Forks. -
A week.
That's how long it's been since Alice last saw Jasper.
At least in person.
She knows he's been extremely and unusually busy, but she still misses him.
So when she got a vision of him arriving at the beach she didn't waste a second to bolt.
It might have been her excitement, her eagerness, her relief, she didn't knew which.
All she knows is that the second she saw him emerge from the water the second she threw herself at him, bringing them both down into the water with a loud splash, her arms wrapped around his neck.
She could care less about soaked clothes, she had never felt so relieved to see someone as she was right now. She felt him tense in her hold for a moment before his shoulders relaxed.
He didn't hug her back.
But he didn't push her back either.
That did nothing but fill her with even more happiness.
-Are you alright?- Comes his soft voice, she pulls back, just enough to meet his eyes, it could be her imagination, but he looks quite flustered.
-I am now.- Alice conceded, gifting him her best smile before pulling Jasper back into the hug.
Jasper who can feel her deafening relief in the air, excitement, happiness, joy, that warmness that never fails to make his chest feel all fuzzy.
He had missed her more than he ever expected to miss someone, he had craved to see her, anxious and terrified over the idea of her growing mad at his unannounced absence, he feared that he would find the beach empty, that she wouldn't be there to greet him with her bright smiles.
That she would leave him.
Or that she might not want to see him again.
That she wouldn't want him to visit her anymore.
But she didn't chase him away.
Didn't disappear on him like he had been doing to her all this week.
She was here.
Hugging him, he wasn't a fan of having arms around him nor a mouth so close to his neck, but he found that he didn't mind her arms around his neck, he didn't mind her head resting on his shoulder, he could feel her soft breath against his neck.
Alice had just that knack of making him feel comfortable within seconds, he wasn't sure if he should hug her back, was he allowed? Or would she be annoyed?
He was pretty sure that if he were to have a heartbeat it would be racing due her proximity, she was straddling him, felt like she wasn't planning on letting him go anytime soon.
And against his better judgement he finds himself wrapping his arms around her, closing his eyes and just enjoying this surreal moment, her welcoming warmth, her arms around him, her body so relaxed.
At times, he still had a hard time processing the fact that she held no fear whatsoever towards him, that she trusted him enough to relax, let her guard down, no one had ever shown him such blind trust before.
Maybe Peter, but it wasn't the same, this felt… different.
A different kind of trust.
He wanted to stay like this forever, to just bask in her warmness, to hold her like this, feel her breathing against his neck, her body against his, so relaxed, no fear, no anger, no hostility, zero ulterior motives, just the apparent comfort that hugging him brought to her.
He wasn't sure for how long they sat there, just enjoying each other's proximity in silence, but at some point, she pulled back, just enough for their eyes to meet, gold against red, her eyes shone and twinkled as the sun kissed her face, little diamonds kissing her skin.
The smile she gave him was so soft, something about her gaze, that burst of overwhelming warmness that filled his stomach with butterflies and made his chest feel warm, threatening to get his heart to start beating again…
It melted him from the inside out in the best way possible, and when her fingers brushed away the stray strands of hair off of his face he felt something completely new twist in his chest, and for a moment, his hands acquired a mind of their own as he brought one up to brush her cheek with the back of his hand.
A fluttering touch that got her warmth bursting up like a blooming fire flower, her sparkling eyes making him wish that maybe, just maybe, she would one day see him as more than just a friend.
She's so close to him, her arms around his shoulders.
-Are we gonna spend all day sittin' here?- He asks, needing an excuse to get her to stand up before he ends up doing something he might regret.
He didn't want her to stand up though, he wanted to hold her close, to never let her go, he wanted to touch her hair, her face, to stare at her as much as he desired without being regarded as a creep.
But he knew he couldn't.
He needed to keep his emotions on a tighter grip.
He had been doing so good since he first realized how he felt towards Alice.
But now, having her so close, looking at him like that, such melting gaze, her emotions making him feel so strange, he had never felt such overwhelming warmth, such… he had no idea how to explain it. All he knew is that it made his chest feel full, warm, like the world was perfect as long as she was with him.
God, he doesn't need this, he doesn't need these kind of emotions flaring up again, because he knows they are just useless and painful to bear, he gets enough pain from Jane's stupid gift, he doesn't need more.
He doesn't need more.
Because it hurts.
Oh God how it hurts.
To have something so close yet so far away.
Because Alice, the ever cheerful beautiful angel, she was like a sunflower, she filled his black heart with light, a ray of sunshine that leaked among the crack of his dark mantle, she would never even think about looking at someone like him with anything but friendship in her eyes.
Because Alice is like the sun, bright and cheerful like no one.
And him?
Jasper is just some scarred pathetic shadow of a monster who once was, he looked like he should be in a mental hospital, there is nothing appealing about his appearance either.
That's why the second he realized his true feelings for Alice he had made sure to lock them in the deepest corner of his mind, back back back far away to the point where it burnt.
And he was proud.
Jasper was a proud actor.
And he would keep that act up if it meant he could keep Alice at his side.
Because the idea of having her as a friend hurt less than not having her at all.
Now that he knew how the world was with her in it, he didn't think he would be able to live in a world where he's lost her.
Her giggle makes him glad he's wearing a muzzle for it hides his own smile, she stands up with an energetic quick action, droplets of salted water splashing everywhere as she does, he almost chokes at the sight he gets, diamonds kissing her skin as the sun shines bright above, water droplets giving her an even more ethereal air as they slide down their skin.
The purple long sleeved shirt she's wearing sticks to her like a second skin, but what makes his gaze drop is the huge tear on the shirt, right on the left side, vampires had no blood, and still, he can swear he can feel the ghost of heat overtaking his face.
Her amusement tickles at his skin as he gets up, water dripping, confusion striking across his skin.
-What's wrong?- She questions, genuinely curious as to what is evoking such reaction.
-Your shirt.- He tells, she looks down at herself at his words before surprise ripples across the air.
-Oh, must have gotten caught on something when I was running.- Alice mumbles, inspecting the damage with sorrow, she had liked this shirt quite a bit, she knew she should have been more careful when running, but all she had wanted was to get to Jasper as fast as possible, too excited to see him after what felt like an eternity.
Jasper for his side doesn't look at her as he starts removing his cloak, twisting around as he does, he still doesn't look at her as he draps it around her shoulders, making sure to adjust it well so it can cover her front right.
Meanwhile, Alice can do nothing but bite back her smile, letting him put the cloak around her shoulders, all she can think is "adorable gentleman", she wants nothing more but to tease him with how flustered he's acting, but she keeps herself from it, she didn't think he would appreciate her making fun of him, they weren't on that point just yet where he wouldn't take everything about himself seriously.
So all she did was cherish this little moment, she hadn't expected him to let her hug him for as long as she did, much less to have him hugging her back, but she hadn't been able to pull herself away from him, she had missed him dearly, and this was the first time she hugged him, and he hadn't pushed her away.
Thus.
She had relinquished on each second she spent there in his arms, where all that was heard were the waves hitting ashore and the sizzling foam, the cawing seagulls and breeze rustling leaves against each other on the forest behind them.
She hadn't cared about the soaked clothes nor the possibility of someone seeing them, all she had cared about was enjoying the proximity for as long as possible, the warmth that sat in her chest at the feeling of his arms around her… He made her feel like nothing could ever go wrong as long as she was between his arms.
Like the world was brighter, louder, intense, alive.
She loved this man more than she could ever possibly explain, and as he finished tying the cloak she found herself reaching out to touch his elbow, transmitting as much of her affection and gratefulness to him as she could.
She knew he would be able to tell the gratefulness.
But not the affection.
It had taken her quite a while to figure out the reason he didn't react to her affection or love when it overtook her, she had worried he would freak out.
But he didn't recognize those emotions, at least not when directed at him.
And that did nothing but make her heart ache for him, the idea that he's never felt either of those as an emotion for him makes her wish she could hold him and tell her just how much he meant to her.
-Now I feel like an ancient villainess who likes to walk down the halls of her equally ancient castle while her long cape drags behind her and an ominous music plays in the background.- Alice says as Jasper stepped back, letting her admire the giant cloak.
He frowns at her.
-That's… oddly specific.
-Look at this.- She says in amusement, spinning around, the bottom of the cloak floats around her legs, spinning with her in an odd show before stopping with her.
On the bright side? She's wearing something of his.
On the not so bright side? She feels like a child playing dress up.
And still, she grins at him, she's never seen him without the cloak before, she did watch him, a lot, but she always made a point to stop watching him whenever she knew he was gonna change his clothes, he might be her soulmate, but that didn't mean she was about to become some kind of peeping Tom.
She wasn't a pervert.
His clothes… she has a feeling he wasn't the one who chose those clothes, he looks like a gothic vampire dressed him up. But she guesses that that's most of the Volturi's aesthetic, gothic.
-They're weird, aren't they?- His question gets Alice's attention, he looks a bit nervous as he tugs at the sleeve of his shirt, as if to cover something.
-You look fine.- Alice assures, poking at buttons of his shirt absently.- And the Volturi do give the air of an old melodramatic cult with exaggerated fashion choices.- Alice added, the last with amusement in her voice.
-I guess you're right. Aro does have some exaggerated fashion choices.
Alice smirked at that, she took his hand before pulling him with her.
-Now come on, I'm starving.- That wasn't quite the truth, but Alice wanted him to drink some blood, he's been going on on poisoned blood for over a week now, and alright, they didn't spike all the blood he was given so as to not make him useless when fighting, but still...
She would rather have him drinking something else.
The less poisoned blood he had in him the better.
~
Jasper and Alice were walking under the pouring rain, fingers interlocked and bodies brushing against each other's as they walked close to each other.
It had begun raining at some point after their hunt, but neither Alice nor Jasper had given it mind, unlike humans, vampires had nothing to worry about regarding the weather, maybe when it was sunny, but the point still stood.
The sky was an angry shade of grey, wind blowing with enough force to make the branches dance and creak, leaves rustling as the deafening yet pleasant pitter patter of the rain filled the air, thunder rumbling above, amazing how fast the weather could change.
Alice made a point to avoid the west, right where the field the Cullens usually played baseball at was at, she knew they would definitely be playing, Bella loved playing baseball now that she was a vampire, Emmett and Edward had taught her, plus, she had heard she had also gotten pointers from Bella's mother's boyfriend.
And there was also Renesmee's love for the game, that girl for someone so little could run like the wind itself and jump higher than Edward himself and he had the record for highest jump.
Plus.
Some of the wolves had also gotten the habit to join the game sometimes, it gave them a lot of players.
She wondered how it would be like to get Jasper to join, she knew he could play, he had once corrected the form of a little boy who was playing baseball with his friends at the park, and he's played quite the aggressive version of catch with several newborns with the excuse of training their reflexes and focus.
A sudden sound caught her attention and as she turned her attention to it she grinned.
-Look!- Alice exclaimed in a loud whisper, bringing Jasper to a halt with her as she excitedly pointed at the river below them, a mama bear was walking along the bank, two cubs following right behind her, playfully jumping on each other as they played, chasing each other.- Aren't they the cutest thing ever?
-They're apex predators.- Jasper felt the need to point out, Alice looked at him.
-So? Just because it's dangerous it doesn't mean it isn't cute.- Jasper wasn't quite sure of the reason, but the look she gave him alongside the tone she used made him feel as if he was missing some kind of hidden message.
And then her grin turned… dangerous.
As in mischief flared in her emotions, he could almost see the exact moment an idea popped into her head, what? He had no idea, but next thing he knows she's releasing his hand and poking his bicep.
-You are it!- And with that Alice's setting off, it takes Jasper more than he's willing to admit to realize what she is aiming for.
Ah.
Tag.
He doesn't even remember when was the last time he played that, maybe when he was a child.
He does remember loving that game as a kid, he had had a lot of siblings, or those might have been neighbors' kids, what he did knew is that he could remember running alongside lots of kids all across a wheat field, laughter filling the air.
-Come on!- Alice's gleeful shout catches his attention, she's grinning as she looks at him, her head poking from behind a tree, giddiness and hope bubbling in her emotions, managing to steal a smile out of him.
He takes a step forward and she makes an interesting sound, something between an excited shriek and a chuckle, and he must admit it's quite the endearing sound, this before she's whirling around and bolting off and into the forest.
And Jasper finds himself moving, running after her and giving her chase as she so much desires, her enthusiasm, excitement and giddiness trailing behind her as they ran under the pouring rain and across the forest, no care for the mud and bushes on their way, the rain made it hard to see, but that didn't stop them.
Still.
While Alice would never be able to outrun him for Jasper was much more faster than the average vampire, she did great at taking impulsive turns and shortcuts, landing on branches, climbing up boulders, jumping logs, anything to keep him off her back.
Of course Jasper let her have her fun, making a point to keep his distance, letting her think she had the upper hand, that she could outrun him, he cherished this moment, when nothing mattered, when no one but them were here, just them, the rain and the forest.
Free.
He decided to catch up with her at some point, taking a leap as he did, he had intended to grab her arms, but then luck has never been on his side, he slipped on the mud and ended up tackling her instead, a splitting thunder clap reverberating throughout the forest as their bodies collided with unforgiving might.
Both of them ended up crashing on the ground, and to make things worse, into a pond of mud that splashed mud all over them and just about everywhere.
He held her stare for a full minute in absolute silence as he pulled back, hands at each side of her head, mind blank, what the hell did just happen? For a moment, he thought she would be mad, that she would start screaming and his little fantasy of actually having something good would shatter into a million pieces.
But she didn't.
In fact, she snorted, and then laughter erupted, chiming bells that echoed in the forest like an ethereal melody.
-Forgive me, I didn't mean for this to happen.- He still found himself apologizing.
-It's alright, I haven't had this much fun in ages!- Alice assured in between chuckles, this before her chuckles turned into a grin.- Plus, it's not like I haven't had any payback.
Her words were the only warning Jasper got before Alice, somehow, managed to switch their position, pinning him against the ground with a triumphant smirk.
He gawked at her, definitely not expecting her to be able to do such a thing, no one's ever managed to catch him off guard, and still, she keeps on surprising him with her ability to either catch him off guard or sneak up on him.
She holds his wrists at his sides, prompting them to sink into the puddle of mud, straddling him and with her face too close for comfort, he's quite glad vampires have no heartbeat for his would undoubtedly be racing right now.
He would have felt on edge with this position had she been anyone else, but her emotions were so refreshing; giddiness, joy, excitement, playfulness, pride, amusement, it makes him feel light, full, warm? He doesn't how to describe the kind of lightness he's feeling right now.
She's still holding his stare, as if she were aiming to enroll him into some kind of staring contest, and he finds himself, not for the first time, hypnotized by her eyes, those beautiful shimmering bright eyes.
Her golden eyes which were as enticing as two melted pots of the richest and finest gold.
As beautiful as the fresh wildflowers blooming upon spring and as sweet as the hue of tea catching upon a ray of sunlight.
It reminded him of the softest of yellow flowers that grew at the forest and of the morning dew drops sitting on a tulips' petals, just waiting for the slightest breeze to merge with the beauty of nature.
It reminded him of a field of sunflowers during summertime and it reminded him of smooth honey, of the ghost yellow from a sunset and the vibrant leaves on autumn. Of gold filigrees and wheat fields and fireflies. It reminded him of life. Bright and soft. Strong and kind. Her eyes were sunrays and her soul was life.
It felt like he could catch a glimpse of an absolute purity deep within those sunny eyes, as if she carried something in her very soul, something that was still immaculated, untainted by the darkness of this world.
And she was too close now, way too close, but he couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't talk.
He felt like his dead heart was about to start beating again, and then she bumped their foreheads together, making him flinch slightly, shattering the tension in the air as her amusement sliced across, making his muscles relax as she pulls back, what is her endgame with this? He has no idea, but he likes this.
And as she springs up with her tinkling laughter he sits up, still not quite understanding what just happened, she offers him her hand, and he takes it.
Alice pulls him up in a swift move, and as he stands he finds himself caressing her cheek, wiping some of the mud away as a way of hiding the fact that he just wants to touch her face, surprise flashes in her eyes, her emotions, but she doesn't pull away.
Thus.
He wipes the mud off of her face, her eyes shine as she stares at him, the comfortable silence around them as he touches her face, it melts something inside him, he tries to not meet her stare, but he still does, because he's just that weak, and for a fraction of a second, he can swear a hint of longing flashes in her gaze for a brief moment.
Her hands come up to rest on his forearms as she leans into his touch, those fluttering butterflies curl around the pit of his stomach, across his skin, warm, comfortable, light.
He likes these moments.
It makes him wonder at times if she might not be as indifferent to him as he thinks.
Unbeknownst to them, a pair of golden eyes were watching them.
~
Bella hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but Emmett had sent the ball to infinity and beyond, thus, she had gone looking for it, she hadn't expected to come across them.
Alice.
And him.
Both of them covered in mud from head to toe.
She knows Alice likes him, she hadn't said so directly, but she didn't had to to leave it clear.
Bella can't make much out of him due the mud and the angle he's standing at, but she does see one thing.
Muzzle.
He's wearing a muzzle.
Who would-
Realization strikes not even a moment later.
Oh.
Oh.
So that was the reason Alice was so adamant about hiding him, a Volturi.
For a moment Bella has no idea what to think, on one side she worries that he might be manipulating Alice, that Aro might have sent him to lure Alice into joining the Volturi through her feelings for him.
But on the other side… Alice isn't as naive as people think, she's smart and also an excellent judge of character, if she was so crazy about him then it meant there had to be something good about him, right?
Plus, just because he was a Volturi it didn't meant he had to be bad, Eleazar and Carlisle had been with the Volturi in the past, didn't mean either of them was dangerous, some people were just with the wrong crew because that's all the choice they had, or maybe they didn't knew any better.
He had been kind to Renesmee, and he had hesitated to kill Bree, he still killed her, but he hesitated, that had to say something, right?
And as she stares at them she can't help but be hypnotized by the intensity of the way they look at each other, it's so overwhelming it makes her want to look away, but she can't stop looking, because she's never seen anything like it.
How could two people who just met four months ago wield such looks for each other? There's such obliterating love in the air, intense, and Bella feels like she is witnessing the raw beginnings of an unbreakable bond between two souls.
It feels as mystical as it feels overwhelming, and it makes her wonder if anyone at all could ever reach that kind of connection.
And at that moment she knows he might not be all that bad.
~
Alice's sitting with Jasper on top of a boulder at the beach, her head resting against his shoulder, their knees touching and their hands interlocked, both of them watching the ocean, the sparkling water, a dolphin jumped out, making a cartwheel in the air before dropping back into the water with a splash.
The sun was starting to set, splashing the blues of the skies with oranges and reds, golds and pinks.
The day passed way too fast for her liking, she caught the sound of far away echoes of laughter, Jasper tensed beside her and Alice squeezed his hand, soon enough a group of men in fishing gear walked behind them.
-Don't pay them mind.- She soothed, rubbing his knuckles softly.
-I don't.- Even if Jasper said that he found himself clenching his jaw, he might spend a lot of time around humans, with that of him and his habit to play with children.
But he could never not crave to drain them, the constant huger made it impossible not to.
And when a single drop of blood was involved… well, at least he could control himself enough to not slaughter children.
He would never be able to live with himself if he did.
As the humans' voices and joyful emotions disappeared he allowed himself to relax somewhat.
He needed to leave, night was fast approaching.
At that same time, as the breeze came from behind, he smelt it.
The hybrid.
He turns to look at the forest in time to see the girl step out, her emotions… excitement? Nervousness, doubt, determination…?
What was she doing here? He couldn't smell anyone else.
Alice's emotions at his side spark with surprise and confusion before she's leaving his side in order to approach the little girl while Jasper hesitates on what to even do. He decides to just stay where he is and watch, the girl smells strongly like those shapeshifters, and he mildly wonders the why.
-Ness? What are you doing here?- Alice questions, curious as to how dod Renesmee even found her, and wasn't that one of Alice's shirts what she was wearing?
-I've brought you this.- Renesmee says, taking off the somewhat baggy dark blue long sleeved shirt she's wearing over her own clothes and holding it up for Alice.
-A shirt?- Alice wonders, how had she known?
-Mom said that you might need one.- Bella? How did she know that? Had she seen her and Jasper? But how did she even know she might need a shirt? Though if she gave it thought… Bella was smart and had quite the intuition, there was a reason she was capable to figure out their secret in just mere days.
So if she saw Alice wearing the cloak from someone she hasn't even known for longer than four months when she had no reason whatsoever for wearing it in the first place considering the weather didn't affect her.
It could stand to reason something might have made her have to wear it.
-I do indeed need one, thanks.- Alice conceded after a moment, taking the shirt and throwing Jasper a look, he quickly turned away, as if to hide the fact that he had been staring.
She bit back a smirk before turning back to look at Renesmee who was now openly staring at Jasper with pure curiosity in her eyes.
-Can you wait for me here? I won't take long, we can go back together.- Alice requested, catching Renesmee's attention, the girl's face lit up.
-Alright.
And with that Alice was gone.
Renesmee stood there for a moment longer before deciding to approach the man in dark clothes, she had heard about him from her family, aunt Alice liked him, but they weren't particularly happy about it.
At least not dad nor aunt Rose.
She couldn't see the why, everyone was happy with their partners, why couldn't aunt Alice also be happy? He even gifted her pretty seashells and sea glass! He smelt familiar though, she could see his hair, it seemed to almost shine like gold as the last rays of sun hit him.
And as she came close enough to take a peek at his face she realized the why he smelt familiar.
That blond man from the Volturi, the one with the scary eyes, Caius had called him "Jor" before, but Renesmee had the feeling that that might not be his actual name.
He had given her a sticker, had his hands hurt and had looked sad.
Aunt Rosalie said he was bad.
But Renesmee couldn't see the reason for that, much less now that he was the one aunt Alice spent time with, aunt Alice would never like someone bad, and as he looked at her she found herself cementing the belief that he wasn't bad.
She knew how bad people looked like.
They looked like Caius.
Demetri, Felix, Aro, Jane, all of them were bad. The latter had even hurt her father, Renesmee didn't like her.
Still.
Back to the point at hand, this man wasn't bad, his eyes weren't scary, nor did they make her stomach twist uncomfortably.
Thus.
She found herself waving at him.
-Hi.- She greeted, circling the boulder to face him, his clothes were funny, they reminded her of those from the victorian vampires, but falling more on the gothic side, like the ones from those pictures in the magazines aunt Alice reads.
And he's still wearing the muzzle, why? Why would a vampire need a muzzle?
-Hello.- He returns her greeting, he seems rather… odd for an adult.
-I'm Renesmee, but you can call me Ness, or Nessie, my mom doesn't like it, but I find it funny.- She said as a form of introduction, she knew he knew her name, all the Volturi did, she might be a child, but she wasn't stupid.
She held her hand out for a handshake, grandfather said it was the polite greeting for when dealing with grown ups.
He stares at her hand for a moment before taking it, he's wearing gloves again too.
-What's your name?- She asks as he releases her hand.
-... Jasper.
That sounded more like an actual name.
-I brought you something.- She remembers, when her mother had requested of her to find aunt Alice and take the shirt to her, which she had done by asking Jacob to track her scent down but not actually go anywhere near her.
She had also hoped to come across him, she wasn't sure who her aunt liked, nor could she have ever expected it to be the man with the muzzle from the Volturi.
But she had still brought him a gift, so aunt Alice could at least see that not everyone might be against or wary about whoever she liked, and also to show him some friendliness.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a turtle keychain, Charlie had bought her a kit to make resin art crafts, so she had made lots of keychains, for Jacob, the other wolves, her uncle, her aunts, her grandparents, Sue, Emily. Most of them sea or nature in general themed.
She chose a turtle for him because he smelt like the ocean, enough for aunt Alice to come back smelling like that, she had also seen the seashells and sea glass, the turtle had ocean blue confetti, sand and little seashells alongside an equally tiny starfish.
-Here.- She said, holding it out for him to take.
Meanwhile, Jasper felt… confused, surprised over the keychain being held out for him to take, why was she giving him a gift?
Still.
To not be rude, he took it.
-Thanks, it's… pretty.- He conceded, twirling it around, something told him that this wasn't from a regular store, something about it made it look less like a professional job, but he couldn't tell what, could people really make this kind of thing by hand? How?
He felt the girl's emotions flare with happiness and pride, and he knew at that moment she had done this, he had no idea the how, but she did it, and she did had a good hand for it he had to admit. He put it on the lace where the belt went through.
He heard footsteps and turned to see Alice emerging from the forest, now wearing the dark blue shirt, she had tied the purple blouse around her waist, his cloak drapped over her shoulder.
He left the boulder, approaching her.
Alice handed him the cloak and he was quick to put it back, pleased when he realized it had her scent impregnated on it, he liked her scent, it reminded him of a field of flowers where the lavender reigned over. It was soothing.
She looked down and he followed her gaze to the keychain hanging by the lace, she smiled, a knowing look on her face, this before looking back up at him and giving him that bright yet sad smile she always had when he left.
It made him wish he could stay.
But he knew he couldn't.
-Be careful.
-Always.- He gave for an answer, brushing her cheek with the back of his hand for a fleeting moment before stepping back. The hybrid walked past him, coming to stand beside Alice.
-Goodbye!- He heard the girl call out behind, he threw a look over his shoulder, she was waving at him looking in all the sense of the word like a child who was seeing off a friend she's known since forever.
Alice at her side seems rather amused if not a bit surprised over the girl's antics.
Such an odd child. He can't see how Caius can believe her to be a danger.
He gives Alice one last look before leaving.
And as Jasper disappears into the water Renesmee speaks.
-He likes you.- She tells, Alice chuckles, amused at those words,she wished that were true.
-No, we are just friends.- Renesmee raises an eyebrow at that, she looked up at her aunt, but she honestly looked like she believed her words to be the whole truth, she couldn't be that clueless, right? Friends didn't look at each other like that.
He liked her just as much as aunt Alice liked him.
~
Italy, Volterra. -
Alec watched, not for the first time, Jasper sneak into the building through a window, he was soaked, yes, but this time around he managed to catch a faint strange scent, he followed after him, making sure to not be caught.
He's spent enough time around him to know how to avoid being detected, he follows him to his room, waits a moment, another moment when he hears the shower.
And then he goes into the bedroom, the cloak is on the floor, same as his shirt and pants. He crouched down on the ground, picking the cloak up and taking a whiff of it.
There was a scent in it, he felt like he had smelt it before, but he can't for the life of him remember the where, he glances at the closed bathroom's door before looking back at the clothes scattered on the floor, he catches sight of a turtle keychain on the lace where the belt went through.
Not for the first time he wonders where was he, with who, what was he doing? He should take these clothes to Demetri, ask him to track down the owner of the scent.
He picks the clothes up, crumpling them into a ball alongside the cloak before standing up, he feels something hard and as he shifts the clothes he catches sight of a turtle keychain on the lace where the belt went through.
He took it off before throwing it on the bed.
-What are you doing, Alec?- Jasper's voice almost makes him jump out of his skin.
-I've come to inform you, you are expected at the throne room.- Alec informs, making a point to keep his emotions at bay, he isn't lying anyways, Aro and Caius do want to speak with him.
Silence is his answer.
And then.
-Understood.
Alec lingers for a moment longer, he wants to tell him he won't be "disciplining" him today, but he also sees no point in doing so, he doesn't need to assure him, that's not his job.
Thus.
All he does is crumple the clothes even more before leaving the room, Jasper is nothing to him, whatever happens with him has nothing to do with him, he doesn't care, Jane is all that matters.
No one else.
He doesn't care. He thinks as he steps into one of the rooms in the dungeons where the humans' bodies are disposed of into a pool of acid.
He doesn't care. He repeats to himself as he throws the crumpled clothes into the pool of acid.
He doesn't care. He repeats once again as he watches the acid eat the fabric, sizzling filling the air alongside a disdainful stench, bubbles bursting.
He doesn't care. He repeats as he watches the clothes disappear alongside the smell impregnated within them.
He doesn't care.
