Thank you everyone for all your kind words! I'm so happy you are all enjoying the story so far. I've been loving writing it. Probably too much. I'm sure my coworkers are annoyed with how distracted I've been at work for the last week, but thoughts for this story have consumed me. Also, please note that Bella's horror in this chapter over things like SAD and vitamin D deficiency was me when I moved from a desert state to Seattle a few years ago. I now take a very large vitamin D supplement. I love this crazy cloudy city and all the weird shit that comes along with it.
Chapter 4
Jessica was outside my house to pick me up promptly at one. The grin on her face was eager and infectious considering I still hadn't gotten over how giddy my last conversation with Jasper had left me.
"Okay, Angela is meeting us at my house, then you must spill all," she said.
I smiled back, "Deal." I knew I wouldn't be able to actually spill all, but I would tell what I could.
Once the three of us were situated in Jess's room with the door shut securely behind us so her parents couldn't overhear, Jess turned to me. "All right, dish," she said. Even Angela looked excited.
"It was great. Their house is huge and gorgeous. Alice and I mostly just talked and watched movies all night. She's great, really nice, and I met her parents," I said, trying to carefully edit my story.
"Right," Jessica said, rolling her eyes a little, "but what about Jasper?"
"Oh. He and Edward actually left right away. They had plans." I left out that they were playing baseball, remembering the storm and not knowing if it had made its way into town as well. "And Rosalie and Emmett were out of town. So for most of the night, it was just me and Alice."
Jessica looked thoroughly disappointed by this news, but Angela perked up a little.
"Most of the night?" she asked with a small smile.
A blush crept up my cheeks.
"The boys came back near the end of the last movie and joined us," I said, suppressing a small smile.
Jess let out a squeal.
"Oh my God! Did he sit next to you?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Did he put his arm around you?" Angela asked.
"Fuck that, that boy is sex on legs. I'm sure he did more than that," Jessica said, smirking suggestively at me.
I suddenly felt silly for how excited I had been over a few casual brushes of our shoulders. I couldn't tell them about it. I knew they wouldn't understand. It was special somehow. Different. More than.
I shook my head.
"No," I said, "nothing happened. We just watched the movie."
I saw the flash of disappointment in Jessica's eyes for the briefest moment, but she covered it quickly.
"That's okay," she said quickly. "I'm sure he was just being polite. Didn't want to interrupt the sleepover. He's definitely into you, right Ange?"
Angela nodded.
"Of course," she said, "maybe he's just old fashioned, taking things slowly."
"God, wouldn't that be how the universe works. The most gorgeous boy on the planet is into you, and he's a gentleman? I mean, save some fantasy for the rest of us or we'll be stuck kissing frog boys," Jess said, laughing.
I cheered a little at that. Alice had said that as well. And Jasper did seem oddly old-fashioned sometimes. As though he was a normal boy, and then all of a sudden he would say something that sounded oddly antiquated.
"What about in the morning?" Jess asked. "He was there then too, right?"
"Yes," I said, blushing lightly as I remembered the odd way he had seemed to know the nature of my dreams. I couldn't tell them that though. "He, uh, he gave me a ride home on his motorcycle."
Jessica's squeal was louder this time. I was sure her parents must have heard it. They must be used to her antics.
"Oh. My. GOD. Way to bury the lead, Bella," she said, actually jumping up from her sitting position.
Angela looked a little awed.
"You're braver than me. I could never get on one of those things," she said.
"Are you kidding," Jess said incredulously, "riding on the back of a motorcycle behind a guy as hot as Jasper fucking Hale is basically every girls' fantasy."
Angela looked as though she wanted to disagree.
"It wasn't that scary," I said, looking over at her and smiling. "I actually had a lot of fun. And he, uh, he said I should go riding with him again sometime."
I was prepared for Jess's squeal of excitement this time. I was already grinning up at her.
"I know," I said, unable to contain my smile and the blush forming on my cheeks, "I know."
"Wow," Jess said, "just wow. You are basically living a fucking fairy tale." She flopped back down to sit on the floor next to us, suddenly morose. "I, on the other hand, can't seem to get Mike to even notice me."
"Maybe you just need to get him to see you outside of school. A change in scenery might make him realize what he's missing," Angela said.
