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Chapter 3: Complications

(Edward's POV)

(All thoughts in Italics)

Saved by the bell – how cliché. We were both saved. Bella, saved from death. I, saved from just a short time of being the nightmarish creature I feared and loathed.

I couldn't walk as slowly as I should've as I darted from the room. If anyone had been looking at me, they might have suspected that there was something not right about the way I moved. Thankfully, no one was paying attention to me. All human's thoughts still swirled around the girl who was condemned to die in little more than an hour's time and her sister, whose face has been swirling around in my stand-offish brother's mind for the past several weeks.

When he and Alice broke up, everyone was shocked. It was obvious to my family and I that they loved each other, so when they both sat us down last month to tell us about their recently signed divorce papers, we were all gob smacked.

From what I'd glimpsed in Alice's mind, Jasper's mate was going to be starting school this week - a human. They were keeping this knowledge to themselves for now, which was why I, too, hadn't mentioned it to the rest of the family in an attempt to give them their well-deserved privacy and time to announce it when they were ready.

At first, I couldn't believe it, because of how in love with each other they still were at the time. How could any human girl hope to compete for Jasper's affections when he had Alice?

In all honesty, just the thought of Jasper with a human terrified me. However, some of that changed when I saw the way Jasper was looking at Natalie Swan during lunch, like she was the only one that existed in that crowded cafeteria. His thoughts mirrored his expression, but were much more poetic. It was actually fascinating to witness the instantaneous bond beginning to form. But, regardless, the girl was a human and that alone spelled out disaster.

I thought about this as I hid in my car. I didn't like having to hide. How cowardly that sounded, but it was unquestionably the case right now. I could only imagine how well it would go over if the family found out that I had killed Bella Swan. Thinking of Jasper's reaction alone at his mate's foreseeable anguish justified my current actions to myself.

I didn't have enough discipline left to be around humans right now. Focusing so much of my efforts on not killing one of them left me no resources to resist the others. What a waste that would be. If I were to give in to the monster, I might as well make it worth the defeat.

I played a CD of music that usually calmed me, but it did little for me now. No, what helped the most right now was the cool, wet, clean air that drifted with the light rain through my open windows. Though I could remember the scent of Bella Swan's blood with perfect clarity, inhaling the clean air was like washing out the inside of my body from its infection.

I was sane again. I could think again. And I could fight again. I could fight against what didn't want to be. I didn't have to go to her home. I didn't have to kill her. I couldn't do that. Obviously, I was a rational thinking creature, and I had a choice. There was always a choice.

It hadn't felt that way in the classroom though…but I was away from her now. Perhaps, if I avoided her very, very carefully, there was no need for my life to change. I had things ordered the way I liked them now. Why should I let some aggravating and delicious little nobody ruin that?

I didn't have to uproot our family, or disappoint my father. I didn't have to provoke Jasper. I didn't have to cause my mother stress, worry…pain. Yes, it would hurt my adopted mother, too. And Esme was so gentle, so tender and soft. Causing someone like Esme pain was truly inexcusable.

How ironic that I'd wanted to protect this human girl from the paltry, toothless threat of Jessica Stanley's snide thoughts only two hours ago. I was the last person who would ever stand as a protector for Isabella Swan. She would never need protection from anything more than she needed it from me.

Where was Alice, I suddenly wondered? Hadn't she seen me killing one of the Swan twins in a multitude of different ways? Why hadn't she come to help – to stop me or help me clean up the evidence, whichever? Was she so absorbed with watching Jasper and his new mate in action together that she'd missed this much more horrific possibility? Or… was I stronger than I thought? Would I really not have done anything to the girl?

No. I knew that wasn't true. Alice must be concentrating on something else very hard. Maybe she saw something about the group of Nomads that were supposed to pass through the Olympic Peninsula these next few months. Maybe they were getting too close to Forks and were going to end up causing trouble for us? Or, maybe Jasper, who normally did need her looking out for him, was having trouble in one of his classes?

I searched in the direction I knew she would be, in the small building used for English classes. It did not take me long to locate her familiar 'voice.' And I was right. Her every thought was turned to Jasper, watching his small choices with minute scrutiny. I guess some habits were harder to break.

I wished I could ask her for advice, but at the same time, I was glad she didn't know what I was capable of. That she was unaware of the massacre I had considered in the last hour.

