Then There Was Jasper
By Interest Me
May 2010
Fanfiction based on Twilight
By Stephanie Meyer
*All copyright belongs to Stephanie Meyer
READING
I could steal anything I needed. Well, I amended the thought, I could steal anything I wanted. The only thing I actually needed I had to hunt and couldn't steal. Still, money helped me fit into the human world. Silly stuff, but the humans liked it.
I held my breath and brushed up against a passing pedestrian.
"Excuse me sir," I said.
There was no chance that he would feel my lighting fast hand as I relieved him of his wallet. At least, no one had ever felt it before. I slid the wallet into my purse and adjusted my sunglasses. They were new. I'd broken into a darling boutique last night, and just had to have them. Jewels, well fake jewels, crusted the frames.
I touched the two diamond studs, real diamonds, that I wore on my collar. The one thing that made me jealous of the humans was their ability to wear earrings. I couldn't drill holes into my granite hard ears. Harder than diamonds I wore. I tried to puncture my ears with a needle, but it just scraped the surface and made a sound that would have given me goose bumps if such a thing were possible. The sound reminded me of the horrible screeching in my Volturi visions. An electric drill had a similar, yet more intense, effect. Finally, I tried to drive an awl through my ear with a hammer. The awl bent and broke from the handle, and the head flew off the hammer. My skin remained unmarked. I assumed my teeth could do the trick, but they didn't reach.
Clip-on ear jewelry didn't work either. They couldn't gain purchase on my smooth, unyielding lobes. They slid off in minutes. So, if I fell in love with a pair of earrings, I pinned them to my clothing.
Clouds blocked the sun, and I could walk in the daylight. Nearly two years ago, Robert had advised me to follow his hunch and go north. I was here and still looking for Jasper. My eyes had mellowed to the gold of my visions, but I still felt more comfortable wearing sun glasses.
The North was vast. It didn't narrow my search much. I enjoyed walking the streets in the day, but still there were sunny days that forced me to hide. Chicago was a stylish city, but New York had been my favorite so far. Except for the people. There were too many. But the fashion was extraordinary.
Wandering The North wasn't bringing my closer to Jasper. I hadn't found the cream jacket with the blue buttons. I needed more clues. I needed to learn to read, and now was the time. I wanted to read the newspaper that the man in my vision was reading.
I paused at the doors of a library. The last time I'd tried to enter one, the Volturi visions scared my away. No visions today. Perhaps I wouldn't massacre all of the humans in the building. No, that thought didn't set off any disturbing visions. I did, however, see that a group of school children would gather for story time.
Inside the library, the children sprawled on the floor. The librarian sat in a chair with her back to the bookcase that I lurked behind. I pretended to scan the shelves, even opening an occasional book and staring at the black marks on the pages. I listened as the librarian read the story to the children. Even though this was my second time to hear the story, the first had been in my vision, I listened closely. But my recall was perfect.
I identified with the engine in the story. I would find Jasper, even though the task was monumental. I knew I could. The story ended, and the children distracted the librarian. At the perfect moment, I swiped the book.
Outside, I walked to the park and sat on the bench. I compared the words I heard with the symbols on the page. I could see a pattern, but it was broken. For instance, the symbol i sounded many different ways. It made a different sound in think, and in engine. Confusing.
I sat back and made plans to return tomorrow for story time. In my vision I saw the book that would be read, and listened as the librarian read it. I hurried back to the library and swiped tomorrow's book. I compared the symbols in the book with the vision in my head of the librarian reading it tomorrow.
When I finished that book, I made plans to return the next day, and followed that pattern for seven more books. Each time, I compared my vision of what would be read, with the symbols in the books. In doing so, I learned to read.
The newspaper in my vision of the diner said, Phila. I think there was more to the word, but the paper was folded, and I couldn't see from my vantage point. Still, this was a clue. I believed it was a big one.
That night, I broke into the library and selected a stack of books to read. I giggled through one about vampires. I couldn't drive an awl through my ear with a hammer, but the humans thought they could drive a wooden stake through my heart. Oh, and I read how crosses repel us, as I fingered the cross around my neck. It was very pretty, silver with sapphires. I had stolen it from a shop about a week ago.
