Alice first saw that Peter and Charlotte would be coming while Jasper played Emmett in an 8-board game of chess. The boy immediately launched into an internal battle of excitement and worry. Of course, his dear friends never hunted while they were in the area, but there were two humans who had come to mean much more to the family than others, and the idea of normal vampires around them created some anxiety in both him and Edward.
The brothers had been at an impasse for several days. Jasper couldn't stand the thought that Bella Swan knew about their family. Edward had been much too reckless in his motions, and the logical blonde had wanted to deal with it. He had been convinced there wasn't any other way.
Rosalie wouldn't be happy about it, but she would follow Carlisle. Jasper knew that, and there was no point in trying to change her mind. As a matter of fact, there was no point in trying to change anyone's mind. He was already going to leave one broken heart behind – creating a few more by doing what was right would be worth it. He didn't even feel the need to listen to their discussion as he leaned against the wall, planning the entire time.
"Jasper," Edward said.
It broke his thoughts but not his determination. He met his brother's eyes, not giving anything away.
"She won't pay for my mistake. I won't allow that."
That wasn't right. Edward put everyone in danger to save that girl, literally putting everything on the line to change fate. It wasn't fair.
"She benefits from it, then? She should have died today, Edward. I would only set that right." He bother putting venom into the words, going back to his plan.
"I will not allow it." Edward emphasized each word, as if Jasper wasn't understanding him. "What if it was Amethyst? I knew what you were thinking when you got to the van."
The blonde arched an eyebrow. "I don't want her to be in danger, even a slight danger. We all know what she had to live through, and we all know why we didn't step in. We've been careful to keep the secret from her for this exact reason. Our relationship may be dangerous, but I was willing to walk away from the best thing that happened to me since Alice for our family. I lost someone today. You haven't lived through what I've lived through, whether you've seen my memories or not. You don't understand."
"I'm not disputing that, Jasper. But I'm telling you now, I won't allow you to hurt Isabella Swan."
Jasper tested Edward's determination, deciding it was willing to fight to protect their family. He had done everything right – hunting to keep the girl safe, knowing when to stay away, even letting her suffer through things no one should ever be forced to deal with – and Edward was willing to put it all in jeopardy over the girl he barely knew while the blonde was forced to walk away from the girl he loved.
"Jazz," Alice said lightly, making him sigh a bit internally.
He kept his gaze on Edward for just another moment before turning to the small girl. She watched out for him, kept him safe and sane. For so long, the blonde had wanted to love her, but couldn't find it in himself. Alice, as a matter of fact everyone, deserved so much better than him, but he was so very lucky to have her in his life. "Don't bother telling me the risks. I know what I'm getting myself in to-"
"Actually, I was going to ask you for a favor."
Edward audibly gasped, but Jasper couldn't draw his eyes away from the small girl.
"I know you love each one of us and just want to protect the family. I know you're so in love with Amethyst that it's easy to pretend around her and you try to make yourself believe the situation is normal. But I would really appreciate it if you didn't try to kill Bella. First of all, Edward's serious and I don't want you two fighting. Secondly, she's going to be a part of the family."
He tried to understand what was going on in her head. He couldn't imagine a situation more different from the one with Amethyst, who didn't ask too many questions or push open doors because she was happy, and Jasper knew it. This girl had come in and ruined everything, possibly exposing their family to the entire city. But being a part of the family? Something Alice hadn't even seen in relation to Amethyst?
"But, Alice," he tried.
"I'm going to love her someday, Jazz. I'll be very put out with you if you don't let her be."
Jasper felt his resolve crack. Alice had saved him, given him the world. She deserved everything she could ever ask for and more.
"Ah," she sighed. "See? Bella's not going to say anything. There's nothing to worry about."
He shook his head as he left the room, not wanting to hear anything more about the ridiculous conversation that would probably follow.
Alice had come upstairs after the meeting ended, telling him about everything he had seen. Bella would either end up dead or a vampire. In their false privacy, Jasper asked her about Amethyst as well. He had to know what would happen to her, if it was only possible for it to end in one of two ways with the other girl.
The short girl shook her head, saying Amethyst would still go to school and enjoy a normal life as far as she could tell.
