I drove aimlessly around town for awhile to give Amanda time to eat dinner with Lillian. I knew I was welcome to stay, but I was running out of excuses not to eat. Amanda came up with a few but telling her grandmother that I was a vampire would be more believable. A fruitarian? Why would I be one of those, even if I needed to eat?!
I strummed my fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. I always got stopped at the only red light in town. Sadly, I can't manipulate machinery. Eventually it turned green and I sped back home to ditch the Mustang. The poor car whined in protest at my violent acceleration.
I slammed it into park in the garage and eyed the motorcycle that Edward had given me. I decided to ride it to Amanda's since I could hide it more easily than a car. And it was more fun than a car. I should give Amanda a ride; she'd like it…the adrenaline junkie.
The only upside to living in Forks is that, with the way I drive, I could be at her house in less than three minutes. Two minutes on good days when that damned light didn't stop me. I parked the motorcycle behind some shrubbery so Lillian wouldn't see. I could sense Amanda was on the roof, so I hoisted myself up the tree and onto the roof.
Amanda didn't hear me, she was sitting under the awning we spent so much time under with an acoustic guitar and a beer. She picked at the guitar absentmindedly and I smile crept to my lips as I silently crept up beside her.
"You know, underage drinking and rooftops might not mix well," I smirked.
She shrugged. "Only if I fall off." Her mood was unreadable. She wasn't upset, or happy. Just kind of there, her mind was a million miles away. I had clearly snapped her out of a daze.
"I didn't know you play the guitar."
"That's because I don't," she laughed, coming back to reality. "I like to hold it and pluck a string or two and pretend I'm actually playing. Edward offered to give me some lessons when this whole…episode's over."
She laid the guitar gently down on the roof and took a swig of beer.
"Beer was better in my day," I quipped. "Before there were health regulations and alcohol limits… and before moonshine was illegal."
She held the bottle out to me to offer me some. I rolled my eyes.
"I'm just trying to be polite!!" She really wasn't any good at trying to act offended because she always ended up cracking a smile.
"How's the motorcycle?"
"Marvelous. Do you want a ride?"
"Can I drive part of the way?" She was suddenly very excited.
"Once we get out of town," I agreed, her excitement seeping into me.
She swallowed the rest of her drink and gently set the guitar on the floor in her room. She shut the window and smiled widely.
"That's another upside to living with grandparents, they go to bed at like 7:00! Not that it matters, for some reason Grandma's under the impression you're a responsible young lad. Which might be your own doing."
I shrugged guiltily. Lillian did like me, but sometimes I…aided it. I scooped Amanda up and gingerly stepped right off the roof. The ground seemed to take forever to come up and meet my feet. I landed gracefully, neither one of us jolted by the impact. I dashed over to the bush where the bike was. I set Amanda down, leapt on the bike and cranked it in one fluid motion.
"You and your superb coordination," she scowled.
"You ready?"
She grinned and hopped on behind me. I took her arms and put them securely around my waist. I knew she wouldn't fall off, but I liked having her close. She rested her chin on my shoulder. Sitting down like this was the only time we were remotely close to the same height….standing up I had a good seven inches or so on her. She kissed my neck as we tore out onto the road.
"We're so badass!!" she laughed. I laughed with her and concentrated on enjoying the moment. There wasn't a reason to think about anything that wasn't right here, right now.
"Stop worrying," she said playfully, but sternly as we sat at that same stupid traffic light.
"How can you tell?"
"You tense up. You're not nearly as reticent as you think you are."
"You're more observant than you think you are," I argued. No one else, even my family, had my mannerisms figured out so well.
"I know, for instance, my keen observation has noted that approximately a fourth of the city's population is staring at us right now."
"Well, let's give them something to stare at," I chuckled before I turned my upper body around and kissed her. I could feel the waves of reaction from our "audience." Some bewilderment, some surprise, some…jealousy that radiated from a throng of teenage boys. That irked me, they had had their chance with her and they ignored Amanda's existence. I quickly made myself quit dwelling on it.
"I think they might want an encore," Amanda laughed as we sped away.
"We have to save some for later. Remember, one of us has to breathe."
She smacked me on the shoulder. We lapsed into comfortable silence as the unusually warm air whipped around us. I could feel her heartbeat into my back, its steady rhythm was reassuring to me.
Once we were out of Forks I pulled off the road.
"What're you doing?" she asked as I swung my leg off the motorcycle.
"I said I'd let you drive, you didn't believe me?" I stuck my bottom lip out like she did when she wanted to look pitiful. On her it was more convincing.
She slid forward on the bike with a gleeful smile.
"Do you know where everything is?" I asked as I hopped on behind her.
"Got it," she said and started the bike. I lightly put my arms around her waist, not to keep me on the machine, but just to touch her.
She skillfully maneuvered back onto the deserted road and smoothly shifted gears. I was impressed; I had been expecting this to be more of a learning experience for her. Clearly I was wrong. After a moment of observing her skill with the bike I fully relaxed. I hadn't been worried before, if something were to have happened I could've reacted faster than it occurred. My fiancé had many talents, who knew motorcycles were one of them?
