Hey Guys! Thanks again for all your kind reviews, it really brightens my day to read them. Without your encouragement, I would have lost the incentive to continue this story. You guys have given me the motivation I needed. THANK YOU!
To the anonymous guest reviewer who goes by the name 'DanishGirl,' Thank you SO much for your comments, it really is nice to base my work around what you have to say... your right! I am not going to give too much away now, but each of the characters are going to explain why they didn't help Jasper when he was being confronted by Gavin. There is a reason for everything I've said, included and implied so far and, for future references, nothing I write will be random. I have a plan! MWAHAHA! *evil Aro smile*
Anyways, I will try my best to update regularly, but my teachers are practically suffocating me with all their tedious homework activities. I mean, I really don't care that - and I quote - 'It'll help us with our upcoming Nat 5's.' ... I DON'T SIT THEM FOR ANOTHER TWO YEARS PEOPLE! My God! This has been a really stressful week for me, mostly due to the group of pricks in my year group that seem to find a sadistic pleasure in upsetting me and my friends. Sigh. I'm gonna stop rambling now and if I'm too cruel with the characters, it's because I'm venting my frustration towards those asshole's in my school in a less destructive, fictional manner. Anyhoo, ENJOY!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters. They are the proud property of Stephenie Meyer.
This chapter contains violence e.g Carlisle backhanding Jasper. In my stories, although still loving and fatherly, Carlisle is a bit more like his father.
I hissed in sudden furious outrage but allowed my wife to continue. 'As a result, the school phoned Carlisle and called him in for an earlier meeting... which takes place in three minutes!' Sudden fear gripped me as though a cold hand was pressing down on my chest. 'Is that what you saw?' I questioned.
Alice shook her head, nervously biting her lip. The silence had felt like a wet blanket had just been placed on top of us. 'Alice!' I demanded when I couldn't handle it any longer. 'Please explain to me!' Her eyes locked on mine and I felt her surprising lack of emotion. Her face was void of all feeling as she replied in a dead tone: 'No.' She stated. 'I saw the consequences of what would happen if we didn't get there on time.' Sneaking a quick glimpse at my watch, I was devastated to discover that we were already too late.
CPOV
My black- as- night Mercedes glided into the little community high school's parking lot without a sound. I selected a fine spot for parking, a little away from the rugged trucks of the relentless teenage drivers that occupied this town and constantly filled up my emergency room. I turned off my engine and sat back in the soft leather upholstery of my seat, forcing myself to calm down. It would not do to confront my empathic boy in a state of rage... It would terrify him.
Jasper's sensitivity was a constant problem in the Cullen household: the slightest rebuke would cause a relentless mixture of shame and embarrassment to poison all inhabitants unfortunate enough to witness it. My baby Soldier Boy would more-often-than-not befall the horrors of Emmett and Edward's devious ploys, intent on reducing their blonde brother into a nervous wreck of a man which I knew, nearly always succeeded.
If I ever came across this I would quickly correct it with a single look at my cruel boisterous boys, but Jasper's stubborn stoicism meant that his brothers banter rarely ever reached my ears. This saddened me as it was my job, along with Esme, to ensure that each and every one of my six eternally teenage children were safe and happy... even if that meant protecting them from one another.
I knew for a fact that although Jasper loved spending time with both of his brothers, it was his two sisters company whom he so often craved. I had on countless occasions come across Jasper with either both of, or one of, Bella and/or Rosalie.
He would merely stay with them, never saying much but listening intently to everything they had to say, sending emotions of contentment buzzing throughout wherever they currently were.
As much as I wanted Jasper to get on with his sisters, I would have been lying if I told you that I wasn't confused by their closeness. Rosalie and Jasper had bonded in such a way that they were almost like real twins. It was this in fact, that started the whole 'Hale twins' saga that they were both so fond of using.
Some part of me was under the impression that Jasper and Rosalie had forgotten that they weren't actually real twins, indeed, they both played their cover roles so convincingly that I found myself almost forgetting that they weren't biologically related.
The fact that they both have the exact same wavy, honey blonde hair-with the exception of length- and that they both had the same rough body shape -tall and lean- did nothing to help me remember the truth, in which they found one another through Alice's insight.
Because of Jasper's and Rosalie's individually dark pasts, I could begin to understand how they grew to be so close. What I did not anticipate, was how close Jasper and my youngest child, Bella, would grow to be. It was well known throughout our family that Bella, with the exception of Alice, was one of the happiest vampires I had ever come across.
My little girl was constantly ecstatic after the Volturi had granted her family the approval to live some fifty years ago, and nothing, not even her artfully moody husband in one of his strops could dampen her 'constant high.' Emmett's words of course.
I was under the impression that Jasper was 'as addicted to Bella's happiness as a human druggie is to crack.' Again, Emmett's words, not mine. I loved it when my emotional son was happy and this was why I had no problem with Jasper spending every Alice-free moment with one of my little girls. My two other sons, however, were not as understanding as I was. They resented how much of their mates time was consumed with Jasper, purely out of jealousy.
