7. Unbreakable Bond
Alice ran her hand up and down Jasper's abdomen, her fingers tracing a lazy trail against the smooth skin there as she nuzzled the top of her head under his chin.
"That was…absolutely beautiful," Jasper said with a contented sigh. He'd never experienced anything so pure, so amazing. He propped himself up on his elbows, casting his gaze down on Alice. The sheer beauty of her was magnified in this light. He'd never seen anything so breathtaking. As the sun spilled across her body, erupting into tiny facets, Jasper couldn't help but stare at her in wonder.
Alice rolled onto her back as he moved to sit up, her eyes opening with a blissful smile. Their golden depths sparkled with pure adoration at the sight of his face, his skin shimmering in the sunlight. A giggle escaped her under the weight of his gaze and feeling a sudden bout of shyness she grabbed her coat off the ground beside them and moved to drape it over her.
A warm smile touched his face as he shifted his weight to lean toward her and gently brought up a hand to cup her cheek. She was so beautiful he couldn't help but touch her. A part of him was testing to see if she were actually real or if perhaps she'd been a figment of his imagination. The act of making love to her had brought on feelings he'd never thought he had. The pure joy, the complete surrender was something that human blood could never match.
Hooking her fingers around the back of his neck, she pulled him down, arching her back in her impatience to once again feel his lips on hers. Even if she would, in fact, live forever she knew she would never grow tired of this.
Jasper chuckled quietly as Alice slipped her hands around his neck and pulled him back down. He more than willingly obliged, a soft smile breaking his features as his lips connected with hers. The contact between them sparked a new wave of emotion in Jasper, causing him to shiver. Alice's presence was permanent, moving and needed. As his lips molded to hers once again, he felt the same drive rushing through him that he had last night; the need for more. He could never grow tired of this closeness between them.
"Jasper?" she whispered against his mouth, nibbling on her lower lip with her teeth. She pulled back to look at him, her eyes searching his.
"Yes?" he asked quietly, curiosity written across his face.
"About finding this coven… I can see you there with me because when I asked you, you decided to go. But before that moment there was just your face and my vision of them. I just want to make sure that you agreed to go find them because it's what you want, not just because you're trying to make me happy."
Jasper pulled back slightly and chuckled. "Of course it's what I want," he agreed, wondering what brought this on all of a sudden. Alice had never questioned him before. His expression turned confused as she continued. Hadn't she seen them together far off in the future? Hadn't she herself seen that he'd willingly followed her?
"Just listen, please…" She reached up, tenderly touching her fingertips to his cheek. "I'm happy wherever you are. I'll go wherever you want to go."
A slight smile touched his face, as Alice reached up and placed her fingertips on his cheek. Alice's happiness was what mattered to him, so if going to live with this family was what made her happy, then he was on board. "I want to go find this coven," he said, with a soft chuckle.
She looked at him, her eyes questioning him.
"Alice, I would willingly follow you anywhere. I mean, anywhere," he promised. A light smile touched his lips when Alice caressed his cheek with her finger tips, the gentle touch reaffirming the grounding hold she had on him. His smile faded slightly, as she spoke. He knew how she felt about the coven. She'd been so delighted to find out about them. She was delighted that they would join them and she knew that she loved them. He could never deny her that. A thoughtful expression overtook his features, before it smoothed out and became overtaken with another soft smile.
"I just want you know we don't have to go if you don't want to," she said. She smiled, moving her hand to twine her slender fingers in his hair again. "I'll even stay right here, never moving again, just lying in your arms if you want and I'll be happy."
As she slid her fingers into his hair a quiet smile graced his features. Oh, how much he would love to spend the rest of eternity, right there, never moving with her in his arms. Of course he knew that they would have to eventually continue their search. "I would love to hold you in my arms forever," he said, his voice soft. "But, we should look for this other coven. If you saw them, then that means we're meant to find them."
"I just know I can be…" She paused, pursing her lips in thought. "How was it you put it? Very forceful when I want my way?" She laughed, raising her other hand to tweak his nose with a silly grin.
Jasper laughed quietly. "Yes, you're very...persuasive," he said, a smile brimming at the corners of his mouth. "To say the least," he added. When she reached up to tweak his nose, he laughed. "Hey!" He yelled, teasingly and reached back to tweak hers.
She stuck her tongue out at him and giggled, refocusing her attention to twirling a lock of his hair with her forefinger.
"Alice…" he began as she twined her fingers into his hair. "This coven seems to bring happiness to you. You said yourself that you will love them, that you want to be part of a family. Who am I to deny you that? Of course I will go with you. I cannot live without you and if this coven is what you want then I will gladly follow your lead," he said, smiling.
"I don't know what I did to deserve you," she murmured. "You do far too much to make me happy already." She shifted a lock of his hair through her fingers, bringing them down to trace along his temple, the cut of his cheekbone, the rough skin of his jaw and over to the softness of his lips. A smile lit up her expression as she studied every curve, every line, committing everything about him to memory. The way his eyes shone in this particular moment in time, the way the sun filtered through his hair picking out lighter shades of yellow in his honey blond curls, the feel of him pressed against her through her coat…
"Sometimes, I think you deserve much more…" he mumbled in response. Alice's flawless beauty, in his eyes, was unmatched. The sheer grace in which she moved, her laugh, her voice... Everything about her shone brighter then the sun. Her amazing warmth, beauty and grace were all things he could never replace nor equal. He felt guilty for wanting her to himself but at the same time he felt proud that she saw only him. "You deserve to be loved and held in high honor…"
As she traced her fingers down his face, letting them linger on his lip and trailed them down his jaw line, Jasper felt a shock of electric run through him, something he could never get tired of…
She pushed him back down to lay on the ground next to her with a playful growl, giggling as she shifted onto her side and covered his neck and chest with enthusiastic kisses.
Jasper laughed out loud when Alice pushed him back down onto the ground. He was overcome with uncontrollable laughter as Alice began attacking him with a barrage of kisses. "You're such a terrifying little monster!" he yelled.
"You have no idea," she said, leaning down to nip at his shoulder with a wicked smile.
Jasper chuckled lightly. "I don't, huh?" he asked lifting an eyebrow and letting slip a wicked grin of his own when she bent down to nip his shoulder.
"I love you," she whispered, growing serious again, and laying her head on his chest.
As the barrage of kissing ceased Jasper's laughter quieted down. He let out a quiet sigh and turned his gaze on her with a content smile as she laid her head on his chest. "I love you too…" he murmured, reaching over one of his hands and stroking his fingers through her hair.
"I've never been further west than Mississippi," she mused. "Unless you know the terrain we'll have to rely on my visions to guide us as to where to go. I mean, I know my states and I'm fairly sure I can find west but I'm not as familiar with the safest route or which territories have been claimed."
