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Enjoy!
Chapter 3 :
"Have you gone bloody insane?" hisses a voice.
"Rosalie, I think you're overreacting," interjects a calmer, but still melodic voice.
"I am not overreacting. Why, Jasper, why?"
"He was going to kill her, Rosalie," replies another voice.
My eyes fly open at that voice, I've heard it before. It is as I remember it, from somewhere, with a slight southern accent and lilting qualities. I look wildly around the room, wondering where I heard the voices from. They were so loud. I contemplate for a second whether I heard them in my head, which profoundly worries me. No. They're just in another room, about sixty feet away.
How do I know that?
Where am I?
I sit up. I'm on a bed, a feathery soft one, covered with a white cottonish comforter. I get up finding that I'm able to swiftly and nimbly climb off the bed. I take in the room, from the wall made entirely out of glass and the ornate lamp. It's gray outside, so I take it that I'm still in Forks. Unless whoever kidnapped me couldn't be bothered to move me to a sunnier place, maybe with palm trees.
"Hello."
It's the breathtaking voice again. I turn to see the owner, the honey-blond curls and muscular frame leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed, watching me with an expression I can't identify.
"Hi."
"May I ask you a question?"
I snicker at this, and he peers at me questioningly. "No, it's just funny. I've woken up in some random place, feeling invincible, remembering nothing, and you're the one with the questions."
The corner of his mouth turned upward. "That is odd. I'm sorry if I'm being rude then, do you have any questions?"
"Quite a few, actually."
"I'll answer them, of course. But would you mind it if I asked you mine first? It's just one."
I nod, and he proceeds. "When I found you and that…" he pauses for a second and continues in a strained voice. "Man, why did you not try to run?"
Man? I search my mind and get blurry glimpses of a gorgeous, black-haired creature. Wait, he found me? Was he the one that threw him off? Why?
"Julie?" he says, which snaps me out of my tangent.
"Oh, well, I just had a strange notion that it would have been pointless," how does he know my name?
"Do you think yourself to be slow?"
"No, I'm not terrible at running, I just felt as if he would be able to catch up with me very quickly. He seemed rather unpredictable."
"Why did you not scream?" his voice was now baffled.
"Screaming is a stupid move - it causes the offender to get on with it, trying to silence you."
"But instead you talked, very calmly, as if you were just discussing something trivial. When he explained he was going to kill you, why didn't that frighten you?"
"It made him less unpredictable - I knew exactly what he was going to do, and that calmed me."
The boy shook his head, dismayed. "You were about to die!"
"I know, and I think that I have a better chance of keeping myself alive with a clear head. That way, I was able to make a plan."
His voice turned mocking. "And just what was that plan?"
"Well, it was to perplex him - act entirely indifferent and make observant remarks. It did not work so well in the long-term," I looked down at myself. "How am I alive?"
"Wait - that's your question. How do you know all of this stuff?"
"I think."
"In a span of three minutes? When you're being given death threats?"
"I think best when I'm in trouble."
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Unbelievable."
I rolled my eyes. "My turn to ask a question."
"Fine."
"How do you know my name? Who are you? You were the one that saved me, somehow? How? How did you know? Where am I? Why am I not hurt? Why-"
"One at a time. I know your name because one of my siblings recognized you. You're quite famous. My name is Jasper Hale, at your service, ma'am."
I smile in spite of myself.
He took a deep breath and continued. "I can do something, rather supernatural. I can somehow sense the emotions of those around me."
"You can..what?"
"Sense the emotions around me, and manipulate them in any way I want."
I blinked twice. "Did I wake up in one of my book-idea fantasies? Because this is actually not a bad idea."
"Oh, it gets better."
"Do tell."
"All right then - I'm a vampire."
Silence.
"And as of this morning, you are too."
I startled both of us by laughing - loud, excessive, and nervous. "This is very..interesting. But I have somewhere to be. Wherever I need to be."
Jasper is watching me with a somewhat amused expression. Then he reaches out and grips the robust iron roses decorating the headboard with his forefinger and thumb. It breaks off quickly and crumbles to dust in his palm.
