i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
e.e. cummings
Preface
Jasper sat tensely in the Forks High School lunch room with his siblings, remembering that he had to breathe, no matter how uncomfortable it was for him. Humans breathed. They also had the pesky habit of noticing when someone didn't. It had been a few weeks since they had hunted. A test of Carlisle's design, specifically to see how well Jasper would hold up. He was newest to their lifestyle, and the others were always worrying about him. He could feel it, sense their worry hanging heavy in the air around him. It was suffocating at times. Combine that with the hormonal disaster of emotions that was high school, and it made days like today hard to suffer through. Though, when you could feel the emotions of the people around you, going to human high school was difficult to suffer through nearly every day.
Today people seemed excited though. The air practically buzzed with the energy of it all. Jasper wondered to himself what could have gotten all the humans in a small town so worked up. His question was answered when a girl he didn't recognize walked into the cafeteria. She was short for a human girl, though not quite so short as Alice, with long brunette hair. She was practically surrounded by other students. Their excitement made Jasper feel almost jittery. It was hard to handle when his self-control was already stretched so thin it could snap at any moment. He turned back to his table where Rosalie and Emmett were gazing adoringly at each other, and Edward and Alice were having one of their silent conversations that annoyed everyone around them. Sometimes it was hard being the only one alone in the family when everyone else was in such a perfect couple. It was even harder when he could constantly feel the love they felt for each other and know that in the hundreds of years he had been alive, he had never felt that. Even Carlisle and Esme worried about him, pitied him. He could feel it. It didn't help that it was obvious to them all, Edward especially, that Jasper was the one still struggling most with their lifestyle. Alice watched the future for any potential breaks in his resolve. Edward watched his thoughts. It was suffocating at times. He didn't want to be struggling. He had given up human blood voluntarily. He had needed to. He could feel the turmoil and fear of each of his victims. He killed off a bit of himself every time he killed. He simply couldn't live like that anymore. He felt the burn in his throat as he breathed again.
Edward let out a small laugh, drawing Jasper's attention. "Jessica Stanley is giving that new girl, Bella Swan, all the dirty laundry on the Cullen clan."
Jasper recognized the distraction for what it was. Edward had been watching his thoughts again.
Emmett face broke into a wide grin. "Is she making it good?"
"Honestly, it's a bit unimaginative. Not an ounce of horror. Only the barest hint of scandal. She could do better. I'm disappointed actually."
"And what about the new girl? Is she disappointed in the lack of horror and scandal as well?" Rosalie asked. She liked to act like humans were beneath her notice, but since she missed being human more than any of them, Jasper could always sense her ebbing curiosity at potential gossip. Not to mention, it was part of Edward's job to use his gift to read the minds of humans and see if any were beginning to suspect them. They all had a role to play in the family. Some of them, like Jasper, Edward, Alice, and Emmett, were protectors.
Edward paused for the briefest moment. His face was locked in a look of nonchalant boredom, but his emotions were something different. It was hard, sometimes, in crowded places like this to place the emotions of individual people, but Jasper's family was close to him physically and emotionally. He had an easier time reading them. He felt Edward's concentration swirl into confusion and then curiosity.
"I don't know," he said softly after a second had passed. Alice rested her hand on her arm in concern.
"What do you mean?" Emmett asked.
"I can't hear Bella Swan's thoughts," Edward said. His voice was steady but his emotions were amused curiosity. He and Alice exchanged one of their looks as they again communicated without speaking. Jasper could feel Emmett and Rosalie's annoyance at this and he shared it. "I guess we will just have to see if Jasper's gift works on her and he can tell us how she is feeling," Edward added. His amusement was practically palpable. Jasper was sure there was some joke that he was missing, and he found it annoying. Edward could be infuriatingly cryptic sometimes. Jasper looked over to get a better look at Bella Swan to see what might be so funny, only to realize she was looking right at him. He met her wide brown eyes for a single electrified moment. She quickly looked down, blushing a deep red.
