Chapter 8 - Messing with the Major

For fun, you decide to start humming 'Dixie', which of course instantly garners Jasper's attention.

"How do you know that song?" he quietly demands.

"Catchy, isn't it? I found it on youtube," you inform him, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Isn't it amazing what you can find on the internet?"

"Hmmm," he murmurs suspiciously, though you've told the truth. "Indeed it is. What other interesting things have you found?"

Wanting to mess with him a bit, the way he had done to you in the hall, you wink at him and smile, eyelids dropping to half-mast. "Did you know there's a website dedicated to fan fiction that allows you to write and publish your own stories involving the author's characters, for free? I usually only read the stories with a mature rating, and they've been quite . . . educational. Some of the extremely graphic scenes I've read depict step-by-step instructions on how to please and be pleased by the one you love. I didn't even know some of those things were possible. Who needs the Kama Sutra when you can read this stuff for free? The only thing missing is the pictures, though I think it's probably a lot better that way, since we can use our imaginations to put ourselves in place of the main characters."

His eyes are wide and pitch black, as he stares at you. His flared nostrils are inhaling quickly and deeply, and the tip of his tongue keeps flicking out to brush his bottom lip. His fists are clenched, and his muscles are all locked, as if it's taking a great deal of restraint to remain in place.

You briefly glance down to his lap and smirk when you see the tightness of his jeans. As you watch, the bulge continues to grow, and you lick your lips in anticipation, wondering if the tip of his cock will actually peek out beyond his waistband. Unfortunately, between blinks, his shirt becomes untucked and is now covering his groin. Disappointed, you unconsciously poke out your bottom lip a bit.

Before you can even raise your eyes to his, you get a huge case of goosebumps, and all the little hairs on your body stand on end. There's a strange pulsating hum in your chest, similar to the reverberations you get from large speakers blasting heavy bass.

My Spidey senses are tingling, you think, confused. If ever there was a feeling that could be best described that way, this is it. It isn't the same as the menace I felt from Alice or when Edward was about to pounce and have me for breakfast.

By this time, your eyes are staring into onyx pools that are drawing you in with the gravity of miniature black holes, making everything around you cease to exist in your conscious mind. You reach out and touch his chest without even realizing what you've done and feel the vibrations through your bones.

He's growling, too low for me to hear, you realize. He wants to pounce and eat me, alright, but not in a bad way.

Your whole body responds to his subsonic sounds, pulling toward him, trying to get closer. You feel drawn to him, your whole body resonating to the vibrations from his chest, as if responding instinctively to a mating call. Is that what this is? I've never read about vampires doing something like this. It's more like something off of Animal Planet.

Your arousal permeates the air so strongly, even you can smell it. Startled and dismayed, you squirm uncomfortably in your seat. Why is this happening? Why am I responding this way? I've never felt like this before, like an animal in heat, desperate to mate. Is he affecting me with his gift, getting his revenge for my teasing? I need to stop touching him - his gift is overwhelming me!

You try to pull your hand away from his chest, but your body rebels, refusing to obey your mind's command. You stare down at your unresponsive limb in shock, starting to panic. How can I have lost control of my own body? Has he hypnotized me?

He starts nuzzling your neck, licking, kissing, and nipping at it, his growl morphing into an audible purr. Your head drops back of its own accord, allowing him better access, and the pleasure center in your brain starts drowning out the worried voices of propriety, rationality, morality, reason, and self-preservation. The 'voices' in your mind are all clamoring for attention as you argue with yourself between what you need, what you want, what you desire, and what you think is best.

Before things can go any further, the sound of a book falling off a desk and slamming against the floor jolts you back into awareness of your surroundings.

Holy shit! I just made out with Jasper in the middle of a classroom, in full view of the teacher and students!

