Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll update ASAP. =) Thank you for all the reviews! They are all greatly appreciated.

021. Any Other Way

"Wake up."

"Not yet." I groaned with my eyes closed and my mind still fogged up with dreams.

"Bella."

Bella? Why would Lucas call me Bella? And - with a peek at my clock - why is he home so fast? I held my breath in fear and slowly turned around. What I saw was enough to let me forget all my fear - whether it was intentional or not.

"Jasper," I breathed, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Hello Bella," he grinned, his teeth flashing white in the dark room.

Although I was happy to see Jasper, something wasn't right. Didn't Carlisle say that Jasper left a long time ago without Alice?

I peered closer at Jasper and gasped when I saw the difference in him. His eyes glowed a brilliant red. I took an involuntary movement back. In my mind I was running through a hundred ways to run.

"Relax, Bella." And the tension and fright that I felt dissipated.

"As long as you do as I say, everything will be fine."

"Everything will be fine." I echoed.

"Yes," and he smiled.

In my mind I was going through more ways of distracting him. Because even though I felt calm, I knew it was due to Jasper's manipulations. There was something different about him. He wasn't the Jasper I used to know.

"Why did you leave Alice?"

His eyes clouded over and he pursed his mouth together.

"I'm just curious," I prompted him.

"I could no longer conform to their lifestyle. I gave Alice a choice, and she chose to stay. It was in no part my fault."

"But you were doing so well…"

"Not well enough," he replied curtly.

I needed more time. I needed to stall until Lucas got back. There was no way I could fight Jasper, I knew that much. He was much bigger for one thing, and coupled with the fact that he used to be a vampire mercenary, I had no chance.

"You smell off, not like you used to, well of course not, considering you'd be dead if you were still a human, but yet you don't smell like a vampire either," Jasper commented.

"About that…" I trailed off, uncertain how to answer.

"I guess its for the best regardless, no temptation to start feasting," he joked darkly.

"Oh," I said faintly, "We wouldn't want that now would we."

Jasper was really starting to freak me out aside from the calm that I was feeling. There had to be a reason why he was here, and it couldn't possibly be for anything good.

"So, uh, why are you here exactly?" I asked awkwardly.

"Well, I'm here to take you somewhere."

"Take me somewhere?" I asked confusedly.

"Yes. I'd appreciate it if you'd follow me, instead of me taking you against your will," Jasper said in a pleasant voice.

"What if I say no?"

"Well, you're coming with me whether you want to or not," he said calmly. He reached his hand out toward me.

I was out of distractions and my last option was to scream. I pulled in a deep breath, but all that came out was air.

Jasper smiled softly at me. "It's no use. No matter what you do."

There was no doubt that he could feel the fear that was sending waves through my body.

I tried one last pathetic attempt at a scream, but this time something did come out. A startled squeak, as I was bundled up in stone cold arms and pressed against a cold chest. My body fit against him perfectly - there was no doubt who had come to my rescue. Edward.

It took me a moment to take in the scene. Alice stood frozen next to Edward. I was all but crushed against him. He looked at me briefly before putting me down. He made a defensive snarl at Jasper, but Jasper was too preoccupied with looking at Alice to notice.

"Jasper."

Even though no emotion betrayed her, it was evident in her voice how much she missed Jasper, and how happy she was to see him.

"Alice," Jasper said quietly.

"When I saw you come back, I thought you were coming home, but when your future disappeared…"

Jasper snarled. "You've been watching my future?"

Edward took a step towards Jasper. His face was twisted into an expression of anger.

"Of course she watches your future, she worries so much about you!"

Alice interjected, "Edward, please. I'm sorry Jasper, it's just that, I'm become so attuned to you…"

Jasper's expression softened immediately.

"I'm sorry Alice, I was just surprised that's all."

Edward was slightly more relaxed, and the both of us had all but melted into the background.

"Why did you leave?" Alice said in a pained whisper.

"The blood. I couldn't resist anymore. You knew that Alice."

"I know, but if you held on just a little longer…"

"I wanted you to come with me."

"I couldn't," she murmured, "Human blood is not the way I want to live. It isn't for you either Jasper, please - come back with us."

His eyes softened, and in the dark night, I could see that Alice's words were pulling him in. He seemed to be struggling internally, and Edward's face was a mask of concentration. Suddenly, Edward's face went smooth. And he whispered to himself. Welcome back.

Jasper extended his arms towards Alice, and she bounded into his arms. They embraced for a long moment, before breaking apart.

"I want to come back. I miss you so much Alice," Jasper said, his voice full of emotion.

"I missed you too," Alice replied, entwining her fingers into his.

Edward stepped away from me and nodded briefly at me.

"I'm sorry for intruding, It's just that Alice saw Jasper come here before his future disappeared…" he said apologetically.

"You don't have to apologize Edward, I understand," I said coolly.

As the three of them made their way towards my window, I hesitantly thought for a moment to ask them if they wanted to use my door, but just as I finished that thought, I felt a pair of cold arms encircle around my waist.

I was out the window and in the woods before I could even begin to comprehend what had happened. I could feel the leaves whipping past me, as my captor raced through the forest. I knew instinctively that this was not Edward, but Jasper. So Jasper lied to Alice? I could hear Edward and Alice's pursuit, but their footsteps seemed to be getting more distant at each passing step. I struggled fruitlessly in Jasper's iron grasp, but to no avail. We rounded a corner, and everything was silent. I looked into Jasper's eyes, questioning him with my eyes. With one last pitying look at me, he touched my shoulder, and all was black.