Author's Note: I was really surprised at all the nice reviews, so thank you. I was glad some of you wanted this next chapter to have Jasper's p.o.v. because I already had it written that way, so that worked out. I got a few questions asking how often I plan on updating and the honest truth is anytime I can, I always try to think ahead so I have a basic outline so there should never be too long a period between posts. Anyway, here it is, enjoy.

Chapter 2: Friends

JPOV

I had gone back to that spot in the forest every day since I'd seen her there but she never showed up again. I must have really scared her, which was probably for her own good, but it disappointed me. I never paid attention to her when we were at school because she always blended into all of her friends. I wished I'd paid attention to her, she was something else.

I'd just finished hunting when I smelled her. I was on my way to the pond because when I hunted my natural instincts overpowered every fiber in my body and I always needed to wind down before going back to Forks…I'd kill someone otherwise. When her scent hit my nose though, it was too late, I was committed to this kill. Until I saw her; when my eyes found her I'd stopped in my tracks. I had never done that before, never. Any other human would have been dead within seconds, but she had stopped me. It was as if I was as practiced and in control as Carlisle.

I remembered that my brother had once mentioned that he could not hear her thoughts like he did everyone else's. She was a mystery, but we had quickly forgotten about her when it was evident that she was no threat. She didn't gossip about us or stare when we walked by like the rest of her classmates, she was a kind girl. And there she stood, a few hundred yards away, easily within my reach. My eyes hadn't even darkened. It was as if her blood didn't bother me and I was transfixed by her.

This morning Alice told me she had seen Bella at the pond. When I told my family about my encounter with the girl they had initially been horrified, then shocked, then perplexed. I didn't have the discipline that they did and we were all astonished that I had been able to resist her. I wanted to see if I could do it again though I knew it was testing fate and horrible to toy with her life. Still, I wanted to know what was different about Bella Swan that had allowed me to spare her.

BPOV

I had spent a great deal of time thinking about Jasper Hale, the Cullen who I'd never thought to talk to, that I'd never dream would talk to me. The beautiful, magnificent, and very mysterious boy who had nearly given me a heart attack when I randomly met him in the middle of the forest, in a spot that I was sure only he and I knew existed.

Charlie had been in and out of the house a great deal, fishing and working mostly. I'd been able to pick up some extra shifts at Newton's, which was a welcome distraction. Still, when I came home I always picked up where I left off in my thoughts. I wasn't the first girl to swoon over Jasper, and I was most certain that I wouldn't be the last. I'd never really given him much thought when we were in school, though I'd been in AP History with him. All I really knew about him was that he was very intelligent, when it came to history at least. According to my other friends, all of the Cullen children were exceptionally bright, so it was no shock.

I felt oddly sad when I thought about how I'd probably not see him the rest of the summer. Our short exchange in the forest had been a very strange coincidence, but a coincidence none the less. Talking when school started wasn't an option either because he, along with his twin sister Rosalie and his adopted brother (and Rosalie's boyfriend) Emmett had graduated.

Enough, I yelled in my head. Revolving my thoughts around Jasper Hale was pointless, even if I did get to see him again, he wouldn't talk to me probably. Or even if he did, my misplaced crush on him was futile, he would never- could never- return the affection. I rolled my eyes at my silliness and grabbed my cell phone, desperately needing to talk to anyone, just to distract myself.

"Hello?" Jacob sluggishly rasped into the phone. I glanced at the clock by my bedside.

"Jake, it's 3:30 in the afternoon; you're not still in bed are you?"

"Wha?" The incoherency rolled off his tongue.

"Jake, it's Bella," I laughed, "Long night?"

"Kind of."

"So I suppose you aren't up for hanging out then?" I gathered, slightly disappointed.

"Oh…nah Bella, not tonight. I'm exhausted, maybe tomorrow?"

"Okay, goodnight."

I hung up the phone and let my eyes roam around my bedroom. The rain outside was violently crashing against my window. When I'd first moved to Forks I'd hated this sound, it kept me up at all hours but now it was soothing, it was consistent. I wonder if Jasper likes the rain. Ah! There I go again.

I called Angela and talked to her a little while. Nothing major, just how her relationship with Ben was going, and I asked her if I had missed out on any juicy gossip.

