Chapter 2*

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these these characters. All rights for their creation go to Stephenie Meyer.

"So how was your first day?" Charlie asked, as I came into the house.

I let out a sigh as I thought the day over. Truth be known, things could have gone a lot worse. Even still, I ached for sleep to find me this night. After a moment of thinking things over, I realized Charlie was still waiting for an answer. I thought up the one answer that he would accept, without hesitation.

"It was fine."

Just like I had hoped, he merely grumbled beneath his breath, nodding his head. "Who all did you meet?" he asked, shortly after.

My eyebrows shoved together as I scowled. The last question I hoped he would ask. "Umm…" Running through the images of each face I had seen, there was only one whom I could truly say I met. "I met Jasper Hale. Only him, though…" I ended my response curtly, hoping that would be the end of it.

"Jasper Hale? Dr. Cullen's kid?" His chocolate eyes appeared shocked, mimicking mine. I stared at him, puzzled. Jasper's father was a doctor?

"I guess…" He pursed his lips. "Do you know him?" My eyes now held curiosity as I silently pleaded for more information on the golden haired boy.

"I know Dr. Cullen a little. I've only seen his kids. Which one is Jasper?" his raspy voice asked, appearing to want to end the conversation, just as I was getting into it.

"He has golden blonde hair and eyes that are nearly the same color," I replied, pursing my lips as I thought of the similar hue. It was enchanting.

"Oh, right. He was the only one you met? Wow, I expected you to meet a lot of people," he sniggered, shaking his head as he leaned back in his chair.

Me? He mustn't know me very well at all. I don't really like talking to people that much. He was the same way, therefore I'd have figured he'd grasp that.

"Yeah…" I mumbled, not looking at him. "I'm going to get started on dinner," I whispered.

"Alright."

I walked into the kitchen, opening up the cabinets. I pulled out everything I would need for spaghetti and began to cook. Brushing the hair from my face, I tried to forget the events of the day. But that was just something my mind refused to do. My brain continued to contemplate school. Every thought I could think of involved Jasper… and that wasn't good. First off, he had a girlfriend. And second, if I continued on like this, I would most certainly not pass. Especially not in history…

But that man seemed impossible not to think about. His beauty… his voice. My fingers curled into fists as my teeth clenched together. Shaking my head, I continued to cook, trying not to think about Jasper Hale.

Sleeping was next to impossible that night. Constantly I would wake up from dreams that I couldn't remember. Fuzzy, distant little blurs that would fade into the dark abyss at the back of my mind right as my eyes flickered open. Although my heart would beat frantically in my chest, leaving me to wonder what occurred. Were they nightmares? I sighed, wiping the sweat from my forehead. Yes, they just had to be nightmares. There was no other explanation. At around five o'clock, I gave up on sleeping and decided to read a book.

After a couple hours passed, I took my shower and got ready for school. I thought about how I was going to see Jasper again today… and my heart accelerated. That was a good enough motive for going to school, I figured as an impish grin stretched across my face. It faded just as quickly as it appeared. Once finished getting ready, I walked out into the cold morning air and over to my truck. I piled inside, turning on the heater and radio. Fresh waves of peppermint flooded into my nose, as I inhaled deeply.

I absentmindedly listened to a random song on the ancient radio while I drove to school. It wasn't long until I arrived in the partially filled parking lot, teens slowly walking towards the school at a luggish pace. My old, rusty truck pulled to a stop as I stepped out into the frigid air. I caught sight of the blonde boy who took my bag and his friend, as they met my eyes. The blonde boy smiled roguishly as he began his persuit towards me, his friend following behind like a lost puppy. I tried to hurry away, but they were in front of me before I could take a single step in another direction.

"Hey, new girl," the blonde boy said, draping his arm around my shoulder. I mentally quivered due his touch, gritting my teeth.

My mouth was a hard line as my aggravated eyes stared straight ahead. I wanted to yell at them to leave me alone, but I wasn't sure that would happen, no matter what I said.

"Oh come on girlie, are ya still mad from yesterday? All we were doing was having some fun," the blonde snickered, twirling a lock of my hair.

"It wasn't fun for me," I hissed, my eyes shooting razors as I glared at him.

Suddenly, both of the boys stopped walking, their eyes wide with fear. The blonde boy quickly pulled his arm away, his face even more pale than it already was. I followed their eyes, until I saw Jasper leaning up against the brick wall beside the door. His arms were crossed as his golden eyes bored in our direction. He shrugged off of the wall, his muscles rolling as he approached.

