A/N: A quick thank you to everyone who added this story in their alerts and/or added it to their favorite list. It truly means a lot to me.

Chapter 13- The talk

Jasper's POV-

There she stood- in front of me, having heard every word that I had just muttered, completely unaware that I was being overheard….by none other than the last person who should have ever been privy to this conversation.

Huh. This changed things.

That being an understatement of massive proportions….

Though this scenario that I had currently found myself in was certainly unexpected, and most probably not in our favor….

Oh. Who was I kidding?

Of course this was bad. This was worse than bad. This was horrible, or even catastrophic, some would say. Nonetheless, this was… definitely disastrous for me, as well my assignment.

Me- for the simple reason that the girl could produce fire with just a snap of the fingers, and who in their sane mind leaves someone alive who states with full surety that their life goal is to kill said person, of course, owing to the fact that there is something said person can do to stop that from happening.

And, needless to point out, there was a lot Bella could do to stop us from attempting to harm her.

Heck, she could very well make a barbeque of us, laughing all throughout, with no one being any wiser. Seriously, there were no witnesses here, none who could accuse her of being responsible for our deaths.

Just her and us…

No one would even figure of what actually transpired here this early morning- and even if they were to figure it out- they would have no proofs to pin it down to Bella- and that certainly did not bode well with me.

No, there had to be another way out.

If someone was to die here today, it would not be me.

I had to make sure of that.

Of course- it would not be Peter, as well. He was like a brother to me. I would not let him pay for my actions, obviously.

No, it had to be her- Bella.

We had to come out victorious from this situation. I had to come out the winner- that was not an option. There was just no other alternative but being the one to come out victorious in the end, and I was sure of that.

Damn. Why did the thought of killing Bella make me so uncomfortable, filling me with a sort of distress?

I was being ridiculous.

She was my enemy.

I was not out here to protect her and keep her safe. On the contrary, that was the last thing that I should be doing.

I was supposed to end her.

This was a great opportunity.

Two against one….

Okay, so she did have her mojo and all that, but we were more in number.

That had to account to something, right?

Yes, we would somehow manage to trap her and then I would kill her….

Matter closed and problem solved.

I grinned to myself.

Yes, this was a great idea.

Now, all we had to do was create a distraction- her attention would be diverted elsewhere and I could attack, without worrying of turning to ashes….

"Don't you dare get any ideas," she narrowed her eyes, facing me. "It takes me less than a second to get that fire out of my palm. You may be fast, but I will not be the only one to leave this world today. I will make sure of that."

I stared at her- shock and disbelief heavy in my expression.

Damn it! How had she known what I had been thinking?

Was I that transparent, or was she just smart?

I was afraid it was the second one…

"So…" Peter trailed off his words. "Safe to assume you heard our conversation?"

Bella just stared at him, raising an eyebrow in question- almost as if saying- you really want me to answer that for you?

"Of course you did," Peter grumbled more to himself, shaking his head.

Bella sighed in disbelief, once again turning to look at me. "Why are you here?"

"Excuse me," I gave her a confused look- the demand in her question not lost to me.

Here as in- where?

She already knew why I was in Forks…didn't she?

"This is our land." She muttered, glaring at us. "You broke the treaty. Won't be the first time, right? And, even better, twice in the same night….trying to create a record there?"

I gave her a confused look. We had crossed the treaty line?

I was not even aware of that.

Huh.

"That would be my mistake." Peter sighed, shrugging. "I brought Jasper this far from the Cullen house. I was not aware that this was no longer Cullen land."

Bella glared at him. "I will have to inform the pack and the elders of this…of all of this." she added, her unspoken words clear for me to hear. She was going to tell everyone about what Peter and I had been arguing. She was going to tell everyone of the real reason why I was here.

"What will you even achieve from that?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Excuse me," Bella spoke, confusion and shock evident in her tone.

"I mean," Peter started to speak. "Your elders are not looking for a fight. That is probably the last thing on their mind. You do know of this, as well. Even if you do tell them everything, the most you can achieve is a stern warning given to us…. unless you want bloodshed on your hands, innocents paying the price for your actions and all that?"

Bella scoffed at him. "Worrying about the lives of innocents seems rich coming from your mouth."

Peter grinned at her, not a single ounce of offense on his face. "In that case, you will be happy to know that the Mrs. and I only feed on criminals and those who are already dying- their last moments filled with pain and suffering- freeing them from their misery."

Bella continued to stare at him, not sure whether she should believe him or not.

"And, anyway," I took a step ahead in her direction. "Even if you do tell them everything," I emphasized on the 'everything'. "What proof do you have of this conversation occurring? Peter and I can always state that you are lying, trying to blame us for something we have never even done."

Bella laughed at that- humorlessly.

"You really think that my family will consider your word- a bloodsucker's- over mine? Damn. You are really delusional."

I smirked at that. "No, they won't, but my family will,"

I cringed, internally, hating the fact that I had just referred to the Cullen's as family….the things you do to keep your head attached to your shoulders….

