Chapter 6:
It was bright. That was the first thing Nic noticed upon opening her eyes. The lightness of the room she was in stung her eyes and she had to squint for a moment to allow them to adjust.
The second thing she noticed was that the room was completely stark, and looked to be endless.
"Where the fuck am I?" She mumbled to herself.
"You're in the in-between." Said a familiar, female voice. Nic jumped, not having expected a response to her question. She turned around to where the voice had come from and nearly burst into tears at the sight of her mom.
"Mami… are you really here? I'm imagining this, aren't I?" She cried, rushing into her mother's arms.
"Hola, mi amor." Her mom smiled, hugging Nic back. "To answer your questions, yes and no."
"I guess that means I'm dead." Nic knew her chances of getting out of there alive had been slim, but now that she actually was dead, she couldn't help but think back on everything she never got the chance to do. On the forefront of her mind was the fact that she never got to apologize to Jasper. She never got to tell him the truth. She never got to tell him how she really felt about him.
"No, baby." Melissa said, shaking her head. "The in-between state means that you can go either way. The decision is entirely up to you."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you can choose to wake up and go back to the land of the living. Or, you can walk with me and I can lead you into the light, so to speak."
It was quiet for a moment before she asked her mom quietly. "What do you think I should do?"
Melissa smiled at her daughter. She'd grown so much since the last she had seen her. Her hair was different, eyebrows bushier, and eyes more haunted, but still just as beautiful.
"What does your heart tell you?" She asked simply, and Nic's involuntary groan made Melissa laugh loudly. Nic may have grown a lot, but she was still the same Nic.
"Okay, okay." Melissa held up her hands, as if surrendering to her daughter. "You still have so much to live for, mi amor. I don't want to see you give that up. It's not your time."
Nic shook her head, her eyes flooding with tears. "No, I don't. You and papi are gone. I have no one. I have nothing to live for."
"What about Jasper?"
Nic's eyes widened.
"Don't look so shocked, Nic. Dead or not, I'm still your mom and mom's are all-knowing, remember?"
Nic let out a slightly strangled laugh. Even in death her mom had not lost her slightly dark sense of humor. If anything, it had gotten even darker. She'd missed it a lot more than she had thought she would.
"Yeah, I remember. I just—I don't know, mami. We got into a fight before I got into this whole mess and I don't know if he'll forgive me for what I said to him."
Melissa rolled her eyes at her daughter's slightly pessimistic attitude. She knew she had taught her better than that.
"Please, Nic. Your dad and I have seen how that boy looks at you… He approves, by the way." She winked at her daughter. "Jasper's in love with you, and there is nothing that you could have said to drive him away." Melissa and Andrés had tried not to look down at their daughter from Heaven too often, wanting to respect her privacy, but they had done so a few times while Jasper had been around. That boy was absolutely head over heels in love with their daughter. Melissa wouldn't even be surprised if the boy was sitting at her bedside right now, waiting for Nic to wake up.
"Jasper doesn't love me." Nic said bashfully. He couldn't love her, not after she'd been lying to him for months.
"Ay mi amor. Sometimes you can be the smartest person in the room, but other times, I genuinely do worry for you." Melissa shook her head at her daughter, a teasing smile on her face. "I know I told you that the decision was entirely up to you, but I've changed my mind. You're going to wake up, and you're going to tell that boy exactly how you feel about him, and then you're going to live happily ever after. You're not 18 yet, so you still have to listen to me, Nic."
Nic sighed, tears streaming down her face. "How am I supposed to live happily ever after without you and papi?" She asked.
"You don't have to, baby. Me and your dad are always going to be in here." Melissa settled her hand on her daughter's chest, right where her heart would be. "You'll never lose us as long as you keep us in there."
"I just miss you guys so much." She cried, pulling her mom into her arms one last time.
"We miss you so much, too, Nic. But you have to wake up now."
And so she did.