Jessica huffed a laugh. "Right, and how am I supposed to do that? He's always hanging out with his friends."
"We could make it a group thing?" I suggested though I was uncertain my presence would be helpful in this situation. It didn't seem polite to mention that though. Jess hadn't seemed to notice Mike's infatuation with me. I was still sure it would fade as soon as my novelty did. Maybe I could find a reason to bail last minute.
"Eric and Mike have been talking about wanting to go down to First Beach," Angela said, "but neither of them have a car to take."
I perked up.
"We can ask Tyler," I said. "When his van is repaired. He said it should only take another week or so, and I think we can safely say he owes me a favor."
Angela and Jessica laughed.
"I doubt Tyler will think of spending the day at the beach with you as a favor, Bella," Angela said with a sly smile. I chose not to comment.
"Then it's settled. When Tyler's van is repaired, we will all go down to the beach. I haven't been since I moved anyway," I said.
Jessica seemed cheered now that there was a plan in place to help her with the Mike situation.
"Okay, but now I seriously need some help with this trig homework," Angela said, pulling her stack of books into her lap.
"I didn't even realize there was homework for trig," I said, confused.
Jessica made a face. "There isn't. Her parents always ask her teachers to assign extra problems for more practice over the weekends. It's practically child abuse."
I shuddered. "Ugh, why? You have, like, top marks in every class. If you don't stop you are really going to throw off the curve."
"You're one to talk," Jess grumbled.
"They're just completely obsessed with college admissions. They want me to become a doctor like my aunt," Angela said, shrugging. "It's no big deal. I'm used to it by now. It just gets hard to try and squeeze a life in around all the extra school work."
"Well, all right then, I guess it's up to us to help you bust through those trig problems then," I said grinning.
Jess looked a little less thrilled about the turn our day had taken but joined to help as well.
On Monday morning I woke up earlier than usual and spent a little extra time doing my hair and putting on some mascara and a little lip gloss. I could have lied and told myself I was doing it all for me, but at this point, it would have been hard to lie to even myself. That was fine, it wasn't like my extra preparations were that over the top. I was a fairly all-natural kind of girl. I had had crushes before. Hell, I had even been on one or two dates. (Nothing serious. I was already spending most of my time taking care of Renee at the time. I couldn't take on the responsibility of taking care of a teenage boy, most of them are helpless without women looking after them.) I had never felt the need to try and look more attractive, however. I wondered, as I smoothed my outfit in the mirror, if Jasper thought I was pretty. Sure, there was no way I could compare to the beauty of his family, but maybe…
I couldn't stop the spark of joy I felt when I headed out the door later to find Jasper casually leaning against the side of the parked SUV, smiling over at me.
"Mornin'," he said.
I practically skipped down my front walk. Who had I become?
"What?" I asked sarcastically, smiling up at him as a came to a stop directly in front of him, "no motorcycle today?"
Jasper laughed, moving aside to pull open the passenger door and let me in.
"I figured this was safer," he said as he got into the driver's side and started driving. "If you showed up to school on the back of a motorcycle, it would absolutely get back to Charlie. And I'd like if he didn't hate me."
"Why do you care what Charlie thinks of you?"
"I care that he keeps letting you spend time with me."
I tried and failed to contain my smile.
"I hope you know you've created a monster," Jasper said.
I looked over at him questioningly.
"Alice," he clarified. "She's been planning sleepovers for you guys that will keep you busy until at least your 80th birthday."
"I'm glad," I said. "I had fun. Maybe I'll see if she's free again this weekend."
A regretful look passed over Jasper's eyes.
"Oh. We'll be gone this weekend," he said, sounding disappointed. "Actually, we leave town for a family camping trip starting tomorrow."
"Oh," I said, my voice sounding small. I didn't want to seem so pathetic and clingy. I barely knew him after all. "That'll be fun," I said with false enthusiasm. Really, I was feeling crushed.
Jasper was looking over at me.
"We'll be back by next Monday. It's not too long."
The inside of the car lapsed into an awkward silence as I struggled to find something to say. Jasper broke the silence first.
"Do you think- I mean- would it be okay if I called you? I asked Alice, but she doesn't have your number."
