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Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Twilight, only the OC's.
Chapter Three
On Monday morning, Danielle woke to the sound of rain pattering against her bedroom window. She came to alertness slowly, blinking a few times to clear the sleep from her eyes, before turning onto her back. With a wide yawn, she stretched her arms above her head, hearing a bone or two pop as she did so. She then glanced at the clock on her nightstand, which read 7:30.
It took a moment for the time to register, but when it finally did, Danielle's eyes went wide with shock. "Crap!" she shouted, jumping out of her bed like it was on fire. She had overslept, which meant that instead of having a solid half hour to get ready for school, she now only had five minutes to get it together before she was supposed to meet Bella at the truck.
Danielle raced around the bedroom, searching wildly for clothes and throwing on the first clean items her hands touched. She then ran into the bathroom to quickly wash her face and brush her teeth, before throwing her hair into another messy knot on the top of her head. Skipping any makeup this time around, she practically jumped into a pair of shoes before racing downstairs. She grabbed a bagel from the pantry, rounded up her belongings for school, grabbed her jacket, and was out the door in what had to be record timing.
Danielle jogged across the street, bagel hanging from her mouth as she struggled to put on her jacket, her backpack swinging around wildly with her movements. Bella was leaning against her truck and holding an umbrella over her head to shield herself from the rain, looking thoroughly amused as she watched Danielle attempt to get herself in order. Danielle finally got herself situated, then grabbed a hold of her bagel and took a large bite, her eyes briefly turning upward to glare at the rain coming down from the grey sky.
"Rough morning?" Bella called to her jokingly.
"I woke up late," Danielle grumbled as she joined her under the umbrella. She hated oversleeping – she felt like it threw her whole day off whenever she had to rush to get ready in the morning. "I hope you haven't been waiting long," she said, her expression apologetic.
Bella shook her head. "Nah, I only came outside like a minute ago."
"Good," Danielle said with relief. "Now let's get out of the rain before I end up looking like a drowned rat."
Bella nodded, and they quickly hurried to climb into the cab. As they began driving toward school, Danielle quickly shoved the rest of her bagel into her mouth to finish it. Now that the morning was back on track and she could think coherently again, she couldn't wait to tell Bella what had happened with Jasper the previous day.
"Jasper and Emmett came to my mother's store yesterday," Danielle blurted out.
Bella looked over at her sharply, her eyes wide with surprise. "What?" she asked in shock. "Why?"
"Jasper came to apologize, and I think Emmett just tagged along for moral support," Danielle said with a shrug. "Needless to say, I was shocked as all hell when they came walking into the shop."
"I'll bet," Bella said with a huff. "So what did he say? How did it go?" she asked eagerly.
Danielle quickly recounted everything that Jasper had said, from how he had said that he had been having a hard time the day he had grabbed her and hadn't been feeling like himself, to how he had been completely ashamed of himself for how he had treated her. She told Bella how he had admitted that even he hadn't thought he deserved her forgiveness but had come to beg for it anyway, and how, in the end, he had said that he hoped he could prove to her that he was not that mean, angry person he had been when they first met. Bella listened with rapt attention, her brows furrowed with interest.
"And what did you say?" Bella asked when Danielle finished talking.
"I told him I forgave him," she said simply. Bella raised her brows, as if it surprised her to hear that Danielle had forgiven him so quickly. "Don't get me wrong, I almost didn't forgive him," Danielle said. As she remembered how sincere Jasper had been, she could only sigh and shrug a shoulder. "But I could tell that he meant everything he had said and that he really felt bad for what had happened. In the end, giving him a second chance felt like the right thing to do."
Bella nodded slowly in understanding. "So then what happened next?" she asked curiously. "Did he leave after that?"
"Actually, no," Danielle revealed. "He stayed to shop for a book and we ended up talking for a little bit." She smiled a bit as she remember how nice Jasper had been. "He wasn't anything like the guy that scared the crap out of me when we first met," she said, shaking her head. "He was friendly and polite and…normal. And he certainly didn't have black eyes," she said pointedly. "I dunno…it's got me wondering if maybe I was mistaken that day. Maybe there isn't anything weird going on with Jasper after all," she mused aloud. "Maybe I was wrong about him."
Bella pressed her lips together, her eyes staring forward. She was silent for a long moment, until she finally nodded. "Yeah. Maybe," she agreed quietly. Bella looked deep in thought for another moment before she shook her head, as if clearing her mind. She then looked over at Danielle and offered her a smile. "I'm glad he came to talk to you," she said. "And I'm glad he apologized."
Danielle smiled and nodded. "Me too."
"What do you think will happen now?" Bella asked curiously.
Danielle looked at Bella and shrugged. "I have no idea," she said honestly. "I just have to wait and see what happens, I guess."
Bella made a sound of understanding, then looked at Danielle with raised brows. "What do you want to happen?"
