Bella was kind of happy, now that the foucs was pulled from her and into this new girl. She was much more interesting than her anyway, smart, confident and gorgeous. Rosalie Hale, the woman, the mystery. She was also a twin, but that bit of fascination had died out fast. Mostly because Jasper, the other twin, wasn't as much fun as her. He was shy, barely spoke and hid behind his shoulder-length blonde hair. He was distant, but smart. Although he seemed to be to be daydreaming half of the time, he always got the answers right when teachers asked him. Another mystery, but one people weren't so eager to unravel.

Bella liked Jasper. She'd been paired off with him a couple of times and even though they hadn't spoken much, she'd quickly grown fond of the boy. He knew when to leave her to her anger when she was angry, say something uplifting when she was sad. He never seemed to judge anyone and always knew how to harmonise with her emotions. It was hard to believe that he was related to Rosalie, much less to think they had practically the same DNA. The resemblance was clear in the physical department, but personality wise they were like the sun and the moon.

Rosalie spoke a lot, and seemed to be the centre of attention no matter where she went. A born leader, cheerleading captain, perfect and appropiate in everything she did. She'd developed a kind of entourage in a matter of days. Boys were lining up to ask her out, and she rejected most of them. If you want a shot with me, you must be at least my equal, she said. And apparently very few people fit that description. It was baffling for Bella, how professionally and calmly she handled the situation, while she had no idea what to do with only one suitor.

She liked Edward and talking with him, although sometimes he made her nervous. How he would appear out of nowhere. That really intense look he got sometimes, as if he was restraining himself from jumping out of the window or something. But he was nice, and it was nice that he'd shown some interest in her. If only she kew how to flirt back.

One strangely sunny day, he didn't appear in class. His brother and sister were missing too, so she guessed they had a family thing of some sort. She couldn't help thinking about him, wishing he was here. He was on her mind too often. At least there was Jasper, although he wasn't much fun. But Bella had found out that he was a pretty good judge of charcter, and decided to ask him.

"What do you think of Edward?"

"Why would it matter what I think?"

He did that a lot, also. Answered questions with questions, tried not to offend anyone, unlike his sister, who never cared who she offended. Her opinion was of the paramount importance. (Ok, so maybe Bella didn't like Rosalie all that much. Maybe she thought she was too much of an attention seeker. Maybe.)

"Just humor me." She said, and that did the trick. Jasper started speaking.

"There is something strange about him and his siblings. As if they lived with another intensity, and as if they were from another time. Like these hippies you see going to organic store things with handmade clothes and think they should had been born in the sixties, not now. And Edward... I don't know. He's intelligent, but there's something weird about him, emotionally. Too controlling, too haughty. Like the kind of person lives a righteous life, but looks down on people who don't. But what do I know?"

Jasper always had an interesting insight of things, but only bothered to tell you if you asked first. Bella decided to heed his words, to remember to put an stop to Edward's controlling-ness if they ever actually properly dated.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend, Jasper?" Bella asked, suddenly curious. He was good/looking enough and had a tortured aura that was kind of appealing. She wondered what would be like, to be on a date with a guy that only spoke when spoken to.

"There was someone." he said, almost in a whisper. "Did more harm than good."

She didn't ask any further, troubled by his sad tone, although she wondered what had happened. Bella had seen a some scars in his wrists and neck and some fainter ones in his face. She was curious, and hoped one day to be close enough with him to find out what happened. Unlike with Edward, there wasn't any of this unresolved romantic tension with him. She was never going to have anything romantic with Jasper. And that was okay for both of them, without any unrequited feelings drama. Just two not-so-popular kids bonding.

But relationships were supposed to be good, and she would like someone as awkward as her going through the same thing while she ventured in this new couple-y world. An ally.

"I've seen Alice Cullen checking you out a couple of times. Maybe you could ask her out."

"Really? Alice Cullen? But... she's so...lively. Why would she be interested in me?"

"Because you're the mystery guy." Bella said, trying to sound fun. It was easy to make jokes with Jasper, because she didn't feel like she was going to screw up. He was pleased with whatever.

"You may be confusing me with your gentleman caller, also known as her brother. I'm not mysterious, just plain old boring. That's why I like you so much."

"How dare you?" Bella said, with mock indignation. For some reason, he made her feel at ease when she was anxious. Maybe she should try to convince Alice to ask him out, so they could become some sort of political family. Ugh. She hadn't been on a single date with Edward and she was already planning her political family. Way to get overexcited about a guy who's just shown some interest, Bella.

Rosalie looked in her direction, assessing the situation. The only times she even glanced in her direction was when she was with her brother. She looked, checked that everything was okay with Jasper, then went back to being fabulous. She seemed oddly protective of him, although she wasn't older - they were the same age. Maybe it had to do with whatever caused his scars. She didn't have any. There was something strange about that, too, something strange about both of them.

Maybe she was reading too much into it. Maybe he had just fallen while playing as a kid and Rosalie didn't look all that often. Maybe.

Then the incident with the van happened, where Edward saved her and she met her father. They got closer, and even dated. And Bella got closer to Alice, as well, which was nice.

She was like Jasper had described - lively. She seemed to be speaking all the time and happy about everything. Enthusiastic about cars, clothes, boys, anything and everything. She insisted on taking Bella shopping, even if she understood she wasn't as big a fashion animal as her. Told her she was her best friend now. Emmett was welcoming too, even if Bella was a bit intimidated by his size. But he was so goofy, like a teddy bear. A teddy bear with muscles who joked about everything. The thing was, she welcomed in the Cullen family, and she liked it.

But sometimes she needed some silence, something calm, and she went to Jasper. He hadn't made a lot of friends, which was logical taking into account how shy and quiet he was but a bit sad. Bella wished he was with her and the Cullens when they joked or pretended to make homework while talking about films. But he remained solitary and mostly silent, but a good shoulder to lean on. Someone who let her copy when she didn't do an assignment, someone who would listten to her rants about Edward and the mystery surrounding him and seem genuinely interested.

But then, one week, Jasper stopped going to class. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Thursday Bella wondered if it was more than just the flu. Friday and there was no sign of him. Five days and he hadn't come. There was a shadow on Rosalie's pale eyes - she was less talkative.

Something was wrong.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please do leve a review! Thanks for reading!