You sound so innocent,

All full of good intent,

swear you know best.

But you expect me to jump on board with you,

Ride off into your delusional sunset.

I'm not the one who's lost.

...

Bella and Jasper were sitting on the porch; Jasper's head was in Bella's lap as they argued lazily over the pet that Bella was going to get. Jasper insisted a dog, and Bella said a cat.

"Cats are lazy; they won't play with you" Jasper drawled.

"I could say the same thing about you. I guess I'm drawn to laziness," Bella teased, running her fingers through his hair.

Playfully, Jasper nipped at her finger, making Bella laugh, something he aimed to do every day; he loved to hear her bubbly laugh. It mesmerized him, drew him to her.

"Fine, a cat it is."

"I am victorious!" Bella cheered, touching her pointer finger to his cool nose. Jasper took her hand gently in his, threading their fingers tenderly and gazing at their conjoined hands.

"Bella," Jasper said softly, gazing up at the beautiful brunette who's wide, brown, innocent eyes gazed down at him.

"Yes?" Bella asked, grinning gently down at him, her eyes shimmering softly.

Jasper opened his mouth to reply, but he cut off when a sleek, black, unfamiliar car pulled into the drive. Curiosity rolled off Bella as Jasper got roughly to his feet, taking a protective stance in front of her.

"Bella, stay there," Jasper instructed lowly, his voice rough.

Bella frowned deeply, and as predicted, got up, placing her hand tenderly on Jasper's elbow.

"Jasper," she said quietly, "what is it?"

"Marcus," Jasper said softly, his voice hardly above a whisper looking down at her with unfathomable gold eyes.

As soon as the name fell from his lips, the entire Cullen family was on the porch. Carlisle, of coarse, was front and center, Esme at his side; Rosalie and Emmett were off to the left. Alice and Edward shifted Bella and Jasper apart, though both stood on the side of Alice and Edward that would make them the closest, just out of touching range.

As the ranks were formed, Marcus exited the sleek car, his dead eyes flipping through the faces, the relationships. He began to walk forward, but as his eyes rested in the space between Jasper and Bella, he stopped dead in his tracks. For a moment, there was a spark in his eyes; a spark of hope and amusement.

"Interesting." Marcus's voice was hardly above a breathy whisper, but for once it held some emotion. "Their bond." He practically floated closer, gliding over the grass; he came to a stop near Carlisle and Esme, though it appeared as though he did not see them. The burgundy eyes of Marcus sought nothing else but Bella and Jasper.

"Marcus, dear friend," Carlisle greeted, his voice cool and collected. "What an unexpected sur-" Marcus rose his hand, effectively cutting off Carlisle's pleasantries.

"If you'll excuse me. Isabella, Jasper, please come here," Marcus breathed.

Bella's heartbeat picked up slightly, but Marcus did not seem to notice this. With unaccustomed grace, Bella walked down the porch steps, brushing Carlisle's free hand as she went, reassuring him silently as only she could. The two shared a brief look, something flowing between the two that no one could define. Carlisle took a small step back, allowing Jasper, who was half a step behind, and Bella to stand in front of Marcus. The two did not touch, nor did they speak; both looked at Marcus, burning with curiosity.

Marcus's dead burgundy eyes stared at the space between the two, seeing the dynamics of their relationship. Never, in all of his years alive, had he seen a bond this strong. He had seen every relationship, every emotional tie that one could give, but never had he seen their kind of bond. It was remarkably strong, unbreakable; he was convinced that not even Chelsea could have broken this bond. These two would die for each other, kill for each other; they could live solely on each other. They could sustain themselves on each other. They were literally two halves of a soul, two halves of a whole. They encompassed the thing that every mated couple should be.

The word mate, though, Marcus countered himself musingly, is hardly sufficient to define their relationship. It hardly skims the top. I have never seen this in all of my years.

"Remarkable," Marcus breathed, his eyes dancing with a spark of delight.

"What?" Carlisle inquired from behind.

"Their bond is remarkable, Carlisle, dear friend. I have never seen anything like it in all of my years," Marcus stared at the human and the notorious vampire, his eyes unfathomable. "Cherish your time together, young ones. Never let a moment go to waste. Eternity together isn't long enough, I assure you, and it can be cut short at any time."

There was a collective gasp from behind.

"Marcus," Edward barked, "they have no bond. They are simply friends, despite the dangerousness in Bella's part. They are friends, and nothing more."

Marcus looked at the young, cocky mind reader, an amused and bemused smile on his lips. "Are you really that daft, child?"

"What are you talking about?" Edward snarled.

Carlisle turned and glared at his son. There was no reason to get violent or rude, and quite frankly, Edward's behavior toward everyone, specifically Jasper and Bella, was getting on his last nerve.

Marcus barked out a laugh, but punctuated it with a soft growl, letting him know that he was not in the mood for toying about.

"I came here as a correspondent for my brothers, but I find that this is too interesting to ruin prematurely. Continue with your plans to change Isabella on your own time. I shall protect her humanity until...after Edward and Isabella's wedding, no?" Marcus gazed at the family to confirm his assumption.

"Yes," Bella said softly, her voice strong, almost without fear.

