A/N: Hi! Thanks all for the reads. Chapters should come up more regularly now that I'm on winter break from college.
Regardless of what Jasper thought, Hensley wasn't quite ready to meet his mother. That ship could stay parked right where it was, thanks. It wasn't that she didn't want to meet his mom, but they'd just started dating. A few more days or weeks of figuring things out would be nice.
Jasper went home around 4:50. Barely missing her other two roommates. After her experience with Kaufmann, Hensley decided that it would be best to meet Anderson and Red another day. Kaufmann by far would be the most vocal, but if Red had overnight the next day he would be cranky.
Hensley was rummaging around the kitchen for a dinner idea when the two boys came home.
"It smells funny in here." Red announced when he walked in. The girl rolled her eyes at his unsurprising comment. Red had an incredibly heightened sense of smell, making him one of the best trackers the Agency had to offer. She wasn't surprised he could smell Jasper in the apartment.
Still, she had to be a little difficult with him, "You smell funny."
"You're home early." Anderson commented, "don't you have a job or something?"
"I was sick from Kaufmann's painkillers. How was your shift?"
"Lame." Anderson hopped up on the counter and watched Hensley dig through half-full cupboards.
"Seriously! What is that?!" Red snapped sniffing around the apartment, following Jasper's scent into their bedroom. "Hensley's it's all over your bed! Did you change perfume without telling me again?"
Hensley snickered, unable to contain herself. It was too fun to mess with the boys. Anderson leaned into her, "Did you?"
"Jasper came over. He was taking me to school when I got sick."
Red strolled back into the kitchen; eyes narrowed at the back of Hensley's head. "Well?"
"Her boyfriend came over." Anderson ratted her out right away. Fun ruiner.
"He's not-" Hensley went to defend herself and stopped short. "Alright, fine. He's my boyfriend."
Anderson groaned, "Dude I was kidding. We've been here like a week."
"Three weeks." She corrected, wondering where the hell the time went. A small, evil part of her brain wondered how many weeks she'd have left.
Hensley was determined to ignore the worries of being transferred and instead focus on enjoying the time she did have with Jasper and her father. Of course, being able to spend more time with both of them meant facing a minor fear.
Jasper was relieved to see Lexi at school the next day. As soon as she was in reach he pulled her in for a tight hug.
Emmett documented this.
"Dude?" Cooper shot Em a confused look.
"We gotta get all the documentation we can," Emmett explained, "Who knows when she'll come to her senses and leave him."
Hensley pulled back slightly and stared at Emmett, "Hmm, when do I normally come to my senses? Well, how long was I with you?"
Cooper laughed at her crack at Emmett. At Emmett's unspoken request, the pair left Hensley and Jasper alone.
"Are you okay?" She asked Jasper when his brothers left. Not that she didn't appreciate the affection, but it was a little out of character.
Jasper sighed, "Kind of got into it with Carlisle last night. Esme told him she'd called me out of school and he pieced the rest together."
"I'm sorry. I'll try and talk to him."
"It's fine. Just puts me a little on edge."
She took his hand and walked towards the front doors of the school. Ignoring the stares was easy when Jasper needed cheering up, "Why's that?"
"Because I just…" He rolled his eyes at himself, "I just think I'm falling into this way too hard too fast and I'm not sure if that's out of my control or if it's because I've been out of the dating thing for too long or what."
"For a relationship that's not even 24 hours old, you sure do question it a lot." Hensley was trying her best not to be bitter. It wasn't Jasper's fault. This thing was weird. They feel each other's pain and sadness for God's sake. But it wasn't exactly a warm and fuzzy feeling to hear him doubting the relationship already.
"I'm sorry." He cringed as they stopped outside her classroom door, "I don't mean it like that. I just want this to go smoothly and Carlisle threatening to rip me apart and burn me makes me think it's in danger of not going well."
Hensley smiled slightly, "Well, if I have anything to say about it, Carlisle will not be ripping you up and burning you. Whether he likes it or not, the thought of being without you hurts me too."
"This is insane."
"Maybe we should do some research this weekend? There's got to be something on it."
Jasper seemed to cheer up as soon as the words left her mouth, "A weekend with you? That does sound pleasant."
She gave him a playful nudge as she pushed herself off of the lockers and walked towards her room, "You're such a sap."
"Only for you."
On the flip side of sappy, Hensley was considering murder.