Rosalie had been sitting in Jasper's abandoned chair for what felt like an eternity. She'd long since finished the five magazines she'd brought along with her and was now staring at the human girl, willing her to wake up so that her favorite brother (by default because Edward couldn't possibly be anyone's favorite) would finally stop moping.
Rosalie's will must have been incredibly powerful because the girl's hand had started to twitch. It stopped a moment later, leaving Rosalie feeling oddly dejected at the thought of the girl still trapped within her own mind.
But then her hand started twitching again and a moment later, a low groan sounded from the girl's mouth as she opened her eyes to yet another too bright room.
Just like last time, Nic squinted her eyes, willing her eyes to adjust to the room's brightness. She could make out a silhouette sitting in the chair next to the bed, but she couldn't tell who it was.
"Damn light." She mumbled, and in a rare moment of concern for a human, Rosalie stood up and walked to the where the light dimmer was situated by the door. Seconds later, the room was considerably less bright and Rosalie walked back to her seat.
"Thanks." Nic mumbled, finally being able to look over at who was at her bedside. She'd assumed it was Rey, but received the shock of her life upon seeing Rosalie Hale casually sitting in the uncomfortable plastic chair, looking every bit as modelesque as she usually did.
"You're welcome." Rosalie said simply, staring at the human in slight wonder. Nic shifted uncomfortably beneath her gaze.
"Jasper was here a while ago, but I made him go home to get some rest since he'd been here for days. I can go call him, if you'd like." Rosalie's tone was overly polite. She didn't know how to interact with humans in a mostly non-hostile manner, so she was doing her best to ensure she didn't spook the human like she had the last time they spoke.
"N-no," Nic stuttered out. "That's okay. You should let him get some rest. I can talk to him later." She would need a while to gather herself anyway after almost being murdered, after all. Never mind the fact that she'd just had a conversation with her dead mother. Nic wasn't entirely sure she was stable enough to talk to Jasper just yet.
At this Rosalie smirked. "I can guarantee that the last thing my brother is doing right now is resting. I'd even wager that he's religiously checking his phone for a notification from me that you've woken up."
Nic sighed. She hated that she'd worried him so much. "You can call him then, if you want."
Rosalie had a feeling that maybe the human needed some time to readjust to being properly alive again, so she decided to allow her a small mercy. "Let me have my father check over you first, and then we can give Jasper a call with the good news."
Nic was perfectly okay with this idea.
Rosalie rose from her seat. "I'll be back in just a moment."
Nic took that moment to try to shift herself into a less uncomfortable position. A sharp sting of pain from her stomach stopped her from moving any further. She definitely didn't want to tear into her stitches so she tried her best to relax her body on the uncomfortable hospital bed she'd been trapped in for days, apparently.
She was alive. That was a good thing.
Nic remembered everything up until the moment she passed out. Unfortunately, she'd passed out almost immediately after firing her shot into the still nameless man, so she didn't know what had come from that. She'd been aiming for his head, but Nic didn't have enough faith in her shooting abilities to say she'd made the shot for sure. Nic wondered where Rey was. She wanted the full story, but she also knew that Rey was a government official and government officials were often trapped behind a wall of red tape. She'd have to be patient for now until Rey could make it in.
Rosalie walked back into the room a moment later, followed by a handsome blond haired man. He had the same features Nic had started to associate with the Cullen family, so she could only assume this was Carlisle, their adoptive father.
Nic had never met either Carlisle or Esme, Jasper's adoptive mother. They had typically only hung out at school or at Nic's house so the opportunity had never come up.
"I'm glad to see you're awake, Lainie." He spoke, his voice was smooth, almost soothing. It took a moment for Nic to remember that everyone would still know her as Lainie. She doubted Rey would make her identity public knowledge, so going by Lainie would be inevitable for the time being.
"Yeah, you and me both, Doc." And she was glad. For a moment she had considered stepping into the light with her mom, but being back made Nic realize that she did want to live. Like her mom said, it wasn't her time yet.
"Your vitals look normal." He said, having pulled up her information on the digitalized chart. "How's the pain?"
"Manageable." He nodded.
