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Now, here's chapter nine. I hope y'all like this one!

Long Road to Ruin
Chapter Nine: The Harbinger

Jasper.

"So, are you up for it?"

I sighed in the lunch line as it moved forward ever-so-slowly. I had yet to get to the food, and my stomach was rumbling in anticipation. Though the food was hardly gourmet here, anything would do, as long as it squelched my hunger. Tyler looked at me curiously, his eyebrows raised with anticipation as he gazed at me.

"Up for…?"

"Damn, Jasper!" Tyler exclaimed in fake exasperation, "I've only been mentioning it the past three days! Being around all the hot new people must've fried your average brain."

I laughed airily, but, humorously, I wondered if that was actually the case.

Lauren looked at me with barely hidden contempt. Her fishy eyes stared at me with some kind of…I really don't know how to describe it, honestly. I just knew that she wasn't happy about the fact that I had practically ripped her a new asshole for talking about Bella. Frankly, I really didn't care.

"Me, Lauren, Jess, Mike, and Angela are going to Port Angeles this weekend to see a movie and eat and stuff…you know. You up for it?"

Blinking a few times, I looked from Tyler to Lauren and back again.

"Uh, sure," I replied, "Who's car are we taking?"

"Angela's folks have a van," Tyler smiled wryly at that, "It'll be able to fit all of us, so no problems there."

I grinned, already excited by this new outing that I was going on with my friends. I couldn't remember the last time we had all gone out and done something like this, and I was already beginning to feel the adrenaline rush in me, even though we were just going to the movies. It wasn't like we were going rock climbing or anything, but this was exciting me just like it was a high octane activity. Anything to get out of the house, I supposed.

"You're easy to please."

I felt my muscles start to go rigid at the sound of the voice behind me. I saw Lauren's eyes narrow before I turned around. The blonde turned huffily and tugged Tyler along with her, but not before I saw my friend's eyebrows waggle suggestively.

Turning, I was yet again, met face-to-face with the awe-inspiring beauty that had plagued my mind ever since I first set my sights on her, "Hey, Bella."

She looked sheepish, and again, I would've thought she should be blushing, but…nothing. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I was right here."

"Oh, nah, don't worry bout it." I said, giving her a lazy grin, "I should be apologizing. I didn't even realize you were there."

"I guess I'm taking advantage of that supposed stealth you said I had this morning." Her eyes found mine and I felt my heart stop in my chest. How could just a pair of eyes render my senses useless? Even though they were darkening more and more it seemed, the dark onyx of them still had an affect on me.

I realized that it must not be the eyes, but the person.

I gave a soft chuckle at that, and a smile spread across her flawless features, "So…" I looked behind her, puzzled at the absence of her ever-present family, "Where's the rest of y'all?"

She blinked, embarrassed, and looked behind her, only to see some poor fool who was smitten with the brunette beauty in front of him. He stared at her as if he had never seen a woman before. I snickered at the sight of it, though I don't think she noticed, for she turned back around with a knowing smile, "They ate beforehand."

"Oh. That's odd. Y'all are always sitting together…"

"Yeah, well, sometimes change is good, ya know?"

I smiled, "I agree."

She also smiled, and once again, I was taken aback by the force of it all. It was almost as if I was looking into the sun, the gesture was so brilliant.

We got our food, and we were just leaving the line to head for a table when she touched my arm gently, her cold fingertips brushing against the skin of my bicep. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

My heart started to beat even faster, so fast, in fact, that Coach Clapp would have to do something extra strenuous for any of his athletic activities to duplicate it. My eyes widened, somewhat surprised by her question, before I said, rather stupidly, "Seriously?"

She looked hurt for a moment, and I felt my heart tug at that, "If you don't want me to…"

"No!" I blurted out. Her eyes widened marginally for a moment before resuming their natural size, and a familiar smile spread across her features, "I mean," I was blushing now, my face so hot that I thought I might erupt into flames right there, "Yeah, I do want you to sit with me, I just wasn't expecting…yeah…" I ended with a rather awkward chuckle that I almost slapped myself for letting escape my lips.

