hello people. okay, if you havent noticed; i have moved from every other day to once a week because it's taking me a little longer to write and reread now that i am at school. so...yeah...
sorry for grammer mistakes or whatever.
nothing else to say, so please enjoy.
Chapter XXVI
(Epov)
I was so ready to come home. The trip was supposed to be the last and the best. But it turned out to just fucking irritate me.
After I saw how close Jasper and Bella were at dinner, that's when the irritation took off. I made a big deal about how Bella wasn't hanging out with me, but then when she actually tried, I kept blowing off and telling her I had something else to do. I admit, I was ignoring her; not just her, Jasper too. Couldn't anyone really blame me? I was pissed. I was pissed neither of one were listening, pissed they were getting so close, pissed that I wanted someone I couldn't have, and pissed that I had to try so fucking hard to try and get something I wanted. I never had to try this hard in my life for something. I wasn't use to the challenge and for whatever reason; I couldn't stay the fuck away from it. And that pissed me off more.
I wish I could turn it off, but I couldn't.
I was fine and had calmed down when we landed and I was in my own bed in my own room that I didn't have to share with two other guys. I was doing alright. I had almost forgotten how annoyed and pissed I was at the whole thing between Jasper and Bella. But as soon as I started relaxing, Wednesday came and Alice and I had to go back to school for the second semester.
The weird thing was that it wasn't even the school part that made me mad all over again. The first week was just fine. It was when week two came and practice for the team started again. That's when my coolness was lost.
We set up for the play again. We've been running the same damn play since practice started. The ball got toss to me. I throw it. Jasper was supposes to catch it, but just like the other times he reached for it and missed it. And that's why we had to keep running the play, because of screw ups like that.
I groaned as I yanked my helmet off. "Damn it, Jasper; can you open your eyes?" I yelled at him. He gave a stances that said he was he annoyed. I walked over to him. He took off his helmet when I got close to him. I was right. He was annoyed. What the hell did he have to be annoyed for? He was the one screwing up the damn play. "Are you blind or just dumb? Your position is my receiver. Meaning…" I walked over to the ball. I picked it up before walking back over to him. "You need to catch the fucking ball." I snapped, shaking the ball for emphases.
He gave a hard sighed. "I can catch the fucking ball when your throws are so damn wild." He snapped back.
"Well try harder to get to it." I demanded, stressing every word so I can make sure he understood because apparently, understanding was something too hard for him to do today.
"Don't get pissed at me because you're not good enough to control yourself." He said before turning and walking away from me.
"What?" I snapped. That wouldn't have made me angrier before. I would have shut him up by just throwing perfectly. But I couldn't let it go. And I knew why. It was because I heard a double meaning behind it. I walked after him. I grabbed his shoulder and turned him to me. When I did, he was close to me. Our faces weren't any more than a foot apart. It was close enough for one of us to throw a punch at the other if we wanted to. The way I was feeling, that probably wouldn't be such a bad thing. "I am perfectly capable of controlling myself. My throws are excellent. It's the rest of my fucking offensive line that is sucking today. Especially, my goddam receiver." I yelled at him.
He sighed hard before turning his face away from mine. "You need to get out my face." He warned.
Was that a threat? I don't know who he thought he was, but he wasn't going to threaten me like that. Especially not in front of the rest of the team. "And if I don't?" I replied. "If you feel tough, make a move." I challenged, as I gave him a push in the shoulder. He took a step back.
He looked at me with eyes that had a mixture of frustration, anger, and annoyance all at once. "I don't know if you forgot, but I'm not one of these damn underclassmen you think you can push around. So I repeat." He stopped and pushed me away and created a bigger space between us. "You need to get out of my face." He repeated.
Did he just push me? Okay, he wanted to challenge me; challenged accepted.
I threw my helmet and the ball to the ground. I walk towards him, ready to give him that punch in the fucking face I was longing for. Maybe I'll feel better when I do. I got stopped by Emmett. "Whoa you two." He said as he had me back. "You both need to chill." He said before pushing me back. He looked at me. "Look, Edward, we're been running this plan all afternoon. We're all hot and tired. Maybe we need a small break."
Normally I would agree. I mean, it seems like the more we run and the more it got mess up. And for some reason, the more I got pissed about it. And what was worst, it wasn't always Jasper fault, but he always got the feedback. Again, I knew why. It was the same reason I got so mad because of his comment about not controlling myself. "Screw that." I snapped pushing Emmett away me. "We're going to keep running this damn play until we get it right." I said, aiming it at Jasper.
Emmett sighed. "Coach." He said looking towards the off field. "Can you please talk to your captain?" he said.
We all look at him for his answer. He shrugged. "We do need to get this right for the playoffs." He answered.
I turned back to the players. "Right. Now all of you; get back in fucking position." I snapped before going to back to pick up the ball and my helmet from the ground. The team followed my instructions and set up so we could run the play again.
