Chapter Warnings:

brief mentions of fighting (school/playground fighting), blood (seriously, the briefest of mentions)

Next update: Friday, February 17th

I changed this stories picture to one of how I imagine Sascha to look like.
If you want a bit of a better look, my tumblr account is: virgilliciouzz

My most recent post is the picture of Sascha.

Anywho, on with the chapter!

10. Party Crasher Pt. 1

Sascha heard the Cullens coming back before she saw them through one of the big windows. She was just getting done tying the last balloons and garlands together, balancing on a stool to pin it to a corner high at the wall. Alice had only told her of her decoration plans, but Sascha figured she'd just go ahead with all the time she had on her hands.

And, to be truthful to herself, Sascha had also wanted to try out how quick she could get things done with this vampire speed. So far there had been nothing to clean or tidy up. That had been her moment. And she found out: she could get done a lot.

When the others came in through the garage door, Sascha smiled at them over her shoulder, finished off fastening the garlands. Then, she jumped down from the stool and spread her arms theatrically. „Ta-da."

Alice gasped loudly as her hands flew to her mouth, everyone entering further to look around, each in their own level of surprise. Sascha took the moment to inspect her work herself, hands clasped behind her back, and nodded in satisfaction.

The entire lower and first floor were covered in fancy silver and white balloons and fitting garlands. Fairy lights were hanging from the ceilings, more lights strategically placed around each and every corner. Dry flowers were wrapped in delicate bouquets and decorated the counters and coffee tables, some were placed on the stairs. Others she had also wrapped and draped with the fairy lights, creating soft hues of orange, yellows and purples glowing through the dried petals, complimenting the cooler tones of silver and white. More fairy lights adorned the handrail all the way to the first floor. The place was downright sparkling.

„Oh my god, Sascha." Suddenly, Alice flung herself in Sascha's direction, her yellow graduation cap dropping off her head, and almost tackled the newer vampire to the ground, hugging her fiercely around the waist.

Sascha bent down a little and carefully hugged her back, well aware that her strength was still enhanced from her newborn status, smiling happily. „I assume you like it?"

Alice hugged her even tighter. „I love it!"

Sascha looked up at the others and grinned.

Esme wrapped an arm around Carlisle's middle and smiled fondly at the scene in front of them, so did her husband. Emmett looked around excitedly, similar to Bella just a little more muted in the human's case. Sascha was pleased to see a soft, almost content appreciation on Rosalie's usually reserved face. Jasper looked like he was taking in all the positive emotions around him, good for him. Even Edward was able to muster the ghost of a smile.

„I can smile."

Sascha cocked an eyebrow at the mindreader. „Mhm."

Alice let go then and flitted out of their sight, inspecting everything more closely. Her excited squeals echoed around the house. „Oh God, this is even better than what I had imagined."

Sascha chuckled fondly and stepped closer to the others. „Had I known this would make her so happy, I would've decorated the house much earlier, just for fun."

„Alice loves throwing parties", Emmett explained with a smirk.

„How was the ceremony?"

Jasper took his cap off his head and ran his fingers through his hair. „One of the less dull ones."

„At least the speech wasn't particularly horrible." Rosalie moved up the stairs then, probably to get out of their graduation robes, which she was pinching with a look of distaste on her face. „But this colour…"

Sascha jabbed Emmett with her elbow and peered at Bella with a smirk. „Hey, did Bella stumble when she went to take her certificate?"

Emmett barked out a laugh. „No, she didn't."

„Ah dang it-"

„Hey!"

„-whoa." Sascha playfully dodged Bella's hand as she tried to swing for the back of her head. „Punching werewolves and now vampires, huh?"

Bella only rolled her eyes at her with a small smile.

Sascha grinned and opened her arms for a hug, which, albeit a bit awkwardly, Bella accepted. „Congratulations on your graduation."

„Thank you."

„Hey! What about us?", Emmett exclaimed in feigned outrage.

„I'll congratulate you for your 50th graduation, okay?"

„Har-har."

Sascha stuck her tongue out to him childishly. „Just go and relax with your lovely wife and be happy you don't have to help decorating anymore."

Emmett made a face back at her, but then decided to follow on her thought and sped up the stairs. The other's also made to tend to their own matters.

Esme patted Sascha's cheek fondly. „This is great." She then vanished to the kitchen. Sascha remembered Alice telling her that Esme had taken the task of providing food for the party guests.

