For some remarkably stupid reason, I decided to drive to Amanda's house instead of running. Running would have been a lot quicker, since I got stuck behind a car that was adamantly going the speed limit. Charlie Swan was the driver, of all people, and to avoid the hassle of being pulled over I opted not to speed. The annoyance actually pained me. Eventually he puttered along enough for me to turn on Amanda's street, escaping his obnoxious show of following the law. I walked up to her house, hugging my jacket closer to me in the rain…a useless human habit that never wore off.

Alice had said she was on the roof, so instead of going in the house I grabbed a branch of the large oak tree beside the porch and swung myself up into it. From there I casually jumped onto the roof and made my way to the awning we spent so much time under, where I knew she would be.

Amanda didn't notice my silent approach, she was curled up in the corner staring blankly out into the rain. It looked like she had been crying but wasn't anymore. She jumped as I sat down beside her, the overwhelming sense of sadness that consumed her enveloped me also. "Are you alright?" I asked nervously. I didn't want to upset her further, but I wanted to know.

She nodded, "How did you know to come ov-?" "Alice," I interrupted. "Right," she muttered. "Are you alright?" I repeated, evading her attempts to change the subject. "I guess," she finally answered, after a moment's pause. "What kind of an answer is that?" I demanded softly.

"Mine," Amanda replied, "I don't know… I think I'm fine. Or eventually I will be, anyway." "Do you want to tell me what happened?" I questioned, "You don't have to, I don't mean to interrogate you, but I just want to help you." "I know, I'm sorry I'm being difficult," she apologized, wiping away a tear threatening to spill over. "That's not important, just talk to me," I assured her.

"I think I told you my grandmother took my grandfather to a doctor's appointment in Spokane today," she began, her voice soft compared to the torrent of rain. "Anyway, apparently he just died. I don't know if something went wrong in a test or what, but he died." She trailed off, choking back tears instead of continuing. "I'm sorry," I offered, putting my arm around her shoulders. To my surprise, she moved in closer to me. I knew this was unusually hard on her, from what she had told me her father had died when she was quite young and she didn't really remember him. She and John, her grandfather, were really close, seeing as how he took on the role of the father figure.

"Is there anything you want me to do?" I offered, "Take you to Spokane so you can be with Lillian or something?" "No, I'm not in the mood to be around anyone," she muttered, feeling guilty about that statement but not entirely regretting it. "I can leave if you want, I didn't mean to intrude," I said, not thinking of it before. "I want you to stay," she muttered into my shoulder, where she had buried her face.

"I'm a vortex of bad luck," she said randomly. "No you're not," I argued. I thought she was one of the best things to ever happen to me, but I hadn't voiced that to anyone yet. If anything my "luck" had significantly improved since she entered my life.

"I end up losing everyone close to me, I've lost friends, all my family that I claim except my grandmother…that doesn't happen to the majority of people, so it must be something about me," she elaborated., "that's why I was so afraid to get close to you…I don't want anything to happen to you. I can't lose you."

"I don't think that's a big problem," I joked, lamely trying to lighten the mood, "I'm about as close to indestructible as you can get." She didn't say anything, but shivered involuntarily. I shrugged my jacket off and draped it around her. "Jasper?" she asked suddenly, looking up to meet my gaze." "Yes?"

"I know you don't really like to use your um…power to help with every little thing, but could you…I…I don't know how ask. I don't want to feel like this anymore," she requested, staring down at the shingles on the roof. "Of course," I immediately agreed, sending a wave of calmness through her. "Thank you," she mumbled, leaning back into my shoulder.

I brushed a lock of damp hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear. "You should go inside, before you freeze," I suggested. She shrugged. How I adored such an ambiguous response. I scooped her up and darted from our small shelter from the rain to her window before she had time to react. I jumped down into her open window so gracefully neither of us was even slightly jolted. I was moderately impressed with myself.

I set her on the bed so she was leaning against the headboard and pulled the sheets around her. "You've been around Esme too long," she muttered, amused in spite of her current state. "Sorry?" I offered, not sure if that was a compliment or insult…as if being compared to Esme could ever be a negative thing. "You're being all motherly or something," she explained. "Just because I don't get hypothermia doesn't mean you can't, it's hardly mothering," I said, wrapping another blanket that I had found on the floor around her.

