I'd taken to parking beside that beast of a truck whenever the space was available. Which is why, a little over a week later, I was there at the perfect time.

Miss Swan — I still hadn't been properly introduced to the lovely lady who had all the boys' nuts in a bunch and didn't know how to address her — hadn't crossed my path again. It seemed that I didn't have anything to worry about. My ego was still a little bruised by that. I saw her getting into, or out of, that monster of a truck some days, but never introduced myself, never took more than a casual glance in her direction. The benefits of not being remarked by her definitely outweighed the damage it did to my self esteem.

The constant rains had frozen overnight and the parking lot was covered in black ice. I didn't have any trouble with it personally, but I was expecting some of my classmates would. As a result, I didn't rush into class, keeping an eye on the parking lot in case I needed to diffuse tempers as fenders collided. I heard the growling of her red Chevy a full minute before it entered the lot and was pretending to look for something in my bag so no one would notice my fit of laughter. By the time it rolled in the lot, I was opening my door.

Bella parked two spaces away from mine, a tan colored sedan between us. She had no trouble with the ice, and I saw she had chained her tires last night as I had. Smart as well. I took one step toward the back of my car and noticed her grip the box of her truck as she slipped on the ice. I felt her rush of embarrassment. She was hardly the only one skating on this surface; she shouldn't be embarrassed. Then I got a wave of something I felt rarely around school. Lust, all the time, but love? That wasn't common in the teenagers I was surrounded with. And not eros, this was definitely familial. It was that tender care that I felt when a mother looked on their child. It always made my heart clench. Carlisle's affection for me would never be that deep. I hadn't felt that way for someone since I was human.

I was still savoring the sensation of Bella's love — for her father, I guessed — when Tyler Crowley turned into the lot. He hadn't slowed enough from street and hit the ice. I knew someone would do this today. His van spun out of his control, and I saw where it was headed, straight for Bella Swan standing at the tailgate of her truck. I moved faster I should around witnesses and pulled her between her truck and the Corolla. I lost my footing on the ice for less than a second and pressed her too hard to the door of her truck. I heard her head thump on the glass .

"Ow," she muttered just before the crunch and crash of glass drew her attention from whatever pain she had. Her hand flew from the back of her neck to my chest as she instinctively braced against the sound.

Tyler's van twisted around the back of her truck in a grinding crunch from metal on metal. The side panel of the van lost to the truck's fender and wrapped around it before stopping.

"Are you all right?" I asked Bella.

"Yeah. Just hurts where I hit the handle." She reached behind her neck again, down to where I'd pressed her into the chrome.

I slipped my hand behind her and put it over the bruise. "That's all?" I checked while I tried to rub out any hurt I had caused.

"Oh my God, Bella. Are you all right?"

I stiffened at the sudden smell of blood. Tyler had cracked his head on his dashboard. I held my breath and ran. I wasn't Carlisle; I wasn't able to be around fresh blood and not feed. Stopping in the courtyard of the school, I heard sirens a moment later and was glad someone had called an ambulance for Tyler.

"Jasper?" I turned at my name. Bella had followed me.

"Hi. I don't handle blood well."

"Yeah, me neither." Now that I looked at her, she seemed a little paler than normal. It was a subtle difference on her ivory skin. "Are you all right?"

I shrugged. "Sure. Why wouldn't I be? I didn't get body slammed into a truck door," I said with a smile. Shit, I was flirting. I wiped the smile from my face.

That was when I noticed she hadn't been feeling attraction at all, only curiosity and trepidation. She wasn't really frightened, but definitely uneasy. I should use that.

"Good." She tucked her hair behind her ear and the wind blew her scent at me. I was still getting used to her particular brand of temptation. My jaw clenched, resisting the urge to taste her blood. "I was just wondering, how did you get to me so fast?"

"I was only a car away, Isabella."

"Bella," she corrected me immediately.

"Bella. When I saw the truck coming ..." I shrugged. "I guess instincts took over. I'm glad you're all right, Bella."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Jasper." Now she was interested. Dammit. She put her hand on my forearm.

"Yes. It's nice to meet you too, Bella."

At lunch that day I caught a familiar scent. I tried not to groan. I was going to have push this girl away, wasn't I? What would be the best way?

"Jasper? Do you mind if I join you?"

Direct, I liked that. I was surprised, though; I thought she was shy. "No. Have a seat." Attraction was second to curiosity now. I caught spurts of jealousy as she sat across from me. Down, boys.

"You never eat your lunch," she pointed out.

