I wanna be alone
Alone with you - does that make sense?
I wanna steal your soul
And hide you in my treasure chest

(Hostage by Billie Eilish)

In the end, Scarlett didn't get the chance to give Edward a piece of her mind, but from what she could read in his suspiciously constipated looking face, her thoughts might have already been enough. It was strange, to know that somebody was privy to what was going on inside her head, but she figured that it was as good of a way as anything to get the message across. Stay out of my business.

Jasper pulled her aside from the rest of his family before she could say anything else, probably worried that things were going to escalate if he let Scarlett run her mouth any more. Which had probably been the smartest decision if Edward and Rosalie's twin glares and Emmett's leering expression were anything to go by. Not only that, but Spike seemed to be getting increasingly uncomfortable with the large influx of vampires he was being confronted with.

"Come on," he rumbled, his hand wrapped around her upper arm in an urgent, but still gentle hold. The coolness of his skin could be felt even through her sweater. When Scarlett hesitated, Jasper raised a challenging eyebrow. "I thought you wanted answers?"

That got her. With a look that properly conveyed that she'd buy into this flagrant piece of bait this one time because of her burning curiosity for everything surrounding this clusterfuck of a situation, she nodded, letting him lead her into the direction of the big glass doors that served as an entrance, elegant wood carvings surrounding the top like a halo.

The inside of the Cullen residence was about as extravagant as Scarlett had expected it to be, if one discounted the fact that this was a coven of vampires. Their apparent fondness for lavish things had seemed to translate into the interior as well, with a certain effortless classiness that made Scarlett's eyes roam over every nook and cranny, take in every last piece of decoration that rounded off the elegant look the Cullens had been going for. A glass vase roughly the size of Scarlett's lower body had been placed at the bottom of the stairs, shaped like a cylinder, its patterned colors sparkling in a way that reminded her of a church window. It reminded her a little bit of the prism of colors that had played out on Jasper's skin moments ago.

He must have sensed her interest and paused at the bottom of the stairs. "You like it?" he said in reference to the vase she was still studying curiously.

Scarlett hummed affirmatively. "It's beautiful."

"Esme painted it herself," Jasper revealed as Scarlett turned to look at him with raised brows. "She takes on a new hobby every now and then. This month it was painting."

"She's really talented." Scarlett carefully trailed a finger over some of the more nuanced lines that had obviously been painted with a very steady hand, a perfectly uniform arrangement of colors. "I had a phase where I tried to customize everything," she said, looking up at where Jasper was watching her with that damned little half-smile. "Even went as far as painting my door one day, but it really sucked. That didn't go over too well with my foster family, either. Guess I'm better suited for the old traditional way of drawing, on paper and everything y'know."

She didn't miss the way Jasper's hands clenched at the mention of her previous foster family, but much to her relief, didn't linger on that small detail she'd accidentally revealed. "You should see Esme's studio, then," he said, cocking his head to the side, "She has everything you could dream of."

Scarlett couldn't stop the way her eyed widened like a child's at the prospect of a shiny new toy. She renounced her ogling of the vase in favor of joining Jasper on the first step of the stairs. "You really know how to get a girl interested."

Jasper let out a small huff of laughter. "Let's go, then. After you Ma'am" he said, sweeping out a hand, signaling for her to go ahead.

For a quick moment, Scarlett felt as if she'd been transported into a parallel universe with the way this second visit differed so spectacularly from her first. While her body was still singing with nerves, it wasn't from fear but rather a bubbling excitement. The knot in her stomach she'd brought all the way over had been gracefully untied by Jasper's earlier ministrations and all that was left now were occasional, little stings of doubt at how everything had played out so well thus far. They were easy to ignore though, with Jasper's blinding presence at the forefront of her mind.

Esme's 'hobby room' was probably worth more than the Walker's house with all kinds of paints neatly tucked away into dark wooden shelves, a few canvases laid out with the beginnings of beautiful, intricate designs. A large, arched window served as the sole purpose of light, ivory curtains pulled aside to grant a beautiful view of the forest outside. Crystals ranging in size from the palm of her hand to small boulders served as accent pieces, strewn around on shelves and drawers and a large piece of a tree trunk that served as a table. It was pretty much a painter's wet dream and Scarlett was positive she could have locked herself away inside of there and died happily.