She glared at me, knowing the truth in my words. The Cullen's would never believe Bella over me, especially not Alice. She was obsessed with me. I had learnt to ignore her and leave the room whenever she walked in, but she would never let anyone kick me out of their house, definitely not on the claim of a human hell- bent on killing our kind. And, the rest of them generally followed Alice and Edward. So, if I had them on my side, I had nothing much to worry about.

"Just for my curiosity," she raised an eyebrow. "What will you achieve from killing me? I have done nothing wrong to you, from what I know of…or is this one of those baseless, misguided, personal revenge scenarios?"

"Like the one that you have against my kind?" I smirked back at her.

"You don't know a thing about me," she scowled. "So, don't presume to know me."

"Then tell me," I shrugged, my tone giving away the fact that I was not going to back down. "It is only fair. You answer my questions and I answer yours."

"What is this- you scratch my back and I scratch yours?" she scoffed in disbelief.

I grinned at her. "See it as you want. The fact won't change. If you want an answer, you give me an answer in return."

Call it stupidity or insanity, but I was curious enough to know what made Bella Swan- Bella Swan. She seemed to be a nice girl- friendly and kind enough with the people she liked, not having a mean bone in her body. Then how could she become the complete antithesis of her own self when faced with vampires?

It just made no sense to me.

I had seen her with her pack- her family as she termed them to be. She wasn't cold or withdrawn when she was with them. She was a normal eighteen year old girl who knew where she belonged. How could that same girl become this sadistic, anger driven and revenge filled- the only difference being the presence of vampires?

Because it was obvious- She had a lot of pent up anger buried deep inside her, coming out whenever she came across one of my kind- using her power to get rid of a bit of that anger and hatred.

It couldn't be normal dislike- the kind wherein you just don't like something or someone; even if you don't have a good enough reason for it.

No, this seemed to be much deeper…much more rooted inside her.

Something had happened to her. Something that had caused her enough pain to want for revenge….to crave for vengeance.

I wanted to know what that was.

I was curious to know what that was.

I could only hope that curiosity did not end up killing this cat.

"You know what," she huffed in sheer annoyance. "I am out of here."

She turned to walk away, muttering that she would definitely inform her pack and the elders about this new development.

I was partly disappointed. Bella would never voluntarily disclose information. I had known of that, but this had seemed to be a good enough chance to get her to speak up.

I sighed internally. Alas!

Too good to be true!

Anyhow, shit was going to hit the fan with her blabbering out everything.

I rubbed my face with my hands, sighing heavily.

How was I supposed to get out of this now?

"Fine," Peter spoke up- surprising me as well as the person walking away, "If you don't want to know why Jasper- here- is out to kill you, then okay. But you should know- for the sake of your own curiosity- that is, the rest is obviously your choice. It is a very interesting tale though. But I can understand if you have no interest in finding out why an unknown vampire you have never even met before has made his life goal to end you. Anyhow, we should get going. Shouldn't we, Jasper?"

I gave him an amused look, very well aware of what he had just done.

He had made it so that Bella would not be able to resist not knowing, her curiosity would force her to talk to us. It was almost like dangling a candy in front of a child and telling them that they were not going to get it. It was simply cruel, forcing the child to wonder about the deliciousness of that dangling candy that was out of their reach.

Bella stared at the two of us for a few brief minutes, contemplating whether the deal was worth it or not…before huffing loudly and walking back towards us- her curiosity apparently having won over her rational mind.

"Fine," she growled. "I agree. But, I will ask the first question."

I nodded my head, grinning. I was simply happy to finally get a few answers out of her.

She scowled. "Why do you want to kill me?"

I gave her a small smile- terribly amused by the situation for some reason. "I have been sent to kill you."

"By whom?" she asked, confused.

I shrugged, smiling. "That is a second question. It is my turn now."

She rolled her eyes, muttering a rude 'fine'.

"Why do you hate vampires?" I raised an eyebrow in question.

She smirked at me. "Seriously, you want to directly jump to the main topic? No easy questions first?"

I grinned back at her. "Don't try to change the topic. Answer the question."

She rolled her eyes at me. "I have a few personal reasons. I am not comfortable sharing it with you. Anyway, who sent you to kill me?"

I shrugged back at her- keeping my expression as nonchalant as could be. "I am not comfortable sharing that with you. It is my turn to ask a question now."

She growled at me. Why though- I have no idea. I had just given her a taste of her own medicine.

If she didn't like that response, she shouldn't go around giving it to other people.

As very simple as that!

"Fine," she grumbled, sighing audibly before looking at the ground- refusing to meet my eyes. "I lost my parents because of your kind. A vampire was responsible for their death. He drained them in front of me."

"Oh," I whispered, quite not expecting that.

I had known that certain vampires tortured and killed humans for the sake of enjoyment- I did not agree with it, but I was aware of it- but this was still not a pleasant thing to hear, no matter the fact that this was not considered a big deal in my world.

