A/N: I just found out that it's completely possible to have your soul stolen by a pairing and then enslaved by it. Sorry, but I've had a resurgence of my addiction to another manga, so I've been wrapped up in that... though five hundred and fifty eight chapters is a lot to catch up on. sigh
Oh! And as of now, Poison has a COMPLETE CAST. Yes, this is true. Go check it out right now and comment! You can find it on my LiveJournal. :D
Words: 6 582 words
Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer, and not me. I am only borrowing them for this and make no attempt to claim them as my own (even though I really wish they were mine). The ideas and the plot (semi-so), do belong to me however. I do not own the song Juliet which is in this chapter, it's the property of Emilie Autumn.
Chapter 10: Still Doll
The next morning I woke up disoriented and chilled, but when the events of the day before crashed back down into my self-awareness, I didn't care. In fact, it made me ecstatic. A single glance at the clock told me that it was much earlier then what I normally got up at, and I happily snuggled back into Edward, my cheek resting on his cold chest over his still heart.
I wanted to stay there longer, but we didn't have that much time. My jaw ached, probably from where I'd taken that punch yesterday, but I was perfectly content and I didn't want to move. Much less go to school. Why couldn't it be the weekend already?!
Apparently, Edward shared my sentiment, as his hands smoothed over my hair and he pressed a light kiss to the top of my head. I blushed.
"Good morning Jasper," he greeted me in that soft, melodic voice of his that just made me want to melt. "Did you sleep well?" I could hear a trace of amusement in his voice and gave a tiny pout; he chuckled. "You do realize that you are simply adorable when you do that."
I could feel my cheeks heat up, "... it's childish." I knew that, but if he thought it was adorable then maybe I'd do it more often; just to hear him chuckle. But what I wanted more was to hear him laugh, like really laugh, I'd have to work harder for that it seemed.
"Here, you should start getting ready for school," he released me as he sat up, I noticed the circles under his eyes were lighter now, not as dark and pronounced. "You're normally up by now."
I froze at that. How the hell could he know?! Edward read my stunned expression, and planted his hands on either side of my arms, leaning over me. "Jasper? Is there something wrong?"
"H-how...? How did you know that...?" My voice was breathy and filled with shock; I wasn't sure how I'd react to his answer, but we were about to find out.
He frowned, "I... I come here quite often, just to watch you. At night. There's not much more to do."
"You... you come here?!" I wasn't horrified or anything, in fact I was rather flattered. This wasn't a normal reaction, and I knew it. But hey, if he wanted to stalk me then I had no problem with it; not everyone gets such a handsome stalker who isn't mentally unhinged.
His eyebrow rose, "Do you have a problem with that?"
"Well... how often do you come?"
"Almost every night." My mouth dropped open. Edward continued, "I'm not too sure why I do it, maybe it's the fact that when you sleep you just look so peaceful, and I wish that I could have that too. But more then that, I think that I just like to watch you sleep, it makes me feel peaceful too. And sometimes, I get lucky and you talk."
Now I was confused. I talked when I slept? That made no sense, I'd lived with Carlisle since I was a baby, and he was an incredibly light sleeper so he would have noticed something like that. And he'd never said something. So I didn't know what to make of it.
"It's only when you're restless," Edward continued. "And it's not very often. You normally sleep extremely peacefully and you're not restless, but when you are, you talk sometimes. It's not complete sentences or anything, just disconnected words."
"What have I said?" Now I was curious.
"Sometimes it's nonsensical, just random words, but... you say my name the most." My cheeks flamed and I broke eye contact, looking to the side, horribly embarrassed. Edward gently guided my face back so he could look at me, and there was a warm smile on his face. "Hush, you don't need to be embarrassed, if I could dream, you would always be there. I'm not ashamed of that."
He leaned down and kissed me then, and it was nothing like yesterday. Today it was slow and loving, there was no worried edge to it, and I melted against him, arms coming up to wrap around his neck and pull him down to me. We stayed like that until he pulled back to let me breathe, I gasped for breath, completely breathless. Edward smiled and let his forehead rest against mine for a little before sighing and climbing off of me.
