A large thank you to my beta: SheikahLover. Who puts up with my bad writing habits, even when I don't post for a month or forget to thank her. Without her the quality of my writing would be down by half. Not even kidding.

Chapter 14:

Jasper. Her breath got caught in her mouth just by looking at him. She couldn't deny her shock at his unexpected appearance, his very presence left her stumbling on her shoes as she shuffled awkwardly in the room. Esme didn't say anything, only giving her a concerned glance. Erica waved her off, feeling a sudden warmth spread over her cheeks and entire upper neck. She was reminded of a day in history class, which happened only a short week ago. It felt like more time had passed between today and that fateful moment, the stress of her situation was getting to her. She didn't know what compelled her to become so foolhardy around Jasper, but she wished it would upright and disappear.

If he noticed her stumbling, he didn't say anything. He didn't even say anything about them leaving, simply choosing to turn around and head towards the door.

Mrs. Cullen briefly squeezed her shoulder, giving Erica a moment to escape her inner turmoil.

She readjusted her school bag over her shoulders , feeling the rough worn fabric rub digging into her shoulder blades. She desperately wished for someone else's company, having an increased dread at the fate she had no say in. Erica would much prefer being in a car with Jasper and three other people than to be completely alone with him. To be alone with him was beyond daunting in her mind.

When she exited the house, she found that he wasn't sitting in the car like she expected, but was instead standing beside the vehicle. He leaned against the silver and unblemished metal casually, not looking at her but rather the trees surrounding his home. He made no sign of seeing her when she finally walked down the steps of the porch. Her shoes scuffed up the dirt on the pathway and made an obnoxious noise with each step she took. Erica expected him to continue as he was being, ignoring her and getting into the car. She was left wrong though, standing in her silence as he walked over to the passenger side of the car. He opened the door and stood beside it, finally staring at her. She admittedly gawked at the sight, not knowing if it was truly happening. She thanked any spirits watching over her as she managed to not stumble into the car. Her backpack was kept tightly against her body, in fear of it catching on the car and mortifying her even more than she already felt right now.

There was a brief moment of silence after the quiet shutting of her door. She didn't bother looking up, to see him walk around the car. She was afraid of him catching her stare, even if it was possible in the slightly tinted car windows. While she was sitting, she took the moment to place her hand against her upper chest. Her heart thumped loudly against her hand, roaring in her ears. The high and fast blood flow left her ears and neck feeling entirely warm. The short strands of hair were quickly shifted, vainly moved in an attempt to cover her ears. She pulled her sweater higher up, accomplishing in a sense of comfort even though her neck was still well visible.

Jasper opened his car door and sat silently, the only reason she knew he had entered the car was the starting of the engine. At the sound of the car starting, a small thrill ran through her. She was on her way back home and would be able to tell Amy about the events that occurred today.

He looked over at her, she could see him at the angle she held her head. It was easy to see through her bright hair and still feel as if she had no interest in him. It seemed like a silly reassurance, especially when his eyes met hers. She noticed, embarrassingly enough, that his eyes were different from the rest of his family. The Cullens all had a bright golden hue to their eyes, a color that seemed to almost glow when one was close enough to see it. While the shades always varied slightly, one having bright or dimmer eyes, Jasper had eyes that were completely different. His shade of ocher was very dark, almost a dusty yellow verging on a brown.

"Are you okay?"

She must have been staring too long.

Quickly, she pulled her eyes away, dropping them to her backpack.

He had a lovely voice, she noticed, particularly when it was not directed in a borderline threat to her. His voice was lower than Edward's but not a low as Emmett's voice. She could hear the small hint of an accent, though that could be due to her knowing to hear one in his voice. It was very faint, the accent, she wondered if he purposefully masked it or simply lost it during the many years that had passed since the Confederate War.

Her own curiousness got the best of her, as her fingers moved without much thought or consent from her.

"It helps make my relation to Rosalie more believable." He answered smoothly, briefly meeting her eyes again.

She didn't find any malice in his eyes, like the last car ride with him. Seeing him like this, being all calm and civil around her made him much more comparable to the soldier that gathered her primary interest in the Cullens.

"So you two aren't twins?" She asked with a closed smile.

He noticed the mistake before she could point it out. His already tense shoulders straightened even more. In the close proximity, she could hear the leather strain against his tight grasp.

"Hey, you're the one who slipped up." She retorted to the glare he started to send her.

Instead of increasing the narrowed gaze, his eyes softened back to their natural shape.

He returned his attention back to driving. "Alice was right, you are good are getting things out of us."

"What do you mean?" Was her genuine question to his low muttering of an answer.

He sighed quietly, readjusting his grip on the wheel. "She has been more forthcoming when it comes to your future with us."

She smiled widely this time, showing her teeth. "Alice does have an idea of the future?"

Her fingers moved shakily as she signed, her knee bounced with unsheltered excitement.

He didn't tense up as much as his last slip up; instead he gave her a withered gaze. "I'm only following what she told me to say." He told her.

Her excitement instantly fell, knowing he wouldn't have easily conversed with her had he not been told to.

