Peter stared at Jasper expectantly. He could stand there and stare all day. It wasn't going to change the fact that Jasper hadn't told him about Lexi. Unless he expected Jasper to spill all the details about her now. That wasn't going to happen either.

He must've realized this as well, because Peter continued, "So. That was your big thing you gotta take care of huh? Your girlfriend you can't tell Peter about."

"Peter-"

"Your best friend Peter about…"

"Peter-"

"Your brother Peter…"

Jasper groaned, "For God's sake Peter we only started datin' Wednesday! Esme's even only met her once!"

Peter looked disappointed at Jasper. He glanced over at the family and leaned in, his voice low but still clearly audible, "Don't you think I'm a little more important than Esme?"

Thankfully Esme was good natured, even laughing along with a few others at the joke.

"This is gunna be a long fuckin' weekend with you ain't it?"

Peter laughed, clapping Jasper on the shoulder as he led the man towards the rest of the family, "You'll be lucky to hear the end of this."

…..

Hensley spent Sunday, after her mandatory training of course, in the Agency library. Jasper wasn't going to be able to hang out due to some family thing, so she figured she might as well be useful.

The Agency library was generally unused unless research was being done for jobs. Not that it was busy; the library was completely digital so resources could be accessed all over the country. At the moment, Hensley enjoyed that.

She picked the A.I.'s brain about what she was searching for. Seeing as the library was digital and there was millions of papers, books, magazines, editorials, and even verbal conversations in their database, it was much easier to go through Aidan (Aidan the A.I.) than to dig herself.

Aidan was proving himself to be useless.

"Come on, Aidan. You have to have something. This place is huge." Hensley was not above begging at this point. She'd never encountered something so difficult to find before.

"You realize, Sargent Hensley, that we have not had interaction with vampires until the introduction of your father, yes?" Aidan's voice was supposed to be bland and robotic, but Hensley swore she could hear a hint of sarcastic humor in his voice.

"Yes, I realize that you've never really met vampires before. But there has to be some sort of readings or legends about them and their relations?"

If Aidan could've sighed, Hensley swore he would've, "Sargent, I do apologize. There are no legends or readings about the topic you desire. Perhaps you would have better luck consulting the vampiric government for vampiric matters?"

"There's a vampire government?"

"Oh dear."

No, it's fine. Hensley didn't feel like an ass. Really.

She learned nothing about her and Jasper's situation, but she did get to listen to recordings of Carlisle explaining the Volturi. She supposed her day wasn't completely wasted. This stuff was important after all. It was her world too.

Consulting the Volturi, however, might not be a bad idea. Especially if they were around before Carlisle. Hensley knew nothing older than her father. Even America was younger than him.

In all honesty, she wasn't sure why not knowing about her and Jasper's situation bothered her so much. She was a complete medical anomaly. The only vampire hybrid known to Carlisle and select humans. Very few things about her could be explained with certainty.

Maybe that was why it bothered her so much. She just wanted one thing, just one, to be explainable. By having it affect Jasper as well, she'd gotten her hopes up. If it was something normal vampires experienced, then it had a much better chance of being described.

If it was something normal vampires experienced, then it would only make sense to go to the normal vampire source of knowledge. Apparently, that was the vampire government.

It made sense really. She had been quite stupid. Why would vampires talk to humans about their love lives?

Sometimes she surprised herself. And not in a good way.

Hensley was excited to share her newfound genius with Jasper on Monday. Those hopes were also shot down when he didn't show up. She sent him a quick text before she started classes and hoped the day wouldn't suck too bad.

Thankfully, her day did look up a little when Emmett asked to join the humans at lunch.

"Hello Little Red, and surprisingly, friends of Little Red. Mind if I join you?"

The humans looked rather stunned, but no one disagreed, and they made room.

"Why do you say 'surprisingly, friends of Little Red'?"

Emmett shrugged and pushed his food around, "I'm just surprised you have friends. You throw so many hands."

"I don't throw that many hands." Hensley stressed. She hadn't even fought someone here yet.

"Really? I distinctly remember you punching my little brother in the face."

A few of the boys at the table snickered. Ben grinned, "So that was true!"

"It was," Emmett beamed at the boy, clearly excited that someone was willing to talk to him, "I watched it with my own eyes. She has a killer right hook."