She began to slow down and pull off the road after awhile.
"Tired?" I asked.
"Nah, I can't see well anymore, it's getting too dark. Remember, one of us doesn't have night vision," she mocked me from earlier.
I chuckled and slid up closer to the handlebars before she could get off. I gripped them and began to drive us back with Amanda still sitting in front of me.
"Show off," she laughed.
I shrugged and kissed her cheek.
"Are you excited for graduation or do you even care anymore?" she inquired, relaxing into my chest.
"This time I care," I answered. "Besides, going off to college is always a nice change of pace; the atmosphere is so much more tolerable and there's more freedom. You'll enjoy it. Plus, you don't have to have morning classes."
We were both excited for Cornell to start in the fall. She was going into art history and I was going into philosophy. I imagined that, like the ultimate nerd couple, we'd spend hours in the library pouring over books no one had opened in a decade.
Amanda was completely relaxed. Somehow she had managed to bring her legs up and sit Indian style and lean back against me on the motorcycle. I was impressed by her coordination and balance to maintain the pose.
Sometimes I still didn't understand how she could be so at ease around me with the knowledge that I could slaughter her at any minute lurking in the back of her mind. She trusted me more than I did. The more I was with her the less I thought of myself as a bloodsucking monster, but still not quite a person. I felt like a hybrid of the two.
"Ya know what?" she spouted randomly after a few minutes of silence. Once again we were sitting at the stupid traffic light, only this time the audience had gone inside.
"What?"
"I love you."
"And I love you. More than I ever thought it was possible to love anything."
"Aaaw, you're sweet!" she gushed. I always picked up on a hint of surprise from her whenever I said things like that.
I switched the motorcycle off and silently hid it behind the shrubs again in front of Amanda's house. She got off the bike and stretched.
"I'm too old to sit still for long without gettin' stiff," she laughed. "But look who I'm telling this to!"
I stuck my tongue out at her before swinging her up onto my back and darting up to the roof. I opened the window, bounded inside, and set her on the bed the same gesture.
"You're getting good at this," she laughed as I shut the window quietly.
"An acquired skill," I explained and lay down on my back on the bed. "What's that?" I gestured to a box sitting atop her desk.
"Oh. Uh, some of…Grandpa's things." I could nearly hear her close up.
I nodded, but decided to go out on a limb and ask a question. "Why don't you like to talk about him?"
"It doesn't change anything, he's still dead and there's nothing I can do or any amount of conversation that can fix it. Talking about him in past tense hurts. So I don't."
I nodded and decided not to press it. She didn't talk about any of her family who had died, I'd only heard her mention her parents a handful of times, clearly she didn't deal with death well at all. Lillian was right to have been so worried about her at the funeral.
She cocked an eyebrow at me. "No interrogation?"
"No, do whatever it is you need to do to cope. But I can help, in any way you need." I added.
"I know, but I know you don't like to seriously mess with people."
She lay down beside me and picked up a book that had been discarded on the bedside table. She flipped through it inattentively; we both knew it was just an aversion so she didn't have to talk anymore.
"Ugh, mummies," she murmured and flipped the page rapidly. She must have sensed my curious gaze because she added, "I hate dead bodies. They're the only thing that really freaks me out."
I couldn't stifle my laughter.
"Ironic, isn't it?" she mused before yawning.
"Go to sleep, you've got a big day tomorrow, with graduation then Alice's party. The dead body will still be here when you wake up." I pushed her bangs out of her eyes with my fingertips.
"You're not technically dead," she argued and curled up next to me. I put my arm under her head.
"No heartbeat, no pulse, no blood, and no functioning organs equals dead."
"But you still breathe!!"
"But I don't have to. It's just a habit, like blinking. Can't I be right just this once?!" I chuckled.
"Fine," she grinned sleepily. "Jasper: 1, Amanda: 9 trillion."
"That score sounds about right. But I think I've got 2 points, I was right about something else once. I forgot what, though."
"Meh, I guess I can allow you an extra point. It doesn't look like you're really in the game anymore."
We lapsed into silence for a few minutes and she dozed off. I stared at the ceiling and made patterns with the lines. Amanda didn't like it when I stared at her, it creeped her out, so I refrained.
She shivered in her sleep and I instantly felt guilty…I should have remembered I was freezing. I pulled the blanket up around her and tucked it in between her body and mine. Her ring glittered up at me. I wondered if she was as bewildered by us as I was.
In what seemed like no time at all I could hear Lillian in the kitchen downstairs. My assumption that she was cooking breakfast was soon confirmed by the smells wafting upstairs. I wrinkled my nose…there were some aspects of humanity I didn't miss that much. Human food was pretty gross.
