Having Jasper and Alice over is definitely something I can deal with. Having my apartment neighbors see them is completely different.
"Oh hello dears."
"Miss Jenna! Please let me help!" I quickly rushed over to pick up the two bags on the floor.
The elderly woman tried to wave me off. "Oh sweetheart there's no need. You seem to have brought a party."
"Heya ma'am!" Alex greeted. "Need any help today? I swear that Ellie's made me learn how to fix a sink this time and I shouldn't make one explode."
Miss Jenna laughed lightly. "There's no need for that honey. You both seem to have had a day today." I nudged her playfully out of the way with my shoulder to let Alex escort her. "Elizabeth, there's really no need to worry over an old lady like me."
"We like helping you. You like to smack Alex just as much as I do and we can bond." I gestured with my head behind me at Alice, who waved with a smile. "Alice and her brother share that trait. It's why we get along so well."
"And why you shouldn't be helping an old lady like me. You're both young and should live a little."
"I like her," Alice told me with a smile. "She reminds me of Esme." She wrapped her arms around Jasper. "Sorry about Jasper though. He's sometimes really shy."
"Ma'am," Jasper said quietly with a small nod of his head.
"I think he just has a crush on you," Alex whispered as he led her to her kitchen.
"If only I were much younger," Jenna said with a laugh.
"Careful, Alex was trying to convince him that us ladies are only pretty if we have a tiny butt." Both of us giggled at that.
"You're gonna make her believe I'm a playboy Ellie!" I set the bags on the table for her. "Do you want any help picking anything up?"
"No honey. Go back to your friends in the hallway. Make sure they know that you're a little rascle trying to trick everyone."
"Told you she doesn't like you." I stuck my tongue out at my best friend who reached out-after assisting Miss Jenna to the table-and grabbed the offending appendage. "Ah!"
"Come on you little brat. Let's leave Miss Jenna without us annoying kids." He released my tongue which I cleaned by licking the inside of my shirt.
"Do make sure you treat your friends out there nice!"
"I will ma'am," I assured her. "I even promise to touch his butt for you."
"Thank you. You're such a dear."
We laughed as Alex and I left the apartment and he closed the door behind us. "Let's get back upstairs so I can pretend to be productive."
"You mean while you sit in that death trap of a chair while I make that smoothie?"
Got it in one.
I didn't even bother answering him so that I could head upstairs to our apartment. In the apartment itself, both visiting vampires situated themselves on the couch. Alex went to the kitchen like a good boy. I tried to figure out if it was Jasper or myself making me want to watch his ass again.
"Eh I'm gonna blame Jasper."
"On what?" Alex asked.
"Anytime I'm attracted to him."
Alice leaned against Jasper. "Seems like you're always going to be in trouble Jasper."
"I'm sure I can get out of it." That almost sounded like a purr. I might have issues if this keeps up. Loss of sanity is a completely serious issue here.
"Make my smoothie and distract me Alex." I turned my head from the two Cullens to watch my best friend. He's distracting enough to help.
Probably.
He's annoying enough to be distracting at least.
"I'm sure you don't need a distraction from our absolutely lovely company...And Jasper."
"Stop kissing up to Alice. Life goals I plan on keeping."
"Anything after midnight isn't the same day of having met me."
"There's three of them." I didn't even bother and just left to head to the bathroom. After working on the smoothie Alex would work on the food while I took a shower. He'd also cover the windows during that same time.
"Wear the green one," Alice called just before I closed the bathroom door.
"I'll get to it."
Next moment she was standing in the doorway with the chosen green top and matching shorts. "You said you have a goal and I'm helping you keep it. You padding around in a towel helps nothing."
I snorted. "And here I thought that I was the weak one."
"Nah, he'd just make it harder on you."
