Thank you for the reviews. The chapter after this won't be until late next week. I'm pretty busy this weekend. Hope you enjoy! And this chapter is a bit violent. Just a warning.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

"This is Paul. Either I'm busy or I don't want to talk. Leave a message." Blair sighed and hung up the phone, not bothering to leave a message. She'd called him several times over the weekend with the same result: No answer. He was ignoring her calls, and she felt angry that he'd throw away ten years of friendship over this.

What was Blair supposed to do…never see Jasper again…or Peter and Charlotte…The Cullens? She'd never promise that. Not for him. Not for anyone. It didn't even matter to Paul that vampires had saved her life, only that she was around vampires period. Peter didn't like Paul and had warned her that he wouldn't react favorably to where her loyalties lie.

It was only the beginning. Once her 21st birthday came, Blair would lose more people…lose everyone really. Twenty-one had seemed so far away at 16, but now it felt right around the corner, glaring at her with expectant eyes. She ran a hand over her face. Questions with no answers would come soon; like why wasn't she going to college? Why did she never come home for Christmas? Then there was the big one…what kind of flowers should they have at her funeral?

Blair understood now why most vampires weren't given a choice. There were too many strings to cut, too many people to say goodbye to. And then there was Jasper, the vampire she liked more than she'd ever admit. Blair understood why he developed the gift he had. He just drew people in, anyone who could actually look past his intimidating nature. He thought he was broken, a result of being used as a weapon when he didn't know any better. She didn't agree. He was a candle that burned bright, determined to remain alight no matter who tried to snuff him out.

Blair was broken from her musings when Bella came down the stairs, up earlier than usual. She sat down across from Blair, biting her lip in thought.

"What's got your wheels turning?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Jacob told me some things the other day after you went off with Paul…about the Cullens"

"What about them?" Blair took a sip of coffee and waited for Bella to gather her thoughts.

"He says the legends of his people say the Cullens are the cold ones…vampires." Bella looked at her nervously, wondering if her sister would call her crazy. Blair surprised her by looking thoughtful.

"Do you think it's true?"

"I mean, it makes a lot of sense," She said excitedly, happy her sister wasn't reacting with hostility, "There's a bookstore in Port Angeles I want to check out. Will you go with me?" Blair nodded, "You're taking this really well?" She shrugged.

"I think you're too logical to make something up. And there's no proof they do exist, but there isn't any proof that they don't. But be careful, Bella. He may not react favorably to you looking into him." Bella gave her a stubborn look.

"If he didn't want me to know, he wouldn't be trying to get to know me."

"I guess," She murmured. Bella was slightly weirded out by how calm her sister was taking her theory. But that was just Blair, always taking everything in stride. When they were younger, before they'd hit puberty and their personalities became too different to mesh, Blair would tell her fantastical stories of dragons, princes, and princesses. Bella would ask if her story was true, and she would always say, "Of course, they are, Bells. Who are we to say what's real and what isn't?"

When Ashley James had tugged on Bella's hair, ripping out a hand full just to be vicious, Blair had broken her nose in retaliation. So, she shouldn't have been surprised that Bella would accept her thoughts, letting her investigate to her heart's desire.

Blair just didn't have the energy to pretend to be shocked. Bella would find out soon enough anyway. They separated to get ready, and Bella was slightly sullen that they'd be taking Blair's jeep. Her truck was drivable. Not even the van had managed to do much damage to the monster. Bella was taking a field trip for biology, and she was nervous for Calculus. Or if Jasper would even be there at all.

She watched her sister get on the bus before heading to her own class. None of the Cullens were at lunch, and Lauren sneered at her from across the room. Blair returned the glare, not in the mood for petty mean girls at the moment. Admitting to herself that Jasper wasn't coming today, she headed to class.

She stared at her book, not really seeing the equations in front of her. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and her gaze snapped to the door. Jasper was here. He wasn't looking at her, his eyes focused over her head. He didn't look at her when he sat down, nor did he look at her when class began at the teacher passed out a worksheet. Blair had to work on it alone, and she was pretty sure she got it wrong. At the moment, she didn't really care. Jasper had given her his answer. Blair didn't look at him, didn't bother him just like she'd promised.

