Here's Chapter 3. I know it's a lot like Twilight right now, but I promise it'll start to change now. It will eventually only parallel Twilight. I own none of these characters, or the plot right now. I just own the computer I'm writing this on.

Chapter 3. Phenomenon

When I opened my eyes in the morning, I realized there was no fog veiling my window. I jumped up in excitement, and groaned when I saw the fine layer of snow covering the ground. All the rain from yesterday had frozen on the ground and made the driveway into an ice slick.

Charlie had been nice enough to put snow chains on my tires, I found when I walked outside. I drove to school and stepped out of the truck. As I was going around the back, I heard a high-pitched screech getting louder and louder.

Nothing was moving in slow motion, like in movies. Instead, adrenaline was making my brain work so quickly that I could see every detail of everything.

Jasper Hale was standing four cars down from me, staring at me in horror. Alice was standing next to him, her hand on his arm like she was holding him back. Their faces stood out in a sea of shocked faces.

The van was coming toward my truck, and I was too frozen to move. Something hit my side, hard, but it wasn't the van. A hand cradled my skull before it hit the icy pavement, and then there was something cold pinning me to the ground.

The van had curled along the side of the truck and was coming at me still. A low oath made me realize that there was, indeed, someone with me. A long arm and white hand stretched out in front of me, and the van stopped a few inches from my face, the large hand fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the van's body.

The hand moved quickly, blurring in my vision. I was being dragged away as the hand held up the van. A groaning sound hurt my ears, and the van settled, glass popping, onto the asphalt, right where my legs had been.

It was absolutely quiet for one long second before the screaming began. I could hear more than one person shouting my name. I looked up to see who was with me, and saw Jasper Hale. "Bella," he said frantically. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." My voice sounded strange. I tried to sit up; he was still holding onto me. He brought me against him in a bone-crushing hug. "How did you get over here so fast?" I asked.

"I was...I was standing right next to you." His deep voice was serious, and there was a crease in his brow that marked his concern.

I started to sit up, and he let me, propping up my back. I stared into gold colored eyes and forgot what I was asking him.

"Don't move!" someone shouted.

"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else said. There was a flurry of activity around us. I tried to stand, but Jasper's hand kept me down.

"No, just wait a moment," he said.

"I saw you by your car," I told him. "You were over there."

"No, I wasn't," he said seriously.

"I saw you."

"Bella, please," he said, golden eyes pleading.

"Why?"

"Please trust me."

"Promise you'll explain everything later."

"I promise."

It took a while to get to the hospital, with all the people crowding around us, and my father showing up and nearly fainting when he saw me.

I couldn't stop playing the incident in my mind. Jasper had been by his car, then he had been with me, his large hand cradling my head, protecting me not only from the oncoming van, but the icy pavement as well. I tried to think of something logical, but I couldn't. My brain knew what it had seen.

They put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separate by pastel colored curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my arm and a thermometer under my tongue. Jasper sat next to me on a chair, watching this procedure.

Tyler, the driver of the van, was wheeled in next to me. "Bella, I'm so sorry." He glanced at Jasper, but didn't say anything.

"You missed me," I said. "Jasper pulled me out of the way."

"Jasper?" Tyler's gaze flew to Jasper again, and Jasper shrugged. "Man, I'm so sorry."

"No blood no foul," he replied, smiling. He looked down at me. "So what's the verdict?"

"There's nothing wrong with me, but they won't let me go. Why aren't you strapped to a gurney?"

"It's all about who you know. But don't worry, I'll spring you."

The doctor walked around the corner, and Jasper stood up. My mouth fell open. He was young, he was blond, and he was more handsome than any movie star I'd ever seen. He was pale, though, and tired looking, with circles under his eyes. He bore a shocking resemblance to Jasper, with the blond hair and pale skin.

"So, Miss Swan," he said. "I'm Dr. Cullen. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Can I leave now?"

He raised an eyebrow, and then turned to the X-Rays on the wall. "Your X-Rays look good. Your father is in the waiting room. You can go home with him. But come back if you start to feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyes at all."

I nodded. "Can I go back to school?"

Dr. Cullen looked surprised. "You should probably take it easy today."