"That much I believe." It's weird though. In the story they were much more conservative, or at least Jasper was. At least from my hazy memories that's the case. I always thought they were more private in romantic affairs and such things. It was always Emmett that would cause Bella to blush due to perverted jokes. This Alice is definitely willing to insinuate something more private out in the open to get a reaction and while Jasper would manipulate emotions he never did so in a romantic way.
Though the story was from Bella's point of view and he wasn't around her as much due to her being a human and singer.
Does the fact that they have different mates change their personality?
Alice left me to my shower where I continued trying to figure out what was different about the two.
Alice was still bubbly as hell and Jasper fairly quiet. Their base personalities aren't much different, but it just seems a little off. It's been over thirty years since I've read the books though so I can't really be positive of anything. They might've danced naked in the middle of the living room for all I know.
I don't think they did.
I'd pay to see Jasper do that.
Eh, he probably wouldn't charge me.
Sweet! Free show at eleven!
"Why're you laughing in the bathroom?" Alex asked from inside the bathroom.
"I'm imagining you in the thong now!"
"Rude."
And he calls me rude. He just left the door wide open.
"So do I just not care that you guys can see into the bathroom from the living room or is someone going to come close it? Alex."
"Nah!"
Well I don't care enough to close the door and if Alice really saw anything bad I'm sure she'd close it. From the way Jasper acts, I'm sure he wouldn't mind closing it but at the same time I still do have a goal. Just going to see how this plays out because that door is over there and I'm not.
"You'll be fine!" Alice called.
Sweet.
Wait, does that mean Jasper gets the free show?
"How do I feel about that Jasper?"
"Conflicted."
Yeah. "That sounds about right." He gets the free show and I don't. This feels really unfair somehow. Regardless of how I feel about it, I'll still have to get out of the shower and into the freaking cold air to get to my clothes. "How is this any different than parading around in a towel?"
"You didn't do this one on purpose."
True.
"Nice ass!" Alex called from the living room.
A glance over my shoulder let me know that he stood between Jasper and the doorway on purpose with an absolute shit-eating grin on his lips.
"Thanks. I work hard to get this ass." I plucked the clothes from the counter to drag them away from the view of the doorway. "I see you like picking on others too."
"I'm your best friend. Only I get to see your nicest features."
I began pulling on my clothes. "And your mate?"
"She's probably gonna play dress up with you anyway from what you've told me of her, so seeing you naked was gonna happen."
I see.
"Why couldn't I wear a nightgown anyway?" I asked as I stepped from the bathroom in my nightclothes. It was just a green t-shirt and matching shorts.
"Alex was going to keep commenting about the thong since your nightgowns are short and can show your underwear. He'd mess with Jasper since he's seen you naked and Jasper hasn't and it would just make things a bit more of a pain. This way Jasper won't have to worry about it since the shorts are fairly tight and leave little to the imagination."
"How do I feel now?"
"Conflicted."
"I'm beginning to think that's going to be fairly normal."
"Alex may be my mate but Jasper's my brother and I do want to help him be happy."
"And putting a completely innocent human into some revealing clothes is the best way to make him happy?"
When I walked into the living room I saw that a smile was on her face and she was nodding. "He's been a bit off the last few days so I thought this may cheer him up and it has!"
"I'd say I could do a little dance if that'd help, but as it is about the only thing I can do is shake my ass."
"I'd be fine with that!" Alex called from the kitchen. "Now come eat."
"What am I eating?"
"Beef stroganoff."
"Yummy." Alex had already set up a bowl of the food to hand off to me so I could join him in the living room. The curtains had all been drawn already and the lights already on. A smoothie was settled on the coffee table. "So tell me what you've done in Forks as of the moment if you don't mind."
Alice jumped up from her spot and gestured for Alex to sit before sitting on his lap. Since he wouldn't use the other chair I took that one. "Not much. It's been fairly quiet but Isabella Swan came to town only a few weeks ago."
"Has she almost been squished by a truck?" I asked through my food.
Both Alice and Jasper tensed at that.
