Disclaimer: If I were Stephenie Meyer, would I be writing FanFiction? No, let me tell you, I would be writing this to be published, instead. And I would make quite a few changes in the actual Twilight saga.

Chapter 5—Edward P.o.V.

Edward watched the approaching boy curiously. Bella had said his name was Jasper, but that was all I knew about him. He looked slightly reserved, like Bella, but Edward could see just from the way he held himself and his facial expressions that he was rather confident in himself, unlike what he'd gathered from Bella. He was tall, standing taller than everybody else in the room, maybe even Edward himself.

When he sat down next to Bella, the contrast between the two was startling. Being Deaf, Edward had grown to rely greatly on his visual perception; he found it very easy to read people based merely on their facial expressions and physical presence. From his quick observation of Jasper he could see that he was hyper aware of those around him, and Edward was rather sure that he could tell you their weak points at a second's command. He wondered slightly what made him so aware of his environment and the dangers in it; it was not something typical for a teen. Despite this apparent constant alertness, though, his eyes, which were blue, seemed surprisingly soothing and calm.

Bella was rather the opposite; she slouched, as if she were trying to make herself look as small as possible and she let her hair fall over her face, hiding her from sight. When she had first come into the class, she had avoided his gaze, only looking up at him once she'd realized he was Deaf. Afterwards, her gaze had not strayed. She had followed all the conventions of Deaf etiquette and culture, and she had been friendly enough. She had not, however, volunteered any personal information. Edward could easily tell, from all of that, that she was very self conscious and that she was probably not comfortable being the center of attention. She was selfless, wanting to please others. She was polite, caring, and observant. She would be good for Alice, Edward thought.

Edward was pulled out of his reverie when Jasper began to sign to them. He was rather shocked, since he had not expected to find any signing people in the school and he had already met two.

Hey. My name's Jasper Hale, he signed, before adding, my sign name is [a J quickly followed by the sign for calmness]. It's nice to meet you.

While Alice made her own introduction (she seemed rather interested in this boy, Edward thought, eyeing her out of the corner of his eye), Edward stopped to think about the fact that Bella had not told them her sign name. Maybe she felt awkward about it. She was self conscious, he thought, and very private, and sometimes a sign name could be very personal. He would not ask her about it; it might be very private to her.

Hello, he finally added, once Alice was done explaining the story behind her own sign name (the sign for shadow; Edward had given it to her, since, when they were little, Alice would follow him around all the time. At first it had been meant to be teasing, but it had stuck), I'm Edward. I'm glad to meet you.

Once they were all acquainted, Bella asked Jasper to take her journal, but to please give his to Alice. She signed this, but also said it out loud. Edward could see from Jasper's hesitation before signing back that he was not very confident on his signing.

At the end, Alice ended up giving me her journal, and Edward gave his to Bella. Jasper had taken hers and had given his to Alice. It was the only way that their little square would work, even though it seemed slightly pointless to get his sister's, since he should already know everything she had written down, but maybe she would surprise Edward. It was not likely—they barely ever kept any secrets in their family—, but not impossible.

Jasper and Alice kept on talking for a while, at first in ASL, but as they got more and more into the conversations they dropped the signs and simply spoke out loud. Edward was happy for Alice; she had been so sure she would not find anyone worth her time in the little town. She had obviously been wrong, Edward thought. He did not feel like starting on the assignment just yet, so he turned to Bella for the time being. She had just opened the journal he had given her, and she was reading curiously. Edward felt surprisingly self conscious as she did this. She had had so much to write, and he had barely taken up a page, since he did not feel very comfortable writing.

Bella? he signed. When he got no response, he leaned over the table and tapped her on the shoulder gently. She looked up and, when she saw his expectant look, blushed.

Hey. What's up? Edward asked, Is my writing up to your standards? It looked like you were writing a lot back there.

Oh. Well…she blushed again, I really like to write.

I can see that. Are you a writer? Do you write stories?

Bella nodded shyly. It seemed her blush was a permanent quality, Edward realized. It was strangely becoming on her.

