"I hope you know what you're doing." Kaufmann was no comfort. Hell, at this point talking to Rooney would be preferred.

Logically Hensley knew why Kaufmann was worried for her. Relationships were strictly forbidden in their branch. Love makes you stupid.

If they were to find out about Jasper or Carlisle or any of them…Hensley wasn't sure what would happen. She did have a guess though and her guess wasn't good.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what I'm doing." She muttered, still staring out the passenger window so she didn't have to face him. "I don't know how to describe it. It just…it feels like I've known him my whole life."

"You've known him twenty-four hours." It was technically twenty-two…but Hensley wasn't going to correct him.

"I know that." It was hard to keep the annoyance out of her voice. Was this what it was like to have teenage angst? She felt irritated. But she also felt confused. Why was she so trusting of a guy she'd met a day ago? Why wasn't she more suspicious or cautious of him? What was the shift she felt the day before? Did Jasper feel it too?

Hensley spent most of the night on the couch with ice on her shoulder trying to keep her mind off of the odd situation with Jasper. He had to feel it too. That's why he was so openly affectionate with her, right? Well, that and the fact that he probably thought her to be dead. But what did that mean? Was it a normal vampire thing? Was it a weird vampire thing? Did that mean he wanted to be with her too? Did he not want to but had no choice now?

She wanted to talk to him. He knew far more about vampires than she did.

Things started to get slightly worse around dinner time. Her shoulder was really starting to bother her, and her chest decided that it was injured as well, a dull achy pain filling it. Kaufmann gave her some medicine, which she didn't question but apparently should have. Horrid dreams filled her brain; Jasper with bright red eyes, attacking her. Jasper and his family cornering her in the woods, taking their turns biting her skin and draining her dry, Carlisle standing above her just laughing.

Hensley shook herself awake. She rubbed her eyes and then moved shaking hands across her damp forehead. It was completely dark in the living room and as far she could tell there wasn't anyone with her. The boys must've gone to bed.

At the moment she didn't mind. It was better she was alone if she was going to have nightmares. No need to wake anyone else up with her active imagination. Waking herself up was bad enough.

The clock on her phone read 4:43. She was almost upset until she remembered that this meant she got dibs on the bathroom.

The hot shower felt wonderful on her shoulder, which had stiffened overnight. Nightmares no doubt negatively added to that situation. The muscles were sore and protesting as she moved, but still better than the pain she'd been in the night before.

By the time she got out and dressed, the boys were waking up and starting their own morning routine. Each of them looked just as groggy as she felt.

"What the hell did you give me?" Hensley asked Kaufmann when he joined her for breakfast.

The smirk on his face made her internally cringe. "Yeah, you were out cold. We were almost convinced we'd have to call Carlisle."

She rolled her eyes, "What did you give me?

"Don't worry about it. You lived."

Knowing Kaufmann, that was code for 'something I got in a shady way, and I don't want you to have to testify against me.'

"Anyway," He changed the subject slightly, "Think your boy-toy can take you to work after school today. You can't drive for 24 hours after taking that."

Hensley's face fell. "Are you serious?"

"I'm sure you'll be fine, but just in case. I was gunna take you there and then you can bring yourself back cause your car is still there. You just need someone for the middle drive because I have testing."

She groaned. How the hell was that going to work? She just walks up to Jasper and asks him to drive her car? What the hell happened to Kaufmann wanting to be careful?

When she asked him those questions, he shrugged, "No offense, but this seems way less dangerous than the shit you did yesterday."

"What'd you do yesterday?" Naturally Anderson was curious. He hated to be left out of a story. Hensley really didn't feel like answering, so she ignored him. The day was going to be frustrating enough without having to listen to Kaufmann chime in on all the things she did that were stupid.

The only bright side to the situation she found herself in was the thinking time. As Kaufmann drove her to school, she thought about what she felt and what exactly she was going to do about it.

.-.

"You're a fucking doctor. You fix it." Cooper snapped before remembering himself. "Sorry."

Carlisle just smiled at him, always patient and understanding even when he probably shouldn't have been. Unfortunately for them both, he may have been a doctor, but he had no idea what was going on with Jasper.

"I'm fine." Jasper muttered, still hunched over and holding his chest with one hand.

"Real fuckin' convincing." Cooper's sour mood returned, masking the concern he felt for his brother. "We're just thinking about this shit and he's like this. How the hell ya expect him to actually leave like this?"

"We're going to look into it." Carlisle told the older Whitlock. "Nothing is going to be done until we have answers."

