AN: So this is a oneshot between Edward and Jasper, because they're the hottest couple ever.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight series or any of its characters. I also do not own Taylor Swift's song.
You're on the phone with your girlfriend, She's upset I'm in the room, its a typical Tuesday night But she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
She's going off about something that you said
She doesn't get your humour like I do
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like
And she'll never know your story like I do
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming bout the day when you wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time
Been here all along so why can't you see
You belong with me
You belong with me
I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. I chanted to myself. I trudged up the stairs to my room, grateful that my parents were out to dinner and wouldn't be home until late at night. It was hard to sulk when you had parents hanging around. I kicked the door of my room shut behind me and collapsed on my bed. I was seriously considering foregoing my physics homework when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw the reason for my inner turmoil's name flashing across the screen. Jasper. My heart raced just looking at it. I looked up and out my window, immediately met with a pair of piercing blue eyes. A teasing smirk was on is face as he waved his phone at me. I smiled back, forcing back tears before flipping my phone open.
Hey, sexy. Long time no see. ;) Living next to your best friend was both a blessing ad a curse. The curse part usually just kicks in when you're in love with said best friend. And said best friend is straight. And has a cheerleader for a girlfriend.
Haha, very funny. It's not nice to make fun of minorities, you know. Jasper had been the first person I'd come out to a couple years before. We'd met since our first day of kindergarten, and Jasper had come up to me said he'd trade me his pudding cup for my pop tart. We'd been best friends ever since, and sometimes I thought he knew me better than I knew myself. He wasn't at all surprised when I came out to him and helped me and my twin sister, Alice, tell our parents. It was around then that I'd realized I'd been utterly in love with him practically since we'd met.
I watched him through our windows as he read my message, admiring the playful smirk that became more pronounced on his face and the way the muscles in his arms moved when he typed a response.
Lighten up, Eddie. You'll never get laid like that. I blushed when I looked up and realized the smirk was now aimed at me.
I won't with you hanging around anyway Mom. I smiled when I thought of his overprotective nature. A month or so into the school year after I'd come out Mike Newton had shoved me in the hallway and called me a fag when I wouldn't apologize. That turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes of his life. Jasper jumped him right there and ended up breaking his nose. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside whenever I thought about it. Lauren, on the other hand, was furious that her all-star boyfriend had gotten suspended for protecting his flaming loser of a friend.
Someone's got to take care of you. ;) I sighed, running my hand through my hair. If only he meant it the way I wanted him to. I was about to text back when I noticed Jasper gesturing out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see him on the landline in his room, his brow furrowed in annoyance. He paced back and forth, running his free hand through his beautiful golden hair in frustration. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was on the other side of that phone. Still, I put on my supportive best friend mask and typed just one word.
Lauren? I asked. He just nodded and rolled his eyes in response. I huffed, looking over to my iPod dock and turning on one of my favorite indie groups. It was childish, but I chose the song because I knew Lauren hated it, as if she could actually hear it. Still scowling, I sat up and pulled my physics book roughly out of my bag, knowing it would be a while before Jasper would be free to talk again.
An hour later I'd finished my physics homework and read the last few chapters of Far From the Madding Crowd. The heated debate in Jasper's room didn't see to be going anywhere, when he suddenly pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it incredulously. He brought it back to his face to call her name into it a few more times before hanging up and throwing the phone onto his bed.
Are you okay? I asked.
I saw him heave a sigh when he read the message, leaning against his windowsill and looking at me with an intense but unreadable expression. His blue eyes pierced mine with an odd mix of sadness, frustration, and longing, though longing for what I couldn't tell.
Tired of drama. He finally replied. I looked up from my phone, wanting to ease his pain somehow, but saw his blinds lowering, hiding his face. Stupidly, I reached towards the now dark window. I wanted nothing more in that moment then to wipe that oddly tortured look from his face. I wanted to say something—anything—to relieve the ache imbedded in his deep blue eyes. I compulsively typed the only thing I could think of, staring at the screen afterwards, trying to stop myself from sending it. Finally, I hut my phone without sending the message, knowing it would be saved in case I ever got the ball to send it. I flopped back onto my bed, still staring pathetically across the alley connecting us.
"I love you," I whispered the words I couldn't send. I closed my eyes, wishing sleep would overtake me despite the early hour. It seemed as if I was just about to succeed when my door swung open, banging against my wall and jerking me awake.