"Come, you need to get ready for breakfast. I'll meet you downstairs, alright?" he told me as I climbed out of bed, I nodded at him in response. He kissed my cheek before I scurried out to the bathroom for my usual morning routine.
Taking a look in the mirror, I was a little surprised at what I saw. My cheeks were still a little pink and my eyes were sparkling, wide, and warm. I'd never felt this way before, my heart was pounding in my chest and I was happier then I could ever remember myself being. This had to be love, and not the fleeting high school love that I'd seen all around me, but real and true love; the kind that you don't find very often. I smiled and it just made my face seem all the more brighter.
I finished up quickly and very nearly danced into my room, my heart was swelling. I was close to humming and I couldn't wipe the goofy smile off my face, but I didn't mind in the slightest. I dressed in my usual T-shirt, jeans, and hoodie ensemble before practically skipping down the stairs and into the kitchen. I wasn't surprised to find both Edward and Renée there, the latter fixing up something for breakfast that smelled delicious. However, what did surprise me was that Edward was wearing fresh clothes. Okay, I wasn't so much surprised as I was confused. He couldn't have gone home and changed before I'd gotten down here, he wasn't that fast, was he?
Slowly, I walked over to the table, and was about to go over and ask Renée if she needed help or anything when a pair of strong, cold arms came around my waist and pulled me into an equally cold lap. My cheeks warmed up, and the thought drifted across my mind that I should probably get used to things like this happening; after all, this was the third time in two days that I'd found myself in Edward's lap.
Edward chuckled, and I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. I ignored it as best I could, and asked Renée, "You don't have to cook... I can make breakfast for myself just fine."
She immediately whirled around with a giant smile on her face and placed a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of me, "I'm going to be around a lot more, besides, I enjoy cooking." She stepped away and went back to her cooking, I noticed that she also had a glass and painkillers waiting near the corner of the counter; it didn't take much deduction for me to realize that it was for Esme when she woke up.
I made a mental note to never get drunk, it wouldn't be worth the hangover.
For the most part, breakfast was quiet with Edward's breathing cool on my neck like his lips. I didn't freeze or anything, but my cheeks were still red and I knew that it would be able before I wouldn't blush every time that he kissed me. I got the feeling that Edward actually enjoyed seeing me blush; one thing I didn't think would ever stop was the way my heart swelled and thudded every time he did kiss me.
When I'd finished, Renée was instantly there, taking my plate away and placing it in the sink where she'd watch it later. She saw Edward and I off with a wave and smile before disappearing back inside to wake Esme up and help her deal with her hangover.
When we climbed into the car, Edward holding the door open for me as he always did, and he popped out my Nightwish CD and popped in another. I watched as he pulled out of the driveway as well as skipping through until he found the song he was looking for. I waited the instrumental opening started, and I wondered if it was a soundtrack maybe or opera or classical music; that's how it sounded. However, when this rather techno sound joined in, I was confused, this wasn't something I'd heard before. I looked to Edward for an explanation.
He smiled, "Just listen. I thought you might like it."
'You're in my stars you know
Don't need a crystal ball to tell me so
Whispering in the air
Hoping that my words find you somewhere
Even when I close my eyes
I'll never recreate the time that flies
The consequence is hanging there
The sky will fall but I don't care.'
I silently listened as he pulled out of the driveway and onto the street, feeling utterly and completely content and happy. The hole that had started to form in his absence was gone, replaced by a fluttering in my stomach and a few other emotions that I wasn't too familiar with. I shook out of my thoughtful mood in order to listen to the song; I wanted to know why he thought that I might like it.
The sound was unique, almost classical but with a techno feel to it that gave it the distinctive sound. As well, the lyrics chilled me a little due to how much they seemed to eerily echo how I felt about him. What's more, I watched as he held something out to me. It was a small wrapped square with red ribbon wrapped around it and tied into a bow, I looked at it and then at him.
