AN: Just so you don’t get confused… Bella is not on the scene yet. Maybe I’ll slot her in somewhere… I don’t know but Edward is not the focus here. This is an Alice & Jasper fic because they are – without a doubt - the best couple in Stephenie Meyer’s fantastic Twilight series. Though, this story doesn’t have anything to do with Twilight per se. I just used the characters.
So, obviously Jasper does not have a mate (but Rosalie is his biological sister), and Alice is human. I’m not sure how this story is going to go, I decided the plot on a whim and don’t know if it will suck or not - so bear with me if the story has a boring spout because I'm hoping for good things from it... and possibly its sequel (if I get that far...) But also, you must bear in mind that I am in my last few years of school where exams are hitting me left right and centre - I do need to take time off to study. But, I'm hoping that those occasions are few and far between...

Anyway, enjoy the story – I certainly had fun planning it!

For someone who doesn’t exist in the same manner a human does, I must admit, I am becoming quite the restaurant connoisseur.

I could effortlessly be one of those pompous celebrity dieticians with the amount of knowledge I have on the topic of human food. Only, my clientele would consist of vampires and not humans. ‘If you’re looking for an easier swallowing session with a human audience, then steak or any other undercooked cooked meat is ideal’ I’d tell them. ‘Order your steak rare, and if you’re lucky, then the little bit of blood left in the meat is enough to keep a straight face while eating’. I also know for a fact that spaghetti is the easiest type of pasta to get rid of when it is no longer possible to keep down – just as long as you keep chewing to a minimum. But, whatever you do - and this is a secret of mine - avoid salad because it brings no good news.

And who, you might say, endowed me with such useless knowledge? It certainly doesn’t surprise anyone in the know that it was Edward. No, scrub that thought. Edward didn’t give me the information, he just provided me with the situation to learn it all myself. Though, to say that it is only I who knows how to be a decent food critique would be unfair; Rosalie and Emmett would have equal amount of knowledge to me in this area. If not, then they had more than me. After all, they’d had a few more public restaurant experiences with Edward than I. And when I look over to my left, along the back seat of the booth, I see that they are no more pleased than I am tonight. I wonder if Edward understands that, through Rosalie’s never-yielding glare, we do not appreciate the burden of eating in a show for his latest ‘girlfriend’?

He looked me square in the eyes from across the table at that moment, unconsciously smug with his arm draped over the human girl next to him. He knew I could never be that close in proximity to a human without thinking of nothing but the blood, but he could. I knew so too. Everybody knew it. I practically had a big F printed on my forehead for Cullenism. Edward kicked my leg for thinking that.

“Jasper,” Emmett whispered as he leant forward over the corner of the booth toward me. “We haven’t been here before, have we?”

I shook my head, and possibly dropped my shoulders the same way he did. As good of a food critique I was, new restaurants were a nightmare. They were a place where we previously hadn’t sampled any of their food and therefore did not know what the ideal dishes for us were. You would imagine that because meals are similar between any two restaurants that any given dish of lasagne, anywhere, would be the same. That is, the meal would go down and regurgitate in the same manner. Yet they don’t! It’s amazing – disgusting, actually is a better word – how many different ways there are to cook and present the same type of food. It certainly made our existence harder: we didn’t know how this particular restaurant prepared any given dish and for all we knew, the gnocchi could come with mashed apple - it would still taste the same to us.

It just wouldn’t feel the same afterwards.

Emmett let out a heavy sigh. He was bored. I was bored. Everybody was bored. Or annoyed. Or Both. I had a feeling that Edward’s ‘date’ wouldn’t be bragging about this night to any of her friends. But I wasn’t giving it much thought; the whole night did not seem worth the effort.

There were five of us out tonight. Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, Holly and myself. Edward sat opposite me with Holly - his newest ‘girlfriend’. She was pathetic, just like the rest of them. It took so much concentration to ensure I did not blurt that out that I kept quiet. Adjacent to me, along the wall, was Rosalie and Emmett. They played the mature couple at the table, believe it or not, setting the good example for their younger brother. And then there was me, sitting with a booth seat all to myself, opposite Edward.