"Keep talking and I'll even demonstrate it for them."

Emmett's face fell as he looked at Hensley. He didn't remember her being this mean when they were dating. Joke was on her though, because he talked to multiple people during lunch and she didn't hit him twice.

She did hit him once, but how was he to know he couldn't talk to people about her and Jasper's lack of physical relationship? Clearly they needed to talk about what was on the table and what was off. Sex was off…both in this case and in her and Jasper's relationship.

"Hey, we were thinking about going dress shopping tomorrow night if you were interested." Jessica took the heat off of Emmett by distracting Hensley.

"Oh," Emmett brought the heat right back, "Can I come?"

"No." Hensley said instantly. Emmett whined. "Do you even know the first thing about fashion?"

Emmett perked up. This was his chance to prove himself, "Of course I do! Have you seen the way Rose dresses?" Emmett made the "nice" sign with his fingers (pointer touching thumb in an "o" and the back three fingers up), "Hot. Guess who gives her fashion advice? Me."

"Does she take your fashion advice?" Angela asked.

"Sometimes! Like the other day she asked me what scarf she should wear, the one in her right hand or the one in her left and I said the one in her left, so she wore the one in her right."

Hensley snorted while the rest of the table erupted in giggles and laughter.

"Maybe another time, Emmett." Angela attempted to let him down easy. She was too nice. "How about you Bella? Are you in?"

"Yeah, actually. I'd like that."

Color Hensley impressed. She didn't think Bella would actually agree to go dress shopping. But then again, she didn't think Bella would ask her to hang out that night. Yet, in biology, she did.

Bella was a little awkward about it and Hensley was a little nervous about it, but nevertheless Hensley was hoping it would be fun. It would be nice to have a friend outside of Jasper and his family. Not that she didn't enjoy hanging out with the Cullens, but it'd be nice to break it up a bit too.

Emmett's presence at lunch also made Hensley hopeful for Jasper's in biology, but that was too much to ask for. Guess she couldn't have her cake and eat it too.

She learned in gym that the rest of the family was staying home to converse with the guests they had from out of town. Jasper was worried about her going to school by herself and therefore Emmett offered to attend to 'keep an eye on her.'

"So why did you offer to come?" Hensley asked when they were in the cafeteria for study hall. Much easier to talk secretly when not on the volleyball court.

"I don't know them very well," Emmett explained, "I just met them Saturday. They're Jasper and Cooper's best friends though, so it made sense for them to stay home and spend time together. Edward and Rose were just excited for an excuse to get out of school."

Hensley couldn't help the influx of pain that hit her in the chest. She tried not to be bothered by the fact that Jasper didn't want her to meet his best friends or that he couldn't even be troubled to tell her that his best friends were in town. She also tried not to be bothered by the fact that he told her it was a family thing he was gone for on Sunday but said nothing about being gone from school today. But yeah, she was a little fucking bothered.

"You look upset." Emmett said quietly. There were times when you left Lexi alone when she was mad and there were times you let her vent it out when she was mad. Thankfully, she didn't make it hard to determine which one she needed.

Hensley rolled her eyes and shrugged. Trying to pretend it wasn't a big deal made it easier to not be a big deal…she hopped. Besides, maybe she was just being crazy. They had only started dating….

Jasper did reply to her text. "Probably won't be back to school until Wednesday. Family thing still."

She felt petty. She typed out the message "Ok. Have fun with your best friends." But one part of her didn't have the heart to send it. Damn heart.

Going to work made her no chattier with Emmett. She still wasn't sure how to feel about the whole situation. The only thing she could do was just forget it now. Jasper made his decision, and she was sure he had his reasons.

"So, then he fucking texts me and goes 'Oh I still have a family thing.' Like why lie about it?! Why not just tell me that your friends are over, but you don't want me to meet them yet?" She ranted to Bella in Bella's bedroom, pacing around the room.

Bella was on her bed snacking on pretzels while nodding, "That makes no sense. What a dumb thing to lie about. Especially when you guys just started dating. Like lying about plans isn't a good way to start a relationship."

Hensley turned to face Bella, extenuating her words with her arms, "Right?!"

"I would call him out on it. Just send him a text and say, 'hey Emmett told me you were having friends over and I'm feeling pretty hurt that you lied about your plans.' Be upfront about it."

