A/N: I'm back. Reviews would be nice because I've got other projects and I need to know what to prioritize and whatnot. I'll post what I have tonight and I will go from there.
Hate to be that way, but I write fanfiction as entertainment, as in, I like to entertain. Fanfiction tests the waters for my original fiction pieces and allows me to gauge my writing ability, which apparently sucks.
So yeah, reviews would be very nice.
On a different note... More of Noelle's past!
"May I ask why you have three textbooks belonging to the New York School system in our closet?" Jasper picked up each of the texts that brought back so many memories for Noelle. Various pictures, notes, diagrams were nestled in the pages of each. She even smelled the samples through the small pouches.
They were finally going through everything she had brought. There wasn't a lot, but she still wanted to sift through it all. "You're holding the textbooks that have devised one of the nastiest freebase forms of heroin, Jasper," she snatched the books politely from him, dragging him down the stairs to the kitchen island.
First, she opened the Chemistry book, "You used to have a tattoo?" Jasper touched the reflective of the picture.
"Don't be polite, I know when I was human you could see splotches of it," Noelle rubbed her abdomen in the photograph. Thankfully, her stomach wasn't ravaged any longer, by the brand or the remnants of the ink.
Jasper rolled his eyes, cuing her in on his knowing. "How?" he queried, Noelle knowing it killed him to ask her.
"Vito was pissed off when I got it because it would be easy to identify me," Noelle reminisced, "He decided to sit me down in a chair one fine night and scrub my skin with rubbing alcohol and bleach," she grimaced in the recollection of the memory. Jasper's look was priceless, something of rage not forgotten and only brewing. If Vito wasn't dead, Noelle was sure Jasper would kill him. "Bleached my skin," Noelle muttered as she turned the page.
She fingered through the pages, deciding to speak when necessary, "His family was planning on disposing of me because I was a 'bad' influence, so I made myself worth keeping around," Noelle pointed to the first sketches shakily drawn. "I began creating freebase drugs," she flipped the page to run her fingers over the portion of the first bag she created, "First one," she shrugged, handing it to him.
He held it in his hands, examining it against the light before setting it back down between the pages, "New freebases, stuff that wasn't polluted, my goal was to take the impure dangers out of the drug." Noelle shook her head, turning the thin pages of the textbook. It was a life to say the least. "I began making my own runs, running from the law, being on everyone's hit list, and it was all a game to see who would do the craziest thing next," Noelle chuckled.
Picking up the Botany book, she tried to see his reaction, which was interest at best. Hopefully he didn't think she was worse than she already was. Noelle took a deep intake of breath for confidence, "Then, I started mutating marijuana, which attracted attention from a prominent figure in the substance business, Guillermo Delacruz."
"He was a good guy, but so sadistic, he sent me to Sri Lanka or whatnot and almost had me die," Noelle flipped the page towards the middle, "It was during the Sri Lankan Civil War and a random person came and shot straight through my collarbone. He laughed like it was a joke."
Jasper stiffened, showing his protectiveness. Noelle was honored, but she could fend for herself, she'd done it so many times before. "Anyways, after that, Vito started running behind Guillermo's back and I stayed true to as an operative until I told Guillermo I couldn't run around for him anymore because, well, I was knocked up," Noelle giggled, turning around to kiss Jasper's cheek momentarily. A grin washed on his pale face, that's what she liked to see. "He was fine with that, until he figured out about Vito, so Guillermo started a rouge group amongst other gangs. Guillermo lost control of the group and that's when they all came and took me away along with my child," Noelle divulged, Jasper knowing the rest of the story except for one snippet.
Noelle took out the Physics textbook, flipping to the front where multiple legal documents fell out, "Here's the part that makes everyone want to kill me," she pointed to the papers. Her lips formed a smirk, "In wake of the rouge group killing my son, I sold out to a pharmaceutical company in Israel. I handed over my freebase formulas that everyone craved, so the formulas and hybrids could be used for something worthwhile, but mainly so they wouldn't have it."
"Dang," Jasper flipped through the pages, "I think you made more than Edward did last year."
"I get cuts, as long as weed isn't legalized, and hush money from Guillermo's profits. I also get a thirty year salary from the Israelian company, plus what they gave me initially. I forgot," Noelle let her shoulders lift and fall to show how unimportant it all was.
Jasper gave her an interesting glare as he stuffed the papers back into the book neatly. "You didn't deserve that type of life," he sighed, stacking the books on top of each other.
Noelle painfully disagreed. She wanted that life, she chose that life, and she had to live with the ramifications. "I'm not the innocent one, Jasper, it doesn't matter anymore, it's done, it's the past," she smiled as appropriately as possible.
He shook his head. Planting a lengthy kiss on her lips, "You were a great mother," he complimented her, their foreheads pressed together.
