Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. Obv.
Wow, Super-Speed, right? Well, I felt bad for leaving it so long last time. Plus, I don't have an exam until tomorow afternoon, so I'll just revise in the morning.
Someone pointed out that this wasn't a BellaxEdward story, yet it is in the BxE characters list. They were right, I was being pretty stupid there, so I'm really sorry if you read this story hoping it would be a BxE story for definate. Many apologies.
Thank you to all those who reviewed. I seriously love them all - I appreciate you taking the time to click that green button and writing a little comment. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Some more thanks to those who read/story alert/favourite it too...It's so great when I get mail.
Hope this one isn't too confusing or too drama full. I was going to stop it after APOV, but I felt like I should carry on.
Enjoy. Sorry for typos/grammar. Me thinks I need a beta...
Jasper POV
The plan had yet to be put into action. Mainly because I was utterly shitting myself about it. Not the lying part - I could lie through my teeth. Admittedly, Bella had known me for years and could tell when I was lying, but that's only because I wasn't trying too hard to cover up my lies - it was always cute when she got pissed at me. But this time it wouldn't be cute if she caught me out - it would be ugly, fucking ugly - it would be fugly. But, somewhat pathetically and ironically, it was a chance I was willing to take if it meant she'd even consider me to be more than a friend.
There was some new gossip in town from the last week. There was a new student arriving, a girl. Her parents were forcing her to live here until she graduated. Poor girl - she had my full sympathy. Nobody should be forced to live here. Everyone was extremely excited about fresh meat, and one person who was more thrilled than anyone was Alice.
"Thank God I'm not the new kid anymore," she breathed one lunchtime. Everyone was around the table, except Rosalie of course since she was sitting on Mike, and everyone looked oddly happy. Alice was perched on top of Emmett, Edward was sitting next to Alice, pretending to throw up at their PDA, and Bella was leaning on me, texting her wonderful, amazing, perfect boyfriend. I saw Edward look up at Bella with an expression that held no love, only lust. He rolled his eyes when he saw her phone, leant over the table and snatched the phone away.
"Hey!" she shrieked.
"Jake," he read aloud. Everyone had shut up and were listening intently, throwing Bella smiles and winks. "I really miss you. You can come over to my house tonight and do that thing you know I like with my--"
"Ahh! Stop! Stop!" Bella screamed, leaning forwards to yank the phone back, but Edward only held it higher and further away, continuing to read it to himself. A small mercy.
"Holy fuck, Bella. I had no idea you were into that sort of thing. It makes you so much more interesting…" Edward mused, looking at Bella, completely amused by the text.
"I swear to God, Edward, if you tell anyone, I will personally--"
"Hey, I'm telling no one. I'm not the only one who has a thing for you, y'know. I wouldn't want everyone having the advantages I do now," Edward replied with a knowing smirk.
"Fuck you," she muttered, but her heart wasn't in it. She sounded like she was trying to stop from smiling, actually.
"Oh, you wanna fuck me?"
"Who doesn't?" came another voice from the end of the table.
We all whipped our heads around to find a blonde girl at the end of the table. Unlike Rosalie's hair, it looked like it was out of a bottle, not a genetically received gift. She had brown eyes that looked dull - not like Bella's. Bella's looked like melting pools of chocolate, whereas this new girl's just looked…brown. A light brown, admittedly, that you saw rarely. She was pretty, but in a 'I have a lot of make-up on' sort of way. She was staring intently at Edward who looked…confused, angry, worried? The group turned to look at Edward who groaned quietly and ran his hands over his face a few times before looking back at us.
"Everyone, this is Tanya. Tanya this is Emmett, Alice you already know, Bella and Jasper."
Tanya waved happily at us, but none of us made a move to return the gesture. Alice looked as pissed as Edward did, but instead of being kind of pleasant about it, she had balled up fists and was glaring right at Tanya. Emmett's arm around her waist now seemed like a restraint. Somebody needed to say something, and someone did - but it didn't come from any of us.
"Who the fuck's that?"
Never before had I been actually excited or relieved to see Rosalie Swan's glare that was directed pointedly at Tanya.
"I'm Tanya Smith. Hi!" the blonde chirped, jumping up and throwing a hand out for Rosalie to shake. She just looked at it in disgust before shaking her head and sitting down where Tanya had been sat.