"I shall protect your humanity until after the wedding, Isabella." A soft, almost fatherly smile graced Marcus's lips for the first time in centuries.

Bella gave Marcus a brilliant smile. "Thank you very much…," Bella trailed off, not knowing exactly what to call him. She did not want to disrespect him, so she knew not what to address him as.

Marcus smiled uncharacteristically; he found that, like Didyme, Isabella made him, as well as people around her, smile and by jovial. It was a unique thing, and he hoped that eventually, in her own eternal life, she could continue to bring happiness. He made a silent note to visit Isabella or she him when she was granted with immortality.

"You may call me Marcus."

Bella smiled brightly, her eyes dancing with amusement; she was quite taken with Marcus. Not in any romantic way, but rather a fatherly or rather a grandfatherly way, for Marcus was thousands of years her senior.

"Thank you, Marcus. You have no idea how much that means to me."

Marcus bowed his head softly. "Consider it my wedding gift to you."

Bella smiled charmingly at him, leaning toward him and brushing her lips across his cool, soft cheek. Once again, there was a collective gasp.

"You do not fit in with your brothers, Marcus. You are remarkable in your compassion," Bella said softly. She rocked back softly onto both feet and smiled at Marcus, who couldn't help but smile back.

"You are a remarkable human, Isabella. I look forward to your eternal life and what you bring with it."

Bella grinned broadly. "You're not the only one."

Marcus smiled slightly back at her and kissed her forehead, murmuring, "Addio, mio giovane umano, il mio dolce bambino. Sarete sempre i benvenuti nella mia casa."

Bella smiled softly, though she knew not what he said. "Goodbye, Marcus," she replied softly.

The entire Cullen-Hale party watched the regal Marcus go back to his car, then depart from Forks.

"I've never seen Marcus that much emotion," Carlisle breathed, shocked.

"Bella must have some odd talent with strange vampires," Alice said sourly.

Bella rolled her eyes slightly. "Yeah, sure, doll. Maybe."

Alice shot Bella a glare. "I'm really getting tired of you, Bella," Alice said sourly.

Bella pressed her lips together. "Why am I not surprised? It already happened once. You got tired of me, all of you did, and you left me behind. You gonna do that again, Alice? Just gonna start ditching me when you get bored of me?" Bella snarked, her eyes cooling into angry pools of chocolate.

Everyone flinched, even Rosalie. No one could believe that Bella had thrown that in their faces. Alice, of all people.

Alice, malicious as ever, smirked at Bella.

"You know, Bella, that's not a bad idea. First, you go after Edward, and you get him. Is he not enough for you, so now you're going after Jasper?'

A soft noise reverberated in Bella's chest, and Jasper soon recognized it as a growl.

"Back the fuck off, Alice, seriously. I'm not in the mood for your shit. There's no reason to be a bitch because your power isn't working. You rely too much on it; you know, I'm glad that your power isn't working. It's teaching you what it's like to be a normal person with normal abilities. You think that you're superior because you have a power. Well, Alice Cullen, you can go fuck yourself.

"And while I'm bitching at you, I'd find it highly beneficial for you to stay the fuck out of my relationship with Edward. I'm helping Jasper through a rough patch. If you'd rather him still be in the study, being stoic and trapped in his own personal hell, by all means, say so. Prove that you're more selfish than I originally thought. Prove that you don't deserve Jasper. Prove that you're pathetic and needy. Prove that you're possessive and can't change. Do it."

Bella never raised her voice, nor did she use any kind of inflection; her voice was deathly silent and calm, her eyes staring into Alice's without a hint of fear or regret.

Alice flinched back softly. "I can honestly say that right now I hate you, Bella."

Bella smiled sickly sweet. "The feeling's mutual, Pix."

Alice curled her lips back in a fearsome, blood curdling snarl; Bella, however, was unmoved, simply keeping the smile in place.

Jasper came up behind Bella and lightly wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, Bella," he said softly, guiding her inside.

"Jasper," Alice whimpered.

Jasper didn't look back, and neither did Bella; she was so over Alice. Edward followed closely behind the pair, his brows creasing deeply as he looked between the two.

He realized that he couldn't read Jasper's mind; it was almost as though Bella's power had extended to Jasper.

The lack of his mind-reading ability toward Jasper really concerned him. He couldn't help but wonder:

Will things with Bella and I ever be the same again?

Though he did not know it, the answer was obvious. No. Things would never be the same between them again.

A/N: So, this is the last update I'll give ya'll before my vacation. :3 I'm leaving in six hours...I should get some sleep. I'm not going to check my email until I get to my hotel room tomorrow evening. Reviews inspire me to write.

This chapter's idea was given to me by NatalieLynn; I didn't go by her suggestion perfectly because I have my idea for the wedding. Epicness will be the wedding. when I come back, two chapters will probably be posted.

tell me, if I posted one chapter, then the wedding, would things be moving too fast?

Do you want more Bella/Jasper before the wedding?

tell me what you want in future chapters and shit.

I love you all.

-Claire

PS: the italian translates to: Goodbye, my young human, my sweet child. You will always be welcome in my home.