A/N: SO, I'M NOT DEAD YET.
1. I still haven't abandoned this fic. Really!
2. I am, however, in a new living situation, in a new city, one year in to a new relationship (honest to goodness, he's basically the Jasper Whitlock I've written, with different coloring, and definitely not a vampire…but, all of the banter – it's our love language!), found out I have MCAS and early rheumatoid arthritis, am attending college for the first time, and trying to find my way after a *rough* couple of years.
3. I really really really (all of the reallys) want to do this fic justice, and have decided I will NOT condense it, no matter how tempting! I can't tell you the number of fics I've read that do this and it just…kills it entirely for me. It may take a little bit of time for me to get back into the swing of things and the flow of the different character "voices" that I've created, but I will be doing my best! I've re-read every chapter 4x to get back into the swing of things and hope I'll do my initial story-line some justice!
4. Also, just so you all know – every single fav, follow, and review over the last two years has kept my heart and mind set on coming back to this project. It means so much to me that people are STILL reading this. I appreciate every single one of you more than you can know. Thank you for sticking with me.
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Bella made her way through the morning's classes in an excitable sort of dreamy haze. Memories of the night previous kept sneaking into her human mind; the electricity that thrummed inside of her at Jasper's touch, and the way his eyes had shown with wonder at seeing a dolphin up close. Then there was the strong yet still somehow tender way he had held her to him while running her home; as though she were a precious treasure or made of breakable glass, like he had found something he couldn't part with.
Unless it's just me, a flicker of fear jolted through the girl at the thought of losing someone else.
*Don't be silly, you know it isn't just you.*, the animal inside refuted quickly. *This isn't nothing. He isn't nothing. He's everything. You know how it feels, we know what is*.
Her mind started to quiet, and as if to compensate for her fears, Bella's attention kept drifting back to exactly how Jasper feels to her. It wasn't long before the memories alone caused her heart to flutter out of sync, and a flush to creep slowly up her neck. More than once Jessica had attempted to get her to explain her spaced out demeanor, and more than once, Bella failed to form words that would quell the other girl's curiosity.
It wasn't until the bell for lunch rang and she realized that she was moments away from being in his presence again that Bella was able to recall she needed to think of what to tell Jess about her lack of awareness this morning. Within moments, the classroom had emptied, including her teacher who muttered something about the audacity of scheduling a faculty meeting over his lunch hour.
Without looking, Bella could feel Jasper behind her in the doorway.
Beaming, the girl scooped her bag up by the strap and turned to face the door, only to find him standing directly in front of her. Jasper reached forward to take her backpack off her shoulder and slid it slowly to the floor. Jasper's arms reached to encircle Bella the moment she was near enough, closing her tightly in a hug that allowed every worry she had ever had to carry on her shoulders slip away from her memory. Her own hands raised to rest firmly against his back. The two stood quietly; one breathing softly with relief and contentment, the other inhaling slowly, allowing the lush, earthen scent of the shifter to fill his nose.
Trailing gentle patterns into his back with her fingertips, Bella sighed happily as the bliss and relaxation spread. "Fuck," she moaned softly, "you feel amazing. I could hug you forever," she murmured into Jasper's chest without thinking. She stiffened, "I mean, hugging you feels easier than with anyone else," the girl explained, hoping her casual use of a word like 'forever' didn't frighten the vampire off, or detract from the obviously painful years he had endured.
Much to Bella's dismay, one of Jasper's arms let go from their embrace; a brief micro-moment later, however, his hand was stroking her hair in a calming manner.
"Yes, hugging you is easier than with anyone else." Jasper's voice tightened with emotion as he continued. "And I don't think I could ever tire of you, either" he whispered softly into her hair.
Bella exhaled her relief and tucked her face back into him, covertly rubbing her face along his chest and collarbones as she did.
"Miss Swan, are you marking me?" Jasper asked with amused shock.
