Chapter 12: Addicted
"You found me when no one else was lookin'. How did you know just where I would be? You broke though all of my confusion…the ups & downs and you still didn't leave…I guess you saw what nobody could see…you found me."
~Jasper~
I finally told Natalia how I felt about her. All this time, I was so afraid that she was going to run away screaming from me when I told her that I loved her. I mean honestly, it would have been expected. I had only known her for about two months. Oh, and how sweet those two months have been. But, look! She told me she loved me first…and I knew then things would be okay. I stayed by her side the rest of the night…I could see that sun was going to start rising soon and as much as I didn't want to, I knew I had to wake her up. We had classes to attend to today.
"Natalia." I called her name softly but she didn't move. After another few times, she still didn't move. She must be a really deep sleeper. It was like calling a small child who didn't want to wake up for school.
"Natalia…come on you need to wake up." I shook her as gently as possible and finally, her eyes shot open. She took in the surroundings she was in quickly before jumping up to her feet.
"Oh crap…what time is it Jasper?" she looked frantic.
"It's six forty five…"
"Oh, no Carlisle and Esme are going to kill me!" she sighed.
"You'll be on time to school." I laughed, taking her hand.
"We have to jump again." She just nodded quickly as I picked her up in my arms and made our way to the other side of the lake.
"Natalia…would you mind it terribly if we ran back to the car…it would be much quicker."
"Run? I'm not a very fast runner." She looked at me funny.
"No, no darlin'…I mean, I'll run…and you just hold on."
"Hold on? To what? You?" I nodded but she still didn't understand.
"Just trust me Natalia….wrap your arms around me." She didn't say anything, I think she was still worried about not getting back home on time. I felt her wrap her arms around me, trying not to hold on too tight. I laughed and encouraged her to hold on tighter. Partly because I wanted her to be safe and partly because I wanted to feel her closer to me.
"You aren't hurting me…and, you might want to close your eyes." I gave her a few moments before I was off. It was actually fun showing her all the things I could do. Before, I had to be cautious around her. Even though she knew what I was and lived with our kind, I just didn't want to throw everything out there for her to see.
"That was…exhilarating." She laughed lightly as I set her down when we reached your car.
"I'm sorry I can't give you time to catch your breath, but we really should get you back home so you can get ready."
The car ride to her home was silent. I could feel her emotions, one after the other. She was happy, nervous, anxious, and maybe a little nauseous? That was probably my fault.
"Make sure you eat something Natalia…I think I may have made you a little ill." I laughed.
"Yea…too much running in the morning isn't a good thing I think." We reached her house by now and she just stayed planted in her seat.
"Come on, we have to face them…I'll never leave your side." I helped her get out of the car and she slowly made her way towards the door. She opened it and crept inside, hoping to not be noticed. That didn't work out too much in her favor, her parents were there in an instant, stern looks on both their faces.
"Natalia! Where have you been?" her mother Esme said, but I could sense that she was feeling more relief than anything else.
"I'm sorry you guys…I um…well I um lost track of time." She shrugged.
"I'm sorry I kept her out all night…it's just that she had a bit of a rough night and I was trying to help her feel better…so I took her somewhere we could we talk. I take all responsibility."
"You were out with him!" Carlisle looked at me and she blushed deeply. I could see how he would react that way. A strange boy taking your daughter out somewhere in the middle of a power outage…coming back together. Yes, yes…it was a little unsettling for Dr. Cullen.
"Natalia…" her father sighed "I can't just let you go off at all hours you understand? You are still a child in my eyes. I'm not saying to stay away from him…just let us know where you go from now on. Or at least let someone know."
"I understand. I'm sorry Carlisle…"
"She we ground her?" Carlisle spoke to Esme and she shrugged.
"What's that?" she admitted and the two of us laughed. Neither of them had no experience with human teenagers. Well, in terms of discipline.
"Just, be careful from now on okay?" he said and she nodded "now, go get dressed…I have one child back, now I just need to find the other one." We both froze and I could feel her getting a little upset again.
"Edward is at Jasper's house…" she muttered, making her way upstairs.