That was all the motivation Hensley needed. A good relationship wasn't based on lies. Even small ones. She typed on her phone for a minute and then showed it to Bella for approval:

Hey, sorry to interrupt your night. Emmett told me you were having your best friends over tonight and I'm feeling a little hurt that you felt you had to lie to me. If you wanted a night away from me you totally could've just said something, and I would've understood.

Bella changed the 'feeling a little hurt' to 'feeling pretty hurt' and then approved it. Hensley couldn't argue, the change wasn't a lie.

Jasper replied instantly which sent nervous twitches through Hensley's chest. She wanted Bella to read the message first, but then remembered that there might be secret vampire stuff.

Trust me, Alexandria. Being away from you is the last thing I wanted out of this weekend. My intention was never to lie to you. Peter and Charlotte, if you remember them from our conversations, are very much like family to me. I see where Emmett differed them when relaying the information to you though and I'm sorry I hurt your feelings.

I didn't want to invite you to meet them yet because Peter and Charlotte are quite different from my family and I in our lifestyles. I just wasn't excited about introducing you to danger so soon.

"What'd he say?" Bella leaned in closer to Hensley. She wouldn't be able to see the phone anyway, but it didn't stop her from being interested.

"I'm an ass." Hensley frowned.

Bella gaped, "Did he seriously say that?!"

"No!" She corrected quickly, "I just feel like an ass because his response totally makes sense."

"Oh."

Hensley giggled at the girl on the bed, "You were totally ready to fight him."

"I was. We were going to go over there and give him a piece of our minds." Bella joined her in laughter. "I could even catch Edward while we're there. Two birds with one stone."

"Okay," Hensley plopped down on the bed in front of Bella and took a few pretzels, "give me the scoop on that."

She was genuinely curious. Hensley had heard no more of the situation other than that Bella had argued with Edward about Edward being nowhere near Bella during the van accident. She'd seen the pair talk a few times, so she wasn't sure if they made up, if Edward broke down, or if Bella gave up.

"He's been really stubborn about it. I just want to know the truth. I don't care what it is, don't care if it's a big secret I'll have to keep, whatever. I just want the truth. You I think I have figured out, but him I can't put my finger on."

Hensley's stomach dropped significantly. "You have me figured out?"

Bella chewed on her bottom lip and nodded, "A few days before you came to school, a couple guys in suits came here and questioned my Dad. It was pretty harmless. They asked about the school system, the crime rate, how long my Dad's been chief and whatnot. Charlie told me they were from the military and conducting some research. Word around school was that the school was also questioned about their testing, average grades, graduation rate and whatever. Well, the only reason they'd care about that is if someone pretty special to the military was showing up. And then you came. So obviously, you got some serious military enhancements or technology to either a) tell you the future so you knew I was going to get hit by the van or b) make you run fast enough to get to me."

Bella peeked up at Hensley when she was finished before becoming interested in her comforter, re-biting her bottom lip. Hensley contemplated Bella's theories while she slowly chewed on another pretzel. Bella wasn't wrong per se….

"c) All of the above." Hensley whispered finally.

Wide brown eyes flashed up to her face for just a moment. A small smile played at her friend's lips, "That's pretty badass."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be."

….

Tuesday was almost just as boring as Monday had been. Emmett was the only one to show up to school again, though it wasn't a surprise. Jasper had said the rest of the family wouldn't be back until Wednesday. Insert crying face here.

At lunch Jessica discussed what type of dress she was looking for tonight. Hensley had asked for the night off for the occasion and was excited. Not only did she finally get to buy a fancy ballgown dress, but it was so. damn. nice. to feel normal. Going out with the girls, giggling down the street at an inside joke, giving each other opinions, and the excitement of finding the perfect gown. She might actually feel like a girl tonight.

Hensley played with the end of one of her low pig tale braids. She loved the hairstyle for training since it kept her hair out of her face. It was also proving lovely for school. Hensley was never one for doing her hair or makeup because anything fancy would just get messed up. She still wasn't in on the makeup department but playing with hairstyles was entertaining.

Emmett nudged her and started his own side conversation while Jess yacked everyone else's ears off, "You and Jasper chill?"

"Yeah. Turns out it was all your fault."

Emmett frowned but didn't say anything. Was it really his fault? Jasper didn't seem pissy with him last night.