"And what? We just hope she don't say nothin'?"

It wasn't the original plan, and it certainly wasn't the ideal one, but it was the best Carlisle had while taking care of Jasper. "We can talk to her. Emmett had spoken to her earlier, right?"

"Fuck him." Jasper growled. Carlisle and Cooper both knew he didn't mean that. Once the spell passed, Jasper would be fine tasking Emmett with that plan.

The relief Jasper felt just from seeing the girls face at school was enough to tell most of the Cullens that they had made the right decision, at least for now.

Even Hensley smiled brightly when she noticed them at lunch, throwing her 'maintain her distance' plan out the damn window.

Biology was better, sitting so close together that Jasper could feel the warmth radiating from her. He snuck glances (and soft smiles only Edward noticed) throughout the period. He wanted to talk to her, make some sort of conversation, but wasn't sure how. What would he say? 'Have I told you your face makes everything feel right in the world?' Jasper could guess how that would work out.

Hensley was pleasantly surprised when Emmett looked at her expectantly at the beginning of study hall. She followed the three out to the lunchroom to sit at the same table they had before.

"So, we can all agree that life makes so much more sense now, right?" Emmett broke the ice after they got settled.

"I swore you looked familiar." Rose told Hensley, apparently much more welcoming now. "We've only seen you in pictures though and obviously didn't expect you here." Ahh, yes. Carlisle.

Hensley couldn't help but smile. Dangerous or not, this felt right too. "I never knew Carlisle had kids. He never got to talk much about himself."

"Damn. So, you never heard anything about us. Didn't know that you and Rose share a middle name?" Emmett gestured to the girl.

Hensley exhaled a small laugh, "Really? That's cool. Was that a happy accident or on purpose?"

"Carlisle was kind enough to do that for me. I've always wanted a baby." Rosalie smiled for just a brief moment; eyes cast downward at the table. When she looked back up at Hensley, the wistful emotion had faded from her face, "I was one of the only ones in support of the whole thing."

Hensley easily caught her meaning, looking between Emmett and Jasper. "You didn't want me?" She teased.

Emmett was quick to deny that statement, but Jasper remained quiet while looking regretful. Hensley just shrugged it off, "I'm not offended. It's dangerous and a hell of a long shot."

He didn't say this, but if Jasper could go back in time and kick his own ass for ever being against her creation, he would.

Distracted by Jasper, what a surprise, Hensley forgot all about needing a ride to work until Emmett said he'd see her in a few minutes when school ended. It felt incredibly burdensome to ask for a ride then, so she figured she'd just take her chances with dying in a fiery car crash. True to Kaufmann's thoughts, she did feel fine. The medication had probably worn off enough.

"Hey, Alexandria." Jasper called to her. He walked quicker to fall in line beside her.

"Hey. Everything alright?" He looked a little concerned, jaw set tight while he stared more at the ground than at her. Lost in thought perhaps.

As he ran a hand through his long hair, Hensley's immediate first thought was how it would feel between her fingers. Could she tug on it while she bit his- "Are you ok?"

She took a deep breath, filling her brain with oxygen instead of craziness. "Yeah, all good. What's up?"

He wasn't convinced, but that was fine. Not like anyone could read her mind and rat her out. "I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I overstepped and I didn't mean to upset anyone or get you in trouble."

Ahh that. Well, she certainly hadn't minded. No need to tell him that though. "You're fine, Jasper. Really, don't worry about it. It was a stressful day."

The skepticism on his face didn't leave, but he let it go. "Is your shoulder feeling any better?"

Truthfully it wasn't. It was still sore, especially when lifting her arm. She wished she had a doctor's note so she could skip gym because damn if going up to spike didn't hurt. Not wanting him to worry though, she said it was getting better.

"Glad to hear. I'm sure I've kept you from work long enough. I'll see you tomorrow." He ducked his head – such an old fashioned gesture – and started walking away towards his own vehicle.

She wasn't sure what possessed her to do such a thing, but she did it anyway. "Hey Jasper," he turned to face her once again, "would you wanna hang out sometime after school?"

~.~

Friday night was usually a night of fun with friends. At least, that's what Hensley had always heard. Crazy kids getting into trouble by drinking or pranking one another. Something about toilet paper and eggs? She wasn't sure.

She was sure that most kids attended parties or went out on dates on a Friday night. That was what the outsiders always told her and, now that she was an outsider herself, what she knew to be true. Hensley had to get that word out of her head. Date. Jitters shot up her spine just thinking about it.