"Why would she tell you to reveal stuff about your family?" She was confused and unnecessarily upset.

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "She said that it would speed things up."

He elaborated at her bewildered stare. "Alice has apparently been waiting awhile for this; for you in general, I mean. She thought she had more time before you were even born, but now that you're here she doesn't want to wait anymore."

A heavy yet hollow feeling settled in her chest. To hear such things in a simple passing statement left her feeling strange, as if she had to amount to more than she could.

"What exactly is my role in that?" She hoped he would reveal that bit of information, finding it to be worth more than him not actually being related to Rosalie.

He shrugged, just as he had done before. She believed that was all he knew concerning her future, she knew that before she had asked.

The car ride was just like the last ones, fast and quiet with a speed that crept up on her house. This time, however, she had only Jasper. When she was in complete silence with him, she noticed the lack of fidgeting, or for lack of a better term, human mannerisms. His shoulders would rise with the inhaling and exhaling of breath, but he didn't make a single sound as he breathed. Everyone, she noticed, had some sort of tick. She played with her hair or tapped her fingers on her knees. Jasper didn't move in the seat or move his limbs unnecessarily. She never really noticed with the other members of his family, they always filled the space with distracting conversation. Maybe Erica had never observed the others in the way she did with Jasper.

She didn't expect him to open her door for her, like he did before she entered the car. Perhaps it was the lingering southern charm in him that compelled him to do such things, especially now that she didn't seem to have an intention to spill their secrets to the outside world. He didn't look at her when she got out of the car, favoring her neighbors one story white wash fence over her face. Erica hoped that was going to be it for her contact with Jasper, but she was swiftly proven incorrect. Unlike Alice, he didn't stride forward until she did. He didn't stop and walk behind her either, while insistently chattering, rather he stood beside her on the paved and short path.

She didn't have a house key, as she was usually home after her mother returned from work or whatever hobbies collected her time during off days. The wood beneath her fist creaked as she knocked once and then followed the noise with a sharp yet dull ring of her doorbell.

Every muscle in her body wanted to turn and see what Jasper was doing beside her. She wanted to know if he bounced on his feet like Alice, or stood with a certain haughty posture like Rosalie. The want didn't win and was easily forgotten when her mother answered the door.

Luck was in her favor, as Heather was still clothed in a casual outfit she wore during her market trips. Her mother only liked going to a market a few towns over in Washington, a special trip she made once a month. Erica had completely forgotten about the trip, and found that a feeling of guilt settled in her stomach. Her mother was visibly affected by her daughter's sudden absence. While her mother wasn't young, by no means as the woman conceived Erica in a miracle birth in her forties, there was a more worn down look on her mother's bare face. Her hair, left in its natural blonde hair that was more gray than yellow, was pulled back into a haggard braid. The faded mossy green shirt was paired with her black work pants, something Erica always reminded her to change out of after coming home. By her mother's ankle, Erica could see a new fray splitting the seam. Her own eyes, a color not reflected by Erica, widened at Erica and most likely the sight of Jasper.

Before Erica could step into her home, her mother's thin fingers had already forcibly pulled Erica into a large embrace. Erica had to quickly contort her body to keep her hands in her mother's eyesight.

"I completely forgot you weren't with me today! I spent an hour and a half looking for you before I remembered." She didn't speak loudly, but in a quiet contrast to her hold on Erica.

The guilt in her stomach grew into a bubbling remorse. She knew her mother was almost sixty, but to hear her confess, and not for the first time, that she forgot about Erica's absence was heartbreaking.

She decided to ignore the urge to address the issue, moving on with a pitiful attempt at humor.

"Mom! Let go, you're smothering your only child." Her fingers brushed against the fabric of someone's shirt as she waved her hands widely. "Think of the neighbors! We also have a witness!"

Sense flowed back into her mother, or maybe she finally caught what Erica told her.

She was swiftly released from her mother's hold, allowing her to see her mother briefly mouth the word 'witness.' No longer than she did that did she notice Jasper. Her eyes widened comically at the sight of the Cullen male . Erica didn't doubt her mother didn't realize that she practically pushed Erica away in her shock. She could understand why, Alice was a much more welcomed sight to Jasper and his height and the focus his resting face had.

"Mom," She took the attention off the honey blonde. "This is Jasper; we've been studying for the history test tomorrow."

Her mother nodded her head, most likely having forgotten that Mr. Doyle only gives history tests on Mondays, not Fridays.

Jasper watched her hands for a moment, filling in the break of conversation with the short nod of his own head.

"Yes, I believe we will also be studying all of next week as well." He ignored the aghast look on Erica's face, smiling smoothly at her mother.

Her mother only beamed in return, ignorant of her daughter's silent outrage. "Of course, anything helpful to Erica's schoolwork is fine with me. "

Erica looked between the two, finding it difficult to not be charmed by him as well. The smile was very flattering on his face and very strange to her emotions.

"Well, Jasper has to go mom." She leaned closer to her mother, as if she was telling her a secret one that she didn't want Jasper to hear. "He spends his Thursday nights hunting with his brothers and father. "

Her mother tried to conceal her shock at that, a veil of false politeness on her face now.

