Disclaimer: Please don't make me say it…I like pretending I own these gorgeous, bloodsucking creatures! Oh all right…Stephanie Meyer owns them…

JPOV (Jasper)

I let the cold rain slowly start to drench my shirt, as I looked upon my fortress of doom. I hadn't moved from the path where Edward had dropped me off on his way to suffer his fate at the hands of Chief Swan only minutes earlier. I studied the building with scorn. It was brick, and friendly looking, but even from here, I could smell that dreadful and yet delicious stench of young children. Large, colourful letters were stuck at odd angles onto a sign that read, "Scallywags", and underneath it, "Fork's Pre-School". My lips twitched in disgust at the words.

"Can I help you?" I turned my head slightly to address the speaker. She was a teacher here – I could tell. She had her brown hair braided into two long plaits that reached her waist, and she wore bright red overalls with a blue t-shirt underneath. As if that wasn't enough, she had that carefree, playful expression that these strange humans whom had chosen to cling to their childhood and be kindergarten teachers, wore. Yes, you can help me I thought. Disappear?

Strange waves of anxiety and disapproval were sparking off her, like static. I realised how worrisome I must have seemed. A tall, mysterious male, standing in the cold wind and rain, staring down a children's classroom. Paedophilia anyone? I forced a polite smile to my lips, and responded, "My name is Jasper Hale. I'm here on work experience."

I felt the relief and recognition before I saw it light up her rosy features. I found the relief a bit unnecessary – we weren't even in the classroom yet. "Oh, that's right, Jasper!" Her enthusiasm was sickening. "Well, come on in!"

Must I? I trailed behind her as she led the way up the concrete path and into the asylum. I noticed she seemed to skip as she walked, causing her ponytails to swing in a hypnotic motion. She reminded me a little of Alice, only, when Alice was this cheery, she was actually cute. Ahh, Alice. The only reason I was about to walk into my own personal hell. I let the image of her pixie-like face flood my mind as I stepped cautiously over the threshold.

We were in a small room, which I assumed was reception. A curly-haired woman sat behind a counter that spread across the back wall, which was a bright canary-yellow. I had to blink a few times before my eyes could adjust to its brightness. So, they are trying to blind the children…

"Morning!" came the voice of my wannabe five-year-old companion. The grandmotherly woman behind the counter beamed up from behind a pair of glasses, and nodded in greeting as the girl in overalls escaped to a back room. Her eyes then fell upon me, and I felt the curiosity radiating from her every pore. Two women so far, and not one shred of lust had been thrown towards me yet. My ego felt momentarily wounded, until I remembered everyone here had the emotional age of a small child, and I let my chin lift a little.

In the next room, I could hear the sound of excited squeals mixed with the rapid heartbeat of children. Venom flooded my mouth, and I swallowed hard, fighting my thirst. I could do this. Alice had taken me hunting once we had discovered our results, and my eyes were now a glittering gold in colour. Still, the knowledge that fresh blood – young blood – was pulsing through tiny defenceless bodies only mere metres away…was mouth-watering…

No, no, no! Fight, damnit, fight! I forced the venom down my throat, and it slid, burning, down to my stomach. I held my breath, and imagined my spiky-haired freak going crazy in some nearby shopping mall, wide smile stretched across her face and an exasperated shop assistant in tow. That face, that beautiful, pale and gorgeous face…I had to do this for her. I had to live this life, for her.

The rosy-cheeked teacher returned, beaming wildly at me. I could feel her excitement and anticipation practically throwing itself at me. Surely no one can be this excited about entering a room full of screaming, smelly children? "So, my name's Jaime, and I'll be, well, you're boss I guess!" She giggled childishly at me, and I felt her amusement. It didn't cheer my grim demeanour. "But I'm not going to be ordering you around or anything like that. I'll just be guiding you. I intend to keep you busy though – these little critters can be a handful sometimes!" I'd been under the intention we were dealing with people, not animals? I'm not sure if I'd let loose a shred of my fear or hesitation, because her smile faltered, and she added, "But don't be too worried, they're still little angels, I promise!" I really did doubt that.

She smiled reassuringly, and I returned it, attempting to dazzle her a little with the way my topaz eyes shone out through my curtain of blonde hair. She simply turned on her heel and strode towards the door. I groaned inwardly. No lust, passion, joy, embarrassment…and I'd been trying that time! I wondered if I was going to have trouble getting what I wanted around here. Jaime gestured zealously towards the door. "Ready?" She asked. No. I nodded my head once in agreement. And with that, she pushed open the door.

Throughout all my years as a Major in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, not once had I received any sort of training that could possibly prepare me for what I was suddenly submitted too.