"It's a long story." I sighed. I excused myself so I could run home and change and be back before Natalia noticed I was gone. I ran to our home rather quickly. I hesitated at the door for a moment, not knowing if her brother was still in there with my sister. I was thankful was Rosalie had left my window open which I was able to jump in and out without having to see or speak to anyone. By the time I got back to Natalia's house, she was in the shower still. So, I had to sit and have a nice little chat with Carlisle and Esme. As I sat there, I felt every emotion from them. Esme was mostly intrigued by me. She was probably wondering how her adoptive daughter had fallen in love with someone like me. Someone like them. Carlisle was a little confused. He asked me a hundred questions about imprinting but, I only knew as much as he did. The only thing he didn't know about the feeling.
"I'm sorry son, you'll have to forgive me…it's just a little tough knowing that you feel this way about my daughter..since the day you met her. Tell me, if she had chosen not to want to be with you, would you still have stayed around?"
"I don't think I could stay away. I am willing to be in her life in whatever way she chooses…even if she wanted nothing to do with me, I would still love her…and perhaps watch her from a close distance." I admitted.
"What if you hadn't imprinted on her? Would you still feel the same way about her?"
I stayed in thought for a few moments. I had never thought about it but it had been on my mind since Natalia had told me the same thing last night.
"I think that at first, I would have stayed far away from her to be honest. My reaction towards humans isn't always pleasant. But, it wouldn't be long that I'd change my mind. Your daughter intrigues me. I knew that the first day I met her and her blood had no affect whatsoever on me. I do not think that has to do with imprinting…"
"Carlisle, he seems to truly love her and look at her this morning, she was practically a different person when she's around him…well, when she's not being conflicted in her emotions." She clarified.
"I see. Well Jasper." He stood "It seems as though both my daughter and wife approve of you and I am not the one to question the women in my life." He laughed. Carlisle Cullen was a smart man.
"What about her brother? I'm afraid he will try and keep us apart. Of course, I will always protect her…I won't let any harm come to her."
"Edward is just very protective of her. You have to see things from his perspective. He has always been an only child if you will…he waited nearly eighty years before Natalia came into our lives. He sees her as a blessing…" he frowned when he saw my expression "trust me Jasper, Edward loves her very much. In the sense that he would do anything for his sister…and yes, his actions are a little unconventional sometimes but, that's just the way he works. I hope that gives you some better insight on him."
"Yes, I suppose so…I just wish he didn't say some of the things he has to her…"
"I'm ready!" A voice coming down the stairs called and I smiled as I saw her coming down the stairs. Her hair was pulled back and was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. She looked so simple yet, she was stunning to me. I could hear Esme sigh as she shook her head.
"I know, I know Esme…I didn't have time to put together an outfit." She laughed as she saw her mother taking in her appearance.
"Come on Jasper, we don't want to be late." She grabbed my hand and I was quite pleased.
"Have a good day and if and when you see your brother, tell him he has some explaining to do." Carlisle spoke as he grabbed his things to head to work.
"Really Carlisle? Edward is so…old." She laughed.
"He's still my son…and you're still my daughter." He said sternly and she quit laughing, a feeling of embarrassment washing over her.
"Ok, I tell him." She said gently as we made our way outside. It was seven forty by now.
"Great, we're going to be late." She sighed.
"Um, not by a long shot…we'll be there in seven minutes." I pressed on the gas pedal and I'm sure her heart rate shot up.
"Calm down…you're safe with me."
"Uh-huh." She smirked. But, true to my word, we were there in seven minutes. I saw Rosalie's car as I pulled up next to her. She was standing there, along with Bella AND Edward. Oh, well this was going to be interesting wasn't?
"Oh, unbelievable." She smirked as she caught sight of them.
"It'll be okay Natalia…we can just go to class if you wish. Although, you'll probably have to face him at lunch."
"I like that idea." She sighed as I opened her door. She didn't say anything as she passed her brother. Didn't help that Bella's arm was looped thru his, staring at her with that same smug look on her face. They weren't looking at one another, but it was obvious they were talking to one another. She was feeling quite proud of herself for making Natalia feel the way she was feeling and He was feeling quite upset when I took her hand in mine and led her to the class. Poor Rosalie just smiled and went about her business. She obviously didn't want to be wrapped up in all this.
