A/N: A couple days late is better than never, right? I was busy this week so I couldn't get this up Friday, but at least it's here now! Things will start moving here now as we're picking up into the main plot of the story, which is nice! We're not quite there yet, but we're getting there! I have most things planned out from here on out, it's just execution of it.

Anyway, I've decided to do review responses. You guys take the time to let me know feedback and let me know your thoughts on the story, so I want to take some time to respond to each of you! So, those will be at the bottom of the chapter.

As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think! Until Friday, love ya!


CHAPTER SIX
Tabula Rasa


"Okay, we're only down by one. That's not an insurmountable difference, we can do this. Casey, make sure to stay up by the post to receive the crosses. Jordan, keep runnin' our defense. Let's go finish this." The Forks High Spartans were losing to another school's soccer team again that night, which wasn't too much of a surprise. The Forks team definitely wasn't as good as my team back home. The difference was, the team back home was a well-oiled machine of girls who had played together since we could first kick a soccer ball around. We knew each of our weaknesses and strengths, and how to work with all of them. The Roseville women's soccer team competed at the State tournament every year, while Forks would be lucky to win the league at all. The good news for us was, the deciding match was that night, our homecoming match. We just needed two goals. "Spartans on three. One, two, three, Spartans!"

It was then everyone ran off the sideline and onto the pitch. The dark green of our team's jerseys hardly stood out from the lighter green of the turf, making the contrast of my bright red jersey even more shocking. The dark clouds hanging over the sky were crying, leaving my hair soaked and heavy in its ponytail. Playing in the rain was refreshing during the warmer months, but in October it left me chilled to the bone. My shoulders shook as I scanned the field, thankful that goalkeeper gloves were protecting my hands from the cold rain.

"I got it!" I screamed only moments later, rushing out and sliding to the ground. Each second seemed to take an hour as I reached my hands out and latched onto the soccer ball, stealing it from the feet of the other team's player. She backed off and turned, running from the box as I gained clear possession of the ball. "Go!" I shouted, urging my team to run further down the field for me to dropkick it toward them. My throat would be scratchy and raw after this match, as it usually was.

The game continued as such. It was the homecoming soccer match, meaning there were more spectators than usual; however, that didn't leave many to fill the stands. I could pick out Rebecca sitting with a couple of other teachers, Laurie sitting just in front of her. Hannah was standing at the half-fence, leaning on the metal to steady her camera. Every so often she would shout for either Jordan or I, cheering us on even when we were losing. I was kept busy through the whole match, sliding and tackling to grab the ball before the other team could score and put themselves ahead by two points. Partway into the last half, Casey scored one for us. We were tied. We were also tired. I could see it on the faces of my teammates; we didn't have many substitutes, so most of us were worn down. The rain made the ball slick, making the game move faster, too.

I could see it. Typically it's easier to tell when a shot is going to be a goal. The girl running at me was large; I could see each muscle in her legs rippling as she ran at me, ball perfectly controlled at her feet. She had a determined look on her face, knowing that she needed to score to put her team ahead of ours and win the league. This one was up to me. I took off. The screams from the crowd were only increasing my adrenaline, making my heart pound in my ears. She made a mistake; the ball went too far ahead of her feet. That was my chance, and I took it. I slid to the ground and wrapped my arms around the ball, proving clear possession of the ball. I heard massive cheers from the crowd, again in slow motion. The girl should have stopped, she had time to. Instead, I felt a stabbing pain in my lower chest as her cleat connected with my lower ribs. Someone was shouting; I think it was me. I could hear a whistle blowing and shadows were covering the stadium lights now, someone was talking to me.

"Valerie! Dryden, look at me. Are you okay?" That was the coach. She was kneeling in front of me, eyebrows furrowed on her face as she looked over me. My hands hadn't let go of the ball yet, clinging to it tightly as if it were a life preserver. My ribs killed, that was for sure. I could see the girl being given a red card, being ejected from the game.

"I blocked it," I murmured. It was all I could think to say. The pain wasn't quite registering with me, the adrenaline of the game forcing me to forget about the injury I'd likely sustained. "We haven't lost."

