Chapter Five – Conspiracy
Two days off school to hunt in the sun would usually be a cause for celebration. Jasper, more than any of the others, still struggled with the whole repetitive experience that was high school.
The constant exposure to mass teenage hormonal angst, thanks to his gift, was almost worse than the constant burn in his throat, caused by the smell of their blood. And unlike his 'siblings' he didn't have a mate, to help pass the time.
But right now, he wanted to be in school. He wanted to see Bella Swan. He wanted to try to sort out the mystery she presented, to pick her brain without her realising what he was doing.
But he also just wanted to see her.
Edward snorted. "Shut up Edward!" Jasper pushed him from the side, as they ran through the trees. "She's an interesting puzzle, you've got to admit."
"Interesting!" Edward snorted again. "Keep telling yourself that's all it is, by all means." He shoved Jasper back and took off ahead. "I smell mountain lion," he called. "Race you!"
Jasper didn't bother racing, though. Edward could easily outstrip any of them, and Jasper didn't mind being left to his own thoughts for a while anyway.
.
The family spent three whole sunny days running and hunting. They ran as far as Canada before they started to head back. It was good fun, and even though some of the teachers would certainly frown on them taking time off the first week back, the school never made an issue of it, thanks to their perfect records.
Esme had a degree in teaching, and claimed to home-school them while they were 'camping', which helped too.
By the end of the three days though, Jasper was feeling truly antsy. When Alice finally asked what was wrong, late on Saturday, he didn't know what to say.
"It's just...that girl!" He exclaimed. "I'm just anxious to figure out what's going on. I mean—doesn't anyone else find it suspicious that she shows up just before we have three days of sun—so we can't keep investigating?"
"Jasper!" Alice was clearly exasperated. "She showed up for the first week of school! That's not exactly suspicious, no."
Edward was quietly dissolving into laughter and putting off enough amusement to make Jasper laugh too, if he wasn't so frustrated. He glared at Edward.
"And by the way, her name is Bella." Alice added, looking between him and her mate in confusion. "I don't know why you don't want to use it."
"I don't know what you think is so funny about this, Edward," Jasper said frostily, ignoring Alice's comment altogether. "I'd think you'd all be worried."
"You're trying so hard to be suspicious of her," Edward replied. Sobering, he added, "But we both know that's not what you're really feeling."
"I'm mostly worried about her," Esme said, coming up to them hand in hand with Carlisle. "If someone is influencing her without her knowledge, I hope our absence doesn't cause any problems."
"That's it!" Jasper all but growled. "I'm heading back now. School's out for the week but we can still run around her house and do a quick patrol around the town, make sure there aren't any foreign scents! We shouldn't have left for so long."
"Alright, son," Carlisle said soothingly. "Let's all head back."
"Should we bring the wolves into it do you think?" Esme asked.
"Not yet," Carlisle responded thoughtfully. "There's nothing in the treaty that requires it, and we really don't know what's going on yet. There may well be no other vampire involved. I've never actually heard of a gift like we're supposing would be needed. It's likely something far simpler."
"Let's just go!" Jasper didn't wait for more conversation, taking off at top speed.
He'd honestly been anxious the whole time they'd been gone, and what if this was why? What if there was another vampire involved, and he—or she—he thought grimly, thinking of his sire, was hurting Bella, to get to him. He wasn't sure how he'd live with that.
It would be well past midnight by the time they could get home. He would head straight over to the Swan residence. He may not be able to feel her emotions, but his sense of smell would tell him if she was there, and he'd be able to hear her heartbeat. And he'd also know immediately if another vampire had been anywhere nearby.
He forced himself to go faster. The sooner he could make sure she was safe, the better he'd feel.
It was almost 3am before Jasper reached the forest outside Bella's house. The two couples had each gone a different direction, intending to do a full survey of the Forks area, excluding the area claimed by the Quileutes.
The Swan residence was dark and quiet, as were all the nearby houses. Jasper did a full circuit of Bella's house, keeping to the shadows and seeking out with his extra sense, to be sure no one was nearby. He could feel several people in the area, but they all had the slightly different emotions of people caught in dreams. Listening, he could make out the sleeping heartbeats of each person whose emotions he felt.