Jasper must have sensed her wonder because he didn't say anything for a moment, leaned against one of the shelves as Scarlett took it all in.

Spike, in complete contrast to his owner, seemed positively disinterested with everything and after his usual sniffing inspection, he settled down in the middle of the fluffy carpet lining the dark wooden floor, head on his paws, and closed his eyes for a nap. It was the sort of peacefulness Scarlett could only envy.

"Remind me again why Esme wanted me to paint her something when she can do this?" she eventually said, pointing at a canvas depicting a beautiful sunset, a sprawling island filled with lush greenery serving as the background.

"Your style is very much different," Jasper shrugged. "But no less amazing."

"Well, I did get started on something," she remarked, moving to stand in front of the window, taking in the way she sun illuminated the small stream running in between the trees like a ribbon, twisting and turning until it disappeared behind an assembly of large pine trees. "But then… everything else happened."

The easy mood in the room shifted into something a little more serious with what were undoubtedly more secrets to be revealed. Scarlett wished that she could have said she was ready, but that wasn't quite true. She could only hope that her little makeshift boat would carry her over the roiling tide without breaking.

Jasper was obviously making an effort not to startle her as she could hear him coming to stand behind her, just far enough that her body didn't explode with tingles all over at the close proximity.

"I'm still surprised that you're even here in spite of everything," he said. "You took it much better than I would have expected."

Scarlett couldn't stop a cruel little huff of laughter from escaping her. "I beg to fucking differ. I was a mess."

"Yes, you were. But you also managed to deal with it in your own way. You're much stronger than you think you are, you giving me another chance just proves that."

"Yeah, well," she said, turning around to face him, "that's still pending." Is it, though? a small voice at the back of her head whispered.

"I'll take that any day." He gestured at a little loveseat next to the table. "You should probably sit down for this next part if you want the full truth."

"Great," she said drily and plopped into the seat, immediately sinking into the silky cushions. She could feel the beginnings of an itch under her skin, an apprehensiveness at whatever she was about to uncover. But at the same time, she was pleased with Jasper's willingness to divulge information without beating around the bush. She drew in a long breath. "So, what is it about Sam that made you freak out like that the other day?"

"Straight to the point, huh?"

"I'm on a tight schedule," she said with a shrug.

Jasper hesitated at the foot of the table, hands fidgeting and frown lines creating a rift between his eyebrows. He seemed to be mulling over how to tell her, the suspense putting Scarlett herself a little bit on edge, her heart picking up once again in response. She folded her hands in her lap and forced herself to be patient, to give Jasper the time he needed just like he'd done for her.

"This isn't really my secret to tell," Jasper began with a sigh. "But considering your involvement in all of this it does make sense to tell you, for your safety more than anything. But I will need the assurance that you won't discuss this with anybody but myself or other members of my family. Disregarding it could lead to serious ramifications for us."

Scarlett gave him a dry look. "I believe that's sort of a given, considering that I haven't spilled the beans about you guys yet. I think I've earned myself at least a smidgeon of trust with that, right?"

"It's not necessarily about trust, but rather the fact that there are people who are equally as involved but just don't know it yet. And we would like to keep it that way."

Scarlett stiffened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

In hindsight, a small part of her wished that she'd never asked.

Leg bouncing uncontrollably, fingers drumming against the table in tandem, Scarlett sat across from a peacefully unaware Spike and tense Jasper, trying to wrap her head around all of the new information she'd just learned.

The fact that she'd already been aware of the existence of supernatural beings was a significant help in this situation, keeping her away from the edge of a cliff called spiraling as she was busy cataloguing Jasper's words away. That didn't mean she wasn't overwhelmed, though, because she certainly was. It was just a hell of a lot less overwhelmed than last time.

"So, werewolves…" she spoke for the first time since Jasper had launched into his story, her voice coming out a little scratchy.

Outside, the sun had begun to set, bathing the little strip of sky visible over the sprawling tree tops into a soft purple. The light inside the room grew a little warmer due to it and Scarlett let her eyes wander over a few specks that reflected against a spot on the floor, although her thoughts were far, far away from the beauty of it in that moment.

