A/N: Twilight is the property of Stephanie Meyer. Anya Simms is all mine.

Chapter 30: Morning After

JPOV

Fri March 4/05

The following morning, I was rushing around my room changing and getting my shit together for another day of school, but my thoughts kept drifting back to Anya, to the way she'd teased me with that terrible Southern drawl, and the easy laughter we'd shared. It was the kind of evening that made the complications of our situation fade into the background—just for a little while.

When I left Anya's house, shortly after midnight, I couldn't resist making a slight detour over to Bella's. Sure enough, there he was—Heathcliff himself, brooding by the window like some tragic hero in a gothic novel. The sight was almost too perfect, like something out of a scene my creator would've written, all dark and intense.

But unlike Edward, I wasn't in the mood for brooding. My spirits were high, still lifted by the memory of my night with Anya. So, with a grin tugging at my lips, I did the one thing guaranteed to get under his skin: I sang the chorus of Wuthering Heights, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Heathcliff, it's me, I'm Cathy, I've come home! I'm so cold, let me in-a-your-window!" My voice carried through the misty witching hour; the exaggerated falsetto as over-the-top as I could make it.

The effect was immediate. I felt Edward's annoyance slam into me like a wave, sharp and bitter, making me wince slightly. It was like an emotional punch, a mix of irritation and embarrassment that had me grinning even wider.

I couldn't help it. Edward was so predictable in his moods, always so serious, so wrapped up in his self-imposed martyrdom. And after the night I'd had, full of laughter and lightness, I couldn't resist poking a little fun.

"Jasper," Edward's voice floated out from the window, low and full of warning. "Must you?"

"Oh Edward," I replied cheerfully, knowing full well that my good mood was probably grating on him. "Remember to give Sleeping Beauty a good night kiss before you tucked her in?"

His silence spoke volumes, the simmering frustration practically radiating from the house. I didn't need to be an empath to know he wasn't amused. Yeah, I'll take that as a no.

"Come on, lighten up," I continued, leaning casually against a tree as I waited for him to respond. "It's a beautiful winter's evening. No need to be so gloomy."

Edward finally appeared at the window, his expression as dark as ever. "You're in an unusually good mood," he observed, his tone edged with suspicion. "Must have been quite the night."

I shrugged, the smile still playing on my lips. "What can I say? It's amazing what a little perspective—and amazing company—can do."

He narrowed his eyes, clearly not thrilled with my flippant attitude. "Just be careful, Jasper. All it takes is one wrong move."

At least I've got moves you idiot. I thought.

At that moment, I decided I'd had enough. Enough of Eddie boy's brooding, enough of the constant reminders of what could go wrong. Screw it. I wasn't going to keep up the charade of driving into school with him and Alice, pretending everything was fine. Instead, I rushed off into the woods to hunt, to take my irritation out on a deer and not brother dearest. I might have pulverized some rocks as well, maybe uplifted some trees. And then another couple of deer for good measure. Thirst slated, I walked home, enjoying the night giving way to morning, it was going to be a beautiful day. Once home, I changed quickly, grabbing my bag and hopped into the back of the Jeep with Rosalie and Emmett as they were pulling out of the driveway, the door slamming shut behind me. Emmett glanced back, a grin already spreading across his face, while Rosalie's sharp eyes met mine in the rearview mirror.

"Well, this is new," Emmett said, clearly amused. "What happened?"

"Trouble in paradise?" his wife finished for him. Rosalie's voice was as biting as ever, her tone laced with curiosity and just a hint of sarcasm. She didn't miss much, and the fact that I'd ditched Edward and Alice wasn't going unnoticed.

"Not exactly," I replied, leaning back in the seat, trying to shake off the lingering tension from my encounter with Edward. "Just needed a change of scenery."

Rosalie arched an eyebrow, still watching me in the mirror. "Change of scenery, huh? Let me guess—Edward's in one of his moods again?"

"Isn't he always?" I shot back, smirking.

Emmett let out a hearty laugh, clearly enjoying the turn of events. "Good call, man. You'd rather deal with us than Captain Broody over there? I'm flattered."

I grinned, feeling my spirits lift even more. "Figured I could use the entertainment."

Rosalie, ever sharp and never one to miss a detail, wrinkled her nose slightly, her eyes narrowing in the rearview mirror. "And here I thought it was because you smell like you bathed in the human. Seriously, Jasper, what did you do last night with her?"

Her questions came rapid-fire, with that trademark Rosalie bluntness. There was no evading her when she got like this, and I could see the curiosity burning in her eyes.

