"You won't get in trouble for this, will you?" I asked as I tore down the highway. I tend to forget that not everyone's 'parents' didn't mind their kids disappearing for awhile. "Nah," she laughed, "They'll be more amazed I've actually found someone my own age who I can stand to be with."
Her own age…ha. If only she knew I had nearly 150 years on her. "You're parents don't mind impromptu excursions to Seattle?" she asked. I shook my head, "They're used to it, I take off a lot." "I guess there are a lot worse things you could do rather than go to a bookstore, huh?" she smirked.
"You could say that," I said quietly. I could sense her curiosity about that statement, but thankfully she didn't say anything. I liked that about her, she didn't press me for answers. She was looking out the window at the scenery passing by in a blur of colors. What I wouldn't have given to hear her thoughts right then. For once, where was Edward when I needed him?
"Just for the record," Amanda began, turning to look at me, "they probably will be pretty ill if I die in a high speed car accident." I could tell she wasn't afraid of my lunatic driving, just amused. "I'll keep that in mind," I concurred, "but just for the record, it's much more exciting to go thrice the legal speed limit." "Oh, I'm not arguing," she laughed, "Just throwing that out there…."
We were silent a few minutes. Not an uncomfortable silence as it might have been with anyone else. We were just listening to the music on the radio, each in our own thoughts. "There's something different about you," Amanda said after a few moments, breaking the silence and snapping me out of my reverie. If I would have had a heartbeat, it would have stopped. She couldn't know…could she? She had no way of figuring what I was out.
"Oh?" I asked, hiding my surprise and borderline panic. "I don't know how to explain it…you're just different. Not in a bad way. Actually it's a nice change from the monotony of normal people," she elaborated, articulating carefully as if trying to make sense of her thoughts, "I'll have to figure it out."
"You can try to…but you won't," I told her with a smirk. "Oh, is that challenge?" she grinned, trying to be indignant. "Not at all, just a fact," I said confidently. "Well, since I can't figure it out, will you tell me?" she asked, only halfway serious. "Not a chance," I laughed, trying to keep the mood light. "Maybe someday, but not any time soon," I added.
"I'll remind you of that," she remarked. She seemed to sense I was uncomfortable and changed the subject. "What's so magnificent about this bookstore?" "It's the best," I smiled, running with the new subject, "They have a great variety with a lot of obscure titles that are hard to find." We chatted for the remainder of the trip about random things. Of course, the remainder of the trip was about half an hour, being able to drive so fast really cuts down on my travel time.
I maneuvered the Mustang around the meandering streets of downtown Seattle. "Ugh, I'm so turned around," Amanda mumbled. "Yeah, It's a touch out of the way, but that makes it all the better for us," I replied, "Keeps out the riff raff." She erupted in laughter, "did you really just say riff raff??" "Sorry…?" I replied, taken back by her reaction. "I've never heard anyone under 50 say that seriously," she continued, still grinning in amusement. I shrugged and parked the car. "I've heard younger people say it!" I argued playfully. "Riiight," she smirked, getting out of the car.
It was lightly drizzling and we hurried to the entrance to the bookstore. I noticed that her normally straight hair curled slightly in the rain. I held the door open for her, much to her chagrin. She didn't even comment, just glared at me before being immediately distracted by the mass of bookshelves.
"I don't even know where to start," she said in awe. I laughed and followed her as she began to explore the shelves. We perused the shelves, casually discussing the pros and cons of books we recognized and picking up ones we didn't. I lingered in the philosophy section and she moved on to the art history shelves. I had already gathered an armful of books that would keep me occupied for awhile. I meandered back to where Amanda was mesmerized by a huge art history book. I got closer and read the title…something about early 20th century art.
She noticed my approach and reluctantly returned the book back to the shelf. "Get it," I encouraged, gesturing toward the discarded book. "Er, no," she said, "it's $200… that's my art money!" "True," I agreed as she picked up the book she was going to buy. After paying, we dashed out to dump the books in the car before we headed down the street to the art supply store.
Amanda was beside herself with glee as we walked around inside. Or rather, she dashed around grapping paints and brushes and canvas and whatever else while I tried to keep up. She was like a little kid in a candy store. Or a vampire in a bloodbank. Both of our arms were laden with her supplies as we meandered back to the front of the store to pay. There was a bit of a long line and I suddenly had a brainstorm.
