A/N: This story took me a while… I've been so busy lately I haven't even had time to sleep! I hope you guys like this! There's no Edward, no Alice, no Rosalie, no Emmett. Just Jasper and Bella. (Disclaimer: I don't own them.) I love them!
I stood in the middle of the road, trying to see if Jasper was going to be home yet. My tiny little eight-year-old body could only defy gravity so much. I jumped as hard as I could but all I saw was the top of Mrs. Eyre's fir trees.
Violet Hill was a little community in Los Angeles, dainty and far away from the city. Rows of white pristine houses stood on the sides of the windy road, trailing up the hill. There were around fifty households on this hill. Each household was at least acquainted with one another. You'd think out of these fifty households there would be enough children to form their own little Violet Hill gang. But alas, there were the teenagers and then us, me and Jasper, the eight year olds with no one else but each other.
"Bella! You're going to get hit by a car if you don't come back in here!" Renee's voice was so distant. I looked over to our dainty white house, shielding my eyes from the relentless sun. Renee was making cookies.
I jumped one last time, only catching a glimpse of Mrs. Eyre's fir trees this time, before giving up. My brown locks of hair stuck to my face, a blanket of sweat coating my pale skin.
"Mommy, when's Jasper coming home?" I propped my small gangly body onto the chair. Renee opened the fridge, grabbed the milk and poured a cup for me.
"I don't know, I expect soon. Now drink your milk. The cookies will be ready in a few."
As I drank my milk, I kept my eyes on the road outside, my ears tuned to the traffic. Jasper was supposed to come home today. He had gone to visit his grandmother in San Francisco. He was gone for an entire week, longer than we've ever been apart from each other since we first met when we were mere babies.
Esme and Renee were best friends in high school, they had gone their separate ways before meeting again in Violet Hill. Charlie, my dad, and Carlisle just so happened to be college roommates. It was only natural for the Whitlocks and the Swans to become one family. Esme and Carlisle were like my parents just as Renee and Charlie were Jasper's. Being the only child in our families, Jasper and I were inseparable through kindergarten and primary school.
The heat of the summer only reminded me of the two weeks we had left of our summer holiday. I groaned internally. What will third grade be like? Jasper and I had gone through every stage of our lives so far together. We were younger than most people in our grade, so we had more obstacles to overcome than most other kids at school. From battling sixth-graders on our first day of school to using Renee and Esme's lipstick to draw on the neighbor's cars, we had done everything together. My worst nightmare at that point in my life was that Jasper would leave me.
As I shoved the remaining crumbs of the oatmeal raisin cookie in my mouth, I heard it. The sleek Mercedes pulling into their driveway—Jasper's home. I didn't even bother telling Renee where I was going. Where else could I go in this godforsaken hill? The only place I ever went willingly was Jasper's house. It always smelled like laundry and pie.
I dashed across our lush garden—Renee's recent addiction was gardening—and onto the pavement. I halted, looking both sides for traffic before propelling forward. I saw the shiny black Mercedes parked right in front of their house. I had this huge goofy grin on my face, but I couldn't care less.
"Jasper!" I yelled. Jasper pulled his lean body out of the car, rushing halfway to meet me.
"Bella!" Jasper had a huge grin on his face too. His golden hair sparkled like little threads of gold under the sun.
"Bella dear! Did you grow an inch since last week? You're growing so fast!" Esme enveloped me in a hug. I smiled against her wispy mahogany hair, breathing in her luscious scent.
I giggled as Carlisle tickled me from behind.
"Stop! Carlisle! Stop!" I laughed.
"Mom, is it okay if I go play with Bella?" Jasper pulled my hand, whilst turning to Esme.
"Do you even have to ask?" Esme ruffled his golden hair, "Just be back before dinner. Swans are coming over for dinner." She winked at me before ushering us off their driveway.
"Come on, Bella. I got you the coolest dreamcatcher in San Francisco. Grandma brought me to this small shop and there were gazillions of dreamcatchers there!" I collected dreamcatchers, a hobby nourished by my late grandmother's own hobby. When she passed away when I was merely three, she passed on all her dreamcatchers, telling me to take good care of them, or so Charlie told me. I of course didn't remember a single thing about her but I felt strongly towards these elegant artifacts.
He pulled his backpack from the car and dashed towards my house. We tore through the porch and into the living room.
"Hey Renee!" Jasper breathed as he went into the living room.
"Hey there, big guy. How was your trip?"
"Good." He was jumping up and down, obviously unable to contain his excitement.
"Here, grab a cookie."
"No thanks." With that, he grabbed my hand again, flying up the stairs.
He flung open my door so hard that the dream catchers hanging from my ceiling swung back and forth. Jumping onto my bed, he took off his backpack. His pale delicate hands unzipped his bag and dug out a purple dreamcatcher.
The purple dream catcher was medium sized, a few beads hanging on the net. The silver thread wove the familiar yet complex pattern across the ring. This was by far the prettiest dreamcatcher in my collection.
"Oh my god, Jasper. This is so pretty!" I squealed. I hugged Jasper. God I missed his scent. So enticing. "Thanks so much! I love it."
We spent the rest of the evening talking about our week. Mostly Jasper did the talking.
I just stared into his crystal blue eyes, smiling my eight-year-old's ass off because there was nowhere else I'd rather be than with him.
