Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, any of the characters in Twilight, or anything related to the books and/or movies. If I did, I would be way too busy- doing dirty things with the Cullen boys- to sit down at my laptop and write this story. The scenes that I did borrow from Stephenie Meyer have been revamped to fit my story.

Learning to Live Again

Chapter Eight: A New Bounce to Bella's Stop

Jasper and I lay in my bed, still holding onto each other, until the middle of the afternoon. We didn't speak but were content to be with each other, reveling in the comfort of another person who understood the pain that you were in.

When I was finally ready to emerge from the privacy of my bedroom, I stirred next to Jasper and looked up into his eyes again. He had been staring down at my face which immediately made me feel self-conscious. Lord knows how attractive I must look after having spent seven hours crying in my sleep and the larger half of the day lying in bed with a vampire.

He must have noticed my change in feeling or the blush that was creeping up onto my face, because Jasper- being the perfect gentleman that he is- offered kind words of reassurance.

"You're beautiful, Bella. I don't know if I ever truly noticed it before, but you are. Not just your looks, though. I am amazed at how open and brave you are. It makes me proud to be a part of your life," he whispered to me. I could feel his cold breath on my face and curbed my impulse to shutter against his body. His smell was so intoxicating that I had to concentrate on not letting my eyes roll into the back of my head and pass out.

Hearing Jasper's praise made me realize that I would be okay through this. I would survive the loss of my first love, and I would go on. He gave me a revised sense of self and longing. I would live. I would truly live and experience life instead of allowing another person to make my decisions for me.

I slowly and sadly untangled my limbs from Jasper and stood from my bed. I walked over to the window and stared out at my neighborhood. Since it was the middle of the afternoon, there was quiet. School hadn't been let out yet, and the adults were all working. I looked off into the woods and no longer expected someone to be watching back from them.

"Jasper, let's do something fun today," I suggested, asking permission. I didn't want to assume that he would want to continue spending time with me. I knew that he had his own life to go back to, but I wanted to be completely selfish and keep him here with me for as long as I could.

"What do you want to do, Bella?" he asked. He had risen from the bed and was standing directly behind me, peering over my shoulder to the forest as well.

"I don't really know. The only fun I ever have anymore involves shopping with Alice or running from homicidal vampires," I teased. I turned and smiled up at him when I heard his low chuckle. "What do normal kids our age do for fun?"

"Sex, drugs, rock and roll?!' he offered with a shrug.

Not fully understanding why, my mind lingered on the first option. Before I could blush, I replied in an attempt to hide my sudden feeling of lust. "So you want to get high, got to a rock concert, and then hit on the band in hopes of having a disgusting one night stand?"

"Exactly," he said simply.

"Would you settle for a movie instead?" I moved away from the window and walked to my closet, opening the doors and peering inside. I would eventually need to change out of my pajamas into some adequate clothing.

"If I have to," he responded as he walked across the room and took a seat at my desk. He began leafing through my copy of Wuthering Heights that was lying open near my computer. "Go ahead and shower and get dressed. I'll run home to change and be back before you're ready," he instructed me, enthralled with a passage in my book.

I let a soft chuckle escape my mouth as I grabbed an outfit from my closet and hurried out of my bedroom and toward the bathroom. It felt nice to laugh again and to be able to be so casual and carefree with Jasper. When I had been with Edward, I always had to be on my best behavior. I knew that with Jazz, I could be myself and he wouldn't think any less of me.

Just as I had expected, he was waiting for me in a new pair of clothes once I had finished taking a shower and getting ready. I had decided to wear a pair of dark jeans and a simple black camisole with a matching pair of ballet flats. Judging by what I had seen when I was looking outside my window, it was going to be one of those rare days in Forks where you wouldn't need a jacket. With a smile, I grabbed my purse off my desk and then reached over and grabbed Jasper's hand, pulling him up off my bed.

"Let's go, buddy," I said as I started down the stairs and hurried through my house to the outside world. Now that I was feeling like I could move on with my life, I was anxious to get started. Still clutching Jasper's cold hand in my own, I bound down the stairs of my front porch without tripping and came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

Jasper and his lightning quick reflexes managed to stop without bumping into my back. I turned around, leaving his hand in mine. It felt comfortable, and I decided that Jasper must not mind either.

"I didn't know that you had a motorcycle, Jazz," I stated to him more in the form of a question than anything else. I did a double take at the sleek black sport bike parked on my street. I don't know anything about cars or motorcycles, but I think it was a Ducati. His eyes lit up when I mentioned it.

"Well, Edward didn't want me to have it around you in case you got any ideas, you know," he explained with a shrug. When I raised my eyebrows in confusion, he further explained. "He thought you get hurt if you were to want a ride."

"Of course he did," I said sadly. I could feel the frustration and anger building in me again, unable to stop it before it got out of control. I dropped Jasper's hand from mine and just stared blankly past him.

He reached forward and grabbed my hand in his again, causing me to look up into his questioning gaze. "Bella, you have so much anger and animosity toward him now. You have to let it go. He is truly trying to protect you and look out for your best interest."

For some reason, I knew that Jasper didn't fully believe himself either. "I understand that, Jazz, really. It is just so annoying that he doesn't have any faith in us." It was his turn to raise a confused eyebrow. "He didn't have faith that you would be able to control your thirst around me, when you have time and time again proven that theory wrong. And he didn't have faith that I could handle this lifestyle, when I believe that I've been holding my own pretty well for awhile now. But most importantly, he didn't have faith in love. In our love. He had no faith that we would be able to handle anything together, and he just gave up on us and walked away."

I had never been very articulate, but I was beginning to find out a lot of new things about myself. I recognized the understanding and agreement from the dashing man in front of me who was still holding my hand. "You know that I'm right, Jazz, so don't try to argue with me. Let's go. You can take me for a ride."

I pulled him toward the motorcycle and chuckled when I saw that he was shocked by my actions. I waited patiently for him to understand and grabbed the helmet off the back of the bike. Before I could put it on my head, Jasper had already taken it from my hands and fastened it on for me.

"Hold on tight, Bella."