I felt a new burn through my body – the burn of shame. I didn't want any of them to know.

If I could avoid Bella Swan, if I could manage not to kill her – even as I thought that, the monster writhed and gnashed his teeth in frustration – then no one would have to know. If I could keep away from her scent, that is…

There was no reason why I shouldn't try, at least. Make a good choice. Try to be what Carlisle thought I was.

The last hour of school was almost over. I decided to put my new plan into action at once. Better than sitting here in the parking lot where she might pass me and ruin my attempt. Again, I felt the unjust hatred for the girl. I hated that she had this unconscious power over me. That she could make me be something I reviled.

I walked swiftly – a little too swiftly, but there were no witnesses – across the tiny campus to the front office. There was no reason for Bella Swan to cross paths with me. She would be avoided like the plague she was.

The office was empty except for the secretary, the one I wanted to see.

She didn't notice my silent entrance.

"Mrs. Cope?"

The woman with the unnaturally red hair looked up and her eyes widened. It always caught them off guard, the little markers they didn't understand, no matter how many times they'd seen one of us before.

"Oh," she gasped, a little flustered. She smoothed her shirt.

'Silly,' she thought to herself. 'He's almost young enough to be my son. Too young to think of that way…'

"Hello, Edward. What can I do for you?" Her eyelashes fluttered behind her thick glasses.

Uncomfortable. But I knew how to be charming when I wanted to be. It was easy, especially since I was able to know instantly how any tone or gesture was taken.

I leaned forward, meeting her gaze as if I were staring deeply into her small, depthless brown eyes. Her thoughts were already in a flutter. This should be simple enough.

"I was wondering if you could help me with my schedule." I said in the soft voice I reserved for not scaring humans.

I heard the tempo of her heart increase.

"Of course, Edward. How can I help?"

'Too young, too young,' she chanted to herself.

Wrong, of course. I was older than her grandfather. But according to my driver's license, she was right.

"I was wondering if I could move from my biology class to a senior level science? Physics, perhaps?"

"Is there a problem with Mr. Banner, Edward?"

"Not at all, it's just that I've already studied this material…"

"In that accelerated school you all went to in Alaska, right?" Her thin lips pursed as she considered this.

'They should all be in college', I've heard teachers complain. 'Perfect 4.0, never a hesitation with a response, never a wrong answer on a test – like they've found some way to cheat in every subject.' Mr. Varner would rather believe that anyone was cheating than think a student was smarter than he was… 'I'll bet their mother tutors them…'

"Actually, Edward, physics is pretty much full right now. Mr. Banner hates to have more than twenty-five students in a class-"

"I wouldn't be any trouble."

'Of course not. Not a perfect Cullen.'

"I know that, Edward. But there just aren't enough seats as it is…"

"Could I drop the class, then? I could use the period for independent study."

"Drop biology?" Her mouth fell open.

'That's crazy. How hard is it to sit through a subject you already know? There must be a problem with Mr. Banner. I wonder if I should talk to Bob about it?'

Again, she tried to discourage me, "You won't have enough credits to graduate."

"I'll catch up next year."

"Maybe you should talk to your parents about that."

The door opened behind me, but whoever it was did not think of me, so I ignored the arrival and concentrated on Mrs. Cope. I leaned slightly closer, and held my eyes a little wider. This would work better if they were gold instead of black. The blackness frightened people, as it should.

"Please, Mrs. Cope?" I made my voice as smooth and compelling as it could be – and it could be considerably compelling. "Isn't there some other section I could switch into? I'm sure there has to be an open slot somewhere? Sixth hour biology can't be the only option…"

I smiled at her, careful not to flash my teeth so widely that it would scare her, allowing the expression to soften my face.

Her heart drummed faster.

'Too young!' She reminded herself frantically.

"Well, maybe I could talk to Bob- I mean Mr. Banner. I could see if-"

A second was all it took to change everything: the atmosphere in the room, my mission here, the reason I leaned toward the red haired woman… What had been for one purpose before was now for another.

A second was all it took for Jasper to open the door for Natalie Swan and a sudden gust of wind pushed through the open door crashing right into me. A second was all it took for me to realize why that first person through the door had not interrupted me with her thoughts.

I turned slowly, though I did not need to make sure, fighting to control the muscles that rebelled against me.

