All things Twilight belong to the Amazing Stephenie Meyer. Some plot points were inspired by V.C. Andrews. The rest however, all mine! Happy Tuesday ;)

Transitions

I'm gonna take a stab at this;
sure you will be alright
Make a decision with a kiss
Baby I hold fast by it.
Ready, Able by Grizzly Bear

The rest of the night got better the moment we left the restaurant and Izzy went her separate way to celebrate with her friends and Emmett and I left to meet everyone else.

We bowled for a while, laughing and joking around, ignoring the fact that everyone but Peter and Edward were there. Peter never was around much in the evenings so it wasn't unusual, especially after the tension-filled meal with the family. Edward though, he was with us less and less, and even when he was there he'd normally sit as far away from Rosalie and me as he could manage without disappearing to another table completely.

The whole week at school was bizarre for me. Nothing much had changed, but it felt so different. I found myself dividing my time between Angela and the rest of my friends. Angela had turned out to be fun and witty in her own mousy way. We'd sit laughing in our class as everyone around us had their head down working. Even Izzy seemed to ignore us. Whatever Carlisle had said to her seemed to be working for now, and I gripped it with two hands, giving her a wide berth so I didn't provoke her in any way.

Whether it made sense or not, I tried to avoid our table at lunch when Edward was there. I sat with Angela and her friends, hiding from the group so they didn't physically drag me to their table. It wasn't that I didn't like him—I did; after last week, I even had hopes of becoming friends, but Tuesday had been strained.

He'd sat at the end of the table next to Peter, eating the sandwich he'd bought, with his head down and his eyes avoiding everyone else at the table. I watched him closely until he looked up and caught me, making me blush and him flee. I didn't want his friends to be deprived of his time because I was sitting at the table, so Thursday I skedaddled to Angela's table for the first time.

I felt horrible when Jasper started texting me asking where I was. I told him the truth and saw his eyes scanning the room until he found me. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the group, and then all of them were looking at me. When Jasper moved to get up, Rosalie pulled him back down and gave me a nod. She explained later that she'd told him I was allowed to make other friends.

I spent that evening with Angela at her house. We were attempting to work on our English papers, but we ended up just talking about the fall of her friendship with Izzy and her brother's continued acquaintance with her. I invited her to the party on Saturday, but she politely declined the offer.

All too soon the day arrived and I found myself dreading the fake smiles and excitement of a birthday party that really had nothing to do with me. The family was under strict instructions from Tanya and Carlisle to save their presents for the big night, and I knew it was just killing Emmett because as he'd said himself, he was shit at surprises. He'd been avoiding me all week so he wouldn't accidentally say something he shouldn't.

"Come on, Bells, you're riding with me."

Emmett was by his truck when I exited the house all made up and ready to act like the happy family unit we weren't. Tanya had already drilled us about being on our best behavior because her and Carlisle's friends would also be there. Izzy and I had agreed and gone our separate ways, not even making eye contact.

Emmett and the others would be my only saving grace on this nightmare evening because we'd already been instructed there would be a photographer there who would insist we were photographed together, and we were expected to smile.

"Emmett, are you sure you can handle it?" I asked, teasing him playfully. "That's like twenty minutes alone with me in the car."

"Shut up. You know how shit I am at keeping surprises, so don't ask any questions and we should be fine."

"On one condition."

"Don't do this to me," he pouted, his hands running through his curls as he leaned against his truck.

"It's nothing bad."

"You promise?"

"Emmett."

He opened the truck door and lifted me inside before closing it behind him. He made his way to his side of the truck and climbed in, looking at me skeptically before sighing. "Fine."

"How bad is this going to be?"

"How bad is what going to be?" he asked, chuckling as he backed out of the drive and took off toward downtown where the party was being held in some huge fancy ballroom of an expensive hotel.

"This party. All the warnings and a photographer?"

"Don't worry, Izzy will be happy to act as center of the universe. Just stick with us. You'll be fine."