"Well, then I think we should find a table." Bella said, her voice and expression teasing as she stepped ahead of me to take the lead. I felt my heart race as I followed her to an empty table, the one she usually shared with her family, and sat down across from her.

I gazed down at my plate, which consisted of a fried chicken breast and a generous dollop of mashed potatoes and gravy. My eyes surveyed the food hungrily, and I dug in without a second thought. I could hear Bella chuckling across from me, so I looked up, my hands still tearing the chicken apart.

"What?"

The smile never left Bella's face as she looked at me, "Nothing."

Huh. Strange, it was almost like she had never seen a starving person before.

Of course, maybe it was because I didn't have good table manners. Yes, like any other good southern boy I said "Yes, ma'am," and "No, sir," but when it came to eating…well, I was a stark opposite of my spoken manners.

I plopped a piece of greasy chicken in my mouth and chewed, closing my eyes and relishing the taste of food that had finally passed my lips. I then opened my lids once more and gazed at Bella, who was still looking at me like I was some foreign object.

"Something wrong?" I asked, cocking my head to the side, "You haven't touched your food, Bella."

She stiffened for a moment, before looking down at her own plate of food, which was pretty much a copy of what I had on my plate, except untouched. Running a hand through her full, mahogany hair, she met my eyes with an embarrassed stare, "I…well, I'm not that hungry right now."

I scoffed playfully, "Oh, bad table manners are a turn off, huh?"

Bella looked at me with a smile, "No, I actually thought it was kinda cute."

Whoa! My mind was racing with her words. Cute? Bella thinks I'm cute?

I felt a blush start to grace my cheeks, and I really wondered when I was ever the blushing type. I looked at her and felt my heart clog my throat, and my chest itself felt like it was going to explode with the intensity of all of the emotions that were running through my mind and filling every nerve ending.

"You'll catch flies if you keep your mouth hanging open like that," Bella pointed out, laughing.

I immediately clamped my mouth shut with an audible snap and then inhaled through the clenched teeth, "Uh, right."

Bella laughed at that, and the sound of it was music in the dreary lunchroom air. I began to laugh along with her, and I found that it was easy, natural, like breathing to be around her. I was surprised at that sudden realization though, because I would think most people would feel inferior to her beauty, but there was just something about her that put me at ease.

"So you headed to Port Angeles tomorrow?"

I blinked, taken aback by her sudden forwardness. "Uh…"

"Sorry. I just have really good hearing."

I smiled and looked into her eerily black eyes. And, despite that eeriness, they intrigued me, as always.

"Y-Yeah," I stumbled over my words like a fool, "Me and my posse."

"Posse, huh?" She seemed amused by my choice of words, and a grinned cheekily at her. She seemed amused by that as well, and I let a chuckle escape my lips.

"Of course. The Whitlock Posse. Coolest cats in school, ya dig?" I put on a visage of cool and waggled my eyebrows slightly, dragging a lazy smile across my lips.

This had her giggling even more than she had before. She put a delicate, lily white hand in front of her plump lips and closed her eyes in mirth. The sound of it was so beautiful that it would put even the concertos of famous composers to shame. Not that I listened much to them, but I'm sure that would be the case if they played a tape of her laughing right after something by Mozart.

I hadn't noticed I had been staring at her until she averted her eyes, slightly embarrassed. How was it that I was so entranced with her shyness?

"You wanna come?" I ended up asking, wondering how Tyler and the others would react if Bella showed up at our little get-together. Well, at least if she did go, I wouldn't be stuck with Jessica the whole night, like I already knew I would be. Tyler and Lauren would be together, as would be Ben and Angela. Which left me and Jessica together, alone for pretty much the entire night.

If Bella were there, it would be much better, albeit more likely to turn into a catfight, but at least I wouldn't be the only one to witness Jessica's shameless attempts on getting me to sleep with her. I shuddered involuntarily and Bella looked at me quizzically, cocking her head to the side so the dingy lunchroom light caught her onyx eyes in the right way and they sparkled. I felt the breath catch in my chest.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," I said, this time without the stutter, thank goodness, "I'm good. Just got a chill."