Danielle had to think about it for a moment. On the one hand, Jasper had a lot to make up for, and him proving he wasn't a jerk was important. On the other hand, however, she couldn't deny that she was attracted to him, and she certainly was seeing him in a different way after his heartfelt apology. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to delve too deeply into those new feelings, however, not when she and Jasper barely even knew each other.
"If he proves he's not a bad guy, then I'm cool with being friends," Danielle finally said with a nod. "Other than that, I have no idea."
They stopped talking about Jasper after that, which was a bit of relief. Danielle didn't have many answers when it came to Jasper Hale, and she didn't want to keep overanalyzing things. All she knew in that moment was that she and Bella would soon be at school, which meant she would soon be seeing Jasper again. And though she really tried not to acknowledge it, she couldn't help the small feeling of excitement that started to grow in the pit of her belly at the thought of seeing him again.
They finally pulled into the school parking lot about ten minutes later, and by that time the rain had died down enough to where they didn't need the umbrella anymore. They pulled into one of the only spaces left, which just so happened to be a few spaces down from a fancy looking red car. Danielle stepped out of the truck, looked at the car, then realized with a jolt that the fancy car was one of the Cullen cars. She glanced at the school, and as she thought about Jasper being in there somewhere, her heart thumped hard against her ribs.
After grabbing their backpacks and locking the truck, Danielle and Bella headed into the school and made a beeline for their lockers, which were close to one another. Once they had the things they needed for their first few classes, they said their goodbyes for the time being.
"Good luck," Bella said with a smile, giving her an encouraging nod.
Danielle smiled nervously. "Thanks," she said, trying to ignore the butterflies flapping wildly in her stomach.
She headed for her class, her thoughts - and her heart - racing more and more with each step that brought her closer to Jasper. Once she was standing outside the classroom, she paused to take a steadying breath, then finally stepped into the room.
Her eyes landed on Jasper immediately. He was sitting in his usual seat, the one next to his sister, Rosalie. It seemed to Danielle that he had been watching the door because his gaze was locked in her direction, almost like he'd been waiting for her to arrive. He sat straighter as their eyes met, then offered a small smile and a nod of his head. Danielle smiled back, feeling her cheeks heat up with what was undoubtedly a blush, and offered a small wave.
"Hey, new girl," said an impatient voice behind her. "Move it or lose it!"
Danielle jumped in surprise, realizing then that she had been standing in the doorway and blocking anyone else from coming inside. She glanced back at the irritated guy behind her, mumbled an apology, then went to her seat. Jasper shot a look at the boy who had snapped at her, his expression hard to read, then looked at Danielle, his brows raising a bit. She just shrugged in response, her expression sheepish.
Suddenly, Rosalie leaned over and said something for only Jasper to hear, making him look away from Danielle so he could gaze at his sister instead. Danielle looked at her too, and though she had no idea what Rosalie was saying, if the glare the blonde threw her way was anything to judge by, it wasn't anything good. Jasper glanced back at Danielle again, then heaved and faced forward again as the bell rang to signal the start of class. Rosalie just gave her one last hard look before shifting her attention forward as well.
Danielle shook her head, confused, before forcing herself to focus on the teacher as he started talking.
It wasn't very easy to pay attention to the lesson. With Jasper sitting just a couple rows over, she frequently found her eyes wandering over to him, admiring the way his dark blue sweater contrasted against his pale skin and golden hair. He looked cute when he was concentrating, she decided. Then again, he probably looked cute no matter what he was doing.
About halfway through class, when Jasper snuck a look over his shoulder and caught her looking at him, Danielle came back go the present and quickly looked away. Why was she sitting there thinking about how cute Jasper was? Hadn't she just told Bella not even an hour ago that she was only open to the idea of friendship with Jasper? Why was she ogling him like some crazed fangirl?
Danielle forced herself to focus on the lesson for the rest of class, and before she knew it, the bell was ringing overhead to send everyone to their second class of the day. Danielle gathered her things slowly, trying to be discreet as she watched Jasper do the same. He stood from his seat but didn't leave straight away, which made Rosalie stop and share a few more words with him. Finally, Jasper said something that made Rosalie scowl, shoot Danielle a dark look, then go stomping out of the classroom.
Danielle watched her go, not sure she knew what was going on but feeling pretty certain that whatever it was, it had something to do with her. She then looked at Jasper, who was standing at the front of the class and looking at her, as if he was waiting for her to get up. Her brows shot up in surprise, before she pressed her lips together and stood from her desk, clutching her books tightly to her chest out of nervousness as she walked up to him. Jasper held his books tightly with one hand, his other hand shoved deep into the pocket of his jeans. He looked a bit uncertain, maybe even a tiny bit nervous as she came toward him. He smiled politely nonetheless, and the sight of his smile up close made her heart skip a beat.
"Hello again, Danielle," he said smoothly.
"Hi, Jasper," she said with a small smile.
He looked at her for a moment, then gestured toward the door. "Shall we go to English?" he asked.
