Again, I thank my beta Dazzle Me Again!

Thanks for your reviews, guys! They really keep a writer motivated!

DISCLAIMER FOR THE ENTIRE STORY: I do not, and never will, own any of the rights to the Twilight Saga.

***

Previously: I smiled at him regardless, and I crawled into bed. Not long after that, I fell into a peaceful sleep.

***

Chapter Three: Lies and Deceit

I woke up thinking that the previous night had been all a dream. I remembered Jasper coming unexpectedly, and me begging him to stay, but I wasn't sure if I had been conscious for all of that. I sat up slowly, and glanced around my room looking for some sign that Jasper had really been here—I found none. Disappointed, I got up, stretched my limbs, and started to make my bed. While straightening my pillow, I found an envelope addressed to me in fancy script. I opened it, and in a small piece of paper it read;

Bella,

I'm sorry I left, but I needed to hunt.

If I'm not back before you awaken, then I'm sorry.

I should be back soon.

Yours truly, Jasper.

I was instantly calmed, as if Jasper had used his ability on me. Once again, he had inadvertently confirmed my sanity. I looked at the clock and saw it was seven-thirty in the morning.

"Crap," I muttered. I had to get ready for school. I pulled the first clothes I could find out of my closet, and threw them over my arm. Next I grabbed my bag of toiletries, and ran to the communal bathroom. I jumped in the shower, and quickly washed my hair. When I got out, I dried myself off, and threw on the clothing. I brushed and blow-dried my hair, and brushed my teeth. I hurried back to my room to put away my bag, and then went downstairs to get something to eat before I left for school. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw none other than Jasper sitting at my kitchen table.

"Damn it, Jasper," I said, startled. I started to walk over to the cupboard so I could grab a Pop-Tart.

"Did I scare you?" he chuckled.

"Why don't you tell me?" I shot back at him playfully. He laughed, and sent a wave of calm at me, trying to make me more civil. "Thanks," I muttered, knowing that he would hear me. "You do realize that I have to go to school, don't you?" I asked.

"Yes, and I took the liberty of registering temporarily so that I could keep an eye on you."

"Why, thanks for your concern," was my sarcastic remark. "I did a perfectly good job of taking care of myself for the last three months, and before I met you…why do I suddenly need a chaperone?"

Jasper didn't respond to the question, so I chose to ignore him, and eat my Pop-Tart. Once I finished, I threw the wrapper in the garbage and asked, "So, are you giving me a ride to school, or am I driving myself?"

"I'm giving you a ride," was all he said. I grabbed my bag and jacket, and headed to the door.

When Jasper didn't move, I felt compelled to remind him that we had to get going. "Are you coming, or not?"

"Yes, Bella, I'm coming," his voice was thick with sarcasm. The drive to the school was silent, but like last night, it was a companionable silence. When we pulled into the parking lot, we got more than a few stares. Everybody knew that the only person in town who owned a shiny, silver Volvo had left three months ago, and wasn't coming back. Everybody also knew that he had left me broken, so when I got out of the car, the whispers started. And then Jasper got out of the car; the whispers stopped for a second then became frantic. I couldn't blame them, either. What was broken Bella Swan doing with Jasper Hale, brother of her ex? We walked towards the school, trying to ignore everybody, and not moving to far away from each other.

When we finally made it to my locker, Jasper asked a completely unexpected question. "Bella, would you mind if we shared a locker?"

This caught me off guard, and I didn't know what to say. I felt a wave of calm wash over me, and suddenly knew what I was supposed to do.

"Why on Earth would you want to share a locker? Wouldn't that just make it harder for you?"

"It would actually make it easier for me. The locker they gave me is on the other side of the school, so if something were to happen, I wouldn't be able to get to you in time without exposing myself."

"Oh, well, then yeah, sure, why not?" I stumbled over my answer. The fact that Jasper cared so much was astounding. But... why did he start caring all of a sudden? Why now? Why him? I pushed those thoughts away. I was grateful for him being here.

