A/N: Chapter 20!

Thank you to my readers and Juniper294 for the help she gave me.

Disclaimer: Once again, I am reminded that I do not own Jasper. However, I do own Jasper's French teacher, she was actually my French teacher in school. If only Jasper was in my French class... what am I saying? I wouldn't be writing this story if he was.

Chapter 20 - Sometimes, Things Just Slip Out

3rd December 2008

Jasper POV

I watched as the trees rushed past my window as the school bus made its way through the streets towards Forks High School. Unlike yesterday, the weather was relatively calm. The ground was still covered in snow, but luckily there hadn't been any more during the night. Apparently it had been the worst sleet and snow storm in the state of Washington for over three years...and we'd been out in it.

I shook my head, trying to rid the image of Alice lying unconscious on the ground. It still made my stomach churn in fear just thinking about it. Even though she was safe now, I couldn't help but think she was long way from being fine. Without Robbie, it would be a long time before she could ever truthfully tell someone everything was okay.

The bus trundled into the entrance, and everyone began piling off. I hunched over once I was out and pushed my hands into my pockets to retain some heat. My knees were bruised, and the top half of my arms and legs were aching like a bitch. But it was a small price to pay, knowing this pain was from rescuing Alice.

I was halfway towards the school entrance when I heard someone calling my name. I turned in the direction of the voice to see Bella walking towards me, Edward being right beside her.

"Are you all right?" she asked as soon as she was in speaking distance. I wasn't sure how to interpret here interest in my well-being. She actually looked worried, but somehow I got the impression there was more to it than just wanting to know how I was. The fact we hardly talked was a huge factor.

"I'm feeling better." I shrugged, regretting it immediately as my muscles twinged. It was the most honest answer I could give her. Like Alice, I couldn't say that I was fine because I just wasn't, and there was no point in pretending.

"What happened yesterday?" she went on to ask. "We got a call from Jackie saying you and Alice had been taken to hospital."

"But when we got to the hospital, you'd left already and Alice was asleep," Edward continued, finishing Bella's sentence. I tried to hide my grimace; yet another perfect couple stood before me. It was as if he knew exactly what she was going to say before she said it.

Ah, so this is what she wanted to know. It seemed this was the single reason they'd approached me. They obviously hadn't been told the full story and they were anxious to know more; I could see that in the way Bella kept biting her lip.

I took a deep breath, trying to fathom out how to word my explanation. "Jackie rang me yesterday asking if Alice was with me. Apparently Alice took off without telling anyone where she was going. I went looking for her, and finally found her-"

I broke off, feeling unsure whether I should continue. Did Alice want them to know she'd gone to the cemetery? She hadn't talked to them in such a long time, and if it were me, I probably wouldn't have told them, had I been in the same position.

"You found her?" I bristled at the evident shock in her voice. It was as if she hadn't expected me to be able to locate her. I had to remind myself not to make things worse by saying that, just because she wouldn't have known where to look, didn't mean I wouldn't, either.

"Where was she?" Edward asked. I focused on him, instead.

"She was at the cemetery," I finally told them. Yes, they definitely hadn't been expecting that. "When I got there she was unconscious. I carried her to the nearest house and called an ambulance. I don't know what happened afterwards; I passed out before we got to the hospital."

They were both dead silent, their expressions mirrored with shock and disbelief. It was Edward that responded first.

"You don't think she...you know, took something, do you?"

What the fuck?

The look on my face must have said it all because all of a sudden, Edward looked as though he wished hadn't said a word. Regardless of the fact we didn't know for sure, I was still disgusted that he could even fucking suggest such a thing. Thankfully, Bella responded for the both of us.

"How can you even say something like that, Edward?" She seemed angry, and for a split second, I admired her for standing up for Alice.

"Did you even go outside yesterday?" I demanded, looking straight at Edward. Cool off, Jasper, don't lose it in front of them. "She was outside for a good twenty minutes before I found her. No one would have lasted that long in the cold."

Neither of them responded. Bella was taken aback, while I was certain Edward couldn't speak over his shame of suggesting Alice had tried to overdose.

