AN: This is completely unedited and up for adoption, theres a complete story line if any one wants it, I just had to get the first chapter out there because I really wanted to see a story where Jasper's dom side got to come out and Bella got to gradually accept it...plus I just think Professor Whitlock is hot...lol
I thought I would never see the Cullens again. I didn't want to ever see them again. After that night in the woods, when the ego of a seventeen year old girl was crushed by an emotionally challenged vampire- stuck in the teenage years of his life- I couldn't even think about the perfect Cullens without being disgusted. They were everything I had come to hate in life, by the time I was nineteen I had accepted a scholarship to Princeton (my essay on how the local history of our native tribe had influenced me to start keeping records and create a book on the topic really caught the eye of the history department) and everything in my life had changed. I was no longer shy and blank Bella, I was Bella who took the summer after high school to travel across the country and experience everything she would of seen as a vampire. I had been to California and learned to surf, despite my persistent klutziness on land, I found I had decent balance on the waves. I was far from able to do any of the stunning tricks some of the guys I hung with that month could, but I was confident in my ability. I spent time with my mother down in Florida, experienced St. Augustine and went on a canoe ride through the Everglades. I even made it to New York, by that point I was pretty broke, and school time was nearing , so I didn't get to do much- but I did wander through the Met and Central Park. I graced Times Square with my presence and got to see my face on the Megatron. All of those experiences made me as imperfect as could be and I loved it. Sometimes I slid some surf lingo into a conversation, or I prattled on about how necessary the Everglades was to ecosystems all across the globe. I was proud of my craziness and the fact that I was everything Edward would of hated.
After my first year at Princeton I was even more corrupted. I could find myself arguing for hours about a variety of topics, I was most definitely not the accepting little girl who let a manipulative vampire control her life. I took everything I was told with a grain of salt and researched relentlessly, to the point where I was certain I knew way too much for my own good. Fortunately there were plenty of people just like me in the history and general ed classes I was required to take. My two best friends both insisted in arguing with me after class was over one day and our obnoxious rants got us noticed by the debate team captain. Together we had signed up on the spot. Now I was moving in with Sarah and Christian, and I had a date with said debate team captain, Luke, tomorrow night.
As I unpacked the last box and thought about all of the things that had lead to this point I reaffirmed it in my head, yes I was glad the Cullens were gone because I would of never met Sarah, who was way more of a best friend than Alice ever was. Sarah was blond and beautiful and like girls way more than boys. She loved all of the classic books I did and we'd get into arguments over Heathcliff or Mr. Rochester. She was exuberant and outgoing and her looks got us invited to many parties. I shared a room with her in the house now and our styles clashed so violently that it was quite hilarious. She had grown up in New Mexico and loved desert colors so her side of the room was painted with one wall adobe and the other the dark green of a cactus, meanwhile I was still in love with the grey and green of Washington and painted my two walls the slate grayish blue of the water off the coast. Her furniture was all white and pink and mine was wrought iron but some how the huge bookshelf we managed to cram between the two beds and the large desk sort of made the whole room look like it belonged, because everywhere you looked there was books. On the desk, over flowing from the book shelf, on the beds, under the beds, and the box I had just unpacked, one from home containing all of my favorites, took a spot of priority on a shelf I had installed above my bed.
Grinning at my accomplishment, I glanced down at the clock and froze, I had a half hour before my first Civil War History class of the new year. I had gotten way too caught up in thinking about eh mess Sarah and I had made in such a short time. I quickly through my hair in a pony tail and glanced around looking for the textbook for the course. I finally spotted it on top of a laundry basket and dove for it. I slipped on my flip flops and darted through the house, throwing a quick good bye to Christian who was buried in his own boxes of video games in the living room, before grabbing my keys and darting out of the apartment.
I had used the money I'd saved up for buying a car before coming to live with Charlie to do just that, I bought a cheap Camry. It ran and that was all I needed. As I headed toward campus I sang along to Right Round and bounced in my seat, thankful for the distraction from the ticking clock. Thankfully I found a parking spot and made it into a seat with a few minutes to spare, thanking whatever god was up there that Christian had used a little bit of his family's money to pull strings and gets us an apartment extremely close to campus.