"Oh. I don't have one. Or, I guess, I don't have a cell phone, just the landline."
"Oh."
"I could give you that?" I said, reaching into my backpack and tearing off a piece of paper, and scribbling the house phone number on it.
Jasper took it, smiling. We were at the school.
That day when Jess and I walked into English class, Alice wasn't sitting in her usual seat in the back. She had moved to sit up near our usual desks and was holding two to-go coffee cups. I wondered if one was empty.
"Bella, Jessica, hi!" she called brightly.
Jessica seemed shocked, but I just smiled back at her, thrilled she had chosen to spend time with me in school as well.
"Hi, Alice," I said, taking my seat next to her. Jessica sat cautiously down next to us.
"Sorry, Jessica, I hope you don't mind me joining you two," Alice said, sensing her apprehension.
"No, no. It's fine. You just caught me off guard," Jess said, trying to recover. "It's just too early on a Monday for me to have my manners yet. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry," Alice said grinning, "I have just the thing." She held out one of the coffee cups to each of us. I smiled warmly when I realized the other coffee cup wasn't an empty prop for Alice, but a peace offering for Jessica. It was sweet. My two worlds colliding.
Jessica took the coffee cup slowly. I took mine as well.
"Don't worry, Jess. Alice makes the best cup of coffee you've ever had," I said, taking a deep drink. It was just as good as I remembered. That seemed to convince Jess, and she took a drink as well.
"Oh. My. GOD. Did you lace this with heroin?" Jess asked, "Because I think I might already be addicted."
Alice laughed brightly. Mr. Mason started his lesson at that point and I stopped talking to pay attention. English was my favorite subject. But by the end of class when Jess and Alice were discussing the Tom Ford show from New York Fashion Week in hushed tones, I decided Jess had probably moved past her original apprehension.
When Jess and I were at lunch later, she was still happily talking about how nice Alice had turned out to be.
"I hadn't realized she liked fashion as well. This whole town is a giant dump of Walmart clothing disasters, and I mean, I knew she was always well dressed, but it's one thing to have money and order online and another thing to actually know what you are talking about. Too bad they'll be gone the rest of the week, I would love to get her opinion on the disaster that is the new Michael Kors line-" she was saying.
"Wait, how did you know they'll be gone?" I asked, interrupting her long monologue.
Jessica just looked at me like I was being dense.
"Haven't you checked the weather forecast? I told you. Their parents pull them out anytime the weather is going to be nice, and it's supposed to be sunny the rest of the week. Speaking of! We need to start planning now to maximize our sun time. I'm thinking another Port Angeles trip this weekend. Talking to Alice inspired me. I need to find a good pair of boots…"
She launched back into another shopping monologue. I snuck a glance over to the Cullen/Hale table as I listened to her outfit plans. Jess had told me they left school any time the weather was nice that first day. I guess back then I hadn't known all the other strange things I knew about them. Now, it felt like something to add to the list.
We spent the rest of lunch discussing our plans to go to Port Angeles that weekend. I was happy to go along with any shopping trip of Jess's. She always seemed to know how to make me look my best. The woman was like a wizard. Angela was hoping to stop by the book store to pick up a couple of new books.
When I got to biology class, as usual, Jasper was already sitting there. He smiled when he saw me come in.
"You know," I said in a hushed tone as I sat down beside him, "you left your motorcycle helmet with me."
"Did I?" he asked, smiling obscurely.
"I had to hide it away in my closet so Charlie wouldn't see it."
"Bella, are you saying I'm your dirty little secret?" He asked with a sly smirk.
My stomach did a flip. Mr. Banner started his lesson.
"God, you really can't just go around saying things like that," I said in a whisper.
"Why ever not, Bella?" he whispered back. He was giving me that same overly innocent smile he had given me at his house when he had asked about my dreams. Damn him. I kicked his shin under the table. Fuck, it was hard as a rock. I had to hold back my hiss of pain. Jasper just looked as though he was trying his hardest not to laugh. Double damn him.
When he drove me home later that day, before he dropped me outside of my house, I turned to him.
"You'll call?"
"I'll call," he said with a smile.
