Dark Paradise
Every time I close my eyes
It's like a dark paradise
No one compares to you
I'm scared that you
Wont be waiting on the other side.
The metallic scent of Bella's blood assaulted her senses and she squeezed her eyes tight against the onslaught of nausea building up. Bright spots dancing across her closed eyelids. Struggling to hold off the bile rising in her throat, alternating from gasping for breath and choking it back down. Turning her head to the side in her struggle for control over her convulsing body. She never could stand the smell or sight of blood and it was everywhere when she opened her eyes, all she could smell when she closed them. Streaked across the mouth of the blonde pony-tailed vampire from the baseball field, with flaming red eyes dancing with joy hovering above her. Her burning wrist in his hands, blood dripping from his mouth. Dazedly, she realized it was her blood. Pooling on the ground all around her, her leg broken and bleeding. Her vision blurring with blood from the gash on her forehead and her tears. Ears ringing with the sound of her own screams and crashing glass.
The blonde vampire was suddenly replaced with a darker set of blond curls and black eyes that she drew comfort and safety from. The terror in her body lessening, as the burning increased. His mouth moved, teeth glittering with venom that spilled over his lips and onto his chin. His words were lost in the void of sound that was over powdered by the thudding of her pulse in her ears. She closed her eyes for only a moment, and then Jasper was gone. Replaced with the coppery bouffant atop the overly distraught face of Edward, her boyfriend.
The pain and fear were leaking back into her subconscious, the burning getting stronger with each passing moment. The temporary reprieve Jasper had given her evaporated. Having Edward draw her up into his arms, holding her wrist at it's length away from them, felt hard and unyielding. The burn grew stronger with his rough handling. She wanted Jasper back, with his empathic woo-woo. She tried to look past Edward, his face moving in front of hers saying something to someone else. Suddenly his lips were on her wrist and her view was less obscured.
Emmett was holding the other vampire by the neck and arm, his head tilted at a sickening angle... James.
Jasper ripping the wooden floorboards up and starting a fire with Rosalie.
Edward spits a mixture of blood and venom out of his mouth, the blood shining crimson.
Rosalie casually tossing something in the fire and Emmett dropping his hold on James and stepping back, hands raised.
Edward spits out more blood, and Bella's vision was blurring around the edges.
Jasper tossing something into the fire as James's body dropped. The fire raging out of control with it's newest addition.
Bella struggled to keep her eyes open.
Suddenly Edward's mouth was ripped away from her wrist, a thunderous roar sounding over the thudding in her ears. Jasper was back, his black eyes like slits as he gently held her wrist up to his mouth sniffing it and staring at her neck. Taking her into his arms, he leaned towards her neck running his nose along it and just before his lips could touch her flesh, before his teeth could sink into her, to release her blood into his mouth...
Bella is torn away from her daydream into the present by Edward shaking her.
"Isabella?" Edward said again, catching her attention finally. When her eyes met his angry amber orbs, she flinched back. Still disoriented from her dream the night before. "Must you think about such things, in public?" He hissed quietly, so the humans sitting at their table for lunch couldn't hear. She was flushed with embarrassment then, her cheeks heating with the blush that came over her face. She looked down and picked at her food, her long brunette locks obscuring her from view of those around her. Sometimes, she felt like she couldn't do anything right. At least, not to Edward's archaic standards.
"What?" She asked for elaboration, not really sure what she was thinking about once her concentration had been broken. She was just a human, after all.
"We can all smell your arousal." He said with disgust. She was shocked, not realizing she had been feeling that way at all. She chanced a glance at Jasper then for confirmation and his saucy lopsided grin let her know all she needed to, and she hid behind privacy curtain her hair provided her. How humiliating. Had she been thinking about the dream she had last night? She was always thankful Edward couldn't read her mind, and wondered why it didn't work like that with Jasper's power either. The only privacy she had from the vampires around her, were her thoughts. And her thoughts lately would have gotten her in a lot of trouble.
"I..." She started and immediately stopped. She had no idea what to even say. Edward had never spoken to her like that before. In fact, ever since the hospital in Phoenix, when he had tried to break up with her for her own safety, he had been a bit of an asshole. Maybe she shouldn't have fought so hard to keep someone who clearly didn't want her. Luckily for her, the bell tolled and it was time for her to get to class. Biology, with Edward. She followed after him to class, obvious to the fact he was angry with her. Usually he would walk with her, not out pace her and sit before she even entered the class room.
.o.O.o.
Edward barely spoke to her in biology, except to inform her Alice would be taking her to Port Angeles after school, to go dress shopping for Prom. The same went for English. He was out of the parking lot before she had managed to gather all of her things from her last class. She didn't understand why he was punishing her for... that. She didn't really understand why such a dream would cause that kind of a reaction in her to begin with. She radiated embarrassment as she climbed in the back of Alice's car, Jasper holding the door open for her. Before she got fully in the car, Emmett was pulling out of the spot on the other side.
