Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.


Chapter Six

Romans 10:11-13: For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for all the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him, for "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Bella Mercer

Bella faintly admires the dark low lights in Jasper's hair, how nicely they contrast with the almost bleached-out tips; his hair was a statement that Bella appreciated. "Got a last name?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"You didn't even ask for my name in the first place."

Jasper scoffs. "I don't need to. Everyone knows who you are, Bella Mercer. Even the little kids."

She quirks a brow. "Then why would you ask for my last name."

Jasper shrugs. "Don't know. Cohen, by the way."

"Cohen." Bella echoes, brows furrowing.

Jasper smiles widely. "Yep. You're looking at the only Jewish guy in the whole school.

Bella smiles back, genuine. "So this town does have some variety."

"Some," Jasper agrees. "But not much."

Brows furrowed, Bella leans back against the tree again. Something about Jasper put her at ease – she'd never had a best friend before, but she could see one in Jasper. "What do you mean?"

Jasper blinks slowly, eating another pistachio. Bella takes note of how utterly calm he is, as if he didn't have a care in the world; she admired that, especially since sometimes she wished her personality let her be calm instead of painfully blunt.

Sweeping a lock of curly hair out of his eye, Jasper sighs. "It's really the parents and the teenagers. All the others are too young to care or too old to care about," he says, dark blue eyes lazily catching Bella's. "Religious politics, I guess. They welcome you with open arms here, but not behind closed doors."

Bella quirks a brow. "That's not my experience."

Jasper lifts one side of his mouth. "No? Maybe it's because I don't surround myself with judgment, then."

"Maybe." Bella shrugs. "They shun me in the open."

Jasper nods sagely, understanding crossing his face. "That's because you're supposed to be one of them," he decides. "But you're not."

Looking away from Jasper, Bella tilts her head back, eyes locked on the new leaves on the tree, fresh and dewy from the morning, newly born from the return of spring. It was Bella's favorite time of the year.

"No," she agrees. "I'm not. I don't want to be, either."

Quietly, so softly Bella almost doesn't hear, Jasper speaks. "I'm Jewish," he repeats.

Bella turns her eyes back to him, her face scrunched up in thought. "Why does that matter?"

For a moment, Jasper doesn't react – he isn't sure how to, really. In his three years in Hallows Town, he'd never come across anyone, except his parents, that didn't care his religion made him different; it was refreshing. It wasn't that the students at Hallows Town School hated Jasper – but to a certain degree, they ignored him. Nice enough, but distant.

Bella Mercer, a slip of girl, would make a difference in this town – Jasper could feel it in his bones. And he had a distinct feeling that he would be right there, going along for the ride.

Jasper smiles, a rare, lazy, true smile that he didn't often show anyone. "I guess it doesn't matter."

Bella smiles back. "It doesn't. Can I have another pistachio?"

When the lunch bell ring, Jasper demands to see her schedule, pleased that they share the last two classes of the day; he sticks to her side as they trek up four flights, making small talk about various music. Bella is impressed with his knowledge and the fact that he dabbled in playing bass - she offers an invite for Saturday, encouraging him to bring his instrument. It's a painful reminder of her loss that the last person she played with was her father; Bella was adamant that it would change immediately.

Jasper agrees easily, silently pleased that he was forming his first friendship in years; he glances at Bella out of the corner of his eye as they enter the biology lab, appraising her delicate features and outlandish fashion. He wasn't attracted to her – he had his eye on someone else – but he could appreciate her startling beauty and her bold personality.

Unfortunately for Bella, though, Jasper already had a lab partner and the only one left was Edward. With a reluctant sigh, she seats herself beside the boy with unruly burnt sienna hair and bottle green eyes, resentful of her attraction towards him, especially considering what happened to her the day before. There was something to be thankful for though; the semester was half over.

Bella keeps her face forward, eyes intent on the teacher, who was going over material that was old to her – what she really wanted to do was take out her music notebook and finally pen down the lyrics that had suddenly come to her, but it would have to wait until later. She didn't want to draw Edward's attention.

For his part, Edward couldn't keep his eyes off Bella – he was impressed by her guts to do what she wanted. He'd seen the confrontation in the hall earlier and actually had to elbow his best friend, Emmett, in the stomach to shut him up. Emmett's girlfriend Rosalie had later told them that Bella Mercer had been fearless, something Rosalie greatly appreciated, given how forceful her own personality could sometimes be. And Mary Alice, who Bella had actually spoken to, was completely enthralled with the new girl. Not to mention, the entire school was buzzing with gossip about Edward's neighbor.