"Well-, I mean-, how else will everyone know that you're mine?" Bella shot back in a voice at least two octaves higher than her normal speaking tone.
"Fair," he whispered gently removing her hold on his body. The shifter didn't even have time to frown before Jasper snaked one arm around her side, his hand pressing into her lower back, holding her body tightly to his own. His other hand slid up, fingers tangling gently into her hair as they rested against the back of her head. His grip shifted as he used his thumb to tilt her head back and to the side as he exposed the creamy white flesh of the girl's neck. Bella swallowed reflexively with the vulnerability of their new position but didn't attempt to defend herself; not that she wanted to.
Jasper growled lowly in approval at her willing submission and at an achingly slow pace, trailed his nose and lips from just below her collarbone where the flesh of her breast started, up and along her neck, while she panted with a new and building excitement. Pausing just behind her earlobe, Jasper opened his mouth to speak then, tickling the sensitive skin of her ear as he did so, causing the girl to shiver with anticipation.
"Don't you forget that you're mine, too, darlin'," his velvet voice rumbled, reverberating deeply in her chest as the hint of a growl slipped through, causing Bella's nipples to harden and strain in a pleasurably painful way against the padding of her bra as need began to fill her.
His lips trailed down again, lightly sucking at the soft flesh of her neck, and, eyes fluttering shut with pleasure, Bella managed to choke out a whispered, "Never," before the flat of his tongue worked the curve of flesh where neck met jaw, his teeth nipping ever so lightly at the tender flesh.
A moan escaped Bella's lips in response as a flush of heat radiated throughout her body before settling in her lower abdomen. Before she had a chance to further explore this warm and blooming development, Jasper pulled back, a look of triumph on his face.
Realizing why Bella lightly smacked him on the chest. "Dammit, Jasper! You were just scenting me back!"
Jasper had the audacity to attempt feigning an innocent expression behind a cheeky grin. "Now darlin', would a gentleman such as myself go to such lengths to rile a good and proper young woman such as yourself?" His voice lowered to an ever so slightly more serious tone as he leaned in more closely to her ear, "Simply to lay claim on you so other vampires would know that, not only are you mine, but also under my protection?"
Bella's face softened as comprehension dawned upon her. Extreme gratitude washed over her as she raised her arms once more to embrace her Jasper.
*See, he's ours, and we're his,* the animal inside Bella agreed with smug satisfaction.
"Yeah, yeah," Bella mentally shot back. "You were right, I was wrong, and I should have listened to instinct and accepted it from the beginning. Now, hush, because I know you're enjoying this too."
Warmed by the feeling of security that had overtaken her, Bella let loose her hold upon Jasper. In a brisk back-to-business tone she replied, "Well, now that that's settled, I suppose we have lunch to attend to."
"I suppose we do," Jasper responded followed by a chuckle. "It would certainly be poor form to keep Jessica and Angela waiting with no one but my brother and sisters to keep them company."
The two crossed the threshold, each reaching for the other's hand as they made their way back to real world responsibilities.
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A/N: OKAY OKAY, so a little later than I had hoped, but work has kept me BUSY! Enjoy!
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Jasper and Bella strode quickly through the doorway and down the blessedly short hallway to the lunchroom. The typical buzz of conversation met their ears and both assessed that nothing was amiss. Jessica was very nearly through the lunch line, while Angela set to unpacking a lunch she had brought from home.
The two made a beeline through a gap in the crowd to situate themselves at the table, just as Jessica took her usual seat. "Hey!" Bella exclaimed happily as her excitement for the sleepover built. She dug through her book bag to pull out her lunch and asked, "What's the word? Did everyone's parents agree to the sleepover?"
"I called right before lunch to verify and my mom actually said it's fine!" Jessica answered as a huge grin broke across her face. "I was really surprised and I'm so excited! I think maybe she just wanted me out of the house after this week." Her boisterous attitude diminished slightly as she turned to Angela, "You still need to call your mom though, right, Ang?"