Danielle was shocked that he wanted to walk with her, but she quickly nodded, and with that they walked out of the class together.
Once they were in the hall they fell into step with one another, walking side by side. And though neither of them spoke at first, they both snuck glances at each other as they started in the direction of their next class.
"You seem to be of particular interest today," Jasper finally commented to break the silence, his eyes surveying the many students around them.
Danielle hadn't been paying attention to anyone but Jasper, but his observation made her take a moment to glance around. Just as had happened when she'd walked with Emmett the week before, nearly every person they passed was gaping at them with surprise, as if they couldn't believe they were seeing someone, let alone the newest addition to Forks High, in the company of a Cullen.
"It's because I'm with you," she said without thinking. Jasper looked at her with a slight smirk, which made her blush yet again. He made her blush so frequently, she was starting to fear her cheeks would turn permanently red before long. "You know…because you're a Cullen," Danielle quickly added, not wanting him to think she was insinuating that their classmates thought something was going on between them. "Aren't you Cullen's supposed to hate everyone or something?"
Jasper thought about it, then shrugged. "Not everyone," he correct. "Just the annoying ones," he added, that same smirk reappearing on his lips.
Danielle smiled, then gave him a curious look as she remembered something Jessica had said the other day. "You're not a Cullen, though," she pointed out. "Not by name anyway," she added when he gave her a confused look. "Your name is Hale."
Jasper didn't look confused anymore. "Yes, it is," he confirmed. "When Rosalie and I were adopted, we had the opportunity to take the name of our new family," he told her. "We chose not to, though. We preferred to keep our own name."
Danielle's brows furrowed with interest. "You and Rosalie? You're actually related? As in blood related?" she asked.
Jasper gave her a small smile. "She's my twin."
Danielle's expression turned to one of shock. She certainly hadn't expected that one. But now that she thought about it, she supposed she should have been able to tell from the beginning – they were the same age, had the same hair color, and all around looked quite similar. It only made sense that they were brother and sister by blood, not just by adoption.
"I see," Danielle mused aloud, nodding her head. She then quirked a brow at Jasper. "Well, seeing as you're her twin, I suppose you know her pretty well, right?" Jasper nodded in confirmation. "Mind explaining to me why she seems to hate my guts?" she asked bluntly.
Jasper tensed for a moment, his eyes meeting hers sharply. When Danielle just raised her brows and gave him a look that said she expected him to give her a good answer, he cleared his throat and shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable now. "Rosalie doesn't have many people that she's close to. In fact, the only people she cares for at all are me, Emmett, and our family," he explained. "When it comes to new people interacting with us, she can get a bit…protective. Almost to the point of territorial," he told her with a small wince. "She doesn't hate you. She just…doesn't trust easily," he finally concluded.
Danielle supposed she could understand Rosalie's protectiveness, because she could get the same way when it came to her own loved ones. But what exactly did Rosalie think Danielle was going to do? What could she possibly find so threatening about her? "Well, it sure seems like she hates me," she countered.
"She'll come around," Jasper said. Danielle gave him a disbelieving look. "Maybe," he added after that, looking unsure himself.
They walked in silence for the next few moments. It eventually registered in Danielle's mind that she wasn't feeling as nervous or awkward in Jasper's presence as she had when they had first started walking together. She felt much calmer now, felt comfortable and relaxed and at ease with him.
"So," she said, wanting to steer the conversation elsewhere. "Have you started reading that book you bought?"
Jasper smirked, took a quick second to sort through the school books he was holding, then produced the book she had sold to him the previous day. She could see a dog-eared page more than halfway through, which let her know he'd already read quite a bit. "I can hardly put it down," he said with a nod. "It was an excellent suggestion. Thank you."
Danielle didn't know why, but it was immensely satisfying to know that Jasper was enjoying the book that she had sold him. "I'm glad you like it," she said, trying not to sound too pleased. "At the rate you're going, you'll be finished with that book in no time," she added, pointing to the dog-eared page.
Jasper nodded as he tucked the book back in with his school textbooks. "Guess I'll just have to come see what other books you might suggest when I'm done, won't I?" he asked with a small smile.
Danielle smiled and nodded. "I guess you will." She turned her eyes forward then, trying not to acknowledge how happy it made her feel to know that Jasper clearly wanted to spend more time around her. The smile on her lips, however, was impossible to wipe off.
They finally made it to class, and though Danielle expected Jasper to sit in his usual seat on the other side of the room, he ended up sliding into the desk on her right instead, so that they sat next to one another. The girl who had sat there last week seemed surprised when she entered the room and found the desk occupied, but when Jasper merely gave her a look that said he wouldn't be going anywhere, she quickly scampered off to find another place to sit. Danielle hid a smile behind her hand, feeling a little bad for the girl who was so obviously intimidated by Jasper, but also liking the fact that he was so determined to sit next to her.