There were certainly no vampires nearby, nor could he detect any vampire scents in the area, other than the fading ones of his own family.
Focussing on the Swan house, he could hear two sets of heartbeats. One, he assumed, was Charlie's. The other he could already identify as Bella's. Two days of sitting with her through a one-hour class, listening to her breathing and heartbeat to help him identify her closed off emotions, and he could pick her out just by those sounds.
Of course, he reminded himself, this was her house, and he could also smell her unique scent. But he suspected he would have known those sounds anywhere.
But there was something different. There were two sets of dreaming emotions coming from that house. One of them was Bella's without a doubt. Even if he hadn't known her heartbeat, he could recognise her emotional signature, despite only getting brief glimpses of it before. Now it was a constant—because she was asleep? He wondered. It made sense, he supposed. Sleeping, all her defences were down. Did that mean Edward would be able to hear her thoughts, also? The idea made him strangely uncomfortable, but rationally he knew it would be a good idea to find out. Maybe not tonight though. Tonight, he would just watch over her and let the rest of the family do their own jobs.
He quickly climbed a tree just inside the forest, far enough from the house to be unobserved by a human, but close enough to easily keep tabs on anyone coming or going.
He sat quietly letting Bella's emotions wash over him. He wondered what she was dreaming of. Generally, people's feelings were somewhat muted for most of their sleep cycles. Only during the most intense dreams did they come up to a waking level of emotion. Bella was no exception. All he got from her at the moment was a sad peacefulness. She was certainly not in the grip of any dramatic dream.
Her father was clearly in a different part of his sleep cycle, and he talked in his sleep. He was muttering something about fish and beer, radiating calm happiness. It was a pleasant emotion to sink into, and Jasper felt his own mood lighten in response.
It wasn't much later though that the emotions coming from Bella intensified, and became more negative. From sadness and resignation, they gradually morphed into anger and apprehension. Almost fear. She also started muttering in her sleep, but her words were clearer and far less happy than Charlie's had been.
"No Mama! You can't be serious!" She said, before descending back into silence for a time. Her heartbeat stayed elevated though, and from time to time a "Please Mama!" Or "Yes Papa," broke out, the latter in a tone of quiet anger. The overwhelming feeling she was giving off, though, was despair.
It was strange. He'd not heard her refer to either of her parents that way in their conversations in class. Her mother was Mom or Renee, and he thought she'd only ever called her father Charlie. He wondered if she was dreaming about someone other than herself, perhaps inspired by whatever she had been reading or watching on television last night.
He heard her turn over and—was she? Yes, she was definitely crying. Was she awake? And then she said his name, "Jasper!" Was she calling him? Did she somehow know he was there?
But no, she was mumbling something else now. She was still asleep. But then she called to him again, although this time sounding more broken, as though she knew no one was listening: "Please come back, Jasper."
It was starting to get light now. He would have to go soon, but he didn't want to miss anything else she might say. She'd stopped crying, for the most part, and he hadn't heard any clear words for a while, when he heard her heartbeat start to change again. She was waking up.
He was just about to jump down from the tree to run home, when he heard her mutter, almost desperately, "Please God! Bring him back to me! Bring him back in time." As he ran home he wondered which "him" she meant.
.
"Do you think she meant you?" Alice asked, when he—somewhat reluctantly—reported everything he'd heard to his family once they were all in for the day—trapped by the sunlight which promised to keep them indoors until the clouds rolled back in, around mid-afternoon.
"Which time?" He asked. "When she said my name, or after she woke up?"
"Well, I meant then, when she was praying—but both times I suppose."
"I've really no idea," Jasper replied. "She could have meant me—in which case, I suppose we'd have to assume she is up to something or is at least party to whatever is going on—she's worried because I wasn't in school and she needs me there for something."
"It seems so," Carlisle agreed. "Or, she was thinking of your alter ego, who you remind her of, and who just happens to have your human name."
"The thing is," Jasper said, "when she first saw me, she thought I was him. Even when she was right next to me and looking into my—gold—eyes. So, if she's for real, she can't have seen him for quite some time."
"Or she's never seen him, in the flesh," Edward added.
"Exactly. In which case, why would she be praying that he comes back in time? In time for what?"
