The Project Chapter Five Jasper's POV
Monday.
Thank God for the fact that it was Monday. At least for the next five days, I was free of Edward's parents. Next time he wanted a sleepover, he was coming to my house. That worked for me so much better.
No heartache. No nightmares about my mom. No having to lie to him about my nightmares being about my irrational fear of cats. Or the time I broke my arm when I was seven. Or the time Rosalie almost drowned because she didn't learn how to swim until she was eleven when Emmett taught her.
Or, shortly after I turned eleven, the one and only time to date that Gregory hit me. You may not think that would give me nightmares seven years later, but it did. I couldn't choose what my young eleven-year-old mind had picked as a scary memory, could I?
At least I had a large collection of lies to feed my friend.
Anyway, always another plus, Gregory tried to avoid me when I had company because I tended to make an unwanted scene.
I do it on purpose, but he doesn't need to know that.
I entered my first class of the day, Sociology. Jane pranced over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. She planted a friendly kiss onto my lips and smiled. "Hey, Jasper."
"Hello, Jane." I greeted her back. The two of us were officially together. Most people assumed that our extremely non-physical and aloof relationship meant we were together because we were bored.
Most people assumed wrong.
Jane was not special to me in any way, and never had been. She was my sister's friend ever since they were eight. She was the twin sister to a boy I was frequently at odds with. She was a popular person with our classmates, and viewed as a very stable young girl by the adults in the town.
I needed her because she helped hold me together.
Jane knew that high school freaked me out. The constant drama, the instant and ever-changing shifts among the student loyalty, the unexpected coursework: I didn't adjust to it well. It took me four years to get used to the damn town after I moved into it- and then I hit high school.
Because Rosalie had asked her to, Jane acted as my anchor in this chaotic sea. She made sure I didn't have to be in contact with people, while I could maintain a low-key life among my peers. Because of her status in the social hierarchy of Forks High, nobody looked at anti-social, jumpy, anger-prone Jasper Whitlock, like I was an outcast among the herd. By default, forgetting the fact I was 'related' to the most popular girl in school, Jane made me socially acceptable.
The least I could do to repay the girl was kiss her and let people know she was off-limits.
I gave a little nod to Esme as I took my seat in the desk beside her, then paid full attention to the teacher.
My second class was Political Science. I delivered a note of Jane's to Alec, then kept to myself in the back. I liked it in the back. Nobody could see you there.
I was surprised to feel an ember of excitement spark to life inside of me when the bell rang. It was time for Geology. It was time to see Bella again. I meandered into the room and sat down. Lauren instantly, as always, latched her vicious little claws onto me.
"Jasper," she offered me a forced smile, "how has your day been today?"
It had been pretty routine- which in turn meant it was great. I was tired of Lauren, though, after almost a decade of putting up with her. If I didn't like her nine years ago, why would I now? If I refused to introduce and highly recommend her to Rosalie nine years ago, why would I now?
I gave her a dead-serious glare, and my voice was as hard as stone, when I answered, "Absolutely terrible."
It took my entire reserve of effort not to smirk when the color drained from her face, and her mock-friendly attitude instantly snapped into wariness. My large, unblinking, blue eyes locked onto hers. I felt almost like I was pinning her down. She was a mouse, and I was a cat. Her hesitancy was food to satiate my hunger for amusement.
Without another word passing between us, Lauren shivered and turned around to face the board.
I finally smirked. Score to date: Jasper- 86, Lauren- 3.
The teacher started class and made an announcement of a new group project we were required to do. Three people, three different rocks from the same category, at least one page of information per rock.
Before Lauren could invite me to work with her, I slithered away from my desk and retreated into the shadows in the back of the room. My eyes instantly zoned onto Bella and Angela. They were my targets.
I wandered silently over to them, stepping in at just the right second and offering, "I'll work with you two."
Bella looked surprised. Angela just smiled. Bella asked me, "Why?"