"It's for you," Edward said simply with a smile. When I still didn't take it, he continued. "I know most relationships start of differently then this, but will you at least accept this gift from me?"
I blushed, feeling stupid for making him have to explain it to me and accepted the gift from him with a murmured, "Thanks." Like I said, I don't have much of a dating history to go on; and I don't think that even if I did, that it would be of much help in this situation.
Carefully, I untied the ribbon and removed it, setting it aside before removing the wrapping paper as well. I stared at what was inside.
There were two CDs there, one was a copy of Nightwish's Dark Passion Play; a replacement for the copy I'd lost on the day Lauren tried to turn me into a pancake. The other was one that I didn't recognize. I looked at it more closely. The album was called Enchant by someone named Emilie Autumn; I flipped the case over so that I could take a look at the track list.
Edward spoke as I was examining it, "The song that we're listening to is from that album. I stumbled across her in the store when I was looking for that CD that you lost. She sounded like something that you might like, so I bought it as well."
We'd pulled into the parking lot of the school by now, Edward drives exceedingly fast for someone living in a small town, and he was just maneuvering his car into its usual spot; which was now beside Rosalie's convertible. I looked to him and smiled.
"Thanks Edward." I wasn't sure what I should do next, what are you supposed to do when your new boyfriend gets you a gift that you weren't expecting but are really happy to get? God, I'm an idiot. I'd have to ask Emmett of all people for relationship advice, and he's not exactly the best person to ask. So I decided that I'd just improvise.
Quickly, I leaned over and gave Edward a quick kiss on the cheek.
That seemed to please him as he gave me a warm smile before taking my face in both of his cold hands and kissing me much more firmly and less chastely on the lips. I let a soft sigh slip past my lips, I was unbelievably happy and deliriously in love; this was more then I'd hoped for or expected when I'd self-exiled myself to Forks.
Things were starting to look up.
Edward cut the engine and climbed out, I'd already started to do the same when he was at my side and holding the door as I got out. He shut the door behind me and locked the car, taking my hand in his as we started towards the school itself. I was suddenly come over with a rush of embarrassment as everyone's eyes were on us, or to be more specific, on me. Edward seemed completely unaffected by the attention on us as we walked by the parking lot, hands entwined and towards the school buildings; in fact, he didn't even seem to notice how everyone was staring at us.
I didn't want to go to my first class, because that meant that I'd be stuck sitting with Mike for the entire English class, along with Jess. That would be hell because Jess would immediately ask about what had happened with Edward last night, and then Mike would jump on because he hated Edward and would be trying to convince me that he was a better choice, and then Jess would get mad at me because Mike would admit that he liked me a lot which would spawn a fight and a nasty break-up, and I'd be the one who'd wind up paying.
Something of what I was dreading must have shown on my face because Edward stopped when we were under the overhang of the cafeteria roof and turned to look at me, scrutinizing my face carefully. His eyes carefully read my own, "Are you alright Jasper? You seem... tense."
I shook my head, "I'm not looking forward to English."
This only seemed to confuse and frustrate him further, and I remembered that he couldn't just read my thoughts to figure out what I meant. I decided to elaborate, after all, this involved him too.
"Jess and Mike. I have no idea what he's been thinking dating Jess like that and then turning around and telling me that he likes me and kissing me. But I know that Jess won't be happy, no matter what the truth is."
My reminding Edward of how Mike had forcefully taken my first kiss didn't seem smart, as his eyes hardened and his jaw was set; his hand also tightened around mine. I wasn't sure what to say or how to react, but I wondered what was going through his mind.
The bell ringing didn't register in my mind at first until I felt a gentle tapping on the side of my arm. Turning my attention briefly away from Edward to see who it was, I was slightly surprised to see Angela standing there. Her face was warm and friendly, as always, and she had a friendly smile on her face.
