I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight.

Yes, I managed to meet the Friday deadline...Shew! Not much action in this chapter, but every chapter can't be action and angst filled.

Hope you enjoy and please review!

***HP

Knocking on Harry's door first, Jacob waited for the count of twenty before entering the room. He knew that Harry wouldn't answer, so they had worked it out that Harry would throw something at the door if he didn't want him to enter. Since nothing hit the door, he opened it slowly and peeked inside. "Hey, you busy, little cuz?"

Shaking his head no, Harry put down his pen. He may miss a lot of things from the magical world, but quills, ink pots and parchment were not one of them. Doing his homework was much easier and less messy using muggle pens and paper. Since he didn't have to wait for the ink to dry, he could also finish his homework a hell of a lot faster.

Peeking at what Harry was working on, Jacob cringed when he saw what it was. "I'd offer to help, but I only passed Algebra with a D myself. If you need help though, Sam's fiancé Emily is a freaking math whiz."

Harry hated to admit it, but he was struggling a bit with Algebra. It wasn't his fault, he hadn't opened a math book since he was ten. He hadn't met Emily yet, she tended to keep to herself, but he may have to see if she would be willing tutor him until he got caught up. Anyone was better than Edward Cullen.

Flopping down on Harry's bed, Jacob picked up his History book and started leafing through it. "Boy am I glad that I'm a senior this year. Cars I know, Algebra and History, not so much. Heard you had an eventful first day at lovely Forks High."

Groaning, Harry nodded his head yes. Unfortunately he had another fun filled day to look forward to tomorrow. He was dreading going back.

"Heard you met the Cullen kids?" Jacob asked stiffly.

Noticing how Jacob's eyes got a slight glow to them, Harry slowly nodded his head. How did he ever miss the wolf in him before? Remus' eyes would change too when he got angry. Actually, the last time he saw Remus the werewolves's eyes had a dangerous glow to them. It hurt that the man he saw as another godfather hated him so much. It was his fault though, he deserved the man's hate and anger.

Sighing loudly, Jacob hefted himself up. "Dad and Sam want to talk you about something."

Heart rate picking up, Harry looked to Jacob fearfully. Where they going to ask him leave? Were they tired of him always getting hurt? Sam had called him family just an hour and a half ago, what happened that quick to make him change his mind?

Jacob felt horrible when he saw the fear in his cousin's eyes. "Stop thinking like that," he chuckled, knowing what Harry was thinking without him needing to voice it. "Dad and Sam aren't kicking you out. They just need to talk to you about something."

Heart still pounding, Harry wheeled himself out of his room, freezing when he spotted both Billy and Sam sitting at the table looking serious.

"How is your leg, Harry?" Billy asked in concern. This was his first time seeing him since dropping him off at school that morning. He felt bad not being able to pick him up from the hospital, but at least Sam had been there to do it. The alpha had a very big soft spot for the boy. He had only just returned home a half hour ago and he had been surprised to find Sam still at his house waiting for him.

Looking down at his leg, Harry shrugged his shoulders. It hurt, of course, but there was nothing Billy could do to make it better. He had the pain pills Dr. Cullen prescribed, but he couldn't take another one until bedtime.

Billy desperately wished that Harry would start talking. It was very hard to translate shoulder shrugs. "Harry, we need to talk to you about something. I should have talked to you about this earlier, but I didn't think it would have been a problem. Now you know that I don't ask too much of you or have too many rules, right."

Biting his bottom lip, Harry nodded his head.

"Harry, I'm all for you making new friends, actually I strongly encourage it," Billy continued. "but I'm going to have to ask that you stay away from the Cullens."

Harry felt both relieved and saddened. He was relieved because he had feared that Billy was going to ask him to leave, but was also saddened because that meant that he wouldn't be able to see Jasper again. He knew that this would happen though, the wolves wouldn't want him anywhere near the vampires. As much as he wanted to be with Jasper, he would respect Sam and Billy's wishes. He was really starting to love everyone here and he didn't want to risk losing them. It was a good thing that Jasper didn't want anything to do with him anyway.