Angela frowned slightly before answering, "Yeah, my mom said she'd have to talk to your dad, Bella. Obviously, he and my dad work together often so it isn't that she doesn't trust him, but she's a bit of a worrier. I'm pretty sure she thinks he'll be out of town or something and we'll get into trouble or throw a party."
"No, that's totally alright!" Bella responded. "My dad said it's cool if anyone needed to call to check in on the plan. He told me to share his cell number because he'll be on patrol but can take calls. Do you have yours on you?"
Angela nodded and dug in her book bag, then, finding her phone, slid it open and dialed her home number. Her mom answered relatively quickly, and Angela explained that Charlie could be reached today, before handing the phone over to Bella to share the number.
"Hi, Mrs. Weber!" Bella addressed the woman politely. After a brief exchange of pleasantries and expressing her happiness at her daughter making a new friend, Angela's mother let her know that it isn't that she doesn't approve or doesn't want Angela to have fun, but rather, to be safe.
"Oh, I can totally understand that, especially with everything going on lately. Ch-my dad has been pretty nervous about that, himself." Apparently relieved that she wasn't coming off as over-protective, Angela's mother took down Charlie's number and thanked Bella before ending the call.
"Wow, Bella. You're really good at talking to parents!" Angela exclaimed as Bella handed the cellphone back to her friend. "She didn't sound nervous at all, which is strange for my mom," she continued happily.
Bella shrugged, "Probably because my mom and I had a really easy-going relationship," she explained. "She preferred I address her as Renee, her first name, and as I got older, treated me more like a friend and her daughter, you know?"
"Can't say that I know that feeling. My mom would be so pissed off if I called her Helen," Jessica replied with a giggle. She tilted her head to the side as a devious smile overtook her face before she continued, "Actually, it might be fun to try sometime."
"Always willing to dive head-first into trouble," Angela retorted with a roll of her eyes.
"Hey-" Jessica attempted to interrupt an Angela that was oddly unflappable today.
"Anyways, I'm glad that went well," the normally quiet girl gushed. "I'll give her a call after bio to check, but I came to school with my overnight bag when Jess picked me up, just in case. You did too, right Jess?"
"Sure did! With how far you and I live from each other, that would have been a pain in the a-"
Jessica was interrupted once more, this time by what Bella felt was a hulking presence behind her. "Hey, Emmett," Bella addressed the man-boy without looking. "You going to sit with us today?"
"Sure am!" Emmett boomed with enthusiasm before, with one finger, he lightly shoved Jasper's chair closer to Bella to make room for his shoulders. Even with his restraint, the chair squealed in protest, momentarily drawing attention to the group.
"Show off," Rosalie murmured with a teasing grin while circling the table to take the seat between Emmett and Jessica much more gracefully than her rambunctious partner had.
Angela and Jessica both looked as though frozen in both terror and awe. Neither one seemed to be able to form words. In the end, however, it was Angela that managed to recover more quickly. With her usual calm demeanor, she welcomed the newcomers, "Hi, Emmett, Rosalie! What brings you two over today?"
"Well," Rosalie smiled tentatively with a flick of her eyes in Bella's direction, "Bella invited me to her sleepover too, so I figured we could plan a little while we all have time outside of class."
"You're coming to our sleepover too?" Jessica squeaked, as complete and utter shock overtook her face.
"Yes! I got permission this morning," Rosalie pushed forward, choosing to ignore Jessica's unintentional rudeness. "It's going to be nice to get some girl time."
Emmett frowned at Rosalie, pulled a sad puppy eyes expression, and whined, "Are you saying my company isn't enough, Rose?"
Rosalie grinned deviously in response and raised her hand to cup his face, "Aw, poor baby." She patted Emmett on the cheek a few times lightly. "That's exactly what I'm saying, sweetheart. But don't worry, girl talk is the only area in which you don't measure up," she finished with a wink.
"Well, I guess that's fair then," the man-bear replied with a grin.
