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 Nine: Comfort

I couldn't stop smiling as Jasper helped me off the back of his motorcycle. We had taken a leisurely ride around Forks which only took about five minutes before he steered toward the highway where he was able to show me how fast his pride and joy could go. I had screamed when I felt the first jolt of speed underneath my legs and clutched Jasper righter against me.

I finally understood why the Cullens loved speed so much. It felt amazing to be holding onto Jasper and feeling the wind against my skin. My new sense of freedom was only intensified by the feeling that I was flying. I closed my eyes and rested my head on Jasper's back, snuggling closer to him, taking in his scent. Yeah, I was definitely in trouble.

I couldn't think of my impending doom at the moment, though. We were making our way towards the theatre, Jasper chasing after me to retaliate against my teasing him about his unruly hair. The truth was I thought it was adorable. I just couldn't stop myself from teasing him, because he got the hottest smirk on his face when he was plotting revenge.

Jasper caught up to me at the ticket booth and pulled me back towards him, tickling my sides. I laughed and smile back at him. I had never seen him so at ease with himself, so carefree and young. It was a nice change from the seriousness that normally enveloped our lives in Forks. We were brought back to reality by the sound of nervous throat-clearing behind the glass of the ticket booth.

I looked up, holding Jasper's arms in place around my waist, to see Eric Yorkie from school staring back at us with shock written across his face.

"Hi, Eric," I said with a warm smile directed toward him. "Can we get two tickets to that new, cheesy horror flick?"

"Sure, Bella, no problem," he replied eagerly. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Did he really think that he had a chance with me still? I thought I had made it obvious that I only wanted to be his friend.

"Are there a lot of people in that show right now?" Jasper asked from behind me as he placed a bill on the counter and slid it to Eric. "We would really like some privacy, you know," he explained with a seductive edge to his voice. I felt him trace his hand up my side, stopping at my shoulder to play with a stray lock that had fallen out of place.

"Umm, there should only be a f-few people in that theatre," Eric stammered as he handed over our tickets.

"Great," Jasper replied, grabbing the tickets and steering me inside the doors in one quick motion. Once we were inside and out of Eric's line of vision, I turned to Jasper.

"What was that?!"

"He was completely jealous and fawning all over you, Bella. I could tell that it was bothering you, so I just thought that I would make it clear that he should not try to hook up with you just because you weren't with Edward anymore."

"Oh, okay." I looked down at my feet, suddenly embarrassed that I thought there was more to his actions than what he stated. I knew it was useless, but I tried to block my feelings of embarrassment and nervousness. Jasper threw his arm carelessly over my shoulder and led me toward the concession stand.

"Do you want anything, Bella?" he asked politely.

"Just a Coke and some licorice is fine," I replied. We got our snacks and drinks- although I have no clue why Jasper insisted on putting on the charade while we were going to be in a dark theatre- and walked into said dark theatre where the previews had just started.

As Eric as said, there weren't that many other people in here. It looked like there were less than seven others that had selected this movie. I chuckled, knowing that it would a cinematic masterpiece at that moment. Oh, well, it was nice to see a stupid movie with your best friend from time to time. Once again, a thought about Jasper had me over thinking things. Was he my best friend now?

Before they had left, Alice had been my best friend along with Edward of course who was so much a part of my life that it only mad sense. I hadn't spoken to either of them in days, though. Jasper and I were spending a lot of time together, and he was the one who had stayed with me to make sure that I wouldn't blame myself for Edward's departure or sink into a depression at the loss.

I guess he was my new best friend. I smiled at him and ignored his questioning stare back at me. We took our seats in the middle of the theatre and watched the ridiculous acting and horribly gruesome scenes on the screen for the next hour and a half.

We were the only couple laughing as we walked into the now dark parking lot. "That was definitely one of the worst movies I've ever seen, Bella. And I have seen many in my existence."

"What are you talking about, Jazz?! It was amazing," I said with sarcasm dripping from my voice. We both began laughing hysterically again. As we were walking over to his motorcycle, a loud ringing came from his back pocket. Jasper unconsciously answered his phone without looking to see who was calling.

"Hello?" There was a brief pause as the person on the other end of the phone identified themselves. I knew who it was going to be before he said the name. "Alice!"