I raised an eyebrow. Was she admitting to watching me? She blushed and her scent strengthened, tempting me further.

"I eat a big breakfast," I claimed. "You don't seem to have much for lunch yourself." I nodded toward her lemonade and apple.

"Not hungry. Why did you save me Jasper?" Her eyes found mine from under her lashes while she played with the stem of her apple. They were warm brown and seemed to have infinite depth. Wow. No wonder the guys were so into her.

I shrugged. I really couldn't afford to get involved with this girl, even if she did love her father enough for me to jealously want the same, even if she wasn't afraid of me. Hell, because she wasn't afraid of me. I tried sending a sense of unease, something being off. "Because I could."

"Oh." She rolled her shoulders, so I knew I was having an affect. "Thank you." She reached across the table for my hand. I didn't pull away. Maybe this time I would have the normal effect on her.

Her hand was hot compared to my ice cold one. She covered the back of it, her fingers spreading toward my wrist. She squeezed gently and then started to slip her fingers under mine — definitely not the response I was expecting. I turned my hand over and curled my fingers into hers, pulling her arm a little further across the table, heightening the sense of anxiety and unease. I had to scare her off. I wasn't safe.

She shivered slightly but leaned across the table to me. This wasn't working at all. "You're welcome, Bella." Her eyes found mine again.

"Did you get contacts?"

"What?" I asked, uncurling my fingers and pulling my hand away.

"I could have sworn your eyes were black, or dark brown at least. Today they're lighter."

Oh crap. I hunted every weekend so my eyes tended to be lighter at the beginning of the week than the end, but didn't vary as much as Carlisle's. He hunted every two to three weeks so his eyes actually turned black. I didn't trust myself when I was that thirsty.

"Maybe it's the light," I suggested.

She didn't buy it. I didn't blame her. "They're an interesting color. I've never seen it before."

I really needed her to stop looking at my eyes. For one thing, I didn't want her paying attention to anything that so obviously pointed to my less than human nature. For another, it meant I was looking into her eyes, and that was making me entirely too curious about this girl who was not put off at all by my oddity.

"I should get going." I started to get out of my chair.

"Oh, well, it was nice to sit with you Jasper. I hope you won't mind if I do this again." She was looking at her hands on her apple but her eyes kept shooting up to look at me from under lashes. I read her temperament again. She was excited, a little anxious. She was hoping I wouldn't mind. This was not good, not good at all.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Bella."

I felt her disappointment. "I see."

I left before I could do something stupid like console her. That would be a great way to push her away. I needed to get a grip.

When he got home that night, I had a heart-to-heart with Carlisle. I told him about pulling Bella out of the way of Tyler's van. Carlisle had treated Tyler, who was going to be fine. I told him about our conversation at lunch, about how she noticed everything she shouldn't.

"You're interested in her."

"Yeah, I'm interested. She's the first non-vampire that's wanted to say more than two words to me. It's like she has no sense of self-preservation."

"You've got me interested in her," Carlisle smirked.

I glowered. "Don't start."

"Oh come now, Jasper. You haven't had an incident in over a decade. Surely you can stand to have a human acquaintance. Even one who smells better than average."

"It's not healthy," I growled.

"She has got you in a twist. I can't wait to meet her."

"She can't uncover us. How do I get her off my tail?"

Carlisle sighed. "I'm not sure. If she's already noticed you, anything you do will probably just draw more attention to yourself."

I groaned and put my head on the table we were sitting at.

Carlisle laughed at me. "I really want to meet this girl. You should invite her over, make yourself seem more normal."

I lifted my head just enough to look at him. "You're not serious are you? Invite her here?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

"There are no beds in the house, Carlisle. An icebox instead of a fridge. Only one couch. You don't think she might find those things a little odd?"

"We can fix that." Carlisle stood up and began looking around the room and house. "I've been thinking that we let this place be a little too... empty." Neither of us had much in the way of belongings. The biggest collection either of us had, by far, was Carlisle's library that filled a room on the second floor. We had paintings up on walls all over the house, sculptures and other artwork of personal significance, but furniture and appliances were distinctly lacking. If not for my high school email account we probably still wouldn't have a computer. We were a pair of Luddites sometimes.

I didn't really think he was serious until he moved to said computer and started ordering online. I sighed but hovered over his shoulder to help him make his choices and point out things he might have missed.

I recommend some of the ladies I write with. Hev99 has a story called Empty that I'm enjoying. Lilacs46 has Things are Finally Looking Up and BurdenedThunder has May It Be. All great stories.