JPOV

Gym! Oh, Bella was having the time of her life.

My little Alice was right – we were playing floor hockey. So far, Bella had been hit four times, bruised six humans, and tripped three times. Every time the puck came near her, she acted as if a twenty-pound bowling ball were flying towards her head at eighty miles per hour.

But the most sickening were the feelings coming from the humans when the three of us walked into the gym. They were beyond disgusting. I shuddered involuntarily.

Alice laughed. I looked around to see what was funny. She shook her head and whispered, "It'll happen in five…four…three…."

I kept my eyes on Bella.

The puck was sliding across the floor towards her…and she scored.

Right into her own goal.

I scowled; I was on Bella's team. Alice laughed a gentle, carefree laugh.

"No…." groaned an athletic-looking girl to my right. She didn't seem to be as infatuated with me as the rest of the females in the gym did, but her emotions were anything but kind – they were utterly malevolent. Now she was frowning in Bella's direction. I growled gently.

Alice placed one hand on my cheek. "Easy," she warned. "Don't let her get to you."

I took a deep breath. "Easy. Right."

Bella's cheeks were the faintest shade of pink; she was blushing. Literally. I stared at her until I could realize why: all of us always looked just a bit more human-colored, as far as our complexions went, when we fed. Bella didn't really need to feed – it wasn't crucial to her. The blood from her prey that she fed off of when we went hunting last week was still plentiful in her body, apparently. The flush in her cheeks would not be visible to a human; it was barely visible to me.

Laughing, I went over to Bella. "Giving up yet?" I teased.

She glared at me through slanted eyes. "I told the teacher to put me out," she complained.

"But no…I have to play."

"Yeah, it sucks to be you," I agreed with feeling.

Staring at her, I calmed her down. I focused hard to stop her from hyperventilating but to not affect the humans near me. They would feel peaceful…but suspicious…if they felt a wave of calmness right next to me.

She glanced up with grateful eyes. "Thanks, Jasper."

Alice bounded over and put one hand over Bella's shoulder. "Yeah, I know what that feels like, Bella. Don't worry, your teammates will forgive you." Certainty rolled off her in waves. I hugged Alice to my chest.

"Oh, do you really?" muttered Bella. "I'll bet that you've never scored in the wrong goal before."

Alice chuckled ruefully. "Yeah, you're right. I haven't."

I glanced back towards the center of the room. Some of the boys in the gym were feeling more attracted to Bella because of that. I shuddered. Edward would be very, very angry.

Her female teammates, on the other hand….

"I hate Gym!" she moaned.

"Yeah, we kind of figured that out," said Alice, her lips twitching. I could feel her amusement and jabbed her in the ribs gently. This was hardly the right time or place for any amusement.

"Hey!" the girl who was frowning at Bella called to us. "You two sitting out?"

"Yes," I replied. "You can send in Kevin and Anna." The two players that were sitting out before seemed too happy to take our places in the game.

"I'll sit out," volunteered Alice.

The gym classes were too big; when we divided into teams, some people always had to sit out. I was happy to comply; Bella needed to calm down.

Alice sighed. "Bella," she began. "I know you hate Gym, but unless you try to be a little more attentive and careful and aware when you play sports, I'm going to have to train you to embrace athletics at home, and you definitely don't want – "

"No!" yelped Bella. "Fine, fine! I'll play!" She glared at Alice. "You're forcing me to go to extremes, Alice. Why do you have to be so pushy?!"

"Because I feel like it," answered Alice, perfectly at ease.

Bella gave a gusty sigh. "I can't promise anything, though. Immortality didn't grant me any athletic abilities, you know. Just amazing self-control and strength and speed and everything else that automatically comes with – "

Alice slapped one hand over Bella's mouth. "Shut up, please," she said in a sweet voice.

"I'm asking you try."

"Fine." Bella gave up, and I could feel her frustration leaking through despite the cover of peace I gave her. "But you know, I won't be able to become a pro. I'm going to simply bear it and ditch Gym every chance I have."