Seconds later, the school bell rang, saving them both from the awkward situation. I turned away without saying another word. The cold air had made my muscles ache even more, and I was positively pissed off by the time I arrived at my first class of the day – French.

I hated that class, even on a good day.

To make it seem as though I was ready to learn, I got out my books, lying them out on the desk. For the first part of the lesson, Madame Moogin gave us all a worksheet to go through. I answered the easy questions first, and then sat back, staring aimlessly at the floor. The room was relatively quiet, so I allowed my mind to wander across town to where I knew I'd find Alice.

What was she doing? How was she feeling? I couldn't even imagine right now.

"Jasper Whitlock, look at me when I'm talking to you."

I jolted from my daze, looking up to see everyone had turned around to look at me. I hadn't even heard her speak, and being that she was talking to me in English, it said she'd tried to gain my attention at least twice in French before giving up.

"You look very distracted, Jasper," she muttered in her disapproving teacher voice. "Your mind seems to be elsewhere today."

Elsewhere? Really? Room fourteen in Forks General would be more precise.

I began tapping my fingers on the desk as I watched the second hand make a full turn. As the minutes passed, it was getting harder and harder to not grab my bag and bolt for the door. Right now, the only thing holding me back was the fact the room was full of people, and I didn't have a clear path to the door. Had I been at the front of the room, I'd have ditched the bullshit class and gone to visit Alice.

But with my excuse, I still didn't get the feeling I'd last the whole hour.

"Can I be excused?" I asked the instant she stopped discussing something with the person in front of me. I winced at the dreary sound of my voice. Was that really what I sounded like?

She frowned as she turned to face me. "Au Français?"

I scowled, imagining where she could stick her Au Français.

"Just go, Jasper," she said exasperatedly.

The second her words registered I was up and out of my seat. It was only when I got outside did I realise I'd gone and forgotten my bag. I couldn't care less if she wanted me to attend a hundred detentions for ditching her class, I still wouldn't have thought twice about leaving. But it would've been too obvious had I gone back in to retrieve it, so I reluctantly started walking through the empty corridors, knowing at some point, I'd have to go back.

It was maybe half an hour into my school day, and I was already wishing I didn't have to deal with it. There was still four classes and two lunch breaks to contend with before I was allowed to see Alice. How the hell was I going to concentrate for that long?

In the end, I didn't return to French until I had only ten minutes left of class. Thankfully Madame Moogin didn't say a word when I finally slouched into my seat, deciding to merely tut and shake her head.

I was halfway to my next class when I realised I'd be sharing it with Edward. Admittedly, I felt a little bad for retorting the way I had, but I still hadn't completely forgiven him for his comment. It seemed he hadn't either, when I finally rounded towards the changing rooms to find him waiting outside.

"Jasper, I'm sorry about what I said this morning," he said the moment he saw me. "I don't know why I said it, of course Alice wouldn't do something like that."

I shrugged, not knowing what to say to him. I knew the right thing to do was apologise, but to apologise meant I had to concentrate, and I was still thinking about Alice.

"We're okay, right?" he asked.

His sincere expression took me by surprise, and I ended up agreeing without even thinking about it. The fact he was asking me if we were okay, was enough of an indication that he hadn't fallen out with very many people in the past.

We split up as we went to change into our kits, but he soon found me again as people started pairing up for badminton. It was doubles, which meant we were on the same side of the net. Thankfully Edward was pretty good, which meant I didn't have to move around as much. My arms, especially, were really beginning to protest about halfway through.

"You should have stayed at home today," Edward said after catching me rubbing at my right shoulder. I saw his gaze flicker to my legs, which reminded me of the purple coloured bruises that covered my knees.

I shook my head in response, the thought of being at home was even worse. "At least here I have something to do. There's nothing to keep my occupied at home, and knowing me, I'd have gone to the hospital and knocked out the trainee if he sent me away again."

Edward chuckled; maybe he thought I was joking. "Don't tell me, the short blond one?"

"You know him?"

