It's my first slash so please be gentle. I wanted it to be something light and smutty, but in the end, it ended up having a plot. I'm still figuring out as I go.

Many thanks to my beta: Evilnat. Go and check her O/S! It's awesome.

You can find on Facebook on my account (Cherry Bella) the banner for this story. Don't forget to check the mean banner my beta did.

Katy Perry inspired to write this. All of it. I'm not a fan of song fics and I won't call this a song fic. There are a few lyrics here and there.

For this chapter, there's no song, unfortunately.

Oh, and as always, Stephenie has it all.

Warning: If you don't like reading slash, stop right here.

EPOV

On Sunday, Bella couldn't stop talking about her date with Alice. I'm sure Dad was grateful for the quietness when we left the house.

Since the park was at the end of our street, I decided to walk there. Half way there Bella complained her feet hurt. Yeah, sure.

"If you want me to carry you, just say so," I told her, swinging our clasped hands.

"Carry me?" she asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes. "On your back."

I laughed, crouching down so she could climb on my back. When she was securely there I started walking again.

Arriving at the playground, I found a girl from my class with two young kids. So we weren't the only ones with siblings. Nice.

And where was Jasper?

I put Bella down and she ran to the slide as I made my way to the girl I couldn't remember her name.

"Hey," I greeted her.

"Hi, Edward. I didn't know you had a sister."

"Shocker," I mumbled. "Everyone seems to know everything about me."

She turned her head away, probably embarrassed. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," I muttered. "So…your brothers?"

"The evil twins." She nodded, giggling. Suddenly her eyes widened, focused on something over my shoulder and I knew Jasper was approaching.

There was a deafening squeal. Bella and Alice had reunited.

"I'll consider ear plugs on the next date," Jasper hissed, rubbing his ear as he stopped next to us. "Hi, Angela. Edward." He nodded, still rubbing his left ear.

Angela! She was the girl that was nice enough to show me how to change my locker code. I couldn't find Jasper and he was ignoring me anyway.

"You're late," I told him, elbowing him in the ribs.

"It's five on dot. You're early."

"That's possible. Mom and Dad have been threatening to throw us out of the door since nine this morning. Bella couldn't stop talking about her date."

"Date?" Angela asked surprised.

I laughed, shrugging. "Yeah. She's into classic movies and wants to reenact everything they do."

"What ever happened to Prince Charming?" Jasper grumbled, plopping on a swing.

"He lost his charm." I laughed.

"My brothers are still into robots," Angela said, shaking her head.

"That's normal. What's not normal is that Alice is trying to see my future in tea leaves." Jasper shuddered.

Angela was shocked he was talking directly to her. Oh, come on, what was so strange about him? If you didn't know what he was you couldn't even tell!

So I chuckled and asked him about the leaves just to ease the atmosphere. He seemed grateful, shooting me a small smile before answering.

"It was last night… I was at TV and she was supposed to be asleep and suddenly she is right next to me with her cup of herbal tea. Well, only the herbal part because she had drunk the tea. Anyway, she sits in front of me and speaks in this strange voice that I'm going to find someone nice and it will change my life and then Mom's sitting next to us…and Alice tells her that Dad will be home in three days."

We stared at him, unsure what to say. I didn't know a thing about his family.

"Where is your Dad?" I asked when Angela seemed interested in the dirt at her feet.

"Huh?" Jasper glanced at me. "He's in the army. I thought everyone knew stuff about everyone in this small shithole."

"Uh…New Boy." I pointed to my chest.

He jabbed my stomach. "Fucker."

"Never," I answered before I realized what I said. "I never knew…and I'm not one to ask things," I added quickly, saving my slip.

Jasper looked amused at me then his face changed and he disappeared.

"Alice, for fuck's sake! I told you to stop eating all the crap on the ground!" he yelled, grabbing her elbow. "Spit!"

Angela watched him worried. I was worried too, but for different reasons. I was worried Bella had done the same. God knows how many times she touched or tasted bugs and dirt along with other things. I rushed to her to make sure she hadn't done the same.

"I told her no," she mumbled to me.

Jasper had released Alice and she was rubbing her arm as tears fell from her eyes.

"Answer me! Why did you put that stone into your mouth?" Jasper hissed. He looked so hot when he was angry.

"It looked like a candy," Alice mumbled, going to touch her eyes, but Jasper beat her to it, grabbing her hand.

"Don't touch your eyes with those dirty hands." He plopped on the bottom of the slide and rummaged through his satchel, coming out with the wipes.

"Let's go swing," I told Bella. "She's okay."

"But he is upset," she whispered to me.

"Of course he is." I put her on a swing next to one of Angela's siblings. "Maybe you should share your story about what happened when we ended up in the ER."