"Shape-shifters," Jasper corrected from where he was still standing in front of her, almost like a statue in contrast to the way she seemed to be bouncing all over the loveseat. "They can turn whenever they choose to, not just once a month."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, shape-shifters, then. And they're dangerous?"

"From what we know, they have very little self-control when it comes to managing their emotions, especially anger. It's only going to be a matter of time until somebody gets hurt."

Scarlett had to think about Leah and her subdued agony she'd been exuding the morning after Seth's birthday, hoping that everything Leah was going to get out of her broken relationship with Sam was heartache instead of something worse. It was a hell of a lot better than her actually getting hurt. She caught herself thinking that Leah kind of dodged a bullet there and the irony of that statement, while she was sitting across from a vampire she was getting increasingly close to, was not lost on her.

"Harry Clearwater said the same thing about you," Scarlett said, looking up to meet Jasper's eyes. "Well, not exactly, but he insinuated it," she shrugged. "He knows too, I assume?"

Jasper nodded. "We don't know a lot about their inner structure, but he seems to be something of a leader in his own way."

It was just Scarlett's luck that she would get involved with two opposing camps in a whirlwind of coincidences, mortal enemies only being held back by a verbal agreement.

"You mentioned something about a treaty?"

"It's what ensures our peaceful coexistence, sort of. It was all Carlisle's doing, really. He just has a way with words as you might have already experienced. As long as we don't cross into their territory and refrain from harming any human, they've agreed to leave us alone."

"Well, Carlisle does strike me as the type of person well versed in that sort of thing, even when it comes to Shape-shifter slash vampire politics," Scarlett said with a dry laugh.

The thought of humans that had the ability to turn into giant wolves should have probably freaked her out a little more, but Scarlett was steadily growing closer to a strange sort of acceptance in light of this new revelation.

Jasper was watching her with an unreadable expression, mouth quirked up with the ghost of a half-smile, and Scarlett couldn't help a small flood of affection at the sight. "What?"

"Nothing," he said with a shake of his head, blonde curls gleaming with the evening light shining through the windows.

Scarlett quirked a brow and stood up, taking a few steps towards him until she could feel the beginnings of a familiar heat crawling up her spine. She didn't know where this new eagerness to be close to him had come from, but she wasn't exactly complaining, especially not with the way Jasper's eyes seemed to brighten in response to it. "Tell me."

"You're insatiable. I already told you something I'm going to get in a lot of trouble for," Jasper said with a hint of a smirk.

She raised her chin in an attempt to appear a little taller and hummed skeptically. "Well, if that's the case then you can tell me this one, too."

"It's a lot less interesting than you might think, I'm afraid."

She tapped her foot impatiently to let him know that she wasn't going to let up.

Jasper heaved a big sigh that translated into something between fond and exasperated. "Your emotions. They're incredibly fascinating to experience."

Scarlett raised a brow in question.

"They change so quickly; jumping from one feeling to another, inexplicably woven together at some points. How do you do that?"

The statement completely threw her out of the loop. She knew that she could be a ball of nerves, something that had caused her many sleepless nights, but Jasper seemed to view it as a positive rather than a negative, watching her attentively as if he were trying to get a glimpse inside the swirling whirlpool that were her emotions.

"I don't know?" she said hesitantly. "Isn't that just human? I mean, nobody can really control the way they feel, right?"

"It's not that," he said with a shake of his head. "You're just so much emotion. I've rarely seen it before."

Scarlett barked out a quiet laugh. "Maybe you've just never paid enough attention to others to notice."

"Maybe." As if to prove a point, his eyes wandered over her face and Scarlett wasn't shy about meeting them head on, letting herself do some exploring of her own. She took in the color of them, how they lightened toward the middle to an almost golden amber, while the outer rim was dark as warm chocolate. "I'll be paying a lot of attention to you from now on, if you don't mind."

"Can't say that I do," she said, the ghost of a warm smile passing between them. "You should brace yourself for disappointment, though."

"And why is that?"

"Because I'm probably a lot less interesting than you're making me out to be," she said, running a hand through the tangles at the top of her head.

"I don't think so."

