The Edge

A Little More Conversation

Summary: Edward breaks his campaign of silence against Alice, and the two of them have a much needed talk.

The Cullen House

Alice ran the brush through her hair one last time before bringing her hand up to her head to run her fingers through her dark locks, mussing up the hair she had just been combing, returning some of its usual disarray. Satisfied with the effect, she then put the brush down and turned towards the bed.

"Well, what do you think she'll want to major in?" Jasper asked watching as Alice moved slowly towards the bed and then placed her right knee on the bottom of the mattress before she began to crawl towards him.

"I don't know," Alice said, sighing as she reached the headboard and leaned her back up against it, mirroring Jasper's pose. "She hasn't made up her mind yet," she continued frowning a little. "I don't think she's given it much thought. Not lately," she finished softly, knowing that Bella had had her mind set on being turned as soon as possible, and that being a vampire, not a college freshman, had been her post-High School plan of choice.

"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 Alice.

Even though Alice was more bubbly and talkative than him, in her own way she was usually very calm. She was fairly unflappable, and tended to take things in stride. He wasn't used to the seemingly random, and intense brief bursts of emotions that would now come from her. In over fifty years, Jasper had never known anyone effect Alice's emotions the way Bella did and it left him feeling a little off balance.

"What are her best subjects, then?" he asked, turning to look at Alice, trying to keep his mind focused on something practical.

Alice met his gaze, staring at him for a moment. She then bit her bottom lip and started to blink rapidly, her breath coming out in quick staccato huffs.

"Let me guess..." Jasper said, knowing that Alice was trying very, very hard not to laugh. He had been around her long enough to have developed a very good sense for her humor, and he knew instinctively what she was thinking. "...Biology?" Jasper guessed, lifting a pale eyebrow at her, a little smile beginning to creep across his lips as Alice's control over her laugher began to slip.

Alice released her bottom lip and laughed, her hand lifting to her mouth to cover it, as she continued to blink, her body shaking as the laugher vibrated through her body. This went on for around thirty seconds, and then she began to regain some control, her bottom lip finding itself ensnared beneath her teeth once more as she looked over at Jasper sheepishly, a mildly embarrassed expression coming to her face.

"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 Alice's voice, feel it pouring off of her, and again he wondered how he had ever been able to mistake it for friendship alone.

"We don't have to talk about Bella," Alice said softly a few seconds later, taking Jasper's hand in hers and holding it tenderly.

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.