*Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

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Where the Lines Overlap

Season 1 - Stuck on You

Sticks and stones (may break my bones)...

In the previous chapter...

(...) I'm not sure how I got home, who put me in the shower and took me to bed. All I know is that I woke up at dawn, clean, in my sleep pants, and on my bed. But I wasn't alone...

I felt my lids fluttering as I fought to keep that last image from fading.

Foreheads touching… Heavy breaths… Gazes locked…

As my eyes unwillingly opened, I sighed.

My heart was thundering inside my chest and it was hard to breathe.

Just… Let me… I really want to…

Those words were echoing in my mind. I knew I'd been the one to say them, but I couldn't remember when or to whom.

After another heavy sigh, I turned on my side and abruptly had to inhale a deep breath as I was confronted by his presence.

He was lying on my air mattress on the floor beside my bed, sound asleep, wrapped in one of my thin sheets, his calm face toward the ceiling.

I took a moment to admire his profile. I could do it freely at that moment, and also guiltlessly, I realized, since I had already admitted to myself that I was interested in him in a completely different way.

If I'd stretched my hand I could've touched his face, but I wouldn't have risked waking him up.

The desire was powerful, though… So powerful I couldn't trust my self-control. But I managed to keep my hands in check. My breathing was heavier, however...

I'd always thought Edward was good-looking, but I'd never really noticed how he was so… damn perfect.

Okay, Jasper. You're losing it. Get a fucking grip!

I couldn't. I knew I seemed like a fool who was in love for the first time, but, what the hell?! I just really couldn't help it!

It was as if I was seeing him through this whole new light…

Every single fucking thing was different and my sight was heightened, I could see everything I apparently hadn't before… like how his face didn't have a single flaw, and how his skin was smooth and had no marks, no scars, just those adorable freckles that covered his nose and cheeks.

I felt my lips stretching in a smile as I fixed my stare on his almond-shaped eyes and noticed how they were perfectly adorned with those long dark eyelashes…

Ah… I knew the grayish-blue behind those eyelids very well… how intimidating, mysterious, and gorgeous they were. But that was actually the very first time I perceived that his brows were so symmetric that one could think he got it done by a professional.

That thought almost made me laugh. Edward was so careless with his appearance that I could attest they were natural. Just as natural as his copperish blond hair, which was a mess, as usual.

And then, suddenly, I wanted to touch his wavy strands really bad, and feel them… but instead, I folded my hands under my chin and kept admiring him.

I slowly followed his profile line, from his forehead to his straight long nose, and I finally understood why he looked so imposing.

What am I doing…? What is this feeling?

I asked myself, troubled by the disturbing urgency that was contracting the pit of my stomach.

That weird feeling didn't stop me, though… His nose led me to his lips… his pink full lips... and I caught myself unconsciously licking mine and sighing, wondering what it would feel like… kissing him.

I want to kiss you… I want to kiss you so bad…

My own voice echoed again inside my head like an afterthought or a memory.

My body trembled. My heartbeats accelerated. There was not enough air...

I buried my head in my pillow.

Oh my God! When has it all started?

Until the previous day, I'd been just this regular boy who liked a lot having his way with girls. But right then I felt as if the world was upside down and suddenly, admiring Edward, who was a dude by the way, and musing about how kissing him would make me feel, seemed natural, almost predictable.

How in the hell did I get here?

After taking yet another deep breath, I pulled my head off of the pillow and resumed looking at his godlike face. I'd never thought I would think of the word "beautiful" when referring to a guy, but that was the term hammering my mind incessantly.

"Why are you staring at me?" He asked with his eyes closed, his lips barely moving, startling me.

"Oh shit!" Slipped in a murmur. "You're awake? How long you've been awake?" I stumbled through the words, completely jumpy, and I was sure I was blushing ten shades of dark red.

Edward simply opened his eyes slowly and smiled at me.

"A while." He said in a low tone.

"How could you know I…" I struggled with my uneasiness to ask.

"I felt it." He answered before I could complete the question. "Your eyes on me."