Tuesday was the first sunny day in Forks since I had arrived. My truck was still in the shop, but I walked to school just to enjoy the change in weather. Jess was ecstatic when I saw her at school lounging on one of the benches outside, having shed her usual sweaters and rain jacket for a short-sleeve shirt.
"Bella!" she said horrified when she saw me, "why are you still in a sweater? It's sunny! You have to soak it up! Come on. You're from Phoenix. I thought you'd have this down."
I laughed.
"Jess, it's fifty-five degrees out. Sun or no sun, it's still cold."
"You are going to end up vitamin D deficient with SAD," she said, rolling her eyes and me and leaning back to bask in the sun.
"SAD?" I asked confused.
"Seasonal Affective Disorder," Angela said helpfully, appearing by my side. She was also in a t-shirt.
"You guys have a whole mental disorder from not getting sunlight?" I asked in horror.
"See?" Jess said, turning to grin at Angela, "Now she's getting it."
Jasper didn't call that night. I figured that was fine. They were probably enjoying the good weather on their camping trip. (I had to call it a camping trip in my mind even though I doubted that was really what they were doing, too mundane.) I didn't need to interrupt family time anyway.
The next morning was sunny as well. This time, I put on a t-shirt too, although I felt chilly. I made sure to layer a flannel over the top. I could take it off when needed to get some sun. I figured if anyone was prone to seasonal affective disorder, it was me, the girl who was used to the sun. Jessica grinned when she saw me.
"You're a quick learner," she said brightly, moving over on her bench for me to lounge and sun next to her. "I knew I liked you for a reason."
Jasper didn't call that night either.
Thursday was also sunny. I wore a t-shirt again. This time on its own, growing used to the temperature. Jessica, Angela, Lauren, and I laid in the field outside of the school long after classes let out, just trying to get as much of the sun as we could. We swapped our best spooky stories while we did it, seeing who could come up with the best one. Angela was the best. She told us she was really close with her aunt, the one who was a doctor, who loved to watch horror movies. So she confessed it was mostly cheating. We loved the stories anyways. She told us the one we liked best was from the movie "Let the Right One In".
Jasper didn't call that night either.
By Friday I was expecting the sunshine. I was worried that I was growing used to it again. That was a dangerous game here in Forks. I was also expecting that Jasper wouldn't call. So, when I had gotten home from school and I was at the kitchen table eating a snack and working on some homework, I was surprised when the home phone rang. It usually didn't do that when Charlie wasn't home.
"Swan residence," I said answering it.
"Bella," came Jasper's warm voice. He sounded hesitant.
"Jasper," I said in surprise. I really had stopped expecting him to call. I figured whatever his family was off doing (images of them stopping some super-villain from destroying Gotham city kept coming to mind regardless of how much I tried to stop them), he was too busy to call. That was fine with me. He was allowed to be busy.
"I'm sorry I didn't call sooner," he said. "I-" he paused for a moment. "I wasn't sure you still wanted me to."
I actually laughed out loud at that. There was something endearing about the fact that a completely perfect specimen of a man could still get self-conscious. It made him seem… more human somehow.
"Of course I still wanted you to call Jasper," I said. I held the phone to my ear with my shoulder and picked my things up from the table, carrying them up to my room. If Charlie came home, I wanted some privacy for my call.
"Good," Jasper said, his voice flooded with relief.
"So," I said, "how's camping?" I couldn't help the inflection I put on the word, making it clear I didn't believe they were camping. Jasper laughed.
"Camping is good," he said. "It's been nice to spend some time as a family. We had some things we needed to discuss."
I wanted to ask what those things were, but I knew it was none of my business.
"I have to confess, I have a hard time picturing any of you up camping. None of you seem particularly outdoorsy," I said. "Maybe Emmett," I added after a pause. "Any chances you'll tell me where you actually are?"
Jasper laughed again.
"Would it surprise you if I said we are actually out somewhere in the Olympic National Forest? Maybe not camping in the traditional sense of the word though. What about you? Have you been enjoying the sunshine?"
"I have. Jess has made sure of it. Did you know people can die of Vitamin D deficiency?" I asked, the horror showing through in my voice.
Jasper was laughing. I loved that sound. I realized I was smiling.
"Yeah. I did know that."
"Why humans insist on inhabiting places that require vitamin supplements just to survive is beyond me," I muttered.
