All things TWILIGHT belong to the amazing Stephenie Meyer.

C4: Personal Angel

You were not alone
Dear loneliness
You forgot
But I remembered this
Oh stranger stranger
Stranger things have happened, I know
Stranger Things have Happened – Foo Fighters

My eyes fluttered a couple more times before the weight of the darkness truly consumed me. The last image I saw was the swollen sweaty face of my attacker approaching mine, his tongue licking his bottom lip as my body finally fell limp.

"Don't even think about it," A voice rang out in the small space, filling the silence and creating a ringing in my ears that stung. I had no energy left to struggle, my feet were off the ground and the large hand around my neck still hadn't slackened.

"Get the hell outta here kid," The man's voice vibrated through his body, I felt every movement in my sensitive neck. My throat was burning I wanted to scream, but I had no breath, and I was falling apart. I was fighting the unconsciousness I had craved not minutes before, there was hope for me.

"Let the girl go,"

"This is none of your business,"

"Oh, but I think it is," My eyes strained to see who was stood at the alley entrance, a disarray of blond hair made my heart sink into my chest. Yes, there was help, but there was a chance he could get hurt.

The man's hand loosened around my neck; a surge of shockingly cold air burned down my chest filling my lungs as I spluttered and choked. I didn't even feel my feet hit the ground, and I was only aware that I was falling because the two tall men grew taller. I landed in the snow on my ass, still trying to readjust to the air filling my lungs.

My head spun and ached, my vision blurred and then sharpened. How had I let this happen? All of this was because I hadn't kept the fundamental rules in my head. It was one of the first things Julia taught me. Never let yourself get cornered.

I closed my eyes and pulled my knees to my chest, resting my forehead on them so I could regain some equilibrium. I was so dizzy and the cool fresh air was still leaving a trail of fire down my chest.

The grunts coming form the other side of the alley concerned me, but I couldn't move. I was frozen in shock, and it was laced with the guilt that I could do nothing to effectively help the blond boy that had come to save me.

"Miss?"

My head shot up from my lap, but the dizziness consumed me again making me groan and lay it back on my knees. I felt a gentle, but warm hand rest on my shoulder. I was still taking deep measured breaths trying to even out my breathing.

"Are you okay?" The voice was closer now, almost to my ear.

An overwhelming sense of gratitude filled my body as I realized the magnitude of what he'd just done for me. Without really thinking about it, my arms wrapped tightly around his neck, my body was pressed tightly against his, and I cried.

My entire body shook violently as he gracefully just held me. He never said a word, and neither did I. It was the first real genuine interaction I'd had with another human since I was taken from my fathers friends. It was nice, and so very different. Then, all too soon, I remembered who I was and where I lived. I pulled away quickly covering my face with my hands.

"It's okay, you're safe," His voice was softer than it had been in the parking garage, and his tone was soothing.

"I'm sorry," I was whispering from behind my hands, my voice cracking in all the wrong places. The effort to speak hurt my throat more than I could have possibly even imagined.

"What are you sorry for?" His question was followed by a light chuckle.

I didn't answer, I couldn't. For the first time since I had started living on the streets, I realized that I was ashamed of where I lived and what I had become. Every justification I had given myself sounded pathetic and weak, it didn't even make sense to me in that moment. How could I possibly expect him to understand?

"Come on, lets get you out of the cold,"

He stood up beside me, and I peeked up at him through my fingers. I couldn't believe he was being this nice to me. I was sure he realized what I was, he had to have. still, he held out his hand to me and smiled. His left eyebrow lifted slightly.

"Thank you," I offered, as I placed my hand in his and he pulled me to my feet. "For everything. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't of come."

"He would have killed you," His fingers brushed along my neck with an unexpected tenderness. I shuddered against the warmth of his fingers. "Your freezing cold, and your neck is already bruising."

I shrugged, tightening my jacket around me. There wasn't much it would do now it was wet but I hoped it would give off the appearance that I was going to be alright.

"Look, you don't seem to be a person of many words, and that's fine, but I was hoping you'd let me drive you home. You seem to have had enough excitement for one night."

I shook my head fervently, "It's fine really, I only have to walk a couple of blocks."

"You'll freeze."

"I'll be fine, I do it all the time."

"Will you at least come with me so I can give you a decent jacket that isn't soaking wet?"

"Honestly . . ." I paused, I knew his name but I didn't want to explain where I'd heard it from. I would come off looking like a stalker.

"Jasper, and your name?"

"Bella," He smiled. Holding out his arm for me to take.