"Hey Jasper," she greeted me. "Hello Edward." There was a slightly tremor in her voice as she greeted Edward, she was obviously a little nervous around him, but she did seem a little concerned. I prayed it wasn't because of how obvious it was that Edward and I were together. "You two are going to be late."
"What?" I realized that people were already abandoning the sidewalks for classrooms. I sighed and turned to Edward. "I'll see you later, okay? At lunch?" Edward nodded, and before I could react, he pulled me close for a moment and kissed my temple.
He turned away, walking toward wherever his class was, calling over his shoulder, "I'll see you Jasper."
Several people turned to look at me at that, and I flushed a little, but I let Angela guide me away and towards English. It was only then that I remembered she was in my English class as well, I'd been here for a few months already and I hadn't noticed that? But then again, I hadn't noticed very many people outside of Jess and Mike in English, they always made sure that my attention was focused solely on them and whatever it was that they were talking about. It wasn't completely my fault.
Angela was demonstrating what I liked about her, she didn't pry into why Edward and I had been holding hands, or why he'd hugged me and kissed me before going to class. But I was a little curious about why she'd turned up right then.
"Angela? What were you doing at the cafeteria?"
She looked at me for a moment, "I was worried about you, after yesterday. I did want to ask you if you were okay, but you seem fine. You are, right?" There was still a little timid edge to her voice, but it was still the same calm and warm voice that she always had, I felt comfortable around her.
"Yes, I'm fine Angela, you don't have to worry about me." I sighed as we reached the entrance to the classroom, she looked at me.
"Do you want to sit with me?" she asked. I liked that she didn't ask why I seemed so hesitant to go in, she simply asked that. I nodded and she led me to her seat in the middle of the class and I took a seat beside her. I noticed that Jess glared at me, she obviously wanted details about what had happened last night; and Mike was glaring at me too, he'd obviously found out about last night or had seen me and Edward this morning.
Today simply wasn't turning out to be my day. I sat by Angela, who didn't ask me one question at all the entire time. But I knew she could feel the gloom that had settled over me, I knew that I couldn't avoid Jess and Mike forever; I'd have to face this situation eventually. But I'd rather put it off for as long as I could.
If I got lucky, I could avoid them for the entire day.
Angela surprised me; I hadn't known that she was in most of my classes. She just wasn't in my gym class, she'd had it last semester. But that made it easier for me to avoid Jess and Mike, they didn't seem to want to confront me when I was her; they valued her as a close friend and wouldn't want her to see the ugly argument that would take place. I doubted they'd extend the same courtesy to Edward.
She was also a great person to talk too, I was getting really wound up, and worried that I'd burst at some point. Angela seemed to hesitate for a moment as we were walking to Legal Studies, but she eventually asked, "If you need someone to talk to Jasper, you can talk to me."
I smiled at her, "Thanks Ange." She returned the smile and we continued through the morning just talking about things; random things like funny moments from our childhoods and what sort of experiences we'd had growing up.
I was surprised to find out that her parents were divorced and that she lived in Forks with her dad and her younger twin sisters. Her mother lived in New York where she worked as a highly regarded criminal defense attorney, while her father had a job as a mechanic here in Forks. While her mother wanted custody of her, but not the twins, Angela had instead chosen to stay in Forks with her father because she liked small town life better. Besides, she said, New York smelled a lot like horse poop.
That made me laugh.
We were still laughing over a stupid stunt that Emmett had pulled when we were kids when we left math, at which point Edward joined us. He smiled at me and Angela, who tentatively smiled back; it wasn't that she didn't like him, it's just that Edward's slightly intimidating when his full attention's on you and when he smiles it makes you want to melt and just stand there and gawk at his perfection. Trust me, I feel that way a lot.
Both of them didn't have a problem with each other, and Edward didn't mind her joining us at our table for lunch. I smiled, happy that if worst came to worst, that I'd at least have one really good friend who'd stand by me. Edward bought a tray of food, as usual, I'd end up eating most of it and he wouldn't touch it, while Angela waited patiently. She brought her own lunch from home.
