to do that sometimes anyway,”
“So you just didn’t want him to smell her on you,” Edward said, moving out into a small clearing, his head tilting up to peer at the moon. “You’re very considerate of your cuckold. It’s nice one of us was spared the details of your sordid sex life.”
“Just because I have one, it doesn’t mean it’s sordid,”
She parted her lips again as if she was going to say something else, but she thought better of it and was silent for a moment.
“I know you’re … listen, your problem is with me, okay. Leave Jazz out of this,” she said finally, her voice edged with steel as she got to the last part of her statement.
It was one thing if he wanted to take shots at her, she was fair game, but she would not allow him to abuse Jasper in order to punish her.
“That seems to be easy for you to do these days,” Edward responded lowly, his eyes burning into
It was too soon, going out there with Edward was a mistake. He wasn’t ready to talk to her. He just wanted to vent his frustrations. And she couldn’t fault him for that, she really couldn’t. His anger was justified. But if she stayed and played into it, things would be said, or actions taken that couldn’t be undone, and things between them might truly be ruined forever. He was her brother, she loved him, and she didn’t want this to be the end of things for them.
“I’m not going to do this Edward,”
With that she turned and began to walk away, moving a few meters away from him.
She was preparing to take off into a run when his voice reached hers.
“I accepted,” Edward said softly, his eyes fluttering closed as he forced the words past his lips.
When he had gone to Bella he had had no intention of accepting the offer. The idea of sharing the woman he was in love with, the woman he wanted to marry, the woman he had waited a lifetime for, was unthinkable to him. But after he had arrived, when he had begun to talk to her, for the first time he realized how dire the situation really was.
He had been away, Bella had been lonely, and she had always been extremely fond of
However, Bella was unwavering in her declaration of love for
He couldn’t fathom how it had happened, how these feelings between them had arisen, but standing in Bella’s room with
So he agreed. He hated the situation with every fiber of his being, but he agreed. Because not having Bella at all would be worse.
“What?”
“I accepted her terms,” Edward said, finally meeting
“You agreed?”
“Yes,” Edward said looking away again. “Being away from her is impossible for me as well. She made it very clear that the only way we could be together, was if the two of you could be as well, which didn’t leave me with much of a choice,” he continued, speaking slowly through a clenched jaw.
Edward sighed and ran an agitated hand through his hair.
“Do you know what the most difficult thing is?” he asked, turning to look at
She shook her head.
“When I picked up your thoughts when you were communicating with Aro, when I realized what had happened between you and Bella … I found that I wasn’t surprised,” he responded, a dark smile twisting his lips. “Hurt? Yes, certainly. Angry? Yes, of course. But shocked? No, I can’t say that I was that at all,” he explained, his face twisting in agony as he spoke. “I think a part of me has known since I delivered your letter to her. She was so distant after that, so broken,” he continued, his voice soft and far away.
In the days after
“And then there was you, singing songs in your head every time I was around,” Edward continued, remembering how confused he had been by
He shook his head at the memories, wondering how it had taken him so long to see the truth.
“Edward,”
“I know, I know,” Edward said holding up his hand. “You never meant for it to happen,” he said, gazing off in the distance again. “I believe you,” he sighed. “I don’t think that you intentionally tried to hurt me … but you did
“I said some nasty things earlier,” Edward began when
“I do,”
“Yes, I know,” Edward said sighing. “I’ve been trying to block it out, but your guilt is a potent force … as is your love,” he continued, his voice pained as if the words were physically harming him. “I may have similarly unpleasant lapses for the next little while, please forgive them if I do,” he went on, breathing in and out deeply.
“I hate feeling like this,” Edward said, stepping away from
He’d always had a soft spot for
“You can’t stand to look at me, can you?”
Edward kept his eyes averted, but tilted his head down as if some part of him wished it weren’t true.
“Is it always going to be like this?”
“I should be the one asking you that, shouldn’t I?” Edward asked looking up towards the twinkling stars.
“I can only see the outcome of decisions once they’ve been made,”
“Then, at least we know I haven’t decided to hate you forever,” he responded.
“That’s … true,”
She hadn’t thought of it that way, but he was right. If there was really no hope for them, if he had decided to resent her for the rest of their unnaturally long lives then she would have seen that. She would have seen the rift between them, instead of the darkness of possibility.
“Did you know Jasper’s here?” he asked, the question coming out so casually that he could have been asking her if she thought the evening was unseasonably warm.