I wanted to ask "how", but all of a sudden my tongue was glued inside my mouth, and my stomach was churning, making me nauseous. I couldn't speak. I just kept staring at him like an idiot.

"I can always feel them." He added after a while.

"Huh?" It was my great reply.

"Whenever you're looking at me." He explained slowly. "I can always tell."

I'm not sure why but I chuckled nervously. The astonishing part was that Edward followed suit. And then we chuckled together for half a minute until tension arose and shut us up.

We looked at each other without saying anything and I wanted, so bad it hurt, to lean down and kiss him, it was crazy.

"How did I get here?" I asked before I did something stupid. "I don't remember leaving the lake or getting home…" I shrugged.

Edward looked away from me, sighing subtly.

"You got pretty drunk." He said evenly. "Emm helped me put you in his truck and Rosalie and I followed him here." I froze, worried about my father seeing me wasted. "Don't worry about your father." As if he could read my mind, Edward assured me immediately. "It was late enough. Your parents were sleeping."

"So Rose took care of me?" I inquired, uncomfortable with the possibility that was creeping into my thoughts.

Edward shook his head almost imperceptively.

"Rose was pretty drunk too. She was fine enough to take care of herself but she couldn't have helped me with you. And you were so wasted that I was afraid you would fall or faint and get hurt."

I kept silent, this nagging sensation worsening the nausea I was feeling.

He finally looked at me again.

"Okay." I said warily. "So, you put me in the shower." I tried to sound unfazed but I was actually getting really fidgety, mostly because I was suddenly embarrassed.

He looked as undisturbed as always.

"Yeah. " He confirmed simply.

More silence.

I was staring intently at him, trying to control the flood of raging emotions inside me. He was looking away again, seeming as tranquil as ever.

"Did I… do anything… like… crazy?" I asked, afraid of what I would hear.

And that was the moment I finally saw some reaction.

Edward turned his eyes to me as if a second head had grown on my shoulders. And then I was feeling self-conscious.

"Like what?" His voice was stable but he was subtly frowning.

"I-I don't know… something out of my normal?" My voice was wavering ridiculously.

For a moment, he didn't say anything, but he didn't avert his cunning eyes either. It seemed to me that he was looking for something, gauging the intentions behind my question inside my eyes, and then he sighed, looking resigned, and shook his head once.

"Nothing that's really worth remembering," He said in his deep tone. "you were wasted, so you acted as such."

His face, as his words and voice, told me there was nothing for me to worry about… But this little voice at the back of my head was telling me there was more to that story.

I was too afraid to dig, though, so I simply accepted what my best friend was presenting to me and nodded.

"I have to head home." Edward uttered while sitting up and stretching. "I didn't tell my parents I would sleep here."

"What time is it?" I asked, not really interested. I was just trying to keep him with me a little longer.

"Something around six? I don't know."

He got up and picked up his jeans pants and t-shirt on my armchair while I was trying not to blush. It had always felt so normal for me to see Edward in briefs… I was taken aback by how that image abruptly felt so fucking different and affected me so much.

I looked away when he turned to me while dressing his shirt.

"Anyway… I just stayed because I wanted to make sure you were okay." He shrugged.

He went into the bathroom and I closed my eyes, covering them with my hands.

"You have to make it stop…" I mumbled to myself. " This is crazy, he's a guy, you're a guy. He's completely straight and so are you. And he's your best friend, for god's sake!" I heaved a sigh. "Don't mess things up, Jasper."

A couple of minutes later he was at my bedroom door, fully dressed, with his shoes on and his hair combed.

"I have to go if I want to get home before my mother wakes up." He said simply.

"Okay." I murmured, feeling somewhat sad.

"I'll see you later, right?" He asked with his left eyebrow arched high. "You didn't forget about the barbecue, did you?"

"I didn't." I assured, feeling weirdly shy.

Edward chuckled, the throaty tone sending shivers throughout my body. And then after a quick nod, he was gone. And I was left alone with my disturbing thoughts.