Bella was on alert then, as if expecting this for a while, and I gave her a wondering look. I could almost see the hairs on her arms stand up with the tension that her shoulders now took on. Instead of asking her about it, I continued our former conversation, "D'ya wanna come, Bella?"

She snapped back to attention right there and looked at me. Her intense eyes went soft and kind, which seemed odd since they were so dark, like an endless abyss. "I'm sorry. I'll have to decline. I don't think Lauren likes me too much." She gave a slight laugh at that and picked at her uneaten food with her fork.

"I won't let her say anything bad about you." The tone set to my words was that of passion. The urge to protect was strong within me, and I wanted to do anything to keep her from harm, though I knew she could take care of herself. Something about the way she carried herself exuded confidence built up over the years, and I knew she was strong, though I hadn't known her long.

"Yeah, but…" Bella trailed off, clenching her bottom lip between her teeth. I felt a curl of desire swell in my stomach and swirl around and around at that simple action of hers. I swallowed compulsively and shifted in my seat.

"It's fine," I finally managed to get out after a few moments of somewhat awkward silence. Her bright eyes moved to meet mine and a smirk twisted her lips at what she saw - no doubt it was the look of utter want that was on my face right now. At that moment, it was all I could do to control my already unstable hormones. It was strange that that one little gesture made me want her like that. It was sexy.

I blinked several times, trying to get the image of me biting that same lip out of my head, and inhaled deeply, breathing in the sweet scent of her as I did so. That created an even more intense desire well up within me, but I tried to ignore it.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to." I told her kindly, trying to keep the tone of my voice casual.

"Ah, alright." Bella said, and she sounded a bit disappointed, but maybe I was just imagining things.

I then noticed that we were the only ones in the lunchroom. Everyone else had already moved on out to mingle outside with one another, leaving Bella alone with me. I felt my chest tighten as I scooped the last of my food into my mouth.

Bella watched me with interest, and for once I tried to avoid her gaze, worried that the sudden want would appear again. Though it was far from unpleasant, it was awkward and uncomfortable, and I didn't want her to feel like I wanted that from her.

When I rose from my seat a few minutes later, Bella followed suit. I looked down at her and was puzzled, "Are you feeling okay? You didn't eat a thing."

This caught her up short, for some reason, "Um…special diet."

"Well," I saw the next question I asked as the obvious one, "why get food anyway? You could bring your own."

Bella smiled ruefully, and that gesture made me feel like I was missing some kind of inside joke that was particularly hilarious, "They don't like that."

I chuckled softly and spoke my thoughts before even considering the effects of it, "You don't need a diet, anyway. You look perfect as it is."

I saw her eyes widen as she angled her head to get a better look at me. Her eyes were appreciative and kind. She smiled at me and the full force of it made me lose my breath. It was all I could do to not gasp for breath like a complete, utter moron in front of her. That smile jolted through my body like a million volts of electricity.

"Thank you, Jasper."

Damn, I loved the way she said my name.

She disposed of her untouched food in the trash bin and put her tray with the other dirty trays left there by the other students. I did the same, though I didn't have nearly as much food to get rid of as Bella did.

She sighed contentedly as she took her stance in front of me, and I couldn't help but notice that the position she took seemed protective, as if someone was out to get me just outside the door.

And, again, the sinister feeling swept over me like a sick tidal wave.

I didn't know why this kept happening to me - it was all a bit odd. More than a bit odd, actually. Really damn odd. Nausea nestled itself in my stomach and I felt the sudden urge to throw up everything I had just eaten. I took several deep breaths to steady myself and my suddenly rolling stomach.

"You okay?" Bella's voice shot through the cloud of nausea as I stepped out the door. "You don't look so hot."

"Ah, damn," I said playfully, wincing as my stomach churned yet again, "I was hoping you'd think the opposite."

She laughed at that, and I realized that I truly enjoyed doing that. Making her laugh was becoming a favorite pass time of mine.

