Chapter Three: Skipalong

Acting oblivious
Comes natural to us.
Keep smiling knowing all the while
the world will fall apart.

Lenka- Skipalong

The sun had threatened to spill as Lucy prepared for her day, though by the time she arrived at school the familiar damp feeling of rain was kissing her cheeks lightly. 'It's not even rain, it's just sprinkling.' Everyone claimed. She scoffed as she made her way towards first period Statistics and Trigonometry. A horribly boring course for what promised to be a horribly boring day. The halls squeaked from students walking down them towards classes. Lucy felt her hopes for a warm day disappear. Her eyes glanced around the hall for a friendly face, before her eyes fell on a strange man she'd never seen before.

In Forks there were a few things that one could pick up on with relative assurance; the main of which was a new face. The man was tall, with waving dark hair, and had the face of a minor deity. Lucy forced herself not to stare as she continued down the hall. She then saw that he stood with Alice Cullen; a short girl that had the grace and beauty of a pixie. Across the hall stood Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, their 'sister,' and Edward, their 'brother.' It seemed natural that this beautiful man would be associated with them. They were easily the most beautiful family in town. She hadn't even lived in Forks her entire life, yet she had to wonder what reason they had for coming here. The air was tense between the Cullen children and the new man. With a frown Lucy realized that her class was right besides where they stood; she hadn't wanted to look nosy but she would have been lying if she said she wasn't curious.

"Hey Luce! How are you?" Emmett spoke as the smaller girl made for class quietly. Lucy glanced up.

"I'm great, just going to math class. How are you?" Lucy asked him with a bright smile. She was in a good mood, overall, though she was feeling inquisitive as to who the new man was, and she had been hoping for better weather.

"We're good. One of Alice's old friends just came in to town and decided to visit her at school." Emmett explained to her, ignoring the glares from the beautiful blonde at his side as he motioned to the man across the hall.

"Ah, he's a cutie. Way to go, Alice." Lucy said with a smirk as she glanced back to the pair.

"They're not like that. Alice and Jasper are supposed to be dating." Emmett frowned, folding his arms. Lucy looked up to him, cocking a dark eyebrow slightly as she smirked.

"How pleasant you make it sound. I do yearn for the days when I am supposed to date someone." Lucy responded sardonically, holding back a snicker.

"Want me to give him your number?" Emmett smirked.

"Brunettes aren't my type, thanks though." Lucy grinned, laughing slightly at the offer.

"How about Jasper? Is he your type?" Emmett asked, gaining a dark look from both Edward and Jasper. Lucy laughed out loudly, the other two men looking to her with a frown.

"I don't go for rebounds, but if he wants to spend long nights doing nothing but talking about horribly grotesque battles, I may change my mind." She laughed, shaking her head as she walked towards the door to her class.

"That could be what he goes for, you never know." Emmett offered, gaining a slap on the arm from Rosalie.

"I don't think matchmaking is your calling Emmett." Lucy shook her head once more. "I'll see you in History."

Lucy frowned as she entered the brightly lit math class, she felt herself cringing faintly at the sound that came from the fluorescent overhead lights. Her mind wandered to what Emmett had said about Jasper. She had fought hard not to form a crush on any of the Cullens. Everyone fancied them; it was no secret that they were the most attractive people in town. Lucy might even go as far as to say that they were some of the most attractive people she'd ever seen. Yet it wasn't simply that that had piqued her interest. She had never met anyone as interested in the Civil war as her, and she had assumed that there were reasons for it. She had lived through the war, she had lost everything then... she hoped that that wasn't why he shared her avid interest, and that he was simply an overzealous history geek. Though it would explain the melancholic look when he touched the uniform, how strongly he felt about being correct, and how his guards seemed to have dropped the moment he began talking about it. His entire face lit up, his eyes glowing brightly like a child that had just received a cherished gift. Maybe she wasn't alone after-all.

Outside of the classroom Edward stood motionless, a shocked look on his face as he heard the thoughts coming from the shorter dark haired girl. He had never given much thought to Lucy; she had been an average girl, nothing had ever seemed extraordinary about her; though suddenly she had gotten a lot more interesting.

"Edward, what's going on? What are you hearing?" Emmett asked him quietly, glancing around the hall.

"Lucy knows how old Jasper is." Edward said quietly. Rosalie and Jasper both looked up in shock.

"What?" The two blonde 'twins' hissed simultaneously. Edward stood quietly as he listened to the girls thoughts; he felt slightly guilty eavesdropping, yet it concerned his families safety. He could almost see pictures forming in his mind as she tried to recall people from the civil war; her mind was like an encyclopedia of knowledge on the war, flipping through pages with interest.

"She doesn't suspect the rest of us; but she knows-" Edward stopped as he heard a thought in his mind.