Jasper's expression turned thoughtful, furrowing his eyebrows together. "Well, I'm not too familiar with the Northern terrain," he said in a disappointed tone. "But it shouldn't take long to find our way around," he added with a slight grin.
"What's your favorite place that you've been?" she asked suddenly curious.
"My favorite place?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. His expression became thoughtful. "Texas, of course," he said with a gentle laugh. "It's where I was born. It's where I grew up. During my time in the Confederacy, I fought to protect it. It along with the other southern states, of course. I suppose it holds some significance to me. A sort of sentimental value, in a way..." he said, his voice quiet. "What about you?"
She frowned, her eyes going blank as she scanned her memories to all the places she had been. Seconds went by, then minutes, as she continued to search. She was so caught up in her quest to find the answer to his question that she became perfectly still, not breathing, not blinking, her face immobile.
Jasper waited patiently for an answer. Minutes went by with no answer, no movement. A tinge of worry broke through his exterior and sunk down into his bones. "Alice?" he asked, trepidation in his tone. "Alice?" His voice was becoming panicked. "Alice, what's wrong? What are you seeing?" He tentatively reached out with his hand and touched her cheek.
At his touch she turned to look at him, her expression serene. "Hmmm?" she asked.
"Oh, sorry," she said sheepishly. "I was just thinking of an answer to your question and when one didn't come to me right away, I thought about every place I have ever been. I suppose I got lost in my memories for a moment." She laughed, moving her head on his chest in order to look up into his eyes. "The thing is I couldn't think of a single place that I might consider my favorite. I think it's because, for the last 28 years, I never enjoyed where I was. I was too busy looking for you."
It dawned on Jasper that Alice had spent so much time looking for him that she'd never stopped to enjoy anything. Those places had meant little to her. His eyebrows crumpled together in thought as she explained. Nodding quietly Jasper let slip a slight smile. "I suppose I can empathize with you in a way," he said, with a soft chuckle. "No pun intended," he added. "Since leaving her service nothing seemed to matter anymore. I'd lost all purpose and meaning in my existence," he said frowning slightly, deciding to leave Maria's name out of it because it bothered Alice to hear it. "My life there had sent me into a depressed state, leaving me conflicted about my own emotions. But I suppose leaving was the best thing to do," he said, letting another smile slip. "When I found you, I finally felt like I had a purpose..."
Alice nodded her understanding. "The only life I've ever known began in my death. I felt like a ghost, drifting through an existence. Your face was my first memory and without you I felt hollow inside. It took you walking into that diner to make me feel alive…the very first time I had felt that way. You were what had always been missing."
She ducked her head, laying her cheek back to the smooth marble of his chest. "I guess that's sort of sad, really," she mused. "But from the moment I opened my eyes I knew there was something better than wherever I was or whatever I was doing. Every place I've been between now and the night I awoke in that forest was just a stopping point on my way to finding you."
Jasper chuckled lightly, slipping his fingers back into her hair as she laid her head back onto his chest. "The only thing that kept me sane was the sense of something else being out there. It kept me going, as well," he said with a quiet smile. "So no, it's not sad. I completely understand," he said, softly.
She smiled. "Actually, I suppose if I had to name a place, it would be that diner in Philadelphia. It was the place where I first saw your face. The place where this life finally began to make sense…"
"The diner? Really?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow. "Yes, the diner was definitely a turning point in my existence as well. When I took your hand, I felt whole. I felt as if there was a meaning behind everything. You were an undeniable sun in my shadowy life. It's hard to explain but…I felt as if everything made sense, when nothing made sense in close to a century. Suddenly, I knew the answers..."
"I felt the same when you were finally there with me. I felt like there was a reason for me to exist. I always knew one day I would find you but the wait was nearly unbearable. Patience is not one of my better qualities," she said with a laugh.
Jasper chuckled. "Yeah, I know," he said, with a knowing smile. His thoughts went back to earlier, when Alice had sprung the clothes on him. She'd shown him a glimpse of her impatience, when she ripped the sweater off of him.
"I tried to pass the time until I would be with you. I watched sunrises and sunsets and marveled at them, I stared in wonder at snow falling and leaves changing… Recently I discovered motion pictures and immersed myself in the artificial world they offered to occupy my time. But everywhere I went, above it all, I saw your face and nothing could take away that longing, that need to finally be with you."
Jasper listened, quietly nodding, a quiet smile touching his lips. "I felt as if something were missing myself," he said, letting his gaze fall on her briefly. "I never realized that something was you…" he added with a quiet laugh. "Now, we can go to the motion pictures together," he mumbled. He knew Alice loved movies, but he had found himself preoccupied with the humans in the room. He had found himself focusing more on Alice than the movie to try and keep himself grounded.
She giggled. "Well, we can go once we get where we're going," she said. "We have to get up and get dressed first and as much as I am certain that we're supposed to be with this coven…I can't seem to get motivated to move from my current position."
"Yes, getting dressed would be the first priority, wouldn't it?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow. He had to agree with Alice, he was finding it difficult to get motivated, as well. A part of him wanted to stay like that forever, just lying there with Alice in his arms. Of course he knew that he would have to get up and get dressed if they were going to get on their way and find this other coven. "I'm finding it difficult as well," he admitted, with a slight smile.
She tilted her head up to kiss his jaw. "We've barely even left Philadelphia yet," she laughed.
As she moved her head ever so slightly to kiss his jaw, Jasper let out a soft, contented sigh. Mere contact between them sent Jasper into a state of incapacitation. He couldn't, nor did he want to, find the strength to move away from her touch. As she kissed his jaw, a thrill rushed through him leaving him wanting for more but he knew they had to get going. With difficulty he stood up and, in a fury of movements, got himself dressed. "Let's go, dear," he said, flashing out a hand down to her to help her up.
Alice took his hand and stood, shyly clutching her coat around her. She eyed her pile of clothes on the ground and then turned back to him. Odd that after everything they had shared she would feel modest, almost embarrassed at dropping the coat in order to retrieve them.
Jasper pulled her to her feet, arching an eyebrow as she shyly debated on letting her article of clothing drop to retrieve her clothes. He understood her hesitance but at the same time they'd just engaged in the act of making love, with zero clothing. So, he couldn't fully understand where her sudden bout of modesty was coming from. He did as a gentleman would and turned around so that he couldn't see her dressing, giving her some privacy.
It slipped slowly from her fingers to pool at her feet. She bit her lip as she quickly bent to grab her slacks and shirt, throwing them on hastily. Her hands moved so fast in her nervousness that she actually missed several button holes, her shirt hanging lopsided and untucked once she was through. She stared down at it in chagrin before looking up at Jasper with a shaky smile.
The soft thud of her coat hitting the ground let Jasper know that Alice was proceeding with her dressing. He whistled quietly to himself, making sure to keep his eyes averted. Of course since he was turned the other direction all he had to do was stare forward. Chancing a quick glance behind him, he caught Alice's fully dressed form and turned meet her chagrined expression. He gave her a soft smile and reached out to take her hand. "Shall we?" he asked, planting a kiss on her cheek before gesturing for her to lead the way.
