Wakin' up the devil, rattlin' the cage inside of me

I miss him a little;

When he gets out, we're one hell of a team

I know I ought to leave him locked upand throw away the key.

Waking Up the Devil / Hinder

. . .

The week passed by in a blur for Bella; classes mushed together, conversations blended into one muted mess. Her brain was preoccupied by one thing. Jasper. No one seemed to notice her absentmindedness throughout the week, not even Edward, who was always painfully aware of her lies. She figured that he - and Alice - must be preoccupied with Jasper as well.

Finally, Sunday rolled around. Edward was out hunting with Esme and Alice, both of whom needed to take their minds off of Jasper. Edward had gone mostly because Bella had all but kicked him out of her house. Stupid boy. The whole thing was stressful on the family, but particularly the motherly vampire and the pixie-like wife of Jasper.

It was two in the morning when Bella made the decision to get out of the house. For two hours previously, she had been tossing and turning, trying to get to sleep, trying to clear her mind, her body temperature never quite right. That didn't help the fact that no matter how hard she tried, her mind would not shut up.

Drip, drip, drip.

Jasper, Jasper, Jasper.

She would have been perfectly fine, had it not been hot. She could deal with being at a comfortable temperature and not sleeping, but hot and not sleeping? No, sir. Getting to her feet, Bella pulled on a pair of skinny jeans, tucking in the edges of the button-down shirt loosely into the waistband. Grabbing her boots, Bella quietly stole out of the house, expertly bouncing from one safe spot to another, carefully avoiding the loud squeaks that riddled the old house.

Finally, Bella was sliding into the the silky smooth leather driver's seat of the Volvo. Why exactly Edward had trusted her enough to leave her with his baby, she had no idea, but she was thankful, so thankful. Mostly because her truck would have been painfully loud and probably would have woken Charlie, but also because her truck was starting to die out on her, unfortunately, and she was having trouble starting it.

x x x

Ten minutes later, after driving through the densely forested and snaked roads of Forks, Bella pulled up in front of the Cullen house. (She honestly wasn't really sure what had taken her there. Safe to say that it was not her conscious mind. Her subconscious reminded her quickly why she was there. Drip, drip, drip. Jasper, Jasper, Jasper.) As she fully pulled the car to a stop, shifting the gears into park, Carlisle's familiar blonde head poked out of the house in surprise, the coach lights flicking on. When he saw Bella, Carlisle was almost instantly at her door, opening it up.

"Are you all right, Bella?" he asked in concern, his tired eyes sweeping the forest nervously, as though he was looking for someone who had followed her.

Bella quickly shut off the car, pocketing the key as she got out. Rather than locking the doors, she shrugged at Carlisle, starting to walk in. "It's two in the morning, and I'm awake. You're a doctor." In retrospect, seconds later, she realized that she shouldn't have been so sharp. Sighing slightly, Bella turned back to Carlisle, giving him a small smile. "I'm all right. No creepy ghouls or anything following me."

With her less hostile correction, Carlisle relaxed, smiling easily at her, seeming to perk up with her presence. "Good, good." Stepping ahead of her, he ran his fingers through his hair, opening the door for her.

Giving a mock curtsey, Bella walked in, murmuring her thanks. As soon as Bella walked into the Cullen house, a stiffness, a coldness settled in her bones. The tension in the air was palpable; she could practically taste it.

"Jesus christ," she mumbled to herself.

Out of nowhere, Rosalie and Emmett appeared from the left, and Bella practically jumped out of her skin, stumbling back slightly to Carlisle, who caught her with a chuckle. The coldness, the hatred in Rosalie's brandy-colored eyes was clear as she looked at Bella.

"Do you have a death wish?" she asked icily before brushing past.

Bella blinked slightly, a small smile twitching at her lips. Well, actually. Before she could say something that she regretted, Emmett gave her an apologetic grimace before traipsing after his wife. Clearing her throat quietly, Bella turned her dark eyes up to Carlisle, studying him as his eyes followed the figures of his 'daughter' and 'son' into the family room.

"Where is he?" There was no question as to who he was.

"Upstairs, but Bella, I don't think you sh-" But before Carlisle could finish his warning, Bella had already started up the stairs, having walked away half through.

"Thanks," she muttered under her breath, knowing full well that Carlisle could hear.

Carlisle collapsed into one of the large club chairs in the living room, rubbing his temples tiredly. Rosalie studied him analytically, and Emmett gently rubbed her knee, trying to get her to calm down. There was no calming down, though, in a situation like that.