That didn't exactly ease my mind. Emmett seemed reluctant to give me any details at all. The 'stick with us and you'll be fine' routine was his usual way of getting out of saying anything. He knew how much I hated being in the spotlight, and his reaction seemed to just cement my fears.

"Just try to have fun. Jasper will stick by your side if you ask him to. Newton will be up Izzy's ass all night."

"I feel so much better," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "Mike Newton being within hearing distance is going to do nothing but set Izzy off on one of her tirades."

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that tonight, she's gonna be in a good mood, and if you downplay, she'll be even happier."

"Thanks for the advice, Em." That wasn't going to be a problem at all. I would happily be the wallflower for the evening. I'd had my birthday with my friends the weekend before. I didn't need another. In fact, if I was being honest, I was attending this under duress. Dad had begged me, telling me he wanted to show his twins off.

"Just try and enjoy yourself, we're almost there and you're already breaking like four of mom's rules."

"How?"

"I don't see a smile, you're slouching, you're pouting, and your arms are folded."

"That's not really four, Emmett. All of that is conducive to pouting, and we're not there yet so let me enjoy it while I can."

He laughed at me and navigated the streets while I tried to get out of the mood I'd been in since Rosalie had taken me shopping this morning. I had put myself in a foul mood after Leah had called to tell me she couldn't make it, and poor Rosalie had done nothing but try and cheer me up the whole time we were in the mall.

She'd had me laughing, but the lecture we'd received from Tanya had put me right back where I was pre-Rose. I had to try and think of this as an evening with my friends. Everyone was going to be there, and the division would be as clear as it always was, except when Izzy and I were thrown together for photographs. I could do this. I could manage a couple of moments being thrown together with my twin; I just hoped she'd keep her mouth shut.

I looped my arm through Emmett's as we walked into the hotel. We were greeted by people I had never seen before, all off them wishing me a happy birthday and commenting on how much I looked like Izzy. I smiled and thanked them politely, excusing myself as Emmett pulled us toward the ornate double doors that the music was pouring from.

We found our friends easily. Edward, Peter and Ben were in an animated conversation, while Rosalie and Jasper sat on the other side of the table, talking quietly amongst themselves. Emmett joined Edward and the others, and I joined Jasper and Rosalie.

Thankfully, Emmett had been right. I spent most of the night in my corner, only being called to join my sister on things like cutting the cake and everyone singing happy birthday. Both Izzy and I were all smiles the moment we were anywhere near one another, leaning in close for photographs that sent all the adults in the room into a stir of aw's.

It wasn't just Izzy and me acting either. Tanya and dad stuck close to one another, their arms around the other or holding hands as though they were a normal couple in love. Even Emmett and Peter were oddly civil to one another.

"Dance with me?" Jasper asked as I fell back into my seat after another round of photographs with Izzy and the rest of the family.

"Would you be offended if I said no?" I laughed, wiggling my toes in my shoes to get the blood circulating back to them.

"I would be heartbroken."

"Then I guess I need to say yes," I giggled, slipping my hand in his so he could pull me to my feet and onto the dance floor where the lights were swirling in time to the music. We danced playfully, him swirling me on the spot and dipping me as we moved to the beat. He kissed me occasionally when he was sure no one was looking and still managed to make it look like part of the dance, even when I did blush.

"Can I cut in?"

"Masen, be my guest. But watch your toes, this girls out for injury with those heels."

I slapped Jasper on the arm but never got a chance to react. Edward laughed playfully and caught me as Jasper twirled me in his direction.

"I'll get us something to drink, Bella."

"Thank you," I sang, laughing, trying not to think about whose warm hands were currently on my bare back, whose breath was moving the light hairs at the back of my neck.

What the hell was I doing, thinking about him in this capacity? He was Rosalie's boyfriend.