That sneaky little voice in the back of his head though, the one that convinced him to go after the Philosopher's Stone and to look for the Chamber of Secrets, it was whispering madly that Billy only asked for him to stay away from the Cullens, not Mischief. Also, hadn't Bella referred to him as Jasper Hale, not Cullen? So technically he could still see Jasper since he wasn't a Cullen. He knew that he wasn't being fair to Billy, but he just couldn't give Jasper up completely. He needed Jasper.

"Harry, the Cullens are...dangerous," Sam added gruffly. "We care for you a great deal and we don't want to see you get hurt." He had discussed with Billy letting Harry in on their secret and telling him what the Cullens were, but Billy didn't think that Harry was mentally stable enough to handle that. The news that shape shifters and vampires existed had even been hard for him to swallow, there was no way Harry in his fragile state could handle it.

"A little late for that," Jacob snorted, earning himself a scowl from his alpha. "What?" he cried, grinning. "Harry has been in the hospital more times since he has been here than I have been in my entire life."

Knowing that Jacob was trying to lighten the mood, Harry smiled back at him. It was true, he had been in the hospital a lot. Of course, each time Paul had helped put him there.

Billy was worried about his charge. The vampires were showing way too much interest in Harry to be normal. He knew a lot about each of the Cullens and he knew that Jasper never went to the hospital. Not only was he the one that struggled the most with his bloodlust, but he was also an empath. He could imagine that being an empath in a hospital was pure hell. So why then did he accompany Harry there?

***HP

"You handled the situation with Sam today amazingly," Carlisle said proudly to his son.

"I wanted to rip his head off," Jasper confessed with no shame. It had taken everything in him, plus more, to keep from fighting Sam earlier at the hospital. What helped the most, what kept him from killing the wolf, he could feel how much the alpha wolf cared for his mate. Sam honestly loved Harry. He had assumed that the shifters didn't like his mate and that was why he was so sad, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. It wasn't that he wanted the shifters to be mean to Harry, of course he didn't, but it would be harder to win against them if Harry felt the same way about them.

"This situation with Harry," Carlisle said gravely, "isn't going to be easy and I'm afraid that Harry is going to end up getting hurt in the end."

"I would never hurt my mate," Jasper growled, feeling slightly offended that his father would think that. He had managed to restrain himself all day around Harry, he even let Sam rough him up for Harry. He could never hurt his mate.

Running his fingers through his blond hair, Carlisle got up from the table and walked to his son. "Jasper, you have shown incredible control today, I trust that you wouldn't hurt your mate or force him to bond with you. That's not what I'm worried about. Jasper, Harry is in a very bad place mentally right now. As bad as he is now, he was a lot worse when he first came to Billy. It has taken time, but Harry has come to care a great deal for everyone on the Reservation, especially Billy and Jacob. Harry, your mate, Jasper, is going to have to choose between your or them. He is going to have to chose between his mate, or the first people to ever give him a loving home. How is he not going to end up getting hurt?"

"I... What do I do, Carlisle? I don't want him to have to choose, but the wolves will kill me before they let me near him. I felt it in Sam, he thinks of my mate as his pup, he's fiercely protective of him."

Carlisle felt horrible for his son, this was a bad situation. Finding your mate in a human was bad enough, but it was a hundred times worse finding out that your human mate was living with a pack of overprotective wolf shifters who would love nothing more that to separate your head from your body. His son could only take so much. Eventually he would snap, abduct his mate and turn him. It was a miracle that he hadn't done so already.

"I wish I could tell you what you want to hear, son," Carlisle sighed heavily. "I don't have any magical words of wisdom for you. For now, be patient and try to get to know your mate. You're an empath, help him heal."