"No, no we haven't lost," the coach laughed, her worry seeming to ease a little as I began speaking, as my gaze focused on something finally. There was still an underlying fear though, and I knew what it was. She thought I was sitting out for the match, leaving them without a keeper. Coach Johnson was wrong. I could remember being in seventh grade and I'd fallen strange when I'd gone for the ball. Turns out I had sprained my wrist, but it was the final match for a tournament, so I'd played through the pain even at that age. Now this was potentially my last soccer match ever and it was for the league title; the first league title Forks High would win for women's soccer. There was no way I was allowing this injury to rule me, especially when it likely wasn't as bad as that sprained wrist from years before.

"I'm playing," I told Coach Johnson, turning to allow myself room to push up on the ground and get to my feet. Albeit slowly, I managed to stand up and adjust my jersey, hearing the crowd cheer as I stood.

"Be careful," the coach told me, but grinned as she clapped me on the back. It was easy to see the pure relief on her face as she saw I was playing still. I nodded to the rest of the team, seeing them gathered around just behind the coach. They, too, were watching with wide eyes, hoping I would be able to continue playing. I was their only option for a goalkeeper.

I couldn't let the adrenaline fade. I motioned to the referee to signal I was ready to resume play, knowing the more I stood around the more the injury would make itself noticeable to me. The final ten minutes were agonizing still; it was clear there was something wrong. I tried desperately not to focus on it, but my movements were slower than normal. Still, somehow, we managed to hold out the tie.

"Golden goal. That sucks ass," Jordan hissed to me as the whistle blew to signal the end of the game. We circled up in the middle of the field to pick our team of five for the penalty shootout. Each team would pick five people to shoot a penalty shot against the other team's goalkeeper. By the end, whichever team scored the most penalty shots would win the game, and thus win the league. We formed our team quickly, and soon I was lined back up on my goalline. I watched as our team scored three of our five shots. That means I had to block at least three of the other team's goals for us to win.

I blocked the first one. It was a simple read; a flick of the girl's gaze to the left upper corner let me know which way to move when she began to kick the ball. The second one was a well-timed kick into the lower right corner; I couldn't quite get to it in time. That left three more kicks, two of which I had to block.

The third girl lined up. She took a few steps back from the ball, her eyes not leaving mine. That is, until she began running up on the ball. As soon as she did, her green eyes shifted to watch the left side of the goal. There it was, the striker's tell. I leapt into action as soon as her foot collided with the ball, jumping to the side and smacking the ball out of the path of the net, saving the goal. The cheers were as loud as ever; not just from the crowd but from my team, now lined up at the edge of the penalty box. They were watching intently. So much depended on just two penalty kicks. With this second to last kick, I could win the game. My team has gotten us this far, all I had to do was add the finishing touch. There was no way I was going to let them down. The girls watched with bated breath as the other team's kicker lined up. She glared at me through the entire kick, not giving away which way she was kicking. I didn't even notice her tell until after the ball left her foot; her foot was lined up to kick right. I'd already been moving left, so I had to make up for lost time. I leaped to the right, hand outstretched in a desperate attempt to reach the ball in time. I managed to hit the ball out of the way, falling to the ground unceremoniously. My face had hit the goalpost on the way down and I'm sure the liquid wetting my face was most certainly nose blood, but I could care less. A wide smile reached my lips as the referee whistled to signal there was a winner. We'd done it. The team ran forward to meet me then, all of us screaming and laughing, some of the seniors were crying. We'd actually won the league; we'd done exactly what we came here to do, and it was a great feeling. The feeling of winning this league felt like when my team back home had won the state tournament; we'd accomplished a seemingly impossible task as I felt unbeatable in that moment. Hannah was on the field, too, taking a picture of the team celebrating; I was in the front of the shot, blood having run from my nose down my face and covering the front of my jersey, but a bright smile on my face. The crowd was cheering, screaming actually. The other team was already on their way out. The game was officially over.

That was when the adrenaline wore off, and I collapsed haphazardly on the ground.


The next thing I saw was white. It was a dull white clearly not meant to be too stimulating for the person in the room. A constant beeping was heard from beside me, reminding me too much of my alarm for the mornings. The smell could only be described as impossibly clean; the kind of smell that's given from harsh cleaners and antiseptics. Instantly I knew where I was, and instantly that beeping quickened its pace. A hospital, much like the one my mother died in. Much like the one I'd spent the worst day of my life in. There was no way I was staying here.

