A/N: Good lord. That took me forever. To get home. To get to a computer that works. GAH.

Jasper breezed into the house with a skip in his step and a whistle at his lips. He was greeted at the door by his family's butler. The man's name was Jenks, but Jasper called him Jeeves because it amused both of them. He was good people.

"What's it look like, Jeeves?" Jasper asked, nodding his head in the direction of the dining room where he knew his family was gathered.

"Your father—"

"He's not my father."

"—demands that you be barred from the kitchen and dining room this evening. He said if you can't be respectful enough to make it to dinner on time, he supposes you don't need to eat."

"Yeah, okay," Jasper said with a laugh. "What's on the table tonight?"

"Pork chops. Just as you like them."

"Damn." Jasper almost regretted being late. Almost. He sighed with mock gravity. "Oh, well. I suppose I'll have to hunt for my food."

He snickered to himself as he pulled his phone from his pocket, headed for the stairs. Jenks stopped him. "Your stepfather requests you wait for him in his office. He'll be in to speak with you as soon as they're done with dinner."

"Uh oh. Sounds like old times. Is he bringing the belt or should I?" Jasper clapped Jenks on the shoulder. "Thanks, Jeeves. Here you go." Jasper put a twenty dollar bill in the man's hand.

Jenks quirked an eyebrow. "I'm quite well paid, sir, thank you."

Jasper flashed him a grin and waved his phone. "That's to pay for the pizza I just ordered. Bring it around when it arrives, would you? I'm starved."

~0~

Jasper was sitting in the big chair, feet up on the desk, going to town on a slice of pepperoni, bacon, olive, mushroom, and jalapeno pizza when his stepfather finally made his entrance. "Hey, Santiago, hold up," Jasper said with his mouth full. He made an act of swallowing the bite he was eating. "Okay. We're good. What's up?"

"Get out of my chair," Santiago said, speaking through clenched teeth.

Slowly, keeping his eyes on his stepfather and a grin on his face, Jasper set first one foot then the other on the ground. He reached over and spun the pizza box in the opposite direction and finally stood up. He walked around the desk at a saunter and dragged one of the room's other chairs over. Finally, he sat, looking at Santiago pointedly.

Santiago blew out a long breath through his nose and went to take his seat.

"Pizza?" Jasper offered before the other man could say a word. He gestured at the open box as he put his feet back up.

His stepfather made an exasperated noise. "Get your feet off my desk."

"So no to the pizza then." Jasper shrugged and took a sizable bite, again taking his time putting his feet on the floor. "Your loss. This is delicious."

"Jasper, this is a serious matter."

"I'm being serious. This pizza is amazing. It's this little place—"

"That's enough." Santiago sat back in his chair with a disgusted scowl. "Your mother and I have been more than understanding, and you've answered our kindness with rudeness."

"What rudeness are we talking about here?"

"Don't be obtuse, Jasper. You know what you're doing. Dinner tonight is just an example. You're supposed to be home at—"

Losing his temper, Jasper slapped his palm down on the desk. "I'm an adult. I don't have a fucking curfew."

"You're a high school student."

Jasper laughed, shaking his head because of course his stepfather was going to bring that up. "That's a fluke, and you god damned well know it. I'm supposed to be halfway across the fucking country, far away from you. No one is supposed to have a say over what time I come home for dinner or if I come home at all."

"It's not a fluke, Jasper. It's a consequence. You got cocky. You fucked up your last year of high school, and now you have to repeat it. You're lucky you didn't end up in jail. You're lucky—"

"I'm lucky you were good friends with the judge," Jasper said, his tone acerbic. "I know. You remind me every goddamned week. You remind me whenever you want to control me."

"I'm not trying to control you."

"Right. Sure. As long as you say so."

Santiago sighed. "It's about respect, Jasper. You're right. You are an adult, but you're still our responsibility. I gave that judge my word, and—"

"Hey, Daddy Warbucks. Calm the fuck down. Jesus." Jasper stood up, rolling his shoulders to adjust his jacket as he did so. "I'm done listening to this—"

"Sit. Down." Santiago said. "It doesn't matter where you should be. You're here because you have nowhere else to go, and you know it. Sit down."

Jasper balled his hands in fists at his side, gnashing his teeth. He could leave. He should leave.

He sat.

The silence was physically painful. Santiago took a deep breath, his tone gentler when he spoke again. "It's not all bad, right? I spoke to Nettie. She said you're doing really well with the program. She says your, uh, Little Sister? Alexis?"

