On Cold Desert:
Non-canon.
Rated T.
Music heavily influences Cold Desert.
Setting: (The most unlikely of places for any vampire to frequent) McDonalds, Walmart, and a Motel 6.
Disclaimer: I do not, in fact, own Twilight. This should not be surprising.
BELLA'S POV
Chapter 7.
My stomach growled as ferociously as…well, an angry vampire.
Jasper's lips turned up in the corners. He reached for the volume knob on the stereo, turning it down until the thunderous drum beats of The Scorpions faded into a faint pulse. It was nearly sacrilege.
"It's nothing," I assured him hastily. "I'm really not hungry." Just then my stubborn human insides betrayed me, issuing forth an obnoxious whine. I offered the blonde immortal a shrug and casually reached for the stereo. He gently tugged my hand away and wheeled us into a wide arc, heading for the nearest fast food restaurant. Yellow arches against a red background caught my eye and I groaned, leaning my head tiredly against the seat.
"Jasper I don't want to stop. I'm having too much fun."
He appraised me with a heavy-lidded gaze, his black eyes probing. "Really? I am, too. But we don't need to stay in the car to have fun. Actually, I'm going fairly stir-crazy. And…we," he said, clearly referring to vampires, "Are usually content with stillness. So you and I are getting out of this accursed vehicle, or you might just become collateral damage."
I raised my eyebrows, shocked. "You're hungry, too?"
He laughed. "A little. Mostly I just wanted you to admit you're hungry." He chuckled. The sound was sandpaper over wood.
His hand had never left my own. I dimly realized the sensation was pleasant. Too pleasant.
Drawing in a shaky breath I waited for him to remove his palm from mine.
Jasper threw the Mercedes into park. He looked at me. His eyes slid out of focus and my heart stopped. It was-
Hands, trailing along the low waistband of my jeans, writhing, the small car confining, uncomfortable position against the inner console, windows fogging, lips migrating from ears to collar, snakeskin boots on the dash-
"Bella?"
Jasper's voice brought me back to reality. I shook myself. Whatever that had been- a vision, a hallucination- I had liked it far too much.
---
McDonalds was an American staple, and I admitted to Jasper in the line that I liked the restaurant. Sure, it was greasy and fattening but the food stuck to your ribs and tasted great going down.
I was ravenous.
"So, what'll it be?" Jasper asked me, removing his thick wallet from the back pocket of his faded Levi's. I knew better than to argue over who should foot the bill.
"A Big-Mac, a large fry, an apple pie, and a coke. Please."
He nodded at the cashier. "You heard the woman."
Jazz handed me my cup and I went to find a table. He came back with my food and I wolfed it down. In between bites of burger and bread, I interrogated him.
"Where are we going next?"
"I have no idea."
"Are we checking into a motel? It's almost dark."
"Possibly."
"Are you being deliberately difficult?
He grinned. "Yes."
"Finally," I grumbled. "A straight answer."
"Let's pick up some food for the road. There's a grocery store in the shopping center across the street. What do you want?"
I choked on my Coke in my haste to answer. "Blueberry pop-tarts!"
We walked around the Super-Walmart for a solid hour. I think we just enjoyed the time out of the Mercedes. I wondered why- or perhaps how- Jasper could be restless. He was a vampire, and from what I knew of them they did not tire of routine easily. I supposed he was different from his kind and kin in that aspect as well. Would the dissimilarities never cease? My mind was spinning; it was if I had to now re-learn everything I thought I knew about the 'undead'.
I glanced at him. His tawny kind of loveliness was odd to me in this light. He seemed unreal, without form or substance. Once, I tried to touch him, aching, and masked the motion by reaching past him for a box of raisins. I was embarrassed. But I inhaled, and then casually placed the cardboard container in the cart and took his right palm in my left. My cheeks flamed; the contact was almost too intimate for me to bear.
I attempted to play it off carelessly- and of course, tripped over my own two feet and into a laundry detergent display. Damn gravity to hell.
Jasper caught me with an elegant, extending motion that made my breath stop in my throat. He was all limbs, long arms and longer legs. Wiry, barely contained…like a wild cat pacing in a cage at the zoo.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine, except for my wounded ego," I muttered. Unknowingly, I waited for him to pass along a comment about my own pained statement. But he remained silent, simply smiling, and re-gluing his hand to mine.
Another difference between him and the rest of the coven I'd come to love: no other Cullen or Hale would have skipped over that opportunity to either tease me or lecture me on the importance of self-confidence.
"Anything else?"
I pondered his question. "Well, there is one other thing."
He ran his free hand through his tousled mane. "Alright, what is it and where can we find it?" He chuckled, though it seemed as if the sound didn't come naturally or easily to him. And I desperately wanted it to.
"Do as I do," I demanded. I dropped his hand and hopped onto the back of our shopping cart. "Get a running start!" I called, and then gained momentum…rolling…flying…down the convenient handicap ramps and back up onto level ground. Or tile, really.
