"Well, what can I do?" Bella asked, walking towards where he was sitting on the bed.

Jasper looked up as Bella came around the foot of the bed. He held his hand out and gestured for her to sit beside him. He turned to face her. When she sat down, Jasper put one hand on her shoulder, and looked into her eyes sternly. This intimidated Bella. Although, at this moment in time, Bella was stronger than Jasper, he still had centuries more practice than her, & not only that, but he looked scary. His fierce eyes didn't calm her down either, but Jasper felt this nervousness & took care of it almost right away.

"Bella..." Jasper said with a forced calm. He didn't break her gaze. "What I'm going to ask you to do is very simple. Just... Just sit. And focus on everything that makes you happy."

Bella raised one a perfect eyebrow. "Oh. Okay." & with that she let images of Edward and Renesmee flood her mind, of Jacob and Charlie, of Esme's Island, everything that made her happy. Jasper closed his eyes, and took a deep breath in through his nose. Pointless, of course, but it made everything seem more real. The breath made his shoulders rise & his nostrils flare. His hand was still on Bella's shoulder.

They sat like this for a near twenty minutes. Then, Jasper released his hold on Bella's shoulder and slowly opened his eyes. To Bella's surprise, he smiled. It wasn't a huge smile; it was barely detectable under his composed mask.

"Thank you." Jasper breathed, sounding relieved.

"You're welcome," Bella practically asked, "But... What exactly did I do?"

"Bella..." He replied, looking for the words to build his next sentence, "You... You are always, so happy. Not even happy, just... content. I mean, no matter what happens, optimism just rolls off you in waves. You are one of the most interesting people to be around. You are truly amazing."

Bella opened her mouth to say something, but Jasper held up a finger to silence her.

"I'm just saying," He continued, "That being near you, and being around you has become an addiction, I'm not saying I love you. Not the way Edward does anyway, but I've grown to... well I've grown tolove being around you."

Jasper took in Bella's wide eyes and puzzled expression. He wasn't sure how she would take this. He didn't want her to think he was falling in love with her. He wasn't. He couldn't be. She just needed to know that Jasper couldn't do this without her. He couldn't keep his cool, without Bella being around to calm him down. It frustrated him though. He was the one who calmed everyone else down, it was his job. He barely felt like a part of the family, and now, there was someone else doing the only thing that really kept him attached to anyone. Not that Bella's good mood worked on anyone but him. Sometimes, Jasper wondered if his 'gift' wasn't like a sponge, if he could stop himself from feeling other people's emotions, would he shut Bella out? At this point, she was the only one keeping him from going completely insane. But maybe he needed to snap. He didn't even know anymore. Jasper thought of all of this in less than a second.

When his thoughts finally returned to the look on Bella's face, her expression changed. Her muscles relaxed and she let a sigh out through a smile.

"Jasper, it's ok. I love being around you too. You might be one of the reasons I'm always so relaxed and happy. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be a wreck." She laughed once, awkwardly.

Jasper smiled, mouth closed. He looked up, but kept his head down.

"Awesome." He said wearily.

There was a short pause, less than one tenth of a second, in which Jasper felt the mood change. He felt anger, confusion, but most of all he felt betrayal. His brow furrowed.

"Bella, are you OK?"

Bella's brow furrowed in the same instant. "Yeah, why?"

Another Pause.

"FUCK!" Jasper hissed.

"What!? What is it!?" Bella Jumped to her feet and swivelled to look around.

"Shit, SHIT UGH!" Jasper jumped across the bed rather than going around it. He tore the door open, to find Alice, Standing on the other side of the door. If it were possible, her eyes would be filled with tears.

"Alice..." Jasper began. It sounded like a plea.

Alice choked out a tearless sob. She slumped, her body looking as though it had just lost a battle.

Jasper leaned back from the door to look at Bella, who was still standing on the other side of the bed, frozen in place. His eyes were frantic. When he turned back to look at Alice, she was gone.

"SHIT!" Jasper said again, halfway through the door.

"What, Jasper!? What's going on!?" Bella asked urgently, right on his heels.

"Alice heard the last part of our conversation! She probably thinks I was declaring my undying love for you or something! ... Fuck!"

"What?! But... No... That's... It's- What?! How could she even think that!?"

"Ugh, I don't know... whatever's on her mind, she was not happy when I opened that door."

By this point Jasper & Bella were coming to the end of the staircase. Jasper jumped the last few steps, as did Bella. There were sounds of arguing coming from the huge living room. When they landed at the bottom, they turned to face the room where they heard the argument, except it had stopped, & in the doorway stood Alice. Her tiny frame shook with emotion, and she was sporting the same crushed expression she was when Jasper found her eavesdropping a few moments beforehand. Her narrowed eyes were focused on Jasper.

It comforted Bella that Edward walked up behind Alice. At first, anyway. She then noticed his mouth was a thin, stern line. She also noticed his tight, ice cold eyes, and the fact that they were not on her, as they usually would be.

They were fixed on Jasper.