I sighed internally; the only reason I was here doing this was because we were pretending to be human... And we had a little bet on Eddie-ward being a wuss. I would have preferred being at home working on my thesis or planning my next psychology brief, honestly.

Edward turned his head away from me to direct his attention elsewhere. “What are you ordering, Rose?” he asked.

She answered curtly. “Nothing.”

Excuse me? Why doesn’t she have to eat?

“I’m on a diet; no eating for a week,” she said.

Bother. That was a very good excuse not to eat. I would go as far as to say it almost sounded legitimate. For Rose, anyway.

Emmett cleared his throat. “Ah, yes,” he added, making his voice as feminine as possible without being able to pass for a girl. “I too am watching my clothes line and cannot eat... Ever.”

Rose threw a fist into Emmett’s bicep, trying madly to hide her smile at his remark. I just tried to keep my laughter to myself, grateful that nobody had broken out into a full laugh. I would have lost control, otherwise, with so many people in the room.

Edward, however, wasn’t very amused; he kicked me –again- under the table and I lowered my head so Holly wouldn’t realise that we were mocking the last time we had had dinner with her. Edward scowled lowly at the replay in my mind. Well, this evening was going to be a multitude of delightful moments. Not.

Why couldn’t he just leave me at home? I really didn’t want to be here and I didn’t intend on providing any entertainment. I was thus a waste of space and food. I mean, the last – and only - time I spoke to or around Holly was when I was forced to introduce myself two weeks ago. I said a total of one word: my name. I didn’t plan to break that record anytime soon. So tonight should have just been another double date with Rosalie and Emmett... I don’t really like to be forced out around the humans; it can be too tempting-

“Jasper!” Edward hissed. Holly just thought that he sneezed and, oddly kindly, blessed him for it.

The table went silent and everyone gazed off into their chosen direction. Oh, what a night.

Boredom had me observing the tables. Many times. Then I noted the picturesque view outside the doors, and then I watched the diners… Needless to say, I quickly turned back to the furnishings with that last thought.

The restaurant was fairly large and open, with neutral brown and purple walls and the odd decorative embellishment. Along the opposite wall were long, wooden bistro doors which, to my apparent luck, are opened up this mild evening to let in a constant fresh breeze from over the lake outside. That was one positive to the night...

Emmett lowered his menu to the tabletop and it made a noise on contact. Seemingly no longer on his failed-before-I-even-opened-my-mouth diet, he said, “Well… I am going to have the chicken parmagiana.” Then he, noticeably, began reading the list again, to somehow prove his point with his actions. “Minus the salad and the chips...” he mumbled, a little disgusted.

I couldn’t help but snicker; chips were nasty to consume. I had let Emmett find that one out the hard way. However, his taste in food didn’t go unnoticed by the human.

Sure enough, Holly screwed up her nose at the strange eating habit. “No salad? Why?”

My burly brother put on a haughty smile and leant up against the back of the booth. “I need as much protein without anything else that would compromise it,” he explained, being sure to flex his muscles apparently inconspicuously. “Besides, who wants rabbit-food?”

My brother-in-law continued rambling on, sounding like a complete idiot to me. He spoke of all this nonsense about vitamins and minerals, and none of us had the knowledge or interest to confidently call his bluff. His health talk impressed Holly nonetheless.

Rosalie, on the other hand, just became more and more obviously entertained with Emmett’s every word. With a little of my expertise, I managed to help her hide the smile before Edward swiped it off her face and she mouthed a quick thankyou over the table.

“When is the stupid waiter going to come?” Holly whined. “I’m starving.”

I looked around the restaurant – it was nearly full of patrons.

Edward raised his hand and clicked, summoning a waiter. Nobody came at first, and I looked back behind me to see whose attention Edward had been wanting. I saw a few waitresses and a few waiters, but they were all busy.

