Forks -
Carlisle had to admit that the young man standing behind Alice looked like a completely different person from the one he had treated at the hotel and the one from yesterday.
He didn't seem to be feeling ill, which Carlisle didn't expect him to, as he had told Alice, he might show spontaneous bouts of withdrawal, might come and go sporadically, he might be fine one moment and the next he wouldn't be.
His condition was unusual, but curable, but like he told Alice, it would be a slow and taxing process.
Listening to him last night had felt terrible, knowing he could do nothing to help him, but Esme had still insisted on brewing antidote against vervain, and while he hadn't thought it would work it did seem to have worked.
Because not soon after the noises had stopped, Carlisle guessed he should have seen that coming, as a doctor he should be willing to take on every possibility, even more so with an unprecedented illness.
Seeing him now… he looked like a regular person, one Carlisle would never suspect of being possibly one of the most dangerous of their kind.
His eyes were red, but they weren't neither cold nor sharp as they had been yesterday, they fell more on the anxious category, he kept looking all over the place, as if expecting the slightest sign of trouble to bolt.
And Carlisle was reminded of the kind of background he had, all that violence, all that bloodshed… and then the Volturi… if Alice's words were something to go with alongside what Carlisle had seen and heard…
It was a miracle in itself that he hadn't broke under the abuse and vile environment he was subjected to, and he wondered if this place would be fit to deal with someone like him.
Carlisle's seen his fair share of what trauma could do to a person, and while he's never seen it in a vampire Jasper gave him the impression of someone who could become dangerous if he felt threatened.
Those skittish eyes said it all.
But he's never been one to be afraid of helping others, he would give Jasper all the help he needed, the world's given him too much pain and cruelty, it was about time he was given something much more different.
Carlisle could care less about the obstacles in the long run, the hardships and how difficult it might become at times, as he took on his shifty eyes, that was enough for him to decide that he would help this boy.
Who cared if he was The Major? That had been a title given to him during his time in the South, when he had killed and killed, but he was no longer that person.
While he still had his doubts about his relationship with Alice he couldn't ignore the fact that he wasn't bad, he didn't seem evil nor even like he meant harm.
He looked more like he was expecting them to mean him harm.
And Carlisle wished to see the day where those haunted and shifty eyes would turn for the better.
~
Esme couldn't help but smile as she saw Jasper and Alice, to see him walking and looking better, she had been worried last night, wondering if the antidote would help somehow, she had been able to relax when he had stopped making noise.
Carlisle had told her that she shouldn't be worried, that there was nothing to be done, nothing could help him with this, this situation was unprecedented, unusual.
But Esme couldn't just do nothing, she needed to stop his pain, because like she said before, she had grown to love him through Alice's descriptions and stories, he was her son, whether he ever grew to see them as family or not, to her, he was already her son.
Jasper… she was grateful of his love for her daughter, she had considered him one of them since the moment he began taking care of Alice, the moment she realized he was the one who put that sparkle in Alice's eyes, she could care less who he was, as long as her children were happy she would never question who did they choose to love.
All she made sure to seek for was for their partners to be good to them, that's all she cared about, the rest didn't matter, reason she hadn't cared if Bella had been human or if Jasper was The Major, none of that mattered, just her children's happiness.
He had protected Alice with such fierceness, Esme had no doubts regarding his love for Alice nor where his heart was at, he was good, a bit aggressive when dealing with threats, but she blamed that on the kind of environment he had been exposed to, didn't mean he was dangerous.
With the right guidance she believed he could do better.
But all in all he wasn't dangerous.
~
Edward… wasn't quite sure what to think regarding the situation. He was still uncomfortable with this whole situation, even more so when one took into consideration the guy's red eyes, the shifty eyes, the mask, what was he aiming to hide?
How did Carlisle expect him to stay when he didn't even fed off animals? Alice said he did, sometimes, but that wasn't good enough.
Their lifestyle was meant to allow them to mix among humans, how could they do that when one of them had red eyes?
And that scar on his eyebrow… it didn't settle well with him.
This was an empath capable of manipulating people through their emotions, The Major, he's killed thousands.
And despite what he had thought before he couldn't help but tense, because this was so not a good idea.
But Alice wanted this, he had to be accepting.
Was easier said than done.