A groan slipped from between my lips as I attempted to even sit up, though, causing me to flop back onto the bed with a defeated huff. The pain from my chest was unbelievable even when I did something as simple as breathe; moving from the bed was absolutely out of the question. The noises from me and the higher heart rate must have gotten the attention of the staff, as soon enough a woman in blue scrubs was walking at a quick pace into the room.

"It's good to see you awake, dear. How much pain are you feeling right now?" she asked me then, stepping up to the side of the bed and checking the monitors just behind me.

"I feel like my chest got stabbed," I managed, trying not to breathe too deeply lest the pain return.

The woman cracked a small smile at the analogy, clearly noting that I seemed to be doing alright, before returning with, "That sounds about right for two cracked ribs and one broken one." Damn, that girl really did a number on me. "It was your adrenaline from that game that kept you going, it was no surprise the pain made you pass out as soon as the game was over." When I didn't respond, she continued, "Will's been a nervous wreck. Visiting hours are over but I think we can make an exception for one of our own. I'll go get him."

With that, I was left alone again. I took that moment to let my gaze wander about the room. It was a clean white, just as I'd expected. Even the few bits of furniture in the room were white. There were a couple monitors behind my bed, one attached to the end of my finger to keep post on my vitals. An IV was inserted into the back of my left hand, connected to a drip just to the side of the bed. A chair sat to the right of the bed and a familiar jacket was thrown over it; Will had already been in to see me once. Several cards and a few flowers filled the one table in the room. The sight caused a smile to pull on my features; people really did care enough about me to send something if not try to come visit.

"Val," a voice breathed, "Thank God you're okay." Will was practically running into the room at that point, taking up his post in the chair beside my bed, hand grasping out for mine. He was still in his nurse scrubs but it was clear from his disheveled hair and deep circles under his eyes that he hasn't done much but worry about me for the time I've been here. A quick glance out the window let me see that the sun was just beginning to peak over the trees of the nearby forest, letting me know I'd been out for the rest of that night. "I don't know what I would have done if something happened to you."

"Will, a couple ribs are broken. It's not that big a deal," I tried to let him know. He was the nurse, he should have known that I would be okay. My gaze focused on the hand with the IV taped firmly into place, not wanting to see the worry on his expression. The IV tape was beginning to itch; I wanted nothing more in that moment than to remove the needle and allow my hand that brief relief.

"Yes, but it could've been worse. You're lucky nothing punctured your lung, or damaged an artery, or...you could have died if one thing didn't go your way. You've been so lucky," Will spoke then, rapidly as if he wanted to get the words out before I had the chance to cut him off. The man was smarter than he looked; he knew that I didn't want to hear any of it. I didn't want to know how close I had been to being seriously hurt. "I don't get why you kept playing. You should've sat out, that was so reckless of you."

That made a smile come to my lips despite the serious setting of the conversation. "C'mon, there was no way either of us could be anything but reckless with the kind of woman we had as our mom."

"Okay...okay, you're right there," Will finally conceded, allowing a ghost of a smile to hint at his features before his face pulled tight into further concern. "Don't scare me like that again, okay, Val? You have no idea how awful it was to see my sister being wheeled into the ED by an ambulance. I'm supposed to be taking care of you until you're an adult, and I don't want you hurt on my watch."

The words made me take pause. Never once had I thought about how he was feeling about the situation. All I'd ever thought about was how I hated to leave Roseville and stay with a stranger that I called family. I hated to intrude on his seemingly perfect life. Never once did I think about how frightened he must have been to take in an orphan. Take in an orphan and promise she'll be well-kept until she's a fully-fledged adult. He had to protect a sister he didn't know.

"I'm sorry," I managed, "I'll be careful. At least soccer's over, right?" Will didn't respond verbally, just nodded and further adjusted himself into the seat. He let his hand drop mine as he settled in, clearly ready to stick around for the long haul. "How long am I stuck here?"

