I woke up the next day at 4am or so.

The first thing I saw was Jasper's face staring back at me.

I was instantly shocked, but he swept that unpleasant feeling out of my mind and replaced it with a calm relaxation.

He smiled, "I stayed with you."

I asked, in horror, "With Charlie here?"

Jasper laughed, a deep and beautiful laugh, "I hid in the closet when he came to check on you. You talk in your sleep."

I blushed terribly, "What did I say?"

I had dreamt about him, about all of this.

He chuckled again, "You offered me a blanket because I was cold."

My blush deepened.

Jasper leaned over me suddenly, his face not three inches away from mine.

My heart started to race when his intense eyes locked with mine.

He whispered, "Did you know what else you said?"

I had an idea.

His cold hand slid gently across my cheek and he informed me, "You told me you loved me."

That's what I thought.

To my surprise, I didn't feel embarrassed at all. There was nothing to be embarrassed over.

I did love him.

I don't know when it happened, in these two months that I have known him, but it definitely happened.

The thought of him not being with me was painful.

The idea of not greeting him before school, playing with him in gym, sitting with him at lunch, and having him walk me to my car, was painful.

Looking at his happy smile right now, thinking of the world I used to live in when I didn't have that, was just plain terrifying.

I smiled back and struggled for the right words to say, "Jasper I do… I mean, well, it wasn't just a dream. I rea-"

Jasper pressed his lips against mine for a fraction of a second to stop my jabbering.

His cool mouth on mine was like heaven and I felt my hand wrap around his neck.

That half of a second passed much too quickly before he pulled away from me.

His gentle voice made my heart flutter, "I know Bella, I can feel it."

Oh right, I forgot about that!

He whispered, "I love you, too."

I lay in Jasper's arms on the bed, completely and utterly content.

We didn't need words right now; we were both just happy being with one another.

It could have been seconds, it could have been days.

The only reason I know it had been an hour and a half is because the sky was starting to pale, like it does every morning at five thirty.

One of Jasper's arms disappeared around me and I heard him speak, "Hello?"

I glanced behind me; he held a cell phone to his ear. When did that ring?

After a second he rolled away from me, sitting up and peering out the window.

I turned around to watch him.

He sighed, "There's no time, it's already too light out. There's a forest right out here, I'll hang around Bella's until later."

After a brief silence Jasper began to growl.

That's the third time I have heard it, but I still wasn't used to that yet.

I jumped when he hissed fiercely to the other person, "Absolutely not! He could get around me if he seriously wanted to, it's entirely too dangerous."

I scooted over to him and asked curiously, "What are you talking about?"

He glanced at me and after a moment sighed.

"Bella, would you mind missing school today?"

That'll be twice now. It's becoming a regular thing!

His wide, hopeful, eyes made me putty in his hands, however.

I sighed, "No, it's fine. What for?"

He growled something into the phone too quickly for me to catch, and then snapped it shut. Shoving it in his pocket he turned to me, taking my hands.

"Bella, you can always say no, but Edward would really like to meet you today. He's been hiding from you for a reason, and now I can tell you why."

His thumb started to trace a circle onto the back of my right hand and he took a deep breath.

"You see, Bella, every flower has a scent, right? A rose is different from a tulip, which is different from a lily, and so on. Every human has a scent, too. Their blood does."

I nodded semi-fearfully.

He continued, "To Edward, your blood is a lot more potent than anyone else's. You're what we've started to call a 'singer'. To him, you smell like chocolate while everyone else smells like lemons."

We both started to laugh and he added, "Forgive the odd analogy, I can't really remember what foods smells good after this long."

I considered the offer for a second. I would definitely be in danger, Jasper had said so himself.

But Edward will have to get used to me sooner or later, right?

And surely Alice could like… I don't know, look for if I am going to get hurt?

I snuggled against Jasper's chest and asked, "You'll keep me safe, Jasper, won't you?"

His hand ran through my hair and he promised, "Always."

I beamed inwardly and decided, "Then I'll do it."

I asked Jasper a question that suddenly popped into my mind as we waited for the others.

"What do I smell like to you?"

I felt his body tense behind me, and he very quietly answered.