"What kind of dress are you looking for?" Bella asked Lexi before Emmett could respond. Bella was grateful for Jessica's conversation carrying, but sometimes a change of pace was nice too.

Hensley shrugged, "Honestly, I've never worn a dress."

Jessica's jaw hit the table, "What? Never?"

"Nope. You don't dare dress nice for military training. And if you go to any nice event in the military you're expected to be in uniform which means pants. So, totally relying on you two tonight." Hensley pointed between Jessica and Angela.

"How long have you been in this weird military thing?"

Hensley took a drink of milk, "Um, since I was born really."

"And your parents are okay with that?"

"Well, they signed the contract, so I guess."

Angela shook her head, "That's crazy. Do you at least get to see your parents ever?"

Internally Hensley smirked. Complicated subjects. "Um, my dad…sometimes. My mom passed away when I was a baby so I don't ever get to see her."

"Your mom is dead?"

"Jess!" Angela scolded her friend, looking embarrassed for her. Emmett thought it was hilarious. Angela's cheeks turned slightly pink but Jessica was unfazed.

"What? I didn't know that about her."

"Well, it's not the kind of thing you blurt out."

Emmett turned to Hensley and shook her hand, "Hi, my mom is dead."

Angela gestured to Emmett. Jess rolled her eyes.

"So, how'd your mom die?"

Angela's head snapped over to Jess again, "Seriously! Someone needs to teach you social graces."

The table erupted in soft laughter while Jess shrugged it off.

"It's cool," Hensley saved the girl from Angela's scolding. Angela was what she's heard as the 'mom-friend,' "My mom died from complications of delivery. So, I guess you could say I killed her."

Em nearly spit out his milk.

"I'm going to start telling people that. 'How'd your mom die?' I killed her."

Jessica squeal/screamed while Angela and Bella…laugh/exhaled sharply?

"Emmett, if we don't come to school tomorrow…call Bella's dad."

Hensley drove to Bella's after school so the girls could ride together. A little bit of a waste for Hensley since she lived in Port Angeles and would then have to drive home from Forks instead of the dress shop, but she didn't want to miss a single event. Driving to and from the town was considered an event.

Jessica picked up the girls after grabbing Angela and off they went.

The drive down was fun, but not as much fun as dress shopping. Hensley was positively giddy when they walked in the shop. Her eyes raked the room. There was so many choices, so many color options, so many cuts.

She had no idea what dress size she was, so the three girls scanned the ranks in multiple sizes for whatever caught their eye. Hensley loved a few different colors: mint…maroon…army green…periwinkle.

Mint and army green were a little difficult to find dresses for. Probably for the best. She wasn't sure how Jasper would feel about a bright, standout color like mint and army green probably didn't bring back any fond memories for him either. Though, were military outfits even green back then?

Bella bailed partway through to go to a bookstore. Hensley didn't feel particularly good about letting her go by herself, but also was half naked in a lavender dress when she decided to go. Besides, Hensley could easily keep tabs on her if she stopped pushing visions away.

Jess found a dress first. It was bright pink and really showed off her boobs, giving them a great pushup. Hensley was a D cup and needed no push. Jess was jealous. Hensley told her she could have them.

Hensley tried on seven dresses before she found the one. It was a one shoulder, maroon gown. Not poof-y at all but accentuated the waist nicely with it being more form fitting in that area, and in that it had a band of sparkling gems like a built-in belt. It had a slit in the right leg even that went up just above her knee, though you couldn't tell when Hensley was standing due to how the dress flowed.

It was perfect. Not cheap, but perfect.

"Hey, can I throw this in your car? Bella isn't back yet and I wanna go check on her."

Jess and Angela had no complaints.

Hensley carefully laid the dress in Jessica's trunk and then headed off in the direction she had seen Bella going. She'd seen Bella leave the bookstore as she was putting her dress in the car, but it was dark now. They were much safer in pairs.

She was almost to Bella when she saw a group of drunken men following Bella. Hensley darted into an alleyway to climb and use the rooftops as a better vantage point. For once, she was grateful for military training. Scaling brick buildings was probably something she wouldn't have learned otherwise. The brick was pebbly on the tips of her fingers and didn't provide much confidence that it would hold. Though, if Hensley was fast enough, it wouldn't matter.

