"Get a move on, Jazz! Come on!" Emmett called up the stairs while drumming his fingers impatiently on the door frame of the open front door. His brother had asked him to go hunting a few days ago, and who was being late now?
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Jasper replied and jogged leisurely down the stairs before grabbing his light summer jacket off the coat stand next to the door. He made to put it on, but stopped immediately when he noticed the look on his brother's face.
"What do you need a jacket for?" Emmett asked, scrunching up his face in confusion. If Jasper wanted to do it right, hunt like he did, he definitely shouldn't bring a jacket that his wife had just bought for him. It would only get dirty and probably rip in a few places and then they would spend the night listening to Alice complaining about them not being careful with valuable, brand-new clothing.
Jasper thought about it for a moment, then hung it back on the clothes peg and shrugged his shoulders. "Just thought-"
"No no no, don't think. You're learning from the best here, so trust me. No thinking."
Okay... he wasn't sure if Carlisle would agree that not thinking at all was what vampires should do on a hunt – or that listening to Emmett was advisable considering all the stupid things the boy got in trouble for, but for this hunt – fine.
No thinking.
They left the house and ran into the forest, shoving each other a little in an attempt to be quicker than the other one and find a bear or something equally as big and strong before the other one would be able to sink his teeth into its neck.
But then again – Jasper wanted to watch Emmett closely to make sure he could copy his way of hunting and see if it would do the trick for him.
The party was inching closer after all, and he couldn't afford to lose it among so many human teenagers.
No, he needed to find a way to let go of all his doubts, his frustration and the anger he was feeling with himself for being the weakest link of the family. Once he would manage to do that, he could finally help keeping this coven safe instead of endangering it all the time.
Emmett came to an abrupt halt and stretched his arm out to stop Jasper, who ran right into it and nearly fell flat on his butt from the impact. Luckily he managed to hold onto his brother's arm to steady himself before he glared at the bulky boy through darkened eyes. He was just about to snap at him, when a faint musky smell in the air made him realise that Emmett had found a black bear. It seemed to be a young one, as the distinct musky bear scent wasn't as heavy as it tended to be when they found full-grown male black bears... but this one was good enough.
Emmett smirked at him and winked. "Watch and learn, brother," he whispered, then took off in the direction the bear smell came from.
Jasper followed him, but made sure to keep a little distance between the two of them as some vampires who had smelled prey reacted quite aggressively to having others of their kind nearby. They had gone hunting together before so he actually didn't need to fear that that might happen, but they usually just attacked a herd of deer or elk together and there was always enough prey so that all of them were able to quench their thirst.
Emmett ran up to the bear, stopped right next to it and pushed it over like a sleeping cow.
Sometimes Jasper wondered how old his brother's inner child really was and if it's maybe mentally retarded...
The bear roared and slapped at its attacker, and Emmett just let out a laugh and threw a punch, hitting the bear square in the face and breaking one of its canine teeth off.
The young bear was growing more and more angry and aggressive and due to its 'teenage stage', it was too proud and too sure of its own strength that it did not try to flee.
It wouldn't really have changed anything as bears, no matter how strong and fast, would never be able to outrun a vampire – but Jasper would have had a little more respect and sympathy for the animal if it would try. It was like watching Emmett, the vampire, fighting with Emmett, the bear.
He crossed his arms and leaned against a tree with his shoulder while he watched these two trying to injure and overpower the other one, until Emmett just threw himself at it. They rolled around on the forest floor for a couple of times - growling and laughing sounds coming from Em, and enraged roaring and grunting sounds from the bear - until Emmett's eyes had turned pitch-black and his thirst for bear blood took over.
He sunk his teeth into the bear's neck and just a few moments later, the black bear's slapping turned into weak scratching.
When Em was finished, he stood up from the ground, lifted the dead bear up from the ground and threw it at Jasper. "See? Easy."
Jasper threw the animal back at him and slapped his hands together to brush some of the dirt off while he cocked an eyebrow at his brother. "So pushing a bear around and letting it think it had a chance is the key?"
"... yes?"
"Good to know." Jasper wasn't sure if it would work for him, but he had nothing to lose and was willing to try anything just so that he would finally manage to get his thirst under control again. While the blood wasn't as tasty or satisfying as human blood, bear wasn't any worse than other animals. He would go home with a full stomach, and that was definitely a good thing - a hunt was never a waste of time.