"I'll have Nurse Jackie bring in some acetaminophen tablets for you." Nic had half a mind to jokingly ask for something stronger, but she didn't want Jasper's dad to think she was a druggie.
"Do you mind if I check over the stitches on your stomach? We'll have to pull up your gown for that."
"Yeah, that's fine." Nic said and once again attempted to readjust herself on the bed so that she could pull the gown up from below her covers. Rosalie, noticing the human was having trouble, gently reached over and helped her sit up, tugging the gown up as she did so and covering up the girl's legs with the blanket. Carlisle shot her an appreciative smile.
Doctor Cullen looked over the sutures on Nic's stomach, and then on the ones on her cheek and arm. "These are healing nicely. We can go ahead and remove the stitches on your cheek and arm tomorrow, and then I'll have you come back in next week to remove the ones on your abdomen."
Nic nodded. She'd probably have a scar on her face for the rest of her life now, which was admittedly better than being dead. The slightly vain part of Nic couldn't help but mourn the loss of her smooth cheek. She'd look like the female Tony Montana. Maybe I'll start trafficking cocaine, too, she thought jokingly.
"I'm going to keep you overnight for observation, but you should be okay to be discharged tomorrow after we've removed the stitches." He smiled warmly at her before bidding her and Rosalie goodbye and sweeping out of the room.
A couple minutes later, a nurse shuffled in, handing Nic a cup with two tablets and a small bottle of water. She quickly downed them, chugging the rest of the water to hide the taste of the powdery pills. Nurse Jackie informed Nic she'd be by later to check on her and to push the call button to the side of her bed if she needed anything before then.
The nurse's departure left a slightly awkward silence in the room. Nic broke it with the one question she was really wanting to know.
"Does Jasper hate me?" Rosalie stared blankly at the human for a moment before letting out a loud, tinkling laugh. She laughed for only a moment before catching herself and quickly shutting up. A look of amusement was still etched on her face, however, and Nic was on the verge of panicking. Her spiking heart rate told Rosalie as much, so she took pity on the human.
"My brother could never hate you. He is actually a little too fond of you, in my opinion."
Nic ignored the slight dig. "But I've been lying to him this whole time. Lainie isn't even my goddamn name. I'm literally a fraud." Her voice was distressed and Rosalie raised a delicate, blonde eyebrow in the girl's direction.
"Alright, well, let me ask you something… in the time that you and my brother have been talking, have you faked how you felt about him and his friendship?" Nic shook her head. "Have you ever lied to him about anything that wasn't absolutely necessary for you to lie to him about? Anything that wouldn't have risked your safety?" Again, Nic shook her head.
"In that case, I think it's safe to say that Jasper will have no issue forgiving you for the necessary lies you told to ensure your safety." She paused for a moment before letting out a light, slightly sarcastic laugh. "You may even find that he'd forgiven you the moment you walked away from him that day in school."
Rosalie let Nic mull over her words for a few minutes. It was completely silent in the room, the only sound coming from Nic's heart monitor.
"Thank you, Rosalie." Rosalie ignored her words, and Nic was once again reminded of Larissa. That girl could never accept a thanks, even if it hit her violently upside the head.
"Would you like me to go call my brother now?"
Nic nodded, and with that Rosalie left the room, taking her bag with her, with no intention of returning.
Rey made it to the hospital before Jasper did. She'd run into the room, apologizing to Nic profusely for not having been there when she'd woken up.
"Seriously, Rey. It's okay. I know you're just doing your job." Nic had told her.
"I spoke with the D.A." Rey started. "They won't be offering him a plea deal. The evidence is rock solid, so there's no way he's getting out with anything less than life. I tried to push for the death penalty, but the D.A. assigned to the case doesn't really believe in it and whatnot."
So that means I missed, thought Nic.
Rey wished she could get the case reassigned. That fucker didn't deserve to live after what he had done, but she knew that would only further complicate the trial proceedings. She didn't want to continue prolonging Nic's misery.
