Okay, so good news. I have almost nailed down a plot for the next few chapters! Yay! Hopefully that doesn't ruin it. *Crosses fingers, knocks on wood, etc...* So, here goes nothing! Enjoy!

JPOV

"I'm so happy for you!" I said, hugging Alice.

Even in my embrace, she was jumping up and down from excitement. They school had accepted her. She was to start her classes in a week.

"Thanks to you! Ohmygosh, I could just hug you to death!" She pulled back, her face absolutely beaming.

"How about we let me live?"

She laughed. "Oh darn, there went my weekend plans."

I tussled her hair and she punched me in the gut.

"Oh, that was weak. I didn't even lose my breath," I joked.

"Shut up! I could bring you to your knees without even touching you."

"You almost do every time you look at me."

That familiar blush spread across her face. I waited for her to hide her face with her bangs, which she did, as always.

I moved her hair away, cupping her face. "Don't hide your face."

"Then stop saying stuff like that. I mean don't stop, but stop. That doesn't make any sense. Why is it you can just do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make me ramble like an idiot."

"I like when you ramble."

She smiled and tried to hide her face again, but I tilted her face up to look at me.

"What did I say?"

She just grinned even wider.

"Well, I should probably get home. My rents are going to start wondering where I am." I kissed her cheek, still warm from the recent blush. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

We walked to our respective cars and drove home.

When I got home, I realized that the front door was open and all the lights were off. I hurriedly parked my car in the garage and ran inside.

"Mom? Dad?" I looked around for them.

I heard some rustling in the closet, like someone was looking for something. "Rosalie?"

I opened the door and moved the towels and bags around. Nothing. I shrugged and closed the door. When I turned around, I found out exactly what was going on.

APOV

My phone buzzed in my pocket. The caller ID read "Jasper" with a heart. I smiled and opened the text.

Come over, now.

I didn't like that tone.

Jasper, what's wrong?

When I didn't get a reply in ten minutes, I rushed over to his house in my car. A thousand scenarios tumbled around in my head, getting worse and worse the longer I was away from Jasper. I pulled into his driveway and dashed out of my car, slamming the door.

I went to knock, but the door just swung open. The lights were off and I couldn't hear anything.

"Jasper? Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock? Rosalie? Anyone?" My voice got more panicked as I got no reply. I jumped at a loud noise. I looked down and saw a phone skidding towards me. It was Jasper's phone. I picked it up and looked around in horror.

"Jasper!"

I dashed in the direction of the phone and quickly came upon a dark shadow on the floor.

I gasped. "Jasper!"

He was lying face down. I gently rolled him over. He was unconscious.

But that was the least of my worries.

Jasper had a bruise on his strong, left jaw and one on his delicate-looking right cheekbone. His lip was busted open. I shook him by the shoulders but quickly retracted my hand. Upon my inspection, I found blood. My stomach turned over and over. There was a rather large stab wound on Jasper's right shoulder, closer to his neck than I was comfortable with. There wasn't too much blood, so they hadn't hit an artery. That calmed me ever so slightly. He was breathing, so he was still alive.

He coughed, startling me.

"Oh, Jasper!" I didn't care about the blood. I bent over and hugged him, being aware enough not to touch his wound.

"Alice."

"What happened?"

"I'll..." Cough. "...tell you in a bit. Calling an ambulance would be a good idea, please."

"Those bastards," I spat.

Jasper had told me everything. He had come home to find the house exactly as I had. He'd searched for his family, finding nothing. He'd then been attacked by two men he had never seen before, stabbed twice, punched and kicked the hell out of. After I had called the ambulance and the police, they had taken him to the hospital, along with his family. Jasper had two broken ribs, a stab in his gut, a stab on his right arm, and then the bruises on his face. I wanted to do the same thing to those monsters.

"Alice, calm down. I'm fine," Jasper soothed.

"But Jasper-"

"No, don't. Did you figure out how my family was?"

I sighed, but calmed down a bit. "Your father has a concussion and a broken wrist. Your mother has two stab wounds on her back, and bruising like yours. Rose was just released. She only had a few bruises."

He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. I saw him struggle to keep composure.

"It's okay to be angry, Jasper." I place my hand on his, over the IV.

His face softened at my touch. He even smiled slightly. When he opened his eyes, they had the usual warmth in them. He brought my hand to his lips and gently kissed each finger.

"I don't know what I would do without you, Alice."

I smiled as a tear fell down my face.

His eyebrows knitted together. "Why are you crying?"

A sob escaped my throat without my permission. I pulled myself together and half smiled at him. "I just...I could have lost you. And this is so terrible, your situation. And I can't do anything to help..." I shut my eyes tight, holding back more tears, unsuccessfully.

An immeasurable moment of silence settled over us. Jasper was the one to break it.

"Alice."

I looked up at him. His face was loving, yet serious.

"Come here."

I stared at him for a moment then stood up, standing next to his bed. He slowly sat up, against my wishes. Because of my being short and the height of the hospital bed, we were nearly face to face. He cupped my face gently, leaning his forehead against mine. He stared straight into my eyes.

"I love you. I don't want you to worry about me. Seeing your tears is heart breaking. It nearly brought me to tears. I may be hurt now, but I am going to be fine. Remember that, okay?"

I nodded.

"You know that I love you with everything I have."

I nodded again.

He swallowed. "Good."

After a moment, he pressed his soft lips to mine. It was better than any daydream that I had ever conjured up in my mind. I realized how sad the comparison was. My daydreams had been good, but this was amazing. It wasn't one of those passion-filled, primal first kisses that you always saw in the movies. It was slow and sweet. Over and over, I heard the soft, slow smacking of our lips. Each time they met, I felt I would cry and jump out of my skin because of all the joy. I wrapped my hand around Jasper's neck and collarbone area. This was my first kiss. It wasn't his, but I was sure it was just as good.

After a few moments, we pulled back. Well, we disconnected our lips. Our hands stayed where they were and our foreheads still leaned against each other. Our eyes stayed close and we breathed in harmony.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you, more."

I giggled and pulled away from him. Jasper reached out and took possession of my hand. We smiled at each other for another immeasurable moment, all thoughts of the worst gone. We would deal with those later. For now, this was our moment.