Chapter eight

A Pearl is Not a Diamond

Jasper resorted to slamming both fists violently into Edward's front door upon his arrival. Bella stood at the top of the stairwell glaring downward, mentally willing her best friend to turn around and drive home. The banging continued with renewed vigor. "Bella!"

Five minutes passed and Edward's car had yet to be heard entering the main road to the secluded homestead. Jasper began to scream nonsensical things about murder and immortality. Bella, anxious from the thunderous noise, soundlessly sprinted down the stairs and unlocked the door, prepared to brave Jasper's fury in exchange for his cooperation and silence. She opened the door wide enough for only her head to peek through.

"Isabella Marie Swan, did you fuckin' kill someone?" Jasper screeched; his raised fists bloody and raw. Bella immediately held her breath, but the smell managed to trigger acute bloodlust. She drew the door back slowly, her brain switching gear from prey to predator. "Alice and I are done. The Cullen's have got to be part of some weird cult. We don't fuck with this type, Swan. Please," he begged, "just come with me."

Jasper extended his right hand as an olive branch, Bella could only recognize pale skin soaked in sweet smelling blood. Bella swallowed a mouthful of metallic tasting saliva. "I can't," she croaked.

"Of course you can, Bells," he said, his eyes quickly scanning the dark perimeter of Edward's yard. "Why else would you leave those lists?"

"Just leave, Jasper. You're not safe here." Bella was running out of air.

"If I'm not safe here, you aren't either," he sighed, becoming impatient. "Look, is it drugs you want? Are they getting you well so you'll do their bidding?" Jasper's assumptions were entirely off base, which proved to be the safest place to avoid a dirt nap. Though he hadn't taken into account his proximity to an erratic newborn Vampire.

"Leave," Bella exhaled, her reserve air finally spent. The smell of Jasper's blood taunted her nostrils. She could feel her sharpened canines descending, a sign that her friend's lifespan would drastically decrease in the next few minutes.

Edward's stylish Studebaker suddenly came to a screeching halt on the cobblestone driveway, without fail, he was posted atop the porch in seconds holding Bella in place. She snarled in his face.

"Let her go, Edward," Jasper roared, he slammed his body into Edward's broad shouldered torso only to rebound and hit the equally unforgiving pavement. He felt as though he'd hit two brick walls. Edward ignored the fresh scent of human blood and took to whispering sweet, reassuring words to Bella. All to no avail, Bella's eyes were locked on Jasper's brow. The white skin had split open wide upon contact with Edward's marble shoulder.

A loud growl escaped Bella's twisted lips, her fangs on full display, eyes black as pitch. Jasper's vision blurred, his head swimming with the strange words Bella had left in her mysterious lists. His blood ran cold, though his heart was beating twice its normal rate.

"Bella?" he whispered, his distressed mind conjuring every possible explanation. "It's not possible. You're a…"

"Vampire," Edward confirmed, finally regaining control of Bella with the assistance of his sire bond. She calmed, though still clearly agitated from being denied the one luxury their kind desired. "We'd be more comfortable if you washed up. Perhaps we can talk inside."

"We…?"

"My family, Bella, myself," Edward stated.

"A-Alice?" he stuttered, terrified to face the young woman he'd recently broken up with.

"She will be here shortly. Please, clean your wounds. I cannot promise this calm will last. There's peroxide in the bathroom cabinet" Edward gently swung Bella over his shoulder and disappeared down the front walkway, leaving the door ajar for Jasper. He clambered inside without hesitation.

"Isabella, listen to me," Edward chastised. She barred her teeth and lunged forward. "These moments of frenzy are imperative, you need to breathe through your thirst. Jasper stands no chance of living another day if you cannot control these urges."

Bella inhaled Edward's scent, knowing the spicy bouquet would cleanse her palate and mind. She felt dizzy.

"Would you prefer to stand out here and collect yourself whilst my family attends to Jasper?" Edward offered.

