When the class ended, Jasper could tell Bella was ready. Despite having taken notes the whole period and engaged in the discussion, everything was packed and she was sitting there, waiting him out. It was amusing the way she thought she'd get the pounce on him. Had she forgotten the way he could read her anticipation and dread? Apparently not.

Jasper felt a wave of impatience smack him as she stood up and faced him, clearly waiting for him to move as the last of the stragglers made their way out of the room. She pursed her lips and shifted her weight. Jasper sat unmoving for a second before rising out of his own chair. He wondered just how much Isabella Swan had changed.

Grabbing his bag he took a deep breath readying himself, "Isabella-" but he didn't get the chance to finish.

She held up her hand and, looking pointedly at the professors still chatting in the room, muttered "Save it."

He approached her and she quickly, for a human, grabbed his arm and began dragging him out of the room. Jasper threw a glance at the window first, hoping she wasn't planning on taking him outside, the sun had just broken through on a relatively overcast day and he'd have to wait it out for at least a half an hour. He knew he could overpower the human, she was only dragging him because he let her, but was worried somewhat about accidentally breaking her in the process. Instead, she proceeded to drag him down a dimly lit hallway, shifting her hand to grab his wrist instead of his sleeve, but never letting go.

She marched him down hallways until they reached less populated ones that housed offices and study rooms. Checking the window in the door first, she led him into a small room lined with bookshelves and that housed a large conference table in the middle. If Jasper had to guess, based on the smell, he would say that it hadn't been used since the spring semester.

She finally let go of his wrist once she had closed the door, and rounded on him. He felt a flurry of emotions radiating off of her again. Hurt, disbelief, anger, frustration, and a pain that sang so clear it nearly brought Jasper to his knees.

By the look in Isabella Swan's eyes, Jasper could tell she knew what she was doing. She was inflicting on him all of the pain that he had caused her.

He let her feel his remorse, continuing their silent conversation. He no longer knew what he wanted to say to her but he had to figure it out. She had proven herself to be a completely different person, a stronger person, in just one class session but he still owed her the world in apologies.

He could feel the frustration building up in her and he knew at any moment she could explode. He couldn't bring himself to speak however. She had been the one that had been wronged. She had every right to send them away and if she had something that she wanted to say to him, he owed her the chance to say it. She clearly sent Edward to send them away for a reason. She was probably irate at having to see Jasper again.

Though, she wasn't glaring at him as much as staring at him solemnly and her emotions were waning more towards hurt. He could see how she had aged in the time that they had been sent away from her. The already thin girl had a very distinct jawline and dark purplish-blue bruises under her eyes, similar to his own. Had he caused this?

When she spoke he clung on to every word. "Jasper," her voice was gravely but she didn't bother clearing it. Her voice got higher as she continued, eyes beginning to water. "What are you doing here? Why are you here?" she implored. She no longer stood up straight, her shoulders hunched forward as if bearing an incredible weight.

Jasper had been ready for a verbal lashing and this was all that came out of small Isabella Swan? "Isab-Bella, I need to apologize," he started but he didn't get far.

He was surprised when she took steps towards him, looking up at him. Confusion and pain filled the room as she continued speaking, "You all left me, t-to come here?"

If Jasper were new to his gift, he would be on the floor. She wasn't pushing this on him anymore, this was all she felt. How was she not a shell of a person?

The thought of responding sent a shockwave of pain to Jasper's unbeating heart but he did it anyway. He owed her that much. His voice was thick with emotion when he was finally able to respond, "We needed another hospitable climate. Carlisle got lucky that Ithaca was hiring. We knew with the lake that it would get significantly heavier precipitation. Alice saw..." He trailed off; it still hurt to talk about her. He saw her flinch at the mention of her friend. Did Bella really want to know this? Alice had been distraught leaving Bella and he could sense that the feeling was mutual. Why send them away if it would cause her this much pain?

"Alice, a-and the others, are they with you?" Bella's voice broke as she looked up at Jasper with tear filled eyes. Fear, longing, and a tinge of desperation creeping into her voice. She grabbed Jasper's sleeve again like he might leave.

Jasper took the time to recall just how confusing of a human Isabella Swan was. She had never done what was expected of her before they left, she had changed in the last year since he's seen her yes but why should she stop surprising him now? The fear wasn't the surprise, no, it was the longing, it was the fact that she was holding onto his shirt with a fragment of desperationation lodged somewhere in there.

Her flurry of emotions wasn't going to stop anytime soon he realized. It would stop just about as soon as she would let leave. So, he sighed and pulled out a chair at the table knowing that humans got tired after a while and she didn't look too steady on her feet to begin with. Nodding towards the table, he gestured with the arm that wasn't already occupied. He felt the familiar "M'lady," slip out of his lips. There was no harm in being polite.

She looked confused for a second before slowly letting go of his sleeve and sitting down on the edge of the chair. She gestured expectantly for him to sit as well. So, he sat facing her and "relaxed" back into the chair the way he had in class.