It wasn't a date. Not really. They were just getting dinner. Like people did on dates. But it wasn't a date. They were just two friends hanging out. They had hung out all week during biology and study hall. This would be no different.

What would she have to do to get one more of those hugs?

"Early dinner!" Tyler shouted, breaking Hensley from her thoughts and tossing something at Emmett, who he was closest to.

Emmett laughed, "Ahh hell yeah!" He threw a couple things to Hensley, which turned out to be individually wrapped Twizzlers. She'd never seen these before, but they looked like candy and that made her interested.

Hensley smiled, breaking one open, "Thanks, Tyler!"

"You guys should come back and see what I'm working on!" He said, walking back towards his area.

"Do they mind if we take a break?" Hensley asked as Emmett got up from his spot. She guessed not if Emmett was going. Maybe he was some kind of rule breaker though.

Emmett shrugged, "Nah, they're chill around here. Besides, Tyler works on some kick-ass stuff!"

The two of them went back to Tyler's section to see what he was so excited about. Tyler, Hensley learned, worked a lot of with plastics, creating canvases and other printed decorative pieces with them.

Hensley looked around at all the different machinery while snacking on the super chewy candy. The machinery over there looked way different than the things they had on their section, all sleek and bright compared to the old mechanical look their machines had. That and the space was pretty crowded with them, trying to make sure everything fit in the small area. Surprisingly the shop didn't feel cluttered.

"Dude…this is amazing!" Emmett exclaimed, now holding a canvas of a picture of him and Rosalie. They were both dressed up, her in a beautiful light green gown and him in a tux. Judging by the background it appeared they were at someone's house. Potentially leaving for an event.

Hensley smiled and joined the two men in admiring the canvas.

"This is insane. Rose is going to love this. How much do I owe ya man?"

Tyler shook his head, sending a light breeze of cigarette smoke towards Hensley. "Oh, come on. It was surprise. You think I'm gunna make ya pay for it? Happy early graduation."

"You come on, this your business. I gotta give ya something for it."

"Tell ya what. Will it make you feel better if I do one for Bruiser over there?" Tyler gestured to Hensley.

Hensley looked at him shocked, "Stop spending my money, fuck-face."

Emmett and Tyler laughed. "No, as a gift! Jesus, Bruiser. Calm down."

"Just saying." Hensley shrugged, a light blush filling her cheeks. She hated blushing, rubbing her cool hands on her cheeks to get rid of the warmth.

"It would I guess," Emmett answered his question, "Equal treatment. Besides, imagine that pretty face on one of these."

Hensley groaned. She was awful at compliments. Thankfully when you're military you don't get too many. Or maybe that was the problem. Maybe if she had more compliments she'd get used to it.

"Oh, don't be like that. It'd be the prettiest one I've made." Tyler added.

"Stop!" She covered her ears, "I'm leaving. That one's beautiful, but I'm leaving."

She listened to Emmett and Tyler laugh behind her as she went back to work. On a night like that night, she didn't need any more social interactions to worry about. Lord knew her night with Jasper was going to be plenty to fret about. Heck, it had been plenty to fret about.

"That is really pretty." Hensley told Emmett again when he returned, just so he knew she hadn't left because she didn't like it or was jealous or whatnot. She didn't want him to hate her or anything.

"It's super cool. Rosalie will love it. It's the picture we took at prom last year. You going to prom this year?"

Hensley wasn't sure what a prom was. Apparently someplace where you wear fancy outfits and get pictures taken. "Um, I'm not sure. What is it?"

Emmett turned to drop his jaw at her, putting the canvas by his jacket for safekeeping, "You don't know what prom is?"

"This is my first…whatever this was called." She held up the wrapper for the candy.

"Sweet Jesus." Emmett exclaimed as he walked back. "Where have you been? Under a rock? Is that what you and Jasper are doing tonight? He's teaching you about the outside world?"

Hensley flushed red again at the mention of her night plans. It made perfect sense that Emmett would've heard about Jasper spending time with her. At the same time, she hadn't expected Emmett to bring it up or hear about it. Did her father know? How did he feel about her spending time with Jasper?

"No." She tried to snap at him, but it came out like a whine instead. "We're just going to dinner."

"Ohh dinner date!"

Hensley groaned. She was starting to regret life. Mostly just knowing Emmett. "It's not a date."

"Sure, it's not." Emmett wagged his eyebrows at her. He reminded her so much of Kaufmann at that moment it was sickening. Such a teasing, evil, older brother. And he wasn't even her damn brother! "That's why Jasper was all panicked about looking nice and things going well."