"I am sorry," I said, meaning the very word- Peter apologizing as well.

She gave us a small smile- an honest one in relation to us for possibly the first time. "Thank you,"

I gave her a small smile in return, deciding to answer her earlier asked question for her- in the honor of this newfound honesty. "There is this vampire royalty in Italy. They make the rules for our kind, making sure that peace is maintained in our world. They found out about you and want you dead."

Her mouth dropped open in shock and disbelief, the possibly being the last thing she would have thought possible.

But it was obviously the truth.

"Why," she raised an eyebrow at me, gulping once. "Why do they want me dead? How did they even find out about me?"

I gave her a small smile, shaking my head in response. "It is my turn to ask a question, and your turn to answer."

She sighed heavily. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

I thought about her words for a few minutes, deciding to ask her the one question that was currently swirling through my mind- unable to get out and leave me in peace.

"You can tell me if I am crossing a line- but why didn't you save them? I mean, use your power to kill the vampire before he did what he did?"

I was not trying to be rude….or attempting to hurt her. I was truly curious to know of this. She could kill any vampire within mere seconds. Then why hadn't she done so when she probably needed her power the most?

She sighed audibly, covering her face with her hands. "I…I did not have my power then. I was…younger. I did not know how to use it. I wish…" she trailed off, no need for the other words to be spoken- their meaning visible on her disheartened face.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to cause you any pain."

I really hadn't. I wanted to console her, pull her in my arms and make sure that she was alright. I did not wish to see her hurting. I did not like to see her hurting. My dead heart hurt at the thought of her being in pain- physical or emotional. I wish I could do something- anything- to help her lessen this pain of hers...

I roughly shook my head, pushing that thought aside.

What was wrong with me?

I had never reacted like this with anyone before.

Then why and how was this 'human' any different?

She sighed. "Anyway, it is your turn to answer the question."

I nodded my head, knowing that it was a fair deal. She was being honest with me, and I was expected to be equally honest with her.

"About the why do they want to kill you- that is just how they are. They destroy and kill anyone and everyone who seems to be a threat in their eyes. And the how part of your question- word spreads around quick in our world. Also, you did kill one of theirs."

"What did he or she look like?" she narrowed her eyes in confusion. "If it was recent, I would remember."

I nodded my head, describing Jane however best I could. "Small female, dark- evil- red eyes, blonde hair tight in a bun…and oh…she would be wearing a black robe- they are never supposed to remove their robe when out on missions."

She was silent for a few minutes, probably trying to remember, before she grinned at me- amusement now shining in her eyes.

"I remember. That had been especially fun. She had been taunting me, assuming me to be a weak, defenseless human. Of course, by the time she realized her mistake, it had been too late."

My eyes widened in surprise and mild disbelief. She was just so casual in her approach when she spoke of killing a vampire, almost as if it was no big deal in her eyes. It probably wasn't, but still, it was a bit unexpected.

I shook my head- more to myself. Of course Bella would be casual about this. This wasn't the first vampire that she had killed. She had killed many before, and most probably would be killing many more after.

A number added was not much of a change for her.

I would have to remember that Bella was no ordinary human girl.

She had seen much more a world than that.

"Anyhow," I sighed. "Why do you kill any and every vampire that you come across? Why not kill that one vampire responsible for your suffering?"

She growled at me, her eyes livid. "You deserve it. Your kind deserves to be dead. It is abnormal…."

I scowled at that, no longer willing to be the calm one in the room…err….woods.

"As if a human with the power of producing fire from her palm, falls under the category of normal? If I am an abnormality- so are you."

She scowled at me, her eyes burning holes. "I don't suck blood. I don't kill people."

"No, you only kill vampires. That is far better." I muttered, sarcastically.

She huffed heavily. "I think I am done over here. I have nothing more to ask you."

She turned to walk away, walking back towards her reservation and home.

"Wait," I stopped her, relieved when she turned back to look at me. "I am curious. Do you know who killed your parents? Have you taken your revenge?"

She sighed, almost turning and walking away- refusing to answer, before turning back and meeting my eyes. "I don't know where and how to find him, but I am not giving up. If your life goal is to kill me, my life goal is to kill 'him'. Let's see who succeeds and who fails- you or me?"

I gave her a small smile in response. I could see the determination and need for vengeance in her eyes. I could not kill her before she achieved her revenge….before she managed to lessen her pain, if at all if I could kill her….

I shook my head, sighing.

I should not be thinking such stuff.

I was supposed to end her. It was not an option. The decision had already been made for me.

"I will be informing my elders about this." she said before turning and walking away, muttering about how if we were to attack her, she would not be the only one to die today.

I sighed- my mind somewhere completely elsewhere.

"Wait." I spoke, her turning to look at me- a look of confusion on her face. "Do you remember how he looked? Will you be able to recognize him?"

Her eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why?"

I gave her a small smile. "I have a proposition for you."