Here's Chapter 3! Things are starting to pick up a little bit. Thank you to all who are reading and keeping up with this story. I'd love to hear what you guys think about it so please don't hesitate to send me a message or review with any suggestions, commentary, or encouragement. I enjoy reading it all and hearing from the readers is always great!

DISCLAIMER: Twilight and all of its many wonderful characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

Enjoy!

As Bella made her way to her last class of the day, she felt a flurry of something that wasn't quite anxiety, but couldn't entirely be classified as excitement either. She knew who'd be there and it made her nervous to think how he might react today. Would she have to deal with the silent treatment he had given her the last time or was he feeling well enough to at least acknowledge her existence?

Bella made her way to her seat, her focus already on Jasper Hale. There he was in all his splendor, still looking as flawless as ever. There was something different today that she couldn't quite place. He seemed more... relaxed. She slipped into her seat as inconspicuously as the last time, placing her books on the corner of her desk before reaching into her backpack to grab her notebook and a pencil. The writing instrument fumbled out of her grasp, but before it could hit the ground a pale white hand stretched out to catch it.

She made eye contact with her neighbor, Jasper still holding her pencil out for her with a friendlier look on his face than. It was then that she noticed the golden hue in his eyes. Where was the dark black from the last class? "Thanks." Bella took what was hers, her fingers brushing against his cold skin in the process.

"You're welcome," he replied and much to her surprise Jasper continued to speak. "I don't think I got the chance to introduce myself last time. I'm Jasper Hale." The sound of his velvety voice, an interesting twang hidden in the vernacular, it was all like he was singing the most delightful melody. Bella wasn't sure if she had gone into shock because he proved to be more alluring than promised or simply because he was talking to her in the first place. Before she could compose herself and speak back, the second bell rang and their English teacher Mrs. Garrett began to speak.

Bella felt torn between giving Jasper or their teacher her undivided attention. In the end the teacher won, Bella figuring it was the safest option for her. There was no way she could embarrass herself by just sitting there listening silently as the teacher rambled on. The woman at the front of the classroom went on about the reading from the night before and their homework assignments. "Alright, I want you all to pair up and discuss your answers with one another. If your partner says something interesting or something you didn't notice yourself, feel free to note it down. I might just call on you to share." Chatter filled the room as everyone paired up and Bella turned to see Jasper giving her a look that was a mixture of hopeful and expectant. She silently agreed to be his partner, turning in her seat to face him, the beautiful boy doing the same to meet her halfway.

"I'm Bella by the way," she started, picking up where they had left off when the bell rang.

He smiled politely at her, "I know." She scoffed slightly at the response. "Yeah I suppose everyone knows." "You've created quite a stir around here."

Bella grimaced, "I was told that it would get better after a week. I'm still waiting to become old news." She heard an air of a chuckle escape his lips and Bella already found herself wishing to hear the musical sound again.

"You might be waiting longer than you think." This Jasper was a stark difference to the stoic young man she had spotted in the cafeteria and a complete one-eighty from the boy from last class who seemed to pretend she didn't even exist.

"Hi guys," a voice addressed, "Are we still discussing 'Araby' over here?" Mrs. Garrett's tone held that playful yet teacherly admonishment that clearly meant "Get back to work". The insinuation that there was something else happening altogether made Bella's cheeks heat up. The woman walked away, making her rounds as she observed what other students were discussing.

"We should probably go over some of these questions," she breathed, relieved that they were no longer being observed. Jasper gazed on at her in a manner that made her self-conscious. He broke the spell, nodding in response. Bella looked down at a question, beginning to read it out loud. "Read and explain in your own words, the following quotation in James Joyce's 'Araby'. Discuss the difference between the way the narrator sees himself at the beginning of the story and here at the end. 'Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.'" She stopped, looking up expectantly at Jasper in case he wanted to go first. Something told her that he had some intellectual insight. The Cullens as a whole didn't look like idiots.

She shouldn't have been surprised when he gestured to her, "Ladies first."

Bella looked down at her written response, feeling as though her own words sounded ridiculous now that she had to share them with Jasper. "Um well I basically said he sees himself as more of the hero at the beginning. The ending is kind of a moment where he comes to see himself and his own dull humanity. The fact that the light goes out somewhere at the bazaar and there's darkness tells us that the illusion is broken for him." She didn't dare speak anymore in case she said anything stupid.

"Dull humanity," he repeated, "You think humanity is dull Bella?"

