This is the sequel to Starry Eyed. If you haven't read that, go and check that out and then come back here. Thanks.

A/N: This story is named "Blindsided" after the Bon Iver song. It was the song that inspired the last chapter of Starry Eyed. Plus, I thought keeping the 'eye' reference around was a good thing. Quick recap: Alice and Jasper are engaged, Alice is in NY, Jasper's in Portland. Kay, done.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I just own the situation. Meyer owns all.

I jerked forward as the plane finally landed. I had taken a decent nap after being stuck in the plane for hours after our intended departure time. It was a four and a half hour flight, but with the weather, it added a few extra hours—with the time change it was worse. We left at 11 and got to New York at six in the morning. Wonderful. At least I was able to sleep; on the way there I hadn't slept a wink. This time I had a small crick in my neck and that gross fuzzy feeling in my mouth, but I felt well rested. The plane slowed to a stop as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, glancing down at the ring on my left hand. Whoa.

I leaned my back against the cushion of the seat and stared at the ring intently. A month had gone by and I already committed myself to a man—a single dad with an adorable daughter and a dorky dream of being a teacher. I rolled my eyes and leaned my head back, letting the smile spread across my face as the flight attendant welcomed the other passengers to New York.

I opened up my carry-on bag and turned on my phone, immediately bombarded with a few text messages. One was from Edward saying he got wind of the delay and would still pick me up—as if I was worrying. The second was from my manager telling me I had an appointment with everyone at Jen Kao tomorrow at noon. Another was from Jasper telling me to call him when I landed no matter what time it was. The final was from Vera; it said: congratulations.

As the passengers slowly, but surely thinned out, I stood up and waited at the back of the line, dialing Jasper's number hesitantly. It was three in the morning there—I felt bad, but I knew he'd call in a panic as soon as he got up if he hadn't heard from me. I would just leave a message and tell him I was all right.

"I was wondering when you'd call," he answered groggily. I immediately felt guilty. I had woken him up.

"Crap, go back to sleep," I whined and he chuckled. I hadn't realized I would miss him this much and it had only been a few hours since I had last seen him.

"You landed," he ignored my last plea and I sighed. I heard the television on in the background—he stayed up or had at least tried to. There was no television in his room, he must have stayed on the couch by the phone with—he was too sweet. I hopped out of my seat and left the plane, going through the boarding ramp and into the airport.

"You stayed up," I replied, hearing the television shut off and the creaking of the couch as he got up. "Jazz, you didn't have to—"

"You would've done the same for me," he retorted and I smiled as I paused in front of the sign to find my way to baggage claim where Bella and Edward would be meeting me. "Six in the morning there, whoa," he mused and I mumbled in agreement, just wanting to hear his voice a bit more. It made the situation a bit more real. "Did you sleep at all?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah—a couple hours," I said with a sigh. "I'm going to baggage claim now to meet Edward and Bella." The airport was pretty deserted, only filled with a handful of people ready to fly out that early in the morning. There were more security guards and employees than passengers, but I ignored it all as I passed a coffee stand and licked my lips at the temptation, but I didn't want to pause my conversation with Jasper, so I kept walking.

"Alright," he replied in a whisper and I heard the creaking of a door on the other side of the line. I imagined him checking on Annabelle before heading to his bedroom to lay on his worn, old mattress and close his eyes as he spoke.

"You told Vera," I accused with a smirk and right on cue, I heard the squeaky door to his bedroom shut.

"I did," he said and I could almost see the smile in his voice. "She watched Annabelle while I was gone. I told Rosalie, too." His voice was a bit more hesitant there. "Why, are you regretting—"

"Of course not, Jasper," I cut him off quickly, "She congratulated me, I was wondering how she knew. I'm glad you told her." He sighed, breaking some of the tension. "What did Rosalie say?" I asked curiously as I went to the escalator and stepped on, letting it take me slowly down to the first level.

"She was—happy for me, I guess," he said uncomfortably. I hopped off the last step of the escalator and squinted as I stood on my toes to look over the bit of the crowd to look for Bella and Edward.

"She'll come around," I assured him and he muttered an incoherent reply. "Get some sleep, please," I begged him and he chuckled.

"I miss you," he confessed sadly. I imagined his childish pout breaking out into a dimpled crooked and irresistible smile. My heart ached for a moment at the thought of it and I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.

"God, you have no idea," I replied and he responded with another humorless breathy laugh. "I love you, Jasper," the words stung my lips with a newfound electricity.

"I love you, too," he responded simply, sending my heart into palpitations.

"I'll call later," I promised him. "Maybe after I unpack… and I want to talk to Annabelle, too!" How was he going to tell her? I wondered if he already had, but then I agreed that perhaps telling her with me in the room would be more appropriate. She wouldn't understand long-distance… I wasn't sure anyone would.

"Alright, alright," I could almost picture his grin before I caught Bella's gaze. He must have heard my gasp and I heard his tired laugh again. "I'll talk to you later," he said.

"Love you! Get some sleep, Jazz," I ordered before I hung up the phone and slipped into my bag. I saw Bella walking—as best as her clumsy-self could—to me, but I met her halfway in a run, standing on my toes as we hugged. I wrapped my arms around her neck and her arms were around my waist as we rocked back and forth. I squealed, her cheeks flushed, and Edward came up behind her laughing at the scene I made.

"Nice to see you, too, Alice," she struggled to breathe in my tight grasp and I pulled back, grinning.

"Sister-in-law," I squealed with an explosion of giggles and Edward rolled his eyes, steadying Bella as her skin turned as red as a tomato. I tackled Edward in a hug and he picked me up slightly, smiling despite his tough-guy exterior. "You missed me!" I accused, jumping back to my feet and grinning all the while.

"Let me take your bag," Edward ignored my last comment and took my carry-on bag as we walked toward the baggage claim conveyor belt. "Oh, I have a surprise for you," he said, glancing down at me and then looking back ahead with a smirk tugging at his lips. I narrowed my eyes and tried to look over to see what he was talking about until I saw them.

"Mom!" I squealed, sprinting over to my mother standing with my luggage already next to her. I hugged her and she mirrored my enthusiasm as we rocked back and forth, squeezing one another until we were breathless. I hadn't seen my mom for two months; from my month away and the month where she had been moving her things to their retirement home in the Hamptons, I hadn't had a chance to see her during her remodeling of their new home.

Still, her hair retained the same brilliant caramel curls and her sense of style still hadn't changed; she was classic like Audrey Hepburn. I envied her fashion sense, but then again, that's where mine came from. Esme Cullen was nothing without her forever-young looking doctor husband and my father, who looked as he had when he was in his twenties, the same golden hair, same clean-cut Harvard boy stature and the same polite manners that any girl would kill for.

As we pulled back, I moved to hug my father. "I missed you," I confessed, kissing his cheek as he picked me up with a smile, telling me I looked well and that he missed me, too, but mom knew something was different about me.

"Carlisle, set her down," she said hurriedly. Dad obliged and I settled to my feet as my mom took my arm and pulled me over to look at me in the eyes, watching me intently for what felt like hours. The cliché that mothers know best or even mothers know everything is completely true. "Who is he?" she asked sternly. I sighed and rolled my eyes at her spot-on analysis.

"Whoa," Edward noticed the right a second before I raised my left hand to show my mother the simple, but elegant engagement ring.

"His name's Jasper," I answered giddily, no longer caring about my voice shaking uncontrollably with excitement. "And we're getting married," I continued. My mom grabbed my hand and studied the ring with her mouth agape before we hugged again, this time she squeezed the life out of me.

"Mom, mom," I gasped, struggling to break free, but she wouldn't have it.

"I'll go get the car," I heard my dad say, knowing a congratulations would be better later when we weren't around an airport and my mom wasn't suffocating me. "Edward, take her bags and bring them to the door."

Soon enough, Edward had managed to break me free from mom's excited death-grip and we were sitting in the Mercedes, Carlisle and Edward in the front while Bella, mom, and I crammed in the back seat. I sat in the middle as Bella and mom looked at my ring, gabbing about how perfect it was for me. She decided against asking me questions about the "mystery man" until we were back at the apartment. It was a three hour drive back to the city, but it turned into four hours with the traffic of commuting workers. Edward was oddly quiet, but I knew he was protective; he wouldn't trust Jasper until he met him, but he would love him, I knew he would.

The apartment was spotless and I had guessed Edward knew of our parents visiting for a while because I don't remember the place ever being that clean. The smell was the same: warm and inviting with a hint of incense. I looked over to see the bouquet of freesias, dried and hung from the wall with a ribbon around it. I smiled sadly, upset that I had missed Edward's romantic outburst, but grateful I had missed the aftermath. I wouldn't have to hear the noise and hopefully I had missed the most of their bedroom rendezvous... yuck.

Edward and dad had carried up my luggage to the apartment, putting it in my room while I sat on the couch, taking off my flats and stretching my legs as my mom sat next to me. Everyone seemed to gather around wanting to hear more. I blushed a bit, not knowing how to begin. I felt self-conscious. Naturally, of course, since I had only known my fiancé for a month, but—oh, fiancé… I liked that.

"What's he like?" my mom asked excitedly, putting her hand on my arm as if that would help me open up easier.

"Um—amazing," I replied perkily and she laughed happily for me. I knew my mom would ease me into telling everyone and was happy she was the one who pointed it out. I couldn't see myself telling everyone without someone asking.

"He's taller, of course," my mom continued with a proud grin. I nodded eagerly; picturing our extreme height difference, how just kissing him was an ordeal. The way he'd hold my waist and hoist me up, but I had to still stand on my toes to reach him as he craned his neck and our lips just barely—I missed him.

"He's really tall—a little taller than Edward," I replied with another nod. "Blonde, green eyes—god, what else do you want to know about him?" I asked with a nervous giggle. I wasn't giving him justice; I knew he would be laughing if he heard this conversation.

"What does he do for a living?" my dad asked and I saw Edward straighten up showing interest in the subject, too. Guys were all the same. They were too protective of me. It was foolish.

"He's a student, but he works on the side to pay for classes and the house and—" Annabelle. Oh god, that wouldn't go over well. How was I supposed to tell them about Annabelle? Oh yeah, he has a kid, too. Ugh. I'd let that out at a better time. "He's a computer programmer for some company, but he wants to be a history professor," I continued and my mom whispered 'aw' quietly.

"Does he have close family?" Bella asked, squeezing Edward's hand to relax his narrowing eyes and defensive stature.

"His parents passed away when he was eighteen—he has a sister, though. She's a model and has a wardrobe to-die-for. She's the typical blonde bombshell, you can't go out with her without guys staring, but then she has Emmett and I'm sure he's going to pop the question when she stops moving around. He looks at her like she's a goddess and—I'm rambling," I stopped with a laugh.

"Any baggage?" Edward interjected and Bella swatted his arm. "What? He can't be perfect; he has to have something wrong." My smile faded as mom chimed in to hush him.

"Be happy for Alice," she scolded him. "Obviously this guy must have bent over backwards to win her heart," she teased. "I mean in only a month, my goodness," she turned her attention back to me and I nodded. "Was it shorter than that?"

"No, I went to a bar the night I landed and he was there—he, uh, bought me a drink, brought me to my hotel, and—"

"You're not giving him any points here," Edward interrupted again, his voice stern and unwavering. I shot him a glare and continued.

"He was a gentleman. He called me the next morning to make sure I was all right and then brought me around Portland. We went to the beach and oh my gosh, you should see the Pacific coast, it is beautiful," I gabbed. "I have pictures somewhere in my bag…"

"We'll see later," mom interrupted. "What about—" right on cue, I heard my phone buzz and looked to the chair across the room where my bag lay. I jumped up and darted over, fishing around for my phone frantically as I looked for it, hearing Bella and my mom laugh at my excitement.

"Hi," I answered the phone out of breath and I heard his familiar chuckle warm my body. Immediately, I smiled and went into my bedroom, kicking my luggage to the floor. "Before you start—did you sleep?" I asked, curling up on the bed and facing the window as a light drizzle began to fall upon Manhattan.

"Yes, I did. A good couple hours, too, before Annabelle woke me," he replied and I heard Annabelle singing along to her favorite television cartoon show's intro.

"You shouldn't have waited up," I mumbled, hearing Annabelle's sweet happy voice fade as I guessed he left the room.

"Hush," he replied and after a small pause, he asked, "so, how are you?"

"Uh, good. My mom and dad were at the airport and my mom saw the ring and well—" I trailed off, laughing nervously. "My mom is already in love with you, but Edward's—protective. I don't know about my dad. I'm sure if he met you, he'd have an opinion."

"I'm sorry. I rushed into it—if I could have, I would've asked his permission first," Jasper assured me and I closed my eyes remembering his boyish troubled gaze. His eyes grew wide as if he were just caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Such the gentleman," I smiled, trying to picture his face behind my closed lids. "Why'd you call, I said I would," I asked and he hesitated. I heart cabinets shut and the sound of the incredibly loud coffee maker.

"I missed your voice," he confessed and my body shivered slightly.

"I miss you," I complained in a whisper.

"I miss you, too," he sighed sadly and I pouted, wanting to book the next flight to Portland, but I knew I had to do this and it would get better with time—maybe. This was the first day, for goodness sake. "I'll leave you back to your family," he said after a long pause.

"No," I whined, cutting him off a bit too quickly. "I don't want to hang up."

"When is your meeting?" he changed the subjects and I was thankful, knowing that so long as we still had something to talk about, we wouldn't need to part.

"Tomorrow at noon I meet with Jen Kao's entourage," I said. "If they like me, I'm going to Paris. If they don't, I'm going straight back to you," I promised and he laughed sadly.

"Is it bad that I want them to hate you?" he asked with another heavy and dramatic sigh.

"Is it bad that I want them to hate me?" I replied and we both laughed, our laughter syncing to form a perfect harmony of soprano and bass. My heart ached more and I closed my eyes tighter, forcing myself to form an image of him, but the sound of pots and pans broke me out of my concentration. "Alright, I should go," I said, sitting up and looking toward the door.

"Call me tonight so I can wish you luck," he commanded uneasily.

"Are you kidding? I'm going to call you before I leave, too," I said with a laugh, but I was cut off by another bang of pots and pans coming from the kitchen and I knew this wouldn't turn out good. Mom claimed that she could cook, but Bella was the only chef in the place. I hoped Bella was insisting that she cook breakfast for all of us. "Love you, bye," I said hurriedly, opening my door and going toward the kitchen to watch the incident unfold.

"Love you, too."

I miss Jasper... lol review? I have a few plans for this story, but what do you want to see more of? Leave it in a review. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.