"That's okay. Now he gets to rot in prison for the rest of his life. Bored out of his fucking mind." She still couldn't believe that the man had ruined her life, and four other girls' as well, because he had been bored.
"You know, I'm proud of you." Rey said suddenly. "He was right there, Nic. You had the gun pointed at him, and you could have chosen the vengeful route, you could have chosen to kill him, but you didn't. So, I'm proud of you."
Oh wow. Nic had not been expecting her to say something like that and suddenly she felt bad because that was not what had happened at all. Having enough of lying, however, Nic decided to tell Rey the truth.
"Rey, I was aiming for his head." It was silent for a second before the sound of Rey's laughter filled the room.
"Oh my god, wow, your aim was way off." Her laughter had yet to subside.
"Where did the bullet even hit, anyway?" Nic's question brought out a whole new round of Rey's laughter. It took a moment for her to wheeze out that she'd hit him in the leg.
"Good thing, too. He was trying to run away when Chief Swan tackled him to the ground."
"Well I never did claim to be a superior marksman." Nic joked. It felt good to do that again.
"Good, 'cause that'd be the worst lie you'd ever told." And they both knew she'd told plenty of those. "I'm still proud of you, kid. We found the note and Larissa's bracelet in your car. I wish you'd come to me first, but I understand why you did what you did." Nic was a loyal friend through and through. Rey couldn't fault her for that.
"Speaking of," she said, reaching her hand into her jacket pocket. "Here." In her hand was Larissas's charm bracelet. It was a simple gold bracelet with a heart charm attached between an 'L' charm and 'N' charm. Nic had one just like it, but it was probably in an evidence lock-up somewhere in Orlando.
"I'm having some stuff shipped out over here for you, early birthday present of sorts. It should be here before you get discharged tomorrow."
"Are you going to be sticking around?" Nic asked hopefully. Rey knew she was about to break her heart, but she wasn't really given much of a choice. Nic didn't need her protection anymore. Her bosses were already looking into other cases she'd be a good fit for.
"Only until you turn 18 next week." She said, looking down at her hands. "I've already gotten it cleared for you to be able to keep the house and car for as long as you need to. You can stay here and graduate, figure out what you want to do and whatnot."
"I guess I can't really ask for much more from you guys. But I am going to miss you, Rey."
Rey leaned over and pulled Nic into a gentle side hug, making sure not to graze any of her stitches. "I'm gonna miss you, too, Nic." Then she looked at Nic with a slight smirk on her face, "But I think you're gonna be just fine with Jasper Hale at your side."
"Why does everyone keep assuming that he's just going to magically appear by my side and everything's suddenly going to be okay?" Nic cried, slightly dramatically considering his own sister, who she thought didn't even like her, had reassured her that everything would indeed be okay between them.
"Maybe because I can see him pacing outside in the hallway, obviously very eager to talk to you."
"Oh." Was all Nic could muster out.
"Yeah," Rey smirked. "oh."
With that, she took her leave, promising to be back the following day to pick her up and take her home.
Jasper knocked on the door a moment later, peering his head inside, but not yet stepping into the room. "Is it okay if I come in?"
He couldn't feel any anger emanating from her, but that didn't mean that she was ready to talk to him. He hadn't been there for her when she'd needed him the most. Jasper wouldn't fault her if she did hate him. He'd hate him too if he were in her position.
Nic nodded, not yet trusting her voice. Jasper walked inside the room and took a seat on the chair Rey had previously occupied.
He was quiet for a couple minutes, not sure how to put into words exactly what he was feeling.
"You scared me, Lainie. I thought I was going to lose you."
Now or never, Nic thought. She'd been waiting for this moment for so long now, but not once had she practiced what she would say when the time came. That hardly mattered though. She doubted she would've anticipated the conversation happening after almost getting herself killed, her laying in a hospital bed. That tends to change things, somewhat.
"Nic." She said simply.
"Nic." He tested. Jasper remembered the conversation with his siblings months ago where she had called herself that in her mind. He hadn't realized it at the time, but the name seemed to suit her much better than Lainie did. It felt more natural. "So that's your real name."