Natalia was so focused in our class that she didn't say one word to me the entire time. She was so nervous the entire time. I walked her to her next two classes, promising to be there when she got out.
"That was very chivalrous of you." She said, blushing slightly as people were staring at her as the two of us walked towards the cafeteria.
"Well, would you rather me eyeball you like half the perverts in this school do?" I smirked, looking around, making any guy staring at her turn away quickly.
"Um, no…that's gross Jasper. How do you know they are looking at me in that way?" she laughed nervously as we walking inside the loud lunch room.
"Teenage boys aren't very hard to figure out…they're very obvious in the way they stare at something they want…something they lust after." My grip on her hand tightened as I unconsciously pulled her closer to me.
"Hey, hey…easy there…you're going to tell me you've never lusted after someone before? Someone like I don't know me?"
"I have never lusted for you Natalia…only loved…loved desperately." I felt her stall a little.
"Oddly enough that has to be one of the nicest things someone has ever said to me" She smiled, but I could tell she appreciated it somehow. We reached the table and low and behold, there was Edward, sitting there, saying something to Bella who was all smiles today.
"Are we interrupting?" I asked, pulling Natalia's seat out before sitting beside her.
"No, no not at all." Rosalie smiled at the two of us. Clearly, she liked the fact of the two of us together.
"How was your evening?" Edward looked over at his sister and she looked at him funny.
"It was very nice…" she just picked at the sandwich on her plate. I began replaying the night in my mind…and I got the reaction I was looking for from Edward when he saw my thoughts. Bella just rolled her eyes.
"Really, Jasper? Did you have to do that…you want Edward to rip you apart? Knowing you touched his sister like that?"
"It wasn't anything bad…" Natalia choked out, looking at me, a frown on her face.
"She's right. We weren't doing anything bad. Unlike someone I know." I stared at my sister. She just grabbed onto Edward's arm, so I could see just how "strong" he was.
"Please, he might be faster than I am…but I'm the one with military training."
"Is that a threat?" he hissed lowly.
"It's a warning…you mind your business and I'll mind mine." I looked him in the eyes, he was reading my mind and I was reading his emotions. I if he could just accept his sister wanting to be with me, then I wouldn't mind him being with my sister…doing who knows what they did. I could sense he found the situations to be very different.
"Fine." He growled. "But, I swear Jasper, if one thing happens to her…"
"Human alert." Bella suddenly spoke, causing all conversation to cease.
"Hey Natalia." A male voice spoke and both Edward's and mine face turned towards the culprit. It was one of those boys. I believe he was in her English class. She looked at him and smiled, trying to be polite.
"Oh hi Matt, how are you?"
"I'm great." He smiled at her and I could feel the lust rolling off of him and Edward must've heard what he was thinking because his jaw instantly clenched.
"Listen Nat…" he looked quickly behind him. I didn't like him calling her that. That wasn't her name! "Me and some of the guys were wondering something."
"Um, yea?"
"We wanted to know if you wanted to come over this weekend. We could all you know, hang out? You know, if you're not too busy doing Edward and Jasper." He said very calmly and all eyes suddenly snapped to look at what was happening.
"Excuse me?" she whispered.
"You don't seem to have a problem being with the two of them at the same time now. So, why not three of us? I mean, yea you and Edward is a little strange but hey, I'm down with a chick that gets with her adoptive brother." I felt all anger levels rising and next thing I knew, Natalia was up and out from her seat, staring this guy square in his eyes before she slapped him across the face.
"Don't you ever talk to me like that again you jerk!" she yelled at him. He rubbed the side of his face and just stared at her.
"Mm, I like them feisty." He smirked, running a hand along the side of her face. She cringed away from him. "I bet you would be amazing in…." he was cut off as she literally lunged at him, slapping and punching him a few times. All of us sat there, stunned. We never knew Natalia could be so volatile. It was quite entertaining to see her beat the crap out of this guy. But, all good things must come to an end when I heard her say "Ow, you jerk!" as she touched the corner of her mouth. That was it, time to intervene. I pulled her away from him as Edward stood and grabbed the guy, giving him the death glare if you will.
