CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Celebration

All I can say is, thank you Bella Swan. Ever since the accident, the entire school has not been able to take their attention off of her. Of course, I'm so relieved that the new girl is okay, but it's also equally relieving to know that I'm officially out of the limelight. This is even better because in the past two weeks since the accident, Jasper and I have been growing closer. We have lunch every day, much to my friends' chagrin. Though right now we're still very clearly friends, the last thing I want is the rest of the school watching us and pressuring us to jump into anything before we're ready.

I don't even know if he thinks about me the way I think about him. Lunch in the library has become my favorite part of the school day. Since the day of the accident, we haven't talked about anything regarding immortality. In fact, for the most part, I've been able to pretend that we're completely normal teenagers. I already noticed how beautiful he was, but now my cheeks burn at the mere thought of those golden eyes looking at me as intensely as they so often do. It's enough to make me wonder if maybe I could have a date to prom after all if I'm reading all of this right.

To top it all off, today is February third, my birthday. I am finally eighteen and officially an adult. I had been looking forward to this day since I turned sixteen, knowing that my life would change from this day onward. It still seemed silly to be celebrating what appeared to be just another day, but despite myself, I woke up excited for it; determined to make this a great day. I even decided to dress up a little nicer than my usual v-neck and jeans.

By the time I get downstairs, a bowl of strawberries and whipped cream is already waiting for me on the counter. A grin washes over my face as I hop up on the counter, digging into the best breakfast I've found yet. It's like pure happiness in a bowl, as far as I'm concerned. "Thanks for this, you're the best brother I have," I speak up with a mouthful of strawberries when Will re-enters the room.

"I'm the only brother you have, but thanks," he teases back, rolling his eyes at me. "Happy birthday, Val."

He hops up on the counter beside me, already dressed in his scrubs. I can't help but notice how tired Will looks like he's been dealing with a lot the past couple of days. I can't imagine the local hospital is too busy right now, so there must be something else on his mind. My lips part to ask him, but he beats me to it.

"I'm sorry, Val, but I think you're gonna have the house to yourself today. I have to work the late shift so I won't be back until late tonight. Rebecca is taking the day off work, she has to drive Laurie up to her grandparents for the weekend," Will explains to me. Was he this worried over it? The words did bring some disappointment that I would be alone today, but it's not the end of the world. Between my parents' busy jobs, I hadn't had family around for a birthday in years. My birthday was always a day that I spent with friends; Emily, Josh, and I usually skipping school and spending the day in that beloved field near my house.

"I get it," I answered quickly, not wanting him to think I was upset at him. Life happens, right? It was true I thought this year might have been different because of the new family I was staying with, but it wasn't like this would destroy me or anything. I finished my bowl of strawberries, rinsing it out in the sink quickly. "Don't worry about it."

"I really am sorry, Val, I tried to get this shift traded around but Dr. Cullen needs me there," Will continued to explain rapidly. "If you want, you can keep up Mom's tradition of skipping school on your birthday. I'm sure Rebecca would love to have you on their trip."

It did sound fun to spend a weekend with Rebecca and Laurie, but I also didn't feel like meeting Rebecca's side of the family. The thought of missing my friends today, too, left me wanting to stay in Forks. "Thanks, but I think I'll just go to school," I responded, slinging my bag over my shoulder and heading out the door to my car.

It's a quick drive to Forks High, just down the road from the house. I get there early, only a few other cars are in the lot with mine. It gives me time to sit in my car and take some time for myself. I'm able to pull out a book that I've had in my bag for months but never got around to reading more than five pages of. I don't even notice as the lot begins to fill up with other cars. When a knock on the window sounds, I scream and toss the book into the passenger seat. I hear a group of laughs, and turning I can see my friends gathered outside my car.

Shaking my head, I step out of the car and am immediately attacked with a hug from Hannah. "Happy birthday, Valerie!" she squeals, loud enough that a few people around us turn to stare. "We thought we'd surprise you."

Jordan hugs me this time before passing over a small container of cookies. "Guys, you really didn't have to." This is the sweetest thing any friends have done for my birthday. I find myself feeling a little guilty because they really didn't need to put in that much effort for me. This is a group of people that I've only known since September and yet they're already treating me like I've known them our entire life.

"Girl, yes we did," Jordan laughs, shaking her head at me, "Just enjoy the attention for today."

