No, no, no, no, no! It couldn't be true! Edward… didn't want me. Despite what I was telling myself, I knew he was gone. Yet I still stumbled through the woods, calling his name. Then, in the gathering gloom, I got a glimpse of pale skin and bronze hair. Edward. 'no, wait, please don't leave me!' I called as I scrambled after him.

I knew he easily could've outrun me, but he slowed. Bursting forward with a speed I didn't know I had, I hurled myself into his arms. His arms wrapped around me just in time to keep me from falling. I knew I'd surprised him, because when I yanked his face down to mine, he gave no resistance. I reached up with my mouth and touched his lips, kissing him deeply. I don't know what urged me to, but I knew I had to kiss him one last time if he was leaving. When I leaned back to breathe, my senses started returning.

He seemed to grow a few inches, then bronze hair turned to gold. Topaz eyes stared at me, stunned. I let myself slip through his arms, and when I hit the ground, I curled into a ball, tears streaming down my face. The only thought passing through my mind was 'not Edward, not Edward, not Edward.' and just before I passed into unconsciousness, the vampire's true name came to me. Jasper…

When I awoke, I was lying in my bed. I sat up, briefly confused, before the memories of last night, of him leaving me, returned. I lay back down, and turned on my side, tears coursing down my face, then yelped in surprise. Standing near the window, leaning against the wall, was Jasper. I sat up again, and blushed.

'Oh my god- Jasper I'm so sorry! I thought you were Edward, and it must have been so hard being so near me, and oh my god I'm so sorry and-' Jasper held up his hand, stopping my flow of words. 'Bella. I don't think you're a vampire, so you need to breathe. And besides, its alright. You surprising me, coupled with the crippling pain you felt, it… I couldn't even remember you were human for a moment.' by the end of that, his southern accent was more pronounced than ever.

'Oh.' I was silent for a moment, getting my courage up. 'Jasper, I know it'll be hard, but please, could you come lie on the bed with me?' Jasper briefly froze, and i sensed his thougth flying before he gave a tight nod. Carefully, he made his way over to my bed, tugged a blanket over me, and lay down beside me with his arm behind my head, just like he had done. Just as carefully as he had, I wiggled closer, and hid my face in his chest. I could almost hear Jasper's jaw muscles clench. I went still, and held my breath. Slowly, he relaxed. He turned on his side so he faced me, and his unused arm crept around me, securing me to his chest.

It was then I realized tears were still streaming down my face. Jasper seemed to realize that too. Somewhat warily, he sent soothing waves to me. Normally, I'd get angry, but now, I knew I needed it. Eventually, the tears stopped, and Jasper moved his cheek to the top of my head. 'Bella,' he whispered. I made a small sound. 'Are you alright?' I shook my head no, and a new thought slowly occurred to me. 'Jasper?' I croaked. 'yes?' 'why are you here?' 'um, do you want me to leave?' 'No!' I cried. 'But E-Edward' I stuttered over his name, 'said you already left.' 'oh. Alice had a vision. She saw how much pain you'd be in, and I was the only one who could come.' 'how long are you staying?' 'as long as you need me.' he replied. With that, a sudden wave of lethargy overcame me. Jasper was using his gift. Just before I fell asleep, I thought, or imagined, I felt Jasper's ice cold lips brush near the corner of my mouth, and him whisper 'sleep, beautiful Bella.'

When I woke up next, there was no moment of blissful un-remembrance. The second I awoke, I remembered everything. Even Jasper. Speaking of which… I looked up. Jasper's face was very close to mine, and his eyes were closed. 'Jasper?' I whispered. His eyes flashed open, and looked down at me. A small grin curved his lips. 'that was easier than I ever imagined.' he replied in response to my questioning feeling.

I smiled at him, then pulled away. I inquired if I could have a human moment, then a spike of pain shot through me. It was the same thing I said to Edward nearly every morning. Jasper nodded, concern obvious in his eyes. I turned, nearly sprinting into the bathroom. I shut and locked the door, then winced when I glimpsed myself in the mirror. I had huge, dark circles under my eyes, and my skin was paler than normal. I grimaced, then stripped, stepping into the shower. I sighed as the steamy water drummed into my skin, soothing all my aches. The physical ones, anyway. The hole in my chest that had opened when Edward left me was less noticeable when I was with Jasper, but it was definitely was still there.

