Coming home with Jasper felt like a daydream. The tension that had been surrounding us for the two weeks I'd been here had lifted and everything seemed clearer, sharper. As I looked out the window at the passing trees, he rested a hand on my knee. It felt nice, to just feel like a teenager with feelings instead of feeling psychotic, or in Jasper's case, dangerous.

"Dani," he said suddenly. I turned to him with a small smile, wondering what he'd say now. We'd laid everything out. He told me about the "vegetarian diet" the Cullens followed, he told me about having met Alice and then finding the Cullens. "There's something else you need to know." Oh. I guess not.

I sat up straighter. "What's up, Jazz?"

He bit his lip. The hand on my knee gripped it tighter and then let go. "There's other vampires out there."

"Well, I didn't assume you were the only ones in the world," I said, laughing. "There have to be others."

"No, others as in others in Forks, Washington. Bad ones. Ones that are currently on the loose and attacking people in the area."

I froze at his words. "Jasper," I started. "What does that entail necessarily?"

He glanced at me and held my stare, no longer looking at the road. "What did you see the day of the break in?"

I gasped. My mind flashed to the image of the red-eyed man. "How did you know about that?" I whispered. "How… I didn't tell anyone about that. Not even the Chief."

"Remember how I said Alice could see the future?" I nodded. "Edward can read minds. It also wasn't hard to smell the vampire that broke into your room. He wasn't careful. We visited that night because we knew something was off. The next day at school, Edward saw it in your mind for confirmation."

I didn't have the energy to complain about the invasion of privacy, more concerned with this new knowledge of a bloodthirsty vampire out to get me. "Wait, but why didn't it kill me? That doesn't add up."

"We've been trying to get rid of them for a while. Turns out the one that broke into your home is a tracker." He paused. "And he's decided to track you."

I released a shuddering breath. "Fucking great," I muttered. I pushed my hands to my face, digging my nails into my scalp. "What now then? I don't want to be vampire fodder!"

Jasper pressed his hand onto my knee again in an attempt to soothe me. "And you won't be. We're going to run them out soon enough. If they do any more damage, they'll ruin what we've made here in Forks."

We were pulling into my driveway and I didn't want to leave the safety of the Volvo. This was an info dump I didn't ask for and would've been happier never knowing. I didn't know what was worse: thinking the red-eyed vampire was a hallucination or knowing it was real and out to get me. A tear fell and I went to brush it away, but Jasper beat me to it. In an instant, he was at my side with the door open and consoling me. I know I had a history of being an emotional rollercoaster, but today took the cake for being the worst of them all.

Jasper rubbed my back and held me tightly to his chest. "They're not going to get to you, Dani," he reassured me.

I took a deep breath and gently pushed him away. I smiled at his concern. "I'm okay. You know, just a long day, lots of information to take in. Besides, no walls."

"No walls," he agreed.

I undid the seat belt and got out of the week, grabbed my bag, and made my way to the front door. And it was then I noticed there was another car in the driveway, and it wasn't any of the Cullens'. Frowning, I decided to hurry up and unlock the door, Jasper right behind me with a hand on the small of my back.

"Mom?" I called out. Jasper shut the door behind him. I walked over to the kitchen where I could hear voices trickling out from, but it was too quiet to distinguish them. And I wished I could unsee what I saw.

My father was sitting at the kitchen table like there was nothing wrong with him being there. My mother, meanwhile, was wringing her hands, her tell that she was uncomfortable. She was facing the doorway, so she saw me first, her eyes widening.

"Oh, Dani, you're back! And Jasper! Hello, darling." My mom stood and came to embrace me. She whispered in my ear, "I know, I know, don't say anything, please."

I nodded stiffly before turning around and going to the staircase, dragging Jazz with me. I heard my dad asking why I didn't greet him, and heard my mother trying to appease him. As I felt the rage grow, I also felt the sway of Jasper's mood manipulation try to calm me down. I smiled at him gratefully. As I stood at the foot of the stairs, I turned to see my father lumbering over.

"Yes?" I sneered.

My father mirrored my expression, and my heart dropped as I thought about how similar we looked."Since when did I raise you to not greet people?"
"Well, considering you didn't in fact raise me, I'd say never."

He stood there with his arms crossed. All I wanted was for Jasper to make this man cry, but I couldn't make Jasper do that. I knew he felt things too deeply, and after the day we'd had, it was too much to ask for. My mom and Jasper stood awkwardly to the side, each obviously worried about how this would go down.

My dad sighed and gave in first. "We left on decent terms, Dani -"

"No, we didn't."

