Note about the Cast: So, it never quite occurred to me to mention casting before, but I always imagined Schuyler to look something like Alexis Bledel because she's cute as a button. Her brothers—Jensen and Jared—are portrayed by none other than the Supernatural brothers, Dean and Sam Winchester. "The Man with the Scar" will play a larger part after on and he will be played by Charlie Hunnam, who was almost Carlisle. And then the biggest bastard in the World, Gabriel, is portrayed by the ever creepy Cillian Murphy. The mysterious boy that continues to pop up resembles Alex Mckee (on google, he looks most like the picture with the checkered jacket). And on a side note, the Jasper I've imagined has always looked like the yummy Trent Ford.

If this casting in anyway messes up with how you've imagined the characters, then by all means, please ignore it.

Chapter 22

The Man with the Scar

"This is ridiculous."

"Is not."

Bella grumbled unhappily as she glared us both down. Alice and I simply smiled and leaned our heads against one another. "Come on, Bella! You only graduate once!" "Yeah, Izzy! We really want to make this something you'll always remember. We love you that much!" "Please!" We begged at the same time. Bella turned away with a sigh. I threw a glare at Edward, nodding no discretely towards his girl. He rolled his eyes and turned to Bella, "They're never going to give up, Bella." She groaned, knowing full well that the statement was completely true. "Please?" We begged again, utilizing our cuteness to its fullest. Bella sighed in defeat.

"Yay!" Alice and I cheered as we hugged and bounced all around the living room. "Shopping!" We chirped happily. Bella groaned lowly. I snickered and stilled for a moment, "Don't worry, Izzy. We've got everything under control!" Alice pressed her cheek to mine and continued, "We're planning everything AND we're doing the decorating and shopping. All you need to worry about is getting here." "Yep, yep!" I chirped. "So that's why you both took your finals today," Bella mused. Edward showed no surprise. The little snoop probably read our minds.

"When do you leave?" Edward smirked, the entire question pointed at me. I stuck my tongue out at him. Alice answered, missing the snide-ness (or perhaps she was too happy to care), "We leave tonight!"

"Jared?"

"I promise to lock all of the doors and I won't to accept any big packages unless they are to go outside."

"And?"

"I'll handle all of the paperwork."

"Good. Jensen?"

…

"JENSEN!"

"SORRY!"

"Jensen?"

"Oh, right!"

"Yes?"

"I won't burn the building down."

"Ahem, and?"

"I won't put the closed sign out and insist we're not open while you're away."

"And?"

"And… I won't touch anything unless someone else is with me."

"Good."

"Are we clear, boys?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

"And you're going, again, why?"

"Shopping."

"And you're going alone, why?"

"I'm going with Alice."

"I'm letting you go because…?"

"You think I'm sexy."

"Not the point."

"So you think I'm sexy!" I beamed. Jasper glared, although any harshness was at a loss. He looked at a wall in what I knew well enough to be embarrassment. I rolled my eyes with my own sort of embarrassment and leaned into his chest. He instantly reacted by looping his arms around me. I smiled and snuggled close, gladly welcoming the icy chill to cool off the overwhelmingly heat my body consistently produced. "I'll miss you, of course," I announced with a warm smile. He glanced down, trying to hide a smile, "You better." I giggled and kissed his cheek.

I caught sight of the clock and frowned, "Time for girlfriend and manfriend to part." Jasper sighed in sync with me. "Call me every day?" I glanced up to see him to find him looking, again, at the wall with embarrassment. "The phone will be glued to my hand," I promised. He shifted his eyes to me and he smiled that Jasper smile that sent my stomach into summersaults and my heart leaping through my throat. Without a word, I pulled my cell phone out from my pocket and flipped it open. Once open, I pointed it towards a very curious Jasper. A click sounded from the phone. I surveyed the result and found it to my liking. Jasper peered over my shoulder to find his picture as my screensaver. He chuckled and kissed the top of my hair, then stood from the bed and held a hand out for me, like a true gentleman. "Shall we be off, my fair lady?" I reached out for the hand and allowed him to pull me up, "And they say chivalry is dead." He smirked, I blinked. "Oh." Well, I guess it really is dead. Oh, well. I shrugged and he escorted me by the arm out of the house and to his car, where he would then drive me to the airport to meet Alice.

"Alice! That looks amazing!"