"I don't like her. She has fake hair and fake nails. Probably fake boobs too." She looked at Tanya who now looked like she wanted to kill Rosalie. "I don't like you - fuck off."
I started to laugh but when everyone turned sharply to glare at me I turned it into a cough to which Bella starting giggling at. Tanya started to glare at Bella to which Bella just smiled happily at before turning her back on her to face Edward.
"You know the bitch how exactly?" she asked like Tanya wasn't even there.
"She lived in New York and went to my school. We, um, dated for a while. But then she…well, she--"
"Tanya, what the fuck are you doing here?" Alice growled, sensing Edward's discomfort.
"I'm moving here. My mom and dad said I needed to live somewhere where I wasn't loved for my money or my looks, or some shit like that. They'd heard how well you two were doing here and shipped me off, thinking I'd 'sort my life out and discover that everything doesn't revolve around me'. It was all pretty pathetic."
"No, it sounds like John and Wendy have got their act together. Remind me to send them a congratulations card," Alice told us all, to which Bella laughed again.
"Wow, it seems Little Miss Alice Cullen has grown a backbone. Did he finish you, Al? What was his name again? Ga--"
"Tanya, shut the fuck up."
We all looked at Edward once more, whose expression looked murderous; his hands were fisted and his jaw was ticking a little, like he was going to get up and hit something…or someone…
I cleared my throat, meaning everyone looked at me.
"I think we should get going. We can't all be late again, else we'll all end up in detention."
Bella nodded first before hopping up, snatching her phone back from Edward but smiling a little at him to which he visibly relaxed, and she was followed by us all, Alice and Edward included, leaving Tanya alone. We were just about to walk out of the Cafeteria when Rosalie called over her shoulder.
"Hope you have a great first day!"
I grinned at Rosalie, and she smiled back, before gesturing to Bella and mouthing Jacob's name at me. I nodded my head once, grabbed Bella's hand and pulled her in the opposite direction.
"What's up?" Bella asked.
"I need to talk to you about your boyfriend."
"Jacob?"
"Yes. Unless you have other boyfriends I don't know about."
"Right," she said slowly and cautiously. "What about him?"
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes.
"I heard…from a very reliable source, that Jacob is parading around his school in La Push talking about your relationship."
"Well, I'd kind of hope so. I'd be more worried if he wasn't, Jazz…"
"I meant your physical relationship," I said, holding my breath for her answer.
"…Oh." Oh God, she sounded so hurt and she's not even heard the worst part.
"And it….Well, Bells, it wasn't…nice."
I heard her sharp intake of breath before she let it all out in one big gush.
"Jasper, open your eyes."
I obliged, rather unwillingly. I expected her to look devastated, upset, hurt…Instead, she just looked pissed…at me.
"You're lying," she stated.
"No, I'm not," I defended, my voice sounding like a lie even to me. But then again - in love there is no lying. The heart doesn't lie - it just strives to get where it needs to be, and my heart needed Bella.
"Yes, you are. I know when you're lying Jasper. So don't feed me some shit like that. I know you feel like I'd ditched you since I have someone else to spend my time with now, but I'm not. I invite you round nearly every day and you just say no and walk off home looking really glum. Like you're really mad at me or something. It's fucking frustrating. So stop trying to ruin my relationship just cause ours is suffering."
And with that she walked off to her Biology lesson. I sighed. I was fucked.
BPOV
I was fucking pissed off, to say the least. I expected Jasper to be upset about me having a boyfriend since I spent a lot of time with him, but I would have never expected him to make up some shit like that, that could have actually done some damage. It was so un-Jasper. It made me curious, and kinda worried.
Biology passed agonizingly slowly, listening to the teachers dulcet tones. I practically ran out of the lesson when the bell went to run to Alice's car. I waited a good five minutes for her to come out, and when she did she was over Emmett's shoulder, screaming. I shook my head at them and smiled when they approached. Emmett plonked Alice's tiny frame down and she staggered a little, dizzy. She turned around and beamed at me.
"Ready to go?"
"Yeah. Jake's meeting me at my house, so…" I finished with a smile.