I'd love to read some. That is, if you don't mind. I'm afraid I'm not much of a writer myself. I am not very artistic at all.

At all?Bella looked remarkably surprised, but there must be at least one form of art that you find enjoyable. Do you like drawing?

Not particularly. I can draw inanimate objects realistically enough, but I do not find much enjoyment in it.

Poetry, maybe? That does not have to be written, signed poetry is beautiful, Bella insisted. She obviously felt very deeply about art. Edward smiled; he liked people who had a passion.

Sorry, he said, shrugging apologetically, I'm afraid not.

Music, then?

At Edward's blank stare, her blush came back, stronger than before. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Oh, wow, I feel like such a fool. I am really, really sorry.

She was having issues signing accurately; her hands were shaking from the embarrassment. Edward tried to calm her down, but to no avail.

I mean, I know some Deaf people can play and write music, but I shouldn't have assumed—

Jasper and Alice must have caught on to what was going on, because Jasper leaned over and took Bella's hands in his own, effectively shutting her up. Edward watched in shock; he would never think, let alone dare, to shut someone up like that. Jasper must have asked Bella what was going on, because she was talking to him quickly, her blush deepening. She looked as if she were about to cry.

Bella, calm down, please. Once he had her attention again, Edward continued, I actually happen to enjoy music. A lot. I just have never found somebody to teach me to play the piano. Please, do not think you offended me, you were actually right on the mark.

That seemed to calm Bella down a little bit, but she still seemed uncomfortable. When the bell ran she shot out of her seat and ran out the door before any of the other students even had time to gather their belongings. Edward and Alice shared a worried look, and Jasper ran after her after grabbing his things. He looked really worried, but Edward supposed that if he saw Alice run out of a room like that, in such a state, he would run after her too.

Alice and Edward headed to lunch and sat at an empty table. They took out their lunches and ate while watching the rest of the students. After about a quarter of an hour, Jasper returned with Bella in tow. They looked around and walked over to their table. Jasper must have asked Alice if they could sit with them, because next thing Edward knew, Bella was sitting across the table from him. They took out their matching lunchboxes (earning themselves a how cute! from Alice) and began to eat in silence. Bella still looked shaken.

Halfway through lunch, a tall, shapely blonde and a very large, imposing guy approached their table. Edward was the first to see them, since he was facing her way. Jasper, who sat next to Edward, was the next, and he waved at the couple. When they got to their table they smiled at them.

"Hello! … meet you…sit?"

When Alice nodded and they sat at the table as well, Edward realized they must have asked for permission to sit with them. Bella set down the apple she was eating to introduce the newcomers.

These are Rosalie Hale and Emmett McCarty. Rosalie is Jasper's twin, and Emmett is her boyfriend.

Edward looked at Rosalie carefully. Yes, he could definitely see the family resemblance there. He put out his hand for them to shake.

Do they sign? he asked.

No, they don't. Sorry, was Bella's reply. She really did look sorry, Jasper and I are the only ones at school. Forks may be rainy, dark, and cold, but there must be something in the water...there have not been any Deaf people born in the last two generations. The Deaf community here is poor, if existing at all.

Well, Edward replied, answering to the first part, tell them that I'm glad to meet them. And, I must say, that, despite however lacking the Deaf community is, I am glad to have met you two.

At first, Edward was simply going to say he was glad to have met her, but he realized that he technically had no reason to prefer her over Jasper, and so he amended his statement before even making it.

Bella passed the message on, and Rosalie and Emmett smiled at him. Soon, Rosalie and Alice were discussing…fashion? Edward recognized some colors they said, and the motioning at their clothes, shoes, and hair gave some of their conversation away. On the other hand, Emmett and Jasper were in deep discussion about…no, no matter how much Edward tried he could not figure that one out. He sighed and returned to his lunch.

I'm sorry if we intruded. You probably wanted some alone time with your sister, to talk about your day. We should have sat somewhere else, shouldn't we?

It was Bella. Edward stared at her in shock for a second before replying quickly. He could not believe she would assume that!