I kept watching, waiting to see who Edward would be tempted to throw a chair at first for making us wait, but nobody even came close to our table.

That is when another staff member joined the floor. Over at the counter at the far width of the room I saw a small girl come around from the bench and start a waltz through the sea of tables and customers. Dance was almost the literal word; she had a fairly smooth lope – even if she was just a human.

She had short, dark-brown hair and a strange, sort of happy aura about her. If she had not been wearing the black uniform of the waiters and waitresses, I would have thought she was an innocent girl dining with her family. She walked closer, her smile very radiant and welcoming, but I could see the rims of awe and the growing apprehension as she neared. We vampires seem to have that effect on humans. However, this girl only kept her admiration slight and commendably controlled. When she approached the table, I had to look down at my lap.

“Buonasera. My name is Alice and I’ll be your server for this evening. Are you ready to order?” the waitress politely asked.

Holly, after the invitation, was first to order, being sure to clearly enunciate her words. “What do you have…” she’d said, running her finger down the menu dismissively, “…that has no fat, no sugar or carbs?” Her insecurity suddenly emitted at a high. She seemed to find the waitress a threat, but did a terrible job of making it look like she didn’t.

The waitress raised a delicate eyebrow enough for only us vampires to notice. She opened her mouth to speak but blinked once and found herself speechless. She tried again to retort. “You mean nothing with any nutritional benefit?” The waitress’s eyes flicked up to the ceiling at that moment, mocking a deep thought process. “Hmm…” she pondered aloud. “Nothing.”

Emmett coughed instantly, not managing to choke back his glee, and ‘shamefully’ lowered his head. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like Holly. Good.

Edward’s human girlfriend became defensive. I saw it all, even with my head still lowered to study the table: I watched the look on her face grow from obnoxious to defensive, the way she clicked her tongue, and that tiny part of an inch closer she moved to Edward. “And I half expected you to say water,” Holly remarked through an open mouth.

Alice jerked her head back to Holly and feigned a smile. “Does water keep you alive?”

Holly obviously couldn’t see where our waitress’ point was heading; else she would have come up with some other irrelevant remark, as girls tend to do. “Yes…”

“Then it has a nutritional benefit,” Alice quipped, raising her stylus off the electronic menu fractionally, “sustainability to absorb nutrients that keep you alive. Now would you like to order anything, or do you need a few more minutes to decide?”

Ready to bite back, Holly became even more unpleasant before Rosalie cut in. “Perhaps we need a few more minutes,” my sister suggested.

Alice’s lips turned into an accepting smile, diminished any trace of bitterness, and acknowledged Rosalie. “Certo – of course, signorina,” she replied, dipped her head politely and then danced off to another table. I noticed, as she walked away, her car keys half hanging out of her back pocket. Porsche.

I didn’t see a Porsche on the way in; one would notice such a nice car in a town like this. Maybe I could see it from here if I looked…

Sure enough, right out the front of the restaurant, in view from where I sat, was the offending car parked facing the diners.

It was an older model, classic shape and a deep red-maroon colour.

“Nice,” I muttered to myself.

Emmett instantly shot up at my remark to half standing height. He looked over the other booths to the front of the restaurant and snickered. “Nice spotting, man.”

I turned to him, quizzical at his tone, and, warily, noticed he wasn’t looking in the exact place I was. Where was he looking…?

“No. Emmett. No. See, this is why I don’t like coming out with you - I was not looking at the waitress!” I snapped.

His face became suddenly appalled, and teasing drenched his tone. “Were you looking at the waiter?”

“Wai- What?” I exclaimed. Typical of Emmett; just because I had never had a girlfriend, or shown a particular interest in any around him, he thinks means that I am not interested in them at all. As I continually have to defend when I find yet another far-too-interested girl at school suddenly has my number, I am not interested - in the girls around the area or at our past - school. “No! I was looking at the car.”

