New Memories

Bella's POV

I stood in the forest as Edward told me he didn't need me - didn't want me - anymore, and he was leaving to escape. "But...but why-" "Bella," he interrupted, his face distorting in anger. "I. Don't. Want. You." That got to me. I blew up. "So everything was a lie?" He bent his head, his rustic hair falling over his eyes. I felt the tears begin to sting my eyes. "I...I can't love you, Bella. It hurts too much." I laughed. "It hurts loving me? Do you have any idea how much it hurts loving you? Knowing you'll never be mine? That you'll still look like this when I'm old and wrinkly?" He glanced up, his eyed sparking with anger. "You know too much, Bella. Too much about our kind." I started shaking my head. What does he mean...? I wondered, suddenly scared. "Wha...what do you mean...?" "I mean," he said, getting so close to me I fell, "that you can't know this much." He grabbed my neck, lifting me three feet in the air.

"Put her down, Edward," a voice ordered. We both looked, and Jasper was standing there, his fists balled at his sides. Edward dropped me like a rag, and my hair flew above me as I fell back to the forest floor. I landed, and gasped for air. "What do you care, Jasper? I know you want her blood...well? She's right there. Knock yourself out." His voice was strained, as if he were forcing the words to leave his mouth. Jasper's mouth formed a straight line, and his fists got tighter. I grasped my bruising throat and backed up, afraid of what would happen next. "Leave the girl alone, Edward. She won't tell anyone." He looked at me expectantly. I shook my head vigorously, feeling the tears get loose. I backed up further. "I-I swear. I-I-I won't tell a s-s-soul." Jasper extended his arm in my direction, refocusing his gaze on his insane brother. "See? She won't tell anyone. Now let's go." Jasper grabbed Edward's arm, yanking him away from me, but he pulled his arm back. "No! I'm not going anywhere until she's dead!"

The tears were streaming down my face now. "What happened to 'I love you'?" I begged hysterically, stumbling to a standing position and starting to run. Jasper held him back while I ran, and I heard arguing and fighting, but I didn't look back. Eventually, I heard Jasper yell "Go home, Edward! Carlisle would be disgusted if he knew what you wanted to do!" and then I stopped running and sat down on the root of a tree and cried.

"What the hell happened just now?" I asked myself when I'd calmed down. "What happened," a voice said behind me. I whipped my head around and saw Jasper looking down at me. "was that Edward lost it." I snorted as he sat down next for me. "Nah, really?" He shrugged. "Guess he spazzed out." "Heh..." I scooted a half-inch away from him. I didn't really trust him. The way he looked at me whenever I'd visit - whenever I'd visited - was a little weird. There was like a barrier between us. Like your best friend's boyfriend or...well, your boyfriend's (ex-boyfriend's) brother. So-so friends, but not someone you'd call to hang out with. That's how me and Jasper were.

"So...you guys are leaving?"

Jasper let out a puff of air. "Well...they're leaving."

"Who's 'they'?" I put air-quotes around "they."

"'They' is the Cullens. Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, Esme...Alice." Pain flashed in his eyes as he mentioned Alice.

"But you're a Cullen. Aren't you going too?"

Jasper looked at me. "Bella...there's other vampires out there who would like to...do you harm."

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I know, Jas. But I've got Jake. As long as I have him, I think I'll be fine."

"Yeah, but...Carlisle thought you'd need a protector. Someone...expirienced in...protecting." He flinched as he said the sentence. He wasn't proud of his past, I knew, and I didn't like seeing him distraught for some reason. I tried to change the topic. "And he chose you? Why didn't he choose Edward? Does Carlisle not picking him have something to do with...whatever just happened back there?" I jerked my head in the direction we'd come from. Jasper nodded. "Yeah. Edward's been...out of sorts since Carlisle said we had to leave. He's been trying to convince himself that you were a mistake and he needs to get over you. He's trying to force himself to move on. He's clearly failing, because...well, you're not a mistake."

Woah. Did Jasper seriously just say that? Isn't he like, in love with Alice? And doesn't he hate me? Subject change! Now! "But what about Alice? Is she staying, too?" He winced again. "No. It's just me and you." Cough, cough. Innuendo much? "You need to go. Alice will be worried sick! And you belong with the Cullens, not here."

"Bella." His voice had a warning in it. He grabbed my arm as I got up and started walking in the direction Edward had gone. "I can't go back. Carlisle's orders. Please, just...try to live with me?" He smiled a crooked smile and I cracked one myself. "Fine. I'll give you a chance." I punched his arm lightly and his smile grew. And to think that not ten minutes ago I thought I was in hell.

Jasper's POV

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did you lie? Why did you drag Carlisle into it? Why did you tell everyone you were staying in Forks? Why, why, why? "Jasper, you idiot!" I yelled at myself, running my hand through my hair, like Bella did not long ago. "Ack!" I said. "A protector? Cheezy. Carlisle made you? Cheezy. 'You're not a mistake'? Cheezy as hell!" I felt throroughly stupid. I just abandoned my family to "protect" the mortal I've been craving ever since I first saw her. What's wrong with me? I have no idea. I don't know how long I can keep my Hunger in check, either. I'm good at controlling my Hunger, sure, but around Bella...it's her scent. It drives me nuts. Every time I see her, I have to restrain myself. Well, now you'll have plenty of time to train yourself, O Great Protector, a cruel voice inside me said. It was right, but it didn't help my depression. I was a fucking emo vampire. Nice.

