Chapter 5

A/N HAPPY EASTER! I'm soooo sorry I haven't updated this story for such a long time! My life's been crazy and I was having a tiny bit of writer's block. I also decided that I don't care about the reviews, just the improving of my writing skills, but they're a nice bonus. :P I checked my story traffic, and I realized just how many people had read my story, and I almost cried for being so selfish. I want to thank all the people who are putting alerts on my story, and yeah. :) I also have a new beta for my other stories, KatrinaAllard, who has AMAZING stories! They're mostly Harry Potter, so if you happen to like Happy Potter fics, methinks you should check 'em out, eh?

Previously:

I put the chair at our table, and said, "I'm going out for some air, it's too stuffy in here," and walked out of the cafeteria to the side of the building where no one could see me cry…..

JPOV (Jasper)

As I saw Bella leave, I felt her waves of agony and self-loathing. All of us vamps had heard what Jessica had said to her plastic clone, and we knew about Bella's insecurities about herself and her opinions on her love life. We were pissed to say the least, so I decided to go after her and comfort her. I was the only one she would talk to at times like this, which was pretty often. We had shared pretty much everything about ourselves to each other, from my days with Maria, to her times with Jacob and the loneliness she felt now that he was gone. For all intensive purposes, we were each other's best friends and confidents. To the people on the outside, we probably looked like a couple that didn't show PDA. I scoffed, if we were a couple, I would have been so much more possessive about her, like I was with Serenity. When I first saw her, I was sure I was feeling what Peter had described as the "mating pull", so I was fairly certain that she was my mate.

I looked around the outside of the school, when I finally found her sitting curled up in a ball against the wall behind the cafeteria. I quietly approached her, and picked up her small body, wracked with sobs. I sat down gently and cradled her in my arms whispering words that would hopefully calm her down. After a few minutes her sobs were reduced to sniffles and hiccups, and she spoke up in a small, almost mousy voice, "Why Jazz? Why did he have to go?"

"I don't know Bells, I don't know. But just remember, we all love you and it hurts to see you like this. I wanna see you smile Darlin', let me see those pretty pearly whites of yours," I responded, wanting to cheer her up. She smiled a small smile that almost reached her broken golden orbs.

"Thanks Jazz, I feel…..awesome," she smiled even bigger.

"It's no problem sweet thang, what are best friends for?" I said, letting my Southern drawl slipping out for a few seconds, and smiling just as big as her.

"Hey Jazz, why don't you speak with your Southern drawl more prominently more often?" she asked.

"I guess being around people who don't speak with it makes me not speak with it more openly. You're the only person who really doesn't mind me speaking with it more openly all the time," I answered truthfully.

"I see. It makes sense. Thanks again Jazz, I feel a lot better. I know it's been 50 years since Jake has…..died…..but it still hurts knowing he's gone. Having the Cullens as a family makes it better, and I think I'm slowly getting better, all thanks to you guys."

I smiled once again, and gave her a friendly peck on the lips, one that we did time and time again after we bared our soul to the other. Then, I heard a small gasp, and yet another broken sob, but this time it wasn't from Bella. I watched as the small form of Serenity ran away into the woods in agony. I was torn between the girl whom I was certain was my mate, and my best friend who was in pain. Then Bella made my choice a whole lot easier by standing up and whispering, "Go. I'll be fine for now, but promise me Major, that you won't forget about your best friend, ya hear?" she said with a teasing smile on her face.

I smiled back, "I promise Ma'am. Pinky promise," and we shook pinkies for the first time since we shook pinkies 50 years ago. "Thank you Bells," I said gratefully before running off into the woods after my mate.

SPOV (Serenity)

When I saw Jasper Hale sitting at the lunch table my brother, Nate, Geoff, and Matt were leading me to, my eyes widened marginally. They mentioned that we were sitting with someone and her family members, but I didn't think it would be the Cullen family everyone was talking about. Not to mention Jasper. He was basically the talk of all the girls in the school, mostly because he was the only single Cullen in the entire Cullen family. I had heard about him, but he was poorly described. He had curly, honey blonde hair that just fell in front of his eyes, chiseled facial features, and the golden eyes that all the Cullens seemed to have, even though they were all adopted. He also had the ghostly pale skin that each Cullen had, it was weird.

Oh well, he was absolutely gorgeous, and it was hard not to notice; practically all the girls were falling at his feet. But, the only girl he paid attention to was Bella Cullen, the only other single Cullen. Bella was really nice, but it was hard to tell if they were secretly dating like everyone was saying. They were sitting beside each other, and he was looking at her with a concerned look. I looked over to Bella, and noticed that she had glassy eyes, and had a frown on her face. When he talked to her, she snapped out of her haze, and laughed. She then looked at her family and told them something with an unsure look on her face, and smiled at her family's response.

She looked over to us then with a smile on her face, then looked back at Jasper who had a complex look on his face, he kinda looked like he had seen Miss America or something. I looked around. Nope, no Miss America around here. Aiden started snickering beside me, and I looked at him strangely. He then called out halfway across the cafeteria, "Bella! Hey!" while smiling.