"Welcome to The History of the Civil War One or as my grandfather would proudly call it Northern Aggression." The melodic yet gruff voice that echoed around the lecture hall had my eyes snapping up from the cover of the textbook. The author was to be our teacher and it appeared Jasper Whitlock was one in the same as Jasper Hale, because standing in front of a classroom of college students was none other than the most mysterious of the Cullens. I cursed under my breath for jinxing it. I shouldn't have been thinking about the vampires earlier today and this wouldn't of happened.
I guess the "Fuck." I muttered under my breath was easily audible to Mr. Whitlock's sensitive hearing because his head snapped up and his golden eyes met mine. He looked different than I remembered him. No longer was he wearing the sweater vests and loafers Alice deemed acceptable. His hair wasn't perfectly trimmed either. He wore a white button down shirt un-tucked over dark, worn denim jeans and a pair of cowboy boots. His curly, golden hair hung in his eyes. His shock mirrored my own.
After a second he nodded to me respectfully and I nodded back, feeling like it was Wolverine meeting the Incredible Hulk for a moment. He proceeded to greet the class and I enjoyed the smooth, southern twang that leaked into his voice. It appeared Mr. Whitlock was a very different person than Jasper Hale. I wondered how he was controlling his thirst, I wondered what he knew about the civil war. Had he been alive then? Was he in the war? What side had Jasper been on? Halfway through the class I realized he was telling the story of Jasper Whitlock, his great-great grandfather who had been the youngest major in the Confederate army. I listened intently because I recognized that it wasn't the story of an ancestor we were hearing.
When time was up he had assigned us the first chapter to start reading and announced that there would be a class discussion on what triggered the civil war next class. I quickly gathered my things with the intent to dart out of there and avoid confrontation. My urge to argue everything out would probably get me in serious trouble if I didn't watch it. Jasper had the aura of someone who was used to being in charge and listened to drifting around him like a shield. But, just as I had made it to the door his voice rang out.
"Isabella Swan, please stay after class." I glanced behind my back and he was collecting papers off his desk. I quickly turned around and sat down in a seat near the door. He continued to organize his things until every student had left and then for a few minutes afterwards. I sat there fidgeting and uncomfortable, hating that he had the power to make me feel so nervous. Finally he walked around the desk and leaned against it, folding his arms he spoke. "Well this is certainly a surprise."
Not knowing whether to treat him like my college professor or someone I had once considered to be a brother I went for simple responses. "Yeah, it is."
His eyes met mine again, that gold causing my heat to speed up just a little. "How have you been Isabella?"
As shocked as I was by the question I managed to quickly formulate a response. "Good actually. Really good." I forced a small smile on to my face despite the awkwardness of the situation.
"And Charlie? How is he doing?" His concern was so weird but I figured going with it would be the best plan.
"Charlie is great, still going strong. He's considering retiring soon though- wants to spend more time fishing and with Ms. Clearwater." Fortunately I didn't have to force a smile when thinking about my dad and his new love interest.
A small grin danced on his lips and it took me a second to realize that the speeding up of my heart was because I found it sexy, not terrifying. What was wrong with me?
His grin faded. "Listen Isabella, I'm certain you will do well in this class and I look forward to teaching you. Let's try to keep this relationship as professional as possible. If you have any questions regarding the family I will gladly answer them, but I think it's best if we keep our interactions limited to that and questions about the civil war. Understood?" His commanding tone caught me off guard and the rise heat in my cheeks was even worse.
"Yes sir." I responded quickly before snatching my bag and turning to leave.
"Did I say you could go?"
I whipped back around and he was staring at me with an intense look that really wasn't good for my libido. "No sir." I responded, timid for the first time in a long time.
"This is my classroom Isabella and I expect to be treated with respect." He announced. "I will tell you when you are excused from now on understood?"
I nodded my head.
The gold in his eyes darkened. "I asked if I was understood."
"Yes sir." I answered quickly. My hands were shaking where they gripped my bag and my heart was thundering in my chest.
He look back down at his desk and picked up his book, flipping through the pages until he found what he was looking for. "Chapter 18 talks about chain of command in the armies and punishments for not following orders, why don't you write me an essay on it?" His eyes met mine again, if he kept doing that I was going to melt.
"Yes sir." I squeaked part of me was extremely ticked off that I had extra work but the rest of me was ready to agree to anything and escape that classroom.
"Three pages. Twelve point font. Times New Roman."
"Yes sir."
"You are excused Ms. Swan."
I sprinted from there.