A/N: I do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.

Happy Anniversary! I can't believe I started I'm Not the One a year ago today. It seems like so long ago, but at the same time it feels like time has flown by! INtO was only the second story I'd ever written and now, a year later, I've written a total eight stories (with more in the works)!

I don't want to delay the chapter any longer than necessary, so I'll let you get to it! lol Thank you so, so much for your support of this story!

Oh, this chapter is unbeta'd. I wanted to get it out to you all as soon as possible, so please forgive any typos that may have slipped through. :)

"Is his flight delayed," Edward asked as we stood in the arrivals area at JFK.

"No, according to the arrivals sign, his plane landed 30 minutes ago."

Where the hell could he be?

Charlie was officially here, but hadn't emerged from the masses of people hugging, talking and greeting each other. Edward gave me a ride to the airport so we wouldn't' have to take a cab back in the city. I didn't even know Edward had a car until he offered me the ride last night.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o

"Yeah, I have a car. I just keep it parked in a friend's garage. There's no reason for me to drive it in the city, and I'm not going to get rid of it, so my buddy was nice enough to keep it for me."

"Man, you learn something new everyday."

Edward smirked and popped his imaginary collar.

"I know, man. I'm the shit."

I rolled my eyes and punched him in the arm.

"Yeah, a shitload of corniness."

o~o~o~o~o~o~o

Looking at my watch once again, I started to worry that Charlie may have missed his plane. Part of me hoped that was the case instead of him just deciding not to come, but he would have called if he missed his flight.

I turned to Edward and furrowed my brow. He looked at me and, in a rare moment, was completely serious for once. He looked just as worried as I did.

"What if he decided not come?"

Edward quickly tried to alleviate my fears.

"Jasper, you told me he was really excited to visit. Why would he just ditch you like that? From what you've told me, that's not the kind of man he is."

"But all the pain and worry I caused him… What if he decided it was better for me just to stay out of his life?"

Edward grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

"Jasper! Get a grip! You know that's bullshit! Just calm down and give him a call. He's probably just caught up at the baggage claim or stuck behind some old lady trying to get off the plane. Everything will be fine."

I blinked my eyes and few times and nodded my head. Pulling out my phone, I dialed his number and listened to it ring a few times before his voicemail kicked in.

"Fuck! He's not answering."

"Okay," Edward started, "we'll wait here a while longer and if he doesn't show up, give him another call. We'll track him down, Jasper. Don't worry."

I smiled meekly, thankful that Edward was here with me. If I'd been by myself I probably would have bolted by now. Also, I was glad to have him there to help buffer the inevitable awkwardness between me and Charlie.

Just when I was about to look at my watch again, I heard someone call my name from behind.

"Jasper?"

I quickly turned around and there stood Charlie. He looked exactly the same. Well, he had a little more gray at his temples and there were a few more wrinkles around his eyes, but he was just the same.

"Charlie," I said with a smile.

He tentatively walked closer to me and wrapped his arms around me. At first I felt weird, but then an overwhelming sense of relief overtook me and I hugged him back. I mean, really hugged him.

When he pulled back, his eyes were glassy and I had to clench my jaw in an effort to control my own emotions.

"I'm so happy to see you, son!"

"I'm glad you could make it. I was worried for a while because you're plane landed almost 40 minutes ago."

"Yeah, it took forever to get off the plane and then another eternity to grab my suitcase from the baggage claim. I knew I shouldn't have checked it."

"Jasper here was about ready to blow a gasket," Edward exclaimed while I groaned and shook my head.

"Um, Charlie, this is my dumba-, I mean dork of a friend, Edward."

Edward extended his hand and Charlie shook it happily.

"Nice to meet you, Edward."

"Nice to meet you, too! I'm so glad you finally showed. I thought Jasper was going to sit down and cry like a girl in a couple of minutes."

I quickly punched him in the gut, causing him to slightly double over and hold his stomach.

"He's such a jokester…who's going to get his ass kicked." I said the last part quiet enough that only Edward heard me, but he just smirked smugly.

Charlie looked back and forth between the two of us and laughed.

"You two remind me of me and buddy Carlisle when we were around your age. We used to get into so much trouble!"

"See," Edward chimed in, "Jasper seems to think I'm a nuisance, but he'd be lost without me."

"Whatever, man. You're a jerk off and a freak."

"But you love me anyway! Don't ya, sweetie?"

Edward wrapped his arm around my neck and leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. Before his lips made contact, and I really did blow a gasket, I pushed him away as he laughed so hard he had to sit on a nearby to catch his breath.

I looked at Charlie apologetically as he continued to laugh.

"So much like me and Carl it's scary."

"Yeah, well, why don't we get out of here," I asked in an effort to get out of the crowded airport and away from Edward's teasing.

"Sure, let's go," Charlie said. "I'm anxious to see your apartment and check out the city!"

As we walked to the car, I explained to Charlie how Edward and I met and that we live a few doors down from each other. Soon we were on the road and back into the city. The drive seemed to fly by as we both answered Charlie's questions about where we worked, what sort of trouble we get into in the city and what we'd be doing during his visit.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Edward dropped Charlie and me off at the apartment and went to go park his car and spend time with Angie. I was a little nervous because I'd been using Edward as a buffer for any sort of weirdness, but now that it was officially just me and Charlie, my nerves returned.