She could only focus on keeping her hurt at bay, knowing he would be able to feel it. She let acceptance become her dominant emotion. Jasper looked displeased. He'd determined that, for now at least, he didn't want to be around the girl that spurred such frustrating and unfamiliar emotions. Blair Swan was keeping her promise, but now he couldn't say he was happy with the result.

Alice warned him that he was just buying time, that the pull wouldn't allow him to stay away from her for long. Jasper watched Blair walk out, chin held high, and he couldn't help but think that the pixie was right. He wanted to go after her, to tell her that they were going to be okay. But he didn't.

/

Blair waited for Bella by her jeep at the end of the school day. Her sister approached, her expression down and annoyed.

"What happened?" She asked. Bella rubbed her face.

"Edward and I had an argument. I told him he shouldn't have saved me if he was going to regret it so much. He didn't seem to like that." Blair's eyebrows rose. She must be really flustered to say that, "And Mike Newton asked me to the dance. I sent him in Jessica's direction. If anyone asks, we're going to Jacksonville that weekend." Blair snorted.

"Maybe I wanted to go to the dance." Bella gave her a look of disbelief, "Yeah, I didn't believe that either. If it makes you feel better, Jasper is mad at me too."

"What'd you do?" Blair gave her a cross look.

"None of your business," She replied shortly.

"But you did do something?" The older sister didn't answer as they got in the jeep, ignoring the smug look on Bella's face. She pulled out, only to stop short as Edward Cullen's Volvo came to a stop in front of her. What the hell was he doing? There was no one in front of him.

"Hey, Bella!" Tyler came up to her passenger side window. He nodded to her in greeting.

"Sorry, Cullen is blocking us in," Bella said, glaring at the car in front of her.

"That's cool. I've been meaning to ask," Tyler paused briefly, and her sister had a look of dread on her face, "Would you like to go to the dance with me?" Blair tried to pretend she wasn't listening and looked at what Edward was doing. Why was he still sitting there?

"I'm not going to be in town, Tyler," Bella replied tersely. Blair sucked her lips into her mouth to avoid a giggle, before catching sight of Edward's smirk in his side mirror and her mouth dropped open. He was doing this on purpose. That manipulative son of a…BEEEEEPPPPP. She laid on the horn, startling Tyler and drawing the attention of everyone left in the parking lot. Blair stuck her head out the window, catching Edward's eye.

"Move your ass, Cullen. No one is in front of you," She shouted. He glared at her. The anger that had been building for days came to the forefront of her emotions. She put both hands out the window, middle fingers high.

"Blair!" Bella shouted, grabbing at her shoulder. She brought herself back into the car, huffing as Edward sped off, spinning his wheels.

"Um…yeah…so," Tyler said awkwardly, "Maybe prom?" Bella was glaring at Blair before turning to him.

"I don't know about that," She said hesitantly, not wanting to hurt the boy's feelings.

"We have to go Tyler. Ask Lauren to the dance. She wants to go with you," Blair said snappily.

"Oh, ok. Thanks." She took off, driving away from him.

"What was that?" Bella hissed, a familiar horrified expression on his face.

"Cullen purposely blocked us in so Tyler could ask you to the dance." Bella looked at her sister. She'd figured out that Edward was doing it on purpose, but Blair's reaction didn't match the crime. The answer hit her like a ton of bricks.

"You're really upset about Jasper being angry at you…and Paul." Blair didn't look at her, keeping silent, "I don't think I've ever seen you upset over a guy. You really do like him."

"It doesn't matter," She replied softly.

"Yes, it does," Bella insisted.

"Bella, drop it. I don't want to talk about it." Bella looked at her mutinously, and Blair almost thought she'd continue her line of questioning until she sighed, thinking better of it. If her older sister didn't want to talk about something, then she wouldn't. It was harder getting something out of the girl than pulling teeth. Bella sighed.

"Jessica and Angela want us to drive up to Port Angeles to look at dresses tomorrow. I figured we could go to the bookstore," She said hopefully.

"Jessica wants me to go shopping for dresses?" Blair asked, eyebrow cocked.

"Well…it was Angela who invited you, but Jessica didn't disagree," Bella said hesitantly. There was no need to tell Blair about the look Jessica had given Angela when she'd mentioned it.

"Then sure, I'll go." Bella sighed in relief.