Because I hate Lauren.
Because I am afraid to ask the other boys in the class.
Because your blush is easily conjured and sexy as hell.
Because I can't show a bad grade to Gregory.
Take a pick? Any pick?
"Several reasons." I shrugged lightly, making sure my tone was neutral.
"I wouldn't mind." Angela announced cheerfully. She glanced at her partner, "Bella?"
"Well, you're in." Bella dictated as she smiled at me. She looked warm, and welcoming, and non-threatened by my being here. So many people, after these years of being in contact with me, avoided me. I was hotheaded and unpredictable. I had triggers that nobody knew- some I didn't even know myself. The new girl didn't know that, though.
Don't let her get close enough to find out. You'll only burn her when you finally erupt.
"Would you ladies mind doing igneous rocks?" I asked hopefully. "I already have one, and it would save time."
When they both nodded, I whisked back across the room, returning to my desk.
I didn't need another friend. Bella was wasting her time.
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I suffered through Economics, the most boring class in history, with Tanya. She left with Caius, and I wandered into the lunchroom and over to Rose. I had no money, therefore I was not buying myself a lunch today.
Lightly leaning on Rose's shoulder, I snatched an apple from Emmett and smirked. "Hey, thanks."
He scowled at me, and his eyes flashed with challenge. I never got along with Emmett. In fact, I frequently pissed him off just to see how long it would take him to hit me. I found out once that he was actually pretty short-fused. However, Rosalie kept him on a tight chain, so he never actually did hurt me. It was such a pity. I needed a fight sometimes. It made me feel better.
That was what Edward was for, though. Best friend or not, it was fun to start trouble between him and Alice, or him and Peter. Alice never got hurt, and Peter deserved to be hurt.
I'd never provoke his anger and direct it towards myself. I didn't have a death wish, you know.
Anyway, I hated Rosalie and Emmett's relationship. She leaned on him entirely, while he allowed her to keep too tight of a hold on his free spirit. It was just riddled with possible disaster. But did Rosalie listen to Jasper when she was warned to keep him as strictly a friend? No. Of course not. Rosalie did what Rosalie wanted, never once considering how badly the after effects would bite her in the ass.
Idiot.
Wait, don't call your sister that! You need to be supportive of everything she does, even if you disapprove. It's your job.
Still... She's an idiot sometimes.
"Jasper," Rosalie looked up at me, "Do you need some money?"
I smiled pleasantly at her. "Nope, I'm fine. See you after class."
I wandered away from her table and sought out Jane. To my dismay, I found that she was sitting with Alec and Maria. Yay. Maria was a great friend to Rosalie, but the headstrong bitch really needed to be slapped. Too bad I was a guy. Alec was my own personal nemesis. He was fine until I started dating Jane last year. Then he became all tense and hostile.
Prick.
I plopped down in the open chair between the twins and smiled at Jane. She smiled back, but we said nothing to each other. I was not a talker, and she knew that. She did, however, hand me a small Tupperware container.
I ignored Alec and Maria's conversation as I warily peeked inside.
It was Jell-O. Thoughtful of her, but skin-rash-like irritating. Why? Because it was strawberry.
Strawberry.
Ignoring the fact that I only ever ate lemon Jell-O, because it was my mom's favorite; I was allergic to strawberries and this had real fruit in it. Shouldn't she have known this after this long? I shook my head and sighed a little, handing it back to her. "I'll stick with the apple."
She frowned, bitterly looking away from me. Alec glared at me, his dark brown eyes looking murderous. I glared right back and asked frostily, "Do you have a problem?"
Maria stepped in as peace-keeper. She interrupted our probable argument over my rudeness, "Alec, didn't you have a question for Jasper?"
Alec scowled at her. She shrugged, taking a sip of her lemonade to avoid talking to him. With a sigh, Alec returned his attention back onto me. All the aggression had been replaced with shyness. Well, never shyness with Alec. Hesitancy was a better word.