She had barely been able to pick him up with her senses. He had been tracking them from a ways back, far enough away that he couldn’t hear their conversation, but close enough that if he was needed he could be on them within seconds.
“Does he really think I would hurt you?” Edward asked, sounding genuinely wounded.
“No,”
She didn’t think that Jasper really believed that Edward would hurt her, but he couldn’t be one-hundred percent sure of that, and the one percent chance that their talk could have turned into a confrontation which could have turned physical was enough to compel Jasper to follow, to protect her.
Edward stared off into the distance, possibly looking for Jasper, possibly thinking,
“It’s a nice night,” Edward said, still staring off into the distance.
“Yes,”
“I’ll leave you two to enjoy it,” he said. “You can come out now, I’m leaving,” he called in a louder tone, one he knew that Jasper would be able to hear.
There was a slight breeze, and then a few seconds later Jasper was standing beside
“I wouldn’t have touched her,” Edward said, needing to voice the sentiment, knowing that despite Alice’s words that Jasper was out there in part to protect his mate.
“It wasn’t personal,” Jasper said, holding Edward’s gaze. “She’s my lady.”
“Half of the time,” Edward muttered, the ugly feelings rising up in him before he felt himself begin to calm.
Jasper’s ability was much stronger now that he was closer, and not trying to mask the fact that he was manipulating their emotions.
“She’s still my lady,” Jasper said softly.
Edward nodded, exhaustion washing over him. He didn’t want to be talking about this anymore. Suddenly, he didn’t want to be anywhere close to either of them.
“Goodnight,” he said, planning on running as far as he could. He wasn’t even sure if he cared about making it back to town for school in the morning. All he knew was that he needed to really be alone for a while.
“Goodnight,” Jasper said, inclining his head respectfully in Edward’s direction.
“Night,”
There was another ruffling of the air, and Edward was gone.
“Nice night for a walk,” Jasper commented a few moments later, turning from the spot where Edward had disappeared.
“Yeah,” she breathed out softly.
“Shall we?” he asked.
“Please,” she replied, easing up onto her tip-toes to press her lips against his cheek.
Jasper reached for her hand, and they began to head back in the direction of the house, their pace leisurely.
“Jazz,”
“I know,” he said squeezing her hand. “Things will be okay.”
To be continued …
ATTN: I feel like I'm causing everyone panic attacks right now, so I just want to add a little note at the end here to say, there is much more to come in the story. The way things are set up right now, does not mean it is the way things are going to stay. Alice is awesome, but not every idea she comes up with is brilliant ;) Things have progressed really rapidly for them all, and they really haven’t had any time to think things through in any meaningful way. The story is not even halfway through, there is definitely much more to come so don’t worry! Don’t worry!
Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
(Anonymous) 2008-09-21 04:16 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
And yes, Jasper is sweet (but in the way), lol.
Just remember, it's an Alice/Bella story, and we're only about halfway through it right now. There's plenty of opportunity left for Edward to be kicked to the curb ;)
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
I DON'T MAKE FUN OF YOUR HOBBIES!!! :D
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
And now ... period porn! Part 1
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: And now ... period porn! Part 2
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: I'm a horrible person, and you enable me. Thanks!
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
Re: Stupid Edward...
no subject
Whether all this drama-rama blows up in their pretty, pale faces or they all move to Sandy, Utah and open up some sort of home-improvement store, I'll still be eagerly awaiting the next chapter.
...oh and great Edward & Jasper characterization. Jasper stills owns Edward in every way though.
no subject
Drama and angst, my friend. Drama and angst. Alice is awesome, but not every idea she comes up with is brilliant. Right now, she's living in a bit of a fantasy land. She wants everything to work out, and everyone to be happy. But if Edward's reaction so far is any indication, that's not likely going to happen. Not everyone is a team player, lol.
or they all move to Sandy, Utah and open up some sort of home-improvement store
lol, the Henrickson's new neighbours. I bet Alice and Margie would get along great, lol. Nicki would probably be ridiculously jealous of how gorgeous and rich they were. And Barb would be happy to have someone to talk about books and things with!
...oh and great Edward & Jasper characterization.
Thanks! I was a bit worried about Jasper because I haven't read much with him (I stopped reading the series early into Eclipse). And even though Edward sucks, writing is self-righteous indignation is kind of fun ;)
Jasper stills owns Edward in every way though.