"Well Jasper?" Emmett asked eagerly.
"You know I wouldn't be able to tell her emotions from anyone else's in this hall of hormones," He said, feeling more than a little annoyed. The others laughed their near silent laughter and went back to not eating their lunches, the new girl all but forgotten. Jasper found himself stealing one last glace, though he couldn't quite place why.
Chapter One
Waking up my first morning in Forks, Washington was disorienting to say the least. For starters, I couldn't remember the last time I woke up cold. Probably the last time I had spent the summer in Forks, but that had been several years ago now. Then there was the fact that it took me a minute to figure out where I was. My brain, so accustomed to waking up in my bedroom in Phoenix, couldn't quite place this darker, emptier room in its state of grogginess. The room only had a bed, a desk with my open laptop on it, the two suitcases worth of belongings I had been able to justify bringing to Forks (most of my clothes just wouldn't have been warm enough), and a couple pictures of Renee (my mom) and friends from back home that I had hung on the wall. I looked like I was a business man staying in a hotel, or maybe someone in witness protection. I sighed as my brain pieced together where I was. Forks, Washington. Moved here so my mom could be happy and travel with her new husband. This was the right thing. I chose this, no use moping around about it. Today was my first day at Forks High School.
I quickly dressed, and grabbed some cereal for breakfast. On the table I saw a folded up flannel shirt with a note from Charlie, my dad.
Bells, I noticed you don't have a jacket yet. We can go buy one this weekend. This should hold you over until then. – Dad
I felt a rush of emotions. This was the second time he had done something like this, anticipated my needs before I had thought of them. The first had been when he had bought me a used truck to drive. He had given it to me when I arrived yesterday. I wasn't used to having a parent take care of me. Renee was a free spirit, but that meant that I spent a lot of time being the responsible one, taking care of both of us. She made sure we had a life full of adventure. I made sure the electricity bill was paid on time and there was food on the table every night. Charlie's thoughtfulness was foreign to me. I didn't know how to handle it. I grabbed the large flannel on put it on gratefully. It was fleece-lined and I felt warmer already, even if it dwarfed me. My gratitude overwhelmed me for a moment. Renee had always said I felt things very deeply. She could always go with the flow, adjust easily, flit from one moment to the next without a care in the world. I felt like everyone around me was better at that too. Renee said it was my best trait; that I cared so much about everything around me. I thought it was my fatal flaw. The reason I never had many friends. Who wanted to be friends with the sappy girl who cared too much?
As soon as I stepped out of the warm cab of my truck at the small high school, I felt like all the warmth that I had managed to soak up into my bones over my seventeen years in the Phoenix sun was slowly seeping out of me. It was being replaced by a deep, ever present cold. Sure, that was probably a bit dramatic, but I felt I was entitled to be a little bit dramatic. After all, I had willingly uprooted my entire life to ensure the happiness of my mother. I wasn't doubting that decision, but the reality of it was beginning to set in as I took in the small collection of buildings that made up the high school. They wouldn't have been large enough to hold just the junior class at my school in Phoenix. I collected my schedule and a map from a kind lady in the front office.
The first half of the day went in a blur. Forks High wasn't hard to navigate. I wished that it was one large building and there was a lot less walking outside, where the constant drizzle of rain left puddles everywhere. There weren't many students, either. But, they all seemed to be singularly interested in me. Everyone seemed nice enough. I was sure I would make friends, though I ached for my friends from back home. I couldn't shake the feeling that they were all just bored though, and I was like a new Netflix show. Maybe they would all binge me and I would go back to being invisible. Because in Phoenix I had certainly been invisible, one of the many in the throng of students. I never stood out in the crowd. I was the quiet girl who always got good grades and went home early to take care of her free spirited mother. Hardly anyone had time for the boring responsible girl. Here I was like the new shiny toy. Everyone was staring at me. Everyone wanted to talk to me.