"Don't interrupt me," he warned.

"Or what?" I pushed out a hip and rested most of my weight on my left leg, staring him down. He didn't say anything. "I see you're still a coward." I saw Jasper flinch out of the corner of my eye.

"I'm not a coward. I came back."

"You crawled your way to Forks for what?"

My father finally snapped. "To say I did something wrong and I regret it!"

I laughed bitterly. "Oh, boo hoo, suck it up! How do you think mom felt? How do you think I felt?"

I felt my mom place a firm hand on my shoulder. "Mom, it's true and you know it. He fucked up, and he doesn't deserve a second chance."

"Well, I hate to tell you, but I'm going to live in Forks from now on."

My blood ran cold. "You're lying, you have to be."

My mother pulled me over to a seat in the living room, Jasper holding onto my hand. He crouched down beside me. He kept a tight grip on my hand, a reminder that this would be fine. Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself today had been a long day and my father would not add to my stress.

"I refuse to talk to you," I said. "If mom wants to talk to you, that's her decision, but no one is going to force me to talk to you."

My father grunted in response and turned away, choosing instead to look at my mom. "You put up with this?"

My mom's melancholic expression turned to one of annoyance. "I don't 'put up' with anything, she's not like this with me, it's just you, Enrique."

"You said you'd see me at Christmas, Daniela, consider this an early visit," my dad argued.

I groaned. "My God, will you just leave?" I shouted. My mother chastised me for it, but I kept going. "Literally just leave, you aren't wanted here."

"Oh, really? Why? Because you have a boyfriend you don't need a dad anymore?"

Jasper nearly growled at being brought into this. "Sorry, sir, but I don't see the relevance in that statement."

I folded my other hand over our intertwined ones. "Leave Jasper out of this, he didn't do anything."

My father finally had the sense to look embarrassed. I couldn't believe him bringing in, well, not a boy, I guess, but to his knowledge Jasper was a regular boy.

"I can see when I'm not wanted."

Shaking my head, I said, "Not really. It took you long enough."

My father, the worst man in the world, I was now convinced, glared at me like a child. He went to the kitchen and grabbed his rental car's keys and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. My mother and I released a collective sigh of relief. That man was a menace. I regretted lying to him and saying I'd see him during the holidays - I wanted nothing to do with him. Jasper was the first to stand. He went into the kitchen and came back with two glasses of water. I didn't question how he knew where the glasses were and settled for sipping my drink, hoping my mom and I would drink something stronger later. A girl could dream.

My mom sank into the seat across from me. "Well, that was awful."

I cracked a smile. "That's an understatement." I looked up at Jasper who was now leaning against the wall. "My dad's a dick, as you now know, so I apologize for him. He doesn't have any manners."

Jazz smirked. "Consider it forgotten." He turned to my mom. "Need anything else ma'am?"

"No, Jasper, thank you for being here, I appreciate it. I tried calling Esme, but Enrique came so suddenly I didn't have time to properly speak to her. When you see her, please let her know I'm sorry I had to leave early from the office."

"Will do," he replied, nodding. He faced me and bent down. "I have to go, but I'll call you?"

I blushed at the fact he was so close to me and in front of my mother too, but nodded regardless. He left and once I heard the car's engine fade away, I slumped back. Today had been so long. My eyes shot open as I realized I hadn't checked on Bella. And then realized I would have to keep that secret from Bella. Holy shit. I had to act normal. Oh, fuck me.

My mom noticed the rapidly changing expressions and laughed. "What? Embarrassed you have a boyfriend now?"

My cheeks flushed. "That's not it!" I stood up hastily. "Sorry, Mami, have to go call Bella, almost got hit by a car and all that today after school, you know how it goes," I said quickly, hoping she wouldn't stop me. I ran up the stairs as she gasped, calling out after me. "Very urgent, will tell you more later!"

I shut the door behind me, leaning against it and heaving a sigh. I looked up from the floor and nearly cried out if it hadn't been for Jasper covering my mouth with his hand. I swiped at him.

"Jasper," I whisper-shouted, checking behind me as if I could see through wood. "Jasper, literally what the fuck, you just left! How are you here already."

He gave me a look. "You've seen how I drive," he said evenly.

"Right, yeah." I moved around him to sit on my bed. "Still, though, invasion of privacy! What if I hadn't noticed you? I could've, I don't know, started stripping for all I know."

Jazz raised an eyebrow. "Do you often just start doing that when you walk into the room?"

"Don't be a smart ass," I told him, flopping back. "I have enough things to worry about without having to hide you too."