As we walked into my apartment, I apologized for it being a little cramped, but Charlie just brushed it off saying he understood that apartments in New York were small. He was happy to be here and spend time with me.

I'd be an ass if I didn't admit his words made me feel good inside. I gave Charlie a quick tour and asked him what he wanted to do first. It was still pretty early in the afternoon, so we still had a good portion of the day ahead of us.

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could just order something to eat and talk for a while."

Oh shit.

"Uh, okay."

Charlie moved to the couch and sat down.

"So, what have you been up to?"

"I told you all that in the car. I work at a bar and make pretty good money. Other than that, I pretty much keep to myself. Edward and I hang out, but I don't really have too many other friends."

"Anyone special in your life?"

I knew my face probably turned five shades of red and I wished the floor would just swallow me so I could disappear.

"Um…well…I…uh"

Charlie laughed and cut in, putting me out of my misery.

"It's okay, Jasper. I won't pry."

I nodded my head, relieved, and sat on the other side of the couch.

"You said you don't have many friends. Why is that?"

God, I guess we're not going to pussyfoot around the serious questions, are we?

"Because it's easier to keep people at a distance."

Charlie nodded his head as if what I was saying was common knowledge and the most normal thing in the world.

"I can't help but feel a responsible for that, Jasper."

Flabbergasted, I looked at him confused.

"Why the hell would you think that?"

"Because if I hadn't pushed you away after Renee's death, you may not feel the need to do the same."

Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair.

"Charlie, I'll admit that our…well, Renee's death definitely put a damper on our relationship, but it's not your fault that I don't like people. It may have contributed to it slightly, but it wasn't the reason."

"Even so, Jasper, the fact that my actions helped in making you not want to get close to people turns my stomach."

"It was my biological mom and step dad who did this to me, not you. They treated me like I was dirt and wasn't worth their time. They're the ones who abused me and thought it was funny to hurt a child. They're the ones who taught me not to trust people because they'll always stab you in the back eventually."

Charlie closed his eyes and shook his head. I knew this was hard for him to hear, but he needed this just as much as I did. I was never comfortable enough or even mentally prepared to tell him all of this when I was younger, and I didn't want him to think that his actions made me the person I am today. If anything, he and Renee saved me. I may be one fucked up individual now, but if they hadn't come into my life, I'd either be in jail or dead.

I spoke softly, "You and Renee saved me. I was in a very dark place when you two took me in. I know I wasn't the easiest person to live with, and I know I didn't show it, but I was so happy to be living with you; two people who loved each other and me as if were their very own. I knew neither of you would ever do something to intentionally hurt me. I can't say that about the woman who gave birth to me, or the men she chose to bring into her and my life who treated me even worse. I was just a burden, but with you, I was…wanted and loved."

I looked over at Charlie and his eyes looked like glass; tears on the fringe of falling.

"Jasper, I-I had no idea. We knew you had a rough time with your parents, but we never knew the extent of it."

"Please don't call those people my parents, Charlie. They were anything but. You and Renee are my parents."

"Son, I'm so sorry for how I acted. I was grieving and never, ever meant to take out my pain on you. I feel as though my actions somehow made you feel rejected again and I hope you'll forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive. I'll admit that your words stung, but it was mostly my pride that didn't allow me to listen to you or see you when you came to Peter's house looking for me. I guess I figured that without me there you could deal with your loss better."

"But that's where you're wrong, Jasper. I needed you more than ever at that time. I'd just lost my wife, the love of my life, and I needed my son to help me get through that rough time. Instead, I pushed you away, which, in turn, caused you to push me and others away."

I couldn't really argue with his theory, so I just nodded my head in agreement.

"Looks like we really made a mess of things, didn't we," he asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess we did."

"So what made you decide to call me after all this time."

I sighed and rubbed my hand against the back of my neck trying to figure out how to best explain what was going on in my life at the time.

"Well, I'd basically just told Edward to fuck off and that I didn't need him or anyone else in my life. Like I said, he's pretty much the only friend I have and I exploded and said some really shitty things to him when he was trying to help me."

"Why was he trying to help?"

I really didn't want to have to tell him about my flashback at the bowling alley, but I couldn't lie.

"Um, we were bowling and I suddenly had a flashback of the fight you and I had and almost had a panic attack. He ran after me asking me what was wrong and I told him to basically leave me the fuck alone and he did. He stopped talking to me for a week. I thought he'd just burst into my apartment one day and pretend nothing happened, but that wasn't the case."

Charlie listened intently as I continued.

"If it wasn't for Alice, I'd probably still have my head up my ass and mad at the world."

"Alice? Who's Alice?"

At the sound of her name, a smile slowly crept across my face.

"She's the person who convinced me to make things right with Edward and contact you."

"Really? She must be one hell of a woman."

My face heated as I thought about just how great she is…and how great he lips felt against mine.

"Yeah. You'll meet her in a day or two."

"Great! I want to shake this gal's hand."

Laughing at Charlie's usage of the word 'gal' in 2011, I was caught off guard when I felt him pull me in for hug.

"Thank you for allowing me into your life again. I've missed my son."

"I've missed you too, Dad."