Uncle Max was silent the entire drive, occasionally sighing here and there. When they pulled into there driveway, AJ saw a familiar dark brown car.
"Is... is that my mom's car?" AJ asked.
Uncle Max nodded his head as they got out of the car and AJ rushed inside. In the living room sat her Aunt Aspen and... her mother.
"Mom!" AJ shouted as she gave her a tight hug.
"Hello my little flower." Sierra smiled warmly at her daughter. Her earthy green orbs looked onto her forest ones.
"Where's dad?" AJ asked, looking worried.
"He's in Texas, but he's on his way back. We heard that Laura was spotted there but it turns out we were wrong. Laura has found out that you are here somehow. We have to leave right now." Sierra said sadly.
"M-mom, I can't. My mate is here." Her heart began to ache at the thought of leaving Jasper.
"You found your mate? What's his name?" Sierra asked, looking happy.
"Jasper Hale. He is the sweetest, most handsome, and perfect gentleman. You and dad would approve." AJ's eyes began to glisten with tears. "But there is just one thing, mom."
Sierra motioned for her to go on.
"H-he and his family are va-vampires." AJ said quietly.
"Oh, Marianne, I don't care that he is a vampire. I do suppose that it is quite strange for one of our kind to be mated with one of his kind but anything can happen, I suppose." Sierra smiled sweetly at her daughter. "I'm very happy for you, my daughter, but this does put a hold on our plans."
Sierra turned to Max and Aspen. "It's not safe for you two and William to be here anymore. I will stay here with my daughter until we can come up with a better plan. You two need to take William and leave Forks."
Aspen shook her head. "We can't just get up and leave."
"Aspen, you want to keep William safe right? We want to keep you safe too. This is our fight, not yours." Sierra said.
Max shook his head. "But this is our fight. She's after our niece. Our niece who is part of our family." He turned to his wife. "You should take Will to my parents house and stay there until Laura is no more."
AJ disagreed. "Wait, let's think about this. Laura is a vampire. Vampires can only be destroyed by ripping a limb off and putting them aflame. Aunt Aspen can control fire, so we need her with us more, no offense or anything, than you. Vampires don't have to breathe, so the water won't do much damage."
"My daughter is right, Maxwell. You need to take William and go to Alaska to your parents." Sierra agreed.
Max gaped at everyone in the room. But eventually, he nodded his head. "You have a point. I'll go start packing. Aspen, dear, can you pack Will a bag?"
While they went off to do that, Sierra and her daughter went to AJ's room. AJ sat across from her mother on her loft bed.
"Mom... what am I going to do? How am I going to tell Jasper that I knew that he was a vampire all along and that I'm an Elemental, a species that supposedly went extinct years ago." AJ continued. "Especially the fact that I have a very rare gift that is getting me hunted down by one of his kind. Oh wait! I forgot one! My real name is Marianne Luna Carson, not Arianna Jaclyn Ryan!"
AJ burst into tears and her mother wrapped her arms around her only child. "Just speak from the heart, my flower. He will understand. Everyone has secrets."
"Thanks mom. I needed to hear that." AJ whispered once she finished sobbing.
"I'm going to help your uncle and aunt, okay? I'll come get you when it's time to say goodbye." Sierra kissed her daughter's forehead before climbing down the loft bed.
"Mom?"
"Yes my flower?" Sierra asked.
"I love you."
"I love you too, Marianne."
X.X.X.X.X.X.
AJ woke up hearing her floorboards creak quietly. She wiped her eyes tiredly. She said goodbye to her uncle and cousin a few hours prior, and she was very tired.
AJ peeked out of her loft bed and her eyes connected with amber ones. Sighing, AJ rubbed her tired eyes and climbed down the ladder.
"Jasper? What are doing in my room? And how'd you get in here?" AJ asked.
"You left the balcony doors open and I kinda need to tell you something." Jasper said, looking uneasy and nervous.
"Do you come in my bedroom often?" AJ asked.