Jordan wasn't kidding about the attention. I had finally started to be ignored, but it seemed like everyone I talked to knew that it was my birthday. As I walk down the hallway, I find myself once again vowing to harm Hannah Wright because she was the only person I told who would feel the need to tell the school. Even as I walk into chemistry, Emmett gives a loud shout.

"There she is!" Emmett exclaims, rubbing the top of my head and messing up my hair much as an older brother would. "How's it feel to be an adult?"

"Worse by the second if you keep touching my hair," I groan, hands already up in my hair trying to fix it.

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad," he laughs, nudging me with one of his gigantic elbows. Even as he does it, he looks like he's making every effort to not send me flying across the room. I'm sure he probably could if he tried; I had never seen anyone as built as Emmett.

"Emmett Cullen, don't you dare say that you don't spend every moment with me trying to figure out how to annoy me."

"Well, I wouldn't say every moment, just most of them."

"Emmett!"

"What else are friends for?"

I let out a huff, finally getting to the table and dropping my books off. Beside me, Jasper has that amused smirk on his face that I've already come to adore. "What?" I ask with feigned anger, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You two are fighting like siblings," Jasper notes. It does make sense. Will and I hardly had our fights because of the age difference, but I had seen other siblings act this way. It wasn't even like this is new for Emmett and I. Even since that first day, we just end up picking fights with each other. Still, I would consider Emmett to be a good friend of mine despite our attempts to irritate each other.

"Well, he's being annoying."

"Put on your damn goggles, Emmett."

"See? She's nagging me and the bell hasn't even rung yet."

"And you're being a pain in the ass, what's your excuse?"

"Do I need to separate you two?" That's from Jasper. I'm standing facing Emmett and now it's even more apparent how tall he is compared to me. I'm not short by any means, but the boy towers over me like a goliath. I refuse to even look at his face due to how much I'd have to bend my neck.

"No, Mom," Emmett and I tease at the same time before grinning and giving each other a high five. Now that Jasper mentioned it, I couldn't get the siblings thing out of my mind. Emmett and I truly did act like annoying siblings and it was honestly great. Even as a little kid I had hoped for a brother close in age to me, and now it seemed I finally got one.

We get to work on the lab as soon as the bell rings, knowing that we'll get through this well before class is over. The three of us work smoothly with one another, as usual. "So, any fun plans for your big day?" Emmett asks me midway through the experiment. Even Jasper glances up from the beakers for that one.

"No, not really. I think I'll get some homework done tonight," I answer. That was clearly not the correct answer, because Emmett shakes his head with wide eyes.

"Homework? There's absolutely no way you're doing homework on your birthday, Dryden."

"I think I can do whatever I want, Cullen," I emphasize his last name just as he'd done to mine. That was usually how I could tell Emmett was serious when he used my last name instead of my first. "Besides, my family's gonna be gone all day. What else would I do besides homework?"

"Throw a huge party!"

"I'm not throwing a huge party. One, I don't wanna clean that mess up. Two, if I were to throw a party, it would be with only my friends. Which I'm not, so please don't show up at my house later."

"I think I might just to piss you off." The grin on Emmett's face was adorable and made me laugh, but the statement was enough for me to playfully hit him on the arm. Even though I didn't hit him that hard, pain lances up my wrist like I had hit a wall instead.

"Jeez, Emmett, chill out on the protein powder," I exclaim, shaking off my hand before continuing the lab before I can hurt myself further. Emmett barks out a laugh at that one and I can even see Jasper's shoulders moving in a laugh. At least they think I'm funny.

Any day I get to hear Jasper's laugh is a good day. During school, Jasper is usually tense and reserved. I get to see him smile more during our lunches together than at any other time during the school day. It's on very few occasions that he's actually comfortable enough to laugh. Even the thought of me bringing that out in him makes my cheeks blush bright red.

I get to hear that laugh again at lunch.

"I'm telling you, animals hate me!" I groan, taking another bite of my sandwich to hide my embarrassment.

"Animals don't have a vendetta against you," Jasper laughs at my story about how all of the animals in Roseville seemed to have it out for me.

"I'm telling you, Jasper, I'm cursed." There was no other way to explain my life except for that. "Animals only hate jerks and people who are cursed, right? And I like to think I'm a decent person so there. Cursed."

"Where did you hear that from?"

"From this super old lady in Roseville. I'm pretty sure she had to have been over a hundred and she's seen some shit. It was never proven she's not a witch."