/

The next day, the sun was shining, and Blair knew that the Cullens wouldn't be at school. She was relieved. She wouldn't have to watch as Jasper ignored her. Blair had never actually cared what boys thought about her, knowing there was no point in showing interest anyway. But Jasper was different. He was Peter and Charlotte's sire, someone important to them. That meant he was important to her too. Would knowing who saved her actually help him forgive her or make him angrier? Probably the latter.

With Jessica's driving, they made it to Port Angeles by four. She drove them to one of the few formal dress shops in town. Blair felt thankful that she brought a magazine, as the next two hours were spent watching Jessica and Angela try on dress after dress.

"What about this one?" She glanced up to see Jessica in a blue form-fitting dress and Angela in an elegant pink one.

"It's nice," Bella said. Blair could tell that it wasn't the girl was hoping for.

"You've said that about the last five," Jessica said slightly put out.

"Go with the blue one. Fits your figure better. Angela, go with the pink one. Add those heels from earlier and it'll complete your outfit," She commented, drawing the attention from Bella. Jessica grinned happily, turning in the admire her figure. Whistles and kissy sounds came from outside the window. Three men, looking to be in their late twenties, passed by the window. They leered, making obscene noises as they went on their way.

"Gross," Jessica said as Blair sneered at them.

"Disgusting…um there's actually a bookstore Blair and I wanted to check out while we're here. We'll meet you guys at the restaurant." Bella pulled her sister up and headed out the door. The bookstore wasn't hard to find, and Bella found the book she was looking for easily. It was dark by the time they started to make their way to the restaurant.

"We can cut by the alley here. The restaurant is on the other side," Bella said. Blair looked down the dark alleyway, dread filling her stomach. The last time she'd been down an alley, she'd almost died.

"I don't want to do that. Let's just go around."

"Come on. It'll take too long to go around, and we're already supposed to be there." The younger sibling started to make her way down. Blair had no choice but to follow. She couldn't let her go by herself.

"Bella," She hissed as they walked further into the poorly lit backstreet. It wasn't a long passage, but her uneasiness began to grow as they neared the other side. It opened to the back of a building. Blair could see the lights up the street and sighed.

"See, we're almost there," Bella said. Whistles caused them to swirl around,

"Lookee what we have here, boys. We saw you guys earlier at that store." The three guys from earlier were stumbling towards them, spreading out as they got closer. Bella grabbed her hand nervously.

"Get behind me," Blair whispered, watching as the men spread out further, boxing them in. She pulled Bella behind her when she felt her sister hesitate.

"Well aren't you a pretty little thing." The leader was close enough to smell the alcohol wafting from him. He reached out to touch Blair's face and she viciously slapped it away.

"Don't touch me," She snarled, fear curling up her back.

"Oooo. We have ourselves a wild one here, boys," He slurred.

"I'm sorry, Blair," Bella whimpered, her hand clutching the back of her shirt.

"Where are you ladies heading tonight?" The one to their left asked, an almost empty bottle in his hands.

"Away from here. Move." Blair thought it best to be firm, knowing that showing weakness wouldn't help the situation. She tried to think of all Peter had taught her, which hadn't been much. It was just enough to get by. Her real training wouldn't begin until after she became a vampire.

"No need to be mean, baby. We're just wanting to have some fun tonight." They were getting closer, their feet shuffling clumsily.

"When I tell you to, run and get help," She whispered to Bella.

"Blair, no," Bella whimpered.

"Do it. Go get help." The guy reached for her, his friends closing in. Raring back her head, Blair slammed in forward and into the guy's face. A sharp pain shot through her head, and blood spurted from his nose.

"You fucking bitch." The words were warped from the blood running from his nose and into his mouth. Peter always told her to never let up, so using her body weight, she slammed into him and pushed him to the ground. Her knee landed between his legs. He howled in pain, and Blair began to pound on anything she could reach, shrieking like a banshee. His friends swarmed her, momentarily forgetting Bella in favor of getting the crazy bitch off their fallen friend.

"Run! Fucking Run, Bella," She screamed, briefly catching sight of her sister's frozen body. Blair heard as Bella started to run as the other two men pulled her to her feet. A hand collided harshly with her face, and she heard a ringing in her ears.