"Alice!" I snapped when I saw my sister in my doorway. "Don't you knock?"
"Nice to see you too, brother. Didn't anyone ever teach you to be nice to company?" she chided, towing her girlfriend Bella into the room behind her. I smiled when I remembered the day Alice and I had come out to our parents together. They'd both been very understanding, but the funniest part had been our mother. She'd hugged us both and told us she didn't care what we were as long as she still got grandchildren.
Bella had moved to Forks from Phoenix the previous year and immediately fell into place in our group. My sister and I had come out that summer, and poor Alice was instantly smitten. It wasn't hard to see why. At 5'4" with long mahogany hair and big brown eyes, she'd been the object of every boy's attraction until she started dating Alice. Never one for subtleties, my sister had waited only three months before marching between Bella and Tyler Crowley in the hallway and pulling Bella in for a kiss. They'd been together ever since and I couldn't imagine a more perfect couple. Bella's quiet and sarcastic manner was the perfect compliment to Alice' bubbly, extrovert personality.
I snorted. "Bella's practically family!" They both laughed, but I saw Bella blush with pride at my comment. I sent her a wink behind my sister's back and she reciprocated with a bright smile. Aside from Jasper, Bella was my best friend, and Alice often accused us of having silent conversations, especially at times like this.
"Stop having conversations behind my back!" she demanded.
"Is there a reason you decided to invade my room?" I huffed.
"I told her to just wait, but she wanted to talk to you right away," Bella teased, mussing Alice's hair affectionately.
"He was just moping, anyways!" Alice protested. "Just because Mom and Dad aren't here doesn't mean you can shut yourself in here!"
"I was studying," I mumbled pathetically.
"Studying my ass! You're a genius! You were really just lying up here thinking about—" she cut off when Bella came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her tiny waist. Instead of finishing her rant she sighed and leaned into her girlfriend's embrace. "Forget it," she finally relented. "I came up here to ask whether or not you're going to prom. I'm picking up Emmett's suit next week so if you want one too I need to know."
I scrunched my face up in an expression of disgust. "No!"
"Aww, come on, Ed! You have to go to prom at least once during high school! This is your last chance!"
"Why not!" she demanded.
"Why would I spend our parents' hard-earned money to stand against a wall all night?" I fired back. "Not to mention I'd have to see Jasper with that…that…"
"Hussy?" Bella volunteered.
"Yeah! That hussy hanging all over him the whole time!"
Alice sighed. "I doubt they'll even be together by then," she aid, causing my ears to perk up. "They had another fight, you know."
"You mean earlier? Yeah, I know. I was…"
"Being a voyeur?" Bella supplied again, laughing when my face turned red.
"What were they fighting about?" I asked, directing the conversation away from me.
Alice hesitated, looking like she wished she hadn't said anything. "Oh, um…just something Jazz said, I guess. Stupid as usual, but maybe this'll finally be enough to make him realize how awful he is and end it. Anyway, you're avoiding the topic. Are you going to prom or not?"
Bella saw me hesitating and added, "It'll be fun! We'll dance with you, and Em and Rose and Ben and Angela will be there!"
"Yeah, and if worst comes to worst, you can always get drunk on the spiked punch." They both stared at me with pleading eyes, and Alice did that unfair thing with her bottom lip.
"I'll think about it." I finally relented.
***#%&*** Walking the streets with you in your worn out jeans And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town She wears high heels, I wear sneakers If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be
Laughing on the park bench thinking to myself
Hey isn't this easy?
I haven't seen it in awhile, since she brought you down
You say you're fine I know you better than that
Hey, Whatcha doing with a girl like that?
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming bout the day when you wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time
Been here all along so why can't you see
You belong with me
Standin by, and waiting at your back door
All this time how could you not know baby
You belong with me
You belong with me
"Come on, just say it."
"No!"
"Dude, it's okay, just let it out!"
"You sound like Emmett."
"Thank you. No come on, admit it."
"Jazz, no!"
"What is it? Are you embarrassed because Bella's here? 'Cuz I think the fact that she's dating your sister is a pretty good indication that she's okay with your sexual preferences."
"No, Jazz, that's not it! Can't you just drop it?" I yelled over Bella's laughter, aiming a punch at Jasper's shoulder. He dodged it and threw hi arm around my shoulder to give me a noogie.
