Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Here's the latest chapter! I really hope that y'all enjoy it. There's some lighthearted stuff in here, just for some fun filler before the last end of the story picks up. Anyway, please enjoy!

Long Road to Ruin
Chapter Thirty Seven: Empath

Jasper.

I realized, with great clarity, that the days of a vampire tended to pass like minutes.

The new year dawned on me while I had been burning, and I was altogether shocked at how everything was supposed to transpire.

The Cullens were to continue their year at Forks High, just to not arouse suspicion, and then they would meet me here, where they would help me get used to this life, and all that entailed. Of course, Bella would at least be running back and forth every day to see me. It didn't take long at all, not with this vampire-speed. I was unable to go to my mother's grave. Too risky - they couldn't chance the fact that I could be seen. That would open a whole lot of questions.

The days seemed to slip by. I tried my best to control my gift, going so far as to trying to use it as Carlisle suggested. I used the odd person to help out. Diego was more than helpful, and we got along like old friends. Which wasn't really surprising. We still had that bond - he saved my life, of course. We had the familiar background of that wretched cabin and that damned woman. Something good came out of it at least. I had a new friend, as well as a new life. No matter how painful things seemed, I could always look at that and things seemed infinitely better.

I figured out how to make my power work, slightly. I just had to concentrate and send out a wave of any emotion of my choosing toward the intended target. It took a while of practice, the rest of what would have been my Christmas break, in fact, but I was able to make it happen without much difficulty. I had yet to learn how to control it when I, personally, felt a particularly strong emotion. Carlisle told me that would take time - vampires weren't just born with the ability to control their gifts at will. It took Bella a while before she was able to discover how to control her shield.

So for now, as I sent waves of emotion toward Diego - anger, then a speck of calm to dispell it - I could only think of what was next.

I had been lucky so far, not coming across any humans so far, so they didn't know how suseptible I was to human blood. They didn't want to take the chance, wanting to try it out when I had learned to hunt properly and to control my urges even for the animals around me. Plus, they wanted to wait for my eyes to change into the liquid gold of the Cullens instead of the blood red of a newborn. Certainly someone walking around with red eyes would freak out the locals.

Then I found that my mind was wandering. I thought about tomorrow. That was when school started back. Bella and the other Cullens would have to go to Forks to begin the last part of their school year. I wasn't sure where they were going to go after. I heard Carlisle talking about some school in Alaska close by. I sighed and tried to block my mind from it. Suddenly, I missed the mundane thing of going to school.

"Yo, Jazzyfer!"

I sent more calming emotions toward Diego, who visibly slackened in his angry position. He looked slightly disoriented, blinking his strange red-gold eyes a few times before running a hand through his messy hair. After making sure he was better, I turned to the sound of the booming voice.

Emmett was staring at me, grinning, a baseball bat in his large hands.

I felt a large smile break across my face, "Is that what I think it is?"

The large vampire seemed hardly able to contain his excitement. He was almost vibrating with it, even. "Yes."

"Are we - "

"Yes!"

I shot over to Emmett immediately, grinning larger than I had in the span of my time here. Diego was close behind, looking quizzically at Emmett and the baseball bat.

"Alice said there's going to be a snowstorm!"

I choked out a large laugh. It was absolutely hilarious that Emmett was finding a blizzard a happy occassion, but when compared to what we were about to partake in, I knew that I would be excited too. No, scratch that, I was definitely excited. No question about it.

Diego was looking back and forth between the two of us, "What's going on?"

"Oh, Diego, my friend," Emmett patted his back harshly, "at exactly six o'clock this evening, we're playing baseball."

Diego's eyes lit up considerably after that.

All of the vampires got together inside of the Denalis' spacious house, cluttered together and talking enthusiastically about the oncoming game. Apparently, baseball was something of a pasttime for each of the covens. I supposed they had to do something to help pass eternity instead of going to school and doing other mundane tasks to keep themselves on the downlow.

Soon, six o'clock rolled by and the winds outside picked up as well. I shot up from my seat, thrilling with anticipation, and stared out at the whirling snow. Even through the blistering snow, I could see everything perfectly. I could see the individual snowflakes, clinging together, could see far, far out where some other houses were.

I heard the back door open and close several times in succession, and knew that my family had gone outside to the designated area. I rushed to the still-open door, and flung myself out of it. The wind was strong enough to knock any human off of their feet, but I stayed firmly grounded. I stood there for a moment, some of the snow seeping into the house, before running to catch up. I heard a few people behind me, and knew that I hadn't been the last one out of the house.

