Chapter Twelve: A Walk on the Beach
NOTe: This is the FINAL chapter so show me the love! Leave a ton of reviews!
Ugh. I hate reporters. They're like cockroaches! I swear they could survive a nuclear holocaust and have perfect documentation of the radiation poisoning to broadcast on the nightly news. You know what else I hate? Having to sit next to Vikki Caraway in Pre-calculus class! Sir Isaac Newton deserves a serious kick in the butt for inventing such a terrifying form of torture!
I glanced out the window hoping to see the beautiful Japanese garden that the Courtyard Club had built. Inside I was met with a familiar sight: reporters and photographers snapping pictures of the school trying to get into the building undetected. It was seriously starting to get on my nerves!!! Not only that, but my entire family was paying for my instant freakish fame. None of us could leave the house without an armed policeman escorting us or else we ran the risk of getting mauled by rogue reporters. We had to close our P.O box because we were receiving too much junk mail from fans and crazy-people alike. For every letter that I got from a twelve year old boy who thought that my powers were the shit, I got one from an insane evangelistic old woman telling me that I'm a wicked she-devil. It really sucks. Edward seriously considered dropping out of school when a photographer paid some freshman chick to start making out with him in the middle of the hall. When I say making out, I mean hot steamy tongue action with a little dry humping involved. It was disgusting. Needless to say, those pictures surfaced in the tabloids the next day under the headline: Unforeseen Liplock. Bella is not privy to this knowledge yet. Thank God third world countries don't have T.V.s. My psychic powers were ruining everybody's life just like I knew they would and I was powerless to stop it thanks to Vikki Caraway.
Vikki was being even more repugnant than usually. Wishing to collect her fifteen minutes of fame, the Anti-Christ was pretending to be my best friend!! Apparently, she was more interested in stepping into the spotlight than she was of being beaten up again by me.
"Hey Ali, wanna go get some Del's frozen lemonade after school?" Vikki whispered over the drone of Mr. Guster's voice.
"No."
"What about catching a movie?"
"No."
"Well, I can bring you home. I'll even let you drive. I heard you got your license the other day. Congrats!!" Vikki said in false enthusiasm.
"NO, VIKKI!!!" I shouted. Every eye in the class was focused on me, but I didn't care. "I know what you're trying to do and it's not gonna work. Nobody cares about you and there's no way anybody in their right mind would believe that the bitch who told the public about my abilities is actually my friend. Stop trying to get into tabloid pictures! Don't you realize that you ruined my life?!!! My family is pretty much confined to the house, school, and work. My brother is getting sexually harassed and it's all your fault. I hope you and your stupid cell phone burn in hell!!" I shouted. I hated her more than I'd ever hated anybody before and it felt so good to blow off some of the steam that had been building up inside me. "Excuse me, Mr. Guster, but I have to go." I walked out of the room with poise and grace, leaving Vikki on the verge of tears.
There was still fifteen minutes left of school so I figured if I left now the reporters wouldn't be expecting it. I headed towards the gym. I thought that my best chance of escaping would be through the crummy, run down gym door exit that nobody used and few new existed. It opened up into the senior parking lot, far from where the paparazzi were swarming.
The heavy, metal door swung open with a loud creaky groan and the sunlight washed over my face like a much need panacea. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized that the parking lot was not empty after all. Parked next to the door was a 2009 yellow Camaro straight out of that Transformers movie. I swear, I thought it was going to spontaneously transform into an Autobot at any given moment! My eyes drifted from the glimmering black racing stripes to the bewildered boy who had just stepped out of the car, his hand frozen on the door. Jasper looked just as confused as I did, but a second later a huge grin replaced his bemused frown. "So, I guess I didn't surprise you, then," he said. As he shut the door and walked over to me I noticed his left arm was in a sling and a bandage left a scarcely visible bulge under his shirt.
"You did, actually. Why are you here?" I could hear the bitterness in my voice.
"To see you. Do you want me to leave?" He asked obviously hurt.
"No. I'm sorry, it's just that you're supposed to be in Boston. I didn't think I was ever gonna see you again," I explained.
"Did you think I could really stay away from you? Since I've met you I've been beaten up by an ex-soldier who was bent on world destruction, helped rescue six little kids, and got shot. All in all, I'd say that you're a pretty exciting person," Jasper said.