"Come on, Bella. You have to come sit with us," Jessica, a girl from a few of my classes was saying as we walked into the cafeteria for lunch. She seemed nice enough, and she definitely seemed to be enjoying the attention that came from being near me. That was fine by me. I was able to be mostly quiet and let her soak up the attention people were trying to lavish on me. Symbiosim. I let her lead me with my tray of food over to a table. I recognized a few of the students there. Both Mike and Eric had already been a little too kind to me, and Angela was in one of my classes. She was quiet like me. I felt we would get along well.
"So, Isabella, you're from Phoenix, right? What's it like there?" One of the girls (Lauren, I remembered) asked as we began to eat. I needed to stamp this Isabella thing out ASAP.
"Bella," I corrected quickly before adding, "uh, hot? I guess." It came out more as a question, but the others at the table laughed agreeably.
"Yeah, we don't get a lot of that here," Jessica said. "It's mostly just rain and lots of cloud cover, but you will really perfect your sweater game."
"I'm not sure I have much of a sweater game to perfect," I said awkwardly, looking down at my outfit. Charlie's flannel had been thrown on over a long sleeve t shirt and jeans.
"Well, that's perfect. We can go shopping. I know all the best places…" Jessica launched into an explanation about all the best shopping spots in Port Angeles, the nearest town. I didn't hear much of it though. I was distracted. For the first time since walking into the room, I noticed them.
At a table in the corner was a group of five students, the most beautiful five people I had ever seen in my life. It seemed unreal that these kids should be here, in Forks. They looked like they belonged on a photoshoot or a movie set. I remembered seeing a couple of them in earlier classes of mine, but sitting in a group like this the effect was compounded. None of them were eating the food on the trays in front of them, and they all looks immensely bored. They were also the only people in the whole school who had not been gawking at me so far today. In fact, they paid no attention to anything in the lunch room other than each other. It probably was not fitting that I gawk at them in repayment for that fact, but I simply couldn't help it. They all looked nothing alike, and yet completely alike. Perhaps I was just used to people from Phoenix, but they were pale, even more so than the rest of the student body. There were three boys and two girls. One boy was large, like a linebacker, intimidatingly muscular, with dark curly hair. The second boy was lanky, built like a swimmer, with messy auburn hair. The last boy was the tallest, muscular, but still lean, with curly honey blonde hair. I thought there was a good possibility he was the most attractive guy I had ever seen. The two girls would have put a runway show to shame, and they certainly made me feel self-conscious in my oversized flannel from Charlie. One was tall and looked like a Victoria's Secret Angel, but better somehow. Blonde, and I was fully convinced the most beautiful person on the planet. The other was petite, maybe 5'2, with short black hair. Her movements were fluid and graceful. I'd seen whole ballets that could be put to shame by the simple way she moved her hands. Yet they were all perfect, with eyes so dark they were nearly black, and so beautiful I thought it might be a crime just to look at them. Fuck.
"Who are they?" I asked, cutting Jessica off. I couldn't help myself. It slipped out of its own volition. Jessica looked over and saw who I was talking about though and seemed to understand. She grinned when she realized.
"That's Edward, Emmett, and Alice Cullen, and Jasper and Rosalie Hale. They all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife. Foster children, I guess," she was talked softly, glancing up to peek over at their table every so often. I found myself looking as well. They all seemed fully consumed with their own table, as though they were unaware they weren't the only students in the lunch room.
"They aren't related?" I asked, finding myself shocked.
Jessica laughed. "Because they are all so fucking hot, right?"
I nodded, blushing a little.
"Wait until you see the doctor, I mean, talk about Dr. McDreamy, but no. Only Jasper and Rosalie, the two blondes, are related. Twins." I looked over at the blonde boy and girl, they did look a bit alike. At least in that they were both absurdly, unrealistically attractive. Tall too, they were both tall. "They are all together though. Edward and Alice, and Emmett and Rosalie. It's crazy weird. I mean, they live together. It just doesn't seem right."
