Next Chapter;

Nothing really to say here. I clearly don't own Twilight. Thank God.

Please review, and enjoy!

Harriet stumbled back a little, leaning back on the table.

She didn't even think to deny it as she stared at the stranger in front of her.

"How did you..?" She fell short of words, her mouth dry. She was careless with her ability, she knew that , but whenever she got riled up, whenever she got angry, she couldn't control it. Those words that Jessica had said seriously struck a cord. They brought back awful memories.

"I don't know. But when you did what you did, I wasn't frozen along with the rest of them." Jasper gave a shrug as he spoke, shoving his hands into his pockets and forcing himself to stand still. He had suddenly felt a weird twang of misery go through her, and felt the need to comfort her. To hold her. But he knew that'd just creep her out, so he kept his distance.

She swallowed and licked her lips, watching him carefully. She took him in. His hair hung in soft curls, and his golden eyes seemed to pierce through her own. His body was lean but muscular, maybe like a runner, and he stood quite tall. His arms were hidden by a long sleeved black shirt, but we're obviously toned. The same could be said for his legs, which were hiding behind dark denim jeans. He seemed to have cowboy-ish boots on under the jeans, which made her smile. She briefly wondered if she had heard a slight southern accent in his voice.

Noticing that she wasn't going to say anything in response, Jasper spoke up again.

"Maybe you could do it again," He proposed steadily, watching her. "I can show you that I can still move and watch you."

Harriet sighed and sat down on the table, looking up at him over the tops of her glasses. Her eyes were so bad that everything was blurred terribly by doing so, but it was out of habit from when she much younger.

"If you're bullshitting me, I will bury you." She threatened. Jasper resisted the urge to chuckle and nodded for her to continue.

Harriet's fists clenched again by her sides as she felt the air around her spark. It sent pain travelling down her spine, but she had learnt to not react. Moving during the Time Pause could cause serious injuries to her.

Jasper stiffened as the air sizzled around them, again feeling almost electrified. After a moment of watching Harriet sit rigid, he relaxed as she breathed out and wiggled her fingers.

"See?" He hadn't realized it before, but everything seemed to send weird now. Dragged out. Slowler. Almost like being underwater. He stepped forward slowly, walking until he was directly in front of her.

Harriet studied him. "So you're completely unaffected..."

"Seems that way darlin'.''

She stopped a grin from spreading across her face. He was definitely southern.

"I guess I have to stop randomly pausing time for days, then..." She joked, making him smile.

"Well at least I'll know who to look for when everything around me stops." Jasper said, trying to sound menacing.

"Oh yeah, you'll be forced to hang out with me!" Harriet said, laughing as she stood. Jasper stopped himself from taking a step backward. Her scent was intoxicating - a peculiar mixture of Lime and Bluebells - but he felt that if he did step away, she would loose any interest in him she had. He had seen the affect resisting your mate can have on people, and Jasper liked to think he knew better.

"I don't think I'd have to be forced..." He said quietly, looking down into her blue eyes.

They stayed like that for a minuet, staring at each other, her expression curious and his endearing, as he listened to her heartbeat.

"... Time is still paused." She said finally, cutting through the silence.

"So it is." He murmured, coming out of his daze. Her emotions showed nothing was wrong. He was glad he hadn't made her uncomfortable.

"Sometimes I think I could just stay like this forever." She said thoughtfully, moving her gave from him to a bird that was hovering in the air above her.

"Wouldn't you miss conversation?" Jasper asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Well, considering this is the longest conversation I've ever had with another student, I probably miss it too much." She looked back at him again as she spoke, smiling.

"I do hope I'm not boring you, then." He said, and she moved for the door leading inside.

She reached and grasped the door handle, looking at him over her shoulder. "I don't think you'll ever bore me, Jasper Hale. You're much too interesting." Harriet paused for a moment, and suddenly the air was much less wired. Above, the bird continued it's flight, and sounds from the cafeteria filled his ears. "You better get to class. The bell should be going in any minuet."

The bell went as she pulled open the door, and with that she was gone.

Jasper jogged up to Harriet as she left her English classroom, a grin in place. He had discussed the... recent events with his family. He had explained about her pausing time, and described what he felt when he first laid eyes on her. All of his family told him that that was the same thing they had felt when stumbling across each other; Alice and Edward, Rosalie and Emmett. They encouraged him, but were wary about the possibilities.

"Managed to get through the day without meddling with the time continuum, then?" He joked, coming up behind her.

She jumped and turned to look at him, laughing. "Jesus, you nearly gave me a heart attack! And shut up, I don't meddle that much."

"And yet, I know that's a lie." She playfully hit his shoulder, and he winced when she cursed under breath.

"Jesus, are you made of steel or something?"

"No, I just work out a lot." Jasper lied quickly, moving to open his locker as they reached it. She leant on the one next to it, flicking her hair over her shoulder. He glanced at her briefly, making sure to burn that lovely image into his memory. "So, you doing much tonight?" Jasper tried to ask casually.

"Probably not. Got some homework to do, but I'm a massive procrastinator and will probably do it in homeroom." She paused, narrowing her eyes. "Why?"

"Well I'm curious about your," He quietened his voice, "Ability. And wondered if you wanted to hang out and talk about it?'

Harriet looked sceptical for a moment, but eventually shrugged and nodded. "Sure. But I don't drive, so if you wanna hang out at my house we'll have to walk."

"Not a problem." Jasper grinned at her quickly, before slamming his locker closed. They walked side-by-side down the corridor. "Don't you need to stop at your locker?" He asked as they reached the doors. A few students stared at them curiously.

"Nah, I get all of my stuff in between the last two periods. Then I can get out of here quicker."

He noticed his siblings openly gawking at the two of them as they left the building. While she wasn't looking, he pointed at her with a huge grin on his face and shook his fists in a mime of victory. Emmett began laughing and Edward rolled his eyes, whilst the girls quickly lost interest and started focussing on something else.

Jasper heard his more serious brothers voice just as he left the school gates, and swallowed hard.

"Be careful, you know what could happen."

Not sure if I should move them into a relationship quickly or not.. Hmmm...

Doth thee haveth the time to spare a review?

- The Curious.