I watch him for minutes, neither of us moving a millimeter. When a vampire is still, it is very different from when a human is still – at least people still move a little, breathing and blinking. He's stone still, could be dead.

I'm not sure what to feel. Anger – no, anger does not apply. Who to be angry at? Max. But that won't do any good, because he's not about to come back.

Fear? Not really. I don't know why, but I feel utterly calm at the moment. Hey, if I die, I'm dead, and there's nothing to be done about it, you know?

"Don't," I warn Jasper.

"I'm sorry." He mutters, letting the calm seep back out of the room.

Okay, still not really feeling scared. Uh.

"Jasper, I told you not to do that."

"I am not doing anything." He says coldly, taking a step back.

I groan. "Look, Mr. Cullen. Alienating me won't make it easier for you to not eat me. If you see me as a person, a rational creature, that might work."

He regards me for a second, before nodding and coming forward awkwardly to sit next to me.

"So, what exactly is he trying to accomplish by sticking you with me?" I ask, folding and unfolding the arms of my glasses.

"I'm assuming he's waiting for me to get…hungry enough to cause you harm." He's still speaking like it's 1897. Come on, man. You're not this lame.

"Well, why you, then? Because I know you the least well?"

He shakes his head morosely. Uh oh.

"Because he thinks – knows – that I'm weak."

…Oh.

"…Oh."

That's not very comforting. I pause to slip my glasses back on, though my surroundings become only fractionally sharper.

"What about everyone else?"

"I don't know. I was in a room like this, four feet of concrete and steel on every side, then they led me down a hallway to here. I have reason to believe he won't do them harm, but he wants to make sure they won't hinder him."

He runs his fingers through his hair, leaving messy tracks, finally folding his arms around his knees and staring at the floor.

"He's watching us, isn't he?"

"Max?" I ask.

"No. The other one. Yours."

I frown, look up.

Glen has braced his elbows against the sill of the window, watching us intently. I know we're both trapped equally. So why do I feel like he's watching me like a human looking into a chimp's exhibit?

He looks so concerned, expressions and motions of worry dancing and flickering everywhere on his body.

I know. We didn't plan on this. It's void, now, our plan. Guess we'll have to wing it.

"He is, isn't he. Does it bother you?"

"No."

Awkward silence. I twist around the tip of my braid, brushing it against my fingers, wondering who'll give in first.

"Guess this is getting less dramatic by the second, huh?"

"Yep."

"…Wanna play the 'at least' game?"

He shrugs. "Shouldn't we figure out what we're going to do?"

I pause. "Do you have to kill someone when you feed from them?"

"It's often difficult to stop."

"But could you?"

"Well, then you'd become a vampire."

I glare at him. "Okay, never said you going to bite me, buddy."

"What would you suggest, then?" He seems pretty calm about all this.

"That's nitpicking. If we did find a way to cut myself, could you just take a little of my blood instead of killing me?"

"It wouldn't satiate me." He frowns.

"Okay, would it keep you from killing me in a starved haze?" I ask, just a tinge of bitter sarcasm in my voice.

He chuckles. "I guess."

"Well, then. How do you propose we get out of here alive?"

"You seem very calm about this."

"Uh huh." This isn't really a good time to have a Phantom Of The Opera song stuck in my head. Whatever.

"This is your first life-or-death experience, right?"

"Not really, no. First one where I've been locked in a room with a vampire, though."

"Funny. Me too."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Well, no offense, but that doesn't tell me a lot about you."

"True. It's kind of like saying whether or not you've ever been to a building with red paint on the bathroom stalls is a defining characteristic."

I snort, licking my dry lips.

We sit in silence for a bit, me leaning my head at an angle against the wall and staring at the stones, him…I don't know, doing a vampire thing.

"He has a lot of defenses. Technical and – otherwise." Jasper informs me, still not making eye contact. I wonder if he's trying to desensitize himself to the whole situation.

I can still taste cranberry juice in my mouth, from a glass I had – only a day ago? Well, well. Funny how you notice things like that.

"This is the most ridiculous and drawn out climax I've ever taken part in." I grumble finally, pulling the bottom scrunchy off of my braid and undoing it.

"We have to get him in here. Trap him somehow."

"Why Jasper. How very twenty-first century Fox spy movie of you."

He snorts and shakes his head. "If he believes that you're truly…in jeopardy…"

"He'll wait for Glen to kill himself."

"Oh." Jasper, I assume, had been counting on Max caring enough about me dying. Nope, sorry, he's just a jackass idiot moron face butt head.

"He cares about you, though. I could tell. He doesn't want you hurt."

"That's why he's trying to kill my loved ones and locked me in a room with a super predator? Sorry."

"No offense taken. And I think he does truly believe this is what's best for you."

"Jasper, that's because he's a complete idiot."

"Don't be so harsh." He hisses.

"Sorry, I should be running up to him and raining him with kisses for killing my…Glenwood." My what? I don't know. Figure it out later.

"No. Just…calm down, please. You're making this difficult for me."

Oh, well, I feel like an idiot now. Woops. Emotion thing.

"That must be quite a significant hindrance in casual situations."

"You have no idea." He grumbles.

I'm still wracking my brain for some way to get Max down here.

"If we did get him down here – could you take on him by yourself? In your state?"

"Yes."

His answer is quick and definite, not even a moment's pause. I am so sick of this supernatural ego thing.

'We're so much stronger than you pathetic humans, and smarter and faster and better and more superior and prettier, you silly little idiots.' Blah, blah, blah. You were human once too, you know. So sick of that.

When – if – I get out of here (God willing), I plan on isolating myself from it for as long as possible. Lock myself in a room with a big cup of tea and an unfathomably long book, in some bourgeoisie motel room, maybe with Glenwood and definitely with a working shower, and I won't come back out for days. Days, I tell you.

"What if he brings – er – backup?"

"Depends on how much and what kind. It'd have to be a disturbance he would deem…minor."

"Uh huh." I groan, and he shoots me a look, glancing from me to the dryad in the window.

"You didn't…sleep much last night, did you?"

"Young man, don't be so rudely blunt to your elders." I snap. Okay, in foresight, that was kind of a dumb thing to say to someone who is undoubtedly decades older than I am, but it's hard to turn off Teacher once it's turned on.

"Yes'm." He mutters, folding further into a little ball.

That was weird.

Uh.

Scritch.

"Sorry. I guess it was instinctive. I didn't mean to insinuate that you're – you know, inferior to me."

"That's all right. My reaction was a bit instinctual as well."

Scritch scratch.

I chuckle. Ready? Now is when a solution magically presents itself, since I don't plan on fainting anytime soon.

Scraaatch. Scritch scratch. Creeeak.

No one is saying anything about that noise, however, and I'm wondering if I'm imagining it…

SCROITCH.

No way I was the only one to hear that. Right?

"What is that? Do you know?" He asks me, watching his fist intently as it curls and uncurls.

"No."

SCRA-EEACH!

"It's not…uh…"

"Rrow."

A/N: Random, much? I apologize for the lack of plot in this chapter, but the fact is that the nearer I get to the end the more I want to procrastinate. ANYWAYS. Two things (either/both can be ignored if you want, I just would like to know):

Number one is kind of fun: Should Max live or die, and if he does die, how should it happen? Of course, I may or may not listen to your suggestion and go the other way, but input would be nice because it works rather well either way.

Number two is pretty boring: If I were to do a sequel-ish-type-thing, would anyone be interested, or have these characters just about lived out their intrigue?

Again, it's fine if you want to ignore either request and just want to post and be like 'this is completely uncharacteristic of Jasper even if he is trying to control himself you idiot'. Actually, if you are thinking that, I'd be glad to explain why he acted the way he did in this chapter, and if even then you still think it was a stupid chapter, good to know. -braces self-