Jasper and Alice walked silently down the violet lit road in the middle of nowhere. The crickets chirped noisily, hidden in the tall grasses of the Texas hills. Jasper gingerly held Alice's small hand in his own, leading her through the darkness. Of course, it wasn't dark to them, it was just as clear as day. The only difference was the change in color palettes. The warm colors of day had bled into the violet and dark shades of night. Alice was lost in her own world, her eyes never leaving the omnipresent blanket of stars above their heads.
Jasper was used to Alice's sudden drop outs. Alice wasn't very experienced with her visions; they still took her by surprise. When her emotions went blank once more, Jasper stopped and turned to look at her face, now a pale white as the purple cloud rolled away from the full moon. Once she opened her eyes, she saw the questioning in Jasper's face.
"We're almost there, but we must hurry. If time passes like it has been, and we keep this leisurely pace, we'll meet morning in a few short hours. Then we'll have to hide away for another day. Let's go."
Jasper nodded, taking her hand once more. They both ran nonstop off into the night, running as far as possible so they could cover as much distance as they could. Alice's feelings mingled with Jasper's own excitement, he felt as if he could see it rolling off her shoulders.
They ran in silence, the only sound was their feet hitting the ground with every quick step they took. Alice's borrowed white shirt billowed out behind her like a ghost floating through the streets. Her face was lifted up into the wind. "I love running," she once told Jasper, "I feel so free. No thirst, I don't breathe while I run unless I have to. I just feel." Jasper couldn't do that; he needed his senses. He felt paralyzed without his sense of smell. He wouldn't be able to taste the air around him or smell his prey. Jasper tasted the air as he thought about it, tasting a distant trace of water lingering in the air. Though it did not sound inviting, Jasper still turned sharply and dragged a surprised Alice behind him.
He focused on the man-made lake in front of him as he jumped over a lopsided, dilapidated fence, and behind him, Alice followed gracefully over the top of the fence like a gazelle. Jasper stopped when his feet touched the scraggly, sun dried, colorless grass. The moon reflected perfectly on the lake, the rippling on the surface distorting the color and shape slightly. Alice squeezed Jasper's hand.
"If only I'd been able to see this. It's very breathtaking." Alice leaned slightly into him.
Jasper started forward, taking long strides until he met the water's edge. "Would you like to swim?" Jasper laughed merrily. Alice looked almost surprised to hear the noise. He rolled his eyes. The water was motionless around Jasper's bare feet.
"I'd rather not." Alice laughed lightly. Jasper shrugged, unbuttoning his shirt swiftly and dropping it by the edge.
"Suit yourself." He dove into the water, kicking his long legs through the black water. Jasper stayed under the surface for a while, enjoying the silence of the water and the feeling of weightlessness. He scanned the floor of the muddy lake, and finding nothing interesting, he surfaced. He could see Alice sitting across the lake, her back to him. She was facing the direction of the distant farm house across the field. There were only a few lights on in the house, and a small wispy cloud of smoke was swirling upward into the night sky. Alice sighed, and Jasper swam towards the water's edge to sit in the shallow slope of the lake.
He pondered this simple life with Alice. They were nomadic, currently living in wherever they happened to be when the sun began to rise. They would move on as the sun began to sink in the sky, and travel all night. They hunted whenever they could, because Alice warned Jasper about the lack of hidden spaces and shade during the day that would not allow them to hunt in daylight. They had covered much distance; Alice assumed they were somewhere in Idaho, almost to their destination of Washington, where Alice was confident the Cullen's were living.
Jasper constantly battled with himself over the matter of living with the Cullen's. He wanted nothing more but to sit and relax and travel everywhere with Alice. He preferred this life. He didn't have to worry about much, and he could live carefree, away from anyone and everything. He found a surplus of prey while they traveled in remote areas, and he met challenges when they were in a more populated place. Alice helped the matter; giving him constant encouragement and love. He didn't want to have to leave the life behind and deal with the thirst again, deal with his constant dilemmas of not being able to handle it. Alice explained that he could no longer be a vampire, but he must pretend to be a human.
"It's difficult at first, Jazz," she said once as they walked through a flat grassland, "but with time it will become easier." She had pointed to their fingers knotted together. "But walking out in sunlight will be a problem. We won't be able to. We must stay hidden, like we did in Texas. We can't risk being seen. And human behavior is what we will have to use, Jasper. No free hunting if you spot an animal, you'll have to use restraint." Lice had constantly gone on and on about the subject of living with the Cullens. Japer wasn't sure he was ready for it.
Alice gasped, and Jasper whipped around to see what had startled her. Her feelings were angry and confused, and Jasper got quickly to his feet. "Alice?" He murmured. Alice stood up now, her body turning unbearably slow to face Jasper. Her eyes met his, and almost instantaneously, Jasper realized what Alice must have seen.
"Alice, I…"
"Don't even say anything!" Alice growled. It ripped through her chest menacingly, and Jasper shrunk backwards a small bit. Alice must have seen him choose living with here, not with the Cullens. He reached out to touch her elbow, but she smacked his hand away. "I can't believe you would choose not to follow through. You promised, I thought you would be true to your word. You are a liar, and after all we've been through, you choose to go back! It's incredible, Jasper!" She took off, sprinting full speed back the way they had entered. She took off over the fence, and Jasper jerked to life. He ran even faster than Alice, soon meeting up with her. She just kept running, and soon they met a small patch of trees.
Jasper took a second to let Alice cool down. He looked at the trees, unbelievably nervous. Would Alice let him explain? Jasper was doubtful, and he pulled apart a stray piece of burlap strung over a tree branch. He knew now that he had to face Alice, so he stepped under a cluster of brambles tangled in the trees and looked around for his companion.
She was leaning against the trunk of a tree, her face in an expression Jasper had never seen before. Her eyes looked as if they would have tears, though he obviously knew they would never be. Her eyebrows were pulled up, but her mouth was angry. She gnawed furiously with her razor sharp teeth at her bottom lip. "You should have told me that you planned to fall back on our plan." She murmured. Jasper heard it clearly as if she'd spoken loudly and directly towards him.
Alice looked away from the big moon looming over the now-rugged terrain to look at Jaspers face. Jasper brushed the soaking hair from his forehead and sat down across from her. He took her hand, but she pulled it away. She had not yet forgiven him. "Alice, it was a decision I had to make. I hadn't really thought it through until today."
"What changed your mind?" She whispered curiously. Her tone was honest; Jasper was not afraid to tell her the truth.
"You mentioned how hard it would be. Lives will be lost in my pathetic attempt to be human." Jasper felt the truth dawning upon him.
"But you're doing so well right now." Alice replied, now confused.
"Alice, love, don't you see? In this nomadic life, we hardly ever meet a human. We avoid busy areas and we mostly travel at night. There hasn't been an instance where I have met a human close enough for me to attack. But I know how close humans get, and that would put them in so much danger from the monster inside that I can't control. I just think it's best to live our lives like this…"
"Is that you're problem, Jasper? Your complete lack of confidence of the control in yourself?" Alice left on that note, standing up and walking at a human pace through the gap in the trees. Where to, Jasper didn't know. He didn't bother following.
Jasper fell back against the leaves, his hair strewn across the soil, his arms twisted over his eyes. He suddenly realized how hurt Alice must have been.