The bell rang to signal the start of the lesson, and if she thought it had been hard to concentrate in Calculus when Jasper had been sitting within eyesight, it was three times as difficult to focus now that he was right next to her. She tried to concentrate on what the teacher was saying, she really did. But all of her senses seemed to be tuned in to Jasper, aware of his every movement and of every breath he took. Danielle couldn't stop herself from glancing at him out of the corner of her eye every so often. Jasper, she noted with a funny feeling in her stomach, was doing the same thing.
Not long into class, their teacher told them all to pair up for an in-class assignment, and after sharing a quick look with one another, Danielle and Jasper paired with each other. They pushed their desks closer together, which had seemed like a good idea in theory, but actually ended up perhaps being a bad idea in the end. Once he was sitting closer, that piney scent that clung to Jasper seemed to surround her, invading her nostrils and making it even more difficult to focus on the task at hand. All she wanted to do was lean over and press her nose into his shirt, just so she could get more of that wonderful scent in her nose.
Danielle rolled her eyes at her own train of thought. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she seem to get ahold of herself? She and Jasper had only just started taking the first few tentative baby steps toward friendship – if she wanted things between them to stay on the right path, she needed to act like a normal person, not like some weird, clothes-sniffing freak.
"Are you alright, Danielle?" Jasper asked quietly, his deep, smooth voice quickly pulling her back to the present.
Danielle smiled at him and nodded jerkily. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, trying to act and sound casual. "Why do you ask?"
"You just seem a bit…distracted," he pointed out, his eyes studying her with interest.
"Nah. I'm just…thinking about the assignment," Danielle lied with a shrug.
Jasper nodded and did not push the subject any further. Danielle mentally berated herself again as he turned his attention back to the assignment, telling herself internally to get it together before Jasper started to think she had some sort of chemical imbalance.
Quite out of nowhere, a sense of calmness crept over her and her internal fretting slowly came to an end. Danielle smiled contentedly, though she wasn't quite sure why she was smiling, and looked at Jasper, feeling at ease again. Jasper merely smirked a bit, then, after he asked her a question about the assignment, they quickly got back to work.
When the bell rang, they gathered up their things and left together. Jasper held the door for her, which made her smile as she passed by - apparently Jasper was a bit of a gentleman. He followed her out into the hall and they paused outside the classroom, both staring at each other with slight awkwardness, as if they didn't know what to say or do next. Danielle could not help but to think back to the last time they had been standing outside this classroom together, how on that day Jasper had been terrifying and she had been scared out of her mind to be in his presence. Now, well…now things were very different. It was amazing how drastically things could change in such a short amount of time.
"I should probably be getting to class," she said, even though she didn't particularly want to part ways with him. "But…it was nice talking to you," Danielle said, holding her books tight to her chest again as she tried to fight the urge to blush under his gaze.
"It was nice talking to you, too," Jasper agreed. "I'll see you later, Danielle," he then said, inclining his head a bit.
"Bye, Jasper."
Danielle looked at him for another moment, then finally turned and started down the hallway. She glanced back after a few steps and was not surprised to see that Jasper was watching her leave. Danielle smiled at him, which earned her a small smile of his own in return. She faced forward again, grinning to herself now, and continued on to her next class.
When she walked into her history class, Emmett was already sitting at his desk. Danielle tried very hard to contain the smile that had been on her face ever since she had parted ways with Jasper as she sat down, but she failed miserably. She was pleased with the way everything was going so far, and it was impossible to hide.
"Someone's in a good mood today," Emmett remarked teasingly.
Danielle glanced at him. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said evasively.
"Liar," Emmett accused without missing a beat. "How'd it go with Jasper?" he then asked, looking very curious to know.
Another smile threatened to spread across her face, but Danielle managed to suppress it. "Everything was fine," she answered aloofly.
Emmett looked at her, then snorted. "That's it? That's all you've got to tell me?" he asked disbelievingly. "C'mon, Dani," he said, catching her by surprise as he called her by the nickname that usually only her mother and her friends called her by. "Give me the details. You can trust me," he encouraged with a nod.
Danielle shook her head and gave him an exasperated, albeit amused, look. She was starting to think Emmett might be just as big of a gossip as Jessica was. "There's nothing to tell, Emmett. We talked between classes, worked on an assignment together, then went our separate ways. It was cordial. It was normal."
Emmett stared at her through narrowed eyes, looking very much like he suspected that she still wasn't telling him the whole story. Eventually he seemed to come to the conclusion that she wasn't going to cave, however, and nodded in approval. "Well, that's good. It would have been a shame if things hadn't gone well, especially so considering how happy Jasper was after talking things out with you yesterday," he added matter-of-factly.
Danielle looked at Emmett sharply after he said this, her heart skipping a beat. Jasper had been happy? Exactly how happy? What else did Emmett know? Had Jasper told him anything? She really wanted to ask for more details, but when she saw the smirk on Emmett's face and the knowing look in his eye, as if she had reacted exactly as he had thought she would, she knew she had to play it cool. Anything she did or said would likely get back to Jasper, so she didn't want to come off as too eager or too interested.
