6 months until due date
Rosalie smiles at the little brown infant slippers on her lap and gently runs her fingers over the fleecy material. The black stitching on the front makes the eyes and nose of a bear. Tiny ears stick out at the sides.
The baby will look so cute in these.
"He's such an ass," Alice huffs from the front seat of Esme's car.
"Language, Mary Alice," Esme sighs as she tries to help the young teen navigate the hurt feelings.
"He is, though! He made me believe that he loved me, then he pulls this crap."
"I'm sorry, dear."
Alice crosses her arms over her chest, hiding her freshly manicured nails under her small bicep. She keeps facing forward as her tears start to well up in her eyes. She clenches her jaw and puts on an angry face in attempt to hide the pain. Esme doesn't know what to say, so she just rests her hand on Alice's knee.
Rose did feel a little twinge of guilt when she spotted these tiny baby slippers in the store window as they walked through the mall to get to their nail appointment. Alice is still heartbroken and pissed at Jasper, but Rosalie can't hide the excitement of being an aunt. Sure it will be difficult, but the thought of having a baby around to hold and love and care for was worth all the challenges. When Rose asked Esme if she could borrow the money to buy the slippers for her future niece or nephew, Esme couldn't say no. Rosalie is the only one in the family excited about this baby.
When they pull up to Alice's house, Alice tells them to wait because she still has Jasper's boots. Rosalie moves to the front seat with the slippers.
"I bet Jasper will like those," Esme says with a forced smile.
"I think so, too," Rosalie agrees. "I know he hasn't acted excited, but he'll come around."
"It's going to take him time to do that."
"Aren't you excited?" Rosalie asks.
Esme holds back a sigh. She wants to be excited. She wants to be happy about the new little life entering their family. She wishes she could look at Rosalie with a genuine smile and say absolutely. This situation is far from excitable, though. Carlisle's been angry and ready to blow at any minute. Edward's been broody and agitated. Jasper has been on edge, moody, and just overall miserable. Esme can only do so much to try to make everyone happy. She's walking on eggshells in her own home since almost everyone is ready to explode.
"Absolutely," Esme lies.
Rosalie smiles and continues to examine the details on the slippers. Alice hurries back to the car, clenching her coat shut in one hand and carrying Jasper's boots in the other. Rosalie takes them, they say goodbye, and Esme backs out of the driveway.
When they arrive at home, they're met with a situation that is becoming far too familiar. Screaming can be heard from outside of the house. It triggers a dull throbbing in Esme's head. Rosalie's attention is grabbed when she hears Carlisle's voice shouting. She clenches her jaw; Carlisle's been screaming at her brother far too often.
"You're going to school, Jasper!" Carlisle bellows.
"You can't make me!" Jasper barks back.
"You can't keep skipping! It's been a week since your suspension, and you haven't gone once!"
"I'm not going!"
"You're going!"
"I don't have to listen to you! You're not my Dad!"
Rosalie and Esme hurry inside. Jasper and Carlisle stand in the living room, only inches away from each other. They continue to yell with clenches fists and red faces.
"If you're in my house, you're following my rules! And my rules say your ass is going to school!"
"I fucking hate you!"
"Go to your room!"
Before Rosalie and Esme can intervene, Jasper spins around and stomps away from Carlisle. Esme hurries to her husband as her mind races with things to say to calm him down. At least Jasper is heading to his room now, and since he's officially moved into Emmett's old bedroom, he has his own space to calm down.
"What happened, Carlisle?" Esme asks.
"He's a disrespectful brat!" Carlisle shouts out.
The doctor's words pull Rosalie and Jasper to a stop. Rosalie knits her brow together, and Jasper freezes halfway up the steps. Rose steps forward and opens her mouth to tell Carlisle to watch what he says about her brother but is quickly interrupted.
"Fuck you, Carlisle!" Jasper shouts as his arms shake. He turns to the staircase wall where all kinds of picture frames are hung. He grabs one frame with both hands, holds it over his head, and throws it. When it falls to the bottom of the steps, the wooden frame cracks, and the glass shatters across the floor. He storms up the rest of the stairs, knocking one picture frame off at every steps. They tumble down the steps. Once he's to the second level, he storms down the hall to his new bedroom and slams the door hard enough to shake the whole house. The anger continues to rage through his body. He throws the pillow from his bed across the room. "I fucking hate him!"