"Sure," she replied, her hands flashing down to fix her buttons and quickly tuck in her shirt. She bent to grab her coat and shrugged it on. She felt silly for being so shy but the way he looked at her, even now, was so intense that she sometimes felt herself shrinking in front of him, self conscious and vulnerable. True he had seen her naked but at the time she hadn't given it much thought. She'd been too caught up in the moment to think of being embarrassed. But the idea of standing before him fully unclothed, of feeling the weight of his gaze raking over her and taking in every detail made her shiver. She reached out to take his hand, her fingers trembling slightly and her eyes cast down.
Jasper's eyebrows creased together as Alice took his hand. The nervous feeling rolling off of her sparked his fingers when she grabbed them, a reaffirmation to the feeling. Applying a calming sensation to her straight through his finger tips and letting it melt into her hand and sink into her flesh and bone, Jasper gave her a slight, comforting smile meant to tell her that she need not be nervous. He wouldn't judge her.
"So, Alice, love?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at her from the corner of his eye. "Where to? Chicago?" he asked, giving her palm a gentle rub with his thumb and hoping that his calming influence would quell the nerves she was feeling. There was no need for her to feel nervous.
"Yes, Chicago first I think… Maybe we can cross into Canada and—"
Slowly, her nervousness began to fade. A calming fog washed over her and she felt every muscle in her body relax as her eyes fluttered closed. It was him. She recognized the feeling now when he used his influence over her. Her lips turned up in a beatific smile.
"Were my feelings that easy to read?" she asked with a slight laugh.
Jasper chuckled lightly, a slight smile touching his lips. "Well…" Jasper began, pausing briefly. "Yes, they are," he said, his smile growing a little wider. "Of course most everyone's feelings, vampire or human, are fairly easy to pick up. It's almost like a tangible thing to me. Like some humans claim to be able to see auras, you know?" he said, trying to make a comparison. "Well for me…I don't see auras, I feel them. It doesn't matter who's around me, their mood is like a tangible, invisible fog that hits me as soon as I come within contact. Sometimes it's difficult when I'm in a room with so many but I've learned to separate other people's emotions from my own fairly well," he said, gesturing toward her. "Like yours. I'm so familiar with you that I could probably pick yours up from across the room," he joked. "Most people I have to be fairly close. Of course, I can use it as a domino effect. I only have to be close to one to affect everyone. I could calm everyone in a room to the point of sleep or hype everyone up until they're on the verge of rioting. But I only have to be close to one. Then the domino effect sets in and travels through each person, until it effects the entire crowd," he explained.
They started walking and she mulled over the aspects of his gift as she bent to pick up the travel bag and sling it over her shoulder.
Jasper gave Alice a speculative look when she picked up the bag and shook his head. He stopped and moved around to her other side. "Here, let me take that," he said with a light chuckle, slipping the bag off of her shoulder and slinging the strap over his own. "A lady should never have to lift a finger," he said with a wink. He automatically reached out his hand and took up hers, resuming their walking.
She shook her head, laughing at his insistence on being chivalrous. He was such a contradiction, she thought. A man capable of great violence and yet with the heart of a southern gentleman. She looked at him, a touch of sadness in her eyes, wishing he could have remained the pure and innocent soul he had once been before Maria had stained it with darkness.
"I can only see the future once a decision is made to make that future possible. Once a decision changes, the whole future changes. Large groups of people being involved causes a problem for me and there's no real way around it. Too many people making too many decisions gives me a headache. The future shifts around too fast for me to focus on any one thing and it gives me a headache."
He listened quietly as she talked about her visions and how they worked. "I see… So your visions are all based on decisions. Like say for example, right now our path is pretty solid that we'll join this coven. But if I changed my mind, that vision will change?" he asked, glancing toward her. "Of course, I would never do that. It's just a for example type thing…" he said reassuringly and squeezed her hand.
"Yes, if you decided not to go, your future would change as would mine because I'm not going anywhere without you," she stated with a smile. "Try it," she suggested. "Think about not going and I'll tell you what I see."
"Alright..." Jasper said, flashing a slight smile. "Let me see here," he said as he concentrated. He pulled up the decision in his mind to go, mulled it over briefly and decided that he didn't want to go. He wasn't quite sure exactly how her visions worked. Perhaps, you couldn't deceive it. 'I'm not going to go. I really don't want to be part of a coven,' he thought, and with a slight smile said. "I'd rather stay right here, with you…"
She waited for the vision to come, for the future to shimmer and shift. When it did she gave a little gasp, her eyes unfocusing from the forest in front of her to something else entirely. Her eyes grew wide and then a shy smile spread across her face.
"Oh," she said simply. "Well...that's, um, tempting."
A coy smile crept to his lips as she drew out of her daze and spoke. "May I ask what you saw?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow. Of course, he had a feeling he already knew based on the shift in her mood. She'd obviously seen something that created the shyness suddenly enveloping her. "Or is it private?" he teased lightly, squeezing her hand, in a comforting gesture.
She raised her eyes to him and then quickly looked away again. "It was your decision. I think you would know," she said with humor in her voice. She hesitated, deciding how to put to words what she had seen without stammering like an idiot. "It... Well... It involved us not getting much traveling done today, either," she said finally. She laughed and shook her head. "Not the most unpleasant vision I've ever had, I assure you!"
Jasper's eyebrows shot up when she explained what he'd already realized. "Oh…" he said simply and chuckled lightly. "Well, we've got all eternity," he said with a soft smile. "So I'm sure there will come other times that will be equally as pleasant," he assured her.
"I'm sorry…" she said, squeezing his hand. "About being nervous, I mean. I don't know why. Well, I do, but it's silly…"
Jasper laughed quietly. "No need to be sorry," he said with a slight smile. "It's not your fault. One individual is fairly easy to handle. Now, put me in a room with multiple people with several different moods and that's where it gets difficult to keep myself in check. Of course, I'm sure it probably gets on your nerves when I tell you how you feel or take it upon myself to remedy those feelings. It's not nice to manipulate. I'll stop," he promised with a soft smile.
"No, I don't mind it. In fact, it makes things easier. I'm still nervous and shy but at least it's not as bad as it would be if I didn't feel comfortable with you. I think you understand me better because you do know how I feel and once I get used to all this, I'm sure I won't be so bad," she said, feeling for all the world as though she could blush, vampire or not.
This was all new to Alice, Jasper could tell by the shy way she acted. Of course, it was all new to him as well. He'd never felt this way about anyone. He thought he would be able to share the feelings he did for her. He loved her and he knew this now. He'd known it all along, but he'd never been able to put the defining feeling behind it until he'd uttered the words to her for the first time. "I'm glad my narrative comments make you feel more at ease," he said, with a slight grin.