Bella Swan stood with her back pressed to the wall beside the door, a piece of paper clutched in her hand. Her eyes were even wider than usual as she took in my ferocious, inhuman glare.

The smell of her blood saturated every particle of air in the tiny, hot room. My throat burst into flames.

(Jasper's POV)

I took in a deep breath of the fresh air, allowing it to fill my lungs as I exited the foreign language building next to the gymnasium. Being closed into a small classroom with twenty-sum blood-filled human students gets extremely tedious after an hour.

Emmett had been in that class with me and we chatted as we neared the gym.

Just as we passed by the set of double doors, I felt someone bump into me and their books scattered all over the pavement. I knew who it was before I even had to look as the smell of lilacs and apples drifted up to my nose and an electric spark fluttered through me from where her bare skin had momentarily touched mine.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" She apologized as her face turned a beautiful scarlet color.

I gave her a lazy smile as I brushed it off, "It's quite alright. Can I help you with those?" I squatted down to assist her in gathering up her books and loose papers before the wind succeeded in blowing them away.

"Thanks," She murmured softly with a shy smile. I handed her the last of her belongings as we both stood up.

"You're very welcome." I answered. Emmett was watching us from off to the side, ready to come to my aid, should I need it. He shot me a questioning look, silently asking me if I would be okay on my own. I responded with a discrete head nod and finally introduced myself to the girl who'd been plaguing my every thought for the past several weeks now.

"I'm Jasper," I said as I extended my hand, anxious to once again feel the thrum of the mating bond as it crackled beneath my skin at her touch.

She shuffled the books she held in her arms over to one side before placing her delicate hand in mine.

"Natalie," she smiled as the electric current ran up my arm. I could hear her heart rate picking up speed and she stared down at our hands in wonder.

"It's very nice to meet you officially," I told her with a grin, my eyes locking onto hers as they peered back up at me.

God, her eyes were sure something to look at.

The sound of someone clearing their throat broke us out of our trance. The smell of human blood caused my mouth to reflexively fill with venom and my throat to burn. We quickly dropped our hands and looked over to see Bella and Jessica Stanley holding their books and staring at the two of us. Her sister was radiating amusement and wonder, while Jessica - though she had a smirk on her face – was sending out waves of petty jealousy and curiosity.

I decided to be the first to speak in an attempt at breaking up some of the tension.

"I'm Jasper Hale. You're Isabella, right?" I introduced myself, though, from overhearing Jessica telling both of them about my family and I, I knew that she'd already knew that. I also already knew her name, but I didn't know if she preferred to shorten it or not.

"Bella," She nodded nervously as her eyes kept moving over to her sister.

I swallowed another mouth full of venom before I was able to respond and gave her a polite, close-lipped smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too." Bella nodded, though she seemed to be looking at me funny and her emotions were thriving with curiosity and anticipation. What was she anticipating, however, I had no idea.

There was a moment of silence where we all looked at each other uncomfortably. My throat was burning something fierce. I was beginning to contemplate my escape when Natalie spoke, bringing my attention to her as she looked down at her boots and then back up at her sister.

"Give us a minute, Bells. I'll meet you in the front office to turn in our slips."

Bella nodded before looking back at me skeptically and then turned on her heel to leave, taking an over-excited Jessica Stanley with her. My tension-filled body finally relaxed some and the fire in my throat dimmed down to a small flame with their growing distance. I could still hear them, even though Jessica thought that they were out of ear-shot. Bella didn't seem to participate with any of the gossip that Jessica was trying to drag out of her, only shrugging her shoulders occasionally while Jessica prattled onward.

"May I walk you to your locker?" I asked Natalie, once again gaining her attention.

"Sure," she smiled.

I gestured ahead and we began to walk side by side at a slow human pace towards what looked to be the English building.

We started to make small talk, though I was beginning to feel anxious, not knowing what to say now that she was finally standing here in front of me.

We started out simple as we spoke about the classes we had together and continued to flirt with our body language; a shy smile, brushing casually against her side, placing a hand on her back as I guided her through the throng of students as I attempted to get to know her.

"How do you like Forks so far?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I've been here plenty of times with Bella when we would visit our dad when we were younger, so I already knew what I was getting myself into when we moved. I'm not a big fan of the rain, so it was one of the many downsides to moving here."

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live then." I observed as I guided her around the outside of a puddle.