Will parted his lips to respond, but was beat to it by a calm and gentle voice. "Not much longer, Miss Dryden." I turned my head to face the doorway and see a man who was clearly the doctor in charge. His skin was so pale it only barely stood out against the perfect white of his lab coat. His blond hair was perfect and his honey eyes were so striking I knew instantly who he was. This was Doctor Cullen. "That was quite a match, I must say. You've fractured three ribs, but there is no indication further damage was done. So, you should be free to go home. You'll be sore for quite awhile, as your ribs won't heal for another six weeks or so. There'll be bruising, and you may find some difficulty breathing. No strenuous activities until your ribs are healed."

He spoke so calmly that I was easily assured that all would be alright. The man was positively captivating, just as all of his adopted children were. "Thank you, Dr. Cullen," I managed, a smile becoming much easier to paint on my lips. It was no wonder he was such an amazing doctor; the man had a knack for reassuring someone with perfect ease. It was also no wonder Will was always mentioning the female nurses fawning over the doctor; he was as flawless as his adoptive children. It must have been a requirement in the adoption process, I'd decided, that any kid he adopted had to be of the same beauty as he. I found myself wondering what his wife looked like, if she would be as graceful and gorgeous as the rest of the family.

The doctor spoke to Will for a few minutes longer before disappearing from the room. The nurses came back a few more times to check on me, to remove the IV and disconnect me from the machines. Eventually I was dressed in a spare pair of clothes Will had grabbed from the house and was allowed to leave. The ride home was completely silent, and for that I was grateful. Lately Will and I hadn't seen eye to eye, and the last thing I felt like doing was arguing. The doctor was correct in that I was sore; I wanted nothing more than to lay in bed for the next century and a half, or at least until my chest healed, and that I did.


It took Thursday, Friday, and the weekend until I was able to even stand out of the bed properly, and not until Tuesday until I could move about the house. Finally, a week after the game, I was able to go back to school. I'd been visited by Jordan in that week of absence, who brought me my make-up work and apologize profusely for not forcing me to sit on the bench for the remainder of the game after my injury. I thanked her for the work each time and told her to forget about the match; it wasn't her fault and it was behind us.

I had begun to fit in at the school, but this incident only made me stand out further. As soon as I pulled myself out of the car I felt people's stares on me. Some ran up to me, telling me what a great athlete I was and others admitting they thought I'd died. Drama queens.

"Valerie! You're okay!" Hannah shrieked in English class when I walked in. I was slow moving, but I'd gotten to the class in time. The other girl hugged me, not noticing my soft wince of pain as she embraced me. The blond meant well, and I could see from the look her her blue eyes that she had genuinely been worried for me. "I just couldn't believe it after you passed out! I thought you were a goner! It's so good to see you. You're practically a hero after that game!"

"No, I'm not," I laughed, shaking my head. The girl could be overdramatic sometimes, but that was part of her charm.

"Yes! Everyone's talking about it! You pulled through that injury to help bring the team to victory! There's no doubt that picture's going in the yearbook." Of course, I knew which one. The picture of the team crowded around me holding our trophy; my nose bleeding onto my lower face and jersey. It did look like something out of a movie, I would give her that much, but any other goalkeeper would have done the exact same.

When I walked into chemistry, I was given much of the same reaction. Emmett and his brother were both already there. As soon as the former noticed me, his eyes lit up and called out, "So she lives!"

A laugh slipped from my lips then as I shook my head. He was insufferably sometimes, but endearing. I appreciated the humor when everyone else was acting far too concerned about me. Granted, I was still moving gingerly and surviving off of the pain meds the hospital had given me, but I was okay. People just couldn't seem to see that; except Emmett. "Oh shut it," I simply spoke up, "Everyone's overreacting." It was when I finally got to the table that I noticed the change. "You're sitting in my seat." It was obvious now; Jasper had taken up his typical seat on the far left but instead of acting as a buffer to us, Emmett was perched on my typical seat.

"I wanted to sit here today," Emmett explained simply, shrugging his shoulders and turning his attention to the teacher as the man began to lecture. Any other class and I would have been stressed about missing a week of notes, but I was sure I could easily catch up in this one. That freedom allowed me to begin to drift off, doodling gently in my notebook. That is, until a voice caught my attention.

"Are you truly alright?" It came from my left, surprising me some. The only conversation Jasper and I have had has been less than pleasant. He did seem concerned though, and when I turned my head I could see the way his eyebrows just slightly turned inward to denote such concern. "There've been many...rumors, about how you were doing."