Jessica giggled at the display and leaned closer to ask Rosalie a question that Bella didn't quite catch, as, it was at that moment that Alice approached the table questioningly. "Have a seat!" the shifter prompted the fragile-looking vampire with a gesture to the chair between herself and Angela.
Alice obliged with a terse smile and sat down primly, crossing one leg carefully over the other, then folding her hands in her lap. As the conversations around her continued, she sat dazed, seemingly lost in her own world. After a few moments, her forehead crinkled in confusion. Giving a tentative sniff of the air, her face wrinkled in a mixture of anger and disgust.
Jasper stiffened beside Bella and thinking quickly she reached for and lightly gripped his hand. Body relaxing, he flicked his eyes to hers in thanks.
While the humans likely missed the exchange, the silence brought by Alice's arrival mounted. Angela chose to break the awkward silence first and asked, "So, Alice, are you coming to the sleepover too?"
Shit! I didn't even think to ask her. Bella cringed internally.
"No, I am not," Alice answered in an unnecessarily crisp tone. "I don't partake in mundane, juvenile activities."
"Then it's probably a good thing you weren't invited to our mundane juvenile activities," Rosalie shot back.
Alice merely sniffed with disdain while the humans looked on in shock.
"Speaking of activities," Jessica broke the silence, "what's on the agenda for tonight?"
"Well," Bella started, grateful for the transition in topic, "I browsed Netflix the other night and saved a couple of chick flicks and horror movies to my watch list. I don't have a TV in my room, but I'm ninety-nine percent positive that Charlie will let us set up camp in the living room since my room is probably too small."
"That sounds great," Jessica answered in a bubbly tone. A moment later, however, her face darkened as a serious gleam flashed across her eyes, "But also, snacks, lots and lots of snacks. You did get snacks, right?" Her voice sounded somewhat threatened by the potential lack of traditional slumber party food.
"Definitely! We can stop at the grocery store on the way to my place after school," Bella suggested to reassure her friend. "I don't quite remember, but I'm pretty sure Charlie said we could order pizza, too!"
"Phew!" Jessica exclaimed, with a look of relief before her normal expression resumed its position. "Hmm," the girl continued to herself while tapping her chin, "I'll need ice cream, chocolate, popcorn, chips and dip, caramel…" before trailing off as she compiled the rest of her enormous list mentally.
"Damn, girl! where does it all go?" Emmett asked, his face twisting into mock horror, as Jessica fixed the massive boy with a steely glare. "I mean, you must be dedicated to working out!"
"As a matter of fact, I am," she retorted somewhat airily. "I have to, especially with volleyball." Jessica's face relaxed as she took in the compliment. "Oh! And licorice," Jessica continued with her list-making.
"I'm so excited!" Rosalie squealed quietly and bounced in her seat, just like a normal teenaged girl. "Can we do nails?" she asked in an even squeakier tone. "And face masks? Who wants their hair colored? I have all the colors and I'm not joking! Natural colors, and a huge variety of reds, pinks, purples, aquas, greens, even a couple of yellows!"
Bella, Angela, and Jessica stared at the polished-looking girl in front of them in wonder. "Where did you learn how to do all of that?" Angela breathed in awe.
"Seriously!" Jessica exclaimed. "Have you been to hair school?"
Rosalie and Jasper both froze the briefest of moments before Rosalie responded. "Er- well- no. Our mom was a hairstylist," and gestured back and forth to herself and Jasper. "I watched so much as a little kid that, as I got older she spent time teaching me."
Shit, shit, shit, Bella thought to herself. Neither Angela nor Jess knows whether Rosalie and Jasper's fake parents are alive or not, and they might feel awkward about bringing it up!
"That's how I learned to cook!" Bella offered, hoping to smooth over the slight stumble. She received a grateful hand squeeze from Jasper in response.
"Oh, that's so neat!" Jessica answered excitedly. "My mom taught me how to control my emotional outbursts!"