In a way, I did sympathize with them as they had to listen to their wives constantly natter on about how Jasper 'emotionally understands what they're talking about.' but I also had absolutely no patience for jealousy. In my opinion, jealousy ruined relationships and damaged self esteems and it was certainly something I didn't want my sensitive Soldier Boy to be exposed to, so my exasperated boys threw themselves into trying to sabotage Jasper behind my back. Sigh. Children.
All of my sons always hated it when I babied them, specifically my bear of a boy Emmett. They would constantly moan whenever I used one of my affectionate nicknames for them but I knew that there was a part of them that relished the love I was supplying them, even if they refused to admit it.
The only person they were comfortable being openly comforted by-other than their mate's- was my kind-hearted wife, Esme. It appeared that they had no complains when she referred to them as her 'Emmy Bear, Little Soldier Boy and Lion Cub' but as soon as I even voiced one of those nicknames aloud all I got were loud embarrassed groans and the whoosh of air as they ran from me.
Because of their obviously embarrassed reactions, Esme and I had an unspoken agreement that she would be the one to comfort her baby boys and I would be the one to comfort my baby girls, who appeared to find more comfort in my company than in Esme's. I couldn't help but grin a little at that.
I was constantly handing out hugs to my beautiful daughters, usually more than twice a day and I needed the comfort as much as they did; I just loved showing my three darling daughters how much they meant to me, especially as I wasn't able to show their husband's how much I loved them all.
Recently, I had taken to bombarding Jasper with my feelings just for the chance to witness him quickly avert his eyes and dart out of my vicinity as though I'd just struck him, closely followed by his all-too-eager brothers.
In fact, they were all so adverse to the idea of 'Heart to Heart' talk's that I usually had to corner one of them when they were alone and practically drag them to my office. I always insisted on these emotional discussions at a minimum of at least once a month as I felt it was healthy to get things off your conscious.
My three son's had taken to walking around in a tight knit group so as to prevent me from 'kidnapping them and torturing them in the office of emotional doom.' Jasper's words this time. Due to Jazz's gift, I always insisted that we talk more about our feelings than his brothers and I do. I could see how much my Soldier Boy hated me singling him out, but I knew that I could not just treat him the same when he perceived everything so differently.
Jazz's gift caused him to become somewhat unpredictable. He could lash out at any given moment, taking even my tiny Alice by surprise. It was this thought that brought me back to the present time. Had Jasper merely snapped and taken it out on an innocent human child?
This thought sent renewed anger pulsing through my veins but I quickly squashed it down. 'No.' I thought. 'The human must have somehow provoked Jasper.' This must be right. I knew that Jasper would never deliberately attract attention to our family as he was always so ashamed of himself whenever he 'slipped up' and forced us to relocate. Taking a deep breath, I allowed the scent of leather to soothe me before I unbuckled my exemplary seat belt and exited my expensive car.
I was due to meet the principal outside his office in five minutes and I sighed in frustration at the position my errant child had put me in. I began to make my way across the packed parking lot, curiously peering into the windows of the large concrete institution.
I walked past several classroom's, each filled with drooling and sleeping teenagers before I found myself to be walking past what I assumed to be the boy's bathroom due to the high, blurred windows. Muffled voices were emitting from behind the walls and I began to walk on, uninterested in the gossip of human boys before I came to an abrupt stop when I clearly heard one of my sons name's.
Curious in spite of myself, I listened closely to the unknown children's conversation.
'So Gav told the school principal that Jasper Hale was bullying him, how funny is that?' My brow furrowed as I thought over this statement. What was funny about it? I listened more closely: 'I hope they suspend that depressed nerd, I hate having to look at him. His face makes me feel ill!' This vicious insult towards my boy caused loud laughter to erupt from the other side of the wall.
Anger was flooding my system, this time however, it was not aimed at Jasper. 'Anyway, Gavin told me that he was planning something involving Hale, he said that he was going to embarrass Hale in front of everyone! I can't wait!' A low growl escaped my throat as my eyes darkened- my protective instincts were kicking in with a vengeance.
How dare they threaten to torment my sensitive soldier?! What was going on? Had something happened? Had Jasper done something? I decided to move on, absolutely disgusted by what I'd just heard. If those humans ever laid one hand on my son... 'Ignore them Carlisle, they are mere children.' I muttered to myself. I had to keep my self calm.
I quickly ran my hands through my hair as I approached the front office. 'No use in angering yourself, Carlisle. You can ask Jasper about it later.' I told myself with determination. I pushed open one of the building's main double doors and let myself into the little reception. There wasn't much too it, just a few plastic chairs running along one side of the wall and opposite them, an old fashioned antique desk with what looked to be an even older woman sitting behind it.
I made my way over to her and impatiently waited for her to cease her typing. Somewhere in the distance, I heard a teacher hollering at one unfortunate student. I looked up at the ancient women and sighed with irritation. Why couldn't she just acknowledge my presence?