"You look beautiful," he whispered. His body was so close to mine, all I could feel was him. He was just being kind, he was trying to be friendly and here I was, blushing like I had been asked to strip naked. This was mortifying. I had to get a grip.

"Thank you," I choked, trying to gain composure just as the music changed to a slower beat.

He pulled my body against his with the hand that was still on my back, forcing my cheek to rest against his shoulder.

"You weren't at the table on Thursday."

"No, Angela and I had a project to work on so we set up guidelines at lunch," I lied.

"Overachiever," he teased in response, moving us in a circle with small steps. "You realize you have a week for shit like that right?"

"Yeah, but once it's done we don't have to worry about it anymore."

He laughed and pulled back from me, his emerald eyes searching mine for something before he pulled me back against his chest and moved us around again. My eyes caught our table, and I couldn't help but notice the looks on both Jasper's and Rosalie's faces. I couldn't place the emotion on Rosalie's, but Jasper looked almost dubious about the whole situation.

"Hey, can I cut in?" Peter asked from behind me. It was starting to feel like a wedding. I knew it was customary to pass the bride around, but was this normal for birthdays?

"Sure," Edward answered, his voice holding no emotion as he placed the hand of mine he was holding into Peter's. "Thanks for the dance, Bella."

"Thank you." I smiled, my other arm wrapping hesitantly around Peter's back as he pulled me to him.

I didn't turn to watch him leave because I knew I was being watched and scrutinized by everyone in the room. I didn't even pull back from Peter like I wanted to; I was sure it would give away my cautious reaction to my step brother.

"You're looking good tonight, Bella."

"Thanks, Peter," I answered lightly, trying not to cringe at the tone of his voice. It brought back too many memories of the night I saw him and Izzy together in her bed. His hand on my back was enough, it was like a branding iron, burning the skin there as his fingers stroked my bare back more intimately than I liked.

"Bells," Emmett said from behind Peter, his hand outstretched for mine. "It's time for presents."

I could have hugged him for his timing. Could he see how uncomfortable I was? I knew that he had a better read on me than anyone else in the room. My discomfort would be obvious to him. I took his hand happily and gave Peter a small nod in thanks as Emmett guided me toward where Izzy, Tanya and dad had gathered.

"Thanks, Em."

"Knowing one another well comes in handy sometimes," he chuckled, releasing my hand as we stepped up next to the rest of the family, followed closely by Peter.

Carlisle had a microphone, which scared me half to death, and I could see that this amused Jasper and the others as they grinned at me from the table at the back of the room.

Bastards. I was horrified.

"Ladies and gents, could I have your attention please," dad said into the mic, effectively silencing the room and drawing all eyes on us. I could physically feel all the blood rushing from my face. My whole head throbbed with anxiety. "As you know, my other daughter, and Elizabeth's twin, Isabella, came home to stay with us this past summer. It's definitely been an interesting adjustment period."

The whole room chuckled at the comment, and I could see Jasper leaning into the table to say something. Staring at them wasn't helping matters.

"That being said," dad continued on, "we're happy to have the two of them celebrating their seventeenth birthday together. Now before we open the presents, I would like you all to raise your glasses in a toast."

The crowd did as he asked and raised their glasses to us.

"To the girls' seventeenth birthday, may they share many more together."

I barely heard the crowd repeating the gesture because my head snapped to our dad in surprise just as the camera flashed. Standing on the other side of him, I noticed that Izzy had reacted the same way, which I could only imagine would make for an interesting picture.

"You girls ready?" dad asked, handing the microphone to a guy who approached.

"Yes," Izzy squealed, while I simply nodded and forced a smile.

He took both of our hands and lead us toward the door and then onward to the entrance of the hotel. I could hear people following us out, which only served to terrify me even further. I watched television, I knew what normally followed things like this, and I hadn't dreamed for a moment that this would be my seventeenth birthday present, let alone the first birthday with the family, just over a month after I moved in.

