Bracing for the worst, I turned all of my attention towards the one vampire that I have ever actually been able to stand. To say that I was worried would be a colossal overstatement that I would not take well, for I do not feel emotions. All they do is bring more harm than good. However, I cannot deny that I would regret my excuse for a lie if Jasper ended our friendship because of it. There is just something about him that I have grown to appreciate.

I was not even going to consider the amount of pain that I would cause him if he ever learned who I really was. It would break any trust. Not that I was ever going to disclose to any of them who I really was: I had no desire to make my existence in Forks any more complicated than it needs to be.

It was complicated enough.

Sensing that Jasper was reluctant to disclose his reasons for staying behind, I decided to initiate the conversation. "Something you wish to ask?" While speaking I attempted to keep my voice light-hearted even while possible responses were going through my head. I hate to admit it, but all my time posing as a human has given me some unfortunate human traits such as fear. How horrible, something that I am going to fix as soon as humanly possible. Dammit!

After a minute of silence, where I could see the gears turning in Jasper's head as he tried to come up with his response, he answered. "Will you…. will you come to my house on Friday?" He said it hesitantly, as if me declining would actually cause him emotional pain.

Trying not to think about why Jasper would care so much about my response, I pretended to think about the answer. After all, normal humans are hugely social creatures and often make plans with each other. In truth though I had already made up my mind.

At this point I have the ability to cut all ties with the Cullens. I could use the excuse that I could not handle the fact that they weren't human, and leave with all dignity intact. The idea did have its appeals: I would no longer have to tolerate Edward and Bella. I would only see Rosalie and Emmet in the one class we share. I would no longer have to worry about control when Alice hugs me.

They would be fine. The majority of them will continue with their lives, forgetting about me as I sink into the shadows. Bella would eventually be turned and give up on me ever being a friend. After a few years they would move to another cloudy town, during which Alice would convince Jasper that they were meant to be and they would become a couple again.

And that is why I cannot. As a creature that has the power it is my duty to stop the two from getting back together and fulfilling Alice's vision. For she had not just seen that they were not mates. She also was given a glimpse of what would happen if the two stayed together.

I was not letting Jasper, the only vampire I have ever tolerated, experience that.

Having waited the appropriate time, I responded to the still anxious Jasper. Smiling widely, making sure that that would see that I had no regrets, I said, "I would love to."

Jasper's smile mirrored mine as all his fears and doubts were washed away from his mind. Honestly, I do not think that I had seen him this happy, not even around his family. Which was something I knew that I would have to now face before it got out of hand. Wanting to be alone to reflect, I asked Jasper what time we were meeting, where he replied that he would drive the two of us after school. After using the homework excuse, I escape from his clutches and arrived at the house.

…..

As soon as I arrived I revealed my true form, knowing that I was alone, and paced the hallway. After all, I had a lot to think about.

The first and foremost issue that has presented itself is Jasper. Namely, the way that he has been feeling about me. While in class, I had overheard Rosalie whisper to Emmet that Jasper was acting overly-friendly to me, which was unlike him. I had attempted to dismiss it, not wanting to complicate matters further through speculation, but I could not ignore the warmth that Jasper was emitting. It is common knowledge among his family that Jasper can become affect by the emotions surrounding him. However, what they did not know was that he would project his feelings unconsciously around him if they were strong enough. And lately, his feeling towards me have indeed been strong enough for it to overfill and spill into the air, where I was able to sense it.

I had to face facts. Jasper liked me more than anyone he had ever met.

I am very aware that not all of these emotions occurred naturally. Having broken up with the woman who was not actually his mate, he immediately latched onto me as a support, needing my company to keep his mind off things and provide an outside opinion that neither Bella nor his family could ever have. This was most certainly the beginning of his positive emotions towards me. However, I also know that feelings of need and desperation cannot create a liking that is as strong as Jaspers is. Which is even more concerning.

There is unfortunately nothing that I can do about his feelings. Had I of acted earlier perhaps I would have been able to scare him enough that the they would turn to fear. But they are now too strong. Distance would not work either. It would just create more of a challenge in Jasper's eyes and he would fall for me that much faster. The best course of action available, short of leaving, is to continue to act the way that I have been: as a friend. I cannot leave him, unfortunately. My conscious will not permit me to leave a wounded animal behind. Believe it or not, I do have a moral code of sorts.

Now that I have dealt with the first issue, I must now focus my attention on the second: the unpersuasive lie that I had given the Cullens regarding my absence from Alice's vision. Unlike the first, there is no possible way that I would be allowed to get away with ignorance. They would see through it every time, especially since I have shown myself to be intelligent and observant. And soon they would press harder, until it comes to a point where the only options left to tell them the actual truth or kill them all.

Vampires are seen as blood-sucking, prideful creatures. However, all my experience with them has taught me, the hard way, that you cannot lie to them twice. This is especially true if the first lie was obvious. In my case, if I was able to come up with the most convincing lie of all time that would explain my absence from the vision, they would be able to sense that what I was telling them was false. It is unfortunately one of the gifts, like speed and sight, that all vampires acquire when they turn.

It is almost a miracle that I have been able to successful lie to the Cullens for so long. Or at least most of them.

Edward was never fully convinced. His ability to read people's minds has become natural to him. When someone comes along whose mind is blocked towards them, then he immediately becomes suspicious. It took Bella a long time to convince him that she was who she claimed to be. Unfortunately, that suspicion caused Edward to see my lies for what they were. Although he does not yet suspect that I am not human, he sees me as a threat never-the-less purely because of what I know and what I could do to Bella.

He would most definitely be the first to accuse me of withholding information.

Since I cannot lie, there are only two options left to me: to kill them all or to tell them the truth. However, I must confess that I cannot in good conscience do either. To kill them all would mean turning away from my moral code, something I have yet to have ever broken. To tell them would cause a new set of problems such as trust and fear.

Unable to make a decision at the present time I decided that I would leave the question until after the weekend, where I will have more time to come up with a plan regarding the issues. Nevertheless, I will continue to be on guard just in case everything happens sooner than I expected. You never know the true conclusion, as the world provides too many variables to create an accurate hypothesis.

So I will sit around and wait until the prey realise the predator is on the loose, and do everything in their power to subdue it. Let them try.

I'll show them who runs the world.