"Because of my particular upbringing, Bella, I can't tell much difference between scents like Edward can. Like everyone can. Though your flavor, so to speak, is sweeter then most others, it is equally compelling to me."

I was hesitant, but I had to know.

"Would I be safer with you or Edward?"

He sounded heart-broken when he answered, "Edward. He has so much control, and I have very little. It's hard for me, Bella. Everything is. Being at school and around so many people. Walking down the street. Sitting right here with you, even this is hard for me. You must always be cautious when we're alone."

I wasn't quite sure what I could do – if anything at all – to stop him from attacking me if he chose to, but I burned his warning into my head.

Jasper sprang off the bed suddenly, gently pushing me onto my back as he tossed blankets over to me.

He hissed, "Pretend to be asleep."

He ducked into my closet and I closed my eyes, forcing my breath to be steady.

The door opened and Charlie came over to the bed, gently sitting on the edge of the bed and nudging

me.

"Bells?"

I stirred very lightly before letting my eyes flutter open.

He smiled, "You're usually up sooner, I wanted to check on you."

I let my eyes fall closed and I tried to sound fluid in my lie.

"I'm still feeling pretty bad. Can I stay home today? I just want to sleep."

He pet my arm a few times, "Sure, kiddo, I'll call you in before I leave. Do you need some aspirin?"

Now that I think about it, my body was a little sore. I had been yanked onto cement, you know.

I nodded and he slipped out of the room.

Jasper appeared a moment later and slid my window open.

"I'll be right back, they're here."

He sprang right out the window, to my surprise.

Charlie returned soon and handed me two aspirin and a glass of water.

He fretted, "If you need me to come home, just call the station, okay?"

I swallowed my medicine and tried to be reassuring.

"I'm not dying, dad, don't worry. I just need a little more rest, I'll be fine by tonight I bet."

He smiled, "Alright. I'll order pizza for dinner. Bye, Bells."

I smiled, "Bye, dad."

He disappeared and as soon as his cruiser pulled away, I heard my window opening again. Jasper sat on the edge and smiled.

"Come over here."

I sauntered over to him and sat down beside him, leaning forward so I didn't fall back and die.

He asked, "Do you trust me, Bella?"

I nodded.

He held me tight and sprang right out of the second story window, landing on the ground with more grace then a cat.

I clung to his neck hard enough to choke a normal person and raged, "Jasper, why the hell did you do that? Do you want me to have a heart attack? Warn a person!"

He laughed, "Warn you that we're jumping out of the window? You'd have said no."

I smirked, "Exactly."

He leaned against the house and asked, "Want to see what happens when I go into the sunlight?"

I glanced to the right. In about two feet we'd be in the early morning sun.

He set me down and I decided, "Sure."

He smiled and walked into the light, turning to face me. I gasped in shock.

His face and neck were sparkling!! Dazzling in the light like a hundred diamonds were implanted under his skin.

He was beautiful.

After I regained my mental control, so about thirty seconds later, I asked, "Does everything else sparkle?"

I cleared my throat nervously when I realized how horribly that could have been taken.

He didn't seem to notice, or care.

He just shrugged, "Yes. You can see that later, though, now's not the right time. Come on."

He held out his sparkling hand and I took it. He whisked me into the forest, helping me over logs and steadying me once I tripped, all the way into the heart of the woodland.

Emmett, Alice, and Edward were there.

Edward looked like he was hiding beside Emmett, a step back so he stood in the huge man's shadow.

Alice was sitting on a fallen log, looking quite calm.

I stopped walking, and Jasper instantly wrapped his arms around me, like a protective cape. I instinctively leaned back into his chest.

I smiled, "Hello, Edward. Emmett, Alice."

Edward's eyes were wide with fascination, "See, I told you so, Alice!"

Emmett glanced at them and Edward smiled, a crooked smile.

"I can't hear her! Exactly like I thought."

I blinked, "I didn't say anything?"

Alice, mysterious as always, just smiled at me.

It was Jasper who explained, "Remember how Edward has a gift? He can read minds. Except for yours."

I asked him, "Why not?"

Edward grinned, "I have no idea, but we would love to find out."