The girl thought for a moment, "He just seemed happier when he thought he was the good guy who 'bore his chalice safely through the throngs of foes.'" She referenced an earlier part of the short story, the boy enamored with the idea of himself as a knight, a hero. "He felt like he was someone who could be worthy of Mangan's sister until the end at least."

Jasper nodded silently, "Sometimes you have to snap out of your own delusions for the sake of others. It's not fair to be so selfish and lost in your own desires."

Bella nodded in return, letting out a small breath of a laugh. "Joyce would have been proud of this intellectual discussion," she joked. "Yes, he would." Jasper's agreement held something else to it. As if he spoke from personal experience. She sat there, shifting uncomfortable in her seat.

"Tell me more about yourself."

Bella normally would have hated the request, but she felt open to having this conversation with Jasper, why she couldn't figure out exactly. "Not sure there's much to know that hasn't already been said. Bella Swan. Charlie Swan's daughter. Just moved here from Phoenix." He quirked his head in intrigue. "Why did you leave Phoenix?" Bella sighed, "Long story short? My mom. She just got married. He's a lot younger and plays minor league baseball so he has to travel a lot. Staying with my mom meant she had to go long periods of time without seeing Phil and I felt it was unfair of me to keep her from spending time with her husband so here I am."

"How selfless of you."

Bella had never really seen it that way. It just seemed to make the most sense.

"Alright everybody!" Their teacher clapped her hands once before returning to the front of the classroom. The conversation ended there as Mrs. Garrett took over once more.

Bella woke up to another dreary day. In the last couple weeks, it was the one thing she could count on. Today, however, the view from her window seemed bleaker than usual. It wasn't until she pushed herself up off her mattress that she got a better look at the weather.

"Snow," she grumbled to herself. If there was something she hated more than rain, it was probably snow. Her clumsy antics only seemed to worsen when the ground was wet and with snow there was no doubt she'd be making a fool of herself on more than one occasion today. She wondered if it was too soon to take a sick day, but it didn't seem logical to stay home sick every time water fell from the sky in Forks. In fact, if she were to truly commit to such a deal, Bella would probably stay home more days than there were in the school year. While being a hermit suited her just fine, Charlie and Renee were bound to have something to say about it.

As she made her way to the red truck sitting in her driveway, she noticed the shiny new chains that wrapped around her tires. "Charlie..." The name came out of her mouth in a puff of cold air before dissipating into nothingness. Who knew how early he woke up to make sure her tires were taken care of. Not to mention the fact that he inevitably had to brave the cold to get the chains on in the first place.

Bella made sure to drive a little slower than she normally would, not trusting her luck with the slick icy roads. The chains definitely gave her the confidence she needed as she made the drive. She knew she'd have to thank Charlie when she saw him at home later. The drive to school was the same as usual, the dread of going having lessened remarkably since her first day at Forks High School. At this point she knew what to expect... except of course when it came to the Cullens and specifically Jasper. As Bella got out of her car and locked the door behind her, she spotted Jasper across the way with his siblings. He had already been staring when she looked.

That was when it happened. A large van was skidding across the sleek ice covered asphalt at an alarming speed and its trajectory suggested that it was heading straight for her. There was no time to react in a way that was going to be helpful so instead Bella braced herself for what was most likely going to be fatal impact. Her fists gripped tighter to her backpack straps and her eyes slammed shut. There was a collision and it was harsh one, but it wasn't at all what she was expecting. It was cold and tough, but she could still feel her legs which should have been crushed between the two bulky vehicles. Her head hit the icy concrete, the pain smarting a bit and causing her to involuntarily wince. Her eyes shot open just in time to witness Jasper Hale holding onto her tight with one arm while he braced his own body against the oncoming van. His free hand jutted out, putting a large dent into the side of the other car. It stopped on the spot.

Bella blinked only to now see Edward standing above her and Jasper's crouched figures. His hand was gripping onto his brother's arm in a manner that suggested he could have probably ripped it off if he wanted to. Jasper had that same look on his face from class like he was working very hard at something. He very slowly let her down to rest against the fender before standing up and allowing himself to be pulled out of there by Edward. The noise and ruckus began, but Bella's eyes were fixed on the retreating figures of the two brothers, following them as they joined the other Cullen siblings. Their faces were stuck on the scene like statues. There was no way Bella had imagined any of that. Her eyes turned to the damage the blond boy had caused the oncoming car. Jasper had literally stopped a van with his bare hands.