"Well, technically it's Nicolette. Nicolette Ríos, but people usually called me Nic." Jasper nodded, he opened his mouth to respond, but she continued, her voice now sounding distressed. The heart monitor to her left picked up as her heart started beating faster. She didn't look over, but he detected she was a bit embarrassed by the sound.
"Look, Jasper, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I said and how I acted toward you the other day. I know you were only asking because you care, but something happened and I wasn't ready to acknowledge what it actually had been and I was so angry, and then I just took it out on you and that was completely unfair of me. I would completely understand if you hated me—"
"Nic." Jasper interrupted, a sad smile on his face. He picked up her hand, interlacing his fingers with her own. "There is not a single thing you could ever do that would make me hate you. You shouldn't even be the one apologizing for what happened that day, I should." He said, squeezing her hand lightly. "I overstepped. I pushed you into a corner, and I'm sorry for that. I will apologize for the rest of forever if I have to for what I made you feel that day."
Nic shook her head. "No, you were just trying to be a good friend. You don't have to apologize for that."
"But I do. You weren't wrong that day." Jasper hesitated. "About my family. We do have a secret, and I'm going to tell you everything, Nic. I promise."
"But you said your secret was life or death. I don't want you to feel like you have to share something like that with me if it's going to put you in danger." And Nic wasn't lying. She understood how a secret that could alter the course of your life could weigh you down, especially knowing that your life would be in danger if people were to find out. She didn't want Jasper to feel like he was obligated to tell her just because she was opening up to him.
"You said yours was life or death, too, yet you just told me who you really are."
Nic laughed, slightly sarcastically, but it was the same laugh he'd come to know and love, not that manic sounding laughter he'd last heard from her. "Not anymore it isn't. The reason I had to hide who I was is now rotting in a jail cell awaiting trial. I don't have to worry about him hurting me or anyone else ever again. That means that I can tell you the whole truth, Jasper. But I know the circumstances may not be the same for you. I'm okay not knowing."
"Well that's just too bad, darlin', 'cause I'm gonna tell you anyway." He said firmly. Jasper wasn't going to take the out she had just given him. He was coming to the realization that he didn't just want Nic now. He wanted her for the rest of his eternity, and if that was something she wanted, too, he would not deny her. She needed to know the whole truth first though.
Nic's heart sped up at Jasper calling her 'darlin.' He'd never done it before and she found she really liked the sound of it. What she didn't like, however, was her heart monitor blatantly exposing her. She looked away from Jasper, more than slightly embarrassed, but he just shook his head and let out a relieved laugh. "You have no idea how happy I am that you're okay."
"Yeah, me, too." She paused. "I guess there's no better time than now for me to tell you the whole truth. I am stuck here for another day, after all." She said, motioning toward her hospital bed.
Jasper shook his head. "You don't have to tell me right now. You've just woken up, maybe you should take it easy."
"I've been in a coma for several days, Jas. I've been doing literally nothing but taking it easy." She laughed. "Honestly, I just really need you to know the whole truth. It's been driving me crazy for months, not being able to say anything to you. Lying's never really been my forte, ya know."
"Despite how damn good at it you are?" He teased. She may have gotten away with it had he not been perceptive to her emotions, and Edward privy to her thoughts. Nic had managed to fool all her other friends, though Jasper wasn't entirely sure if that was due to her skill or because they were all particularly self-involved teenagers.
"Not with you." She laughed. "It's funny because I could never really seem to lie to you. You may have met Lainie, Jasper, but it was Nic you got to know."
"So I don't have to worry about a personality switch all of a sudden?"
"I won't speak too soon on that." Nic giggled. It felt good to laugh so freely again, thought Nic. She was no longer plagued with the guilt those moments of enjoyment had brought her. She was finally free.
Nic quickly sobered up, though. She wouldn't put off telling Jasper any longer. "Anyway, I guess I should probably start from the beginning."
"That's usually the best place to start." He nodded. "But please, Nic, if this is going to be too much for you, we can have this conversation later."
