A/N: Happy belated Easter! Thanks for putting up with my late updates!

Time Bomb- All Time Low

Previously…

"Where's Alice?" I asked calmly, a storm brewing under the facade.

"Oh. Well she ditched me yesterday in Venice so I got Emmett to meet me up here. No need to waste a trip." She explained, clearly sensing my overwhelming anger.

I hung up without another word.

She could bitch me out later, but now I had a vampire army to train and three weeks to do it.

Alice better not hold her breathe because is she expected to live after threatening my life and Bella's she had another thing coming.

I walked back to my bike at a human pace and turned, speeding in the direction of the house; gray dust spitting into the air behind me.

…

"I'm not saying that it will happen overnight, but in time I would like to be able to start over. I forgive you, but it's impossible for me to imagine trusting you or being completely comfortable around you right now."

"But in the future…" He trailed off.

"Edward I'm not looking to make any promises to you." I warned severely, noticing the hopeful gleam in his eyes. "Our romantic relationship is finished. Over. Done with. I'm merely saying that maybe after time I will be able to stand in the same room with you without feeling sad, pissed off, or a combination of the two."

"I'm just content with the fact that you haven't completely shut me out of your life." He replied earnestly.

"That's only because this is my family too. If it wasn't for our family would have probably high-tailed it to Phoenix." I commented honestly.

I could tell he didn't take my last words well, yet we remained outside until the sun disappeared from the sky, and the full moon was out.

BELLA POV

One week. That's how long it had taken for me to understand the basics of controlling my shield.

Everyday Jasper and I, sometimes joined by Eleazar, Emmett, or Garrett, would trek into the woods and practice using and deactivating my shield.

So far I was able to block any attacks that came from a vampire's power. Such as Jasper's ability to influence and sense emotions, and Eleazar's to see the abilities that vampires were gifted with. And I was starting to get the hang of the physical shield, but it took almost all of my concentration to keep up. And using both shields at the same time was really draining on my strength.

Over the past week I had gotten to know the other vampires pretty well. Maggie from the Irish Coven was really quiet and rarely strayed from her other coven member's side. Siobhan, also from the Irish coven, was really entertaining. She was always full of stories from past experiences, some of which made her seem a little crazy; or eccentric as Jasper puts it. Garrett was just really overwhelmed by being around such a large group of vampires and it took him a couple of days to warm up. But, he's really just sweet; and has eyes only for Tanya.

Everything was always busy because there were a couple of new vampires that arrived over the past seven days. Zafrina, the illusionist from the Amazon coven showed up alone about five days ago. With a height of almost 6 feet, unbelievably long, straight, black hair, and caramel colored skin she stood out among all the rest of us with her surreal beauty.

Then, just yesterday, two other vampires arrived. Their presence shocked everyone until Carlisle was able to discover the reason for their arrival. Vladimir and Stefan were the Romanian coven. They claimed to be even older than the Volturi, a notion I believed because of their other-worldly look. Their skin was even more translucent than Aro's and their eyes were the brightest red I have ever seen.

Everyone seemed wary of the latest two vamps to join us, but I was interested in them. How much history they had witnessed! Jasper seemed to share my sentiments and held a certain amount of respect for them.

I sighed, wishing I could feel the sunlight that was beating against my skin. I had managed to escape the house and come out to the old meadow that Edward had shown to me all those years ago. It seems like that day was a lifetime ago.

I felt someone approach me and heard them lay down a foot away from where I was laying.

Ah, I was wondering when someone would find my hiding spot.

I decided to start coming here because I figured this was the last place anyone would look for me, seeing how disastrous Edward and I's relationship ended.

"The one thing I miss the most is the sun."

I cracked an eye open at his statement and watched the look of contentment on Jasper's face.

"I miss sleeping, and dreams." I replied, turning on my side to face my blonde companion.

"Well you seem to make up for it with all the daydreaming you do during the day." He chortled, earning a smack on the shoulder.

"Jasper Whitlock! Are you looking to get your ass kicked?"

"No ma'am." He responded letting a southern drawl seep into the words, eyes twinkling mischievously.

I was unable to keep the smile off my face. I loved it when Jasper was carefree like this and let go of all the issues we had to resolve before the upcoming fight.

I rolled my eyes at his response and turned back over to face the blue sky.

The grass around us was lit up from the light reflecting off us. It made his hair look as if it was glowing.

"Why don't you always have your accent?"

"Years and years of practice on covering it up."

"Why?"

"A southern accent in Washington, or anywhere else, would only make me stand out more. Besides, it would be strange for only one member of the coven to have an accent when we go places. People would notice and ask questions."

"Oh. Well I like it."

He chuckled. "Well, thanks darlin' I guess."

I didn't respond and allowed us to slip into a comfortable silence for awhile.

"You know-" He began, interrupting the quiet. "If you remove your shield I could try and put a really strong dose of calm, tranquility on you. That's probably as close as a vampire can get to sleeping."

I readily agreed and allowed my shield to slip away, eagerly waiting to see if his idea would work.

It crept up slowly, but eventually I realized that everything had faded into the background. All the sounds, smells, and tastes had dimmed so that I could barely sense them. I felt light, weightless, and unconnected from the world around me. It was something completely indescribable. Not quite sleep, but something else that was almost as invigorating.

…Eventually, I felt his emotional influence ebb away, and I sat up quickly.

"That was amazing! How did you figure out how to do that?" I questioned breathlessly as I gave him a quick, grateful hug.

"It actually just appeared in my head a minute ago, I've never actually tried it on anyone." He admitted before standing up.

"You're heading back already?"

"Bella, you were out for three hours."

"Three? What? But how is that-I mean, it only felt like a few minutes!"

"Just like real sleep for humans."

Oh yeah. I had almost forgotten that.

We left the meadow at a human pace, neither of us in any hurry to get back to the house.

"So why'd you go to the meadow anyways?" He asked suddenly, causing me to stop in the middle of the forest, still a good two miles from the house.

"What do you mean? I just wanted some peace and quiet to think."

"No. I mean why did you go to that meadow?"

"That meadow? Jasper where are you going with this?"

He groaned in frustration and raked a hand through his messy hair before responding. "Why, of all the places I looked, did I find you in yall's meadow? After checking my room, your room, the baseball field, and even the La Push boundary, why did I find you there?"

"I don't understand why you're attacking me about this." I responded in confusion before it hit me. "Wait? Is this about Edward? Because that was the meadow that he showed me a long time ago?"

His unwaveringly fierce expression answered my question.

"Jasper." I gasped. "That meadow means nothing to me anymore. It was just a place for me to gather my thoughts."

"But are you sure Bella? Because I know you and Edward spoke a week ago out on the porch. And you don't seem as angry at him anymore. And I fear…that I'm losing you." He said, his eyes alight with something that made my heart catch.

"I spoke to Edward because I was finally able to without feeling like I was going to lose it." I began quietly. "And you know what I discovered after that conversation? That I was finally, completely through with Edward. No more tears or thinking about what we used to have, because truthfully I realized that I was over him. It didn't hurt to think about him with Alice because it didn't matter to me anymore. I didn't care. And that-"

My speech was interrupted by Jasper suddenly grasping my face in his hands and bringing his lips to mine.

I inhaled sharply through my nose and tried to pull back, but he held me steadfast, and after a few seconds I felt my body relax as I fell into our first kiss.

A/N: Well that end surprised me just as much as it did you guys. I started this chapter out not planning to have them kiss for a few more chapters, but oh well. I think that should be more than okay with you guys. ;) lol. THANK YA'LL SO MUCH FOR READING AND REIVEWING! It makes me so happy that you guys are enjoying this story! 3