"He was happy, huh?" she asked, keeping her voice perfectly neutral.
"Uh huh," Emmett confirmed, his smirk not budging an inch. "Super happy. Almost annoyingly so."
Danielle nodded, though internally her stomach flipped with excitement. "Good, good," she said nonchalantly, still trying to play things cool.
Emmett grinned. Clearly he wasn't buying her act. "You know you're happy to hear it," he accused lightheartedly. "I can practically see you dancing in your head right now."
Danielle rolled her eyes, then, without giving it a second thought, she reached over to smack his muscled shoulder. The moment she made contact, however, pain shot through her hand, making her hiss and immediately rub her hand. "Geez, muscle man," she said, frowning at him as her hand throbbed. It felt like she'd just smacked a brick wall. "What the heck are you made of, iron? I'm surprised I didn't break my freaking hand."
Emmett chuckled and wagged a finger at her. "That, my friend, is what you get for hitting people," he shot at her in a scolding tone. "Didn't your mother teach you any manners?" he then asked, clicking his tongue in mock disappointment. "You should be ashamed of yourself."
Danielle snorted and rolled her eyes. "And it's in this moment that I've realized exactly how annoying you are," she said, shaking her head.
Emmett grinned. "You still like me, though," he said with confidence.
He was right, of course. He was annoying and nosey and cocky, but it was the right kind of annoying and nosey and cocky. Emmett made her laugh, he was easy to talk to, and outside of Bella, he was probably the only person in Forks High that she felt completely comfortable around. The truth of the matter was that Emmett Cullen was becoming her friend, and there was nothing she could do – or wanted to do – to stop that. She wasn't going to tell him that, though. He was arrogant enough as it was without her adding fuel to the fire.
"If that's what you wanna believe," Danielle shot at him with a sweet, slightly sarcastic smile.
Emmett snorted, looking unconvinced. "Deny it all you want. I know the truth," he shot back.
Danielle started to say something in response, but froze when a new voice beat her to the punch.
"Miss Clark! Mr. Cullen!" their teacher snapped. They both looked to the front of the room, and Danielle was surprised to discover that their teacher had taken her place at the chalkboard and was looking quite annoyed at the moment. Apparently the bell had rung and class had started, only Danielle had been so preoccupied talking to Emmett that she hadn't noticed. "Class has started and I will ask that you pay attention," the teacher said huffily. "If you continue to talk, I'll be forced to separate you!" she then threatened.
"Sorry, ma'am," Danielle said immediately, her cheeks turning pink.
Emmett apologized as well, and after giving them one last stern glare, the teacher turned around to start writing on the chalkboard. Once her back was turned on them, Emmett flashed her a mischievous grin. "I'd just like to see her try to separate us," he murmured just loud enough for her to hear.
Danielle smirked in response, then forced her eyes forward so that she could pay attention.
Once History was over – they managed to make it through the rest of class without getting yelled at – she and Emmett bumped fists again and said their goodbye's, before going their separate ways. Danielle hurried to Spanish, eager to be reunited with Bella so she could tell her everything that had happened so far. She ended up beating Bella to class, then practically bounced in her seat as she waited for her friend to show.
When Bella arrived a few minutes later, she sat down in the seat next to Danielle and turned an expectant look on her. "How did it go?" she asked quietly.
"Good," Danielle said with a nod and a smile. "Like…weirdly good," she added, letting Bella see just how surprised she was that things between her and Jasper had felt so easy and normal that morning. "It's almost like last week never even happened."
"That's a good thing," Bella said encouragingly.
"Yeah," Danielle agreed. "I just hope things stay good, you know?" she said. Because she did not want to think that Jasper had a bad side to him, or that he would lash out at her - or anyone - again. She liked friendly Jasper, and she wanted him to stick around.
Bella nodded in understanding.
Danielle glanced around for a moment, then leaned a bit closer to Bella. "Have you seen Edward today?" she asked to change the subject, raising her brows.
Bella gnawed on her lip, then shook her head. "No, not yet. But I don't have any classes with him in the morning, either," she reasoned. Bella hesitated for a moment, then gave her a questioning look. "Did...did Jasper or Emmett mention whether he was back or not?"
Danielle frowned and shook her head. "No, they didn't say anything about him."
Bella looked mildly disappointed. "Oh, okay." She sighed, then gave Danielle a small, nervous smile. "Guess I'll just have to wait and see if he's at lunch," she said. "Though I can't say I'm necessarily looking forward to seeing him, not after the way he acted last week," she admitted with a slight frown.
Danielle reached over to pat her arm reassuringly. "I'm sure it'll be okay," she said optimistically. "Jasper came around easily enough. I'm sure Edward will, too."