"Do you see what I mean? He thinks he can act however he wants with no consequences!" Carlisle says to Esme, unintentionally still shouting. "He has no respect!"
"Carlisle, we talked about this. He's going through a lot of emotional turmoil," Esme attempts to calm her husband.
Rosalie looks at the splintered glass and broken picture frames, then the couple in the living room. She still has her shoes on but still tries her best to tiptoe through the glass as she goes to the steps. Carlisle and Esme don't even notice she's gone, which is fine by her. She passes Edward's room where music is playing loudly and goes to Jasper's. She doesn't bother knocking and lets herself in after dropping the baby slippers in the hall outside of the door. Jasper isn't in the mood to see them yet.
Jasper paces the room. Tears flow down his beat red cheeks. Who the hell does Carlisle think he is? He thinks he can just make demands and they'll be followed like Jasper is some good little robot!
"Jazz," Rosalie calls his name to grab his attention.
"He's such an asshole, Rosie!" Jasper declares.
"Take a deep breath," Rose instructs.
"He can't keep bossing me around! He's not my father!" His emotions bubble over. He stops in his tracks and drops his head in his shaky hands. "He's not Daddy!"
Rosalie closes the distance between her and her brother and grabs him in a hug. He squeezes her back tightly and rests his head on her shoulder. He cries freely now that he's in the privacy of his own room, and Rosalie just waits for him to pull himself together.
"He's not Daddy," Jasper repeats with a sniff. Rosalie holds his hand and walks over to the bed, where they each take a seat. "He thinks he can talk to me like he's my parent. He's not Daddy. He was on my case about going back to school."
"He's not intentionally trying to replace Dad." Rosalie says. "Think about it, though, Jasper. He is supposed to act like a father. That's the whole point of foster care."
Jasper rolls his eyes. He knows Rose is technically right about it being the point of foster care, but it doesn't change the fact that the paternal role in Jasper's life is not up for grabs. Carlisle Cullen will never be his father. Avery Whitlock is his father, and no one will replace him. Carlisle can yell, and scream, and ground him, and tell him to go to school, and force him to talk to a therapist and a lawyer but he still won't be his father.
"He is trying to replace Dad."
"No, he's not, Jasper."
"Yes, he is!" Jasper insists. "They want to adopt me, Rose! He said I need to go to school because if I don't go, the caseworker could pull me from this house and move me somewhere else and it can screw up the adoption!"
"Oh," Rosalie sighs.
"I'm not letting him adopt me! I'm never going to be a Cullen."
Rosalie presses her lips together as she tries to think of the right thing to say. Damnit, Carlisle, she thinks to herself. He knows Jasper bucks against everything his says, and he knows how Jasper idolizes Avery. Carlisle should have talked to her about this before talking to Jasper. She would have told him not to bring it up when he was scolding her brother over missing school. She would have been able to tell him how to handle it the right way.
"Let's go downstairs." Rosalie says. "You can clean up the picture frames and I'll talk to Carlisle."
"I don't want to see him," Jasper groans.
"You don't have to. I'll talk to him. You don't have to deal with him at all."
Jasper grumbles, but let's Rosalie take his hand when she stands from the bed. She drags him out of the room and down the hall. They can hear Esme and Carlisle having a hushed argument in the living room. Carlisle points up towards the steps and Esme throws her hands in the air. Rosalie stops Jasper midway down the steps, tells him to wait there and that she'll grab his boots so he doesn't get a piece of glass stuck in his foot. She hands the boots to her brother and goes over to Carlisle.
"Not now, Rosalie!" Carlisle snaps at her.
"Stop yelling at our kids," Esme tells her husband firmly.
"If you want Jasper to do anything you tell him, you need to talk to me," Rosalie says with a harsh, brassy tone. Jasper chuckles. Carlisle hasn't had the pleasure of going toe to toe with Rosalie yet. "Let's talk in your office."
"Rose—"
"You're not going to get him to do anything this way," Rosalie repeats herself. Carlisle's face is twisted and tense with agitation. He looks up at Jasper on the steps, then puts his hand on Rosalie's shoulder and guides her to his bedroom, and then the office.
Jasper pulls his right boot on, and then his left, but quickly pulls his foot out when he feels something on the insole. He reaches in and pulls out a pale pink piece of paper that's sloppily folded. He opens it up to read a handwritten note.
Dear scum bag,
I'm so pissed at you. You're a jackass. I miss you. Get your ass to school so we can talk.