It was windier up on the roof and she was grateful for her braids. Thankfully she didn't need her sight to located Bella anyway. The shouts of the stupid guys was plenty.

Hensley jumped from rooftop to rooftop until she was close. She landed on the ground near Bella with a soft thud. Bella whipped her head around, breathing heavily. Just as fast as she had with the van, Hensley moved to Bella's side and gently pushed the girl behind her. She located her knife and flipped it open.

"Hey beautiful…" One of the boys greeted her, "Glad you could join us."

"We won't be joining you anywhere." Hensley said firmly.

Another boy oohed. "A foreign chick. Hot damn."

The front man stepped closer and Hensley tightened the grip on her knife. "Take another step and I'll use your toes for your new teeth." She pointed the knife at them then so they knew exactly what they were messing with. For legality, it was better they see the knife.

"Fiesty. Even hotter."

Right as Hensley went to push Bella back farther, a pair of bright ass headlights nearly blinded her. Tires squealed as the car skidded to a stop next to them, lights pointed directly at the group.

Edward got out of the car demanding the girls get in. Bella complied, but Hensley had other ideas.

I got this Edward. I'm just taking them to the county station.

He gave her a quick nod and started back to the car. She heard Bella protesting, commanding Edward to make Hensley come with and 'how dare he think about leaving her'. Hensley chuckled. If only Bella knew….

Once Edward was out of sight Hensley turned her full attention back to the boys. They were thrilled Hensley choose to stay with them…until she let them have it. All three boys were unconscious and on the ground in less than 30 seconds. Not her best time, but all things considering. At least she didn't have to use her knife. But, also, too bad she didn't get to use her knife.

"What the hell?" Jasper came out of an alleyway and he was hot. Not physically hot…okay that was a lie. He was physically hot; Hensley would hit that. But in this moment he was more emotionally hot, like mad.

"What are you doing here?" Hensley breathed. She was trying to keep her breathing and emotions in control.

It was damn-near painful to not run over to him and kiss him. It had been three whole days since she'd seen him, and she fucking missed him. Yes, she knew him for about four weeks and yes, they'd only been dating for not even one and yes, they'd never even kissed yet, but fuck.

Jasper looked between her and the three men on the ground as he came closer, "He left you here? He took her and left you?" His voice was becoming more and more strained as he spoke.

"I asked him to."

"He knows better."

"I'm perfectly capable-"

Jasper grabbed her arms, "You are far too important."

"I can handle myself."

He crushed her in a hug, "I can't lose you."

She was silent at his statement. How could she argue when she felt the same way about him? The thought of losing Jasper had caused them both pain before.

Finally, she spoke, "I am happy to see you, but I don't have a penis that's just a knife."

Jasper laughed. A forced-out choppy laugh against the top of her head. He couldn't be upset, not when she was with him. Not when she was in his arms and she was safe.

He pulled away after a few minutes, much to Hensley's frustration, and looked around at the situation he found himself in. With a shake of his head, he turned his focus back to her, "You're amazing."

Amazing. That was the word he used for this situation. Not the first part. Hensley figured he'd use any other word to describe that. But the second part. The part where she knocked out three grown men and they fell to the ground around her feet. Amazing.

"You wanna spend forever together?" She stared into the dark orbs above her. She tried to force her emotions on him, even if he didn't need it. But, he had to know she meant every word.

"Doesn't sound nearly long enough."

Jasper and Lexi got to the restaurant just as Edward pulled into the parking lot. Once again Hensley thought about how inconvenient cars were sometimes. Clearly her and Jasper were able to be much faster while running. Bella didn't appreciate Edward's super speed last time though and Hensley was sure she wouldn't appreciate it this time. Hell, based on Hensley's conversation with Bella yesterday, Edward probably wouldn't appreciate super speed.

She felt Jasper stiffen when he saw his brother and Hensley squeezed his hand encouragingly. This was an awful place to cause a scene. Why risk exposure in front of Bella when he could chew Edward's ass in his head?

Bella jumped out of the car as fast as she humanly could and threw her arms around Hensley. "I told him not to leave you! I told him to go back!"

Jasper reluctantly let go of her hand and stepped closer to Edward, "Hm, someone with sense." Edward crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"Bella, I told him to. I'm fine."

"You could've been hurt."

