Alright, so chapter three. Big things are going on here. I will be honest, this may not be the most realistic chapter, but it just kind of formed this way. I'm sorry if it's a little out of place, but I like it and feel it fits...in an odd sort of way.
Anyway, don't own.
A loud knocking at my bedroom door woke me. I opened my eyes blearily. Glancing at the clock I flipped over and buried my face into my pillow. A ghostly laugh echoed through the room.
"Shut up." My muffled voice was only understandable to Jasper.
The laugh echoed again just as the knocking continued.
"What!" I yelled into my pillow. It was too early for this.
My door opened. "Sorry to wake you, Bells, but I just want to tell you that I am going fishing with Billy." Charlie's voice rang through the room.
I lifted my head to stare at him. After a few seconds, I nodded heavily before dropping back to my wonderful, beautiful pillow. A moment later my door clicked, signaling that it was closed. I laid a few extra minutes, hoping to fall back to sleep. When no sleep came, I groaned and rolled over. Staring at my ceiling, I found nothing interesting.
"You're grumpy in the morning. Never knew that."
I looked over to Jasper, who was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of my room. I just nodded in agreement. I was, there was no denying it. He rose from his seat and walked over to lay on the bed beside me, his legs outstretched with his back against the headboard. I looked over at him.
"Thank you, Bella," he said as he looked around my room.
I'm sure he could feel my confusion. "For yesterday. It's amazing what you can do for a person, especially you Bella. If I had been with anyone else I would probably have just felt worse. You made me feel better."
His eyes met mine and there was a gleam in them. A beautiful, precious spark. Smiling softly, I reached for his hand. I weaved my fingers between his cold ones, surprised that our hands fit, and it was not awkward.
"Every step of the way, Jasper, I'll be here," I told him.
His hand tightened around mine a little. Otherwise, all he did was smile. Feeling more awake, I sat up and scooted back so I was copying his position. Pulling my hand back, I just stared down at them.
"Is anything you want to do today?" I asked him.
He shrugged. "Not really. You?"
"Nothing comes to mind. We could-" At that moment, my stomach decided to growl. Lovely.
He chuckled. "Come on. Let's get you some breakfast, and then we can make plans."
He was quickly standing on my side of the bed. I slowly rose from my position. I was going to go at a leisure pace to the kitchen as well, but he had other plans. Quickly wrapping his arm beneath my knees, he pulled my up and over his shoulder.
I gasped as he began walking out of my room and down the stairs.
"Jasper…" I began to mumble, but then I created a new shade of red. Dear God, my butt was right at his face.
"Bella, I think you just topped all of your blushes. What's with the embarrassment?"
My eyes widened. Crap, empath. "Um…well…uh…" I could not form a coherent sentence.
His confusion leaked into the area around us. "Okay…I don't think that's proper English, but whatever you say."
We finally reached the kitchen. He settled me into a seat at the table. Situating himself across from me in the opposite chair, he looked at me expectantly. I looked down a moment before beginning to rummage around the kitchen. I was looking for something that could keep me occupied until my embarrassment went away. I would need a while.
Finding all the ingredients, luckily, I decided to make pancakes from scratch. That should give me enough time.
"Bella…" His voice came from right behind me. I mean, right behind me.
"Yes?" I asked, my back still to him.
I expected him to turn me around to talk face-to-face, but he did not. "Sorry for whatever I did to embarrass you."
Shoot. Guilt shot through me. I was so stupid to be embarrassed over the dumbest things. I mean, we are not even together for Christ's sake.
Not a bad idea though…
My eyes widened and I busied myself to cover my shock at that thought. Oh, no, no, that can't happen.
"It's fine, Jasper," I hammered out.
I suddenly became increasingly aware of his body behind me. Where was this coming from? I had never thought of Jasper in this way before. And why now? It was like a sick joke. A disgusting twist of fate.
His hand reached around me and stopped my other hand. Looking down, I was shocked to find flour spread across the counter from my aggressive stirring of the pancake mixture. His chest pressed up against my back as he loosened my grip on the spoon and pulled the bowl away to set it down on the counter.
His hands gripped my waist as he slowly turned me to face him. I kept my face down, diverting my eyes. I felt him lean forward slightly. His lips pressed against my hair gently.
"It's too soon, Bella…"
I shook my head. "I wasn't…I don't know what came…"
He shushed me affectionately. "It's okay. Don't freak out. Besides, it could just be the love you felt for Edward showing itself, if only for a moment."
I assessed myself as I did yesterday. Nothing. I thought of the feeling of Jasper's lips on my hair. As if reading my mind, he did it again. My heart sped up slightly. I was in so much trouble here. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, almost hysterically at the prospect. Bella and Jasper. Jasper and Bella.
It was…tantalizing, to say the least. Just the idea. But I was not his, and he would definitely never be mine. I was his little sister, the shoulder he was leaning on until he could walk alone again. Nothing more. But my body was just itching for it, practically vibrating.
"Jasper…I…I don't….I'm so sorry."
"Don't apologize. Honestly, it would be natural, now that I think about it."
I looked up at him in shock and confusion. He simply smiled. He was happy. I made him feel that way. I did that. Wow.
"Why aren't you scolding me for being stupid enough to feel this way? Why haven't you walked away yet?"
He shook his head, still smiling. "Bella, we were both hurt. Yes, both, whether you wish to admit it or not. You're cut deep. So am I. We found solace in one another. The pull to each other would simply seem like the next step. In fact, I'm not even pushing the possibility."
I closed my eyes in disbelief, my head falling back down. "You're insane," I murmured.
"We both are, apparently."
I sighed. I would love to hear this. "What makes me insane?"
"You're still here. I've been a heartbroken man for quite some time, especially considering the fact that I could feel Alice pulling away."
This time, my shock practically flooded the room. "Why did you try and…I don't know. Pull her back in?"
"I was in denial. And I could tell she felt happy. I gave her that. I will be honest, though, I did not know that she was pulling away to Edward. That was completely unexpected. Really, that's what broke me. My own brother."
"Shocked me, too," I mumbled.
His hands stroked my arms gently. "Let's heal first. Then, we can worry about us. Is that reasonable?"
I looked into his endless eyes. "It sounds like a perfect idea. But, Jasper, where do you think my feelings came from?"
He looked over my head a moment. He gazed out the window behind me.
"I think," he started, "that you want to be loved. Unquestionably, irrevocably, and deeply in love and loved. And you deserve it. I mean, look what you've done for me. I lost everything, but because of you, I feel strangely calm."
"I'm sure that's not just because of me," I argued.
He pulled me to the table. He pulled out a chair, sat, and promptly pulled me into his lap. I sat so my side was to him. One of his arms wrapped around my back while the other covered my hands in my lap.
"But it is, Bella. You just emanate tranquility. No one else has ever done that around me. It's wonderful. It makes me feel like I'm capable to feel my own emotions all of the time, not just some of the time. You give me freedom, Bella." His hand rested on mine a little heavier.
"Time?" I asked.
I looked up and he smiled. "Time," he agreed. "I'd like to get to know you a little bit more, Bella. You're interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes."
"Will you return the favor?" I asked.
He chuckled. "Of course, darlin'."
"Thank you, Jasper."
He just smiled.
I got up to finish my breakfast without making a mess. I had had the biggest epiphany of my life today. That's how it felt, anyway. I felt lighter. Like a weight had been lifted. I knew we would be okay. All we needed was…
Time.
So, big stuff, big stuff. This allows for their friendship to begin to grow and that was the basic idea.
As always, read and review and add the alerts and such if you want to be aware of every update.
~Much Love
VSA~ XOXOX
