Chapter Two: Making Amends
Shortly after Edward's dispatch, Jasper confided in Alice his sorrow for Rosalie and Edward, explaining his discussion with Edward and explaining more about how his gift operates. Alice sat and listened intently, absorbing every ounce of information. As she did so, Jasper found he was becoming distracted by Alice's habitual movements and trailing off his sentence. She was impossible to ignore.
"That's such a remarkable gift," said Alice, once Jasper had finished.
"It can be. Sometimes it feels like an intrusion. When it comes down to it, I am operating over an individual's free will. They no longer have a choice…and that's not always comfortable for me."
Flinching, Jasper veered off the subject.
"I think I should go talk to Rosalie. And Edward – when he gets back."
"Will you use your powers?" queried Alice, a slight frown developing.
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea. They probably wouldn't even consider welcoming me into their family if they knew I were forcing them to feel I was a decent person."
"That's very respectable of you Jasper."
Alice's eyes glowed as she gazed up at the honey-blonde beauty. Smiling sweetly, she pecked him delicately on the cheek, rising up on her tip-toes as she did. Jasper blinked profusely in surprise and gave a sheepish smile, causing Alice to giggle harmoniously. Alice bet that if vampires had blood flowing through their veins, Jasper would be blushing right at this instant.
"When you've finished, I'll be in my room. Okay?" asked Alice.
"Yes, ma'am," replied Jasper, with a sly wink and a military salute.
Jasper laughed haughtily as Alice went to slap him on the arm and dodged her swipe. However, misinterpreting the extent of her powers, he received a blow twice as hard on the other side.
"Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing his arm uncertainly.
Alice only smiled as she strolled toward the door, mystery glinting tantalisingly in her eyes. Shaking his head, Jasper also made for the door in order to search for Rosalie.
He did not have to hunt for long.
Rosalie was stood; leaning against what Jasper could only assume was her bedroom door, avoiding his eye contact. Somewhat uncomfortable, Jasper remained unmoving at the threshold, afraid that any inkling of movement may cause her to take off. Again.
What seemed to be hours passing turned out to only be seconds and throughout, neither attempted to make contact. Eventually, Rosalie gave in, releasing a rush of breath and rolling her eyes.
"You may as well come in," she muttered, still not looking directly at him. She gestured half-heartedly for him to enter the room and Jasper gave a small nod.
To his immense surprise, Rosalie held the door ajar to allow Jasper entry, although, his military training had taught him how to maintain a neutral expression at all times - no matter what was happening – so she was, for the most part, unaware of his internal reaction.
What he initially though would help him relax, seemed to only make things worse as he entered her domain. He found himself utterly intimidated by Rosalie's room and unable to string together coherent sentences. Rosalie obviously had something to say, so Jasper thought he would just let her say it.
"Jasper, I just wanted to apologise for the way I've been acting," she began, twisting her fingers in her hands.
Jasper paused, his eyebrows pulling together; if he had expected Rosalie to say anything, it would not have been that. He waited for her to continue.
Rosalie sat herself on the edge of her sofa, still pulling at her fingers anxiously. As she did so, Jasper caught sight of her perfectly filed nails, glistening proudly, probably fresh from their weekly manicure.
"I know what you must think of me. Poor little rich girl, she must be astonished at the thought that one single guy doesn't act upon to her every whim – but Jasper, I just wanted to let you know that this isn't why I'm being so difficult. It's just-"
She broke off suddenly and Jasper gazed at her curiously from the centre of the room.
"It's just it is so damn hard to look at you. I mean, not you personally, but you and Alice – to be around you – it hurts so much. Oh, that sounds so wrong compared to what I'm trying to say.
The thing is, I'm…jealous. Not because I want you to be like that towards me! But because I just wish that I had what you two have. Is this making any sense at all?"
Rosalie caught his eyes with hers for the first time since he had met her and he was blown away. The colour of them was so pure – untainted molten gold, shimmering in the artificial light extending beyond the lamp neighbouring her. But what shocked Jasper even more was the unshielded emotion they emitted, it burned straight through his eyes, forcing him to empathise with her even more than he already was.