"I guess you're cursed then," Jasper resigns, probably knowing I'm not going to give up on this. "What does that entail?"

"Well for one, I have terrible luck. I think that one's pretty clear to me. So a check there. I'm pretty sure she said something about a demon following me around for the rest of my life, but I can't remember." This is enough for Jasper to laugh again; that bright bell-like sound lifting my mood even more. It's like every time he laughs, a wave of happiness seems to wash over me.

"How old were you when she told you this?"

"I don't know, probably seven."

"That's young to be cursed," Jasper notes. He still sits in the seat across from mine, and from here I watch as his shoulders slowly relax through lunch. Every day it's the same, he's tense at the beginning but the more we talk the more he seems to lose himself in conversation. I do have to wonder why he's so uncomfortable at school, but I refuse to dig deeper into things that don't make sense right now; not when I need some normality in my life. Besides, he could just be an anxious person, though a voice within me reminds me that immortal people probably aren't too anxious.

"I got into a lot of trouble as a kid. She might've just been saying that to get me to be careful," I answer. As a kid, I was the opposite of a troublemaker. I was that kid who everyone's parents wanted their kids to be friends with because I was a good influence. The problem was, weird occurrences always seemed to happen around me. One time I was playing in the field by my house and a car veered off the road and very nearly hit me. If it hadn't been for Josh, it would have hit me.

"You still get into a lot of trouble," Jasper points out, causing me to shoot a glare at him. It was true though, no matter where I was trouble always seemed to find me. Maybe I was really cursed after all.

"Hey, it's been a month and nothing's happened." January was actually a fairly relaxing month; one that I daresay I deserved. I'm walking into February refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the semester.

"There's still a lot of time left in this semester."

"That's true, but I have faith. I mean with my protector around, what could possibly happen?"

After school as I was walking across the lot to my car, I thought something had happened to ruin my trouble streak. Strong arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me up like I was nothing. I let out a sharp squeak, fear coursing through me as whoever it was slung me over their shoulder. This was the moment I would die; being kidnapped and hauled off somewhere. Hadn't I read that if I were brought to a different location then I was as good as dead? Was it time to fight?

It was only when I got a glimpse of the man's shirt that I realized who had picked me up like a sack of flour. "Emmett Cullen, what the hell are you doing?!" I scream, crossing my arms and sticking out my lip in a small pout. Why was he carrying me like this, and where was he planning on taking me?

"I'm stealing you away, Valley."

"Valley? Don't call me Valley."

"Fine. I'm stealing you away, Dryden." It still didn't make sense. I wonder if Emmett could sense my confusion because he soon added onto his previous statement. "We only get to talk in chemistry and you're my friend. So, we're going for a drive."

"Is this your way of kidnapping me? Am I gonna end up dead in a ditch somewhere?" I joke, feeling my heart calm down once it realized there was no danger nearby. I didn't end up in a ditch, but rather in the passenger seat of a very large black jeep. It was wide open, too, leaving my hair to blow around in the wind. We were driving around the edge of town, close to where the Cullens lived. "Do you have to drive so fast? You're gonna kill us!"

"This isn't fast, Valerie! I'm good at driving, don't worry," Emmett tries to reassure me. I'm not sure it's that reassuring, because he looked right at me as he said it instead of at the road. We had to have been flying down these backroads at least at 90mph, if not faster. It began to feel like I might have been strapped to the side of a jet plane instead of in a car. I had never gone this fast in a car and it wasn't that I was scared, but my heart was beating faster of its own accord.

"So where're you going after Forks?" Emmett asks, clearly wanting to begin our conversation instead of hearing me complain about his driving any further.

"Hopefully Harvard. I shouldn't hear from them until March though," I tell him, feeling like I'm yelling against the wind whipping through his jeep. A laugh spills from my lips though at the feeling of the wind, as what I can only describe as pure freedom rushes through my body. Suddenly I can understand why he may want to drive this fast through all of these empty roads just outside of town, not that I would ever tell him that.

"Oh, a smart school, huh?" Emmett looked at me again, clearly impressed by a choice.

"Look at the road, you dork!" I shout, envisioning the two of us crashing all too easily when he looks away like that. "I better not die before I hit twenty, Emmett!"

"I won't kill you, Jasper would have my head." I smile at the mention of his brother, but clearly it was a mistake letting Emmett see that reaction from me.

