One disadvantage of not sleeping is that you have an awful lot of time to think. The whole night I wrestled with my thoughts. What if I offended Amanda? Did I come on too strong? I wasn't really trying to 'come on' at all, I acted out of complete spontaneity.

Shortly after dawn there was a soft knock on my door. I knew who it was even before he came in without waiting for a verbal signal. "Don't worry so much," Edward said as he casually stood in the doorway, "She's quite taken with you, you know." And why do you know this?? "I noticed her thoughts at lunch today," he said softly. Before I could launch into a tirade he quickly added, "I knew you'd hate it, but it wasn't intentional. Or very intentional. I could have tuned her out, but it was too fascinating. She truly enjoys being with you, your little show tonight won't scare her off."

She doesn't know about us, does she? "No, she realized you're different than normal people but doesn't know why. She's curious, but not overly so. It's not a threat. Actually, I feel relatively sure you could tell her the truth and she wouldn't be alarmed. Freaked out, probably, but not terrified. I got a good look at her mind, she's very strong. And very tough. Not much will faze her."

But why me? Why on earth could she possibly want to be around me? "You interest her. She likes the mystery of not knowing the complete truth about you. It amazes her you share so many interests, she never realized anyone living in such a small town could be so diverse. She acts like she hates your chivalry, but actually likes it. She sometimes wonders if you really exist."

I quirked an eyebrow, "She's not used to people being nice to her?" Edward paused, searching for words. "Not so much that, she's used to taking care of someone, she's not used to being taken care of. It takes her off guard. You're not scaring her off; in fact, you're drawing her in more. So calm down, Jasper!"

"I won't tell you anymore," Edward continued, "I know you want her privacy respected. I won't listen to her anymore, but I just wanted to tell you that. You've got an intriguing one here, don't be so hard on yourself." "Thank you," I said, in all sincerity. He smiled and silently slid out the door.

I relaxed after Edward's insight. At least I now knew she didn't hate me now, even if I didn't totally approve of how I had acquired this knowledge. I strolled out to the garage a few hours later, ready to go to school. Alice was already there, sitting atop the hood of my Mustang. I got the hint and pulled the keys from my pocket. We got in the car and Alice said, "I never doubted you, but I want you to know I'm very proud of you." I didn't say anything, she wasn't expecting a reply. The rest of the ride passed in relaxed silence.

The day probably couldn't have gone by any slower if it tried. I was anxious to see Amanda, yet nervous. Alice didn't seem worried about it, she was chipper as ever as we walked to lunch. "You've got to calm down!" she said in exasperation, "You're making me nervous!"

I looked over at our traditional lunch table and Amanda was already there talking to Emmett. She was laughing as Emmett, apparently, told some story called for overdramatic hand gestures. At least she didn't seem scarred for life.

"Hey!" she greeted my approach. I sat beside her and gave Emmett a curious look, hoping he hadn't been telling an embarrassing story about me. With some of Emmett's harebrained schemes there were a plethora of those…unfortunately.

"Hello, yourself," I responded, not entirely sure what to say. She wasn't perturbed by my presence as I had feared she would be, she was excited about something. "He wasn't telling you any embarrassing stories, was he?" I continued. Since she clearly wasn't upset with me I could quit stressing. "Not about you," she chuckled, casting a glance at Emmett, "About Edward." "Oh, well that's totally different then," I said, relaxing. As long as she never found out about the time Emmett physically held me down and made me listen to Hilary Duff music and wouldn't let me up until I admitted I liked it, all was right in the world.

"Do you mind too terribly giving me a ride home today?" she asked, flicking a strand of hair out of her eyes to make contact with mine. "Not at all," I conceded. "Good, because I have something for you!" she chorused. "You didn't have to…" I began. "But I did, so there," she interrupted, giving me a playful annoyed face. I really didn't want her to repay me for yesterday, it was truly my pleasure. She could never understand how badly I needed her company; any price or any venture was repaid just by her presence.

"Well, what is it then?" I asked, "You can't leave me in suspense!!" "Oh, but I can and I will," she said devilishly. "Fine then, be difficult," I said, flicking a piece of the napkin I had been tearing into tiny pieces at her. I could sense everyone at the table staring at us, listening to our banter. She noticed it at the same time I did, and we both looked down at the table, trying to dodge the spotlight.

Rosalie piped up, asking me about something, to break the silence that she knew I found uncomfortable. I answered, but I wasn't paying any attention to her question, I was too focused on the being in the chair next to me. Alice soon chimed in to whatever we were talking about and the awkwardness diminished.

A few minutes later the bell rang to usher us to the next class. "I should have thought to look for sources yesterday at the bookstore," Amanda said in an ironic tone as we entered the classroom. "Sources?" I asked. "Yeah…for the history paper," she smirked, "someone was paying a lot of attention. "That's not my specialty," I shrugged, "but it's about the Civil War and I have a ton of stuff about that at home. You're welcome to come look if you like."