Why was she being so open with him? She didn't even know him and she was pouring out her heart and soul in his presence. Jasper wondered if it was because it was she had never had anyone to confer with about it before now. His theory would have made sense if Edward wasn't dying to talk about exactly the same issue.
"I don't know why I'm telling you this," Rosalie muttered, answering his unasked question. She laughed and Jasper, detecting a hint of hysteria, concentrated every fibre of his being on controlling his urge to comfort her with his power. "I guess, for some reason unknown to me, I know I can trust you - with anything. I don't quite understand it, but I know it's true."
"I'm glad you feel that way, ma'am," Jasper nodded, heartened at her words.
"Please, call me Rosalie – or Rose, if you like – we're going to be twins after all!"
"I'm sorry?"
There was an instant in which Jasper was beginning to question her sanity.
"Its part of our whole charade. When we move again you'll be my twin brother – oh, and you'll have to leave Whitlock behind when we're out in public; you're a Hale now," she stated smugly, a smirk inching its way to the corners of her mouth.
"That's going to take some getting used to," laughed Jasper, relaxing enormously.
"Yeah, it does at first. We've all slipped at some point or another."
"I'll bet."
Abruptly, Jasper seized up once more, recalling the reason that made Rosalie invite him in and his expression fell.
"Rosalie," he initiated "I understand exactly what you're going through."
As she realised what Jasper was referring to, Rosalie tensed in the same way as Jasper, constructing a double fist either side of her.
"I didn't think I'd ever find somebody like Alice, but one day, when you're least expecting it, there they are, just shining away, like everything about them is singing out for you and you alone. Don't loose faith – there's someone out there waiting for you. The perfect one. You'll see."
Before he was ready for it, Rosalie was crushing him to her chest, squeezing the very life out of him. Her eyes were screwed shut as she muttered her gratitude.
"Thank you, thank you Jasper Hale."
Awkwardly, Jasper patted Rosalie on the back, unsure of what to do, nonetheless, he held her.
"It's no problem, Ma – erm, Rose."
Rosalie laughed sharply and it rung around the room like a wind-chime. Jasper was mystified at the fact that she was without a husband or boyfriend – she was so perfect, it almost hurt to even think about it. He began to doubt that others would believe that they were twins and that maybe he should warn Carlisle about it. How could they expect him to live up to such perfection?
After saying his goodbyes to his newly adopted sister, Jasper wondered around the house, exploring its depths and hidden rooms. He stumbled across one, which, from the looks of things, seemed to be Carlisle's office. There was one aspect that intrigued him and that was an angelic picture of Carlisle with three other figures, each as strikingly beautiful as the next, causing Jasper to ponder upon exactly how old Carlisle was.
Whilst exploring the level above, he came across the bedrooms and found that it took no more than opening the door to comprehend as to whom the room belonged to. Edward … Esme and Carlisle … he came to the final door. If Rosalie's room resided downstairs, then this must be…
"Alice!"
"Hey, you!" She bounded over to his side "I'm so glad you and Rose patched things up. The things you said - they were so moving - you're such a gentleman! We don't deserve you, you know."
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm the one that doesn't deserve all of you, you've just accepted me as a part of your family – no questions asked. I've never known such good people."
"Please, Jasper, we weren't going to leave you abandoned in the street. I wouldn't let that happen – we wouldn't let that happen."
Alice threw herself onto her sofa. She even did that gracefully; there was no end to her magnificence. Jasper sat down beside her, weaving his fingers through hers, while tracing endless patterns on the supple skin of her ashen hands. He became fascinated by the way the light from the window was thrown from the glinting of her skin. The smallest movement would cause her to shimmer. Jasper acknowledged that his was doing the same thing, but it was irrelevant, because his would never be as mesmerising as Alice's.
"I know so little about you," Jasper began, playing with a strand of her hair.
