Chapter four: Testing the Water

"Jasper? How are you feeling?"

The words came too fast, the pronunciation was too perfect; the diction could've been one of an elocutionist. The blond boy blinked, squinting against his suddenly weak eyes, confused over his hearing. Everything felt wrong, off.

"Aelic, why isn't he answering?" the perfect voice suddenly growled, which made Jasper wince cautiously.

The Volturi member chuckled. "He's confused, Carlisle. Remember that all his faculties are diminished. He needs a few minutes to get used to everything, so don't worry. They all look stupid for the first few seconds."

Jasper took in the words, analysed them, and finally understood. Aelic's powers had worked; he was human.

"Excuse me."

Jasper barely registered the non-familiar vampire as he left the room. His father carefully knelt on the side of the mattress, then touched his son's hand comfortingly. "Jasper?"

Finally, he was able to muster the energy to make his vocal cords work. His throat was burning, and his voice seemed strange. "Yeah."

"This is amazing," Carlisle whispered, shaking his head disbelievingly. He reached down and pressed his hand carefully upon his son's chest, feeling the lazy heartbeat under the frail skin. "He can really make this work. How do you feel?"

"Very strangely," he replied, blinking. "Do I look any different?"

Carlisle smiled. "Yes and no. Your face and body structure are essentially the same. Your hair is the same. Your skin is definitely pinker, and your eyes are bright blue. You look a bit drugged though."

"I feel drugged," he mumbled. "I don't know if I can stand."

"Take your time."

The two remained in silence as Jasper's surroundings finally settled into solid unities rather than fuzzy triples. Jasper then slowly sat up, helped by the vampire beside him, and swung his feet off the edge of the mattress.

"Where did Aelic go?" Jasper suddenly questioned. "Did he change Alice yet?"

"No, he's waiting for me. I insisted to be present in every change in case he tries something. But he left us alone because I have to admit, son, that your blood smells quite good." Carlisle's eyes flashed with the irony of the situation.

Jasper chuckled, though he didn't feel frightened the slightest. His imperfect vision made Carlisle seem unearthly, yet in a 'dead vampire' kind of way rather than the God-like beauty he was so used to. Deep inside, he was still his father, still the man with the everlasting self-control.

They remained in silence until Jasper was able to stand. Then, anxiously, he ushered his father out of the room, after a promise that he would get Alice to turn human right away. Then, he listened anxiously as Alice's screams of agony filled his ears and broke his heart.

He left the room when Aelic told him he could.

Emmett was the first to greet him. Or rather, 'initiate him into the unfairness of their situation'. In other words, he tackled him to the ground, practically murdering him in the process.

"Hey, bro!" he chuckled, jumping to his feet. "How does it feel to be human?"

"Weird," he truthfully admitted as he was then unceremoniously pulled to his feet being being greeted by Esme as she took him in her arms.

As she was gushing about how frantically she had been scared, he suddenly realized what was off. His eyes widened as he ripped away from her embrace. He looked at her in horror, before stammering, "W-where's Aelic?"

"With Alice," his mother replied, worried. "Why?"

"I need to talk to him. Now."

Obviously overhearing, the raven-haired vampire trudged in the room. "You called?"

"You said nothing was lost," Jasper hissed as his sky-coloured eyes narrowed. "What happened to my gift?"

He shrugged. "What's with it?"

"I can't feel anyone's emotions! I can't alter anything. Why?" He looked around nervously, shoving a hand through his hair. It felt wrong to only have to take on his own emotions, to being unable to shield his family's minds from any pain.

"You never had the gift as a human. You might be empathetic to a certain level, but it was never as defined as when you were a vampire. Relax, man, you'll get it back as soon as you transform." Aelic chuckled as though it was not anything to stress about.

Jasper was about to jump at the man, vampire or not, when he heard a frail voice calling out from the other room. "Jazzy?"

Without giving Aelic another look, he breezed in the bedroom where Alice was laying. Hurriedly, he fell to his knees, looking down at his angel's face.

She cracked her eyes open, and their green shade instantly made his heart race. He frowned at the strange feeling of not being as closely connected to Alice as he usually was. Without their emotional link, there was no way he could know exactly what she was feeling. The lone thought terrified him.

"Did it work?" she whispered, confusion lacing her tone. She reached up weakly, and he caught her hand in his.

"If it didn't, then it's the world's best illusion," he gently replied, then swept her hair back with his free hand. "You'll feel better in a minute or so."