"Don't worry, Jelly Bean! Edward's just not used to having an erection so he had to go run it off." Emmett laughed, his grin spreading ear to ear. Rosalie smacked him in the back of the head and said something at vampire speed, but it did nothing to wipe the grin off his face as he drove out of the school parking lot. Bella thought that if you could die of embarrassment, this would be her moment. She wondered if you could be turned into a vampire if you died of embarrassment. Probably not. Jasper's body was shaking as he held in his laughter, annoying Bella. Every vampire make fun of the human.
"Thanks, Jasper." She scowled as he shut the door behind her. She felt a bit like she was the butt of everyone's joke at that moment. Actually, if Bella were honest with herself. She felt like the butt of the joke a lot of the time when around the Cullens.
"To male vampires, that smells really, really good. Better than blood." Alice explained, just before Jasper opened the passenger door. Bella wanted to melt into the back seat and become one with the upholstery. She certainly hadn't been thinking about anything like that! She closed her eyes and tried not to die of embarrassment.
"And it's only natural," Alice continued. Bella was trying to disappear from existence unbeknownst to the two vampires in the front of the car. "Edward is just really..." Alice was trying to find a delicate way to put it.
'Any minute now.' Bella pleaded mentally, 'Vapor. Turn into vapor.'
"Sexually repressed." Jasper chuckled.
"Noooo..." She moaned, sinking down in the back seat, her seat belt keeping her from melting onto the floorboard. "I wasn't thinking about that." She protested weakly. Jasper and Alice shared a look in the front seat, unseen by Bella. They didn't believe her. Jasper knew what he felt from her, and both vampires knew what they smelled earlier. "I had a dream last night, about the ballet studio..." Bella elaborated, covering her face with her hands. This sent Jasper's eyebrows straight up. What about the ballet studio had elicited that series of emotions from Bella? Had Edward sucking the venom been more intimate than they realized? The two vampires shared a look again and this time Bella caught them.
"You better not be talking about me in front of my face." Bella said, annoyed. She hated when they had private conversations around the dumb human. It was a forty five minute drive to Port Angeles with the way vampires drove, and she just didn't have the patience for a long awkward car ride. She didn't even want to go to prom, so she considered this whole car ride a waste of time.
"Bella, I'm not trying to pry..." Alice started, clearly prying. "We smelt your arousal, what about the ballet studio was-" She was cut off by Bella.
"Alice! Jasper is literally, right there. Can't you wait until we're trying on dresses in the dressing room?" Alice was more than intrigued, considering later Jasper would still be able to hear just as well as if they had the conversation now. She didn't bother telling Bella that, however, knowing how the human got about her privacy or lack there of.
"Alright, Bella." Alice relented, about to turn on the radio. Jasper wasn't on the same page as Alice, his curiosity was burning a hole straight through his chest. He wanted to know what she remembered about that night, and he had a feeling deep in his soul that her arousal had something to do with the feelings he had been experiencing since.
"Was it Edward suckin' the venom out?" He asked quietly, Bella heard him clear as day. She could count on one hand the amount of times Jasper had spoken to her. And it was four. This would be five. She had noticed his southern drawl before but it was different now. She couldn't put her finger on it, it was sexy as hell and she couldn't believe that thought just crossed her mind. Thankful that neither of the vampires in the car could read her thoughts and hoping Jasper hadn't noticed that brief emotion. He had.
"Jasper!" Alice admonished, though she was wondering the same thing. Bella fidgeted in her seat when she replied staring out of the window,
"No." She wasn't going to elaborate, and Jasper was more than pleased with this answer. Turning the radio to drown out the silence, the tension released from his shoulders and he stared out the window. Even if the question left Bella swirling in her thoughts and feelings for the rest of the car ride to Port Angeles.
Jasper and Bella, mirror images of introspective thought. Alice smiled at the visual, the only one in on her little joke.
.o.O.o.
"This is the one!" Alice said, holding up a royal blue halter dress, with tiered ruffles just past the knees. Bella made a face, complete with her tongue sticking out at it.
"Alice..." She really wasn't into shopping, and Alice's tastes made it even worse for Bella. He wasn't even sure what Bella's style was, Alice got to her so quickly once she saw a vision of her as a vampire. He knew she preferred comfort because of her constant protests against uncomfortable garments and shoes.