Feeling like he was drowning in a sea of his own despair, Jasper jerkily nodded his head then stood up. "I'm going to go and look for Mischief," he said softly, feeling a bit guilty that he had given his stallion much of a thought since meeting his mate.

"Jasper, maybe you should stay here," Carlisle frowned.

"I can't," Jasper said with a sad shake of his head. "Don't worry, I won't go near the border. I just need to think and look for my horse."

Edward waited until after Jasper left before entering his father's office. "Do you want me to keep an eye on him?"

Carlisle wanted to say yes, but he didn't want Jasper to think that he didn't trust him. "No, he'll be alright for now."

"For now," Edward repeated the words, understanding what his father wasn't saying. It was only a matter of time before Jasper's control snapped.

"I'm afraid that this is going to end very badly for all, but especially for poor Harry. The boy isn't handling his past traumas as it is, finding out that he is the mate to a vampire will push him right over the edge."

Edward nodded his head in agreement. "I don't like that I can't read him and that he smells strange."

"You can't read Bella either," Carlisle pointed out.

"Yeah, and look what a psychotic bitch she is," Edward snorted.

"True," Carlisle chuckled. "Have you been able to dig up any information on this mysterious stallion?" Edward had been asking around town, even scouring the Internet looking for lost or stolen horses within two hundred miles of Forks.

"Nothing," Edward growled in frustration. "Honestly, Carlisle, if I hadn't seen the horse for myself, I wouldn't believe that it even existed. It just showed up out of the blue."

Carlisle had been keeping his thoughts to himself on this subject, but he needed to run his suspicions past someone else. "Don't you find it odd that the stallion showed up around the same time that Harry did, and that he also got injured the same day that the stallion did?"

Edward's eyes widened at hearing that. "You think Harry is the horse?"

"I know it sounds completely out there, but it would explain Jasper's obsession with the beast. Edward, when I treated that horse when he was sick, he had no fear of Jasper or I whatsoever. He was actually snuggling into Jasper. It wasn't normal."

Edward flipped open his father's laptop. "I'll start looking for any mention of horse shape shifters. If they exist, there is sure to be stories, legends about them."

"Don't forget that he is from England," Carlisle pointed out, peering over his son's shoulder. "This could also explain his strange scent, after all, the wolves smell horrible to us."

Edward's fingers were flying across the computer keys so fast that it would have been a blur to the human eye. "Harry doesn't smell bad though, so maybe whatever he is isn't considered a natural enemy of ours."

"He also doesn't smell of food either."

"But I can read the wolves," Edward frowned thoughtfully, looking back at his father, "but Harry also isn't like Bella. With Bella there is absolutely nothing there. Harry I can hear a feint whispering, but I can't make out any words. It's as if I'm at the end of a very long tunnel."

"The boy is a little mystery," Carlisle smiled.

"So you don't think that he is a threat to our family?" Edward asked worriedly.

"No, I don't," Carlisle answered without hesitating. "And I have suspected since he first laid eyes on me that he knew what I was. His reaction when he first saw me was extreme to say the least."

"If Harry knows of the existence of vampires, then maybe he'll be able to handle being a mate to one."

"Even if he does know of our existence and can handle being Jasper's mate, there's still the wolves." Carlisle sighed, taking a seat from across his son. It always came back to the damn wolves. "They will do everything within their power to keep Jasper away from Harry, including killing Jasper."

"Do we start packing to leave?" Edward asked with a grimace. He really didn't want to have to relocate already, they still had at least another eight to ten years here in Forks. The cold may not bother him, but he really didn't want to go back to Alaska. One could only take so much of the snow.

Carlisle started tapping his fingers on the table, a completely human thing to do. "I don't think running will solve anything if Jasper kidnaps Harry. The wolves care too much for that boy, they will track us down."

"There won't be much they can do once Jasper turns him. The wolves will then see Harry as their enemy and want to kill him every bit as much as they want to kill us."

"And is that fair to that poor boy? He finally finds a family and we are going to tear him from their arms then turn him into a monster. How do you think Harry will handle being hated and reject by even more family? Family that he actually loves? Like I said, this is going to end very badly."