"Happy birthday, girls," dad said proudly, releasing both of our hands.

Izzy was gone in an instant, her ear-piercing squeal almost making my ears bleed as the crowd that was behind us laughed and chortled at her reaction. I was frozen on the spot. I just didn't know how to react. My whole body was frozen to the spot, rendering me unable to move even if I'd wanted to.

"Bella?" dad asked, a smile evident in his voice.

"Hmm," I answered, unable to produce anything more articulate.

"Are you okay?"

"Hmm," I repeated.

"It's yours sweetheart, go and check it out."

"It's okay, Carlisle, we've got this," Emmett laughed, his hands pushing my back so I stumbled forward. I kept moving toward the huge red bow and the tag with my name in calligraphic ink. I waited until I was out of ear shot to react further.

"Emmett, he got me a car."

"Yes, and it's a very pretty car."

"It is, but it's also entirely too much."

"Bella," Emmett sighed, stepping up next to me rather than pushing. "I know it seems like a lot to take in, and I know how you are about gifts, but he's been so worried about this. This is the first birthday he's had a chance to make up for lost time. It's not going to be like this every year, but he thought this was special."

"It is special, Emmett."

"Then show him," Emmett whispered.

I swallowed, knowing that my shock wasn't really helping in this situation. I turned around and propelled myself at my dad, my arms tangling around his neck as the tears rolled down my cheeks. Once again the crowd aw'd around us but I ignored them.

"Thank you, dad. Really, thank you, I love it."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. The keys are inside. Go take it for a spin."

"Thank you, thank you," I giggled and ran back to the car where Emmett and the others already had the door open waiting for me. I slid inside the sleek, silver car and took a deep breath, enjoying the new car smell I'd only ever smelled once in my life and that was when Charlie had bought his new pick up to drive home. Mixed with the leather, it almost made me light headed.

Jasper slid into the passenger seat with a huge smile. Emmett pushed the door closed and told me not to be long as he pulled the bow from the car and tapped the top, letting me know it was safe to go.

"Where are you taking me?" Jasper asked as I pulled away from the curb, almost purring as the engine growled below me and pulled away with ease.

"Somewhere I can do something I've wanted to do all night."

"And what's that, Miss Swan?"

"You'll see," I giggled.

I managed to drive a couple blocks before the adrenaline kicked in and ate me alive. I pulled into a high-rise parking lot and pulled into an empty spot, unclicking my belt and almost diving over the console to press my lips against Jasper's.

My whole body exploded in the excitement of the new gift, mixed with the anxiety of the party and the usual need when kissing Jasper. His left arm cradled me against his body and his right hand curled around the back of my neck as he always did when kissing me.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but by the time I pulled away, I was fighting for air, and my body was tensing and relaxing, so far beyond my control I could barely even think.

"Damn," Jasper panted as I slid into my seat and stroked the steering wheel gently.

"Yeah," I said, taking a huge breath and smoothing down my dress.

"You wanna come over and hang out after the party?"

"Yes."

"You wanna think about it?"

"What's there to think about?" I laughed, turning my head and looking at him.

"Fair enough."

I drove us back to the party, letting the valet take my car and hand me the little stub so I could pick it up at the end of the night. I had no idea if Izzy was back or not, and I didn't really care; I was still entirely too elated to pay much attention to anything other than this insatiable excitement that seemed to run around my body like an electrical current.

The moment we were back in the ballroom, I danced toward dad and gave him another hug.

I danced the rest of the night with Jasper, my arm around his neck, laughing as we made up stupid dance moves and attempted to swing dance to a slow song. If Leah had been there, I knew the night would have been perfect. I hoped everything was okay with her, she'd had to take her paw-paw to the hospital again, and I knew how much of a toll that took on her.

We opened the rest of our presents the moment Izzy got back, and before long, people started filtering out, leaving just the family and small groups of friends hanging around. Dad let us go soon after and gave us the freedom to stay out as long as we were sensible.

