Chapter 8

Meant for Me?

Over the near month that she had been dating Jasper, Willow had been over the Cullen house several times since dropping that order off. She still hadn't gotten to the point that Esme was the first thing out of her mouth rather than Mrs Cullen and she thought that Mrs Cullen thought it was cute. At least she hoped so anyway. There were several places in the home that she adored, the garden being one that fought for first place.

Currently, she and Emmett were sitting in the garden as he was tutoring her on concepts of Microeconomics. Esme had given her basic instruction of where she wanted several new seedlings along with a trowel and a pair of gloves and left them to it. Willow was using it as a case of positive reinforcement. Tutting under her breathe, she coaxed the little green caterpillar up onto her finger and straightened, having changed into a pair of shorts. 'What's that?'

'S'caterpillar.' She answered back, moving calmly over to the other edge of the garden where the trees were. 'Stay out of the garden. You can come back when you're a butterfly, but you just eat everything now. And that's not cool, dude.'

The little black and yellow striped insect crawled up the tree trunk and she smiled to Emmett who was behind her, watching it move with a curious expression, as she moved back to doing the garden. A small pile of weeds was to the right of her as she moved to the left through it. Esme kept her gardens immaculate and Willow appreciated a good, nicely kept garden. 'You keep saying that you're never going to get this, but your report seems real solid.'

'I think you're yanking my leg,' she absently gave back, coaxing the seedling out of the plastic pot and pushed her glasses up with the back of her gloved hand, 'but cool.'

He ran her laptop in and then came back out to help her. 'Gently now.' She murmured, handing it over to him, 'the roots are really delicate, and it won't take to the soil if they're traumatised too much.'

Emmett carefully patted the soil back down around it, not making it too tight and Willow grinned at him. 'Now, you can do the next one. I've already dug the hole for it.'

'What are they?'

'Peonies.' Willow glanced at the flower. 'Wanna know what they mean?'

'I shouldn't be surprised you know the language of flowers. Surprise me.'

She went back on her knees. 'They're known for honour, for people especially wanting to bring honour to their entire family through success, they can mean wealth and riches, or romance and romantic love with a focus between two strangers, they can mean beauty in all forms and some shades, they can even mean bashfulness and shame.'

'Sherwood does weddings and stuff right?' Rosalie asked as she settled on the porch swing and Willow hummed as she took the secateurs and took off some of the dead bits of everything that needed. 'Have you ever had people want two flowers that mean very different things?'

She thought about it as she cut bits and pieces. 'Some people come in with specific colour schemes that they want like lemon, pale blue and dark green and become obsessive with a specific type of flower. But, I've never at least, had a customer that wasn't able to be persuaded to change their flower ideas. Yes, people have their favourite flowers but sometimes they aren't in bloom depending on the time of the wedding, so they have to compromise. We try to get as close as we can to their favourites but sometimes it isn't possible.'

'I think Rose wanted some gossip.'

'I try not to speak badly of customers. It's rude and unprofessional.'

'Quite right too!' Dr Cullen projected as he came from the garage. He must have only been in till four that day.

'Doesn't mean you don't have stories though.' Willow grinned as Emmett put the last seedling in. Getting up she began to put the cuttings into the bin and peeled off her gloves. She smiled at the daffodils that Mrs Cullen had that had bloomed all along their main drive as she followed both Rosalie and Emmett into the house. Her shoes stayed by the door, especially since the soil that lingered may have stuck to the carpet and habit had her leaving dirty shoes by there anyway.

'I'll take those, darling.' Mrs Cullen took the secateurs and gloves off her. 'Drink?'

'Some water would be nice actually, please?'

'Certainly.' Mrs Cullen beamed at her and bustled off to the kitchen as she washed her hands at the sink. 'Here you go.'

'Thanks. I saw the daffodils along the drive.'

'Don't they just look so nice with the green?'

'I know. Have you thought about putting irises in with them? The purple would compliment them too.'