"I think people might make the same argument about people inhabiting places where folks frequently die of heatstroke."
I was laughing now.
"Are you saying my homeland is no better than this place?"
"I'm saying I'm glad you live in Forks now."
I was smiling so widely my cheeks hurt.
"What about you?" I asked. "Do you miss Texas?"
Jasper paused for a bit.
"I haven't been to Texas in many years. Most of my good memories from there have faded, only the bad ones are left," he said softly.
"The bad ones?" I asked.
"That's a story for another time," he said. Then, in a brighter voice, "So, any big plans for the weekend?"
"I'm going to Port Angeles with Jess and Ange to hit some shops and soak up some more sun."
"You're like a little wildflower," Jasper said. I could hear the smile in his voice.
I knew what he meant immediately. The colorful wildflowers that sprung into bloom across places like Arizona and Texas, most of the southern states, in the springtime before the sun became too hot. Renee used to take me to pick them to decorate our house every spring, or press between the pages of books. I smiled.
"Will you be back Monday?" I asked.
"Yes. We'll be coming back Sunday night." There was some kind of commotion on his end of the line. "I'm sorry, Bella. I have to go. I'll see you Monday?"
"See you Monday," I whispered. The line disconnected. I cradled the phone in my hands for a long time before I took it down to hang it back in the cradle.
The next morning, Jess came to pick me up around noon to drive to Port Angeles. Angela was already in the car. We hit the clothing stores first, because Jess was the type of person who would eat her dessert first if given the option. Delayed gratification was not in her nature, and book stores were not her favorite place in the world. We spent a few hours shopping, and helped Jess pick out a new outfit to wear when we went down to La Push next weekend. It wouldn't be sunny anymore (I couldn't help but feel excited at that), so she needed an outfit that was warm enough for windy beach weather but still cute enough to catch Mike's attention. She also helped me and Angela pick out a few outfits. Angela was more reluctant than me, as she was really not interested in impressing anyone. Though I had learned, and apparently so had Angela, that sometimes it was easier to go with the flow with Jess rather than trying to resist. She was a force of nature.
It was getting late by the time we were heading to the book store. The sun was beginning to go down. I looked nervously at the sky. We had dinner reservations to make, and I had made a decision last night of one more errand I needed to run.
"Hey," I said, "are you guys okay going to the book store without me? I had a quick errand that I needed to run and I don't want to miss dinner."
Angela and Jess looked at me concerned.
"It's getting dark, Bella. Are you sure? We can go with you," Angela said.
"No, no," I said, shaking my head. "You needed to go to the bookstore. You have a whole list. I just, I was going to get myself a cell phone while we were in town." I shrugged.
Jessica smiled widely at that.
"Well, it's about damn time. I feel terrible though. You should have told me. I wouldn't have taken so long in the shops," she said.
I laughed.
"Jess, don't worry about me. I'm from Phoenix, remember? I used to get around an actual city by myself all the time. I'll be fine. I'll meet you two at the restaurant."
This seemed to convince them.
"Okay," Jess said, "but make sure you get unlimited texting because know that I will be bugging you basically 24/7 now."
"She's really not exaggerating," Angela said.
I grinned at them. "Deal, but you'll have to cut me some slack. I'll be new. It'll be like when you give a grandma a phone."
We parted ways. They headed to the bookshop and I walked back a couple of streets away to where I had seen a small cellphone store. The woman there was kind and helped me pick out a phone and get signed up for a plan that I could afford for at least a while with the savings I had stashed away. Eventually, I would need to get a job. Unfortunately, the whole thing took longer than I expected. When I headed back out of the shop, new cellphone in hand, it was now dark out.
I tucked the phone into my pocket and started walking. The restaurant was a little ways away. I turned a corner onto a road that was darker than the others. There were no street lights, and no shops with lit up windows to illuminate the way. Across the street was a group of bikers. I thought of Jasper instantly, but these men did not seem like Jasper. They seemed ominous. They started to cat call me from across the street. Ominous and drunk. There were six of them. I forced myself to keep walking, keeping my head forward and watching them from my peripheral vision. I wish I had keys in my pocket to grasp in my hand. That was what they taught you in the self-defense classes Renee had made me take. Gauge attacker's eyes out with keys. Or knee them in the balls. I supposed I would have to go for the latter should they decide to bother me. How many of them could I realistically defend against though? I was outnumbered.