"Meh," Scarlett shrugged. "Your standards are probably incredibly low because you've been hanging out with too many bland people like Edward for instance."

Jasper didn't even try to hide his snort as he shook his head disapprovingly. "Where is this dislike coming from?"

"Gee, I don't know," Scarlett said with a dramatic hand gesture. "Let's start with the fact that he's been snooping around my head?"

"Fair point."

"Also, he was mean to Bella and he looks at her like a creep."

Her last words had an entirely different effect on Jasper as the easy smile dropped from his face and was replaced with that trademark frown, eyes downcast to a spot behind her. "It's complicated."

"I'm sure it is." Scarlett had grown familiar with this sort of tense silence that frequently fell between the two of them; it was Jasper's time to figure out how to tell her something bordering on unpleasant and at this point, she was okay with giving him however much time he needed. The knowledge that he'd tell her the truth was the only thing keeping her curiosity at bay as she waited for him to find the words, lazily rocking back and forth on her heels and sweeping her gaze over a particularly nice set of brushes sitting in one of the shelves.

After a few minutes, Jasper's furrowed brows relaxed a little as he raised his head back up to look at her, mouth still set in a grim line. "Bella is Edward's singer."

"Singer?"

"It means that he desires her blood like nobody else's."

Scarlett sucked in a sharp breath. "You mean that some people… smell better to you than others?"

"Yes," Jasper nodded. "It depends on a lot of different factors, but on some rare occasions, there's a person whose blood we are inexplicably drawn to like no other's. It's like a headrush, like a switch that's flipped. It plunges us into an extremely dangerous, primal state. It's very hard to resist, almost impossible."

Jasper must have mistaken the sudden rush of fear Scarlett felt for Bella for something else, because he took a step back as if to give her more space away from him. The pained grimace he wore made her wince. "It's fine," she said quickly. "I was just thinking about that almost accident in the parking lot where he saved her."

"Despite everything, he cares about Bella. He would never do anything to intentionally hurt her."

During all of the earlier playfulness, even during the revelation about the Quileute, it had been alarmingly easy for Scarlett to disregard the truth of the matter – she was sailing dangerously close to the wind herself.

"You said intentionally. What if it happens accidentally one day?"

"It won't." Jasper's jaw was locked with tension as he spoke, and Scarlett had to wonder whether he was really as sure about that as he made out to be, a little something that was scarily close to doubt swimming behind his eyes. "Alice and the rest of us will make sure of that."

It was evident that he was uncomfortable with this choice of topic and while Scarlett felt a little guilty about bringing it up, she couldn't let it go just yet. "So, the only thing stopping him from killing Bella is some sort of vampire support group?"

"Edward, unlike others of us, has never lost control. I know that asking you to have faith in him might be a little too much, but it is the only guarantee I have for you."

She bit her lip in thought and ran a thumb over her knuckles as she mulled over the danger Bella was in without even knowing it. Scarlett's decision not to just tell her about everything was seriously being tested in that instance.

"He'll stay away from her?"

"He will."

It had to be enough for now, because what else was she going to do? Run to Bella and tell her that a vampire wanted to suck her dry? She didn't think that one was going to go over well. She would have to trust Jasper on this one and Scarlett desperately hoped that her trust wasn't misplaced.

Jasper's quiet footsteps brought her out of her glum reverie and she looked up to find his eyes already trained on her intently, searching for an answer to a question he wasn't willing to ask. He watched her reaction closely and upon realizing that she wasn't going to protest, he stepped up into her space until they were almost chest to chest again. His sweet smell filled her nose, like flowers after a summer rain back in her hometown, and the tightness in her spine loosened up in response to it.

"You worry too much."

"Not really."

"I mean about other people. You should start worrying more about yourself," Jasper said with a gentle persistence that made the breath get stuck in her throat. He swept his thumb over what remained of the bruising on her lip. "Won't you tell me who did that?"

"I think you're smart enough to figure that one out on your own," she said, her voice lacking the usual hardness when it came to that particularly touchy subject. "There's nothing I can do about it, and neither will you."

"But there is," he said. "Since you've already proven that you don't worry about yourself nearly enough, I've done some worrying of my own and may have found a solution. Have you ever heard of Emancipation?"