Tires screeched against the pavement, and suddenly the hands around her arms dropped. The moans coming from them could only be described as pure agony and fear, and they dropped to their knees. Blair spotted Bella in front of a silver Volvo. Jasper got out of the car, a feral look on his face. She breathed a sigh of relief and flitted around the men writing on the ground. The man she'd hit was holding his nose, curled into a ball. She ran up to Bella, grabbing her frozen shoulders and steering her towards the car.

Blair heard a scream of pain and glanced over her shoulder, just in time to see Jasper haul the man who'd touched her first and snap his neck. Blair faced forward. More screams followed only to be cut short. Blair forced Bella to remain looking forward and pushed her into the car. She caught Edward's own angry look from the driver's seat.

"Take her and go. I'll stay and wait for the police." There would be no police, but Bella didn't need to know that.

"Blair, no," Bella said, grasping at her arm. Fortunately, the car was facing sideways, blocking her sister's view from Jasper and the lives he'd just ended.

"I'll see you in a bit. Go get something to eat." She met Edward's eyes, "Take care of her." He nodded and she shut the door before Bella could say another word. The car took off.

Blair turned back to Jasper and slowly approached. His back was straight and stiff, almost like stone. He was looking down at the men who'd assaulted her, a look of loathing on his face. He didn't glance at her as she came to stand beside him, taking in the scene before her. All three of the men's necks were twisted completely around, eyes frozen open in fear. Their hands had obviously been crushed, fingers bent in odd angles.

Blair swallowed hard, bile rising in her throat. She forced it down, knowing it would only make him feel like she was disgusted with what he'd done. She wasn't.

"We should probably move them before someone comes along." His head whipped to look at her, eyes disbelieving.

"That's all you have to say?" He demanded. Blair gave him a gentle look, wondering how many disgusted and fearful ones he'd gotten in his life.

"If you're looking for me to judge you for what you did, I'm not going to. I know exactly what they might have done to me if you hadn't come along." He growled in the back of his throat, looking at the bodies, clearly wishing he could bring them back to kill them again.

"You broke their hands first," She said quietly, looking at him.

"They touched you." It was such a simple statement but the thrill that went through her sent shocks to her fingertips. She turned to him.

"So, does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?"

"No. I still am." Blair huffed. He began to lead her to stand further away from the scene, turning her back away from them.

"Does this mean you'll get over it?" She saw his lips tug at the corners as he fought a smile.

"Yes." Blair couldn't fight her own smile that overtook her face. He smirked and shook his head.

"Ok. But we should really do something about this before someone comes along." Blair had never been involved with this part of a vampire's life. Peter and Charlotte never ever let her near them when they hunted.

"I already texted my family. Rosalie and Emmett are on their way. My gift will keep everyone else away." Jasper saw Blair look at him, "I can control emotions." She snorted.

"The overwhelming curiosity on the first day. That was rude," She said with a grin. He ducked his head, hiding a half-smile. Jasper met her eyes and frowned, his gaze tracing her face. His hands hesitantly came up and touched her cheek. Blair winced.

"It'll bruise," He ground out. Her hand came up and she placed it on his.

"It'll heal, although I have no idea what to say to Charlie. Maybe if I cake on the make-up, he won't notice." Jasper didn't look pleased but nodded, slowly pulling his hand away and stuffing it in his pocket.

"He'll notice. It's already turnin' purple." His voice was gruff, and his southern accent grew deeper.

"I'll figure out something to tell him." They stood in silence for a moment. Blair was determinedly ignoring the bodies behind them. Jasper was perplexed. The girl wasn't reacting at all like she should.

He knew she felt sick at the sight of the three men dead in front of her. He'd waited for her disgust, her judgement, but it had never come. He'd wanted the men to suffer for daring to touch her but had settled for simply filling them with as much fear as possible, before breaking their hands and taking their lives. He wasn't worried about what his family might think. Even Carlisle, who was a pacifist, would understand the urge to avenge one's mate.

"So, this is a little awkward. I'm going to fill the silence," Blair said. He shook his head and grinned.

"Go ahead."

"There's a movie you might be interested in at the drive-in coming up. Want to go?" He lifted his eyes towards the sky in amused exasperation. Of all the topics she could choose.

"Are you asking me on a date, Miss Swan? People get up to all sorts of things at drive-ins." Blair narrowed her eyes at the smug look on the vampire's face. She fought down a blush as he stared down at her.