Alice laughed her high, beautiful laugh. "That's the spirit!"

Bella sighed again.

The teacher blew on her whistle.

"All right, everyone!" Mrs. Chancelet shouted in her loud voice – loud for a human, that is. "Switch!"

I got up and pulled Alice with me. Bella's shoulders slumped and she headed grumpily to the field. Alice stood up on her tiptoes to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Bella will be better," she assured me.

Smiling, I ran my lips along her forehead.

"Let's go," she whispered.

As the puck flew around the gym, I could feel no determination whatsoever from Bella.

She seemed to be content to let things go the way they were. The puck came towards me, and I hit it to Bella. Athletic-girl groaned again beside me. "Why did you hit it to her?" she muttered under her breath.

Bella seemed to be slightly more prepared this time. She held her hockey stick up and hit the puck with more strength…straight to Athletic-girl. The shock from the humans in the gym was almost tangible; I couldn't blame them. Bella was the klutz in the gym, always hitting the puck out, to the other team…or in her own goal, and she'd actually hit it to a teammate? Amazing!

"What did I tell you?" Alice whispered from across the gym. I could hear her easily,

though no other human could have detected it.

"Wow," I whispered back.

Athletic-girl hit it straight into Alice's team's goal.

The smile on Alice's face disappeared into a slight frown.

Three sharp blasts on a whistle came from behind me.

Mrs. Chancelet was standing there, hands on hips. "Okay! Put your hockey sticks away, and go change! Whoever has the puck, bring it to me. It's a tie today."

Without further ado, I sprinted to the locker room. Forks High had changed in another way – the locker rooms were big enough so that we could each have our own locker. I chose the one that was out of the way, in the corner. I changed alone; I obviously never needed to shower, and the stench in the locker room was revolting.

I ran back out into the gym, changed, as fast as I could without attracting attention. Alice was already there, and the gym was vacant except for us. I glanced at the clock; we still had five minutes before any human would be done showering.

Alice dashed to my side in an instant. I hugged her to my chest, and she sighed happily. Her small form was so delicate, and so lovely. She pulled my head down to kiss me.

"Ah, Alice," I murmured.

She laughed. "It never lets up." I knew what she meant instantly; her feelings for me were strong.

I bent my head down to kiss her again. After I let go, my eyes darted to the clock.

She knew what I was thinking. "Jasper," she sighed. "It'll be okay. The others – " we'd already begun to refer to them that way – "are peaceful, like us. I got another glimpse of lunchtime in the locker room. Speaking of which, Bella will be out in twenty-two seconds. Anyway, they're not out looking for trouble. They know that we're here, of course, but they're not out for any trouble. They went to middle school here, too – they seem a few years, you know, in that sense, younger than us when they were changed.

They passed for middle schoolers."

I sighed. "I just hope that we don't have any conflict."

She feigned offense. "Excuse me, Jasper Whitlock Cullen? Are you doubting my vision?"

Chuckling, I bent my lips to hers again. "Of course not," I whispered against her lips.

When I tilted my head up from her face, Bella was emerging quietly from the girls' locker room. Waves of eagerness emanated from her; she was looking forward to her next class, no doubt, when she would be with Edward again. I was slightly depressed; I would have the next period without Alice. I would be with Renesmee. She always seemed like my sister, sort of…she was supposed to be my niece, but she was so frivolous, so alive…the term niece didn't fit her. I was glad that her blood held no attraction to me. Edward would have ripped me to pieces already if he'd picked up any bloodlust in my thoughts when I was around his daughter.

So would Bella, for that matter.

The bell rang, and Bella walked out the gym with us. "See you, Alice, Jasper," she bid us goodbye, and then walked down the hall to her next class.

I sighed; it was going to be a long period of Honors English without Alice. "Bye, love," I whispered as I kissed her quickly on the cheek.

"Bye, Jazz, love you," she called. She hugged me once more as she headed down the hall.

I sighed as I watched her head to her next class. Then I braced myself for another almost-hour of great works of literature.