Sorry this Chapter took so long! Please enjoy =)

The next few weeks came and went in a similar fashion.

Lila went on few dates with Edward and spent weekends on the Reservation with Seth.

Rose became increasingly distant to Lila while Emmett and Alice became the exact opposite.

Alice would watch me as if I was a confusing puzzle she was trying to figure out whenever she thought I wasn't looking.

Edward and I pretty much ignored each other and Jasper was always there, right beside me, whenever it was possible. I didn't question his desire to be close to me, it felt comfortable and familiar, something I could count on while everything was changing.

I found it harder and harder to watch Edward fall for someone else, until one day I couldn't take it anymore.

It was an extremely rare day. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. There was no chance I could go to school today. I was both relieved and saddened. Not going to school meant I didn't have to put up with Edward and Lila's relationship being thrown in my face, I didn't think I could deal with it anymore, but the fact it was a sunny day meant the Masen's wouldn't be going to school and I could've had Lila all to myself for the first time in weeks.

I sent a message to Lila telling her I had come down with the flu and wouldn't be at school today before deciding that I couldn't stay at home all day. The solution popped into my head immediately.

The meadow.

I hadn't been there in ages. It felt good to be able to go back there. I got changed into clothes appropriate for walking through the forest and left, purposely leaving my phone and purse on my bedside table. I didn't want to be disturbed.

I sped towards the meadow, only pausing for a moment as I passed the Masen's house. They were all home, I guess they had no need to go out. This was a good thing, I didn't fancy getting interrupted, I wanted today to be all about me.

I reached the meadow seconds later, stopping at the tree line to admire its beauty. A sense of belonging washed over me as I stepped into the meadow, I smiled, I never had to be anything but myself here, it was a wonderful feeling.

Once I was in the very centre of the meadow I laid down. I took a deep breath of the fresh air and completely relaxed, letting my emotions take me on a journey.

I sobbed from heart ache, screamed at the injustice of it all, laughed at their stupidity, growled in anger and sobbed a bit more before finally settling on serene acceptance.

The meadow had worked its magic once again. This was usually the point where I went back home but today I just couldn't bring myself to leave.

"Bella?" A voice asked, interrupting my conflicting thoughts. I hadn't been called that name in decades.

I sat up and turned to where the voice had come from and saw Jasper standing at the edge of the meadow. As soon as he saw my face, he went from hopeful confusion to disappointment.

"Oh, sorry Marie, I thought you were someone else," He explained, walking over to me.

I was intrigued. He was the first person to call me Bella, I wanted to know why.

"That's ok," I told him as he sat down next to me looking like a kid who had just been told Santa, the Easter Bunny and magic don't exist. "What made you think I was her?"

Jasper looked at me curiously. "Honestly, I don't really know. I mean, your looks and emotions all remind me of her and I'm not sure why. Today, when I felt your emotions, it was like my body acted of its own accord, all I could think was I can't let her die and I don't know why!"

He was so confused he had begun to project unintentionally. On top of feeling his confusion, I felt guilty. I had caused this; I had to set it right even if it meant I could no longer hide behind my carefully constructed walls.

"I know why," I told Jasper. He looked at me and I could feel hope gently caressing my skin. "The thing is, I am Bella."

"How?" queried Jasper, clearly unsure of what to think.

So I launched into the story of how Bella the human became Marie the vampire.

*Flashback*

I couldn't sit in my bedroom wondering if he was real or not. I had to find our meadow. That would prove that he really existed.

It took three days for me to find the meadow. When I did, it didn't look as special as it was when he was there. I sat down and cried my heart out. At least I could be sure the Edward was real, that he wasn't a figment of my imagination.

After a few hours of emotional turmoil, I decided to head home, I could always come back. I stood to leave and lost my balance. I stretched my hand out to break my fall. My hand came down on a sharp rock, slicing the palm of my hand from pinky to thumb.

Strangely I didn't feel much pain at all as I watched the blood pool in my hand.

Suddenly someone else was there, licking my hand, drinking my blood.

"Jasper," I whispered as he bit into my palm, "You came back!"

He didn't respond, too far into the feeding frenzy to acknowledge what his prey was saying.

I could feel the burn in my hand start to wind its way up my arm as I began to feel faint. I realised, as I felt the blood draining from me, that this could only end in two ways, one far more likely than the other. At least in death I wouldn't miss Edward.

Jasper was ending my suffering, I was grateful.

The fainter I feel the more grateful I become. The part of my mind still functioning registers the fact that the pulling sensation in my hand has stopped and that a burn has started in my legs, my other arm and both sides of my neck.

The burn gets stronger, preventing me from passing out. My mind regains full function and with it comes the realisation that Jasper didn't kill me. He turned me. This knowledge makes me incredibly happy. My happiness dulls the burn.

Three days later the burning stopped abruptly. The world was amazing. I could see everything, hear everything and nothing could kill me. Or at least that's what it felt like for a few moments at least.

"Bella? Are you ok?" Jasper asked me, catching my attention.

Before I could reply, I remembered why it was that we were here, that Edward had never wanted me to be a vampire so he would probably be less likely to want me now than before.

Just like that all my emotions returned with the 10 fold increase that is part and parcel to being a vampire. For another three days I was rendered motionless by the sheer magnitude of my emotional baggage.

I will always be surprised that Jasper didn't kill me or at the very least leave. I can't have been much fun for an empath to be around.

When I was finally able to function again, I told Jasper that I didn't want the Cullen's to know what had happened. He didn't argue with my decision but he refused to leave me when I told him he could go.

For the better part of the year that followed we were our own nomadic coven, but some things are never meant to last.

**End Flashback**

"In the end, you were getting depressed that you couldn't see Alice but you still refused to leave me so I dropped a boulder on your head and you lost your memory of turning me and went home to Alice," I finished.

"I could have killed you," Jasper said, shocked. Those words told me that he remembered everything. After all I suspected his memory would return one day, a boulder to the head can only do so much.

I sighed, in all the time we were together he never could let that tiny detail go. He never understood that death was the worse option.

"But you didn't! You chose to save me. You showed incredible restraint that day, and I'll always be grateful," I reiterated.

Jasper just looked at me, absorbing my words and their meaning. Slowly he reached out, turned my hand palm up and traced the perfect bite mark that was there. The only mark left from my change.

"As will I Bella," Jasper finally replied, before he kissed my mark.