"Well, Bella, I'm not taking no for an answer. I'm not parked far from here, so if you insist on walking, I insist on giving you a better jacket."

I smiled broadly at him. He was insisting on being kind. People like Jasper made it easy to see the good in humanity, even after my little experience. He'd saved my life, and all he was asking me to do was trust him enough to let him help me more. I could do that, I could trust him.

I linked my arm through his and let him lead me out of the alley and into the cold streets. The wind had picked up again and the snow was falling a little harder than it had been. It was going to be a bad night. It appeared Jasper would be a god send, one I couldn't have thought to ask for.

He lead us silently through the crowds, I noticed women watching him with lustful eyes before glancing at me and doing a double take. I knew it looked odd, and even I was a little uncomfortable with the stares, but Jasper kept his head held high as he moved through the people.

He lead me across the street to the parking structure that I knew all too well, and lead me through the regular door and down the stairs to the lower level, where I knew his car would be. Something about him kept me at ease when I should have been nervous.

If I thought about it, I was putting myself in exactly the same position I had been in the small alley. I was alone, with someone almost twice my size, and it didn't take a lot to know how strong he was. His arm muscles flexed as he walked and I could feel how solid those muscles were, even through his thick winter coat.

He stopped at the shiny car I had seen him at this morning and pulled a key from his pocket. He pressed the button once and the truck popped open. Again, I should have been scared, but the fear never came.

"There's supposed to be a snow storm coming through tonight," he said thoughtfully, rifling through some of the things in the trunk.

He mumbled quietly to himself as he rifled through his belongings. I waited patiently, stood beside him, enjoying the sound of his musings. I couldn't make out what he was saying but the noise was comforting. I could only imagine the bemused smile that was currently on my face.

He straightened up with a smile that could win anybody over and turned to face me. He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"What's the matter?" I asked self consciously, looking at him and then down at myself.

"Take your jacket off, I have an idea."

"Oh," I blushed. The t-shirt I wore underneath wasn't exactly clean, or whole.

"It's fine," he sighed, smiling encouragingly.

I nodded again and pulled the jacket down over my arms. I immediately regretted it and almost pulled the jacket back on when his eyes lingered on the shirt underneath. I guess he hadn't figured it out earlier. I could feel the blush rise up on my cheeks as his eyes seemed to really take me in for the first time. His eyes moved up to my face slowly.

"Shit, sorry Bella. You must be freezing stood there with no Jacket on." He pulled a throw blanket from the back of the car and wrapped it in an odd way around my torso. It was warm and thick, the material brushed against my skin instantly relaxing me.

"Okay, hold these two ends." He smiled at me and went back into the trunk to retrieve something else. He pulled out a worn looking cable knit sweater. He grabbed the ends of the blanket I was holding and handed me the sweater.

I stood looking like an idiot, not moving. Just holding the warm woolen sweater in my hands. It was thicker than I'd thought. My fingers tingled with the warm sensation. Coupled with the heated flush that Jasper seemed to bring me, I was comfortable.

"You can put it on," He laughed.

His eyes twinkled as he watched the blush rise in my cheeks. Shaking off the slight daze, I pulled it on, a little embarrassed about my confusion, but the tension was eased as we laughed at the size of it on me. He dropped the ends of the blanket as the sweater fell down around his hands.

We looked at one another, our eyes lingering before he turned to the car and pulled out a thick looking Jacket and held it open for me.

"Jasper, really, that's too much,"

"Bella, it's going to be blizzard like out there, it would give me piece of mind if you just accepted this for me."

Where the hell did this guy come from? I finally relented and slid my arms through the sleeves of the jacket, laughing when he zipped me up and fixed all the fittings on it. The smell inside of it was amazing, it smelled like he had when I'd unthinkingly thrown my arms around him.

Everything was entirely too big for me, but the jacket had a hood, and both sets of sleeves fell down around my hands, it would protect them from the wind. Of that much I was certain.

I stood awkwardly in front of Jasper, his wide smile and amazing blue eyes looking supremely satisfied at the work he'd just completed. He put up his finger as a gesture for me to stay and disappeared to the front of the car, I looked around the garage hoping that the guard wouldn't come rushing down here.

Who knows what this would look like from the perspective of an outsider. It wasn't something that normally concerned me, but in some ways it felt as though Jasper simply overlooked my appearance and obvious homelessness. It was the fear that someone would pop the small illusion that concerned me.

Jasper was gone a while, and I let my eyes flicker to him as he sat half inside and half outside of his car. I couldn't see what he was doing, so I let my eyes wonder back to the emptied garage. He finally came back and appraised me with a bemused smile. I couldn't help but giggle at him. I felt ridiculous.