***HP

Billy placed a stack of pancakes in front of his charge, knowing that he would be lucky if he ate just one. He saw his lunch from yesterday, the boy had only touched the grapes. If he kept this up he was going to waste away to nothing. "Sam has to run into town this morning and he has offered to drop you off at school. Is that alright with you?"

Grinning, Harry eagerly nodded his head. He liked spending time with Sam, he made him feel safe. Maybe it was because in a way he reminded him of Remus. Remus may now hate him, but he still loved the man.

"Great," Billy said, grinning as he watched Harry stuff a forkful of pancakes in his mouth. It was crazy, one kid in his house ate too much, and the other not even enough to keep a baby bird alive. "Sam should be here in ten minutes. Here's your lunch."

Head snapping up, Harry's grin got even bigger when he saw the stuffed bag in Billy's hand. He still couldn't get over the fact that Billy cared enough to pack him a lunch. He use to be so jealousy when Aunt Petunia would hand Dudley his lunch box full of goodies and all he got was a dirty look from the woman. He didn't think he would ever get use to Billy's kindness.

Door slamming behind him, Sam came walking in looking larger than life. "You ready to go, pup?"

Stuffing the last of his breakfast in his mouth, Harry took the bag from Billy with a thank you nod of his head then wheeled himself towards the alpha, feeling warm and fuzzy that the man had called him pup. He was dreading going back to Forks High, but pouting and whining wasn't going to get him out of it. Hopefully today would be better...at least he would get to see Jasper.

"Bastards," Billy mumbled after Sam and Harry drove off. It killed him that something as simple as a crummy bagged lunch would make the boy smile like that. He looked at him as if was handing him over the keys to his very own car or something. It was just a couple sandwiches and some snacks, nothing to look that happy over. How could anyone deny a child something as important as food? It ate at his gut something horrible, thinking of all the times little Harry had to sit and watch people eat while his stomach cramped horribly in hunger.

***HP

Sam pulled up in front of Forks High, his eyes landing on the Cullen kids who were in the parking lot standing around their cars. They were trying to make it look like thy weren't, but he could see that they all were staring at Harry. The wolf was snarling in the back of his head wanting to tear them all to pieces. He was regretting it now, but it had been his idea, sending Harry to Forks High instead of the school on the Reservation, but he had been afraid that Harry would feel uncomfortable being the only non Native American in the school. He honestly hadn't expected the leeches to be a problem for Harry, they normally kept to themselves.

Seeing that the pup was fidgeting nervously in his seat, Sam turned off the engine then turned to the boy. "Do you have any classes with the Cullens?"

Looking into Sam's hard, dark eyes. Harry nodded his head. As far as he knew, since he missed a couple classes yesterday, he had a Cullen in every class.

"Please, Harry, I need you to stay away from them," Sam stressed, his hands gripping the steering wheel harshly. "They may not look it, but they're dangerous. Can you do that for me?"

Harry reluctantly nodded his head feeling like there was a large rock in his stomach. What was he going to do if one of them tried talking to him? He didn't like it, but he would follow Sam's order. In a way it warmed his heart, it showed that Sam actually cared about him.

Ruffling Harry's hair, Sam got out of his truck and walked around the back to get the boy's wheelchair. If he sent at death glare at the Cullens and mentally showed the mind reader what would happen if they messed with his pup, he couldn't be blamed. He was just looking out for the baby in his pack.

***HP

"Can you read Sam from here?" Jasper asked anxiously. He arrived at school an hour early because he couldn't wait to see his mate. He had even ran ahead alone before the rest of his siblings.

"He's ordering Harry to stay away from us," Edward growled. How dare the damn dog say that they were dangerous? He was the one who lost control of his temper and mangled his fiancé's face. "He's even thinking about having Billy pull him from Forks High to go to school on the Reservation.