"Is that a no?" Alex asked. "You're pretty tense there Alice."
"She hasn't," Alice told me.
"Good. I'm gonna be friends with her." They didn't say anything to me while I ate a few more bites. "Let me know what Edward decides on if he wants to be with her or not. You guys have to be careful if he doesn't."
"Why?" Jasper asked.
Small doses do me well. Now I only slightly want to jump him. Progress is progress.
"She notices a lot more than you guys think she does and since Edward can't read her mind then he can't really tell when she notices his eyes being darker or lighter. He also chases after her in Seattle when she goes to a book store to find something on cold ones, as the wolves call you guys."
"Carlisle mentioned werewolves," Alice mused to herself, frowning. "These are the same ones?"
"They're actually shape shifters who've adopted the form of a wolf, but essentially for all purposes they're werewolves. This is a newer generation and Sam is their leader. I forgot his last name. It's something like UV or Juvie or something. There was a u in there somewhere."
Jasper watched me swallow my next bite of food. He was smart enough to wait to talk till after I couldn't choke. "They tell others about their legends?"
"The younger ones don't believe in it. Jacob will be the one to tell Bella since he has a bit of a crush on her. It's one of those things I think guys do to impress girls."
"I could believe it," Alex piped in. "We'd do some stupid shit if it meant getting a girl's attention. As it stands however, being a vampire means our mates pretty much already love us."
"Mine's gonna like me less when he learns I need to wear glasses when I'm not wearing my contacts."
"Yeah." Alex turned his head to watch Jasper. "Those glasses she has are ugly."
Jasper frowned and nearly opened his mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by Alice. "Oh ew those are ugly. Why don't you have anything nicer?"
"Those are the only ones I can afford," I reminded her. Though there was food in the bowl, I used it and the hand under it to gesture to the apartment around us. "That's why we have an apartment here in Seattle. If you've noticed its not exactly super large or anything."
"Where do you get the money if you're both pretending to be teenagers?" Jasper asked.
"I kill muggers and take the money they've stolen or whatever money I take from druggies," Alex told him. "Ellie takes on odd jobs when she can get a daytime one before we end up moving and one time we both even talked about hunting for some money."
"We could get you animals easily." Alice's eyes were much brighter now. "It would help us dispose of them."
"Its where the animal idea came from," I told her. "Before we knew you guys existed. We talked about it before this move actually."
"Back to the subject before we get too far off track," Alex reminded me.
"Oh yeah. Edward chases after Bella when some unsavory men follow her. I'd like to be her friend so that if she decides to go then I can go with her."
"At night?"
"Nah, I'm going to suggest a daytime outing on the weekend," I told him. "It brings down the chances of being stalked by men like that quite a bit and it means she has backup. Her friends are fine letting her go around alone, but it's really not safe for a woman to be alone."
"So you're going to befriend her, and allow her to be close to a vampire-me-to protect her. Is that if Edward decides to stay with her or no?"
"Either way." I took another bite of my food. "If he decides to stay with her he'll have to be committed. That should take out quite a bit of annoyance later on down the road. If he doesn't then he'll have to watch from far away as she settles down with another man, probably Jacob knowing how much he's into her, and has a life."
"He won't like that," Alice pointed out.
"I sure as hell wouldn't," Jasper agreed.
"Hence the manipulation?" I questioned only to have way too much attraction to my beef stroganoff. "Ugh I'll be put off of stroganoff forever if you're making me this attracted to it Jasper."
Alex snorted. "Probably deserved it."
"Probably." I still ate it though. "If this turns you on we're going to have to have a very long talk." He can't put me off of food I like. That's how I don't die.
"Man's got some weird kinks." All of a sudden he snorted. "Don't think that bothers me much. I don't care if I'm attracted to a light bulb or a shoe man."
"Please make him attracted to the table...No wait, I eat there sometimes. Go for the computer."