"So," Carlisle said, "it seems that the more likely scenario is that she meant you, in the dream and probably in the prayer. Which means we can assume she really did recognise you, which in turn means someone—and really it could only be a vampire—either has something over her or has promised her something. Or has created false memories in her mind."
"But to do what? What could they be trying to achieve?" Alice asked, rhetorically, looking back at Jasper. "You're here anyway, which obviously the mystery vampire knows, and there's nothing she can actually do to you. I just don't see the end game."
"I'm still most worried about her," Esme said with her usual maternal concern. "From everything you've said, she doesn't seem to know what we are, but if she's been interacting with other vampires...they won't be concerned for her welfare at all."
"Especially not if it's Maria!" Alice said, finally voicing the possibility Jasper knew everyone was concerned about. "Or do you think it could be—we've been waiting to see if Victoria will show up again, looking for revenge—could this be something to do with her?"
"I don't know," Edward was thoughtful. "It seems pretty complex for a vampire stricken with grief over losing a mate. And I didn't hear anything in her thoughts that would suggest the kind of gift necessary, either."
"If it is something along those lines, it does seem more like Maria's style," Jasper agreed. "Of course, Victoria's grudge against me is a bit more recent, but—I tend to agree with Edward."
"Why can't I see anything?" Alice moaned. "If any other vampire is involved, I should be able to see something. They must have some kind of intention that should result in a vision, but I get nothing!"
"You can't see Bella very clearly—could her involvement be blocking other visions?" Esme suggested.
"Maybe I should leave," Jasper interjected, "go visit the Denalis or track down Peter and Charlotte. Maybe you would see something then." But even as he said it, the idea of leaving—of leaving her unprotected and in who knew what danger—made him feel almost ill.
"No," Carlisle said decisively. "We stick together."
"That could be exactly what they were trying to achieve!" Esme said almost at the same time. "To separate you from your family."
"Exactly. Besides," Carlisle added, "we still need you to talk to her some more. Try to find out how she knows 'Jasper Whitlock', and what she knows about him. We're making some assumptions here, but we're still a long way from really knowing what's going on, or how involved she is."
"Okay," Jasper agreed, more than a little relieved. "I'll see what else I can find out on Monday. And in the meantime, I'm going to head back to her house, as soon as the clouds come back. If there's an opportunity when she and Charlie are both out today, I want to break in and have a look through her things—anything she brought from Phoenix. It's a long shot, but if Maria or Victoria have had contact with her, I might still be able to identify the scent. Or if not theirs, then another vampire's."
"Good idea," Carlisle said. "And Edward, why don't you head over there later tonight too. See if you can pick up anything from her while she sleeps?"
Author's note:
Thanks to Stephenie Meyer for letting us play in her world, and many, many thanks to MeSh17 and Honeybeemelissa for their suggestions and corrections! Of course, I have made more changes to the chapter since they read it, so any mistakes are mine.
Thanks for all the encouraging words in your reviews. I do go back and make corrections if you point them out to me, and I especially LOVE it if you point out Australian-isms or actual typos!
What do you think of their theories? Got any other ideas for them? Reviewers of this chapter will get a teaser of chapter 6 in their in-boxes! (assuming they are logged in and have PMs enabled)
This chapter published 6 April 2018, 2:40ishpm AEST. Length: 2374 words
.
Recs:
I apologise to Bella-Jasper fans but I am on a bit of a Bella-Edward roll with my reading at the moment... That said, if you are new to Bella-Jasper, as a few of you have said you are, you should clearly go and read Leaves of Grass right now. s/6555315/1/Leaves-of-Grass
Here's an intriguing WIP I'm reading: The Girl by LazyFirefly: "A little girl arrives at the Volturi castle, not knowing that moment would change many lives." s/12795152/1/The-Girl
And here's an old fav: I'm Only Sleeping by Simaril. While this is canon couples, it's actually it's mostly Jasper-Bella, but a friendship story, not romance. " One second's loss of control and all is ruined. Trapped in her own body Bella needs to find a way to make herself heard. A tale of love, loss and family. Jasper/Bella Friendship. Eventual Edward/Bella. Winner of an Emerging Swan Award." s/7079270/1/I-m-Only-Sleeping. I was actually going to choose a different Simaril story, but I picked this one because of the Jasper POV.
