Hah, me and my friends at riding spent ages discussing (arguing) the hotness of Jackson Rathbone against Rob Pattinson. Two of them think Rob's hotter. Me and one other girl think Jackson wins hands down. And then someone overheard us, but they just think it's funny to hear a gang of teenage girls talking about boys. And that was random, no?
Verdict
They were still sitting on the beach, breathing in the salt smell and both trying to recover some composure from the thirst. Kira was regretting ever having asked, and Jasper wasn't exactly enjoying it. The silence was complete, only broken by the sigh of the waves. Then Jasper's phone rang, and they both flinched at the sudden noise.
"Jasper, it's Carlisle. Is Kira with you?"
"Yeah, she is. Why?"
"I've reached a conclusion about what to do about her."
Kira had slid closer to hear Carlisle's side of the conversation, and now she took the phone from Jasper.
"Care to tell me?"
"I'd like to do this face to face, if you don't mind."
"OK, fine. But now, not later."
"Of course. See you soon."
Kira dropped the phone and tried to keep breathing steadily. Jasper wasn't fooled, but then, he wouldn't be.
"You alright?"
She sighed. "I should be, I guess. I want to get this all cleared up, and I know that Carlisle will pick the right option, but…"
"You're worrying."
"I can't help it."
He sent her calm. She didn't fight it off. She got up and headed for the cliff path.
"Go on then. Show me what the Lamborghini can do."
………………………
Kira slunk into the Cullen house, trying to avoid meeting any vampires.
"They're not here," pointed out Jasper, slightly amused.
"I know that."
"You're such a liar. You're going to hell for sure."
"Well, at least I'll keep you company down there." She grinned sharply, appreciating his jokes to lighten the atmosphere.
"Ooh, low blow. I may need to make you behave just to prevent that."
"Good luck with that. You want me to win even more money than I'm going to right now?"
He rolled his eyes. She smiled. Although even Jasper couldn't make her feel positive right now, trying was nice.
They reached Carlisle's office and breezed in; Kira felt she deserved not having to wait. He was prepared for then – of course he'd heard them coming – and set down the book he'd been reading.
"I guess you're here for the verdict?"
"You guess right."
Carlisle smiled. "Don't look so scared. Hasn't Jasper told you I'd never allow you to get hurt?"
"He told me. I ignore him a lot."
"We all do."
"Hey!"
Carlisle smiled again. The relaxed atmosphere was starting to calm Kira, which was the plan. "The verdict?" he reminded her.
"Yes. Verdict. Jasper torture can come later."
Jasper's sarcastic mumble of, "Oh joy," could be hear faintly by both of them, but they had no chance to react.
The door flew open, crashing against the wall hard enough to raise a cloud of plaster dust. The calm feeling in the room was immediately shattered. Kira flinched away from the noise. Rosalie stood in the doorway, her beautiful face contorted with fury.
"Carlisle! This is wrong! Can't you see what she's done?!"
Despite the musical quality of her voice, it still managed to be a screech.
"What has she done, Rosalie?" Credit to him, Carlisle was trying to keep the peace.
"She's manipulating us! All of us! She's got you all on her side! All of you just accept what she says! What proof do you have that that's true? None! You just believe her! For no reason!"
The silence that followed rang with the truth behind Rosalie's words. Because, of course, there was no proof that Kira wasn't dangerous. Everyone seemed to think about this for a few long seconds, and then Carlisle spoke.
"Thank you for your contribution, Rosalie, but I think I will stick to my original decision."
The words were such a contrast to Rosalie's shriek that Kira felt like laughing. She felt Jasper shaking slightly next to her, and caught his eye. He was thinking the same thing. Carlisle continued calmly. "Kira, I decided – as you probably guessed – that you are not a threat to this family. We'll keep our dealings separate from yours. But I think I should warn you that if you prove to be a threat we will intervene."
"You have a deal."
"Then you're free to go. Jasper, drive her home."
"Why am I suddenly the taxi service?"
"Because I need to talk to everyone else. Go on, and stop complaining."
…………………
In the car – not the Lamborghini, it was too conspicuous, they took Emmett's jeep – Kira started laughing.
"Did you see Rosalie's face after Carlisle replied like that? I very nearly lost it then."
Jasper grinned back. "I'm glad you didn't. She'd have killed you."
There was a pause, and then she spoke again. "You know, I kind of feel sorry for Rosalie."
That caught him by surprise. "Seriously? I would have thought you'd hate her."
Kira chewed her lip, looking for the right way to say it. "I can see why she feels this way. She didn't want this life. She's happy, but she wishes she could have had that normal life."
Jasper stared at her for a few seconds in astonishment. "How do you know?"
She shrugged. "Same way I know that Carlisle spends so much time at the hospital because he is trying to make up for the thousands killed by his kind, and that Edward is starting to question his first judgement of me but is too stubborn to say." (A/N I'm not the world's greatest Edward fan, although I'm probably now one of the deadest Twilight fans)
Jasper blinked. "How do you know all that? Are you secretly Edward in disguise?"
She smiled. "No. It's easy to see this kind of stuff. I just watch people, and it's all there. Sometimes it's hidden, sometimes I have to watch for a while, but reading people… it's not hard."
"You can do this with anyone?"
"Yep. I didn't use you as an example because that might freak you out."
"Try now. I need concrete proof."
She ran her fingers through her hair, and looked at him carefully for a few seconds. "You… you are hurting. You lost someone and it still hurts you. You find this way of living difficult, and you think you're weak because of that –"
"Alright, enough," he interrupted.
"Sorry."
"I asked, it's not you fault. But you can't know all that from watching people. I spend most of my time watching people, and I can't pick up that much. Maybe it's a talent you have."
"Maybe."
They sat in silence. Then Jasper asked the question he'd been thinking of for a while. "What will you do, now you're free from my family?"
"Chill out. Maybe paint my room a new colour. Run around as an animal. The usual."
He smiled. "If you want someone to hang out with, I have no other friends."
"I may take you up on that."
He hesitated slightly, and then brushed his hand across hers swiftly. He stood up and headed for the door. Kira stared down at her hands, and wondered about his offer. She smiled to herself.
Hehe this was tough to write but I like the ending. Not so much the beginning. Review and VOTE!!! Voting closes in one chapter's time!