With love, but also fuck you,
Alice.
He rereads the note one more time before putting his foot back in his boot and slipping the note back into the side of his boot. Butterflies flutter in his stomach and there's a split second of hope. Maybe life won't suck all the time after all.
Esme sighs as she grabs a broom and dustpan from the kitchen and meets Jasper at the mess of glass. Her eyes well up with tears as she sweeps.
"I'll do it, Mom." Jasper says and grabs the broom from her. She releases it with a sigh. Jasper sweeps the glass into the dustpan as quickly as he can. Esme's tears start to flow down her cheeks. Jasper hurries the dustpan to the trash before returning to Esme. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have thrown the pictures."
"Oh, Jasper," Esme sighs.
"I can fix this," Jasper offers quickly as he picks up the two wooden pieces of the broken frame. He pushes the pieces together like a puzzle and holds it out to Esme. "Got any super glue? I'll fix it. It will be like it never happened."
Esme's throat tightens. She can't bring herself to speak just yet.
"I'll pick up the others, too," Jasper hurries up the steps to pick up the eight other frames that he knocked off the wall. He hangs them on the small nails in the wall and runs back down the stairs. "I'm sorry, Mom. Are you okay?"
"I'm okay. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Please don't cry." Jasper begs. Esme tries to choke back her surfacing emotions. Jasper's mind races as he tries to think of something to say to make this better. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."
"Everyone has been so tense, and I can't make it better." Esme sighs defeatedly.
Jasper's heart breaks as he takes in Esme's words. It's his fault that everyone is tense. If he weren't such a stupid fuck, he wouldn't have fallen so hard for Maria. If he never fell for Maria, he never would have knocked her up, or stollen Carlisle's credit card, or put Esme through all of this. If he had a lick of sense, he wouldn't be refusing to go to school, which would mean he wouldn't have gotten into a screaming match with Carlisle and he wouldn't have thrown the picture frame.
"I'm sorry," Jasper apologizes sincerely and hugs Esme tightly as if that would help her hold it together.
When Esme pulls away, she nods towards the couch and the two walk over and take a seat.
"This can't happen again, Jasper. There's going to be a baby in the house soon, and it's not safe to be throwing things." Esme tells the teen. "We have to find a way to help you and Carlisle get along."
"I'll go to school tomorrow, and I won't yell at Carlisle anymore," Jasper promises quickly. He'll promise anything to get her to stop crying. Esme responds with a small smile, but it doesn't make her tears go away.
"Thank you, dear. It's very important that you get an education. You're going to have a lot of new responsibilities coming your way."
Esme continues a lecture about responsibilities, accountability, and cooperation. Jasper does his best to listen to every word she says, but he's also concerned about the conversation happening in Carlisle's office. Carlisle and Rosalie never had issues before. That's just like me, he thinks to himself. He's ruined so many relationships already. Maybe Carlisle and Rosalie's relationship is his most recent victim.
After about twenty minutes, Rosalie immerges from the bedroom with a smile. Carlisle follows a few feet behind her. Rosalie takes the seat on the couch next to her brother, and Carlisle sits next to his wife.
"Jasper, I talked to Carlisle about the adoption." Rosalie says and places her hand on Jasper's knee. His face falls. "It's okay. It really is for the best."
"No, it's not," Jasper starts to protest, but remembers his promise to Esme and works hard at not raising his voice. "I don't want to be adopted."
"Just hear her out," Carlisle sighs defeatedly. Jasper scowls for a split second before putting on a fake smile for Esme.
"Remember how much it sucked when we were told we had to move to a different foster home?" Rosalie continues. "And sometimes we only had an hour or so to pack all of our things, and sometimes they couldn't even tell us if we would be placed in the same home."
Jasper nods.
"Having any stability ripped out from under us caused us so much distress."
Jasper nods again.
"Sometimes it isn't the choice of the foster parent to have a kid moved." Rosalie explains. "Sometimes if a foster kid is having a hard time, they'll pull them from that house and move them somewhere else. Jasper, you've been having a hard time." She says. Jasper glances over to Carlisle. He wouldn't be having a tough time if Carlisle would lighten up. "Look at me, Jazz. If they move you to another house, I'm not going to be able to come with you. If you get removed, who knows what kind of house you will get sent too. They might even take the baby and put it in foster care in a different house. You don't want your baby to go through that, right? You want to be a good father, just like Daddy was, right?"