Jessica Stanley caught Hensley on her way to lunch and demanded details of why Hensley was holding hands with Jasper Hale. As if them holding hands wasn't a clue to what it meant already. *insert eyeroll here*
"That's really great, Lexi. I'm happy for you." Angela genuinely smiled at her when she 'broke the news.' "Jasper seems really nice."
"I can't believe he'd date you. I didn't think anyone here was good enough for him." Lauren Mallory spoke up. Lauren was a petite white-blond that Hensley gave no cares for.
Hensley didn't dignify that comment with a response, but Bella was apparently aggravated enough to speak up, "Maybe Jasper was just waiting for a girl he found attractive with a great personality."
"If that was the case he would've been all over Angela," Hensley easily passed the compliment over to girl. Angela was much too nice to be overlooked in this scenario.
"Guess he prefers nice blondes." Bella shot, looking right at Lauren as she said it. Hensley was starting to think Bella got replaced by a clone in the middle of the night sometime. Where was the shy girl Hensley had first met?
Lauren rolled her eyes and muttered something that would've been too quiet for normal humans Hensley's distance away to hear perfectly, "Guess he prefers blonde bitches."
A small squeak of a chair and a vision pulled Hensley's focus.
Thankfully Cooper caught him in time, with a tight grip around Jasper's shoulders keeping him in place, "What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm going to kill her." Jasper snarled quietly, glaring daggers at Lauren.
"You are not." Alice said sharply, "Stop it."
Emmett kicked Jasper under the table, "Get a grip man. We're at school."
"She insulted her." Jasper growled.
Hensley quickly excused herself and moved to sit next to Jasper. Casting a worried glance at his siblings, she took his hand, "Hey, what's going on?"
As soon as he felt her touch it was gone. All anger and rage in his body melted away in an instant. His eyes snapped from Lauren to Lexi and he pulled her in for a tight hug, deeply inhaling her scent.
Cooper slowly removed his arm from Jasper's shoulders. All eyes were on Edward; the only one with a chance at knowing what was happening.
Edward furrowed his brows, staring at the side of Jasper's head as he read. "Lexi, you should come over tonight."
….
After work, because Hensley refused to skip again, Emmett drove her back to their house.
Hensley was scared. Though she'd known Carlisle her entire life, she'd never met his wife before, and a million thoughts were racing through her head.
What if she hated Hensley? What if she thought Hensley wasn't good enough to be apart of their family? What if she thought Hensley was an 'imposter' vampire? What if she hated Hensley because she wasn't Hensley's mother? What if she hated Hensley because Carlisle had Hensley with another woman? What if she thought Hensley wasn't good enough for Jasper? What if she thought Hensley wasn't good enough for Carlisle?
"We're almost there." Emmett made conversation. Hensley wished he wouldn't. She wanted her doom to be a surprise. "Are you nervous?"
Hensley gave Emmett a look that required no response with it. He knew he asked a stupid question.
"She really likes you." Emmett tried to console the girl, "She's been dying to meet you since Jasper started talking to you. Of course, she keeps her desperation a secret. Carlisle is not as excited to have you. Well, I shouldn't say he's not excited. I mean, you're his daughter, but he's worried. Jasper's never really been good with the whole self-control thing. And sure, you smell vampire enough that your blood doesn't really bother us, but-"
"Woah, ghostrider. This is way more information that I've never heard than I expected you to say. What now? Jasper's not good with self-control?"
Emmett shrugged, "Ya know, like not drinking humans. He does pretty well, but it's hard for him. He feels emotions, so it's-" Emmett counted his siblings on his hand, "five times harder for him than for anyone else."
They pulled into a driveway completely surrounded by trees. Hidden into a few acres of land was a mansion of a home. Quite literally the biggest home Hensley had ever seen, not that it took much. It was beautiful too, of course. Lights illuminated the windows in a way that made it feel homey rather than spooky.
Emmett parked the Jeep in their large attached garage. Hensley recognized Jasper's truck and Rosalie and Edward's cars right away. Her companion had her step through into the house first, but her movement was short-lived by another vision.
She sprinted, arriving just in time to catch Carlisle's arm from hitting Jasper. She looked up at her father through her eyebrows/forehead, her face hard. Behind her, Jasper wore a similar expression; almost daring Carlisle to touch Lexi again.
Carlisle glared at Jasper as he pulled his arm out of Lexi's grip, "I will deal with you later. What are you doing here?"
"Edward invited me." Hensley replied coolly. She was more than okay with Edward taking the hit for this.
And take the hit he did. Carlisle was in his face in a flash, "You did what?!"
Edward seemed unfazed by Carlisle's anger. He sighed, "Thanks, Lexi."