"It's just...I've been alone my whole life. I don't really know how to do this... And you make me feel things that I don't know how to handle and the way you look at me makes me feel as though you see me, all of me, and sometimes I'm not sure what you'll think about that or me or..." She trailed off wondering if anything she had said just made sense at all.
"Alice, it's ok," he said reassuringly as she went on, her words becoming rushed and nervous. He understood her nerves and sympathized with her. "The way I look at you will never change," he said with a warm smile. "I'll always look at you as if I'm seeing you for the first time..."
"I think this is the most vulnerable I've ever been, especially after... Well, like I said I've never- And you just-" She sighed. She was babbling and making a fool of herself. "I'm going to stop talking now," she said with an embarrassed smile.
He lifted an eyebrow as she moved on to last night. Their first night together. A nervous laugh escaped his lips as she brought it up. He couldn't deny that it had been amazing, if not the best night of his life. Being with her in such an intimate manner had brought him closer to her then he ever would've thought. The bond that had formed between them had been forged together, to become unbreakable, with that simple act.
"And you don't have to stop talking. I like to hear you talk," he added.
She laughed. "I wonder if you'll still say that in a hundred or so years..."
He laughed quietly. "Well in case you haven't noticed I'm not exactly talkative, so I suppose your exuberance balances it out. I much prefer to listen," he said as a gentle smile touched his lips. "I doubt I will ever get tired of your voice. It's soothing…" he said, softly.
"Even when I'm ordering you around and being, how was it you put it? Forceful? Persuasive?" A tinkling laugh escaped her.
"Even then," he agreed with a quiet laugh of his own although he still couldn't help feel in awe to Alice's laughter. "I'm sure you'll have me so well trained by then that doing what you ask will be second nature… Not an unpleasant nature. I rather enjoy waiting on you hand and foot…" he said, casually.
"I still don't know what I did to deserve you," she said, quietly. "Sometimes I find myself looking at you, wondering if you're real…"
"Of course I'm real. Least I was the last time I checked. Silly, girl…" he said with a playful smile. "Sometimes, though, I wonder the same thing about you," he added in a softer voice. "And if it makes you feel any better, it was a first for me as well..." he said, letting a smile twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"You've really never...I mean, never before with anyone...?" Her eyebrows knitted together and she squeezed his hand to keep him from feeling her hand shaking with nervousness at even broaching the subject.
Her questioning eyes cut through him like a dagger. Unable to face her with a lie, he lowered his gaze to the ground. Maria's forceful acts had hurt him enough, but he couldn't stand to hurt Alice with it.
His emotions were plain to read on his face in the moment before he turned his eyes away from her. In that instant, Alice knew the truth. Unable to speak Maria's name she simply took in a shaky breath, her heart clenching in pain to realize all that his creator had taken from him and all the pain it caused him to think back on his life before he had walked into that diner and found his way to her.
"Oh," she said simply, looking into the forest ahead of them and giving him privacy with the demons of his past.
Guilt swept through him in agonizing waves, the crushed emotions radiating off of her fueling it. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. His eyes shifted back up from the ground to catch her looking off into the distance. He didn't have to sample her mood to know she was hurt and angry. The love they'd made the night before had been so amazing yet he felt horribly dirty, simply because he had taken something from her that he couldn't give in return.
She quickly turned her head to find his eyes, the pain in them causing her brow to crease with concern. "What could you possibly have to be sorry for?"
"Because I hurt you…" Drawing in a breath, he let her eyes burn into his. "You've a right to be angry at me. I should've told you. I just couldn't bring myself to do it." He felt himself beginning to ramble. "I just... I'm sorry."
"Jasper…" Alice breathed. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's silly for you to feel guilty for something that happened decades before I was even born." She looked down at her feet for a moment, taking a few breaths before she once again found her voice. "Did you…love her?"
Jasper's eyebrows pulled together. "I thought I did, but it wasn't love that I felt. It was masterful manipulation. I was too young and inexperienced to understand the difference between love and lust." One hand lifted to caress her cheek. "I never felt for her like I feel for you. I promise." His voice grew soft and his lips upturned into a gentle smile. "I love you."
Alice was still trying to wrap her mind around his confession but she managed to smile back at him. Her feelings for him had not changed. She doubted anything could ever cause them to. There was a reason why the first thing she could remember of this life was his face in her mind. She was meant to be there, with him. "And I love you…always."
He pulled her to a stop as warmth flooded through him. Pure, unadulterated warmth. He let his fingers trail against her cheek and leaned in to press a kiss to her lips.
Alice tilted her head up to return his kiss, a little sigh escaping her parted lips at the feel of him so near. Her eyes fluttered shut and she couldn't resist pulling him closer to her, her head swimming as his scent enveloped her and washed away the every other emotion from her heart except love, true and unconditional.
Jasper let her pull him closer, his lips working softly, tenderly, against her own. A warm buttery feeling enveloped his senses and fogged over his mind. He broke the kiss and pulled back to look in her eyes. His hands cupped each side of her face lovingly. "We should probably get going," he murmured.
Alice nodded. Things could quickly get out of hand and then they'd never make it out of Philadelphia. The prospect of them simply spending the next century lying there on the forest floor, wrapped up in each other and letting the entire world fade into the background was completely possible. She reached down to entwine her hand in his and pulled him along in the direction they had been headed.
Jasper took her hand without question and allowed her to take the lead, speeding his steps to keep pace so he didn't get dragged in her haste. While he would have been content to stay there with her, unmoving forever, they needed to get going and get out of Philadelphia if they were going to find her coven of vampires.
"It was just her and no one else." Jasper was loath to continue discussing it but he felt that was something he needed to clarify before they moved away from his past. "After gaining so many scars, I suppose I repulsed most females..." he added, shrugging lightly.
Alice shook her head. "I highly doubt that anyone found you to be repulsive." She gave a little smile, trying to lighten the mood. "In fact, you're so not repulsive that every time you look at me I feel like I'm going to faint. And I can't faint, I'm a vampire."
Jasper laughed. "Faint?" He asked, arching an eyebrow. "Well, I didn't know I had such an effect on you."
"Well, I didn't exactly intend for you to know," she said with a sly smile. "Leave it to me to just blurt it out. Still, repulsive to females? You're ridiculous."
"Yes, I suppose I am…but I guess good things come to those who wait," he said, with an adoring smile, flicking his gaze down to her.
"See, that's the thing," she said, her eyebrows knitting together. "You had to wait for 105 years and I only had to wait for 28. That's very disproportionate. And the years you spent waiting were so much harder than mine given what you went through. It hardly seems fair."
"Well, if it evens it out I didn't wake up alone, like you did. So, that would make it much harder on yourself," he said with an attentive smile. "Plus, you knew that you were waiting so I suppose that would give you points as well," he added.