I watched with disgust as she began to suck on her false teeth, occasionally giving off a soft slurping sound. Ugh. I loudly cleared my throat, anxious to get to the principal's office and finally speak to my boy. The aging lady looked up in mild annoyance as she finally realized that I wasn't going to leave anytime soon. 'Yes?' she asked irritably, before her eyes widened as she registered my appearance.
I watched her for a moment, giving her time to adjust to having a vampire standing in front of her. Her old heart was thumping in an irregular pattern and her wrinkled cheeks were stained pink. I couldn't help but think of my beautiful Bella's human years when she had been prone to blushing. 'How can I help you sir?' the receptionist asked in a much more respectful tone as she fluttered her eyelashes at me.
I sighed inwardly when I heard my Emmy Bear's soft laughter echo down the hallway at my expense. This really wasn't a position I enjoyed. I felt a strong sense of sympathy for Jasper and Edward who were forced to experience women's lust and desire in more reality than I did.
I shuddered at the thought of what this lady would be thinking... considering the way she kept eyeing my lower body and biceps, it was nowhere near pleasant.
I hardened my gaze slightly to warn her that I was not playing any sort of game... especially a provocative one, before I brusquely answered her question. 'My attendance has been called upon by the school's principal in order to discuss my son's behavior.' I raised my eyebrows as I concluded my statement, silently telling her that I expected an answer that was not to be considered sexual harassment.
She seemed to get the message because once again, she flushed, blood rushing up to colour her cheeks. It was so easy to ignore the slight scorch of my throat as my vampire eyes caught sight of her blush. 'Of course.' She acknowledged breathlessly. I tried to refrain from rolling my eyes. Finally, we were getting somewhere at last!
The aged woman began to hurriedly type on her computer while I absentmindedly started into space, sinking into a brief stupor. I was concerned about my Soldier Boy, there was no doubt about that.
What I had overheard between those two wretched children in the boy's bathroom had unnerved me, I was growing increasingly more antsy. Was that why Jasper had hurt that child? Why hadn't one of my other children stopped it from happening?
Didn't they know the emotional pain a few wrongly phrased words could ultimately cause my little blonde boy? Why hadn't Emmett intervened? What about my little pixie?
Frantic musings kept circling around in my head. I heard the voice of my son coming from some unknown classroom's location as he no doubt eavesdropped on my private thoughts and shared them with his siblings.
I gave a very loud -not so subtle- cough and couldn't help my slight grin as my Lion Cub's whispers cut off immediately. Unfortunately, at the sudden abruptness of my 'coughing spasm', the poor receptionist jumped in fright and let out a small squeak.
'I apologize.' I told her sincerely. She just blinked at me, taking on a slightly dazed expression. I watched as the corner of her lips turned up in a small smile as she no doubt daydreamed about what she really wanted to be talking to me about. Again... Ugh.
When would these humans begin to understand that I loved my wife?! Esme is, and always will be, the love of my life and I would rather die than betray her with something as low down as an affair.
I began to drum my fingers on her desk, smirking a little a she jumped. I know, I normally wasn't this rude or impatient and I was sure that I would soon come to regret my disrespect, but I was solely focused on the well being of my sensitive Soldier and anything else was deemed insignificant to my eyes. I heard another one of my children's snickers, Rosalie's this time.
I had still heard nothing from Alice or Jasper but this did not faze me; I was sure that Jasper would be far too ashamed to make a noise and Alice... well, Alice was Alice. The receptionist cleared her throat and glanced up at me. I raised a questioning eyebrow and waited for her to continue our tedious conversation.
'It seems the principal has been expecting you.' She mumbled. I gave her a charming smile, although inside I was exasperated to the point of ripping my hair out. Hadn't I just explained that to her not five minutes ago?! She seemed to relax under my friendly expression and I mentally rebuked myself as I realized that I had been causing her unconscious fear as I had allowed my protective fatherly instincts to show through on my face.
After a lot of internal battles, I forced myself to patiently stand and wait for her to finish. 'I have just sent the principal an email that you have arrived Dr. Cullen, and he so kindly requested that you take a seat to wait for his arrival.' She gestured towards one of the rooms plastic chairs and I stifled a groan as my impatient side roared in frustration. Instead of commenting though, I just gave her a pleasant look that utterly contrasted with my emotional being and made my way over to sit down.
I leaned back in the chair and once again, tried to calm myself. 'Don't you dare frighten Jasper, Carlisle!' I firmly told myself. I was quite sure that my empathic son was busy battling his own emotions and as such, he would not benefit from experiencing mine too.
The minutes trickled by and I impatiently wondered how long I had been here; at least 15 minutes! Where was the principal!? Was this the school's warped idea of efficiency? I huffed as I continued to listen to the monotonous clicking of the receptionist's irritating keyboard. Click tap tap click tap tap tap click tap tap click tap tap tap click tap tap click. I jumped in surprise at the shrill school bell sounded throughout the building, harshly jerking me out of my hypnotic trance.
Childish yells echoed around the building as the pupils in this institution moved onto the last scheduled class of their school day. I stood up in frustration and began to pace, ignoring the eyes of the aged lady as she followed my movement. I stiffened as I heard a loud chant of 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' ring down from one of the upper floors and I thanked god that none of my children would ever get involved in the social interactions of this barbaric school.