What Alice saw was one of the main reasons Jasper allowed himself to be involved with Amethyst. He was lucky about her scent, so off putting when they first met due to her extended abuse. And then it had turned to a smell almost like rain, with touches of honeysuckle and apple. Yes, there was a burning at the back of his throat, but it was almost the opposite of how it seemed to be for Edward. The brunette was just easier for him to be around, putting him at peace with the world around him. Even when she blushed, it never pushed him to a point where it hurt more than usual.
It left Jasper at an interesting crossroads with Edward. He knew his brother had sent the girl to him Wednesday, a fact he appreciated. His help seemed to be a kind of truce, letting the blonde know they were both in the same boat. The boy considered their situation as Alice began mouthing Emmett's moves to him over her shoulder.
They both loved humans. At that point in time, there wasn't really a point in denying it. Amethyst was beautiful, feisty, strong and intelligent, and Jasper didn't want to keep away from her. She didn't ask questions and she didn't push unless she felt as if she needed to, making the blonde grateful she hadn't deemed it necessary around their family. Bella had a very different approach, questioning everything. She had slammed into their lives like a battering ram, but Edward loved her the same way he loved Amethyst.
His brother looked over from his spot at the piano, smiling and nodding slightly. Jasper hadn't forgiven him for his actions, but not being angry anymore was at least a start.
The next day, Jasper wanted to see her. They would have to miss school because of the sunshine, although the boy probably would have skipped with his old friends in town anyway. He wanted to see her again, not having truly gotten a moment alone with her since Wednesday. Walking to his closet, Jasper pulled out a black t-shirt he knew the girl loved before sliding on his most favorite pair of jeans. His cowboy boots peeked at him from the back of the closet, so he smiled before pulling them on as well.
He walked out of the door while pulling on his jacket, letting Edward know where he was going mentally just in case someone was concerned. Jasper sprinted to the library through the light drizzle, appreciating the fresh air and the cleansing effect it tended to have on his senses, carrying a reminder of the girl he was rushing to see.
Walking first to the history section, the blonde grabbed a book that would work with the story he had created on his run over. He followed her scent into the mystery section, watching for a moment as she glared at the top of the bookshelf. Following her eyes, Jasper saw the book someone had tossed up there, chuckling to himself.
He put himself behind Amethyst, reaching up to easily grab the book for her. Being so close, the boy couldn't pass up the opportunity to press his body against hers, chuckling when she tensed.
"It's cute you think that you're that tall." Jasper loved teasing her, getting her different emotions riled up. He could get drunk off of her emotions, and the stronger they were, the better they felt.
Happiness and just a slight bit of relief washed over the girl, who turned to her with a huge smile on her face. "I am a perfectly respectable height, unlike some of my company." Of course she would keep up the tough face. Jasper leaned down to kiss the girl, reveling in her sweet scent and warmth. "What're you doing here?"
"Needed a book for my history project." She was thoughtlessly taking in his outfit, probably not even realizing her eyes had left his face. The monster in his chest was pleased with the attraction that rolled off of her, wishing she would show it on her face as clearly as it came through in her emotions.
She raised an eyebrow instead. "So you chose to come to the mystery section?"
Amethyst was only wearing light makeup, a trend that had become normal when the abuse stopped. Her eye makeup was much less dramatic on a daily basis than it used to be, and she only wore concealer on days when she felt sick. Jasper loved her confidence with the thin scars that covered her face, as he had so many of his own her eyes couldn't find. She was so perfect to him and for him, and he couldn't imagine his life being different.
Coming back to their conversation, he chuckled and showed her the book he had grabbed. She almost never missed a thing, other than the biggest thing she could possibly miss. "I just happened to see you on my way out and couldn't resist the chance to say hello." Couldn't resist the chance to see you smile, to get you a little riled up, to get lost in your emotions…
"Well, hi." Amethyst leaned up to kiss him again. Every time she made the first move it drove him insane in the best way possible.
She pulled her lips away from him much earlier than he would have liked, but knew better than to say that. "You're getting much better at that," Jasper teased, going back in his mind to the day he realized he was in love with her.
His lips pulled up into a smile just before she laughed, but he was sure their minds were in two different places. "Get out of here before you get me in trouble."
She was already in so, so much trouble, but he wouldn't ever be reckless enough to let her supervisor catch them. Deciding it was worth leaving with Amethyst's smile in his mind, he reached out to touch her necklace. She wore it the day of the trial as well. The silver charms fit in his mind as his claim to her, and every day she wore it, Jasper felt triumphant. He winked at he before going to the desk to check out his book.
As the redhead at the desk went through her normal questions about his experience at the library, the blonde felt his mind wandering to a different building in downtown Forks.
He almost hadn't shown up to the trial, only changing his mind when Edward had called and told him Amethyst was a mess. Jasper had run back home from the school, where thankfully no one had bothered to notice him, so he could change and go to the trial.
The brunette had cried on the stand. No one could understand the anger he felt toward the defense attorney for making the girl cry, particularly in front of her parents. She had dealt with enough from them, she didn't deserve the embarrassment she had to sit through while being cross examined.
On her way back to her seat, Jasper watched as she placed her foot wrong on her shoe. He knew she would fall into the jury box, but was left helpless for the second time as she was injured in front of his eyes. Halfway standing up, he wanted to go and help her and pick her up and take her away from everything that was happening, but a firm grip from Edward kept him from moving.
Only when she was seated again did the blonde allow his father to actually pull him down. They had made eye contact, but Jasper couldn't decipher anything from her other than the embarrassment. He ignored every word that was said for the rest of the trial, his only thought on helping her, touching her again as soon as possible.
When the judge dismissed them, Amethyst ran out of the room immediately with tears on her cheeks. Jasper rushed after her, only careful when his father reminded him not to move too quickly. He was still faster than the others, who sat in shock even when he was already out of the doors behind her.
Jasper caught the girl in the rain half a block away, pulling her to his chest as she sobbed. He pressed his lips to the top of her head and shielded her from the rain as much as he could, focusing in on her emotions. When he noticed guilt begin to creep in, he shook his head.
"Don't. Don't let yourself get caught up in the court."
Relief, happiness, passion and anger all hit him like a brick wall, the first three quickly buried by the anger as Amethyst shoved him away from her. He let her break his hold, knowing things would be worse if he didn't. "Get the hell away from me."
"Not like this. I'm not leaving you alone in the rain after everything that happened in there. You're hurting but you don't need to hurt alone." His mind cried out for her to let him in, to let him take away everything that was hurting her.
She screamed at him instead. "No! You don't have a right to do this to me. You don't get to choose when you want to be in my life. You pulled yourself out a month ago, and you don't have any right to bring yourself back in like this."
"You need support and help and love. I can be here for you." Jasper grabbed her arms, wishing she could read his mind. He wanted her to know how much the last month had been torture and how he had done it for his family. He wanted her to know things could be different, as he had decided it wasn't worth the misery to stay away from her despite the dangers.
"Just to walk away again the next time I need you?"
Amethyst's words were ice. She knew exactly how to get her point across. Jasper stared at her, wanting her to understand the situation. His entire body screamed at him not to let her go when Tyler pulled her away, but he watched her walk away instead.
"Hey, beautiful, you can't run off like that." Jasper knew their relationship, but never hated Tyler Crowley and his humanity and normalness more than in that moment.
He wrestled with Emmett when he got home, did some work for the company and flipped through the book he had checked out from the library, but all he could think about was being able to go back to school to spend time with Amethyst.
That night, Alice burst into his room where he was reading the book Amethyst had given him for Christmas for the hundredth time. He looked over to his sister with a raised eyebrow, quickly noticing her unfixed eyes.
"Alice," he said, using his speed to be by her side. "What're you seeing?"
"Amethyst," she gasped out. "Amethyst's going to know."
Pure panic. "What do you mean?"
"Bella's going to tell Amethyst." Alice looked up at Jasper, sorrow in her eyes. "I didn't see it earlier because she's not actually planning on telling her. She thinks Amethyst already knows and so she won't be exactly using those words so I had no idea."
Jasper was gone before she finished her statement, off into the woods. As soon as he was far enough away from his house he began to release the anger, shoving over one tree before sending his fist clean through the other. He cried out, ripping another tree out of the ground before launching it toward the mountain base a few feet away. As it shattered, he crouched down, chest heaving with unnecessary air.