We set up like the last few times. The ball was thrown to me. I threw to Jasper again. This time, the shot was too long. Jasper gave up because he knew it was going out of bounce.
Again, I groaned and yanked off my helmet. "Damn it, Jasper!" I yelled again. I walked over to him. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I snapped when I got to him.
He took his helmet of and looked at me. "Look, I don't have elastic in my fucking arms. Maybe if you actually threw it at me, I could catch it." he snapped back.
That was the second time he talked about my throw. Okay, I'll admit. Maybe that one might have been a tad on the long side. But still… I was the damn captain. If I wanted to throw the damn ball a fucking mile, he needs to put a damn rocket on his shoes and get to it. Maybe he just needed a reminder. "Fine, take ten." I said.
"Finally." He sighed.
I stopped him when I saw he was walking to the bench. "I didn't mean ten minutes. I meant ten laps around the field." I told him.
He turned to me. "What?" He replied.
"Maybe you just need to get some air to your head to grasp the concept of catching. Ten laps will help." I told him.
He looked at me like I just grew an extra head. "You have fucking lost your mind." He said like he just realized something important. "I'm not running ten damn laps around the football field because you're on a fucking power trip." He replied to me.
'Then I'll just bench for the game." I threaten. I was shocked at myself. I was never the one to say something like that to someone, especially not one of my main players. He was right; I was on a power trip. I was mad about him and Bella and I was taken it out on him and the rest of the team. It wasn't their fault. Well, it was Jasper's. But I still should be bring my personal problems to practice. I would make anyone who did that sit out for practice because it could get dangerous when things get too personal. But I couldn't stop.
But at least, when I snap here, someone would listen to me. Well, that's what I thought until Jasper started walking away from me.
"Then bench me you egotistical, power-crazed jackass." He snapped before walking to the bench where our bags were. He snatched his before walking towards the locker rooms.
"Hale; where are you going?" coach called after him.
Jasper turned to us. "I'm doing what the hell we all should have done forty-five minutes ago. I'm going home." he said before turning and walking away from the field.
Coach sighed hard. "Good job, Captain Cullen." He said to me.
"Yeah, Edward now we have to take a break."
"No!" I yelled. I wasn't going to let this go that easily. "When I said we were running this damn play until we get it right, that what the hell I meant. Now get back in position." I snapped.
"We can't without a receiver." One of the players said.
He was right. I couldn't throw to the air. Then again, maybe the air would be able to catch it better than Jasper today. Nevertheless, I needed someone to throw the ball to if we were going to get this right.
I looked to the benches. "Laurent!" I called to one of the back-up players. He was the backup for Jasper like James was the backup for me. They had to be here to look at the plays for times like this. He looked at me. "Get in." I demanded. He jumped up and ran to the field. Finally, someone was listening to me. I turned to everyone else. "Anyone else has a problem?" I asked. Everyone sighed before shaking their head. "Good. Now back in fucking position." I ordered before going to grab my helmet.
XXX
After we ran the play incorrectly three more times, I realized it wasn't Jasper's fault. He was right. Every time I threw the ball, it goes too far or moves in the air like a drunk driver moves on the road. I was having a hard time controlling my throws. It wasn't getting better so I decided to end practice for the day.
When I was leaving the locker room to go to my car, coach stopped me. He said he didn't have a problem with me running the team into the ground at practice. Our play-off game, the last one before the championship game, was on Saturday and he said we needed to be perfect so he would have probably done the same thing.
But he did have a problem with how I talked to them. He reminded me that it wasn't the "Edward Show" and I needed them just as much as they needed me. Because of that, we couldn't afford the team being pissed at me days before our major game. I needed to be a captain not a dictator. I knew what he was saying. I needed to easy up and control my feelings. More importantly, I need to apologize to the team, especially Jasper.
I would have done it the next day, but it a little hard. Considering Jasper didn't talk to me at all the next day.
In the three periods we had together, he didn't say anything. Even at lunch, he acted like I wasn't there. I know he couldn't have still been mad because I went off like I did at practice. He must have just been giving me space. That's what I wanted to believe. He could not have been that pissed at me for that.
I decided to let him feel that way and be all upset with me for the day. It wouldn't hurt anyone or anything.
That's what I thought until Jasper didn't come to practice after school. When we had to use Laurent again for the plays, coach reminded me of what he said and what I needed to do to get on everyone's good side. I already said my sorries to the team, but we needed a full and perfect team.
When I saw him at his locker, I was going to tell him we needed him. I got stopped. And it wasn't just because of my pride. "Edward." I heard someone call me. I looked to see Tanya walking towards me. She walked over to me and kissed me on the cheek. Right, she was my girlfriend. Because what's going on between me, Bella and Jasper, I kind of forget I was still dating Tanya until it was beneficial for me to remember. "I've been looking for you." She said.