Sascha turned to Jasper, intending to tell him about her plans for passing the time during the party, but cut herself off when he just smirked weirdly at something behind her.

Then, suddenly, Sascha felt something latch onto her back. She would've dissolved into shock had she not been able to match the scent to Alice immediately. „Ma'am, if my heart were still beating it sure would've stopped now."

„This is all so perfect, Sascha, thank you."

„At least something I can give back to you all."

„Nonsense." Alice pressed her cheek to Sascha's affectionately and squeezed her shoulders one more time before letting go and dropping down to her feet again. „You do plenty."

Sascha smiled at her with a hum, and then stuffed her hands into her sweater pockets. „Alright then, for the next couple hours, you'll be finding me on the roof until after the party is over", she glanced at Jasper, „If anyone feels like joining me, I'll be providing books, blankets and card games." She turned to speed up the stairs.

„Yes, ma'am."

Sascha could hear the smirk.

She swiftly made her way up to her room, grabbed the few items she wanted up with her, made sure her door was locked so no snoopy graduates would barge in there and finally climbed up the roof from her balcony. To say she didn't feel at least a little bit like a weird version of Father Christmas, with her stuff wrapped into a blanket and it all slung over her shoulder, would have been a lie.

She set up ‚camp' easily, strategically placed by the chimney - Father Christmas much - so the coming guests would not spy her up there. Heaven forbid anyone would disturb her cozy calm. She had brought two extra blankets and some pillows which she randomly spread around her, immediately wrapping one of the blankets around her shoulders. Positioned with her legs crossed, she stuck her nose into yet another one of Carlisle's books - it dated back to the 14th century with the main focus on the Volturi and their rule. She had been reading up on them more - if they were in any way connected to whatever was going on, she needed to be informed.

About three hours later, the sun was slowly starting to set, she could hear the first few cars closing in from the distance. She had to say she was impressed that anyone even found the way. She would've surely gotten lost in the woods.

And soon enough, a thud close to her announced Jasper's arrival on the roof.

„And so it begins", Sascha mused with a smile and looked over her shoulder, then her mouth fell open in surprise. „Oh my God, you didn't."

Jasper held two steaming mugs of tea in his hands, one of his books stuck between his arm and upper body, and reached one over to her while he took his own seat. „We can't drink it, but someone deemed it necessary for reading."

„You are so sweet." Sascha's face almost split with a smile as she held her nose into the steam and inhaled deeply. Classic black tea. „I didn't even know we had tea."

„We didn't. I asked Esme to bring some." He smiled a little sheepishly and set his mug aside. „I had almost forgotten how to even make tea."

Sascha sputtered a laugh and quickly covered her mouth to silence herself. „You are not serious."

„It has been 140 years since I last had to prepare anything consumable."

„Jasper", Sascha looked at him with a raised eyebrow, she wasn't able to hide her mirth. „It's hot water."

„Excuse me, Darlin', the memory is a fiddle thing", he mumbled into his smirk.

„Well, you did formidable", Sascha dropped the act then, shooting him a genuine smile. She was quite sure he could feel her gratitude. „Thank you, honestly."

„You are quite welcome, Sascha."

They fell into a comfortable silence then, both reading their own literature for some time.

Sascha reached a particularly nasty chapter about the Volturi reign. Immortal children, and how they were quickly eradicated. „Boah…"

„What was that?"

„Oh, just… the Volturi know no chill, do they?"

Jasper chuckled darkly at her choice of words. „To put it lightly."

More cars were pulling in, the house was already quite crowded by then. Had Alice invited every teenager in town? Probably. It was Alice after all.

She noticed Jasper shift uncomfortably next to her, lifting a hand to scratch his throat subconsciously.

Sascha set her book down worriedly. „Are you okay?"

„It's just… a lot of heartbeats down there." Jasper frowned, as though in deep concentration.

She nodded, understanding the issue immediately. „Yeah, it is getting a lot." She closed her book then and put it to the side to grab her mug, which was now cold, more out of habit than anything else and turned fully toward Jasper. „Do you need some sort of… I don't know, distraction?"

„I shouldn't be needing that", Jasper muttered tightly. „I should handle this better."

There was this bite in his voice again that Sascha had picked up on after Bella's hand was magically un-broken.

„There's nothing you need to be ashamed of."

Jasper scoffed suddenly. Sascha tried not to take it personally. „Oh, there is plenty."

„You can tell me if you want."

Jasper finally looked at her then, eyes dark, but not with his craving for blood. There seemed to be something deeper there. Some long rooted shame. He seemed to contemplate. Unsure.