Bella seemed to appreciate her attempts at reassurance, but still didn't look convinced. "Maybe," she said with a shrug.
Spanish went by fairly quickly, which Danielle was kind of happy about. She was ready to get to lunch, mostly because she was hungry, but also partly because she wanted to see Jasper again. The same could not be said for Bella, though. She looked nervous as they walked toward the cafeteria, her eyes darting around and her teeth gnawing on her lip to the point that Danielle started to worry she might draw blood.
"Relax," Danielle said, nudging Bella's side. "It'll be fine."
Bella didn't say anything to that, just nodded jerkily.
They finally reached the cafeteria, and as soon as they stepped inside, Danielle's eyes jumped to the table that the Cullen's occupied. Emmett, Rosalie, and the girl with short dark hair, whom she now knew to be named Alice, were there, but Danielle barely spared them a glance. Her gaze immediately found Jasper, who was staring right back at her. He offered a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement, which Danielle returned happily. She pulled her eyes from his, however, when Bella grabbed her arm and let out a tiny gasp.
"That's him," she hissed. "That's Edward."
Danielle frowned with confusion and looked at the table again, forcing herself not to look at Jasper this time around. Lo and behold, there was a fifth person at the table, a guy with bronze-colored hair that she had never seen before. He looked back and forth between Danielle and Jasper for a moment, his face one of interest, before turning his full attention on Bella. Bella instantly turned beet red.
Danielle gave Edward a long, scrutinizing look, then smirked at Bella. "He's pretty cute," she commented with a nod, saying the first thing that came to mind. Bella looked at her incredulously, which made Danielle believe she had said the wrong thing. "What?" she asked, shrugging.
Bella shook her head, then turned to head for the lunch line. Danielle looked at the Cullen table again, her eyes shooting straight to Jasper this time. He wasn't looking at her, though. He had his arms crossed and his eyes were narrowed with what looked like annoyance as he stared at Edward, who was watching Bella walk away. Danielle frowned with confusion before turning to follow Bella, wondering why Jasper was suddenly so irritated with his brother.
They grabbed their food, then went to join the usual group at their usual table. Danielle chose to sit in a seat that allowed her to see Jasper this time around, her heart beating a bit faster when she glanced his way and saw that he had stopped glaring at Edward and was looking at her again. She also noticed that Edward hadn't stopped watching Bella since the moment he had said eyes on her.
"Don't wanna freak you out or anything, but Edward is definitely watching you," she whispered to her friend. Bella nodded, not looking surprised to hear it, and gulped nervously. "He doesn't look angry though," Danielle added quickly. "He just looks kinda…interested." Danielle looked at Edward again, who looked very intent. "Really interested," she corrected herself.
Again, Bella just nodded in response. Her eyes darted over to Edward though, before she flushed a bit and stared down at her food intently.
"So, Danielle," Jessica said to catch her attention. Danielle looked at her and pressed her lips together cautiously when she saw a tell-tale glint in Jessica's eye. "While I was on my way to my second period class, I passed you walking down the hall with a one Jasper Hale. And you guys certainly looked pretty…cozy," she said, wagging her eyebrows.
Danielle tensed. She hadn't noticed Jessica in the hallway when she and Jasper had been going to their English class. Then again, she hadn't noticed anyone who wasn't Jasper. "All we did was walk to class together," she said dismissively.
Jessica raised a brow. "Jasper Hale doesn't walk anyone to class. In fact, I don't think I've ever even seen him talk to anyone who wasn't in his family," she added.
"So?" Danielle asked.
"So…what's going on there?" Jessica asked nosily. "Give me all the dirt!"
The guys at the table rolled their eyes, but Jessica and Angela looked at her with interest. Danielle glanced at Jasper, who was now talking to his sister, Alice. She thought she saw him shoot a glance in her direction, though. Danielle sighed and gave Jessica a look. "Nothing is going on. We're…friends," she insisted, even though she wasn't sure if he actually considered her a friend or not.
"Oh, come on," Jessica said with a huff. "You have to admit that he's cute. I mean, he's kind of weird and anti-social, and he's certainly no Edward – " Bella tensed next to her at the mention of Jasper's brother. " – but he's not bad looking. Aren't you just a little bit interested?"
Danielle was starting to feel annoyed now, perhaps even a little bit defensive. She didn't like the fact that Jessica was prying into her personal business, and she really didn't like the way Jessica was talking about Jasper. She didn't like the way she was comparing him to Edward and she didn't like the appraising looks she had begun to shoot in his direction, as if she was trying to determine just how cute she really thought he was. In fact, she decided she didn't like Jessica looking at Jasper period.
Danielle glanced at Jasper again and saw that he was now looking down at the table he sat at, his mouth turned down into a deep frown, as if something was bothering him. It was almost as if he could hear what Jessica was saying, even though she knew it wasn't possible from where he sat.