"Jasper, did you happen to do last night's German homework?" He avoided my gaze all together as he waited for an answer. Alec was a very studious person. He looked almost embarrassed to have to ask if he could copy my homework for a class he was better in. Something must have come up to keep him from doing it himself.
I tossed the green folder at him. "Give it back before class." The class was right after lunch, but lunch lasted for another twenty-five minutes, so it should be enough time.
"Are you leaving?" Jane asked curiously.
"Yeah. I'll see you girls and Rose after next period." I answered. Without another word to any of them, I hunted Edward and Alice down in the hallway.
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German went just fine. Like always, our teacher let us leave three minutes early. She wasn't supposed to, but she wanted to get rid of us.
I leaned against the lockers across the hall from the computer programming room. Soon, the girls joined me. I asked cheerfully, "No Bella problems today?" She didn't look like a pissed off harpy. But, one never knew with Rosalie.
"Not today," she agreed coldly.
Maria frowned. "Why the hell did she even move here?"
At that exact moment, Bella exited the room and joined her guy friends where they had been waiting for her. Rosalie- stupidly- started trouble.
She sighed with mock-sorrow, "I heard that her mom was tired of her and begged Chief Swan to take her in."
Here comes the Bella problems.
The girl in question instantly twirled around, her horrified face locking right onto Rosalie. Of course, seeing this reaction only encouraged Rosalie's spiteful behavior. "I can't imagine what she did. I'm sure it was pretty bad. I pity her father, having to live with that hanging over his shoulder."
I dared to meet Bella's eyes for a second. It was frightening to see the level of outraged she looked. Just this Saturday, she had mentioned she moved here of her own choice- to give her mother privacy with her new husband was my strongest inkling.
Rosalie was entirely out of line.
I glanced sternly at my sister and chided, "Rosalie..." The two of us- we didn't really need words. It was a formality more then anything. She would be able to see that I disagreed with what she was doing. Honestly, did she even have a real reason to hate Bella this much?
Bella shoved herself- literally- into the picture. She squared off with Rosalie, snarling through her scowl, "If you don't have a clue what you're talking about, you should try shutting up. You're only making yourself sound stupider then usual, if that's possible."
A snort of laughter escaped me. Though for the sake of sibling loyalty, I did try to hold it back. Now I knew why Rosalie hated her. She was snippy, and perfectly capable and willing to be mean. Rosalie wasn't at all used to other people being mean.
Rosalie shoved her backpack at Jane and glared at Bella. She hissed scathingly, "You should watch what you say to me, Swan. I don't take kindly to being insulted."
Fuck. She was pissed. Bella was in trouble.
Bella only grinned. "What do you take kindly to? Scaring little kids with your beady eyes?"
Rosalie sprang forward, looking ready to kill. It took me only a fraction of a second to take action. I grabbed her arms just below the elbows, and pressed her back against the lockers. She stopped struggling instantly. This would not be the first time we'd established that she could never escape my superior strength. She didn't waste the effort anymore.
With a glare fierce enough to kill, my sister met my eyes. An unseen current of electricity sparked between us. Nobody, not even Emmett or Edward, would have realized the meaningful conversation our eyes had in that one second.
I had done the unthinkable. I had done something neither of us even considered a physical possibility. I chose Bella over Rosalie. I chose a girl I didn't even know over my sister. The betrayed look in Rose's eyes very clearly asked me why I would do such a thing.
"Rosie," I addressed her in a soft tone, using a nickname only I was allowed to use. I was mentally scrambling for an explanation. What the hell was I supposed to tell her? How could I make her understand the odd little tug I felt whenever I saw Bella? The pinch of rage that her hateful words against the girl made me feel?
Lie to her, damn it.
A half of a second had passed. I finished lamely, "You know what dad said about the fighting."
That was a good lie, actually. Rosalie got into her first fight three years ago. In fact, it was with Maria. She lost pitifully, but she gave a good effort before Emmett could break them up. They became friends during detention.