"Alice," Jasper said curtly. He grunted, but his smile won out. "She's a good kid."

"See?" Santiago said knowingly. "Helping someone else not make your same mistakes gives you a sense of purpose."

Jasper had to fight back the urge to punch him in his smug face.

~0~

"Alice. What did you do to your hair?"

Alice did a pirouette, showing off her pixie cut—dyed jet black, of course. Black lipstick, white makeup, black combat boots. Jasper smirked. "Truth?"

"Duh."

"You look like a little badass." He held his fist up for a bump.

Grinning, she bumped him back. "My parents flipped, of course."

"That's what parents do best."

"Oh, my god. Alice!"

Jasper looked up and smiled as Bella came hurtling at them. A man trailed behind her, and Jasper had to stop himself from doing a double take. He pursed his lips, letting out a soft whistle meant only for himself.

He remembered the guy. Prissy little bitch. Last week, he'd been glancing at Jasper's tattoos from across the park and frowning when he was supposed to be hanging out with Bella. He was pretty, though. At least he was giving that much back to the universe.

Bella hugged Alice and then held her at arm's length. "All your pretty hair," she said with a mournful note. "It's almost all gone."

"I did it myself," Alice said, combing her fingers through her hair.

"You did this to yourself?" the priss asked. He had the same judgmental look Jasper's mother and stepfather were forever giving him.

"Hello to you, too," Jasper said, putting one leg up on the bench, leaning on his knee.

The guy seemed startled to see him there. "Hi," he said, tone clipped. Jasper didn't miss the quick once over the man gave him before he looked back at Alice. "What prompted you to do this?"

Alice looked confused, but she laughed. "I told my mom I wanted to get a haircut. Maybe something with layers. She said my hair was just beautiful, and it would be a sin to cut it even a little bit." Her grin turned wicked. "She already calls me a sinner all the time, so I decided I should at least get to have some fun. Earn the title, you know?" She giggled.

Prissy McPissy Pants frowned. "Did you do anything else?"

Jasper cleared his throat. "Hey," he said, raising his voice but keeping his tone even. "My name's Jasper. Who are you?"

Annoyance flashed in the man's eyes—holy crap, were they ever green—but he tempered his reaction. "Sorry," he said. "I'm Edward." He hesitated a moment before he offered his hand.

Jasper let a slow grin slide across his face. He blatantly eye-fucked Edward, and then grabbed his hand just as he was about to pull back. "Nice to meet you," he said, letting the words come out in a drawl.

"Likewise," Edward said, his voice a tinge deeper than it had been a moment before.

He made to pull his hand away, but Jasper tightened his grip. He tilted his head, looking up at Edward from underneath his eyelashes, letting his grin get all the more wicked. It only lasted a second—maybe two—then he let go.

Edward blinked a few times. His skin was flushed all the way down to his neck. Well, that was novel. There wasn't a lot Jasper enjoyed more than making uptight assholes uncomfortable. This guy reminded Jasper too much of his stepfather and his stepfather's rich bitch friends. But he was also gay, so he was uncomfortable and turned on.

Oh, this could be all kinds of fun.

Clearing his throat, Edward looked back at Alice. "You're Alice, right?"

Alice's smile was guarded, like she wasn't sure what to make of this guy yet. "Yeah, that's me."

Edward smiled. It was a gentle kind of smile, and Jasper had to fight not to roll his eyes. Condescension incoming in 3, 2, 1.

"Bella talks about you a lot."

Christ, this guy was a jackass. Bella girl was just figuring out how to get her game on. She had a crush anyone should be able to see for a mile. Anyone but this guy and Alice. Little Alice was oblivious. Jasper had seen it when they'd all hung out together a few weeks back. That shit was adorable, and, judging from the color red Bella was turning, Edward was about to ruin it.

"I-I-I...It's just that I like how you dress." The words tumbled out of Bella's mouth in a rush. "Like, I look at you a lot. I mean, your clothes." Bella sat down on the very edge of the bench opposite Jasper, hunching over as though she wanted to melt between the wooden slats. "It's just cool, that's all."

Alice brightened. "Oh. Thanks." She scooted closer to Bella. "Hey, so, you know those platform boots you wore last time?"

Bella raised her head a little. "Yeah?"