She called back, "Hey Aiden! Pull up a chair!" all the while smiling at the people's shocked faces around us. We reached the table, and everyone sat down at the table, besides me, because there were no more seats left, and I really didn't feel like going to Jessica's table to grab the closest available chair. Bella made the introductions, being the girl that knows everyone at the table, but paused on my name, "and…"

"Serenity," I supplied for her awkwardly.

"And Serenity," she smiled at me trying to ease my shyness, and I smiled back. It was hard not to smile back, her smile was oddly contagious. She seemed to realize that I was still standing.

"Hey, Serenity, why are you still standing up?" she asked

"Umm…well….I can't find a chair, and the closest one is near Jessica Stanley, and she doesn't like me at all, she keeps teasing me about how I dress and stuff," I replied gloomily. Jessica always teased me, whether it be my clothes, my makeup, or just my appearance in general. It made me feel worthless, even though Aiden told me I wasn't. Jasper looked positively livid at this tidbit of info, and she put her hand on his arm to calm him down. He looked at her gratefully and she smiled. I internally sighed. Maybe there was something going on between them. Wonderful.

"Well, we're not going to have this problem anymore. You can sit here, and I'll go get a chair for myself."

"Really? Thanks so much!" I said, feeling much happier. So she went to grab the chair from Jessica's table.

I don't know what Jessica and Lauren said, but Bella came back to the table almost in tears, put the chair down and said, "I'm going out for some air, it's too stuffy in here," and walked out of the cafeteria. Jasper got a concerned look on his face and rushed after Bella, while the rest of the Cullens just sat there and fumed.

"I wonder what Jessica said, Bella was almost in tears," Nate whispered, sounding concerned as well for his new friend's well-being, "She was so happy before she went to get that chair."

"Yeah, she was smiling and laughing too," The twins whispered in sync. Aiden wasn't saying anything, probably because when he was worried, he tended to not speak. Me, I was too busy thinking about Jasper. I had completely fallen for the man, but I was worried about his and Bella's relationship. Were they really dating? Or was it just a rumor? They still hadn't returned, and it had been about 15 minutes, so I got worried about Bella. Had she run away? So I decided to go find Jasper and help him look for Bella. I told the guys where I was going and walked out the doors before anyone could stop me. I looked around a bit and when I found Jasper, what I found broke my heart. Jasper had Bella in his arms on the ground, and he was smiling down at her. Then he kissed her. On the lips. Even if it was just a peck, that was enough for me to confirm my suspicions about them. I let out a broken sob, and ran into the woods, for it was my escape from the world when I needed it. I was running, and heard a presence behind me. I continued running until I felt my legs burning, then I collapsed onto the forest floor, my body wracked with sobs. I heard the steps of the unknown presence coming closer and I just cried harder.

"Leave me alone!' I screamed at the unknown presence.

"No, I caused this," I heard his voice, and my heart almost stopped.

"Jasper? Why are you here? Why don't you go back to Bella? She's your girlfriend isn't she? I saw you two kiss," I whispered insecurely, still lying down with my head in my arms. If I looked at him now, I was afraid my broken heart would piece itself back together in hopes it would be loved, just to shatter again.

"What? Bella? My girlfriend? No, that's not true. We're just friends. That's all," he said in a soothing voice.

"Then why did you kiss her?" I asked.

"I kissed her because it's what we do. She told me something very emotional, and we do that whenever that happens. I have some baggage, as does she, and we have to reassure the other that we'll still be friends, not matter what happens somehow."

"I see, then why don't you get her some flowers?" I said, louder now, feeling that stupid hope again.

He chuckled, "She would have a lot of flowers then." I sat up, and looked into his gorgeous face, and my love for him swelled immensely. He got a weird look on his face, then picked me up and stood me on my feet. Still holding onto my arms, he started to lean in slowly, seeming to gauge my reaction, and my breath caught in my throat. My eyes fluttered closed automatically, and I waited for what I thought was to come. When he pressed his lips to mine, it was complete and utter heaven. His lips were so soft and smooth, and it felt like a lifetime had passed, even though it had only been a second or two. He pulled away, and gave me a panty-dropping grin, then said, "I've wanted to do that since I first saw you, Serenity. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, trust me; I've wanted to do that too. Oh, and by the way, you just stole my first kiss," I said, and I walked away, out of the dense forest, leaving a very stunned Jasper, with a smile plastered on my face.

JPOV (Jasper)

I was left stunned into silence. Her first kiss? As in no one else's…. as in…..only mine. I grinned, that was amazing. I felt extreme amusement coming from above me, and I looked up to find Bella perched in a tree branch in the tree directly above me laughing her ass off.

"Jasper," she gasped, "You should have seen your face! Absolutely priceless!" and she continued to laugh, that is, until she fell out of the tree. I started laughing then, but not at her. No, I was laughing at the Bella-shaped hole she had just made in the soft earth. "Jazz! This is not funny! I have dirt in my hair!"