Alice sighed heavily, her eyes lowering.
"You're not the only one. I can't remember how I was changed, or anything before that. It's such a huge void in my life that I've never been able to fill before. This is going to sound really bad, but, now you're here, that hole doesn't feel so big and torn anymore. It's like you're holding me together."
She grimaced and Jasper laughed at her silliness, pulling her gentle frame towards his leaner one. Alice obliged and laid her head in the crook of his arm, admiring at how easily they fit together – like puzzle pieces. Her breath caught as she spread her hand over his stomach, noticing how, even through his clothing, she could feel the hard muscles which were situated underneath.
Slowly, Alice shifted the irritating material upward, allowing her eyes to feast upon his extremely well-toned abdomen. She marvelled at him as she ran her hands down his torso, unconsciously memorising every dip and curve that they provided.
Jasper was hypnotised to the point of paralysis. He closed his eyes as ripples of pleasure were sent rushing through his body every time she touched him. Her skin was unnaturally soft, defying the idea that all vampires possessed granite-like skin. It was almost as soft as her flower-petal lips, which ran kisses over every inch of his stomach. Each kiss was like a kiss sent from heaven and he felt set apart to have experienced every one of them.
Reluctantly, Jasper drew Alice away from showering him with kisses and pulled her lips to his, placing his hands gently on her neck and face. He traced its outline, learning its features and their feel. Alice's kisses were shy at first, lightly skimming against his mouth, teasing him, but then she grew more urgent, carefully tasting his lips, astonished at the sweetness of them, but at the same time detecting a hint of deliciously enticing spice.
Jasper was amazed at her boldness; his thoughts trailing along the lines of 'good things come in small packages'. Eventually, he leant back, his eyes sweeping over every inch of her face. Everything about her was a wonder to him and he refused to let himself forget the way she was, for Jasper was suspicious of the thought that someone like Alice would want to be with someone of his rankings for more than a few days.
"How can you want me?" he wondered, shaking his head in disbelief.
"What are you talking about?"
"You. Us. Why would you want this when there are so many more men out there? Men better than me."
Jasper sat forward, elbows resting on his knees, his face in his hands.
"Why are you being so ridiculous? There's no-one apart from you. Don't you understand? To me, you are the only man in the whole world and I wouldn't want it any other way."
Sighing heavily, Alice knelt down in front of her love when he did not break his restrained stance.
"I can't put it anymore clearly. I. Don't. Want. Anyone. But. You. You are my everything, Jasper."
She stroked his face and hair lovingly, chuckling at the absurdity of his behaviour.
As he re-emerged from the shelter of his hands, his eyes bore into hers, searching for any reason to doubt her words. There were none. And when he immersed within her emotions, there was nothing but pure love and adoration.
Grabbing her hand, Jasper tugged her into a vice-like grip – not unlike the one which Rosalie had locked on him earlier in the day – and held her as if there was no tomorrow.
It ran through Alice's mind that it was a good thing that vampires did not have to breathe, because she probably wouldn't have been able to breathe if they did. She laughed in content as Jasper set her down to the floor, scratching the back of his head, embarrassed at his momentary lapse in concentration.
"You are so adorable," Alice smouldered, seizing his hand in hers.
She tittered again as Jasper's face screwed up magnificently; through she privately noted how even in a mood he was preposterously handsome.
"You don't fancy the idea of being adorable?"
"Not so much."
"How about incredibly attractive? No that won't do…maybe, ludicrously good-looking? Yes, I like the sound of that. It has a ring to it," she declared complacently.
"Does it?" pondered Jasper, playfully "I'm flattered, truly."
He smirked, observing the flush of disappointment triumph over her features.
"I'm joking, Alice!" he expressed, holding his hands up in submission. She took a swing at his arm, but this was neatly dodged. This time, Jasper was one step ahead of her. She could feel his breath on her neck. For an instant, Alice felt human again and trembled pleasurably as Jasper kissed up and down her neckline. He made her feel warm, though she knew that was not possible. Just goes to show the strength of the mind, Alice mused, letting her eyes fall to a close.