"So you're talking to me again?" I asked. Jasper wasn't the one giving me the silence treatment. I was getting from Tanya too because of what happened before break.
She rolled her eyes. "Please, I'm so over that. I haven't been talking to you because I was planning something and I didn't want the chance of it being ruined." She explained.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked. What was this girl going on about now?
She gave one of her famous evil smile. "Look for yourself." She said, nodding towards something. That wasn't a damn answer. I was going tell her it wasn't and I wanted a real one until she sighed. "Just look Edward." She demanded before turning my head back toward Jasper's locker.
When she did, I still didn't understand what I was looking at. That was until I saw someone walking towards him.
It was a girl. The girl with long jet black hair and the skin with an olive tint. She was wearing one of her outfits she was known for. Today, she had on a short sleeve button-up shirt with only one or two button done with all the other ones undone. The one or two buttons were in the middle so her stomach and all kinds of cleavage was exposed. She had on a skirt so short; it might as well have been a belt. It wasn't a surprise she was dressed like that. She always does. What was surprise was how she didn't get sent home like every other day.
She was Maria Normad. She was easiest one of, if not the hottest and popular girls in the whole school. She wasn't a cheerleader, but the only girl that everyone knew. Or should I say, every guy knew?
She wasn't popular like Tanya was or like I was, she was popular for something totally different. Let's just say, Tanya had her few share of guys before me, but her little flings were nothing compared to Maria.
When Bella was telling me her mother's story, I think Maria would have been a better comparison. She had a tongue ring and a tattoo on her lower back. She wasn't afraid of showing off the tattoo and knew how to use the tongue ring; from what I heard. Her specialty was "riding the untrained horses", if that made sense. I even heard some of the freshman call her the "Man-Maker". I almost hate to say that she was the one I…"practice with" before getting with Tanya. And the reason why I wasn't like Emmett or Jasper and I've done it with two people instead of just one.
I hate to think of that because with all that shit aside, her being hot and her being the thing any and every guy has gotten. Aside from it all and more, she was also Jasper's ex-girlfriend.
He had a few very short term girlfriends that lasted no longer than a week or so. Maria was the only girl he cared about. They started dating the summer between freshman and sophomore year and a few months in the beginning of sophomore year. He said he never loved her, but he did care for her a lot. He said she had him so tightly wrapped around her finger, he would have done anything for her. She was even supposes to come with us on the trip, that was until he found out about the kind of company she gave other guys. When he asked her about it and she didn't deny it, he broke up with her after Thanksgiving break and before he even got her kind of "company". And that's why he only had sex once.
I would say that was good thing. Besides the fact that every guy probably had a turn at her or will soon; who wants to tap a girl your best friend already did. Though I never told him I did, but it still would have been weird.
The question is, however, why was she talking to him now. They haven't really spoken since then, so why now.
I saw Maria tap Jasper's shoulder. When she did, Jasper turned to her. I saw his face changed all the way from where I was standing. She smiled. I wondered what he was thinking. I saw her flirting and touching his arm. Why did Tanya want me to see this?
"What's going on?" I asked her.
"Maris misses Jasper." She said. I looked at her for the truth, know that wasn't it. She chuckled. "Okay, that might not be entirely true." she said. No shit, tell me something I didn't know already. "I asked her to act like it to help me with something." she said. I gave a look. If she was going to start that damn thing Alice did, I was going to walk away from her. She gave a smile. "I hear, our new friend 'Bella' has a little thing for our Jasper."
I should have known this had something to do with Bella. I honestly forgot about Tanya's thing with Bella. I guess it was too much for Tanya to do so also. But…"What does that have to do with Maria?" I asked.
Tanya chuckled. "Well, when I brought it up to Maria, she agreed with me that 'Bella' is still lame Isabella and there was no way she would let him date her. So she agreed to help me. She's talking to him and going to use her charm on him and I'm going to tell people her and Jasper are dating again." Tanya answered.
I looked back at Jasper and Maria. When I did, I saw Jasper moving her hand off his arm. He gave a shrug with a slight head shake. It didn't look like they were any closer to being back together to me. I turned back to my girlfriend. "You really think that will happen?" I asked her.
She turned to the two across from us. She turned back to me and shrugged. "It doesn't matter." She said.
"But..."
She sighed hard. "Damn it Edward, don't you get it? I'm going to lie. It's called a rumor. All I have to do is say I saw them together and everyone else will do the work for me." She said.
When she said that, I finally got what she was saying. I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out. She was going to say she saw Jasper with Maria. And because everyone know their history or know who she was, they will think one thing or the other. Then when it got to Bella, she would think the same thing or know she couldn't compare to Maria and think Jasper would stop talking to her, therefore stop talking to him and maybe even go back to old Isabella.
"That will hurt her." I mumbled.
Tanya shrugged. "I'm really just hoping for embarrass her and remind her she has no shot with someone like Jasper, but her feeling being hurt might be a nice topping." She said.