Emmett and Carlisle were leading the way, experts in their altered state. We ran a distance from the house before we arrived at a clearing. I could see clearly, even when pelted with the gluelike snow. I could see now why they picked a blizzard - the wind was so loud that no one could hear the booming sound of vampire-baseball being played.

The trees surrounding the large space provided good cover. Not a lot of snow was able to get through the thick throng of trees. I was glad for this, thinking that we would soon look like snowmen. Teams were picked - I ended up on a team with Emmett, Edward, Kate, Diego, and Carlisle. The other team consisted of Rosalie, Alice, Garrett, Tanya, Eleazar, and Bella.

"Hey, no fair! You got two newborns!" Garrett complained, looking with disdain and Diego and myself.

"You should have picked them before me, then!" Emmett grinned toothily.

Carmen and Esme would play the role of umpire this time. With twice as many vampires on the scene, it was certain there would be twice as many attempts at cheating, even though I was sure only one would suffice, now knowing the full extent of a vampire's powers. But Esme and Carmen looked happy to have each others' company, and I didn't blame them.

They flipped a coin of all things to decide who would bat first. My team got put at outfield first, much to Emmett and Edward's disappointment. They got over it though, as soon as they looked at Diego and myself.

Kate got up to be our pitcher. She looked stony and determined, but a slight mischevious glint was in her eyes.

"No electrifying the ball, Kate!" Bella chimed from next to home plate, "We know that's why Emmett picked you!"

I looked at Diego for answer, but he just shrugged. I heard Edward giving us an explanation, "Kate has the power to generate a powerful electric current through her body. Sometimes when we play, she does it to the ball," he looked at her with rapt admiration, "and it..."

"It causes you to cheat!" Rosalie finished from the other side of the field, right next to Alice.

I watched as Kate turned around, ball in hand, and winked at me.

I heard Rosalie mumbling under her breath, "That damn Emmett. Loading his team with options to cheat."

"Rosie, babe, don't worry!" the vampire in question boomed from a ways behind me, "It's just a friendly game!"

"Shut up, McCarty!"

Emmett sent a wink in my direction that time, grinning like the fiend he was.

"Pitch the ball, Kate," Alice mentioned, "we hardly have time!"

In a fractijon of a second, the ball was flung out of Kate's hand. I heard a loud, thundering crack as Rosalie hit the ball.

And then everything started moving. I could make everything out now, unlike the first time I'd been witness to a game played exclusively by vampires. I could see the ball hurtling away, could watch Edward as he ran to chase it down and make a catch. He threw it back to Kate, who grinned and tossed back her pin-straight blonde hair.

The game continued at a pace that wasn't too fast for me now, and I couldn't have been more delighted. I even ended up catching Bella out, much to her aggravation. As we switched positions on the field, I zoomed past her and gave a kiss to her cheek. She glowered playfully at me.

Emmett was up to bat first, and his hit echoed loud and long, the ball soaring so far that it got to the point where it was hard to see due to the trees, but I managed to see it.

After a few minutes of waiting, I was up to bat. I could barely control myself. It was almost as if I was in a real, MLB game. Something that I was really excited over. I felt the energy vibrating through my body, tickling the tips of my fingers, and noticed the rest of the people start to move restlessly. Oops. I really needed to learn to control my gift.

Alice shook it off and threw the pitch. I could see the ball clearly, heading for me like some kind of missle. I stood my ground and swung the bat.

BOOM!

I had never heard a sound like that before, so loud was it in my ears. I stared in wonder at the ball as it zoomed through the blowing snow, over the tops of the trees.

And then I ran.

I rounded the bases as well as I knew how. I felt almost as if I was back at Forks High, except without all of the supernatural-things.

I ended up getting to the base before the ball was caught, just as Diego did before me, and I stared at Emmett. I couldn't keep the foolish grin from my features, and Emmett looked at me with barely concealed incredulity. I waited for his face to return to normal, but it didn't happen. I stared at him, wondering what could have gotten him so stunned, when I saw it.

In each of his hands, he held a half of the bat. The bat that I had previously been holding.

The bat that I, apparently, had just broken.

I adopted his look of incredulity, walking forward and touching the places where the wood had splintered and cracked along the sides of it. "Did...I do that?"

Emmett started laughing heartily, and Carlisle came up to me ruffled my hair in a fatherly gesture.

