Enjoy 3

"Why should I trust you two? You're monsters," Charlie Swan growled as he held the gun chest level. Bullets would do nothing to Jasper and the vampire was fairly sure Swan knew this, especially after the fiasco that happened on Friday. But as for Erik Hansen…

The telepath laughed. "Well," he began, "You have to admit we're dashingly handsome compared to your average serial killer."

"You think this is a joke," Swan asked, his voice almost reaching a high pitch. Jasper reached out to him, caressing the man's mind, manipulating him to feel calm, in control.

"I think if we really wanted to kill you old man, you'd already be fucking dead. Just saying," Erik replied coolly, a smile on his face.

"You do know that bullet will kill you yes?" Jasper added and the telepath huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I live on the wild side," he said with a shrug.

Jasper could feel Swan's emotions struggling against his control; the sheriff had no idea what was happening to him; only that it was not natural. "Where is my daughter?" the man growled through clenched teeth. Jasper could see the service pistol shaking with the effort the man was taking not to pull the trigger: feeling calm and comforted after all, would make it hard for him to kill Erik.

"Looking for her friend, Angela Webber," Jasper said and he could feel the sudden tinge of fear spike through the faux emotions.

"We come in peace sir," Erik purred. "I promise. In fact, I am here to offer you assistance."

"And why should I believe you?"

Erik smiled the action seemingly innocent. He took a step and leaned forward until his chest was pressing into the barrel of the gun. It was a suicidal move yet symbolic: he was placing his life in Charlie Swan's hands. "Because," the blonde telepath whispered, "I want to die free. And you want to live."

A silence fell over the three of them when Jasper smelled it: the first tinge of iron, of blood. Instantly Jasper could feel himself wanting to salivate and he had to gulp down the urge to go running out room towards the delicious scent. And then horror of it hit him: whoever was bleeding was coming closer. Jasper took a step back from the barricaded front doors, not caring if Swan now had a gun pointed at him (after all, what harm could it do), hand covering his mouth. "Stop," Charlie ordered as Jasper half hobbled, half stumbled away from the front. "I said stop!"

He could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket even as he stumbled towards the back of the store. Jasper paused in mid-step as he felt a bullet skim past his cheek: to any normal human they would have felt the sting of the bullet, maybe even flinched. Jasper felt the bullet drag across his skin, caressing it before it buried itself in the wall across from him. He turned around slowly, allowing Swan to be engulfed in fear. "Think twice before you fire that weapon Chief," the vampire purred, "for I could kill you before you ever fire off another shot again."

He could see the man's eyes widen just as he smelled Bella's scent and heard a hesitant rapping. Jasper needed to get out of the room before he let his predator instincts go wild. Jasper had the fullest respect that the blonde telepath would hold his own in a battle with Jasper; he was a member of the Black Paradigm after all. But Charlie Swan? Mike Newton and Bella? Not even this strange, new found affection for Bella could save her from death, if Jasper allowed himself to let go. He made it as far as he could to a store room before the scent of blood hit him in full force and Jasper slammed the door shut.

"Where did he g-" Bella's voice was soft to his ears.

"Your boyfriend's a bit busy at the moment. Having a panic attack and all," Erik replied smoothly and Jasper rolled his eyes, even as his back sank against the closed door behind him. He wrinkled his nose against the awful scorching of the chemicals he was stuck with and smiled at the comedy of it. Just days ago, Bella had been in a closet. Now it was him.

"He's not my boyfriend," Bella began.

"Whore?" Erik offered.

I'm going to kill him, Jasper thought as he reached into his pocket. His phone had stopped vibrating, but he would need something, anything to keep his mind off of whoever was bleeding or covered in blood. One missed call blinked merrily at him and he opened his phone with a flick of his wrist. Alice's number. Jasper pressed call and raised the phone to his ear, waiting. The phone rang only once before he heard her voice: a tight whisper. His wife was angry. No, anger didn't even begin to cover it. Jasper could tell she was infuriated and they weren't even in the same building. "You called?" Jasper asked, holding the phone just slightly away from his ear in case she decided to temporarily blow out an ear drum.

"I did. I'm sending you a warning Jazz. Get out of town before everything gets worse."

Jasper sat up a bit straighter. "What did you see?" part of him was curious as to what would cause her to call him, especially considering how the two of them had left.

"If we stay in Forks we're all going to die," came the hushed reply. "I'm leaving in a couple days. I'm giving you one more chance Jazz. Either you can come with me right now or I'll let you be with the home wrecker. But remember that I won't come back for you. I can't."

Jasper nodded. He understood. Forks was in the process of being turned into a battlefield. Only a fool would come back. "Alice," he began, unsure of how to even say what he was thinking. "You're closer to these humans then I was. Then I ever was. Would you really abandon them?"

"Would you abandon me?"

Her voice had taken on a little girl quality to it; a knife twisting in his chest. Jasper wanted to assure her, he wanted to say no. But in the end, hadn't he just done that? Jasper leaned his head back, resting it against the door. "Alice…I'm sorry."

He could almost imagine her with a strained smile, clutching the phone to her ear. "I know," Alice murmured. "Bye."

The two vampires hung up the phone, each with their own thoughts and feelings. Their relationship had lasted for decades. Jasper couldn't just let her walk out of his life like this. He had to do something. Yet even as he thought that, he could hear the urgent whispers of the other humans in the store, someone's muffled crying, the stench of delicious blood being washed away. This was a taste of war. War was what Jasper had been turned for. War was the only thing Jasper knew with absolute certainty.

This is where I belong.

The thought was true even as Jasper slid the phone into his pocket, his mind thinking of his options. He would have to see Alice in the next two days. He would have to say goodbye. A proper goodbye.