Jasper gulps at the thought of being a father. The pressure, the stress, the responsibility. He can't handle that. Rosalie sees the doubt in her brother's eyes and breaks out the big guns.
"You don't want your child to end up in a house with someone like Maria. What if the baby ends up in a house where it's treated like nothing more than a check? Or somewhere where it's hit or manipulated? You don't want the baby to go through that, right? You want to be like Dad, and make sure your baby is loved and cared for, right?"
"R-right." He chokes out. Rosalie smiles.
"So, this is what will happen. Carlisle and Esme will adopt you. Carlisle told me that Maria is going to sign her rights to the baby away. You'll never have to worry about being moved to another foster home, and because of that, you'll get custody of the baby and you won't ever have to worry about the baby being put somewhere that it's not safe and loved."
Jasper looks over to Esme, who just gives him a kind, supportive smile. Carlisle sits as still as a statue.
"I can't take care of a baby." He murmurs to them.
"We will help you, Jasper." Carlisle promises.
"Absolutely. We will be with you for every step of the way." Esme agrees.
"It's the best option for everyone," Rosalie insists. Jasper looks back to his sister, who smiles widely.
"But I'm a Whitlock," Jasper's voice trembles as he voices his concerns. "Not a Cullen. I can't change my name."
"Is that all? You're just worried about your last name?" Carlisle asks. Jasper nods, and Carlisle lets out a relieved sigh. "Jasper, you don't have to change your name to Cullen. You can keep Whitlock."
"I can?"
"Of course. We don't have to change your name at all."
Jasper nods as he takes in all the information he's been given.
"It's the best option for everyone," Rosalie repeats. "You're in a stable home, your baby is in a stable home, and you'll still be a Whitlock. What do you say?"
"I wish I could just call Daddy," Jasper sighs. "If I could just talk to him one more time, he could tell me what to do."
"I think you know what he would tell you to do, Jazz."
"No, I don't."
"He would tell you to do the right thing to keep your baby safe, just like he always kept us safe."
Jasper takes a deep breath as he mulls it over. The more he thinks about it, the more it makes sense. He can practically hear Avery giving the advice. You know what to do, Jazzy boy. Take care of your baby.
"Okay." Jasper finally agrees.
A relieved sigh comes from everyone on the couch. There's a slight ease in Esme's heart. Carlisle has a pounding headache. All of this over something like a last name. If the damn kid would have told him that without screaming, he would have told him that he could stay a Whitlock without all the drama. Carlisle has to admit that he didn't help the situation by losing his temper, though. Rosalie has the biggest smile of anyone. Of course she was worried about her brother's emotional wellbeing and the possibility of him being moved to a different home, but she was also thinking of her unborn niece or nephew. Just the thought of holding the little bundle of joy elates her.
Jasper still feels unease, but he knows his sister is right. Avery would tell him to take care of his baby. He thinks of when he heard Avery refer to him and Rosalie as blessings. He can't relate to the feeling of a baby being a blessing, though.
"You and Edward have therapy today," Carlisle interrupts the silence. "We need to leave in an hour."
"Okay." Jasper sighs again. "I think I'm going to go lay down for a bit."
"Okay, dear," Esme smiles.
Jasper stands and shoves his hands into his pockets as he calmly walks up the stairs. Rosalie stays on the couch, ready to further her discussion with Carlisle about how her brother isn't meaning to be a disrespectful brat, and that if he wants to get anywhere with Jasper, he needs to stop shouting and making demands.
Jasper stops outside of his bedroom door and stares at the little brown bear slippers. He sucks his teeth. The tags are still on, and he recognizes the store logo from trips to the mall. Rosalie must have bought them, he thinks. Part of him wants to leave them there. He doesn't want to bring any reminder of this major stressor into his bedroom, but he hears Avery's voice again.
C'mon, Jazzy boy. Do the right thing.
Slowly, he squats down and carefully picks up the slippers as if they're made of glass. He goes in his room and shuts the door, then lays on his bed and sets the slippers on his lap. He's not convinced this will be a good thing, but maybe it will be slightly less horrible than he thinks.
-JWiD-
"It's not together, is it?" Jasper asks as Carlisle pulls up to the big building.
"No. It's individual." Carlisle explains as he parks and digs through his center counsel for some coins for the parking meter. "I just scheduled your appointments at the same time. You're seeing different therapists."
"Who am I seeing?"
"Mr. Grants."
"Am I seeing Mrs. Jones?" Edward asks timidly.