"Jeez Bells, it'll come out, just shake it out like you do after we spar," I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, sorry my brain's been knocked around a bit from falling three feet into the ground," she said in a huffy tone, smiling the whole time. It was quite amusing seeing a human-shaped hole three feet in the ground.

"We still have some time left till next class Bells. Wanna go back to the caf?" I asked.

"Sure, why not, I like my new friends, possibly better than you," she said teasingly.

"Oh really now? You're going to get it now, Missy," I said, as I started stalking towards her slowly. Her eyes widened in mock fear, and she started backing up faster, and then broke into a sprint towards the school, laughing the whole way. I was so glad she was feeling better than before.

BPOV

I made it to the doors of the cafeteria, when Jazz caught up with me and swept me into his arms and slung me over his shoulder.

"Jazz! Put me down! Or are you a caveman now? Huh?" I said while laughing.

"Ug. Me Jasper. You prisoner of God of War," he said with a grin.

I just laughed as he put me down in front of our table, I didn't care who was looking at our display of friendship, even if it was weird. Serenity just smiled, and I was glad that she wasn't jealous of our "relationship" anymore. Honestly, I don't know who starts these rumors, but that particular one was by far the most un-realistic rumor I've heard. I think Jazz kissing her in the forest helped her insecurities a little bit as well. Edward smiled at my thoughts and grinned teasingly at Jasper, probably because Jazz was thinking about the kiss as well. Edward nodded slightly in my direction, to acknowledge my thoughts, but to avoid looking extra weird in front of my human friends.

"So…..Bells…..feeling any better?" Em asked.

"Much. Thanks for asking," I beamed at him.

"That's great to hear Bells," he said with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, so you guys getting along?" I asked, meaning the family and my new friends.

"Yeah," Aiden said, "You guys are so much more easy going than everyone makes you out to be."

"Oh really? Let me guess, we're the fancy rich snobs that our Daddy buys anything for, whenever we want it, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," the twins said.

"Wow," Alice said, "That only happens when Esme wants something, we all have our own savings accounts that we set up ourselves." It was true, Carlisle had stopped paying for everything we wanted a couple years after I had arrived, he set us up a small account that all of us invested into the stock market, and with Alice and her forsight, let's just say our money issue never became an issue again.

"You don't call her mom?" Nate asked.

"No, we're all adopted besides Edward. Esme is mine and Jasper's Auntie, so we never got into habit of calling her Mom," Rosalie supplied.

"I see, it makes sense," Aiden mused.

The bell rang, and everyone filed out of the cafeteria, sans our table.

"Off to history Bells! Up, Up, and away!" Jazz said, doing a bad impression of Mighty Mouse while running at a human speed out of the cafeteria, and down the hallways. I just rolled my eyes at the rest of my family and friends and followed Jasper at a walking pace towards our American History class.

NPOV (Nate)

After the rest of the Cullens left for class, the rest of our little group stayed in the cafeteria to chat about our new acquaintances.

"Well, nice to know our new friends are fucking vampires!" I said, "They all reek, besides Bella." I wrinkled my nose in disdain just remembering the stench of sugar and bleach.

"Oh, get over it you wussy!" Geoff said with a smile,

"Just because you're a shifter, doesn't mean you have to hate ALL vamps. The Cullens are genuinely nice people/vampires. They fight their natural instincts, because they have a conscience, and they care about human life," Matt finished.

"And just because you two are angels, doesn't mean you have to be understanding and kind all the time," I shot back, "They're still taking lives."

"Yes, but which is the lesser of evils Nate? They need blood to survive, and animals are probably the next choice after humans," Aiden said. Damn him and his fucking faerie twin. Good thing he wasn't his actual size, or I'd probably stomp him right now.

"Damn it, you're right," I sighed, defeated. "But I almost shit my pants when I saw Bella sitting next to the God of War himself."

"Yeah, he scares that crap outta me," the twins said in unison.

"He's not that bad guys. He's kind of sweet, actually," Serenity said in a small voice.

"Serenity," Aiden said, "is Jasper your mate?" she just blushed in answer. "Great, I have the God of War, Jasper Whitlock-Cullen as a future brother in law. Absolutely fantastic." We all laughed, but internally I was thinking about Bella.

My Alpha, Jacob Black, had recently moved back to La Push, to take a break from his world-wide search for my sister, Isabella Swan, the love of his life, and his almost certain imprint. I couldn't wait to tell him his search was over, and that my sister was in the next town over. But, I wasn't so excited to tell him that the love of his life was a fucking Cullen.

A/N: Well, I hope this made up for the lack of updating, and once again, I'm REALLY sorry for not updating in a looong time, I was just having a difficulty writing up this chapter, because it had a lot of important detail that I didn't want to exclude. So, what do you think of Nate being Bella's brother? And Jake's in La Push? *gasp* this is going to be verry dramatic and romantic and it could possibly include some innuendos soon. ;)

Anyways, PLEASE REVIEW! I would really love to know if I could do anything to improve or make this story better, and again, for those of y'all who like Criminal Minds, I've posted a recent story for my best friend who happens to be obsessed with Derek Morgan, so yeah, check it out if it pleases you! =)

xxx Black Rose xxx

HH