Disclaimer: The song "Don't" belongs to Shania Twain, and definitely not to me.
Title: Centuries of Shame
Spoilers: Sublimely slight Eclipse, but only about their background story.
P.O.V: Third person, Jasper P.O.V.
Time: Before Alice and Jasper met the Cullens.

"You'll adjust just fine," she had promised him, her hand tightly grasped in his. "I promise."

Her words had been his lifeline, his hope. However, he hadn't even been on her strict diet for a week, and he'd already lost control. It hadn't even been involuntarily; he had simply stepped out of their hotel room, had grabbed one of the workers, and had brought him to the closest darkened corner. He had disposed the body easily, without leaving any trace, and had casually made his way up the stairs.

However, his face was in the stoic mask he had perfected years ago, his spirit was in shreds. The deep, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach didn't leave him, even though the delicious blood he had just drank should've made him content. Somehow, even though it had tasted divine, it didn't feel right. Not only did he feel the man's dying emotions, he had felt Alice's despair from upstairs.

As Jasper entered the room, he noticed Alice sitting on the edge of the dark-sheeted bed, looking down at the hardwood floor. She hadn't even looked up at him, so he used his ability to test her emotions.

Shame. Tons of it.

Growling, he reached over and grabbed the clothes he had met her in, intent on trading the newest fashion she had bought for the cheap garments. If she would be ashamed of him, there was no reason for him to stay. He wouldn't ruin this perfect creature's life because of his weakness.

He had turned around, his hand on the doorknob, when she moved. One second, she was staring at the ground with blanketed eyes; the other, she was clinging to his arm as though her life depended on it, her feet planted firmly in the floor. Through the thick shame that still emitted her, he could sense agony, pain, and the foreign emotion she had called love.

Don't
Don't you wish we'd tried
Do you feel what I feel inside?
You know our love's stronger than pride.
Oh, no...

"You can't leave," she breathed, tightening her thin arms around his left bicep. She pressed her forehead to his shoulder, shaking her head lightly. "Y-You can't. I just found you."

He tried to shake her off lightly; he refused to harm her in any way. Carefully, he tried to pull away, yet she only moved forward; her small frame trembled as she shook her head harder. Jasper looked from her to his free hand, which was now on the door handle. He cracked it open, an indication that he was leaving.

Don't let your anger grow.
Just tell me what you need me to know
Please talk to me; don't close the door
Cause I wanna hear you, wanna be near you

His action agitated her immensely. Breathlessly, she asked, "Why are you leaving?"

Chuckling darkly, Jasper turned to face her. Ready for a fight, he growled dangerously, "Look at me, Alice. What colour are my eyes? Why do you think I'm leaving?"

She had the exact opposite reaction than the one he had expected. Instead of anger, he found more shame and anguish. She, however, wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled herself closer to him, ignoring the lack of response. Her eyes blankly looked ahead as she murmured helplessly, "I'm so sorry, Jasper. Please forgive me. This is all my fault; you can't blame yourself."

Don't fight, don't argue
Give me the chance to say that I'm sorry
Just let me love you
Don't turn me away
Don't tell me to go...

Narrowing his crimson eyes to slits, Jasper inched back to look at her. Could the immense shame she was experiencing be directed at herself and not at him? "What are you talking about?"

"It's all my fault. My visions showed you as a strong-willed vampire, without any kind of bloodlust. In my world, you wouldn't have a problem with this diet. I should've realized that it would take time for you to adopt the same restraint as I, since you're used to a different kind of reality. But you can't go, you have to trust me." Alice said this with her face pressed into his shirt, a strangled sob leaving her lips. "I love you, Jasper, I told you before. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have waited for you all these years in that diner. I know it's hard, but I promise you it'll be okay later."

Don't
Don't give up on trust
Don't give up on me, on us
If we can just hold on long enough
We can do it; we'll get through it

"Why are you doing this?" he suddenly asked, his arms still stiffly at his sides. "What makes you so positive I'm leaving?"

She spoke through sobs now. "You made the decision. I saw your future without me, and I saw mine without you. I swear we'll both go to pieces if you leave, Jasper."

Don't fight, don't argue
Just give me the chance to say that I'm sorry
Just let me love you
Don't turn me away, don't tell me to go...

Finally, he raised his arms around her, swayed by her words. He knew that she was right; he would be completely lost without her. She had given him enough hope in the moment they'd met than he'd felt in decades. Gently, he hugged her to him, rubbing her back until she'd stopped crying.

"I'm staying," he murmured, nodding. Now that she was with him, his senses became clear, and he tasted the hope that worked its way into her. It was the exact same feeling she had when he had first met her; a mixture of happiness, love, with the smallest twinge of worry. "I'm not going anywhere; I'll even stick to your diet, Alice. It's fine, don't worry."

Don't pretend that it's okay
Things won't get better that way
Don't do something you might regret someday
Don't...

"No," she breathed. "Don't tell me you're fine, because I know you're not. Please don't lie to me."

Every part of his being wanted him to answer that he was saying the truth. However, that would be yet another lie, which would bring his total to two. Lowering his chin, he pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes, hating letting her see their abominable colour. Weakly, he murmured, "I'll do it again."

Don't give up on me
Don't

"I know; and I know I'll be there for you every single time. If you don't want to live this way, I won't force you. I'll even start feeding on humans if it'll make you feel better." The black-haired girl's complexion darkened lightly at the mere thought of losing the family she'd been seeing ever since she woke up.

He would be an even bigger monster if he was to deprive her of such joy.

We can do it
We'll get through it

"How long will it take me?" he finally asked, though he didn't really want to know. "To be rid of the bloodlust completely?"

"Years. Decades. Centuries," she admitted grudgingly. Then, her hands tightened around his torso, as though he would leave right away at her statement.

Jasper cringed inwardly, feeling her emotions. She was worried now.

Centuries...

Was he really willing to spend that long of a time on this little girl?

"I'm sorry," she whispered again.

Don't fight, don't argue
Just give me the chance to say that I'm sorry
Just let me love you
Don't turn me away, don't tell me to goDon't fight, don't argue (Don't give up on me)
Give me the chance to say that I'm sorry (Say that I'm sorry)
Just let me love you (Don't give up on me)
Don't turn me away. (Don't tell me to go)

Don't fight, don't argue,
Give me the chance to say that I'm sorry (Say that I'm sorry)
Just let me love you (Don't give up on me)
Don't turn me away.
Don't tell me to go...

He smiled sadly. "Stop apologizing, Alice. None of this is your fault. I'll turn into the world's biggest masochist. I'll follow you no matter what, even if it means centuries of practice."

His words had the effect of a cooling balm on his mate's heart. She instantly relaxed into his arms and smiled up at him lovingly.

"Good," she said, squeezing her arms tighter around him. "Because I wasn't even close to letting you go."

With a reserved smile, Jasper turned around and shut the door behind them, sealing his fate with Alice.

A/N: Hi my beloved readers!

This is my very first songfic ever written. x.x' I've always been somewhat against songfics, yet I have two written of AliceJasper. The next one should be out in about two or three weeks. Wouldn't want two songfics one after the other, hm?

So you guys need to tell me if I did an okay job! Also, if suddenly something breaks off, tell me also! Document Editor's being all evil on me for some random reason. I think I retrieved every deleted part, but you can still tell me if something feels odd.

Thanks to Mookie tfor the lone review I got for the last chapter. XP I'll take it as a "We don't like Edward!" thing. o.O

Still, thank you for reading and have a good day!

Take care!