Two chaps in one day! Like a boss ;)

Jasper was pleasantly surprised.

Due to vampire hearing (and an inexplicit couorsity he would never confess) he had heard the entire dramatic conversation and Edward knew Jasper had heard it all. While his brother's heartbreak did not surprise him, what did was how Bella reacted to it. It was quite well known in the Cullen household how easy it was to walk over her, to intimidate her, and it wasn't just because she was the only human in a house full of vampires. Jasper could sense her every emotion whenever she came into the room; she could lie to Alice and Edward and Carlisle and Esme, and even Rosalie and Emmett, but she could never lie to him. Jasper knew how she quaked in fear whenever there was a heated argument nearby, how she caved under Edward's demands under the slightest bit of pressure. And while Jasper knew Edward would never hurt Bella physically, he didn't doubt that at some point in her life abuse might have been present. It was rare to find such a personality made without abuse.

"That…was an incredibly rude thing to say," came the whispered reply from behind the fragile safety of the door that separated them.

Jasper sighed and shrugged, plopping his back against the door. It made a loud popping sound but gave no indication it would break off its hinges. "Screaming at Edward was also incredibly rude," he pointed out after a moment of silence.

"Did he tell you?"

Jasper snorted. "No," he replied and let the silence stretch between them. He could hear her shifting into a comfortable position, aerosol cans being pushed against the wall, the scent of tears mingled in with the chemicals. Jasper wrinkled his nose at all those chemicals; they burned his nose. "You picked an excellent hiding spot," he commended. "It burns my nose."

A sniffle. It tugged at his heart and Jasper closed his eyes in an attempt to block it out, trying his best to shield himself from her emotions, though it did no good. He could sense her sorrow, her confusion and anxiety as if it were his own, could almost feel her tears as if they were his; his powers allowed him to see from her point of view. And for a moment, Jasper wondered what she must think, sitting captive inside a closet, a teary eyed mess.

Off in the distance, thunder rolled. If Jasper inhaled deeply enough, he could catch the faint whiff of rain on the horizon, the delicious scent of Bella's blood lingering amongst the burning chemicals. Another sniffle, complete with a whimper that caught his attention again. "I hate this," she repeated. "I…I wish …" she trailed off, another sniffle smothered by a roll of thunder closer then the last. "Oh great! I don't even have a ride!"

Bella began to cry harder and Jasper sighed, reaching out to her mind. He touched her emotions, felt the hopelessness of it, the sorrow, the anxiety, and the hatred at it all and sent her the only emotion he could think of- love. He sent love to her and could feel the subtle change: how it warmed her inside, how her tears were starting to stop. "What are you doing?" Bella whispered but her voice sounded far away, so very faint as love wrapped itself around her, hugging her, holding her.

"I'm sorry," Jasper murmured as she gave one last sniffle. The last bell rang but it was nowhere near as loud as the emotion that was being shared between the two. Passerbyers who saw the scene as they walked by would think Jasper Hale was merely in asleep standing up against a janitor's closet, his nose wrinkled because he smelled something bad that no one else did. Or maybe he was in deep concentration; whatever the reason, no one would think of disturbing him as the bell to let school out had been rung…and it was well known Jasper Hale was as creepy as the rest of his foster siblings. Besides, there was something more interesting then one of the creepy siblings sleeping standing up: Bella Swan had broken up with Edward Cullen.

Jasper opened his eyes, watching the crowd thin before him: he could see Edward striding towards him, terror etched on his face. "Thank yo-" Bella began.

"Edward's coming."

She froze in mid-sentence and Jasper cleared his throat and gave a tiny nod in Edward's direction. He did his best to build up shields against the onslaught he knew would be Edward's emotions even as the auburn haired vampire approached. "Have you seen her?" Edward asked, near terror on his voice. "Have you seen Bella?"

"Edward," Jasper began and Edward shot him a glare. Jasper fell silent and merely strengthened the feelings he gave Bella, if only to keep the girl from saying some kind of outburst that would give her away.

"Don't 'Edward' me Jasper," his foster brother snapped. "Where's Bella? She could be hurt or –"

"She's not hurt," Jasper consoled as Edward ran a hand through his hair.

"So you say Jazz," he said in a tone nearly dripping with sarcasm. He glanced around him to make sure none of the humans were overhearing him before he lowered his voice to a pitch that only the two of them could hear. "But she's human Jazz. Humans are incredibly fragile; made of glass. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her." He let out a harsh, jagged laugh. "I don't know what to do now."

"Go home Edward," Jasper said as he placed both hands into his pockets, doing his best to project an air of coolness. "Or go on a hunt. Just get some time to clear your head." In a higher voice where humans could hear them: "Good bye Edward. I'll meet you later."

Edward stared at him for a moment and Jasper had to wonder if his brother would try to read his mind. For a moment- Edward sighed and nodded before he walked away, his shoulders slumped. Jasper was the only one in the hallway now though he didn't give a light tap against the door until he heard Edward leave the building. "He's gone," Jasper murmured as he withdrew the love from Bella, allowing her to be calm.

The door clicked and Jasper stepped away as Bella opened the door. Her eyes were rimmed in red from crying, her nose a bit red as well. Very few people could pull off looking cute when they cried and Bella was no exception: she would look much better smiling then how she looked now. Thunder beat against the sky as the first torrent of rain fell down upon the school and Bella gave a small, strained smile. "Thank you," she whispered.

Jasper shrugged in response, feeling a slight heat rise in his cheeks. Strange. He had never really felt attracted to Bella before, and certainly couldn't find a viable reason to be so now.

"You can go home Jasper," Bella said as she bit her lip; another peal of thunder rolled as a fresh torrent of rain slammed against the school. "Thanks for helping me. I'll walk home."

Jasper sighed and ran a hand through his messy blonde hair. "It would hardly be civil of a gentleman to let you walk in this mess," he countered. He caught a glimpse of fear on her face and it struck him then that Edward might have said the same thing and then taken his devotion to Bella too far, escorting her everywhere. And if there was one thing Jasper could understand when it came to the type of person Bella Swan was…the two of them both liked their privacy. "Or you could call your father if you wanted," he added in an offhand manner. "Whatever you want."

Bella nodded, her body relaxing ever so slightly at the mention. Jasper's off hand manner had put her at ease despite not even resorting to manipulating her emotions to do so. Bella's smile seemed more at ease now as she nodded. "I think I will." She tilted her head to one side as if thinking. "Funny," she muttered to herself.

"Hm?"

Bella jumped and Jasper had to fight the tiny smile that threatened to come across his face. Alice would do the same whenever she was in a vision trance and someone would wake her out of it. "Sorry," Bella said, ducking her head. "I was just thinking something."

Now it was the vampire's turn to cock his head to one side. Bella cleared her throat and looked up at him. "I was just thinking how…similar we are. Sort of. We're both private people."

Jasper nodded in agreement. He could see that. "And we both crave honesty," he added.

Bella smiled: this smile was different from the other two in just how natural it was. This smile was Bella's true smile. And for some reason, it made Jasper want to smile as well. Though he refused too- Jasper Hale was still Jasper Whitlock Hale, and smiling willy nilly, trusting people with his heart, his emotions, was not something he did lightly.