EmPOV
I was furious. I was absolutely furious. I had just been minding my own business with a nice educational book in the school's delightful library... That sound's like me, right? ...
Fine! Have it your way, stalkers! I was 'catching up' with Rosie in the janitors closet when the bell rang... Happy? Either one will do, no need for details, unless you are all insisting on creeping up on me and Rose? Gross. Anyhoo, we had just finished our, um, business when I heard that sleazy little git mouthing of about my -real age aside- little brother! I knew for a fact that the little shit stain that was Gavin had been giving my wee bro' a hard time, 'cause I had been there to see it.
And no matter how many times Jazz-Man told me he was fine, I knew for a fact that he wasn't and wouldn't be, until I killed the source of the problem! But no! Eddie Boy just had to come in and be all like 'We'll have to move again, Emmett. Do you really think the family needs that? Renesmee just got settled down.'
But as I had tried to tell him, I'm pretty sure that Nessie will value the sanity of her least favorite uncle ('cause I'm totally better!) more than her particular want for this dreary little town. But no, Edward wouldn't hear it 'cause he's like that. I knew that Jasper had bogged off to spend some 'quality time' with Ali because of how stressed he was and everything... again, gross, but I was pretty sure that he wouldn't mind it if I were to have snapped one measly human's neck... but that would prove to be impossible, because once again, my beautiful plans were pissed on by Edward.
'Jasper wants to handle this by himself! Stay out of it Emmett!' I had just rolled my eyes at him. What a party pooper. I mean, aside from Bella, I'll never understand how anyone can actually give a shit about what Eddie had to say. No offense intended, but I swear, that boy whines worse than a 13 year old human with PMS. Sometimes, I'd like nothing more than to just tackle Edward. Hmm... Maybe when I get Hom- No Emmett, focus!
Where were we? Oh yeah, murdering my brother's human tormentor. I just wish Jazz wasn't so damn stubborn! If he'd just ask me for help, I'd happily comply! But no, he decided to tackle this situation with the whole 'Mr. Jasper-I-can-handle-it-myself-Hale.' Do you see how annoying that is! I'm the biggest, the oldest- in a manner of speaking-, the best and the bravest! It's my job to protect my family and whether Jazz-Man likes it or not, that includes him! Have I explained why I was furious yet? I'm kinda' confused here...
Oh okay! So anyway, I walked out of the closet, completely ignoring Eddie's previous bitching, and set out to find this Gavin douche. Rosie followed me sullenly, pissed off that I had walked off and left her behind. Hmm... I'll apologize later... with a set of new car tires. I wonder if I could...-
I really have to stop getting distracted! Alright, on with the story. I set off in search of Gavin with Rose at my heels. I found him pretty quickly; he was hanging around outside the boy's bathroom, blocking the entrance to a couple of scared looking freshmen and hollering about how much of a fairy my lil 'bro was to his guffawing mates. To nobody's surprise, that sure as hell pissed me off!
I turned towards my sexy-ass wife and asked her to wait there while I went and broke the dick's jaw. Of course, my little fiery kitten told me to go fuck myself and that she was staying by my side. Well done Emmett, of all the times to get turned on... In retaliation, I put on my most absolutely adorable pouting puppy dog eyes and enjoyed myself for a brief second as I watched her melt like butter under my gaze. 'Gotcha!' I thought joyously.
My Rosie finally agreed to stay out of the way and I felt myself relax a little as this meant that she would not be subjected to that asshole's cruel words. I quickly pecked my sun goddess on the lips before turning to walk away and confront the dick who had so badly derailed my brother's day.
I walked up to where they were grouped around the bathroom doors and folded my arms across my chest, making sure that I looked as hideously vampiric as physically possible. Judging by their expressions, I sure as hell succeeded!
Emmett - 1, Gavin - 0.
Bring. It. On.
I clocked with a great deal of amusement as Gavin's frightened little friends slunk away from him as though he was infected with the bubonic plague. Gavin sneered at me and I couldn't help but feel amazed, like my family before me, at his stupidity.
Oh, how I hated this boy. He was an arrogant, insignificant, bullying little maggot and in my opinion, he deserved to die. Just like all bullies did.
I honestly couldn't stand bullies. When I became a vampire, I had assumed that bullying was no longer possible, I had assumed that it was a part of my life that I never had to revisit. It seems I had been proven wrong. I continued to stare down at the little snot, relishing in the fact that I, unlike Jasper and Edward, was taller than him.
He started back at me and raised an eyebrow. I advanced menacingly and wrapped one of my hands around the back of his neck before dragging him closer. I wanted to vomit as his disgusting breath washed over my face.
To his credit, he didn't seem scared of me, but I knew that he was trying to fool me. I pushed his face slowly towards my own until they were mere inches apart, imitating Carlisle's favorite threatening action for when one of us fuck's up big time
I had been aware that Carlisle had arrived in the school about ten minutes previously and I had not been able to contain my amusement when the old bat behind the desk had began to lust after him.