"And how would you know that?" Noelle raised an eyebrow, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. Her fingernails scratched gently at his green shirt. Smirking evilly, she knew he was only moments away from giving in.
"I just have a feeling," he calmly collected himself.
Ceasing the teasing, Noelle sensed Jasper clearly wanted to talk to her about a subject Noelle feared would come up, she let him take the floor anyways, "Would you, if things were different… Would you want that with me?" he inquired, self-consciously almost.
She tried to envision it. The whole concept would be different with Jasper. With Vito, she wasn't surprised she was the only one to make it out alive. Could she? Noelle argued with herself for what seemed like so long, but her vampire brain was so much faster than her human one, only seconds had elapsed. "You'd be great Jasper, in all seriousness," Noelle confided.
Jasper nodded, knowing him, Noelle knew he was going to apologize. Instead of making him feel bad, she cut him off with a more mature answer than the fragment she gave him, "There would be no better father I could pick for my children, but, I couldn't put you through that. Even though Bella's alright, I couldn't do that to you Jasper. Besides, I don't think I could even begin to have confidence in myself considering what happened," Noelle sighed.
Once more, he nodded in genuine understanding. His arm wriggled itself to its rightful place on the low of her back. "I'm glad everything is finally settling down," he closed his eyes in dramatic intonations of bliss.
Noelle agreed. "Now," she pried herself from Jasper, despite both of their dislikes, "What's with you and my visions all of a sudden?" she asked, his nostrils turning upwards at the mere mention of 'visions.'
"Nothing," he kissed her cheek quickly. Noelle glowered, not even allowing the thought of condoning his white lie to cross her mind. "Fine," he huffed. She leered in victory, knowing that they were both putty in each other's hands, and she wasn't about to stop taking advantage of it. Jasper reached for her hand, holding it softly as he told her with a worried look, "I'm afraid that… The Volturi, you remember them right?" Jasper stammered, trying to express himself. His furrowed brow and concerned, gleaming eyes were so cute, though they were discerning to her in the same fashion. "They're going to want you. Noelle, I seriously don't think you know how powerful you really are," Jasper stroked the back of her palm.
"I'm not powerful," she argued. She had nothing that Alice or Edward did not already possess.
Jasper chortled, almost painfully, "You have concrete evidence of anyone's past, and as every second passes, you get more and more information towards what they'll do in the future. Also, you broke the barrier somehow."
"Hmm?"
"You broke the barrier between tactile gifts and mental gifts, something that has never been done before," Jasper briefly smiled, though he still wore the irksome expression. So what if the Volturi would want her? They didn't even know she existed, at least she thought so. "You're a pretty decent fighter though you haven't had any formal training… Noelle, you're like the freaking package deal for them," he grinded his teeth together.
"We'll worry about it when it happens, alright?" Noelle tucked a piece of Jasper's hair behind his ear. She had to learn to play herself down a little for his sake, for Jasper appeared seconds away from exploding. "Let's just get back to what we were doing," she suggested, taking his hand forcefully.
Jasper sighed, rolling his eyes, "Going to show me your weapon stash now too?" he joked.
Noelle grinned, stopping at the closet door. Dumping out a shoebox, out fell more fragments of her past. She quickly scooped the plastic slips into her arms in embarrassment. Jasper had managed to clutch one though. "You aren't supposed to see those," she insisted, trying to grab the flimsy plastic from his hands.
He looked up from the fluorescent orange band and gave her eyes that she didn't know how to interpret. "Noelle," his voice spoke decibels of pure hurt.
She frowned, knowing there were many more to match the solitary one he held reluctantly. Personally, she didn't like to think about it either. "I have a really bad self defeating personality don't I?" she smirked, but not of the result of charm or wit. Jasper didn't find it funny.
"When were you going to tell me this?" he embraced her, running his hand down her arm.
"Yeah, like I could just pick a random time to tell you, 'Hey, babe, I know you're like all happy and stuff, but yeah, I tried to commit suicide a few years back a couple of times.'"
"A couple of times?" He asked, concern washing over his features as he gently forced her arms down.
Noelle sighed, watching all the hospital bracelets fall down. Jasper caught each and every one of them as they spiraled aimlessly in the air. "They tried to send me to rehab too, worst seven hours of my life," Noelle stressed, counting up nine bands in his clutches.
He stared at her, and she wasn't sure how to interpret it all. "Now to that weapon stash…" she ripped herself from his gaze.
Jasper clutched her wrist, "Don't change the subject," his eyes begged.
Noelle felt like she couldn't breathe, though she did not truthfully need oxygen any longer. "I don't think I can visit that today," she took glee in the fact she could no longer shed tears, and the fact Jasper let it go, for now.