If this Jessica has been more emotionally restrained…
"My mom only taught me how to do taxes," Angela sighed sadly, eliciting a booming laugh from Emmett.
"That's devastating, Ang," Jessica answered in a sympathetic tone.
"Anyways," Bella started to redirect, "I am down for all of that! What time will you be by Rosalie?"
"Actually, I was thinking maybe I could drive the two of us to the store and we can meet Jess and Angela there," Rosalie suggested.
"That's a great idea!" Emmett answered happily before turning to Jasper. "That means we get to go do mysterious man things!" he exclaimed, looking like a child on Christmas. The burly vampire reached out to high-five his brother, unintentionally sliding Jasper's chair even farther from his when their hands collided.
"Ah, yes, mysterious man things," Rosalie tittered back. "You mean you're going to go home, play Call of Duty, then stay up late arguing with 12-year old European children that kick your ass at Halo."
"They can be really mean sometimes, Rose!" Emmett whined in an overly dramatic tone before pulling a devastatingly wounded face. The whole table erupted into laughter, save Alice who simply rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, yuk it up, but I don't see you all running into battle the little ankle-biters," Emmett mockingly defended himself.
Angela snorted while sipping from her water bottle, causing her to spew the liquid as her body shook with laughter.
Bella dodged out of the way from a burst of spray, briefly bringing her closer to Alice. Alice's face first took on a revolted expression and morphed into something resembling a mix of rage and disappointment, her lips disappearing into thin, tight lines. "Well, I think it's time for me to be going." She stood up much faster than necessary and without waiting for a reply, the irritated vampire sauntered away.
Alice disappeared quickly through the cafeteria doors and into the rainy courtyard, putting a rather large distance between herself and the school before the door had a chance to close. Jasper paused for a moment while Angela and Jessica sat awkwardly once more. Realizing that he was listening for her, Bella did the same but could hear nothing.
A few more moments passed before Rosalie spoke up. "I apologize for her rudeness. She isn't a very sociable person."
"That's putting it mildly," Jessica muttered darkly before catching herself. "I'm sorry, I know she's your sister, but yikes."
"Oh, we're all familiar with Ali's inability to socialize. I think that, after Edward, she's the angriest about our living situation," Emmett elaborated.
"I didn't realize you all struggled with that, but it makes sense," Jessica mused, taking on the calm tone of a therapist. "You're a houseful of hormonal teenagers, adjusting to this new life you have found yourselves in. I don't know what your home lives were like before, or if you were adopted suddenly, but it can't be easy to mash all of those personalities in one house."
"Wow, Dr. Phil, you don't mind hitting the nail on the head, do you?" Emmett asked the blonde human with another grin. "I like you more and more, little gym rat.
"Aw, well, thank you Mr. Muscles," Jessica tapped the tips of her fingers together in a calculating way. "I begin to understand your sense of humor."
"Well that's good," Angela cut in with a roll of her eyes. "Trust me, Emmett, you don't want the wrath of Jessica to follow you. Just ask Lauren."
"What's going on with Lauren," Bella asked suspiciously.
"Well, after feeling it necessary to speak to my mother about things that were none of her business to share," she stabbed a meatball angrily, "I decided to make sure Lauren's mom knew where she kept her favorite weekend pastime."
This only caused Bella more confusion. "Coke," Angela clarified flatly in explanation.
Bella and Emmett gasped, while Rosalie looked on with approval. "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind never really made sense to me anyway," she answered levelly.
"Don't be so scary, Rosie," Emmett joked.
Rosalie shrugged. "Lauren made the mistake of bringing someone uninvolved into the struggle. It was an immature thing to do to involve her mother. Choosing to sever a friendship shouldn't impact Jessica's home life," she gestured to Jessica, then crossed her arms and leaned back. "And anyway, I would imagine a lot of her anger stems from her drug use." She paused a moment before asking, "Is that why she's been gone the last few days?"