Mrs Cullen hummed on that thought and cupped her elbow. 'I might put some thought to that actually. Jasper is in his study. Second floor and the first door on the right.'

'Didn't he say he was talking with Peter and Charlotte?'

Mrs Cullen smiled at her. 'He told me to tell you when you were done just to come up.'

'Okay?' taking her laptop and glass of water, Willow made her way up the stairs, resisting the urge to play with the tassels on the wall like a cat as she followed Mrs Cullen's directions. Second story, first door on the right. Second story, first door on the right.

Finding it, she knocked tentatively and heard Jasper's voice. 'Come in!'

Peeping her head around, she smiled at him. 'Emmett released from his torture session.'

'I can see that.' He grinned over the computer screen as she set the glass down upon a coaster on the dark wood table and her laptop on the chair opposite it. 'C'mere.'

Moving over to him, he welcomed her into his lap as an accented voice came through the speakers from Skype. 'Is that her? Jasper!'

'Would you give me a damn minute?' he sighed, and Willow held back a grin at his irritation she knew he didn't mean. 'Willow, you remember me talkin' 'bout Peter and Charlotte?'

'Your family.' She nodded, swallowing, not being able to fight back the nerves as they crawled through her system.

'Well, Peter doesn't know how to stop talkin' so they want to meet you.'

'Hi?' she waved as she moved to sit closer to the screen and webcam. Two more blonds, one closer to dark blond whilst the other had long corn coloured ringlets that Willow wanted to draw. Their eyes were dark but the man's were bright with mischief.

'You must be Willow.' He near crooned and Willow pushed her glasses up.

'Yes. Peter, right?'

'And the prettier blonde is Charlotte.' Jasper murmured in her ear and Willow suppressed the shudder down her spine as goosebumps bloomed across her skin, leaning into his hold.

'I have to agree with you there.' Peter drawled and Willow smiled softly at the look he sent to Charlotte.

'Jasper's told me a lot about you two so it's nice to put faces to names finally.'

He noticed the smudge of dirt on her arm and raised an eyebrow. 'I thought you were doing your assignment outside?'

'Emmett was reading through it,' She glanced down at where he was looking. 'Oh, and Mrs Cullen had peonies she wanted to be planted, so I did those whilst he was reading it through. Positive reinforcement.'

Jasper huffed a laugh into her temple and the others took their Sire in through the camera. Luckily, technology had not gotten to the point where Willow could see the red eyes, it helped with the lack of harsh lights. Jasper, Peter mused as he played with Charlotte's hair, seemed relaxed for the first time in a long time. The little brunette in his lap was more than happy enough to talk to whom she knew as a family with barely a blink in nerves. She was twisting something they couldn't see off-screen but that was more to do with occupying her hands than nerves. Willow Crawford seemed to be the type of girl, Peter mused further, that tried to see the good in people. Jasper needed that.

'Jasper's told us all about you, sweet pea.' Charlotte smiled, causing a flush to build on her cheeks.

'All good things, I hope?'

Jasper's hand squeezed her hips comfortingly. 'Everything about you is good.'

Willow blinked for a second and without thinking, blurted. 'Do you have these lines written down or do you practice them?'

Her eyes widened as it registered, and her hand covered her mouth as Peter and Charlotte laughed over the webcam. She shifted in his lap and Jasper was grinning as she cupped his face. 'I was teasing.'

He turned to kiss her palm. 'I know.'

'So do you want some stories about your boy there?' Peter spoke up, still laughing and Willow whipped around.

'Oh no,' Jasper went to hang up and she caught his hand.

'Wait, wait, wait. Scott, Gi and Lu have all given you stories about me, I need some on you.'

'But you have Emmett.'

'True.' Her eyes were bright through her glasses. 'But…'

Jasper relented and she wiggled in excitement. 'You may proceed.'