"Eddie, just come clean. Just admit that you've got the hots for Yorkie!" Bella laughed so hard she snorted. I was really regretting not driving my own car to school that morning. Alice had to work on a project with Jessica Stanley that she'd pushed back until the last possible moment. She'd driven us both to school that morning in her yellow Porsche so she could drive to Jessica's house after school. Which left Bella and I to walk to her house with Jasper, whose fight from Tuesday night had not resolved itself.
This had quickly turned into the most embarrassing conversation of my life. Served me right for staring during gym. But is most certainly hadn't been Eric that had caught my attention. I didn't know whether or not to be happy that Jasper was too oblivious to notice. Or that the way he was holding my head angled it so that I had the perfect view of his muscles flexing under his tight, faded jeans as he walked.
"No I don't!" I grunted, successfully hitting his stomach.
"Ow! Hey, don't get mad at me because you're—" two loud honks interrupted our banter. I turned and saw Lauren pulling her shiny red convertible up to the curb. When she saw us she shot me a dirty look and completely ignored Bella.
"Jazzy," she whined in her nasally voice, "I'm sorry, baby. Pleae talk to me." When he was him about to protest she continued, "Come on, baby, please? Wouldn't you rather make up with your girlfriend than play Halo all night?" Jasper looked back at us guiltily, the frown that had become so familiar since he'd started dating Lauren making an appearance on his formerly glowing face. I'd missed that smile. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen his real smile. I wanted to convince him to come with us, but I remembered Alice's words from earlier this week and looked into Jasper's reluctant eyes. So I plastered my own fake smile on.
"You should go," I forced the word our like so many times before.
His face fell a bit, but he only nodded. "Yeah sure. I'll see you guys later."
"Tomorrow, right?" Bella asked. "For our movie night?"
"Yeah of course. I'll—" Lauren cleared her throat loudly, causing Jasper to flinch. "—we'll be there." He waved halfheartedly at us as he headed toward Lauren's car.
"What was that about?" Bella asked as I watched Jasper dodge Lauren's slimy lips. I felt an irrational smile spread over my face. Bella shook me. "Edward, what is up with you?" I turned to face her and she looked surprised at my cheery mood.
"I'm sorry," I said with a stupid laugh. "I shouldn't be happy about this but…he's going to break up with her isn't he?"
Bella laughed at the ridiculous expression I could feel on my face. "Well, Alice thinks so," she said. "And I've learned not to bet against her." She looked at me with a grin of her own. We stood in happy silence for a few minutes before Bella looked up at the grey sky. "We should get to my house before it starts raining." She grabbed my hand and started towing me down the street. "So are we going to watch Titanic or Love Actually first?"
I smirked as I pulled out my phone. "Your girlfriend would kill us if we watched Jack and Rose fall in love while she was stuck doing a project with Jessica."
Bella's nose wrinkled. "Don't remind me." I just laughed, causing her to hit my shoulder playfully. "What are you doing?"
"Texting Alice," I replied. "I'm going to prom."
***#%&*** Oh I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you? Standing by, and waiting at your back door Have you ever thought just maybe
I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're about to cry
I know your favorite songs and you tell me about your dreams
I think I know where you belong Think I know it's with me
Been here all along so why can't you see
You belong with me
All this time how could you not know that
You belong with me
You belong with me
You belong with me
You belong with me
Lauren didn't come over the next day. Jasper was the last to arrive and came in alone. I immediately perked up and heard Bella stifle a laugh. Emmett, in his everlasting kindness and finesse, immediately bellowed out the first thing that came to mind.
"Well?" he asked loudly. "Are you free?" Rosalie smacked the back of his head, and Alice tutted at him, but Jasper just grinned. Then he came and ruffled my hair, dodged a punch from a whooping Emmett, and sat down next to me on the couch.
Then next week was crazy. The year was coming to a close, so of course every teacher made a major project due. Alice became so infuriated with Jessica that she stormed out of her house and finished the project by herself. I'd signed up for an English presentation with Jasper a while back and had been putting it off to avoid awkward conversation. That and he always seemed to be busy when he was dating Lauren. But now that they'd broken up he had a lot more free time on his hands, not to mention more laughs to share. That smile I'd missed for so long was making more frequent appearances on his captivating face, and it seemed like a weight had been removed from his shoulders. Everything seemed as if it was back to normal.