I ran my hand through my hair again. This was so stressful. Eventually I'd run out of coppery blonde hair to run my hand through. I'd made a stupid move I couldn't take back. All right. I could still abandon this place right now. That'd be the smart thing to do.

Except...

I couldn't just abandon Bella like that. I wasn't kidding when I said there were other vampires that would want to hurt her or take her to be in their coven. She really was in danger. True, she did have Jacob and his pack of mutts, but something tells me those children aren't smart enough to come up with a (successful) battle plan on their own. They're too amateur - too delinquent - and all in all too stupid to protect someone as...err...special as Bella. They're all natural steroid-headed idiots.

But, back to the main point: was I really going to go through with this protector bullshit? She did need to be kept safe. I'd heard rumors about this...thing called the Groupies. They were a mixed group of werewolves and vampires. I shivered at the thought of having to live with a bunch of cocky werewolves. I'm amazed the group was even formed without hair-pulling or arguments or anything. I'm sure it was, but I don't wanna know the torture those poor vampires go through - having to put up with those wolves...ack! The mere thought disgusted me. Anyways, they're supposed to be really dangerous. The combined power of those two specific mythical creatures...it was lethal. I heard that there's one werewolf - Ivy, her name's supposed to be - that broke out of the Groupies and is headed for Forks to join Jacob and his mutts. Senseless kid.

I hiked up the hill to the medow. It felt slightly wrong to be in Edward and Bella's special place, but they're clearly finished and I needed a place to think about all this crap. I looked around. Nobody was here. I laid down in the tall grass and looked up at the sky. There were barely any clouds and you could actually see the blue of the sky. It was pretty rare for Washington, and it felt good - well, the illusion of the feeling felt good. I closed my eyes and focused on the quiet. It was as close as I could get to sleeping.

I heard a rustle somewhere close, but I assumed it was the wind so I kept my eyes closed. Only when a voice said "What're you doing here?" did I open my eyes. Bella was standing over me, an eyebrow cocked. Brilliant. Just brilliant. I sat up. "Most likely the same thing you're doing here. What're you doing here?"

"Peace and quiet?"

I nodded. "Yup."

"A quiet place to think?"

"Yup."

"Somewhere to wonder what the hell you just did?"

I snorted, trying not to laugh. "You're more right there than anything."

Jacob's POV

I stalked out of the house, pissed. I could smell the bloodsuckers, and sense Bella's distraught. I'll kill 'em. I'll rip the heads off of every last one of those demons, I thought in a blind fury. If any of them had hurt her...someone would die...for the second time. "Jacob! Where are you going?" Billy asked. I looked back at him, my eyes glazed with worry and anger. "Bella." I said. Dad nodded in understanding and wheeled himself back into the house. It was an unusually sunny day for Forks. But at the moment, I could've cared less whether it was raining mini-van-sized hail. I was in kill-the-devil's-servants mode.

I could smell Bella - her intoxicating scent wasn't hard to pick up - and the the horrifying smell of the BS (bloodsucker). I climbed up the hill, almost phasing with the need for speed, until I reached that damned medow. I saw Bella standing over one of those frikkin' Cullens - but it wasn't Edward. It was Jasper, the one hell-bent on sucking Bella dry. "Hey!" I howled (almost literally). The both snapped their heads in my direction. "Hey, Jake!" Bella said. Her eyes were kinda puffy, and I knew she's been crying - and seeing that creature there gave me a hint as to why.

She walked up to me, half skipping, and hugged me. I held her in a strong embrace and gave Jasper a look of death. He hissed at me silently. I gripped Bella tighter and stuck my tongue out at him. I felt ten years old.

"Whatcha doin' here, Bells?" I asked, releasing her and putting my arm around her shoulder.

"Thinking," she replied, looking drowsy.

I looked down at her. "About?"

Bella sighed. "Can we talk later?" She looked at me with somewhat pleading eyes. I nodded and she smiled.

I smiled back and whispered to her: "Tonight. I'll see you via window." She giggled and said back: "Okay." Jasper glanced at me hatefully. I smiled a toothy grin. "So where's your main bloodsucker Edward?" I asked her, saying his name like it was a poison. "He's headed to Alaska," Jasper snapped at me. My happiness must've shown in my eyes, because Jasper hissed at me again and Bella elbowed my gut. "I don't even care why. Come on, Bells. How about I take you home?" She looked up at me disappointedly, as if she was sad I couldn't see how upset she was over Edward leaving, and nodded. I glanced up at Jasper. Lemme tell you, if looks could kill, I wouldn't be standing here. The glare he gave me was hate and rage. I raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged, as if saying: Dude, what's your problem?

"Come on, Twiggy," I said, picking Bella up. "I told you not to call me that when we were five!" Bella said, obviously exasperated. When we were little, Bella was thin as a twig - she still is, actually. I started calling her Twiggy and it annoyed her. Eventually I stopped calling her that. This was the first time since we were little that I'd called her by the old nickname.

I laughed a booming laugh. She tried to punch my chest, but in my werewolf-awesomeness, it was an epic fail. "Curse you and your stupid strength," she muttered, crossing her arms. I laughed again and took off iinto the woods, clutching her close. I felt like I was high off extacy. Edward had finally left! The love of my life was finally mine...oh, hell yeah!