"Hey, girlie, can't you hear us talking to ya?" One of them called, stepping into the street. I tried to walk faster. They were further up the road than I was though. A couple more of them walked into the road, blocking my path. Fear kicked in. I glanced behind me, trying to decide if I could leave the way I had come, but the rest of them had moved to block off that exit as well. They were slowly walking towards me, closing me in.
I tried to run through my self-defense classes in my mind.
"Now, what's a pretty young thing like you doing alone out on the streets?" one of them asked, a gleam in his eye.
I was panicking now. I wanted to say I wasn't alone, but I couldn't seem to convince my voice to work. I also couldn't seem to convince my legs to work, not that I had anywhere to go.
"No need to be afraid, Sugar. We're just looking for a little fun."
The last time I had been this scared a van had been careening towards me. It was really unfair that the universe should make a girl fear for her life twice in a month. Hell, it would be unfair if it was twice in a lifetime. I thought desperately about what I could use as a weapon. All I came up with was maybe I could throw my new cell phone. That might take out one of them. If I had good aim or could throw hard enough. Chances were I could do neither.
The sound of an engine approaching startled me from my thoughts, but I couldn't tear my eyes from the men approaching me. I was afraid the moment I did, they would grab me. It did seem to have an effect on them though. Suddenly, without warning or explanation, they looked as afraid as I felt. It was strange and scary seeing that much fear in another person's eyes. Let alone six men who had no doubt been about to assault me. I turned to see what could have scared them so intensely and was completely surprised to see Jasper coming up the dark street on his motorcycle. He pulled to a stop next to me and handed me a helmet. It was the same helmet that I had hidden in my closet a week earlier. I was sure of it.
"Bella, are you okay?" Jasper asked his voice tense.
I could only nod. My voice still wasn't working just yet. I grabbed the helmet, shoved it on my head, and climbed on the back of the bike without being asked. The men just stood there watching us, frozen in fear. I couldn't understand why they were so frightened of Jasper. He was taller than them, sure, but he was still just one kid. They were a whole damn biker gang. Jasper took off the moment I was securely on the bike.
He pulled over a once we had driven a few minutes and were safely away from the men on a street that was awash with light from street lamps and shops.
"Bella," he said softly, helping me off the bike and gently taking the helmet off. "Are you okay?"
"I-I think so," I said, my voice was unsteady.
"You're shaking," he said.
A single, hysterical chuckle escaped me. My brain still couldn't wrap around what had just happened.
"Oh, shit," I said, realizing, "I'm supposed to meet Angela and Jessica for dinner. I'm crazy late."
"They know," he said. "I ran into them outside the restaurant, and they told me where you were. Jessica was thrilled when I offered to give you a lift home tonight." He offered me a small grin.
I weakly smiled back. Of course, Jessica would be excited about that.
"She did make me promise to get you some dinner, and tell you to text her right away so she has your new number." He handed me a piece of paper where Jess had written down her cell phone.
I felt split between realities. The harsh one where I had almost been attacked on the street, and my real life where Jess was being the best wing woman all the time. I pulled out my phone and shot her a text message.
Hey Jess. It's Bella. Oh boy do I have a story for you, and it's not even about my new dinner plans. Thanks for that by the way. ;P
"So," I said, "I'm getting dinner out of this whole affair?" I tried to sound nonchalant, but my voice still shook a little.
Jasper smiled, nodding up to the building we had stopped outside of. It was a restaurant called Sapor. I hadn't even noticed where we were before. We walked in and Jasper gave his name to the hostess who seated us in a secluded corner booth. I wondered when he could have possibly made a reservation. Wasn't he still supposed to be out of town?
The waiter was at our table almost immediately. I was impressed. I never got this good of service in Phoenix. Small town life did have its charms after all.
"Anything I can get you two started to drink?" he asked, smiling down at me.
"I'll have an iced tea," I said, "thanks."
He turned to look at Jasper.
"Nothing for me, tonight. Thank you though," he said.
The waiter nodded and left.