"I don't think Jasper is weird," Danielle said with a frown as she jumped to Jasper's defense. "And I don't think it's very nice of you to talk about him like that," she added with a snap, her voice raising some in her sudden irritation. "Haven't you ever heard that if you don't have something nice to say, then you shouldn't say anything at all?"
Everyone at the table was looking at Danielle with surprise, though none looked quite as surprised as Jessica did. Even Bella had taken a moment to stop blushing under Edward's gaze and was looking at Danielle with raised brows.
"Er, I didn't…I wasn't…I didn't mean to – " Jessica stammered out, her cheeks turning bright red. She obviously hadn't expected Danielle to call her out that way, and the fact that she had had clearly thrown her for a loop. "I wasn't trying to be mean," Jessica finally managed out, looking embarrassed.
"Well, it was mean," Danielle countered without missing a beat.
Jessica looked even more embarrassed as she glanced around at the rest of the people at the table, none of whom looked particularly comfortable with the current situation. "I'm sorry," Jessica said to her timidly. "I shouldn't have said it. It won't happen again."
Danielle just nodded, the hard expression on her face finally easing some now that Jessica had apologized for what she had said about Jasper. An awkward silence fell over the table after that, where Jessica eyed Danielle with wariness, and where the rest of the table looked back and forth between them, clearly waiting to see what would happen next. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Angela – sweet, merciful Angela – cleared her throat and turned to Eric, who was sitting there with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"So, uh, Eric," she said to break the silence. "Read any good books recently?" she asked in a painfully obvious attempt to direct the conversation elsewhere, sounding way more enthusiastic to know than she probably needed to.
Angela and Eric started talking after that, and slowly but surely, everyone else did as well. Danielle couldn't resist shooting one more look in Jasper's direction, and when she did, she saw that he was no longer glaring at the table. He was watching her again and there was a small smirk on his face. If she wasn't mistaken, he looked quite pleased about something, though she had no idea what that something was. His smirk grew into a smile when their eyes met. Danielle smiled in return, then turned her attention to Angela.
The rest of lunch was, well…pretty uncomfortable. Danielle talked mostly with Angela and Eric, since Bella was too shell-shocked by Edward's return to do anything more than fidget in her chair and glance nervously in his direction every few minutes. Mike and Tyler got into a heated debate about sports that lasted for longer than seemed necessary, but Jessica, Danielle noticed, was very subdued for the remainder of the lunch period, only speaking if spoken to and picking at her lunch without much enthusiasm.
When the bell rang, Danielle and Bella said their goodbyes to the group and headed to their lockers so they could grab the things they needed for their next respective classes. She tried to sneak another look at Jasper on the way out of the lunchroom, but the crowd of students made it hard to spot him and she quickly gave up.
"You really stuck it to Jessica back there," Bella commented as they navigated their way to their lockers, apparently relocating her ability to talk now that she wasn't around Edward.
Danielle pressed her lips together. Now that she was thinking about, she was starting to think that maybe she had been a little too harsh. "Yeah," she said slowly, pulling a face. "I'm not really sure where that came from," she admitted.
And boy, wasn't that the truth. She and Jasper were on good terms right now, yes, and if things continued the same way they had today, it was possible they were on the road to friendship. But why had she gotten so angry when Jessica had started talking about him? Why had she been so ready to defend Jasper? And why had she been so aggressive about it? She was supposed to be taking this whole Jasper situation slow, was supposed to be cautious around him while she got to know him better. So then why had she been so protective of him the moment someone had said something negative about him? It didn't make any sense to her whatsoever.
Danielle sighed and shook her head. She didn't regret sticking up for Jasper, but she did feel guilty for being so cold with Jessica. "I should apologize to her for getting so snippy," she said as they reached Bella's locker. While Bella opened her locker to retrieve her books, Danielle leaned her back against the locker next door, her head thumping back against the cool metal. "She probably thinks I'm a huge jerk."
Bella shrugged. "She was being kind of rude, if you ask me," she pointed out. "But if it makes you feel better, talk things out with her," she added when she saw the uncertain look on Danielle's face. "I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Guess we'll see," Danielle said with a shrug.
Bella closed her locker, then looked in the direction of her class. She gnawed on her bottom lip, her previous nervousness returning in the blink of an eye. She knew it was because Bella would soon be going to Biology, where she would be face to face with Edward Cullen for the first time since their own rocky first encounter. Danielle pushed away from the lockers and patted Bella's shoulder comfortingly.
"Hey, it'll be okay," she said encouragingly. "I have a good feeling about this."
Bella sucked in a deep breath, released it heavily, then nodded. "I hope so," she said with a jittery smile. "Might as well get this show on the road," she said next, her eyes filling with determination now. "See you at Gym?"
Danielle smiled and nodded. "Yep," she confirmed. "And I wanna hear all about what happens," she said pointedly.
"Hopefully I'll have something good to tell you," Bella countered.
"I hope so, too," Danielle agreed.