"Yes."
Carlisle finds an array of coins, tells the boys to remember the stack of paperwork they need to give to the therapists, and gets out of the car. The trio stomps through the snow and into the building.
"This is the waiting room. I'll stay here while you two are in your sessions. Jasper, Mr. Grants will come here to get you when he's ready for you." Carlisle explains. Immediately through the front door is a large room lined with padded chairs. There's calming music playing and brochures, pamphlets, and business cards are on the tables in the corners of the room and on a cluttered bulletin board. Carlisle takes a seat, and Edward sits on one side of him and Jasper sits on the other. "Nothing you say with the therapist will be shared with me unless you give him permission to share it. You need to be fully honest with him."
"I wouldn't be doing this if my guitar wasn't on the line," Jasper murmurs.
"Same with my phone," Edward grumbles in agreement.
"It won't be as bad as you guys think it will be." Carlisle insists.
"Whatever," Jasper sighs and kicks at the dark carpet with the heel of his boot. Alice's note is still tucked in it.
Mrs. Jones comes for Edward, and shortly after Mr. Grants comes for Jasper. When he's face to face with Mr. Grants, Jasper has the sudden urge to stay with Carlisle instead of going with this stranger, but he sure as hell wasn't going to admit to that. He stands and follows Mr. Grants down the hall, to the right, and into an office. Jasper stands off to the side instead of sitting on the couch. Mr. Grants sits in a small office chair and smiles as he starts explaining to Jasper all the details of what he does and how he won't tell anyone anything that is said in therapy, and all kinds of crap that Jasper's isn't listening to. His mind is too busy trying to size up the situation.
"Take a seat, Jasper," Mr. Grants tells him and gestures to the couch. Jasper crosses his arms over his chest, clenches his jaw, and walks the length of the wall to the window that looks out to a snow-covered field.
"What did Carlisle tell you?" Jasper asks.
"Tell me about what?"
"About me."
"I'd rather have you tell me about yourself." Mr. Grants says. Jasper scoffs and watches Mr. Grants reflection in the window. He hasn't moved from his office chair, but he keeps his eyes on Jasper. "Is there anything bothering you that you would like to talk about?"
Jasper rolls his eyes. What a stupid question. Carlisle must have talked to Mr. Grants. He must know about Maria, and the baby, and the bullies, and the school truancy, and the death of Avery, and his mother's suicide while he was still in the house, and the fight with Edward over his boots in the middle of the room, and how he stole Carlisle's credit card, and the adoption, how he's such an awful disrespectful brat that Carlisle can hardly stand and—
He sighs and bites his lip before taking a few steps away from the window, putting himself halfway to the couch.
"I guess so." He says. He shoves his hands into his pocket. "My foster mom, her name is Esme but I just call her Mom most of the time. Anyways, she's real great. She's like, the perfect Mom."
"It sounds like you and her have a great relationship," Mr. Grants encourages Jasper to continue talking with a nod.
"I kinda screwed up, though."
"How so?" Mr. Grants asks.
Jasper slowly drags his feet towards the couch and lowers himself to the edge of the seat.
"She cried today, and it was my fault."
-JWiD-
"Mom!" Jasper calls as he searches the house for Esme. He finally finders her in the laundry room, loading the washing machine with dirty clothes. She feels a sense of relief wash over her when she sees that Jasper has his boots, coat, and backpack on.
"Hi, honey," She says.
"I'm going to school today." Jasper says.
"That's great!"
"I'll be good," He promises. "I won't get in any fights or cause any trouble or anything."
"Good."
"Isn't Carlisle home? I thought it was his day off. I don't want you to be by yourself all day."
"He got called into work late last night. He should be back around one o'clock. Don't worry about me," Esme walks over and embraces him in a tight hug. He hugs her back, squeezing her shoulders. "Have a great day, sweetie."
When they pull away, Jasper says goodbye and hurries out to join Edward and Rosalie at the end of the driveway for the bus. He can't deny that he's a little worried, but maybe everyone forgot about the fliers. It is high school, after all, and old drama is quickly replaced with new drama. Surely someone else has done something scandalous in the days that Jasper was gone.
When the bus pulls up, he takes in a shaky breath and follows Rosalie and Edward on. It's only half full with his schoolmates, but it feels like there's a million eyes locked on him. Alice is in the very last seat, so Jasper goes all the way to the back of the bus.