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"What's the rush?" Jasper Senior's voice reached me as I jumped the last row of stairs and ran to the door. "Won't you eat your breakfast?"

I stopped and turned, spotting him standing in the corridor, a book in his hands. I looked at him with respect.

"Good morning, father." I greeted him with the customary reverence and fear. "I'm not really hungry."

My father looked at me with the usual disapproving look and shook his head after lowering his reading glasses.

"The least you can do to show your family some respect is sit at the table." He said in a grave tone, lifting his chin.

I knew the gesture pretty well. It meant he was defying me to disobey him.

The anger roared in my chest, burning all my insides.

I swallowed my pride, my rage, and my constant disdain for him. I lowered my eyes and bowed my head a little while nodding.

"Yes, father." I said in a controlled voice.

He waited until I passed by him and entered the kitchen. Then he followed.

"Good morning, Momma." I greeted my mother, that was peacefully having her morning tea while looking through the window.

"Morning, my dear." She greeted me back after looking at me with surprised eyes. "I thought you were still sleeping. Your sister is. How was the party?"

I sat beside her as my father sat in front of me, his eyes on my every move.

"It was nice." I answered her trying not to sound as uncomfortable as I felt.

"Won't you eat something?" She asked sweetly.

"I'm not really hungry." I was feeling a little nauseous, actually. Probably because of all the alcohol I drank the previous day.

"Was there any liquor at that party, Alexander?" My father asked with his raw Texan accent.

I hated how he could read right through me, and how I was always so afraid of him.

Of course, since he was my father, I knew I had to respect him to the fullest. I also understood that the fact that he was a Major, a military man in all possible aspects, demanded even more deference. But the fear he incited in me was inhumane. It was so vehement it made me feel weak and incapable of any kind of reaction as if I was always in the wrong and defenseless around him.

"No." I lied, not looking at him.

"No?" He repeated with a demanding tone. "No, what?"

"There's no need for that, Christopher." My mother murmured to her husband with a soothing voice, using his middle name as she'd always done, placing her small hand on his arm.

"No, Sir." I replied to his question, raising my eyes and looking straight at him before he could get mad enough at me. He didn't need much for that and I wasn't willing to provoke his fury.

He glared at me pointedly, before looking lovingly at my mom and placing his hand on hers.

"I hope you're telling the truth, Alexander." He replied with a softer tone, his eyes on my mother's face.

"I am." My stomach churned with fear. I would be screwed if he found out I was lying shamelessly. "But what difference does it make anyway?" I mumbled the last part to myself.

But of course, he heard me.

"What did you say?" He asked calmly, turning his eyes back to my face.

"Nothing." I grumbled.

"Repeat your last sentence, Alexander." He demanded.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment. Usually, it was really easy for me to keep my anger in check whenever my father was tormenting me, but, oddly, I was already on edge.

I swallowed the urge I had to cuss loud and clear.

"I said 'what difference does it make'…" I spoke controlledly.

"So you think telling the truth to your father does not make a difference." He scorned. "You are way out of line, boy."

I couldn't believe it. He was twisting my words.

"That's not what I meant." I said in a low voice.

"And what did you mean by that, Alexander? Please enlighten me."

"I meant that it makes no difference to you, Sir, if I tell the truth or lie. You always doubt me either way." I said in a confident tone.

Surprisingly, I was willing to say some things to him. Even if my whole body was trembling with fear.

"I don't doubt you. I simply call them as I see them, son." Although he used a term of endearment, something that was far from usual coming from him, his tone was nothing but scathing. "You've proven enough of your capabilities. Don't blame me for not thinking so highly of you when all you've done your whole life was disappointing me and your mother."

"Christopher, please." My mom asked kindly in a whisper.

"What, Joanne?" He replied softly. "It's the truth. He's never been more than a controlled problem. He's done nothing extremely wrong yet because I keep a close eye on him." He looked back at me. "And now he's been constantly impertinent."