"No," Bella said through gritted teeth. "I need him to understand. I'll be fine." She briskly straightened her predatory posture. "C'mon, Edward. I give you permission to take me out if I misbehave," she impishly jeered, Edward's signature fragrance relaxing her sneer into a dopey grin.

"My apologies, Bella. I'd normally never roust a lady," Edward said, a fragment of mirth shimmering behind his backlit sable irises. The two Vampires stood in silence as they listened to Jasper whisper a calming mantra to the bathroom mirror. "He'd suspected someone died, but he certainly did not expect the undead."

"I made a list of all the reasons why being a Vampire isn't entirely shit," Bella explained, her eyes fading into a vibrant brown. "You know, the normal stuff. Strength, speed, immortality; the stuff I would've greedily accepted as a human a few weeks ago," she paused, a contemplative sigh escaping her lips. "I may have included killing in both columns. And not necessarily killing, just blood. It's better than sex or drugs. Or Jacob," she added, realizing the shitty ex-boyfriend from nightmare's past was wholly and truly far from her mind.

"Who's Jacob?" Edward asked.

"My ex," she admitted blankly. Her human memories of the greasy haired rock and roller becoming harder to grasp with each passing day. Especially when her sire was nearby. "He broke up with me before I left for tour this last time. Kinda kickstarted my final human depression spiral. I walked into the alley that night because I thought I'd seen him."

Edward nodded, but didn't offer any further questions about the ex-lover. "Are you comfortable going inside? My family will be arriving soon."

"Alice?"

"My parents; Carlisle and Esme. They've come to appraise and provide damage control. Carlisle spent many years living alongside the Volturi. With his assistance, we're hoping to diminish any threat the ruling class might feel due to our expanding coven. Our numbers are quite unusual."

"Does Jasper need to be changed? Can't we erase his memory or something?" Bella asked, suddenly desperate to save Jasper's mortality. "His family is large and his obligations run pretty deep. He won't be able to walk away without someone noticing." Bella's eyes cast downward, another pillar of humanity crumbled under the burden of understanding. She'd withdrawn from every facet of mortal life within a few days of concocting a madcap plan. The world would not miss Bella Swan. Paper Dolls would dissolve into a never ending sea of garage punk bands. The sun would rise the next morning, an unwavering antihero in her superhuman swan song.

"I'm afraid the answer to your question is out of my hands," Edward said. "Carlisle will offer the most diplomatic conclusions."

"Son, you speak so highly of me," a handsome blonde man appeared behind Edward, his ice blue eyes soft and affectionate. The man had a sweater clad arm wrapped securely around the waist of a gorgeous woman with caramel curls. Her curves and beauty were timeless, Bella noted. "You must be Isabella?"

"She prefers 'Bella', dear," the woman corrected her lover. "I'm Esme, mother hen for these troublemakers. I have heard wonderful stories from my son and daughter." She stepped away from the blonde man and daintily took Bella's hand in her own. "This is my husband, Carlisle. We're so pleased to welcome you into our family."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Bella smiled nervously.

"Edward tells me you play in a rock band," Carlisle said, simultaneously stepping forward and clapping his son on the back. Bella detected a covert English lilt to his voice.

"I do," she replied. "I did. I'll start playing again once I learn to stop breaking guitar strings."

"Oh dear," Esme chuckled. "I wish you could have seen how many piano keys Edward destroyed in his first year. Though, I think Emmett out tallied us all in newborn brute force."

"The Albany house will never be the same," Carlisle added, his attention gripped by a far away memory of their 'children.'

"Will Alice be joining us sometime this century?" Edward interrupted, his gaze shifting back to Jasper. Who had recently vacated the washroom and found comfort on the family room love seat.

"For a psychic she tends to err on the side of tardiness," Carlisle replied. "I believe I hear her just down the road."

Sure enough, Alice's yellow corvette pulled into Edward's long driveway seconds later. Her face was sullen, her posture unsure and defeated. Bella's ire dissipated, Alice was similarly devastated about the outcome of their present circumstance.

"Esme, Carlisle," she greeted, refusing to keep eye contact with either parent. "Bella, Edward."