I glanced over at Jasper, who was staring at me with unfathomable golden eyes. "Does he get to go back to school?"

"Someone has to tell everyone we survived," he said, but didn't crack a smile.

"Well, the majority of your class seems to be in the waiting room," Dr. Cullen corrected.

I groaned. "Great." I covered my face with my hands and tried to breathe normally.

"Would you rather stay?" Dr. Cullen asked, raising his eyebrows again.

"No!" I replied, shaking my head. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and hopped down. My head swam for a few seconds, and I shook my head to clear it. "I'm fine."

"Take some Tylenol for the pain," the doctor suggested as I began walking away.

"It doesn't hurt that bad," I insisted.

"Well, then you were very lucky," Dr. Cullen said, grinning.

"Lucky Jasper was there," I said softly, glancing up at Jasper. The planes of his face were hard, and his eyes held an emotion I didn't recognize.

"Oh," Dr. Cullen said. "Well, yes, that is lucky." He looked at my charts, and then over at Tyler. I grimaced. He was definitely in on it.

I moved to Jasper's side. "Can we talk a minute?" I asked.

Jasper didn't even look at me. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Yes, there is. I'll say what I have to say here, or we can talk somewhere privately."

He glanced down at me, jaw clenched. "Your father is waiting for you."

"He can wait a minute longer."

Jasper glared at me and strode down the hall. I was trotting to keep up with him. As soon as we turned the corner down the hallway, he stopped, and I ran into him. "Sorry," I said, stepping back.

"What do you want?" he asked severely. His eyes were cold.

"You owe me an explanation."

"I don't owe you anything," he replied.

I flinched. "You promised."

"I'd rather save my promise for another day, if you don't mind."

"Are you intending on keeping it?"

"Eventually."

"I want to know the truth," I said stubbornly.

"In due time, Bella," Jasper snapped. "You can't always get what you want."

"Look, Jasper. All I know is that you weren't anywhere near me, I heard Tyler's tires screeching, and then you were there. The van would have crushed us both, but it didn't. Your hand left a dent in the side of it, and then you pulled me from under the van." I could hear how crazy it sounded, and I stopped. Angry tears came to my eyes, and I prayed they wouldn't fall.

His face was tense. "Go to your father," he said angrily. "No one will believe you if you say anything."

I stared at him, shocked. "I wasn't going to say anything," I told him truthfully.

"So why does it matter so much? Can't you just thank me and get over it?"

"Thank you," I said in a rush. "I still want to know the truth."

"And you won't let it go?"

I shook my head. "Not at all."

He sighed. "I already promised to tell you everything. Just not now." He strode away from me quickly, and I sighed.

I walked slowly to the end of the hall and went out into the waiting room. It seemed like every face I knew was in there, staring at me. I put my hands up when Charlie stood next to me. "I'm fine," I told them all. I was not in the mood for chitchat.

"What did the doctor say?"

"Dr. Cullen said I was fine and I could go home. Let's go."

Charlie led me out with a hand on my back. I waved at my friends and went with him, glad to escape them. Out in the parking lot, Jasper was standing with Alice and Edward, and they were talking in hushed tones. Edward looked over at me and narrowed his eyes, and Alice hit his arm lightly to get him to look at her. She sent me an apologetic smile, and I waved at her.

Charlie and I drove home in silence. I was wrapped up in Jasper's expression, in the words he'd said to me. He told me he would tell me everything eventually. I just didn't know when eventually was.

When we got to the house, Charlie finally spoke. "You might want to call Renee." He hung his head guiltily.

"You told Mom?" I was resigned to it. I figured he would have called her.

"Sorry."

I got out of the cruiser and walked into the house. My mom was in hysterics, naturally. I had to tell her I was fine about thirty times before she believed me. She begged me to come home, even though she forgot that she wasn't at home, but her pleas fell of deaf ears. I was consumed by the mystery Jasper presented. And more than a little obsessed with Jasper himself. It was stupid, I told myself. Utterly stupid.

I decided to go to bed early that night. Charlie was watching me anxiously, and it was getting on my nerves. I took three Tylenol before bed, and drifted off to sleep as they helped.

That was the first night I dreamed of Jasper Hale.

I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!