That was weird. In Phoenix there was no way that would fly. I was sure foster kids would be rehomed, but maybe it was different out here in a small town. Who was I to say? It seemed wrong for anyone to break up such good looking couples anyways. Who else would they date? Clearly there was no one on earth in their league.
"Some of them seem a little old to be foster children," I said, sneaking another glance at the table. They seemed to be talking to each other now, amused by something.
"Some of them are, I suppose. Edward and Emmett are eighteen. The others are seventeen, juniors like us, but the family has been together for a while and they are really close. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen pull them out of school all the time to go on hiking and camping trips for family bonding. I tried to convince my parents to do that, no such luck."
I paused for a moment, taking a bite of food and chewing it thoughtfully before asking my next question. I didn't want Jessica to spread any gossip, but I thought I could trust her, and my curiosity outweighed my caution.
"So, the blonde boy, Jasper…"
She cut be off before I even had to finish my sentence. I was grateful for that.
"God, isn't he gorgeous? And he's single, but don't get your hopes up. Apparently no one here is good enough for him. I guess he's waiting around for someone as stunning as the rest of them to show up for him to date. As if that will ever happen in this town."
I didn't feel the need to point out that five of them had already shown up, so maybe his odds were good. I stole another glance up at the stunning boy, Jasper. While I was looking at him, he looked up from his table and over at me. It was the briefest of seconds, but my stomach flipped and my heart rate jumped. I blushed deeply, looking quickly down at the table. Jessica let out a giggle.
"You know, in the two years he's been here I don't think I've ever been able to get him to look my way, and you manage it on day one? God, I wish I was in your shoes. Now we really do have to take you shopping. If I can't experience, I must live vicariously," she said, and promptly continued her shopping plans as though my heart wasn't pounding loud enough I was sure the whole cafeteria could hear it. I tried to finish my lunch.
After lunch, I had Biology with Angela and Mike. Mike had left sooner than us, so I walked with Angela in amicable silence. It was nice after the day of nonstop chatter. I felt like my introverted self could recharge a bit around her. We smiled at each other as we split up at the doorway.
"Sorry," she said simply, as she went to sit at her table. The seat next to her was already taken.
The room didn't have desks, it was split into tables where people sat in pairs, lab partners. All the seats were taken except one. I felt like my heart was in my throat. The open seat was next to Jasper Hale. He saw me and moved his books aside to make room for me to sit. I was closer here than I had been in the lunch room. From here I could see that he was impeccably dressed. He wore a forest green sweater and pants. I could tell from living in Phoenix, with actual shopping, that the clothes were designer, even if they looked simple. They were all perfectly tailored as well. I tugged on the oversized sleeve of Charlie's flannel self-consciously and walked over to take my seat.
His demeanor changed as I approached. Nearly instantly, as I neared the table and sat down, his body went rigid. I caught his dark eyes. No, I corrected myself, not dark. They were black. And they were filled with what could only be described as rage. What the actual fuck? I felt my anger swirl as I sat down next to him. What was this guy's problem? He didn't even know me. Was this why the Hale's and the Cullen's were all alone, part of their own little clique? They looked down on everyone else? I couldn't focus on the class as my temper flared on next to the rigid boy. The teacher had everyone taking notes, but I couldn't focus. Jasper didn't moved once during the entire class, just sat there, leaning as far from me as he possibly could. That made me even angrier. Sorry that I don't have designer clothes or look like a fucking super model, but I wasn't a leper. Maybe he hadn't wanted a lab partner. Maybe he thought I was too stupid and was going to slow him down. My rage built over the period. I felt like I was seeing red. I wasn't a person prone to violence, in fact, I couldn't remember a time I had ever been violent, but God, I thought I could slap him right now. Or hit him. Or… something. I didn't know. I couldn't even pinpoint the source of my rage anymore, just that this boy's disdain for me had somehow started it. Just when I was about to snap, scream at him in the middle of a classroom full of unsuspecting students and my new teacher, the bell rang. Jasper stood and practically fled the room. Fucking jackass.
