AN: I was overjoyed to have something similar to this scene pop into my head last night. Big thanks to all those who have reviewed.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight
Bella shifted in her bed, trying to bury her head farther away from the hazy light that was piercing through her eyelids. With a groan she pulled her blanket over her head as thoughts started to drift into her consciousness.
Jasper.
Immediately Bella shot up in bed, her eyes scanning the room, determined to discover if everything was just a dream. Finally her eyes landed on Jasper, lazily lounging in her open window, reading a book.
She studied him, knowing that he knew she was awake and watching but not finding it in her to care.
He was exactly how she always remembered him when he was with Them. Detached, a look of almost carefully crafted blankness on his face...all with his nose in a book. He looked so apart from everything around him, like if in a blink he would be gone; faded into the background. So different from the man who joked with her yesterday. Just like that joking man was so different from the one who spoke in soft tones to her in the dark. It was like…
A mask.
A soft gasp escaped her as her thoughts began to race. They were all masks. Every personality he showed her a carefully crafted persona that he would slip on depending the situation. And right now...he was hiding behind the mask he wore around Them.
Jasper marked his page with his finger, and looked up at her, arching a perfect golden eyebrow. It was so familiar to her; her mind bringing forth several memories where he would give the same look around Them.
"Stop it." The words escaped her mouth before Bella could stop them. A brief look of shock passed Jasper's face, his light gold eyes widening. Puzzlement settled in the air around her and she frowned at him.
"Stop hiding from me." Her voice was stronger than Bella felt, but she almost faltered as she watched Jasper's face close off in front of her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Isabella." Jasper's voice was void of emotion, and his gold eyes were hard as he looked at her. Why was he doing this? Suddenly Bella was angry at him. How dare he think she couldn't see that he was hiding himself from her!
She was out of her bed and storming towards him before she could even realized that she had left the safety of her blankets.
"You're hiding from me! I know you are, I can tell! You're wearing the same mask you always wore around them!" She was furious and couldn't seem to stop the words from spilling out. Bella was barely inches away from Jasper, who had stood up as she came towards him. "Do you think so little of me that you think I can't tell?"
She stood there breathing heavily as she glared at him, breathless from her tirade. Her shoulders slumped as the anger dissipated from her. Jasper had stayed blank throughout her rant, and Bella looked down at her feet, shuffling self consciously. What had she been thinking? How could she have yelled at Jasper like that? After all that happened…
She felt a soft but firm grip on her chin, and her face was angled up to meet Jasper's eyes. He was so tall...had he always been this tall? As she watched she saw his hard eyes slowly melt to molten gold as he took her in.
"I'm sorry." What? Jasper was...apologizing? His eyes had her locked in his gaze, and she was almost painfully aware of his fingers still gripping her chin. They seemed almost warm to her; like the hand of someone who had just came in on a chilly day, rather than the frozen marble she was used to.
"It's been...a long time since someone has called me on anything like that." His voice was soft, and his fingers fell away from her face like he had just realized himself that they were there. Jasper sighed and turned away from her, breaking their intense gaze.
Bella felt cold, and subconsciously went to rub her arms to warm herself. Her comforter was settled around her shoulders and she glanced up to see Jasper give her a small smile which she returned almost instantly.
"Thank you." He gave a short nod to her before sighing and looking away again.
They stood awkwardly in silence for a bit before Jasper just sank into her computer chair, spinning it around to look at her.
"Ya hungry?" His drawl was strong, and brought an involuntary smile to her face.
With a short nod, she was swept up into his arms and down the stairs before she could make a noise. He settled her into a dining room chair, and fiddled with her blanket so it wrapped around her. He stepped back with a nod and Bella repressed the urge to giggle at his serious expression.
"What are you going to feed me, o' mighty vampire?" She could hardly contain her giggles as she spoke and Jasper gave her a toothy grin that would have been threatening if she didn't feel so comfortable around him. He was closer to the joking Jasper she remembered from yesterday, but still seemed a bit reserved.
"I'm guessing you won't appreciate a deer..?" He drawled out, with a teasing smirk. Bella shook her head, snuggling back into her blanket.
"That would be a no."
Jasper gave an over dramatic sigh before turning to her fridge and opening it up. He scowled into it, eyes sweeping over the contents with a mixture of disdain and befuddlement.
"I can make my own food you know…" Bella said with a grin. Jasper glanced at her before shaking his head and muttering something, turning back to the fridge. "What was that?"
Jasper was taking things out of the fridge in a seemingly random order as Bella watched him; trying and failing to figure out what he was going to make her.
"I read some cook books last night…" He muttered again, just loud enough for her to hear. A grin stretched across her face at the mental image of Jasper pouring over cookbooks like they were one of his Civil War books.
"Could you manage to talk to me as you attempt cooking?" She asked, not surprised that she got an amused snort as a response.
"Vampire remember? I think I can manage talking and cooking at the same time, Isabella."
Well then, he asked for it.
"When were you changed?"
"1863."
"During the Civil War?" Well that explained all the Civil War books.
"Yes. I was a Major in the Confederate Army at the time."
Huh. The image of Jasper in a Confederate uniform seemed strangely...right.
"How...old were you?"
"Nearly 20 at the time."
"And you were a Major?" The disbelief must have colored her voice became he gave her the eyebrow over his shoulder.
"I lied about my age to join the Army." He stirred something on the stove before continuing. "Even with them believing I was 23 I was still the youngest Major in history."
"Why did you join the Army?"
There was a long pause where the only sound of stirring and the low hum of the stove.
"My older brother had died earlier that year...I couldn't handle it. I left. Convinced everyone I was 18, enrolled in the Army, and went to war."
That was heavy. Bella shifted in her seat and took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of maple and oats, and...was that apple?
"What are you making?"
"Breakfast for the human."
Bella rolled her eyes and decided to just watch Jasper cook.
AN: I've always felt like there is more to Jasper than what meets the eye. I mean, he left the Southern Wars, met Alice, was happy with her, yet always seemed so uncomfortable around the family. I think it's very plausible that he would craft a way to deal with everything. Hence the introductions to "the masks". I promise to elaborate on them later.