"Just you wait Jasper," Edward was saying as we walked to the table and sat down. "Renée is going to start making you lunch now."
"Renée?" Angela looked between the both of us. "Isn't your mother's name Esme, Jasper?"
I sat down across from Edward and beside Angela, "My mom's Esme, Renée is her... girlfriend I guess." I wasn't actually too sure what Renée and Esme were, but that was probably the best that I could offer as an explanation to Angela. "She's doctor Swan's sister."
"Oh yes, that's right," Angela nodded. "She's not in town very much, she's an artist, isn't she Edward?" Her attention to Edward when she asked that.
"Yes, Renée works out of Port Angeles as an artist and sculptor," Edward replied.
Lunch continued in that way, with us spending it in casual conversation about a variety of topics that came up. It was the first time in Forks that I'd felt completely at home and at peace; I had one friend I could count on, and a boyfriend who really loved me. This was more then I'd hoped for coming here, and even more then what I'd expected to have back in Vancouver. I didn't want to leave Forks.
When the bell rang signifying the end of lunch, Angela excused herself when Jess waved her over. Edward frowned but didn't say anything about it, instead he took my hand again and we left the cafeteria and made our way towards Biology. I wasn't sure what Jess was expecting to get out of Angela, but I was pretty sure that it wasn't what she wanted to get; Angela's very good at keeping secrets, plus she's not a bad liar either.
I kept my head ducked, my cheeks were brightly aflame because everyone was staring at us and our connected hands as we made our way to Biology. The attention didn't seem to bug Edward very much, but I found it discomforting; when we finally arrived, almost everyone was already there, and they were all staring at us in complete shock. The heat in my face just grew, but Edward was striding forward purposefully and he led me to our seats in the middle of the room; he released my hand as we sat down.
"So about this weekend..." Edward began, I turned to him immediately. Mr. Banner hadn't come in yet, so pretty much everyone was still talking. I dimly noticed that Mike was glaring hard at Edward's back and even at me, but I pretended I hadn't noticed him. "The weather is going to be poor on Saturday in Seattle and here, of course, so that's still on. But I was thinking about Sunday..."
"What about Sunday?"
"You could meet my family." My mouth fell open and I stared at him in shock.
"M-meet your family?!" Damn it, I was nervous as hell. I didn't even know if his family liked me! And Rosalie...
"You don't have to be afraid," Edward was quick to reassure me. "They won't hurt you, I promise. I'll keep you safe."
Shaking my head, I explained, "I'm not afraid of them. It's just... well... won't they be expecting... a girl? Or just someone who's not me?"
There was an unfamiliar look on Edward's face as he pondered my answer for a moment, thinking of a response. Then, "Not necessarily. Times have been changing, both Renée and Charlie have worried about me, seeing as I haven't found anyone. But they're happy that I'm happy, they'll accept you. Renée's already accepted you; she's always been rather motherly."
"O-oh... what about Alice and Bella?"
He smiled, "Bella doesn't care, but she does like you. And in fact, I think she's relieved that she's not the only one who's thoughts I cannot see. As for Alice, she's been the most understanding about this entire thing."
"You can't read her thoughts either? I'm not alone?" That made me feel better, I'd worried that I was some kind of freak since he could read everyone else's thoughts except mine; even though I was sort of relieved by that. Bella having a similar ability made me feel less alone.
"No, she's always been that way. She's immune to those gifts which work within the mind, I think you're like her in that regard." I nodded as his hand found mine under the table pulling it so that it rested on his thigh; his thumb traced circles lightly on the side of my hand. I didn't mind the chill that emanated off his skin.