Jasper stretched out and ran the tip of one shoe up the inner seam of Edward's pant leg. The man started with a gasp, and Jasper had to work to cover his snicker. He scooted back and propped one leg back up on the bench. He waved his hand in front of him. "Have a seat there, Sally."

Edward arched an eyebrow. He looked back to Alice with a small frown, and Jasper toed him again. This time, when Edward looked back, he had his hand on his own leg, running his fingers surreptitiously up his inner thigh. "Let them talk a second."

The man huffed, but he did sit down, still casting glances at Alice. He looked to Jasper, looked at what his fingers were doing, and hurriedly looked back up. "Can I, uh, um…" He huffed, shook his head hard, and tried again. He leaned in so he could drop his voice. "Alice. Besides the hair, have there been any other changes?"

Jasper huffed, putting his feet on the ground. "Dude. What is your problem?" He looked to the girls, but they had their heads tilted together, talking intently. Jasper dropped his tone anyway. "You really think she needs one more person up her ass? She changes her style like every other week, man. Back off."

Edward cocked his head, blinking. "No, it's not about that. I mean, the way she dresses—I get all that."

"Oh, you get it," Jasper said sarcastically.

"It's a warning sign."

"A what?"

Again Edward looked to the girls, and he leaned in even further. "She's here, which means she's considered an at risk teen. She had a fight with her mother, cut off all her hair. Warning signs."

"Of what?" Jasper asked with a scoff. "You think she's going to go on a crime spree?"

Edward shook his head. "Suicide."

Jasper's head snapped up in surprise. Then he jumped again when he found Edward's face was barely an inch from his. Close. So close.

"Do you guys want us to give you a minute or something?"

At the sound of Alice's voice, Jasper started yet again. So did Edward. The girls cackled at them.

"You guys were totally about to suck face," Bella said, grinning at them.

"We weren't," Jasper said at the same time Edward said, "That's not happening."

The girls looked at each other and giggled again. Jasper scooted to the edge of the bench and put his feet on the ground.

"Hey, so, you guys are cleared for traveling with us after today, right?" Alice asked.

"That's the word," Jasper said.

"Awesome. So me and Bella were thinking we could hit the mall next week? Do a little shopping. Hit the food court."

"I love the food court," Bella said with a bounce. "They have this new Indian place. Indian fast food. Come on. We have to try that."

Edward's smile was wry. "Oh, that sounds like a culinary adventure worthy of Ramsey himself."

Bella pouted. "Say yes."

He sighed and looked to Jasper. He shrugged. "Doesn't bother me."

The girls squeaked in pleasure, and Jasper shook his head. "Damn. You guys are easy. It's a mall."

"Says the guy with the car," Alice said and stuck her tongue out at him.

A few minutes later, Bella and Edward had ambled off to get hot dogs and Alice plopped down beside Jasper.

Despite the fact Jasper wanted to dismiss Edward's words offhand he couldn't get them out of his head. He was annoying himself, watching her more closely than he usually did and reading way too much into what she said.

Finally, he bumped her side. "Hey, kiddo?"

"What's up, Jay?"

He looked at her. "You're okay, aren't you? I mean in general. Home and stuff."

She wrinkled her nose up, making a face at him. "My parents are assholes."

"Right, I know. But you're not like messed up about it, are you?"

She laughed, tilting her head at him. "You mean almost 'end up in jail' messed up?"

"Hey, man. You're supposed to be learning what not to do from me, right?" He bumped her side again. "Seriously, Al. I mean messed up however."

"I'm cool."

"You'd tell me if you weren't, yeah?"

She laughed again and shrugged, unconcerned. "Sure."

"Well, that's good."

"So." Alice leaned in with a mischievous look on her face. "You gotta thing for older dudes or what?"

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Ah, I think not."

She fixed him with an exasperated expression. "I'm fourteen. I'm not a kid." She tilted her head, thinking a moment. "I don't think it's against the rules, right? Like as long as you don't do it front of Bella and me."

"Alice, for fuck's sake."

She grinned.

"And anyway, I don't think he's like DILF age," Jasper said, looking across the park to where Edward and Bella were walking back.

"That doesn't mean much, you know. There's a kid in my class who's pregnant. Her boyfriend is our age, so you know, he could be a dilf."

He gave her a look. "Damn, I'm glad you're a lesbian."

Alice gave a dramatic sigh. "My mom thinks I'll get over it."

Chuckling, he ruffled her hair.

A/N: Mew! I always have such intentions. You know what they say about intentions…