I did not find it funny anymore though, because I knew that if Carlisle heard what I was doing then I might as well go and kill myself before he can do it for me. In summary: I would be in some very serious shit.
Ignoring that more than disturbing thought, I focused on my current task: Scaring this little dick head shitless. I allowed my breath to fan across Gavin's face, watching as his eyes widened and as he struggled to get out of my awesome death grip.
I grinned at him, making sure to show all of teeth, and I was rewarded with the satisfaction of hearing his heart beat stutter. Gavin's friends were muttering in a loose circle behind us and I noted that we were beginning to attract quite an audience. 'The more the merrier!' I thought cheerfully.
'Emmy, hurry up!' I heard my mate hiss. Hmm, looks as though she was getting impatient. I had best speed things up. With that though in mind, I began to warn the little bullying vermin I still held in my hand. 'If you ever so much as look at my little brother again... Any of them for that matter, I will personally rip you apart. Got it?' I asked in my special frighteningly cold tone of voice that I reserved specifically for wild nomads. I watched Gavin's face as I finished, looking for an apology or for some sign of terror in his repulsive features.
I did not expect what happened next.
Instead of the fearful repentance I wanted- and expected- Gavin glanced around at the growing crowd before narrowing his eyes and smirking at me in that infuriating way. God how I wanted to punch him! Instead, I watched with gob-smacked disbelief as the little fucker looked me in the eyes and said: 'Why couldn't your gay little fairy of a brother come and tell me himself? Is he too much of a sniveling coward to man up and deal with his own problems? I bet he's hiding in the woods and crying his eyes out. Is it true that he actually skived off? What a wuss!'
This brings us back as to why I was so furious at the beginning of this little tirade. That little statement made me so fucking livid, I couldn't even think straight. I heard Rosalie's gasp of angry shock from behind me before I proceeded to let my fury known.
I snarled at Gavin, roughly shoving him from my grasp. He flew back into the wall and I heard the crack of plaster as it crumbled under his weight. Good. How dare he say that about Jasper?! Gavin stood up, looking slightly dazed, and raised his undamaged hand, balling it into a fist as though he wanted to punch me. I snorted at that. Right. I heard Rosalie rush over to me and begin to pull me away from the humans. My god I was angry! 'Emmett!' Rosalie moaned, 'Please! We have to go!'
I was torn. I wanted to obey my wife, but I also wanted to pummel the living daylight out of this stupid human teenager. 'Emmett I swear to God, if you don't hurry the fuck up and do as I say then we'll not have sex for a month!' I froze in shock as my mate's threat registered. Aw, hell no! There is no way I'm becoming pure... Nuh uh.
My wife won this battle. I sighed with resignation and turned away from the still dazed looking teenager, almost laughing as I saw his vacant face. 'What I shame.' I mumbled, sarcasm dripping off my every word. Rosalie laughed quietly and my heart warmed at the sound. It really was a beautiful one.
She began to tug on my arm, trying to pull me away from the fray. I looked up and around as I felt her hold loosen and heard her mumbled string of angry profanities. I realized in an instant what her problem had been; a crowd of human's blocked our path, each of them shouting at the tops of their voices: 'Fight, fight, fight, fight!' The sound was ringing throughout the entire school building and I cringed at the mess I had created. Oh God, no!
'Shit!' I thought aloud as I noted Rosie's worried expression. 'There is no way in Hell that Carlisle won't hear that.'
CPOV
The primitive chant for violence was still bouncing around this god-awful institution. I had been sitting here for twenty seven minutes with nothing to do other than count away the seconds. The aging receptionist had long since disappeared and I could still hear numerous teachers stringing together and attempting to try and bring some peace to the delinquents caught in a brawl on the upper floor.
I vaguely wondered if it would be wise for me to assist them, but I decided against it. No use in attracting more attention to my family. I allowed my mind to drift elsewhere and found that my thoughts were, almost instinctually, drifting towards my darling Esme.
I couldn't help but wonder how Esme was doing. I hadn't spoken to her in a little while and I felt as though I were about to start suffering from classic withdrawal symptoms. I just loved to hear her light voice, to feel her soft touch, to inhale her alluring scent and to see her beautiful face and to experience anything less just caused me emotional pain. I had obviously been spending too much time around my soldier.
Thinking it through, I truly was a very fortunate vampire. I had an impossibly beautiful, sexy and kind hearted wife, six gorgeous, mischievous children and one completely stunning little grand daughter.
I always allowed myself to think of my family in times of panic or stress, as it usually always helped calm me down, just like it was so successfully doing right now.
I knew for a fact that Esme would still be back at our house, no doubt tending to her little garden. I chuckled; I had gotten her that garden as an anniversary present about four years ago. She had absolutely loved it and had refused to be anywhere else and would not socialize with anyone for a while, not even with me, her doting husband!
I had eventually given up trying to get her upstairs with me and had even taken to bringing a book down and sitting by her side as she'd planted, happily absorbing the perfect tune she was humming. I couldn't help the slight moan of longing that emitted from me the longer I though about her. She was just too perfect! She wa- 'Dr. Cullen?'