~
Rosalie didn't bother to hide her stare as she looked at Jasper from head to toe, searching for the slightest sign that he might be hiding something, one could tell a lot from someone's body language.
But she was unable to find much, he stood ramrod straight, she's never seen someone stand so straight, at least not in person, he stood like a friggin' soldier.
She guessed old habits died hard, he was leaning close to Alice, and while at first sight it looked like he was doing so out of normalcy she could see the truth, she could see it in his shifty eyes and the way his free hand was balled into a fist, a fist that more than a fist was him putting pressure on his thumb. Serious pressure.
He was anxious.
Rosalie knew that thumb trick better than she was willing to admit, she would do the same after she was turned, had done so for a long time whenever she left the house, she had hated the near panic sensation that being alone anywhere brought, she was a vampire, nothing could harm her, those who had wronged her had paid the price.
But she had still been anxious. Even more so when she walked among humans, men, or saw drunk men.
And so as to focus she would crush her thumb, the pain being a great thing to focus on past her nervousness.
And she had no idea what to do with that fact, that he would feel anxious enough to hurt himself so as to focus on something else, wasn't he suppose to be The Major? A serial killer among vampires, killed thousands of innocents.
So what was he so scared of?
Them? What the hell for? He could overpower them all in seconds.
But no, the fact that he was hiding behind Alice said it all, she had the feeling that right now any of them could very much overpower him, and it wouldn't be because he was weak.
It would simply be because he wouldn't fight back.
The way he had spoken about them yesterday left it very much clear, that he wouldn't hurt them simply because Alice wouldn't be happy about it.
Rosalie found it a bit fascinating if she was being honest, the idea that Alice, Alice seemingly became completely capable of controlling one of the most sanguinary vampires to ever walk the Earth.
Leave it to Alice to manage something like that, Rosalie sometimes couldn't help but be amazed at that woman, and why lie? Part of her felt quite proud over having her as a sister.
And that guy… he didn't seem particularly psychotic, much less after hearing him last night, that one… she had been quite mortified to realized she genuinely felt bad for him.
Because at the end of the day, the Volturi had been the ones to put him in that state, the constant poisoning, Carlisle had said so, his healing might be near non-existent and he could sleep, he couldn't even feed right.
For all she had heard the guy's luck had seriously been on the ground since he was turned, she almost felt sympathy for him.
Almost.
She refused to let her guard down so quick, she didn't trust him, she trusted Alice and if Alice said he could be redeemed she was willing to give it a chance, didn't mean she was gonna accept him from the get go.
Only time would tell if he was truly worth trusting or even acknowledge him as part of the family.
She didn't hate him, but she didn't particularly like him.
~
Emmett was almost vibrating with excitement, because it was happening, it was finally happening, but as excited as he was he made a point to not make impulsive choices.
The last thing he wanted was to freak him out, the poor guy looked anxious enough, it was an hilarious sight though, to see the supposedly South's terror hiding behind tiny Alice, as if expecting her to protect him.
And alright, Emmett knew she wasn't as harmless as she looked, which now he wondered if it had to do with the fact that she had been watching The Major long before he left the South.
The idea that Alice learnt how to fight through The Major was a fascinating thought, made her a bit terrifying.
Because the guy had mad skills, learning how to fight through him had to be legendary.
But back to the point at hand, Emmett felt amazed at having the guy here, right infront of them, the way he had acted yesterday, the way he spoke, he had looked completely different from how he did now.
He looked a bit odd in those fancy clothes, and why was he wearing a mask for? But Emmett guessed that didn't matter much, because the guy was finally here.
And Emmett couldn't wait to test how good he was at chess, videogames, he knew he liked videogames, Renesmee confessed to him she hadn't been the one to pass certain levels on the Mario Kart game from the DS.
Jasper was.
And Emmett felt like tearing up at the idea of finally getting a brother who liked videogames or was generally good at it, because Edward for a mind reader completely sucked at it.
Even Esme was better than him!
Emmett couldn't wait to see what could this new brother bring with him, did he like pranks? Wrestling? Cards? Baseball? Would he be willing to help Emmett perfection his Triple-Chess? Did he know how to drive? Would he like to race Emmett? Would he be willing to go to Las Vegas with him and bet at the casino?