Emmett stepped closer to Jasper when he started growling. This wasn't helping his control any. "Easy, bro, this isn't helping any. Let's just all walk into school like we don't even see them." When Jasper didn't budge, Emmett forcefully turned him. "For the love of God, will you stop staring at your mate!"

Giggling, Alice linked her arm in her brother's and started walking towards the school. "Don't worry, Jaz, we'll figure something out. Harry seems like a really nice kid, just be extra nice to him."

It was hard, but Jasper fought the urge to turn and look at his mate. This was killing him. He didn't know how much longer he could fight his instincts. He wanted his mate and he wanted him now. Maybe he could have handled this situation better had the wolves not been involved, but they were pushing him over the edge.

***HP

As Harry wheeled himself into his Algebra class, he was stopped by his teacher. Grimacing, he looked past the man and saw Edward Cullen standing behind him. He had a very bad feeling that this was about the tutoring.

"Harry, I have spoken to Edward Cullen and he has agreed to help you get caught up. The boy is a math genius, I don't even know why he took this class. Now, I want you to follow him to the library where you won't be disturbed by what I'm teaching today."

Edward felt a little bad when the boy's heart rate spiked. Obviously he was worried about going against Sam's orders.

Harry wanted to protest, but it's not like the teacher would respect his wishes anyway. Nodding his head, he wheeled back out of the room and waited for the vampire to lead the way. This wasn't good, Sam was sure to smell the Cullens all over him now.

After they got settled at a table in the back corner of the library, Edward looked up at the boy, hating that he could scent his fear. It was different though, he didn't think Harry was scared of him. If he had to guess, he would say that he was scared of Sam finding out that he was going against an order. "I won't bite, Harry, I promise," Edward smirked.

Eyes wide, Harry looked to the vampire. Why would he say that? Quickly digging out his Algebra book, he flipped it open to last night's homework, praying that the time would fly. So far the day hadn't been that bad, of course this was only his third class. There was plenty of time for it to go downhill.

Without saying anything, Edward took Harry's homework and quickly looked it over, noticing that he had gotten more than half wrong. "Alright, let's start with these." Noticing how tense his brother's mate still was, he put the paper down and looked seriously at the boy. "Harry, you honestly don't have to be scared of me. I'm not a mean person, no one in my family is. I don't know if you heard rumors about us being dangerous, but we're not." He wasn't being completely honest, they were vampires so they were very dangerous, but he needed to calm Harry down or else they would never get any work done.

Harry was a bit scared of the vampires, he could admit that, they were vampires for crying out loud and he had no magic to protect himself. Still, that was what was scaring him the most. He was afraid that Sam would get mad at him if he returned from school reeking of vampires. Would Sam punish him for disobeying an order from not only himself, but also the Chief? Billy had asked him to stay away from the Cullens. He didn't think Billy or Sam would hurt him, but the past was very hard to let go of.

Knowing there was nothing more he could do to help ease his brother's mate, Edward jumped in and started explaining what he got wrong and showed him the proper way of doing it. Hopefully he would come around soon, it would make things easier on Jasper if Harry was comfortable with the entire family.

***HP

Even though he was dreading History because his teacher was a complete asshat, he also couldn't wait to get there to see Jasper. This time he wasn't going to stop to use the bathroom first, he didn't want to give the man an excuse to give him detention. Like with Snape, the man seemed to hate him right off the bat.

"How are you doing today, Harry?"

Being caught off guard...again, Harry looked up to see Jasper taking a seat right next to him. Blushing brightly, he looked down at his desk.

Jasper would feel bad over his mate's ignoring him if it wasn't for the feelings he was getting from him. It seemed his little mate already had a crush on him. The was good, it had his vampire purring in delight. "Is your leg paining you today?" Oh how he wished Harry would talk, he was desperate to hear his voice.

Looking to his leg, Harry gave a subtle shake of his head. It hurt, but nothing that he couldn't handle. He just wanted the damn thing healed so he could shift back to Mischief and spend time with Jasper. He wanted to run through the forest again with the vampire on his back...this time in the opposite direction of the Rez. It had been exhilarating running as one with his vampire.

"I'm glad to hear that," Jasper said softly, reaching out and gently touching Harry's shoulder. "I hated seeing you in pain yesterday."

Harry's magic gave a pleasurable jolt at Jasper's touch. What the hell was going on with his locked magic? Why did his magic only do that when Jasper touched him? Why the hell was vampire touching him in the first place?

"Would you like to eat lunch with me and my siblings?" Jasper quickly asked as the teacher walked into the room slamming the door behind him. His vampire snarled, remembering how the bastard had verbally attacked his mate yesterday.

Ducking his head down, Harry shook his head no. He felt bad seeing the crushed look on the vampire's face, but he couldn't willingly go against Sam and Billy. So far he didn't have any say in his interactions with the vampires today. Going to lunch with them would be different and he didn't want to risk it. He didn't want to lose everyone he cared about on the Reservation just for his selfish desire to be near Jasper.

Frowning, Jasper looked down at his History book as the teacher started talking. How was he going to get his mate to trust and fall for him with Sam ordering him to stay away? Harry was safer with him than what he was with those damn dogs. As much as he wanted to spend every second of the school day with his mate, he would be patient. It was either that or run off with Harry now and claim him. That idea sounded absolutely wonderful to him.

Harry was having a hard time concentrating with Jasper sitting right next to him. He wasn't staring at him as bad as yesterday, but he could still feel his eyes on him every once in a while. How was he ever going to learn with Jasper distracting him?

Jasper watched as Harry packed his bags, his eyes glued to his thin and delicate looking hands. Overnight he tried to recall every detail of his mate, but he found that his memory had been lacking. Harry was absolutely breathtaking. He didn't think he had ever seen eyes the color green of Harry's. Despite them looking weary and dead, they were large and seemed to sparkle when the light caught them just right. If he had his way he would spend all day just staring into those enchanting eyes. He was going to miss them after he turned him. He had no doubt that his little mate would still be sexy as hell with red or gold eyes, but he would miss the unique emerald green that they currently were.

Once again Harry could feel Jasper's eyes on him. He just wanted to get away, to find a place to hide away from everyone during his lunch break. He needed a break, some time to himself so he could collect his thoughts before having to sit next to Jasper in Biology. He couldn't keep doing this. All he was doing was torturing himself. He wished Hermione was here right now, she had always been great with helping him understand his feelings. It wasn't just his feelings overwhelming him, but also his magic. His magic wanted to be with Jasper, but that didn't make any sense.

Harry breathed a huge sigh of release when he managed to slip out of the classroom without Jasper or that Mike Newton guy calling him. All morning Mike had been trying to talk to him but so far he had been good at dodging him.

"Leave him for now," Edward said, placing a firm hand on Jasper's shoulder. "I know you want to be close to him, but I think he's scared that Sam and Billy will get mad at him for being near us. Remember, Jaz, your mate has been abused."

Jasper took a couple of deep and unneeded breathes, his hands clenched tightly at his sides. "Do you think the wolves are hurting him too?" he growled dangerously. The thought of anyone hurting his precious mate made him want to go on a killing spree.

"No," Edward said, hoping to reassure his brother before he snapped. He could see a feint hint of black in his eyes and that wasn't a good sign. "I was able to read some of Sam this morning and he genuinely cares for Harry. He thinks of Harry as his youngest and most vulnerable and accident prone pup. Sam wouldn't purposely hurt him."

"But the wolf could if he lost control."

"And so could the vampire," Edward pointed out. "Let Harry be for now, I think he needs some time alone. You'll get to drool all over him in Biology."

Jasper reluctantly followed Edward to the lunchroom wanting nothing more than to turn around and follow his mate. He hated this. Why couldn't his claiming of his mate go easy like the rest of his families? Carlisle's had possibly been the hardest. He had first found Esme when she was just a child. At the time he had felt that there was something special about her, but he hadn't known that she was his mate until years later when he found her again. Rosalie found Emmett dying from a bear attack and had Carlisle turn him, they have been together ever since. Then there was Alice, she saw Edward and the Cullens in a vision. Why did his have to be so complicated?

If Harry had been a vampire, they would already be happily mated by now. Vampires were highly sexual creatures and their instincts urged them to claim their mate as soon as possible. Edward and Alice had only lasted two hours before they gave in. They were so bad that the family left the house for a week to give the newly mated couple some privacy. That's what he wanted. He wanted to become one with Harry, to be true mates.

"Be patient," Edward sighed, reading his brother's thoughts.

***HP

Harry looked at Jasper in confusion when he placed a small, clear plastic tub of grapes on the desk in front of him.

Leaning in, subtly inhaling his mate's intoxicating scent, Jasper gave a quick wink. "You weren't at lunch and I was worried. Yesterday I saw how you were enjoying grapes so I got you some? No offense, but you're too thin."

Blushing, Harry placed his hands on the grapes. During his lunch period he had sat outside doing nothing but staring off into the forest and thinking about his past and present. He wondered how Sirius was doing. Had he woken from his coma? Did he want nothing to do with him? Of course with those thoughts sitting heavy in his gut, he hadn't touched his lunch at all. He was hungry and the grapes looked delicious.

Jasper was relieved when his mate popped the top off the container then grabbed a handful of grapes. Providing for Harry made his vampire very happy.

As Harry chewed the grapes, it oddly reminded him of when Jasper had presented him with treats as Mischief. It my have only been a short time, but he missed those close moments with the vampire. He was anxious to shift again.

Jasper shifted in his chair to get more comfortable, watching as his submissive mate licked grape juice from his lips had him instantly hard. He wanted the boy so bad that it was physically painful for him. Why couldn't he just grab him and whisk him away to Esme Isle? Harry was his...his mate. "I also got you this."

Harry stared at the fancy, leather journal that Jasper was holding in his pale hand. Why would he give him a gift? It was a beautiful, dark brown leather journal that must have cost the vampire more than a few dollars. It didn't make any sense to him.

Smiling reassuringly at his petite mate, Jasper gently placed the journal on his lap. "I figured since we are Biology partners that a journal would help us communicate. Also, sometimes writing down your thoughts can help you feel better."

With a slightly trembling hand, Harry picked up the beautiful journal. He couldn't believe that Jasper would give him something so expensive. Why? The vampire didn't even know him. From what he understood from listening to everyone talk, the Cullens didn't interact with the other students. Why then was Jasper talking to him, feeding him and giving him gifts? Why did it feel like the vampire cared about him?

Jasper reluctantly took his eyes off of his mate and looked to the front of the class. He had done it. He managed to get his scared and lonely mate to feel a bit of happiness. It was weighed down heavily by confusion and self loathing, but he had still felt it. Baby steps, that's what it was going to take to win over his little one. If only winning over the wolves would be that easy. Feeling a light touch on his arm, he looked to his mate and saw that he was holding his journal out to him and it was open.

"Thank you, Jasper."

Grinning at his blushing mate, Jasper reached out and softly caressed his hand, this time not jerking his hand back when he felt the weird electrical shock. "I'll always be here for you, Harry. Always!"

Heart thumping wildly in his chest, Harry slowly pulled his hand back and dropped his chin to his chest, hiding his flushed face. What the hell was going on between him and Jasper? That touch and those words had felt intimate to him...like Jasper wanted to be with him. That couldn't be right, no one wanted to be with him. He was unlovable.

Wincing, Jasper rubbed at his chest, right above his dead heart when he felt waves of despair roll off of his mate. He wanted to reach out and pull the sad boy to him and prove to him how much he loved and wanted him, but unfortunately he couldn't do that. He had to take baby steps.