Alright, so this is my new story! I've planned far enough ahead that I think I can safely post this chapter. I hope. With this story, I'm going to be doing things a bit differently. Usually, I'll try to hit a word/character count per chapter. I've decided not to do that in this story. In this story, I'm going to write until the chapter reaches a natural ending. That means some chapters will be longer than others, and that's okay. Anyway, wish me luck, and I hope you enjoy! :)

Disclaimer -This is a work of fanfiction using characters from the Twilight world, which is trademarked by Stephanie Meyer. Many of these characters are created and owned by Stephanie Meyer, and I do not claim any ownership of them or their world. The story I tell here is my own invention and is for entertainment only.

"Red sky at night, sailors' delight.

Red sky at morning, sailors take warning."

-Ancient Rhyme

As the sun went down on March 24th, the sky glowed a vibrant red. With James killed, and Bella recently released from the hospital, Forks had returned to the quaint, unassuming town that it usually was. It was a Friday night, and most of the Cullens were scattered throughout their house. Carlisle was still at work, and Esme had gone grocery shopping, in order to keep up the illusion that their family ate.

Well, the Cullens ate, but their meals definitely weren't going to be sold at the Forks Shop-n-Save. Their kind of food was going to be found at the Clallam County Pet Shelter.

Edward and Bella were sitting in the corner by the piano, which Edward was playing intermittently during their conversation. He had tried to teach her, but her fingers had clumsily fallen over the keys, and with her leg cast, she was unable to work the pedals. She had resigned to just listen to Edward play. Emmett and Rosalie were cuddled on the couch. The TV was tuned into the Seattle Mariners game at the lowest possible volume so that they didn't bother Bella (which was clearly Edward's idea). Alice and Jasper were upstairs talking about whatever it was that they talked about.

It all changed in a moment, when Alice appeared downstairs in a flash, causing Bella to flinch in surprise. Jasper appeared a heartbeat later. Alice snatched the TV remote from Emmett, causing Rosalie to snarl at her in annoyance.

"What's the big idea?" asked Emmett angrily, getting to his feet in a fraction of a second, ready to fight his sister for the remote.

As Alice changed the channel, Jasper answered for her. "She had a vision. She won't say what it is."

At that, Emmett begrudgingly took a seat. Sure, the Mariners game was exciting, but this (unfortunately) took precedence. Besides, the Mariners were losing by four, and it wasn't like they would somehow take the lead during this intermission by Alice.

Edward's face broke into a smile as he read Alice's mind and understood what she was so excited about. In a movement quick enough that nobody noticed, his eyes darted to look at his blonde brother.

Bella got to her feet to try to hobble over to the action. She was like a newborn deer with broken legs - not very graceful. Edward hastily gave her a hand. "Alice, is this good news or bad news?" she asked.

"Good news," said Alice excitedly, quaking like a leaf. "Very, very good news. I've been waiting over fifty years for this."

She found the channel she was looking for and sighed irritatedly as she saw it was on a commercial break, imploring viewers with mesothelioma to seek compensation. She turned the volume up so that Bella could hear it. Bella threw a confused glance at Edward, as though to say vampires don't have mesothelioma, why does Alice care about this?

"She'll reveal it in a second. She just likes being the center of attention," he whispered into her ear, purposefully loud enough so Alice could hear.

She harrumphed, and stared pointedly at the television, waiting for the commercial to be over. As the compensation ad faded out, a new advertisement took its place, showing little kids fighting over a breakfast cereal.

The vampires (and Bella) watched the commercial with a newfound interest, waiting for whatever it was that Alice had seen to be revealed. The house was eerily silent.

As the cereal commercial ended, a banner flashed up on screen.

"Breaking News," said the news anchor, a tired-looking man in a tan suit. "My name is Jonathan Gibson, and I'm with Channel Five News. Hurricane Baxter, which has been steadily tracked by meteorologists over the past week, has unexpectedly changed its path. For more, we'll be going to Tim with the weather. Tim, what's new with Hurricane Baxter?"

"You're making me watch hurricane updates instead of the Mariners game?" asked Emmett is disbelief. "Alice, give me the remote."

Alice shushed him, pointing at the screen. "Be patient, Emmett. Just watch."

"Well, Jonathan," said Tim, a man whose ugly mustard-yellow tie did his pale complexion no justice. "Meteorologists have been excitedly tracking Hurricane Baxter, as it is one of the most powerful hurricanes to appear this early in the hurricane season. The Category Four hurricane, which has been moving westward in the Caribbean, was expected to follow wind currents and spin out over the sea, with a tropical depression possibly hitting the southeastern tip of Mexico, and traveling into the Gulf of Mexico. However, the wind currents have unexpectedly changed. Hurricane Baxter is now hurtling for the small nation of Belize, a tropical country known for its crude oil, petroleum, and agriculture. The hurricane is expected to make landfall later tonight, with the death toll in the hundreds, if not thousands. The island is being given little-to-no time to prepare, and is expected to be dealt billions of dollars in damages."

Alice turned off the TV, leaving the room completely silent, apart from Bella's breathing.

"I don't understand what relevance this has to us," said Rosalie pointedly, her golden eyes narrowed.

Alice turned to Jasper, whose beautiful golden eyes stared back at her curiously. "Jasper," she implored her best friend, "Do you remember what I told you when we first met?"

He nodded, thinking back to when they had first met.

It was 1948, in a small diner in Philadelphia. Jasper was sitting at the bar, swirling a scotch and soda, wishing he could remember what it was like to feel drunk. The bartender, a blonde haired girl named Millie, had given him the drink in good faith. All Jasper could think about was drinking from Millie instead.