The walls were painted a bright red – the colour of blood, as if things weren't going to be hard enough – and covered with disproportioned and unrealistic drawings on pieces of paper that obviously the children had drawn. Through the windows I could see a large sandpit getting darker as the rain got heavier, filled with spades, shovels and doll's limbs. A third of the classroom was covered with linoleum, and here, there were four tables – for lunch I assumed – and a bench covered in bright red and blue handprints. Apparently finger-painting was a part of the Fork's kindergarten curriculum. Mats were resting against the back wall, but the rest of the classroom was bordered with pigeonholes containing everything from dress-up clothes to stuffed animals. Ceiling fans hung from the roof and a small, white door led to what I hoped was a bathroom. It was all truly terrible – like a nightmare – but what were worse, were the inhabitants of this dreadful place.

Twenty or so children – none above my knee in height – were running around madly, some screaming their heads off, and others laughing wildly. I noticed one little girl, in particular, was flapping her arms and skipping around the room like a lunatic. The squeals and laughter hurt my delicate hearing, and I cowered a little at the noise. Accompanying the wails of joy and excitement were the erratic pulses. They seemed to thunder in my ears, tripping some invisible alarm in my vampire senses. My nostrils flared, and I could smell them. The young, fresh blood, coursing through their veins, flooding their arteries. I refused to breathe another breath, in a desperate attempt to numb the longing to rip, to tear, to kill. I watched them all, running riotously in circles, and the urge to take chase was maddening. To top this all off, a gargantuan wave of excitement washed over me, drowning me with its dynamic force. It took every ounce of strength I had, just to watch, and not join.

"Great, aren't they?" I had to disagree. They were like little demons, sent to destroy the life I had built with Alice, and all because of some foolhardy careers test. They really should add in 'vampire' as a category when asking for your nationality – I had a hunch it would affect the result. "Umm, Jasper?" I could barely feel her confusion as the waves of excitement and joy continued to roll over me again and again, endless. I turned slightly to face her. Jaime was bouncing up and down, a new low, even for a kindergarten teacher. I raised my eyebrows in polite curiosity, not wanting to risk breathing to speak. She eyed me with humour. "Are you ok?" Her head began to nod, as she continued to bounce. The walls, I noticed, bounced with her. How very odd. And that's when I realised.

The emotions coming off the children had impacted me more than I had originally realised, and it was with embarrassment and great effort that I stopped myself from jumping up and down on the spot. Damn these overactive children! I noticed that Jaime's eyes averted to the ground, and I knew my embarrassment had washed over her, too. At least that got rid of one overly excited body within the room.

I tried desperately to calm the children with my unnatural and convenient gift as the venom continued to come in great quantities to further equip my already dangerous incisors. My throat burned as I hurled calm, serenity and drowsiness one after the other about the room. But my efforts proved fruitless. I did manage, however, to calm myself enough so that only my leg shook slightly with adrenaline supplied by the 'scallywags'.

A small child danced up to us, her arms swinging around her waist, moving her entire body with them. Her head however stayed still and focused up on me. It was the little girl I had seen flapping her arms and skipping around earlier. She was dressed entirely in pink – head to toe. Pink skirt, pink t-shirt, pink stockings, pink shoes, pink bows in the pigtails of her curly blonde hair. Even her cheeks were a faint shade of pink, and she beamed up at me with curious crystal-blue eyes. I hate you! I thought.

"Hello, mister!" she said. I twitched. I could feel her pulse tick-ticking away, and her blood smelt sugary sweet, like fairy floss. "What's your name?"

I eyed her carefully, but tried nevertheless to keep a pleasant tone. It wasn't her fault she was destroying my perfect life. "Jasper Hale."

"Jasper? That's a funny name!" Her tone went up and down dramatically as she spoke, and I had to try not to growl. Her mouth hung open as if contemplating something, as she continued to look up at me. Then her face lit up with inspiration, and her giggling sent more waves of joy and mischief towards me. I shuddered. "Jasper Hale. Hale and Jasper…" she trailed off again, looking expectant. Was I missing something? A wide grin slowly inched its way across her cheeks, and she proclaimed, "Hail Jasper! All Hail Jasper! Jasper Hail! Hail Jasper!"

I scowled at her. Hail Jasper? How original, what was she, five? I nearly rammed my head into the nearest wall. They better not all be like this!

"Your hair's yellow."

Another reason I hated children. Each year, they always received the annual award for excellence in saying stupid things. I nodded at her, none the less. "Yes, my hair is yellow," I said in a soft, gentle voice. I was determined to be patient with these children, but the waves of excitement were making it difficult. "Well done," I added for good faith.

"Your eyes are yellow too." I let my hair fall in front of my face, trying desperately to hide my eyes. Children were so observant nowadays. It was with relief that I noted Jaime's absence – she was kneeling down amongst a group of kids, settling a debate over crayons from what I could hear. Good, so she hadn't heard what this little imp had said. Relief flooded me, and I intensified it, trying to drown out the excitement that continued to ram at me.

"Your shirts yellow."

