Bella saw the teacher wince as she passed by him in the hallway and walked into PE. It really didn't do anything for her confidence. Seeing Jasper, however, sitting on a bench and patting the seat beside him, did wonders and she walked over to flop down next to him.

"How was your last class, darlin'?" he asked in a voice low enough that only she heard, as everyone else was milling around the room talking to their own friends.

"A blast compared to how this one's going to be. No offense, Jazz, but I am really glad I can't hurt you, because otherwise I'd be afraid for the well-being of your life and limbs." He just chuckled and ruffled her hair in a playful manner.

"You'll be fine, Isabella," he chided gently. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"It's not me I'm worried about," she muttered darkly.

"So he gets to call you Isabella but you bite the head off of anyone else who does that? Does Edward know you're so chummy with his brother?" Mike's voice intruded rather unwelcomely on the tingly feelings Jasper's smooth accent was causing and Bella had to deliberately remove the annoyance from her features before she looked up.

"He only gets to call me that because he won a bet against me over the summer. How's everything going, Mike?" Her words were cool rather than warm, and Jasper chuckled under his breath as the dismissal went straight over Newton's head. Instead, Mike sat down right beside Bella, a little too close for her comfort. She leaned backward into Jasper's solid form almost imperceptibly.

"Great, great. You should have spent some time with us this year. You would have loved the waves at La Push. Oh, wait, you were too busy taking off to Long Beach with your new best friends. Sorry, forgot." His voice held the bitter note of puppy love scorned, and it annoyed her to no end.

"Mike, I swear, if you can't be civil, I'm just not going to bother talking to you." He immediately looked abashed and Bella felt almost sorry for the way she'd spoken. Almost.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I'd just hoped you and I - and the rest of the group too! - could have hung out during summer vacation."

"Yes, we did rather monopolize her time this year," said Jasper calmly. Bella was shocked that he was speaking up at all. "But you see, it's not every year we have someone new in the family that we can pamper and spoil. The rest of us are just too used to being able to do what we wish. It's refreshing to introduce someone as wonderful as Bella to new delights and experiences." Okay, now she was blushing. Luckily Mike's attention was focused on his rebuttal to Jasper rather than the current reddened state of Bella's cheeks, so she was able to shoot Jasper a warning look and try to get herself under control. New experiences, indeed! Jasper just smiled at her, that quirky, silly grin that always made her laugh.

"Yeah, you Cullens do what you want, all right. Just because your dad's some sort of hotshot surgeon you think you can treat the rest of us like we don't exist. And then when the new pretty girl shows up at the school you snag her, pull her away from everyone else, brainwash her practically!" He had jumped up by now and was shouting, getting angrier that his outburst wasn't phasing Jasper in the slightest.

"Are you finished?" the vampire asked, his voice cool, his accent deliberately pronounced. It was a subtle reminder to the entrie room - most of whom were gathered around now to watch the squabble between the jock and the recluse - that whereas Mike was your average kid, Jasper was anything but. If the tone of voice weren't enough, the deceptive ease with which he was leaning on the bench, one arm loosely draped over the back of Bella's section, giving the appearance of a puma in repose certainly served his purpose.

"I don't know if I'm finished! Bella, what on earth do you see in these arrogant weirdos?" She'd had enough.

"Mike, I'll talk to you later, after you've cooled down." She tried to give him a way out, a way to back off without having to slink away like a beaten dog, but he was too riled to accept it.

"No, I want to know! Is it because they're hot? They're rich? Hell, if it's the money you're after you'd do better to hop into bed with the doctor! Being Edward's slut isn't liable to get you very far." The entire class jumped as her hand slammed out to connect with his cheek. But it was the sight of Jasper standing, slowly and gracefully, a look of pure venom in his eyes that made them all take a step back. Mike, however, though he realized he'd lost this fight, was in too deep for his pride to allow him to back down.

"What, Cullen? You're gonna slap me too?"

"You're lucky it was Bella that connected and not me," he growled. "If I'd have hit you, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now." Bella was worried. She could feel his anger building. She placed a gentle hand on his hip to get his attention.

"It's okay, Jazz, Mike was just leaving. Class is about to start anyway." He looked down at her, his eyes full of rage, and she smiled hesitantly. "Come on, sit back down. Don't beat him, he's not worth the trouble it would cause. And remember? You're supposed to protect me from myself this year." He turned his gaze back to Mike, who was standing his ground though it looked as if he wanted nothing more than to run.

"Because she asks it, I won't hurt you. But I swear to you, if you ever call Bella a slut again, even in jest, or use any disparaging tone or words with her, it will take more than her wishes to stop me."

"What's going on here?" the angry voice of Mr. Smitty rang out as the burly man walked into the gym. Bella tugged on Jasper's waistline, coaxing him down beside her on the bench again. Mike, his expression a mix of something that wasn't anger, wasn't fear, but a healthy dose of both, took a step back, then another, his eyes never leaving Jasper. The teacher pushed his way through the crowd, and Bella watched as he took in the scene - Jasper and Bella sitting on the bench, apparently doing nothing important at all, with Mike standing in front of them, puffed up like the school bully.

"Newton! I don't know what's gotten into you over the summer, but you've become a real pain in the ass. Now if you don't drop the attitude and straighten yourself out, I swear I will have you in detention for the rest of your natural life."

"But Cullen -"

"No buts," said Smitty authoritatively. "In case you forgot, I was the one whose car window was treated to your baseball bat after your little bender at the beach last month. So don't you start blaming anyone else for your attitude. You used to be an okay kid, but lately I've been tempted more than once to talk to your father." Mike turned absolutely white and stammered a response.

"N-no, sir, that's n-not neces-necessary."

"Good. Now that that's settled, I want everyone over against the wall. We're going to take attendance, and then I'm going to explain out goals for the year." He looked at the class, most of whom were still staring from Jasper to Mike and back again. "Come on, hop to!" With that he clapped his hands and twenty-one startled students scurried for the far wall. Jasper stood and pulled Bella to her feet, walking beside her across the floor.

"I should have punched the little bastard," he said quietly. She shook her head.

"No, it would just cause problems. I'd like this year to be as anti-problematic as it can be." He didn't echo her chuckle, instead walking just a shade closer to her, and Bella realized that something really had him bothered. She'd bet it was the same thing that had Edward on edge. But she knew her answers were forthcoming, so she steeled herself to survive PE. She'd worry about everything else later.

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Author's note: Poor Mike. Not. Still, something had to have happened over the summer months to have changed him so much. Wonder what it was?