"Yeah, she's at an inpatient treatment center, but please don't spread that around." Jess sighed and looked down at her half-eaten tray of food before continuing. "I mean, obviously I cared a lot – and still do –about her, but ever since last summer, she's been getting more and more nasty. Apparently, it was even worse than I knew." She looked down further and dropped her hands to her lap where she fidgeted. "I felt bad for a little bit because it's so extreme, but I truly do hope that she can get clean. I-, I miss the Lauren I knew."
Bella watched as Angela shifted slightly in her seat, angling her body towards Jessica and casually dropped her arm from the table edge. After a moment, Bella realized that much like she had been doing to soothe Jasper, Angela was holding Jessica's hand. Angela met Bella's gaze and gave her a worried smile.
Well, that explains a lot.
Bella smiled reassuringly at Angela, to let her know that nothing had changed, then turned her attention back to Jessica. "This must be difficult for you, especially if you two used to be such good friends. I mean, Phoenix isn't exactly short on drugs. I lost a couple of classmates that I had considered friends over the years, and it was hard to know I wouldn't see them around anymore. You did the right thing, even if you were angry when you did it, Jess."
"Agreed," Jasper spoke up. "Lauren had seemed a lot more physically aggressively recently. Telling her mother couldn't have been easy, but you may have helped prevent more of Lauren's pain in the long run."
"Thank you for saying so," Jessica answered with a small smile as she finally looked up, eyes brimming with tears. She resumed eating her lunch, but after a few bites, spoke again, "I think I'm going to go revise my English paper. You wanted to work on yours too, right Ang?"
"Absolutely. I haven't checked for punctuation yet, and after getting docked last time, I want to be more careful," Angela replied.
"Oh, my god," Jessica shot back as she stood and wiped her tears casually away. "You got a 97 percent last time! Be proud of yourself!"
"Yes, but it wasn't a 100 percent. If I was only that much off due to punctuation, shouldn't I correct it?"
The rest of their conversation was lost to Bella's ears as the two of them walked away.
"Shall we?" Jasper asked Bella with a smile.
"Sounds like a plan!" Bella gathered her lunch containers and trash before addressing Rosalie and Emmett. "Thanks for sitting with us today!"
"My pleasure, hellcat," Emmett answered with a grin as he stood to leave as well.
Rosalie joined Emmett and smiled warmly at Bella. "It was much more fun than I thought it would be," she answered happily.
"I'm glad!" Bella smiled back. "I'll see you after school, then!"
"Yep! I get out early so I'll be hanging out in the courtyard or in my car," Rosalie answered excitedly.
Jasper smiled widely as he and Bella walked towards the hallway, sounds of Emmett and Rose leaving the cafeteria through the door Alice had left echoed quietly as they left. Jasper and Bella resumed holding hands and upon reaching Bella's next class, the two once again sat side by side on the floor, shoulders touching.
Jasper rubbed his thumb along the back of Bella's hand in a relaxing way and whispered, "I'm so glad Rose is getting to know more people. You're definitely impacting her in a positive way."
"She's pretty easy to get along with, so I'm not really sure where her hesitation came from," Bella mused before rubbing her forehead pensively.
"As I mentioned, she has her reasons. I think that over time, it became much easier to simply avoid interactions at all," Jasper answered somewhat reluctantly.
Bella frowned as she processed the information. "She must have been hurt pretty badly by someone she trusted to feel that way."
"Have I ever told you that you're pretty astute, Bella," Jasper asked with a wry smile. "It's Rose's story to share, but yes, she was very badly hurt."
Bella took her hand out of Jaspers and wrung them in her lap. "That makes me so mad!" She shook her hands angrily. "Rosalie is so nice, and to think she's missed out on friends is just…wrong."
Jasper wrapped his arm around Bella's shoulders and pulled her tightly to his side. "I appreciate your concern for my sister. Are you sure you aren't the one with empathic abilities?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Ha, ha, you're so funny," Bella answered with a roll of her eyes. "As far as I can tell, freakish moon things aside, I'm pretty darn average."