"Yeah, I don't want to know the details," Alice said, shutting her eyes and holding a hand up. She spun around to Emmett, kissed him and ran round to her side of the Porsche. I hugged Emmett, said goodbye and climbed in with Alice.
The drive to my house was filled with Kings of Leon and The Strokes. I sang along with every song, dancing a bit too, to which Alice laughed her ass off. As we turned the corner onto my street, I noticed a large moving van at the house next to mine. I frowned, perplexed and really damn curious - I had new neighbours and I'd not heard about them at all. Hmm.
"Who's moving in next door to you?" Alice asked, looking inquisitively towards the van.
I shrugged, as in-the-dark as she was. She pulled up outside my house as I fumbled in my pockets for my key, since Rosalie spent all he time at Mike's, doing God knows what. I growled when I realised I'd forgotten it.
"Al, come round back with me. There's a key in this hanging plant pot but I'm too short to reach it."
"I think there's no fucking chance I'll be able to reach it then," she muttered. I laughed.
"Obviously. No, you need to get on my back or my shoulders so you can grab it. Please?" I batted my eyelashes at her in an attempt to look sweet and damsel-in-distress like. She rolled her eyes and climbed out of the car, signalling she would help me. We walked round to the back garden, her laughing at me when I tripped up. She was such an evil little pixie. Bad Tinkerbell.
APOV
Bella was so freaking funny to watch. I swear, she was better than cable.
When we walked into the back garden, we both came to a sudden stop. Not because the garden was huge, decorated with gnomes and a garden swing in the corner, but because on the swing sat two people in a heavy make out session. And it wasn't anybody you'd want to see making out. Especially since one of them was Jacob. And the other was the girl who'd moved in next door to Bella (so it seemed) and who'd caused drama at school today, and nearly brought up the past I wanted to forget - Tanya.
I looked nervously to Bella who had gone pale white, which made a change since she was always red from blushing, and her eyes were wide and half filled with tears, whether from the lack of blinking or from genuine hurt I could not identify, but it broke my fucking heart to see it.
I knew she wouldn't want to see them kissing any longer, so I cleared my throat, alerting them of our presence. Jacob looked over to us and his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. I threw him my worst ever glare that I only saved for times like these. His eyes darted from me to Bella, weighing up who was more dangerous. When Bella clenched her fists and unleashed her death glare, he must've gone with Bella, because I'd never seen her this intimidating.
"Tanya, fuck off. Now," I suggested. She shrugged before skipping over to us, her tacky heels digging thin holes into the newly cut grass - a perfect metaphor of what she'd just done. When she walked past Bella, she smiled sweetly at her, to which Bella retaliated by moving for her. She flinched back, scared shitless, but I grabbed Bella's arm and pulled her to me for a small hug. She returned it as Tanya walked off, but let me go to turn on Jacob who looked like he was walking towards the gallows.
"Jacob, we're fucking over. I can't believe I actually fucking trusted you. And you've obviously been saying other things about me as well - yeah, I've heard. You clearly didn't think I was that shit in bed since you enjoyed it at the time. So fuck off right now, and don't fucking come back. I can't wait to see what Emmett does to you…" she finished off threateningly. His eyes widened a little, before his shoulders slumped and he dragged his feet as he walked towards the gate. As soon as he was out, Bella broke down into tears. I threw my arms around her and pulled her into my chest, sinking to the floor as she pulled me down. She really didn't deserve this - at all. Wait until I get my hands on Tanya…
"I really liked him, Al," she sobbed, her words nearly incoherent.
"Shh," I cooed, not knowing what to say or do. But this seemed to be enough for now. I just sat with her and let her cry it all out, because tomorrow would be worse when we all saw Tanya.
Like I said, Bella's life was better than cable.
EPOV
School was hell, these days. Especially today since Tanya decided to come to Forks. She'd broken my fucking heart a year ago, and I'd still not completely gotten over it. I caught her kissing some other guy after we'd been dating for over a year. We'll just say I didn't react well…
My determination of getting Bella was wearing thin. I just thought it was a hopeless idea now, since she was dating Jacob. That, plus she hated me. But that didn't mean I didn't want her any less. I was starting to really enjoy her personality, which was odd since, after Tanya, I'd never stayed with a girl long enough to discover her real personality. Bella was kind yet tough and just…unlike every other girl. She ranged from dizzy to intelligent in a matter of seconds which made her endearing and intriguing.