"Waking up alone was…scary," she admitted. "I didn't even know what I was until I felt the thirst consume me. I was horrified. I just kept focusing on your face and my future." She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I was wearing this plain white shapeless dress that was way too big for me and I was barefoot. I still don't know why and where I came from. I was so far out in the woods…"
Jasper's expression turned curious as she explained about her beginning, not quite sure how to respond. He wasn't sure how he would react with waking up in the woods, alone, without memory of anything. But, in a perverse way, he would've much preferred it to his own and in a way he envied her. "Sometimes, I wish my beginning had been a blank canvas…" Jasper mumbled, quietly. "In a way I envy you because you had no outside interference."
They walked in silence for a while. They could run, she thought, and make up for lost time... But somehow walking hand and hand at a leisurely pace was nice and she was loath to suggest anything else. It felt normal, pleasant...human.
"When were you the most scared?" she asked, her face thoughtful. "I mean, out of all the years you've lived, was there a moment when you were the most afraid you've ever been?"
As they walked, Alice's questions continued. He thought back through his existence and frowned slightly. Up until he'd met Alice, he'd rarely experienced fear or pain, only a depressed existence. "Probably when I scared you…" he admitted in a soft tone. "I thought that I had ruined you. I was afraid that you would leave me, that you would look at me like the monster I am…" he said. "The way you thrashed around in a pure panic scared me more than any army of vampires could..."
Alice stopped walking, pulling on Jasper's hand until he stopped as well. She grabbed him by his arms and spun him to face her and then stood up on her tiptoes and placed a hand on either side of his face, forcing him to look into her eyes. "Look at me," she said, her voice serious and unwavering.
When Alice turned him to face her and placed her hands on his cheeks to make him look at her he lifted an eyebrow. "I am looking…" he added with a slight smile.
"That was not your fault. It was mine. I shouldn't have crept up on you like that. I'm young and inexperienced and I'm the one that caused it. You apologized over and over but I'm the one who is sorry. And I'm the one who will never, never leave you. Not then and not ever. No matter what you do I am not going anywhere and I will never think you are a monster."
His forehead creased with concern then guilt. He knew Alice had forgiven him but it would be a long time before he would be able to forgive himself. Still, Alice's words touched him and he knew that her commitment to him was set in stone. "Alice…" he began, trailing off with a soft sigh. He just didn't think he could apologize enough for what had happened even if she'd already accepted it. "Alice, I could never hurt you. You're my only meaning for existence. I promise, it'll never happen again," he said honestly.
She pulled his face down to hers, wrapping her little arms around his ravaged neck. "You don't have to promise me anything," she whispered. "I know…" She kissed him tenderly, hoping that by doing so she would smooth the lines of guilt and pain from his features. When she pulled away she favored him with a gentle smile, placing her hands back on the sides of his face and sighing before reaching down to grab his hand again and pull him along.
A smile touched his lips as she pulled his face down to meet hers and wrapped her arms around his neck. The act was simple enough, but the underlying meaning behind it sent a shiver through Jasper's being. Alice's words reached his ears but before he had the chance to answer her lips were pressed against his. The sudden contact melted away anything and everything he'd been feeling beforehand. Reaching up with one hand, he cupped her cheek, gently and let himself plummet into the kiss. When Alice pulled away, the kiss left him absolutely speechless and so when she began studying his face, he just stared back dumbfounded. He let his hand slip back down to her waist, letting his fingers trail down the contours of her body before coming to rest on her hip. A smile broke his features, when she took his hand and began to walk again and he gladly followed.
"What was your first thought when you figured out what was happening to you when you were turned?" she asked, suddenly. Alice hoped her questions didn't seem invasive but she just couldn't stop herself from wanting to know more about him and there was so little to tell him about herself. Out of the two of them, he had had the far more interesting life.
"My first thought?" he asked, falling silent to think about his early days when he'd first discovered what he was. "Well I remember the pain was horrendous. There was a lot of burning and I felt as if I would blackout from the pain. I couldn't get away from it and I just wished to die. I knew that death would've been easier and I never wanted it more than in that moment.
"When I awoke to my new life at first I was confused and disoriented. I had no idea of where I was or who the people were around me. Then I found myself being forced in with a group of others. Some of them I recognized, but dimly. They weren't the same as they'd been in life. Their eyes were wild and unseeing, blood red. A group of them converged on me, intent on inflicting harm. I still didn't know what I was or that I was immortal and I shrank back away from them until the instinct to defend myself took over. I had no other option but to fight them and so I did. I found that I was stronger than I'd thought and a new intense feeling flowed through me as I punched, kicked and bit my way through the six vampires bent on my own demise. It wasn't until after I'd taken care of them that Maria came out, clapping her hands together in applause. I found out why I'd been thrust into the situation: to test my fighting skills. It was only then that I was told what I was and what she had planned for me..." he said, flicking his gaze to Alice and trailing off quietly.
A shiver ran through Alice. She hadn't expected a pleasant story but even after hearing about his past before this she couldn't repress a feeling of horror at what his life had been. Again she felt the desire to change the past but it was an impossibility.
Jasper's gaze moved to Alice when she shivered and instantly felt guilty for not editing. "Perhaps, I should've been a little more respectful and edited out the gruesome parts better," he said, rolling his bottom lip under his teeth careful not to bite himself.
"No," she disagreed. "I want to know everything about you, even the things I find difficult to hear. I wasn't frightened really, just horrified that these are the memories you have in your head. Perhaps you are right. I'm lucky not to have any at all. My human life most likely wasn't all that pleasant. At least, the end of it couldn't have been. Alone in the woods, attacked by a vampire… I wonder why he or she didn't kill me?" She pursed her lips thoughtfully as she considered this.
"I don't know..." Jasper said, furrowing his brows together in thought. "Whoever changed you must've had a lot of self-control. Or, perhaps they didn't get to finish. Maybe your beauty was so awe inspiring that he or she couldn't fathom killing you. Whatever the reason, I'm glad they didn't." he said, looking her over once again and smiling appreciatively.
"My awe inspiring beauty," she scoffed, shaking her head with a grin. "Yes, I'm sure that's what it was," she said, sarcastically.
"Of course," he said as if it should be obvious. "I can see how they'd have reservations..." he said with a wink.
"Apparently they had them afterwards too, because they left," Alice giggled, Jasper's wink making her feel giddy. "Running away so as not to be stuck with me…"
"Well, I wouldn't have run," he said proudly. "I'm much too stubborn..." he added, chuckling.
She held up their joined hands as evidence. "Obviously," she said, laughing again.
"I don't remember the change," she said. "As painful as it is said to be you would think it would be my clearest memory. But it's not. It's still your face," she said, changing the subject despite the fact she had asked the question that had lead to his confession. She had more questions but she would space them out, she decided. Her heart seemed to break with his every answer and it was something she could only handle so much of at a time.