I washed my hair, and shaved as quick as possible, eager to get back to Jasper's comfort. But I was a little to quick, and slipped when I stepped out of the shower. I fell, catching my arm on the sharp edge of the counter. I bit my lip, then a wave of nausea overcame me as I saw, and smelled, the bright red blood pumping out of a slice on my arm. I maneuvered myself up, and managed to wrap myself in a towel. I carefully opened the bathroom door, and stuck only my head out.

'Jasper?' I said, quietly. Instantly, Jasper was there. 'Are you alright, Bella?' 'close your eyes, and don't breathe.' I told him. 'Why? What's wrong?' 'firstly, I'm only in a towel.' Jasper instantly averted his eyes. 'Oh. Sorry.' 'Secondly, I cut my arm pretty bad.' his eyes instantly flashed back up to my face. 'What? Let me in.' 'no. I'm bleeding.' 'well, obviously. You said you cut your arm.' 'are you-' 'I'm fine Bella. Let me in.'

I sighed, and opened the door, admitting him. His nostrils flared when he smelled the blood. 'First aid?' he asked through clenched teeth. 'in the cabinet.' he gestured for me to sit on the edge of the tub, and opened the cabinet, taking out all he needed. He grabbed my wrist, gingerly stretching my arm out. Nearly instantly, his hands were coated in red. I could tell he was tense, but his hands, which were working swiftly, were gentle. 'you know,' I murmured, 'this reminds me of-never mind.' I stopped what I was saying. No need to dredge up the memories.

Jasper froze for the briefest of seconds, and I knew that he knew what I was talking about. 'except I'm not Carlisle.' he murmured. 'no.' suddenly he stood, and I glanced at my arm. The slice wasn't as bad as it appeared. My arm was wrapped tightly in gauze. 'nice work.' I told Jasper. He gave a half-grin, and offered his hand. I grabbed it, allowing him to pull me up. 'now leave.' I murmured, shoving him toward the door. He didn't move.

'Bella, you still need help.' 'I'm also only in a towel.' I said, flushing as I did. He glanced down at me, remembering. 'oh. Yeah.' I shoved him again, and this time he went willingly.

I changed into the sweat pants and tank I'd brought with me. I left the bathroom, going back to my bedroom. Jasper was sitting on my bed. Carefully, gauging Jasper's reaction, I climbed into bed beside him, and leaned against his cold, hard chest. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around me, and cradled me, as small sobs began to shake my body again. Quickly, the sobs died, and I snuggled into his chest, my hair slipping back as I did so. I heard Jasper's breathing hitch, and froze.

'Bella,' he murmured, tightly. 'yes?' 'I'm going to try something, but you must not move.' he told me, stressing the last part. I nodded, then stopped, remembering what Jasper had said. Then, like a feather, Jasper's nose brushed along the exposed side of my neck. I controlled the urge to shiver at the cold, and at his nearness. He ran his nose back up and down a few times, then pulled back with a sigh. 'I think it'll be easier to be around you now that I've gotten that close.' I nodded, then a shiver took over my body. He gently moved me, lying me down on the bed, and tucking a blanket around me.

The next morning, I woke in cold, stone arms. Thinking it was Edward, I tilted my face up for a kiss. I heard a chuckle, and the cold body shifted away from mine, but kept me in it's arms. I opened my eyes, and blushed when I saw Jasper's face. 'Oh, sorry. I thought you were Edward.' 'It's quite alright, Bella.' he said with a soft smile. I smiled back, and wiggled out of his arms. I sat up, and leaned against my headboard. A twinge of pain reminded me of my arm. I glanced down at it, and so did Jasper. He extended my arm, and layer by layer, unpeeled the bandages. I grimaced at the angry pink slash of the cut when it was revealed, and Jasper winced, 'Yikes.' he murmured. I nodded agreement.

He briefly disappeared, and reappeared a second later, bandages and Neosporin in his hands. He redressed my arm, and I smiled my thanks. Suddenly, his face became intense, and something flashed in his eyes. A feeling, strange but somehow familiar, rushed through me. I couldn't-or wouldn't-name it. His face turned surprised, then went intense again. His gaze flashed to my lips, we began to lean into each other, and my eyes flickered closed, as did Jaspers. All of a sudden, I realized what I was doing. My eyes opened, to see Jasper coming still closer. I put my hand on his chest, causing his eyes to open instantly, and leaned back.