"Me? Look at you!"

Alice swirled around in a circle. The silky material of the olive green dress fluttered in the air currents. Alice beamed, on an all-time high from shopping. "You're buying that," I gestured to her ensemble. There is no way I'm letting her out of the store without buying something so perfect. Alice turned the attention on me, "Same to you. That dress was made for you!" I cheered and twirled around, feeling the grandeur only a movie star could possess. The rare material of the floor length dress swirled lightly as I turned. Once making a full circle, I caught my image in the mirror and smiled at the effect of the contrasting blood red of the dress in comparison with my pale white skin. "I think I'll buy it," I agreed with Alice before she could say anything.

I couldn't help but laugh once we got to the cash register and got the receipt. Alice and I bought an unmentionable amount of clothing. I mean, yeah, we got our outfits for the party, but that was on the first day. After that, we started buying supplies, and well, one thing led to another and we ended up in this special, absolutely amazing shop Alice knew about and we started buying. Lots of buying.

"Come on, Sky!" Alice called from the bright yellow sports car she had rented when we first arrived in Paris. I looked up to find her waiting patiently inside. I hurried my pace and tossed all of the shopping bags into the trunk alongside Alice's and jumped into the passenger seat. "Where to next?" I asked Alice. "Hm," she pondered aloud as she sped off into traffic and weaved with supernatural grace through the streets of Paris. "Shoes?" "Shoes it is."

"One hundred pounds!"

"Wow, we sure know how to shop."

"Let's keep this a secret."

"Agreed."

Alice and I pondered over the extra weight of our luggage and our new pact. We figured that if anyone at home found out how much we spent (which wasn't a problem; we're both filthy rich from being around for so long—it's the idea of spending so much that counts) and how much we bought, we'd probably be banned from ever shopping together again. Yeah, we're that bad.

"That's our flight!" Alice gestured towards the lit board relaying that the red eye was ready for boarding. "Home," I sighed with relief. Don't get me wrong, I loved spending time with Alice! It was actually probably the most fun I'd had in centuries. But I missed home—my old friends, my new friends, my family… Jasper. Yeah, I'm obsessed, I know. I cop to it. I quickly sped up to catch up with Alice and we both drew closer and closer to the gate. I felt my heart float and flutter with the warming thoughts of home. I reached out to hand my ticket to the ticket taker, ensnared by blissful thoughts. The woman smiled and snatched the end of the ticket, but by then I couldn't hear the words she spoke. Soon, her frowning face began to blur. Then, everything went black.

Jasper's Point of View

I stared at the clock and tapped my foot impatiently. I twitched when the numbers changed again. She was late. Schuyler hadn't come back from Paris yet. She called well over twelve hours ago saying that she and Alice were getting on the Red Eye and that they would get back around noon. I glared daggers at the glowing numbers reading 1:05, but my glare faltered and turned to worry as my eyes slid from the time to my cell phone. No calls.

The roar of an engine was music to my ears. I instantly leapt from my bed and flew down the stairs. I reached the door in no time and threw it open. Alice's Ferrari wound up the curving driveway and pulled into the garage. I followed.

Alice got out from the driver's side. I waited for Sky to get out via the passenger door. She didn't. Alice popped the trunk open and started to pull out bags decorated with designer names and suitcases.

"Where's Schuyler?" I asked as I looked around, expecting her to pop out from somewhere and surprise me. She didn't. Alice pushed her sunglasses from the bridge of her nose to her head. She looked peeved… and worried. "Where's Schuyler, Alice?" I trained my eyes onto my best friend. She handed me a few bags and started for the door to the living room. "She's in Paris, I think." I gripped the bags tighter as I followed her up the stairs. "She didn't come back with you? You think?" Alice placed the bags on the floor of her room and twirled around to face me with an irritable frown, "She was supposed to." She passed me and headed back to the car to get the rest of the suitcases and bags (Geez, how much did they get?). "We were about to get on the plane when she changed her mind." My gut wrenched. "She said there was something she had to take care of before she came back." Stay? What could have happened to change her mind so abruptly?

Alice seemed to have read my thoughts and she stopped. She turned around to face me again. I felt a variety of emotion from the tiny girl—irritation, confusion, and worry. Alice frowned and her eyebrows furrowed, "I think she might have seen something, you know, in a vision. It didn't seem bad, though. She was quiet for a few minutes then she suddenly looked up. She was so confused. She babbled on for a few minutes, but I couldn't understand what she was saying. Then she told me that she was going to stay a little longer and that I should go ahead and start setting up for the party." Alice huffed, "She better not miss it."

Alice was irritated because she didn't know what was going on with her friend; she and I were also worried for the same reason. Something happened, I dreaded, but what? I heard a buzz, then a sound… music?

"Schuyler!" I rushed past Alice to my own room and leapt over the bed to snatch my cell phone off of the nightstand. "Schuyler?"

Schuyler's Point of View

"Jasper," I sighed once hearing his voice, "Sorry I didn't call." "Where are you?" His voice was rushed, urgent. "Did something happen? Is Bella okay?" I rushed, equally urgent. Please, I prayed, let her be okay! She wasn't attacked was she? The newborns hadn't attacked, had they? "What? Yeah, she's fine. Where are you? Are you alright?"

Oh, I blinked, he was worried about me. Wow, rush. "I'm fine. I just had some things I had to take care of. I was already over here, so I figured that I'd go ahead and get it out of the way." I glanced around the greenery as I leaned against an ancient stone building. "Where are you?" He asked; I could hear the aggravation in his voice. "In Europe," I slowly answered. My attention wavered past the busy streets and the bustling people to a sign that read, 'Welcome to Romania.' Hey, it's not lying. I am in Europe. "What happened?" What happened? I thought back to the airport.

"Miss?" I held out my ticket to the smiling woman, but stopped. Darkness melted my vision and soon I was sitting back and watching through another's eyes.

A vision. "I'm following a lead," I whispered, my voice falling. My hand moved of its own accord and rested over my left hip. My fingers traced over the fabric that hid four parallel lines, scars. "I'm not sure if it will help our cause or not," I continued as the thought of the outcome of the war rattled me, "But I'm willing to try anything."

Jasper was silent. "You can tell Alice that I'll be home Sunday night around midnight. Tell her I'll come straight over and help her with decorations and that I'm really sorry for leaving her to fly home by herself." I suddenly heard a bit of a struggle over the line and a snarl. Alice huffed at Jasper (who snarled) in victory, "You're forgiven!" She responded. I heard a smack. "I'll start on the decorations, but get here as soon as you can! This has to be perfect!" "I will so long as I get to give Bella our gift with you." Alice agreed. I heard another smack, then a few snarls and growls. "Alice, you might want to give Jasper the phone back," I muttered. "Shoo," I heard in the background. "Jasper?" "I'm here," he answered, no doubt irritated by Alice. "I'll call you back after I get some answers," I replied as I shifted from one foot to the other. "I really miss you," I added, a light blush setting my face aglow. "And I, you," he whispered back. "Bye, Jazz." "Goodbye."

I flipped the phone shut and stared out into the streets for the longest time before dislodging from the wall. I slipped the phone into my purse before spinning on the balls of my feet to face my destination—an old pub. I opened the doors and waltzed right in.

I strutted through the dimly lit tavern and stopped at the bar. The bartender spared me one glance, and then did a double take. A conniving smile graced his lips as he leaned forward on his elbows. "Can I help you?" He asked in a heavily accented voice. The man was pale white. When he smiled, he flashed his pearly white teeth. His eyes, to a human, were impossible to see in such lighting. To an immortal, they were clearly blood red. I didn't smile back, "Greyback. Ulric Greyback." The smile was wiped instantly from his face. "Greyback," he sneered in distaste. I nodded. He eyed me up and down in disbelief, "Who are you?" "An old acquaintance," I replied flatly. The man stood erect and waved his hand. His smile returned, "I don't know who you are, Miss, but you're barking up the wrong tree." The pub by then had fallen silent. Every occupant, either cloaked by cloth or hidden in shadow, stilled. Three men, all cloaked, arose from their seats and slowly dredged forward.

I rolled my eyes. The guy came out from behind the bar and drew closer. I flinched at how close. He saw the reaction and chuckled, "You picked the wrong place to walk into." He got even closer and reached out a hand towards my face.

And that's when I decked him.

"Dirtbag," I muttered, glaring at him as he moaned and snarled while holding his broken face. The room grew incredibly tense.