"Figures, you would date him just to spite your vegan mother," she muttered to her daughter, unknowingly spinning her quick escape around.

"Dating?! I'm not—"

"Shh, it's alright. Your father told me." Her mother cooed at her.

Jasper didn't look confused, looking at Erica with a shine of amusement. In fact, he almost looked the exact opposite of bemused.

She instantly thought back to the first few days of school, remembering her spills of Jasper Whitlock to her father and stepmother. Mortified didn't begin to cover how she felt, Erica was all ready to dig a pit in her front lawn and disappear forever. Possibly heading to China or maybe Australia... whichever was furthest away from Forks given the location of her front lawn and its alignment with the other continents.

"You two don't have to hide it anymore, even if your family enjoys such sports." Her mother's wink furthered Erica's embarrassment. "The both of you can be together after school whenever you want, no need for silly excuses."

Unexpectedly, her mother backed up and shut the door in Erica's face. She leaned her forehead against the cold and now closed front door trying to soothe her red face.

From behind her, she heard the most wonderful sound. Jasper was laughing.

"Alice said that your mother would do something like this, but I assumed your mother simply put the pretense together." She felt silly, seeing his words as taunts.

"Look, I only said those things because I wanted to impress Lidia." She offered the pitiful excuse.

He only raised a brow at her comment.

"Lidia is my stepmother." Erica clarified, "My stepmother who had an actual life in High School. I just wanted to be someone else for a moment to her. "

"Someone else?" His persistent questions were beginning to bother her, causing her twitching to become more rigid.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into that." She ignored his question. "Technically I didn't even mention this you."

Jasper rolled his golden eyes at her. "Human or not, I do believe I'm the same person."

She scoffed internally at that. "I barely even gave you both the same traits."

"Your mother seemed to put us both together just fine, even with the 'differences.'" His display at anything but a serious tone caused a smile to play at her face.

Her warm cheeks and frazzled hair, from playing with it too much, did nothing to lessen her comfort around him. It seemed that she was always relaxed around him. It was strange, especially since whenever she wasn't in close proximity, she wouldn't revel in the idea of being near him.

"How do you do that?" She asked dumbly, looking at him with unveiled wonder.

His head titled to the side before speaking. "I didn't think you'd notice."

"Notice what?" Erica pressed, stepping closer.

With other people, she could feel their body heat, with the Cullens she felt the exact opposite of others warmth. It was peculiar, but not concerning given what she knew already.

He looked hesitant to speak, pondering over the consequences of telling her. Jasper must have decided that she could know what he meant, opening his mouth and informing her.

"Edward has the ability of telepathy, while Alice has precognition, and I have pathokinesis." There was obvious reluctance in his voice, especially near the end of his sentence.

Erica nodded her head, struck with a realization that should have been obvious. "That explains so much. No wonder I feel so at ease. It leaves immediately after you're not near."

There was nothing sentimental about her statement, yet she still felt embarrassed.

He didn't say anything and she realized just how close she was to him. With her shorter, average depending on the company, her nose almost brushed against his chest. Looking up through her unkempt hair, she could see herself reflected back in his eyes. The deep brown color was almost black, even with the porch lights assistant.

"Yes, that is a limitation to my ability." He told her, breaking the silence.

Her heart hammered away in her chest with the abrupt break, completely forgetting what she had said before. So she only nodded, backing only a step away.

"See you in history." She said finally, finding the words to say.

Her already poised fingers rose up slightly, imitating a halfhearted wave. With a small smile tugging at one corner of her mouth, she turned around and went inside. She didn't hear him, behind the wooden door, but after a moment could hear the engine of his car. Confident he was gone; she placed a hand on her rapidly beating heart. The calm may have left, but it was replaced with something that she just couldn't place, no matter how hard she tried to determine what it was.

A/N: I am so sorry for the delay on this chapter. I was honestly so nervous concerning her and Jasper, I really just didn't want to finish it and have everyone hate it.

Gigantic thank you to those who have followed/ favorited/ reviewed. It's nearly two hundred (just wow) for the follower amount, almost one hundred for favorites (again wow) and I'm almost to seventy on my review count. I'm breathless. Thank you so much for this.

Jacobslover2014: I think for Amy I do want to incorporate a love story, whether it interrupts a canon pair is undecided. Thank you so much for the review and interest in Amy! I will definitely be making y'all aware once I figure it out for her. :)

glowgreen4me: Thank you! Carlisle will be coming up in the next one, hopefully.

NorseGoddess23: Haha! This was so fun to read. I'm glad someone was frustrated over the abrupt ending! :D Hope you enjoy the continuation.

SheikahLover: It's fine, honestly. You always express liking the chapters before I post them. :) I'm still so sorry I didn't get this sooner, thank you for putting up with that, haha. :) Hopefully you enjoyed the interaction between Erica and Jasper. I can't wwait to add more Amy and Edward, even if it only amounts to flirting and nothing more. Who knows, Edward could even end up humoring her. ;D I'm glad that Esme was still in character, I just loved them together. Thank you so much!

Don't forget to review! I really want to hear what you think of this chapter especially.