"I think I left my phone in the car," I lied, "do you mind if I go get it? Carlisle or Esme might have called." She shook her head and I tried to walk at a normal pace out of the store. As soon as I was out of her sight, I dashed back down to the bookstore. I grabbed the book she was looking at previously, as well as a few others on the same subject that looked promising. I paid and put them in the car with my other books so she wouldn't see.
I retuned to the art store as she was finishing paying. Upon returning to the car we discovered that Mustangs weren't developed with large canvas transportation in mind, but we made them fit. The ride home passed quickly, we chatted about random things like old friends. It was well after dark when I pulled into her driveway.
We got out and I helped her with her bags to the door. An older woman, who I assumed to be Amanda's grandmother, opened the door right before Amanda turned the knob. "I'm glad you decided to come back!" the woman laughed, taking one of Amanda's bags from her. "I almost didn't," Amanda said, "You should have seen the bookstore!" I found myself smiling while listening to them, the woman was charming. She ushered us from the entryway into the living room where we discarded Amanda's purchases.
"I'm Lillian, Amanda's grandmother," she said, turning to me and smiling warmly. "Oh, sorry," Amanda said, gesturing to me, "This is Jasper." "So this is the person who kidnapped my granddaughter for the day?" Lillian asked. I could tell she wasn't upset, just surprised about something. "I'm afraid so," I answered. "Well done then, she's been itching to get out of here for awhile," Lillian laughed before continuing, "It's lovely to meet you, dear." "The pleasure is mine," I responded cordially but sincerely. "Ugh, you and your manners," Amanda said, playfully glowering at me.
"The runaway has returned!" an older man exclaimed, coming down the stairs into the living room. He hugged Amanda while she asked, "How are you feeling today, Grandpa?" "Oh, just fine," he said, ruffling her hair like people do to little kids. "And who is this young man?" "I'm Jasper, sir," I answered. "It's nice to meet you, son," he smiled, "I'm John."
"I think I left a bag in the car," Amanda said, looking pointedly at me. "Good grief, there's more?!" John joked. "I choose to ignore that!" she said as I followed her to the front door. "They seem quite nice," I said as we walked down the front steps. "They are, but I had to get you out of there…. I don't bring people around very often…or really not ever, so they could have badgered you all night," she said, grabbing the last bag of her things from the trunk. I grabbed the bag of books I had bought for her so quickly that she never would have noticed.
I took the bag from her hand and followed her back to the front door. "You know, I really can carry things myself," she insisted. "But you shouldn't have to since I can," I also insisted, "But I suppose you can have it now." I handed her the bag back after we were standing on the porch. "I can't think of a witty reply,"she admitted, took the bag and set it in a chair by the front door.
"You're forgetting something," I said, pulling the other bag out of the inside of my jacket. "That must be yours, I've got all my stuff," she said with a confused expression. "I'm quite sure it's yours," I replied, thrusting it into her hands. "But I didn't…" she started, looking into the bag, then back at me, "Jasper, you shouldn't have spent this much money on me!" I laughed at her reaction, "It's just to thank you for coming with me today." "You take me to Seattle and you thank me?" she asked incredulously, but I could tell she was actually rather touched by my gesture. I didn't say anything; I just watched her look through her new books again. It probably made me happy to see her so excited.
After a moment of further perusing, she looked up at me and said, "Well, you know I don't think you should have, but thank you." She then gave me a hug, which was one of the last things I was expecting. But I didn't even think of hurting her. It didn't seem to even be an option.
"So I'll see you tomorrow, then?" I asked as she released me. "Yep," she answered, taking a step back. "Until tomorrow, then," I said, taking her hand and kissing it. It wouldn't have taken a vampire to see that my action surprised her, but it wasn't a bad type of surprised. I wasn't even sure why I did it, but it seemed to fit the moment. "Bye," she said softly as I walked back to the car.
A/N: Oooh, a surprise ending! This might be my last update until after the Thanksgiving break…I'm going out of town and (probably) won't have access to a computer. I'm working on the next chapter, but I might not have it done by the time I have to leave. So until then, leave me lots of love! :D