I looked at her. That was wrong. I thought what Tanya did before was cruel, but this was off the charts. I mean I didn't want them together just as much as Tanya, but I want Bella to get her from it. It would be a very shallow and empty victory, that is if she trusts me, Alice or Rosalie enough to talk to any of us ever again. Okay, I will be honest, I didn't give a damn about not talking to Alice or Rosalie, but I did care is she didn't talk to me.
I was going to tell Tanya the same thing I told her at the party. I never got the chance because something else caught her attention. "And there's my first little helper." She said. "Jessica!" she called. Jessica turned to the voice. Tanya smiled. "I want to talk to you." She said to her before looking at me. "See ya, baby." She said before kissing my cheek and going over to Jessica, I'm sure she was telling her all about what she just saw.
I turned back to Jasper's locker. Maria was still there. She gave him a piece of paper. I saw him sigh before nodding. She smiled before reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. Before she pulled away, I saw her lips move as she said something that she made sure no one else heard. I didn't know what she said, but whatever it was, it froze Jasper. She said bye before walking away from him. He looked at the paper before stuffing it in his back pocket.
It was a mean thing to do, but maybe Tanya's plan wasn't so silly. Maybe Maria still had her hooks in Jasper; they were just buried so deep he didn't know until now. I should go over there and see. That way if he was thinking about going back there, I could tell Bella before she heard the rumors. She would thank me, and hell, I might even be considered her good guy. It would totally make her attention be on me. And if she sees someone beside Jasper is willing to give her that kind of attention, she will not even think about changing back.
I think it might be time to talk to Jasper.
I walked over to him as he was looking for something in his locker. "Hey dude." I said as I leaned next to him.
"Came over to yell at me some more." He mumbled, not meeting my eyes.
I gave a smile. "Sorry about practice. I was stressing over something and taking out on the team. I told everyone else and you would have heard this before now if you came to practice." I told him.
"No point if I'm being benched for a game I worked just as hard for, right?" he said bitterly.
I rolled my eyes. He was making this harder. "Shut up. You know you're not being benched. Coach won't allow it. The team needs you." I gave a cough because what I was about to say next was going to be hard. "I need you. I can't win without you." I told him before coughing again. I felt like that choked me for a moment. I don't like telling people I need them. He looked at me. "I'm sorry." I said again.
He chuckled. I gave a confused look. "Who the hell are you? You look like my best friend Edward Cullen, because he would never say something like that." he joked.
I rolled my eyes again, this time he saw it. He was feeling better. "Shut the hell up." I snapped.
He laughed. "Don't be that way, I thought you were sorry." He concluded.
"You know, we don't need you that bad." I said.
He rolled his eyes. "Get your head out your ass, bro." he said, closing his locker door. He turned to me. "And stop with all the damn 'I'm sorry's and 'I need you's. You make it sound like we're dating. Just stop treating me like your damn sidekick and we'll be fine." He said.
"Deal." I told him.
"And I didn't come to practice yesterday because my dad was in the hospital. He was painting a wall or something and fell and broke his arm. He's fine, but my mom wanted me and Rosalie there, just in case." He explained.
I nodded. "Well, tell your dad I said I'm glad he's okay." I said.
Jasper chuckled. "Yeah; sure thing." He said before he started walking away.
Now that was out the way, it was time for the real reason I walked over him. I caught up to him. "So, I saw you talking to Maria just now." I said, trying to be causal. He shrugged. "So what was that about?" I asked.
He sighed. "I don't know. She came over to me and started saying how she missed me and that two years were long enough for us to be apart. She said she wanted to hang out Sunday." He answered.
"Sunday?" I asked.
He nodded. "She knows we have a game Saturday." He answered.
"She sounds like she's miss you. Maybe you should hang out with her? You know what being alone will mean." I hinted, nudging him.
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that she has a space in her busy schedule of going down and hooking up to finally make time for me." he said in his same bitter tone as before.
"You don't think she wants you back?" I asked.
He sighed hard. "She's blowing nothing but smoke. She's just saying that stuff because she's bored." He said.
"So that means you won't be back with her." I concluded.
"Please dude." He stopped and turned to me. "You know what she did to me. I know she had me tightly, and it took a lot for me to break from her. When I did, I told myself I won't be going back. I can't let her do that to me again." So much for the plan, Tanya. I should have known it wouldn't have worked.
But then I remember what she said, about she was going to tell everyone everything anyways. Maybe I'll just help so she doesn't look like a liar. I was being helpful again. "Well, maybe she's changed. I mean you took her number for a reason, right?" I said.
He chuckled and shook his head. "I highly doubt that. I took it to be nice. No matter how much I try to hate her, I can't be rude. It's just not in me" He answered.
"Right." I sighed. Damn, was this guy human? Who could not be mean to an ex who hurt him as back as she did?