"You're freakishly strong. What does that prove? I thought that vampires were tinny, ugly creatures who drank blood, burned in the sun, and slept in coffins."
"I don't sleep."
That caught me off guard. "Never?"
"No."
"But what about the sun?"
In response, Jasper pulled open the sliding door on the glass. He stepped out into the cloudy sky.
"Okay..?"
Suddenly he shot forward, running so impossibly fast I couldn't even see him. "Jasper?" I called wildly.
He chuckled from wherever he was and stopped, showing himself once more.
"What.."
He grabbed my hand and set off again. "Jasper, what are you doing, I can't run that fast-"
Wait. Oh my god, I was. The trees were blurred, and I was barely touching the ground. I wasn't tired; I was flying, gliding across the earth.
It was dazzlingly amazing.
When we stopped, I realized that we were on the top of a mountain, devoid of cloud cover, where the sun shone brightly. Jasper turned, and I blinked.
His skin dazzled like a million diamonds, his exuberant smile only added to the glow. "Wow," I breathed.
He pointed at my bare arm. I looked down at it, gasping. It seemed my skin was also embedded with gems.
"Could I just try something?" I asked. He nodded.
I walked over to the nearest tree, massive oak with thick branches. Taking a deep breath, I grasped one of them, preparing to pool all of my strength to shred it off.
It tore from the tree as soon as I touched it.
I jumped a foot in the air as the branch fell to the ground. Then I knelt and picked it up. I touched it barely, careful not to break it, then tossed it without much conviction at the boulder maybe fifty feet away.
It slammed into the boulder, splintering into shreds, while the rock shook, finally cracking down the middle.
"Wow," was all I could manage.
-break-
"Vampire," I repeated.
I was sitting on the curved sofa in the vast living room, surrounded by the most beautiful people I'd ever seen.
"Yes."
"So, I drink blood?"
As I said the word, I became aware of the burning in my throat. It was extremely uncomfortable.
"I'm surprised you're taking it so well."
The person I was talking to was Carlise Cullen, a Ken-doll-ish man with features that easily overtook any movie star, without looking plastic. Blond hair, angular jaw.
"May I ask why all of you are so breathtakingly beautiful?"
Jasper's mouth curved slightly upward at that, while Carlise laughed. "One trait every vampire has. You need to see yourself."
"Myself?"
"Rosalie, would you mind getting her a mirror?"
Rosalie growled. "Why would I do that?"
Everybody was very kind to me, except for Rosalie, who seemed to hate me intensely. I tend to get vengeful and sharp in return, something I've been fighting with since I was ten. If people ever know what you really feel, they quickly get the upper hand.
"Fine then. Edward?"
"I'd be happy to." Edward was one of the three that I knew I'd seen before very recently, aside from Jasper. He had bronzish hair and, of course, divine characteristics.
The other one was Alice, someone that I liked the minute she first shot me one of her crafty smiles. She reminded me of someone; I just couldn't for the life of me remember who. She and Edward were together, or mates if you'd like the technical term.
Honestly, the reason I was taking this so well was that I was looking at it the same way I looked at any book idea - interesting.
Every single thing that they'd told me was currently flurrying through my head, unable to fit together. The rest of the world seemed far off.
"Here you go," said Edward, arriving back with a small hand mirror. He gave it to me, and I peered at my reflection.
"Wow," I murmured for the third time, tentatively touching my heart-shaped face, slender nose, and tangle-free, silky hair.
-break-
One week ago
"Jasper, I still don't understand this. Why are we following her?"
"Alice, shh."
Groaning, she turned to Edward. "Why?"
"I hardly understand it either, love. Jasper, what does it matter?"
"I don't see how anyone could be so absolutely emotionless! It's so guarded."
"Fine, she's guarded. You don't even know her!"
"I've tried instilling emotion in her repeatedly. It's not working. Edward, tell me what she's thinking."
"She.." he trailed off. "She..why can't I hear her?"
"Exactly! She's so guarded. It's infuriating."
"Well, I for one-oh!" Alice exclaimed suddenly.
"Did you see something?"
"Never mind, carry on," she smiled devilishly.
"What did you see, Alice?"
"Edward, if you tell him, I will kill you."