Edward's ambidextrous, so he was able to write down the notes that Mr. Banner was putting up on the board for us in a neat, elegant script that made me feel completely envious. What's he not good at? I was able to take notes too, as I'm right-handed and Edward had a firm hold of my left, but it was a little difficult and awkward. My notes weren't as neat as Edward's, but the content smile on his face made it worth having a disaster of notes; I could recopy them later.
Biology ended way too quickly and I wasn't happy that I'd have to separate from Edward soon. In fact, I was dreading it because it meant that it would give Mike the chance to corner me without Jess around. I wasn't ready to face the executioner just yet. My hand tightened in Edward's as he walked me to gym.
"You're tense Jasper," he whispered. "Are you worried about Newton?" The venom in his voice when he said Mike's name was nearly tangible, it made me swallow hard.
"Y-yes..." I squeaked, Edward pulled me into a warm embrace which I melted into.
"Ignore him as best you can, if he does anything, tell me immediately, do you hear me Jasper?" Edward's voice was as smooth as velvet, but the threat in his voice was very much real. I only worried more about the upcoming confrontation because of that; what could Mike be planning that had Edward so on edge. "I will try and have you pulled from this class."
There was a brief chaste kiss pressed to my lips before Edward swept out of there with all the grace and power of a lion. I watched him go silently, hoping that I wouldn't have to see him in battle.
"Hey Jaz." Mike came up.
"Hi Mike," I turned away and strode into the change room and quickly changed into my gym clothes before exiting into the gym and joined the mass of kids who were getting rackets and birdies before heading out onto the courts to warm-up. When I turned around after getting one, I nearly face planted into Mike. When had he gotten here?
"I'll warm up with you." Was it just me or was there a double meaning in his words? Maybe I was just overreacting about this whole thing, maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I'd initially thought that it might be.
"Uhh... sure, okay."
Gym class wasn't too bad, but dread had settled into the pit of my stomach. Something had to happen, the tension was palpable in the air and I could nearly taste it. I felt like heaving by the time we cleaned up the gym and put the equipment away.
I was sluggish when changing today, my stomach was up in knots and I didn't know what to expect so I moved slower then I normally did; by the time I'd finished changing, the locker room was empty. At least, it looked like it was.
Before I could leave, I was pinned up against the lockers by Mike. His left hand was planted beside my head, and his body was angled to prevent me from escaping; it wasn't like I could overpower him anyways, he was considerably taller then I was and was stronger too. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as he leaned in a little to close. He wasn't going to rape me, was he?
Things weren't looking good at this point.
"I thought I warned you to stay away from Swan," Mike voice was cold, but I could still hear the concern and a touch of envy in it.
"That's none of your business Mike," I replied icily, but I was scared.
"He's not good for you Jaz, he's everything that's completely wrong for you. I know this, I have a feeling that you're going to get hurt if you stay with him."
I knew that Mike was just trying to be a good friend, but he was being way too overprotective and I really didn't care at this point that I was putting my safety, my life in danger. Just like I'd told Edward, I was in too deep and there was no way I was getting out of it. My entire being shied away from the pain that cutting Edward out of my life would cause; he was the first person to make me feel whole, and also the only one that I wanted.
"Edward would never hurt me. And how do you know what's wrong for me?"
Arguing with Mike wasn't probably the smartest thing to do, but there was some part of me that compelled me to do so; I wanted him to be sure that there was no way that I'd ever leave Edward.
"You feel stronger about him, to him you're just a passing fling, someone new. You're the newest and most interesting person in Forks right now, the moment that he gets bored with you he'll toss you aside like yesterday's garbage." Mike was trembling.
"I told you that I don't feel the same way that you do!"
"I'd be much safer for you, I wouldn't hurt you or throw you aside." Oh great, Mike was trying to win me over now. "You'd be happy with me."
"You don't know that Mike."
"Give me a chance Jasper, let me show you what you're missing."