I blinked. Was the wall in the front office taking its toll on the vision of the young? I didn't have to look down at my shirt to know that it was blue. Alice had chosen the ensemble herself, as practice for her career path for the next two days. I recalled the debate earlier that morning, over the idea of me wearing a hideous orange shirt to 'work'. She had claimed it would attract the kid's attention, and it had been with desperate pleas that I had convinced Carlisle to allow me to wear something a little subtler. And so she had begrudgingly chosen a long-sleeved button-up blue shirt with off-white slacks. Emmett had claimed I looked 'queer', but it had soon been fixed with a well-timed wave of lust whilst standing near Edward. Family, don't you just love them?

"No, it's blue," my voice was not harsh, though it did sound strained as I fought the urge to chase a nearby child, zooming around like an aeroplane, and sink my teeth into his soft, warm flesh…

"Nah! It's yellow!" The pout now splashed across her face was ridiculous. I looked down my nose at her with disdain. I could feel the anger bubbling within me, and it was an effort to keep it to myself. Excitement and anger were not a great mix.

I kept my breathing at a halt, and lowered myself towards her level. I stared into her eyes intensely and shook my head a little. "No," I said, "it's blue."

"It's yellow!" she hollered in defiance. Why was she being so difficult? Such a simple matter – the shirt was blue. Why was she so intent on making it yellow instead?

I felt the stubborn anger start to burn out of her now, and it hit me in turn. This did not help me keep a handle on my rage. Usually I was composed, quiet, subdued. These little children, however, were proving a negative influence on my passive persona. "No," I held out a sleeve for her to study, "it's the colour bl –"

"Yellow!" She screamed at me, spitting the word in my face. "Yellow! Yellow! Yellow!" Her pale features were suddenly red, clashing terribly with her hot-pink top. I shook my head – the child was deplorable! Her indignation and fury hurled itself at me. Stupid children, only able to feel one strong, powerful emotion at a time. It sluiced over me, and my temper began to flare. My patience had worn out. I stood abruptly, and took a deep, shuddering breath to calm myself.

Big mistake.

The mouth-watering aromas of twenty different children hit me like a school bus. Immediately, I went rigid in my attempt to stay still, but my nostrils were flared, my eyes wide with thirst. The venom surged into my mouth, were it ebbed, waiting to be injected into some frail victim. The squealing, the excitement, the smell! It was all too much! I exhaled with a snuff, attempting to throw the scent out of my nose, but it didn't help. I focused my eyes on the girl in front of me, not daring to look up at the racing children that ran about behind her. My thirst – the urge to reach out and snap her throat, drink up her tepid blood – reared like a serpent within me.

Without thinking, I threw a hand out to the door beside me, which still hung ajar. I heard a muffled snap as the wood splintered a little, and I clung on for dear life, fighting the yearning, the craving I had for her blood. Instantly, I saw her face change, her pout falling into a pale mask of horror, her lips forming an 'o'. Quickly, she turned and ran away, glancing over her shoulder at me the whole time. The fear radiating from her as she ran did not help, and it took every last scrap of my self-control not to chase after her.

This was madness. Why was I here? I panted steadily through my mouth, being careful not to inhale the delectable scents through my sensitive nose. I let my head drop, my blonde hair falling around it, shielding my face from my could-be prey. I couldn't do this; I was stupid to believe I could. The hunting last night had proved useless just now, and I hated myself for what I had almost done. I was reminded of my behaviour at Bella's eighteenth birthday party, and I cowered a way from the memory. This had nearly been that incident all over again. Only, these were children. To harm, or even kill a child…that was unthinkable. We did not even hunt young animals when we went 'camping'. But the smell, the emotions, the adrenaline. It had all pulsed through me, worse than ever before. I could never do this.

In the back of my mind, an image flickered. I focused on it, drawing it to the foreground, and saw a pale beaming face and sparkling topaz eyes, bordered by a head of jet-black spiky hair. If I couldn't do this, then that face would fall. If I left, chose not to live this life, then that face would never beam again. I raised my head a fraction to look at the classroom.

The despair I had felt left all the children calmer, gloomier. They did not run around like chickens with their heads cut off, nor did they squeal with delight. They sat on the ground quietly, or played by themselves in a corner. I noticed a few were crying, and Jaime, too, looked downcast. Without the smell, or excitement, all there was were the ticking heartbeats of the children. Tick, tick, tick…I could handle this. Heartbeats – I put up with those every day. I could do this. It would take sustained effort and diligence, but I knew I could do it, to keep that angel's face beaming. I'd survived a century of war, both with mortal and immortal foe. I could handle a couple of pre-schoolers for two days.

And so I recharged the atmosphere, cheering the children up again. I held my head high, refusing to breath, as I stepped towards the middle of the classroom, Alice's smiling face streaked across my thoughts.

Author's Note: Poor Jasper, so much suffering, but all to stay with Alice. Thanks to Jaime for letting me use her name, and to Teigan for letting me base that little 'pink demon' around her. And thankyou, those of you who have read and reviewed my story from the beginning. It's so awesome to hear that you guys actually like my stuff. Keep on reading and reviewing, please and thankyou!