When It Happens

Dislcaimer: I do not own Twilight; Stephenie Meyer does. This was created 'cause I felt like entertaining myself and other readers.

Please read and review.

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I climbed through Elise's window, swatting at the tree branches in my way. Then I saw her. My blood singer with an angel's face, looking terrified in her sleep. I smelled her... blood. I could feel my eyes widen as a growl escaped my lips.

Her eyes shot open. Her eyes widened when she saw me. I smiled sheepishly.

"Hi," I muttered. "Tell me something, Elise. Why are you bloody again? What did you do to deserve something as horrible a a beating? It's illegal for parents to beat their children. It's unsightly." I sighed and ran my fingers through my thick blond hair. "Tell me I'm not responsible."

"You're not," she replied quietly. I could tell she was lying immediately. One, because I could tell when someone was lying because I can sense their feelings, and two, because Elise was a horrible liar. It takes one to know one. I'm horrible at lying, except for when it comes to my dirty little secret.

"Elise. Don't lie. You're a terrible liar."

"Okay, fine. You are not responsible. That's the truth. He's just angry because... I don't know."

"He's angry because he was afraid of me and was angry that I was stronger than him. And he took that out on you."

"Don't pity me."

I was puzzled. "I... don't. Well, I do, but not as much as I'm concerned for you."

"Why?! We barely even know eachother!"

"Can't we just be friends and can you just give it a rest?"

I looked her in the eyes evenly. She flinched under my gaze. I chuckled, but I wanted her to look me in the eyes.

"Please look me in the eyes when I speak to you," I said softly.

"It's hard," she admitted. "Your eyes are unlike any color I've ever seen. They're like a golden color. No one has eyes like that."

Oh, but they do, and I'm only one of them. We're called vampires. But we're the kind that feed only on animals.

"Oh, come on," I laughed quietly. "Look at your eyes. You can barely notice your pupils. Your eyes are like a lapis lazuli color."

She blushed, then looked me in the eyes. Then I felt something wonderful between us. I didn't know what it was, though. But it felt warm. It was something I'd never felt before. I liked this feeling, I really did. Sometimes, I would sense this kind of feeling from humans, but I had no idea it would be this wonderful.

To my displeasure, she looked down. I yearned for her to look at me again, but I knew she probably wouldn't. It felt a little awkward, so I used my ability to calm her down. I nearly jumped for joy when she looked directly into my eyes.

"Why do I feel so calm now?" Elise mumbled.

I shrugged. "I don't know. You're just calm. See, I'm not so scary, am I? I'm just like a big over-stuffed teddy bear."

That made her laugh. I loved the sound and found myself laughing along with her.

"Okay, maybe not a teddy bear," I chuckled.

"Yeah, I think I know that. But compared to Tia Ryan, you are."

"Hey, what's the deal with her? Aren't you guys cousins?"

"Yeah, she's my.... mother's brother's daughter." A tear fell from her eyes. Oh no. I recalled that she said her mother had died five years ago or so.

"I'm so sorry about your mother. She must have been an amazing woman," I murmured. More tears came from Elise's eyes. Crap.

"She was! And then she... she just had to be diagnosed with breast cancer! I hated to see her suffer day after day! It was horrible! She fought with it for so long, but then she....died. I hated it!"

"It's been hard for you." The poor thing.

She laughed. "You think?! Of course it has! And I just have to deal with everything every freaking day! I hate it! There's no place to go. School?! Everyone hates me! Here?! Yeah, sure, if I want to get beaten up by my abusive father! Luckily he's at a bar right now, so I'm not dead right now! The only place I could be happy would be in death!"

I flinched. "You know that's not true," I whispered. "You're always welcome at my house."

"I don't know where you live! And what about your parents?! What would they have to say?!"

"My parents died a long time ago." That much was true. "I live alone, but don't tell anyone, because I'm underage."

"I'm sorry... But why are you making such a big deal out of me?! I'm not special or anything, yet you never leave me alone! Can't you see I'm just a messed up kid in a messed up world?! And yet, you're perfect in nearly every way. All the girls want you. All the guys want to be you. And you still try to be my friend or whatever."