"Jasper Whitlock. Born January 12th 1843. Youngest Major in Texas. Disappeared in 1863 after..." Edward couldn't hear the rest of her thought as it trailed off; he supposed she was envisioning something that he couldn't quite see.

"She knows-" Edward began, but stopped when he could hear her voice in his head once more.

"I was there; I saw him." Her voice, even in thoughts, was quiet and strangled; as though in utter shock. "I knew him."

"She knows what?" Rosalie frowned impatiently.

"She knows who he was. I've got to go to class." Edward said quickly, pushing away from his siblings; he was worried about what she could say, but she didn't seem to assume that any of the other family members were like him, and she didn't even seem to be worried about what he was; just confused. He was confused; how could she have known Jasper? She was not like them; She had blood running through her veins and she both smelled and looked like a normal human... But how would she have known someone that should have died 140 years ago?

"You're lying, Edward." Jasper frowned, folding his arms across his chest.

"She thinks she knew you before; I don't know how, or why." Edward frowned; he suppose he had nothing to worry about in gaining the trust of a mortal girl who was on the verge of being crazy, though he always felt guilty for sharing their thoughts with his siblings.

"Wait, you mean those pictures in her house, with the man ... they were her?" Emmett asked curiously, more to himself than to Edward. "No wonder she knew so much. She has some explaining to do."

"Emmett, don't say anything to her. She probably has good reason for being here, acting like us. If she wanted us to know, she would have told us. Treat her like any other student." Edward said firmly before disappearing down the hall. "We don't need her questioning the rest of us."

Math class had ended without any incidents; which Lucy was thankful for. She had hardly paid any attention in class as she was too focused on how Jasper could have lived for so long, and why he was there; or if she was simply making it up in her mind. She dreaded entering history class; she had never felt such dread for a class as she did now. She had never missed a class until now, and wouldn't miss it simply because she felt uneasy about some boy.

The classroom was almost full when Lucy entered, her dark hair swishing around her pale face as she gulped. She was walking towards the back of the room, her head held high in determination to not look at Jasper. Yet a part of her wanted to look at him; maybe he would have answers to questions that no one else could provide.

"Hey Luce!" Emmett said loudly as Lucy was walking towards her seat. It shouldn't have been surprising, yet she had been so deep in her thoughts that the loud voice caused her to jump up suddenly, her foot tripping in mid air; causing her to fall to the ground with a thud. Emmett laughed out loudly. "Jumpy!"

"Go boil your shirt." She muttered under her breath as she stood up, grabbing her books as Sam jumped to help her.

"Bad day?" Emmett smirked at her, as though knowingly.

"To put it lightly." She said darkly, taking her seat on the far side of the room.

"Are you all right? You're not usually this jumpy." Sam said quietly before the bell rang.

"I'm fine. Senioritis or something." Lucy said casually, dismissing her mood.

"Oh," Sam nodded as though understanding. "Did you hear that Alex Thompson had to actually go to the nurses yesterday because he started hyperventilating during a test?"

"No, I hadn't heard that. That's horrible." Lucy said with a slight laugh. Trust Sam to believe her; Sam was a trusting, and gullible girl. Lucy choked however, when she was looking over to Sam, and met eyes with Jasper. She frowned, glancing towards the teacher, though once the teacher began speaking it sounded like white noise as her mind was flooded with a flashback.

Moonlight covered the Texas range as a large group of women and children from Galveston sat in a camp. Soldiers sat around talking, many had family that they were excitedly catching up with; happy to see their loved ones. Lucy sat on a log besides a camp fire, her hands around a small cup of tea as she watched the flames.

"Would you like to use my jacket, Ma'am?" A voice asked. Lucy glanced up to see a young man no older than 20 standing before her. He stood taller than most men she'd seen, his hair glistening gold in the light of the moon; his face a pale tan shade from hours spent in the sun. Glancing at his uniform she realized that he must have been a major.

"Thank you, Major." She bowed her head politely, her long curls falling over her shoulders as he placed the blanket around her shoulders.

"Don't you have any family here?" He asked her warmly, his eyes were a warm shade of golden brown, like sweet caramel.

"No, I don't have any family." She said quietly, her eyes moving from him to her cup.

"Well, that's a shame; a beautiful girl like you without a family." He told her charmingly. She felt a blush creep up on her cheeks as she looked to the fire. "My name is Jasper. Jasper Whitlock. I'm a major in the infantry watching over all of you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jasper. Lucy Merriweather." She politely reached her hand out to him. His hand felt surprisingly soft as he grabbed hers, bending down lightly to kiss the top of her palm.

"The pleasure is all mine, ma'am." He told her politely, bowing his head.