I blinked in shock at the unexpected disruption to my needy thoughts. Looking up, I was quick to discover a man with obvious authority looking down at me; he looked to be in his sixties, he was obese in the extreme with pasty skin, little blue eyes and a shock of thinning white hair. He was dressed in a very tight black suit with a jacket that strained against his bloated stomach and a ruby red tie that looked as though it were blocking his airway was wrapped around his neck.
I stood up respectively as I extended my head, relaxing a little as he took it in one of his pudgy ones. We shared a quick hand shake before he broke away and surveyed me in a way that made me feel like a young boy caught in some wrong doing.
'We have had a few complications involving your children today, Dr. Cullen. I would greatly appreciate it if you would be so kind as to accompany me to my office where we can talk more comfortably.' His choice of words surprised and angered me. A few complications? My children? I was already aware that Jasper had been acting like a pre-schooler today, but I had not been informed of any of my other children breaking the rules.
I nodded my approval before stating in a calm voice: 'Of course, Mr...?'
'Taylor.' He almost growled. 'It's Mr. Taylor.' I nodded, hiding my shock at his anger. What had Jasper said to irritate this man so deeply? I was worried now. Something must be wrong, It was just not in the nature of my Soldier Boy to openly disrespect anyone.
I followed him in silence as, together, we left that blasted dingy reception. We emerged into a large brightly lit entrance hall, obviously designed with the intention to look posh, but blatantly limited with a low budget.
The dirty paint was peeling off the white washed walls and the ebony flooring had deep cracks running down the length of it. A large staircase lined one wall whilst a couple of elevators had been installed on the wall opposite, obviously to allow disabled children to reach the classroom's upstairs.
The man took one long, calculating look at the high staircase before shaking his head as he huffed at me. 'The elevator if you would be so kind, Dr. Cullen.' He asked in resignation. I could not help the pang of pity I felt for this man.
The principal ran a hand over his own features distractedly and I couldn't help but be suspicious that this man was hiding something from me. What was he so angry about?
'Of course.' I agreed quickly. I allowed him to lead me into the little stainless steel contraption. Once inside, I leaned against the back of the elevator, pressing myself against the corner, to allow more room for Mr. Taylor to enter. He shot me a quick look of approval and I nodded at him, pleased to see that he wasn't a short tempered man overall.
He reached over and jammed his thick finger into the first floor button and I sighed with barely repressed impatience as the doors took their sweet time to shudder to a close.
I couldn't help the apprehension I felt at riding in something such as this; for a man brought up in the 1600's, this wasn't exactly what I was overly used to. Nevertheless, I kept silent. I was no Jasper, but I could almost feel Mr. Taylor's waves of anger crashing against me and it probably wasn't in either of our best interest's for Mr. Taylor to loose his temper with an agitated 300 year old vampire.
Mr. Taylor growled lowly and I raised my eyebrows at him. I really had no idea what he was so angry about. Was he really this furious just because my boy fractured a child's fist? I could only assume that it was accidental, 'innocent until proven guilty' after all. 'If only my father had felt the same.' I thought wryly, before banishing the thought. 'No Carlisle' I sternly rebuked my self, 'This is about Jasper. He needs you.'
Right. My soldier needed me.
The lift stuttered to a stop, shakily opening it's sliding doors to allow us to leave. 'This way please, Dr. Cullen'
I followed Mr. Taylor out of the steel death trap and matched his pace, looking around curiously as we walked past multiple classrooms. The scent of Edward suddenly became overwhelming and I grinned as I caught sight of his unruly copper hair through one of the door's glass panels. Our eyes met for a second and I felt my grin drop as I registered his nervous expression. What was he up to?
I dropped the block on my mind fro the time being. 'What's happened, Edward?' I thought sternly. I narrowed my eyes as I saw him flinch and avoid my gaze, staring miserably at his desk. That was not a good sign. With a frustrated sigh, I replaced the block on my private thoughts before hurrying to keep up with Mr. Taylor, it seems that he had not noticed me and my son's interaction.
This confused me as it hadn't exactly been sly; I had quite openly stopped walking so as to enable me to keep eye contact with my nervous child. I glanced at the obese man in front of me and my eyes widened when I saw the angry red shade of his cheeks.
Mr. Taylor stopped just outside of a large wooden door embedded with a small silver plaque that simply said 'Headmaster.' He opened the door with a slight creak and gestured for me to follow before he disappeared into the office. I walked quickly in after him, my impatience was returning with a vengeance.
I barely glanced at the interior decor of the office, only noticing that it appeared to be more expensively decorated than anything else in this institution. Mr. Taylor sat behind his desk and looked at me expectantly. I selected one of the fine leather chairs opposite him and lowered myself into it, keeping my eyes locked on the fuming man before me. Seconds passed...
I decided to start our conversation. 'I received a rather vague phone call explaining that you wanted to summon me to your school to discuss my son, Jasper.' I said this rather matter of factly, silently begging him to respond. The phone call had not been vague in the slightest, but I felt that it would be best to go over the issue for a second time. I did not miss the way the principal's eyes flashed at the mention of my blond boy.