“What is it?” Rosalie questioned.

I looked back at the automobile. “It’s a Porsche.”

Rosalie nodded her head slowly, mouth drawing a touch of jealousy. “New?”

I shook my head.

Edward cut in, “Do you guys know what you’re going to order yet?” I supposed the waitress was going to be here shortly from the slight push in his tone.

“Chicken parmagiana!” Emmett’s enthusiasm never ceased to amaze, it was like he was actually looking forward to eating this stuff.

Edward looked pointedly at Rosalie and narrowed his eyes in a warning: she would not get away with not eating. So she cocked an eyebrow, picked up the menu and muttered, “Spaghetti.”

He rolled his eyes and approved, then turned to me. Inhaling audibly, I also picked up the menu and said without reading, “Spaghetti.”

Of course I’d have spaghetti. I wouldn’t be risking it anymore with anything else.

Alice came and stood at the head of the table. “Are you right to order now?” she inquired politely.

The waitress had a stylus and palm sized electronic menu with her and an inviting expression on her face. She was the sort of person that could strike up a conversation with a bunch of people she’s never met and make it look easy, from what I could judge. Her free-spirited, happy mood was reflected in her gentle face, with all her features symmetrical and well defined. She was very striking, but in a different, and less ostentatious, way to Rosalie. Alice’s dark brows arched over her wide, almond shaped olive-green eyes that were surrounded by thick black lashes. Though she was tired -you could see it physically on her face-, you didn’t notice behind her ever-present smile. And to top it off, her short haircut complimented her face, framing it to make her seem like a picture...

And there was something else about her… I couldn’t work it out. That’s why I was still looking at her. She had a unique look, a memorable one... Maybe that’s what it was about her. Or maybe it was the fact she was genuine and confident. She… I don’t know…

I really don’t know.

“I’ll have the Caesar salad, without the mayo,” Holly ordered, like a royal to a servant. “And make sure the croûtons are not fried or cooked in butter.”

The waitress nodded her head silently and took down the order. Edward got a little snarly and moved closer to Holly when Alice peered down at him; obviously he didn’t like what she was thinking. He nodded at me and my unspoken guesses, and then turned to the menu upon realising he hadn’t decided what he would order.

While we waited for him, Emmett spoke to our host. “Who owns that car out there?” he jerked his chin in the direction of the front windows of the establishment. She peeked over her shoulder, to her right, to where he gestured. Simultaneous with her visual field moving, Emmett began making pushy faces at me, urging me to continue the conversation that he had already started on my behalf. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve had to do that…

“Which one? The Porsche?” she asked innocently as she turned back to us. I started to feel slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed, but then realised that it was her...

Emmett let his face drop to the nonchalant cover he had earlier before Alice caught sight of him. “Yes,” my brother confirmed coolly.

The waitress smiled and shrugged timidly. “It’s mine.”

I guess she didn’t want the attention drawn to her about it.

I unconsciously nodded slowly at her divulgement of information, though I already knew it all from her keys in her pocket.

Rosalie joined in with a sudden interest. “What year is it?”

The girl’s smile grew as she turned to my sister, “It’s an ’86. It’s old, but it’s still the classic shape and it drives really well. Sounds cool too...”

“Is it a nine-eleven?”

“Mhmm,” she sounded through pressed lips and quick nods. “Turbo body. Not that I know what that means...”

Emmett responded for me, fed up with my no input. “Nice.”

She craned her head to look back at her car. “Yeah, it is. I wish it was actually mine though…” Her small smile didn’t fade.

“Dude!” Emmett cried. “Grand Theft Auto! What a legend...”

“Not exactly,” she laughed nervously. “I had to borrow it. Legally. That’s what happens when your car breaks down and it’s the only spare available.”

I smiled politely to myself, still not looking at her, mostly kicking myself internally. That was the obvious answer, Jasper – not Grand Theft Auto as Emmett had suggested.