Unfortunately, our plan to be alone at Jasper's was thwarted, as everyone seemed to agree to meet there to continue the party. We stayed awake for hours, playing pool and dancing. Everyone was drinking except Jasper and me. Jasper had taken it upon himself to be the sober buddy.

Before long, people started passing out. Emmett and Rosalie were top and tail on the couch, Edward was passed out on the pool table, and Peter and Ben were on the floor—one in the kitchen, and one under the pool table, leaving Jasper and I laughing at them.

"Wanna crash in my bed? We seem to be out of room in here."

"You don't mind?"

"No, I have a real comfortable couch in there I can take."

I nodded my ascent, and he took my hand, gently tugging on it so I would follow him. We ran through the back yard and into the house, trying to keep our giggles to a minimum so we wouldn't wake anyone up. I was still so wide awake from the evening that the thought of being alone with him had my toes curling in the shoes I was wearing before I peeled them off to cross the tiled floor of Jasper's foyer.

The moment we stepped into his room I gasped. Take away all of the junk he had dumped around the space, it was an amazing bedroom. The low bed was sitting on a rug that matched the comforter, the couch he'd referred to was a mixture of metal, wood and leather and it fit the modern feel of the art and clean lines of everything else in the room. It was amazing.

"This is your room?" I giggled, my arms wrapping around his neck as I pushed up on the balls of my feet to kiss him.

"Yeah, what's so funny?"

"I dunno, it's just with the car and your personality, I never figured you as the art deco type."

"I'm not," he smirked, his lips pressing against mine as his arms tightened around my waist, bowing my body against his. "But god forbid Tanya Cullen one-ups mother. This room is the result of your room."

"Are you serious?" I laughed as his lips moved down over my neck, sending shivers down my spine and tiny pops of electricity to dance around my stomach.

"Mmm hmm," he hummed against my skin, walking me toward the bed, his strong arms pulling me easily up his body, making it easy for me to wrap my legs around his waist.

"I like it," I breathed, my hands tangling in his hair as he sucked gently on the skin behind my ear.

"I knew you would," he growled, his teeth grazing against my skin, making my hips rock so I ground myself against him. "Careful, Bella. I'm not sure how much I can take before you drive me completely insane. That stunt you pulled in the car almost did me in."

"I'm sorry," I mewed breathlessly, rocking my hips more deliberately this time.

His lips found mine, his teeth sinking into the flesh around my bottom lip before releasing it with a pop. Both of us fell deeper into the kiss, my body rising so I was slightly taller than he was, his head bent back as my fingers tangled into the blond curls at the back of his head and tugged gently.

His hands grabbed my ass as he lowered me to my back on the bed before releasing me and climbing over me so he could find my lips again. His body fit easily between my legs as he slid up my body. He leaned on his forearms, his hands tangling in my hair as his lips pressed against mine with more fervor than we'd ever had before.

Both of us committed ourselves to the moment, whines and groans falling from our lips as our bodies writhed against the other. My dress rode up my thighs, but I ignored it, the feeling of him rubbing against me so I could feel him was too sensual to stop now.

He rocked forward so I could feel the length of him create friction against my underwear. His lips moved from mine and down my throat to my chest where he kissed along the neckline of the dress I was still wearing. His tongue would jump out to taste me periodically, making me moan gently around the finger I was biting to keep myself quiet.

Rather than moving the fabric of the dress, his teeth found my already aroused nipple through the material, biting down so my body arched from the bed, pushing against him in all the right places. He touched me everywhere as his lips found mine again, his body was held up only by his knees as he knelt between my thighs.

Then his hands gripped my calves, pulling them gently over his hips as he nuzzled my neck reverently. His hand continued up my legs, up over my thighs, squeezing in time with the nibbles at my neck. It wasn't until he was fingering the fabric of my panties on my hips that I realized this was the last chance to be honest with him.