„I beat up one of my classmates once", Sascha blurted out suddenly, Jasper blinked in confusion. „He had said something about my backpack I think. I don't even remember anymore. But I do remember he lost one of his teeth when we pushed each other to the ground. I got two weeks of detention and a month worth of house arrest. My parents had divorced about a year before that and I was struggling a lot with it, and I took it out on others. I lost control more times than I could count. It took a long time before I eventually got better."

Jasper listened to her every word, she could tell. It was a silly story really, she knew that. She hoped he knew that too.

„I don't mean to say that this is in any way comparable to-"

„I attacked Bella last year, at her birthday party."

„Oh."

„She cut her finger on some wrapping paper, and I just… snapped", Jasper heaved a deep sigh and dropped his book to the side. „It was the first slip up I had had in over 60 years. The others were able to drag me out before anything happened."

„So that was what Edward's comment was directed at earlier?"

Jasper nodded grimly. „Edward made us leave after it happened. He broke up with Bella and we all packed our things and left." He paused for a few beats, frowning deeply. „I just shouldn't be struggling with this anymore. It's been more than enough time."

„You spent almost… what, the first 80 years of this life living very differently, Jasper. I mean I still don't understand how this entire vampire existence is supposed to work, but I can imagine that all this time this life brings with it also means that habits take more time before they can be changed."

„This is a habit that involves human lives though. It's not so simple."

„Of course", Sascha raised her hands quickly. „I didn't mean to talk it down, I'm sorry. I just- obviously this is something that not just you struggle with. When I look at the lack of control the others had, or the surprise that everyone in your family had concerning me. I think any one of them would struggle if a human bled in their presence."

Jasper hummed quietly then, nodding slowly. „They did."

Sascha tilted her head a little. „What do you mean?"

„Usually they never struggle with a lot of humans around. But when Bella cut herself, they did."

„And you could feel that?"

Jasper tried to put his half-smirk on his face, but it looked like a forced grimace. „You forgot about my gift, Darlin'?"

„No, but I think you did." She continued when Jasper only blinked at her in confusion. „You mean to say other people's bloodlust is also something you can feel with your gift?"

„Where are you going with this?"

„Didn't you say your gift is sometimes quite a struggle because others' emotions tend to get overwhelming? Bella cut her finger in a room with six other vampires. So… doesn't that also mean you didn't have to deal with just your own bloodlust, but also theirs?"

Jasper grew completely silent then, he just stared at her, face blank. It was probably only a couple of seconds, but it felt a lot longer to Sascha. His staring almost made her uncomfortable. Had she said something wrong? Had she overstepped?

Then, he finally spoke.

„I never considered that, I'm afraid."

Sascha didn't know how to feel about that really. She felt sad for him, but also a bit frustrated, maybe even mad, that seemingly no-one had been able to connect that link until now. „Were you alone during the slip up you said you had before that?"

Jasper shook his head, and rubbed his hands over his face. It seemed like an infinite amount of exhaustion was suddenly weighing down on him. „I was not."

„God, and all this time you thought…", Sascha put a hand on his lower arm. „I'm so sorry."

„It certainly makes some things more clear." Jasper's expression seemed carefully guarded. Most likely trying to come to terms with that entire notion. „It's always been a little easier when Carlisle's present. Now that I think of it, his complete lack of temptation would always be calming to me. It's similar with you, too-" He cut himself off suddenly and tensed, tilting his head.

Sascha sat up straighter too, alerted. „What is it? Did you hear something?"

„No, it's Alice", he muttered, most likely trying to pin point Alice's emotions. „Let's go."

End Notes:

Translation:

Boah = something like "whoa" or "Jesus" in English. It's a sound of (shocked) astonishment, I'd say.

I'm sorry for leaving you on a little bit of a cliffhanger hahah but I felt like it was a good moment to split. I will of course upload Part 2 on Friday.

I really enjoyed writing the entire scene on the roof. I was so excited and downright giddy when the opportunity came to pick up this tiny tiny detail about Sascha enjoying the atmosphere of books with tea. I hope you enjoyed that moment with me - and with her hahah.

Yeah, the story line is picking up now as you can see. If you remember the books and movies closely, you might guess what bigger plot points might happen following this chapter. But I won't disclose anything now, incase some people do not remember hahah

Like always, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts and opinions in the comments or some such.
Take care, and have a good day~

Posted: 13.02.23
Last Edit: 16.02.23