Edward intervened. “I’ll have the mushroom ravioli.”

The waitress jerked her head to him and took the order down, promptly turning to Rosalie after a moment.

“Spaghetti,” my sister requested, “and hold the sauce, please.”

“Chicken parmagiana minus the salad and chips.” Emmett boomed, sounding like a five year old proud of himself for ordering the food of his choice.

“Okay…” Alice agreed with a sort of sceptical edge to her voice. But she stayed polite and turned to me. “And for you?” she inquired.

“Uh,” I fumbled trying to remember what I had chosen in the first place. How could I have forgotten so easily? I dove for my discarded menu and read over it. And then I had to awkwardly flip it, to re-read it the correct way up. She smiled encouragingly at me, at my clumsiness, but never did pity me. “Spaghetti,” I finally mumbled. “Hold the sauce.”

She nodded infinitesimally. “Alright…” she conceded, finalising the order. “And would you like anything to drink?” She looked around the booth at anyone who would volunteer the order.

Holly picked up the menu at an irritatingly slow pace, but our host never grew impatient. Sometimes I wondered how Holly would ever escape losing her job due to her attitude in the future. Edward coughed low enough so only we could hear, clearly not impressed with my train of thought. But it was a legitimate thought. So under prior instruction, I turned my thoughts elsewhere so Edward would not attempt to take my head off.

My thoughts turned to Alice at the end of the table – who would not be losing her job because of her manners. I traced my gaze from her face, past her shoulders, to her body. She was very slight, but didn’t have bones sticking out against the skin in strange places. Nor did she look unhealthy; she had curves to satisfy the pickiest of men. And I was probably the pickiest of men.

I heard Edward smirk quietly and looked at him to find him grinning childishly. He sent me a wave of lust when he saw I was looking. And then I understood his amusement.

I had just checked out Alice, the waitress.

I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.

How disgraceful; she’s human, young and innocent and I’m not. And...

No. It was merely a passing thought, something I wasn’t controlling.

Does that make it worse?

It was very wrong of me, I shouldn’t-

“Jasper!” Emmett nudged me as he broke my reverie.

I looked around the table; everyone was watching me. Alice included.

Our waitress looked uncertainly at Edward for reassurance and then back at me again as soon as she found him studying.

“Uh, would you like a drink?” she repeated.

Alice is just doing her job, and look what you are doing with that advantage. “Uhh…” I stammered, breathing in and out to give a coherent answer. I resigned almost instantly. “Just water, thanks.”

Alice nodded cautiously at me, like a concerned doctor to a mental patient, and pressed her stylus to the screen. “Okay, it won’t be long. I’ll bring the drinks around first.”

Ever so swiftly, far swifter than I, she picked up the menus and carried them off toward the kitchen.

Holly excused herself after Alice, a little more politely than what we were sure she was capable of, and left the table to the bathroom.

The moment Holly was out of ear-shot, Emmett began to whine. “Edward, dude, how many times are you going to make us do this?”

“Hey,” Edward retaliated. “You’re the one who set this bet up. You deal with it.”

“Bet? What bet?” Rosalie exclaimed.

“Nice one, Emmett,” I groaned. Rosalie wasn’t supposed to know about it.

Emmett ignored me and continued poking at Edward. “Yeah, but we didn’t actually think little Eddy was going to go through with it. We thought you’d try to beat us up for being ‘not gentlemanly’. We seriously couldn’t see you doing it! Right, Jasper?”

“You couldn’t see him doing it,” I corrected.

Rosalie began to get frustrated. “What bet?” she pushed, looking around the table for anyone who would provide some insight.

Edward and Emmett continued to quarrel while I spoke to Rosalie about our stupid dare now that Emmett had spilled the beans.