The bell rang loud and clear for the next period of the day. For me, it was the first of two hours of P.E., to get us ready for our first football game. For Bella, I assumed she had study hall. All the other non-sports affiliated seniors had that class.

"Thank you for letting me eat lunch with you."

"Technically, you didn't eat, Bella." I chided playfully, "But no problem. It was my pleasure."

Bella smiled and again I felt like the air was cut off from my throat.

"I would like to do this again. Maybe some other time?"

Her eyes captivated me and I found myself not being able to look away as I answered. "S-Sure."

Her smile brightened, if that were possible.

"See you later."

"Yeah," I replied shakily, "See ya."

With that, I watched Bella's alluring form as she walked away.

Bella.

It pained me to leave his side.

I wasn't sure why, but the draw I felt to Jasper was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Like everything revolved around him now. The connection between the two of us was undeniable, and I wondered if he felt the same electric jolt that I did when we were around each other, when my cold skin touched his, when our eyes met. I wondered if he felt those same emotions. A part of me knew it was better for him if he didn't, but another part was so foolishly selfish that I wanted him to want me. To be with me.

Strange how I would find this with someone I barely knew. Someone who I had saved from an attack all those years ago. It probably felt like a while to him, but a near-decade is as short as a month for a vampire. It all ran together, but I found myself thinking of him often as those years went by. What became of him? What was he doing? I had actually gone back to his house, only to find that they had moved.

And then, almost a decade later, here we are. Together. He remembers me and I him, though I'm sure it may not come up…

I shook my head slightly, feeling my hair brush across my stone-hard cheeks. It was foolish to want to damn him to this existence, as well as foolish to actually bring him into it.

But currently, the presence around us was making that increasingly difficult.

I wasn't sure exactly who it was, but I knew they didn't want anything positive to do with us. Especially Jasper, for some reason.

I didn't know why the vampire was following him, but…I didn't like it.

Just thinking about Jasper anywhere near one of the non-vegetarian vampires made me tense. I felt my muscles bunch and tighten together, ready to spring at nothing in particular.

I was in study hall, waiting to head to P.E. for seventh hour, and then to go home. My cheek was in my hand and I stared forward, looking at the back of Alice's spiky hair and giving a slight groan as she turned around. "Why the long face, Bella?"

"No reason." I replied swiftly, too swiftly, for Alice's thin brows narrowed and she looked cross with me.

"Sure." She said abruptly, "But I do know that you are going to be very interested in what you see next hour."

"What are you - ?"

The bell rang, interrupting whatever I had to say.

"You'll see, sweetie."

I felt my face contort in a grimace as I gathered my books and rose from my desk, following Alice's dancing form out of the door just before she linked hands with Edward. Rosalie and Emmett followed closely behind me and I heard Rose giggle at something Emmett said. I hadn't been paying much attention.

We walked to the gym in some silence, with the slight banter between Edward and Emmett the only thing to break it. Alice and Rosalie were talking about some kind of fashion product, while I kept to myself. All my thoughts were of Jasper, and of the thing Alice had brought up. Why would I be interested in P.E.? I was confused, and even my vampire brain couldn't comprehend what was going on.

Coach Clapp, the football coach, escorted us to the football field once we got to the gym. Apparently, he wasn't going to make us do anything as long as football season was afoot. We walked in silence, except for the various people talking about how hot some of the football players were. Most everyone mentioned Jasper, and I found myself becoming quite possessive of him, which was strange. A tinge of something I rarely felt twitched within me.

Jealousy.

Why was I jealous? I knew I was more beautiful than any one of these human girls. And I wasn't being cocky or overly confident about that, it was just the truth. And the way some of them looked at me proved it.

I suddenly figured it out.

Because they knew him for so long. They've known Jasper for a while now. Of course, they hadn't known him when he was little. He had moved here, apparently, if Edward telling me his past was any indication.

I knew next to nothing about him. All these girls, they knew him. They knew his quirks, his laugh, his jokes…and all I knew was basically that his name was Jasper Whitlock and I was completely obsessed with him.