"Nah, kinda just wanna rip off this band-aid already." And with that she delved into her real past.
Nic told him about her life growing up in Miami with her parents, Melissa and Andrés Ríos. She told him about her best friend Larissa and her then-boyfriend Jonathan (at this, Jasper felt a hint of jealousy course through him until he realized she'd been speaking of the boy with a sort of detached fondness that implied that what she felt for him was no longer love). She explained how everything had started with a letter; how the police couldn't help them; how she'd gotten home from school the following day only to find the grisly sight of her parents' mutilated bodies. Nic explained how she'd been made a ward of the state, not having any other living relatives to take her in.
She told him of the anger she felt when she found out her parent's murderer was now after her and how they'd have to fake her death and place her into WITSEC. As she recounted this bit, she stroked her right hand, explaining how she'd put her hand through a window when she found out. Jasper realized that this was where the scars he had noticed that day in the library had come from. Apparently she'd always had a bit of a temper. "Must be the Aries in me, I guess." She had shrugged, jokingly. The conversation was a bit heavy and she had felt better throwing a joke in there.
Nic went on to describe her time in Orlando and in Asheville. How Rey had taught her some basic self-defense and how to use a gun. She told him of how they'd decided to permanently relocate her to Forks, and how she had fully intended not to make any friends. With a joking grin on her face, she informed him how he'd ruined that by worming his way into her life. She told him that she was thankful for him having done so, and how he had helped her feel more and more like herself with each passing day, despite posing as somebody completely different. At this point, she'd been gripping Jasper's hand as if it were a life line. In a way, it was. Jasper had been the only thing keeping her anchored when she had wanted nothing more than to drift away into the abyss. He still was.
Nic had completely sobered up when she had to tell him about the events that triggered her slightly manic episode from the week prior. She'd explained to him how the man had approached her, complimenting her hair, but telling her how great she'd look with pastel pink hair. The encounter had shaken her because that had been the last color her hair had been dyed prior to having to strip it to go fully blonde for her cover as Lainie. Nic had forced herself to believe it was all a coincidence, despite her instincts telling her otherwise. Everything came to a head when she'd found the note and Larissa's bracelet inside of an envelope the man had left on her car. She described the encounter with him with as little detail as she could, not really wanting to re-live the whole thing again. She knew she'd have to when she took the stand to testify, but twice would be more than enough for a lifetime.
"I think I came out worse for wear, but then again, I'm not the one that's gonna waste away in a prison cell for the rest of my life, so maybe not."
"I'm sorry, Nic. I should have been there, maybe then you wouldn't be stuck in this hospital bed right now." Jasper hated how he hadn't been there to protect her. That's what mates were supposed to do, protect one another, but he hadn't done any of the sort.
"Jasper," Nic chastised, "it's actually kind of adorable that you think I would've told you about me going to meet with that bastard. I wasn't sure if I was going to walk out of there alive. The last thing I would've done was put you in a position to be killed alongside me. What kind of friend would I have been if I'd done that?" It hurt her to call herself his friend when she wanted so much more. She'd leave that conversation for another day though.
Jasper shook his head. "I should have known. I should have been here."
"How were you to have known? It's not like you're psychic or anything." Jasper looked away guiltily. He may not have been psychic, but he did know one.
"About that," he started, reaching his arm to rub at the back of his neck. A more human gesture he'd picked up on when he'd started hanging out with Nic regularly. Nic quickly interrupted.
"Oh my God." She lightly gasped. "Is that your secret? You're psychic?" She whispered the last part, well aware of the open hospital door. "No wait, don't tell me. I said you didn't have to tell me, and I'm not gonna go back on that. But if you are, that's totally awesome!"
Jasper couldn't help but laugh at her excitement. He took her in completely, wanting to memorize every feature of hers in case she decided she wanted nothing more to do with him once she learned the truth. In case this was the last time he saw her.