"Okay, you are now free Bella," He smiled, as he slipped something into the pocket of the jacket and winked. "Call me if you need anything, how do you feel?" He chuckled.

"Stupid, but surprisingly hot."

"You could say that," he laughed, walking towards the stairs. He held the door open for me as he pressed the button his keys locking the car. I stepped into the stairwell and climbed slowly beside him. Not really sure of what to say next. His generosity had astounded me.

He opened the street level door, and a blast of arctic air surrounded us. The snow had really begun to fall now, and a thick white layer covered everything. The dull orange glow of the street lamps only seemed to amplify the thickness of the small white puffs. Jasper looked over at me surreptitiously from the corner of his eye.

"How do you feel now?"

"Warm," I laughed, and I really meant it. I could only feel how cold the wind was on my face, and as soon as I pulled up the hood, I knew I could probably remedy that too.

"Good," Jasper smiled, "Do you have to go? Or would you like to hang out a little longer?"

My mind traveled down an avenue that had been highly unused for a long time as I actually considered joining him for longer. I enjoyed his company, he was sweet and kind, but I didn't want him to pity me.

That wasn't my only thought either. Julia was probably freezing under the bridge and I knew the blanket wrapped around me would probably keep her warm, easing her aching bones.

"I would love to spend more time with you Jasper, but I really should be getting back." The real world was calling and I couldn't avoid it much longer. In reality, even though I would happily spend more time with Jasper, I would only be hurting myself.

"Well, I'm sorry we met under such unusual circumstances."

"Thank you, really. For the clothes, for saving my life, for being such an amazing person."

Jasper laughed and pulled me into a hug, kissing my forehead once before stepping away again. His bright smile and warm blue eyes shone in the dim orange light of the street lamp. My heart beat against my ribs as our eyes met again. He had a profound effect on me and it scared me.

"Well, bye," I blurted out, backing away from him before my own mind became even more confusing, and I actually ended up convincing myself to stay with him.

"It was good meeting you, Bella,"

"You too, Jasper," I grinned, stepping backwards. My foot caught on the edge of the curb and I slipped on a patch of icy snow. Jasper's arms shot out, but I had already steadied myself. The blush rose to my cheeks as I grinned meekly.

His arms were once again tightly wrapped around my waist, I could feel them against me even through my new layers. I straightened myself up and stepped away from him again, ignoring the slight draw I had to him. I smiled and waved once more before turning around and hurrying down the street.

I couldn't keep myself that close to him anymore, I had to be the one to break away. Even here and now I could feel his eyes on me. I stopped when I reached the corner and turned around to look at him. He was still stood in the same spot with the same smile, watching me as I left.

I waved once and turned the corner hurriedly taking a deep breath. Did all of that really just happen? I looked down at the clothing that surrounded me, small puffs of white snow littered the material as the blizzard became progressively worse. I was warm though, and it wasn't just the clothing that created it.

I started back towards the bridge slowly, comfortable in the heat that now surrounded me. The conversations and warm feeling I had while were together swirled around my head confusing me further. We were from completely different worlds, there could never be anything more than there was between us tonight, and that thought actually saddened me.

I didn't even know what that was, I had no words to describe it, all I knew was that I had enjoyed the normalcy of being close to him, I enjoyed our comfortable silences and I enjoyed his company. His smile was warm and reassuring.

I needed to stop thinking about this, about him. He made me so confused. His kindness had been more than I had ever expected and I didn't know how I could ever repay that. From the fear of being in that alley to the overwhelming sense of relief when he found me it all dissolved as one though occurred to me. How long had I been gone from Julia?

I still hadn't found her food. I knew I would be alright, the adrenaline that was burning through my system, had pushed my hunger far from the forefront of my mind. I turned in the street and flinched as the icy breeze caught the side of my face I had been slapped on. I knew it was going to leave a bruise, and Julia would blame herself.

No matter how much I reassured her, Julia would blame herself for my going out at all. It wouldn't matter that I had gone on my own merit, that I had been just as hungry as I knew she was, that I had made the mistake of letting myself get cornered. More frustrating than all of that, I still managed to come out of it all empty handed.

I couldn't go back to the Alley's and risk the same situation I had just been rescued from. The Deli had been closed for hours. There was nothing I could do. I just had to go back to the bridge and hope that I would be early enough tomorrow to get to the deli and pick up a sandwich for her.

The glacial wind swirled around me again and I shuddered. The breeze had found the opening to the sleeves and traveled up my newly warmed arms making the cold seem that much more biting. I shoved my hands in the pockets of the jacket and huddled over enjoying the hood a little more than I should.