"Come on, Bella. I've already seen you in it." Alice tried again, shaking the hanger enticingly. Jasper knew she was lying, even without his gift. He could see Bella wonder about it, even knowing she didn't like the dress. Trying to find a redeeming quality about it, so she didn't hurt Alice's feelings. He hated when Alice lied about having visions to get her way. Even if it was stupid minuscule shit like a human's prom dress. It made it worse, somehow. He had been looking at the racks of dresses himself, mostly out of boredom. Alice had taken him to a lot of dress stores over the decades. He thought most of the dresses on the racks were ugly as hell. That included the blue thing Alice was trying to get Bella to wear. He saw a deep red satin dress that covered a bit more skin, with capped sleeves and a similar length skirt.
"Bella." Alice and Bella turned towards him and he held it up for their inspection and approval, eyebrow raised.
"Oh! Actually, I do like that." Bella said almost immediately, walking towards Jasper to take the dress out of his hands. Bella's fingers brushed his as she took the hanger from him, not realizing that this was the first time they've touched or been this close to one another since Phoenix. Alice silently put hers back on the rack and winked at Jasper over Bella's shoulder, something behind her emotions he didn't understand.
Mischief.
Alice followed Bella into the dressing room, leaving Jasper to figure out his emotions. He sat in one of the chairs outside and put his fingers to his lips. Inhaling the scent Bella left on his skin, lemongrass and lavender. His brow furrowed at the new spicy aroma to her scent and the protective feelings that washed over him. It is rare when a vampire experiences change in their eternal undead life. Jasper knew that this moment would be one of them, though he didn't quite understand what about him had just changed.
.o.O.o.
Prom Night
Bella arrived at the Cullen residence hours before she was told to by Alice. She had gotten impatient waiting, just wanting to get this night over with. Edward had lectured her about not skipping out on human experiences that she could never get back. How he had sacrificed to give her such a thing, how her blood had been like ambrosia to him, nectar of the gods. But he had stopped, so she could still be a human and enjoy all these human experiences. It seemed sorta dumb to her, since they not only attended Prom as vampires, but they'd done it dozens of times. What's so human about dancing? Even animals dance. She pushed the front door open, enjoying that it was unlocked. She had hoped that it would be, so she wouldn't have to wait outside in her truck. She dropped her overnight bag on the floor next to the couch and plopped down on it, adjusting the pillows to her liking. Picking up the remote and channel surfing mindlessly until it was time for Alice to doll her up.
Jasper came back early from hunting. He didn't really need to go, he just went for everyone else's peace of mind. He did require animal blood more often than his adopted siblings and coven mates, but that was due to his gift, not his inability to control his own bloodlust. He had no problem controlling himself, it was everyone else's emotions that did him in. He had never gotten this drained using his power when he drank human blood. He had spent damn near a hundred years feeling the bloodlust of newborn vampires, and it was nothing compared to the Cullens. There was a lot to be said about not repressing your basic instincts...
He halted mid step, feeling someone's desire and need wash over him. As soon as it was there, it was gone.
'Well now, who the hell could that be from?' He wondered, walking up the last few stone steps to the house. He knew for a fact he beat everyone back to the house by hours, Emmett hadn't even found a bear yet when he had left. Jasper slid open the glass doors and was he overcome with the scent of Bella's arousal. Lemongrass, lavender and eucalyptus. He recognized it from last week at School. The wave of desire he had felt cascade over the property as he got home, had been hers. Stepping inside the house and taking a look around, wondering who had left the front door unlocked. The last thing they needed was a human wandering in and seeing something they shouldn't. A human other than Bella, of course. He stood just inside the house, leaving the sliding glass door wide open to air the scent of Bella's arousal out. Edward could hardly handle a little whiff in a crowded cafeteria, let alone the entire living room being permeated with it.
If Jasper had any sense of self preservation he would have left right then but something was compelling him to stay. Something other than his lack of self control. He pulled his cellphone out of his back pocket, half expecting a call from Alice. No new text messages and no missed calls. Jasper was simultaneously relieved and in disbelief. He shifted the weight from one foot to the other, debating on going further into the house or leaving.
Then Bella made the tiniest sigh, 'Jasper' and his decision was made for him.
Before the vampire had realized he moved, he was at the edge of the couch. His eyes on Bella's lips as she sighed in her sleep. The smell around him, the desire and want coursing through the air... Was she dreaming of him? Jasper couldn't believe how hard he was. For a human girl. His coven member's girlfriend. 'Human girlfriend.' He corrected himself. Jasper hadn't had sex with a human without feeding off of her, and even then her survival wasn't a priority. He couldn't believe he was standing here thinking about having sex with Bella. His Momma raised him better than this.
He looked away from Bella's lips and to his phone again. Nothing. Not from Alice or anyone else. Was she not seeing this? He realized then that he hadn't actually decided on anything. He had thought of what he would like to do but never with the thought of it being something he could act on. He never made the decision. Could she not see because he was so indecisive?