"I don't-" I was quite firmly interrupted when Mike pressed his lips forcefully against mine again. I immediately tried to push him away, but his arms had already come around and were holding me tightly against him. When I tried to turn my face away, one of his hands roughly grabbed my face to hold me still. I gasped as pain wracked through me when his hand pressed down on the bruise I'd gotten yesterday, but Mike didn't seem to notice that I was in pain, he was too busy taking advantage of my parted lips.
I took my chance and bit down on his tongue as I brought my knee up into his crotch sharply and with as much force as I could muster. Mike doubled over, releasing me as his hands went to his groin and he cried out sharply with pain. Seizing my freedom, I bolted straight for the door and outside.
Throwing the door open, I pelted towards the parking lot, hoping and praying that Edward would be there waiting for me. I didn't care if anyone saw me in the state I was in, I just wanted to get to Edward.
He was there, leaning against his car and staring aimlessly at the sky, but his head snapped around to look at me. My eyes welled up with tears and I ran full out and slammed into him, nearly knocking myself to the ground in the process. Edward's arms caught me and held me to him the moment I collided with him.
Burying my face in his shoulder, I breathed in his scent in shallow gasps as I fought to catch my breath and collect my thoughts. I'd apparently shocked Edward with my panicked and wild behavior, but he wrapped his arms around me, tangling one hand in my hair. Several minutes passed before I'd regained enough of myself to think rationally and breathe properly; I relaxed into Edward.
"Jasper...?" he was confused. But then he stiffened, I peeked up to look at him better and saw that his eyes were hard and was glaring angrily at someone. Turning my head around a little, I saw just who it was.
Mike.
He was glaring at us, with abject hatred in his eyes and a look of pure rage on his face. But that wasn't what scared me the most about this entire situation, what did was the look of cold fury on Edward's. He just radiated it as he released me and stepped in front of me.
Edward's voice was icy when he spoke to me, "Stay back Jasper."
I nodded mutely, not wanting to infuriate him anymore then he already was. Edward took two steps away from me before stopping, Mike was only a foot from him now. I shook and looked between the two of them, hoping that this wouldn't come to blow. As much as I hated Mike at this point, I didn't want to see him dead; but more then that, I didn't want to have to lose Edward.
"Swan."
"Newton."
Of the two voices, Edward's was much deadlier. But Mike had let his anger take him too far to realize the very real threat that he was facing if he pressed too many of Edward's buttons. I clasped my hands together and took one miniscule step forward, this did involve me but disregarding Edward's command would be stupid. I'd stay back.
"I'm aware that you've forced your affections onto my boyfriend twice now."
"You don't deserve to call him your boyfriend or anything like that," Mike spat. I winced, but was instantly inflamed. Edward shot me a glance over his shoulder, but said nothing to me.
"Jasper," he stressed my name, "Can choose whoever he likes to call him that. It's quite obvious that he's made his lack of feelings for you very apparent. He's rejected you twice, using physical means to do so as you are very ignorant about body language and what the word 'no' means." Ouch, blow to the pride there.
"He deserves better then a bastard like you." I gasped sharply at that, and there was a pang in my heart as I felt anger begin to prick at me.
"That may be true, but I'm the bastard that he wants. Why don't we let Jasper decide who he wants to be with?" Edward stepped to the side leaving me in full view of both boys. I looked between both of them, confused. "You decide Jasper," Edward told me in a soft voice.
My decision was made before he'd even finished his sentence. I stepped to Edward and pressed myself against his side, taking his hand in both of mine and squeezing it as I entwined our fingers together. My eyes were on his the entire time, "Do you really need to ask?"
"I suppose not," Edward replied, then he turned back to Mike; his voice slipped back into that dangerous, cold rage. "If you even so much as come near Jasper with the thought of attempting to force yourself upon him again, you will regret it."
Apparently Mike didn't take the hint and took a step forward, "Jaz, think about it, I'm-"
The punch was much too fast for me to see it. But Mike was suddenly on the ground and Edward was in front of me in a defensive stance, his fist raised. I knew immediately that Edward had held back substantially as Mike's head hadn't cracked open or separated from his body. However, he was holding cheek, and I guessed that a bruise would be form there overnight.