It would be nice to have someone to bet with at the casino, he had Rosalie, and Alice, but it wasn't the same, because Rosalie was his wife and Alice cheated with her gift.
He wanted a brother to go with.
Edward was a goody two shoes, he would never be caught at a casino.
But Jasper… he taught Renesmee how to play poker, meant he might not be as innocent as he looked, might be much more fun to hang with than Edward.
He might not be able to spend much time there though, with that of him being sick, but Emmett wanted to see what he could do, he was completely and absolutely hellbent on getting a brother out of him.
He was gonna befriend the hell out of him and he was gonna make sure he would never feel the need to look as anxious as he did now.
Because the guy didn't knew it yet, but Emmett was gonna be his best friend.
~
Bella had to admit it put a smile on her face to see Alice standing there all proud, a grin plastered on her face.
As if she were showing off the greatest treasure she's ever found.
Jasper… even with the mask she could tell he wasn't as terrible looking as Edward had aimed to make him sound when she first asked him about The Major, plus, considering this was the Jasper Whitlock, she's seen enough of his face in history books, as a human he had been quite handsome.
Meant that as a vampire that must have enhanced, even as covered in blood as he had been yesterday she had been able to gather that much, he was very good looking.
She still had a hard time believing that this man was the same Jasper Whitlock from the books, a civil war soldier, very much alive. One who's strange disappearance was still quite the hot topic among historians.
Knowing the truth behind his disappearance felt like discovering Atlantis.
Having seen him yesterday, the way he spoke to the way he held himself, she wondered how intimidating he must have been as a still very human soldier, when as a vampire he seemed to be able to control the environment around him so easily with nothing but his presence.
To think he would end up with someone like Alice…
It was a fascinating thought.
The fairy and the soldier.
It was almost surreal.
~
Jasper's never felt as anxious as he was doing right now, because all he was getting were stares and no one was saying anything, and he was seriously a second away from bolting away and not looking back.
But Alice's grip on his hand kept him from it, she gave it a gentle squeeze, her comfort squashing down some of his growing anxiety.
-You know, staring isn't polite. You can say hi, you know, like normal people?- Alice said, she got it, he wasn't what some had expected nor what he had looked like yesterday.
Didn't mean they could stare at him quietly, that would do nothing but make Jasper more anxious than he already was.
Her words at least seemed to evoke a reaction, because next thing Alice knows Emmett is grinning and walking up to them, leaving a safe distance between them before he's holding his hand out, she was quite sure that were Emmett able to, he would have lunged at Jasper and trapped him into a bear hug.
But he didn't, Alice had made sure to make him promise not to grab Jasper let alone hug him, he wasn't used to positive touch, it had taken her a while to get him to be comfortable with her touch, if Emmett wanted to touch him he would need lots of patience.
-I'm Emmett.- Emmett introduced himself with a grin, making sure to keep his excitement under control, he had to remember that this guy was skittish, if he didn't want to freak him out he needed to be careful, slow, patient.
Jasper stared at his hand for a long moment before daring to take a step forward, leaving his spot behind Alice, he took Emmett's hand into his own, hesitant.
He wasn't quite prepared for the wave of excitement and giddiness that hit him full on, he met Emmett's gaze, confused on why was he so excited, usually, people would be terrified over the idea of meeting him.
Not this one.
And Jasper had no idea what to do about that.
All he could do was look back at their hands, even if he was wearing gloves it still felt odd to touch someone else that wasn't Alice and meant no harm.
He had convinced Alice to get him gloves, wanting to hide as many of his scars as he could, reason on the why he had buttoned every single button on his shirt, wanting to also hide as much of his neck as possible, he didn't want them to be afraid of him, or anxious, or uncomfortable.
These people were important to Alice.
The last thing he wanted was to make them afraid or uncomfortable with his presence.
-Hi.- Was all he could manage to answer at last, he had no idea what to say, they knew his name, and much more about him, so what was he suppose to say?
Their emotions weren't negative, but somehow, the air felt awkward, weird.
-You like chess?- That was not what Jasper had been expecting to hear next, Emmett was looking at him like a child asking a potential friend whether their interests matched or not, an excuse to befriend him.
That's at least what it made him think of.
-I do.- He conceded, not sure where this was going.
-Great! Since no one's talking I can show you my pride and joy.- Emmett said, because he could tell the guy was starting to feel awkward over the weird silence.
Emmett couldn't blame him, he was also starting to feel awkward about it, he knew it wasn't on purpose, they probably just didn't knew what else to say, but they should at least try to be less awkward about it.
This was meant to be their first time meeting him, officially, they should put more life into it, I mean, yeah, it wasn't as easy as it had been with Bella, but the guy didn't bite.
Thus, Emmett took one for the team, he took advantage of the fact that he hadn't let his hand go to pull him along, he was quite surprised when he was met with zero resistance or hesitation.
-Pride and joy?
-Triple-chess, it's not complete, but it's getting there, thought someone with the mind of a soldier could be good for its construction.- Emmett told as a statement of fact, dragging Jasper with him.
Jasper who threw a look at Alice over his shoulder, she wasn't worried nor anxious, so he tried to not be anxious over this odd change of events. Being dragged somewhere unknown to do God knows what wasn't comforting.
But again, Alice wasn't worried nor anxious, if she was alright with this then so was he. There was no one he trusted more than Alice.
If she thought something was alright, then it was alright.
~
-Why do you wear a mask?- Jasper stiffened at Rosalie's question, pen coming to an abrupt halt, Emmett had convinced him earlier to help him draw a new design for the Triple-Chessboard.
And while he had agreed to it he had been as quiet as death, just sitting there, on the furthest corner of the couch looking like he was hoping to not be noticed if he kept as still and quiet as possible.
Not that it was working much seeing that he was the least unnoticeable thing in the house right now, plus, he couldn't exactly pass as an invisible object when Alice was practically glued to his side.
Alice threw Rosalie a warning look, Rosalie ignored her, theoretically speaking she wasn't being rude nor hostile to him, she had come to terms with who he was long ago, she might not like it, but it was Alice's choice, so she would respect it.
Didn't mean she would accept it all quietly, and it was seriously irking at her to know the why did he feel the need to cover his face, they already saw his face, covered in blood, but they still saw it.
So what the hell was there to hide?
-Rosalie, that's not a kind thing to ask.- Even if Esme said that she had to admit she was also curious to know the reason for him to hide his face, even as a Volturi he had worn a muzzle, a bit derogatory she would say, why would he use something like that? Or was it some aesthetic thing? She's seen people wear odd things for the "aesthetic".
But he didn't seem that kind of person.
Yet, she wasn't quite prepared for the answer, she hadn't even expected him to answer considering how quiet he's been, giving monotonous answers whenever someone else than Emmett tried to start a conversation.
-I've been told 'm not easy on the eye. Coverin' my face prevents people from being frightened or uncomfortable.- He didn't sound bothered nor upset, more like he was stating a long proven fact that he held no business speaking against.
That alone broke Esme's heart and made more than one pause.
Alice glowered, she knew the reason for Jasper to hide his face, but hearing it out loud was much more worse than knowing, it made her seethe and wish she was strong enough to be able to wrangle Aro's throat and break the Volturi's legs.
She felt a blanket of warmth fall on her, calm, love, affection, gratefulness, and she looked up to be met with Jasper's soft eyes, she would always wonder how could he be so kind when all the world ever gave him was pain.
But she guessed that's how strong he was, how resilient and just good natured he was, to never give in to the pain.
-Dude, trust me, no one can compete against Edward's ugly face.- Emmett told, snickering at Edward's glare, he was helping out a bro here, plus, in any case, Emmett was certainly much more handsome than Edward.
Jasper for his side didn't answer, staring down at the half finished design, it wasn't a matter of who was better good looking than who, María had said so herself, Aro, many of the females from the Volturi's guard…
It wasn't his face, it were the scars.
People's looks could change drastically by the most simple of things, birthmarks, moles, burns, scars, tattoos, even piercings.
Could go from good looking to "hard on the eye" or uncomfortable in general to look at.
Alice for some reason didn't seem bothered with the scars, she would kiss them and trace them same as she would look at him and not just see his scars, some people in the past had been unable to look him in the eyes, all they would focus on were the scars, and it had honestly made him feel a bit too self-conscious for comfort.
But she didn't, she would meet his eyes, she could look at him, not his scars, him. It was one of the many reasons why he grew so comfortable at showing his face around her.
The Cullens though… he didn't want to frighten them, to make them uncomfortable, nor for them to just see his scars.
The coven leader had seen them, he knew that much, the man didn't regard him with disgust, not even pity, which good, because if there was one thing he hated more than anything in the world, it was to be regarded with pity.
He needed no one's pity.
Didn't mean the sympathy in the man's emotions was any better, it made him feel exposed, vulnerable, weak, pathetic.
He hated it.
-It's an habit, even if I don't need to wear it I feel better when I do.- He ended up conceding, wishing for this train of conversation to end, he didn't need people aiming to make him feel better about his looks, at least not people who didn't knew what he looked like to begin with.
That generally led to bad outcomes when the person was finally faced by the truth of what they had been trying to make not a big deal all along.
Alice was different, she had stood with her words, she hadn't run when he showed her his face, hadn't been afraid, she had touched them and had felt sad, never fear, never disgust.
Meanwhile, Esme felt her chest tighten over Jasper's words, she saw his face, covered in blood or not, she hadn't seen anything that might prompt him to hide, he looked the same as that old picture, a bit older, but the same, or had there been something that the amount of blood had covered?
There was that scar on his eyebrow, which she hadn't seen yesterday… was that it? Were there more scars? That's the most plausible thing she could think of, generally, a vampire with scars wasn't a good sign, she's also heard that Southern vampires were usually covered in scars.
Was that then what made him hide his face? But the way he had said so… and the muzzle he had worn before… had it been the Volturi? The idea of him being forced to wear the muzzle to hide his face rather than something he chose to wear on his own accord made her nauseous.
That was such a cruel and derogatory thing to do, make him wear a muzzle as if he were some kind of dog, how humiliated and hurt he must have felt when he was first made to wear it? Told that he needed to hide his face for other people's "comfort"?
It made Esme want to punch someone and hug him, the reminder of how lively he had been at the library with Alice, she couldn't fathom the idea of anyone wanting to cause such harm to such good natured boy.
She hoped he would one day feel comfortable enough to not hide his face anymore, he shouldn't hide, he was a free man now, he shouldn't let the Volturi dictate how he chose to live his life anymore.
Rosalie for her side shifted uncomfortably, that was not the kind of thing she had expected to get from asking a seemingly harmless question, Emmett was right though, there was hardly anyone who could compete against Edward's ugly face, so she wasn't sure what was the guy's deal.
She had seen his face on that book, had seen his face covered in blood, he didn't look much terrible, maybe it was a psychological thing, he was The Major, the Volturi had wanted to hide him and so they made him believe his face alone was enough to make other people afraid or uncomfortable.
Thus, he needed to hide his face, he might have been subjected to enough negative comments to the point where he might have developed the belief that he should hide his face.
Another reason to hate on the Volturi, those assholes did amazing at fucking up people, reason Rosalie would have to be dead if Aro ever expected to get his hands on anyone from her family, they would have to kill her before she were to let them sink their putrid claws on Alice, Bella, Edward, or worse.
Renesmee.
God knows what those bastards might do to them, if the Volturi could break The friggin Major she didn't want to know what horrors hid in Volterra.
For even Alec to want to escape.
She glanced at Jasper, he seemed rather harmless, just drawing there, with Alice leaning against him, his left arm had shifted though, he wasn't holding the notebook anymore, it was just resting on his lap, all the while his left arm had ended up wrapped around Alice's waist.
She caught glimpse of a familiar seashells' bracelet on his wrist, peeking right from underneath the sleeve, same bracelet she had helped Renesmee make, Renesmee had come to her requesting for Rosalie to teach her how to make laced/braided bracelets.
She hadn't expected it to end up being for him, it was no longer secret that Renesmee had sneaked out to see him several times, she had confessed it, had said he had helped her build several sets of Lego, had taught her how to play poker of all things possible, and she had taught him how to use a DS' and the computer.
It was part of the reason for Rosalie's remaining dislike of him to have somewhat dimmered, if Renesmee got along with him he couldn't be much terrible.
Right?
~
Jasper liked Renesmee, the girl reminded him of his own little sisters, plus, she was hard not to like, she was much more smarter than the general child, but she was also, at the same, just like a child.
He found her switching behavior between child and adult fascinating and amusing, she would be speaking as if she were older than him one moment and the next she would be swooning over little crabs and animal stickers.