"Anyways, I'm hanging out with Bella." He added.
"But you two aren't even dating." I reminded him.
He shrugged. "I know, but we're still hanging out; I told you, we're having fun. And besides, I've never been the whole 'consider options' type. I like to focus on one girl at a time; give them as much attention as I can." He answered. He looked at his watch. "I have to go. We're doing some readings in class today and if I'm the last one there, I have to start. See ya in History." He said before leaving.
After fourth period, the school was buzzing. There were whispers and mumbles all over the place. I think I knew the reason why, but I was in denial that Tanya was that powerful and worked that quickly. I mean, she just started it two periods ago. The girl was good, I'll give her that. Now if only she could use that power for good things and instead of evil like she was doing today.
"That's weird." I heard Jasper mumbled. I looked up and saw him walking towards me while he looked at his phone.
"What is?" I asked as I flipped through a notebook to make to make sure it was the one I needed for my last class before lunch.
"I texted Bella when started to see if she wanted to eat off campus today, and she hasn't text me back." he said.
"Maybe she didn't get it." I answered.
"I thought so too; so I texted Emmett and he replied back. So it's not my phone. Maybe it's hers?" he said. I shrugged in response. I didn't know why she wasn't texting him back. Maybe she had it off or something. Or maybe she did hear something. He leaned against a locker next to me.
"Hey Jasper, I hear the football won't be the only thing you'll catching this weekend." A girl said to him as she walked passed with her friend.
"Huh?" he replied.
Her friend giggled. "But I bet the ball would be cleaner." She added. The two girls giggled as they walked away. Now there was no denying it. Tanya did work that fast and her rumor did spread that quick. Damn, does any news get spread that fast, or just bullshit rumors.
"What the hell was that?" I asked him to see if he knew what the comments were about and was going on.
"I have no idea; crap like that has been happening all day. There have been random guys coming up and high fiving me. And girls have been saying stuff like that." he answered. He looked at me. "Do you know?" he asked. I shook my head.
"Maybe people heard about your thing with Bella over break." I suggested. I knew that wasn't the answer, but I was thinking if he thought Bella did this, he would stop talking to her. I know I was reaching a little bit, but I didn't know what else to do or say.
Jasper shook his head. "No. your sister wouldn't wait two weeks to spread that." he answered. He was right. If Alice did spread this, it would have been all over the school the first day back. "And all this just started today." He stopped and thought. "What was different about to day?" he thought to himself. I looked at him, waiting for him to get it. Then he got it. "Damn it." he groaned.
"What?" I asked; already knowing that he did.
"Maria. Someone must have seen her talking to me." he shook his head. "This isn't good." He mumbled.
"Why; you know you and her aren't doing anything. Why the hell does it matter what others think?" I asked.
"It doesn't. It matters what Bella think. What if she heard and believes it?" he said. Then that sucks for you. I didn't want to say it, but if she heard and was hurt, this might be good. She might need a shoulder of a "friend" and I can't help it if I just happen to be there. If she was hurt, I would make her feel better. I didn't say that or anything out loud as I shrugged. "I need to talk her."
I looked over his shoulder. And speak of the damn devil. There she was walking with her friend. I almost wanted to smile. There was no way he would be able to talk himself out of this.
I didn't because of what I saw. She had head down and holding it there as she tried to speed walk through the halls. "Here's your chance." I nodded behind him.
He looked. "Belle." He called to her. She didn't listen or show any sign that she heard him. She kept walking. She was about to walk pass us when he stepped in front of her. Because her head was down, she didn't see him and rammed right into him. He caught her on her arms to keep her from falling back. She looked up. When she did, she looked like she had water in her eyes. Like she just wiped her eyes to make room for more. Did it really hurt that much to hear the guy you like is hooking up with his ex-girlfriend? Liked, no. loved, yes. "Whoa, Speed Racer." He joked lightly. I bet he was trying to make her laugh. "Are you okay?" he asked.
She wiped under her eyes, careful not to mess up her make-up, and nodded. "I'm fine. It's just…kinda been a hard day." She replied.
"Jasper, maybe you should leave her alone." Rosalie said.
He looked at his sister then back at Bella. "Did you get my text?" he asked her, ignoring his sister. Bella nodded again. "So, what do you think? Maybe just you and I can have lunch somewhere and talk." He suggested.
She sighed. "I'm…I'm actually not eating lunch today. I need to study for something." she mumbled before looking away.
Jasper sighed in return. "Belle, I…" he started, but didn't get to finish.
"Who would you pick?" we all heard Eric.
We looked to see him walking pass with Mike. "Duh, Maria. At least you know what you're getting with her and not just some damn tease. He have to be crazy not to. I mean, it's like why would you want the new cat that doesn't even know how to use the litter box, when you have the pretty and experienced one you already had rubbing against your leg." Mike replied. Him and Eric laughed. Bella sighed hard and bowed her head more before wiping her eyes again. That's when I was realized, she was getting comments like that, just like Jasper.