"Ah, Major Whitlock! I see you've met Miss Merriweather." A shorter, stout man said eagerly. Lucy glanced up to see the familiar face of John Lewis; a boy she had known from childhood; he had been best friends with Wilfred before he left for war. She forced her eyes to glance down at the flames, taking deep breaths as she took a sip of her tea.

"Yes, We've just met. You know one another?" Jasper asked the man curiously. Lucy composed herself, glancing up to the moon quietly. She could feel John's eyes on her cautiously.

"We grew up in the same town, didn't we Luce." John said, putting on a smile. She looked in his dark eyes; he felt hurt as well.

"Yes, we did." Lucy said, putting on a laugh, though it turned in to a slight cough part way through. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"I didn't think I'd ever see any of you again either. It's been hard. We lose people every day." John said grimly, sitting on a log across the fire from her. "How are you doing?"

"I'm surviving. I want this war to be over." She said quietly, pulling the jacket closer to her body. It smelled of blood, and sweat, but somehow it felt comfortable and familiar. "I want everything to go back to how it was."

"It will get better, I promise." John said firmly. Lucy glanced up to see Jasper looking down at John curiously.

"John was best friends with my Fiance." Lucy explained cautiously. Jasper looked up to her, his brown eyes gleaming curiously. "He disappeared last month in Gettysburg."

"He was one of the best men we had. He probably killed hundreds of yanks." John said firmly as he took a drink from a flask.

"John!" Lucy hissed angrily. "That is hardly appropriate to say. What would Wilfred say if he heard that tongue?"

"Darling Perfect little Lucy Merriweather; always the prim and proper southern belle." John tutted as he stood. "It was nice to see you, Luce. Maybe we'll see one another after all of this is over."

Lucy watched, her eyes watering as he left. He was the one last man whom she had known from childhood that was still alive, and he was disappearing in to the distance.

"The war should be over soon." Jasper spoke softly, his words were kind, and his eyes were compassionate. "Would you like some company?"

"Yes." She said softly, her eyes returning to the fire as he sat politely across from her. There had been something comforting about having him just sitting there, looking up at the stars. She knew he would probably die soon, as would John... but right now they were all together, under the same stars.

Lucy glanced up to the front of the class in time to look at the teacher.

"Miss Louhi, can you answer the question?" The teacher asked with a quirked brow.

"1914." Lucy said offhandedly. A few snickers went through the classroom.

"Did you hear the question?" Mrs. Gripling was frowning, her thin lips pursed to a line.

"No, I did not." Lucy smirked at the woman.

"Can anyone else answer the question?" Mrs. Gripling frowned, her eyes going around the class. Lucy looked down to see a note slipped in front of her.

'Are you okay? You look like you're going to be sick.'

Lucy frowned at the writing, Sam's familiar bubbly cursive, complete with hearts on her 'i's.

'I think I am going to be sick.'

'you should go home.'

'I'll be fine. I have perfect attendance.' Lucy frowned as she wrote this. Perfect little Lucy Merriweather. she frowned at the memory. She hadn't thought of John in years; it was easy to forget the smaller people you meet when you're too busy grieving the bigger picture. She wasn't even sure what she had been grieving all of those years.

'Of course you do, perfect little Lucy can't even miss class because she's sick.'

Lucy read it, taking a sharp intake of breath. Daring a glance to her side she saw that Emmett was watching her curiously. Jasper looked like his usual uncomfortable self, hands clutched at the side of his chair, his jaw set as he watched the white board. Lucy frowned; she didn't want to be perfect little Lucy. Slowly she raised her hand tentatively.

"Yes, Lucy?" The teacher frowned, sighing exasperatedly as she awaited the smart aleck response from the girl, or for her to explain how she had been wrong.

"May I go to the nurses office? I'm not feeling very well." Lucy said quickly, her hand dropping to the desk with a slight thud. The students tried to look back as casually as possible, surprised whispers passing amongst them. In four years of school there, she had never missed class, shown up late, or shown any signs of being ill. Despite being an annoying, sarcastic know-it-all to the teachers, she had been an ideal student.

"I beg your pardon?" The teacher asked cautiously, expecting some sort of punch line.

"I don't feel well, I think I am going to be sick. May I please go to the nurse?" Lucy said, clenching her teeth as she spoke. The teacher looked shocked.

"Of course you may go." Mrs. Gripling said slowly. Lucy threw everything in to her bag and practically ran to the front of the room where the teacher was writing her an excuse. "Are you okay?"

"I'll survive. Thank you, ma'am." She said, grabbing the note quickly as she ran out of the room.

Once out of the room Lucy leaned against the lockers, her head hitting them harshly as she closed her eyes tightly. She took slow, deep breaths, willing the pain away before she opened her eyes and began walking towards the nurses office. The last thing she wanted now was to be in the halls when class let out.