Jasper wrapped his arm around Lexi and pulled her in closer, desperate to protect her from his family.
"Get your hands off of her." Carlisle seethed, spitting every word between clenched teeth. Hensley had a brief urge to climb all over Jasper just to piss Carlisle off. Instead, she responded by pulling Jasper to her.
Carlisle looked at her arm around Jasper's waist and then at her face. She held out her right hand for him to take. Her father glared at Edward once more before coming back to her to take her hand. As soon as he held it, she pulled away from Jasper and let her dad have it, mentally that is.
So what?! I get NO say in this? Have you ever considered that maybe I want this too? Or are you too self-centered to think about anyone but yourself?
Carlisle's expression was…mixed. He was angry and shocked from what Jasper could tell.
Self-centered?! Do you have any idea what you're getting into? We are vampires. Dangerous, human-killing creatures. You think I want my only daughter around this?
I'm vampire too!
You're HALF vampire. We can easily hurt you, Alexandria.
I'm more than capable of protecting myself.
You've never fought our kind before. You have an upper hand with gifts, but my family is gifted as well.
Jasper wouldn't let anyone hurt me.
How can Jasper be sure HE won't hurt you? Do you know anything about him?
Do you? How dare you talk about him like that!
Lexi. Jasper is a wonderful person, but accidents happen, and I will be damned if something happens to you because I wasn't cautious with you.
"What is happening?" Cooper breathed.
Edward was staring intently at Carlisle. He was the only side of the conversation Edward could actually hear, "I think they're...talking to each other?"
While the rest of the family was confused, Jasper was completely smitten, "Isn't she amazing?" He slowly shook his head in pure admiration at Lexi. She was so gifted. So talented.
Emmett rolled his eyes. "Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's like 7:30 and I still have to take Lexi home."
"Are you suggesting she leave?" Jasper took a menacing step forward.
"Dude. Are you pissed off because I suggested she eventually go home? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"She can spend the night."
"If you stay outside, maybe." Carlisle interjected.
The sound of the patio door opening brought everyone out of the conversation. A beaming, caramel haired woman stepped into the living room, followed by Rosalie and Alice. Her face was frozen in a wide, slightly open-mouthed smile, almost as if she was star struck. She began smoothing out her hair and running her hands down her dress, as if she was trying to impress Hensley.
"Hi!" She greeted Hensley, her voice full of disbelief, "Kids, you didn't tell me Lexi was coming over."
"Sorry," Edward apologized, "We had to keep it a secret from Carlisle."
Carlisle seemed offended, "Why?"
"What do you mean why? Have you seen your reaction?" Cooper scoffed. His southern drawl was clear as day now. Hensley wondered if he tried to subdue it to avoid sticking out at school.
"Touché."
Esme giggled and pulled Hensley in for an unexpected hug, "Anyway, it's so good to finally meet you. I've only ever seen pictures!" She pulled away and continued gushing over Hensley, stroking her cheek and a loose strand of her hair, "Gosh, you are gorgeous. You look so much like your father."
Hensley was completely unsure what to do. She'd never been so…complimented? before. Of course, she was glad that Esme approved of her, but all the attention was making Hensley uneasy.
Edward. Edward help. Too many compliments.
Her hopeful savior stared at her blankly, asking himself if he'd heard correctly.
Yes, you can read my mind. Help me.
"How did you do that?" Edward asked, breaking Esme out of her 'oh look it's Lexi' state.
"Do what?"
Edward shook his head, "I can read her mind."
Cooper seemed surprised, "Guess you're not losing your touch after all."
"It's not me. It was never me. It was her. You can…block and unblock me?"
Yup. I'm pretty fancy.
"I've never met someone else who can do that."
You know you don't have to reply out loud right?
Edward chuckled. Sorry, old habits die hard.
"At risk of Jasper trying to kill me again," Emmett interrupted, shooting Jasper a quick glance, "but, should we talk about why Lexi's actually here?"
Jasper gave him an annoyed look, "I did not try to kill you."
"You almost killed that girl at lunch." Rosalie stated sharply. Her usual friendly demeanor was replaced by irritation, but Hensley knew enough of her to know it was really concern.
"What?" Esme looked between her two children, "What happened?"
"The same thing we've been telling you since Lexi came here." Rosalie stressed, "Jasper's acting strange!"
Jasper's anger was quickly rising with Rosalie. He knew he had self-control issues. He had worked his ass off to try and be better. The last thing he needed was Rosalie throwing accusations his way. Sure, was he pissed off at Lauren, definitely. Could he have killed her, also definitely. But would he have really acted on it…debatable. "I was fine."