"You are utterly wonderful, do you know that?" Jasper reflected, spinning her around to face him. They executed their twirl so elegantly, they could have been performing a professionally choreographed ballet and no-one would have known the difference.
They almost didn't notice the tiny knock-knock at Alice's bedroom door.
"Come in," Alice said hoarsely, still staring into Jasper's eyes.
Cautiously, Edward nudged his head around the side of the door, knowing the private state that the two of them were in.
"I was wondering if I could speak to Jasper alone for a moment," he queried, his eyes remaining focused on the cream carpet.
"Of course," she replied, skipping over to her brother, placing a small kiss on his icy cheek. Jasper's eyes lit up in hope that she had seen what Edward was here to discuss with him.
When Alice had left, he and Edward remained, situated awkwardly in the centre of her room. They both began to speak at the same time:
"I-"
They laughed at the tension, effectively breaking it and making eye contact.
"You go first," Jasper said.
"Ok. Well, I just wanted to apologise for being such an idiot back there. I'm really sorry about that, I just snapped."
"It's ok, I completely understand, I know what you're going through – but we don't have to discuss it. I know you're not comfortable with it, so I was going to propose that we go running together, instead."
Awe-struck, Edward gaped at Jasper and then realised.
"You know, I was just about to comment on how amazingly accurate your interpretation of my feelings was and then I remembered."
"Yeah, it happens," chuckled Jasper.
"But I think that would be good, brotherly bonding and all that business. So when do you want to go?"
"Now is good."
"Wouldn't you like to spend some more time with Alice first?" Edward queried.
"This is important to her. I know she'd appreciate this."
"Yes, I agree. Well, Alice already knows that we're going and she's probably told the others, so do want to just head out?"
"Sure, if you want to call me beating you there heading out?" smirked Jasper.
"Feeling a little confident aren't we?"
"I have reason to," joked Jasper, inching toward the bedroom door.
"We'll see."
No sooner than Edward had finished speaking the words, the two of them were tearing through the hallway, flying down the stairs and out the back door.
Jasper was faster than Edward had originally anticipated; he wasn't even concentrating when he zipped past him, throwing another smirk in his direction.
"Too slow!" Jasper laughed confidently.
In the next instant, Edward was ten feet ahead and still accelerating.
"Too proud!" he shouted back, his voice carried by the wind to Jasper.
They teased and raced together, ripping through the forest and leaping impressively to increase the ground covered by each of them. Mostly, Edward remained in the lead much to Jasper's displeasure, though he displayed slightly more inspiring jumps. In no time at all, they were bounding through the heart of the forest where footpaths and trails were non-existent, but, to them, this only made things more interesting.
Edward was just about to spin around to deliver another witty observation when he suddenly slammed into a wall of odour floating ominously in the atmosphere. He slowed dramatically, Jasper with him.
"Do you smell that?" said Edward, raising his head to smell the denser areas.
"Yeah…the scent is of our kind, but it's definitely not one of our-"
A sharp rustling in the bushes behind them caught their attention, but they relaxed somewhat as they recognized it was only an animal.
"Maybe we should go," Jasper suggested, not wanting to cause trouble for Carlisle by drawing in a horde of ravenous vampires to their tiny town.
"Yes. This will probably produce more trouble than its worth if we remain behind." Edward noted, turning to leave, but before they had the chance to move out, he felt the production of faint thought patterns in the distance. Jasper too felt a rush of emotion – curiosity – emitting from the thick of the bushes and thought better of running now; they did not seem to be dangerous.
"You're probably right," agreed Edward, sitting himself on a sturdy rock before Jasper "they have picked up our scent as well. We might as well introduce ourselves. Do you detect any hint of malevolence?"
"No, they're just inquisitive."
The visitors came ever closer and they were almost at their clearing when they unexpectedly stopped. Jasper sensed their anxiety and Edward flinched involuntarily, jumping up from his make-shift chair.