She was really pissing me off. "Just... be quiet for a second! Can't you see I'm not good enough for you?!"

"Why are you saying all of this all of a sudden? What do you mean? Why are you being a jerk all of a sudden?"

"Because I'm dangerous!" I hissed.

"Why?"

I was getting fed up with hiding so many things from her. So, I just thought one person knowing my secret wouldn't be that horrible. Knowing Elise, I was probably right about that. "Guess. Guess why I'm dangerous. Don't be shy, don't be scared. Guess and say it to my face," I whispered ominously.

"....You're in a gang?" she guessed. I shook my head no.

"....You're wanted by the police?"

I shook my head no again. She frowned, and paused to think for quite a long time. I was getting really annoyed. God, somebody kill me, please! This was really frustrating and I was beginning to have my regrets. What if she would be afraid of me? I'd hate it.

"You're a rebel?" she guessed again. "Wait, no- you're a CSI agent?"

"No!" I yelled. "I'm not in trouble with the government, I'm not involved with the government, and I'm not in a gang! I'm not involved in any kind of controversy or trouble! Use your imagination! Take a good look at me, and say it aloud!"

She studied me for a long time. Finally, she said, "You're skin is so pale... When it's sunny and warm, you dress heavily and barely expose any skin at all. I've never seen you eat anything before. You never show your teeth when you smile. You were in the woods the day I broke my leg... What are you?"

"I said for you to guess," I said carefully. I clearly didn't think about it enough before telling her to guess what I was.

Maybe I could just bite the girl and turn her. She had a horrible life, and I was falling for her. But I didn't want to hurt her or force her into doing anything she might regret. Her father was an evil pig, though, and she shouldn't have to suffer. Besides, the pain she deals with after her father beats her was an even worse pain than while you're changing into a vampire. Seriously, her pain was that horrible. I could just feel it because of my ability.

Then she finally got it.

"Vampire," she whispered, backing away a few steps.

"Don't be afraid," I sighed. "I hate what I am, too."

She frowned at this, and I could not sense any fright radiating off of her at all. I smiled a little bit. I was happy she wasn't afraid. It was a good thing. I wanted to be her friend. Actually, considering that I was falling for her, I wanted to be more than a friend to her.

"You told me," Elise said carefully, "that I should love myself. You should too. You're not a monstrosity. You never hurt me, and you've never hurt anyone at school."

"But I've killed. I've killed actual people."

"Do you still? I mean, I've read books before where vampires feed on animals. Are you hungry right now?"

I smiled. "No, I'm not hungry right now. I'm just going to let you know that I can't eat actual people food. I don't even have to breath. I never sleep. I can't go out in the sun and I'll show you why sometime. In fact, I just hunted a couple hours ago. The coffin and bat thing is just a myth. And yes, I feed off of animals."

"Will I ever get to see you feed?"

I lowered my head after I heard her ask that question. "Oh, God no. There is no way in hell that I'd ever take you along with me. When we smell so much blood or creatures moving so fast, we lose our self-control. I could just attack you if I brought you with me, and I would feed off of you. You'd either die, or suffer for three days to go through the process of changing into a vampire."

Her heart skipped a beat. I could hear the lovely sound. I leaned towards her and pressed my head gently against her chest. Her heart skipped another beat. It souded beautiful, like it was my own personal lullaby. I could feel a purr rise in my throat. She blushed, and it tempted me even more. But I just hunted recently, and I wouldn't give into that temptation. I knew I wouldn't.

"How can I tell if you're hungry?" She whispered.

"If my eyes look black. If my eyes are a goldish color, I'm safe to be around," I murmured, my head still against her chest so that I could hear her heartbeat.

"Oh. Um... thanks for the warning."

I laughed. "So now you know... I actually like having you know. It's a lonely life to live, you know? I mean, it's a tough life."

"Jasper, life is always gonna be tough."

"You have no idea," I muttered. "Welcome to my world, hell."