"Don't worry about that, super speed, I'd be out of here in a second."

I considered his words. "So that's why the vampire was so fast…" I mused. "Ah, too much vampire talk, my head hurts!"

He appeared over me in an instant, leaning over my strewn figure. "Would it help to call Bella and ask how she is?"

"How'd you hear that?"

"Super hearing too. Along with super strength, it makes for a decent deal."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure," I responded. "And yes, I would like to ask Bella how she is." I pulled out my phone from my front pocket and dialed Bella's number, motioning for Jasper to not say anything. The dial tone rang and rang before it finally clicked. "Bella?"

"Hey, Dani, what's up?"

"What's up? Dude, how are you? You were in an accident!"

Silence. "About that… I didn't actually get hit, Dani. Edward stopped the van."

I groaned internally. This was just great. I looked at Jasper for help. He just shrugged. "Oh, you sure about that?"

Bella sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything."

"No! It's not that I don't believe you, it's just - just how could he have stopped the van?" I hated lying to Bella, but it had to be done.

"He did, I swear," she insisted. I could hear the urgency in her voice, begging me to believe her.

"Okay, Bella, I believe you." I finally said. Glancing over at Jazz, I saw him frown. I threw up my hands; I couldn't please everyone. Besides, sooner or later, I had a feeling Bella would be in my same position, what was the harm?

Jasper must have felt my unease because he leaned back on the bed with me, wrapping his arms around me. Where would've been warmth was cold.

"Dani? Are you there?"

I shook myself from my reverie. "Yeah, I'm here."

"I asked how you were. How did your day go after lunch?"

I started to sweat. Looking to Jasper, he mouthed, "tell the truth." So I did. "I'm dating Jasper now." Better to rip the bandaid off quickly.

"What?" Bella's shrill voice hurt me and I couldn't imagine what it did to Jasper's ears. "And you didn't tell me?"
"I'm telling you now?" I asked apprehensively. "Sorry, today was stressful. My dad decided to come and invade Forks. I'll tell you more tomorrow."

"Okay, well, see you on the field trip then?"
"Yeah, for sure," I said, and clicked off the call. I threw back my head in frustration. "I hate this!"

"Imagine keeping that up for over a century," Jasper remarked.

I looked at Jasper in wonder. "Just how old are you really?"

"Well, I was changed in 1963 by Maria, a vampire I stopped to help in the middle of the night when I was a soldier in the Confederacy," he said, turning his head to look at me.

I didn't linger on the fact the vampire had my mom's name. I didn't think about how sad Jasper looked telling me this. He wasn't met with kindness. "You mean to tell me," I started saying, sitting up. "That you were a part of the Confederacy, Jasper Whitlock Hale?"

I had yet to see Jasper freeze like he did in that moment. He didn't stammer or stumble over words to appease me. He said, "Yes," and grew silent.

I knew the fury building in me was't because of Jasper's power. I was just plain furious. I sat up completely and jumped off the bed, starting to pace. "Jasper, do you even understand what that means to me? If I lived during the Civil War, chances are I'd have been shot on the spot. I'm not white, Jasper!" I exclaimed, not even caring at this point if my mom heard.

But Jasper did. He rushed over to me and tried to soothe me. I was inconsolable. "Dani, please, that was over a hundred years ago. I was a child, I just wanted to fight for my country."

I laughed, loudly. "Your country? Jasper, Texas was in the wrong! Do you even know history? The Confederacy wanted slavery! Meaning you wanted slavery! God, I knew I couldn't trust pretty white boys," I muttered, pulling away from Jasper's touch no matter how much it hurt me to. It was on principle.

"Daniela." Jasper grasped my arm and tugged me back so I'd face him. I looked at the floor instead. "Daniela, this is ridiculous. You're overreacting. You can ask anyone in the family that wasn't what happened. Would you just let me speak?" His eyes were ablaze with… something, I couldn't tell what it was. And it scared me.

"Jazz," I whimpered. "Let go."

He could see the fear in my eyes and I knew he was tearing apart at the seams because of it. I had just told him I wasn't afraid he was a vampire - I was afraid because he was a Civil War soldier in his past life. He let go and walked to the window. Turning back, he gave me a sad smile, and before I could say anything, he was gone.

