A 'whoosh' at the window.
"Where've you been?" I asked.
"I…Umm…tried to go home." Jasper said. I could see the pain in his eyes.
"You didn't have to do that." I said. "You could've come home right after your detention."
"I know…" he said.
Jasper had detention with Mr. Snyden until 3:16. It's 5:00…..Wow, I sound like my mother.
"I'll get my old sleeping bag out of the closet…You can hang out on the floor." I said.
"…..How do you really feel?" he said, mysteriously.
Oh, God.
"Jasper…No…."
"No, what?" Jasper said. Is he trying to seduce me????
"I'm fourteen. Fourteen." I said firmly.
"Your birthday's in five days." He said.
How did he know that?
"You feel surprised…Mia, I do talk to people, you know." Jasper said, grinning.
"Oh…Of course." I said.
"Mia! Dinner time!" Dad yelled up the stairs.
"Coming!" I yelled back.
Looking at Jasper, I walked out of my room.
"So, Mia, how has school been lately?" Dad asked me. He's been away on a business trip for two weeks.
"Umm….It's going well…I really like it here." I lied.
"Well, I LOVE it! Vinny is the cutest!" Jade raved.
Trying to tune her out, I played with the food on my plate.
"Are you okay, honey? You look rather pale." Dad said.
"I'm anemic, remember?" I said quickly. A bit too quickly. Damn. "And I'm not really that hungry."
I can feel Jasper's presence. It makes me…uncomfortable.
"Okay, honey." Dad said, getting up. Kissing me on the top of my head, he said, "Go get some rest, kiddo."
"'Kay, Dad. G'night Mom. Jade." I said.
As they said their goodnights, I walked up the stairs. Jasper was waiting at the top.
"You don't have to be in denial anymore, Mia." Jasper said.
"Wha-…What do you mean?" I asked, lying on my bed.
"You don't have to hide your feelings for me." He said, lying down next to me.
I rolled off the side of the bed and stood up.
"I feel tired. Will you just let me sleep?" I lied, getting annoyed.
"Whatever you say, Mia, but after a while, won't you get sick of this?" he said.
"Sick of you?" I already am." I said.
He dropped his head. Great, I hurt his feelings.
Climbing in to the bed, I let out a scream of frustration into my pillow. Definitely not my first. Half-wishing Jasper would send me some calming waves, I cried myself to sleep.
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Five Days Later….
"Happy Birthday." I heard a voice say.
"Mom? Ugh, what time is it?" I asked, dazed.
"2:36AM. The time you were born." The voice said again. I then realized that it wasn't Mom. It was him.
"How could you possibly-"
He put his finger to my lips to shush me. Then, from his jacket, he pulled out a tiny, white, velvet box with a red bow. Gently placing it in my hands, he told me to open it.
My heart skipped a beat.
I went into shock.
"Forever and Always." He whispered in my ear. His breath, which I now realized is very cold, tickled my neck.
Although I was mesmerized by the gift, I shut the box.
"Jasper, you have Alice." I said. "Thanks, but…No thanks."
"I…I thought you'd like it." He said.
"Truthfully…I love it. But, Alice, Jasper! She's still your wife. 'Forever and Always'." I said.
"We could be 'Forever and Always', Mia." Jasper said, his lips grazing my neck.
I buckled in fear.
"N-No. Jasper, no." I stuttered.
"It doesn't hurt for too long. You know how it feels. And I wouldn't lose it this time." He said, trying to persuade me.
I kept repeating 'no', beginning to cry.
"I won't make you. I promise." He said. Gently taking my hand, he wrapped his pinky around mine. "Go back to bed, now, dear. Until morning."
I felt him get off of my bed and go to the window. Sending intense calming waves to me, I felt so calm I fell asleep.
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"Happy Birthday, Mia…" Kim said to me in the hall before lunch.
"Umm, thanks." I said.
"So… Where've you been?" she asked.
What?"
"What do you mean? I've been at school." I said.
"No, Mia, you haven't. Physically, yes, but your head's somewhere else." Kim said. "You aren't the same person I met in Snyden's room. The kid who winces when the bell rings."
"It's almost been two months. I'm used to it by now…" I said, trying to end the conversation.
"I don't care. It's November, big whoop. You're still different!" she said angrily. "Why won't you just talk to me? I'm here to listen, but you always go off with the Cullens in the middle of our conversations!"
I looked away.
"You know, Mia?" she said, now calming herself down. "Just forget it."
She doesn't understand. Okay…Just forget her, Mia…
Looking in the direction Kim went; I quickly turned and ran into the wall.
I winced in pain.
"Are…Are you okay?" I heard a voice say. A beautiful, ringing female voice. No way…
"I'm okay." Looking up, I saw Rosalie Hale staring at me. "I'll just go now…" Walking away, I heard her say something to herself.
Then, "Wait."
Is she talking to me? I turned around. She was standing next to my locker. Breathtakingly beautiful, but with a pained look on her face.
"I need to talk to you." She said to me.
"Look, if this is about Jasper…" I said.
"It is and it isn't. Come with me." She said. Not wanting her angry (I've seen her angry.), I followed. At the door by Mr. Snyden's room, she grabbed my arm and ran us out to the nature trail.
"Okay, let me make this quick. I know that Jazz and you have a 'thing' for each other. Oh, don't give me that look. Where do you think he got the design for that necklace???" she started. "But, to tell you the truth, I don't think…..you're that bad."
What?!?!?!?!?!
The emotion must've shown on my face.
"You aren't as eager as….the last human to be turned." She said. "Alice is my 'sister' and I love her, but Jasper seems…complete around you."
"….Complete?" I asked.
"Look, you're the first human he hasn't wanted to kill. That…That means something to him." Rosalie said.
"I-I don't know what to say…" I said.
"You don't have to say anything. I…just wanted you to know that…not all of us hate you." She said.
Grabbing my arm again, we ran back to school before I could respond.