"Fuck." He groaned, running his hands through his wavy mop of hair.
Bella adjusted herself then, rolling on her side and letting out a huff as she settled back into the couch. A fresh wave of her arousal hit him then and he tensed. The fresh air from the open door doing nothing to dilute her scent. He was too close to losing control of himself and his emotions. He set his phone down on the coffee table, daring it to vibrate with a warning from Alice.
Silence.
Nothing but Bella's rapid heart beat and her breathing.
He sat on the edge of the coffee table, and made a firm decision that he was going to help Bella get off in her sleep. He glanced at the phone again, still and silent. He looked back at Bella, her shirt had ridden up past her navel. He groaned out loud, his face in his hands.
"Ohh." Bella's mouth made a noise then that sent electricity straight through Jasper's dick. He throbbed in his pants, straining against the fabric of the kahkis Alice had him wear that day. He sent her how he felt in that moment, the want, the desire, the hunger. Not for her blood, but for her flesh. Bella writhed, her hips gently rolling trying to find release. He wanted to touch her, to be what she ground against and found release in.
'That would be too far.' He thought, not that he wasn't already going too far. His hand palmed himself over his pants, his erection almost painful. He hadn't had sex since they had arrived in Forks. He certainly wasn't going to break that streak with his adoptive brother's human girlfriend. He took a moment then, to think about how tight she would feel, how good being encased in her warmth would be... And sent that feeling to Bella. The pleasure he would get from kissing her, feeling her against him. The idea of taking her out from underneath Edward passed through his mind then, and just as quickly dismissed. What would he even do with a human girl?
He knew what he would like to do.
"Ja...s... Ooh." She cut herself off from moaning his name fully, her desire spiking in her sleep as something particularly interesting happened in her dreams. Jasper was sure she was dreaming of him now, and he was jealous of that Jasper. What was he doing to her to elicit such noises? He wanted to take his dick out of his pants, to stroke it in time with Bella's writhing hips. But worry of being discovered stayed his zipper. Instead he kept stroking himself through his pants, and amplifying Bella and his arousal, desire, and pleasure and cycling it back to her. His breath was coming out in pants now, in tune with Bella's. Jasper felt her ecstasy build to it's crescendo, Bella's breath catching in her throat as her whole body tensed. Her breath coming out all in a rush.
"Fuck." Jasper whispered, watching as she came in her sleep. The smell of her cum was intoxicating. He had thought her scent was especially aromatic since they came back from Phoenix, but this must have been the ambrosia he kept hearing Edward wax poetic about. He hadn't even realized he came in his pants like a horny teenager, until he could smell his own cinnamon and whiskey scent. Bella had no problem easily settling back into sleep, while Jasper's body heaved trying to catch his unnecessary breath. He was no better than Edward, at least Edward had never come in his pants while watching Bella sleep. He sat there, surrounded by their arousal thick in the air, and the lingering desire and want in his veins, wondering what the fuck he was doing with himself. He still couldn't bring himself to tear himself away from Bella's side.
And that was how Alice walked in on him, five minutes later. He shot up to his feet, guilt and shame hanging off the empath like a heavy cloak. Alice waved her hand away, dismissing him and his guilt ridden emotions.
"None of that shit, Jasper." Alice didn't usually swear, so he took the extra time to catalog through her emotions. He found nothing but love, acceptance and excitement. This only confused him further. She had seen this, and hadn't called to stop him?
"Alice, I..." But she didn't let him finish speaking.
"Jazzy, please." She said, using his hated nickname. "It's okay." She came forward to him then, and grasped his hands in hers. "It's alright. I promise." She stared into his eyes, daring him to call her a liar. She didn't need to hear it, because she had heard several versions of the same excuse already.
"Don't you realize things are all different since Phoenix?" Her eyes went blank for a moment and her whole body went still. Then she said, "You should open up the rest of the windows and go take a shower. Edward will be home soon." She dropped his hands and turned towards the staircase, stopping just before she went up. "Try not to think about Bella in there," she winked, before running up the rest of the stairs in a rush, laughing.
"What the fuck." Jasper had no idea what was going on with Alice, but it wasn't what he expected at all. Things have been different since Phoenix? Not that different... He obediently opened up the windows, and went to take a shower. Thinking about anything but the sleeping human downstairs. Edward was a nosy prick.
.o.O.o.
Bella woke from her impromptu nap feeling refreshed and invigorated. That is, until Alice reminded her it was time to get ready for prom, and to go hop in the shower.
"I took a shower before I got here." She protested as Alice gently pushed her into the bathroom that adjoined her bedroom and Jasper's study.
"Trust me, Bella." Alice smiled brightly, shutting the door behind her.