'Ah yes. Jasper.' The principal said dangerously. I narrowed my eyes at him. What in the name of God was he so filled with rage about? Mr. Taylor leaned forward in his chair, gripping the desk harder as he fought to keep his calm under control.
'Well Dr. Cullen, my original plan had been to discuss this matter with you and your son like adults, giving him the chance to be the responsible man I thought Jasper was capable of was, but it seems like Jasper has, to use the common phrase, 'done a runner.' He spat at me.
I sat frozen in my seat, a terrible fury like no other was beginning to posses me. 'He did what?' My mind roared with rage. No. This was not acceptable. How dare he? How dare he?! What was he thinking?! What sort of stupid little boy was he? Had he no brains? When I find him... My mind was struggling to form coherent thoughts. It was like I had been infected with some sort of terrible disease. I did not stand for running. At all.
I stood up suddenly, not even noticing as the petrified principal gave a small yelp and pushed his chair as far back away from me as possible. I towered over him before practically snarling in my black fury. 'I'm going to go find him. When I do, I shall bring him back here to enable us to complete our talk.' I hissed at the end of my statement. I have rarely ever been this angry in my life and I was finding it immensely difficult to control.
I backed away from him a bit and heard his sigh of relief. A bit of guilt washed around inside me as I allowed my inner beast to control my emotions, but for once, I was far too angry to really care. 'I'll not be long.' I said through gritted teeth.
I walked swiftly out of his office, ignoring his feeble mumbles and retraced my earlier steps, possibly moving a bit too quickly to be entirely feasible. I reached the top of the staircase and descended the steps four at a time. I briskly stalked across the entrance hall, repeatedly clenching and unclenching my fist's as I fought the urge to punch something. I slammed through that blasted reception with such force that the receptionist shrieked from shock. Making sure that no human's were spying on me, I raced out through the front doors and into the thick tree line, following the scent of my naughty little boy.
Brace yourself, Jasper Hale Cullen, because when I get my hands on you, you'll be one very sorry little boy indeed.
JPOV
My long hair was whipping around my face in a frenzied, chaotic dance and my muddied clothes were straining against my body as I fought against the relentless wind resistance. My little Alice was running as though our lives depended on it and I shuddered to think of my horrendous finality -which she had no doubt witnessed.
Normally, I found my little mate's precognition to be very useful and dependable. She would always see the outcome of our wrong decisions and prevent us from going through with them. As a result, my siblings and I rarely ever made mistakes.
Why couldn't this have been one of those times?! I wonder why she didn't say anything. I glanced at my wife out of the corner of my eye. Upon seeing the look of desperation marring my wife's perfect features, I came to the conclusion that she merely hadn't seen anything. Had she been too distracted?
This did little to console me; it meant that there truly was no way out of my self-dug and very deep hole. The trees continued to whip past us at a rate of roughly ten-per-second. To a human's eyes, they would have been but a simple blur of colour, to my eyes, I saw them in perfect clarity.
'How far out did we run?' I thought in a rising panic as yet more trees flashed by us. It hadn't seemed this far when Alice and I had originally came this way. My god, Carlisle's going to kill me! Shit! Why was I so stupid? I was such an ass! I didn't deserve so many second chances, in the end, I would indubitably just screw it up again. I was worthless. Gavin was right.
As though she had read my rapidly darkening thoughts, my little pixie glanced back at me before quietly stating: 'We're almost there. Go straight to the principal's office... It hold's your best outcome... Believe me.' Alice finished her statement with a small grimace that I couldn't help but balk at. I felt a bewildering array of emotions rise up in my wife and I stared at her back questionably. She turned around and looked at me with a strange fire in her amazing golden orbs.
She looked so beautiful! She came to an abrupt stop and continued to pierce me with her gaze. 'Never doubt yourself.' She said quietly. 'I chose you. I always have and always will love you. You're mine. No one else's, mine.' She placed her little hand on my chest and ran her other one through my windswept hair. I purred slightly. 'I will never leave you.' I whispered softly.
She looked at me with wide, sad eyes. 'I know.' She said simply. I felt the slight uncertainty behind her words and I wanted to die. I put that insecurity there. I did that to her. I truly was hopeless. 'I will never go anywhere without you. Ever.' I said forcibly, pushing as much emotion into my voice as I could. 'You are my life, I cannot live without my live. For someone so intelligent, it's amazing you didn't realize that sooner.' I was softly teasing her, sneaking closer to her petite frame. My hands traced up her body and I groaned with desperation as she pressed into me, trailing her lips down my chest...
'So sorry to brake up the happy couple, but would you two mind telling me just what in God's name do you think you're doing?!' A terrifyingly furious voice screamed. I jerked back from Alice as though I had been electrocuted. Frozen in place, I stared at my mate with wide eyes, silently begging her to assure me that that was not Carlisle standing behind me. Alice was standing stiff as a rod, shock and fear radiating off her as she gazed at our father over my shoulder. Shit, shit, shit!