"He'll kill her," Rosalie said simply.

"And Edward will flip his shit," her husband added with a delighted chuckle.

"No one is killing anyone," Carlisle said sharply. "We'll stop it before it becomes that advanced."

"He's been fine for the past week, with Bella gone. We have no idea how he'll react to her." Rosalie ran her fingers through her hair, nervousness in the human gesture. It was not worry for Bella, but rather for her pseudo-brother. She was not a person that got close to very many people, and she did genuinely care for Jasper. A very rare thing.

"The door's locked." Carlisle reached across and gently patted Rosalie's knee, giving it a small squeeze. "She will be fine."

Upstairs, the sound of a door opening was heart. Tension settled over the household again, each of the vampires' eyes turning up to the ceiling.

. . .

It had taken Bella a bit of wandering to find the room that Jasper was in, but it was quite easy to spot, as the walls surrounding were a bit torn up from - no doubt - Jasper's struggles after she had left. However, the door leading to where he was, unlike the surrounding area, was perfectly pristine. Almost like the eye of the storm.

Inside, Jasper perked, a smirk tugging at his lips. He could tell by the tone of the emotions on his pallet that it was Bella outside his door. That, and of course, the heartbeat. But it was mostly the sharpness, the sweetness in her emotions, how much different they were from any he had ever experienced. Typically, emotions were quite flat, one-dimensional, the person only capable of feeling one at a time. It got exceptionally boring, particularly in a high-school setting. Lust, lust, lust, angst, lust, lust, lust. More lust.

Bella's emotions were quite different. Although he hadn't experienced her full spectrum of emotions, nor had he been close enough to her to identify each by its texture, he knew they were special. Very special. Like nothing he'd ever felt or tasted. He made him hungry not only to get to know her, the reasoning behind her emotions, but also to feel, to experience them all. It would be a trip unlike any other.

Slowly, the door creaked open, and Jasper stiffened slightly, taking a slow, deep breath as Bella walked into the room, her scent assaulting his senses with aggression.

"Jasper?" Bella prompted quietly, stepping further into the room, her eyes scanning across the well-furnished study in surprise. Like Carlisle's, it housed floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, absolutely piled full of leather-bound books. Despite the light furniture in the rest of the Cullen household, Jasper's study was furnished in deep, rich colors. Calming and warm, much like him.

Staying silent, Jasper let his eyes follow Bella as she ventured in front of him, not noticing him in the large, wing-backed chair. Of course she wouldn't; he had no need for human scuttling. Finally, Bella turned about, her heartbeat freezing for a moment as she gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth in shock before her heart took off at a breakneck speed. The taste of her shock laid against Jasper's system, making him shudder. Like fireworks. Sharp and bright, a jolt to his system, light lightening. Shock was an emotion that was often very missed among the vampire community. With their enhanced hearing and sight, it was easy to take the surprise out of fun activities.

"Fucking christ," Bella swore, her fingers running through her hair as she calmed down.

A lazy chuckle left Jasper's lips, and he gestured to the chair across from him. "Take a seat."

Arching a brow, Bella leaned against the aforementioned seat, her arms crossing. Suspicion like wildfire spread from Bella, rapidly invading Jasper's senses, bringing his lips up further at either edge. An almost smile. "I think I'm good," she informed him somewhat sassily, her ankles crossing.

"That you are," Jasper murmured absently, his eyes - somewhat darker than she had last seen - raking along her long legs that were hugged by her dark washed skinny jeans.

"Are you planning on humping my legs or something?" Bella looked at him with an arched brow, an expression of disgust on her face.

Before Jasper could properly control himself, before Bella could register what was happening, she was being shoved abruptly up against the wall behind her, Jasper's leg between her legs, pinning her effectively with his body. A sharp gasp left her lips, her brown eyes doe wide as she looked up to the crimson-eyed vampire that towered over her. Her plump, pink lips were parted with shock, her breath caught in her throat. Inside her chest, her heart hammered, and Jasper's eyes darkened.

Leaning down, Jasper ran his nose along her jaw, and Bella trembled softly underneath him. Her breath resumed, shaky and shallow. Growling softly, Jasper cupped her face roughly in his hands, his now-blackening eyes staring intently into hers. Bella stood, transfixed, unable to tear her eyes away from Jasper, her chest heaving with the effort of having to control her breathing, calm her heart.

"So fucking sweet," Jasper groaned softly, his head dropping to her shoulder. His fingers relinquished their hold in her face, instead finding purchase in her soft locks, tugging her head back, exposing her throat. Slowly, Jasper pressed his nose to her thudding vein, a half-pained groan leaving his lips.