"Yeah, I get that a lot. So, what? Do you have a legion of really sweet cars or something?" I said beckoning to the shiny yellow Camaro.
A crooked smile crossed his face. "Maybe. Get in." He opened the passenger's side door for me.
"Déjà vu. You'd better watch out or you might get shot again," I joked.
"Ha ha. You're in need of a ride and I'm in need of company. I swear I won't force the coordinates of some unabomber's liar out of you," he laughed.
"Question—how did it feel to get shot?" I asked as I climbed into the soft black leather seats.
"It hurt like a bitch actually, but it comes with serious bragging rights," he answered, turning the key in the ignition.
"That's what I've been saying. You know you stole my thunder. It's always been an ambition of mine to get shot, but you had to go and ruin it for me."
"Oh, I'm sorry. If you want, I have a shotgun in the trunk. We can go to a dark alley and I can gun you down," he played along.
"I don't need your pity, but it the thought that counts," I said.
"Hold on to your seatbelt," he advised as he floored the gas pedal and launched us past the swarming paparazzi. Man, this car was totally money.
Ten minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of Scarbourgh beach. "Why are we at the beach?" I asked.
"I wanna talk to you and I thought the beach would be a non-threatening environment," Jasper said. He unbuckled his seatbelt and ran around to open my door. He extended his good hand towards me and helped me out of the car, but unexpectedly he didn't let go once I was out. My heart rate sped up. It was only when we were strolling across the sandy beach, the surf licking our toes, that he spoke, "I wanted to thank you. The doctors told me that you had patched me up in the basement. You saved my life!!"
"It's no problem, really," I said turning bright pink.
"A.C, you're by far the coolest person I've ever met. You're tough, compassionate, funny, adventurous, and not afraid to put people in their place," he stopped walking and stared into my eyes. "I don't think you realize how amazing you are."
"Oh, I know perfectly well how amazing I am," I joked flirtatiously.
He chuckled and slipped his good arm around my neck, holding me close as we continued on down the beach.
"I should really thank my mother for forcing me to come here in the first place," Jasper said.
"Did you have the choice to stay with your dad in Boston?" I asked, snuggling closer to his muscular chest.
"Yeah, but he's always working. I never really get to see him and Chrissie wanted me to come so I figured that two years couldn't hurt," he answered.
"What do your parents do?" I inquired curiously.
"Mom's an art conservator. She used to work at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, but she wanted something a bit more relaxing so she switched to the RISD Museum. Dad's a lawyer, but he invested in the Apple Computer Company in the eighties. That's where our money comes from; I sure you were getting at that point." He playfully nudged me.
"Well, of course. I mean, your sister got kidnapped by money hungry creepos and you just happen to have a ton of really sweet cars. A girl gets curious!" I said in my defense.
"Do you like the Camaro?" I'm not sure why he asked such a stupid question. It was only one of the coolest cars I'd ever seen!!
"Oh, what are we bragging, now?" I asked.
"It depends," he whispered. We had stopped again and I edged closer to hear his voice over the crashing waves.
"On what?" I whispered back, a smile creeping on to my face.
"On this." He gently placed his hand around my neck and pulled me forward into the most magnificent kiss I've ever experienced. I wrapped my arms around his waist as he ran his fingers through my hair. In one extraordinary moment it was over. He stroked my cheek with the back of his smooth hand and pressed his forehead against mine. "It's yours."
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, apparently he felt the involuntary expression cross my face. "The car, it's yours. A thank you present from the parents of the kidnapped kids."
I jerked away and looked suspiciously into his eyes. "You're not serious!"
"I wouldn't lie to you. It's the least we could do," he answered back with a twinkle in his eye. He pulled out the keys and spun them on his index finger tauntingly. "So, can you give me a ride home?"
I know I shouldn't need to be repaid for doing the right thing. Every teacher I've ever had would have been seriously disappointed with my lack of will power, but how could I resist such an amazing gift? I snatched the keys from his hand, but lingered and interlocked my fingers with his. I wrapped my other hand around his neck and kissed him as the sun gleamed off my new Camaro.
Okay, so now that the story's over tell me what you think. I'm in the process of writing another story called Velocity which in my opinon is a lot more exciting, so if you like this Twilight fanfic you should check that one out too. It's a Bella x Edward and the whole gang fic involving streetracing.
Thanks for reading!
