II. A Thousand Paper Cranes

I started folding paper cranes.

I could only fidget with my water bottle for so long before I drank it empty. So, I began occupying my hands the same way I had as a kid, back before I'd ever had a phone.

The first couple of times, my classmates scolded me for throwing away the pretty origami. But after a few days, they gave it up as a lost cause when they realized I wouldn't stop making them and there was no point in keeping so many of them.

And after a week of this, I found a set of brightly patterned origami paper in my locker. I didn't think too hard about where it'd come from. I was simply glad I no longer had to cut my notebook paper into squares.

"Do you want to hang out later today?" Jessica asked me one day at lunch while I folded a slip of thin glossy paper, patterned with pink cherry blossoms.

"I can't today," I said. My day was already planned out. "What about tomorrow?"

"Yeah, let's do that," Jessica agreed without a care, and then turned to Angela to invite her as well.

Once I finished folding the crane, I set it aside and began picking at my lunch.

"Ooh, this one is so pretty!" Jessica complimented me. "Can I have it?"

"Sure."

"Where did you get this paper?" she asked, twirling the small pink crane between the tips of her fingers.

"No idea."

Jessica shot me a strange look. "What do you mean? You didn't buy it?"

I shook my head. "Someone left a stack of it for me in my locker."

"No way!" she gasped. "You have a secret admirer?!"

I wrinkled my nose. "No, I don't think so."

"You do," she insisted gleefully. "It's such a thoughtful gift! Ahhh, I'm so jealous!"

I smiled. "You're a funny girl."

"Thanks, I think," Jessica giggled.

The bell rang and we headed out. I hoped Jessica would drop her secret admirer theory, but I somehow found that doubtful.

After my last class, I went over to the school library. I'd been here for a few weeks now, and no longer seeing any hope of waking up in my old body, I'd decided to settle in for the long haul. Which meant making an actual effort in school, lest I flunk out.

So, the school library was for doing homework. And home was for relaxing. It'd been an easy enough routine to set up.

But today, there was a blip in my formula.

I was sitting at a table in the back, chewing on sour gummy worms and meticulously working through a set of trig problems, when I noticed a tall, pale figure sitting a few tables across from me.

I lifted my head and met the piercing gaze of Jasper Hale.

I blinked, and after a prolonged moment in which we simply stared each other down, I frowned.

"What do you want?" I kept my voice quiet, knowing perfectly well he could hear me. And although part of me wished to ignore him, I knew I would find it difficult to concentrate on my homework without knowing what his deal was.

Sometimes, I was too nosy for my own good.

With a silent push of his chair, Jasper stood up and swiftly rounded the tables separating us, and without warning, dropped into the chair across from me.

I briefly met his pale gold eyes before shifting my gaze to the loose waves of his honey blond hair.

"Hello."

I wrinkled my nose. "Um. Hi."

"I apologize for bothering you," he continued, keeping his voice low. "I was curious."

I just barely refrained from rolling my eyes. "About what?"

After getting Edward to leave me be, I'd thought I was home free. But it appeared that that was not the case.

"You," he said shortly, without offering any further context.

I scowled and set my pencil down. After popping another gummy worm into my mouth, I leaned my forearms against the table and dropped my gaze, chewing thoughtfully.

Slowly, I reviewed what I knew about Jasper and how that could possibly be connected to me.

His history didn't feel relevant. His difficulty with his thirst didn't seem apparent. (His eyes were currently as light as could be.) And his abilities…

"Oh."

"Oh?" he asked.

I chewed on another gummy worm and decided that that was it. Jasper, who must've felt every emotion under the sun while attending high school, was curious about me, because I felt nothing.

The phrasing was a bit of an exaggeration, but my emotional capacity was so extremely minuscule, that I was probably the equivalent of a cosmic void to him.

I lifted my head and settled my gaze on his jaw this time. If it was ravaged by bite marks, then the scars remained invisible to my eyes.

"You can stay here, as long as you're quiet," I decided, and returned to my homework.

We weren't the only students here. Unless he planned to slaughter everyone in the room, he wouldn't kill me. Living in the same town as him was already a risk and I figured this would hardly up the ante.

Fortunately, Jasper did as asked. At one point, he pulled out a massive tome from his backpack and quietly flipped through the old pages.

When I'd finished and packed up all my things, Jasper stood, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, and walked alongside me.

He remained silent until we reached my truck in the student lot. "Can we do this again tomorrow?"

I blinked. "I do this every school day."

"May I join you?"

"Do what you want," I eventually said.

Did I think it was weird? Definitely. But as long as he wasn't bothering me, I didn't care what he did. And it wasn't as though I could stop him.

"Oh. Well, thank you."

"Sure," I said and turned to the door of my car. "Bye."

"Have a good evening."


The next morning, Jessica pounced on me.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me the real reason you didn't want to hang out yesterday," she accused me as we walked across the parking lot.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your study session with Jasper Hale!" she exclaimed. "Everyone is talking about it."

Everyone? I hope not. That'd be kind of pathetic.

"What is there to talk about?"

"Um, hello? The Cullens and Hales don't make friends with anybody. This is totally newsworthy," Jessica assured me.

"If you say so."

"So, tell me everything!" Her eyes practically sparkled with anticipation.

"There's nothing to tell," I said. "I went to the library to do my homework and we sat at the same table."

Jessica pouted. "Aww, don't hold out on me, Mar! I heard that he's the one who wanted to sit with you. And that you guys even talked."

I sighed. "I'm not holding out on you. And he's dating Alice Cullen, so who cares? I'm not interested, and neither is he."

"You can still be friends," she insisted.

I smiled. "You are insatiable."

Jessica flipped her curls back and smirked. "I know."

While I got the occasional stares throughout the school day, I was mostly left alone. If Jessica hadn't spoken with me this morning, I would've remained oblivious.

At the very least, it meant I wasn't totally surprised to have Edward break our current stalemate.

"You're friends with my brother."

It was a simple statement. One I probably should have ignored.

"'Friends' is not how I would label it," I muttered, eyes flickering between the blackboard and my notebook as I copied down Mr. Banner's notes.

"Then, how would you label it?" he asked, sounding far too curious for my tastes.

"That remains to be seen."

The same way I wasn't interested in talking to Edward, I also wasn't interested in befriending Jasper. The smart thing to do would've been to tell Jasper to stay away from me. But he'd already been observing me without my permission and there likely wasn't anything I could do to stop him from doing it again. At least this way, I had a say of when and where it happened.

It was just regrettable that it had garnered so much attention.

"But you don't mind his company?"

I shrugged. "As long as he stays quiet."

Edward fell silent, as though recalling my previous request to be left alone.

And admittedly, there was a part of me that wanted to answer the call to adventure. To become part of the magic of this world.

But I knew getting involved in some tragic romance with Edward wasn't the way to do it. Especially when it required me to put my life at risk time and again. My heart wasn't made to withstand that kind of pressure.

And even if I did have the opportunity to become a vampire, would I take it?

I wasn't so sure. I was already extremely sensitive. What would sensory overload feel like as a vampire?

Not great, I imagined.

The bell rang and I was packing my things, when Edward broke the silence.

"You have a peculiar aversion to my family and I. Why is that, I wonder?"

I briefly met his gaze. Thankfully, they held no suspicion. Just his ever present curiosity.

I sighed and hoisted the strap of my bag onto my shoulder. "Thank you for the origami paper, Edward. Really. But it's better if we're not friends."

I turned and walked away, hoping he would heed my warning. Anything less could only pave the way to misfortune.


A/N: I started writing this chapter and Jasper popped up like a jump scare. I was not prepared for that.

After all the love this story has received, I decided to write another chapter for you all!

Let me know your thoughts! :)