"Perhaps, in a way you're lucky. In the fact that you don't remember the change, I mean..." he said, with a slight smile. "It's not pleasant…" The gradual subject change didn't bother him any. In fact, he much preferred to skate away from the subject versus scaring her anymore then he already had. His expression became thoughtful as he mulled over the question he was about to ask. "Do you think…" he began, pausing briefly, "that the reason you don't remember your human life is because, maybe, you didn't want to remember anything from it? Or, maybe there was something you were trying to get away from? And when you were changed your mind just blocked it out?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.
She considered this before nodding in agreement. "It's entirely possible. Like I said, I can't imagine that the last few moments of my human life were anything but traumatic in and of themselves…"
Jasper nodded quietly. "Yes, I can imagine how scared you must've been, waking up in the middle of the woods by yourself, not knowing what had happened to you. I can understand the fear you'd have. I just wish I would've found you then..." he said.
Alice considered what that would have been like, waking up to see not just Jasper's face in her mind but him there as well, leaning over her. She smiled. "I think I would have felt like Sleeping Beauty, waking up to see the face of my Prince Charming," she laughed.
"Prince Charming?" he asked, laughing. The idea of him being a Prince Charming was simply ludicrous. With a light head shake his expression smoothed out and a soft smile crept to the corners of his lips. "I'm more the big bad wolf type than Prince Charming..." he added, chuckling. "Of course, you would be much akin to Sleeping Beauty so I may have been inclined to kiss you..." he said, with chagrin.
Alice laughed, looking up at him to admire the humor that lit his eyes and curved his lips.
Jasper's gaze caught Alice's as she watched his facial expression. His expression smoothed out and a soft smile touched his lips.
"Do you know the first time you smiled at me and I saw that dimple I almost laughed out loud," she said, reaching up to touch the tip of her finger to the corner of his mouth.
Jasper smiled warmly, the dimple in question forming on his cheek as she poked the corner of his mouth with her finger. "My dimple is funny?" he asked, chuckling lightly.
"It was to me, especially after the way you came into that diner and then froze as though you weren't sure whether to stay or run away. I think I scared you walking up to you like that. You looked so confused as you tipped your hat and called me 'ma'am'. It was adorable. And then there was that first smile and the sight of that familiar dimple…" She shook her head laughing. "I had seen it so many times in my mind and there it was in real life. It was truly the most beautiful thing I had ever seen."
"Yes, I was quite conflicted," he agreed. "Every vampire that's approached me, up until I met you, meant me harm," he said quietly. "So, naturally I thought the same thing when you came up to me. When I smelled your scent I automatically assumed you were a threat and when you walked towards me I was confused because no one had approached me in a friendly manner before. No matter how many times I sampled your mood I could never detect a threat. You seemed to know me and I couldn't imagine why you were waiting for me…" he said, trailing off. "You know the first time I saw you smile, it took everything I had not to scoop you up and run out the door with you," he added, with a laugh. "A lot of self control factored into it, I can assure you," he added, his smile turning coy.
She giggled and squeezed his hand. "Well self control is something you can feel free to let slip in regards to me any time you want."
"I'll keep that in mind..." he noted, with a content smile.
"I hope you will," she answered with a laugh. "Have you ever created a vampire? You said it takes much self control. I can see where that would be true. Even though I've never tasted human blood, I can't imagine I would be able to stop if I ever did…"
His expression turned thoughtful as she began to speak and he shook his head. "No, not on my own," he said, moving his gaze to her. "I've only seen my creator do it. I don't think I would have the control to stop," he explained. "From what I could tell though, it took a lot of concentration on Maria's behalf to do it and make herself stop. That's how she'd made me," he said, a slight frown touching his lips. "They'd found me on the road back to Galveston and she'd turned me there where they'd encountered me... All I can guess is that she must've moved me back to her temporary home," he said. "Or whatever you'd call it..." His voice turned slightly bitter on that note. "I remember she kept saying that she didn't want any distractions and that the others should leave. She liked me and wanted to keep me. Of course that was before she'd bitten me. I remember the others arguing with her that she should hurry, that they killed more humans then they kept... My mind told me to be scared. But I couldn't bring myself to fear a woman when I'd been brought up to protect them. Of course I suppose I should've listened to my instincts..." he explained. "Oh, well. It's too late now, I suppose." he added, with a shrug.
"Well, you're with me now," she said, her voice fierce. She clasped his hand even more tightly as if to prove her point.
"Yes, I am here now. I won't go anywhere. Although, I'm sure you see that," he said with humor in his tone.
"Thought it does make me think… I must have been an interrupted meal. If it takes so much concentration to create a vampire, one would surely have a purpose for doing so. And if I were created intentionally, I wouldn't have been left alone." She frowned.
His humor faded when she began to talk about her turning. The thought of Alice being so alone, so fragile caused a lump to form in his throat. He didn't like thinking of her as somebody's meal. "No, you wouldn't have been..." he agreed in a quiet tone.
"There are just so many questions. I suppose I shouldn't dwell on it but it's hard not to. I mean, I don't even know if my name is really Alice. As I said before, it just felt like it was my name. It was the first one that came to me but maybe it belonged to someone else that I knew or…" She sighed and lifted a hand to touch her hair, hunching her shoulders slightly at the mental image of its choppy uneven layers.
When she questioned her own name Jasper arched an eyebrow. "Well, your Alice to me if that counts for anything."
"It does," she said with a little smile. "I shouldn't feel sorry for myself. Whatever the reason I am lucky to be here, right now, with you." She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling, a smile curving her lips upward.
"As am I," he agreed. If it weren't for Alice's visions then she would have never found him. She could have easily succumbed to the thirst. Who knows what would have happened and he shuddered at the thought of Alice turning savage. Alice, who was so pure and innocent... "I'm very glad you're here with me. I can't imagine you becoming like the rest of us. Thirst driven and wild... No self control whatsoever," he said, quietly.
An image of herself wandering barefoot around the forest, her hair wild and sticking out from her pale white face, human blood streaked across her hands and marring her white dress came to her mind and she shivered. The red eyes that seemed as though they belonged to someone else entirely stared back at her. It was what she had seen years ago, after her vision of Jasper and the coven. It was what her future would have been had chose differently. She had seen it then and had been repulsed. It held no less horror for her now.
"I did see it," she whispered. "It's part of the reason why I was never in danger of being anything else than the way I am now."
Jasper squeezed her hand gently, a soft smile touching his lips. "You're very lucky. Most aren't..." he said, letting his gaze linger on her. "How did your conscience develop? Was it already there, when you awoke?"
"I think it was," she said quietly. "I think it was a part of who I used to be. Still, the thirst was overwhelming and I fought hard against it. I saw the outcome of my decision. Succumb or fight… I chose to fight. I didn't like who I would become if I gave in. I saw her and she frightened me." She leaned her head against his arm as they walked. "Besides, that path took me away from you to a dark place I couldn't allow myself to go. So I fought…both for myself and for you."
