Chapter Two: The Mansion
APOV (Athalie)
"Hey, they're here!" Emmett yelled. I flinched and Rave laid a comforting hand on my shoulder, smiling down at me even as he bumped knuckles with the hulking vampire in front of us.
"Hey Emmett!" He said as the other 'teenagers' drifted out of the huge, white mansion where the Cullens lived, (a/n: No, they're not in Forks.), smiling broadly.
"Hi Rosalie, Bella." Susan and Celeste said simultaneously, then shot dagger eyes at each other playfully. The two Cullen girls rushed to my sisters and were gone in a flash, laughing all the way.
"Hey guys, you wanna play Zombie Bloodshed 5?" (A/n: I made up the game, but doesn't is sound fun?) Emmett asked eagerly, looking like an excited kid on Christmas. "I just got it, and Edward's inside playing. You'll love it dude!" I stifled a laugh. Emmett sounded just like the teenager he was pretending to be.
"You'll be okay? I'm going to go play." Rave asked, tilting his head off to one side as he looked down at me. I knew he was hated to leave me out here with Jasper, having come to the same conclusion I had about the warrior-vamp: he was dangerous. I nodded and gave him a shove towards the house, and the precious Zombie Bloodshed 5.
As soon as he was actually gone, the door shut tight behind him, I realized that I was truly alone. On the front porch. With Jasper. The warrior-vamp. The Empath warrior-vamp. The silence thickened as I thought what to do. I could go inside, join the boys? Or I could track down my sisters and the Cullen girls and gossip and put on fashion shows or make-up? I shuddered at the last thought. I'd rather take my chances with Warrior-vamp.
"Hey." Jasper finally said, breaking the silence. He leaned against Edward's Volvo, probably trying to look cool. It made me smile thought just a little bit. It wasn't that funny.
"Where's Edward? And where did the other girls go?" I asked, again trying to oblige myself to make small talk. It wasn't as hard as before, I noticed.
"Edward's killing zombies and the girls are giving themselves makeovers, or at least that was what Rose was planning on doing earlier." He said. I shuddered, remembering all to clearly the times my sisters had made me play Athalie Barbie.
"Not a favorite past-time?" He asked me sarcastically, chuckling. I shook my head and made a face, scrunching up my nose in dislike.
"I don't care how great I look afterwards; it's not even remotely fun for me. You're lucky you've never had to be held down while your 'sisters' use an eyelash curler on you." I said, making air quotes on sisters. I grimaced, trying to push back the unpleasant memories of when Celeste and Susan made me have "girl time" with them.
"Hey, you never got to answer my question in Psychology. Do you have a power?" He suddenly questioned, rapidly changing subject. I looked at him questioningly and he refused to meet my gaze, but I decided to throw the big warrior-vamp a bone and simply nodded. I turned my back on him, smiling slyly to myself.
"Here, let me show you." I whispered, bringing my fingers to my lips. I blew gently on the fingertips, right against my nails and turned back around, a tiny flame dancing on my fingertips merrily.
"Wow that's…incredible!" He exclaimed, even as he took a step back. Fire destroyed vampires. I extinguished the fire by blowing again and smiled shyly, bowing my head. "How much can you make?"
"Well, I'm not entirely sure. I've never tested my boundaries that much." I murmured, putting my fingers in my mouth. The fire didn't burn me, but a dull ache usually came soon after I had put the fire out, sometimes consuming my whole hand in the slight pain.
"Does it hurt?" He asked, walking up to me. He pulled my fingers from my mouth and inspected them, a small frown on his face. A trace amount of soot lingered on my fingertips, as if there had been something there to sustain the fire.
"No, but my hand usually is sore afterwards. Maybe because fire is supposed to burn vampires, but it doesn't burn me. Not even normal fire. I've gotten used to it." I muttered. I wasn't used to a complete stranger caring about me like this, and it worried me.
"Well I'm sorry it has to hurt at all." He said, raising my hand up to his mouth. He kissed my fingers gently before releasing my hand. I stepped back immediately, looking away at him, my expression unreadable.
"You're afraid of me. Why?" Jasper took a step closer and I stepped back in compensation. I didn't like him to close to me, it made me feel nervous. The warrior-vampire sighed, taking a step back in defeat.
"I…I barely know you. We're not even friends." I stated tensely. He chuckled humorlessly.
"I'm not going to hurt you." He said, his voice just a low murmur. It was like he was trying to coax a wild animal. "We could be, you know." He tried again when he realized he was getting nowhere with me, still speaking softly.
I nodded, and he stepped forward again. This time I didn't move.
"Friends. And only friends. Promise?" I asked, a last attempt to regain control over the situation. He wouldn't stop hounding me, I saw it in the set of his jaw, the way he furrowed his eyebrows, and I had to find a way to make him leave me be. I wasn't used to being harassed like this, especially from a male. Double from a male Empath vampire.
"Fine." He muttered again, as if the situation didn't work well for him. I nodded again, not giving him another chance to undermine my self-control, and walked toward the house, turning my back on him.