Bella nodded, cringing as she remembered the only time she had put something in her mouth and how it had got infected.

I started pushing her swing as I glanced at Angela. She could have left when she saw Jasper join us, but she hadn't. She wasn't like the other losers.

That's when an idea came to me. The female part was in my hands. I looked at her again and found her watching me. Her eyes averted.

Bingo! That had to mean she liked me, right?

Shit. I was crap at this.

"You come here often?" I asked.

"Not really. I wanted to get out of the house…today," she whispered.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. It was nice outside and who knows for how long we'll have such nice weather?"

"Is it really cold in the winter?" I asked, leaning against the bars supporting the swings as I kept pushing Bella.

"Yeah, it is, but I'm sure you're used to it."

I chuckled. "Chicago is very…interesting in the winter." I glanced toward Jasper and he showed me his thumb up, mouthing "Ask her out."

"So what do people do here?" I wondered, feeling my neck burning.

"Not much. There's a game house, but it's ancient. We usually go to Port Angeles." She shrugged.

"What about a coffee house or something?"

"There's one, yes. Has great coffee, actually."

I couldn't just ask her. I didn't have it in me.

Besides, only thinking of spending more time than necessary with her made me want to pull my nails out. I had never thought of being alone with a girl. I had always preferred guys' company. It took me kissing Jasper to realize why.

"Sounds good," I muttered.

Her phone started ringing and she quickly excused herself. She left shortly after, apologizing.

"Do I have to teach you how to do everything?" Jasper groaned, appearing next to me.

I shot him a confused look.

He mimicked my stance, leaning against the other pole, arms crossed over his chest, toe digging in the ground, eyes darting everywhere. It made me laugh. "No, shit! It's not funny. All I told you was to ask her out and you looked ready to piss yourself."

"Don't be a jerk," I muttered. "As I told you, I have no experience."

"No one has in the beginning! You just do what's natural. Do you like her?" he asked, shoving his hands inside his pockets.

"Honestly? No."

"Yeah, I thought so. What about Suzanne?"

"Look, Jasper…I'm sure I don't need this whole…"

"No, you look!" he hissed. "I don't want you to start this and then have you realizing that I made you miss out on pussy," he whispered the last word. "Next target: Suzanne. She likes you. I saw how she was looking at you."

"Can I go on the slide again?" Bella asked.

"Sure thing." I put her down and she rushed to Alice. I took her place on the swing. "Would you tell me about your dad?"

Jasper sighed. "I can't believe I said that. It's just…Alice freaked me out with her leaves thingy."

I laughed. "Leaves thingy?"

Jasper shrugged, sitting on the other swing. "Okay, so he is a lieutenant. He's in Afghanistan, should be back this year…at some point."

"Everything ended," I said, nodding.

"Hardly." He sighed, leaning his head against the pole of the swing. "Mom's actually a nurse at the hospital. I'm sure your dad knows her by now. She spends her time there or…crying in her room."

"And you two?"

"We fend for ourselves. Okay, I do. I take care of every fucking thing. I wonder how I'm still sane."

I blinked, trying to take it all in.

"I don't think they like me anymore…" He looked at me and I saw tears in his eyes. "Three years ago, the night before we moved here… they were busy…not minding me, like they had cared about me much. I always was allowed to do whatever I wanted. So I was in the back yard with a guy from my school. He was my best friend and…we were talking and smoking. Well, somehow…we were kissing." He gulped and closed his eyes. "We said goodbye. I realized it much later, once we moved here what everything meant. When I went back inside, Dad was angry. He shouted and shouted then he just stopped talking to me. Mom was already upset because of her unplanned pregnancy. Alice was annoying her. And guess who took care of Alice? That's right, me."

"Jasper," I said through the lump in my throat.

He waved a hand. Without thinking, I reached out and grasped it. He tensed up but allowed me to hold his hand.

"So they no longer liked me…and Alice…well, they never liked her. They never wanted her. If they didn't want more kids why didn't they protect themselves?"

"My parents had tried for years… I kept asking if I'd get a brother or sister then I lost all hope. And when I found out how a baby was made…I had a sister and it freaked me."

He chuckled. "Mom explained to me everything when she started showing…and I didn't understand why the baby was in her stomach. I thought she had eaten something that would make her poop a baby."

"What?" I asked, barking a loud laugh.

"Yeah, laugh away. I was twelve."

"Me too, but I knew that."

"I'm sorry I wasn't a genius," he said playfully, pushing my swing. "Shit. Where are they?" he asked, searching the playground with his eyes.

I did the same, my heart jumping in my throat. They weren't anywhere.

"BELLA!" I shouted, jumped out of the swing. "Crap," I muttered, starting to the road that led to our house maybe she was there. Jasper went to search in the other direction.