Her first was her last for about a year. However, she got onto a violent streak fourteen months ago. It was around the time Alice started getting really serious with Peter.
None of us liked Peter. Not Edward, not Esme, nor Alec or Jane. Emmett didn't know much about him, but he still disdained the kid. Everyone thought Marcus was the trouble: but they were all idiots. Emmett was a good judge of character. He could tell as easily as the rest of us that Peter was the real problem.
So, Rosalie always looked at Alice as her best friend. She still did, even though she spent less time with her. Anyway, Rosalie knew that Peter was bad for Alice more than anyone. She was the first one to mention the fears, and the one who felt the strongest about them being together.
She told Alice to stay away from him. Alice told her to back off, then walked away.
Rose was forced to step back and watch Alice ruin her life, because she was too afraid to break away from the boy she considered her only real friend. Could you imagine how much that hurt Rosalie?
Enough to make her want to hurt other people as an outlet. Maria became her partner in crime if- by chance- she pissed off the wrong person. A lot of the girls here in Forks are bigger than my petite sister.
Girls had brothers, and brothers got angry when their sisters cried. Said brothers liked to start trouble with Jasper to get him to stop Rosalie from being a bitch to younger sisters.
Just out of tenth grade Jasper, and high school graduate brothers were not a good mix. The threats and bullying got so bad, Edward broke a kid's wrist to make him leave me alone.
That same night Colonel Masen called Gregory and alerted him to the fact all of this was going on. Shocker of her lifetime, he told her, I quote even: 'You better stop this, Rosalie Lillian, or else.'
That was all he said, but it was enough to scare the hell out of her. Her father had never been anything but a push over when it came to his daddy's girl. I'd never seen her look so terrified.
Fighting career ended there.
Very clearly, she remembered that as well. She relaxed completely and pulled her arms away from me. I let my hands fall to my sides.
Rosalie shot Bella the death look and spat, "This isn't over, Bella."
Of course it isn't...
"Good, I look forward to our next date." Bella replied with an arrogant smirk. I saw right through it. Her eyes were wild with fear.
Rosalie huffed and started down the hallway. Maria followed, ramming into Bella like she had been rammed into a minute ago. I winced when the smaller girl collided with me. Before she could sink to the ground, I wrapped my arms around her waist and helped her regain her balance. Her cheeks ignited into that perfect shade of red.
I wonder if my lips could feel the warmth under her skin?
"Uh... Sorry." Bella apologized. She apologized for accidentally being shoved into me. How very strange, for girls our age.
With the potential harm to her safety half way across the hall, I blocked her out of my mind. She was just another one of the faceless shapes around me in the hallway. I ignored her as I released my hold on her. I wrapped my arm around Jane, pulling her close to me, as we headed slowly down the hall.
After a moment Jane asked, "Since when do you get that involved in Rosalie's personal business?"
Good question. I was a behind-the-scenes part of her life. We both liked it better that way. Not even Emmett, her best friend and boyfriend, knew about how intertwined and close of a relationship we had with one another. I needed my sister the same way she needed me. I hung back in the shadows, ready to catch her if she started to fall; and she walked three steps ahead of me to make sure the path was cleared.
We were a team. We worked together in everything, in every way. I just broke the biggest unspoken rule. The team always comes first.
Why did I do that? What was it that drove me to turn against Rosalie? If she wanted to get into an unknown trouble, who was I to stop her? She was old enough to make the decision for herself. So why did I do it?
You didn't want to see Bella get hurt.
Fuck, that was it, wasn't it?
I sighed, drawing in Jane's attention. Glancing at her I decided, "It's not just Rosalie's personal business anymore."
Teaser for c6: The warm liquid collided with my raw tissues without warning, and I reacted quite horribly.
All reviewers who say more than "update soon" or "great chapter" will get an extended teaser!
