Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
EPILOGUE:
AN OCCASION
Jasper effortlessly laid me in the passenger's seat, mindful of the back of my dress as he sat me properly. Yep, that's right. We were going to prom. Not that I minded since this would be Jasper's graduation prom, but no way he was going to miss out on my graduation prom next year so two Forks proms it will be.
For this prom I picked a gothic dress with a black corset and high-low layered skirt and flat knee high Roman gladiator sandals (which were the safest choice to wear that could also go over my damn walking cast). For accessories I had a black dahlia choker, a bleeding heart necklace and matching earrings, a black corset cuff on my right wrist and a black lace glove on my left arm, with mismatch ear wraps on both ears as well.*
Jasper himself was looking gorgeous in his own black tux and red filigree pattern vest to better match my red accessories and make-up (Rosalie's work, along with my perfectly done, curled hairdo. She'd only just let me go after doing 'finishing touches' for the third time.)
"You're thinking hard over there," Jasper commented as he slid into the driver's seat.
"Just reminiscing," I smiled.
"On?"
"How much fun I have getting ready for occasions like this. The shopping, the dressing up, and then dancing at the event itself. I never really enjoyed the last too much because I never had feelings for my dates." One of his hands slid into mine as he drove.
"Until now."
"Until now," I agreed, returning his heated glance.
"Maybe now that you've got the right partner, you can finally enjoy the event more than ya do gettin' ready for it," he mused. I only scoffed.
"There's only so much enthusiasm I can muster for school dances, especially a small town one like this."
"Maybe you'll be more happy about the dinner I got planned for us after the prom," Jasper commented, idly, casually, as if he didn't just surprise me.
"You didn't." It took all I had not to trigger my gift with my excitement and ruin the surprise, my hands curling to fists in the effort. "You're evil," I groaned. Jasper only laughed.
"I'll be sure to sufficiently distract you through the night until then," he promised. And with the heated glance he shot me from head to toe and back, I believed him. Reluctantly, he turned his gaze from me to his phone when it vibrated once. I saw his expression tighten and heard something between a thoughtful hum and annoyed growl escape his mouth.
"What's up?" I would have looked myself, but this was the one night I allowed myself to be willfully 'blind', so to speak, of the future because I wanted to experience the first dance I had with Jasper first hand, but if something horrible happened, my gift would show me whether I wanted to or not (as I would hope it would.)
"Seems like Crowley and I are gonna need ta have another little talk," his lip curled slightly over his perfect teeth. "Masen just informed me that Crowley went to your house to pick your sister up for prom."
I blinked, having forgotten that happened in the books. "Well, shit." It's not like I felt bad the guy was gonna get an impending threat from Jasper. He obviously deserved it since the guy apparently tried to peer pressure my sister into going to prom with him. He obviously needed a vampire-delivered lecture on consent. Given what I remembered of Bella's reaction to finding out just where Masen was taking her, he could use a similar lecture.
Just because Bella folds like wet paper to him batting his eyes at her, doesn't mean that what he did in the first place was okay. Honestly.
"You think Esme took enough pictures for you and your dad?" Jasper questioned, smirking at the memory and obviously trying to distract me from the snit I was working myself into with my thoughts. It obviously worked when I remembered the second thing that almost made us late (besides Rosalie's perfectionism.) Esme had taken picture after picture of us in different places around the house, intent on sending copies to my dad to mark the occasion. Bella, of course, used the opportunity to escape with Edward, but Esme still managed to snag a few of the two before they left.
"He'll be ecstatic to add to the pictures on the mantle." I smiled genuinely at the thought. Proof of important memories were very precious to Dad in regards to his children, especially when one of them is so fotografizophobic that the only pictures he has of her are school yearbook photos and the handful that Renée occasionally chose to send. I, however, was the subject of many of the pictures scattered throughout the house, sometimes alone, but more often doing something with Dad like fishing or hiking or camping.
There were even some very recent photos of me in the hospital with my dad sleeping by my bed(courtesy of Jasper), having flown over to Seattle as soon as he heard and rarely leaving my side. The day I woke up was actually the day Carlisle had finally convinced my dad to go to the hotel room they rented and get cleaned up. He was already on his way back when he got the news I woke up and he was there when I woke up again later the next day.
"Are ya ready?" Jasper asked, breaking me out of my musings as I realized we had arrived. I smiled at him and slid my hands up his arms to his shoulders as his own hands firmly held my waist and gracefully lifted me to my feet as if I weighed no more than a feather.
"I remember last year's winter formal in my old school being held in the gym, the only time since I started going to that school," I mused aloud as Jasper led us inside, approaching the ticket table.
"Aren't dances in bigger schools like that held in hotel ballrooms or night clubs?"
"They are, it's just that the dance committee dropped the ball on the planning and didn't do a good job fundraising or renting anywhere out in a timely manner. Instead they went for low budget but creative retro theme to give an excuse for why they were having the dance in the gym."
Rosalie had scoffed, Emmett snickering as we approached, close enough now for me to hear their reactions to my story. Rosalie was, of course, looking like a goddess in a strapless, backless satin red mermaid dress, Emmett matching her in his dapper black tux and red tie.
