Forks. -

Jasper curses under his breath as he leans his back against a tree, sliding down it until he was sitting on the ground, hand pressing against his side where the worst of the fire radiated from, fingers digging into the skin as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Getting here had been a nightmare, even more so when he kept running into God knows what and stumbling all over at the bottom of the ocean, he had almost fell off a cliff at some point into a pit of absolute darkness, and a dolphin had decided to be a jerk at some point, abandoned its pod to harass him, pulling at his hair and swimming into him, had kept harassing him for over an hour, talk about friggin commitment.

He hadn't punched it out of wanting to be the bigger person, plus, he didn't hit animals, even if said animal was being an absolute jerk, he did slap its stupid head at some point when it hit his face.

But that hadn't stopped its harassment.

Thus.

Jasper had discovered that dolphin's blood tasted… interesting, it was somewhat cold and a bit too sticky for his taste, and it had left an itchy aftertaste.

Definitely never tasting fish blood again, or well, dolphin blood. Giant fish what was the difference?

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a sharp stab of pain on his back, forcing him to pull away from the tree, God, of all possible things, worse than Alec, worse than Jane.

Fire was the one he could never take.

Getting beaten by a rod of burning bright red by Felix wasn't great, his aching tongue a reminder that he had been more willing to bite his tongue off than give them the satisfaction of hearing him scream or the slightest of sounds.

The Volturi were not happy with the growing bond, Aro had seen in Marcus' mind that his bond with the "distraction" was evolving. Aro couldn't go into his mind without being met with a split chaos where nothing could ever be told apart.

And since Demetri couldn't get a scent… torture seemed to be the choice to attempt to get a name out.

A rod on fire.

Said rod that punctured a lung after Caius got pissed and decided to stab him with it.

He could still feel his venom sizzling around the worst wounds, and it stung like a bitch, throbbing with a vengeance that made him wish he could pass out, he might be amazing at taking pain.

But that didn't meant he couldn't still feel it.

God, why wasn't he healing? He had been feeding, not much because he felt bloated whenever he fed, but he still fed, was starving 24/7 though. But he still fed. So why wasn't he healing?

The sudden sound of little footsteps caught his attention, a rustle coming from the bushes, soon enough a bobcat's kitten emerged from among the bushes, its hind paws dragging behind, he frowned at it, its heartbeat didn't sound right nor did its breathing.

It wasn't thin nor much hurt aside from the hind legs, more rustling and two healthy bobcat kittens appeared, walking right behind the one with the messed up legs, he couldn't hear any other heartbeats.

And the kittens looked way too small to be left alone let alone for the mother to go too far from them… where was the mother?

He watches them go, not reacting to him at all, understandable, he's practically a statue, he tries to ignore them, rule of the jungle (or forest in this case), only the strong survives, in life in general, the world wasn't made for the weak.

That was what María said.

And still.

Even if he thinks that he forces himself to stand up, clenching his jaw at the stab of pain that ripples through his body, he pressed his hand against his side for a moment, this before taking in a deep breath.

He glances at the kittens, wondering when would he ever actually ignore the weak, but even as a human he was never able to not feel bad for the weak, his mother had engraved into his head that all lives were precious, weak or strong.

As a vampire he had forgotten about that to a great extent, though sometimes it slipped.

And then he met Alice.

She made him see a new side of the weak.

He stared at the kittens for a moment longer before taking his cloak off, he followed after them, keeping a generous distance as he tied his cloak around himself, making up a sort of carrier, similar to the one his mother had taught him to make once so he could carry his baby sister around.

Once that was done he didn't hesitate to use his vampire speed to snatch up the two healthy kittens right by the scruff of their neck, both curled instinctively, and he took advantage of that to fit them both into the carrier, he had made sure to make it loose enough so they would have some space in there.

As he released them the protesting sounds didn't took long to appear, he ignored them in order to kneel before the injured kitten which let out quite the pitiful meow, he couldn't feel animal's emotions, and still, he could almost swear he could feel the poor thing's agony, its eyes so sad…

He patted it across the back while holding its front paws with his other hand to keep it from moving any further, its whiskers tickling his hand as it sniffed him, the spine was broken, he was careful as he picked it up with both hands, attempting to not shift its position much.

Once he had it on his hands he began walking, where? He had no idea, he hadn't thought that far, but he led himself out of the forest and onto the road, he walked for a while, not sure where would he end at, but with some hope there would be humans.

Humans who would look after the kittens and take them to a place where they could grow and then hopefully, be released once they were strong enough to survive on their own, he watched TV, he knew those places existed.

The meowing accompanied him for a while, he had brought the injured kitten against his chest, scratching its ear, occasionally pushing back into the carrier the curious heads of the other two.

Arriving into town… well, he was just glad it was night, he never came at night, reason it didn't surprise him to not be greeted by Alice, which was great, he didn't want her to see him right now.

Not when he couldn't for the life of him stop shivering nor sweating, vampires didn't sweat!

And there was also the slight detail where his skin was burning, though that might be because of the wounds caused by fire.

He kept himself to the shadows, not that his stealth was great right now when he had three meowing little furballs, he found a box at an alley, he carefully lowered the wounded bobcat kitten in there, this before pulling out of the carrier the other two little demons.

Once in the box it took him quite a while to find the vet, he put the box infront of the door, closing the box so none of them would escape.

-I really do hope you survive, the three of you.- He whispers, his hand resting on top of the box for a moment, he nudges them with calm, he knows his gift works on animals, somewhat.

He can calm them down at least, that much he's gathered throughout the years.

He straightens back up before surveying the place, there was no one around, and still, Jasper hangs close, keeping an eye on the box, and he stays there even as daylight begins spreading, an old man appears at some point, the vet Jasper gathers.

He watches him with critical care, confusion and curiosity take most of the human's emotions as he approaches the box, the kittens had stopped meowing a while ago.

Jasper watches the man kneel on the ground, carefully opening the box to peer inside.

-Oh my.- The human exclaims, surprise flaring in his emotions alongside endearment, sadness, pity as he seems to take on the wounded kitten.

It's then that Jasper decides to leave, the kittens would be fine.

~

-You know, we have known each other for over 5 months now. And while I wouldn't push if there were other reasons… You do know I don't mind the scars, right? You don't need to hide from me.- Alice said, she was giving her back to Jasper as he fed, she knew she shouldn't pressure him.

And she wouldn't, if she knew the reason he refused to show her his face was because he feared her reaction.

She didn't want him to hide from her, she had seen his scars over a thousand times, not that he knew that, his scars were part of him, proof of how strong he was, he was a survivor.

He shouldn't hide because the Volturi said it "messed" with their image, to hell with their image, he was a thousand times more handsome than all of those idiots put together, and he was kinder and so much more better, he shouldn't hide, he wasn't ugly, he wasn't an inconvenience nor was he hard on the eye.

But most of all.

He shouldn't let them keep on humiliating him like that, making him wear a muzzle as if he were some kind of rabid dog, their pet, an animal, she wanted him to regain some confidence.

She might not be able to save him on her own, might not be strong enough to fight the Volturi, but if she managed to lift his spirit, if she could just get him to stand up for himself and stop bowing down to the Volturi.

If she could get him to fight back.

He might be able to free himself.

Her answer was silence.

She sighed.

Meanwhile, Jasper stared at the dead mountain lion, he could feel Alice's disappointment, her sadness, it made something uncomfortable curl at the pit of his stomach.

He didn't want to be responsible for such emotions, but he couldn't give her what she wanted either, she said she didn't mind his scars because she hadn't seen the truth.

Once she saw him she would go back on her word, people never kept their promises, María didn't keep her promise to never let him go, Peter didn't keep his promise to never leave him, Aro didn't keep his promise to not make him kill children, they all lied.

But Alice… she was so warm, so… different.

Five months he's known her for.

Three months he's loved her for.

If he couldn't see his life without her now how would it feel like next month? How much worse would this feeling get? How much stronger? How much before her emotions could tear through his heart? Should he show her his monstrous face now before it was too late for him?

But what if she hated him? He didn't think he would be able to take her disgust let alone her fear. Couldn't he live in this lie for a little longer? Couldn't he rejoice in this peace for a bit longer?

No.

It wasn't fair for her.

She deserved to see the monster she spent so much time around, the monster she trusted so blindingly.

Even if that meant losing her.

It was alright, it wouldn't be the first time he lost someone who led him to believe they were different.

Peter left him for Charlotte, and alright, while he understood that he had done so to protect her, to leave that life behind, it still hurt to know he never went back for him, never tried to reach out to him, weren't they friends? Didn't he say once he was like the brother he never had? Then why did he disappear without trace?

There had also been an Italian street couple of siblings, a 17 year old girl and her 10 year old sister, both with blonde hair and big brown eyes, they had made him believe he could do better than be a monster, he would bring them food and desserts, bought them new clothes even, their names had been Esmeralda and Jade, both had been kind hearted.

And then they disappeared without trace too, leaving nothing but a note behind.

"Thank you for your help, but we would like to break whatever this is off, thank you for the money and the food, but we don't need you anymore, we found normal people who want to take us in, please don't look for us."

And now there was Alice.

Also acting as if she were different, as if she cared , asking about his wounds, about the reason for his grimaces and flinches, asking, no one cared.

This was his chance to get her to show her true colors, he had no idea what she even intended with this whole thing to begin with, ever since he first saw her in Volterra he's known something isn't quite right about her, she acted as if she knew his gift, she knew when he was hurt, her trust on him was blind, she acted like, like they knew each other.

That realization hit him like a railroad, and for a moment, he froze.

Because it was true.

No one in their right mind would do the things she's done with him with a stranger, much less with him, a Volturi, the Volturi were a threat to her coven, so how come was she so willing to trust him? To tell him things he could use against her? How did she trust he wasn't manipulating her to get her to Aro?

And suddenly, alarm flared in, shoulders squaring up as he sprung up, putting the muzzle back on, she knew him, she knew his gift, she knew when he was hurt, she knew when he was coming, she knew, she knew because she had been spying on him, how could he be so stupid?! She was using him to get to the Volturi! Using him for her own gains like everybody else did!

He saw her tense, her emotions growing mixed, a vision.

He moved before her gift could warn her about what was coming, and still, all his hands met as he shot forward was thin air.

That has never happened before.

He spun around in time to see her land on top of a boulder.

-What was-?!- Jasper didn't let her finish as he pounced at her again, aiming for her throat, she tried to dodge, but slipped on the wet grass, leaving him an opening.

An opening he didn't hesitate to take as he grabbed her, slamming her against the ground with vengeance, betrayal echoing like a deafening whiplash through his chest, of all things possible, he could have never expected to find such dangerous woman.

With her innocent behavior and her blissful emotions, driving him into a sense of security, trust!

Her hands flew to his wrists, alarm, surprise and fear piercing his skin.

But most of it all, the confusion that reigned like a thick blanket in the air almost made him choke.

He pushed the feeling back.

She was not a friend, she was not a good person. She was just like María, like the Volturi, like everybody else.

Red flashes in his vision as fire courses through his veins. He hadn't felt this kind of anger since he was in the South, but unlike those times, there's an all consuming pain threatening to tear his heart apart. His throat burns, and he doesn't know what to do with all these confusing feelings.

Because he doesn't want to kill her, he doesn't want to hurt her, but she lied, she was nothing like she ever made him believe.

His vision blurs, the fire in his chest intensifies with each passing second. His fingers tightened around her throat until he heard it crack.

But that's all he got to do before Alice was breaking free from his hold, how? He has no idea. But one moment he's pinning her down and the next thing he knows she's the one pinning him down, face against the ground and arms twisted behind his back, the position bringing back to him the echoing ripples of pain on the upper part of his body.

He shouldn't have hesitated, now he was gonna die, he let weakness corrupt his mind, how did he ever think something good could come from this? A random angel shows up and makes him believe he can have good things. And because he's so incredibly pathetic he falls for it.

Her anger burns at him.

-Why are you attacking me?!

Of all things possible that was the last thing he could have ever expected her to say, why was she still bothering to keep on the act? He attacked her, she should damn well know the why already.

-If you don't start explaining what this is about immediately I'll be very put off with you Jasper Whitlock.- Alice demands, she's trying very hard to keep her composure right now, she couldn't for the life of her understand what had triggered this reaction.

It couldn't be because she asked him to not wear the muzzle, right? He had never shown such reaction before. Then what? What was it that got him to react like this? She could feel her neck burning where the skin had split, the crack throbbed with infernal force, she could feel the venom trickling down.

That was gonna go so not good when she got home.

She felt him tense beneath her, and then he turned his head as best as he could, the iced glare that met her would had been skin crawling.

If she had been someone else.

Plus.

Behind all that rage she could see it.

He was hurt.

As if the unshed tears weren't proof enough.

And that did nothing but confuse her, what happened? He had been fine, why was he like this now? What happened that she didn't notice? Why was he hurt? Was it something she did? Something she said? But what even would get such a violent reaction from him?

-I never told you my last name.

His words froze her.

What?

-Of course you did.- She tried to coax, shit, if she gave it thought he did not tell her his last name, it had slipped out, she knew it was bound to happen, that something would slip out, but she never expected it would be in this kind of situation.

She hadn't wanted to tell him like this, she had wanted to wait just a bit longer, to let him choose for himself whether he wanted her as a friend or as something more. Because while he might be her soulmate, she might not be his.

He didn't react much to her shows of affection, he didn't reject them, but he didn't acknowledge them either, the most she got out of him was the tears when she kissed his scars, but even that wasn't much proof, he might as well had been overwhelmed because no one had ever treated him with such kindness.

For all Alice knew.

She wasn't his soulmate.

But he wasn't suppose to find out like this, she wasn't manipulating him nor gaslighting him into a relationship, all she had wanted was to befriend him in hopes of helping him escape the Volturi on his own volition seeing that she couldn't exactly save him herself.

-No, I didn't.- He insisted, his voice firm and leaving no room for argument.

-Jas-

-For how long have you been spyin' on me?- He cut off, his voice wavering at the end, Alice stiffened at the accusation, how did he..? But if she gave it thought it didn't surprise her that he had figured it out.

Jasper was smart, and way too hyperaware, paranoid, quite the dangerous mix when one tried to lie to him. But she hadn't lied, she just kept some truths to herself.

Still.

How did he know? Was that why he attacked her? But how did he even come to that conclusion from a simple request she had made before?

She couldn't understand.

-I haven't-

-Don't lie.- He snapped, making Alice flinch, she didn't like the anguish in his eyes, the betrayal, the pain.

Because of her.

She hadn't meant to hurt him.

-I know the truth now, hell, I can feel it. You're feelin' guilt, and fear, why? Because I unraveled your lies.- She needed to extinguish that anger before it burnt her, while she still could rationalize with him, while he was still withholding himself from attacking her with his gift.

-You are right, I have been spying on you, but it's not for the reasons you might believe.- Alice hadn't wanted to tell him yet, much less like this, but she guessed it was better this way, the more she let it sit the worst it could end up hurting him in the long run.

She had watched enough movies and shows to know that waiting too much to tell someone the truth about their relationship or something in general would just lead to trouble and a potential irreparable rupture in the trust held for that person.

He would feel lied to, betrayed, and in the worst of cases, manipulated, used, humiliated, like she had been taking him for a fool.

-People spy with only one reason in mind, you should kill me now, because once I get free-

-Can you shut up for a second? I'm not gonna kill you, alright? I'm…- Alice huffed, frustration curling in, she didn't want to hurt him, she didn't want this whole mess to keep on escalating .- I do admit I have been spying on you, I have been doing so since I first woke up in 1920.

-You-

-Just listen, please? I didn't do it on purpose at first, you just… you were my first vision. You were the one who told me my name, you gave me something for me to hold onto.- She ended up confessing.

Because it was true, him telling her her name had helped her have a sense of self, Alice, she was a person, she was someone, even if she had no clue who she might have been. She was someone, real.

-I told you before, didn't I? I didn't remember my human life when I first woke up, even now when I know things about it I still can't seem to actually remember any of it.- Which was quite frustrating to be honest, the memories might not be good ones, but they were hers, she wanted to have them.

To know.

-But you were there, saying my name, at first I thought you knew me, that you might have been the one to turn me, but the more I watched you, the more I realized we didn't knew each other… I had a lot of visions about you, I didn't knew much on the why, not until I got a longer vision of when you said my name.

She didn't want to tell him.

She didn't want to lose him.

But he deserved the truth.

-We were suppose to meet at a diner in Philadelphia in 1948.- Alice revealed.

She didn't miss the confusion that flashed in his gaze at her words.

-You would come into the diner as rain poured outside, you would sit by the window, on the furthest booth, and I would join you, we would talk.

-About what?- He was still giving her a suspicious look, but at least the anger had subsided.

-We would get to know each other, I guess.- Alice couldn't exactly tell him their conversation would wield such… interesting tone.

"You have kept me waiting a long time."

"My apologies ma'am, I didn't realize I'd somewhere to be."

"I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous, you make me nervous."

"I don't mean to."

"That's a lot of sugar."

" It makes me feel human."

"So, tell me about yourself Jasper. What's your favorite color? Who was your first kiss? What type of music do you like? You can just choose to answer one of those if you want."

"Uhm… I… like blue?"

"Oh, me too, I mean, I like all the colors, but blue's a good one."

" Who are you?"

"I'm a little intuitive, I can probably make a killing in palm readings."

"You have very nice hands."

"Is that what I am? A possibility?"

"No, I decided on you a long time ago."

"What happens next Alice?"

"Well, we both become vegetarian for one."

And she would kiss him, right before the waitress dropped a plate and began bleeding.

And he wouldn't react to her blood.

-You would've agreed to come with me to the Cullens, both of us would've have become vegetarians.- Each word that came out of Alice's mouth did nothing but confuse Jasper more and more.

On one side, it explained how did she know so much about him, if she had been spying on him initially because she thought he was her creator or someone she knew.

But that didn't explain how she kept on spying on him, even after they didn't meet, why would he even agree to just go with someone he didn't knew in the first place?

But she wasn't lying, no matter how much he tried to, he couldn't find any deception in her emotions, her eyes, but she might as well be an amazing liar, it didn't explain why she kept spying on him, what did she intend with all of this? Use him to protect her coven from the Volturi?

He couldn't understand.

-Why would I go with you? Why did you approach me in the first place? Do you somehow expected to use me to protect your coven from the Volturi? Take me down because you know who I am? How can I know you aren't lying right now?

-I know Peter.- Alice's words froze him.- I know he went to look for you a week after the Volturi came for you, I know he blamed himself for a long time, thinking you to be dead, that he was too late, that he took way too long to make up his mind about going back for you. So I looked for him, and told him where you were and with whom.

Silence.

Jasper had no idea what to say to that, Peter had looked for him? He didn't betray him? He didn't abandon him… he didn't abandon him.

-Everything I have told you is true, I don't really have any way of proving it, but I need you to believe me, I don't want to use you, nor do I have any ulterior motives for approaching you, I do care about you, I would never hurt you, I would never use you, I just wanted to be your friend, to be there for you so you wouldn't be alone.

-So you pity me? Is that what you say? I don't need anyone's pity!- Jasper snapped, as if the pain couldn't be worse, she befriended him out of pity? He didn't need anyone's pity!

-No, I don't pity you. I just… I want you to be safe, and happy, I know I can't really do that, but I at least wish to give you some peace of mind whenever we see each other, even if just for a little bit, I want you to be free of Volterra.

-Why do you care so much?- He couldn't for the life of him understand what was this woman's deal, what else did she want from him? She had destroyed him in a way neither María or the Volturi ever did.

She tore his heart out and crushed it between her fingers, she made him believe he could trust her, that she did care about him, she made him fall for her.

All for it to turn out to be a lie, a deception.

And she kept aiming to hold up the role of "nice angel".

His friend? He didn't have friends, he didn't make friends, no one who knew who he was and what he had done would ever want him close, no one would care about him, much less his happiness.

People like him were bound to live in the shadows, to never step out.

And her silence did nothing but make his chest hurt even worse, his throat burnt, his eyes, everything burnt, he turned away from her, unable to keep on looking at her, treacherous tears spilling out as the heat in his chest became too much to deal with.

He bit his bottom lip, anger blossoming deep within, shame, he felt more humiliated than when Aro pointed out his scars infront of everyone. Than when Aro made the twins use their gifts on him infront of everyone else.

Because this woman…

She released him, that action alone caught Jasper so off guard for a moment he forgot how to react, still, he was quick to spring up, furiously wiping his damn tears away.

He could feel her uneasiness in the air, sadness, pain, frustration, worry, fear…

Defeat?

He turned to glare at her, but she wasn't looking at him, she was staring at the ground, shoulders drawn closer, she looked so small, so… vulnerable… he wanted nothing more but to hold her, and he hated how that was seriously his first thought.

He approached her, slow, he didn't want to be here, but he couldn't leave either, not until he knew the truth of what this whole thing had been for.

- Why do you care?- He demanded, now standing right infront of her, fingers curled into fists. This was the first time in his life he couldn't kill someone who had all the signs of being a threat.

His answer was her hand reaching out to rest on his chest, and as she looked up at him he felt a knot swell at the back of his throat, there was such anguish in her eyes, so much pain.

And then she spoke.

-Because you are my soulmate, and I love you.


A/N: Want to remind y'all that the dialogue for Alice's vision of meeting Jasper in 1948 was pulled out from the short film of 'We've Met Before' JasperAlice from The Storytellers, I'm obsessed with the interaction between those two in there, even if not the same actors I still love how extremely intense is the atmosphere between the two, they don't know each other and they are practically already hooked XD