They indeed found another bear after that and Emmett spent the entire time that Jasper fought with it huffing and whining, because Jasper's prey was a lot older, a lot bigger and a lot more angry and in complete attacking mode.
"You're doing it wrong! Let me show you-"
"This is mine," Jasper called back and felt the bear trying to bite a chunk of flesh out of his arm. The animal's teeth were not able to penetrate his rock hard skin, but they were able to rip a huge tear into the fabric of his shirt. Thank God he hadn't put on the clothes for the party yet or Alice would give him hell the moment he stepped through the front door.
"But you have to-"
"Em, shush! I know how to kill a bear!"
"Doesn't look like it..." He heard his brother mutter as he grabbed the bear's upper and bottom jaw in each of his hands and growled at the dark-eyed creature.
"What the heck are you doing?" Emmett asked and looked at him like he thought Jasper was a complete and utter idiot.
Jasper blinked at him in confusion. "Trying to rile it up."
"Like that? What have you been smoking?"
A huff of frustration left Jasper's lips, and he let go of the bear and pushed it away from himself to make it a little angrier. "I cannot concentrate if you don't shut up!"
"I told you not to think! Less thinking, more fighting!"
"Turn around and just let me do it, all right?"
Emmett groaned, but did turn around - he hoped it would indeed help his brother, because what he was doing right now was ridiculous and stupid.
Jasper took a deep breath to let the smell of the hot, rushing blood of the bear trigger his hunting and fighting instincts again – and then he got started.
He threw punches, that sent the bear flying into a tree, then let it slap at him. A loud laugh escaped him when he barely felt anything and the bear just got more and more furious that his opponent was seemingly invincible and just petulantly refused to die.
The angry roars and the powerful slaps made him chuckle, and he found himself gradually relax as the fight went on. This was truly enjoyable!
But after another minute, the bear's injuries became apparent as the smell of blood got heavier, and when it drooled red saliva onto Jasper's arm, the blonde slung his arms around the omnivore's shoulders and began sucking hot adrenaline-laced blood from its muscular neck.
"Wow," he whispered when the bear was drained and its heart still and silent. He would have never thought that this way of hunting was indeed more satisfying than just pouncing on an animal and draining it instantly. Animal blood was nothing compared to the wonderful rich taste of human blood, and so he had always tried to just get it over with. Feeding on animals was a necessity – and unsurprisingly it wasn't as enjoyable as feeding on humans.
But he had to admit that fighting with the prey first had been fun and it had indeed increased his appetite. The smell wasn't as repugnant anymore as he usually found it to be, and he had felt himself growing thirstier by the second. He had craved that bear blood and it had tasted good.
He stood up and – just like Em had done before – picked up the bear and threw it at his brother, which he caught in his arms with a laugh.
"See? That is hunting Emmett-style and there is no better way when you are in the mood for some yummy bear blood."
"I have to admit I'm surprised," Jasper uttered and wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb.
"Tasted better than usual, huh?"
"Yes."
"Felt great to fight a huge bear that had wanted to rip you apart and feed on your intestines while you are still alive, huh?"
Um... "It did. Thanks, Em."
"You're welcome," Em returned while he bent down and grabbed the bear's head on either side. He was just about to break its neck with one quick snap, but Jasper ran over to him and frowned.
"What are you doing?!" he queried, looking in between the dead bear and his dark-haired brother.
"Oh," Emmett let go and straightened up, then looked at him. "This was your very first bear that you properly hunted and killed, so I thought you wanted to keep something to remind you of your hunt," he explained casually, then shrugged his shoulders.
"Erm... no, thanks, I'm good," Jasper replied and shook his head while eyeing his brother weirdly. Did humans collect empty water bottles or keep the tin foil when they had finished a snack? He doubted it and he really didn't need to have pieces of his last meal lying around the house to remind him that he had eaten something, pfft.
"You sure?"
"Absolutely sure."
"Well, okay... we'll just leave him here in case you change your mind," Em said and covered the dead creature with a big bush that he had pulled from the ground, then patted it in an almost loving fashion.