Emmett, who had been grinning ear to ear, leaned in closer, clearly interested in my response. "Yeah, Jasper, you're practically glowing this morning. Spill."

I rolled my eyes, though I couldn't help the smirk tugging at my lips. "Nothing scandalous, if that's what you're getting at. We had a nice evening—talked, laughed, listened to some music." Totally made it to second base, Anya wearing a thin lace bra that left little to the imagination, how full her breasts felt in my hands, and when I placed my hand under the bra and teased her pert nipples her response was to place her own hand over mine and moan. Damn this woman was fire! But I kept those thoughts to myself.

Rosalie didn't look entirely convinced, but she didn't press. "If that's what you want to call it," she muttered, her tone still laced with suspicion.

I leaned back, my smirk growing. "That's exactly what I'm calling it. And before you ask, no, I didn't 'snack' on her. We kept things... respectable." I mean as much as I wanted to rip her shirt off and kiss her breasts, Anya and I were taking things slow. But we are firmly established at second base. I might try and steal a base next time I see her.

Rosalie arched an eyebrow, but there was a hint of amusement in her eyes now. "Respectable. Right."

Emmett let out another booming laugh, giving me a playful shove. "Sounds like you've got things under control, then. Good for you, man. But seriously, you might want to shower next time. You've got that 'human' scent all over you."

Well, duh. I thought, a hint of amusement tugging at my lips. I like the scent of Anya. It was comforting, grounding—something I never expected to find in a human. But that wasn't something I was going to share with Emmett and Rosalie. I didn't think they'd truly understand, and I wasn't about to try and explain it to them.

I wasn't naïve, though. I got it. I was the struggling vegetarian in the family, to use Anya's euphemism. Their concern was valid, and I couldn't fault them for it. I had had my share of slip ups in our earlier years together. But things with Anya were different, she never trigged my bloodlust, her emotional cocktail curbing the thirst in me. Like insulin. Hardly like heroin.

So, I just shrugged, playing it off. "I'll keep that in mind. But for now, I think I'll stick with what works."

Rosalie gave me a sideways glance, her expression softening slightly, though her skepticism didn't entirely disappear. "Just be careful, Jasper," she said, her voice quieter, more serious. "We all know how easy it is to slip."

"I know," I replied, my tone just as serious. "But trust me—I'm not going to let that happen." Anya was too precious to contemplate snacking on. But slipping her out of her pants, well that was a slip we could both enjoy.

Emmett, sensing the shift in the mood, clapped a hand on my shoulder, breaking the tension with his usual easygoing grin. "Alright, alright. Enough with the heavy stuff. Let's get to school before Edward has a meltdown over something else."

Rosalie rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile on her lips. "Yeah, can't have that."

Making our way toward the school, I could still feel Edward's gaze on me from across the parking lot, his disapproval like a weight in the air. But I didn't let it get to me. I knew what I was doing, and more importantly, I knew who I was doing it for.

Bella hadn't arrived yet, so Edward took that moment to lean in close, his voice low and dark. "You're supposed to be dating Alice. That is what Bella is expecting. What are you thinking? Your place is beside Alice."

No, asshole, I thought, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. My place is with Anya.

Yeah, I understood the need for the façade, the role I was supposed to play. To the world, Alice and I were a couple, and for years, it had worked. We had needs, and we were happy to help each other out, to maintain the charade for the sake of the family. But now, with Anya in my life, things were different. I was beginning to really hate how our creator—to use Anya's euphemism—had written me into a corner.

Edward continued to glare at me, his frustration radiating off him in waves. He was always so focused on what was expected, on maintaining the status quo. But I wasn't content to play by those rules anymore.

Instead of responding, I simply began to hum Roxanne under my breath, the familiar tune a subtle jab at Edward's rigid mindset. His scowl deepened, but he didn't say anything more, clearly realizing that I wasn't going to engage in the argument he was itching to have. I was pushing boundaries and I wasn't going to be trapped in a role that longer fit me. My place was with Anya, and no amount of glaring from Edward was going to change that.

Entering the school, I could feel the tension between us, but I didn't let it weigh me down. Edward could brood all he wanted; I had made my choice. And as I caught sight of Alice further down the hall, giving me a small, knowing smile, I knew she understood too. We had our roles to play, but that didn't mean we were confined to them. Not anymore.

Anya had changed everything for me, and while I might still be going through the motions for the sake of appearances, I knew where my heart truly lay. And that was with her, not with the role our creator had assigned me.

I was madly in love with the odd human.