"I'm not psychic, Nic." He said quietly, moving from his chair to go push the door closed. A hospital room wasn't the most private location, but he'd make it work. Jasper wasn't going to put off telling her any longer. "What I am, is a vampire. My whole family is, actually."
Nic stared at him blankly. Her head tilted to the side, examining him, trying to detect even a hint of humor in his countenance. She didn't find any.
"You're not joking."
"No, Nic. I'm dead serious." At this, Nic combusted into a fit of giggles. Jasper, not really understanding why she was laughing, decided to give her a moment. She took in a deep breath, intent on speaking, but started giggling again.
"Why are you laughing?" Jasper was, admittedly distressed. At this he wasn't sure if she was taking it very well or very badly.
"I'm laughing," she giggled again, "because you said 'dead serious' and it's true, you are, because you're a vampire, a literal corpse."
Now it was time for Jasper to stare at her blankly. His mouth was hanging open slightly, trying to gain of grasp of what was currently happening. He'd just told her that he was a vampire, and she was laughing. Jasper must have been silent for too long because she quickly stopped laughing and started panicking. Finally, a normal reaction, Jasper thought.
"Oh my god, Jas, I'm so sorry, that joke was probably really offensive to your kind. I didn't mean to make you feel bad."
He'd spoken too soon.
Now Jasper was the one laughing, albeit a bit awkwardly. "No, you didn't make me feel bad, your reaction just threw me off for a moment there. You're right, actually. We are technically walking corpses."
"So other than the obvious bit of drinking blood, what else does being a vampire entail? Do you guys burn in the sunlight? Is that why you guys always go 'camping' when it's sunny outside?"
Of course that'd be her first question.
"That," he said, "is a myth. We actually refract light in the sun."
"So you sparkle." She deadpanned. "Like a diamond."
"Well, yes, that's another way of putting it." She grinned at him teasingly.
"What kind of powers do you guys have?"
"Once changed, all vampires have enhanced speed, strength, and sight. Some vampire may have an additional gift, but that is not usually the case. Psychic abilities, for example." Nic interrupted him then.
"Alice is psychic, isn't she?" Jasper looked at her amazed.
"Yes, how did you—" She interrupted him again.
"That day in the cafeteria, the first time we had lunch together. You said Alice just knew things. Doesn't take a genius to put two and two together." She shrugged. "Do you have a gift, too?"
Jasper nodded. "Pathokinesis." He said. "I can detect and manipulate emotions."
"Is that why I've always felt so calm when I'm around you?" She inquired curiously.
Jasper shook his head. "I've done my best not manipulate your emotions too often. It has happened maybe a handful of times."
"So why am I always calm around you?" She asked before continuing. "It's weird, like I could be around you and feel perfectly okay, but then sometimes when you'd leave, all the bad stuff would just come rushing back. I think that's why I let you get as close as you did because I didn't really want to in the beginning. You always made me feel normal again." Nic spoke softly, recalling how hesitant she'd been to hang out with him. She was glad she'd taken the chance though.
"It's the bond you're feeling." He said quietly, then clarified. "The mate bond."
"Mate? Like what Australians and Brits call their friends?" She joked.
"No, like soul-mates."
Did he just—
"Oh my God."
Jasper was her soul-mate. She was his soul-mate.
"That's in no way an obligation for you to feel like you have to be with me, Nic. I know I've thrown a lot your way with all this, and I know you probably will need some time to process all of this because you are a lot calmer than you should be and—" Nic interrupted him, but he continued, "and it really is okay if you decide—" she tried to cut in again, but again, he continued, "that you want to put some distance between us for now. Or permanently, if that's what you want—"
"Jesus fucking Christ, Jasper." Nic stated forcefully, finally shutting him up. "You must be real nervous if you're rambling like that, which I don't really understand because you can literally detect emotions. Tell me, are these the emotions of someone who wants you to stay away from them?" She asked him.
Nic didn't know what she was doing, but somehow she was pushing toward him everything she was feeling for him in that moment. Amusement. Excitement. Adoration. Hope. Love.
Jasper's face softened. He shook his head, "I don't understand how you're taking this so well. You're not even the slightest bit scared about anything I've just told you.