You try to pull away from him, but his embrace keeps you in place. You jerk your head around, eyes flying everywhere, as you anxiously take in the damage, expecting every eye to be on the two of you. Instead, to your bewilderment, everyone is looking at the kid who accidentally knocked his book off his desk. Even the teacher, Mr. Norman, is watching the poor boy impatiently, his body language distinctly indicating annoyance.

Sensing your puzzlement as to the lack of audience to your 'private' moment, Jasper chuckles and murmurs, "The apathy of others can make ones actions essentially invisible. You see it in major cities all the time."

You open your mouth to question him, but he shakes his head and puts a finger over your lips. He then pushes his notebook slightly toward you, in which he has written, 'The walls have ears.'

You realize he is referring to his family and decide to hold your tongue for now.

Moving away from the embarrassed teen, Mr. Norman clears his throat and addresses the class. "It's time to get started. Who can tell me the main reason for the Civil War? Why did the South secede from the Union?"

Arms shoot up all around the room, yours being one of them. Jasper looks at you curiously, raising an eyebrow. Mr. Norman calls on one of the varsity football players, who is joking around with his buddies.

"'Cause they were lazy ass barbarians who wanted to keep forcing black people to do their work for them while they sat around drinking tea and shit," the boy replied. Mr. Norman gave him a stern look, but didn't bother to mention his language.

Now see, this is why the country is going to hell in a hand basket, you mentally protest. Nobody respects anybody anymore, and too few take the time to check their facts and think things through before spewing out their opinions forcefully.

"Hmmm," Mr. Norman hummed, not replying. "Yes, Megan?"

"They didn't want the North telling them what to do. The North didn't need slaves, because they were industrial, whereas the South was agricultural. So it was easy for the Northerners to outlaw slavery, but the Southerners believed it would cripple their economy."

Mr. Norman appeared impressed. "Good, Megan. You're on the right track!" His head turns to you and smiles slightly to see your hand raised. "How about you, Miss Swan?"

Taking a deep breath, you begin to briefly explain what you've learned. "The South seceded over states' rights. The North wanted to place most of the power in the hands of a central government, while the South wanted most of the power to be in the hands of the individual states. Southerners argued that the industrial northern states had different issues, problems, constituents, objectives, and responsibilities than the agricultural southern states. They believed a central government would not be able to understand and meet the needs of all the states appropriately and only wanted a minimal amount of federal laws, with individual states writing and enforcing the majority of the laws for their own citizens."

Jasper is heartily radiating pride and respect, practically glowing as he beams at you and nods. Mr. Norman is staring at you with his mouth open, astonished by your college level response.

Before the teacher recovers, one of the cheerleader types, flutters her eyelashes at the football player who first responded, then chimes, "Oh, please! Everybody knows the war was about slavery. The South was full of prejudiced rednecks who couldn't stand the idea of blacks becoming citizens, so they started a war over it." She looks to the jock for approval, rather than the teacher, who is grimacing and shaking his head at her.

Taking up the challenge, you calmly reply, "Actually, the Union started the War of the Northern Aggression, by invading and attacking the Confederacy. Most men joined the Confederate army to protect their homes and families. They wanted to keep their houses, farms, livestock, women, and children safe from the invaders. They had no thought of whether or not slavery would be abolished. On the contrary, free Southern black men fought alongside the white men in the Confederate army, in integrated units. The Union army, on the other hand, segregated the black soldiers into their own separate units, headed by white officers. Speaking of prejudice, the subsequent United States Army didn't desegregate their units until 1951."

"Even though the North as a whole was morally opposed to slavery, they didn't want escaped slaves to come to their states and didn't know what to do with the ones who did. Some states outlawed them from even entering the state. Many favored the idea of shipping the runaways back to Africa, but the cost was too high," Jasper adds. "It's somewhat similar to what's been happening in the Middle East, with some countries forbidding entrance to refugees and others keeping the refugees in substandard camps near their borders. Anyone who thinks the North was open-minded and benevolent in regard to non-Caucasians, need only investigate the plights of the immigrants, who worked in the factories, mines, and sweatshops of the North. They may have been technically 'free', but most were just as owned and mistreated by the companies they worked for as the slaves in the South were by their 'masters'. Try listening to the old song, 'I Owe My Soul to the Company Store'.