'Okay, so…'

After an hour or so of talking to Peter and Charlotte, the two had moved into Jasper's adjoining room. It was very masculine, as Willow had expected. The soot grey feature wall was made up of a fabric that felt funny when she ran her hand against it and doubled as his headboard. Above was a built-in shelf where a few picture frames were scattered along with a notepad and pen and other bits and bobs. Where his study was full of dark wood and deep tones, his bedroom was minimalist and simple. Jasper didn't have a lot of books in there, they were all mainly in his study where he kept his laptop and school stuff but the sofa that was tucked into the corner of the room and the floor to ceiling windows that looked out into the surrounding forests made for the perfect spot.

She had pulled the top blanket off his bed, thick black cotton and fake-sherpa thing that had a texture she enjoyed running her palm over, and he'd pulled her down to sit tucked between him and the sofa. He'd pushed opened one of the windows and Willow found herself near dozing off at the sound and smell of spring and the feel of his fingers in her hair.

'I liked them.' She murmured; eyes half-closed as she rested her head on his chest. Her glasses had been put on the little side table beside them where his book -1984 by George Orwell - lay.

Something eased in Jasper's chest at her admittance. 'I'm glad. I think they liked you too. I'm sure you enjoyed the stories as well though.'

'Mmm.' Willow hummed, her breathing deepening almost against her will as his fingers lingered in her crown. 'They helped too.'

Jasper smiled a little as she fell asleep in his grasp. The shadows under her eyes from the building stress towards the end of the school year had darkened considerably over the last month. He had caught her yawning more and more at lunchtimes and knew that her appetite wasn't huge from anxiety and stress. He tried not to push her into eating more than she wanted but had coaxed her into eating simple things just to try and keep her energy up. She knew what he was doing if the amused looks that she had sent his way were anything to do by but the swell of affection that he had felt growing from her meant she wasn't annoyed by it.

Content to have his Mate in his arms, he grasped for his book and decided to read, human speed, to pass the time. Her heart rate – whilst faster than what was probably normal for a human of her age and health – was comforting against his chest. Added to the fact that his shirt and the blanket that Alice had thrown in towards him when they'd moved into the refurbished house with a grin would have her scent on them were bonuses.

Willow awoke slowly, fabric grasped in hand as her mind was coaxed back to reality. The two hadn't moved from the sofa, legs intertwined as she used Jasper's chest as a pillow but sunset had started to fall behind the trees and she watched through blurry eyes as the colours enveloped the sky making it seem like it was on fire. She'd fallen asleep on Jasper before, so she didn't feel awkward or ashamed anymore that she'd done so. There was just something about being in his space and being around him that allowed her to let her guard down. She felt safe.

She'd realised over the past few months since the Cullens had arrived in Forks that whilst there was something near otherworldly about the family – some of Forks thought it was a cult, some just thought they were strange – there was an air about the lot of them that drew people to them. Or well, her friends and her, at least. Lucy had taken a little while to relax around the group as they integrated the family into their circle of friends, but Scott and she had just felt like something had fit.

Now Willow wasn't usually the one to fall in love so fast – and maybe she was being too loose with that idea – but she could see herself falling for him. He was easy to talk to. He listens to her. She never felt like anything she said to him was something for him to tease or make fun of her with. He made her feel comfortable. Warm. Cared for in ways her previous relationships had not. Jasper never pushed her further than she was willing to go, never asked her to share the secrets she wasn't ready to reveal and was more than happy enough to sit with her like they were now, reading and playing with her hair. He had no large expectations of her, apart from to look after herself and just take every day as it came. Willow hadn't been used to that. Someone had some sort of expectation of her. Something that she felt was unattainable with the bar her siblings had set.

She'd let him keep his secrets for a while. They weren't hurting anyone.

Hello and welcome to the new members of Underneath the Willow Tree.

Again, a little short but I thought y'all could have an update what with me having finished chapter 18 today.

I'm still pretty busy - its the last day of classes but that doesn't mean it's the last assignment that I have to do so we'll see.

Enjoy,

K x