--
We started school two weeks later, full of energy and anticipation for what the year's about to bring. School was far away and Esme was always the one who drove us to school, as it was on the way to her office downtown. Renee would pick us up afterschool, driving us back to Violet Hill. Jasper would then spend the rest of the day at my house doing homework, watching movies and playing games with me.
Sometimes he'd sleep over, like when Carlisle had to take a night shift at the hospital or Esme had to stay at her office finishing up some projects. As an interior designer, she had a lot of celebrities begging her to design their home. Renee was a stay at home mom, always picking up things to do such as baking, gardening, yoga. Charlie was a lawyer, always away from home. I didn't blame him, he was a magnificent father. I just wish he was home more.
Life was normal other than the occasional trouble Jasper and I got into. We had, at the meager age of eight, concocted a plan to get the school bully into trouble. Various times.
Christmas was always the Swan's and Whitlock's favorite holiday. We were extravagant—we were never frugal when it came to Christmas trees and putting as many lights and decorations on our house and front lawns. We spent money on the perfect presents for each family member.
But that Christmas, it all changed.
"Jasper, I cannot wait till Christmas. I bet this is going to be the best Christmas yet!" I glanced over at Jasper, propping up my pink backpack as we went out to meet Renee after school.
His blue eyes were fixed on his sneakers, head hung low. I knew something was wrong. I was eight but I was in no means immune to emotions.
"Jas? You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine Bella." He opened the car door for me, motioning for me to step in.
"Hey Mom. We saw the Veggie Tales Christmas special today."
As I kept up this idle chatter with Renee, I couldn't shake off the weight of the bundle of sadness sitting next to me.
I was eight. What could I do?
--
"Merry Christmas!" Everyone threw their arms around the closest person, kissing their cheeks and laughing.
I love Christmas.
Jasper slept over, his face was a mere façade. That I knew. I knew he was sad, but at least he looked happy. I didn't push further.
In the darkness of my room, I could smell the distinct smell of Jasper. It was laundry, peppermint, and…Jasper. I love it. I could fall asleep everyday just smelling this. It was like my own lullaby, in the form of a scent.
--
The next morning, my life changed.
We all huddled around our Christmas tree, gathering our own presents.
After we tore through our presents, we sat around the fireplace drinking hot cocoa.
I picked up the present Jasper got me, a dreamcatcher he made himself, touching each point where the thread intersected. It was most likely the ugliest dreamcatcher I've ever seen, the ribbon coarse around the ring, the threads loose and oddly spaced, the feathers felt plasticky, the beads too large. But I loved it. It was so amazing that he even did this for me. I placed it on my nightstand, the special place for my favorite things, such as my stuffed Winnie the Pooh and the bracelet Aunt Lily gave me.
Now that I looked at what I gave Jasper—a stupid guitar pick because he had recently started learning how to play guitar—I just felt like such a bad friend.
"Renee, Charlie." Esme's voice, usually so serene, was thick with emotion. I looked at Renee and Charlie, picking out that slight nod.
She shifted her attention to me, holding onto Jasper's hand s well as mine.
"Dear, I…I'm so sorry. We have to leave Los Angeles. Jasper's grandmother is very sick and we're moving to San Francisco to take care of her. Carlisle also got a new job in San Francisco."
My eight-year-old brain could only take so much. The high from getting presents from everyone I loved to the sudden low from hearing my worst nightmare come true pounded at my head.
--
January 1st, Jasper's last day in Los Angeles. The weather was gorgeous, and I hated it. Even the weather seemed to be going against me. I wanted it to rain, so it could match my mood.
The Swans and the Whitlocks spent one last night together, counting down to the start of a new year. Jasper spent the last night sleeping over. We talked about how we were going to keep in touch, about how we were going to stay best friends forever. I cried. He cried.
The next morning, we were up before the sun had even risen. We didn't catch much sleep, both writhing in the midst of nightmares during the night.
I cried again. I stared at him, unable to take my eyes off even for a measly second. His blond hair was messy but perfectly so. I couldn't stop crying. I just kept staring at every part of his body, committing it to memory in case I forgot what he looked like.
I stood at the entrance to my door, looking at every movement that Jasper made.
"Jas?"
"Hmm?"
"Don't leave!" I raced to his sides, pulling him into a hug. The tears were relentless, falling onto my shirt, his shirt.
He pulled me into a proper hug, his arms encasing me in a vise-like grip. I melted into him.
"Don't leave." I said as I released him from my hug. I took a step back, so I could stare at his beautiful face.
He placed his hands on my cheek, brushing away my tears. He was so mature, so perfect. He pulled me into his arms, placing his head on the crook of my neck.
"I can't, Bella. Grandma's sick." I sniffed, locking my arms around him.
I whimpered as a fresh round of tears found their way down my cheeks. I reached over to my bedside table, pulling out the first drawer and grabbing the letter I had written him. It was by far the longest thing I've written in my eight-year-old life and it was also the most important piece of writing I've ever done. I had spent hours and hours of time thinking of what I wanted to say to him, what I wanted him to remember about Violet Hill, Los Angeles, me. I sealed it with my favorite sticker.
I took his cold hands in mine and placed the letter in his palm.
"Don't forget me, okay?" I whispered.
"Never." Without even a moment's thought, he placed his lips on mine just as the sun peaked over the trees and into my room.
It was magical.
A/N: I hope you guys don't mind me making up random places in Los Angeles for our two protagonists to live in. I don't really know LA, or much of USA for that matter...REVIEW!
Right now I'm blown away by the alerts and favorites and reviews already. You guys SPOIL me!! I LOVE YOU!