"Alice, my love," Esme wept, her arms winding around her daughter's delicate looking shoulders. "We'll find a happy ending, I'll see to it."

"Jasper's contemplating bolting out the back door," Edward muttered, ignoring his family's reunion. "Perhaps we should relocate from the lawn?"

"Sharp as ever, Edward," Carlisle chastised. "Flex those muscles often, son. Good looks fade." Edward chuckled, shaking his head in denial of some unspoken sentiment. Bella reveled in how jovial the Cullen family could be after nearly a century of life together.

The coven of Vampires walked at a human pace toward Edward's house. Once inside, Jasper stood at attention with a wooden crucifix clutched in his bandaged palms. "Alice," he politely bowed his head, though never removed his wary eyes from his undead hosts.

"Jazz, I'm so sorry. You weren't meant to find out," she wept. "I'm so sorry."

"Do y'all mind taking a seat?" he asked, collapsing onto the leather two-seater once more. "I'm just really fuckin nervous and I'd feel better if everyone had a fuckin' seat."

Edward exited the room, but quickly reappeared with three dining room chairs. He positioned them in a semi circle, effectively blocking the room's exit. Carlisle and Esme sat hand-in-hand on the opposing love seat.

"So y'all are Vampires?" Jasper voice faltered on the latter word. Disbelief and intrigue warring for his attention. "Blood, bats, fangs, coffins? The whole shebang?"

"No bats, no coffins," Alice countered. "We exist on blood, mostly from animals. We don't sleep, Jazz. I don't really have insomnia," the guilt in her voice utterly palpable.

"Bells, are you buyin' this shit" he turned to his oldest companion. Bella's eyes were vibrant, feral, and pitch black; her skin impossibly whiter and without a single flaw. He stared at his friend in awe. Isabella Marie Swan; twenty-three year old socialite and musician, west coast punk icon, and his beloved chosen sister had been irrevocably changed.

"Listen to them, Jazz. We're trying to save your life," Bella gasped. She'd forgotten to take a deep breath to hold before entering the cramped room.

"Mr. Whitlock, my name is Carlisle Cullen," the good doctor interjected, understanding Bella wasn't in any condition to be interrogated as long as Jasper's blood ran freely. "I implore you to suspend your sense of reality for one single moment. A moment without judgement or the need to understand 'why.'"

"Yes, sir," Jasper said, his tone militant. His proper southern upbringing, once again, battled with his hatred for authority upon meeting his Vampire girlfriend's father.

"Due to a string of unfortunate happenings, Bella has received the dark gift," Carlisle explained. "A fact for which we are regretful. We can discuss the details of these circumstances, if you like. Though, I need you to understand one very important fact," he paused once more, his expression patient and pensive. Jasper nervously shifted in his seat, fidgeting with the ancient crucifix. "My family does not make the rules of our kind, young man. Our leaders reside in Italy, their laws predate humanity as we know it. Many are barbaric and fail to include the ways my family inhabits this world."

"If we don't tell him, do you have to change him?" Bella erupted, her full Vampire nature springing to the surface once more. She clutched at her throat to dampen the flames that accompanied the breath she'd taken.

"Change who?" Jasper shrieked, the crucifix tumbled to the floor from his bloody hands.

"Bella, I'm afraid it's too late. Alice and Jasper have already committed a mortal sin," Edward answered, taking Bella's hands into his own. "Are you feeling well?" Bella ignored her sire's concern.

"Please calm yourselves, nothing will happen tonight," Carlisle commanded. The room stilled. "Jasper, you need to understand relationships between humans and Vampires have been forbade for many centuries. My daughter, Alice, she found something in you that, in her mind, warranted breaking the law," Carlisle sent a disapproving, yet gentle, glare to his kin. "Unfortunately, you've acquired the knowledge of our secret. The mandated punishment for which is death or damnation."

Jasper inhaled sharply.

"We have a few options, however," Carlisle continued. "My family, Bella and Edward included, can relocate. Leave you to your mortal life, your family and friends. We promise to at no time reappear. You will be sworn to secrecy." Jasper's eyes briefly flickered to Alice. "Option two: you can join our coven, son."