"Yeah, he was the one who sent me and Bella away," he said, his expression darkening. "He wouldn't even tell Jackie we were there."

Coach Clapp blew his whistle, and our conversation came to an end.

As expected, Emmett told me to explain what happened the moment I stepped into Calculus. Rosalie, who had been talking to Bella, had caught snippets, but he wanted the full story. In the end, I explained in more detail than I had Bella and Edward that morning.

When I finished, it was obvious he felt bad for not being there for Alice. He'd spent the day with Rosalie, though I'd already worked that out being that neither of them had turned up to school.

"I should have gone to see her," he said a little while later as we made our way out. I didn't say anything at first; I think we both knew Alice wouldn't have wanted to see anyone, and had he turned up at her door, she'd have sent him away.

"Don't dwell on that shit," I finally told him. "There's no way you would have known."

Emmett's sceptical expression didn't go unnoticed; it was obvious he didn't believe a word I'd said, and was still going to find a way to feel guilty no matter which way he looked at it.

We met Rosalie and Bella on the way to the cafeteria. I held back while they talked. The fact I wasn't paying attention to them meant I was able to hear Alice's name as we passed a group of people from our year. I froze, and as the others did, too, it was clear they'd heard them, as well.

"I reckon she took an overdose." It was the blonde one...Lauren? "She's just attention seeking. No one gives a fuck about her anymore, so she tried to kill herself. Probably didn't take enough pills to finish the job."

Anger flared through me, spreading like wildfire as I zeroed in on the blonde skank who had been the one to speak. I took a step towards them just as Rosalie rounded on her.

"What the fuck, Lauren?" Rosalie demanded. Lauren whipped around, poorly masking the fact she hadn't known we were there. "You're calling her an attention seeker? Are you serious? Have you looked in the fucking mirror recently?"

Emmett took a cautionary step towards Rosalie as the two girls glared at each other. I bit my tongue to stop from saying anything and stepped back again. Had it been a guy making those comments, I wouldn't have thought twice about taking them down. But her...this blonde bitch was not my fight, and I had to swallow back my anger, forcing it to remain in check.

"You're still sticking up for her?" She actually had the audacity to fucking laugh. "Tell me, when was the last time you talked to her?"

Is this bitch for real?

Rosalie started to charge at Lauren, but Emmett grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back. Though he restrained her, it didn't stop Rosalie from shouting bloody murder at Lauren. From the look on Emmett's face, it could tell it was taking all he had to not let her go. Rosalie wanted to beat the shit out of her...and fuck, I was furious enough that I wanted her to.

Had it been me in his position, I wouldn't have stopped her in the first place.

"That's what I thought," Lauren scoffed, getting brave now that Rosalie was held back. The only problem was, she hadn't anticipated Bella.

None of us had.

Lauren didn't know what hit her – literally – until it was too late, and Bella had knocked her to the ground. A twisted grin flitted across my face as Bella's curses and name calling filled the air.

"Bella!"

It was Edward. I turned just in time to see him run over and pull his girlfriend away from a cowering Lauren. Bella was giving as good as she got, even when Edward had to restrain her attempts to kick the bitch.

"Bella, calm down," Edward growled into her ear. "Mr Greene will be here in a minute."

She stopped struggled and allowed Edward to lead her away. Rosalie stuck her finger up at them as one of the guys helped Lauren off the floor. She then shrugged away from Emmett and followed the others. I was the last to move, which meant I was the closest when I heard someone say, "Yeah, keep walking. She ain't even worth fighting for, is she?"

Big fucking mistake, pal. I whipped around, recognising the guy who'd spoken. I saw red as I threw my bag to the ground and charged at him, my whole body trembling with animosity. He didn't have time to get out of the way before I slammed into him, knocking him backwards.

"You want to say that again, asshole?" I snarled, grabbing his jacket and pulling him back before he could run away. I used my height to my advantage as I shoved him to the ground once again. This time, I let him scramble backwards like the cowardice son of a bitch that he was.