I sat on the other side of the bed next to her, I didn't want to seem presumptuous but closer proximity made my ability to help her stronger. She moved closer to me and rested her head on my shoulder again. "You need to warm up, being close to me is the last thing you should do," I pointed out. "I'll risk it," she mumbled. I didn't see what possible comfort my presence could have been, other than my inhuman ability, but now wasn't the time to ask.

"You should go to sleep," I said, glancing at the clock on her desk, "It's nearly 3am." "I can't," she said simply. "I can help with that, if you want," I offered. I can't actually make people drowsy, but it is possible to relax them to the point of sleep. "Okay," she agreed softly.

We were silent a few minutes as my handiwork began to take affect. I could feel her physical tenseness dissolving. "Will you stay?" she asked suddenly, "Unless you have something actually productive to be doing." "I'll be here as long as you need," I assured her. I had all the time in the world to be 'productive'; she was all that was important to me at the moment. It's strange that after living for nearly two centuries and traveling the world that all of a sudden my entire world could exist inside a tiny bedroom in the nowhere town of Forks.

She had dozed off and I listened to the sound of her even breathing. I looked at the old photographs on her walls. They were mostly of cathedrals, I wondered if she had ever been to some of them. Or if she wanted to go. I glanced at one of the books strewn on the bedside table…Anne Rice of all things. I quietly snorted in amusement and immediately worried that my abrupt movement had disturbed her. I flipped through it absent mindedly, intrigued to see the many falsities presented. Sleeping in a coffin sounds entertaining, I should try it sometime. Only I couldn't sleep, so I would just have to settle for lying there awkwardly.

I could have watched her sleep and have been endlessly entertained, but I didn't want to creep her out. Someone staring at me for hours on end would have bothered me, so I didn't want to do the same to her. I would have felt like a leering old man…which I guess is an accurate description.

My thoughts raced for the next few hours, their fast pace contrasted with my perfectly still body. Another quirk of being a vampire. I stayed so still once I actually had begun to collect dust. Emmett threatened to swiffer me…whatever a "swiffer" was. I could see rays of sunlight coming in through the window, which worried me a little. I hadn't told Amanda that I sparkle in the sun. I wasn't a fan of sparkling, it wasn't my nature. Alice was the sparkler in our group. Wasn't a sparkler some form of firework or something? I wondered if there was such a thing as vampire ADD.
The clock said it was nearing 9am when Amanda began to stir. "Stupid sun," she muttered, shielding her face from it in my shoulder. I chuckled and she jumped and looked up at me. "You stayed," she said with a small smile. "I told you I would, you didn't believe me?" I asked. "I don't remember asking," she admitted, "but thank you." I nodded, not feeling the need to say 'you're welcome' because that implied I was out something. Out of my mind maybe, but nothing more than that.

"If you're ready to get up, I can cook you breakfast," I offered. "You cook?" she asked incredulously. "And not too badly, either," I replied, "Bella says I make a good omelet, but I personally wouldn't know." "Sounds good to me," she said, stretching and sliding out of bed. We went downstairs, where I insisted she rest on the couch while I cooked. She rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. Her mild protest always amused me.

I flipped the egg concoction out of the skillet and onto a plate and brought it to her in the next room. She had the TV on a station showing the old 'Dracula' movie. "You've got to be kidding me," I moaned as I sat on the couch with her. She shrugged and tossed the remote at me, as if I cared about television. "This is good," she said, swallowing a bite of her breakfast, "You're like Martha Stewart or something, in addition to being the walking chill pill." I laughed at her comparison and shut up so she could eat.

"Are you expecting someone?" I asked a few minutes later. "I don't think so, why?" she said. "Someone's about to pull in the drive," I explained. "It might be my grandmother, or my aunt….ugh," she said, glowering at the coffee table, "If it is her, I apologize in advance for her obnoxiousness. You can eat her if you want, I won't tell anyone. Except Edward, who would already know… damnit, Edward!" "Tempting offer, but I'll pass," I smirked, "I'll be sure and file that offer away." "You think I'm kidding," Amanda sneered as the front door opened, revealing a woman with a very unpleasant demeanor and bad dye job.