The seat next to him was suddenly filled by a short-haired, golden-eyed girl. She was clearly a vampire, she smelled like one, but it was a bit of a different smell. She smelled like a mix of animal and human blood. It was bizarre, and nothing he had ever smelled before. And her eyes - sure, she was a vampire, he knew that much, but her eyes were almost human-like. Nothing like the disgusting red eyes that he was currently hiding behind sunglasses. She absolutely radiated joy, and it warmed him to his core. Joy was a feeling he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

"Jasper, it's so nice to finally meet you," she said with a breathy smile. "My name is Alice. Alice Brandon." she held out her hand for him to shake.

He hesitated, looking at her hand with a sense of uncertainty. "How do you know my name?"

She took her hand back without missing a beat. "I know a lot about you. That's kind of my thing - I know a lot. Well, actually, I can see the future, but they kind of go hand-in-hand. I've seen a lot of you, Jasper. I think our fates are meant to be intertwined."

Jasper gave her a quick once-over, too fast for the human eye to see. She was beautiful, even more so than other vampires. "Alright, Alice. What have you seen of me?"

She leaned on the counter with a sparkle in her eye. "You have the ability to feel and manipulate emotions. You and I are going to be great friends. We're going to travel west, and meet a family of vampires called the Cullens. They're vegetarians, in the sickest sense of the word."

He raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Vegetarians?"

Alice nodded. "Vegetarians in our world. They survive off of just animal blood. No humans need to die for them to live. I've been trying to do it for the past year. It's hard, and I've broken a couple of times, but it's doable. They can teach us their way of life, of course."

"I don't believe it," said Jasper with a sad smile. "It's not possible for people like you and me to survive off of animals. They don't have what we need to survive."

"It's not the same life that you're used to," she admitted. "When you live off of animal blood, you aren't nearly as strong as when you rely on human blood, but you can live." She hesitated for a beat and then continued at a softer level. "I know that you feel the emotions of the humans that you kill… If you come with me to the Cullens, you don't have to feel that way anymore."

Jasper almost didn't want to believe her, out of fear of getting his hopes up. However, he felt her earnesty and faith reverberating through him, and a little voice in his ear said he could trust her.

"I've seen other great things in your future, Jasper," she said truthfully. "But only if you come with me to the Cullens. In the future, you'll have a mate."

For a split second, Jasper felt an ounce of regret, as he realized his mate wasn't Alice. He hesitated for a second before asking who his mate was.

"Her name is Diana," said Alice with a broad smile, showing her pearly white teeth. "You'll be incredibly happy together. I can't see much. My vision gets blurrier the further ahead that I look. She's pretty and nice, and you'll love her like you've never loved anyone before."

"And?"

Alice's smile faltered for a second. "That's all I can see. Only flashes of your future with her. I know she's coming, but I'm not sure when. I'm not surer how you'll meet, either. That part's constantly changing. But you'll be happy, that's all I know."

Jasper paused, reflecting on what Alice had just said. It was so much to take in, but it was everything he had wanted to hear and more.

"So, Jasper?" Alice asked, holding her hand out to him once again. "Do you want to come with me and find the Cullens?"

Her happiness and trustworthiness were contagious. He took her hand and shook it firmly. For the first time in a century, he felt hope.

Shaking himself out from his memories, Jasper threw a quick glance at Alice. "Diana?" he asked simply.

She just nodded, a smile stretched across her porcelain features. "She's coming to Forks."

Instead of the joy that Alice clearly expected him to feel, Jasper suddenly found himself overwhelmed with fear. He always thought that he'd have more time to prepare before meeting Diana. If vampires could dream, he'd have dreamt of this day for the past fifty years. Now, Diana was coming to Forks, and there couldn't have been a worse time. Diana was his singer, they'd figured that much out by now. How the hell could having a singer around an unstable vampire end well? He might as well start planning the funeral of his mate.

Jasper glanced at Alice in a way that was half-love, half-hate. Ever since they'd met in the diner, Jasper had been deeply attracted to Alice. She was beautiful and funny, albeit a bit quirky. She was a vampire - he didn't have to worry about pining for her blood, or begin mentally preparing himself for every time her heart beat. On one hand, Alice was helping Jasper come together with his mate. On the other hand, she was sentencing his mate to death.

Why the hell couldn't Alice have been his soulmate? He wouldn't have to worry about killing her. He wouldn't have to worry about her rejecting him for being a vampire. That was something that was well within the realm of a vampire-human relationship. Not many humans were like Bella, completely open to the idea of vampires. There was a strong sense of helplessness within Jasper, as he wondered what the hell he was going to do about Diana.

"Who's Diana?" asked Bella distantly.

Emmett's booming voice brought Jasper brought to earth. "Jasper's future mate. We've known she was coming but never knew when. I guess this is it. So, what? Does she come to Forks after fleeing Hurricane Baxter? Or do we go somewhere to meet her?"

Alice nodded. "She should be in town within the next week. I'm so excited! I've been waiting for this moment for the last 50 years!" She gave Jasper a dazzling smile, which happened nearly every minute, but still threw him for a loop every time it happened. "Jasper, aren't you excited? You're finally meeting your mate!"

Jasper cracked a dazed smile. At that moment, he felt anything but excited.

Alright, so that's that. I've always hated writing prologues, but I felt that this was important. Let me know what you think by reviewing, even if it's super short! Support goes a long way :)

Much love,

ElleLupin