"Sorry, then, Jasper. Don't worry; it's nothing bad."
Jasper sighed and continued following the girl. She had come from the new office building that they'd built, though he wasn't exactly sure what she did. Who was she?
Wait a second.
Jasper's sharp sense of smell made him stop in his tracks. One of his kind. Where? He looked ahead at her, staring into a dress-shop window. She'd stiffened. He watched as she turned and looked back, her expression mixed. Did she realize it? How?
That was when Jasper caught a glimpse of him, and he could tell that Edward and Alice did too, judging by they were now silent.
"How can she sense him?" he hissed.
"Because she's smart. This is going to be fantastic!" Alice was giddy.
Jasper rolled his eyes and continued following the scent of the vampire stalking her. He nimbly scaled the back of a building, scanning the ground below from the top.
There he was. He seemed to realize that they were there as well. The girl had gone into a small coffee shop at the end of the road. He leaped off the top, landing to his feet on the sidewalk.
The other one had stopped too, in the middle of the empty road. He was watching Jasper advance toward him with a lazy smile. Alice and Edward followed him from the other side.
"Who are you?"
The vampire had dark hair, an angular face, and black eyes, which made Jasper's jaw clench. "Hiram Teller. You must be Jasper Hale?"
"This is Olympic Territory."
"Ah, yes, I know. The 'harmless' bloodsuckers. Really, I don't know how you do it."
"Why are you following that girl?"
"Same reason you venture off into the woods now and then. Plus, she'll probably taste much better than what - tofu?"
"You cannot hunt humans in this town."
Hiram snorted. "I can do anything I damn well please. What's it to you, anyway? She's just an outsider; she doesn't even live here."
Alice stepped in. "Look, there are hundreds of other towns. Why is it just here?"
"Because you just made it fun. She'll be dead by tomorrow, mark my words."
With that, he disappeared from view, and Jasper looked murderous. He started walking towards the coffee shop.
"Where are you going?" called Edward.
"In."
-break-
Ten years ago
52 Burlingham Plaza
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Elizabeth Gray was busy filing her boss's paperwork. Unbeknownst to others, she was reading the documents.
Elizabeth knew she was a failure. Blessed with above-average intelligence, she was always top of her class. People speculated that she would go to Harvard or Yale, write books, win awards, be all-around successful.
But then she got pregnant at seventeen, and everything fell apart.
Her parents had kicked her out; she was out of school; she couldn't pay attention. She started skipping and graduated with a 2.3 g.p.a., and a 500 SAT score.
And now she was a secretary for successful people. It goes to show that you can't just be blessed.
She barely heard her daughter bounding in through the back entrance.
"Mom!" ten-year-old Julie Gray bounced in, looking ecstatic. "Mom! Guess what?"
"What, honey?"
"Look at this," she slapped down a sheaf of papers on her mother's desk.
It was their end-of-the-year social studies exam.
"I got 100!" she shrieked, in case her mom couldn't see it.
"That's amazing, Julie."
"I know. And even better, only two people did."
"Fantastic, Julie, we'll certainly celebrate it at home."
Elizabeth's boss, Jeannette, came in. "Elizabeth, you need to work overtime today. We're having some problems in IT, and the paperwork is due tomorrow now."
Elizabeth looked down at her daughter, who seemed to understand what that meant. "You're not coming tonight?"
"I'm sorry, honey. We'll celebrate tomorrow."
One of the things that Elizabeth liked about her daughter was that it was so easy to read her. When she was happy, sad, angry, she was a terrible actress. She liked that her daughter wasn't so guarded.
"Okay, mom," she said, but Elizabeth could see that she wasn't happy about it.
"Hmm, okay. How about you have a sleepover at Kendra's tonight?"
"But it's a school night!"
Kendra was her best friend, crafty and cunning; she always had a devious look her eyes. Kendra's parents were good friends with Elizabeth, and she made a mental note to call them and ask.
"I'll call and ask them."
Elizabeth watched happily as her daughter's face turned giddy with joy. She wanted to laugh. Her daughter was so easy to read, and it made her immensely glad. She hoped that she'd stay that way.
A little bit of a pastshadowing(?). Look out for the next chapter!
Bluebell