"So you and my brother, huh? How's that going?" Emmett waggled his eyebrows at me in a way that made me want to hit him; if he wasn't driving that is. There was no way I was going to talk about Jasper with his brother, even if I desperately wanted to talk to someone about it who wouldn't freak out like I knew Hannah would.

"Where are you going after we graduate?" I ask, wanting nothing more than for the subject of conversation to change. Anything I told Emmett would no doubt get right back to Jasper and I could not have that happen.

"Jasper, Rose, and I will probably take a gap year before going to the University of Alaska," Emmett answers, that playful grin still not leaving his face. Alaska. I know that the family moved to Forks from Alaska, so it would make sense that they'd want to go back after high school. Still, the thought of them going so far away made my chest ache a little.

"That's really far away."

"And what about you, Miss Harvard? That's across the country." Emmett did have a point.

"There's no guarantee I'll even get into Harvard," I point out then. Yes, I wanted to go to a school across the country but I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter.

"And what if you don't? Where would you go?" Emmett asks me, curiosity filling his features then.

"Well not Alaska," I tease. "The University of Texas is offering me a pretty good scholarship to play soccer. Or the University of Washington is in Seattle, not too far away. They offered me a spot on their team not long ago." It was tough to think about not getting into my dream school, but it was something I'd have to consider. The soccer scholarship had been offered during my junior year, right after we won our state championship. Honestly, it was a pretty good backup.

"You're still leaving us!"

"You're the one going to Alaska!"

"Jasper's gonna miss you next year." Emmett was looking over at me then, clearly trying to take in my response. I couldn't help but flush at that one. I was just a friend to him though, surely he would get over it. I bet Emmett was just exaggerating, happy at the possibility that his brother could date one of his friends. "I'm serious, he will."

"You're just trying to get a rise out of me right now."

"If that's what you wanna believe, Val."

We were so wrapped up in our conversation, that I hardly even noticed when we pulled up to the house. It took me a few seconds to even realize how many cars were pulled into the driveway and parked nearby. That had to spell trouble, and at the first sight of it, I knew this was Emmett's doing. "Emmett," I say slowly, looking at him with one eyebrow raised, "What happened to no party?"

Both of his hands were up in the air revealing his innocence, "Hey, don't blame me. I'm just the distraction."

"Emmett, really? No one needed to do this, it's just a birthday." I'm sure my hair was crazy after the car ride. Embarrassment floods through me at the thought of walking into a house with everyone already inside, waiting for me. They really went through all of this trouble for me.

"Exactly! Birthdays are important, Valerie, especially your eighteenth. Now come on, you're already late to your own party," Emmett spoke, making me smile again. He really was sweet despite his intimidating appearance. I found myself feeling suddenly so grateful that I had the chance to be his friend. Emmett led me up through the driveway and to the front door, even though I'd already been living in this house for months now. "Well," he spoke, gesturing toward the closed door.

Taking a breath, I opened the door to reveal a small group of people standing in the living space. I could see Hannah, Jordan, and the rest of our friends as well as the soccer team, Jasper, and even Alice Cullen. There were balloons decorating the ground and streamers decorating the rest of the house. "Happy birthday!" The group called out, though Hannah and Jordan were admittedly the loudest and most obnoxious.

"Thank you, guys." I felt silly as tears pricked at my eyes, but this did mean a lot to me. These people haven't even known me for a year and they went through all of this trouble to plan a surprise party for me on my birthday.

The day was better than I ever could have imagined for myself. Loud music was playing, making it feel like a gigantic party as everyone was dancing and having a good time. At some point, Jordan and her fiance went off to retrieve pizza for all of us. I spent most of the late afternoon into the evening making my rounds to make sure I talked to everyone. I spent easily most of the time with Hannah and Jordan though.

"This is so amazing," I told the girls, looking around and smiling at how happy everyone seemed to be. This was fun not just for me, but my friends too. "Thanks for putting this together."

"Oh no, it wasn't our idea," Hannah told me, sending surprise through me, "Alice and I decorated-I love her by the way-but this was all Jasper's idea."

That was how I ended up talking to Jasper. Everyone else was in the living room but we managed to escape to the kitchen for a moment. It shouldn't have been anything special, us standing in a room amongst empty pizza boxes and cups once full of soda, but it made me blush nonetheless. "Hannah let it slip that this was your idea," I told him, picking at my fingers nervously, "Thank you for this. You're so sweet, doing all this for me."

