"Nice buzz, little brother," I commented, as I rubbed my hand over Jasper's prickly new haircut. "Little brother?" he retorted. "Excuse me, but you stopped aging months ago, so I am now officially older than you," he said, grinning like a fool. "Whatever makes you happy, kid," I winked. I was born 5 minutes before Jasper, thus making me the "oldest", but I didn't really care if he wanted to claim that title now. After all, what difference did age make anymore?

When I had brought Jasper back home to Carlisle and Emmett, well… To say they were shocked would be a gross understatement. Fortunately for me, they recovered quickly and Jasper was treated to the whole story. He was skeptical at first, naturally, but when I picked up our couch and snapped it in half, he quickly became a believer. Carlisle just chuckled indulgently, and pointed out that I could have displayed my speed instead of destroying our furniture. Oops. My bad.

So anyway, this is how we came to be at the barber shop. Once Jasper had made the decision to join our family, permanently, he insisted that there were a few things he wanted to do before he was changed. A grand farewell to his humanity. I loved the idea, glad he would get the opportunity I never had.

First on his list was the haircut. "I've kind of neglected my personal appearance since you, well, uh…died, I guess?" he muttered, still struggling with the insanity of it all. "Anyway, I don't want to look like this for all eternity! I mean, look at me," he huffed, pointing at the rat's nest masquerading as hair on his head, "I look like Edward-freakin-Scissorhands!" We shared a good laugh over that, because it was so true. He wanted a military buzz, a nod to the life he'd planned on leading before my accident had turned his world upside-down.

Next up was a last supper, of sorts. He wanted to have his favorites one more time before giving up solid food forever. I looked on as he savored his sushi and 'insane' hot wings, and smiled as he washed his last bite down with a swig of Cherry Coke. "Well, little sis," he said teasingly, "only one thing left to do before I 'shuffle off this mortal coil', so to speak". I grinned at his allusion to Hamlet. He knows how I adore Shakespeare. "Let's go, then," I said, and we paid the waitress and headed down the street.

* * * * *

"I know I want one, but I have no idea what," Jasper complained. "Nothing seems right."

"Jas, you've been staring at this wall for over an hour now. Just pick one, man! A tribal band, barbed wire, flames, skull and crossbones- whatever! I don't care! Just…pick one!"

"Rose," he chided, "this tattoo will be with me forever. I mean, literally! It has to be perfect". I mumbled an apology and sat down in a plastic chair. I knew I shouldn't rush him,but his indecisiveness was starting to irk me!

"I want it to mean something," he said quietly to himself, but of course, I heard. And then, like a bolt of lightning, inspiration struck.

"Mom and Dad!" I blurted out. "What?!?" Jasper gasped, "Where??" His panicked face scanned the faces of the passersby outside on the street.

"No, Jas, they're not here," I said gently, "I meant your tattoo- it should be about them. Something to remember them by. I think they would like that. Not that they'll ever know…" I trailed off sadly. Some parts of this life were really hard to bear. I missed my parents terribly, but this was the way it had to be. I had already risked too much, acted too impulsively, going back for my brother. I couldn't- I wouldn't- put our parents in danger as well.

With a pained look on his face, he answered, "Yes, I think they would." He took my hand and squeezed it, offering me a small smile. I stayed by his side while he was inked, watching the needle pierce his flesh. A small reminder, placed on the left side of his chest- our parents' initials, J&L, enclosed in a heart.

* * * * *

"So, are you really ready for this?" I asked, as we strolled down the now nearly empty streets back towards my car. (Carlisle had bought me a new one, Emmett as well, since we obviously couldn't take ours with us. Money was no object to him- when you've been around as long as he has, it just tends to stack up. I chose a nice little Audi- quiet, not too flashy, but lots of power. Emmett picked one of those ridiculous monster SUV's, saying something about off-roading and four-wheel drive, but I had lost interest by that point.)

Jasper finished his ice cream cone, and replied, "Yeah, I am Rose. I wish things were different, but we don't live in a perfect world, and I'm just grateful to have you back."

"I feel the same," I confessed, hugging him around the neck. "Okay, ugh! Enough with the mushy stuff," he teased. "New subject! What is the deal between you and Emmett anyway?"

"Oh that," I rolled my eyes. How to explain this to my brother- awkward! "Well, I won't deny that we were attracted to each other before, well, you know… Anyway, after we were changed, we fooled around a litt-"

"Ahhhh!!!" he interrupted me, plunging his fingers into his ears. "Lalalalalala!!!" he shouted, "I don't want to hear it!!"

"Jeez, you're such a baby!" I exclaimed, prying his hands away from his head. "Alright, calm down, I'll cut to the chase," I promised. He scowled at me, but allowed me to continue. "Nothing major happened, so relax. The main point is, we discovered that we were just better as friends. There was a little spark there, but not the stuff dreams are made of," I shrugged.

Jasper rolled his eyes. "You and your romantic notions," he taunted. "No more Shakespeare for you!"

"Sure, sure," I replied. "Race you to the car?" I challenged him, smirking. We were about 200 feet away from it. He took off at full speed. At this point, the streets were deserted, so I streaked past him in a blur, closing the distance in less than a second. Jasper jerked to a halt when he saw I was already there, leaning against the hood, grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary.

"Man," he exclaimed, "I cannot WAIT to try that!" I laughed and said, "Yeah? Well, I've got fifty bucks that says that even when you have your super speed, I'll still leave you in the dust!"

"You're on, little sister!" he chuckled.

"So, tell me something," Jasper inquired as we made our way back home, "after I'm changed and 'under control'", he said, with air quotes, "what's next?"

I turned and gave him a half-grin, half-grimace and said, "Brace yourself, Jas… we're going back to high school."

* * * * *

A/N: So there you have Chapter 2! Hopefully you're still diggin' it. We will pick up the pace a bit over the next few chapters, and more characters will be arriving on the scene. I embedded a few snarky references and nods to cannon in this chapter, so when you review, let me know if you caught them! ;-)

Thanks!