“When we first got here, Emmett dared Edward to be a ‘player’ and get as high up in the social hierarchy at school as possible, just for some fun. Ultimately that means he has to date as many girls as he can, and we didn’t think he would take it so seriously. We thought he would just back-out after a few days, or even hours, being the ‘gentleman’. I mean, come on, it’s Edward. And, well… you know what he’s like… he felt the need to torture us by making us meet his human girlfriends over dinner, and then have you and Emmett double-date with him. Mostly I think he’s just too scared to be alone with a girl. But you know…” I trailed off, feeling Rosalie’s anger rise. “Rose…?”

“You mean I have been going through all this-” she gestured to where the full plates would be placed, “-all because of a stupid dare that I didn’t even know about? I thought we were just protecting our cover!” She nudged Emmett. Without delay, he started questioning her outbreak, and then she, in turn, reacted. Unavoidably, the three of them began arguing over each other.

“Just dump her man!” Emmett said. “You and she will both get over it.” How many times Edward had, so far, heard that request from us tonight remains a mystery to me.

“No,” Edward scowled, but his voice faltered and gave away his uncertainty. We knew Holly was probably the most decent of the ‘popular’ niche - that’s how bad they were - but eventually anybody would grow really tired of her. Besides, why would Edward want to be spending his newly acquired freedom from school with a girl he didn’t even really like?

His refusal brought on a particularly nasty eruption of arguments between the three of them… I tried calming them down, but the friction they caused overpowered me so much that my help was only just enough to keep their voices down.

So, avoiding being caught in the chaos my family was bringing upon themselves, I looked out into the sea of people dining and chatting happily. The difference in atmosphere between us and them was definitely comical. I had to chuck a smile at it.

From here, I could see the moon over the rippling water outside… I could see Alice talking to one of the other diners… The man was asking for a refill of the jug of soft drink for his children – rather rudely too. And even from here I could feel she was a little sad, though not offended. She took the order chivalrously and glided off. On her way to the kitchen, she passed another waitress stacking dirty dishes off a table. Suddenly a glass cup fell, and Alice bent down, backwards slightly, to catch it single-handedly. She put it back on the waitress’s stack of dishes. “Careful Gabriella, Boss doesn’t like broken cups.”

Someone else a few tables down summoned her attention then, and she walked over to the couple.

“Right, Jazz?” Emmett pleaded.

I turned my head back around to my family. Emmett was practically begging with his puppy dog eyes for my support. So I raised my hands, promoting innocence. “Don’t bring me into this.”

“This was your stupid dare too,” Rosalie snarled at me.

“No… This was Emmett’s stupid dare. I merely thought it was funny.” Which was mostly true; Emmett had devised it and I thought it had been hilarious – not being able to see the future and predict Edward would use it against us.

I turned my head back out to the mess of diners and found that Alice was gone, nowhere to be seen within the restaurant. I looked back behind me, I looked at the counter, I looked out in front of me… but I couldn’t see her. Upon realising how strangely insistent I was to find her, I forced myself to resign and stare out the window at the front of the building. At Alice’s borrowed car.

Everything sort of just became a gurgled mess around me when my senses only concentrated on what I was thinking and the delayed whooshing sound of air filling and leaving my lungs. I was conscious of everything making sense, I just wasn’t giving it any thought. I still knew that Emmett was arguing with Edward, and Rosalie constantly interjected whenever one said anything inappropriate or stupid... But like I said, it was just a blur.

A small voice ripped through the humming around me, tearing through it effortlessly to grab my attention. “Ahem,” the voice said. Instantly, the table went deathly silent. All at once, we turned to the waiting waitress at the head of the table. Alice’s expression was priceless – though more composed than what any other’s would have been. She looked terribly uncomfortable standing where she was, and a little worried. Involuntarily, I started silently laughing and placed my head against the table, covering it with my arms.

Priceless.

To an outsider I could only imagine what we looked like while bickering, let alone what we sounded like. At my laughing, she grew a little self-conscious. Oops. I didn’t intend for that to happen; I’ll just alter that vulnerability slightly... I mean, she had no reason to-

Edward smirked audibly at that thought. As an instantaneous reaction, I brought my not-so-amused head up; Edward - did he ever butt-out?