Once he was gone, I began to calm down. It was silly to be mad just because one new student didn't like me, regardless of the fact that he was so good looking it made my knees weak. I was better than that really.
"Wow, what did you do to Hale?" Mike asked, walking over to me. We had our next class together too.
"I don't know," I said. "I guess he just doesn't like me very much."
"Well, he must be out of his mind."
It was a nice thought, and I smiled at Mike for saying it, even if he barely knew me himself.
I was ready to laugh about it by the time we were walking to gym, my last class of the day. It was absurd. Plenty of students here liked me. I wouldn't be wanting for friends. I would have to let Jessica down about her grand makeover plans, though I could still use a shopping trip for sweaters.
I thought that would be the last time I thought about it, except then the next day Jasper wasn't sitting with his siblings at the lunch table. His sister, Alice, had English class with me earlier in the day. I was able to place it now that I knew her name. I could swear she had been sneaking peaks at me, and she did it once or twice in the cafeteria as well. Or maybe I was imagining it, maybe that was just what I wanted to see. Jasper's seat was empty in Biology class that day. And the next day. In fact, Jasper Hale was gone for a full week after that first day in Biology. I told myself it had nothing to do with me. It couldn't. It was self-centered to even think so, but a nagging part of the back of my brain kept replaying the way his eyes had turned cold as I had walked near him.
My first weekend in Forks Jessica made good on her promise to take me shopping. She, Angela, Lauren, and I drove up to Port Angeles Saturday morning and made a day of it. The shops weren't like what I was used to. There wasn't even a Target. True to her word though, Jessica knew a couple small boutiques that had some sweaters I could see myself possibly enjoying, if not as much as warm weather. I even managed to find both a rain coat and a warmer winter coat. Charlie was thrilled. He had been worrying all week that I was too cold.
When Monday rolled around, I was feeling more like myself at school. I was in clothes that I had actually picked out. I knew some kids now. I could find all my classes. I hadn't had anymore run ins with beautiful assholes who glared at me for no good reason. I was feeling more confident. That was, until it started snowing between classes. Not a lot, it was still swirling bits of wet fluff mixed in with the rain at first, but by the time lunch rolled around it was sticking to the ground. Gross. God, what I would give to just see a cactus right now. A big one. I closed my eyes and pictured the open expanse of the Arizona desert, tried to imagine its heat radiating off of my skin. I tripped while I was walking. Great.
"Hello, Earth to Bella," Mike was saying as he bent down to scoop a handful of snow off the ground.
"Don't you even think about it," I said, trying to sound threatening.
Mike laughed good naturedly, but turned to throw it at Eric instead.
"What, are you going to try and tell me you don't like snow?" Jessica asked me, shocked.
"I, uh, can't say I've seen much of it. But in general, cold, wet things aren't my preference," I grumbled.
"So you are saying you've never had a snowball fight?" Angela asked, a sly grin on her face. Uh oh.
Soon, Jessica, Lauren, and Angela had all grabbed snowballs and were throwing them at me. I shouted in protest and tried to throw snowballs in return. Mike and Eric, seeing the war in progress quickly ran over to join in my protection, throwing back at the other girls. Anarchy ensued soon. It was every man and woman for themselves. I was shocked to find myself having that much fun having a snowball fight. My friends back home would be appalled. I didn't even notice as my fingers grew numb from the cold. I would need to add gloves to my shopping list. We all missed lunch that day. The war waged too long. I was laughing as I walked with Angela and Mike to Biology later, snacking on some carrots that Angela's parents had packed her in her sack lunch.
My laughter faded as we walked through the door to the Biology room. There, sitting at our table as though he hadn't just been gone for a whole week, was Jasper Hale. Something seemed different about him. I couldn't quite place it. I smiled at my friends one last time and walked cautiously over to my seat.