"You have no idea," she answered in a low voice, glowering down at it for a moment. It made me wonder what had happened to make her dislike the town so much, but I planned on changing that as we would hopefully spend more time together.

We continued on in our conversation, her answers to my questions as we spoke were never what I had expected and only made me want to ask more, learn more.

"What made you move here, anyway?" I asked curiously. Alice never went into detail when telling me about my mate. She wanted to allow me the opportunity to get to know her for myself, only saying that my mate was going to be arriving here at the school in a handful of weeks and that we needed to end our companionship.

"It's…complicated." She blinked her wide eyes, leaving it at that, and I nearly imploded out of curiosity – the curiosity burned as hot as the thirst in my throat. However, as I stepped closer to her in an attempt to avoid running into another student, I found that it became easier to breathe; the agony that I usually experienced around humans seemed to have an exception with my mate. She almost made being around all of these hormonal teenagers more bearable, and I was grateful for the reprieve.

"I think I can keep up." I joked as I threw a smirk in her direction.

She bit her lip slightly as she contemplated how she would answer my question. I noticed that she did that while she was deep in thought or deliberating. I found it rather endearing...and tempting.

She looked up suddenly. It was a relief to be able to see those eyes again. I didn't even need my gift to be able to see the emotions that were constantly swirling inside of them. She was so easy to read.

Natalie spoke in a rush, hurrying through her words. "My mother got remarried."

Ah, this was easy enough to understand. My heart almost broke for her as sadness passed through her clear blue eyes.

"That doesn't sound so complex," I said as gently as I could.

Her sadness was leaving me feeling helpless, wishing that there was something I could do to make her feel better. It was a strange impulse, but I cocked it up to being a part of the mating bond that was quickly forming between us.

"When did it happen?" I asked, wanting to hear more of her soothing voice. Everything about her was calming the supernatural beast within me.

"Last September." She exhaled heavily – not quite a sigh.

"And what? You don't like the guy?" I guessed, fishing for more.

"No, Phil is fine," she corrected my assumption. There was a hint of a smile now around the corners of her full lips. "Too young, maybe, but he's nice enough."

"And Bella? Does she have any objections?"

Natalie shrugged, "If she did, she didn't say so, but they seem to get along alright." She answered before I opened the door to the English building and held it open for her to enter before me.

"So then why didn't you stay with them?" I asked, frowning at the thought of her never having come to Forks.

"Phil travels a lot, he plays ball for a living." The little smile grew more pronounced; this career choice amused her.

I smiled too without even realizing it. I wasn't even trying to make her feel at ease, but her smile just made me want to smile – to be in on the secret.

"Have I heard of him?" I ran through the rosters of professional ball players in my head, wondering which Phil was hers…

"Probably not. I said that he plays, not that he plays well." Another smile. "He's strictly minor league. He moves around a lot." She clarified as we stopped in front of what I assumed to be her locker and she began to spin the dial on her combination lock.

I pointed coincidentally to a locker on the other side of the hall from hers, and, with a sly smile, made my way over to open it. I quickly shuffled my books into my bag and slugged it easily across my back before shutting my locker and clearing the dial. As I was doing this, the minor league baseball rosters shifted into my head instantly, and I'd tabulated a list of possibilities in less than a second. At the same time, I was thinking of my next question to ask her.

"So, your mother is the one who sent you here, so she could travel with him to his away games?" I guessed, and her chin jutted out adorably, her expression suddenly stubborn.

"No, she did not send me here," she answered, and her voice had a new, hard edge to it. My question had upset her, though I couldn't quite see how? "I sent myself."

I could not guess at her meaning, or the source behind her pique. I was entirely lost.

I gave up, not wanting to upset her any further during our first real conversation. She wasn't like other humans, and it was something that I'd noticed right from the start. She wasn't afraid of me, and, while that thrilled me to a point, it also slightly unnerved me that her sense of self-preservation wasn't kicking in.

"I don't understand," I admitted, and she sighed to herself, shutting her locker and clearing the lock. She then turned and stared into my eyes again. It was odd for me, because she was able to do something that most normal humans were not able to stand.

"She stayed with us at first, but we could tell she missed him," she explained slowly, her tone growing more forlorn with each word. "It made her unhappy… so Bella and I talked, and we'd decided that it was time to spend some quality time in Forks with Charlie."

"But now you're unhappy," I murmured.