"Looks like black and red are the Cullens' theme this year," Emmett laughed. And it was true, unintentional as it may have been. On my part, at least. Once Rosalie discovered I'd be using red accessories with my black dress and Jasper wearing a red vest to match after she'd already gotten her own scarlet red dress, Rosalie bought a maroon ruffled chiffon dress for Bella and tossed a matching red bow at Edward so the whole family would match.
I had, at first, wondered at Rosalie's generosity, having helped me dress Bella and put make up on her, but I realized she enjoyed helping Edward force her into an event that Bella obviously loathed without her even realizing where we were going. Nothing out of character about Rosalie enjoying Bella's suffering, after all.
"No one has started dancing yet?" I questioned, one brow raising when I looked around to see the other students milling around and not so discreetly gaping and gawking at us. Rosalie sniffed and flipped back some of her immaculate curls.
"They've been too busy drooling over us to even start. No chance of them dancing now that you two have also showed up."
"For sure!" Emmett laughed. "You definitely fit right in, li'l sis. I doubt you'd look much different if you were a vampire," he grinned.
"Sorry, big bear, I only blush at compliments like that if they come from my Jasper," I smirked, only to flush when Jasper took my hand and gave a gentlemanly bow, kissing my knuckles like the southern gentleman he was.
"May I have this dance, my lady love?" He asked, eyes smoldering as he glanced up through his gorgeous blond lashes.
"It'd be my pleasure," I replied lovingly, giving a perfect little curtsy and following him to the center of the empty dance floor.
"Come on babe! We can't let them show us up in the disgustingly romantic department!" I heard Emmett behind us. "That's always been our thing!" Rosalie scoffed even as both Emmett and Jasper lifted one hand and placed another on our waist, waiting for the next song to start.
"Only because we were the only Cullen couple at school before they got together," she retorted, but no more was said when the next song started and Jasper and Emmett led Rosalie and I in a flawless, synchronized waltz.
After having gone so long without dancing - the last time being before we moved to Forks - I'd forgotten how exhilarated and bubbly it made me feel, how much I loved to dance, and now that I had my love as my partner, there was also this amazing innocent ecstasy, a sense of euphoria at dancing so gracefully with my other half. Every step and twirl and arch was a more physical declaration of our love to each other than even sex was and maybe I was romanticizing it, but if it made me feel this elated all the time, then I had nothing to complain about.
"If dancing with me makes you feel this amazing," his expression was full of wonder and adoration as he lifted and twirled me, "we're gonna be doin' it much more often after your leg's completely healed."
I could only laugh breathlessly as he put me on my feet again, feeling like I was floating with the way Jasper barely let my feet touch the floor through the dance.
On one of the twirls halfway in the third song (which in no way matched the beautiful waltz we were doing), I not only noticed that Masen and Bella had arrived and joined us on the dance floor, but that Jacob had arrived as well.
"Ignore it," Jasper said immediately, easily leading us the farthest away from both parties. "Let the magnet and her boy deal with it." A startled laugh escaped me at his new names for my sister and his brother.
"You call my sister 'the magnet' in your head," I giggled disbelievingly. "That must drive Masen up the wall!" I laughed aloud as he smirked at my statement, telling me I was absolutely right. Despite his words, though, my eyes were drawn to where Jacob and Bella had started awkwardly dancing.
"Darlin'," my eyes found their way back to Jasper's. "Ignore them, it's just you and me right now." He pulled me just a bit closer, hands firm, gaze intense, and I willingly lost myself in him.
"You and me," I smiled, stealing a kiss when he dipped me.
AN: First epilogue complete! And fairly short since I chose to cut out the Jacob drama. I had originally intended for Jacob to have danced with Maddy instead, but realized as I was writing that Jasper's patience for allowing Maddy to meddle in Bella's problems has fairly run dryer than the Sahara at this point. No way he would let Maddy near anything that could ruin their night and he's obviously of the opinion that the Shakespeare couple should deal with their own problems, lol.
So someone asked who Mason was, Mason -actually Masen since I realized I misspelled it- is Edward's original last name from when he was human like McCarthy is Emmett's, Hale is Rosalie's, and Whitlock is Jasper's. I hardly care enough about he misspelling to go back to fix it in previous chapters, though, so sorry if it bothers you.
For those concerned, don't worry. I'll be posting a notice on this story when I post the first chapter of New Moon. I might even add a bit of short fluffs to the notice chapter as cute extras to make the notice not seem so short and empty. It wouldn't feel right for me to post a chapter that's only, like, three sentences long at max. I'd also encourage a bit of Q&A, ask any questions you may have had on the first book, regarding anything, that I haven't answered or your curious about. I'm keeping any questions regarding the next book unanswered on purpose because I want it to be a surprise! But I will say that I have a general plot and outline done for the rest of the books and the plot for New Moon will see its first major deviation from canon (more or less), so look forward to it!
* note should already be posted on madsper dot tumblr already if you want to see it.
Anyway! As always, thanks for the reads and reviews are greatly appreciated! Til next time! ,(^o^)/