"I trust you won't be bothering my sister ever again." He said harshly and the idiot nodded quickly. The bell rang and it was time for our final class. Her lip was bleeding a little but it wasn't anything too bad. I helped her clean it up quickly before she went to class.
"See you after class." I smiled as I kissed her forehead and sent her on her way.
"Edward…" I heard her complaining "I had him! I don't know why you didn't let me hit him a few more times." She smirked.
"Trust me Natalia….I would have but then you would have ended up getting kicked out of school." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and the two of the laughed. At least they were okay with one another now.
"Remind me to never double cross her again." Bella smirked as we made our way to class.
After school, I met up with Natalia and Edward and he actually invited us to their home. Which, I obviously accepted. Bella did as well. Rosalie declined nicely. She actually had planned on going shopping anyways.
"Can I trust you down here alone?" Edward looked at his sister, Bella tugging on his arm towards the stairs.
"Yea, yea…" she rolled her eyes. Then, the two of them were gone, fits of laughter coming from Bella.
"You know, I've never seen my sister laugh so much."
"I've never seen Edward so…not uptight." She laughed.
"Well, what do you have planned out for us miss Cullen?"
"Oh, well…" she pushed me against the couch "I was actually thinking…" she stopped talking when my lips came in contact with hers once more. She giggled as she fell into my lap. It seemed as though now she was mine for lack of a better word, I wanted to make the most of every moment we had together.
"Thank you for defending me earlier." I laughed as she placed her forehead against mine.
"It was my pleasure." She giggled some more… "I still can't believe he would say that. He seemed like such a nice guy too." She frowned. Obviously, she wouldn't be talking to that guy anytime soon. I touched the spot on her face where he had whacked her and she winced slightly…I kissed the spot gently, making the pain melt away. I moved to her cheek, her nose…pretty much any part of her face I could reach.
"I hope you don't feel we are moving too fast?" I stopped and looked up at her.
"Well, I was the slow poke in this situation I suppose. I mean, you've been in love with me for two months now…" she laughed "but, thank you for not giving up on me Jasper…thank you for believing in us, enough for the both of us."
"I have a confession to make." I sighed. She sat up more and looked at me.
"I think…" I traced my finger across her bottom lip, causing her heart rate to increase slightly "I think that I just might be addicted to you Natalia Cullen…" I whispered before bringing her back to me.
"I think that was the imprinting talking." She sighed, trying to regain her breathing.
"No, I don't think so…I honestly cannot get enough of you…every time I see you, I want to kiss you…I want to show you how much I love you!"
"Well, that may be the guy part of you talking now." She smirked. She had a point. "And I thought you said you didn't lust Jasper …that sounds like lust to me." She stared, awaiting my answer.
"It's not lust." I pulled her closer to me, placing my head on top of hers "Because I am perfectly content with whatever we do…even when I'm just watching you in history class…or the two of us, just sitting here…everything just clicks when you're with me."
"Nice recovery…speaking of which, before you distracted me…would you mind just watching a movie? I'm sure we have a couple of hours to kill before the parents come back."
"I'd like that…it should hopefully help me block all the range of emotions that are coming down from upstairs." Her eyes widened and she looked quickly upstairs.
"Ew, I'm sorry that's just too much info." She blushed "I don't think I'd be with someone in that sense that I haven't known for that long."
"Oh really?" I looked at her, intrigued.
"Yes, really…so don't even think of sending me any waves of lust my way…" she pointed her finger at me, getting up to put in some random movie.
"I swear darlin'…." I sighed as she came back to me, settling in against my side as I wrapped an arm around her.
"And in case you're wondering…I just happen to be addicted to the moments when you let your accent slip out." She looked up at me for a quick moment before turning back to the movie.
"Good to know…" I smiled. I would have to remember that.
"I love you…" I whispered as the movie started.
"You better..." she sighed "I love you too…"
Day one of officially being "together" has been quite the adventure. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. Natalia brings meaning and excitement to my life that I had been lacking for quite some time.
So sorry I hadn't been able to update in a few days. School is taking a lot of my time now!! Lol…but I had to get this chapter out & I made it longer just for you guys.
Reviews pretty please!!