"But I wasn't." She argued back. Truthfully it had been a little fun. It wasn't very often that she got to fight people anymore and she missed the challenge. Three drunk men weren't exactly a challenge either, but it was something.

Edward interrupted their conversation before Bella had a chance to respond, "Anyway, Bella, I should make sure you eat before I take you home. It's getting late."

"What about you?" Bella asked Hensley, dropping her arms from around the girl.

Hensley looked over at Jasper before shrugging. "I'm okay. I live like 15 minutes away if you want to take me home?"

"Your car is at my house." Bella reminded her.

Shit. Hensley had minor regrets.

"I can pick you up for school tomorrow." Jasper offered, "Take you to Bella's to get your car afterschool."

"How are you getting home?" Bella was proving to be incredibly stubborn. And incredibly thoughtful.

"It's a 15-minute walk." Hensley lied. "I think I'll be pretty safe with Jasper." She gave the other girl a playful wink, hoping to calm Bella's nerves.

It seemed to work. "Okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow. And you better not let anything happen to her!"

Jasper smirked, "Oh, I won't." If only Bella knew….

"Have fun." Hensley sang as the group parted ways.

Jasper and Hensley walked in the direction of her apartment just until there were no humans around. They were a couple miles from Hensley's apartment when Jasper stopped her.

"Let's do something." He cupped her face in his hands, "I haven't seen you in three days and I really don't wanna go yet."

"Aren't your friends still here?"

"They left an hour ago, which means I'm all yours Darlin'."

Hensley definitely enjoyed the sounds of that. It was nearly seven though, which didn't give them a ton of time left. She was really regretting not being able to have her own apartment. Or at least an apartment with her own room.

She thought for a moment and knew a perfect spot, "Take me back up to the cliffside we were on. We can sit up there for a while. It'll be nice and quiet." And she was more appropriately dressed in a light jacket and hat this time.

Jasper couldn't refuse.

He took her hand, and they ran through the outskirts of town together. It was a chilly run for Hensley, but nothing she couldn't handle. Jasper kept glancing at her as her hand slowly got closer and closer to his temperature. Hensley was unfazed though which was the only reason he kept going.

She climbed the cliffside easily this time now that her shoulder was healed up. It was a redeeming feeling. She doubted that her not being able to climb a cliff was a dealbreaker for Jasper, but it was nice to show him that they were equal in abilities. As if he doubted it after the right hook.

They went a little farther back into the cliffs this time since Hensley wasn't injured and didn't need cradling right next to the edge. Jasper found a perfect spot for the two of them to huddle together side by side. Even though she didn't need it, Jasper insisted on giving her his jacket to cover up with.

"You know, I'm pretty durable actually. It's not until it gets really cold that I start feeling it."

"Describe really cold." Jasper raised an eyebrow to her, "Like, Jasper's skin cold or not that bad?"

"Your skin actually gets pretty warm after a bit. Like when we hold hands your hand warms up nicely."

Jasper smiled. He had zero control over that feature of his skin, or any features of his skin really, but it was nice to know his body could adapt to make her comfortable, "I didn't know that about myself. I assumed I was freezing your hand off actually, but it didn't seem to affect you, so I tried not to worry about it."

Hensley nudged him with a giggle, "You're so weird. 'I think she's freezing, but she seems fine with it, so I'll let it go.' You could just ask you know."

"I dislike asking redundant questions. I would know if you were in pain."

She couldn't argue with that logic.

Knowing he wasn't going to freeze her to death gave him the confidence to let her in closer, putting his arm around her instead of being shoulder to shoulder. She welcomed the new position whole heartedly, nuzzling her face against his chest like she was a cat. A small piece of her was a little ashamed of how needy she was. Just a small piece. If Jasper noticed, or cared, he didn't say anything.

It was nice being pressed against him…wait. Let's not go down that path yet.

He was very muscled. Not as defined as Emmett, who was built more like a body builder, but definitely strong. His arm felt a little like a protective cage around her smaller frame, ready to protect her from anything.

"Do you always wear long sleeves?" Hensley asked suddenly. She'd never seen Jasper in anything other than long sleeved sweaters or button ups.

"Yes. My scars are pretty prominent. Humans can see them in the right lighting and at the right angle, so it's safer if I wear long shirts."

"So, you only get to wear short sleeves around your family?"