"You could just say I smell, Alice." Bella muttered under her breath, well aware that any vampires in the house could hear her.
The shower walls were wet from someone else's shower moments before, the air slightly humid with steam. The mirror still mostly fogged over. Bella toed off her shoes, not having been in Alice's bathroom before. It was a lot like her room, lots of blue and silver. The wallpaper had tiny little yellow flowers on it, with green vines. It was really serene. As she undressed, she spied through the bath products lining the shower shelves. This was Alice and Jasper's bathroom, she realized. The Old Spice must be his. She decided to use it the instant she saw it. Stepping into the shower and closing the door, she didn't need vampire scent to smell him in here. He must have been the last one to use it. Bella sighed, surrounded by Jasper in the hot steam of the shower. She had a very long, very relaxing shower.
With an incredibly frustrated Jasper, on the other side of the wall.
.o.O.o.
Bella exited the bathroom with trepidation and resignation. She truly, honestly, had no desire to go to prom. As far as she was concerned it was a pointless societal mating ritual. Getting dressed up was fun every once in awhile, but going out and dancing sounded like torture. She was not an extrovert, and wondered if she ever became a vampire, if she'd become one. Every vampire she met except for Jasper was an extrovert. Alice and Rosalie left Bella to her thoughts while they played with her hair and talked over her head about what they should do with her make up.
"Let's put her hair up, she never wears it up. All this length wasted." Rosalie suggested, holding Bella's long chestnut locks above her head and twisting it into a messy bun and pinning it with a rose hair stick. Every time Bella tried to put her hair up in an arty messy bun, it fell apart the second she tripped over nothing. Even if she used dozens of pins.
"Edward likes my hair down." Bella commented lazily, and she had no problem obliging because she usually didn't have time in the mornings if she wanted to cook her and Charlie breakfast. The two vampires did the whisper rapid talk they used when they didn't want Bella or any other human to understand what they were saying.
"Oh well, it's already so cute in the bun!" Alice suddenly said, super cheerful and full of smiles. She took a moment to pull a few loose strands out and artfully place them around Bella's face before stepping back and instructing Bella to cover her face with her hands while Rosalie doused her with hairspray.
"What about Jewelry?" Rosalie asked Alice. "I have that ruby choker Emmett got me a few decades ago after he destroyed my car."
"Hmm..." Alice thought about it, her eyes glazing over briefly and a sly smile comes across her face before she turns to Rosalie. "Only if you don't care if it gets ruined." Rosalie looked puzzled at this, and Bella spoke up indignant.
"I would never break your jewelry! At least not on purpose. It's probably better I don't wear any jewelry, anyway. I might lose it." It annoyed the vampires that she was so against gifts and using their belongings, even when freely offered. Had no one given her a gift without an obligation attached before? Rosalie was giving Alice a long hard stare and as if something was slowly dawning on her, her red lips turned into an 'O' and she looked towards the closed bathroom door.
"I'm willing to chance it." She said before leaving the room at vampire speed to retrieve the necklace.
"It has matching earrings!" Alice called after her, and took very little time brushing red tinted chap stick on Bella's lips and brushing a few different shades of brown around her eyes. Minimal and simple, just how Bella preferred it.
"You guys are so fucking annoying with the vampy speed talking." Bella huffed, but all the same admired her hair. She didn't usually swear, but Alice and Rosalie had never minded, and even swore on occasion themselves. Edward wouldn't lecture her about it if he wasn't even in the room when it happened. Rosalie came back then with an emerald velvet jewelry box in her hands. She set it down on the vanity in front of Bella and opened the clasp and lifted the lid.
"What do you think, Bella?" It was a necklace and earring set, the necklace was delicate silver chain, with a teardrop ruby hanging from the center. The earrings were two similar, but smaller tear drop rubies.
"Holy crow." Bella reached out to delicately touch the one hanging from the necklace. "It looks like a blood drop." Alice took that as her approval and put them on Bella, who was grinning at her reflection in the mirror. "I feel I'm in the make over portion of the romantic comedy." She touched the ruby hanging just under her throat, like an invitation.
Alice wasn't worried about the invitation being declined.
.o.O.o.
The second Bella slid the black kitten heels on her feet, she longed for the end of the night when she could take off all her uncomfortable clothes and climb into bed and sleep. She had such a great nap earlier, sleep seemed extremely appealing. She wasn't paying too much attention, when she followed Alice down the stairs to join everyone in the garage and take the classic prom pictures they took every year. She was mostly concentrating on walking carefully and not snapping her ankle off. Her leg had just healed from Phoenix and the last thing she needed was another fracture. Something she wouldn't have to worry about at all, if Edward had let her become one of them. Bella was trying very hard not to resent Edward for that, but she couldn't help herself. She reached the landing and took a glance up to see what everyone was doing.
Jasper was standing at the bottom of the stairs talking with Emmett. Had she noticed how broad his shoulders were before? As if he noticed her looking at him he turned fully towards her. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt, with black tie. It was different on Jasper somehow, than the usual clothing she saw him in. It was in that moment, time stopped for Bella. She exhaled a long breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Jasper, she was trying to take it all in and file it away for later. She had never seen him wear anything but dockers with thick sweaters. His blonde wavy hair was still loose around his face, Bella was surprised Alice hadn't made him tie it back or slick it down with hair pomade, like he wore it at school. His eyes met hers as she started to descend the stairs, and his usual amber hue was a darker shade. Brown, like her own. She wondered if Jasper was hungry. She bit her lip then, an errant thought about offering up her neck for a quick snack flashing through her mind. Jasper eyes darkened, as if he heard her unspoken offer, and accepted. When she did finally slide her eyes away from her perusal of Jasper's chest, it was because Edward was at her side. Offering to escort her the rest of the way down.
"You're so clumsy, love." She blushed, but not because of her habitual clumsiness. With her eye contact with Jasper broken, her insecurity and constant state of embarrassment and anxiety came back. She hadn't even noticed Edward in the room.
'Why couldn't it be Jasper?' She thought petulantly as her boyfriend and prom date guided her safely down the stairs, and out the door to her high school prom.
Bella Swan had never felt so ungrateful and ashamed of herself in all her life.
.o.O.o.
Being at prom was almost exactly how Bella expected it. Boring. Even dancing with Edward was like moving in molasses. Uncomfortable and weird. She wanted to leave the second they arrived. The music's bass was set uncomfortably high and the bright lights flickering unintentionally. Alice convinced her to at least stay for a few slow dances.
"You can just shuffle your feet." She had suggested happily. Alice's cheerfulness was part of what was grating on Bella's nerves. She had already danced twice with Edward, and begged off any more dances. He barely touched her, and stood a good foot away during a slow song. All Bella could think was 'People did this for fun?'
"So Bella, how are you liking your first prom?" Emmett asked her when they had a moment at their table without any humans around.
"I will absolutely not be repeating this for an eternity." Bella quipped, not noticing the somewhat annoyed expression on Edward's face at the mention of her having an eternity.
"It's not so bad." Emmett said, distractedly watching Rosalie and Alice dance together. "I get to see my Rosie dressed up!" He looked at Bella then, grinning and wiggling his eyebrows exaggeratedly. Bella crinkled her nose, but then realized Emmett had a point... Just not about Edward. She had been stealing glances at Jasper all night. She had never paid much attention to him before, Emmett was the brother who spent time with her and enjoyed her company. Jasper always kept far away. She saw him at school more than she saw him at the Cullen Mansion. Out of sight, out of mind.
Unfortunately, he was in her sight now, and had been on her mind all month. And all night, her subconscious picked up right where her waking mind left off... With Jasper. She had never given much thought to how she would be turned, she assumed Edward would do it. He hadn't before, but with his control in sucking her blood out, she had been confident he would be the one. Now she wasn't so sure, not after that dream... With Jasper's lips on her neck in a kiss before he bit her. She shook her head, trying to shake the thoughts right out of them.
"Jasper, why don't you dance with Bella?" Alice suggested after Edward and gone outside for some 'Peace and quiet' a few minutes earlier. Sometimes he had a bit of a sensory overload. Alice and Rosalie had just returned from the dance floor and Rosalie had taken no time in dragging Emmett away for the slow song that came up next.
Jasper gave Alice an incredulous look. The last thing he expected of this evening, was being that close to Bella. And here was Alice, encouraging it. He looked towards Bella, her mouth in a surprised 'o'.Their feelings mirroring each other, surprise, trepidation and longing. He figured he'd do the gentlemanly thing, since Edward was dead set on being a dumb ass weirdo tonight. He stood and walked around the table to her side, and held out his hand. Giving her a charming grin and laying his southern drawl on thick.
"May I have this dance, darlin'?" Bella's face flushed immediately, Jasper's accent was an instant aphrodisiac. She couldn't bring words to her lips, so she just nodded dumbly and put her hand in his. Letting him pull her out of her seat and lead her to the dance floor. This dance, was nothing like dancing with Edward. Edward had always told her it was a struggle to control himself around her, when he was so close. Her blood called to him. So they kept several inches between them, and he held her stiffly away from him. Unyielding.
Yet here was Jasper, the Cullens 'weakest' link. With his body flush against hers, one hand at the small of her back, the other clasped in hers as he guided her around the dance floor. Where Edward's hugs had always been stiff and cold, being in Jasper's arms was warm and inviting. She felt a tension release in her shoulders she hadn't even realized was there as she melted into Jasper's embrace. Taking a deep breath of his scent, spicy cinnamon and something else she couldn't put her finger on. Completely forgetting that she was in a room with other people, her world had narrowed to a tiny bubble that only included the two of them.
When Bella rested her head on Jasper's chest, he let out a long drawn out breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. Acting without thinking, he buried his head in her hair. Inhaling deeply and realizing she used his toiletries when she showered earlier. Having her smell like him gave him a sense of satisfaction that bordered on possessive pride. He held back a groan and willed his dick to behave. Dress pants would absolutely leave nothing to the imagination and he couldn't imagine the argument that would stem from that with the rest of the coven.
Her hand had slipped from his and she had wrapped her arms around his waist, under his suit jacket. He could feel her relax into him, her head nuzzling his chest. His arms automatically tightening around her in response. His thoughts were ranging from innocent to impure as they swayed together. A stray thought of what she would be like as a vampire, what diet she would choose. But his mind kept circling back to earlier that day, his vampiric memory giving him perfect recall of Bella moaning his name in her sleep. The exact line of thought he should have been avoiding at all costs. Especially with Edward around. The song was nearing it's end and neither of them wanted to let go. The comfort they found in one another almost as addictive as the feeling they both had unknowingly been chasing since Phoenix.
If any member of the Cullens had been brought up in the vampire world properly, there would have been no doubt and no question. Just as Carlisle and Rosalie had come across their dying human mates, they knew instinctively. It was intuition, to be drawn to your mate. It was why there was no questioning Edward's claim on Bella, even if it was based on her silent mind and being his singer. Interfering with a vampire and his mate, human or not was a killable offense. So you can imagine Alice's surprise when she had her first vision of Jasper and Bella together, several weeks before Phoenix.
A black truck with tinted windows is driving down a bumpy dirt road, tall trees with overhanging branches on either side of the road cast shadows. It arrives at a house, with a wide expanse of yard around it, where two vampires emerge into the sunlight. Shimmering in the bright sunshine, brilliant smiles on their faces as they awaited their visitors. The truck slows to a stop and out jumps Bella, a crimson eyed beauty, her hair shining with copper and chestnut highlights. She runs full force into the man and woman, enveloping them in a group hug which Jasper joins in on when he exits the vehicle, at a much slower pace than Bella. Alice had never seen him so happy or at peace before, nor Bella so carefree and joyful.
Alice was watching the couple on the dance floor, one teenage girl and one a vampire who had killed more humans and vampires than anyone could count. A sly secret smile on her lips, as they pulled each other closer in an intimate embrace. Things were happening differently than she had originally seen, and a lot faster. She couldn't help going back to the first time she had seen Bella and Jasper together as vampires. Alice had seen visions of Bella has a vampire frequently since she had moved to Forks, and stupidly assumed it was about Edward and Bella. Jasper and a human? The God of War, finding his mate at a high school? It didn't even cross her mind. So she pushed Edward towards Bella. Encouraged him to build his tolerance to her blood.
"That's unusual." Emmett commented, blissfully unaware of the sexual tension between the aforementioned pair. He was referring to them dancing so closely together, with Jasper's struggles with the vegetarian diet. He avoided being around humans outside of school, and had kept his distance from Bella when she was at the house. Alice barked out a semi-hysterical laugh, thinking about what she had seen earlier before she came home to an absolutely wrecked with guilt Jasper. She stopped suddenly and looked panicked and glanced around the room for Edward.
"Did you see how weirdly Edward was dancing with her earlier?" Rosalie's disdain for Edward started the second she awoke to this life, and had never ended. "It was like watching two strangers obligation dance." Rosalie was thinking back to her human life, and the untold awkward and insufferable dances she was forced to endure on her way to finding a rich suitor. She had kept the unwanted males away with the same tactics Edward had deployed to keep Bella at a distance. Lock her shoulders and elbows so they can't come in closer, and keep a firm bubble of space between them.
"Edward does everything weirdly, you're going to have to be more specific." Emmett laughed loudly, causing several tables around them to turn heads. He didn't care too much about Edward either way, he preferred hanging out with Jasper.
"He is a lot more... repressed." Rosalie struggled to find the right word, and landed on repressed. "He's stiffer, like the first few weeks he came back from Denali." She meant she thought he was struggling with his control again. It was only a year or two before they would have to move on anyway, but she didn't want to unless they had to.
"Maybe he wants to cement the mating bond." Emmett supplied hopefully. "Almost losing her to James in Phoenix did something to him."
"Please, if Bella sprawled out naked on Edward's chaise lounge, he would run from the room screaming about impropriety." Rosalie laughed. Alice had no doubt what Jasper would do, and couldn't help the obnoxious grin that spread across her face. Edward wasn't man enough for Bella, and that was something her and Rosalie agreed on.