"After Lexi stopped you."
"Hold on!" Carlisle interrupted their arguing. His voice left no room for negotiations, "Start from the beginning."
"A girl at school insulted Lexi and Jasper lost his shit." Rosalie took it upon herself to tell the story.
Carlisle sighed, "Lost his shit how?"
"Remember when Jasper attacked me last week?" Cooper asked, "Like that, but I was able to stop him from attacking her."
Hensley turned to raise an eyebrow at Jasper, "You attacked Cooper?"
"He insulted you."
"I'm noticing a pattern."
"It's not like I try!" Jasper exclaimed. His nerves were quickly being fried. It wasn't like he enjoyed feeling out of control. "It just…happens."
He was having a difficult time explaining. It was like explaining a color to people who've never seen it. They didn't feel what he felt. They didn't feel the snap, the complete takeover. Like someone else was controlling his body and he was shoved to the side.
Rosalie rolled her eyes, "How does it just happen?"
"He's right." Edward quickly jumped in to defend Jasper, "it's not something he thinks about. It quite literally just…happens. Like it's instinct for him. He doesn't realize he's doing it until after it's started."
"He never used to be like that."
"It didn't start until he met Lexi."
"Emmett wasn't like that!"
Edward shrugged, "I don't know. I'm just telling you what I hear."
Carlisle spent the rest of the night asking Lexi and Jasper questions about what they felt, when they felt it, how it went away. Anything he could think of that might give him answers. In all honesty, he had no idea what he was searching for. He'd never heard of such strong reactions or those kinds of reactions at all. He didn't feel that way with Esme. Emmett didn't feel that way with Rosalie. Cooper didn't feel that way with Alice.
Over 300 years on the Earth and he had nothing.
"We'll keep looking." Lexi told them, "Jasper and I planned on doing research this weekend."
Carlisle looked suspiciously between the two, "Is that some kind of code for something? Are you taking her virginity?"
"Can't take what I don't have." Hensley shrugged, making Carlisle cringe.
"Emmett! Come here and let me finish murdering you!"
Hensley found her father's gestures quite hilarious. Jasper placed a gentle hand on her thigh, "I should get you home."
Alice booed from the stairs, "We just got her. We can't keep her?"
"No." Jasper snapped. He took Lexi's hand and began leading her out of the house. She started to protest, talking about how she didn't get to say goodbye to Esme and the rest of his family, but at the moment he couldn't hear her.
His skin was crawling. Their relationship was being scrutinized by people who had no idea what they felt. Lexi was looked at like the fancy new gadget to play with. There was way too many people around. Way too many people interested in her. Way too many scents on her skin.
It wasn't until they were both in the truck and he had started pulling away from his house that his head started to clear up.
"What's going on?" Hensley tried again. Gentler this time than her protests had been. She recognized he was uncomfortable. She just couldn't figure out why.
Though it was unnecessary, he took a deep breath, "Felt like an interrogation session. I don't like being the center of attention much."
Hensley understood. She had been looked at under a microscope for years. Her entire life actually. Gone were the days of feeling annoyed or awkward about being prodded. It was just a fact of life. "I'm sorry, Jazzy." The new nickname was surprisingly comfortable coming off of her tongue.
"I'm sorry." The sound was painful to hear. He was every bit of miserable and sorrowful as he had been when talking about his past. "I don't know how to fix this."
"Maybe it doesn't need to be fixed. Let's just focus on figuring out what's going on before we worry about whether or not it needs altering. No one has been hurt by it. Besides, if nothing else, it gives me more a reason to be with you." Hensley scooted in her seat so her head was resting against his upper arm. Her left arm slinked around his right, making its way to hold onto his hand.
Jasper felt it again. The same feeling he had a lunch. Peace.
…
It was nearly 10:30 when Hensley got back to her apartment. The boys would be sleeping thankfully.
Mid November nights didn't make for a nice walk from the gate to her place. It was cold. The air nipped at her eyes and nose with every blink and breath. Part of her missed the warmer nights of Georgia, but Hensley knew better than to be ungrateful. Just walking outside was a blessing. It didn't matter where she was.
If young Hensley could see her now…she'd think she was dreaming. Coming back from her father's house, getting driven home by her boyfriend, walking alone outside. It would've been too good to be true. Too opposite from what she had been used to.
Hensley pinched herself just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Thankfully, this was actually her life now. How pitiful it would've been to have been a dream this whole time. How typical.
She got into the building, careful to let the door close as gently as possible behind her. The key went into the lock as noiseless as possible and she cringed as the lock clicked. Not that she could do anything about that. Or that the boys would even hear the little click from all the way in their room. Still.
Again, she closed the door quietly, slowly turning the nob to the lock so it would be quiet.
"You're home late. Red just left for overnight a while ago."
Hensley jumped and spun around. Kaufmann's green eyes were staring at her in the unlit kitchen, a glint of humor to them as he realized he got her.
"What are you doing up?" She snapped. All care she had taken to make sure she didn't disturb them was gone.
"Waiting for you to get home. Had to make sure he wasn't murdering you in the night." He smirked, giving her a small punch in the arm, "Ya had until midnight and then I was sounding the alarm."
"Midnight? You at least gave Emmett until 2am."
Kaufmann shrugged, "Yeah, well, Emmett's now demoted to midnight. If you're human then you get 2am. Vampeers get midnight."
Hensley stood frozen. How did Kaufmann know Jasper was a vampire? She never said anything. Jasper certainly never said anything. Did Emmett say something when he took Kaufmann to get her Jeep? He wouldn't have. Would he?
"What?" Kaufmann asked, as if he had no idea why Hensley would be minorly panicking, "Did I say something?"
Her head moved slowly from side to side on autopilot. Willing herself to act natural, she slung her bag down on the ground and took her coat off, going about her night as if she was truly getting ready for bed and not wondering how Kaufmann got in on the secret.
"Ya know, you're kinda like a book." He said conversationally, "I can totally tell you're freaked. I'm just fuckin' with ya by playing innocent. I knew you'd flip when I told ya I knew. Really though? How unobservant do you think I am? Kid looks pretty similar to Carlisle."
Hensley sighed, rubbing her face. It was too damn late for these games, "You're an arse, you know that?"
He laughed at her stress. Like an ass. "It was funny though. Totally worth it. Anyway, what's the story there? You pulling some incest shit on me?"
"No! Jasper isn't Carlisle's son-son. Jasper wasn't even changed by Carlisle. He joined Carlisle's group after he was a vampire."
Kaufmann nodded slowly, following Hensley around the kitchen as she prepped for the next day, "So Carlisle's got some vampire-cult thing going on?"
"I think it's normal for vampires to travel in groups. Besides, they all have the same diet, so it's easier for them to stick together."
"Which is not humans. Cause I would've been long gone."
Hensley smirked at him, "I think Carlisle's considering it anyway."
The bedroom door opened, and a zombie-like Anderson trudged out, rubbing his eyes. "Look, you got a nice vampire boyfriend for your nice half-vampire self. Can you two shut up now and go the fuck to bed?"
Kaufmann stared banging silverware on glasses. Needless to say, it was a long night.
Getting up in the morning was the real kicker. Hensley was tired and leaving the warm covers was just not in her agenda. Well, she didn't want it to be in her agenda.
She got breakfast when Red got home from overnight. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, nearly matching his hair. He was not appreciative when Hensley informed him of this. In fact, he seemed a little grumpy about it.
Anderson and Kaufmann steered clear of Red altogether. While Red knew better than to mess with Hensley, Red was much more evenly matched against the other two boys. And not in the other boys' favors. A good tracker also had to be a good hunter.
"What are you working Saturday?" Hensley asked Kaufmann as they ate together. Anderson was a breakfast skipper. How he survived, Hensley was unsure.
Kaufmann smirked, "The corner of main and 17th. Why, you wanna come see while you're waiting for your boyfriend to put out?"
She should've known better. "I was actually going to pay Carlisle to castrate you."
"Ha ha. Seriously though, I got egg-slinger. Which is fine I guess. Why?"
Egg-slinger was the slang term for bright shift, which meant Kaufmann worked 6am to 2pm. "Just wondering if you'd be around or needed anything from the store. I have training for a half morning and then Jasper and I were going to town."
"Taking around town, huh?"
Hensley dropped her spoon back in her cereal and got up to leave, "I gotta go."
Kaufmann was still laughing by the time she actually left.
School was pretty bland. Friday's meant that everyone was jittery and anxious to get the hell out of there. Hensley included. Instead of having a weekend to herself, she finally had a weekend with Jasper. No interruptions from classes or teachers or Jessica Stanleys.
Hensley was determined to sit with the Cullen's and sit she did. Thankfully Jessica didn't have any gossip or questions that required answering. Besides, Hensley had a weekend to plan with Jasper.
Emmett thoroughly inspected Lexi's lunch as she sat down. He gave her a nod of approval once he saw that it was a full meal and not m&m's. "Welcome to our table."
"I've been here before." Lexi opened her milk and took a sip, "What's up with Edweird? I see he's over talking to Bella again."
"Who cares." Rosalie muttered. Hensley looked over at Jasper to see if she could get some more insight on that can of bitterness. She could not.
"You know," Emmett changed the subject, "I think I should get a present because I introduced you."
Jasper leaned into Lexi's shoulder, "He thinks he deserves something."
Alice scrunched her face up, "Technically, I introduced them."
"Shut up, Alice." Emmett playfully glared at her.
"See, if he talked to you like that, he'd be dead." Jasper told her again.
Hensley nodded, "I could kill Emmett in…1.372 seconds."
"Impressive." Jasper agreed, "I think I could do it in 0.85."
"You're stronger."
"I'm right here!" Emmett waved at the couple. He thought they were kidding…but you never really knew with them two.
Emmett had only known Jasper for a few years, but he knew enough of Jasper to know that he was a force to be reckoned with when it came to fighting. Obviously he was a good fighter from his past, but he could be ruthless. Something him and Lexi tended to share in battle. Together, they'd be quite a power.
Angela was shyly approaching their table, fiddling with her fingers before she tapped Lexi on the shoulder. Lexi seemed excited to see her, as she should. Angela was nice.
"Hi, sorry to interrupt your lunch." Angela was much too nice.
"Hey, no! It's literally just lunch. What's up?"
Angela gave everyone else at the table a small smile, "Well, we're talking about going down to the beach and going surfing this weekend."
Lexi lit up, "Surfing!" She turned to face Jasper with the brightest smile he'd seen on her face. He would do anything to make sure she went. Lexi frowned as she turned back to Angela "Wait, what day is this?"
"Saturday."
She faced Jasper with a sad smile, "Dang. We have plans on Saturday."
"We can easily move them." Jasper said quickly. He needed that smile to come back. He needed her to smile at him again.
"You can totally come too." Angela said quickly, "That would be really fun!"
The smile came back. Jasper felt like he could breathe again.
"That'd be awesome! We're going to Port Angeles for a bit, but if we make it back in time we'll definitely be there!"
"What beach did you say this was?" Jasper asked, placing a hand on Lexi's thigh to rub it.
"La Push." Angela clarified. Jasper didn't let his face fall until after Angela stopped looking at him.
He was torn. He needed Lexi to smile, but he couldn't risk her safety. Smiles would have to wait.
Hensley bid good-bye to her friend and looked enthusiastically at Jasper. Her own face fell when she saw his expression, "Oh no. What's wrong?"
"We don't go to La Push." He eyed her carefully. She was upset, but not angry. He could work with that.
"Why not?" She looked around the table and saw the same blank expressions on his siblings' faces. La Push couldn't be that bad if Angela and the group were going….
Jasper lowered his voice considerably, "It's a conversation for another time. If yo-" He paused like he was reconsidering his words, "Never mind."
"What were you going to say?"
"It's nothing. I'm realizing some dilemmas with what I was going to say."
"Such as?"
"Well, a couple things. One, I don't want you to go." Hensley scoffed at that statement as she rose her eyebrows. Her expression mixed with her anger told him that she was not going to be told what to do by him without a fight. "Two," Jasper continued quickly, "I'm not sure you're allowed to go."
"Oh? And why not?" She was still defensive, clearly thinking that her not being allowed to go had something to do with Jasper.
"La Push is on the Quileute reservation. They don't allow our kind on their land."
Hensley dropped her voice as well. She was much calmer now that he wasn't the one telling her not to go, "How do they know about us?"
"They have a…secret of their own. They keep ours and we keep theirs. We have a treaty with them."
Hensley nodded slowly, taking in all this information. She was bummed she couldn't go surfing. That was on her bucket list. "Well, could we ask them?"
"If you can get them to talk to you." Cooper laughed. Hensley wasn't sure what was so funny.
Jasper glared at his brother. Lexi needed no help getting ideas.
His look definitely didn't go unnoticed by his brother, "Don't look at me like that. If she wants to go surfing you ain't stoppin' her."
Cooper was a smart man.
Hensley wasn't sure exactly how to go about asking someone from the Quileute tribe if she could go surfing on their land. She didn't know anyone from their tribe, nor did she know where this treaty line was. Accidentally crossing into their land was probably not the best way to make a good impression. So how else could she talk to them?
Hensley largely ignored Emmett during her shift at work, still trying to make surfing happen for herself. It was really starting to look like it wasn't going to happen.
She was disappointed until she remembered that she did get to spend all day with Jasper. It was hard to be upset about tomorrow when it would be spent with her favorite person.
Jasper was equally thrilled about the weekend. Not only would they get to spend the day together, but by some grace of God (or Satan, Jasper didn't discriminate) they would find some answers about their relationship.
He didn't mind feeling when Lexi was hurt or sad, it would be a great skill at some point in his life he was sure, but it would be nice to know what caused it. It would also be nice if there was a way to eliminate the feeling for Lexi. Not that he wanted her connection to him to be weaker however, anything that brought Lexi pain couldn't exist.
Jasper's phone vibrated in his pocket. This normally wasn't a big deal, but since meeting Lexi this sensation sent him into a panic that she was calling him to tell him she was dead.
Luckily it was just Peter.
Also, unluckily it was just Peter.
Peter only called for one reason and that was to visit. Normally, Jasper was excited when Peter and Charlotte came to visit. Peter was like a brother to Jasper and, after they left Maria, Charlotte had quickly grown to be a sister-like person for Jasper. This wasn't the best of timing though.
"Hey man, what's up?" Jasper answered the phone. He knew exactly what was up and prayed that it would work out in his favor.
"Major!" Peter's gruff voice greeted him. He had a slightly higher voice than Jasper, but its gravely nature gave off the same 'don't fuck with me' tone. "Your favorite people are coming to visit."
"Of course, you are. That's the only reason you call me."
Peter sighed, "Someone's a whiny bitch this evening. Anyway, we'll be there tomorrow around midday. Though, I'm sure Alice has already seen us coming."
Jasper mentally cursed, "If she did, she didn't tell me. I might not be around much until tomorrow night, but Cooper and the family will be here."
"Where you off to?"
"Just got some stuff to take care of." He was hoping that Peter wouldn't ask too many questions. Jasper wanted Lexi to meet Peter, but not yet. Definitely not on the very first weekend they'd be spending together. Fate really was some kind of a bitch.
"Well, sooooorrry mister popular. I'll give ya more notice next time so you can clear your schedule for me. Didn't realize you became such a hot-shot."
"I'll see you tomorrow, asshole."
…..
Hensley normally didn't mind her training schedule. It was two days, four hours each. She got up, got it over with, and continued about her day. Besides, it was a great workout. Unlike normal gyms, the Agency gym had enhanced equipment to give Hensley, and her enhanced siblings, a real challenge.
That weekend, she hated her training schedule. The morning dragged on. No matter how many reps she did, no matter who she spoke to, minutes passed like hours. She knew it was because she was excited. She knew that if she could just get focused on a task and get lost in it the time would go faster. Knowing it was much easier than doing it.
Jasper and she had agreed to meet at her apartment at one. That gave her plenty of time to get home and shower before he got there. If he was going to see her sweaty it was going to be in a much different context.
Her surfing dilemma was never figured out either. She didn't want to cause trouble for her family and also didn't want to openly out herself as a half vampire. The Quileute's were sworn to secrecy, but she wasn't sure that secrecy applied to her. And she knew the Agency would not approve of her outing herself.
Pleasing the Agency was much more important than going surfing at the time.
Once the snails stopped controlling the clock, the hares took over. An hour was plenty of time to get ready in theory, but it was just that. Theory.
She had no idea what was nice enough or too nice for this event. Growing up isolated and with three boys really had its downsides. It wasn't really a date. Or was it a date? She really wasn't sure how researching weird pains was considered a date. But they were spending alone time together like you would on a date. See the problem?
She settled on a nice blouse and some jeans. Casual, but slightly dressy.
Thankfully, Jasper had went for the same thing.
He looked quite dashing in his dark green sweater and gray jeans. Though Hensley believed he would look dashing in anything…or nothing.
Yes, she was horny for him. No meds to blame it on this time. But who wouldn't be? Don't judge.
"Happy Saturday." He greeted her with a cute grin she couldn't help but return.
"A happy Saturday indeed. You look nice."
Jasper glanced down at his outfit, "Thanks. I had no idea what was appropriate for this occasion."
"Me too!" One of the things that was great about Jasper was that they were both in the same boat for most of this relationship stuff. "Starting at the library?"
"I thought that'd be a nice place to start." Jasper agreed. He took her hand as they drove through town which made Hensley giddy. She could definitely get used to this.
The library was very quiet for a Saturday. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. Most kids probably weren't as into reading as she was.