"Should I be scared?"
"Well, you haven't even asked me about what kind of blood my family and I drink."
"Alright, Jasper, I'll bite." She threw a wink in his direction and he grinned slightly in amusement. "What kind of blood do you drink?"
"We drink animal blood. Vegetarians, is what we call ourselves."
"So ya'll out there drinking Bambi and you have the audacity to call yourselves vegetarians?" She playfully gasped. Jasper just rolled his eyes.
"Well I tend to favor more mountain lion than deer," he laughed, "but yes, essentially."
"Okay, so remind me again why I should be scared?"
"Because, my family and I, we're monsters." He'd said it so seriously that Nic fought hard not to burst into laughter again. She stifled the giggles, quickly sobering up and shaking her head at Jasper.
"The funniest part about what you're trying to tell me is that you actually expect me to believe that you're a monster. As if I didn't just face a real, true, honest to God monster. Who was human, by the way."
"It's our choices that make us who we are, Jasper. You're not a monster. You're just Jasper Hale, friendly neighborhood vampire. My best friend. My soul-mate, apparently." She shrugged. "The simple fact that you're so torn up about it just goes to show that you're not what you think. A true monster, embraces his nature. From what you've told me, you and your family seem to be going against it. So please, don't call yourself a monster ever again."
Jasper could only nod, slightly in awe at her tirade on his behalf.
Later that evening, Jasper was lounging in the living room of his and his family's home, recounting what had happened to his family. He hadn't been planning on leaving the hospital room, but his confession of no longer needing sleep had given her pause as she'd began preparing for bed. She'd promptly kicked him out of the room for the night, deciding that him watching her sleep was just entirely too creepy for her liking. Jasper didn't disagree.
"I think I understand why I couldn't see her before." Alice said, a faraway look in her eye. She was looking into the future. Everyone waited until she'd come back to the present.
"What'd ya see?" Boomed Emmett, almost immediately.
"I was looking for the wrong person this whole time. That's why I couldn't see her clearly before, she was never actually Lainie Cortes."
"So we've discovered a new limitation to your power." Carlisle said, curious. "When you look into the future of someone, you think specifically of that person, and that person alone, so if the name you know them as is not fully tethered to their own personal identity, it would make sense for visions to be unclear." Alice nodded.
"Okay, but what did you see?" Emmett persisted. He'd never been particularly patient.
Alice grinned. "Jasper and Nic. Happily ever after."
Author's note: Here is chapter 6! This was meant to be a bit longer, but I've been working through a bit of a block and I didn't want to leave it un-updated (is that even a word?) for much longer. I've got maybe another 2 or 3 chapters left to go (epilogue included), depending on how I choose to break things up, so that's exciting!
Also, I'd like to address a (borderline rude) review I received in regards to Nic's feelings for Jasper and the pace at which I'm taking this story. I won't be addressing this person directly since I'm hoping they've moved onto a story that is more to their liking, since they obviously were not a fan of this one. This story was never intended to be anything more than 10 chapters, meaning the plot was always going to be moving relatively quick. That is part of the reason I made sure to state that a few months had passed since the time Lainie/Nic and Jasper first started hanging out and the time they got into their argument in chapter 4. Never once did I say this story was meant to be a SLOW-BURN. I don't particularly like slow-burns. I get bored reading them. I imagine I'd get bored writing them. I just don't have the attention span for them. So again, PAINT IT RED WAS NEVER MARKETED TO BE A SLOW BURN (making the review more than a little baseless, in my opinion).
So far, I've gotten some pretty positive reviews from you guys reading, so that's telling me you're enjoying the direction I'm taking this story. I'm glad for that! For those of you that feel the opposite: the really awesome thing about fan fiction is that there are so many wonderful stories out there, and not one single person is forcing you to read mine (or any other story that is not to your liking), so please, move on. If anyone has any constructive criticism, that is more than welcome here. I just won't tolerate criticism from people that obviously haven't properly read the story.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk :)