Chapter Three

Bella

By the next lecture I still didn't have a good excuse ready although I had certainly tried to think of one. If I told him I'd found a photograph he would want to know where and I didn't think "I don't remember" would cut it somehow. This Jasper struck me as very similar to the "real" one, he wouldn't give up easily. As I walked to class I saw him up ahead in the distance and something else caught my eye, a movement from the right. Turning I saw a figure disappearing into the gloom of an alleyway but the figure struck me as odd, it had been very pale in the afternoon light, almost washed out and it moved fast or was I seeing things?

I left as quickly as I could at the end of the lecture, before he could catch me and outside across the road I saw someone watching, not me but the entrance to the building and whoever it was they gave me the shudders so I palled up with a couple of friends to walk the rest of the way to my next class. I didn't think about it much, I had papers to write and work to keep me busy but over the next week I kept getting the same feeling, that someone was watching my classes, not all my classes, but my history classes which seemed very strange. Why on earth would anyone want to watch my history classes?

It took me another week, this time taking more notice to realize whoever was watching wasn't looking at the building or my class but Jasper himself. Now why would someone be watching my history professor? On Friday I decided to skip my lecture and instead try to work out who was watching him. I found a nice safe place where I wouldn't be spotted to watch for his stalker. The figure I had seen usually chose the same spot so it shouldn't be difficult to spot them. Of course I had no idea what I would do with the information, would Jasper even believe me?

Once I saw I wished I hadn't looked, I wished with all my heart I hadn't noticed he was being watched but I couldn't take it back now. I didn't know who the person was but what I did know was that the figure wasn't human. Professor Whitlock was being stalked by a vampire!

Now what was I going to do with this information? Why would a vampire be watching my history professor even if he did look like the Jasper Whitlock I had known? After all it would be an extremely stupid vampire who would mistake one for the other, just his heartbeat should be enough to tell the difference. I decided to watch out for a few more days but as I had no lectures over the weekend it involved stalking Professor Whitlock myself and I had no experience of stalking so by Saturday afternoon I was busted.

He'd gone into a bookstore and with no sign of the vampire since the evening before I decided to go inside and pretend to browse the book shelves. As I turned from one stack to another I saw a flash of pale skin again and froze when a voice behind made me jump.

"Should I be flattered by this Miss Swan?"

I turned to find the Professor standing behind me grinning.

"I'm sorry?"

"You followed me here and I assume you had a reason for doing so. I doubt it is my good looks or charm so would you care to get a coffee and explain why you are stalking me?"

I was trapped so I did the only thing I could and agreed walking silently at his side to the cafe next door where he motioned me to a booth and ordered two large cappuccinos without asking me what I wanted then slipped in opposite me.

"Right now Miss Swan, perhaps I can get some answers from you at last. You turn up at my first lecture and think you recognize me, calling me by the correct name and then seem very flustered when you realized I am not the person you thought I was. I may be paranoid here but you seem to know more about my ancestor than I do and there aren't many Jasper Whitlocks around, trust me I've been looking. Who did you think I was and why are you following me?"

I shook my head,

"Its complicated and really I'm not following you, we just happened to be in the same place at the same time."

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure I saw you watching as I walked back to my car yesterday evening and I've had the strange feeling I've been watched the past few days."

"Not by me."

I spoke too vehemently and loudly and he looked at me suspiciously,

"Well if not you then who? After all I'm not famous and I don't have any money so why would anyone be following me?"

"I don't know why."

"But you do know I'm being followed. Now you can either tell me or you can speak to campus security, its up to you."

"I can't, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

"Really I can't but I think you're in danger."

"In danger? Really? I think maybe you have a vivid imagination but I'd be grateful if you could fixate on someone else from now on Miss Swan, I don't need trouble with young female students like you. Now if you'll excuse me. Enjoy your coffee."

He got up, smiled coldly and left and I watched from the booth noticing the same person I had seen before watching him from the shadows across the street. This time however the follower was more open about it, the day was mostly cloudy and he walked along behind the Professor not trying to hide when he turned back to look towards the cafe, was he checking to see I wasn't following him again? Had he felt himself being watched once more? More importantly what the hell should I do next? I couldn't just pretend I hadn't seen anything, besides I was curious, why would a vampire be watching Jasper Whitlock's double?

When I got back to my room I decided to bring Alice in on the mystery if I could contact her. I tried an email marking it urgent but just asking her to contact me. When that failed to elicit a response I decided to bite the bullet and wrote a detailed email with everything I knew and suspected and sent it off to her praying she'd be curious enough to get back to me quickly then set about finishing a paper due in on Monday but I couldn't concentrate, there were too many questions whizzing around in my head with no answers.

The only thing I knew for certain was that Professor Whitlock was being watched by a vampire and that spelled danger. I was the only person who could warn him, who even knew but what could I say that wouldn't have me sounding like a crazy person. I got the impression he was too down to earth to start believing in vampires and werewolves...of course! If he were in danger from a vampire I could take him to Forks, see if the Quileutes would protect him from them until I found out what was going on. It wasn't much of a plan but it was better than none at all. What I needed was a way of making him come with me and that wouldn't be easy in itself.