"I'm fine," I whispered quickly back, cheeks heating up at the thought of further rumors being spread about me. "Just a couple fractured ribs, I'll be fine in a few weeks." The conversation was genuinely confusing to me; not once had we had a decently civil conversation, and yet I wasn't feeling any anger building in me when talking to him. It was as though the injury washed the slate clean, gave us a tabula rasa, in other terms. "Why're you so worried? We've hardly spoken."

There was a delay in his response, as if he didn't quite know the answer himself. It certainly was peculiar, but I couldn't comment on it. There was nothing to say without causing an argument, which I genuinely didn't have the energy for. It wasn't until the end of class as I was gathering my books that I even got an answer. It wasn't one I'd been expecting, however, and left me with more questions than before.

"You intrigue me, Valerie. I can't seem to stay away even if I try."


"Who says that?!" I found myself groaning at lunch, forcing my friends to listen to my troubles. I'd been trying to decrypt the statement from Jasper for the rest of the morning but with no such luck. "What does he mean I'm intriguing? And what does he mean he can't stay away!"

Jordan simply looked amused by me, as if this was a sitcom she could find amusement in. Maria was eyeing me as if she couldn't quite believe what I was saying, one way or another. "You have a guy clearly pining for you, and you're that worked up?" Maria finally laughed, shaking her head and taking another bite of her chicken salad. "You're unbelievable, Valerie Dryden!"

That one stumped me. It wasn't logical to me how she could have gone from his statement to automatically believing he felt something for me, but I couldn't exactly tell her so. Luckily, Hannah jumped to my rescue, of all people. She was the hopeless romantic, so I'd assumed she'd stick by Jordan and Maria's opinions of Jasper's statement to me. "There's no way he likes her like that, sorry Val. But who would try to stay away from someone if they like them?"

"What if it's because there's a forbidden love there!" Jordan laughed, clearly amused by the idea but not definitely counting it out.

A roll from my eyes was what she got in return. I took a stab of my pasta from home before finding the energy to respond to her ridiculous hypothesis. "There's no secret family rivalry, Jordan," I returned, shutting down her theory just like that.

"What if it's because he's dangerous?" Maria said it, and although she was joking there was also some seriousness to the look in her eyes. "I mean come on, what kind of gorgeous family just keeps to themselves like that? They live in the middle of the woods on the outskirts of town, they don't talk to anyone else here, and he acted so stand off-ish toward Val when she even came near him." It was a ridiculous idea, and we all laughed about it; however, the thought lingered with me for the rest of the day.

Even as I sat at home, telling Laurie a bedtime story about her ancestor Gideon, I thought about what Maria said. Although it sounded ridiculous, it did make many of his actions and statements less confusing. It made Jasper Hale all the more intriguing, though I hated to admit it. The question continued to be asked in my head through the next couple of days:

What if Jasper Hale was dangerous?


I hope you all like it! Anyway, here are the review responses as promised! These are from chapter four and chapter five.

AHealingRenaissance: Wow, thanks! Yeah, Valerie is definitely trying to move on from Emily's explosion. I can't say it won't go away, as that was her best friend, but yes she's trying! Val definitely recognizes that it isn't totally her fault as Em wasn't that up front about her feelings in the first place.

yasminasfeir1: He might be jealous, yes. It might also make the homecoming dance interesting in next chapter. c;

peterbutter: Thank you, I hope you have a lovely day in return! It definitely is interesting trying to slowly weave Jasper and Valerie's stories back together after a month of separation. Emily definitely is an interesting one and I definitely do feel bad for Valerie for having to deal with the brunt of her anger at losing Josh to Val. Thanks for reading and taking the time to let me know what you thought!

DarkAngel2581: Thank you so much! That means the world to hear that you've enjoyed it thus far. Sorry it took a little longer to update!

yasminasfeir1: Aw thank you! You're too sweet, I'm happy you enjoyed it. There'll be more cute moments next chapter. It wasn't soon, but here's an update!

kuppcake: Thank you, it means so much to hear! Seriously, every review I'm getting about how you've liked the story or little ways to improve it just brighten my days and make it a little easier to write even when I'm having a stressful/busy week, so thank you.

Thank you all so much, and I will try to get another update out this Friday! c: