Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did, I do not own any of these characters! S.M. does! See you at the bottom :)
Bella POV
It was just another spring day in the dreary town of Forks. I still had the ridiculous cast on my leg from the incident with James in Phoenix. Edward had taken it upon himself to be my personal caretaker and carry me from place to place. I drew the line at school. It was bad enough for my frail human body to be flaunted in front of Edward's flawless family and there was no way that I would show weakness in front of kids at school. I would never hear the end of Lauren and Jessica's gossip if Edward carried me around school.
No! That was so not happening.
School was tough enough as it was considering how many weeks I missed due to my injury. It wasn't so bad considering the classes here were much simpler than the ones I had in Phoenix, but still! I had my pride to maintain and it was just this one class that was giving me trouble. History had never been my strongest subject; I was always partial to English and Literature. The subject matter really shouldn't have been that difficult, but in my defense Edward was constantly distracting me in class or dazzling me as I liked to call it. How can you blame a girl for paying more attention to her gorgeous boyfriend than some random American tariffs that aren't in use anymore? Our American History final was in a week and I was worrying about getting a good grade.
Edward had told me that if I chewed any harder on my bottom lip, I was going to break the skin. Not wanting to go down that road, I had stopped but wringing my hands only eased my physical tension and I was still freaking out on the inside! Edward, finally having enough of my silence, dragged me to his house in order to study.
So here I was, sitting on the Cullen's beige couch with two centuries worth of American history surrounding me. Edward had gone to talk to Alice about something, probably some vision involving me and my clumsy nature. I was becoming increasingly frustrated with memorizing the order of the many Civil War battles and the differences between them. All of a sudden I felt a rush of calm sweep over me. I looked up and saw Jasper standing in the doorway.
"Hey Jasper," I said with a shy smile. I still wasn't very close to Jasper. I had thought we would get closer after Phoenix but afterward he had gone right back to avoiding me like the plague. I tried to not let it get to me; it had nothing to do with me, just the appealing lusciousness of my blood.
"Hey Bella," Jasper replied softly. "You really shouldn't over stress yourself, I'm sure you'll do fine," obviously sensing my emotional anxiety.
"I know! But…ugh…I can't for the life of me remember the differences between the Battle of Bull Run and the Battle of Shiloh Hill! Or Antietam or Chancellorsville! I'm doomed!"
Jasper watched my rant with a small smile of amusement.
"Well darlin', Civil War history is something I happen to know a thing or two about. Major Jasper Whitlock at your service ma'am," he said smiling, his golden eyes winking at me.
I tried to keep the look of surprise off my face. Jasper wanting and willing to stay within my presence longer than a few minutes to help me? This was a new development! I wasn't sure if Edward would approve of Jasper being in close proximity for a long period of time but I did need help studying. Thinking I had already wasted enough time internally debating, I nodded my head eagerly at Jasper and smiled back.
He walked further into the room and sat deliberately in the chair furthest away from the couch I was sitting on, smiling apologetically at me.
I was a little disappointed but shrugged it off, not wanting to ruin the moment.
"My human memories of battle are a little fuzzy but I'm sure I can help distinguish them for you. The First Battle of Bull Run was just south of Washington and General 'Stonewall' Jackson was leading the Confederate troops. The North assumed that the war would be won quickly and easily, but they underestimated our morale. Our troops' spirits were high and the unsuspecting Yankees didn't stand a chance," Jasper chuckled. "We won the First Battle of Bull Run and beat them again when we sneak-attacked the Union battalion at Shiloh Hill. Things got worse after that at the Battle of Antietam. There was so much blood and death, it almost made you rethink if it was all worth it."
I listened to Jasper intently, soaking in every detail of his human life. He spoke with such authority that it was easy to see why he was promoted to Major at such an early age.
Soon I was an expert on the Civil War and the many battles therein. I didn't even need Jasper's calming influence anymore, I was positive that I was going to ace my history final.
Jasper sensed my conviction and turned to me smiling, "Are you prepared for your test now?"
I grinned and nodded, "Thank you so much Jasper! I couldn't have done it without you."
"Glad to be of service ma'am" he said, standing up and turning to walk out of the room.
"Jasper?" I called, making him stop and turn to me from the doorway. "Could we do this again sometime? I enjoyed talking to you and I know I make you uncomfortable but I really do think of you as my brother."
He looked slightly uneasy as I made my comments but eventually gave me a tiny smile and said, "Sure thing darlin'."
Throwing caution, and my humanity, to the wind, I slowly walked which looked more like hobbling, to Jasper and deliberately wrapped my arms around him in a soft hug. "Thank you…for everything," I mumbled.
He held perfectly still while I hugged him but whispered to me, "Your welcome, I think of you as my sister too you know. You are a part of the family." His familial love washing over me.
I sighed, pleased that Jasper always knew just what to say to me. Thinking that I pushed Jasper enough to his limits, I released him and we shared a small smile. In a flash, he was gone and I was quickly embraced by cool strong arms.
"Edward", I breathed, turning my body to face his pale and glorious face. "I missed you," I murmured against his cold skin. "Jasper helped me study for my history test!" At my words, his body tensed beneath mine. I pulled back from our embrace and raised my eyebrow at him.
He sighed and said softly, "I just don't know what I would do with myself if anything happened to you."
"Jasper would never harm me intentionally. You should have more faith in your brother," I gently chided him.
Edward muttered something under his breath, saying something like, "Alice says the same thing." Shaking his head clear of unwanted thoughts, he smiled my favorite crooked smile and asked, "Would you like something to eat? Studying takes up a lot of energy."
I smiled mischievously, "I can think of another way to replenish my body," leaning up on my toes to press my lips to his cool ones.
He touched his lips to mine softly, with the most delicate pressure and then, too soon as always, pulled back. "C'mon, let's go see what Esme has whipped up for you and then we can study…chemistry," he smirked.
"But we're not taking chemistry until next year!" I said not understanding.
"It's never too early to start," Edward murmured before putting his lips to mine again.
I sighed in acquiescence, who said studying wasn't fun?
Hope you enjoyed this little one-shot! I always thought the Jasper/Bella relationship was under explored. As always, I would love your comments/criticisms :)