"Newborn strength never ceases to amaze me," Carlisle said in a fit of laughter. Soon, I heard the laughs of everyone around start to penetrate the air.

"But...Diego didn't...he hit it just fine!"

Emmett snickered at some untold dirty limerick in his head, I knew, but Carlisle just said, "Diego is technically older than you - he was turned first, so the natural strength of the newborn is leaving his system, whereas yours is in full strength."

"Well, everyone, looks like we win by default!" Edward announced broadly to all the vampires in the clearing. I still stared at the bat, but I could hear the argument that ensued.

"No! We were ahead in points anyway!"

"But Jasper broke the bat, so we win!"

"If anything, that should mean that we win!"

The wind started to die down, the snow fell in sparse flakes; however, the laughter of everyone was at a peak, as well as the arguments of Edward, Emmett, Alice, and Rosalie. I could do nothing but stare at the broken bat in awe that I had actually done something like that.

Bella's magical laughter sounded suddenly in my ear, "Nice going, Babe Ruth."

I felt my own laughter spill from my lips, felt my mate's fingers twine with my own, and realized that this was all that I would ever want.

"Jasper."

I looked up smoothly to see Esme standing in the doorway, a glittering object in her hand. She gazed at me with kind, golden eyes, and I gave her a smile, which she returned.

"Yes, Esme?" I frankly wasn't expecting any company. I had just gotten back from hunting - I had tried to keep myself fed at every possible opportunity. I wasn't Carlisle, or even Edward for that matter, I couldn't go days on end without feeding. I couldn't control myself, or my emotions, if I missed a day. Carlisle had assured me it would be better, and I trusted him. If anyone knew what they were talking about, it was Carlisle.

But anyway, I had just taken a shower - I still hadn't gotten the hang of hunting without ending up looking like a mass murderer - and was now watching the small television in my temporary room in the Denalis' humble abode. Bella told me that she and the other girls were going shopping for a good while, so I had some time to myself.

Esme stilled in the door before she approached me, giving me all the politeness of a mother. I decided to honor her consideration by muting the television in front of me. The basketball players on the screen moved around, silent.

"I brought this..." she said, holding up the glittering object in her hand. I stared at it for a moment, realization clicking instantly.

"My mother's necklace..."

Esme nodded, looking abashed, "I kind of took it."

"Uh," I said intelligently, "can I ask why?"

She glided over to me and deposited the pendant in my hand, her fingers brushing my palm slightly as she did so. I looked at it in wonder, my eyes finally landing on the formerly broken clasp. It had been mended, and now was able to close the circuit the pendant made. I stared at it, feeling a strange pressure on my throat, "You fixed it..."

Esme smiled, "When you have so much time, you pick up useful little things."

I couldn't find words. I opened and closed my mouth like a fish. I was filled with a gratitude that I wasn't sure how to express, it was so strong. I looked at Esme and smiled shakily with the force of the emotions. I said, "Thank you so much. I never thought - "

She held up a long, slender hand, stopping me, "You're welcome."

I looked at her with a puzzled expression, and she said, "I can feel it, Jasper - your thankfulness. That's enough for me." She paused, "It's insane how powerful your gift is."

I felt like my cheeks should be fiery red right now, but I knew they would show nothing of my flustered state.

She gave me a smile, "Your eyes are starting to turn. Just slightly, but I can tell."

I jolted up, clenching the necklace in my hand, and raced to the mirror that was attached to the dresser in my room. I looked at my reflection, pushing past a moment of shock at my features, and saw that Esme was right. It was just faint, but I could see the the flecks of gold appearing throughout the red. It looked strange, though, almost like the gold was starting to mingle with the red, like paint being swirled around. The flecks were just barely there, though. I was sure that only a vampire could be able to see them. I turned to Esme with a look of slight triumph.

"Whew, that kind of happiness is enough to bowl someone over," she chided playfully, cluching her stomach.

I looked at my feet, "Sorry. I really should learn how to control that."

Suddenly, she was at my side, he hand pressing lightly on my shoulder, "Don't worry. It'll come with time. And you have plenty of that."

I looked over at her and I smiled.

"Yeah, you're right."

The Cullens left early the next morning.

They needed to get back to Forks and finish school, of course. I didn't blame them. Anything to keep their profile low and not raise suspicion. I understood. I said a quick goodbye to them all, and they were off, with Bella promising that she'd be back later that night, along with the rest of them. It wouldn't be too bad, I surmised, at least they'd be coming back.