"Hey," He greets her timidly. She looks up with a scowl and moves her backpack from the seat to the floor.
"Sit down." She grumbles.
Jasper sits, and the bus jolts forward as the driver continues his route. Jasper wiggles in his seat as he waits for Alice to say something. She eyes him and scowls before reaching over and putting her hand on the side of his head. She tangles her fingers in his hair before pulling him closer to kiss his lips. Jasper's heartrate races and he puts one hand on Alice's tiny waist and the other behind her neck.
"I fucking hate you," Alice mutters as soon as their lips part. She glares at Jasper. "You really are an asshole."
"I'm sorry."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
Jasper sinks down in his seat so the driver can't see the make out session between he and Alice. The drive is too short, though, and they have to part when they pull up to the school. Alice grabs Jasper's hand as the bus parks and the students start to get off.
"Skip your fourth hour class and meet me by the gym." She says.
"Okay." Jasper nods. Alice smiles at him and pushes his hair back.
"I like your haircut."
They are the last ones to get off of the bus. Alice drops his hand and gives him a flirty smile over her shoulder as she walks away.
Jasper keeps his eyes forward as he walks down the hall. No one approaches him, but he swears he can hear people whispering. He rolls his shoulders back and clenches his jaw. There are no fliers taped to his locker, so it's better than last time.
First hour goes by without a hitch, as does second and third hour. Finally, it's time for forth hour, and he hustles to his locker to put his textbook away before it's time to meet Alice at the gym.
"Look who's back," A taunting voice calls.
"Yeah, look who's back!"
Jasper grits his teeth. Dennis Smith's and Henry Wicker's voices makes Jasper tense even more. Those pricks just can't let up. He remembers his promise to Esme and just keeps walking as if no one spoke to him at all.
"Hey, redneck!" Dennis calls out. "Where are you going to so fast? Gotta go see your girl before visiting hours at the nursing home are up?"
"Ha! Nursing home. Good one," Henry laughs.
Jasper reaches his locker and twists the combination lock. As soon as the door opens, Henry shoves it shut again. Jasper grits his teeth to keep from yelling at him.
"Where've you been? Staying in hiding ever since everyone learned about your old lady?" Dennis questions.
Jasper clenches his fists around his textbook. Fuck it, he doesn't need to put it in his locker. He'll take it with him. He spins on his heels and walk away, hoping to lose the two dumbasses in the crowd of students between his locker and the gym. Dennis and Henry stay right behind him, though. As they leave the sophomore hall to the large entrance doors, Dennis shoves Jasper's shoulder.
"What's your problem?" Jasper finally shouts, earning a smirk from his tormentors.
"Did your grandma drop you off at school today? Oh, wait," Dennis laughs wildly. "That's not your grandma, that's your girlfriend!"
Jasper bites his tongue and repeats the same sentence in his mind over and over again. I promised Mom I wouldn't get in trouble, I promised Mom I wouldn't get in trouble, I promised Mom I wouldn't get in trouble.
As he turns his back to them again to walk away, Dennis slaps the textbook from his hands and Henry shoves him into the glass door.
I promised Mom I wouldn't get in trouble.
Before he can decide what to do, Dennis jumps in and lands a fast punch to Jasper's face.
-JWiD-
"Suspended for two weeks?" Esme nearly shouts at Mr. Welsh as she puts the tiny ice pack back against Jasper's eye. Jasper holds it there and watches as Esme takes on the principal. "You've got to be kidding me!"
"We have a zero-tolerance policy for fighting." Mr. Welsh lets out a heavy sigh. When he heard the secretary call for him over a fist fight, the last person he wanted to see involved was Jasper Whitlock. He pulled Dennis and Henry off of the blond boy, and immediately dreaded the calls home he would have to make. He knew the Cullen's wouldn't take kindly to this.
"He's sitting here with a black eye because of those boys and he is getting suspended? We watched the video! Jasper was minding his own business and those boys approached him. They harassed him and he tried to walk away, but they followed him! He couldn't have done anything else to prevent this!" Esme lectures the principal. "What was he supposed to do? What could he have possibly done differently to avoid a fight? They were the ones throwing punches!"
"Unfortunately, our zero tolerance policy states that anyone involved in a physical altercation is suspended." Mr. Welsh tries to explain.
"So, because he was targeted again by the same boys that have been bullying him since he enrolled in this school, he has to be punished?"
"Unfortunately."
"This is utterly ridiculous! There must be something you can do to override that policy."