I couldn't help but speculate over how odd it was that Alice had been taken by surprise. That didn't happen very often... Hmm. What could be th-
'Jasper Hale Cullen, look at me this instant or so help me, I'll make you regret the day you became a vampire.' Carlisle roared. I immediately whipped around, only to find myself face to face with my furious vampire father. 'D-ad!' I said brokenly. 'I-I thought you were with the p-principal? I was about to...' I trailed off as I caught site of the look of utter rage distorting my father's features. It appears that was the wrong thing to say. I took a hasty step back, desperate to put some distance between us.
Carlisle snarled at me in anger before he closed the newly found distance between us and hit me hard across the face. The force of the blow knocked me to the ground and I cried out in pain as it began to make an appearance. I instinctually covered my face and neck with my arms as Carlisle began to pace back and forth. I did not dare stand up. Alice began to plead with Carlisle but he just hissed at her and she abruptly fell silent. Even though this angered me, I was not stupid enough to say anything about it. Carlisle hated running away, and he hated overprotective mates. I might as well just plan my own funeral. I watched Alice out of the corner of my eye, making sure she was alright.
She met my gaze and smiled sadly at me, her emotions hitting me like a tidal wave. I felt her sorrow, angst and panic and I hated that I couldn't do anything to help her; not while Carlisle was still abusing me with his seething emotions. I'm not going to lie, I was scared. Yes. Scared. Jasper Whitlock, destroyer of newborn armies was scared of his father... wow.
'Stand up Jasper.' Carlisle hissed. I immediately complied, eager to lessen his anger. He stopped and looked me up and down. I saw his eyes flicker towards Alice and felt his wave of regret as he took in how upset she was. I felt him smother that feeling as he looked at me again. 'What in God's name where you thinking?' He whispered. 'Papa, I-I... You don't understand...I just... Gavin and...I didn't... I couldn't help...Please!' I stuttered pitifully. He just looked at me with disappointed eyes.
'I'm not playing games here, boy.' He warned. I nodded, desperately trying to get him to understand. I felt as though I was drowning in my own despair. What I had done was unforgivable. I had hurt a human child. I had once again proved to be the weakest link in my family, and I hated myself for it.
CPOV
I watched with narrowed eyes as my son's internal distress grew more apparent on his face. I heard Alice shuffle uneasily, obviously desperate to comfort Jasper, but I stilled her with a single look. I hated to show my angry side, especially to Jasper and Alice, but I could not argue that they deserved this.
I hated the fact that I had to strike my baby, but I knew Jasper well enough to know what it would take to get through to him. What I hadn't anticipated however, was my soldier's self loathing.
I knew that he had problems in feeling like a member of the family and I knew that every time he slipped up he would subconsciously add another strike to his tally and later compare it to everyone else's.
This current situation was an example of that. My baby boy was hurting and I couldn't allow myself to help him. 'Are you going to explain yourself, or do you need more persuasion?' I asked while raising my hand at an angle from Jasper's face. Alice snarled quietly as Jasper shrunk away from me, but she did not act upon her anger.
I was proud of her for that. My children knew that although I would not hesitate to slap them around the head if I felt they needed it, I would never harm them. I loved them all far too dearly and it tore at my heart to see Jasper in this state.
'Jasper!' I called out harshly.
'I'm so sorry daddy!' he screamed in a panic before he collapsed into a heap at my feet. I knew that he was apologizing for more than just running away.
I crouched down and held him, rocking my little Soldier Boy as he dry sobbed in my arms. I hugged the distraught boy to my chest and ran my fingers through his blond locks, trying my best to send out all the love I possessed for him without overwhelming the child.
I heard a low sob and looked up to see my little girl watching with a devastated expression. I nodded at her in approval for her unspoken question and she instantly flashed over to me and began to comfort her emotionally damaged husband.
I wrapped my arms around both of my beloved children, temporarily pushing the current discussion out of my mind as Alice and I tried to soothe my bawling child. I had never seen Jasper this broken before. Ever.
I hugged him tighter and lightly kissed his forehead, rubbing Alice's back as she lay across her mate's heaving chest. What had happened at that school to cause Jasper so much emotional pain? Why was he suddenly feeling so worthless?
Alice's shoulders began to shake as her mate remained inconsolable. I knew that this would be a cathartic experience for Jasper. I hoped that this would be a turning point for us and that we could get to the bottom of his problems at the school once and for all.
I hugged both my children more tightly and whispered soothing words to them. I promised myself that I would not stop until Jasper was whole again and I knew that my darling Esme and my other wonderful children would be by my side in this.
I just prayed to God that Jasper knew that.
A/n
My God, that was exhausting! So that was Jasper's first breakdown, believe me, they get worse. There are still more chapters to go... Many more. I have a rough plan but I am still basically writing them as I go along, in my free time... *Glances guiltily at large pile of Homework.*
Please tell me what you think! I love hearing from all you wonderful readers! I will post a new chapter soon,
ADIOS AMIGOS! :D