Chapter 2

My Story

*This isn't actually in the original, but I totally forgot that she what she was wearing in the original, so Ima have her change into that outfit. Please excuse my stupidity ^-^;

"Ohh!", I gasped looking at his scars. My instincts reacted and I went on the defensive. He didn't move but held a somber expression, as though he was used to this. It took a few seconds before I could relax myself and move toward the bed. "I'll be back," I said looking down at my dress. "I'm going to change into something more casual."*

I stood and danced over to the bathroom, where my clothes hung on the opposite side. I dressed quickly in the large bathroom, wanting to get back to him as soon as I could. When I came out he was sitting against the head board waiting patiently, stroking one of the scars on his hand. I smiled at him, my body flowing with excitement to get to know him more. I sat on the bed and pulled my legs underneath me. My long white skirt that I had changed into flowed like a fountain over my legs. I was hoping he didn't think I was too casual…

When I smiled at him again his face contorted in confusion and he blurted out "Who are you?" He wasn't rude, but understandably confused. I sighed; I was always forgetting how it must be for others to communicate with me. "I'm sorry. I am Alice…Hmm…I hadn't considered how to explain this to you," I said more to myself than to him.

"What's your name?" I asked suddenly excited. I'd finally know his name…after so long, I'd be able to pair his breathtaking face with a name just a smooth. "I always imagined it would be something…something strong, like William or…," I signaled for him to finish my sentence for me. He seemed to pick up the cue.

"I'm Jasper Whitlock. I'm very pleased to meet you Miss Alice."

He reached forward and took my tiny hand in his massive one and pressed his lips to my hand gently. His action had made him scoot forward toward me. There was a burning sensation where his lips had touched my skin. I was suddenly nervous, unsure of what do to. The look in his eyes made me calm. He was so…sweet. Remarkably, he was gentle, tender even.

"I'm…Do I know you, Miss Alice?" he asked me. I laughed at Jasper's question. Of course he didn't know me, and he probably knew this. He was so polite! I placed my index finger over my lips, contemplating how to word my response. "No, no Jasper…Jasper." I probably shouldn't have said his second name out loud. It was like magic, saying his name. It sent a quick shiver down my spine.

"But I know you…Sort of…I know I'm confusing you Jasper so I will just start at the beginning." A tiny wave of apprehension spread through me. What if he didn't like my story? What if he left? I bit my lip, still contemplating, but he was waiting.

"I came to Philadelphia to find you. I saw you at the diner–"

"What do you mean you saw me?" he interrupted. I winced out of my own incompetence. I looked at him apologetically, "I saw a picture of you…in my head. I have been seeing things these last couple…hmm, maybe two years, could be more." I used a casual tone, not sure he was getting frustrated…

"Miss Alice," he said, the confusion still evident in his sweet southern accent. "When you say you see things, do you mean that's your gift? That you…what? See the future?" Gift? Other people could see the future too?! I smiled widely, excitement flowing through me. Then confusion struck. Why hadn't Jasper seen me coming?

"My gift? What do you mean? Yes I do see the future, but what do you mean my gift?"

He looked at me suspiciously. I swallowed, saliva collecting in my mouth. "How old are you?"

I hesitated, unsure how to answer… Thinking of the past made me…sad…depressed. I didn't enjoy think about the nothingness… "I don't know…I can only remember from about two years ago in Louisville, Kentucky." Jasper looked at me, not with suspicion but with confusion.

"Who created you?" he prodded deeper into my empty blank past. "I don't know, I don't know any others like me."

He was stunned, his jaw was slightly slack and he stared at me as if I had three eyes…it was unnerving… "So you've never met any other vampires?" That somewhat brought my spirits up. A vampire, that's what I was. I'd had a hunch for a while but reassurance was nice…

"So I'm a vampire then…I thought so. Hmm… no, you are the first one that I have ever met." I was confused by that face he was making that was somewhere between frustration and awestruck. I was growing more uncomfortable by the moment as he continued to stare at me.