And yet, nobody aside from the mysterious Jasper Cohen had spoken to her – for good reason.

Bella was intimidating.

Edward didn't even think she knew it.

And Jasper certainly didn't seem to mind, not that Jasper seemed to mind anything. From what Edward could tell, he was perfectly content keeping to himself – Jasper was intimidating in his own right.

It only makes sense that they found each other, Edward thinks bitterly, forcing his gaze away from Bella's tiny hands. He was too shy to actually act on his feelings – and he was sure his father wouldn't approve. As much as he was loathe to admit it, his father's approval meant a lot to Edward.

He watches as Bella stands when the bell rings, making her way through the classroom towards Jasper.

Jealousy. It wasn't an emotion he was familiar with and Edward wasn't sure he liked it.

Bella sighs gratefully when she's out of Edward's ear range; she'd felt his eyes heavy on her person through the entire class and, not only was it distracting, but it was confusing. Wasn't he in the group that was sneering at me?

She shakes her head, walking beside Jasper to her next class, which was actually in the back building over the gymnasium – it was a music class, a great source of happiness for Bella.

Upon arriving, Jasper walks her up to the music teacher, a wispy woman with large glasses, dark blue eyes and thick dark blond curls. Jasper smiles easily at the woman. "Hey, Mom."

She smiles back, patting his hand. "Hello, dear," she says turning her eyes to the girl standing beside her son. "Ah, Bella Mercer. I've heard a lot about you already."

Bella's eyes dart from the woman to Jasper, instantly picking out similar features – and instantly missing her own mother. Pushing away her grief, promising to revisit it later, Bella greets Mrs. Cohen.

Jasper steps back, an embarrassed smile crossing his face when his mother asks for Bella's hands, and sits down in the back of the soundproofed room. A bit confused, Bella holds up her palms, blinking when Mrs. Cohen pulls at her fingers, genuinely examining every inch of her hands.

"Ah," she sighs, squeezing Bella's hands. "A true musician. You play guitar, yes?" At Bella's nod, Mrs. Cohen continues. "But you have pianist fingers. You could play that, if you wanted. Are you trained?"

Bella shrugs. "I can play it, but I prefer holding a pick."

Mrs. Cohen nods, offering a soft smile. "We don't have guitar in this classroom."

"Jasper told me."

"We have piano," Mrs. Cohen offers, squinting her eyes when Bella shakes her head uncomfortably. "Do you play anything else, then?"

A faint blush creeps over Bella's cheeks. "I sing a little."

Mrs. Cohen claps, silencing the soft murmurs of the filled classroom. "Marvelous! You'll have to sing, then! Are you soprano?"

Bella purses her lips, keeping her eyes away from her new classmates. Let them look. Let them hear. This is embarrassing, but I might as well get it over with.

"I'm not sure. It's been a while since I've sung for anyone."

"How long?"

"Elementary school." Bella declines mentioning that this was the time where her opinions started separating her from her classmates; it was better not to relive that particular isolation.

Mrs. Cohen nods and steps away, sitting down behind the piano. "We'll just do a little test now, then. Go ahead and step up here, back facing the class. Sing the note I play on the piano."

Bella takes her place, automatically correcting her posture – back straight, feet slightly apart – and her breathing.

If Bella had known how many curious eyes were on her, she might have gotten nervous.

If Bella had known that Edward, who she was intent on avoiding, was sitting in the classroom, she might not have sung at all.

As it was, Bella didn't know, and she took a deep breath, clearing her mind, focusing on the notes that Mrs. Cohen played, intent on copying them exactly.

Her clear voice rang through the classroom, perfect in tone, her lower register warm like honey and her higher register bell-like. After several minutes of this, Mrs. Cohen sits back from the keys, gazing at Bella with eager eyes. "Wonderful. A true soprano and a rather impressive range," she compliments.

Bella sighs. "Can I sit down now?"


A/N: No reviews on this chapter; I'm double posting. You're welcome!

Quick note about Jasper and his distance from his peers; clearly, there's a misunderstanding here. Jasper thinks his peers don't like him because his religion makes him different, while Edward clears that up by thinking about how intimidating Jasper is. The same kind of goes for Bella; she thinks people don't like her because of her opinions, when really, they're just intimidated.

Teenagers, right? What am I talking about - I'm still a teen!

As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.

~cupcakeriot