"Who're you?" she barked as she plopped two large bags on the floor. "This is Jasper," Amanda said in a forced introduction. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am," I said, attempting to be polite even though she had a personality like battery acid. "You know you're not supposed to have boys over when no one's here," the woman declared. "I wasn't aware of that rule." "Yes you were, it's always been one of my rules," she carried on. "You don't live here, you can't tell me what to do. They don't have a problem with Jasper being over anytime, they like him, so don't go pushing your juvenile 'rules' off on me," Amanda retorted, growing angrier by the second, "Besides, he just came over to make sure I was fine and made me breakfast. As if I have to justify anything to you."

"Leave," the aunt said, glaring at me and pointing toward the door. I didn't see a point in contesting, so I stood up to leave. Amanda followed me to the door and onto the porch. "I'm sorry about Barbara, you can still eat her if you want," she said, still angry after the ordeal. "It's fine, I'll see you later," I said, watching the wind ruffle her hair. She went back inside and I went to my car and tossed Alice, who was sitting on the hood, the keys. She sped away as I used the same tree as last night for leverage and hoisted myself onto the roof and back into Amanda's room. I felt like such a rebel.

Her bedroom was bathed in light and I instinctively stood in the corner that was in shadow. I heard her aunt continue on a verbal rampage, lecturing about why I shouldn't have been here and laying down new 'rules' or something. Her dictator like attempts of control were quite amusing, yet if I were down there I probably would have had to rip her head off for Amanda's sake.

I could feel Amanda's anger seething but she didn't say anything. Eventually, when her aunt paused to breathe, Amanda asked, "Are you finished?" I chuckled in spite of myself; I practically felt her glare. Someone began storming up the stairs, I could tell it was Amanda by the light footsteps and what sounded suspiciously like Italian profanity. She flung her door open and looked surprised to see me there, standing arms crossed in the dark corner with a smirk.

"I can't believe she didn't scare you off," she said, sitting on the bed. "I don't frighten easily," I said, "Remember, I do live with Emmett." I actually got her to laugh and admit I had a point. "You can come over here, you know, I don't want to murder you," she said, giving me a confused glance. "The sun doesn't really agree with me," I explained. "Will you melt or burst into flames? I thought you told me all the vampire rumors weren't true," she expounded. "They're not, but I…uh…sparkle in the sun," I scowled. "I wouldn't have pegged you for the sparkly type," she smiled. "I'm not, but I can't help it. It's really quite obnoxious," I continued brooding.

She stood up and closed the blinds over the window. "Will you come out now?" she asked, sitting back on the bed. I went over and sat by her in unspoken agreement. "Why didn't you ask me to show you," I asked, suddenly curious. "Clearly it bothers you, and I didn't want to force it out of you or anything. Then you'd just be ill and I'd feel guilty."

Her aunt called for Amanda at the base of the stairs and she stormed out the door to the voice, muttering the foreign curses again. I could hear their muffled voices but didn't pay attention to the conversation, with that woman it probably wasn't anything important. Amanda reentered a minute later, looking entertained in spite of her radiating annoyance.

"Apparently, she's going off to take care of…funeral business, and I'm not supposed to leave the house and no one's supposed to come over," she explained with an ironic smile. "Well that difficults things," I said sarcastically. "As if there's any mischief I can get into in this town anyway," she said in dissatisfaction. Barbara's car thundered out of the driveway and I felt the atmosphere of the house instantly lift.

"You don't know me as well as I thought," I said. "And just what are you implying?" "You could come home with me, we'd have some real shenanigans," I continued. She burst into laughter, "Sometimes you talk like such an old man." "Well, I am," I reminded her, laughing because she was. Laughter was remarkably contagious, especially to me. "So do you want to?" I asked, egging for an answer.

"That would be nice," she nodded, "it would get my mind off…things. But I have to get back before she does or there'll be hell to pay." "Not a problem, Alice is probably already on it," I said, trying to ease her worry. "Okay then," she agreed, after a moment's consideration, "How are we getting there? I heard the Mustang leave." "Again, not a problem," I said, heading toward the window.

I opened it and hopped out onto the roof. I offered her my hand and helped pull her up with me. I took her arms and hoisted her onto my back. After making sure she had a secure grip, not that it made a difference, I wouldn't have let her fall but it made her feel better, I headed to the edge of the roof to leap down. "Ugh, I don't like heights," she moaned into my back. "You hang out on a roof and are afraid of heights," I laughed, earning a slight punch on the arm. I walked off the edge of the roof and landed smoothly. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" I asked. "I guess not," she reluctantly agreed. "If you get dizzy easily you should close your eyes," I warned. "I'm fine," she insisted and I took off running.