"What do you remember?" The moment he spoke I was calmed…odd…

"Well…I woke up on the ground in a lonely alley. It was night. My throat was dry and parched and something smelled really good." Thinking back to my first memory always made me cringe…The shame was overwhelming. I just hated myself for hurting him… "There was a man on the top of the street and before I could think about what I was doing…" I stopped, the shame too powerful to continue. Jasper seemed to understand where I was going.

"Yes, you fed from him and then what?" he pressed, desperate to hear more. I couldn't believe he actually wanted to know about me…about my life. I was shocked that he actually…wanted to know. I felt…special. Wanted. Something I had never ever felt.

"Then I saw something," I continued, trying with all my might not to get lost in his deep red eyes.

"You had a vision?" he asked, anticipation building in his beautiful baritone voice.

"Yes," I mused. "A vision. I saw you. You killed a man, jut like I had…well you didn't make as much of a mess as I did." He smiled at this and I caught my breath. Though I'd seen visions on him smiling it was more than I'd imagined seeing it in person. He was…amazing. The smile added amazing warmth to his persona and made my dormant heart feel as though it would explode.

"I knew…I knew then that I was different from the man that I had killed, from the man you killed…but I knew that I was the same…as you." I looked into his eyes and saw that they were soft, gentle, full of wonder. I smiled kindly at him, wondering if he could feel the warmth that pulsed through my being as his hand gripped mine. He seemed to stop everything and go blank. We he finally snapped back to reality he asked more.

"What else?"

"Right after, I had another…vision… I saw this family; a man, a woman, two boys, and a girl…in their teens. They had the strangest yellow eyes, almost gold. They were hunting in a forest, they were hunting bears."

He frowned at me. "Hunting…bears…?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes, yes, hunting bears. I learnt their names when they spoke to each other, the father is Carlisle, the mother is Esme, and their children are Emmett, Edward and Rosalie."

"Add these people…they were vampires?" he asked still not convinced.

"Oh yes yes, they are just like us…only…different…" I said. I smiled at the thought of them, they looked so happy. "Right then and there, I snapped back to reality. I saw the man in my arms, I saw the blood on my hands, my shirt…and…" I stopped. My chest suddenly felt heavy. I was sick with self disgust.

"I couldn't believe I'd killed a man, he was just about twenty two and the rose he was carrying was thrown on the ground a few feet away. I was appalled at myself!" My voice cracked and I hung my head low with self loath. I felt Jasper squeeze my hand gently, encouragingly.

I felt myself calm and I continued the story… "I wanted to cry, but I found that I couldn't, there were no tears. I didn't know what to do. I ran away as fast as I could, and that was very fast! I tried to figure out my situation, I tried to figure out what I was but, I might as well have tried to bring that man back to life!" I frowned thinking back… "I couldn't remember my surname, or where I lived or who were my parents or what I was doing lying on the street. I couldn't remember anything! Nothing!" I tried to calm myself again. It was oddly easy this time.

"So what did you do then?" Jasper inquired. He was still shockingly intent on hearing my story.

"I thought about what I had seen Carlisle do…and I had another vision. Carlisle and Emmett were in the forest…hunting."

-excerpt from Soprano and Bass-

"There were others," Carlisle said.

"Damn, what do you think are the chances that they are vegetarian vampires," Emmett asked.

"There are very few that live our way, Emmett, very few have a conscience, we should leave immediately, we don't want to run into any nomads," he replied.

"Aww, I never get to fight anybody, Edward cheats and Rose is well…a girl," Emmett grimaced.

"Emmett, a fight can end in death, and killing is not right, no matter if you rid the world of a bloodthirsty vampires, so calm down. I think its time we return home."

"That when I realized what I was…a vampire." I stopped then my voice swelled with pride. "I also realized that I didn't have to kill people. There was a forest North-East of Louisville. I went there immediately, I was afraid…of myself. I was alone and didn't know what to do, so I stayed just far enough so that I couldn't smell the people. I hated being alone in the forest but the dark didn't bother me so much, I could sill see.