They started the afternoon in the psychology and physiology section of the library. This was a physical issue after all. By the end of the day, they had moved from there to general medicine to relationship help to vampire legends to Hensley desperately googling on her phone. Google suggested she was depressed.
"This is stupid." She whispered as she angrily closed her phone. "We cannot be the only people who have this."
"To be fair, I'm over 180 years old and I've never heard of this. Your dad is over 340 and has never heard of this. Maybe we are?" Jasper rubbed his face. He wasn't tired. Vampires didn't sleep. But he was tired of searching. He needed the answer to slap him in the face already.
Hensley felt defeated. She didn't need answers. But she wanted them. There was always an explanation for something. Always.
Maybe Carlisle could do medical tests when they were feeling pain or maybe she could dig through the Agency library to see if they had anything juicier than the normal library. The Agency was full of good secrets. Only problem there was that she couldn't take Jasper.
She racked her brain for any other places they missed. Anything else they could check. It was unlikely; with their heightened abilities they were both quick readers and made fast work of the books. Maybe she just needed a bigger library….
"Let's get some dinner." Jasper said finally, checking his own phone, "The library's about to close anyway and I don't think you've had lunch."
He wasn't wrong. Hensley had skipped the meal to allow more time to get ready. She was doing really well until he talked about dinner, then she realized how hungry she was. Thankfully she wasn't having another episode like at school.
"What do you guys like to eat?" She asked as she started to pack up. Food was never a topic of conversation for them. Hensley had thought about what Jasper and his family liked or didn't like to eat, but she'd always forgotten to ask. It was just never important enough to bring up.
Jasper shrugged, "Nothing I guess. We can eat and will eat, but we don't usually."
"So, it's nothing you guys ever choose to do. Just do it for appearances?"
"Exactly." A smirk fell upon his face, "That means you get to pick, pretty lady."
Hensley didn't complain. Fine by her, that meant she got what she wanted. "I want pasta."
Jasper stared at her for a moment, blinking slowly. "Really?"
"Yeah? Is that not okay?"
"No that's fine, that was just was much easier than I thought it would be." He remembered witnessing conversations between Emmett and Rosalie or Cooper and Alice where the female in the scenario refused to make decisions. It was odd coming from those two women, who on most occasions seemed more than willing to dictate what they wanted. When it came to making a decision if their asked them to, it the exact opposite. Jasper never really understood it. Then again, the last actual relationship Jasper had been in wasn't exactly healthy.
Hell, who knew if this relationship could be classified as healthy. If Lexi and Jasper both felt pain at certain scenarios, didn't that mean someone was pulling some strings somewhere?
Jasper tried his best not to think about it, which was as easy as breathing when he was with Lexi. It was hard to think their relationship was anything but perfect when he was with her. Well, it could be more perfect, but he was trying to be a gentleman. Why he was doing so…he wasn't sure. He felt emotions. Whether she meant to or not, Lexi expressed her interest in advancing their relationship more than once.
Part of him was nervous though. Jasper had struggled with his self-control in the past. Though Lexi was far from human, she wasn't inhuman either. It was clear she had a heartbeat and blood running through her veins. Inside her body, her blood smelled more vampire than human. One could easily mistake her scent as a vampire who had been around a human recently. Outside of her body was another story. Would her blood smell more human? Human enough for Jasper to desire it? The thought of…feeding on Lexi was repulsive. He could never hurt her. Not intentionally.
But the thought of feeding on humans generally was unpleasant to Jasper. Until he got a taste.
Speaking of getting a taste, Jasper needed to hunt. The burning was easy to ignore when he was distracted by his mate.
Mate. Jasper was mated. The right corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile.
Three weeks ago, Jasper wasn't sure if he was good enough to be mated. Now he met her. Finally, he met her.
He walked into the house after dropping Lexi off. Shit. He was supposed to hunt before coming home. Distracted again.
Peter and Charlotte's smells filled the room, not that he needed them to know they were here. Peter was standing in the living room waiting for him, arms crossed over his chest. Jasper wondered what he could be upset about. Peter knew Jasper was going to be late today.
He glanced around at his family who, minus Edward who was missing, were also gathered in the living room. Carlisle looked equally upset but felt more annoyed than anything. That could only mean one thing. Shit.
"Major." Peter greeted him. His red eyes seemed to size Jasper up, "Cooper tells me you got a girlfriend you're not introducing me to."
Cooper, of course.
"Cooper, have I ever told you I really regret goin' back for you?"