'Sorry.' I said softly. Jasper waved away the apology, though I swore I saw hurt flash in his eyes. I got off the bed, Jasper watching me closely. I flushed under his scrutiny, and turned, getting ready to go through my drawers so I could find some clothes to wear. Then I turned back to Jasper, raising an eyebrow. He looked at me, confused, then realization flew across his face. He stood fluidly, and left the room, leaving me to get dressed in peace. I dressed in a pair of jeans, and the dark blue shirt Edward had loved so much. I wasn't trying to inflict pain on myself, but I figured if Edward really didn't love me, I needed to get on the road to getting over him, if that was possible. And it started with doing things that Edward had loved without him.

I opened my bedroom door, and went downstairs, finding Jasper in the kitchen, at the stove. He was making scrambled eggs. 'Charlie already left.' He said without turning around. 'Alright.' I sat at the table, and the scrambled eggs appeared in front of me. 'Jasper?' 'Yes?' 'How did you know how to cook the eggs? Isn't human food disgusting to you?' 'Yes to the second. But when I was human,' that sentence surprised me. Jasper rarely talked about his human past. 'I had to learn how to cook for myself when I was in the army, and just before I joined the army. I guess I had to cook for myself so often, my cooking abilities stayed with me through the change.' 'Oh.' I said, and took a bite of eggs. 'Wow. These are really good.' I told him. 'Thanks.' he settled himself down across from me. 'Do you think you're up for school today?' he asked after a moment. 'Ugh. I guess I have to go back sometime.' Jasper gave a half smile 'Do you mind me tagging along for the ride there? I'll be in the truck when school gets out.' I nodded consent, remembering that he was supposed to be gone, so he couldn't go to classes with me.

He waited for me to finish my eggs before standing up and going outside, apparently to wait in my truck. I noticed he was moving a little faster than usual, and realized my scent was probably bothering him. I quickly finished my breakfast, went over to the sink, cleaned my plate, grabbed my bag, and ran outside. Off course, it was raining, and was horribly windy. I was instantly soaked, but ran to the truck and hopped in. I searched my pockets for the truck keys, and finding them, shoved them in the ignition, and started the car. I got ready to back out, only to freeze as I saw Jasper staring at me. 'What?' I asked self-consciously. He said nothing, only leaned forward, and pulled a leaf out of my hair. My breath hitched, and I saw a single corner of Jasper's full mouth lift, and he leaned back.

I sucked in a wild breath threw my nose. I silently put the car in reverse, backed out, and drove to school. I parked when I got there, but didn't get out. He leaned over and brushed a kiss to my forehead, then the drivers side door opened and closed, and he was gone. I sat by myself for a second, stunned, then jumped out of the car, the coolness of Jasper's lips still on my forehead. As I walked into school, I kept lifting my hand to the spot where Jasper had kissed me, blush, and would pull my hand down. The day flew by. Everyone was extra kind to me, because they knew about Edward's and I's break up. Even Jessica was nice, asking me if I wanted to go see a movie in Port Angeles.(i honest to god dont have any idea how that's spelled. at the moment, we are in the middle of packing, and twilights already packed. and i'm jsut too damn lazy to go look for another one of the books)I politely declined, and at the end of school, I went to my truck, finding Jasper already in the truck. He grinned at me, and I saw that his eyes were even lighter than before. 'What have you been doing all day?' 'Nothing much.' 'Oh.' 'Bella, would you want to go do something tonight? Like a movie or something?' I was surprised by that, and only managed to stutter out, 'A-as friends, right?' 'Of course.' 'Um, alright.'

an idea occurred to me, an idea that would hopefully help me heal a little more from him leaving. 'Actually, make that alright on one condition,' Jasper's face was instantly wary. 'Can we-or, you, that is-run?' 'Sure.' Jasper agreed instantly. I smiled, turned on my truck, and drove home. When I parked, I got my wallet out of my bag, stuffed it in my pocket, and turned. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Jasper just behind me. He chuckled when he heard my heartbeat stutter, and asked me if I was ready.

I nodded, and he swiftly but gently swung me onto his back. 'Hold tight.' he ordered, I complied, and he was off. Unlike with him, I didn't need to close my eyes. Running with Jasper was amazing. Maybe because he was a tad slower than him, maybe because he was slightly more graceful. Soon, we were at the theater in Port Angels, and I hopped off Jasper's back. 'I enjoyed that.' I told him, surprised. He smiled, and led me into the theater.

We chose a sci-fi movie, which, ironically, was the newest vampire movie. I couldn't help but laugh at parts of the movie, now that I was on the inside of the mythical world. Jasper laughed silently through half the movie.