No, he never does.

Alice presented the round tray laden with drinks. “Your drinks are ready,” she explained quietly, probably still unsure if we would snap at her.

She took them off one by one, placing the empty glass in front of me with a chilled bottle of water.

“Thank-you,” Edward offered on behalf of us. I was too far gone with holding in laughter at the returning images of unsure Alice to say anything, Rosalie was too embarrassed from being sprung fighting, and Emmett was just purely annoyed at Edward.

Alice gave a quick, small curve of the lips and hurried off.

“Poor girl…” Emmett mumbled.

And then we waited in silence for the evening to unfold.

Holly returned to the table during our silence, much to Rosalie and Emmett’s dismay.

“Ugh,” the human groaned. “Still no food?”

Edward placed his arm around Holly’s waist and kissed her cheek. “It’s coming,” he soothed.

As if on cue, Alice stepped into view, her hands loaded with plates. “Caesar salad, minus the mayonnaise…” she said as she placed Holly’s dish in front of her.

“Did you make sure the croûtons-?”

“They’re just grilled,” Alice snapped without paying any proper attention to Holly. “Mushroom ravioli… and chicken parmagiana minus the salad and chips...” I couldn’t help but notice the amused face she made while placing our unusual orders on the table.

Quickly she disappeared off to get the rest of the order.

“She’d better not be lying…” Holly threatened as she examined a crouton with her fork.

Suddenly, I said something without thinking. “Why would she lie?” I questioned. Everybody looked at me then with variations of expressions, but none without shock. Now I really regretted saying anything. Why did I even interfere?

Nevertheless, Holly began to respond. “Because-”

Alice returned then. “And… spaghetti minus the sauce…” she counted, first placing one dish in front of Rosalie, bending fragilely over the length of the table, before placing the second to me. “Buon appetito – enjoy!” And with one last smile, she ducked off graciously.

Enjoy – yeah right.

“Just wait for the aftermath…” Emmett grumbled low enough so humans couldn’t hear.

Rosalie sighed in response, no doubt visualising the same thing.

It was more than I cared to remember in saying that it took far too many mouthfuls and prompts from Edward before the spaghetti began to disappear from my plate. The only the problem was that it wasn’t disappearing, it was making itself known to be in my stomach.

I tried calming the family, hoping to settle the one thing that was on their mind. But unfortunately that was all I could do because, effectively, I was just as uncomfortable as all of them multiplied together.

Once again Alice caught my wandering attention.

I dropped the fork and acted as if I were full. Edward sent me an irritated glance that I blatantly ignored.

Alice was clearing the dishes to a table where a happy family sat, all smiling as the little boy prattled to her about it being his birthday. She enthusiastically asked about it and any presents or visitors… and wished him a very happy evening. The parents were very at ease with her and I could hear them ask very nicely for some coffee. Of course, Alice courteously complied and left them all smiling.

It was about here that I found myself observing her body again. But upon realising, switched to noting the way she just flowed through the crowds. She had to be a dancer with such grace.

Rosalie gave up on her meal then and pushed the bowl away from her with a huff of disgust. I was almost ready to do the same by that point.

Alice appeared from the kitchen again, after two whole fork-fulls of revolting spaghetti, with a piece of cake and ice cream, and two cups of coffee. She came back over to the table with the birthday boy and placed the cake in front of him, and with surprised prompts from his parents the little boy mustered a generous thank you. She handed over two spoons, “Maybe you might like to share with your brother.” As Alice leant over to distribute the hot cups of coffee, she whispered to the parents, “It’s on the house,” and gave a small wink.

I turned back to my food; what a nice gesture, I thought. It’s hard to come across people these days that are just plain nice.

“Alice!” called a young, male waiter. “Boss wants you to go and get a delivery - and I’m coming.”