I spent that night huddled in bed crying. The first boy I had ever bared my heart open to was a) a vampire, b) an old Confederate soldier, and c) in pain. I didn't know which one trumped which, even though the soldier one was ranking pretty high at the moment. I fell asleep around two am and woke up groggily the next morning for school. I moved in a trance, reliving yesterday again and again. So much happened in one day it was hard to believe. And now? I had to act like everything was fine. I hit my head against my door, bumping it once, twice, and heading out. My mom dropped me off with a sly smile, or as much as she could knowing my dad was back in town. And suddenly, I felt guilty for only considering myself. My mom was hurting too.

I leaned across the console to hug my mother tightly. "I love you," I told her quietly.

She hugged me back. "I love you too." Then she pushed me lightly. "Now, come on. You can't get all mushy on me to get out of going to school. Go find your boyfriend or something, mija."

My smile threatened to fall, but I had to keep it up. "Right, yeah." I got out of the car.

My mother drove away and the long line of cars continued behind me. I prayed the Volvo wasn't there. But good things don't happen to me, evidently. The silver car was parked where it always was. I put my head down and sped over to the main entrance of the school, but Mr. Mind Reader had to exist. I heard Jasper call my name and vaguely heard people whisper about it, but trekked on. It wasn't until I got to my homeroom that I brought my head up. It was futile, sure, I'd see him in a little bit for the field trip, but a girl could try. I just… I wished I could talk to someone about this. I sighed and rested my head on my fist, choosing to look out the window until we were called up to the bus.

Angela came and sat behind me, and I waved absentmindedly.

She tapped my shoulder. "What's wrong, Dani?"

I sighed and shook my head, mumbling something about that time of the month - that normally people leave me alone with that. Angela patted my back sympathetically and left me alone. The morning passed, and I still hadn't paid attention. I couldn't bring myself to. I kept thinking about how I confessed everything there was to know in the forest, but Jasper chose to opt out of telling me everything at once. Sure, maybe I would've fainted from the overload. I still would've preferred that to being taken aback in my own home, my own room, after kissing him, after divulging everything. The more I considered it, the more upset I became.

The bell rang and the juniors stood up from their seats and collectively moved to the front of the school. I found Bella almost immediately. She was with Edward near the busses and looked mad too. I laughed to myself - the Cullen boys were in hot water. I saw Edward turn to face me with a frown and scowled at him. He should've kept his powers to himself. I continued to the bus until I was pulled aside. Without needing to see I saw it was Alice who had grabbed me, her lithe fingers notably different from Jasper's large hand. At that moment, I was reminded of his hands cradling my face yesterday, and just… sighed. I needed to be strong.

"Dani, what happened?"

I furrowed my brows. "Jasper didn't tell you?"

Alice shook her head. "He just came home and locked himself in his room. I couldn't get him to say anything. I didn't see anything either. Eddie didn't tell us either." She looked to the side where Jasper stood by the bus, glancing over at us every few seconds. I didn't know why he bothered, I knew he could hear us.

"He just told me about his… past. I didn't take it well," I ultimately said.

Alice nodded in understanding. "I know Jasper's had a rough past, trust me, I would know. Did he tell you I was the one to find him first?" I nodded. "Well, that was a while after he left. He regrets everything about that time, Dani, you need to see that. He means well."

I wanted to believe Alice, I really did. "Alice, he joined because he wanted."

"No, he didn't."

"Wait." I raised my hands. "Are we talking about the same thing? I'm talking about the Confederate soldier aspect."

She looked conflicted. "Oh, I was… I was talking about Maria. Still," Alice said, shaking her head. "Jasper is different from who he was then. He's changed, you have to see that. Dani." she grasped my hands. "He really sees something with you. I see something with you two."

I removed my hands from hers. "Alice, I need time. I can't just get over that. It's a lot to take in. And besides, that's not the only thing on my mind. My dad showed up yesterday too. And then there's the James thing. I can't process all of this. I can't," I pleaded with her to understand. I saw Mr. Molina gathering everyone to board the buses. "Come on, let's go."

"At least sit with him, please?"

I laughed at how ridiculous we sounded. They didn't sound like decades-old teenagers, instead they just sounded normal. "Sure," I conceded.

Jasper didn't need a second encouragement; he was by my side as fast as humanly possible. He shot me a shy smile. "Morning, ma'am."

I looked at him from the corner of my eye. "Don't push it, cowboy."

We boarded the bus, and I noticed Edward sat with Alice. Meanwhile, everyone else noticed I sat with Jasper. I chose the window seat and slid down as far as possible. The ride was quiet, Jasper's hand resting in the space between us, my hand centimeters away. It pulled at my heart to be so close and not be able to hold it. I almost regretted what I said last night, not that I'd admit it. I had to stay strong, I couldn't cave in this fast, I had beliefs.