As if sensing the time to wake up might be near, Amanda groaned and buried her face in my shoulder. I chuckled and kissed her forehead. The coldness of my lips must have startled her because her eyes fluttered open.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
"Mrmph." She was always so articulate in the morning.
I could hear Lillian starting up the stairs, so I slid out of bed and quietly slipped outside to the roof. Loveable as the old woman was, I didn't think finding me in her granddaughter's bed would really help our relationship.
I could still see into Amanda's bedroom from my hiding perch on the roof. She pulled the blankets up over her head as if to hide from the stray rays of sun leaking in through the window. Her door opened and Lillian popped her head in and asked if Amanda wanted any breakfast.
**Amanda's POV
I sat up and groggily pondered if breakfast was more worthwhile than sleep. I decided to go with breakfast. Homemade food was more pleasant to wake up to than an alarm clock.
I slid across the bed, noting that where Jasper had been was significantly colder than my side, and dragged myself to the door. I swore when I kicked the door, I hadn't noticed Grandma had closed it behind her. I heard Jasper's soft chuckle come from somewhere close to the window. I chose to ignore him…it was too early to think of a witty reply.
I helped myself to some pancakes in the kitchen and sat at the table across from Grandma, who was perusing the newspaper. I didn't understand why old people were so up on the morning paper. It's just as well, I don't talk in the morning anyway.
"Did Jasper give you that ring?" Grandma asked randomly, gesturing to my hand.
"Yep." I glanced down at the ring. I had taken to wearing it on my middle finger rather than the ring finger when I was around her. I wasn't sure how she'd react to the whole engagement thing and didn't want an ordeal.
"Aren't you wearing it on the wrong finger?"
I choked on my orange juice. I was suddenly very awake. "What?"
"Shouldn't it be on your ring finger? Unless you're trying to start a new fad with wearing engagement rings on the wrong finger," she smiled knowingly at me over the paper.
My eyes widened and I searched deep in the recesses of my mind for a reply.
"How did you know?" I spluttered. Lame, but it was the best I could come up with.
"He asked my permission."
"He what?!!?" It's a good thing I wasn't taking a sip of juice this time or I'd most definitely have choked and gone into a coma from lack of oxygen.
Grandma smiled. "He's rather old fashioned to be so young. I was hesitant to agree but he stressed that he was in no hurry. He said he wanted the two of you to finish college first…nothing too sudden. So I agreed. He's been good for you, especially lately."
I suddenly felt guilty. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't know how you'd…yeah." Talk about a pathetic excuse.
"I might be upset if I hadn't known to begin with. It was pretty funny to watch you try and hide it for the past week, though."
I wondered what Jasper was thinking from upstairs. He was probably pretty entertained.
Grandma collected her dishes and took them to the sink. She still had that knowing smile. "Is my son-in-law going to come by before graduation?"
I made a strange face at her use of the term "son-in-law." If only she knew her son-in-law was right upstairs and had been all night. What a responsible young lad, indeed.
"Um, I'm not sure. He might be."
Jasper…son-in-law… I still couldn't get over it; it was too strange coming from her mouth. Of course Jasper and future husband was still odd for me to accept, but I was getting there.
"By the way, you're pictures were ready so I picked them up," she said and handed me an envelope.
I thanked her amidst a mouthful of pancakes and opened them. I had totally forgotten about the pictures I took the day he proposed. I flipped through them. Some were random nature shots and some were of Jasper.
"Aw, he looks so nervous!" Grandma laughed. I hadn't realized she was peering at them over my shoulder. "That must have been before he asked you." She flipped to another picture. "He should pass on college and be a movie star, he's got the brooding look down pat." (A/N: I think Bella said something like that in one of the books…I'm too lazy to figure out which)
She moseyed out of the room and I finished eating. I dumped my dishes in the sink and dashed upstairs. Jasper was seated on the window sill, waiting for me.
I glared at him, but he knew it wasn't in anger. "I can't believe you did that."
"I wanted to do it right!" he smiled in defense.
"Crazy old man," I mumbled, hopping up into his lap.
He kissed my cheek in response.
"So is son-in-law Jasper gonna stop by later?"
"I was planning on it. I'd like to be able to see you legally. And Lillian'll want to congratulate us," he answered, a grin spreading across his face. "You're funny when you freak out in the morning."
"Shut up!" I whined and buried my face in my hands. "I wouldn't have spazzed if you wouldn't be so ridiculously old fashioned!!"
"It's a curse, I'm afraid," he laughed quietly and rested his chin on top of my head.
I could feel him abruptly tense and wondered why.
"Bella's anxiety radiates unbelievably well," he explained before I could ask.
"Why's she nervous?" I asked. "She's not the one who has to walk across the stage in front of all those people and not trip or do anything stupid!"
"She's worried about the party tonight, I'm not sure why."
"Has Alice seen anything new?" I felt like this was a game of 20 questions.
"Not that I know of. Whoever's behind this is being amazingly meticulous to keep their plans a mystery."
"I bet that's irritating." I was so wise.
"Remarkably," he sighed.