"Jasper," I said softly when I was sure the waiter was out of earshot, "earlier, with those men. I've never seen anyone look so scared. What happened?"
Jasper looked down at the table evasively.
"Does it matter, Bella? They're gone now."
"Of course it matters!" I said exasperated, a little too loudly. I glanced around to make sure no one was looking at us after my outburst. "Look, I know there is some big secret, and I know you can't actually be the real life X-Men-" he let out a self-deprecating chuckle at that "-but I know you had something to do with it. That's twice now you've probably saved my life. I just… I just want to know."
The waiter came back, dropping off my drink.
"Are you ready to order?" he asked.
"Uh, I'll have the halibut," I said, quickly glancing down at the menu I had neglected up until that point.
The waited nodded, jotting down on his pad, looking over to Jasper.
"Nothing for me," Jasper said again.
The waiter left. I just turned and looked at Jasper expectantly again.
Jasper appraised me for a moment, as though debating something in his mind. It felt like the stand-off lasted decades, but really it could have only been a minute.
"I made them afraid," he said quietly.
"Yeah, I get that," I said, rolling my eyes, "but how? What did you do that scared a whole ass biker gang?"
The corners of Jasper's mouth quirked up into the smallest smile.
"No Bella, I did nothing. I simply made them feel fear," he said. I was still confused. He must have seen that in my expression so he continued. "Alice said that she told you about her and Edward last week. About how they have abilities beyond normal for our kind."
"Yeah," I said, realization dawning. "She said you did too."
"I can control the emotions of people around me." He said it in such a simple casual tone, you'd think he had just confessed to collecting model trains or some shit.
"Excuse me?" I asked in shock.
He grinned. "May I demonstrate?"
I looked at him warily, unsure I wanted my emotions controlled, but I trusted Jasper. I nodded. Suddenly, the panic that had been gripping me since my encounter with the men lessened. A deep sense of calm began to wash over me. I felt peaceful, dreamy, content. I shook my head, as though trying to clear a fog from it. Jasper frowned slightly, and the calm lifted.
"I'm sorry," he said his tone worried.
"You did that last week," I said, remembering now, "at your house, to help me sleep."
He looked guilty. "It seemed harmless. I'm sorry, Bella."
"Have you done it before?" I asked suddenly concerned, my mind racing through our interactions.
"Never on purpose," he said, looking down at the table.
The waiter came and dropped off my dish. I took a couple of bites before I asked, "What do you mean, 'never on purpose'?"
"I- Sometimes, when I get overwhelmed I can't help projecting that emotion. I don't mean to. That first day in class, I was so angry. I couldn't hold it in. And the day with the van."
I remembered. I could place what he was talking about now that he pointed it out. I had been so oddly angry that first day in class, so unlike myself. I wanted to ask why he was so angry with me that first day now that we were being more open with each other, but Jasper kept talking.
"I'm used to using my… talent on the people around me. But I never wanted to use it on you, Bella. Ever since that day it snowed and you walked into class, you were feeling such unexpected joy. I've felt people's joy before, but unexpected joy was something new entirely. And you felt everything so strongly. It was all so pure, so you. I never wanted to mess with your emotions. I want to experience every one of them as honestly and purely as you feel them."
"YOU CAN FEEL OTHER PEOPLE'S EMOTIONS TOO?!" I asked in a fierce whisper. I was trying hard to keep my voice down, but the shock I felt was too strong.
"I-" Jasper started, his eyes searching my face wildly for a moment, "yes, I can. I'm sorry. Do you want to leave?"
He looked ashamed.
"Leave?" I asked confused, looking down at my half-finished dinner. I was still hungry.
"I just thought- most people don't like it. They think it's an invasion of privacy. Which it sort of is. People like being around Edward even less," he said, trailing off at the end. It was the first time I had heard him ramble.
"Jasper, you just saved my life. I'm not upset. I'm just embarrassed. Which, I guess you should know," I chuckled softly. "Wait, can Edward tell people's emotions too?"
"Oh, no. He can hear people's thoughts."
I nearly choked on my fish. There he went again saying insane things in a casual tone.
"I'm sorry, he can do what now?" I blushed a deep shade of crimson, thinking of all the very dirty thoughts I had had about Jasper in front of Edward.
