Empathic Diversion

By Auna

Rating: M

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, and I am not making any money off of them.

Summary: Why Alice was too… occupied to see Edward's decision to kill Bella that first day in Biology class.

I sat in my history class, worried and frustrated. Jasper was irritated with me for obsessing so badly, he insisted he was in control. But still, I didn't want him to do anything he would regret later. This life might not be his first choice, but he would be sad if he relapsed. I continually shifted through the immediate future, watching him carefully as he sat in his desk, pulled out his paper and books and pretended to listen to his teacher. He seemed to have gotten a grasp on his thirst.

We should have gone hunting before this. We would go tonight. He'd already decided that.

And then abruptly, he decided that he was going to divert his attention away from the little brunette sitting next to him. He also decided to simultaneously divert my attention as well. It's a good thing I was already sitting at my desk, or I would have collapsed.

He was kissing me, from across campus. But he didn't just decide tonight, I'm going to kiss Alice senseless- that would have been too quick, too easy. And as he usually did when he wanted to torment me, and make me lose any hold on the current events surrounding me, he dissected that kiss in intricate detail.

First, he slowly walked toward me, his caramel colored eyes never wavering from mine. He lifted a hand to my face, and ran his fingers down my jaw, his small smug grin of satisfaction appearing when he heard my gasp. And he knew I'd gasp, because he knew exactly how to illicit the sound from me. It was one of his favorites.

I vaguely noticed the boy sitting in the desk beside me glance over with a concerned look on his face. My struggle for breath must have translated into the current physical realm. If I was smart, I'd stop searching for Jasper's future, and pay attention to the lecture being given so I could appear somewhat normal.

But I couldn't, and Jasper knew this and relentlessly continued on with each facet of his promised seduction.

Slowly, his lips descended to mine, and they briefly, lightly touched. My absent heart melted and my eyes closed, but I could still see the two of us together. His arms lightly curled around me, his fingers dancing over my skin, caressing me under my blouse. He chose then, to concentrate on my upper lip, and gently nibbled, his warm sweet breath whispering across my face.

Every movement slowly intensified, the electricity growing, his desire building, mixing with mine and consuming both of us, overpowering thought and reason. He held on to his control for as long as he could manage, but at last he let himself decide to give in.

And then, all gentleness was abandoned, and Jasper let his wilder side break forth- the side that wanted to kill the brunette, the side that had fought all those countless wars. He was plundering my mouth, each flick of his tongue, every move of his teeth against my skin, every caress of his hands pre-planned and pre-lived.

He knew what needed to happen to for me to start using my nails, and he chose- one by one- to touch me in all the right ways so that they scraped over his back, shredding his shirt.

He was ravaging me, right there in my history class while he was three buildings away.

I moaned, and the girl sitting behind me coughed, surely wondering why my hands were grasping the edge of my desk so harshly that the plywood was threatening to crumble. At least I hadn't lost all control, and I was able to refrain from ruining the school's furniture. But I ignored her, helpless to stop the vision, anticipation for was [i]going[/i] to happen and satisfaction at feeling it all right now all rolling together, consuming me.

His hands roamed my body, tearing away the designer clothes, and I couldn't even bring myself to mourn their loss. Each article was being discarded, one by one, and he was even choosing where their scraps would fall, making this vision drag on endlessly.

I wasn't complaining, and I let myself be carried away, lost to his choices. The non-existent blood in my veins pulsed rapidly and my body was humming.

We were both naked, and he pulled me against him, his teeth pillaging my neck as he told me how much he loved me wordlessly, his body pressing into mine—

We were in his Trig class, and a red-headed girl named Jennifer was coming back from answering a question at the blackboard. She tripped over someone's bag, and landed a few feet from Jasper, her arms splayed out in her attempt to catch herself.

Jasper could smell the blood rushing through her body, hear her heart pump frantically; hear each glug glug as its rhythm accelerated.

Damn! We were back to square one. I wanted to jump from my desk and run to him, to restrain him, to console him. I could see the temptation in his eyes- see his terror that he would fail. But instead of killing her, he held his breath and clamped his jaw shut.

And then, to my agonizing astonishment, he carefully reached over and helped the girl upright. She blushed and scrambled away in her mortification, thanking him.

I was bursting with pride, but I could see that his tenuous grasp was slipping. Luckily, the bell rang, freeing both of us, and I was able to escape. Only one more hour left. We would make it through the day without a Cullen killing someone. I was sure of it.