"That's what I thought," I said, sneering at him. I was about to kick him back to the floor when I felt a hand grab my arm. I tried to shrug away, thinking it was Emmett. I froze, when I realised who it really was.

Fuck.

I turned to see Mr Greene staring at me, his eyes ablaze with anger. It was only when I heard Tyler, or whatever the fuck his name was, run off behind me, did he let my arm go.

"I will not tolerate fighting in this school," he hollered for the whole area to hear. "Leave this premises before I change my mind and suspend you!"

Gritting my teeth, I snatched up and bag and stalked off. Though the four of them were watching me walk away, I didn't glance at them once. I was even angrier as I made it to the front gates. After everything they had said about Alice, he had to arrive the second I retaliated.

This is bullshit.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and kicked at the soft bank of snow in front of me. This morning I'd wanted to leave early, but now that I'd gotten my wish, I was too fucking livid to even think straight. I was nearly to the centre of town when I'd finally calmed down enough to work out my next move.

After a glance at my watch, I saw I still had two hours before I had to pick Emily up from school. That gave me some free time on my hands, and there was only one thing I wanted to do. The walk to the hospital was long, and I was aching all over by the time I arrived.

Before going to look for her room, I worked on trying to rid the scowl from my face. The last thing I wanted was for Alice to see me looking as though I was ready to murder someone. She had enough shit to deal with, without having to contend with my pissed off mood as well.

Finally I found the ward Alice had been staying in. The receptionist at the main desk was on the phone, so she told me to sit down in the waiting area. From where I sat, I could see room fourteen...it would take all of ten seconds to get there, but without authority, I wasn't allowed down there.

However, a minute later I saw the trainee round the corner and head in that direction. Without thinking, I jumped up and followed him.

"Hey!" He turned as I shouted to him. "Do you know if Alice Brandon is still in room fourteen?"

For some reason, he looked as though he didn't have a clue who she was. "Are you-"

I exhaled roughly, my hand flying to my hair. "I suggest that you don't fuck with me right now. I'm really not in the mood. Just check that little chart of yours and tell me if she's still here."

He fumbled with the clipboard in his hands for a second or two, and then was silent as he read the information in front of him. Gradually he looked up at me, his expression sheepish.

"She was discharged earlier this morning..."

I closed my eyes and lowered my head. After everything that had happened today, this was the icing on the fucking cake.

All I wanted to do was see Alice. Why was that so damn hard?

It seemed even colder when I stepped outside. My bag strap was digging into my shoulder, and my feet felt like ice cubes. To top it all off, I only had an hour before I needed to pick Emily up; from here, it would take at least half an hour to walk to Alice, which meant I'd have maybe a minute with her before I had to turn around and leave.

My bad mood had returned to full throttle as I slowly took the route towards Emily's school. I didn't even have the energy to pretend with her, which made things even worse. Usually I tried not to show her just how bad things got, but today, I got the feeling I wouldn't be able to hide it.

On the spur of the moment, I decided to take a detour to the grocery store. It was the first time I'd seen Mom in there since she'd told me she had a job. Knowing I had no money with me, I deliberately went straight for her checkout.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. For a split second, she actually looked pleased to see me. But one look at the clock made it fade. "Why are you not in school?"

"I got into a fight," I said, my voice bored. Like with Emily, I didn't have the energy to lie to Mom, either. Besides, she'd find out one way or another, especially if Mr Greene decided to write him. The principal used to do that a lot back in Texas.

At the thought of home, I swiftly focused on Mom once again.

"What?" She looked around to make sure her supervisor wasn't watching, then leaned closer. "What do you mean you got into a fight?"

"It's pretty self explanatory, don't you think?" I deadpanned.

She pursed her lips and shook her head. "I'm not happy about this, Jasper. Why were you fighting?"

I gave her a long stare, refusing to answer. I didn't want to talk about it with her. I didn't want to talk about it with anyone.

"Was it about Alice?"

Once again, I didn't answer. Though this time, I was certain my face told her everything she needed to know. To be honest, I was surprised she even thought of Alice.

"I guessed as much," she muttered, still disapproving. Was I that obvious to get into a fight for Alice? "Just promise me you won't do it again."