Scarlett frowned. "Only in passing, why?"

"It's a procedure where a minor is emancipated from the legal custody of a parent or guardian, or in your case, the state, through a court order. Carlisle has done some research and we think it might work."

Scarlett stood frozen to the spot, eyes wide and staring into space. Her mind was reeling with the possibilities Jasper's words promised and against her will, she felt something achingly close to hope blossoming in her chest. Jasper seemed to understand the state of speechlessness she was in and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before continuing.

"Since you'll be eighteen in a few months anyway, it's very plausible that they'll just approve your case without putting up too much of a fight. And we'll be there to help you with the financial aspect of it," he explained.

"I won't take any money from you, Jasper," she said with a grimace. "It's like you said; I'll be eighteen soon enough."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and gave a deep, long-suffering sigh before taking both of her hands in his and fixing Scarlett with a hard stare she'd never seen him direct at her before.

"Forget about that stupid pride of yours for a moment, will you?" he said gruffly, ignoring her spluttered protest. "This is about making sure that you're safe and away from anybody who might hurt you again. You deserve it and it's about time you let somebody help you with that. I know that you've been on your own for a long time, but this is a chance, Scarlett, and I won't let you throw it away because the idea of accepting money is making you uncomfortable."

Scarlett swallowed the lump in her throat and stared out the window for a regretful looking minute before she had the courage to look back up at Jasper. As much as it pained her to admit it, he was right. The idea of getting out of the Walker's house, to live on her own, it was almost too good to be true and she wasn't surprised that the alarm bells in her head had started going off the minute that first spark of hope had blossomed.

But it was worth a try, even if it didn't end up working. It was time to get off the self-pity train and do something. She remembered scathing words, people telling her that she shouldn't have any expectations, the sting of it all.

Well fuck that.

"Let me help you," Jasper said in a low voice, so low she barely heard it and it was the last small push she'd needed to concede.

"Okay," she breathed, a sudden wetness blurring her vision, and she quickly wiped at her eyes before any of the tears had a chance to fall.

"Really?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Let's do it."

Jasper wrapped his pinky around hers and Scarlett welcomed the strange, jittery feeling twisting in her stomach as he sent her a blinding smile. "To be honest, I thought it would be a lot harder to convince you." The glitter in his eyes took on a shade of fond humor that made Scarlett let out a small guffaw.

"Fuck off."

"Alright, sure. But you have to buy me dinner first."

That made her roll her eyes, but not before she tried to shove Jasper back, only to have him remain standing like the fucking statue he was and let out a booming laugh filled with mirth. She eventually joined in, but she didn't let off on the pout gracing her features.

He was the first to sober up and speak. "I'll make sure nobody hurts you ever again."

This was the first time in a long time that Scarlett hadn't snapped at somebody showing obvious concern for her, and while Jasper's insistence might have been a little annoying, it was also weirdly comforting to just allow it.

Besides. There was the slightest chance she found it just the tiniest bit impossibly, consumingly, devastatingly fucking charming. But just slightly.

This time, it was her who closed the gap between them with two confident steps. She snatched a piece of his shirt near his ribcage and leaned up on her tiptoes, laying a soft, feathery kiss to the side of his jaw. The urge, or rather the longing, to just move a little bit to the left and kiss him for real this time was overwhelming, but for the first time in her life, Scarlett realized that she wasn't about to rush this. Not this. She was going to savor it, every last bit of it because unlike pain or suffering, this wasn't temporary. It was beautiful and lasting, and Scarlett would be damned if she did anything that would destroy it.

So she pulled back, albeit grudgingly, her heels dropping back down to the ground, body alight with a tingling sensation as she looked up at Jasper and mirrored the dopey smile he was wearing.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, darlin'."

A/N: I know I said I would update more frequently, but there's been a lot going on recently so I've had very little time to write. It was my birthday (let's hope 21 is the year xD) and work has been kicking my butt so there's that.

We've officially reached over 100k words and I promise there's a lot more to come, these two just won't leave my imagination alone. I wanted to take a quick moment to thank all of you for your great response to this, it really is the best motivation!

On that note, enjoy some more fluff and until the next one.

Thanks for reading ! 3