"Jasper?"

"Mmm?" he hummed, his fingers running along the skin just under the material, making me moan his name rather than saying it. I tried to fight the haze of lust that rolled through my body with the sensation.

"I need to tell you something."

He kissed the skin on my neck once, then twice, before pulling back to find my eyes with his. "What is it, baby?"

I took a deep breath and put one of my forearms over my eyes, hiding my face from him. I knew it was nothing to be ashamed of, but I still thought he had a right to know.

"Bells, what's going on?"

"I have no idea what I'm doing? I've never . . . I mean, I'm a . . ."

Stupid word.

"Bella, are you saying you're still a virgin?"

I nodded, not moving the arm from my face so he couldn't see my embarrassment.

"Why are you hiding?"

I shook my head.

"Bella," he laughed, tugging my arm from my face so he could see me. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"I know, but it's killed the mood," I sighed, gripping the collar of his shirt and pulling myself up to a sitting position, both of my bare legs on either side of him.

"I can't deny that, but Bella—I can't believe I'm going to say this—maybe it's better this way."

I could feel the frown forming on my forehead. The feeling I'd been getting from us touching like that was too much to give up. Had I been doing it wrong? Was I bad at it?

Jasper's fingers moved from my leg and smoothed out the frown on my forehead. "It's not that I don't want to, Bella. God knows I would love to, but I would feel like shit if I took that from you. We're not even dating, this is casual, and your first time should be something amazing, with someone you love."

I bowed my head and let it rest on his shoulder. I was hiding my embarrassment and the pain of rejection. I wasn't going back on our agreement, and I knew that I was being silly, but I couldn't fight the overwhelming emotion.

"You're not crying are you?"

"No," I snorted, lifting my head and looking at him. "Just a little embarrassed."

"Why?"

I looked away from his deep blue eyes, unable to voice what was going on in my head. I hated that I was frozen by fear in this one moment, when I was with someone I could trust.

"Bella, please don't do that. If you hide shit, things are going to get weird between us, and I don't want that."

I groaned and looked at him in the eyes. "I can't help thinking things would have been better off if I had kept my mouth shut."

"No." Jasper wrapped both of his arms around me and pulled me against his chest, his nose nuzzling into my neck. "I'm glad you told me the truth. I think it would have made me feel like an asshole if we'd continued and . . . you know."

I nodded, my fingers running through his hair. I knew he was right, but I had to get what was in my mind out. I should have mentioned it earlier. I should have said something long before now, but I didn't want to sound presumptuous.

"You could give me head."

I pulled back and looked at him with my mouth open, my lips curled into a smile. He wiggled his eyebrows.

"We could call it a learning experience," he laughed, kissing the end of my nose and rolling onto the bed with me in his arms. "I'm playing, beautiful."

"No you're not," I laughed, my hand moving down between us and grabbing him through his pants. "And who said I needed teaching?"

A/N: Hmm, knowing the divide and knowing how many people want the Edward connection to take off, I'm wondering whether I should hide. Haha! I know this will go either way, so I may hide anyway!

Bella and Jasper are close, but Jasper was a gentleman. I know it may seem odd that they went ahead and did something else anyway, but they're teenagers driven by hormones and I think Jasper showed a lot of restraint stopping it where he did.

Thank you as always to my wonderful beta, Annabanana, she's amazing and really makes my writing look so much better with the grammar and punctuation.

Thank you also to Miztrezboo, bendingmirrors and Hev99 for keeping me sane. They are the best. I would also like to thank Newmoonaholic, who is sporktacular and gave me a readers feedback on the chapter!

As always an amazingly huge and love filled thank you to the reviewers. Every week you guys knock me on my butt with your kind words, theories and questions. You get my mind working and keep me on my toes when trying to answer said questions without giving away too much . . . sometimes I fail haha! Love you guys! Thank you for being amazing!

Much love and Ginormous Hugs ~Weezy~