I grunted, not meeting her eye. I wasn't promising anything. "I'm going to go pick up Emily."

"Fine." She sighed when she realised she wasn't going to get an response out of me. "I'll see you back at home later."

Though meeting up with Mom had wasted some time, I still had a while to wait. In the end, I decided to perch on the wall outside the school. After a while, some of the parents started to arrive, many of which shooting me furtive looks to see me here so early.

At long last, the bell rang and the children started coming out. When Emily appeared, the smile on her face was enough to brighten even the darkest day. Even I found myself smiling as she quickly approached. Usually she had to wait in the playground until I was able to get here, and the fact she was smiling to see I was here early actually made me feel a little better.

"Come on, sweetie, let's get you home," I said, holding my hand out to her. All thoughts of that jerk at school and the stupid trainee left my mind as Emily prattled on about her school day. Thankfully, she didn't require much of a response from me, and I was able to say all of five words on the way home.

Finally our street came into view, and I started moving quicker. Absolutely everything was aching now; all I wanted to do was collapse onto the couch and close my eyes.

"Go and wash your hands," I told Emily once we were inside. "I'll make you something to eat."

She ran off upstairs as I kicked off my boots and hobbled into the kitchen. After stretching my aching muscles, I started to prepare everything I needed. I was just about to start when the doorbell rang. I sighed and went to answer it. Who the hell was it now?

But when the door swung open, all the aches and pains, all the anger and irritation, it seemed to fade into the background as I saw Alice standing on the doorstep. She didn't say a word as she walked forward and wrapped her arms tightly around my waist, burying her face into my chest.

I closed my eyes, relaxing against her. Alice was safe, she was in my arms, and right now, I didn't want to let her go. I just wanted her to stay right here.

"Jasper?" Emily's voice interrupted our moment. Alice jolted and pulled back, looking up at me with bleary, red eyes. I turned then to see Emily standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching us carefully.

"Go sit in the other room, sweetie. I'll bring you your sandwich in a minute, okay?" I said, shocked at how weak my voice sounded all of a sudden. Emily nodded and looked at Alice, as if she understood I needed some time alone with her.

"Would you like me to make you something?" I asked Alice as I shut the door and went back to the kitchen. As expected, she shook her head and perched on the chair as I quickly made one for Emily. I flicked the TV on when I gave it to her, and left Emily to it.

The moment I was alone with Alice, I didn't know what to say or do. I wanted to ask her why she was here, but I didn't want to sound as though I wasn't glad to see her. I also wanted to know what her parents thought of her leaving the house on her own again. But how the fuck could I ask her that?

There was a lot I wanted to know, but I couldn't find the words, so I didn't even true. In the end, I settled on asking her if she wanted to go upstairs. She looked frozen to the bone, and it was a damn slight warmer up there than it was downstairs.

Emily merely nodded when I told her where we were going. Though I'd said she could come up whenever she wanted, I got the impression she wasn't going to. For a five year old, she was so damn astute.

When we made our way upstairs, I remembered a little too late that I didn't have a chair in my room. Yet when Alice walked in, she barely faltered as she made her way to the bed and brought her legs up against her chest. She looked so small sitting there, though her cautious eyes said something completely different as I sat down beside her.

"You weren't on the school bus," she said after a minute of silence. I realised it was the first time she'd spoken since getting here.

"No…I got sent home early,"I said, noting my mistake a second too late. Now that I'd admitted I was sent home, she'd want to know why.

"Why?"

Shit.

I remained silent as I sought to explain myself without making this any harder than it had to be. Why the fuck did you have to tell her, Jasper? I didn't even get the bus here, anyway, I was one of the first to get off because it stopped near Emily's school. But now I'd gone and put my foot in it, and there was no way I could lie to her, not about this.

Fuck that, I couldn't lie to her about anything anymore.

"There were some people at school, they were...saying some things," I began hesitantly, wondering how the hell I was going to say they were talking about her.

"About me," she said quietly. It wasn't even a question; it was as though she already knew.