"My hands are tied, Mrs. Cullen."
"Go get your backpack, Jasper," Esme sighs and pats her foster son's shoulder.
Jasper nods and rises from his seat. Once in the hall, he looks to his left at the lockers, then to his right towards the gym. He's already suspended, so it's not like he can get in any more trouble if he goes to the gym.
He walks quickly and prays that Alice is still there. What a douchebag she must think he is. He's never going to have a chance to win her back if things keep going this way.
The hall to the gym is at the farthest end of the school and there aren't any other classrooms near it, so it stays rather empty. He passes the large doors that lead to the gymnasium and turns right down the hall behind the gym where the locker rooms are located. He feels relieved when he sees Alice sitting on the ground with her back against the wall, a bag of chips in her crossed legs as she snacks and scrolls through her cellphone.
"Hey." Jasper grabs her attention. She looks up and gives him the smallest smile.
"I was starting to think you weren't going to show." She says and pats the space next to her. Jasper sits down and takes a chip when she offers it to him.
"I was on my way, but Smith and Wicker were being jackasses."
"Is that what happened to your eye?"
"Yeah. They got lucky. I promised Esme I wouldn't get into any trouble or any fights, or else I woulda kicked their asses." He grumbles. "I still got suspended, though."
"Who came, Esme or Carlisle?"
"Esme."
"She's probably giving Mr. Welsh all kinds of shit," Alice chuckles. Jasper can't help but laugh as he nods.
"I can't talk for long, but I didn't want you to think I stood you up." He explains. "Maybe you can come over tonight?"
"Aren't you still grounded?"
"Yeah, but it's not like Carlisle and Esme won't let you in the house."
Alice pops one chip in her mouth and offers Jasper another as she chews and thinks it over. She shouldn't even give Jasper the time of day. After all, she was his second choice. He dumped her to stay loyal to Maria. There's a strong pull she has towards Jasper, though, and she can't bring herself to ignore it.
"Okay. I'll get off the bus at your place."
"Great," Jasper smiles and leans into Alice to kiss her, but she pulls away. He stops as his heart sinks, but it starts to flutter again when Alice changes her mind, puts her hands on his cheeks, and kisses him passionately.
"I love you." She says.
"I love you, too,"
"I'll see you after school."
Jasper nods as he stands and hurries back towards his locker where he grabs his backpack and jacket. Once he's gathered his things, he goes back to the office. Esme is still telling off the principal, so Jasper's extended absence went unnoticed.
"He had promised me that he would have a good day, and he did everything in his power to do so. He promised not to get in a fight, and the reward he gets is a black eye and two weeks suspension." Esme speaks so angrily that if Jasper weren't seeing it for himself, he wouldn't have believed that someone as sweet as her could use such an acidic tone. "Come on, Jasper. You've been unfairly punished enough."
He and Esme drive home where Esme's rage is reignited when she tells Carlisle about the school's outrageous policy. Carlisle joins in with the complaining, stopping only momentarily to praise Jasper for trying to get through the school day. Other than the dull pain in his eye, his day goes well when Esme plans to make his favorite dinner and Carlisle lifts part of his grounding and allows Jasper to lounge in front of the television. Jasper flips through the channels mindlessly until he hears the door open and Rosalie, Edward, and Alice come in.
"Hey, Alice. I didn't know you were coming over," Carlisle smiles as he greets her. She smiles back but makes a beeline for the living room.
Jasper's legs are stretched along the cushions of the couch, and Alice sits between them and leans against his chest. Jasper wraps his arms around her and nuzzles his face into her short black hair.
"Thanks for coming over," He says softly.
"Yeah, sure," Alice responds casually, even though hearing that southern accent and feeling his arms encompassing her body brings such a feeling comfort that it feels more like home than her actual house.
"I gotta tell you something else," Jasper mutters. "You're not going to like it."
"What?" She asks.
"She's pregnant, and it's mine."
Alice sucks in a breath and grits her teeth. He's right, she doesn't like it, but it doesn't waiver the comfort she feels with him.
"Alright." She sighs. "No biggie, right? It's not like you're with her anymore, right?"
"Right."
"Then it's alright."
A/N: It's been years since I've updated this. My goal is to finish my abandoned stories before starting anything new, and this is currently my main focus. I already have the next two chapters done and still working on the chapters following that. I'm working hard at sticking to my goal, so hopefully this story will be finished soon.