He had done everything correctly to keep the information from Amethyst. And now, Bella was going to ruin everything by telling her when Alice had convinced him they would be safe. It didn't matter that Bella thought she already knew. Amethyst was never supposed to know their secret.
It was daylight before he returned, the sunshine pleasant against his skin. Jasper didn't acknowledge it as he rushed into his house, pausing for a moment where there was a new smell.
"There you are," Peter said with a smile, walking over to clasp Jasper's hand. "We've been wondering where you ran off to, but figured you wanted your space."
"Peter, Charlotte." Jasper released Peter's hand to go kiss Charlotte's cheek. "How wonderful it is to see you two again. I must apologize for my appearance, I went for a run that lasted a little longer than intended."
"We've seen much worse," Charlotte reassured him with a small smile. "We'll wait in the living room while you go change."
It was nice to have his friends back around. They understood him in a way his family couldn't, although it wasn't anyone's fault. It had been a very different time when they met, a time Jasper happily left behind. His family played football that day, a game where the blonde actually managed to lose himself. It was nice to have the physical contact and strategy involved in a game keeping his mind active and off what a certain brunette was doing on the first nice day she had spent in Forks.
Jasper was sitting in his bedroom with Charlotte and Peter on his last day off from school. Peter was going through his collection of books as Charlotte was going through the places they had last spent time, debating where they would travel next.
"I must ask you Jasper," Peter said, interrupting his mate, "where did you find the New York Times collection about the Civil War?"
He sighed. Peter had been inching around the topic the entire time he had stayed with them. "There's a human here."
"A human?" Charlotte asked, honest surprise rolling off of her.
Jasper nodded as Peter looked at him curiously.
"I've been able to smell her around your house. She smells so… Clean, fresh. It's so different from the rich smell we've become accustomed to with humans."
"It's very different," Jasper said, straightening himself on his chair. "She's very different."
"Tell me about her."
He smiled at Charlotte. "Her name is Amethyst. She moved here from New York City in November."
"And you became friends with her?"
"We all did, actually."
"You aren't planning on making her dinner, though."
Jasper physically recoiled at Peter's comment. "No, never."
Charlotte examined him. The woman was small, about the same size as Alice. While she lacked the ability to see right through him the way his family did, she often was able to pinpoint the center of his thoughts. "You love her."
"I do."
"You're in love with a human?" Peter repeated much louder, seemingly offended at the thought. Of course he would be, having been mated with Charlotte for so long at that point. He wouldn't understand, as he still thought of humans as dinner.
The blonde sighed. "I didn't plan on it. When she moved here, she was being abused by her parents. It gave her this rotten smell, much like a body you find in the streets three days later. But she didn't say anything to anyone, instead maintaining a very head strong and confident aura. Her emotions have always been stronger to me, taking over my entire body whenever she's around. And then she was the one who kissed me first."
"How did she react when she found out?"
Jasper didn't reply, making Charlotte gasp. "She doesn't know?"
"I'm honestly not sure right now. I believe she might, but I never wanted her to. I felt too strongly to hurt her or move away from her, so my family agreed I could pursue a relationship with her as long as it ended after she graduated and moved away so she could keep living a normal life. Of course, I couldn't tell her about us either. That's always been one of the top priorities."
"So she's just been a play toy for you?"
"No. Never. I want every inch of her that I can get, however I can get it. Even if it meant a limited relationship without ever saying anything with my family constantly monitoring me, I couldn't stay away." He knew his friends wouldn't understand the statement.
"And the blood lust?"
"I never let myself think about it. I focus every thought on her, who she wants to be and how I can help her. Every second I spend with her is a gift."
A silence washed over the group. "I suppose that's our cue to leave," Charlotte said quietly, standing from the couch in his room.
Peter nodded, trailing down the stairs to the door wordlessly.
"If you see Maria again," Jasper found himself saying as they shook hands, "tell her I wish her well."
Peter laughed. "I don't imagine that will happen soon. But, should it happen, I certainly will."
The blonde bent to press a kiss to Charlotte's cheek. "Good luck," she said softly before the pair took off.
Jasper wondered exactly how much luck he was going to need, as no one in his family knew exactly what would be going through Amethyst's mind when he saw her the next day.