I nodded. "Rosalie reacted first, but she was held back by Emmett. It was Bella that retaliated. She pushed the girl to the floor."

It was silent as I allowed Alice to fully digest the information. One look at her face told me she couldn't quite believe it.

"Bella attacked her?" she finally said. I could hear it in her voice, she was as shocked as everyone else that Bella had done it. Between her and Rosalie, I'd never have expected Bella to be the one to get aggressive. Of course, had Emmett not held Rosalie back, Bella wouldn't have had anything to do.

"Edward pulled her away, but then one of the guys starting saying stuff." I faltered, thinking of the rage I'd spiralled into. "I kind of lost it and went for him. That's when Mr Greene turned up and told me to get the fuck out of his school."

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice small. If the situation wasn't so damn serious, I might have laughed. She was apologising? Without thinking, I reached out and pulled her closer. I tensed as my mind caught up with my actions. When she hugged me back, I felt a rush of relief.

"Don't be sorry, Alice. I was the one who reacted to what they said," I replied. The last thing I wanted was for her to blame herself for this. There was enough of that shit going around as it was.

"What were they saying?"

I froze as her words sunk in. How can I tell her they were accusing her of overdosing? "Alice..." She stopped me before I could get another word out.

"Tell me," she demanded, a sudden strength behind her voice. I cussed under my breath. I really didn't want to be the one to tell her, but the resolute expression on her face told me she wasn't going to let this go until I told her. I'd already said I would lie...

I took a deep breath. "They were saying you took an overdose."

She stiffened at the word, making me hold onto her tighter. As I held her, I remembered how Edward had suggested the same thing. It seemed so long ago now, and after hearing Lauren say the same thing, I no longer felt irritated towards him. He'd said it because he cared for her and hoped it wasn't true. Lauren said it because she was a spiteful bitch.

"I wasn't trying to kill myself."

The sound of her quiet voice, and the fact she even had to reassure me was enough to tear at my heart. She had to know I didn't need her reassurances.

"I know," I said simply.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while as I closed my eyes, committing what it felt like to have her in my arms to memory. Everything about her presence made me feel so...calm, and it had been such a long time since anyone had managed to do that. Being with her took away all the pain and anger. Even if only for a moment, she dulled the emotions racing through me.

"How did you know?" she whispered.

I remained silent for a little while longer, knowing exactly what she meant. She wanted to know how I knew where to find her.

"It was the only place I saw you going."

And that was the simple truth of it...I couldn't see her going anywhere else.

"Thank you."

I tightened my grip, revelling in her warmth. "I couldn't lose you, too."

My eyes shot open the instant I realised my error. Panic curled down my spine, sending icy bursts to every corner of my body. In the recesses of my mind, I acknowledged the fact she had stiffened in my arms. She knew what this meant...my heart was racing and I was certain she could hear every beat.

She knew...

She pulled back. "Too?"

I stared at her wide eyed and motionless. I hadn't meant to say it; I hadn't meant to admit something so momentous. I wasn't even sure where it came from; it just...slipped out. When I looked past the greyness of her eyes, I saw the deep set pain running through them.

Her eyes...they looked so familiar to me, so similar.

Swallowing heavily, I tried to compose myself. My stomach was turning, but strangely, I didn't have the urge to bolt. Had it been anyone else, I would have taken flight already, running from my own house. But this wasn't anyone, this was Alice...and maybe now I could finally tell her.

After months, I could finally take up her offer to talk.

Forcing back my apprehension, I brought my legs up to my chest and turned to look at her properly. For the first time in months, I let the mask fall away from my face, allowing her to see the true misery I hid away.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I waited for the anguish to set in.

"You remember I told you about that girl named Maria?"

A/N: Another cliffie? However, this is a good cliff hanger because it gets people thinking, and everyone will be able to guess what will happen next, anyway. So go ahead, guess away in your reviews. I'm sure you'll all be, "Oh my god! This happened [enter theory]."

If you review, I'll give you a teaser to chapter 21. You should know how this works by now. My aim is 185 reviews this time.