"There's a male and a female. The male is different – he can sense things, the powers that others possess and the loopholes of how to work around that particular ability. He already knows what we can do - it is disconcerting."
Gradually, the two vampires walked into the clearing, eyeing Edward and Jasper wearily. The male was of a high build, his frame lean and muscular, like Jasper's. His deep brown hair was short and spiky, some partly covering his forehead and a little fraying just slightly over his ears. His jeans were too tight, they were ripped in places where he had flexed a little too much and his torso was bare. The male stood next to the female, his fingers laced through hers.
Her appearance was overly much younger-looking than her companion's, though only by a margin of a few years. She had cropped strawberry blonde hair which curled just above her shoulders and flicked out in numerous directions, framing her face favourably. She was quite a bit shorter than her cohort, but by no means small in general.
Both pairs of eyes burned an intense red.
"My name is Edward and this is my brother, Jasper."
Jasper's breath caught momentarily at how easily Edward seemed to say the words. He really thought of him as a brother.
"Hello Edward and Jasper," begun the male, his stance still tight "my name is Theo and this is my baby sister, Anna."
"Welcome, both of you. What brings you to our neck of the woods, if you'll excuse the terrible pun?"
Jasper felt the atmosphere shifting amiably as Theo and Anna laughed lightly at Edward's remark.
"We were passing through your town when we caught your scents and the others' in your coven,"
Worry exploded from Edward and his expression dropped as Theo continued. What had he heard?
"We became captivated by the idea that so many of our kind could exist together in such harmony."
Jasper smiled warmly – a perfect poker face – and stepped forward.
"Edward and I are glad you did so. Tell me, as I am curious, where are you from?"
"Well, we're not exactly sure," Anna chimed in, a little embarrassed "We remember little from the times before we were turned, apart from our being brother and sister, so we just disappeared together, travelling the world."
"Interesting,"
"How many are you?" Theo questioned, suddenly, his sister's scarlet eyes flashing dangerously, cautioning him.
"Five," replied Edward, his eyes tight.
"Could we perhaps be acquainted with the others?"
"Theodore!" Anna warned, recognising instantly the boundary her brother had crossed "That's hardly polite; we've barely learnt each others' names."
After shaking his head as though to clear it, Theo voiced his apologies.
"Forgive me. That was unwarranted."
Edward stole a glance at Jasper, his face seemingly calm and smooth.
We can't not invite them back now, they would only follow us the instant we leave, Jasper thought, hoping that Edward was listening in.
"Do not apologise, you are welcome to visit our home. Please, follow alongside us," Edward said, graciously.
Jasper understood this to be a signal of comprehension.
When we get home, we have to find a way to get them talking to Alice, Rosalie, Esme and Carlisle; you can tell me what's going on then, Jasper thought trying to project his message thoroughly.
Inconspicuously, Edward eyes flickered to Jasper's in response and they all made their way out of the clearing, toward the Cullen household.
As the four of them flew through the forest, Jasper allowed the concern to set in, his face blank as he made his way home. What was Theo thinking that had caused Edward to worry so much? There was no way they could avoid a conflict now, they knew their scents and, more importantly, they knew Alice's. Okay, think this through, Jasper thought to himself, we'll get home, introduce the rest of them and get out. Quick and simple. No messing around.
Edward flinched inwardly as Jasper allowed himself to panic. Maybe Carlisle could think of something more effective when they arrived, but weaving their plans throughout the family was going to be difficult without accidentally setting off Anna and Theo. Alice would already know and would warn the others, which would help in the least part, so at any rate they were prepared.
When they reached the glade in which their home resided, they slowed to a walking pace, entering through the rear foyer. Alice and the rest of the family were gathered in the centre of the living room, similar to when Jasper had been received not long ago. So much had taken place since then. Jasper winced, wishing he and Edward had never left the house.
As Theo laid eyes on Alice, his face lit up and it finally dawned on Jasper.
It was Alice. Theo wanted Alice.