He didn't knew when, but he had grown to consider her the little niece he never had, or well, he now had? She even called him "Uncle Jazz", something Alice had prompted her to do out of amusement and just stuck.
He didn't mind, he liked the title, while not something he ever saw himself as, he couldn't deny it made him feel all giddy, having something so small and innocent calling him "uncle", looking at him as if he were the coolest person in the world…
It made him feel like he had a chance at being more than a monster, he felt something similar with Alice, but there was something different about such feelings coming from something as innocent and pure as a child that made it feel more… genuine? No, he couldn't put name to it, but it felt nice.
Children saw the world on a different perspective than adults, had an innocence to them that just allowed them to interact differently towards creatures that might be regarded as either dangerous or monstrous by others.
It was this what had made him grow to relax around her, she was always happy, always excited to show him something new, and so he had reciprocated, teaching her how to play Poker, how to play the guitar, and much like he had done with his sisters, he had also taught her how to give the perfect punch.
And because she was half human, he had taken it to teach her how to tell which mushrooms were poisonous and which weren't. He was never a particular fan of mushrooms as a human, he had found them unsettling.
But Renesmee said she liked mushrooms, and while she did said the poisonous ones couldn't harm her she did said the stomachaches and nausea weren't pleasant.
Thus, he had taught her how to find the edible ones, how to fish, how to build a safe fire, how to tell when fruits were ripe and ready to be eaten, and also how to clean rabbits so she could eat their meat. A bit gruesome Alice had said, but he hadn't seen the problem, his father always said it was good to know how to hunt your own food down and how to prepare it.
It was gruesome, but it would ensure they wouldn't ever starve to death.
Plus, vampires were gruesome already, skinning and cleaning and animal to eat wasn't any more gruesome than taking one down to suck their blood.
He also might or might have not taught her how to take down bears with more ease despite Alice warning him against it, but Renesmee had given him such a look, so full of hopes and dreams and expectations over the idea of getting to hunt a bear to show off to Emmett… he had been unable to refuse.
Still, back to the point at hand, he might have grown more attached to her than he had first realized, he knew this the moment she had thrown herself at him and his first reaction was to prepare for the impact instead of side stepping or stopping her from coming into contact with him.
And now her arms were around him and she was looking up at him with a goofy grin, all the while the room was flooding with shock, surprise and something akind to panic, that one from the mind reader.
From Alice though, she was oozing amusement, endearment and something akind to pride.
-Look what I got!- She exclaimed, pulling back from him and disappearing out of the door before appearing back at the doorframe, proudly holding up a fish half her size.- I did it on the first try this time, on my own, didn't fell in this time, I didn't move a single inch, just waited for it to be practically beside me before snatching it up by the tail, just like you said.
Jasper couldn't bite back the smirk at her pride and overflowing happiness.
-You caught that? Without a fishing rod?- Bella asked, staring at the fish that was half her daughter's size, she was quite sure that were Charlie here he would be shedding tears of pride over such feat of catching a fish barehanded.
-I did, uncle Jazz taught me, he said it's easier and quicker to catch the fish barehanded than wait hours for one to take the bait.- Renesmee said as a statement of fact.
She did had a point there.
But it was somewhat surreal to imagine Jasper, who looked all stiff and quiet, doing something as odd as catching fish barehanded.
But again, he hadn't reacted negatively to Renesmee hugging him, such unexpected gesture, and he looked almost proud if not a bit amused over Renesmee's unexpected apparition with a huge fish she apparently caught barehanded thanks to his teaching.
Nothing but proof that maybe, just maybe, time would allow him to show his actual personality.
-Dad?- Edward turned to look at his daughter, still feeling a bit unsettled over the sight of her holding a huge and very dead fish, wasn't she suppose to be with Jacob?
-Yeah?
-Can I have sushi tonight?
END NOTES: Man, I have written what feels like dozens of reactions from the Cullens regarding Jasper and different situations he's put in, but GOD did this time I almost burnt the only braincell I own trying to write their point of view of him in this chapter or even the meeting at all So, sorry if their POV and interactions were a bit weird, rushed, dull or senseless XD
PS: Behold the most random ending ever, Renesmee got out of hand on that last bit, had no idea where to end it LMAO