She nodded, entirely trusting him, and shielded her gorgeous green eyes from his sight. She remained so for a while, before slowly cracking them open again.

"I think I can stand if you help me."

She left him no time to refuse, to tell her that it was too early for her to move. His wife sat up, clinging to his hand for dear life as she stood on trembling legs. As soon as she was upright, she began to sway dangerously, and he instantly wrapped his arms around her to steady her.

"It feels strange," she whispered, shaking her head. "Seems like something's missing."

He nodded, holding her tightly against his chest. He wordlessly leaned down, kissing the top of her head with relief. "You probably won't have visions for the day." Her eyes widened as he explained what Aelic had told him moments before. However, she fared better than he did, accepting it as another thing she'd momentarily trade for human memories.

They remained locked in each other's embrace until she declared she felt good enough to leave the room. The fact that Rosalie was hollering meant that Aelic had moved on with his transformations.

"Let's go outside, Jazz!" Alice suddenly burst out, excitingly pulling away. "We should go walk! See what it's like to really get lost in the woods at night!"

He chuckled at her unexpected eagerness, then took her hand as she dragged him to the window. They crossed the room rapidly; however, he stopped her as she was about to open the glass panel.

"Darling, I don't think that's such a good idea," he whispered, restraining her with a slight tightening of his hand. He then waved at the metres under them, then looked at her up and down.

She looked momentarily distraught, but then she sheepishly smiled. "You're right. Let's go through the back door."

He laughed at her pure happiness.

The rich sound of his voice rang through the quiet forest as Alice giggled, running along the path they had picked. She had already tested the limits of her lithe body; no, she couldn't jump higher than about two feet, and she certainly couldn't sprint for more than a few minutes without panting for breath. Though these were restrictions that she should be cursing, she revelled in them.

The cool breeze made her shiver, though she only giggled and strutted to Jasper's side.

"Cold?" he asked her as she shivered again.

Smiling, she reached over to press her body against his, and he gladly wrapped his arms around her. Often, he had seen Bella rub her own arms to warm herself up. Focussing on the memory, he hesitantly rubbed his palms against the cool skin of her arm, stroking them repeatedly.

After a few seconds, Alice giggled. "What are you doing?"

"Warming you up," he cringed. "I assume it's not working."

She laughed softly, then reached up to loop her arms around his neck. Her green eyes lit up as she stared into his, then whispered seductively, "I can think of something else that'll warm me up."

His body shuddered involuntarily at her suggestive tone, and he smirked as she pressed her body closer to his. Hungrily, he leaned down to capture her lips with his, his sudden onslaught of desire causing her to moan with pleasure. She returned his kisses with as much passion as he did, before tugging him down to the forest floor.

He carefully hovered over her, his hand sneaking to the edge of her shirt. After locking his eyes in hers to silently ask permission, he tugged on her short blouse, attempted to rip it off. His mouth continued to trace kisses along her jaw, only to return against her own. However, the fabric of her shirt remained firmly together, covering her skin and bringing his intentions to an abrupt halt.

Despite his frustration, he began to laugh against her lips, unfortunately ending the kiss as she also burst into a wave of mirth. He buried his face into her neck as the two laughed at the restraints they never had before, at the sudden complications.

"Well this sucks," he chuckled, his breath warm against her skin. He fell to the ground against her side, shutting his eyes in the process.

Alice giggled. "And the forest floor isn't as comfortable as it usually is." As if to prove her point, she shifted, making a face as she plucked a twig from her own hair.

The two suddenly looked at each other, before bursting into another wave of fresh laughter. Alice then sat up, forcing Jasper to do the same. Brushing the dirt from his clothes, she murmured gently, "We could go back home. We do have a comfortable bed."

He smiled at her as they stood fully, taking her hand. "Anything you want, darling."

A/N: Hi!

Had to finish with that scene. XD I don't know if any of you ever tried to rip a shirt, especially one that's good quality (come on, as if Alice Cullen would ever buy something cheap!). It's not easy. XD I tried to tear one of mine in a pathetic attempt to get money for a new jacket I had seen. I failed miserably and gave up after a few minutes. Yes, people, I am -that- weak.

So yeah, tell me if you've loved it/hated it/maybe-ish-kinda liked it. Thank you for the burst of review for chapter three! I love you all! See; you guys reviewed, I updated faster! Do it again!

Take care