Chapter Eight

LOOK! A CHAPTER! Aren't you glad that, even though my memory stick is now in tiny little pieces from where I tried to put it back together, I wrote most of this story down? I just discovered that another of my favourite scenes in later chapters is not in that bloody book. Hopefully I'll be able to recreate it effectively.

Disclaimer – Do I look like Stephanie Meyer? No, I really don't. I look like a tired out, frazzled teenager who loves her readers a lot. I don't own Twilight but I do own Sandy, Lance, the rest of the characters mentioned that aren't Stephanie's and this plotline. I'd love to claim Jasper but I guess that's going too far :)

Sandy POV

Rose and I had spread the designs for both of us over her beautiful mahogany dining room table. I may have gone overboard, considering there were twenty designs for Rose and fifteen for me. As I said, when inspiration knocks, I answer.

"You couldn't have drawn one bad one?" Rose had wailed in dismay upon first seeing them. I hadn't thought I was that good but Esme and Rose were quick to disagree and encourage my so-called talent. Rose had managed, with great difficultly and over twenty minutes of contemplation, to rule out three of the twenty designs. I'd chosen red, black and royal blue as the main colours for her dresses although there were a few dresses in other colours like emerald green. I watched with amusement as she studied each design carefully. She was practically glaring at them, as thought they had personally offended her for being good. She finally moved another design, a dark blue one, slowly to the 'NO' pile and I grinned happily. Of the fifteen I had for myself, I'd already ruled five of them out.

JSJSJSJSJS

Rose's thinking time went on until she had finally narrowed it down to two dresses: one black and one red by the time everyone else got home. I'd chosen my final design over half an hour previously. It was a stunning royal blue colour with a corset style bodice that would hug my torso and lace up with silky blue ribbon at the back. It had three silver glittery waves from the left hip reaching up towards the top right with small silver sequins. The skirt flared out slightly, just enough to avoid being too puffy and had a silk under layer with chiffon over the top. It too had a silver sequined design and it went down the left side of the skirt, almost as though it continued from the bodice but not quite. I hid it carefully along with my other designs in my bag as soon as I heard the cars in the garage. I'd driven Rose to the house in my car, shaking my head as she commented on the need for an interior update. Everyone came in boisterously and Jasper immediately sat down next to me, peering at Rosalie curiously.

"You're still going?" he asked in shocked disbelief. I snorted amusedly.

"No way, I chose mine a while ago. Rose has taken all of lunch and fifth period to get to this stage. She's been staring at those two designs for at least twenty minutes. If she looks any harder, the table will break," I informed him, rolling my eyes in good humour. I was surprised but thrilled to the point of ecstatic when he reached across the table and held my hand. His face showed slight worry but I refused to indulge my curiousity. After all, he never pried with me. I should show him the same courtesy.

"Come on Rose, pick one!" Emmett called from the couch. She shook her head rigidly. You would think it was a life or death situation.

"I've decided!" she cried victoriously after a further ten minutes of staring between the two designs. I slumped in my chair from relief as everyone grinned.

"Nice choice," Alice complimented. Everyone stared at her, or glared whilst I frowned. How had she known? Rose had kept both designs covered as she decided between them and hadn't revealed her final choice.

Jasper POV

The anger rolling from everyone was almost enough to infuriate me. As it was, I was just worried. Alice had really stuck her foot in it this time.

"What?" she asked innocently. "It was obvious she would choose the red over the black. It's her signature colour! Am I right?" she covered well. Everyone relaxed when Alessandria shrugged and turned back to Rose, gushing about the dress. I could feel her curiousity but she seemed to decide against asking questions. Rose nodded to Alice and held up her chosen sketch. Everyone moved in at once to look at it silently. Sandy was truly an artist. The dress had a sort of curved band that went from shoulder to shoulder and was red with silver glitter over it. It was attached to the bodice but hardly so. A triangle cut out separate from the band would reveal a lot of cleavage. The bodice was tight fitting and would hug Rosalie's every single curve. The skirt barely flared out, more straight down really, and had a slit up the left leg that would reach mid thigh. The note beside it said 'all scarlet silk'. It was a very Rosalie dress.

"Sandy, that's amazing," I complimented her, slightly awed by her skill. She had a talent for drawing and every detail in the dress was obvious. Gratitude and slight embarrassment laced her feelings and a lovely blush lit up her cheeks. How could the Volturi want to murder someone so beautiful? Alice had had a vision in the car on the drive home, revealing that the Volturi had discovered that a human was about to know of their existence – my human. After Bella and then Nessie, they weren't feeling very lenient where we were concerned. They had decided that Alessandria was to die. They were going to wait until we actually told her, because until then, we hadn't broken the law. Then they would exterminate her. I couldn't stand that if it happened. If they wouldn't listen to reason, they'd have to take me too. I wasn't going to live in a world where there was no such thing as her any more. She was my everything.

"Thank you Jasper," Sandy whispered thankfully. Only her voice could have pulled me from my tormented thoughts.

"Do you want to come on a walk with me?" I asked cautiously. I expected her to run at every second and then remembered that she didn't know. She nodded immediately and we rose together without dropping our intertwined hands, much to my delight (and hers I noticed). I led her out of the back door and down towards the small pond that our back garden held. Sandy adored this pond, with its clear water and golden orange fish swimming beneath the surface. I sighed when we stopped and she dropped my hand to bend down and trail her slender fingers through the water. I watched her with a small smile. I couldn't tell her I was a vampire, not yet. But I could tell her something else.

"Spit it out Jasper," she said in a light tone, not turning around. She knew me so well.

"Alright." This time, she looked around at me, rising to her feet and standing right in front of me. My heart would have pounded if it could have. "Sandy, I'm in love with you." I almost smacked myself at the sheer stupidity of the way I had blurted it out. Instead, I chose to focus on Sandy to steer my attention away from my addled brain. Just like when I had asked her to prom, her emotions consisted of utter shock, confusion and pure delight. I didn't have time to register what emotion was the dominant one before her warm lips pressed to mine. After a whole second of stillness, I finally reacted. I moved my lips with hers and wrapped my arms around her waist. She reciprocated by wrapping her own arms around my neck. With her lips moving against mine in perfect synchrony and her fingers tangled in my hair, I felt human for the first time since I'd really been human. Then her scent settled into my brain and I pulled away, knowing I would go too far. Her smell was like an aphrodisiac.

"I'm in love with you too," she admitted, flushing dangerously. I could hear Emmett grumbling about losing a bet in the house whilst Rosalie gloated loudly. Emmett had thought Sandy would confess first. I pecked her nose, which caused her to giggle happily. Oh, how I loved that sound. Now the only problems I had to deal with were telling her I was a vampire and her quite possibly dying because that fact. How I wished to be normal sometimes. But then, Sandy claimed normal was overrated. How I wished to be human sometimes.

Right, I'll update in two days (which will be Friday morning, not night. So really, it's a day and a half you lucky people).

Preview:

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, grabbing my hand tightly (for a human anyway).

Love Bianca :) x