"No," She denied tartly, "Bella told Mike and Tyler that we are going out of town, so I thought we might do something. But I can simply find something else to fill my time," She said snootily.

"Hey, now. I never said no," He replied with an amused grin, teasing her.

"Never said yes either," Blair shot back, catching he was baiting her…and it was working.

"You have a response to everything, don't you?" He moved towards her, leaning down to where his mouth was just by her ear. His voice was wickedly dangerous as his southern drawl became more pronounced, "Count me in." He felt her shudder and pulled back, smirking satisfactorily.

"Bastard," Jasper heard her breathe. His amusement dulled as he heard a car approach. He heard the vampires whose scent he'd become so familiar with come within range. Rosalie and Emmett appeared from around the corner, speeding over to them.

"Damn, Jay. Went a little overboard?" Emmett said, taking in the scene before him.

"Or not overboard enough," Rosalie hissed before turning to Blair, "Are you ok?" Her voice softened. Blair nodded. The blonde's hand gently grabbed her chin and tilted her face to the side.

"It's not too bad."

"We should probably get this over with," Emmett suggested. Jasper nodded before turning to Blair.

"Edward is coming to give you a ride home. They went to a restaurant for Bella to calm down and eat. They're on their way back." She frowned but nodded. As if being summoned, the silver Volvo creeped up to the sidewalk, still obscured mostly from view. Rosalie patted her shoulder and Emmett gave her a grin as Jasper escorted her to the car.

"I'll see you tomorrow." His lips were on her cheek, cool and wonderful, and she almost forgot how to breathe. When he pulled back, his face was all business and he opened her car door for her. The car took off as soon as the door shut.

"Blair, I'm so glad you're ok. I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you," Bella said, turning around in her seat.

"It's fine, Bells. I'm fine." Bella bit her lip, nervous about her next question.

"What happened after we left?" Blair saw Edward glance at her in his rear-view mirror, a warning look in his eyes.

"Jasper let them go. I didn't want to call the police." Bella's mouth dropped open.

"Why?!"

"I don't want to go through that again. Jasper made sure they learned their lesson." That shut her sister up. The next thirty minutes were filled with silence. Blair was looking between the two, who were glancing at each other every few seconds.

"This is so uncomfortable," She murmured, causing Edward to glance at her in the mirror again with a frown on his face. He pulled into their driveway and she got out after reluctantly thanking Edward. She could sense they wanted to be alone. Blair waited on the porch until Bella got out of the car, a fresh blush on her cheeks. Edward drove away and her sister watched until he disappeared completely.

"We are NOT telling Charlie what really happened." Bella nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.

"What are you going to tell him?" Blair grabbed the door handle and shrugged.

"I have no idea." They went inside, closing the door behind them and taking their coats off.

"That you, girls? How was shopping?" Charlie asked, coming into view. His smile was erased when he caught sight of Blair's face and the blossoming handprint-shaped bruise, "What the hell happened?" He thundered, marching forward and grabbing her chin, turning her face to the side. Blair opened her mouth to spill a poorly thought-out lie when Bella interrupted her.

"I slapped her." Charlie froze, looking angrily confused.

"What?" He demanded. 'Yeah, what?' Blair thought.

"It was an accident. I tripped…and my arms were flailing, trying to catch myself and I caught her in the face," She stuttered out. Charlie deflated. Thankfully, her blush and stutter could be seen as embarrassment at the situation.

"You need to be more careful, Bella," Charlie said sternly, "Are you ok?" He asked, turning to Blair.

"I'm fine. Just tired. I'm going to head to bed." She kissed his cheek before heading up the stairs. Bella followed soon after.

"Do you think he bought it?" She whispered in front of Blair's door.

"I think he doesn't want to believe anything else. It was a good lie, though," She admitted. Bella blushed.

"I figured it was the most believable. Are you ok?" Her voice was guilty, wishing she'd listened to Blair when she'd wanted to go around instead of through the alley.

"Peachy keen. Goodnight." It had been an eventful night, and she really did want to go to bed.

"Blair…I really am sorry," Her sister said softly.

"It's really ok." Bella nodded and headed towards her room. Blair shut the door behind her and smiled, her face aching. It had been a clusterfuck of a day…but Jasper had forgiven her.

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