"Can I speak to Alice and Bella privately?" Jasper inquired.

Edward began to negate his request, but Alice mentally reassured him Bella and Jasper would remain unharmed. He loosened his grip on Bella's wrists and disappeared with his parents, regret and some unrequited affection clawing at his chest. "I'll just be outside," He whispered to Bella from the tree line.

"I had no idea, Bells," Jasper lamented. "Leave it to us, kid. Gettin' all wrapped up with Vampires in a big city like this. When did you... Well, how. Fuck. When?"

"The night of the House of Dirt show," Alice answered. Bella was still struggling to stay planted in her seat. "I brought Edward because I knew you'd be busy all night. He's normally so in control, more than the rest of us. Things just got out of hand. I blame myself."

"When did you know, Bella? I knew something wasn't right, but your behaviour didn't seem that odd. All things considered."

"The night I met Alice," she croaked, the flames licking her throat once more. She opted to breathe through the pain, focusing on Edward's lethargic heartbeat several yards away. "I accidentally killed a man that day, that's when Edward found me and explained what happened."

"We never intended to harm Bella," Alice reminded him. "She may not be human, but her future looks promising for assimilation back into human life. Like the rest of my family."

"As Bella Swan?" Jasper countered.

"Maybe someday. Our surnames change with some frequency," she explained. "I was born Mary Alice Brandon in 1905."

Jasper's blood drained entirely from his face. His lips trembled as he tried to form a coherent reply.

"Jasper's never been one for older women," Bella joked, feeling uncomfortable as their third wheel. Her bloodlust raged on, however. Another reminder to save the humor for later; Jasper's humanity had one foot out the door.

"Is everything else a lie, Alice? Are you really a fashion copywriter? If I choose you, whoever you really are, does what we have go away?"

It was Bella's turn to pale. Was Jasper genuinely considering becoming a Vampire to stay with Alice? He continued to stare at her expectantly. Bella swallowed the venom pooling in her mouth. "Jazz," she warned. His eyes briefly wavered. "I know you're whipped, dude. Are you really willing to give up the venue? Our friends? I can never go back, man. I'd give anything to have the options Dr. Cullen offered. I'm not right in the fuckin' head, man. Trust me, you don't want this monstrous half-life." Bella heard Edward huff, then a loud crack followed by the crashing of barren tree limbs.

Bella's lengthy outburst and Alice's wounded grimace redirected Jasper's attention. Lips formed into a hard line and unkempt brows drawn together, Jasper resembled an angry version of Rodin's 'The Thinker.' "Are you calling my lady a monster?" Chivalry reared its ugly head within Jasper. "Pretty boy probably saved you from a dirt nap, Swan. You oughta be grateful you're clean and in one piece."

"I oughta fuckin' kill you, Whitlock," Bella sneered. The corners of her vision blurred with a crimson vignette.

"I fuckin' dare you, Swan." The two friends stood face to face. All thoughts of Vampire versus human tabled. This was an argument between two college buddies. Bella's anger over Jasper's nearsighted mindset eclipsed her all encompassing thirst for blood. Jasper was feeling more confusion and anxiety than bonafide anger, but his pride would never allow him to back down from a challenge.

"I'm gonna leave before I lose my sense and drain you dry," Bella whispered, her voice gravelly and severe. She took a long exposure mental picture of her last human companion, a memory her faultless brain would never discard. Whichever life he would come to accept, she'd always remember him with uneven stubble, curly blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a fire in his heart. "Goodbye, Jasper. You've been a really great friend."

Bella disappeared into the foyer, silently climbing the stairs two steps at a time. The sound of her sobs drowned the remainder of Alice and Jasper's discussion. He left the house shortly before midnight, hopefully to never return.

Quarter after one, dainty footfalls approached Bella's door. The stranger knocked twice, Bella groaned in response. "What?"

"It's Esme, honey." The door opened, revealing Esme's enduring exquisiteness. "I've sent the rest of those fools away so we can have an honest chat, dear."