"Jess is having a party this weekend," she divulged.

"Really?"

"Yeah, her parents are going out of town. I think she's trying to keep it a secret until they leave so they don't find out," she laughed, and I cracked a grin too. She had to be at work at 4pm though, so our conversation was cut short. Apparently, distractions weren't an option tonight.

I let my mind wander back to Jasper, his honey-blonde hair and gorgeous topaz eyes. He was a lean guy, with uncontrolled locks framing his pale face. There was more than that to him though I guessed. All of his siblings seemed to be happy, together, and content while he'd always looked a little…lost. Like he didn't fit in with them quite right or maybe he just didn't want to. As far as physical appearance went, he fit in perfectly, better actually. However, it always seemed like he was one step behind them, trying really hard to fall into line but never quite maintaining it. It was like they were all a part of something that he desperately tried to be in on, but just wasn't made for it.

I was overanalyzing and I needed to stop. Whatever set Jasper apart from his siblings was none of my business. I heaved a sigh and rolled off my bed, going downstairs to fix a snack and see if there was anything good on TV. I ended up watching "Little Women", a movie that I hadn't seen in a while. By the time it was over it had turned dark outside, and I was ready for dinner. Charlie had made a weekend camping trip of his fishing expedition with Harry, so I was on my own tonight.

I walked into the kitchen and instead of cooking, decided a frozen pizza was more than fine. After I set it in the oven I walked to the rear of the house to transfer some laundry from the washer to the dryer. All the while I was thinking of him, how his face had looked that day when he stepped out from behind the trees. He had looked concerned, but not scared like I had been. It was so weird.

After I had finished eating and shooting a few emails off to mom, I decided to check the weather forecast for tomorrow, just for kicks. I was surprised to see that it was actually not supposed to rain, and my mind wondered about the pond, it had been almost a week since I'd run into Jasper there. I wanted to let some time pass before I went back because I was fearful he might have been there. I decided that the odds of me running into Jasper there again were quite slim, and that I would go back. It was too beautiful a place to ignore, and I was willing to share it…with Jasper Hale anyway.

It was quite warm out as I hiked down the trail the next day, I took my jacket off and wrapped it around my waist. The worst part was that it was very muggy, every breath felt more like a drink than fresh air. I had to stop multiple times to catch my breath. I missed the dry heat of Phoenix.

I sighed with relief when I saw the end of the trail and heard the water rushing up ahead. I pushed my way past the trees and emerged on the other side to see Jasper, for the second impossible time. You've got to be kidding, I thought. When he saw me he straightened up awkwardly like he'd been waiting for me, rather than another chance meeting.

"We're going to have to work out a schedule or something for this place," he joked. I just kind of stood there, gawking at him. This time wasn't a coincidence. "Are you going to say anything?" he asked after a few moments.

"What- What are you doing here?"

"I…" he hesitated, then something inside him seemed to have given up. "I was curious to see if you were here or not." He was curious to see me?

"Why?"

"I don't know," he murmured softly. "I'll leave."

"Jasper, don't be silly, this isn't private property, you don't have to go," I expressed. He didn't answer at first, seemingly debating in his head.

"I ought to go," he admitted though I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or himself. I'd been thinking about this boy for nearly a week and now here he was in front of me and I wasn't so sure I wanted him to be, he was stranger than I would have ever thought.

"Are you alright?" I finally asked, unable to decipher his silence.

"I'm fine, just uncertain," he sighed and suddenly I saw the boy from school, the boy who always stood a few steps away from the rest of his family trying his best to fit in with them.

"Well…" I hesitated, "You could hang out with me if you want." He grinned at me, although there was still a hint of ambiguity.

"I'd think I'd like that," he said solemnly.

We talked for a long time about school. I asked him if he'd miss high school and he grinned wildly, shaking his head. He asked me what classes I wanted to take next year and if I'd found any colleges I was interested in. We discussed the rain and what we liked to do to pass the time indoors, we both liked to read, and Jasper told me about his brother Emmett and their notorious wrestling matches that destroyed his Mother's furniture, she had to buy new tables and couches all the time apparently. I told him about why I moved to Forks in the first place and he laughed at my stories about Renee and Phil.

