A/N: Hey, guys and gals! So, this chapter's for ECullen, since they are complete awesomeness, and were the first to recognize Max. :]
So, I'm thinking that eventually, I might need a co-writer or something. . . I've been kinda -cough- very -cough- busy lately, so. . . Should I try to find a co-writer?

Jasper point of view, as always. xP

Disclaimer: I own a pot of Nutella, but I do not own Twilight.

I heard Bella gasp beside me, and I watched as Alice nodded her head furiously, tearless sobs coming from her throat. Max tried to move closer to her, but Rosalie stood in his way. His mouth turned upwards in an expression that I could instantly recognize as a snarl. He was lucky that nobody was paying attention to the scene unfolding.

"I want you to stay here," I told Bella, who looked paler than usual. She nodded slowly, and I let go of her arm.

I strode towards my family and I reached out to grab Alice, but I was quickly stopped by Max. I took a good look at him. He was a couple inches shorter than me, so around six foot tall. His face was framed with dark brown windswept hair. His skin was pale, like any vampire's would be. His eyes were big, framed by long dark lashes and were dark golden in color, almost black. He had some muscle, more than Edward, but less than Emmett. He smiled kindly at me.

"Could you move out of the way?" I asked, frustration coloring my tone. I was quickly becoming angry, but any form of violence would only hurt me.

"We're in the middle of something right now," he answered quietly. His voice was laced with a quiet pain, and a deep sorrow, but under that was some happiness. I looked at his eyes, and they were shining with hope.

Emmett stepped forwards then. "Padilla, he's a part of this family."

Max's eyes widened, and I smiled inwardly.

"B-but, he's a human!" He said, in amazement. I rolled my eyes. That was a lot like Tanya Denali's reaction.

Rosalie spoke up from behind him. "Yes, he is. And we'll explain later on."

Max moved aside reluctantly, but hovered protectively over Alice. I glared at him and went towards Edward. His honey gold eyes met mine, and he grabbed my hand. I tried to ignore the zap of electricity that sparked when our skin touched. He led me to a secluded corner of the cafeteria, then he let go of my hand and sat down. I took the seat across from him. Glancing over towards where the rest of the family were sitting, I could see that Max was speaking to Rosalie and Emmett, and Alice was stroking his hand. My temper flared at that. After hurting her, how could she show those signs of affection?

Edward sighed. "Jasper, please don't jump to conclusions. How do you know that he hurt her?"

I arched my eyebrow at him.

"Maybe I should tell you the full story first…"

I glanced back towards Alice one last time, and then back to him. "Ya think?"

He rolled his eyes and smirked. That brought butterflies into my stomach. Then, the smirk was wiped off his face and he looked down at his hands, which were resting on the table.

"Jasper, did you think that Alice has been alone all throughout her life? With no mate?" He asked me, still not looking me in the eye.

I was about to respond, but my throat closed. I tried to recall if she had ever shown any interest in someone, but came up empty.

"Well, she's never showed any interest in any of the vampires we've met. And she's never had a mate while I've lived with you guys…"

"Well, a couple of years before we saw you, she actually had a mate. She was so incredibly happy with him. They would disappear for days, and come back glowing with so much happiness and love."

I looked at him, intrigued. "Who was he?"

He seemed hesitant to tell me who, so I reached across the table and touched the top of his hand lightly. That electric spark was still there, but just faintly. I tried not to think about it. I wasn't sure if Edward already knew how I felt, but there was a high chance that he read something from my mind, and I didn't want him to feel awkward.

He looked up at my through his dark lashes. "Max."

My eyes widened. I withdrew my hand from atop his, and pointed towards Padilla. "That Max?!"

He looked back down. "Yes…"

"I ought to kill that bastard. Why hasn't he been here all this time?!" I said, infuriated. He had no right to leave, and then barge in years later like nothing happened.

"Jasper, I told you to stop jumping to conclusions. You do remember what Carlisle told you about the Volturi, right?"

I nodded. The Volturi were like vampire royalty. They lived in Italy, and they enforced the laws. They were known for being ruthless and cruel when those laws were broken. Their main one was pretty simple. Don't expose the secret.

"Well, he was charged with breaking the laws. We weren't told which one. All they told us was that attempting to escape was inevitable, and that he should hand himself over. So, he did. He left on a flight to Italy and we never heard from him after."

"Until now," I said quietly.

His head snapped up and he looked at me, smiling faintly. "Yes, until now."

"Alice didn't see a vision about his arrest?"

The faint smile disappeared. "For some reason, she didn't. Aro probably figured out a way to get around them, since he's the only one who completely understands how they work."

I shook my head. "But how is Max here? Shouldn't he be…you know…dead?"

Confusion seeped into his eyes. "Yes…he should be dead. The story that he's telling us is that he was cleared of whatever crime he was charged with. Apparently, they had the wrong guy."

"And you don't believe it?"

He shrugged. "Even though I've never heard of the Volturi getting the wrong person, I suppose I have to. There's nothing saying otherwise, and Alice is really happy."

"If she's happy…then why was she sobbing?"

He laughed, and shook his head. "Did you see Max kneeling in front of her? And our faces?"

"Yes, but I don't see how that has to do with anything…"

"He proposed to her, and she was sobbing because she was happy. Imagine it, you're reunited with your mate after more than five years, and they propose within ten minutes of speaking to you. I'm sure that you would cry, also."

"But then, why did Rosalie stop him when he tried to move towards Alice? And why did he snarl at her?"

Edward rolled his eyes. "He snarled, but with good reason. Even though Alice accepted the proposal, Rose refused to let him move any closer to her. She thought that his intentions were bad, and that he would end up hurting her. Thank heaven above that Alice had a vision of her future with him then, and she seemed positive that nothing could come between them."

I chuckled. "I suppose that makes sense, but I really want to slap him."

His mouth popped open. "Why?"

I snorted. "Because, he proposed to our little Alice in a high school cafeteria. You and I both know that she deserves much better. Nothing less than a chorus of angels playing the violin in the background."

Edward smirked. "You're right. Now, you should go speak to Bella. She looks worried."

"Oh. Alright." I rose from my chair and looked for Bella. She was sitting at a table with Mike and Angela, the only spare chair next to Mike. I quickly walked towards them and sat down. The table went silent.

"Eh…what?"

Angela spoke up. "You okay Jasper? Things looked kind of heated with Edward over there…"

"You and Cullen having relationship issues?" Mike blurted out.

I glared at him. "Mike, I really want to punch you right now."

He blushed, mumbled something that sounded like an apology, and went back to the half eaten apple in his hand.

I looked at Bella, who was staring at me with expectant eyes, then at Angela, whose eyes were filled with concern.

"Guys, stop worrying. Everything's fine."

Kakabel

A/N: Did ya like it? I hope you did. I tried so many approaches and explanations, but this one was the only one that really worked. . .
And, totally off topic, but I'm so happy! I finally read and watched Ouran High School Host Club! Ah, after months of my friend calling me Kaoru. . .