Trufax.
no subject
Woot! Bring on whiny emo!Edward. I have a feeling he'll be entering the terrible two's soon. Oh Edward, you should seriously be grateful that someone is even willing to share with you, accept it, and go to Starbucks and compose a song about all those feelings.
I bet Alice and Margie would get along great, lol.
LOL, y'know Margie would be shopping for wifey #4, cause she's a pimp like that yo.
Thanks! I was a bit worried about Jasper because I haven't read much with him
Well, I've read all but the last book and he seems spot-on.
no subject
no subject
Please, MOAR!
As soon as possible! I promise :D
Teh Fuck???
Ok, so that fun little scenario we came up with last chapter just got shot to hell...Now it's gonna be more like:
"Hey Bella, since you got her for Pride can she come with me to the formal?"
"Sure, it's fine. Edward wants me to go with him to buy Dave Matthews Band cds anyway. And I can't back out this time; he's still pissed that I dodged scrapbooking camp last week..."
Re: Teh Fuck???
"Sure, it's fine. Edward wants me to go with him to buy Dave Matthews Band cds anyway. And I can't back out this time; he's still pissed that I dodged scrapbooking camp last week..."
LOL! I love you.
Dave Matthews tickets! That's so ... SO EDWARD!
I can't wait to see the dialogue you write after the next chapter. In that one, Edward is totally gonna be a passive aggressive bitch and Bella is like so over his constant PMSing.
Re: Teh Fuck???
Re: Teh Fuck???
Re: Teh Fuck???
Re: Teh Fuck???
Re: Teh Fuck???
Re: Teh Fuck???
Re: Teh Fuck???
Re: Teh Fuck???
Re: Teh Fuck???
Re: Teh Fuck???
Re: Teh Fuck???
Re: Teh Fuck???
Re: Teh Fuck???
....
(Anonymous) 2008-09-21 06:48 pm (UTC)(link)You definitely have to make up for the lack of Alice and Bella interaction in this chapter.=)
Re: ....
lol. There is going to be much more, Edward The Emo King coming up. With a little bit of Edward the Passive Aggressive Prince thrown in. Oh, Edward *shakes head at him* [Edward fan-girl] He's not emo, he just FEELS TO MUCH! [/Edward fan-girl]
Let the sharing begin! I wonder what's going to happen next. Now it seems like sharing is not such a bad idea after all.
Well, it's not going to be a smooth ride. Edward accepted, but he was pretty pissy with Alice, and clearly has many problems with the idea.
You definitely have to make up for the lack of Alice and Bella interaction in this chapter.=)
There will be some Bella/Alice in the next chapter (they'll even be all alone in Bella's room), but the beginning of that will be some more plot set up with some Bella/Edward fighting.
The next two chapters after that will be almost entirely Bella/Alice (Charlie will be making an appearance, but Charlie is totally a Bella/Alice enabler, lol), so you'll definitely get your fill there.
Re: ....
Re: Stupid Edward...
no subject
(Anonymous) 2008-09-22 04:12 am (UTC)(link)but besides that... thank you my dear. and for replying to me the last two chapters. as always, your writing captivates me and leaves me checking this site everyday to see if there's an update. :)
no subject
(Anonymous) 2008-09-22 01:10 pm (UTC)(link)you hit a bull's eye on my fondness of the cullens as a family. i really didn't like edward as bella's hovering boy, but i have a soft spot for the side of him that is a son and a brother (read the midnight sun leak and i loved how it revealed alice and edward's strong bond) i am pleasantly surprised that you were able to effectively explore a potentially likable part of edward in a fic where he is supposed to be almost the villain.
and even though i am a bellice fan first, i also have this little thing for alice and jasper. they are the most interesting cullens, imho. you handle their relationship in this fic with such subtlety and grace and honesty, i just can't make myself hate the idea of alice being shared with jasper totally.
then there's the way you show alice's vulnerability when it comes to these two boys. beautiful.
i am your fan. :)
no subject
(Anonymous) 2008-09-22 01:28 pm (UTC)(link)i don't care about jasper and edward! kick 'em out of the story so we could have bellice porn already! harharhar
top notch :)
*official Belice convert*
anyway, awesome fic! I'm looking forward to stalking you on LJ for more updates :D
no subject
I think I'm on my own here...
Oh...I heart you anyway! This is too good!!!
*races to read the next chapter*
Edward
no subject
Thanks again for writing this! *wonders off to read this chapter* <33