What?

Now this was news to Hensley. Jasper was worried about their dinner outing tonight? What did he have to be nervous for? He was…perfect. He could wear a caveman cloth and look like a god on earth. All he had to do was shoot Hensley that crooked smile or call her 'Darlin' in that southern accent and she wouldn't give a single thought to what he was or wasn't wearing…well, unless he wasn't wearing- no. Mind out of gutter.

She tried to shake away her thoughts and determine how to move forward from there. It wasn't good to look too interested in that fact. Then Emmett would catch on that she liked Jasper and he'd tell. Emmett seemed like the type to do that. But she didn't want to say anything that made Emmett think she thought Jasper was weird or misreading the situation either. If things went well then she would be going on an actual date with him in the near future.

By the time she thought to glance at Emmett he was wearing a smirk that riveled the cockiest man to ever live. Hensley tried to play it cool, asking an innocent, "What?" It was far too late for that though. Emmett chuckled to himself.

He told her to have fun on her date, cheeky smile and teasing finger wave to boot. Hensley decided she'd have to be sure and tell Jasper what a damn mean brother-roommate-whatever the hell he had.

Any thoughts of Emmett went right out the window when she saw Jasper.

If he had been worried about the night, he certainly didn't show it, leaning against a truck Hensley had never seen at school as though he had all the confidence in the world. Whether or not Jasper had spent time on it, he looked quite dashing in his dark green sweater and gray jeans. Though Hensley fully believed he would look incredible in anything. She was glad she thought to bring a dressier shirt to change into after work – once she had driven down the road and was away from Emmett of course. No need to give him yet another thing to tease her about.

Jasper smiled at her as she got out of her car, pushing himself off his own vehicle to meet her. She was nearly breathless by the time they met up and she had to consciously remind herself to take breaths.

"You look nice."

Hensley nearly scoffed, "Say that to yourself." He looked a million times better than she did and she could prove it any day of the week.

Jasper just chuckled. "Have somethin' in mind for tonight, Darlin'?"

"Any preferences? What's good in this town?" It seemed like a silly question to ask given that Hensley lived in Port Angeles, not Jasper. But he had been in the area far longer than she had.

"Well, truth be told we don't get out much to eat. At least not this way." He winked at her. Though he seemed to take it well, she couldn't help but feel really stupid. Of course, they probably didn't eat a ton. Vampires mostly survived on blood. Or, only survived on blood. Did eating even do anything for them?

"Not really." Jasper answered when she asked, ensuring to be discreet when she did so, "We can, but it doesn't sustain us so we usually don't."

Yeah, she was dumb. "Sorry, I really don't know as much about this stuff as I should. We can go out to the east a little. There's a forest and I'm sure-"

"You hunt?"

"Well, no. I mean, I could…but-" It's disgusting. "It's easier for me not to."

He was trying to analyze her again. While he did so, she tried to put on her best 'I'm not picky' face. If he didn't enjoy actual food, then she would power through a hunting session for him.

He took her hand and starting leading her towards his truck, "Let's get pasta. Carlisle said you like that."

Carlisle? "You asked my dad about things I like?"

Jasper hesitated, looking back at her with a mixture of fear and sheepishness on his features, "Well, just for cases like this. When someone's bein' stubborn."

"I'm just trying to make sure you're taken care of."

"Oh no, Darlin'." Jasper shook his head, wrapping an arm around her waist. They were close enough now that she was lightly pressed against him, his cool breath easily detected on her ear, "It's my job to take care of you tonight."

Hensley could think of a few ways for him to do that.

He pulled away from her, trying to figure her out. "What are you thinkin', Darlin'?"

"What makes you say that?" She was genuinely curious. Sure, she was blushing, but that wasn't a surefire indicator of impure or desiring thoughts…right? Maybe she was blushing because it was warm out…in January. Or maybe she was blushing because she never had someone who said things like that to her before.

Jasper looked around, letting out a quick exhale. He seemed to be contemplating something, pressing his lips together for a moment before looking back down at her, "I can feel people's emotions. I'm an empath."

Oh no.

The panic must've been clearly written on her face…or he felt it because he just told her he was an empath. Listen, Hensley. Whichever way he decided to pick on her panic, he cupped her face with one hand and tried to bring her focus back to him, "Lexi, you don't have anything to worry about."

"But-"

"Trust me. You haven't felt anything I haven't."

Oh. Oh.