I screamed with pleasure, with fear and adrenaline. I knew instinctually he was behind me, beside me. Soon he was inside of me and we were no longer two separate beings. His emotions swelled out to include me in their swirl, and I could sense my own consuming him; the expression on his face tore my world apart. I had never felt like this. Connected, we zoomed through the aisles, but in our minds we were in a different, better place…
There were snow-topped mountains in the distance, and desert sands rising and falling like a great wave. Then, it was only heat and fever and heart and tears. The moon broke apart. We cut it up into well-proportioned slices and swallowed them whole. A coyote howled somewhere, most likely stage left, and we drifted on the notes of its hunger and happiness…
The manager eventually received word of our childish escapades. He allowed us to pay for the items in our cart, but ultimately, we were escorted from the premises. Laughing the entire time, Jasper and I must have been quite a sight.
Later, he went hunting. I stayed in the car on the side of the road as he dove into the woods and resurfaced forty-five minutes later. His eyes were a light, buttery gold when he returned.
I welcomed him back with a touch of my fingers to his leg and soon I fell asleep, dreaming of shopping carts and feelings.
My head was in his lap when I awoke. We were sliding into a parking space at a hotel.
"I hope you don't mind Motel 6," he said, chortling.
"Not at all," I answered, blushing as he took my hand and helped me from the car. This scene, to any on-looking passerby, would undoubtedly cast heavy connotations. I couldn't refrain from thinking with disappointment that those views would be all too false.
We checked into a room. Singular. There were two beds. Immediately, I jumped in the shower. I felt disgusting in more ways than one; I certainly didn't want Jasper to pick up on what I was feeling right at this instant. Though as I removed my jeans and shirt, I wondered if it made any difference. He could 'read' me more than Edward-
Pain, immediate pain. It shot through my body and I bent over, clutching my waist. Gritting my teeth, I tried not to scream.
It all happened so quickly; one moment I was on the floor in agony, and the next, I was in Jasper's strong arms. As abruptly as it had come, the discomfort vanished. He smelled like a sort of…military Santa Claus. I bit back a chuckle.
"Bella?" he asked incredulously.
I continued to laugh, and then realized I was in a scandalous state of undress. I scrambled to free myself from him.
He let me go, sitting back on his haunches and tilting his head. I grabbed a towel and hastily tied it around my body.
"You know," Jasper told me, his golden eyes flashing, and white teeth brilliantly illuminated in the ultra-fine, ultra-white hotel lighting, "I've never noticed before but…" He shook his head, as if enjoying some secret joke.
Instantly, my anger flared. He was making fun of me! Affronted, I turned from him and began fiddling furiously with the tiny shampoo bottles.
Then, his cool hand was on the exposed small of my back, and I was pressing into him, inhaling the unique fragrance of him, all anger forgotten. He moved his fingers along my spine and I stiffened. Just like the hallucination from earlier, in the Mercedes, I liked the sensation too much.
I think I whispered something. I'm not sure what I said. But, too quickly for my human eyes to catch, he was gone.
'Don't think about it, don't think about him.'
Even to myself, I wasn't sure whom I was referring to.
The stinging, semi-stale water of the shower beat down upon me like sunlight, warm Arizona rays, and I longed for something familiar. My memory was only too happy to oblige me.
I cried a little there, in the Motel 6 shower. I allowed the memories to run their course. It was Edward, and we were happy and in love.
Yet I also cried because threatening to pierce the once-constant flow of Edward's name, Jasper's interfered. Then it was the almond shape of his eyes, and his long, smooth mane of hair. And his voice, and scent, and feel.
I knew now that this trip, urged on by the need to escape Forks, was making me feel more than I'd ever wanted…
From outside the shower's noise and the small bathroom walls I could hear the sound of a stereo thumping to life, and with it my heart restarted its own rhythm.
"I've been in love before" by The Cutting Crew played, and I smiled; Jasper had always been one for irony.
A/N:
Sorry once again for the delay in updating. To be honest I was waiting to see if perhaps more reviews would come my way. Alas, they did not.
I'm not going to bitch about revs this chapter...if you're an author you understand the importance of critiques and praise. All I'm gonna stress is that my dedication to this story wavers more each day- so if you genuinely like Cold Desert...some decent revs (or even reccs) would go a long way.
Thank you again to those of you that DID review Chapter 6. And to all the new readers, welcome aboard! I hope you enjoy the ride.
Also, thank you for the song reccomendations. They were all extremely helpful and I'm planning on using a few in CD.
Specifically, I'd like to acknowledge J. DRAST for taking the time to PM me about CD. She was concerned I had stopped writing the story. Well, I didn't. This one's for you. I'm flattered someone would care so much about my story.
Let me know what you think about this chappie. It's sort of a turning point for Bella, when she realizes she's attracted to Jasper. (Who wouldn't be? Can I get an 'amen?')
REVIEW!