Jasper kept his expression unreadable, cold as ice, still as marble, as Alenia was held in his arms, unyielding, she not resisting. She herself felt too numb for feel shock. His face was her sight, but the fact that it was still with death had yet to sink in.
was he murdered? By who, or what? Why?
She remembered his neck, dried blood staining the crisp leaves surrounding, and assured herself it was an animal attack. Vicious, but animal. She wished she would stop feeling so uneasy.
"Are you ok?" Jasper whispered, low and velvet voice constrained. Alenia had been too caught up with what was going on in her mind to know she was sniffling, her tears staining light blue shirt. She nodded her head against him, and his hand stroked her hair gently, touching her cheek every so often. She relished she sensation, her stomach fluttering, her mind swimming, and she itched her face up to look at him. She watched his golden eyes, solid becoming liquid, softening as they gazed into her own.
She had discovered only a handful of things about Jasper this week, as he had about her. He loved history, she loved mythology. While she was often deemed as cold and sarcastic, he was often stoic and unemotional. In many ways they shared something, including this moment. And both discovered something else about themselves. They were in love with the other, the mysteries capturing their minds as well as their soul captured the heart.
"Sorry," he murmured, his lips barely making a sound as he stared, and her own eyes, naked with emotion, replaced their shield. He looked away, followed by her pulling away, and both sat back in their seats, the incident with the body having been forgotten to a new musing. A new discovery that wasn't quite unknown. She had known this man would end up filling each corner of her mind.
Jasper cleared his throat and placed his foot on the peddle, turning the car around in a 180, heading back the way they had come.
"School?" the girl laughed, and he shook his head hastily. "There'll be no point, we won't be able to focus," he stated, his eyes pointedly staring ahead, his profile bowed slightly. Alenia's heart fluttered, but then she found the other meaning to his words.
he means the body.
"Ok, I guess I could get some studying done," she thought, and caught his eyes on her in minimal disappointment. "Or we could do something," she added, feeling daring again. She shrugged teasingly, and he scowled playfully. "If you don't wanna," he began, voice trailing off indifferently, but she heard the smile in his words. "Eh, not bothered," she replied, and giggled at his irritated expression. She had beaten him.
"Of course, what's the plan cowboy?"
He grinned proudly at the nickname, and hummed in thought. "Well, what say you to...What is your favourite movie?"
She stared at him, and frowned questioningly. "The line is, 'what is your favourite scary movie'," she laughed, and he turned to look at her. "Movie geek," she admitted, and he chuckled.
"The Ghost and Mrs Muir," she finally revealed, and didn't miss Jasper's eyes widen slightly. "Nice," he said, and she heard something of surprise approval in his voice for her classic choice.
"You?"
"Im more of a book guy, but I think Clint Eastwood's a great actor," he explained, and Alenia sensed an inside joke. "The nickname 'cowboy' is well founded then," she said, and he chuckled.
They continued to ask eachother questions for the next few minutes, favourite books, music, hobbies etc, laughing and relating to the others' choices, when the tone seemed to go quiet.
"Do you think it was an animal attack?"
Jasper turned to her, her steady voice hanging in the air between them. That she could be so calm surprised him somewhat.
"What else could it be?" He lied, and the desire to tell her the whole truth began to burn. She would find out some day, she had to, as his mate. He understood that now.
She shook her head, her golden red curls whisping around her shoulders, her eyes far in question. "Something feels off, that's all," she replied, shaking away her thoughts of monsters and demons.
Within moments, they halted outside a building, old but not unkempt. Behind the small fore-structure, a larger building was attached to it, and a few posters were held in class cases at the front. She couldn't quite make them out from this distance, but the design of them looked classic. Romantic heroes and their love interests caught in a passionate embrace, one or two epic, and she n knew where they were. Jasper caught her expression and smiled.
"Its been here for years, I think I'm the only one who keeps this place going," he chuckled, and Alenia's heart skipped. "Not anymore," she said as she looked back to the old cinema, and Jasper was already at her door, ready to open it.
"You're a strange old man," she joked, once again surprised at his speed. She would be lying if she hadn't been beginning to wonder. "Hey, I resent that," he said, and she shook her head to correct herself. "Strange young man, then."
They paused outside the posters, reading over each one. 'Jane Eyre', another of her favourite books and films, of which Jasper approved, began in 1 hour.
"What shall we do in the mean time?"
A sudden thought, nagging for some time, hit them both simultaneously, and their eyes connected slowly.
"We need to go to the police."