She was soon crowded by students and staff alike, all trying to figure out what had happened in some effort to help and control the situation. An extremely apologetic Tyler Crowley peeked his head out the open window of his car to beg her for forgiveness over and over again. She felt worse for him as she spotted the thin trail of blood trickling down his temple.

Bella groaned when she heard the siren of an ambulance, not wanting all this fuss. Charlie was sure to throw a fit and suddenly Bella wished she had stayed home today. The drive to the hospital was short much like the drive to any particular location in Forks. She felt as though everything was dragging on, wanting the dramatics and the focus on her to end. As she sat on the hospital bed provided to her, Bella finally caught sight of the doctor walking in to check up on her. It was obvious who this man was. There was no doubt in her mind that this was Carlisle Cullen.

"Hello Bella," he greeted calmly, a gentle smile on his lips. "I'm Dr. Cullen. I hear you've had quite the morning." His joking words elicited a breathy scoff from the girl. She simply sat there as he went about his routine; glancing at his clipboard, checking her vitals. His hands —which were also ice cold like Jasper's— came up to her head, his fingers gently feeling around for anything out of the ordinary. She winced as he touched on the spot she had hit on the concrete earlier. "It's just a little tender right now. Nothing to worry about." The man could have told her she had a concussion and she probably would have taken the news just fine. Bella knew nothing of the Cullen women, but the men certainly knew how to lay on the charm.

"Bells?!" the rough, frantic voice called out to her and she felt her stomach turn. Charlie spotted her quickly, racing over to her. "What the hell happened?" he asked, still huffing from his run which probably started the second he parked his car in the hospital parking lot.

"Nothing, I'm fine. It's okay dad. I'm okay."

He didn't seem to believe her because the second she stopped talking Charlie turned to Carlisle for validation. "She's going to be just fine Chief Swan. Nothing to worry about." His reassurance seemed to do the trick. Charlie took a deep, relieved breath at the doctor's words.

"You know it's actually really crazy. If it wasn't for Jasper I don't know what would have happened." Bella tested the waters, gauging Dr. Cullen's reaction to her words. "He was nowhere near me, but he was so fast. I didn't even realize when he was there helping me."

The doctor simply smiled, not seeming the least bit alarmed by her words. "Sounds like you were very lucky. You're free to go Bella. Go home, get some rest."

He gave her one last smile and a nod at Charlie before exiting the room. "Come on, I'll take you home. Just give me a minute to fill out some of these forms and we'll be good to go." Bella nodded to her dad, ready to go home after an exhausting morning. Her head was reeling as she played the scene over and over again in her head. She made her way out into the hallway, spotting Carlisle and Edward speaking in hushed tones. There was no doubt in her mind they were discussing the morning's events. She was found out quite quickly, though she wasn't sure how exactly and both father and son turned their heads to see her eavesdropping on them. Bella attempted to look casual like she had just gotten there and hadn't noticed the concerned look on their faces, but it didn't seem to work.

Much to her surprise, Edward made his way over to her. "How are you feeling?" he asked, genuine concern etched on his features.

"I'm okay... How's Jasper?" The question caught him off guard for some reason and there was a pause.

She didn't know what he was trying to achieve with the suspense, but he eventually spoke again. "He's fine... Lucky he was there to help you out. If he hadn't been there with you who knows what could have happened."

Bella's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at Edward's words. "That wasn't- He wasn't with me."

The tall boy nodded insistently, "Sure he was. He was standing right next to you. He pushed you out of the way Bella. I saw it with my own eyes." He was trying to make her doubt her own memory, but Bella was also stubborn. No matter what he said, she knew what she had seen.

"Is he here getting checked out too?" she asked, "There's no way he walked away from without so much as a scratch."

Edward shook his head, "He's waiting outside. Jasper's not very good with blood. It... It makes him queasy."

Bella simply nodded though she couldn't help, but feel as though Edward was still feeding her lies. "Got it. I'll uh.. see you around school Edward." He offered up a polite smile much like the one Jasper had given her the first day he spoke to her in English class.

Bella made her way out to the lobby of the hospital, scanning the parking lot through the large glass windows. She spotted the familiar Volvo not too far off and decided that talking to Jasper was the only way she was going to get any answers. As she neared the car, she noticed him sitting in the front passenger seat, staring straight on at nothing. His posture was once again statuesque until he broke out of whatever trance he was in, turning his head in her direction as she slowed to a stop in front of the open driver side window.

"Do you mind explaining to me what happened this morning?"

There you have it! Let me know what you think and hopefully Chapter 4 will be up fairly soon!

-Ree :)