We couldn't even take our eyes off them for five minutes.

Before I could go in a full blown panic attack, I found them on the side of the road that led to our house. They were sitting down on the ground petting a small black dog.

"Jasper!" I shouted over my shoulder. "Over here!"

"Look how cute he is!" Bella exclaimed.

"How many times have I told you not to wander off?" I hissed at her. "You scared me, Bella."

"But the puppy…" Alice started then stopped abruptly when Jasper stopped next to us. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, you should be," he said on a low voice. He gathered her in his arm, patted my shoulder before starting to go away.

"Wait! Puppy!" Alice screeched.

Jasper groaned, turning around, rolling his eyes at me. "I was hoping it would work."

"It didn't."

"We're not taking a dog home," Jasper told her as he let her down.

"Can we?" Bella looked at me, jutting her lip out.

I looked at the small puppy. It looked malnourished and seeking some attention and love. I bit my lip, knowing it would be my responsibility. After glancing at Bella, I caved, crouching to scratch the dog.

"You're such a softie," Jasper muttered, but joined us, petting the dog.

"We have to see if he's okay," I said. "Let's go home and see if we have to go to the vet today."

"We're going home," Jasper told me. "It's kinda late."

"Oh…okay." I glanced at him, wanting more than anything to kiss him. The girls were focused on the dog so I started leaning into Jasper but he caught my shoulder, shaking his head. "Bye," I mumbled.

"See you tomorrow."

I watched them leave and a stupid grin appeared on my face when he looked back. I picked up the puppy and nudged Bella to head home. Mom was going to kiss us. Maybe I was big enough to be trusted with an animal. After all, I was taking care of my sister.

I shouldn't have worried. Everyone loved Bertie as Bella had named him. We went to the local clinic to make sure he was healthy and that's how our family grew.

That night, Bella fell asleep with Bertie in her arms. I was almost jealous. I wanted the puppy too, but being older I knew better than to start complaining.

The being older and wiser part lasted until morning when we started fighting on who to feed and walk him.

"Why don't you let Bella feed him, Edward? You can walk him when you come back from school. Actually, you can both go and buy food, leash, collar, bed…" Mom kept ticking off stuff. Was it a crime that I wanted a few minutes alone with the puppy?

After dropping Bella off to the kindergarten and talking with Suzanne for about ten minutes I was late.

"I really have to go," I told her.

She grinned, nodding. "Sure. See you in a few hours."

I turned to the door and just as I opened it, I bumped into someone. Hard. My head started throbbing.

"Fuck." It was Jasper. "Oh, it's you."

"Hi. Sorry," I mumbled, rubbing my temple.

Alice had already deserted his side and after a goodbye to Suzanne we left. As we crossed the street, he glanced at me, snickering.

"What?" I hissed.

"There's a huge bump on your forehead."

"And it's only your fault! You're head is hard," I complained.

"It can be."

I groaned, pushing him away playfully. "Why are you late?"

"I'm still trying to get over what happened. Dad called and said he'd be home tomorrow. Three days…just like Alice had said. Is she a psychic now?"

"You just need to find the one she had told you about," I said laughing. We stopped next to my car so I could grab my bag.

"I might have." I thought I heard him muttering, but it was so low I wasn't sure about it. "So I'll see you around?"

I slammed the door shut. "Don't you ignore me again!"

"Okay, but don't complain if they stop talking to you," Jasper said, shrugging.

"It will be a blessing," I muttered, slinging the bag over my shoulder, heading to school.

He fell in step with me. "How's the dog?"

"Who's a softie now?" I teased. He just scowled at me. "He's okay. He got baptized on the way home."

"Kids are quick like that."

"Yeah. His name is Bertie. And because I don't know any better, I started fighting with my four year old sister on the new addition to our family."

"Are you serious now? I can only imagine!" Jasper chuckled. "Who won?"

I gave him a side-way glance. "Mom." He burst in laughter. "I have to go shopping for dog stuff."

"That's not so bad."

"All I wanted to do was walk the dog!" I exclaimed, attracting attention upon us. Let the show begin.

I saw Jasper tensing up but continuing our conversation as if nothing had happened. "When are you going?"

"After school. Wanna come?"

"I don't know…" He looked around at the shocked faces. "I've got to help Mom clean around the house."

"Oh, right."

We walked in silence to the lockers. I almost turned three times to punch someone that was looking strangely at me.

"See?" Jasper muttered, his head deep in his locker.

"Fuck them," I hissed, holding my Math book and slamming the door shut.

When he was done, we resumed walking side by side to our class. He asked about Suzanne and I was glad of the little distraction. It was going to be a long day.

Let me know if you still love it. Sorry for not answering your reviews, but this week's been hectic! I read and cherish every review. Know that.