Except for one thing. I'd written off the look Jasper had given to me through our windows before as stress and longing to get out of his poisonous relationship. But there were times that we were alone—which was much more often now—that he would look at me with that same intensity, that same yearning, almost desperate expression on his usually bright face. His gaze would linger on my face and what used to seem like accidental touches lasted longer than I remembered. Just as soon as I could start wondering, though, those weird moments would be over, and I'd tell myself that there was nothing to them. I was jut overly optimistic now that Lauren wasn't constantly around.
For her part, Lauren had taken little time to get over her big breakup. The weekend after she and Jasper had broken up, she was seen at a party attacking Tyler Crowley with her tongue. She flaunted her new relationship in front of Jasper every chance she got but never looked directly at him if she could help it. Her hatred for me seemed to have intensified, but whenever I asked why I was ignored.
"Babe," Jasper said—causing my heart to beat ridiculously fast as usual—one day during lunch after I'd had a particularly devastating run in with her, "she only tolerated you before because of me. That was one of the reasons I broke it off with her." Then he winked—actually freaking winked—at me. "Don't worry about her. She's not smart, but she's not dumb enough to actually do something to you while I'm around."
It was things like that, things he said in random bouts of seriousness, which made Alice more persistent than ever in getting me to tell him.
"What do you have to lose?" she insisted one night. "He obviously cares about you!"
"What do I have to lose?" I snorted. "What about my dignity? My pride? My best friend?"
"But think of how much more you have to gain!"
"He's straight, Alice," I said firmly. "There's nothing to gain in pouring your heart out to someone you know will never return your feelings." Alice opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but seemed to think better of it. Instead she sighed, got up, and ruffled my hair before heading out of my room.
"I still think you should tell him," was her parting statement.
It didn't help that everyone else seemed to be on her side. Bella was particularly hard to ignore. Being Alice's girlfriend and my best friend, she was always around and unafraid to air her opinions. Unlike Alice, though, it didn't get annoying every time she repeated herself. It just got harder not to see things her way.
"You never know," she'd say softly. "There's no reason he couldn't feel the same way."
"You should tell him at prom," Rosalie put in. "It'd be so romantic."
"How would me getting my heart broken at prom be romantic?" I shot back.
"Well, when else are you gonna do it?" Emmett piped up. "I know you're going to college together and all, but if you don't do it soon you're gonna wimp out forever! Grow some balls and just do it, dude!" Rosalie and Bella both socked him at that. Bella grabbed my hand and was about to say something, but Jasper came in, effectively ending the conversation.
Now I was getting ready for said prom, my hands sweating more than I could ever remember. I couldn't believe I was even thinking about doing it. But everyone seemed convinced that things wouldn't end as badly as I thought they would. Even my mother was against me by that time. She came into my room when I was fiddling with my tie, beaming and holding her small camera.
"Honey! You look so handsome!" She snapped a picture in spite of my protests, then came up to me and attempted to smooth down my wild hair.
"Mom, you know that won't do any good." I complained, trying to wiggle my way out from under her loving hands.
"Can you blame me for wanting my son to look nice for his future boyfriend?"
"Mom, please, I told you, I'm not even sure I'm going to—"
"Of course you're going to tell him, honey. You're a Cullen, and Cullens never turn down a chance to be in love. Your father taught me that." She moved her hands to smooth the shoulders of my jacket.
"What if I'm different than Dad? Not as strong?" I whispered.
"You're not as different as you think you are, honey," she reassured me. "Now come on, Bella is here and I want pictures of the two of you and Alice."
After what felt like a million pictures, I was seeing spots as Alice, Bella and I headed out the door and to Alice's Porsche. We were meeting the rest of our group at our school's gym, and I was getting more nervous by the second. After a few moments of silence, Alice finally piped up.
"So are you going to do it?"
"Um…yeah, I guess I am," I admitted. She and Bella squealed in excitement, Alice going so far as to start clapping. "Can we not talk about it? I'm nervous enough as it is."
Bella twisted in her seat to put a comforting hand on my knee. She and Alice shared a look before she turned to look at me. "You look really great," she finally said softly.
"Thanks, you too. Both of you."
In no time at all we were pulling into the parking lot of Forks High School, where dozens of girls in long dresses and guys in suits and ties were heading into the gym. I sat frozen in the back seat, just staring out the window. I was pulled out of my head when Bella's hand squeezed my knee.
"It'll be okay either way," she said. "You're not losing anyone tonight."
"Yeah," Alice agreed. "Jazz loves you more than you think."
We got out of the car and headed toward the gym, me following behind numbly. We were standing at the door, waiting in line to head in when we heard a booming voice calling out to us.