"What about Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation?" another girl asks with confusion.

Snorting, you elucidate, "The real reason Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation was to prevent Britain from sending aid to the South and officially recognizing the Confederacy as a legitimate new nation. Due to Lincoln's tactic, France and Britain couldn't support or recognize them without seeming pro-slavery. Lincoln also hoped to rally the miserably low morale of the troops by giving them a noble, moral reason to fight. It didn't work though, since, for the most part, both the public and the Union soldiers were apathetic toward the plight of the slaves. It also didn't abolish slavery except in the states that didn't rejoin the Union by the deadline. It was still perfectly legal and acceptable in any state that did rejoin the Union."

"Well, that's fucking hypocritical!" another student screeched angrily.

"Language! I don't want to have to start handing out detentions," Mr. Norman barked, wagging his finger chidingly. His eyes were bright, his cheeks flushed, his expression full of excitement and joy. I knew he was thrilled to see the interest and class participation, even if none of us were raising our hands. At least we were being respectful enough to take turns so far.

"The new girl is obviously one of those Nazi white supremists," one girl snidely remarks with a huff. "The War of the Northern Aggression? I bet she belongs to the KKK."

Rolling your eyes at her, you correct her. "I think you meant supremacist, as supremist isn't a word. Regardless, I do not suffer delusions of any race of human bearing superiority over another. It really doesn't matter what color somebody's skin is. I seriously doubt a predator would stop to choose between white meat and dark meat. All humans are the same on the inside - everybody's blood runs red."

Hmm, I wonder if people of other nations taste differently based on their diets. I doubt Carlisle knows the answer to that. I'll ask the Volturi if I have the misfortune to meet them. Truthfully, once you add vampires to the picture it's petty to try to place one race or nationality over another. Especially considering the slowest, weakest vampire could still beat all the Earth's Olympic gold medalists without even trying.

Jasper's hand moves over his mouth to hide his grin, though he is still watching you speculatively.

"Really, Brandy," a boy sneers at the girl. "The KKK were a reaction to the Civil Rights movement, not the Civil War. You're so clueless, you can't even stay on topic."

"I still think they should've stuck to calling it the War Between the States, as there was nothing civil about the way it was fought," you mutter.

Jasper starts packing his notebook and bookbag up, causing you to glance over at the clock.

Wow, this class is almost over! That was fast.

Following his lead you start packing up your stuff too. Seeing what we're doing, the rest of the class also gets ready to go.

"Wait, I still have five minutes before the bell," the teacher protests. Several students groan. Satisfied he has the class's attention, he assigns a research project. "Each of you need to choose a military figure from either the Union or Confederate army. I want a three to four page paper detailing why you chose that person, what his contribution to the war effort was, and what you would've done differently in his place."

"Oooh, I know just whom I'm going to choose," you coo excitedly.

"Oh? And who might that be?" Jasper asks inquisitively.

"A certain Confederate major," you smirk.

His eyebrows shoot up and his eyes widen in consternation, "Really? Major who?"

Shrugging you murmur, "Oh, he's not named in the account I read, but he played a significant role in the first Battle of Galveston."

His eyes sharpened considerably, like lasers that could peel away all your protective layers of subterfuge to find your deepest, darkest secrets. "Tell me more," he demanded.

You raise your eyebrow imperiously. "Excuse me? Do I look like a minion to you?"

"Please, won't you tell me more about this major?" he purrs seductively.

You close your eyes, lick your lips, and shudder with desire, part of you wanting nothing more than to do anything and everything he asks. Then, pulling up determination from some heretofore untapped well of inner strength, you look him straight in the eye, simpering enticingly, and flirt, "Sorry, you'll just have to wait and read the paper."