I listened out intently for her response over the myriads of other conversations in the room.

“Are you that desperate to get a ride in my car?” she asked with a laugh. I found myself reading too much into that question and only snapped out of the analysing when she continued on. “…Well, I’ll drop you home tonight, you finish at closing don’t you?”

“Yeah,” the male replied.

One of them began to stack dishes while they talked. “So do I,” Alice said. “I’ll take you home.”

“Didn’t you work until closing yesterday?” he blurted.

“Mhmm…”

“Huh, pretty rough. Two late shifts in a row…”

“And another tomorrow - I need the money.”

The male scoffed. “Says the girl with the Porsche parked out front…”

Alice just laughed, dismissing his comment, and, by the sound of it, went on collecting plates.

I turned my head back away from my family then and watched the happenings of the restaurant. The waiters and waitresses running around serving food, seating customers, collecting plates and taking orders moved in a purposeful frenzy like ants; the old man that had been rude to Alice was trying unsuccessfully to grab someone’s attention; Alice walked through the tables on the slightly lower floor of freely moved chairs and tables, and stopped every now and then to ask if the food was pleasing. She caught me looking at her after talking to one customer and dipped her head respectfully with a soft smile.

Damn it, I got caught. And I barely had the decency enough to return the expression, as I should have done out of courtesy.

Alice didn’t take the smile off her face as she changed course to ascend the two steps at the end of the room. She walked along the wall of booths leisurely, concerning herself graciously about the food with every second or so table. I couldn’t keep watching when she was just two booths away.

I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t look at her. Watching her was sort of like an overload of information, and I just couldn’t handle it. I think that I thought I wouldn’t be able to function if I kept watching her dance along – because, and it was a strange concept to consider, especially given that it was me I was talking about, she had me thinking without trying.

“Is everything to your satisfaction?” Alice’s sudden musical voice inquired. She stood at the end of the table; her hands tied professionally behind her back, smile still present from either the happiness she brought that little birthday boy, and her air of hospitality working its magic on everyone.

“Oh yeah…” Emmett answered.

“Excellent,” she crooned. She acknowledged my discarded utensils and my almost empty plate. “Are you finished?” and she made a move to take my plate for me.

“Yes, thanks.”

She bent forward and took the edge of the plate. “And you?” she asked Emmett. He nodded without speaking; I doubted that would be opening his mouth again tonight – it’s hard enough to keep the food down in silence.

Alice also took Rosalie’s plate upon request and slipped off with her full hands.

Through more silence, as had been the code for this evening, she returned, appearing from behind me, and began to clear off the remaining plates.

“Can we have the bill please?” Edward asked, a little more forcefully than what was necessary; I guessed he didn’t like Alice’s thoughts, or someone else’s… It never really ever seems to occur to him that he should just stop listening.

“Certo, signore – of course,” Alice sang and glided away with the outstanding plates.

Alice had to have been about the only human to come this close to us and not gawk, or go blank, or even hesitate extremely noticeably– minus the incident where we were arguing – when we’ve gone out in public.

Edward closed the bill slip with a snap, after putting in -I noted- the exact amount required and handed it directly to Alice. She took it, and Edward hurriedly pointed Holly in the direction of the door.

“Buonanotte – have a nice night.” Alice wished, despite knowing she had made no quantifiable profit from being polite to us. She began to stack up the glasses as we piled out of the seating arrangement, with the bill out of her way behind her back. I got up to leave last, being sure to walk behind her as she wiped down the table.

Edward probably wasn’t going to like this.

She grew hesitant at my not leaving, and a little worried; her hand began to slow its circular motions of the tabletop.

Forget Edward, I don’t even know why I am doing this.

I leant over her shoulder slightly. “Thank-you,” I whispered in her ear and stuffed a hundred dollar note between her free fingers that weren’t grasping the bill. She had earned it, after all.

Gently, I closed her delicate hand around the note, securing it in her grasp, before being obligated to follow my siblings out the door.