"You are far, far beyond average, Bella," Jasper retorted as he lowered his lips to the crook of her neck. "Words like extraordinary," he murmured as he dotted her neck with a kiss, "and wonderful," he continued as he kissed the sensitive flesh along the side of her neck, "spring to mind, for starters," Jasper finished with a kiss just below her ear lobe.
"Fuck," Bella gasped as she shivered in pleasure, her hands seeking to twist into his hair as she turned to kiss him at an agonizingly slow pace. She pulled back, partly to draw air, but also to fight the nerve impulses jumping in her legs that demanded she wrap them around Jasper's waist. Her eyes closed with relaxed bliss, "How are you so good at this," she wondered aloud.
"Well, darlin', I think you can blame the vampiric allure, paired with years and years of experience," Jasper answered with a throaty chuckle.
The animal inside of her tensed immediately at the thought of her Jasper being with others. Bella's logical mind reminded herself that Jasper had been alone for a very long time, while her emotional mind reacted in a wounded manner, lump forming in her throat.
After a few moments, in which Jasper clearly realized his mistake, Bella finally whispered, "I don't know what to say to that."
She was saved for any further embarrassment during processing as the class bell rang loudly above them. With a frown, Jasper stood before reaching a hand down to Bella to assist her. Uncertain, she looked at his offered hand, then down to her lap. "Please," Jasper asked quietly.
Bella thought briefly before realizing that it would be childish as well as hurtful to ignore his offer. She reached for his hand and was pulled gently to her feet. Taking her other hand into his own he studied her face, her gaze still not meeting his.
"I'm so sorry that hurts you, Bella. If I had known that I could feel this way, I certainly would have waited for you," Jasper explained as the rumbling of footsteps approaching their hall filled their ears.
"I believe you, and I can't blame you for not wanting to be alone" Bella whispered back before nibbling on her lip in thought. Pulling her hands out of his, she tried to explain, "I just-, I feel-, I'm not-," she trailed off as students began to fill the space around them. "Later?" she asked even more quietly.
"Of course. I can still see you tonight if you want. I planned on me coming around midnight and giving Charlie, Jess, and Angela a little push of "tired" to get them to sleep so you can get away to shift," he explained even more quietly to avoid anyone being able to overhear them. "If you need time with Rose, I will understand. It's entirely your choice, Bella."
"I'll let you know," she answered slowly and turned to enter her classroom. Pausing in the doorway, she looked up and finally met his eyes. "I need to think about what I'm feeling because it's a lot," she explained.
"I know it is, darlin'; like I said, I understand," Jasper tried to reassure her as he searched her face for a hint of what she was thinking. With a small smile, he continued, "If I don't see you tonight, have a good rest of your day, Bella."
"You too," she answered automatically, attempting to muster a smile, despite the pang that flashed through her chest at the thought of not seeing him after her classes, despite her jumbled feelings.
Jasper turned to leave and with one final glance, he rounded the corner and was out of her eyesight. Bella walked slowly to her seat as the final bell rang, sat down, and pulled out the book she was supposed to be reading for English. She opened her notebook, and to any observer would have appeared to be taking notes; instead, Bella wrote out everything she was feeling in an attempt to analyze what exactly it was.
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A/N #2: So, I got a review of the chapter preview asking if I'd be giving Jasper's POV. I'm interested in doing so, but I'm wondering if I should intersperse the chapters IN THIS STORY, or if I should create a secondary story that I can add to until their chapters line up and blend the two. What have you seen that you felt did and didn't work?
The story hasn't picked up pace TOO MUCH yet – there is so much more action coming, it's just so important to build these relationships, you know? It isn't like I'm halfway in or anything, but if I choose to do so, it'll need to be soon. Advice welcome!
A/N: Well, there you have it. A partial chapter as I work on finishing this one up. Happy to be back to writing, excited to pick up the pace and throw a bit more action in for you!