"Bella, are Mike and Eric bothering you again?" My heart sped as I listened to his musical voice. His jaw was stiff, seemingly uncomfortable, yet he didn't falter.

I turned to them, my eyebrows raised. It seemed like both their faces became paler than before, nearly translucent as they stared at me, their eyes pleading. The corners of my lips perked up as I drank in their discomfort.

"Yeah, they kind of are," I confirmed, gazing back at Jasper's gold eyes. The right corner of his mouth turned up into a small smile.

"Is that so?" he asked, his voice calm, yet held a dangerous undertone. He took a few steps, until he was towering over them.

He peered down at them, as they stood frozen in place. "What did I tell you two before? I politely said to leave her alone, yet here you are," Jasper growled. The boys flinched, it seeming as if true pain was melting in their eyes. It felt like there were butterflies fluttering in my chest as he took up for me once again. "I wouldn't make that mistake again," he hissed, slightly baring his pearly white teeth.

"No problem, no problem," the one I expected to be Mike breathed, dropping his eyes as a shudder ran through him. "It won't happen again," he resiliently nodded. His friend sucked in a deep breath, subconsciously stepping away.

Jasper smiled, his gold eyes twinkling with malice. "Good. Now come on Bella," he triumphantly called, twisting back towards the building.

He started to walk, as I caught up with him within a second. "Thank you, Jasper," I whispered, beyond grateful, not to mention impressed.

"You're welcome." He was looking away, curling and uncurling his fingers. He seemed to be holding his breath, although I didn't understand why. Keeping an extra step away from me, he refused to meet my eye.

"Where's Alice?" I asked, wondering why she wasn't here with him. That's when I realized I shouldn't have asked that… he would know I cared when she was around. Biting my lip, I couldn't help the flush of blood in my cheeks.

"She was… sick," Jasper mumbled, "along with Emmett. I think they got the stomach bug that is going around," he shrugged. Looking away, he sucked in a breath of air, his muscles locking in place.

"Oh." Was it bad that I was happy about it? I bit my lip as I realized, sadly, it was.

"Well I have to get going," Jasper whispered, as we paused outside of a class room, still looking away.

"Okay. Bye," I softly smiled, my heart beating in an off tune. I headed to my class, my cheeks getting redder and redder.

The next few classes went by in a blur, as my thoughts kept drifting back to this morning. My eyebrows furrowed as I wished that I could just concentrate on my school work for a bit. But remembering the dangerous glint in his eyes, along with the fear those two boys possessed... Yet I felt perfectly at peace in his presence. I did wonder, however, why he seemed so uncomfortable afterward. Shaking my head, I tried to dismiss the thoughts.

Finally, it was time for lunch. I dreaded the fact that I would have to go sit by myself once again, but it was nice to get out of the dull setting of the classrooms. I walked into the lunch room and over to the line to get my food. I settled with a salad and some water to tide me over. I walked over to pay for it, when I saw Jasper sit down with his brother and sister… I think they were Rosalie and Edward, considering Emmett wasn't there. I looked away as quick as I could while walking over to my vacant table.

I sat down, taking a tiny sip of my water. I hated sitting alone here. Then again, it was less attention... even though quite a lot of people stared. To be honest, I would absolutely love to get up right now and eat lunch in the bathroom where no one could see that I was alone. But I knew I couldn't. I peeked up to look at Jasper's table, to see what looked to be him arguing with Rosalie and Edward. The blonde girl was viciously snapping at him, her fist slamming down on the table. The boy scowled, shooting remarks of his own as well. Jasper finally stood up, leaving his untouched food where it was.

My heart stuttered as he turned and walked over to me. He smiled sheepishly as he paused behind the chair across from me.

"Hey, Bella," he warmly greeted. "Would you mind if I sat down?" he asked. Too in shock to speak, I nodded. He nodded back as he sat down, his eyes soft, yet strained.

"Hi," I whispered, still in shock. "Did you brother and sister… make you angry?" I asked, trying not to peek over at them. I could nearly feel their glares. I stared into his golden eyes instead.

He shrugged. "Yeah, it's easy to tell," he chuckled. My eyebrows furrowed, but I let it pass.

"Oh… so you didn't want to talk to them, and decided to come talk to me instead?" My heart dropped disappointedly at the thought. I was backup.

He cocked his head, looking at me in a confused manner. "Bella, they got mad because I wanted to come sit with you."