Suddenly, the grin went off his face, and he started, seemingly just realizing the theater was chock-full. His eyes widened, gleaming even in the dark, his lips parted a little, and his pupils seemed to enlarge. 'Jasper?' I whispered, concerned. He didn't respond. 'Jasper!' I said more forcefully. Still no reaction. I poked him, with no results. His iris's were filling with black. I frantically tried to figure out a way to distract him. A though occurred to me, and knowing I had no time to ponder, I went through with it.

I swung myself onto his lap, straddling him, grabbed his face, and kissed him, hard. I felt him jump slightly after a moment, and, to my astonishment, I felt his hands on my waist, and his lips moving under mine. I lost myself in the kiss. I pulled back, realizing what I was doing. I looked at Jasper, he looked at me. He smirked, and I stuck my tongue out at him. Suddenly, there was an icy touch on my tongue. It slowly came to me that it was Jasper's tongue. For some reason, I didn't resist. Jasper licked my tongue, and it wasn't gross. Maybe because he tasted so good. His tongue curled around mine, and he pulled my tongue into his cool mouth. When I leaned in, following my tongue, Jasper kissed me. I felt myself lifted up, and settled in my seat. Jasper's lips pulled away, and my eyes flashed open.

I saw him staring at me, his eyes bright amber again, and blushed. I whispered hurriedly, 'Sorry. You were losing control.' 'So you kissed me?' I started to stutter out an answer, then realized he was laughing at me. I playfully whacked him on the shoulder, and he chuckled. 'Really. Thanks, Bella.' 'You're welcome.' our attention returned to the movie, trying to relieve the awkward moment. After a moment or two, Jasper put his arm around my shoulder, and I leaned into him, welcoming the comfort, and the second part of Jasper's thanks. We watched the rest of the movie in silence. As soon as it was over, we left the theater, and Jasper ran me home. That night, as I curled into Jasper's chest and he cradled me, he murmured, 'Bella, I'm sorry about the movie kiss. I wasn't thinking.' I was half asleep, and murmured something back. Immediately, I dropped off to sleep. Only later did I register that Jasper had gone stiff, though he didn't hurt me. I never really found out what I said.

The next morning, I was still in Jasper's cold arms when I woke up. Jasper felt me wake and looked down at me. I smiled, and pulled out of his arms. Aloud, I wondered what day it was. 'Saturday.' was Jasper's reply. I was stunned. That couldn't be right. It was a Monday when he left, I stayed in bed all Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and went to school Friday. 'Geeze.' Jasper sat up, and leaned against my headboard.

'So, what are we doing today?' he asked. I shrugged. 'I don't know. Any ideas?' "Hmmm. Do you think we could-never mind." "What?" I asked, sitting up. He shook his head. "Tell me!" I insisted. He sighed, and gave in. "I was thinking we could go to the old house, clean up a little." "Sounds good to me." Jasper stood in a flash, standing next to my bed, and I yawned. I swung my legs over the side of the bed Jasper was standing on, and stood, too.

Of course, with my balance, I stumbled, heading for the floor. I instinctively grabbed Jasper's shirt to hold myself up. But, I caught him by surprise, and he came down with me. An instant before my head slammed into my floor, Jasper's strong, icy arm wrapped around my waist, holding me flush against him, my face a few inches from his. Jasper wasn't looking at me, his eyes on the floor beneath me. I realized he was holding us up with one palm flat against the floor. I shifted a little at the awkward position, Jasper's eyes snapped to mine, and we both landed gently on the floor.

Jasper kept himself from smushing me by releasing my waist and putting his hands on either side of my head on the floor. My hair splayed in a fan around my face. I looked up into Jaspers amber eyes, seeing a strange glint in them. Suddenly, I started laughing at my clumsiness, and so did Jasper. I realized the glint in his eyes had been amusement. Jasper easily levered both of us up, both of us still laughing. We sat on my bed, and I leaned against his arm, gripped in mirth. Finally, I managed to gasp out, "S-Sorry, Jasper! I didn't think it was possible to pull a vampire down." he replied, still laughing, "I didn't either!" after a minute more of laughing, I finally got myself under control. "I need a human moment." I told him. He waved me away, still grinning.

I rolled my eyes and walked away to the bathroom, where i proceeded to get into the shower and shave. when i shut the water off and headed to my room, werapped in a towel, I knew that I wouldnt have to worry about Jasper still being there. He would have heard me coming, and left to give me some privacy, which i greatly appreciated. I dressed in comfortable jeans and a casual t-shirt, preparing myself for the pain of the day.