We talked as if we were old friends, in our serene pond there were no shy awkward moments, no reason to hold anything back.

"So tell me about your family, how did you all end up with the Cullen's?" I asked after we'd chatted a few hours.

"Wow, that's a long story," he guffawed. "Edward was adopted first, many years ago, then Rosalie and Emmett after that, then Alice and I." I scrunched my eyebrows.

"I thought you and Rosalie were twins?" Jasper's face contorted as he searched for an explanation.

"Yes… I don't know what I was thinking, Alice then Emmett, and then Rosalie and I," he rushed.

"And, then everyone just paired up?" I asked timidly. He chuckled some more.

"Well, yes, something like that. I suppose everyone thinks we're a bunch of freaks," he grinned. I flushed nervously, he was right, after all.

"Where did you live before you were adopted?"

"In Texas." His answer was short and direct, it gave me the feeling that he didn't want to talk about it so I changed the subject.

"So, what have you done this summer now that you're a big graduate?"

"Honestly, nothing. It's been very boring," he laughed.

"Me too, I've been working at Newton's some, but that's all," hardly an eventful summer. Though I doubted Forks was capable of anything eventful.

"What, no raging parties with the Forks High crowd?" he mocked astonishment.

"No," I giggled, "Although…Jessica Stanley is having one this weekend. You should come," I encouraged. Everyone always assumed the Cullen's were too stuck up to hang out with anyone but it occurred to me while talking to Jasper that maybe they didn't have friends because no one ever was courteous enough to ask.

"Will you be going?" He said this as if it were a deciding factor. I bobbed my head up and down like an idiot. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt…" he worked it out in his mind, "I guess I could."

"Great, it'll be fun." Were we friends now?

"Well, Bella, I think we better head back, it's going to be dark soon," he pointed out. It was nearly twilight; the grey sky was starting to turn a more purplish shade. I took the in the beauty of our pond once more before gathering my things up.

Jasper walked me back to my truck again, insisting that he didn't feel right about me going by myself. I didn't mind at all.

When I got home I noticed Jake's car in the driveway, I ran in to greet him.

"Hey Bells!" He threw his arms around me in a hug.

"Jeez where have you been Jacob? I haven't seen you in like two weeks," I playfully smacked his arm. Was he taller?

"I've just being doing stuff on the Rez," he ran a hand through his hair, "Me and Dad came up to watch the game with Charlie."

"Where's Alyssa?" I looked around for her, usually at any given time she was at least within 15 feet of Jacob.

"She had to help her grandma out today, where've you been?"

"I was…just hanging out with some friends," I lied immediately wondering why. I never lied to Jake, but something inside me didn't want him to know I'd been with Jasper all day.

"You smell funny," he scrunched his nose.

"Well I've been outside enjoying the day, at least give me a chance to shower before you dish out the insults," I clowned.

Jake and Billy stayed way after the game, we all got the chance to catch up and hang out before Alyssa called signaling it was time for Jake to get back.

"Pretty whipped there Jake," Charlie joked with him. Jake blushed,

"Yeah, yeah. Ha ha."

As I was getting ready for bed that night Jessica called my phone, I answered it already knowing what she was calling for.

"So I'm having a party this Saturday, Mom and Dad are gone."

"I know, Angela told me yesterday."

"Well? Are you going to come?" she asked.

"Yeah, definitely. Um, I was going to ask you…Is it alright if I bring someone?"

"Yes! Who is it?" she demanded. I could literally feel the curiosity seeping through the phone. Here goes nothing, I thought.

"Um, Jasper Hale?" Complete silence on the other side of the phone. "Jess?"

"Oh… I'm sorry. I just died of a heart attack!" She proceeded to grill me about my all of a sudden friendship with Jasper. I just told her that I had run into him at Newton's, I didn't want anyone else to know about the pond…it was mine and Jasper's.

"You have to bring him!" she begged, "My party will be legendary if a Cullen shows up!" I rolled my eyes at her through the phone.

"So Saturday…I'll be there," I pushed the conversation along.

"Yeah, you better," she joked and hung up the phone.

I got into bed and fell asleep thinking about Jasper Hale.