He tried to imagine Alice as something other than the little, golden eyed vampire at his side. He'd become so involved in her sweet and loving nature that he couldn't imagine what she would be like any other way. What would she have been like if she would have succumbed to the thirst and become a savage, red-eyed and blood driven? He felt a shiver run through him, trying to picture it.
"I'm trying to imagine you like me..." he said quietly with a thoughtful expression. "This little red-eyed, she-devil causing havoc among the human race… It's difficult to envision. But a part of it might be because I don't particularly want to envision it. It bothers me to think of you as anything other than what you are now," he said as she leaned her head against his arm. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze then unwound their fingers and slipped his arm around her shoulders.
Alice looked up at Jasper, her eyes sad. "Like you? What I was going to become was nothing like how you were. You did what you had to do to survive in a life you did not choose. I won't have you compare yourself to the monster that I almost became. Because that was my other path, that of a true monster beyond the pale of humanity…"
"I suppose there would be a difference between making a choice and being born into it, not knowing any better," he said, flashing his gaze to her briefly. "But I wonder if the line is really that defined," he added. Alice's words caused him to shudder. He could never allow himself to picture her that way. "Well, I'm glad you fought the thirst. There are many out there that do not have the strength to do so," he said.
She kept her eyes trained on him, their golden depths turning soft and full of wonder. "You were what gave me the strength to do so. You made it worth the fight."
"If only, my love…" Jasper said, softly pressing a gentle kiss into her hair. If only Alice knew just how strong her hold was on him. If only she knew just how much strength her presence presented to him. The human world itself held little interest to him without her in it. He failed to understand her fascination with human culture, unable to comprehend why she was so interested in it. He didn't fully understand his feelings for Alice either or how deep his love went for her.
Alice frowned at him, quirking her lips in displeasure. "I say you were! Haven't you figured out yet that what I say goes?" she teased, smacking his arm playfully.
"I'm catching on rather fast," he said, chuckling when she smacked his arm. Of course, he would never smack her back. Immortal or not, hitting a woman was against his morals. He just simply took her jab and rubbed his arm. "Ouch!" he yelled, pushing out his bottom lip, exaggerating the gesture. It didn't hurt at all but if it made Alice smile, then he'd done his job.
Her expression turned confused for a moment as her eyes flew to his face. Then she saw that he was joking as well and she burst out laughing. "I thought I'd hurt you for a moment there," she said. "I guess that's rather silly. Thinking little old me could hurt big old you…" She smiled, shaking her head at the idea.
"Hurt me? Not even a possibility, darlin'," Jasper said, grinning widely. "It was a good punch though," he added to boost her confidence. "You're pretty strong and not as delicate as you appear. I'll have to keep that in mind," he said, his voice becoming softer as his laughter died down.
"You don't remember much of your mortal life but you do remember what it felt like to be human. I do not. If I had given in to my thirst…well, I'm sure you can imagine what sort of vampire I would have become."
"Yes, I remember snippets of my humanity. Although those came to me much later in my existence," he said shifting his gaze down to her, nestled into him. The feeling of Alice seeking him out for comfort felt good. He could hold her in his arms forever and never think twice about it. "And yes, I've tried to imagine," he said, softly. "I cannot bring myself to think about you in that fashion. It bothers me too much to envision you in such a manner..."
"Well, you don't have to," she said, nuzzling into his arm. "I'm not ever going to be like that. I don't think I could anymore…"
Alice's affection was like an addiction to him. Every nuzzle, kiss, caress, or hug was akin to a heroin addict's fix. So when she nuzzled into his arm and spoke in a voice that would drive any human male insane he couldn't help but smile, his appetite whetted for the time being.
"Good," he said in a soft tone, letting his gaze wander over every strand of her inky black hair as he took in every reflected color and hue from the sun to her glittering skin with millions of tiny rainbow facets. "Besides, your affection for humans fascinates me..." he added, with a slight smile. "That and your domineering nature." He chuckled.
Alice laughed before her expression turned more serious. "I suppose everyone wants the most that which they cannot have…" she said, wistfully.
"Yes, I've recently discovered those emotions. Want, need, longing…" he said with a quiet smile.
Again came another moment when Alice was glad she was incapable of blushing. The way his southern drawl enunciated each word, and the words themselves, did strange things to her. A swirl of emotions enveloped her, making her tuck a stray curl behind her ear with a shaky hand. Her lips curved up in a nervous smile. "I see…" she said, looking down at her feet as though she could somehow be in danger of tripping over them.
Once again Alice became nervous, causing Jasper's eyebrows to pucker together in confusion as the mood around her shifted. "You alright, darlin'?" Jasper asked, concern coloring his tone. "Don't be nervous. You've no reason to be..." he said, in an attempt to comfort her.
"I'm fine," she giggled. "It's not so much that I'm nervous as it is...well..." She quirked an eyebrow. "Can a vampire get butterflies in her stomach?"
"Butterflies?" Jasper asked, lifting an eyebrow. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he spoke. "Well, I'm not entirely sure about that…but I suppose it's possible..."
"Surprisingly, you were the one that brought them out of me. I never knew I had them. Or at least I never imagined that I was capable of them," he said, giving her a gentle squeeze with his arm.
A sharp intake of breath and she was suddenly frozen in place, the hand that held Jasper's squeezing tightly as she reached her other hand out in front of her, blindly feeling the air to determine what was real and what was only in her mind.
"Alice?" Jasper's expression turned concerned when she suddenly started squeezing his hand. "Alice? What is it?" He focused his gaze on hers. It was vacant, frozen and her body was rigid. He gingerly reached up with his own and touched her cheek. "Alice?" he asked in trepidation.
The violence of the story disturbed her, causing her to shudder at the woman's words. Her golden eyes were indifferent as she spoke but her voice told of repressed pain. Alice reached out a hand, wishing she could comfort her as she spoke but her fingers closed on nothing.
Jasper waited patiently, for a word from her. Alice's expression remained frozen, vacant and looking forward into the future. He followed her hands as she reached out for something that wasn't there, to him at any rate. Lifting one eyebrow, he spoke in an attempt to break her concentration. "Alice?"
"Poor Rosalie..." she murmured, her voice full of sadness.
When she finally spoke, his eyebrows knitted together, dinting his forehead. "Rosalie's is one of the vampires in the coven you've been having visions about, isn't she?"