I felt that my thirst was getting out of control. Even though I had gone hunting yesterday, I still felt the burn as strong as ever. Carlisle said this was normal for newborns, for their thirst to be so intense that they need to hunt more than once a day, but that it would get better in time once I was older. I took his word for it. Carlisle had never lied to me before, so I didn't see the reason he would start now.

I was aware that my thirst was making everyone in the house as antsy as I felt. I realized I needed to get my gift under control more than ever when I looked at them, tense and grasping the edges of the desk with their fingers.

"Uh," I announced nervously, "I'm going to hunt."

They seemed to know that as soon as I left, the unbearable thirst would leave their bodies. Tanya, however, whose eyes were pitch black, stood up and said, "I'm going too. I haven't hunted in so long."

"Right," I nodded at her, and then turned to leap out the back door.

Tanya was on my heels. I was completely lost with the thirst, but I was aware of that much. She made idle conversation, talking about my gift and all. I gave her answers as much as I could, but sometimes the burn got so bad that the only thing I could do was grasp my throat and nod at her.

We came upon a group of deer, so quietly that none of them noticed. I stared at them as if they were the finest of hamburgers.

"Go ahead, Whitlock." Tanya motioned for me to go first. I mouthed a thank you and charged into the throng of animals. There were four large does. I dispatched of two, while Tanya got the other two.

I drank, and it was an instant relief, almost like the blood was cool water and my throat was on fire. I gulped greedily, unconcerned about the mess I was making around myself. Maybe I should. I really needed to stop getting bloodstains on Edward's clothes, even though Alice never let any of her family wear the same thing twice.

I tossed aside the doe before moving onto the next one, my teeth sinking into the other deer's neck, severing the jugular and filling my mouth with warm liquid.

I drained the animal, and then pulled away from it, looking over at Tanya, who was grinning toothily down at me. No blood adorned her like I was sure it was on me, but the two deer at her feet were drained dry.

"It's alway amusing to see newborns feed," she said loftily.

"You really know how to make a guy jealous," I told her, giving her a slight grin.

"Oh, you have no idea."

I felt a chuckle escape my lips before getting to my feet. I helped Tanya dispose of the deer, and we buried them as far down as we could muster.

"You up for more?" Tanya asked, glancing in my direction as she smoothed the snow over the makeshift grave.

I gave her a smile, just as the burn throbbed in my throat, "Sure."

We were off then, racing around the woods like madpeople. I could smell in front of us that there were a few animals. A moose, a small raccoon in the bushes nearby said moose, a large pack of wolves, and several birds.

"I got dibs on the - "

The scent hit me like a ton of bricks.

Oh, whatever it was...it smelled so good. It was as if as soon as I smelled that particular scent, every other possibility was thrown out the window like trash. That smell was the only thing I cared about, and it was calling to me like a siren to a stranded sailor. I had never had the pleasure of a scent like this before. I quickly turned off the path from where we were going, and Tanya shouted to stop me.

I wasn't going to listen to her. I had no intention of ignoring the call of this mysterious blood.

"Jasper, stop!" She must have smelled the same thing that I had. But no, I would get there first. I would get there before her. This particular animal was mine, and I would not give it up to anyone.

I had no sense of self-control left. It had abandoned me as soon as those peculiar, bewitching notes of blood reached my nostrils.

"Jasper!"

I was a creature, an animal. Nothing would stop me from this. I would have it. I must have it.

I was growling in my throat, so rough and uncontrolled that I could definitely be mistaken for a wild beast. There was no way that my pursuer could catch me now. I would get there first. The kill was mine!

Clarity had long since abandoned me.

I knew this, because as soon as I came upon the source of the blood, I didn't stop.

I didn't stop, not even when I saw the whites of her eyes, not even when she screamed in terror, not even when the same intense terror she felt washed over me like a wave, not even when I felt her red hair - like blood, like her blood - tickle my cheek.

I didn't stop, I couldn't stop.

I was unable to stop, even when I sank my teeth into her neck and her screams drowned out everything else.

Everything else, except the voice at the back of my mind that whispered, "Monster."

End Chapter Thirty Seven.

Wow, okay, here you go! I hope that y'all enjoyed this chapter! I had a good time writing it, of course. I was glad to have it done. This one was rather taxing to write. Anyway, this sets us up for the last bit of the fic. Anyway, I would love it if y'all would review! It would mean a lot.

Thanks for reading!