"Hey guys!" Emmett bellowed, coming behind me and slapping me on the back. "Sorry we're a little late, but we practically had to drag Jay here out of his house." I looked up at the mention of Jasper and almost stopped breathing. He was right there and looking more beautiful than I ever remembered him being. The lines of his suit hugged him perfectly, and his hair was mussed to perfection. His eyes seemed to warm my body as they gave me a once over, ending at my face with that signature grin on his face.
"Hey, sexy," he said softly, that old southern drawl making its way into his voice. I knew then that it was going to be a long night. I hate it when I'm right sometimes. The whole night I was trying to tell myself it wouldn't be a good idea to push him against a wall and exposing my feelings to the entire senior class. It didn't help that our friends kept giving me looks all night. Alice even jerked her head towards the door a couple times. But every time I thought about telling him, I would always convince myself that it wasn't right. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I was seriously considering giving up altogether when Jasper suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the group.
"Woah, hey, what's—?"
"It's Lauren," he said, gesturing with his free hand towards the middle of the dance floor, where Lauren was hanging on Tyler's arm wearing the lowest cut dress I'd seen in my life. She was looking around, her haughty face and piercing eyes searching the dance floor for her ex boyfriend. The ex boyfriend that was currently pulling me towards the side door of the gym.
"Jazz, hey, we can't just—"
"Why not?" he turned around and smirked at me.
"Because our friends are—"
"Completely occupied with their other halves." I twisted around to see that he was right. Alice and Bella were laughing in each other's arms on the dance floor, and Emmett was pulling Rosalie off to the side, presumably to make out in a dark corner somewhere. I turned back towards Jasper to see him smirking down at me. "See? They won't even notice we're missing," he said.
We reached the door and stepped out into the cool night air, Jasper loosening his grip on my arm and gently trailing his hand down my arm. His fingers grazed my mine momentarily and I felt sparks shoot up my arm, but after a second his hand separated from my own and the moment was over. He walked away from me, taking a deep breath and stretching his arms over his head. Standing there, watching his muscles flex under his jacket and seeing his tan face turned pale under the moonlight, I realized I'd never love anyone else as long as I lived. It didn't matter if he never felt the same way, or if he never spoke to me again after that night. I was done hiding.
"Jasper," I rasped, suddenly having trouble finding my voice. He turned to look at me, and I was taken aback by the look on his face. It was that intense look again, the one that made my abdomen clench and everything in the world narrow down to nothing but him. The look that said so many things that I couldn't even begin to discern. The look that left me completely speechless. I stared at him, and he stared back. I finally realized he was waiting for me to say something, but couldn't get my mouth to work.
So I took out my phone and sent him the message I hadn't been able to send before. I love you.
Jasper looked confused as he took his buzzing phone out of his pocket. When he read the message, his head snapped up. The look in his beautiful blue eyes was enough to render me completely dumbfounded. I watched, entranced, as he slid his phone back into the pocket of his jacket and walked back towards me slowly. Without thinking, I backed up, but Jasper didn't stop his advance. Suddenly I was backed up against the hard brick wall of the gym, the overly-loud music creating a pulsing beat against my back. Jasper lifted his arms and leaned them on either side of my head, effectively trapping me. As if I would go anywhere.
We stood there for an endless moment, staring intensely into each other's eyes. Then, without even realizing either of us had moved, our lips were pressed together, melding together so smoothly it made me want to cry. Everything I'd ever felt for him in the past thirteen years seemed to bubble up to the surface in that moment. My hands moved of their own accord, twisting in his silky hair, pulling him as close to me as possible. His hands moved too, one cupping my cheek and the other moving to the back of my neck.
When my head was spinning and I was weak in the knees, Jasper finally released my lips. His hands held my head firmly in place, however, as he leaned his forehead against mine. His thumb rubbed soft circles into my cheek as our breathing slowly evened out.
"I love you too," he whispered breathlessly.
"Really?" I asked, opening my eyes and staring into his deep blue ones.
"It's you, Edward. It's always been you. Lauren and I fought about you all the time. I can't believer that's what it took to make me realize I've been in love with you longer than I can even remember."
I laughed in euphoria, leaning forward to press my lips to his once more.
"I just belong with you," he said when we separated.
"Yeah, you do," I gave him a smirk. "It's about time you realized it." He just laughed and pulled me into him once more, wrapping me in the only arms I knew I'd ever belong in.
***#%&***
AN: Please review!