"Hello." His voice was deep, and there was the faintest hint of a Texan drawl. Arizona didn't border Texas, but it was close enough that I was familiar with the accent. It caught me off guard. As did the fact that he wasn't glaring at me today.
"Hi," I said, cautiously, confused.
"Sorry we didn't get a chance to meet last week, I'm Jasper Hale. You must be Bella Swan."
"Yeah," I said, "how'd you know?"
"It's a small town. It's big news when a new student comes. I think everyone knows who you are."
"Yeah, but, everyone has been calling me Isabella. You'd think Charlie drove around threatening everyone with jail time if they didn't. How'd you know to call me Bella?"
His sister had a class with me. She could have easily overheard me correcting someone over the last week. That would mean he was talking about me though. The thought made my stomach do a flip. He tilted his head and looked at me curiously, then proceeded to completely ignore my question.
"Do you always call your dad by his first name?" he asked instead of answering me.
"I guess. Not to his face. I think it would hurt his feelings. Does it matter?"
I never got the answer though, because Mr. Banner, the teacher, started talking at that moment. I turned to focus on his instructions for the lab we would be doing today, trying to let the minor irritation of Jasper's forward questions after last week's encounter fade away. I didn't succeed though. I had always been easy to irritate. Renee had always said I felt things very deeply. I didn't like it. I would kill to be a little more zen. The lab today was one I had already done last year back in Phoenix, identifying states of mitosis in cells. I guess that was the difference between small town education and advance placement in a big city. I said a quick private eulogy for what this move had done to my college acceptance outlook as Mr. Banner passed out the slides and microscopes.
I put the first slide in and adjusted the view, able to quickly identify it.
"Prophase," I said.
Jasper just nodded and wrote the answer down on his worksheet. I noticed that his writing was a neat, looping scrawl, almost script like. It seemed antiquated. I wondered where he had learned to write like that, surely not in Texas. I pushed the microscope over to him to do the next slide, not looking up to meet his eyes.
"You're annoyed with me," he said sounding amused. It wasn't a question. I looked up to see the corners of his mouth quirked up ever so slightly. It made me more annoyed.
"Yes. That seems like an appropriate reaction."
He looked into the microscope, identifying the slide faster than I would have anticipated.
"Metaphase," he said. I was tempted to check his work, but, after all, he had trusted me. There was only one slide for each phase, so process of elimination would tell me if he was wrong. I wrote the answer down on my worksheet, feeling self-conscious of my messy scrawl.
"May I ask why I seem to have drawn your ire?" he asked as he slid the microscope back over to me.
"Drawn my ire?" I repeated incredulously. He simply nodded. I looked at the next slide to avoid answering for a moment longer. "Interphase," I said, pushing the microscope back over to him. He diligently switched out the slides and looked into the microscope. "You drew my ire," it took some self-control not to use air quotes as I said it, "by being a complete jackass last week. Look, I'm sure you were happier without a lab partner or whatever, but it certainly wasn't my fault. I'm just trying to make it through school here."
"Telophase," he said softly when I had finished my rant. "Bella, I apologize. You caught me on a bad day last week. I was… fasting. As it turns out, I am a little cranky when I am hungry. I promise, I didn't mean to take it out on you. I'm perfectly pleased to have a lab partner."
I stared at him for a moment.
"That's really the excuse you're going to go with there, Betty White? You forgot to pack a Snickers? Next time, just eat a damn snack." I pulled the microscope back over to my side of the table a little forcefully.
Jasper was suppressing a smile. "I'll keep that in mind," he said. His eyes were twinkling with the humor of some joke I felt I was missing. That's when it hit me.
"Your eyes changed," I said.
Jasper looked startled, the mirth faded from his face.