"Not to sound like a creep, but yes. I like watching you sleep. It's... fascinating..." Jasper stated. "I need to tell you something really important AJ."
"Can't it wait till morning? When I'm not in my PJs?" AJ said, pointing down to her elephant short shorts and her long sleeved elephant shirt.
Jasper gulped at the sight of all her smooth, tan skin but looked back up at her. "No."
"Okay," AJ waved for him to continue, "go on."
"Promise you won't freak or scream bloody murder and run away from me?" Jasper asked.
"I pinky promise." Marianne said, hoping he would finally tell her of his kind.
"Okay, so you know how I'm very pale, freezing cold, incredibly strong and fast?"
AJ nodded her head and waited for him to continue.
"... that's... that's because I'm... I'm not human." Jasper stopped for a moment. "I'm not normal."
AJ began to grow uneasy as she waited for him to just say it.
"AJ, I'm... I'm a vampire."
AJ finally smiled. "I know."
"Please don't be mad at me! I wouldn't be able to stand it-. Wait. What did you just say?" Jasper questioned.
"I know your a vampire Jasper. I've known since I met you and your siblings, Jasper." AJ said soothingly. "I think it's time I tell you my secret, Jasper."
X.X.X.X.X.X.
"Jasper, I'm not normal either, my entire family isn't, expect for my great aunt Jane, she's pretty normal." AJ said. "My family are Elementals. You might have heard of them. They supposedly went extinct a long time ago because of vampires. But some families went into hiding. One of them being my own. Elementals can control one element and one element only. An Elemental's physical appearance usually has something to do with their element. "
"Like my mother has earthy green eyes and dusty brown hair, she can control rock. My father can control ice and snow, so he is very pale and cold, like your kind. My aunt can control fire, which is why she has dark red hair and hazel eyes. My uncle can control water, which gives him aqua blue eyes and sandy blond hair. My cousin Will can control electricity. So he has electric blue eyes and blond hair." AJ paused for a minute so he could take this all in before continuing.
"The most powerful element one of my kind can have is the element of nature. It's not just earth, but it's also flowers, plants, animals, weather, and more. An Elemental with the element of nature can cause hurricanes, storms, rainbows, raise animals from the dead, grow trees and plants, and even start an earthquake. Jasper, I have the element of nature."
Jasper gulped and looked at her. "Can you show me?"
AJ smiled at him gently and nodded before taking her to the balcony. She picked up a plant, that seemed to be dead pansies, and held it infront of Jasper.
"Are you ready?"
Jasper nodded.
AJ slowly twirled her pointer figure around the plant. Slowly, the plant began to grow and bloom, the beautiful colors of purple and blue seeming to glow in the moonlight.
"That... is very cool." Jasper stated breathlessly.
AJ giggled. "Thanks. Let's go back inside so I can finish explaining, yeah?"
Jasper nodded his head and opened the door for her.
"Thank you, kind sir." She giggled again.
"You're welcome, ma'am."
AJ took in a deep breath, preparing herself for the long explanation. "Okay. Sometime a year ago, my family came across a vampire by the name of Laura. She can hypnotize a human very easily. But she can't hypnotize an Elemental as easy. Once she found out what we were, she wanted to use me as a weapon to take over the vampire world and the human world. So, my parents and I ran away. No matter how many times we move and change our names, she always finds me. So when we came to Forks, I wasn't expecting to live here longer than graduation. Until I met you, of course.
"Like vampires, we have mates too. We usually find our mates before or on our eighteenth birthday. I found mine on my first day at the school here. The mate will feel the same mating pull we feel, whether the mate is human or not, but with my kind it's a stronger desire. We always want to be with our mate and to protect him or her. If we have been without each other for too long then we began to feel pain in our chest and we usually get a horrible headache. When we find our mates, we usually stop aging if we choose to or not, it just depends on the age. So therefore, I can become immortal. But the process takes one day, a very painful day. I guess what I'm trying to say is, Jasper, you're my mate."