I let my hands search for the small slip of paper or card that he'd slipped into the pocket earlier and sighed a breath of contentment when I found it. I would never use the number, but I knew that just having it would brighten my days. As pathetic as it sounded, he'd been the highlight of my life on the streets. A truly caring person with a friendly nature and an amicable temperament, he gave me a larger shot of hope than I had ever even considered.

I pulled it out to see what he'd written, by my breath caught in my throat and a choked sob spilled from me. There was indeed a note with his number on it, but wrapped inside of the note was a one hundred dollar bill.

I unfolded the slip of paper and let my eyes scan across the words. A deep feeling of appreciation and affection filled me. I had never, in my seventeen years, met anyone like Jasper Whitlock.

Bella,
I knew you wouldn't accept this from me so I am forcing it on you. I know you're hungry and I can't consciously let you go without knowing you have at least some way of feeding yourself. You were trying so hard to hide your misfortune I didn't want to embarrass you by asking.
Please, promise me that if you ever need anything, even if it's just someone to talk to you will call me.
Jasper Whitlock.

Underneath it has his phone number.

He knew, he knew I was homeless and never made me feel uncomfortable about it. I shook my head in amazement. Such a contrast of experiences in the same night. All of the hopelessness and fear, was replaced by trust, hope and an overwhelming happiness I couldn't explain.

I looked around where I had frozen in mid stride, I knew I wasn't far from an all night diner that would be more than happy to take my money. It was comforting to know I could feed my friend and myself, maybe for an entire week if we preserved the money well. Maybe even longer if we were to stick to dollar menus in the fast food restaurants. There were hundreds of different possibilities if we preserved the money, and even though it was dishonest, if I was still able to get sandwiches from the deli, we could stretch it even further.

I headed towards the diner and smiled to myself. I didn't even know how to start explaining this to Julia and I was happy knowing, that for once, I could tell her my story. It was all a little unbelievable, even I was having trouble believing my good fortune. Even in my mind he was more like a figment of my imagination than an actual reality.

The small diner was almost empty when I stepped inside, I knew that my jeans were filthy but I was sure the heavy coat masked everything else of my appearance. I approached the counter and smiled at the girl behind it.

"What can I get for you sweetheart?"

It was amazing to me how peoples demeanors changed when they didn't know you were homeless. If I had walked in even a couple of hours ago I knew that I wouldn't have had the same reception that I had just received.

In my musings, I took some time to look at the menu. I had to order something that wouldn't be too heavy, I wanted nothing more than to over indulge in everything I could get my hands on but I knew better. I knew richer foods and greasier foods would just make us sick.

I looked over the menu and decided on two patty melts, and order of fries to share. I would pick up something to drink in the small corner store closer to the bridge. The woman disappeared and asked me if I wanted anything while I waited. I took a soda, a coke and it was heavenly.

I sat in the warm diner and waited quietly sipping on the soda in front of me. I was beginning to feel a little better now. The sugar seemed to seep into my system making me feel almost human again.

The waitress kept throwing furtive glances at me from the corner of her eye. It was making me nervous. I was starting to think she'd figured it out and when she approached me, I braced myself for her to request that I leave.

"Hey sugar, listen. I don't want to be rude and I'm really not trying to get up in your business, but there is help out there." I sat taken aback and looked at her curiously.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand," I whispered. I was perplexed as to what she could possibly mean. That was until her hand reached out to touch me cheek, and everything came crashing down around me.

"Oh, no, I appreciate that, but I'm just clumsy,"

The smile she gave me told me she didn't buy a word of that. "Unless you fell into the hands that left that mark around your neck, I would say that your covering it up. Believe me, I have been there and he's not worth it. I stayed with my husband two years to long, and spent a week in the hospital after one of his beatings before I realized that, if I stayed I would end up dead. You're young and beautiful, you don't have to put up with his shit."

"Maybe you're right," I sighed finding it easier to go along with the lie than to tell her the truth.

She gave me a kind smile before squeezing my shoulder and walking away. It truly was bizarre, I had no idea what to even say to her after a conversation like that. Yet her kindness still touched me. It seemed I was having one of those days.

By the time the woman appeared with our food, I was relaxed again. I paid her and took my change, and I left her a small tip. I wished I could have given her more with the kindness she'd shown me, but I needed everything I could get.

I stopped in the small corner store and picked up two bottles of water before heading back to the slippery slope. I worked my way down it, trying to remember the path John had taken earlier in the day, hoping that I wouldn't fall and ruin everything I had just bought.