I found myself getting mad and defensive. This time I had a reason. These losers were talking about her like she wasn't right there.
I was going to say something, but Rosalie beat me to the punch. She stepped in front for them. "Hey. I suggest you stop." She warned.
They looked at her then at Bella and Jasper. They both laughed. They turned back to Rosalie. "What are you going to do if we don't?" Mike said. Leave it to him to reply with something like that.
She gave a dark chuckle. "I will tell my boyfriend. You know my boyfriend, Emmett. His about six feet on a bad day and bigger than both of you soaking wet and combined. Bottom line, he does whatever I want. If I said I him to break your neck." She pointed at Mike. "While your head is up his ass." She said as she pointed to Eric. "Then…"she gave a shrug. "You know." She told them. "Get it?" she asked.
Their faces turned a pale white. It has to be great to have a friend who's dating one of the most scariest guys in school. "Got it." they both said in unison.
"Now beat it." she ordered. They nodded before walking around her. "And tell everyone that goes for them." she called after them before standing next to Bella.
"Thank you." She sighed.
"Any time." Rosalie said.
"Bella, I'm so-" Jasper started.
Bella stopped him by shaking her head. "Jasper, stop please." She shrugged his hands off her. She looked at him. "It's okay. I think…that... maybe…" she stopped and sighed hard. She looked away. "Maybe we shouldn't hang out for a while. I have to get to class." She said softly before walking away from him.
"Bella." He called after her.
"Just leave me alone for the rest of the day, please." She said not looking back.
Jasper looked at Rosalie. "You know I'm not hooking up with anyone, right?" he said. His sister shrugged. He groaned. "Come on, Rosa. You of all people know what Maria put me through. Why would I go back to that?" he asked, frustrated.
"I know. But I also know the hold she had on you." She replied.
"Which I cut off." he told her. "I need to tell Bella."
"Jasper. Seriously, just leave her alone for the day. You're not the only one getting harassed today. She's not as strong as you or me. Just give her some time." she told her brother before walking in the same the direction of Bella.
At practice, I thought Jasper would be distracted and not work as hard as he needed to. I hated to say I was right. I would have love to chew him out and rip him a new one, because now wasn't the time for him to let something distract him. I didn't because I knew it wouldn't help anything.
In fact, if it was me, I would have been the same way. I was the captain, so I could get away with it. But, still. I needed a strong team and this wasn't doing it. I just called off practice and told them we will pick up tomorrow morning and practice would have to be twice as long for the next two days.
When I was walking to my car, I saw Jasper looking at his phone as he walked to his. I walked over to him. I heard him sigh when I got next to him. "Let me guess, she still not answering?" I asked, knowing why he was so distracted. He shook his head as he put his phone in his pocket. "She'll get over it." I said.
"I don't know. She seemed really upset today. And it's not because of me. I think I could handle it if it was because of me. But it was because of everyone else. You heard the comment that jackass said to her. That's what I was trying to avoid." He said.
I couldn't take this. I knew I wanted her for me and I knew I could use this to work for me. But I couldn't. It wasn't because I thought I would feel sorry about what I was thinking about doing. I didn't. All's fair in love – well, interest – and war, right?
It was just I wanted Bella to stop hurting. I wanted tools and jackasses like Mike to stop harassing her. She didn't deserve it. And if that meant her and Jasper being better, I didn't want, but I guess will have to take it.
I sighed hard before I pulled my phone out and handed it out to him. "What are you doing?" he asked as he looked at my phone.
"She won't answer you if you call from your phone. So just call her from mine." I told him. He looked at my phone before looking at me again. He was hesitant. I wish he wouldn't. It would just give me time to change my damn mind.
I sighed hard as I unlocked it and dialed pressed on Bella's number. It rang and rang until she picked up.
"Hello?" she said in a question. I knew why because I wasn't the one call someone. I only texted. Calling someone seemed like too much time wasted for not enough pay off. I grabbed his hand before placing the phone it. "Just talk to the girl." I told him.
He took the phone and put it to his ear. "Hey, Belle. Don't hang up. Listen. I'm sorry about what happen. I'm not hooking up with my ex-girlfriend. I don't even know how that rumor got started…" he stopped. I guess she was talking. "I took her number to be nice. Be honest, I threw it away as soon as I got in my classroom…." He stopped again. "I know we're not dating, but I still like hanging out with you." He stopped. "It's not about me. I don't care what people think of me. I care what they think of you. I don't want people saying those things to you and if I have to go over the PA system tomorrow, I will. I just…" he stopped and sighed. "I don't want you to go through hell because of me. So if you think we should not be seen together for a while, then I guess it will just have to be okay with me." he stopped talking and started listening to her. I don't know what she was telling him, but he was nodding. Then he stopped and smiled. "Uh…okay. I'll talk to you later? Cool, bye." He said before he hung up.