"And?" she said, as if this was not even an aspect to be considered. I didn't like the thought of that, and decided right then and there that I would change that. I couldn't bear to have my mate unhappy.

I continued to stare into her eyes, feeling that I'd finally gotten my first real glimpse into her soul. I saw in that one word where she ranked herself among her own priorities. Unlike most humans, her own needs were far down the list.

She was selfless.

As I saw this, the mystery of the girl hiding inside of this beautiful being was beginning to thin a little.

"That doesn't seem fair." I finally said.

She laughed, but there was no real amusement in her emotions or in the sound.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair."

I wanted to laugh at her words, though I, too, felt no real amusement. I knew a little something about the unfairness of life. "I believe I have heard that somewhere before."

She stared back at me, seeming confused. Her eyes flickered away, and then came back to mine.

"So, that's all really." She told me.

I studied her for a moment as she leaned against her locker before I began to guide her back towards the doors of the English building, careful not to touch her bare skin with my ice cold hands despite how much I wanted to. I held the door open for her again, letting her leave ahead of me, as was the gentlemanly thing to do, and began to walk with her across the school grounds towards the front office building.

"You put on a good show." I told her, still considering this next hypothesis. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."

She made a face, her eyes narrowing straight ahead and her mouth twisting into a lopsided pout. She looked up at me quickly before looking forward again. She didn't like it that I'd guessed that right. She wasn't your average martyr – she didn't want an audience to witness her pain.

"Am I wrong?"

She flinched slightly, but otherwise pretended not to hear me. That made me smile somewhat, liking that she had a stubborn streak along with her selflessness.

"I didn't think so."

We began to pick up our pace as we walked quickly the rest of the way to the office building trying to dodge the raindrops.

Finally arriving, opened the door for her, once again letting her walk in ahead of me, but, before I could even walk in to the office or make a move to stop her, I was hit with a truck load of blood lust. It was enough to make me nearly stumble due to it's un-expectancy and it's strength.

But it wasn't my own...

A/N: So, what do we think? I changed Natalie and Jasper's first conversation a bit from the original story. I hope you like it!If you have any questions or comments, post them in my reviews and I will answer them in the Author's Note at the bottom of the next chapter

Millie: I so loved this story, so I'm really excited you're back and rewriting it. One question, I don't think Natalie was told Jaspers name? She went from sitting to "Mr Hale", a boy she hadn't seen before, until she noticed him gawking her. The next paragraph, she refers to him by name without having been introduced?

Bella'Xo: Good catch! I didn't even notice I did that until you pointed it out lol. I fixed it though, so take a look and tell me what you think?

3chellekathrynnn: How does jasper know Natalie's name if they haven't spoken a word to each other? Or the bond that Jasper mentions in his POV? How does he already know this stuff when it's Nat's first day?

Bella'Xo: Jasper knew Natalie was coming and would be starting school that week. Alice can see the future and saw her arrival. Naturally, being Jasper's mate, she will have a lot of visions of her after that due to how closely intertwined Natalie's future is to the Cullen family's. Jasper knew to expect there to be some type of supernatural bond as there is with all mated pairs, however, they have never come across a mated pair where one of them is still human – understandably, so there are some aspects of the bond that will be unknown to Jasper or the Cullen's. Not to mention, Alice and Jasper never told the family about it. Edward only knows because of his mind reading gift. Hope this helps some. More will be explained as the story progresses, but I'm happy to answer any other questions you may have.

2Twilight-Survivor: Great to see you're back! Can't wait to read more of your stuff! This isn't one of my favorites of yours but at this point I'm just so excited to see you've returned that I don't care that it's not one of the stories I would've put my left tit up for auction for you to finish! (I'm a Jasper/Bella girl. I like Natalie but sadly, my obsession is pretty specific). My favorites of yours are: Perplexing Revelations Realidades Torcidas. Any chance you will be adding to either of those? (I'm still looking forward to reading this one, I'm still crossing my fingers (and toes) for one of my favorites

Bella'Xo: LOL thank you so much! Yes, those two are definitely in the running for which I am going to continue once I am further along in this one. I have a handful I am considering, including my Dhampir series, Perplexing Revelations and Realidades Torcidas. I plan to complete as many of my stories as I can, but I only want to focus on one or two at a time. That way they will be finished faster and I won't accidentally mix up story lines lol – its happened before.