He wasn't sure the answer she wanted, she couldn't possibly want to see the family could she? Her emotions were going to fry his brain. He could try to soothe her, take the straight path to reassuring her they were on the verge of leaving, but decided honesty was the best policy, the Volturri hadn't come for them yet and she may not ask them to leave again.

He let his honest intentions find her as he spoke, "We have settled just outside of Ithaca, all of us, but some are traveling at the moment." He paused, unsure of just how much he should tell, but when her curiosity sprung up he continued starting with the easiest first, "Emmett and Rosalie just got back from their honeymoon around Europe."

Her voice rang with the shock she felt, "Honeymoon? Weren't they already married?" Her eyebrows drew together to make a tiny crease. The shock was so strong, so unexpected that it almost blocked out the other emotions. Almost.

Jasper smiled though, trying to keep the air relaxed, and explained in an amused tone, "Well yes but they like to get remarried every couple of decades or so. They are very affectionate mates and to be honest they like the attention. That and it gives them a way to take a few months of travel without Esme growing worried."

He saw Bella's lip twitch at the corner, just a little, and a sprig of warmth bloom in her emotions. Maybe she missed them after all.

He continued on with their original topic, knowing he'd have to face his uncomfortable explanation sooner or later. He shifted to sit up a little straighter in the chair, drawing a deep breath in of her chocolate and wine scent, not waiting for the Fressia to hit him before continuing, "As for Alice, she is currently researching her human life in Mississippi." He tried not to sound detached but he was hoping she didn't ask any more about her.

However, Bella's eyebrows scrunched together again, "Mississippi?" She asked, "Why aren't you with her Jasper?"

The quizicalness and slight confusion would have been cute if she wasn't asking a question that would hurt him so. He should have known this was coming. He steadied himself. "She-I," he began not really knowing how to explain it to someone who hadn't witnessed it. He hadn't even had to explain it to Peter. He tried again not wanting to paint Alice in a bad light but wanting to offer the truth, "Alice did not want me to come with her. She actually left me no choice in the matter…" he trailed off, he wasn't explaining it right.

Bella was growing concerned but that wasn't right either. She had no reason to be concerned for him.

He sighed audibly, "I returned from hunting one night to find a note and no Alice. She left me." His heart ached. A vampire's life could be very lonely without a mate.

"Why Jasper?" Bella asked in a soft voice, like she was trying to comfort him. "Why would she do that? Aren't you married?" Her hand reached for his.

Bella's inquisition along with her willingness to comfort who she probably viewed as her almost killer made him chuckle. He forgot how naive she was and how little she actually knew about their world. So he filled her in, albeit a bit bitterly. "Marriage is but a slip of paper to most vampires," he muttered. It hadn't just been a slip of paper to him. "It took me a decade and a half to convince Alice to finally marry me. I loved her. She brought me out of a very dark place in my life, Bella. Saved me from a very haunting existence." Her eyes never strayed from his. "I thought she was going to stay with me. She made it very clear in her note however that our partnership was out of convenience. We were never mates."

Jasper knew before Bella asked what her next question would be. "Mates are existence-long partners for a vampire. They are someone that your instinct drives you to protect and someone you love unconditionally." And Alice doesn't love me unconditionally but Jasper left that part unsaid. He finished, "I have seen vampires be driven mad knowing their mate was in danger and lose their sanities if their mate was killed. It's an unbreakable bond."

Bella sat stunned for a moment, probably digesting a lot more than she expected to bite off of that conversation. When she spoke, he was reminded of the intellectual way she spoke in class, "I'm sorry that happened to you Jasper." She spoke to him tenderly but with a power he didn't know she had. "If Alice chose to leave you then perhaps it was what you both needed. I remember E-" She cut herself off before continuing, "I remember finding out that she had no memories of her human life. That has to be something incredibly painful to deal with, something she might not have wanted to drag you through unnecessarily. Maybe this is her way of letting you go so you can find your own path," she paused hesitantly, "or your true mate?" Her voice rose at the end like she was unsure of herself but her emotions shone through with sincerity and faith in her words.

Jasper had never felt such appreciation for a human. Bella's words soothed his heart like a balm on a wound. He was speechless at the gentleness she offered him and projected his gratitude nonetheless.

She seemed to take what she said to heart too, becoming thoughtful for a short while. What she had said, or thought, seemed to bolster a little more confidence in her. Hope creeped its way back in and her pep talk continued though seemingly targeted at herself this time. "Is that how Edward convinced everyone to leave Forks?" She asked without pause.

Jasper was confused but let her continue on without interruption.

"I loved him," she continued. " but I know he lied to me in those woods." Her eyes grew hard and filled again but she kept pressing on. Jasper flipped his hand to grip hers in return, giving her the only support he could when he was so lost himself. "I couldn't believe that Esme," she choked back a sob, becoming alarmingly more emotional, "and Alice would want to leave me."

She looked wildly into Jasper's eyes now, seeming to be seeking confirmation but Jasper couldn't confirm anything when he didn't know what was happening. Left her in the woods? What the hell was she talking about?

"He must've known we weren't mates and tried to break it off in a way where I wouldn't try to follow him…" She lost her momentum, like she realized at the same time Jasper had just how fucked up their situation was.