Jasper hesitated. "No, not really. I don't like to wear to short sleeves."

"Why not?" Hensley couldn't imagine wearing long sleeves all the time. She would die if she had to train in them.

"Um, just my scars, I guess. When you're a vampire they're very obvious. They make other vampires nervous."

Hensley frowned. Jasper had been with Carlisle and Esme since 1950. Could his scars really make them that nervous still? "That's not fair. It's been over 50 years since you met them. They cannot be that nervous around you because of them."

Jasper was resisting the urge to shift under her questioning. He unnecessarily swallowed and quickly changed the subject, "So, what have you been up to while I've been gone?"

She knew exactly what he was trying to do but didn't argue. If he didn't want to tell her about his aversion to sleevelessness then she wouldn't force him, "I went to Bella's yesterday. That was a lot of fun. We just talked and hung out. Sunday I dug around the Agency library. Oh! Actually, that was really insightful."

"Really?" Jasper was glad to hear that. Peter gave him shit all weekend about being worried about Lexi. It'd be nice to prove to him that he couldn't help it.

"Yeah. I discovered we've been looking in all the wrong places. If we want real answers we should go check out your government library!"

The man next to her stiffened considerably, going completely rigid. His grip around her tightened as if they were in some sort of danger and he was preparing for a blow.

"What's wrong?" She asked quietly in case he really had heard something she hadn't.

It was a minute before Jasper answered her, "We can't go to the Volturi."

"Why not?"

"On the very high chance they haven't heard of this…who knows what they'll do. They could force us to stay and be experiments, they could kill us for being anomalies. I don't even know that Carlisle told them about you. What they could do to you…."

Hensley nodded, staring at the ground in front of her. So that was it then. A dead end.

She was bummed. They were so close to having a real way to figure this out…and then they weren't. On the other hand, who cared? Her and Jasper's relationship was just…different. It didn't make it any worse than others. It was just different.

"I'm sorry." Jasper muttered. He knew she was disappointed. He was disappointed. But the risk was way too great.

She shrugged under his arm, "It's fine. Doesn't matter anyway right? It would've been nice to know but it doesn't change anything, right?"

"No, I'd probably be the same overprotective asshole I am now."

"Asshole? That's not at all the word I would've used." She giggled as she leaned into him more. It was difficult to do since she was already so close, but she fought for those extra millimeters. Jasper shifted so he was facing her more, allowing her more access to him.

After a few minutes of shifting against him, she finally climbed on his lap sideways and nuzzled into him that way. She pushed her nose into his chest and buried her face. Jasper had no complaints. Her new position allowed him to hide his own face in her hair. Her scent wasn't as strong as it was in the crook of her neck, but it was stronger to him than when she was just sitting beside him.

It was just as he remembered it, even though the last time he'd smelt it before meeting her was four years prior. He'd never forgotten it. It was impossible to; the best thing he'd smelled. The day it finally faded from Emmett's things had been a dark day.

They sat there for who knew how long. It didn't matter, well not really. Yes they had school, but it wasn't exactly on Hensley's list of priorities. Jasper felt differently about being responsible.

"We gotta get you home. You haven't had dinner, you gotta sleep for school…."

Hensley groaned, "Let's skip. Let's runaway."

He chuckled, his chest shaking underneath her, "That sounds wonderful. However, I believe your human government might feel differently."

Stupid government. "Yeah I guess."

Reluctantly they started getting up and convincing themselves to go back to civilization. Jasper was really starting to hate civilization. He wondered how far they could get before the government would catch on and start following them. Maybe they'd get lucky and they wouldn't come after the pair because Lexi was so close to being done. Besides, she was smart, who needed the last year of school? They could say she got transferred. That would be incredibly believable.

There was the issue of Jasper being gone though. It would look suspicious if the Cullens disappeared with Lexi…. But perhaps their closeness with Lexi got them required to move too. It wasn't too far-fetched. Who really cared? The humans could wonder and theorize whatever they wanted. Jasper couldn't care less about what they thought.

He was lost in his own plans on running away with Lexi that he didn't notice she had a vision until she was tugging on his arm.

"Jasper." She was pulling much more forcefully than she wanted to, but he wasn't responding at all.

He finally blinked a few times and faced her. "Yeah? Sorry."

"Nomads are coming. Three. They picked up our scent and got curious."