No, no, I'm very glad you came to sit with us. And I'm glad Alice is making new friends. I'm afraid she would have just stayed here to make me happy otherwise, and then I'd feel guilty.

But, Bella replied, looking rather pensive, shouldn't you be making friends as well? I thought—well, never mind.

She looked very dejected, and it took Edward a second to realize why this might be. He felt like an ass when he realized what his previous statement must have sounded like.

I am also glad to be making friends myself. I never expected to meet signing teens here, in Forks, of all places. I must say, you were a welcome surprise!

Bella's face was instantly taken over by a wide smile. She looked radiant when she was that happy; her whole face lit up, the apples of her cheeks turned pink, and her eyes danced. Edward fought the urge to bring his hand to the pinkness on her cheeks.

I am very happy to have met you! I…well, I don't have very many friends. Much to Edward's puzzlement, Bella sounded neither sad nor regretful about this fact, she just said it as if it were an irrefutable fact of life, It's nice to meet new people. And, she added as an afterthought, my signing was getting rusty. I hadn't signed to anyone in a long time. Jasper doesn't really enjoy it, and I'm afraid a mirror does not really answer when you tell it about your day.

Edward laughed, attracting the attention of the whole table. Alice looked surprised; he did not usually take to new people very well. When they saw that neither teen was willing to share, they shrugged and returned to their conversations.

Why did you learn ASL? Do you know somebody who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing?

Bella froze for a second, paling even further. She looked down at the table for a second, letting her hair fall over her face. When she pulled it back behind her ear and looked back up at Edward, he saw unspoken sadness there and instantly regretted the question. It was too late to take it back, though.

My grandmother is deaf. I learned for her. Jasper did it to humor me.

Edward noticed the present tense, and was confused by it. If her grandmother was still deaf, how come Bella would not practice her ASL with her? He then realized that she probably did not live in Forks. He felt sorry for Bella; he missed his own grandparents terribly. They lived in Chicago, where his family was originally from.

His great-grandfather, after whom he was named, had ended up there in the late 1800s, when his family had been broken up and displaced because of the Spanish Influenza. He had ended up dying of the same disease not long after, leaving his wife and children behind to carry on the family name. Too bad that his grandfather had had a daughter, his mother, rather than a son, and so the family name, Masen, had been lost.

Well, I can assure you that you have not lost your skill. You sign wonderfully. How long ago did you learn?

I started when I was five. I kind of taught myself, using videos and watching my grandmother. By the time YouTube came into the picture I already knew ASL well enough to be able to practice by looking up videos and trying to interpret what they were saying.

Edward was rather impressed. He knew his parents had struggled to learn ASL. His grandparents had never learned, but they communicated just fine through writing. Alice had not had any problems, since she had been brought up alongside Edward, being exposed to ASL just as much as to spoken English. He, of course, could not relate to learning ASL, just like Bella could not relate to learning English, because they were just things they grew up into.

You did very well. I'm sure your grandmother is very proud.

Again, Bella's eyes filled with sadness. Edward wanted to ask her about it, or to try and get her to smile again, but before he had time to do so everybody in the cafeteria shot up in their seats and began to stand up, gathering their trash and their belongings: the bell had rung. Resignedly, Edward headed back to the library for more instructional time with Mr. Carper.

Thanks to:

Viper003

klsymrrsn

5tarRach6330

Cabtwilighter

Beachcutie12

JazzyJasper

UltravioletSpark

bluebaby3296

Soccer11

Questions & Comments:

iWant2BaMonsterToo—there's a reason for her knowing ASL; you'll find out later in the story

..Attic—what's the title? It sounds like it'd be interesting

Joykohl—would it make you more comfortable if I changed it? I do not really mind, the only reason I used "dumb" over "mute" was to clarify for somebody who asked me about it

Special thanks to:

HONVampyreChick—I'm glad you liked it! Your review put such a giant smile on my face, I read it out loud to my sisters and they agreed just how nice you were. Thanks soooooo much!

BroadwayBound96—you're in here for life, babe