Shaking my head, I looked over to Alice as we climbed the bleachers with our uncanny grace. That was where we were to sit while Coach Clapp ran over plays and whatnot with his players. Alice smiled at me mischievously, and I knitted my eyebrows in confusion. She jabbed a small, pale thumb in the direction of the field.

And I saw what she meant by "interested."

My perfect vision zoomed in on a very shirtless Jasper catching a pass made by Tyler and running with it down the field, very fast, even for a human. I saw every flex and bunch of his muscles move sinuously beneath the membrane of his skin. His chest was muscular, but skinny as well. His tall form raced down the field, dodging various people trying to tackle him. I noticed that all the people on Jasper's side were shirtless, but the ones opposing him had on shirts.

"Ah, shirts and skins." I heard Emmett murmur wistfully.

"We'll play our own version of that when we get home." Rosalie whispered playfully to him. I heard Alice giggle and her fingers tightened around Edward's in a silent agreement to try that out themselves.

My eyes roamed over Jasper's body as he ran a few more feet before he was tackled by one of the "shirts." It was obviously a friendly game, because the guy who tackled him didn't do it with all of his force.

I watched as he rose, still cradling the ball in the crook of his elbow. My eyes focused on the individual droplets of dew from the rain that clung to the skin of his back. I brought my eyes downward more to trace the trail of his spine down to where two small dimples were visible on his hips. His arms were strong, and the biceps and triceps were sculpted from weight lifting. His abs were clearly visible, and I felt a strange warmth pool in my stomach.

Alice giggled, interrupting my idolization of this human teenager. "You know not to doubt me."

"Yeah…but you could warn me next time."

I heard Rose snicker from behind me. I turned around to look up at her with playfully narrowed eyes.

"Ah, sweet virgin love." Emmett sighed grandly, leaning back and wrapping a muscular arm around Rosalie's perfect body. The beautiful blonde laughed as well, and the sound was beautiful, even for a vampire.

I glared at my "big brother" with my now-dark eyes and bit my lip. I felt like blushing, and I knew if I were human, then that would be the case. "Yeah, well, ah, sweet man whoring going on up there."

"Hey!" Emmett said, faux-insulted, "I'm only Rose's man whore!"

That caused the rest of my family to burst into laughter, as well as a few of the high school students around us, though they were several seats below us. We were seated at the very top of the bleachers, and apparently, the rest of our class was intimidated by us. As per usual.

At that moment, Jasper looked up into the bleachers, eyes searching, face curious. And I couldn't help but notice the droplets of water clinging to his toned muscles, as well as a few pieces of grass. His eyes were shooting around all the people in the bleachers until they moved to where my family and I were sitting.

And they stayed there.

My expert vision saw a smile cross his features, and my heart clenched with the sight of it. He raised a large, slender hand and waved at me once before running off to talk to Tyler, throwing him the ball beforehand.

Alice turned and smirked. Edward looked at me with a mixture of knowing and somewhat disapproval. He knew how much Jasper liked me, apparently, and the fact that I was enamored with him was plastered all over my face.

I ignored them, trying not to smile as I watched Jasper run again after Tyler threw the ball once more.

His muscles bunched and coiled and released as he ran. Strong legs propelled him forward and his unruly honey blonde hair blew around his face as he jumped to catch the pass. My eyes couldn't leave his form. Not even for a second. My hormones raged within me, long dormant from the complete disinterest I felt for every human boy besides the running teen.

If I were an actual human teenager, without immortality, I figured that Jasper would be the "death" of me.

But at least it would've be a pleasant one.

End Chapter Nine.

Alright! This chapter is done! Seems like it took forever. But yeah, college. That's my excuse. Totally. But I really enjoyed writing this once I got a feel for where it was going and everything. This one was basically just a set-up chapter for what's gonna go down in the next couple of chapters. I'll keep you guessing but it is gonna be very interesting if I do say so myself! This chapter was also showing the growing attraction between Bella and Jasper, which I think needed to be illustrated. Haha.

Anyway, I really hope y'all enjoyed reading this! I would appreciate it very much if you left an opinion on how good/awesome/bad it was. Lol.

Thanks for reading!