I couldn't believe I just offered that. Of all the stupid things I could have done this was quite high in ranking. Before she could utter a response, the teacher barged in and decided it was time for him to start droning on about something I didn't care to listen to. Emmett cast me an amused expression, which I fervently ignored by taking perfect notes of the foolish lecture.

Class eventually ended, after what seemed like decades. Amanda said she had to go to the art room for a minute, so I waited for her by the school's front doors. Emmett took this as an opportunity to ambush me.

"So….," he began, "Are you bringing her by the house today?? Carlisle and Esme are dying to meet this girl you've been inseparable from for a month." "What?" I said, turning to him in shock, "A month?? It's been like a week!" "I beg to differ, little brother," Emmett insisted, obviously incredibly amused. "So are you bringing her by today or not?"

"I don't know…," I grumbled as Amanda appeared around the corner, "Ask Alice." "Good idea," Emmett concurred and turned to walk away. He said bye to Amanda and then disappeared. I was a tad relieved by his absence, yet completely dumbfounded. There was no way I've known this girl for a month. I may be a vampire but I still have a concept of time. Or at least I used to think so.

"I can't believe it's already March," Amanda remarked, as if reading my mind. "Me either," I honestly agreed. I still didn't think this was possible. I felt like time had stopped since I met her, or at least time for me had. It was so strange, I wasn't sure what to think of it. But I found myself not minding it. I actually liked it and that worried me endlessly.

She just shook her head as I opened the car door for her. I laughed at her, earning a glare in return. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," she informed me as we pulled out of the parking lot. "Why won't you let me be nice to you?" I asked, pretending to be hurt. "It's just weird. I don't know," she said, leafing through my case of CDs that had been in her seat. "At least you can give me a good answer," I joked, earning a playful slap on the shoulder. She probably had just bruised her hand, but if it hurt she didn't say anything.

A few minutes I found myself standing on her front porch as she unlocked the door. I followed her inside, anxious about what she had in store for me. I hoped she hadn't spent a lot of money or anything, I'd feel guilty if she thought I wanted compensation. I followed her up to her room, where I was ordered to close my eyes after I entered.

I obliged and could hear her pulling something that sounded large out from under the bed. I could tell she leaned whatever it was against the foot of the bed. I could feel her nervousness as she stood beside me and told me to open my eyes.

"Do you like it?" she asked, still nervous. I could hardly take my eyes off the painting she had made. Made for me. It was highly abstract, swirls of brilliant colors blended together perfectly into no distinct shape. It looked almost like rippling water, only in blues, reds, purples and hints of black in the shading. I could have spent hours looking at it.

"It's incredible!" I said. Before I realized what I was doing, I was giving her a hug. I could tell she was thrilled with my response to my present and didn't even feel repulsed when I hugged her. "You didn't have to do this," I went on, "But I love it." "I'm glad," she said, smiling as she watched me look at the painting. I couldn't think of a place in my entire house that would do this justice.

"Do you want to come home with me?" I asked, before I realized what I was saying. "You can help me find the best spot to hang this and then you can look at my Civil War stuff, if you like." "That sounds awesome," she said smiling in enthusiasm. It didn't take anyone with my special ability to tell she was excited about spending more time with me. This excited me.

I carefully picked up the canvas, making sure I didn't damage the wood frame that supported the fabric with my excessive strength. "It's not a newborn baby," Amanda said, amused by my precaution, "You don't have to touch it like it's gonna shatter." I chose to ignore this as I maneuvered it into the backseat of my car. She rolled her eyes at me as we pulled out of the driveway.

'Where are your grandparents?" I asked suddenly. I hoped she didn't think I was being nosey. "At a doctor's appointment," she answered, seemingly unperturbed. "My grandfather has leukemia," she elaborated, and I sensed the sadness that made me first notice her rear its head again. He must not be doing well then, I gathered. "I'm sorry," I offered quietly as we pulled into my driveway. She shrugged, I could tell she didn't want to discuss it further.

"I should warn you," I began, trying to change the subject, "You'll probably be bombarded. I don't bring people around often, either. My family won't know quite what to make of this." "It can't be as bad as my grandparents," she laughed, "Besides, I know everyone except your parents."

"That's true," I agreed, hopping out of the car and opening her door. She just rolled her eyes and got out. I then pulled the canvas out of the backseat and we made our way to the front door, where I knew my overly excited family would be waiting to ambush us.

A/N: this is definitely the last chapter until next week, but I didn't think I would finish this one before I had to take off, but I did….insomnia again. Ugh. Anyway, leave me lots of love until then! ~Michelle