While Jasper brushed some dirt and bark from his clothes, Emmett looked around and sniffed the air. "So... what now? Wanna go look for some more?"
"No, I'm actually feeling rather full. I think we need to head back home to get ready for the..."
"The party! That's going to be the bomb, let me tell ya! Parties in the sixties are way better than parties in the fifties, and since you have no idea what I'm talking about, I will brief you about everything," he said, then put an arm around Jasper's shoulders and talked away while they walked in the direction of home.
Alice, the sweet little pixie, was absolutely appalled when she saw her husband return, as his clothes were in an absolutely horrible state. He usually wasn't a messy eater, and except for a little mud on his knees or on the scruffs of his shirt, his clothes were basically still clean.
But now he looked – well, he looked like Emmett.
"We are wasting time, Jasper! Why didn't you hurry?!" she exclaimed, then pulled at her short, black hair in frustration. "And why couldn't you be a little more careful while feeding on that bear? I want you to throw that shirt away right now, Jasper! It's dirty and it's ripped! I cannot fix it, Esme cannot fix it – nobody would ever be able to fix it!"
"I'm sorry, darlin'. But now I'm ready for the party," Jasper tried apologetically and gave her a little smile that was meant to calm her.
"Told ya not to take the jacket with you," Emmett whispered in his ear, then walked past him, ruffling Alice's short, dark hair as he passed her.
She glared after him before she turned back around, got on her tip-toes and kissed her mate on the lips.
"You really need to take a shower, Jazzy. And brush your teeth, will you?" she asked, her lips forming an adorable, little pout. Bear was not her favourite, and his blood-breath would seem pretty weird to humans.
"Of course," he returned and kicked his shoes off by the door to make sure he wouldn't leave any mud stains in the house. Esme would not be pleased, that he was absolutely sure of.
"And hurry!" she called, gave him a pat on the bum to remind him to get a move on before he could even start to climb the stairs, and then vanished into the living room.
Emmett was lying on the floor in front of the TV again and watched The Jeffersons like it was something that couldn't be missed.
"Em, you're filthy," Alice told him, her face distorted in disgust as she took in his appearance one more time.
"And you're... short," he countered without taking his eyes off the TV screen.
With her arms crossed, she cleared her throat and said, "You need to get ready for the party."
"It takes a second to put on a new shirt, so no rush, Allie," he mumbled, then laughed and blinked at the TV as the show went on.
She groaned. "But you stink and your pants are dirty... you are going to ruin our night!"
He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Excuse me? I never ruin anyth-"
"Emmett Dale Cullen! How often do I have to tell you to take your shoes off at the door!"
Esme came storming into the living room and her eyes bulged when she saw him in dirty and blood-stained clothes lying on his stomach in front of the TV. "If there are blood stains on my carpet, I will -"
"Don't worry, Mom, the carpet is clean! And Em was just about to take a shower," Alice called, then shot her brother a pointed look to dare him to refuse getting ready for the party while she guided their Mom out of the room.
"Have you seen the bird's nest in that tall acorn in our back yard? I'm surprised that they would make a nest so close to our house. What kind of birds are they, hm? Let me show you, Mom, because I really don't know what they are called, but they are so cute!" she babbled away.
Emmett huffed, but then slowly pushed himself up from the carpet and switched the TV off. Glancing at the floor he detected a tiny speck of blood as the larger stains on his shirt had not dried yet, and so he grabbed a magazine from the coffee table and let it drop to the floor to cover the stain. Quickly he hurried up the stairs before Esme could come back inside, and he collected a few clothes from his closet to change into after a quick shower that would wash away the dried blood and the very manly smell of bear.
Okay, yup, Emmy's bear obsession is obviously seeping into other stories... but I couldn't do anything as these two had planned to go on a hunt together. How am I supposed to do an Emmy-free chapter when he has to be a part of it? See? It's not possible :D
All right, this chapter here was supposed to entail the party, but I decided to divide it. So in the next one we'll finally go to the party after we visited Jasper in the bathroom. I'll post it in a couple of days, because I really need to think about the outcome of the party some more and probably change it again... I really don't want to break poor Jazzy, just get him and Alice to have a major argument. Ok, come to think of it that really isn't any better... Oh, whatever, I'll think about it some more... thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! :-)