"Lucy? What are you doing here?" The nurse, a small matronly woman with golden brown hair, smiled compassionately.

"I think I am sick. I feel dizzy, and over emotional. I think the stress is getting to me." Lucy told her plainly; it was partly the truth. She knew the real reason for her emotional breakdown, though she couldn't tell the nurse; she couldn't tell anyone.

"Oh honey, that's a normal part of being a teenager." The woman warmly approached Lucy, placing her hand on her shoulder affectionately. Lucy glanced at the woman who stood a few inches shorter than her. She wanted to tell the woman that she hadn't been a teenager in over a hundred years; that she was older than the woman's grandparents were. "Did your boyfriend break up with you?"

"I don't date, Miss Jones. I don't think it is worthwhile." Lucy frowned. Of course her mind had gone to that instantaneously. Even in her youth she hadn't dated. Her father had been a strong military man, and Wilfred was the son of a wealthy banker; he joined the army when he was 17, lying about his age. She had been 14 at the time, three years younger than him. When she was 15 he began courting her at the insistence of their father's. At 16 her father had agreed upon a marriage. She hadn't loved him, but he was a good friend, and it would have been a profitable marriage. Their entire town doted on them as the perfect couple. Her whole life had been built up around marrying him... and then he died five days before her 18th birthday. She had met Jasper less than a month after turning 18; barely a month after her fiance had died. It was as though something had happened after Wilfred died, stopping her from aging. She was perpetually stuck in the body of an 18 year old.

"I don't know what you want me to do. I don't think there is anything wrong with you." Her words were kind, though they repeated what Lucy had expected to hear. A slight edge of authority was in her tone as she spoke to Lucy, as though her feelings weren't strange, or odd. At that moment, the bell rang, signaling the start of the following period.

"Thank you. I'll just go to class." Lucy said politely, Miss Jones signed her note before bidding her a good day.

"I'm sorry for being late, Sir. I was with the nurse." Lucy said politely, bowing her head courteously as she handed her slip to the teacher.

"Are you feeling ill?" Mr. Michael's asked with a frown; he was a kind man with thinning brown hair that tufted around his ears, and perpetually rosy cheeks. A large moustache that no one liked bristled above his lips, moving with each syllable.

"I'm going to survive." Lucy said with a smile as she walked towards her seat; she always survived. When everyone else died, she survived. She was like a cockroach. She glanced down as she arrived at her seat groaning inwardly as she saw Emmett eyeing her curiously. Her frown deepened as she saw a note sitting in front of her as she sat.

'Are you okay?'

Emmett's penmanship was much worse than Jasper's; Jasper's writing was from another time; when men put effort in to learning how to write properly. Emmett's looked like someone had somehow taught an otter how to write letters, and they somehow, sort of, resembled words.

'I'll be fine. Just senioritis is all.'

Lucy said, putting on a smile as she slid the paper over, pulling out her notebook. Senioritis was an excellent excuse; she had seen many seniors go through many mental issues, and blame it on their nerves from being a senior.

'How do you know Jasper?'

Lucy frowned, reading it. She put on a smirk as she responded back politely.

'It's hard not to know people in a town so small.'

'That's not what I meant, and you know it. What's really bothering you?'

Lucy reread what he had written, trying hard not to frown as it would give her away.

'There is nothing bothering me, though I thank you for your concern. I am fit as a fiddle. I don't know what you are trying to insinuate, though I've only really just met Jasper last month when we worked together on the project. He's not exactly the most friendly of fellows.'

Emmett seemed to give up after this, shaking his head at her as he looked up to the teacher to work on his classwork. Lucy looked down at her notes, and began starting to write in a new spot as the teacher spoke. Glancing around the room she looked at the students, taking in their clothes, the way they spoke as they passed notes, how they behaved. She had managed to fit in so well, but suddenly they all felt like strangers.

For the three years that she had lived here, she did the same that she had done everywhere: Starting as young as possible, usually freshman year, she would start school. Occasionally she would continue on to college until people began to wonder why she had never aged. Usually by the time she was supposed to be 30 her supposed friends would start raising questions about why she looked the same as she had at 15. So she would move away, start new and drop all of her relationships. Forming relationships was hard when you knew that you would live longer than them. For the first forty years she had thought maybe she would start aging soon, yet it was over a hundred years later and she still hadn't aged a day.

Seeing Jasper, and recognizing him wasn't something that necessarily scared her; it perplexed her, but also gave her hope that maybe she wasn't the strange freak she had thought she was; maybe there were more people like her, and she didn't have to spend the rest of her life, however long it may be, entirely alone.

A/N: Thank you for reading this! Hopefully you guys don't think it's too shoddy. Let me know if you've got any pointers or anything. Also; would you prefer to have chapters that were shorter, with more of them; or longer, with fewer? Have a great day! :D