-Chapter Nineteen-
Even with the circumstances, Alice found a way to poke fun at Jasper. He had reminded her, several times, that the clothing she lent to Maisie needed to be warm. When Alice came down the stairs, ready to go to the Thompson house and prep Maisie for their plan, she was wearing more than a few layers.
"Will this suffice?" Alice asked, taking the skirt of her sweater dress and dropping into a curtsy before him. In addition to the thick dress, she was wearing wool tights, sturdy boots, a thick coat, gloves, a scarf, and a knit hat.
In Jasper's defense, Alice had told him that today would bring the first snow of the season to Forks. Per the plan, Maisie would be standing in the forest whereas Alice would be inside the Thompson house.
"She might actually overheat." Jasper took Alice's hand and spun her toward the door. "I've never seen her wear that many layers. You'd best go, we're on a time frame."
With Edward still with their Denali cousins in Alaska, it was hard to know exactly where James was. Alice had her visions, of course, but those were subject to change at any time. Edward's mindreading always provided them with a more accurate form of tracking.
Alice flounced her way out the door. Emmett, Rosalie, Esme, and Carlisle were already in their positions, miles from the house. The point was to trick James, to make him think that he would be able to find Maisie alone, defenseless.
Well. In a way. Alice would be close by; the girls were placed at the Thompson house to be a dual temptation. Before Edward left, he was able to glean from James' mind that he knew Alice, before, in her human life. According to Edward, James quite literally thought of Alice as 'the one that got away', because he had plans to devour her before a kindly vampire changed Alice for her own protection.
There were big plans in the Cullen family to dig deeper into this once the James situation was resolved.
Jasper would also be decently close by—not too close, so as not to alert James, but close enough to have James in his range. He wanted to make sure that he was there to bolster James' natural cockiness, so he wouldn't notice the ambush the rest of the family would be executing. It was a tried and true method for Jasper, one that he used to employ often against rival armies during the Southern Wars.
Alice and Jasper would be the only souls decently close. The rest of their family was miles off, 'hunting'. Maisie had assured them, and Alice had double-checked, that all of her family members would be gone for the day. Gunner at his detention; her mother at her own school, grading papers; her father and Ava in Port Angeles, to take the new dogs to the vet and the groomers.
Inside his own house, he could hear Maisie and Alice's conversation in the Thompson house.
"You already kind of smell like a vampire, just a tiny bit," Alice was telling Maisie. "Wearing my clothes should cover the rest of it."
"So, you'll smell like me?" Since he had told her the secret, Maisie had been trying hard to understand any and all things vampire.
"To an extent." Jasper could hear Maisie loading the shotgun while Alice talked. "I don't think our ruse will hold long. James is a tracker; that's his heightened ability, it seems. You'll have to catch his attention, but don't worry. Jasper will be close by, to monitor and manipulate James' mood."
"Ooooh," Maisie drew the word out conspiratorially. "That's what he can do? I haven't been able to get it out of him."
There was a reason Jasper hadn't told Maisie about his mood manipulating abilities, but even he didn't understand it. He was hesitant to tell her, he reasoned, because he didn't want her to think that he had manipulated her moods. Which, to be fair, he had on the day they had skipped last week.
But Jasper could feel the way her emotions brightened when she saw him, even after he told her they were all vampires. Maisie genuinely liked to have him around, which was so foreign to Jasper. Humans typically knew, instinctually if not consciously, that his family was dangerous. His own kind could easily see his multitude of scars, and that was enough to convince them that he was someone to avoid.
He didn't want her opinion of him to change, for Maisie to think that he had been forcing her to enjoy his presence.
"He can be a brat," Alice said, knowing full well that Jasper could hear her. She must have known he was being nosey. "Let's go, I'll put you in position."
That was also a cue for Jasper. He took to the trees, which thankfully still wore most of their leaves despite the impending snow. It leant him coverage, especially with the fall-toned colors he had chosen to wear. Jasper settled into a tree that was honestly probably too close from a strategy standpoint, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted to be as close to Maisie as he could without revealing himself.
Alice already had Maisie in her place. The low-hanging snow clouds made for low light all around despite it being early afternoon. The dark blue coat Alice had chosen helped Maisie blend into the soft tree shadows a little.
Jasper could see Maisie easily, which is what he wanted. He watched Maisie plant her feet, her shoulders rising and falling with her self-steadying breaths. She was a juxtaposition, with the fine, ruffled things Alice had dressed her in and the gun she held in her hands. Maisie held the gun across her body, ready to raise it and shoot at a moment's notice.
Her hold on the gun and the tight, anticipatory set of her muscles as she waited for James gave Jasper a sudden flash of his own human life, when he used to adopt a very similar stance on a regular basis.
Despite all of Maisie's reassurance that she would be fine, and that she really wanted to help, Jasper still focused in on her emotions. She was terrified; Maisie's heartbeat alone could have told him that. If she weren't scared, Jasper would have been worried. Underneath the terror was adrenaline and anticipation.
Suddenly, Maisie lifted her head, setting her sights toward Jasper. He was positive she couldn't see him, yet she was amazingly close with where she set her gaze, as if she had felt his watching her. Head tilted upward, Maisie smiled brightly at him. Simultaneously, calm and resolve flooded her, seemingly just because she knew he was there.
That was why he was so hesitant to ever manipulate Maisie's emotions. Jasper didn't want her to think any of that, any of these things that had made him happy since he had met her, were disingenuous. He still smiled back, reflexively, even though he was hidden from her sight. He hoped she could feel that smile, somehow.
Jasper would have gone to her, right then, but he knew he couldn't distract Maisie. James was seconds away.