Garlic? Hmm, I'll have to check that myth out for myself. I read the myth that Robert said the humans liked to repeat. That sunlight burns us. I wondered if any vampires actually shape shifted into bats. Perhaps it was a talent. Still, the information about vampire strength and speed seemed fairly accurate. And yet, I had entered many houses without an invitation. In my quest to pass as human, I wanted to see how they lived.
Then I read a book on the Civil War. I knew from visions of future conversations with Jasper, that he'd been a military officer during that war. While working in that capacity, he had been changed from human to vampire. Poor Jasper, blood lust aside, he had lived a particularly bloody life.
Lincoln and Lucas had very different methods of freeing slaves. I wondered how Lucas viewed Lincoln. Would he see him as a kindred spirit? Or would he just view him as a meal?
After that book, I read one on fashion design. That's when I learned about fashion magazines, and spent the rest of the night paging through Vogue, The Queen, and Harpers Bazaar. I also read the Sears catalog and a collection of McCall's dress patterns.
Reading consumed my time for months. My new skill improved greatly after I stole a dictionary and read it one night. The pronunciation symbols were quite helpful. I found the foreign language section in the library, and taught myself Spanish, French, Italian, and Korean. In my memory, reading was the most exciting thing I'd learned.
Occasionally I felt lonely. I ached to find Jasper, and the Cullens, my future family. I searched vainly for the cream jacket with large blue buttons. I read an atlas, and my guess was that I would meet Jasper in Philadelphia. I wondered if there was a way to speed up the meeting. Should I head to Philadelphia now? But what if the cream jacket is here in Chicago? Or, perhaps, it's in France. Now that I knew French, I definitely wanted to go to Paris, the fashion capital of the world.
Although my talent seemed to grow stronger, I still didn't completely understand how it worked. Yet, it was a comfort to me. One particularly lonely time, I considered my future meeting with my new family:
"Yes, you seem to be able to see things before they happen." Carlisle repeated in my head.
"Oh, yes. I didn't know that was a talent. But it changes. I can only see the future of a course a person is on. If they change the course, my vision changes. For instance, I expected Edward and Emmet in 20 minutes, but they are taking a different route now. Emmet wants to buy Rosalie a gift. They'll be here in 30 minutes." I explained.
"Very interesting," Carlisle answered, and I could see he meant it.
"Well, can we get settled in? We don't have much, but still, it would be good to fix up our room before Edward returns." I flashed up the stairs to our new room. Edward's things were everywhere, so I began hauling it all to the garage. My, he had a lot of music. Jasper joined me, and in moments, Edward's belongings were removed from our room, and we were settled in. I zipped down the stairs and rejoined my new family.
"Uhm, Alice, I believe you've stolen Edward's room," Carllisle said.
"Oh, I know, but the view is best there. Besides, he finds the acoustics better in er, in another room." I watched Rosalie out of the corner of my eye, not wanting to give Edward away.
Rosalie smirked. A few moments later, Edward and Emmet came home. Edward wasn't surprised, of course, because he could hear our thoughts before he entered the house. Yet, he did raise an eyebrow at us.
He darted up the stairs faster than I'd ever seen anyone move, and soon, Emmet and Rosalie's room was emptied of old belongings, and Edward's belongings inhabited their new home. Rosalie glared at Edward, but Emmet barked a laughed. Carlisle and Esmee seemed amused.
Jasper guarded me defensively. I heard a hiss, and saw Emmet and Jasper tensed for a fight.
"Jasper, Jasper, it's okay. Emmett won't hurt us."
"No, he won't," Jasper answered. Emmett growled.
"I mean he won't try Jasper. You two will be great friends. This is our new family. Edward is my favorite brother".
Yes, I anxiously awaited meeting my new family. Methodically, I read every book in the library. I was most comfortable after they closed, but I tried to visit daily to increase my tolerance for the smell of human blood. Too soon, there were no more books. I had perfect recall, so reading them again was unnecessary. If I felt the need to do so, and I didn't, I could just rerun them in my head. Life became boring again.
Finally, I ran to New York and jumped into the ocean. I wanted to visit France. They made lovely hats there.