"I've been constantly impertinent?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, young man. Since you finished school you've been sustaining this attitude. You think that you're all grown up now and that you can make any decision by yourself disregarding your parent's concerns."

He was talking about medical school again. When this was going to end, I didn't know...

"I'm not disregarding your concerns, father." It slipped through my lips in a harsh tone as the feeling of unfairness overwhelmed me. "It is my life, I have the right to decide what I want from it."

"Don't raise your voice to me, Alexander." He stood up, looking fiercely into my eyes. "I'm tired of this attitude of yours."

"What attitude?" I questioned, ignoring the fear that was threatening to overcome me and embracing the unusual braveness that came out of nowhere. "The way I bow every time you demand something, anything, from me? Or the way that I never, ever, disagree or disobey you?" My voice was wavering, and my eyes were watering, a result of the rage spreading hot in my veins. "I just want to have the life that I choose, not the one you think is suitable for me."

"This defiant attitude." He pointed his long index finger at me, getting closer. "I don't like it. And I think you'd better reconsider the way you act towards me. I am your father, I provide everything you have, including your fancy new apartment in Providence, and the expensive allowance you'll get in your bank account every month. I think it gives me the right to opine on what's best for you."

I swallowed the torrent of words I wanted to spit at him. All the truths, all the feelings, all the hurt I had retained for eighteen years. It was no use saying anything because he would never listen… least of all understand… Or care…

I closed my eyes to prevent the tears from falling, took a deep breath, and resigned myself. One more word, even in the subtlest of tones, would push him to the edge. And I was the only one who had something to lose. His implied threats had been clear enough.

"I'm sorry, father." I murmured, trying hard not to let my voice betray my hurt. "You are right, I'm out of line."

"Yes, you are." He agreed.

"It won't happen again. I'll watch myself more carefully."

He squinted while nodding.

"I hope you do, for your own sake."

"There, there, it's settled then, we can leave it behind us." My mother rushed through the words before taking his hand in hers.

"For now." He stated. "We will still discuss terms regarding college."

I kept looking at him in silence, but my hands were clenched and I wanted to scream. Then my eyes were drawn to my mother as she held my hand with her free one. She had the most worried expression on her sweet face as she mouthed "just agree" to me, pleading with her gaze.

I swallowed hard and took a deep breath before nodding and looking back at my father.

"Okay. Can I go now?" I asked carefully.

Jasper Senior sighed and sat back on his chair, taking a long gulp of his coffee before answering.

"Yes. But I want you back home by dinner time. School is over but you work tomorrow. Besides, until you move to Rhode Island you still have a curfew." He asserted severely.

I nodded once again and, without saying another word, got out of there as fast as I could.

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.

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I arrived at the Cullen's house half an hour later, my heart, as my head, pounding uncomfortably. Jasper Senior's voice, words, and intimidating attitude replaying over and over in my mind, smashing me little by little, until I couldn't hold on anymore.

I hid in the garage, behind Edward's car, leaning on it as the first tears broke through my self-restraint.

I covered my face with my hands and sobbed. I whimpered because it was hurting so damn much…

I couldn't understand what was so wrong with me that made it impossible for him to love me… to believe in me. Why in the hell he couldn't care for me as any father cares for his son… or support me like Carlisle supported Edward... and fucking why I was always seeking his approval when I knew, pretty damn well, I would never, ever, get it.

I cried harder.

Why am I not good enough? Why nothing I do is enough for him?

The tears stained my face as the sobs got more intense.

I wanted to stop. I hated myself because I was letting him get to me. I'd never done that but, I was facing a fucking huge problem and it was weakening me…

I was attracted to a man, and not any man, my best friend, the only person in the world I knew that cared for me, and the only one I could share anything with. That's why it was a damn enormous problem. I couldn't solve it by myself and couldn't ask for anybody's help either, because the one person I'd always run to was the center of it.

I was completely alone, confused, hurt, angry, scared… I was so overwhelmed I couldn't stop crying…

I remained there, letting out a bit of the pain I kept to myself most of the time. The constant pain I felt because of my father, and was intensified by the despair that sudden attraction for Edward was eliciting.

I'm not sure how he'd heard me, but it didn't matter… As soon as I felt his presence, heard his low voice saying my name in a worried and heavy exhale, and was engulfed by his heat and scent as he circled my trembling body with his strong arms, everything else disappeared.

I kept crying… My hands were still over my face as his hold grounded me. He was silent, all I could hear were my low sobs. It still hurt like hell but I felt as if nothing else could reach me there. I was safe. Within his arms, I felt the most protected I possibly could.

Slowly, the tears and sobs subsided. Then I could breathe a little better, a little lighter, until there was nothing more to expunge.

Edward backed away a little as soon as I became silent but kept his hold on my shoulders. I stalled. I was gathering the courage to expose my vulnerability to him. Not that he had never seen me like that before but, I wasn't ready. I needed a minute. Or two.

He waited. And I knew he would've waited for as long as I'd needed.

I lowered my hands hesitantly, my eyes focused on the floor. I could feel the humidity on my cheeks and below my eyes, but I didn't have the strength to dry my face up.

Long soft fingers slid across my face with the most tender of touches…

I sighed, feeling my heart beating fast as I realized the affection he was putting into the gesture.

I inhaled deeply and swallowed hard. Then forced my eyes up to his.

"I hate to see you hurt." He whispered as our eyes met, his glowing what I thought were unshed tears.

He took his hands away from my face, stepped back some inches, and exhaled heavily.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked, sinking his hands in his pockets.

I sighed again, closed my eyes, and huffed.

"The Major." I started without looking at him.

"What happened this time?" His voice was calm, but I could recognize the hint of distaste.

Edward leaned on his car hood beside me.

"I don't really know…" I answered shrugging. "The same as ever, I guess. He found something to complain about and tried to get to me as usual. And as usual, he got what he wanted."

"You never fall apart because of that." Edward said cautiously. "Something is different this time."

I sighed once more. I really couldn't fool him. But I couldn't tell him my motives either...

"Okay." I said in a puff. "It's just… I don't understand, you know? What I have ever done to make him hate me so much." I used the most plausible excuse.

"He's just a hard person, Jasper." He affirmed. "He doesn't hate you."

"He hates me." I contradicted. "He's never shown the least affection for me… I've never been good enough, I'm always wrong…"

"He just doesn't show his love." He stated, shutting me up and making me look skeptically at him. "He's military. Being detached is intrinsic."

I shook my head, smiling humorlessly.

"He's not detached, he's stone-hearted."

"He's just as stubborn as you are…" He said in a smiling voice clearly teasing me.

I knew what he was doing. He was trying to lighten the mood and make me forget my terrible relationship with my obsessive father. And of course, he was succeeding.

"Seriously." I tried not to smile. "I can't take it anymore. I'm so tired of his demands, his remarks, his constant disregard for me… Today I almost lost it. I got pretty close to saying fuck yourself, sir!" I laughed, not able to control myself as I imagined the scene.

Edward laughed with me. And I was feeling better already.

"Well, that would have been a moment to remember." And he laughed a little more. "I'm just not sure you'd have lived to tell if you'd done so…"

"Yeah…" I agreed. "Probably not."

We laughed some more until the customary uneasiness his proximity had incited as of late started to take over.

I breathed deeply, feeling once again too aware of his presence, his heat, and my heart, which had calmed down, started to pound fast and strong again.

"Edward…" His name slipped through my lips before I noticed.

I didn't really know what I wanted to say.

He didn't say a thing. And the silence extended until I got the courage to look at him seconds later.

He was looking forward, his face as placid as usual. Although, he had part of his lower lip trapped between his teeth.

The question just started to come out impulsively.

"What happened…"

"We should get inside." He said as he looked at me, apparently not having heard what I began to say. "Everybody's waiting for you and they don't know you've arrived. They must be anxious."

His soft smile disarmed me, so I just nodded.

Edward straightened up and started to walk inside. I followed him, choked up with the question I didn't have the chance to finish.