Inspiration from Why Don't We's new song, "Fallin' (Adrenaline)".
For the first time since meeting Alice, Jasper lets go.
I can feel a rush of adrenaline as we race up the cliffside, senses flaring as my sight, scent, and hearing strain for any hint of larger prey besides a form of deer.
"Alice, do you see anything?" I asked, throat burning. Acid felt as if it was bubbling up my esophagus. I had been trying to adopt her "vegetarian" diet, with little success at that point. Every day was a struggle to go without feeding on human blood. I felt that struggle poignantly, at every second of every day.
"No, not yet…" she replied, hair whipping around her slender features as she turned toward me. "The humans have cleared quite a bit of them out."
I sighed, quietly so she wouldn't hear me over the wind rushing by us.
The last few months had been a whirlwind. Once I had taken Alice's hand, my world turned upside down, in every way imaginable. Never would I have imagined myself hunting in dense wilderness instead of the packed metropolitans I used to wander through with Peter and Charlotte. Never would I have imagined feeling any semblance of… attachment, to someone besides my dear friends.
We climbed higher and higher, nearing a promontory looking out over the sea.
As we reached the top, Alice and I skidded to a stop simultaneously. I instinctively reached an arm out in front of her, holding her back from toppling over the edge. She had proven herself to be more capable than any person I had ever met, but something in me couldn't help the protective action. Ever since she had taken my hand, these feelings had grown stronger every day. I knew what was coming, no matter how I tried to resist.
We stood side by side, looking out over the water.
"Wow…" Alice murmured. "Isn't that something?
I stared out into the deep, dark blue water that stretched out as far as we could see. It was an overcast day, and to me, the water looked nothing but menacing. Alice was unique that way – what anyone else would deem dangerous, treacherous, she could see as beautiful.
Her hands were dropped at her sides, palms open, feeling the breeze run through her slight fingers. Her ebony hair seemed as if it was dancing, lightly brushing her cheeks as it flew this way and that. She black and white checkered trousers, with a black turtleneck tucked in. Always chic, always in fashion, even while hunting wild animals.
"You could say that," I murmured back. I couldn't help glancing back down at her small hand, so close to mine. The few inches between us were magnetized, and I couldn't help what I did next.
For the first time since we met, I took Alice's hand.
The smile on her face could have rid the entire night sky of darkness.
"Jasper," she said, without question. As if she had known it was not a question of if, but when.
"Is this alright, ma'am?" I asked, as if the joy emanating from her in heavy waves wasn't telling enough.
"You don't know how long I've waited for this," her voice broke, as if she meant to start crying. As if we could cry real tears.
The gravitational pull of everything that Alice was feeling… loneliness banished, relief, desperation, hope, a sense of coming home… it pulled me even closer to her until I was wrapped around her gently, still so aware of how delicate she seemed.
What was coming from her doubled twofold as it mirrored everything I was feeling myself. Alice had become my home over the last few months, and what was the use in telling myself otherwise. It didn't seem as if she had any intent of leaving, of being scared off by my past.
This is what I had been waiting for, what I hadn't even known I needed.
My own joy began bubbling up from deep in my stomach, temporarily masking the poignant ache for blood. A slow smile broke out on my face, stretching my cheeks in an unfamiliar way. I felt ridiculous, but I didn't care.
"Darlin?" I asked looking down at her. Alice gazed up at me, her eyes meeting mine so intently it felt like there was no space at all between us.
"Yes, Jasper?"
"Let's fall in love, for the hell of it."
The laugh that burst from her lips sounded sweeter than anything I had ever heard.
"Why not," she said.
I pulled her closer to me, adrenaline racing once more, for a different reason.
"Trust me?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow, glancing down once at the water below us. Suddenly, it looked inviting to me.
"With all that I am," she replied, grinning.
She jumped up into my arms, seeing what was about to happen, and squealed as I jumped off the cliff.