Alice nodded, blinking her eyes in an attempt to focus them back on reality. "She was just telling me her story, how she became a vampire," she said, frowning and shaking her head at the memory. "It was so sad…"
"What happened to her?" he asked, cocking his head slightly. He still didn't completely understand the depth of Alice's visions but he knew how they worked. They were based on decisions. "Can you see them so well because they're a part of your…well, our future?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," she answered, folding herself into his arms. After hearing Rosalie's story she suddenly needed to be held. "I think it's because we've decided to look for them. The vision of Rosalie was so much more clear than the previous ones I've had of them." She rested her chin against his arm. "And Rosalie was attacked by a group of men, one of which was her fiancé. They beat her and they…" She stopped, unable to say anymore. "They left her for dead. Carlisle found her and he changed her to save her life…"
His smile disappeared as her mood deteriorated, turning sad, along with her voice. As she shrank into him, he hugged her closer. He slid his hand up her back and cradled her head against his chest as he moved his other arm around her back, in attempt to comfort her. His frown deepened as she explained about Rosalie. Her story struck a chord. "Cowards..." he muttered under his breath bitterly. "I suppose she was lucky to be found," he said, falling silent. He couldn't help but feel anger toward the men that had done that to her. "If they weren't gutted…they should have been."
Alice allowed herself to stay there for a moment, deeply enjoying the way Jasper cradled her against him. With even the simplest gestures he had a way of making her feel safe and loved, something that had been so foreign in her 28 years of life and, she guessed, in the life she had lived before as well.
"Perhaps she was lucky but she doesn't see it that way," Alice whispered. "She wishes she had died instead of being turned. She's made the best of things but being a vampire is not what she would have chosen for herself. Carlisle acted out of love and compassion though so she forgives him."
"I can understand where she'd be bitter," Jasper said. He was able to sympathize with her on that. Rosalie's anger was well deserved. He'd tried for years to let go of the bitter hatred he'd held toward Maria for many reasons but he found himself unable to forgive her. He'd been healthy and idealized and his life had been stripped from him without an aforethought. Rosalie, on the other hand, had been on the verge of death and it was Carlisle's compassion that had saved her. "What I don't understand is why she holds it against this Carlisle," he added quietly. "He acted out of compassion, not cruelty. But I can see where she would've rather died," he said, resting his chin over the top of her head.
Alice remained still, clinging to him as her mind processed what she had seen. "I suppose living for eternity with the pain of what happened feels like its own form of cruelty to her," she said, quietly. "But no, that was not Carlisle's intention. In fact, he created her for another vampire. The one named Edward." She pulled back and looked at him thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll have more visions as we get closer to finding them, as they become more and more a part of our future..."
The firm grip of Alice's tiny fingers on the dark gray fabric, clinging to his arms coincided with the emotional atmosphere around her. He noticed a pattern in her clinging which he'd memorized. She tightened her grip when stressed or scared and loosened it when relaxed. The firm grip she held told him she was still stressed about the visions. A frown dented his forehead as he processed this silent signal, frowning when she spoke. "That is unfortunate..." he said with a quiet resigned sigh. Sympathy was another emotion that was new to him. The ability to sympathize was still an emotion in testing and he really didn't understand the boundaries for it.
As she explained about Carlisle and Edward he nodded. "Edward..." he stated simply, committing the name to memory. He nodded with a quiet smile. "Perhaps, when we get closer..." he said, applying a light chuckle. "When we get to Chicago you and I can have a little night on the town. Might as well enjoy ourselves while we're there. Do some dancing, maybe visit a stage theatre, maybe even a carriage ride..." he said.
Alice pulled back to look at him, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "You really mean it?" she asked, her voice full of excitement.
Jasper's own eyebrows shot up when Alice got excited. It pleased him to see her so childlike. "Of course!" he declared with a wide smile of his own, unable to suppress his own exhilaration at her enjoyment. Time to take another hit of the drug that was Alice.
"That would be wonderful! Oh Jasper, you'll have so much fun I know it!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arms.
"With you there Alice, a good time is a given," he added as her excitement boiled over. He couldn't help but to find himself reveling in it himself and hugged his arms around her, picking her up off of the ground and swinging her around. Setting her back down and letting loose his grip, Jasper stood back to study her as her expression changed.
Alice gasped as he picked her up off the ground, her surprised expression quickly giving way to one of happiness. He set her down and she threw her arms around him. She pulled away, gripping his arms and tilted her head back to favor him with a smile.
Suddenly she frowned, looking at the scratchy gray wool under her hands. "Oh…" she said, her voice trailing off as she ran her eyes over his outfit as well as her own. "We'll need new clothes! We can't go out in these! You'll need a suit and I'll need a dress. Hmmm…what do you think about blue?"
He felt a jolt of nerves go through him when she mentioned new clothes. Everything inside of him screamed for evasive action. He found himself frozen in place, a new coping mechanism for the nerves. "Clothes?" he asked, trepidation in his tone. "Um, blue?" His voice remained careful, as if he were concerned about saying too much. "Blue is, good..." he added.
"Oh dear," she said, her face falling with disappointment. "I've ruined your good time, haven't I?"
Immediately Jasper grasped each side of her face and pulled it up to meet his eyes, his expression becoming serious. "Listen to me, Alice…" he began. "You could never ruin my good time. Because without you…it's non-existent," he said, letting a smile touch his lips.
Alice stared back into his eyes, the way they never left her own as he spoke, and she could feel the sincerity in every word. She smiled and nodded.
"Still, I'll try and control myself," she promised. "Maybe just a suit. And some shoes. Maybe a hat..." She laughed, realizing that short of throwing him in a tuxedo with top hat and tails she had pretty much gone overboard anyway. She looked up at him, imagining how handsome he was going to look and sighed.
A smile touched his lips as Alice ran through her plans for his clothing. He couldn't be sure but he had a feeling that she had this already planned out. His invitation only got things rolling into motion. Still he couldn't bring himself to upset her again so despite his qualms about it, he would endure it, if necessary.
Alice frowned thoughtfully. "Do you know how to dance?" she asked. He had mentioned taking her dancing as part of their night out but she had never done it before. "I've seen it...in movies anyway. It doesn't look excessively hard, I suppose."
"Dance?" Jasper said, lifting an eyebrow with a coy smile. "Maybe, we'll see…" he added with a gentle laugh. He'd never given much thought to dancing. He was sure he'd probably done it when human, so it must be there somewhere. He would just have to try and remember how. Besides, being a vampire and naturally graceful, it shouldn't be too hard to do it. "Whether we can dance or not, we'll still have a good time. I can assure you of that," he said, with a soft smile.
"I know we will," she said confidently, squeezing his hand. "In fact, I'm very much looking forward to it. So much so in fact that I think we should try and get to Chicago a little faster..." She gave him a mischievous grin before breaking free of him and sprinting off into the distance.
Jasper's expression turned curious when she grinned mischievously and pulled out of his grip. Just like that, she was gone. "Hey!" he yelled after her, a wicked grin of his own curling at the corners of his lips, a gleam in his eye. "Here I come!" he yelled before tearing off after her.
"Come on, slow poke!" she teased, turning her head to shout back at him.
"I'm comin'!" he called, digging his heels into the ground to gain more purchase. Alice's form danced ahead and with a sudden burst of speed Jasper shot after her, quickly closing the gap between them.