"You guys sound like you fucking married." I said, annoyed as I snatched my phone back. I think I regret what I just did. If it wasn't for my damn conscience, I wouldn't have done it. Why the hell do I have to be fucking bothered with their crap so one of them wouldn't be hurt anymore. Right, because I have to fucking care about her.
He chuckled. "You sound jealous."
I rolled my eyes away from him. He would never know how much that was true. And have him rub it in my face that he has something we both wanted; please. I would be damned before I let that happen. "What the hell do I have to be jealous for?" I asked. I walked away from him.
He chuckled again as he followed me. "I don't know, you tell me." he joked.
Okay, he was starting to piss me off. Since he didn't have his feeling all hurt anymore… I stopped and turned to him. "Why don't you stop worrying about me and start worry about where the hell your spot is?" I snapped.
I thought he would snap back. He proved me wrong by just laughing. "Is that why you did that? To help me?" he asked.
I rolled my eyes. It had nothing to do with him. No, I did it so Bella wouldn't be so upset. I would have punched Mike in the face if Rosalie didn't step in before me. I won't tell him that. It's best to let him think what he wants. Hopefully I will be done with all the damn drama if I do. "Yeah; to help your damn game. We can't have you all teary eyed and country music come Saturday." I answered.
"Teary eyed, no. country music, probably." He joked with a shrug. He didn't have to tell me that. I knew him. I've rode in the car with him. He blasts and sings along to the great sounds of whiskey drinkin' and tobacco chewin' of the south like it's the best thing. And that is on his damn good days. I would hate to hear the whining of the south as well. "Anyways, I'm glad you did that. She said she wasn't even made at me; just embarrassed by the situation. I can't say I blame her." he said.
"Great. Now let's stop talking about." I said. I didn't want to hear about this anymore. Tanya's plan failed, what the hell else is new? That shit will blow over when people see him with Bella and not with Maria. Therefore, there was no point in stretching this out anymore.
"There that jealously again." he joked.
I rolled my eyes away from. "Damn, you're a fucking tool." I said as I snapped as I walked away again.
"I'm a tool?" he asked as he followed me.
"An annoying one." I mumbled.
He chuckled. "You're the one who won't admit that he did something to help his friend and not just to help himself." he stepped in front of me to stop me. "Why don't you just admit you did a nice, selfless thing?" he asked. Because I didn't. Nothing I did was because I was being selfless. I was starting to think it was one of my very few flaws. "Anyways, thanks. And by the way, it will not kill you if you did admit you did what you did to be a good friend. You know, you might like it so much, you might do it again."
"Not likely. I have to go." I said before walking to my car.
XXX
It has been one hell of a week. If that whole thing with Jasper, Bella and Tanya, didn't fucking wear me out, but I had to deal with Tanya being pissed that her stupid plan didn't work. She was dropping rude comments to Bella and trying to convince Jasper to think otherwise all week. Then I had to act as if it didn't bother me when Jasper gave Bella a hug or called her that stupid nickname. It wasn't even cleaver. It was just her name without the "a".
And that was just the social part of my school life. Because of the long ass practices all week, I never got the chance to meet up with Bella so I had to work and complete my Spanish paper by myself. And that was another fucking thing. We lost three perfectly good days because he was being all Heartbreak Hotel all fucking week. But after two days of hard work, we were finally perfect enough for the game on Saturday. If we win, it wouldn't be anything too short of a damn miracle.
But it was Friday and I was at Bella's house as she helped me with my math for a test I had on Monday.
I groaned as I toss my book off my lap. "I fucking hate this. I'm not going to get it." I said angrily. I had a hard week and not understanding math wasn't helping me.
"Yes you will." She said.
"Stop saying that." I snapped as I covered my face with my hands. She's been saying that since I got. It wasn't helping me out. More like stressing me out more. "I'm not going to get it and I'm going to fail."
"Way to be positive." She mumbled.
I looked at her with a glare. "Bella…" I warned through my teeth.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, okay. I just don't understand why you're being so negative all of a sudden. You were doing fine before now."
"I'm sorry, okay?" I sighed. "I'm just stressed." I said rubbing my eyes with the palms of my hands.
"I understand. Just calm down and stop snapping at me because that's not going to solve anything." she grabbed my book and placed it on her lap. "Maybe we should look at it a different way." She said.
"What do you mean?"
She shrugged. "I guess we can try to find another way to do it, but get the right answer. Let's try another problem. And I'll try to find another way to explain it." she suggested before handing me the book again. When she did, I picked one of the easier looking problems. I showed it to her. She nodded before writing it down. "What do you first?" she asked.
"Uh…replace all the x's with x plus two." I said.
"Right. okay, after you do that, let's try grouping instead of solving all at once." She suggested.
"Grouping?" I questioned.