"I concentrated a lot on Carlisle and his family, learning what they did; they were my company all those times. I saw how they could interact with people, they trained themselves not to kill people and it gave me hope that I could still be me – though I didn't know who that was – but still. I decided to be like them. I stayed away from people for many months and soon I found that it got easier to be nearer to then, but only when I was full, when I had hunted. I was still too afraid to go too near though…" I stopped them breathed in deeply, I knew what came next. What had happened after that…That was something I wouldn't include in my life story…

"I don't know how long it was before I had another vision of you, you were getting on a train to Pittsburg."

He nodded, following along. "That was six months ago," he added as if I needed reassurance.

I nodded and continued. "I decided that I needed to venture out if I was going to do anything at all. I couldn't just stay in the forest. So I went into town. My throat felt raw and, in the beginning, I could only stand minutes at a time. I persisted though; I was encouraged by what I saw in my visions of Emmett and Edward .I got better at it and began concentrating on you."

I smiled shyly, secretly thankful that I couldn't blush. "I figured out that my visions were of the future and so, I figured you had to be a part of my future as well." I saw Jasper stiffen. Had I offended him? Had I said something wrong? I continued not wanting to dwell…

"I figured that I had to find you, you first because you were the first one that I had seen. So I started paying attention to you. I saw you in Pittsburgh then, you got on a train to Philadelphia. I made my decision then, I stole some money and got on a train to come and find you. I held my breath the entire way there. I arrived two weeks ago, my visions got clearer and I would see you coming into a diner. I spent my time figuring out which diner it was. When I did the visions got so clear that I could tell how long before you would arrive. I waited and then you came. That's my story," I sighed, relieved that it was over…

I patted Jasper's hand and leaned back against the pillows. He seemed a little more relaxed now and so did I awkwardly.

"I am amazed at your level of self-control. Newborns," he stopped and explained for me. I'm sure my confusion was clearly scripted across my face…

"New vampires, newborns, are wild; it's a good thing you were able to get to that forest quickly. The coven you spoke of, the family of vampires, they are probably not related as you seem to think. They're just a group."

"Oh," I said not fully convinced. They were much too close to be just 'a group'.

"And, you have fed recently, your eyes are bright, where did you find animals here?" My eyes went wide and I forced myself to look away from Jasper's beautiful face. The self loathing flowed through me again.

"I didn't…I had no time to leave to find a forest. The man came so close to me and I inhaled at the same time…I can't believe I did it again! That was two days ago," I couldn't bring myself to look at his expression. It was so…humiliating…

I finally looked up at him, full of remorse. "It's nice to know somebody like me," I confessed truthfully. I had told my story, now I wanted to know more about Jasper, "So tell me about you. Why do you have all these scars?"

His face contorted. It was obvious that he didn't want to discuss it. I deep pool of rejection filled my stomach, it felt so wrong. His expression softened and he extended his arms in front of me. "My scars…" his sentence was left hanging as he twisted them so I could see more.

I looked in awe at his arm. I gripped it and traveled slowly up his body, examining each bright burning scar. My eyes darted to his throat, more scars. "More…?" I asked amazing. How could there possibly be more scars? Desperate to see the rest of the blemishes I slipped his black sweater over his head and set it in a crumpled pile next to us.

I leaned in to examine them up close. I ran my fingertips carefully across every inch of his neck. I slowly slid my hands to his jaw line. I sat amazed by the hundreds of scars that covered his chest. I leaned in even closer, running one hand across his collarbone.

I felt something in my hair then…his hand…? I looked up at him then, examining his eyes. What was he thinking…Oh I wish I knew… I leaned back then, realizing the awkward position between us. If I could have blushed, my face would have been as red as blood. I pushed the thought out blood out of my mind. How silly of me to even think about something like that now.

"How did you get those?" I whispered, still determined to find out. I saw him grimaced and began pouting. He wouldn't tell me. Then again, why would he? We were only acquaintances; there was no reason for him to tell me anything. But I couldn't help the feeling that was overwhelming me. In an odd way, he needed me. I could see it. I cared so desperately for Jasper and I could see that he felt it.

His grimace slowly morphed into a tight line. My insides churned into a knot of anxiety. He was going to tell me.

Please review. And once again please read the original. It's so much better. I love you all.

Please take my pole, I really really really need to know what you guys would like me to work on. If I don't know I'm just gonna wing it.

~Megumi Tsukazu