He dropped from the trees, almost exactly opposite from where Maisie stood. Alice had done well with positioning her. As soon as he appeared, Jasper bolstered James' already considerable confidence. His hope was that, if James was overcome with cockiness enough, it would give Maisie the time she needed to surprise James.
The fallen leaves, soggy and soft from all the rain and sleet Forks had gotten in the last several weeks, lent itself to Maisie. Her footsteps were cushioned, barely making a sound as she stepped forward to get a clear shot.
Jasper was holding his breath, but his old standby worked again. James slinked his way toward the Thompson house while Maisie raised the gun to her shoulder. She took a moment to line up her shot, taking several deep breaths. Maisie was shaking but seemed to be trying to steady herself, so her shot would hit its mark.
This first shot was important. It was to be the signal for Rosalie, Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle. Maisie was to catch James' attention, and hold it with the five bullets she had at her disposal, so that the others could take him out.
Alice and Jasper were close by as insurance, just in case Maisie wasn't able to hold James' rapt attention. Or if she ran out of bullets. Or if James changed his mind and didn't want to play his usual games. Or—
Maisie's shot jerked Jasper out of his worried thoughts. He looked over in time to see James freeze, to see Maisie's bullet embed itself into the back of James' head. He turned slowly, a dark smile overcoming his face.
"You're a slow learner!" He called out to Maisie. "Haven't you figured out that your guns don't work?"
James began his typical, slow and lazy walk toward Maisie. As Alice had advised her, Maisie stood still. Her gun was still raised, ready to shoot again.
Engage him, Jasper urged Maisie silently. The last thing he wanted was for James to grow bored.
"You're one to talk," Maisie's voice was nowhere near as loud as James', but at least she was talking. "It seems to me this should be familiar to you."
If he weren't trying to hide, Jasper might have sighed. That was good. Good, Maisie. Keep his attention on you. He wished she were able to hear these thoughts.
"Oh?" James asked. His pause, his cocked eyebrow, were surely for show. "I don't seem to recall other humans who get it into their head to shoot vampires."
If he was trying to shock Maisie, it didn't work. She stayed still, her finger poised to pull the trigger when she got a chance.
"That's a shame. You make a good moving target."
James smiled wider. Jasper was actually relieved to feel how much the nomad was enjoying this.
"This makes it twice that you've shot me in my pretty little head. Wouldn't you like to try somewhere else?"
Maisie took his suggestion, leveling her next shot at his heart. The cracking sound that resonated from James' skin set Jasper's teeth on edge. It made Maisie's heart beat faster, understandably, but her reaction only excited James more.
"Sorry," James said without any ounce of actual remorse in his voice. "Doesn't beat like it used to."
"That's alright." By now, James had started creeping towards Maisie again. "Your neck wouldn't bother you either, then?"
The next bullet landed even as James shook his head in answer. "Makes a lot of cracks, though, doesn't it? Even if it doesn't hurt?"
"Sorry to disappoint you, doll." Hearing James address Maisie with a pet name made Jasper's skin crawl. "I don't feel a thing."
"That's unfortunate." The rest of the Cullens were close. Behind James' back, Alice dropped lightly from Maisie's bedroom window. Jasper mirrored his sister's actions, letting himself slide carefully from the tree.
Maisie had been taking all thing vampire in stride, but Jasper didn't think that she would take well to seeing James' head being ripped off…which Emmett was incredibly excited about. He loved anything that gave him an excuse to use his strength.
Only three bullets had to be used to keep James distracted long enough for the Cullens to arrive unnoticed. Before James had a chance to even take his eyes off Maisie, Carlisle had a hold of one arm, Rosalie had the other, and Emmett had the nomad in a headlock.
"Those cracks are gonna make it easier to tear you apart, though!" Emmett's words caused another spike in Maisie's fear, just like Jasper had anticipated. He made it to her just in time, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and turning Maisie away before she could see anything.
Maisie clung to him instantly, dropping the shotgun in favor of taking hold of him. Jasper caught the shotgun in his free hand and quickly started walking Maisie away from the scene behind them. He knew they would make quick work and burn James' body far away.
"It's done, it's over," he whispered to her, bending his head close to hers. Against his side, he could feel her heartbeat slowly calming. Maisie was shaking, but he doubted the snow that had began to fall had anything to do with it.
Jasper walked her all the way into her house, away from the cold and away from the now empty scene. His family had already left, carting James' body away from the Thompson house. Once they were inside Maisie's bedroom, Jasper set the shotgun aside and wrapped his arms fully around Maisie.
For a moment, they only held each other, Maisie's head resting on his chest and Jasper's hand tangled in her hair as he cradled her head. Then Maisie was tipping her head back, laughing, her eyes shining. It made Jasper smile, despite himself.
"We really did it, huh?" She asked, the laugh even present in her words. "It really worked! I told you I wouldn't mess it up!"
His own mood was soaring with the success, not to mention he was riding the waves of Maisie's own adrenaline and excitement. Before he could give it a second thought, Jasper cupped her face between his hands and kissed her.
The first kiss surprised both of them. Neither had expected it, and it was short lived, because Jasper pulled away once he realized what he had done. He found Maisie's eyes a deeper, hazier shade of blue than he had ever seen, but only for a moment. Before he could say anything, Maisie had bounced onto her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing her lips back to his.
The second kiss was much longer, and even with the entire length of Maisie's body pressed to his, not once did Jasper's throat ache. Her hand was in his hair, his hands were on her waist, sliding underneath the borrowed coat to bring her closer. Jasper was quite certain he could go on kissing Maisie indefinitely, but while he may not need to breathe, she certainly did. Eventually, they drifted slightly apart.
"I shouldn't be kissing you while I'm wearing your sister's clothes, I'm sorry, that's weird." The words tumbled out of Maisie's mouth, all of them falling over themselves.
Jasper only laughed and kissed her again.