His stomach dropped. Nomads. Human drinkers. Lexi had human blood in her. Shit. Mind racing, he ran though different scenarios about how to get them away from her. Separating might make them more interested, but not separating was sure to lead to disaster. There was only three of them. Jasper could probably take three at once depending on how skilled of fighters they were.

"You're not fighting them by yourself." Lexi snapped at him as she saw the decisions he ran through. "They think we're also nomads. If we leave now and head east they won't follow us too far out of the city. They want to stay and hunt tonight. They'll think we were also hunting in the area and left to move on."

Jasper took her hand and lifted her on his back. They could talk and make this plan work at the same time. "You won't be able to go home tonight."

"I will if we go 200 miles out, wait an hour and 12 minutes, and loop back into town from the south. They're only staying in the city to hunt and then moving on as well. They're going…north up to Canada."

"I don't want you going home tonight."

"I have to go home. They monitor my ID and will see it wasn't scanned back in."

Jasper sighed, "Can't you call and say you won't be home?"

"So, they can ping my cellphone 100 miles east out of town? No. It's bad enough I have to warn Kaufmann I won't be back before midnight."

He was quiet as they flew through the woods, heading more south east than east so it didn't look as strange to loop back up into town. She knew he was upset about the situation his silence was a great indicator of that, but there wasn't anything either of them could do about it. She had to go back tonight. There was potentially a compromise to this though….

"You can stay with me tonight if that will make you feel better."

They got back into town around 1am. Hensley was trying her best to stay awake on Jasper's back. It was relaxing though; the ride was smooth.

Kaufmann had their apartment door open before she even got a chance to take out her keys. Someone had been worried.

"I'm spending the night." Jasper stated as he walked into her apartment after Hensley.

Kaufmann scoffed as he shut the door, "You aint' doing shit if she don't want ya."

Hensley sighed at the oldest boy. This was not what they needed, "Kaufmann leave him alone. It's been a long night."

"No. He ain't staying if you don't want him here." Kaufmann eyed up Hensley. He was normally the most playful one of the three boys, but there was no joking in his eyes. He was fully prepared to throw Jasper's ass out.

"Kaufmann," Hensley returned the look with much less seriousness in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, "he can stay the night."

"Okay," Kaufmann's shoulders dropped as he nodded, "He can stay then. Didn't think I'd have to tell ya this, but you do anything she doesn't want you to and I'll show you exactly where my military enhancements are." His voice was as firm as the narrow eyes he gave the other male.

Hensley smirked at Jasper from behind her 'brother,' "Spoiler alert: they're in his penis."

Jasper cracked a small smile for Lexi's benefit only. Kaufmann was still standing strong against him. He wondered exactly what Kaufmann's strengths were. Did he have special gifts like Lexi? He had a scar along his neck, which led Jasper to believe it was that general area where his gifts lie. Jasper got no chance to consider it further. Lexi was taking it upon herself to calm the boys down by removing him from the situation.

"Come on. Bedtime." She whispered while tugging him down the hall. The door was opened quietly as the other two roommates were clearly asleep. Pointing Jasper to the bed, she quickly changed into shorts and a t-shirt before joining him.

Hensley was exhausted.

They quickly shifted into the position they'd been in the last time he was over; facing each other, foreheads pressed together with his arm wrapped around her. He faced the door so he could watch for potential intruders.

Whether Kaufmann was upset with him or had to work he wasn't entirely sure, but the older man never came to bed. Jasper could've checked on his emotions, but he was busy experiencing something completely new.

Vampires couldn't sleep. It was a pain in the ass, a little irritating, and made no sense. But they couldn't.

Being in the room with three sleeping humans though. It was odd. Jasper wasn't sleeping. He was fully conscious. He could hear Kaufmann outside the room, people talking outside the building on patrol if he focused on it. When he focused on the emotions though, when he let himself be enveloped by the…void of emotions…it was as close to sleep as he'd gotten in years.

It was peaceful and relaxing to just rest and feel nothing. The last time he'd felt nothing was what seemed like forever ago. He didn't even really remember the last time he felt nothing. Surely he had to of been human, which was over 140 years ago. A lifetime and a half almost. Yet here he was, with Lexi, completely void and it felt wonderful.

Whatever demon or angel or God or Satan or being that blessed him with her…he owed them his entire life and more.