A/N: For those that celebrate or are interested… HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! We are now in the year of the horse. So, now Bella knows the truth and is a little wary of it all. I can't blame her though. That is a lot of information and it wasn't like he proved it or anything. Well, let's see what happens next. Sorry for the short chapter everyone, the next one will be longer. I promise! Enjoy!

PS... today is the last day to vote for Wedding Day Jitters to be in the top 10 completed stories of Dec 2013. Please vote, the link is on my author page. THANK YOU!

Chapter 4 – Sweet Dreams

Vampires? That couldn't possibly be reality. Did she just have that discussion with Jasper, with her JW? Bella wanted to believe that she had been hallucinating or dreaming, but she knew she hadn't been. Did he really believe that he was a vampire? It could be that he needed help. There was no way that vampires were real. It just couldn't be, could it?

When she had gotten home after leaving the park, her father had just pulled up and she no longer had time to even contemplate what Jasper had told her, but after they had finished eating and she had cleaned up, she went up to her room and she could no longer focus on anything else. Homework faded away into the background and before she knew it, her father was knocking on her door at almost midnight and telling her it was time for lights out. Looking down at her paper, she hadn't completed one single thing she needed to for the next day. Where had the time gone?

Bella lay in bed after turning off her light and stared up at the ceiling… she couldn't sleep. If she thought about this logically, JW was a lunatic that had escaped from a mental asylum somewhere along the way; however, that didn't explain one big key factor: his age. There was no denying that JW looked the same today as he had seven years ago. The only thing that was even remotely different is that his hair looked a tad bit shorter, but did that mean vampires could get haircuts too? Shaking her head at that last thought, she continued to think about the things that her loony theory did not support; and really other than the fact he seemed ageless, everything else pointed to crazy, and yet… and yet she got the feeling he was serious. It was more than the fact he believed he was a vampire; it was in his eyes, and somehow, someway, she found herself believing in the impossible just a little. Part of her wanted to believe.

As her alarm rang through her room the next morning, Bella couldn't even force herself to move. She was too tired and physically exhausted from the night before. It was only the second day of school and her father was already having to call in sick to school for her. It wasn't exactly the best impression to make, but she was honestly too tired to care.

"You know, maybe I should stay home with you today," Charlie said worry lacing his voice as he walked back into his daughter's room to check on her. When she had not gotten up with her alarm he became concerned and found her still in bed with a slight fever.

Shaking her head, Bella refused to be pampered, "I'm find dad. Just go to work. I am sure the fever is from being so exhausted. I am just going to sleep and I will feel better later." She didn't tell him that she still had things on her mind and a little fever never kept her from school before; however, she wanted to think a little more about Jasper before she saw him again. Thus, she actually didn't mind the fact she was so tired and needed to stay home from school.

The father looked unsure, but finally told her, "Ok, ok. Fine, I will go to work, but if you start feeling worse, I want to you to call me. I can be home in a couple of minutes. I'll come home and check on your at lunch. Do you need anything before I go?"

"No, I will be alright. Just go so I can go back to sleep," Bella knew she was starting to sound snippy, but she really didn't like all of the fuss.

"Ok, I will see you in a few hours," Charlie sighed and finally made his way down the stairs and into his car.

With her father finally gone, Bella settled back into her bed and closed her eyes allowing the vast blackness to consume and envelope her into his obsidian folds. She didn't awaken again until she heard a creak and then a bang coming from inside her room. Springing to a sitting position in her room, she looked around and found… nothing. Her room was completely empty, but she could have sworn she heard something. Calling out for her father when she believed it could have been him, silence greeted her. No one was home except for her, and she finally lay back down deciding the noise came from being in an old house.

Jasper made it into the bedroom and had the window shut again in seconds, but his entry wasn't as stealthy as he would have liked it to be. The window didn't open with ease, telling him it had not been opened for quite some time. There was a box under the ledge that he stepped on trying to quickly enter the room. Both of these things caused the girl in the bed to become alerted to his presence and he swiftly hid from her gaze on the floor at the foot of her bed. If she had actually gotten up to investigate, he would have been caught. As soon as he heard her settle back down, he peeked over the edge of the bed and started at her sleeping face. He couldn't get enough of her, and she had only been in his life as more than a child for around 24 hours.

As he arrived at school that morning, he had tried to look for her truck and finding it missing, had waited listening for the roar of the engine that would alert him to her arrival. It had not come, and it wasn't until second period that he found out that was absent from school that day. Panic welled up in him at the thought that something was either wrong with her or that Edward had doubled backed and somehow got to her. Neither were acceptable possibilities, although one was preferable over the other. It was to his relief when he peeked through her window that he found her sleeping in bed; which meant a certain mind reader had not come for her in the night.

That was one of the things that wouldn't stop pressing to the front of his mind: Bella was Edward's singer. This meant that her blood sang for the mind-reader and he craved it, wanted it to the point he would kill others for it; and yet, somehow Bella had escaped unscathed the day before, much thanks to Alice and her quick thinking. Jasper's so called brother was gone for now, but that didn't mean he would stay gone forever, and the southern vampire needed to be ready for the inevitable confrontation. He refused to let Bella get hurt though, that would not be acceptable in his book, and he knew he would rather kill the perpetually 17 year old than for anything to happen to Bella. He had been a little surprised at his overly hostile and protective feelings, but he would not change them or take them back. The girl lying in the bed would be kept safe at all costs.

Crouching there, Jasper stared at the sleeping girl for a few minutes before he decided it was safe to come out of hiding. He wanted to give her space so she could really ponder everything he had thrown at her the day before, however, the moment he had heard she was missing from school, his protective instincts took over and before he knew it, he was running away from campus and towards her home.

Jasper ducked down once again when he heard Bella moan in her sleep. Since when had he gotten so jumpy? He could sense her feelings as she slept. There was confusion, hope, happiness, and more confusion. It seemed like they kept coming back to the central emotion.

"JW," a simple word spoken in a breathless sleep filled voice.

Head snapping up and eyes landing on the girl in the bed, Jasper checked to make sure she was indeed still sleeping and found she was in a state of blissful unconsciousness; although truth be told, he couldn't help the small smile of contentment that appeared on his lips when he thought that Bella might be dreaming about him. He stood there staring at her until he heard a call pull up to the front of the house and knew Charlie was home. Knowing he couldn't stay, he carefully leaned over her and kissed her cheek and whispered, "Sweet dreams Bella Swan." He was out the window just as soon as he heard her father's foot on the first step, hoping she could accept him and what he divulged to her, but there was no way to know until she talked to him.

Unbeknownst to Jasper, Bella's eyes opened as soon as her window slid silently shut, a small smile forming on her lips as she whispered, "I did have one." Maybe he really was a vampire, how else could she explain his breaking and entering soundlessly, or the fact he was able to escape before she could even react. She needed answers and only one man had them, and with a new determination, she decided to face him tomorrow.