"Don't worry," Jasper said with a grin, "he can't hear yours. It's actually been a topic of great debate in the Cullen household."
"Why can't he hear mine?" I asked, privately pleased.
"We have no idea. You're the first. I actually think it bugs him a little bit, but he settles for being around you when you are near me."
"Why?" I asked cautiously.
Jasper laughed. "Because he can read my thoughts, and I can still feel your emotions. He figures that's a good enough substitute."
"I don't know how Alice puts up with either of you," I said, a little grumpily.
"Trust me, she's got her own quirks that we put up with," Jasper said, giving one of those obscure smiles that told me there was more to the story.
"Any chance you'll tell me what her special ability is?"
Jasper shook his head. "Nice try. You already tricked me into spilling Edward's secret. He'll be disappointed."
I took another bite of food chewing carefully.
"Jasper, why did you come home early?"
He sighed, looking at me.
"Some old friends of mine are in town," he said, talking slowly like he was picking his words carefully.
"Then shouldn't you be spending time with them?"
"I'll see them before they leave."
"So then that really doesn't answer my question."
"Peter and Charlotte are… good. In a sense. And I owe Peter a debt of gratitude that I don't think could ever be repaid. But unlike what you seem to think, my family are not the X-Men. We are not the good guys. Other people like us are even less so. I came back because you told me you were coming to Port Angeles today. I needed to make sure you and your friends were safe."
"You thought-" I struggled to form the sentence, "you thought we could be in danger from your friends?"
He looked guilty again.
"Jasper, how did you find me tonight?" I asked, changing the subject, hoping to save him from his discomfort.
"You were afraid," he said.
I felt a sudden rush of gratitude for his ability to read my emotions. Whether he thought he was good or not, he was my literal life-saving hero.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out.
Bella. Omg. Did you just use a literal emoticon? You actually are a grandma. Can't wait to hear about your date.
I rolled my eyes.
"What?" Jasper asked. I blushed furiously, too embarrassed to tell him that Jess had called our dinner a date.
"Oh, just Jess," I said. He raised his eyebrows at me. Oh right, he could tell when I was embarrassed. Just great. He dropped it though.
"So," he said, smiling at me and pulling out his card to give to the waiter when he came by with the bill, "do I get to have your new cell phone number? Or is this a 'no boys allowed' type of situation?"
I laughed. "You can have my number," I said, reading it off to him as he typed it into his cell phone. "Give it to Alice when you get home as well."
"Don't worry, if I didn't, Edward would."
"Oh my God. You two must get really obnoxious together," I said.
Jasper just grinned at me. When the waiter came back with his card, he scribbled a tip onto the receipt, and we stood to leave.
"Are you okay driving all the way back on the bike?" he asked, sounding anxious as we got out the door.
"I'm fine with it, but you won't be able to drop me off out in front of the house or Charlie will flip."
"I'm sure he'll be in bed by the time we get there," Jasper said, shrugging it off.
"What makes you say that?" I asked. It wouldn't be much after nine by the time we got home. I couldn't imagine why Charlie would go to bed that early.
"Oh, Alice told me," he said, grinning, and handed me the helmet.
"I'm sorry. That's going to take some more explanation," I said, pulling the helmet on and climbing on the bike behind him.
"Nice try, Bella," he said, kicking the motorcycle to life. "That's far more than enough questions for one night."
"I know you know how irritating that is," I said. He just laughed and took off.
He must have been driving quickly because the drive that usually would have taken over an hour took us only around forty. I hadn't even noticed. I loved the thrill of the wind rushing past us and the feel of Jasper's body in front of mine on the bike. When we stopped in front of Charlie's house, I saw that Jasper was right, the house was completely dark. Charlie must have gone to bed early.
I climbed off the bike and pulled the helmet off, holding it out to Jasper. He shook his head.
"You keep it," he said. "I'm sure you'll need it again soon anyway."
I smiled at that.
"By the way, how did you get it back?" I asked curiously.
He just shook his head again, laughing.
"I told you, Bella, no more questions tonight."
"You, Jasper Hale, are a knowledge tease," I said.
He just grinned at me, and hopped back on the motorcycle, and drove away.