Two days later, everything was in order. Dad had dropped me off at Alice's house, and an hour after that, my stuff had been moved into Jasper's room. I was stubbornly sleeping on the couch, even though he had offered to do so instead.

As of current, we were sitting in the living room watching the news together. It was snowing quite lightly outside, but by tomorrow afternoon, we were supposed to be hit with a fierce blizzard.

"We need to go shopping." Jasper announced suddenly. "We're going to need food if we get snowed in."

"Stop worrying so much, Jasper." Rosalie scoffed from the other side of the room. I jumped at the sudden voice. She had appeared down the stairs just in time to hear her brother's comment.

"You'll wish I worried when we get snowed in, Rosalie." He answered in a very matter-of-fact voice.

"I agree with Rosalie." I announced. They both looked surprised. I shrugged, "If we were getting that much snow, the weather guy would be warning us. Half the time they warn us for no reason. It'll probably just be a few inches."

Rosalie nodded, glanced out the front window, and then floated into the kitchen.

Jasper glanced at me, his eyes stubborn. "We're still going to the store."

"If you insist." I smiled at him.

A moment later, I found my attention recaptured by the TV. The polar bear commercial for Coke was playing, and it was just too adorable to not watch. It was one of the three commercials that always aired around this time. The others were the various hot chocolate ones, and the one with the little redhead boy who had to eat soup to melt from a snowman.

"I love commercials in December." I decided to tell Jasper.

"This one is great." He agreed. "It's the best commercial for the best soda around."

I glanced at him, a frown on my face. I asked in playful horror, "You drink Coke?"

"You don't?" He asked back, his eyes wide.

I grimaced. "Hell no. It has a generic, metallic taste that makes me want to gag."

Jasper lifted his eyebrow, challenging me. "Metallic? Have you ever had it right out of the bottle? That's the only way to drink it, after all."

I felt my cheeks flush a little. "Well… no."

"Pepsi girl?" He asked critically. I nodded.

"Uh!" Jasper exclaimed. "Why? It has that horrible, flat, aftertaste that doesn't leave!"

"It does not!" I argued for the sake of arguing.

"And Coke doesn't taste generic." He defended his drink of choice.

I smirked. "But you admit it tastes metallic?"

He rolled his eyes, a slight smile playing onto his face. "Yeah, when it comes out of a metal can. Pepsi does too, though."

"What exactly is a metallic taste?" Rosalie asked suddenly as she entered from the kitchen.

"Go lick a spoon." He smirked at her. She rolled her eyes, peeking out the window.

"I disagree with you completely." I informed Jasper, ignoring Rosalie's interruption. "Pepsi tastes just fine out of the can."

After a second, he mused aloud, "I can get you to start drinking it."

Hah! He was crazy. I've hated Coke since I was little. I dared him, "You can try."

Jasper leaned in very close to me, and I shrank into the couch. I still was trying to get used to those intense eyes. Eyes that bored into me so deeply it was frightening. "By the time you leave," Jasper started, "I will make you love Coke. I fail as your boyfriend if I can't."

If he could do that, he was Superman.

Suddenly, I smiled at him, spontaneously pecking him on the lips. He was so close to me that I couldn't resist. I blushed out of instinct when I moved away to watch his reaction. He looked stunned at first, but then he grinned.

We've already established that a grin equals deviousness.

Jasper leaned forward and closed in the gap between us. He shoved his mouth against my own, but it wasn't rough. For how quickly and demandingly he swooped in, the contact of our lips was actually rather gentle and hesitant.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, while his hands snaked around my waist and rested on my backside. I probably would have blushed, but he pulled me closer to him and deepened the kiss. My mind was totally not on blushing right now.

I found it a struggle to remember to breathe during the fleeting moments the two of us actually drifted apart. I was so concentrated on him.

How soft his lips were. How sweet his mouth tasted. How warm his hands were as they slid under my shirt and trailed ever so slowly up my back…

A voice in the back of my mind screamed, Bella! What the hell?

My mind registered what was happening, and I pulled my head away, setting my hands on his chest and gently pushing him back. I lowered my eyes, afraid of what I might see on his face.

I wasn't entirely sure if he was trying to make a move on me or not- and I would hope not, seeing as we were in the living room with his sister- but guys didn't tend to take well to rejection.

His hand gently lifted my chin, and our eyes met. His were pleading and repentant. He understood that I had felt overwhelmed a second ago, and he was sorry for it. I didn't even need to hear him say it- I could just tell.

"I got carried away." He admitted quietly. He looked nervous. Did he think I was mad at him?

"It's okay, Jasper." I reassured him honestly.

He smiled at me. It was a small, but genuinely happy smile. It made his eyes light up, which was how I could tell the difference I smiled back and snuggled against his strong chest. He wrapped his arms around me, and our attention turned back to the TV. Well, it did for the first few seconds.

For the third time, Rosalie whisked into the room and glared out the window. With a loud, dramatic huff, she whirled around, accenting the movement with a stomped foot.

"Damn, Rosalie." Jasper drew in her attention. "Why the hell are you so irritated all of a sudden?"

She pouted at him. "Caius was supposed to be here by now."

"Well he's not." He needlessly pointed out. "Sit down, and stop pacing. It's not going to get him here any faster."

"Don't tell me what to do, Jasper." She snapped sharply, before cold-shouldering him and glaring out the window. Jasper looked like a bee had stung him.

His face fell, and he sighed a little bit. I gently clasped his hand in mine, trying to be supportive. I knew how close he was to Rosalie. He was bound to be hurt by her short temper.

Looking broody, Jasper muttered after a few seconds, "Is your reflection fun to glare at?"

"Immensely." She answered, her voice rather unamused.

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Come and watch the weather with us."

She glanced critically at me before snorting. "I'd rather stare at the wall then watch you two."

"Rosalie, just sit down." Jasper growled to her. His eyes were dark, and his voice displeased. There was a tinge of upset behind his unhappy tone, though. He clearly wanted his stepsister to be accepting.

She noticed, too. Tearing her eyes away from us, she pranced across the room again, sitting on the armchair by the coffee table. Her eyes instantly trained onto the TV.

"Bella, chess after dinner?" Jasper invited. I was starting to learn that chess was his escape from life. It was the one time that nothing else mattered, except for that game. And because it was just a game, it didn't make a difference if you won or lost.

I was getting better at it, with all this practice. "Sure, if you want."

Jasper locked his eyes with mine and pointed out, "We don't have to if you don't want to. There are other things we can do together."

Just for kicks I asked, "Like what?"

"We could watch a movie. Maybe The Lion King." He smirked at me, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

I wrapped my arms around his waist. "The second one is better then the first."

"How so?" Jasper asked skeptically.

"Everyone is happy in the end." I answered him, quite sure of it. I did actually like the first one more, but today a love story seemed fun. It seemed right.

"Nuka got short-sticked in that movie." Rosalie announced.

I turned my attention onto her. She wasn't even looking our direction. She was making an effort to get involved in the conversation, though.

I reminded myself of my promise to try and be less aggressive towards her, for Jasper's sake.

"He still died happy." I argued mildly. "In his last seconds of life, Zera finally tried to be a good mother. That's all he wanted the whole time."

Rosalie shrugged, actually meeting my eyes. "Is that really enough? He tried his entire life just to get the bitch to notice his existence. He shouldn't have had to die for it to finally happen. Does three seconds actually make up for a lifetime of neglect?"

I had never looked at it that way. I mused aloud with her, "I guess not. Not really. But it was enough for him, which is the best he could have asked for."

Rosalie smiled the slightest bit and returned her attention to the TV.

"Wow." Jasper finally interjected. "You two are getting along."

"Don't count on it being a habit." Rosalie instantly responded.

I scoffed lightly. "Yeah, the Ice Queen might melt if she's civil for too long."

For whatever reason, that made Jasper start to laugh. It wasn't one of those light chuckles, either. It was a deep, hearty laugh. The vibration in his chest shook my body- as I was resting against him.

I was surprised when Rosalie chose to completely ignore me.

The phone rang, and Rosalie snatched it off of the coffee table. She answered, her voice hopeful, "Caius?"

After a moment she scowled. Her tone got colder when she amended, "Oh, Peter. What is it?"

I watched in curious silence as her eyes widened for a second, misting over sadly. She sighed quietly, "Fucking hell. – Yeah, I'll send him over. Just calm her down, and make sure he doesn't fly off the handle."

She hung up the phone and frowned at Jasper. "Get over to Alice's house, now."

"What happened?" Jasper asked in alarm. I felt his hand tighten around mine.

"I don't know for sure." Rosalie fretted. "Peter just said that Edward found out his dad is leaving, and now he's at Alice's house having a break down. It's freaking her out."

"Fuck." Jasper spat angrily. He pulled me to my feet. "Come on Bella. We're going over there to help her."

I was tossed a jacket, which I pulled on as we made our way to the garage. Jasper hit the box on the wall, and the door began to open. He ushered me over to a fancy blue car, and we got into it. I was silent as he pulled out of the driveway and started zipping down the road.

"Is this your da- General Hale's car?" I asked curiously. How could he leave it behind when he was out of town? Well, he could always have two. Many people did.

"No, it's mine." Jasper announced flatly. I knew that he liked cars, and I was surprised to hear him sound so unenthused.

"You don't like it?" I asked, grasping for strings.

My grasp was empty.

He sighed, shrugging a little bit. "I like it. It's a good car and everything. He bought it for me as a Christmas present."

"That's a bad thing?" I asked hesitantly. He was getting tense from talking about this. His fists were tight on the wheel, and his body too scrunched up to be relaxed. I knew he had issues with the General. I didn't want to push him.

"It's not…" He trailed off with whatever he was going to say. He looked conflicted. I sat by silently and waited for him to either go on, or change the subject. After a few seconds he admitted, "It's not a bad thing. I just wish he would make up his mind."

"About what?" I asked him.

"About me." He whispered. "I can never tell with him. Does he like me or not? When he's yelling at me all the time, or giving me one of those looks he has, I think he hates me. He knows that I know. He knows I have him figured out."

Jasper sighed, shaking his head. "But then he does something to throw me off guard and make me wonder. Something like, buy me a car for Christmas for absolutely no reason."

"Does it really matter?" I asked him out of curiosity. "I mean, you don't like him, right? So why would it matter what he thinks of you?"

I was confused. I had never gotten any impression but distaste from Jasper- for the General. I loved Charlie as much as I could- still barely knowing him in all reality- and I wasn't bothered by his opinion of me. I was who I was, and I could only hope my father would accept that. He did, of course, which was great.

Jasper had never seemed like the self-conscious type.

I watched Jasper's entire mood take a sharp turn. His eyes became darker, but softer with emotion. His face hardened, however, and I could almost see a brick wall starting to fall into place around him. My question had triggered the defensive side that I hated seeing.

"What he thinks of me doesn't matter." Jasper agreed in a cold tone.

I was rescued from trying to fix the problem I unknowingly caused within him as he turned into Alice's driveway. Unbuckling himself, he sighed heartlessly. "Now you get to see why I would let Edward fall off that cliff."


Still no blue shirt.