"I got you something," Jasper tells me, making my cheeks burn even more. He pulls out what looks to be an old, clearly well-worn book. I take it gently, running my hand along the leather surface. "It's a journal, from the Civil War and just before it. You mentioned being interested in the time."

This is the most thought-out gift anyone had given me, that was for sure. I peek into the journal to see perfectly looping script and I know that I can't wait to read through it. "Thank you, Jasper, this is so amazing." I jump forward to hug him again, quickly but enough to let him know just how much I love his gift. I could feel his breath catch as I did and I wonder if I surprised him. "You didn't have to. I can't wait to read it." I had to assume it was his journal, by the way he was beginning to look a little sheepish. "Is it yours?"

"Yes. I found it a decade ago. I don't remember much from back then, but I was good at documenting it all."

"Wow, thank you so much for trusting me with this."

"I hope you had a good birthday," Jasper answered me. I'm well aware of how close we were standing, closer than we'd been since that night in California. I'm further reminded of our height difference, Jasper tilting his head down to face me.

"I did," I return, whispering even though I don't know why. Somehow it felt like if I spoke any louder, it might ruin the mood.

It all happened so suddenly. A wave of courage hit me, strong enough for me to lean upwards and press my lips to his. It was soft, unsure, lips brushing his and my hand coming up to rest just barely on his cheek.

The next second he was grabbing my arms and pushing me away from him, gripping them so tight I knew there would be bruises in the morning. His expression held shock, and then, all at once, disgust. "Jasper, I-" I tried to apologize, heart racing and hurt burning in my chest. He was gone though, taking off running who knows where.

I kissed Jasper Hale. I kissed Jasper Hale and he looked absolutely disgusted with me. He ran out of the house because I kissed him. Had I just ruined the friendship I'd worked so hard to build? I don't even know where it came from, I hadn't even been thinking about kissing him. It had just happened and now I was quickly coming to regret it. Tears burn tracks into my cheeks as I stand alone there, wondering how I could possibly take it back.

I can still hear the party going on in the other room. Alice is telling Emmett that she's going to go after Jasper but he can stay at the party. Hannah's asking where I am. I can't hide out in the kitchen forever even if I desperately want to. I also can't go out there looking as upset as I am, they would ask too many questions that I'm just not ready to face. Guilt and embarrassment burn my chest, enough I think I might just burn from the inside out.

I kissed Jasper Hale and he ran off. I kissed Jasper Hale, and I take a breath, wiping the tears from my cheeks and pulling a weak smile onto my face as I rejoin my friends.

A/N: And there it is, folks! So I'm updating a day early because I actually have a college final tomorrow so I won't be doing much other than cramming for that. I've been really trying to figure out lately what I want to do with Bella. Somehow it feels important to have her included, but I'm not a huge fan of her character. Basically, I'm still working on that part. I legitimately have two different drafts of this story, including her heavily or not. And straight up the story takes two very different paths depending on how involved Bella is. Just saying. Your thoughts on that are very, very welcomed.

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! They kissed! Even though our dear Jasper didn't have the reaction that Val wanted, they kissed! I'm planning on writing a series of scenes from Jasper's point of view once this story gets going a little more, and this scene will definitely be included because there's still so much Val doesn't know! Regardless, thank you all so much for reading this story. We just surpassed 40k views and that's absolutely mind-boggling to me. I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter and what you think might happen in the future! Again, thank you all so much and review responses will be below.

Ghostwriter71: Ah, thank you for another review! No, Valerie hasn't met Bella yet. In my mind, she's curious about the girl but doesn't want to bombard her like everyone else did when Val moved to Forks.

chellekathrynnn: Tumblr is still I thing! I don't get on it a lot, usually just when I'm totally procrastinating all of the work I have to do, but hey it's interesting! Thanks for the review!

Phoenix-Rising29: Welcome back, thank you for always taking the time to review! Every time I write Jasper saying "Darlin'" it makes me melt too. Again, thank you! I honestly don't think I could see Val and Bella becoming super close friends anyway, their personalities are just so different. That's not to say they may not talk, but yeah! I definitely don't want to just rewrite the events of the books, so we will continue to see some deviation there! Anyway, thanks so much for continuing to read and review!

IAAB: Thanks so much, that's so good to hear! I'm glad you enjoy it.