After my day from hell, I drove home to an empty house where I did some of my homework. I lounged around for a while, listening to my iPod, watching whatever was on television and just vegged out on food, really. I went to check my mobile when I realised it wasn't in my pocket. I searched around my room, around the living room, around the whole fucking house. Nope - nothing. I sighed when I realised I must've dropped it outside school or something. I reluctantly grabbed my leather jacket and exited the house into the cold night, climbing into my beloved Volvo and driving to school for the second time that day.
When I arrived, there were a few street lights surrounding the car park, which meant my search for my phone was nearly hopeless since I couldn't see a effing thing. When I wandered round to where my car was parked earlier, I saw something glisten in the light. Thankful, I bent down, picked up my phone and flipped it open. Bah - typical: no messages. After all that…
I turned round to walk back to my car when I heard a strange noise from the back building. It sounded like crying. Curious, I walked over to it, my feet crunching along the gravel. When the person heard my footsteps they stopped their sobs, trying to conceal their presence.
"Who's that?" someone asked, and the voice sounded incredibly familiar. Too familiar.
"Bella?" I asked, confused.
"Edward?"
"What the fuck are you doing here? It's like…" I checked my phone clock, "…half past ten. Why are you at school?"
"Um…No reason really," she lied. She was a rubbish liar.
"Why are you crying?"
"I'm not," she defended weakly, almost as if she didn't believe herself either.
"Right…" I said, bending down to sit next to her. I could smell chocolate.
"Do you have food?" I asked her, cause I was pretty hungry.
"Yeah…Ben and Jerry's. Want some?" she offered, throwing a spoon in my face. I pried it from her hands and dug into the delicious ice cream, savouring the taste.
"Mmm…" It was chocolatey goodness. I seriously owed Ben and Jerry. I'd write them a letter…
"So, are you gonna tell me why you're crying or not?" I asked her after swallowing my food.
"Why do you care?" she asked quietly, like she thought no one would want to care about her or for her.
"Because I do. Now, what's up?"
She remained silent for a few beats until throwing caution to the wind.
"Jacob. He--" She took a deep breath. "He was making out with Tanya in the back garden today. I caught him and we broke up. But I just--I feel so fucking stupid more than anything. I mean, I actually trusted him not to do that to me. And then I needed chocolate ice cream cause I comfort eat when I'm upset, and I didn't have anywhere else to go so I ended up here. Alice is with Emmett and I'm sure they wouldn't have minded but I didn't want to impose, Rosalie's at Mike's and Jasper…Oh, God, I shouted at Jasper. I said some fucking silly things…He was telling the truth and I accused him of lying…Fuck…" She finished with a groan followed by a few escaped sobs.
I put my arm around her comfortingly, cause I knew how it felt when someone you trust just abuses it. You feel like shit, that's what you feel like.
"Well, you were too good for Jacob anyway. He was an ass if he picked Tanya over you. You're so much more clever, more beautiful, more funny…just…more. You're a better person than she is - trust me, I know."
She let out a giggle, leaning into me like she would Jasper. I savoured the moment. She sighed loudly.
"Why aren't we friends again?" she asked, like she needed reminding.
"Cause I'm an ass," I scoffed.
"Not right now you're not. You're all right at the minute. Right now, I could be friends with you."
I smiled and I squeezed her arm, because friends was a perfect step in the right direction. I was finally getting somewhere.
"We can do friends, I think," I told her, my voice fervent so she couldn't doubt it.
"Friends sounds good to me," she agreed, snuggling into me since she was pretty fucking freezing.
Inside, I was doing a little victory dance in celebration - Bella and I were actually going somewhere.
Confusing? Yeah, I know I worry too much.
I hope you're all njoying this...Cause I don't want to mess it up and you all be angry with me. =|
Review, please? They're better than snuggling with Edward...Ooofft...
Oh, and I have a poll if you want to do it. I's not to do with this story, but just as a writer in general. You don't have to do it but...yeah.
(PS. Sorry Jacob lovers. But if it's any consolation, he does appear in the story again. [: )
Next chapter: Bold as Love (John Mayer) - Jasper has to deal with his conscience and he's tired of pretending. Oh, you get to see a jealous Bella, too. =O