He narrows his eyes and snaps his teeth at you in displeasure, but you don't feel threatened, having subconsciously decided he means you no harm, now or in the future.

The bell rings, and he helps you out of your seat, handing you a small note.

'Don't forget about our meeting after school. Keep quiet about our connection for now, pretend we're 'just friends'. It is very important for our future. I'll explain more later.'

As soon as you nod in understanding, the paper disappears and dust floats from Jasper's fingers. He escorts you to Gym, your next class, before heading off to his own class.

You go get a uniform from the coach and get dressed in the locker room. Coming into the gym a few minutes after the rest of the girls, you see them all performing stretching exercises under the guidance of one of the athletic boys. To your great pleasure, you notice a very bored Emmett in the back and hurry over to sit next to him.

"Hey, Brother Bear!" you whisper excitedly.

His entire countenance instantly shifts, and he joyfully offers you his fist for a fist bump. You both follow along with the student leader, as he directs the class in toe touches, crunches, leg lifts, jumping jacks, and other warm-up exercises. The next time he actually inhales, rather than faking breathing, he freezes for a second, a look of befuddlement crossing his face.

Turning his head to me he inquires accusingly, "Why do you smell like Jasper?"

You freeze, blinking up at him blankly. Oh, shit! What should I say? Jasper told me to keep my mouth shut. Dammit! He's the one that fucking licked me! Let him answer the damn question.

Taking a deep breath, you deliberately sniff a few times, then shrug dismissively. "I don't know. I don't smell anything."

"Right," Emmett nods slowly, hesitating. "Um, have you been around Jasper this morning?"

Smiling widely you nod and proclaim, "Oh, yeah, of course. He has American History with me second period; we sat right next to each other. He helped me up and with my backpack, and then kindly escorted me to the gym."

"Hmm, I see," Emmett mutters, eyeing me closely. "Did he do anything . . . odd?"

"Odd?" You tap your bottom lip and stare at the wall, as if considering it carefully. After a few seconds, you shrug again. "I don't think so. Maybe you should ask him?"

"Yeah, I think I will," Emmett agrees frowning. He inhales deeply again and nods. "Definitely going to ask him."

You have a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. I've always thought Emmett doesn't get enough credit, though I think he wants others to underestimate him. Considering even the least intelligent vampire is supposedly smart enough to make Albert Einstein look like a mere schoolboy, I'm betting he sees and understands more than he lets everyone else believe. Emmett's simple, easy-going, easily pleased, and easily entertained nature leads him to behave in what is considered a 'childlike' way.

There's a big difference between 'childlike' and 'childish'. Children tend to be full of enthusiasm and curiosity, willing to try new things, and able to make most activities into a game, competition, or an adventure, while adults tend to be jaded, cynical, and hesitant to risk rejection or failure. In that way, Emmett is more like a child than an adult, which means he brings something special to the family, even if he's technically not gifted. His playfulness helps keep the others from getting too static and set in their ways.

Emmett's fierce love and loyalty to his family also encourages him to be the class clown, the comedic relief, to ease tensions and keep the family functioning as a unit. It's similar to the way Jasper uses his gift to maintain calm, so harsh, damaging words and actions are not spawned in anger to cause painful rifts between family members which are later regretted. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. With perfect vampire memories, cruel words and actions can never truly be forgotten. That must be why vampires can carry grudges for centuries.

Plus, we all know Edward's gift can be blocked. It would be a truly devious strategy to make Edward think you can't keep anything from him, by deliberately 'slipping' in your thoughts about secrets that aren't critical. That way, he'd believe you can't keep anything from him and would never suspect it when you did. Is Emmett really as simple and straightforward of thought as Edward believes, or is thinking of Rosalie in sexual positions actually a cover for thinking about things he doesn't want Edward to know?

You can't wait to see how Jasper handles Emmett at lunch.