"I warned you, I suggest you heed it if you enjoy life."
Edward whirled around gracefully, his arm coming around my waist possessively and guided me back to his car. He pulled the door open roughly and I heard the hinges whine at the force.
"Get in Jasper." I nodded and hopped in quickly, the moment I was in he slammed the door. Not a second later he was already climbing in the driver's seat and starting the car.
The car was silent as he pulled out onto the road and I wondered whether or not I should break the silence. Finally, Edward spoke, "He's right, you do deserve better then me."
"Whether Mike is right or wrong isn't the problem here, and isn't important," I replied, still angry. "You're the one that I love and the one that I want with me. And you do deserve me, hell, you deserve so much more then anything I could ever give you."
With a wild swerve, Edward pulled to the side of the road. I slammed against the passenger side door, suddenly glad I was wearing a seat belt. His hands were shaking on the wheel, holding onto it too tightly. I reached over and let mine rest over his.
Faster then I could catch, he had my hand in his and was leaning over so that our faces were scant centimeters apart. I inhaled sharply and stared right into his eyes, fighting to control my body and to keep thinking straight.
"I'm dangerous, Jasper. You have to realize that. I'm not what you need, you deserve someone human who doesn't have to be so careful with you, who doesn't run the risk of killing or hurting you every time that they're alone with you. Jasper, you deserve to be safe and in love."
Already I was shaking my head, "I feel safe with you, that's enough. Please Edward, I don't care if you're dangerous, if you're a killer. None of that matters to me! What matters is that you love me. Edward, you could hurt me, but that wouldn't change how I feel. Nothing would change that."
There was a black look in his eyes as he responded, "I am a killer, Jasper. I've killed before, I've killed people Jasper. I'm a murderer. These hands have held people down as I kill them; this mouth has tasted blood and drained it from people; these lips have sealed over the wounds that have killed many people. I'm tainting you Jasper."
I shook my head wildly and took advantage of our close proximity to press my lips fervently against his. The kiss was short-lived as I pulled away when he didn't respond.
"Kiss me Edward! I don't care! I DON'T CARE! You are all that matters to me, you're more important then anyone else, then anything else. I love you Edward! I'll say it here, or in front of anyone. I love you. Kiss me, taint me, take me, own me, love me. You could do anything to me, and I would still love you! You've killed, but that's in your nature! I understand, and I still love you. That's not going to change. Edward, kiss me now!"
And he did. He pressed me right up against the door with near bruising force as his lips descended on mine, his tongue forcing it's way into my mouth and completely dominating me. I didn't care, Edward was kissing me with such a passion and such blistering possession that left no question in my mind that he owned me. This inhuman, beautiful, and deadly creature owned me. I was his and I wanted him to know that; to know that no one else could ever hold sway over me like he did, that no one else would ever come close to what he meant to me.
I love him.
That wouldn't change. Never.
I am his.
.:-o-:..:-o-:.
Whew! This is by far the longest chapter that I've written for this story thus far and wow what a roller coaster! I hope you all enjoyed it! This whole chapter is a whopping eleven pages long, that's more then I've ever written in my whole life! I'm not kidding this chapter is HUGE.
Yes, I hope you enjoyed your blistering ride through the tangled and lovely thing that is Edward/Jasper and the latest installment of Poison. I'm going to the Midnight Masque they're holding at Chapters to celebrate the release of Breaking Dawn, and I am so making myself a Edward/Jasper t-shirt to wear for it. If you have any suggestions about what should go on it, leave 'em here for me in your comments. I deserve something for writing this.
All in one day too.
As well, go check out the post I've made that details everything that's out there for Poison right now! I've got a cast list up as well as links to all the chapters that are up and extras too. Expect the first volume of the chapter songs to be out soon too. Once I've completed up to chapter thirteen, it'll be out for download. But do leave your comments on the cast there.
Until next time!
Twilight.