She nodded. "Break the problem apart. Take it bit by bit." She said. I gave a nod. I guess I should try anything. When I did, I followed her instructions as she said them. I followed them as perfectly as I could. "Okay, what did you get?" she asked after I wrote the last thing she said. I showed her the paper. She looked at it before looking at me and smiling. "You got it." she said proudly.
"Really?"
She nodded. "You got the right answer." She held her hand up. I gave a smile as I hit it with mine giving her a high five. "I told you breaking the problem up would work better. Just do that for your test." She said as she handed the notebook back to me.
"Thanks. And I really am sorry about snapping at you and that we haven't really talked or hung out since the break." I said.
She shrugged. "I know you're stressed because of the big game tomorrow." She said.
"So is the whole team. But I think we got it." I said.
She nodded. "That's good."
Before I could stop, I said something that I was sure she didn't want to talk about. "Speaking of the team. You and Jasper are close again." I pointed out. I know I shouldn't have, but I wanted to see if they were really getting closer again, or not. I mean, I did see them hug in the hall, but she hugs Alice and Rosalie all the time. She even hugs me sometimes; it was nothing, right.
"I guess." She said.
"So you're not mad at him again more?" I asked.
She chuckled. "I never was really mad at him." she said. Really, because she seemed really upset when he stopped her in that hall that day.
"You weren't?" I asked. She shook her head. "You looked like you're crying." I told her, referring to the day in the hall.
"You saw that?" she asked. I didn't say anything or make a motion because I knew she already knew the answer. She sighed as she flipped her hair out of her face. "I wasn't mad at anyone. It was more like I was embarrassed. I didn't even know what was happening at first. Tanya said something about Jasper finally coming to his sense. I thought she was just saying something to upset me. And then Rosalie came to me and told me she heard Jasper getting back with his ex-girlfriend." She sighed.
"Then everyone kept saying how he was picking the better choice and that he shouldn't want someone he just started hanging out with over someone he already knew and who knew all the right things to do. I knew I couldn't beat with that. I thought I had some confidence, but when people started to talk about me like they did and the thoughts, it all became too much for me. I felt myself going back in my shell."
I was confused. Not about why she was upset. I understood that just fine. But about why she told Jasper what she did. "Why did you tell him you didn't what to hang out anymore?" I asked.
"I told him because I thought he would say something like that to me. I knew it would hurt me if everything I heard was true. So, I wanted to say it to him before he did to me so I wouldn't face anymore embarrassment. But I wasn't mad at him." She explained.
"Oh." I replied, not knowing what else to say. "So you two are fine now?" I asked. She nodded. "And at school?" I said.
"Well, ever since Rosalie's threaten Mike and Eric, the teasing lightened a little. It will get better." she said.
"You need me to handle some of them for you?" I half joked. She chuckled. She heard joking, but I was serious. I didn't want people to talk about her because they had nothing to talk about. I'll stop them by gladly hitting someone in the face for her.
"Sweet of you, but no. People have already stopped talking about it. So it's fine." She said. "Uh, if you don't mind, I really don't want to talk about this anymore." She said.
I understood. "Okay, how about we try another problem? I don't think I fully get it." I said to get her mind off it. If it also got her mind off Jasper as well, then hey, that was a damn plus.
She nodded. She looked at my book and picked another problem. When she did, we worked on the problem like we worked on the last one with me plugging in and breaking down again. She walked me through it like the last one. Then we were done with that one. She held her hand out for the notebook. I handed it to her.
But before she could check it, she got stopped. We heard her mother give a scream. I wondered what happened for her to scream like that. Bella rolled her eyes. I guess she wasn't that worried. That might be something that always happened. Bella might be used to her mother doing things like that and thought she was being dramatic.
"What was that?" I asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know. Probably something stupid" she answered before looking at the paper.
"Isabella!" her mom called her before she could finish looking at the problem.
"Goodness." Bella sighed hard. "What, mom?" she called back.
"Come down here please, I have something to show you." Her mom called back.
"Whatever it is, it can wait; I'm busy." Bella said. I think she just wasn't interested in whatever her mother was screaming about.
"Uh, I don't think it can."
Bella gave a huff. "What is it?" she yelled in irritation.
"It's more like whom. Come down here, this person really want to see you."
Bella groaned, rolling her eyes. "Who is it?" she said, humoring her mother.
"Why don't you get off your lazy ass can come see?" I heard a deep male voice. It was close. Closer than her mother's. She heard it too. When she did, she looked up from the notebook and frozen. I looked over her shoulder to see him standing in the doorway.
She turned to him and gasped.
welcome to the bottom of the page.
nothing to say, but if anyone watches PLL. i want to talk to you...
everyone else, thx for all the review, favs and alerts. oh, btw; i just realized, we are almost at 150, meaning, we're almost at 200. that's pretty cool and more than APL. so, yeah... i love you all.
Luv & Rockets.