The silence was broken by the sound of clapping. "I see you haven't lost your touch," a man laughed. I zoned in on the voice to find him sitting in the darkest corner of the room. I stepped over the fallen vampire and walked to the table. "I assume you haven't come to simply say hello to an old acquaintance, correct?" I glared. He chuckled, "It's too crowded in here. Let's take this to another room." The man stood from his table and held his arm out for me. "Shall we?" He smiled. Despite the darkness, I could easily make out his bright white teeth. I accepted his arm. "Good," he chuckled and patted my arm. We exited the room quickly and settled for another, well out of ear shot.

I sat down at the table in the empty room. Greyback sat across from me. "Forgive me," he chuckled as he lit the oil lamp on the table, "The Volturi have been searching to no end for me. It's hard to tell who's on whose side these days." Once lit, the fire from the lamp illuminated his features. "As beautiful as ever, I see," he grinned causing the great scar that marred his handsome face to twinge, "Mrs. Von Curen." "Miss," I corrected the immortal man. He smiled, "Miss Von Curen." "It's been awhile, Ulric." He scoffed as he drank from the mug he'd brought with him, "It's been 150 years, Schuyler. I think that defies 'awhile'."

I smiled and leaned my cheek on my hand as I rested my elbow on the table. Ah, Ulric—another chapter in my life. Ulric hadn't changed much over the years. He was still dazzling, looking to be in his early 20s, and drop-dead gorgeous. Ulric had short light blonde hair that curled at the ends and had the brightest blue eyes I'd ever seen in my entire existence. And upon his face was his trademark, a long white scar reaching from his right eyebrow over his eye and down his neck (and ending at the last rib). In a quick summary, he was absolutely stunning from head to toe.

"So," he went straight to the point, "Whatcha need? Fire power? Secrets? Back-up? A map?" "Ha, ha," I laughed dryly. He's never going to forget that, is he? "I got lost once!" I insisted with a puff of the cheek and a scowl of a cranky woman who hadn't slept in days. "Schuyler, I love you. I really do," he insisted, his eyes lighting up in excitement, "but your sense of direction is atrocious." "Okay, I took a wrong turn," I shrugged animatedly, "Big deal." He laughed, "Yeah, a wrong turn off a cliff." Okay, so my sense of direction was terrible. So sue me.

"Not the point," I returned to the reason I was there. I stared straight into my oldest ally's eyes, "Ulric, I need you to do me a big favor." "Anything for you, love," he nodded.

"Tell me everything you know about werewolves."

"You're back," Edward muttered as he opened the door. "Yay," he muttered ever so enthusiastically as he walked away. I bounced up to him and jumped onto his back, "Aw, you missed me! Admit it!" He groaned, "I knew I should have called the airport." "Why?" I questioned as I wrapped my arms around his neck like a monkey. "To tell them you were a terrorist. That would have delayed you for days." "Somebody's a sourpuss," I frowned as I glanced at his face from behind. He huffed and rolled his eyes, "You're way too peppy." "Aw," I gushed just to annoy him, "I knew you liked me!" He groaned again, "JASPER!"

Immediately, the blonde flew down the staircase and appeared before us. "Ha, ha," Edward spoke flatly, "Joke's over. Get her off." Jasper raised an eyebrow at our position—me hanging off of a gloomy Edward like a little gorilla. Deciding enough was enough, Jasper swiftly appeared next to Edward and pried me off. "Hello," I smiled to him bashfully. Jasper tossed me upward to catch me in his arms bridle style. He said nothing, but held me close. Edward covered his eyes mockingly, "Get a room." "Will do," Jasper chuckled. With that said, he swept up the stairs.

"So," Jasper smirked as he plopped backwards onto the bed, "How was your trip?" "Great," I said as I bounced on his chest from the movement. "And the decorations?" He added, gesturing out the window where we had spent quite a while putting up decorations (Alice took everything inside; Jasper and I decorated outside). "Complete!" I chirped as I snuggled into his chest. "The food," I stopped to yawn, "is made and ready." Jasper shifted me further upwards so that I could rest my head under his chin. "Tired?" He asked as he pulled the blanket over us both. "A bit," I mumbled as I snuggled closer into the icy goodness. "Sleep," he whispered as his hand brushed up and down my spine in a soothing manner. My eyes drifted close, "M'kay… just… a little while." The last thing I remembered before sleep overtook me was his kiss upon my head.