"It wasn't Edward who was changed by the idea of Bella dying." Alice said cryptically. Or not so cryptically, because Emmett's eyes followed hers to Jasper and Bella dancing, if you could call it that anymore. Now they were just standing there, swaying back and forth.
"Are you shipping Jasper and Bella?" Emmett asked, his eyes wide as he looked from Alice and back to the couple dancing. One slow song hand blended into another, and it didn't look like either had noticed. Emmett hadn't noticed a single thing changing since Phoenix. To Emmett, Edward was just as douchey as he normally is. Rosalie was staring at Alice with an eyebrow raised, the cogs whirring in her mind.
"There's nothing to ship." Alice waved her hand away dismissively. Neither vampire at the table bought it.
"You're not telling us something." Rosalie accused. Alice's eyes faded from focusing on anything.
"Edward's coming back." She expertly avoided the question, and made sure she spoke loud enough for Jasper to hear them on the dance floor.
The second song was drawing to a close and Jasper heard Alice announcing Edward's return. That was all he needed to remind himself to come back down to earth. This wasn't his girl he was pressed against. This wasn't his girlfriend he had been holding tightly and thinking illicit thoughts about. That's twice in one day he lost control of his impulses. Twice still, Alice keeping him from being caught in a compromising position that could do more than compromise his position with the Cullens. He reluctantly pulled back from Bella, the song was ending, as was their embrace. Their arms falling away from each other, ending the bubble that had consisted of just them. They looked at each other then, Jasper's brown eyes mirroring Bella's as they gazed at each other, as if memorizing each other's faces for safe keeping. Neither one ready to truly let go.
This would be the third time in twenty-four hours that Jasper reacted without thinking.
His lips pressed against Bella's in a chaste kiss that took both of them by surprise. They pulled away from each other just as quickly, the shock of the kiss happening paled in comparison of the feeling of skin on skin contact. Jasper taking a step back from Bella to keep himself in check. The jolt of electricity was still tingling through their nerves, an echo of lips on lips. They were slowly coming to the realization that they hadn't been alone. That not only were they surrounded by Bella's peers, but Jasper's vampire family. It wasn't just Bella and Jasper who were shocked by the turn of events, the entire senior class of Forks High had witnessed the two on the dance floor, rumors already circling.
But no one was more surprised than Edward.
The emotions swirling in Edward hit Jasper mere milliseconds before he reached the two of them on the dance floor. His rage and possession roiled over Jasper like a wave. Bella had managed to step away from Jasper, but her eyes still lingered on his, unable to sever their last connection on her own. Edward was more than happy to help, grabbing her shoulder and jerking her roughly away from Jasper and towards him. Eye contact with Jasper finally broken, she felt dazed and empty. That was until she looked up at Edward's angry face.
The last several minutes of her life had seemed like a blissful eternity, and she was skyrocketing back down to reality. Everything Bella had previously thought about how handsome Edward was, was erased with how full of malice and hatred filled his features were. His brow was knit, lips turned into a scowl, teeth bared. This was Vampire Edward, Bella realized suddenly with fresh panic washing over her. A whole other side of Edward she had never met. Hadn't realized that it even existed. He had done the part of playing human for her, so well. She had been fooled easily.
"Edward!" Bella heard Jasper say distantly, but she was too terrified to move. The similarities between Edward and James in that moment were keeping her frozen in place. Her pulse pounding in her ears as fear took hold.
"Take ya fuckin' hands off of her, you are scaring the shit out of her!" Edward looked at Jasper over Bella's head then, pulling Bella closer to him and clutching her tighter. As if taunting Jasper to try and take her.
"She is mine." Edward hissed at a volume the spectating humans wouldn't be able to hear. He dug his fingers into Bella's arm and she let out a soft whimper.
Jasper's voice sounded far away, and quieter still when he said, "I swear on my momma's eyes if you hurt my mate, nothing will save you from me." Edward's grip tightened on Bella's arm for a heartbeat too long for Jasper's liking, before letting go. He sounded completely deadly and Bella abstractedly wondered who was messing with Alice to get such a threat. Then Edward was gone, and Emmett and Rosalie were nowhere to be found and she was back in the security of Jasper's embrace. He was taking deep breaths to take in her scent, his hands ghosting over her to check for injuries. She was bordering on hysterical, so he sent her calm and tranquility, trying to combat her rising tide of anxiety.
"Oh, Jasper." Alice said, "This is bad." Glancing around the room, rumors already swirling. Most of them pretty close to the truth, all things considered.
"I've had worse." Jasper said, his face still buried in Bella's hair. Alice couldn't see into the past like she could glance into the future, but she hoped he was right.