"Oh, right. Contacts," he said smoothly. I narrowed my eyes at him. We were sitting close together. I would have been able to see the outline of contact lenses on his eyes from here. There were none. Just as I was sure there had been none last week. It was such a ridiculous thing to lie about though. I looked down into the microscope.
"Anaphase," I said, surprised and impressed that he hadn't messed up on identifying any of the slides.
We finished writing the last answer on our worksheets, and I pushed the microscope away from me, looking around the room. No one else had finished yet, not even Angela and her partner. Jasper had been as quick as I had been identifying the slides, possibly even faster.
"Are you enjoying the snow today?" He asked, breaking the silence when we had finished writing.
"Seriously? You want to make polite conversation about the weather?" He simply nodded, looking amused once more. "Yeah. I guess I am. It was more fun than I expected."
"More fun than you expected? Have you never been in snow before?"
"No? The closest I've come to snow are reruns of Rudolph around Christmas time."
Jasper chuckled. It was a low, throaty, sexy sound that suited him perfectly.
"That's a stop motion movie. I'm fairly certain that snow is fake."
I waved my hand dismissively, "Semantics. Besides, I'm sure you didn't get much snow down in Texas either."
Jasper looked startled.
"Have you two finished already?" Mr. Banner asked, walking over to our table.
"Yes, sir," Jasper said quickly, shooting him a winning smile. Mr. Banner looked over our worksheets.
"I'm very impressed, Bella," he said. I felt slightly miffed that my succeeding was surprising enough to be impressive, but Jasper succeeding did not seem to rise to the same level. I supposed Mr. Banner had known him longer. "Were you in advanced placement in Phoenix?"
"I was, yeah."
"Well this is great work. I'm sorry we don't offer the same types of courses here, but now that I have two students at a higher level, I'll try to find some more challenging labs for you two to work on."
He walked away, leaving Jasper and I alone at the table again.
"He's never impressed when I complete the labs too quickly on my own," Jasper said, suppressing a smile, "only annoyed."
"I'm sure that's not true," I countered. Jasper only shrugged.
"So Bella, what brings you from Phoenix with no snow, to the rainiest place in the country?"
"I just needed a change of scenery," I said automatically. It was my well-practiced lie.
Jasper's eyebrows rose as he looked at me, then turned to look out the classroom window at the dreary outdoors where the snow had turned to rain. Everything was dim and grey.
"My mom got remarried. Phil has to travel for work a lot."
"What does Phil do?"
"He's a baseball player, minor league."
Jasper's face lit up at this, a wide smile.
"I love baseball," he said. "Are you a fan?"
I crinkled my nose.
"No. Sorry. Not a big sports person. I always tried, but could just never seem to get into it."
"You don't know what you're missing." I wondered if he played baseball. Did the school have a team? That might be something I would very much enjoy watching; him, running, in those snug little pants. I understood for the first time why Renee enjoyed going to all Phil's games. I pushed the thought from my mind, blushing slightly. Jasper looked at me, curiously. "So, you had to move up here so your mom could travel with her new husband?" he asked after a moment.
"No," I said, a little more forcefully than necessary, "I chose to move up here. My mom was perfectly fine staying with me in Phoenix, but Phil makes her happy."
"Did you expect to enjoy Forks?"
The question caught me off guard. I hadn't told him I did enjoy Forks.
"No," I said softly, unsure why I kept answering his many questions when he had failed to answer any of mine so far. "But I guess I learned that I can be happy anywhere. I'm resilient. Things from the desert usually are."
At that, he smiled. "Indeed, they usually are."
The bell rang and Jasper stood swiftly, leaving the classroom before I had a chance to say another word to him. I stared after him in confusion. People shouldn't allowed to be that attractive and that confusing at the same time. Angela and Mike met me at my table as I was still staring out the door.
"Wow, I don't think I've even seen Hale talk so much in the whole time he's been at school here," Mike said. He sounded annoyed.
"Oh, right," I mumbled, "we were just talking about the assignment."
I had no idea what possessed me to lie.