Jasper thought about the day he first met Alice.
He walked through the crowded streets of Philadelphia, holding his breath. He'd given up drinking humans' blood a while ago, and he was very thirsty. His eyes were black. He could still hear their veins, pumping their blood; he could still hear their hearts beating. The sky opened, bringing drizzling rain upon Jasper and the people around him. He lifted his head to the gray sky, and actually smiled. He liked the rain; it kind of helped him clear his head, and he needed that now. But people would think it was strange for someone to be outside in the rain, unless they had an umbrella, but he didn't have one. He looked to his right and saw Shelly's Diner, a small diner. He ducked in without thinking.
He shook his damp curls, looking around the diner. Not many people; that was good. It was warm and slightly soothing him. He needed that. As he looked around he noticed people sitting in booths, or at tables. They drank coffee; ate breakfast sandwiches; talked. He felt their emotions. Some were projecting happiness, tranquility, and peace. It was calming Jasper down even more.
His eyes found a petite young lady, sitting on one of the blue and silver bar stools. She was facing him, and he could feel her emotions. There was curiosity, acceptance, surprise, confidence, and happiness. A lot of happiness. And another emotion that he couldn't decipher. He could tell she was a vampire; no beating heart, no scent of blood, inhuman beauty, and pale marble skin.
The girl was short, with fairy-like features. She had full red lips, arched eyebrows, a small button nose, and big golden eyes. Probably the most beautiful vampire he'd ever seen. Her short, dark hair fit her short stature perfectly. She walked, no, danced, gracefully over to him.
"You've kept me waiting long enough," the girl chimed in her tinkling bell-like voice.
He ducked his head like the Southern gentleman he was, and said, "I'm sorry, ma'am."
She offered him her hand, and he took it without hesitation, and they walked out of the diner hand in hand.
"Jasper!" Alice was saying. Jasper looked at her and said, "What?"
"You zoned out for a little bit," she said, smiling.
"Sorry." He smiled sheepishly.
"Nothing to apologize for," she said.
Jasper smiled even wider, making Alice smile.
"Let's hunt," she said. It's been about a week and a half since they'd last hunted, and their eyes were darkening.
Jasper and Alice walked to the elevators, and Alice pressed the button for the Lobby. They were staying in the hotel Alice had been staying at while she searched for Jasper. When they first arrived there, Jasper thought he wouldn't be able to control his thirst, but Alice knew he could, and she'd insisted that he stay with her. He couldn't deny her.
Whenever Alice was around Jasper, she noticed a difference in him. When she'd first met him, his stance was defensive. In the visions she'd had of him before they'd met, he was always on edge, or frowning. But now, he was more relaxed, and smiled much more than he frowned.
She wondered if he loved her. She knew that she loved him, and he made her feel whole, even loved. It was a great feeling, and she hoped they shared that feeling.
They left the hotel. It was night out, so there weren't many people around, and when they were far enough away that no one would see them, Alice said, "Race ya," and smirked.
"Oh, you're on!" Jasper said enthusiastically, mimicking her smirk.
Within a second, they were running toward the forest, keeping pace with one another. They knew they were supposed to be racing, but they just wanted to be near each other. Then, Jasper got ahead of her at the last second.
"Jasper!" she yelled, pouting.
"You said we should race, so we did. I just happened to win."
She stomped her foot, and Jasper tried to hide his amusement. Did she seriously just stomp her foot? he thought.
"Well, you could have let me win! And I thought you were a Southern gentleman. . ." she said teasingly.
"Sorry, ma'am," he answered, bowing his head.
"It's okay," she said smiling.
By this time, they had made it to the forest.
The forest was pretty big. There were many trees, like maples, oaks, chestnuts, beeches, elms, pines, firs, cedars, olive, holly, tea, and eucalyptus. Some leaves hung down, creating a canopy around them. The bushes had flowers on them. Edible berries dotted them, all in pretty colors. The tree trunks were covered with moss, and dew dripped down from the leaves of the trees, onto Alice and Jasper. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the trees, making their skin sparkle, and some of the leaves appear lighter than they were. A waterfall divided the forest into two, its water a foamy blue. Since it was summer, everything was green, the woodland animals had babies, and the whole forest was awake and busy all day and night. There were moss-covered rocks in the water, in various sizes, and Alice liked to hop on them, like they were lily pads, and she was a frog.
They split up, Alice taking the left, and Jasper claiming the right. Alice found a small black bear and drained its blood. Jasper was chasing a mountain lion, laughing. He was just teasing it. He caught it, and bit down on its neck, abating its blood. Alice watched him, mesmerized. He was getting better with his new diet, but it just wasn't as satisfying as human blood was. But he was better, much better.
"Couldn't feel a thing," he said happily.
Alice smiled. He did this every time they hunted, because he was happy that he could no longer feel the pain humans felt as he killed them, because he now fed off animals. They looked each other over, and as usual, their appearances were still perfect.
Then, they both heard something. It was a tiny noise. Like a groan. But it was so small, and they could tell it didn't belong to a human.
They ran to the source of the sound. And there it was.
A fawn, lying hidden in the grass. It was about two feet long, and one and a half feet tall. It had dark brown colored fur, and it was covered with white spots. It had large, perked ears, and a little black nose. Alice thought it was adorable.
They stood there watching it for a little while. It just sat there, and fell asleep. It was so cute!
Jasper looked at Alice, studying her. She was beautiful, and fun, understanding, compassionate, loving, cheerful, and he loved her. He turned back to the fawn before she could notice him staring at her.
A few minutes of silence passed. They glanced at each other sometimes, hoping the other wasn't looking.
Jasper got tired of watching the fawn sleep. He eyed Alice again. Her silhouette was outlined in the moonlight, making her even more beautiful to Jasper.
"I love you," Jasper blurted out.
"What'd you say?" Alice asked him, excited and confused at the same time. He'd said it! she thought.
"Nothing," Jasper mumbled, dropping his gaze to the ground. Alice was in front of him in a flash, tilting his chin up with her index finger.
Jasper still refused to look at her. He looked all around the forest, even at the fawn, who was now awake and watching them curiously.
"Look at me, Jasper."
He sighed and looked at her. "What?" he asked.
"What did you say?" she demanded.
"I said 'what?'" he said.
"No, before that."
"Before that I said 'nothing'." A small smirk was playing at his lips.
"Even before that."
"I said 'couldn't feel a thing'."
Alice was becoming impatient now. She knew what he'd said, and he knew that. She just wanted him to say it again.
"Please tell me." She pouted, and Jasper tried to look away to resist giving in to her. But she held his face with her tiny fingers, forcing him to look at her. He could feel himself breaking down. Again, he tried to resist. However, the girl was hypnotizing.
"Fine."
Five minutes passed, and he still hadn't said anything. "Jasper," Alice whined.
"Alright, alright," he said grudgingly. "I said I love you."
She just thought for a little bit. Obviously he meant it, especially if he was so reluctant to admit it. She loved him too, but how was she supposed to tell him that. Just blurt it out like he did? She decided what to do.
She wrapped him in a hug, and it wasn't at all awkward, despite the difference in their heights.
Finally, she said, "I love you too."