Bella whimpered softly in response, biting at her bottom lip, trying to calm herself down. Inside, she was conflicted. She was scared, yes (That wall had not built itself up again.) but something else. Something, something.

Satisfied. She was satisfied. It was like her body was screaming: finally. Then an echo of a thought from earlier traipsed through her brain. Something was missing. And it hit her. That "something". It was adrenaline pumping through her veins. It was excitement; it was something new, something fresh. It was feeling things that she had never felt before, experiencing new things, not knowing what was coming next.

And that "thing" was danger.

The front door burst opened, and Edward's distinct roar rang out, trembling the house to its core. Suddenly, Jasper was pulled away from her, his eyes still on her, his eyes dark. Bella held her ground, her eyes wide, still on Jasper's. Edward came in front of her, his hands gently cupping her face, his soft fingers dancing across her heated skin, soothing her verbally. Bella didn't even spare him a glance; she was intent on Jasper.

She had gotten what she had wanted; she had gotten danger. And now that her body had had a taste, it wanted more. It craved it.

Bella still hadn't registered what had happened with Jasper when she was being pulled out of the room by Edward. Carlisle was in front of them, his eyes worriedly on the human who seemed to be in shock.

"Bel-"

Raising a hand, Bella shook her head, letting her eyes close. While she regained herself, Bella kept her hand suspended, taking a deep breath. It took her brain a solid two minutes (The fact that Edward was practically vibrating at her side was not helping one bit.) to get through all the emotions, all the thoughts from Jasper's incident, to finally comprehend what had happened. Then another thirty seconds later, her brain finally caught up with her body, and she dropped her hand.

"I'm fine. He didn't hurt me," she reassured, rolling her shoulders back, wincing softly at the soft pops that rippled along her joints.

"Why were you even up at this time?" Edward demanded, running his fingers through his hair.

Although Bella knew that his irritation was only out of worry, she couldn't help but bridle. "No one would tell me anything. I spent all fucking week thinking through the different scenarios that could have happened that I wouldn't have known about. I've hardly even gotten any sleep. Honestly, it wasn't to make sure Jasper was all right, that he was alive. It was so I could finally get some goddamn sleep."

So, that last part was a lie; she had come to make sure that Jasper was alive and well - or as well as he could be - but that wasn't something Edward, who was looking quite startled at her outburst, had to know.

Without another word, Bella brushed past Edward, dropping his keys into his hands that had been outstretched no doubt for her. When she was finally safely in the plush leather seats of the Volvo, Bella let her mind relax, willing it to stop being so full. Within seconds, she was dead asleep. Finally.

x x x

Monday morning, Bella did not awake to her typical school day alarm, Edward's voice murmuring at her to awake. Instead, it was her phone, making little noises that meant that she had a text message. Sighing softly, Bella opened her eyes, a large yawn passing through her lips. Reaching around her bed, a frown came to her lips; the bed was lukewarm, a sign that Edward wasn't - and hand't been - there. Grumbling quietly to herself, Bella sat up, feeling around as she blinked the sleep from her eyes, finally finding her phone in her bedside table. As she rubbed her eyes tiredly, Bella blindly opened up her phone, yawning largely.

There were twenty-two unread messages. Fucking seriously? Twenty-one of them were from an unfamiliar number, and one was from Edward, telling her that he had left early to go and finish hunting briefly with Alice. Bella scrolled through the rest of the messages, finally deciphering who it was. Jasper. Curiously, Bella responded to his texts.

Jesus, Jasper. Humans do this fancy thing called sleep.

"Oh, do they really now?" From the window came a deep, rumbling voice with a lazy Southern drawl.


A/N: Hello, all. So, I've decided that I'll be updating - at the most - every monday, wednesday, and friday. Sorry that this is so late.

A. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS. Every time that I saw that I had email about reviews, it absolutely made my day. I hope that you all will like this story as well.

B. The results of the question from last week: Nearly unanimously, choice C was chosen. However, I had quite a few requests for a mixture of C with either A or B. I won't tell you how yet (Spoilers!) but know that some different sides of Jasper are going to be playing in the future, not just strictly C.

C. In regards to the poll about the story title: the final three have been chosen. You have until tomorrow this time to put your vote in before I change the story title permanently.

D. Due to popular request, I will not be deleting the "original" of this story. I have made it clear that it will not be finished, and have left it.

Until next time,

Claire