AJ stared at Jasper who stared back at her, his topaz eyes turning to a dark yellow.
"My family, we're different. We call ourselves vegetarians because we only hunt animals. We've learned to control our thirst." Jasper backed AJ against the wall. "But your scent is intoxicating and addicting, like my own personal heroine. And it's not just because your an Elemental."
AJ smiled as she brought her hands to his shoulders and his wrapped around her waist. He brought his lips to her ear, his minty cool breath fanned across her neck, sending shivers down her spine.
She felt him smirk against her ear as he lightly nipped at her ear lobe. "You sure I won't hurt you?"
AJ gasped and she felt her knees began to feel like jelly. He helped her continue to stay standing by pushing her up against the wall.
"You said every new town you move to you use a different name. I'm guessing Ariana Jaclyn Ryan isn't your real name, correct?"
"H-how did you know "my" middle name?" AJ teased breathlessly as she heard her door creak open. She didn't bother to look, thinking it was just the wind.
"I won't kiss you unless you tell me." Jasper said, letting his forehead rest on hers.
AJ looked into his almost completely black eyes that were filled with lust and impatience. She didn't even care anymore, she wanted to feel his lips on hers.
"Marianne. My name is Marianne Luna Carson." She said.
"Marianne Luna." Jasper said, testing it out. She was right. Him saying her real name was even better than having him say her fake name.
"Now, are you going to kiss me or just leave me hanging?" Marianne asked, beginning to grow restless.
Jasper quickly closed the distant between the two mates and their lips met. The sparks Marianne felt were indescribable. The kiss was slow and passionate as their lips met again and again. Jasper's grip tightened on her waist as he pulled her closer and Marianne's hands went to Jasper's hair. Jasper was careful not to hurt her but now he knew that if he did hurt her, she would be able to heal quicker than the average human. He had slowly began to adapt to the smell of her irresistible blood over the months so the temptation to drink her blood wasn't too bad and luckily, she was not his blood singer, otherwise this would be much worse.
Before he could get to carried away, Jasper pulled and took a step back.
Marianne blinked, panting slightly to catch her breath. "That was... wow."
Jasper chuckled. "It was indeed, darlin'."
"You probably should go. My mother came back home tonight and told me Laura has found me again. We were going to leave-" Jasper growled at this and pulled her closer to him. "-but when I told her I found my mate, we had to stay here. She already knows you're a vampire but I don't know what she'll do if she finds you here."
"My family and I can help protect you." Jasper said.
"I know you can. But Laura can hypnotize humans and vampires, not at once, but she can. And if she finds out your my mate, who knows what she'll make you or me do to each other." Marianne cupped her hands to his face.
"But I can't just sit here and watch you get tracked down by a blood thirsty monster." Jasper sneered.
"And I can't let you get hurt by someone who is my problem. My family and I have been running from her for a year. A year too long. It's time I finally get my life back." Marianne said softly.
"I suppose your right, but it wouldn't hurt to have extra protection, would it? How about in the morning, I take you to school and bring you home everyday. On Saturday, you can meet my family, formally, and tell them about what's happening. We will keep you safe, Marianne." Jasper pleaded.
Marianne thought about it for a second then nodded. "Fine. I suppose we do need extra protection. My mom and aunt are taking shifts during the night to watch me and my dad is on his way here. My mom is occasionally going to drive by the high school while I'm there to make sure she doesn't smell Laura."
Jasper nodded, a smile growing on his face that he got her to agree.
"But you still need to go." Marianne said, pushing him toward the balcony doors.
"I'll see you in the mornin'?" Jasper asked, knowing full well that his accent made her weak.
"Yep." Marianne popped the 'p' and gave him a small peck on the lips.
"Goodnight darlin'."
"'Night Jasper."
Hello everyone,
Jasper finally knows about everything! If you didn't notice, I stopped calling Marianne 'AJ' somewhere towards the end, so that us what she will be referred to as from now on. I hope I didn't confuse anyone!
Xoxo,
Rock0bye