I put my bag in my—our—locker, and looked at Jasper's schedule. It seemed eerily familiar. I realized that he had taken the time to register in all of the same courses as me. We headed to the library to get all of his books, and proceeded to put them in our locker. We went to the front of the school, and sat down at the nearest table. The snow was starting to melt so it wasn't too hard to find one that wasn't covered. We talked for a while, always careful to avoid the topic of him, and headed to class when the bell rang.

When we got to English, the whispers hadn't died down. It actually seemed as though they had picked up. I looked around, and saw Jessica giving me a confused look. I walked over to where she was sitting, and tried to get a conversation started.

"Hey, Jess. How are you?"

"Why is he here?" Real smooth, Jess. "Didn't they all skip town, and vow to never come back, or something?"

"Yes, they left, and no, they didn't vow to never come back, where would you get that from? Jasper just wanted to make sure everything was…alright back here."

"Is it true that he dumped his girlfriend so that he could come back from wherever he was to be with you?"

"Absolutely not! Who told you that?"

"Tyler told me," was her smug response. I looked at her, and decided I didn't feel like responding. Turning on my heel I went back to my desk, and sat down. I looked over at Jasper, and saw a look of concern in his eyes. It reminded me of how Edward would look at me whenever I didn't respond to somebody. I felt the gaping hole in my chest, but it seemed shallower. Usually, I wasn't able to breathe, but this time, it felt like only my heart was gone. My lungs still seemed to be intact. I glanced over at Jasper, and instantly felt relieved. I figured it was just he, trying to calm me down.

***

The rest of the day went smoothly—well, as smoothly as it could go when you're hanging out with your ex boyfriend's brother in a school full of gossipers. I was able to avoid most people, therefore not getting as many comments as I could have gotten. When I got home, though, I noticed that Jasper seemed to be having a harder time than before his family had left. I continued to watch him in a manner that to me seemed sneaky, but was probably blatantly obvious. I noticed that his jaw was tense, and that his eyes seemed to be withdrawn. "Jasper, I know you're having a hard time, so why don't you go back to see Alice for a while?" I said, knowing that he probably missed her.

"Because you're broken and it's my fault. I'm not leaving until you are healed, and over my brother," he said at length.

"Jasper, it's not your fault that he made you leave. I knew it was coming for a long time. Honestly, why would he want to stay here when he could do something actually worth his time and energy?"

"Bella, my brother is just as bad as you are. All he does is sit in the attic, and mutter things about you to himself. He did try tracking down Victoria, but that didn't work. When he couldn't find her, he came home and sat in the attic. He hasn't moved from that spot—except for one hunting trip that we forced him to go on," his voice was very sincere, but I knew better than to trust the sincerity of a vampire. Look where it had gotten me last time.

"I don't believe you," I was getting angry now. "He said that he didn't love me, that I wasn't good for him. I don't—I can't believe you!" I was so sure of the truth behind his words that I started to scream at Jasper. He moved over to try and comfort me, but I wouldn't let him. I ran up to my room, and started to cry. I locked the door, and fell on my bed, crying myself to sleep.

***

When I woke up, I noticed that it was eerily silent. I looked around my room, and saw Jasper sitting in the rocking chair. I turned my head away, trying not to bring up painful memories again.

"Why are you lying to me, Jasper? You said you wanted to help, but all you're doing is hurting me more," I was starting to feel angry again, but was determined not to let it overtake me.

"I'm not lying to you Bella. Edward is falling apart over this…"

"Jasper, you have to stop trying to make me feel better. Your words aren't true, and we both know it. Just go back to Alice, to your family, and don't come back." I said, cutting him off.

"Fine, I'll go back to Alice," he said. Before I knew what was happening, I was in his arms, and flying out the window. He ran me around to the front of the house, and dropped me in the passenger's seat of the Volvo. Before I could say anything, we were speeding in a northerly direction along the highway.

Something along the lines of 'what the hell?' was all I could think about.