I made it down without incident, celebrating with a mental victory dance at my temporary stroke of good luck. For some reason things just seemed to be going right since . . . well, since I met Jasper really.

I took off towards the opening to the bridge again with a small smile, but stopped dead in my tracks. Some suspicious looking men were stood at the edge of the opening smoking from a small glass pipe. I knew what they were doing and alarm bells started to ring again. Them being here meant we had to be on our toes. They stole, they fought and they brought attention to our small community.

As I got closer, their eyes lifted to me, but they ignored my presence so I continued on. I stayed prepared though, they were more often than not herded away by some of the men that had been here for a while, but no one begrudged them the shelter on a night like this.

Their presence, was another downfall of this weather. The drug addicts needed somewhere to keep warm, and they took risks they normally wouldn't. My pockets began feeling like they weighed thirty pounds, I would have to keep the money hidden at all times. If they knew I had it, they wouldn't hesitate in taking it. I was smaller and they had a need.

I moved deeper under the bridge offering a small smile to the men so they wouldn't start asking questions or harass me about being a narc or informant. I'd had those conversations before and they weren't something I wanted to repeat. Julia had told me on my first encounter with an addict that the drugs made them paranoid. It was something else that just became one of those things you deal with.

It wasn't the perfect solution, but what else could I do?

Thankfully, they smiled and nodded and let me pass without so much as a word. I stayed conscious of them, of where they were at all times. My body only started to relax as I stepped into the darkness. There was only a dull light in here, it was practically black, but my eyes adjusted quickly.

I carefully made my way through the darkness to where I knew Julia would be.

"Bella bird?"

"Yeah it's me."

"Where have you been? You never go out this time of night."

Her concern touched me. It screamed Julia.

"I went to find us something to eat, here," I handed her one of the take out boxes and a bottle of water.

"How?"

I knew she would question this immediately and I had to answer her honestly. As I've said before I'm a terrible liar for one thing and she wouldn't rest easy or eat until I explained.

"I was attacked tonight," I sighed, cringing as I waited for the response.

"Oh sweetheart, what happened?"

I explained everything, right up to the point of putting my hand into the pocket of the jacket and finding the money. She seemed to enjoy the story, sitting silently eating the food I had picked up.

"You have a guardian angel child," she sighed, taking a mouthful of water.

I giggled, I knew that I was lucky, and I attributed that all to luck, but maybe she was right, maybe I did have someone watching over me.

I rolled onto my knees and pulled up the layers of clothing I was wearing, unwrapping the warm thick blanket from around me. I threw it over Julia as she curled up in her usual spot.

"What's this?"

"The blanket Jasper gave me."

"But . . ."

"I have a sweater and a jacket, I'll be fine."

Julia made the motion to argue but I sighed loudly cutting her off. She gave up and accepted the gift. She knew me well enough to know it was pointless to argue. We fell into silence quickly, both with full stomachs. I felt satisfied for the first time in a long time and I knew I had Jasper to thank for that.

"Hey, Julia?"

"Yes Bella?"

"Would you look after the money, you know how clumsy I am."

"I don't know Bella, I . . ."

"I trust you Julia,"

I reached into my pocket, extracting the cash, but keeping the note. I felt around the darkness for her hand.

"Bella,"

"Please, I know that you won't deceive me. Anyway, I know where you live,"

Julia laughed and let her twisted fingers curl around the money.

"I'm putting it in the zipped pocket inside my coat. If you need it while I am asleep or something, you'll know where to find it."

"Thanks Julia,"

She mumbled something I didn't quite pick up and I laughed, she was too easy to read.

I curled up in my small spot and felt the warmth surrounding me. Images of Jasper's face fluttered behind my eyes as I let my exhaustion take over. He would never know what his kindness meant to me, and he would never know the solace he brought me when I saw his face behind my closed eyes.

A/N: Yay! Bella's safe . . . maybe! It's the first chapter with any kinda dialogue so hopefully it will start moving a long a little quicker.

Reviews, as always, have reply's with sneak peeks, and on Friday's there is a bigger chunk on the forum, link on my profile. I also have a blog that will be up and running soon.

Couple of announcements, The Pirate competition has started . . . details and link to the C2 on my profile, three outstanding entries already, who can resist smutty pirate goodness :)

Outstanding fics, all can be found in my faves, I think, but I do get lazy, so I may have to remedy that!
Voice Inside my Head by miztrezboo, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by bemylullaby, Brotherly Devotion by goldentemptress, Changing Perspectives by Orioncat, The Appointment by miztrezboo, and For Better, For Worse by bemylullaby.

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