Bella started off after that, leaving Danielle to watch her go. "Good luck!" Danielle called after her. Bella turned back to flash a small smile, then continued on. Once she was gone, Danielle went to her locker to grab her Physics book, then she headed off to her own class.
Danielle had never been a fan of Gym class. It wasn't that she wasn't athletic, because she was in decent shape and usually did pretty well when it came to physical activities. It also wasn't that she didn't like sports, because she actually really did like sports. The main reason she didn't like Gym was because it was just awkward. She had to wear clothes she didn't like, get sweaty around people she didn't know, and try to ignore the boys in her class whenever they made comments about her and the other girls as they ran around the gym. All in all, it just wasn't a fun experience, and for as long as she could remember, Gym had been her least favorite class.
Today, however, Danielle practically ran toward the gym once she was out of her Physics class. She was eager to meet up with Bella again so she could hear what had happened with Edward. She had spent her entire Physics class thinking about them, wondering how things were going and hoping that they had been able to reach some sort of common ground. In fact, she had been so caught up thinking about Bella and Edward that she had actually stopped thinking about Jasper for an entire class period. It was the first time that day that he hadn't been the main focus of her thoughts.
She hurried into the girl's locker room and was relieved to find Bella already there. Bella had already begun to change, but it was obvious from the look on her face that her mind was a million miles away. Danielle, unsure whether her friend's slightly mystified expression was a good thing or a bad thing, quickly made her way over to Bella's side.
"How'd it go?" Danielle asked eagerly.
Bella blinked, then looked at Danielle with slightly wider eyes, as if surprised by her sudden appearance. She relaxed after a moment though, then shrugged. "It was…interesting," she answered, her brows furrowing. "We talked. And he was really polite."
Danielle instantly felt relieved. "That's good!" she said with a smile.
"Yeah," Bella agreed, though she still seemed a bit disoriented from the whole ordeal.
"What did you talk about?" Danielle pried as she finally opened up her gym locker, which was next to Bella's, and began to change into her gym clothes.
"I asked him why he had been gone, and he said he just had personal stuff to take care of," Bella told her. "Then we just kinda started making small talk and he asked me about my family and stuff like that." Bella shrugged. "He seemed interested in getting to know me, but the whole thing was just kinda…awkward."
"Hey, at least you guys talked," Danielle said pointedly. "It's better than the alternative, right?"
Bella nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. It's just…weird. Last week he was acting like he hated me, then suddenly he's talking to me about the stupid weather and asking me a million questions about my life. I have no idea what to make of him," she finally concluded with a defeated heave.
Danielle reached out and patted her shoulder. "Give it some time," she said. "The hard part is over. Now you just have to wait and see what happens from here on out."
Bella sighed and still looked uncertain, but she nodded anyway.
Their gym teacher came around after that and announced that anyone who wasn't in the gym within the next two minutes would get to run laps for the rest of the period. Danielle and Bella shared a wide eyed look, then quickly finished changing into their gym clothes, since neither one particularly wanted to the end the day by running laps for nearly an hour. They then hurried into the gym, squeaking in just before that two minute mark was up. The teacher took one long look at their sheepish expressions, then told them to go join the others and get ready to play some volleyball.
The game went by quickly, and since everyone still seemed to be doing their best to keep the ball away from Bella, there were no injuries sustained this time around. When the bell rang and the school day was over, Danielle and Bella went back to the locker room to change, took a trip to their school lockers to grab what they needed for homework that night, then headed out into the parking lot. It wasn't raining anymore, but it was freezing cold. Danielle shivered at the cold wind that whipped around her the moment she stepped outside, feeling pretty certain that it was getting colder and colder with each passing day. She glanced up at the grey, overcast sky, wondering if it was going to snow sometime soon.
"Look," Bella said, nudging her with her elbow. "There's Jessica if you wanna go talk to her," she said, pointing toward someone in the distance.
Danielle followed her gaze and saw Jessica talking with Angela not too far away. Danielle adjusted the backpack hanging on her shoulder and nodded. "Meet you at the truck?" she said.
After Bella nodded, Danielle headed over to where Jessica and Angela were. Angela spotted her first and smiled, though she did shoot a slightly awkward look toward Jessica. "Hey, Danielle," she greeted, which had Jessica turning to face her, looking all kinds of uncomfortable.
"Hey," Danielle said back. She then looked at Jessica and raised her brows hopefully. "Can we talk?"
Jessica glanced at Angela, who seemed to smile encouragingly, then nodded. "Sure."
Angela, sensing this was a conversation to be had in private, said her goodbye's and quickly excused herself. Once they were alone, Danielle looked to Jessica with apologetic eyes. "Look...about what happened earlier…I'm sorry for jumping down your throat," she apologized sincerely.
Now that Jessica knew Danielle had come to smooth things over, her demeanor changed drastically. Her shoulders relaxed and the discomfort left her expression, replaced quickly with remorse. "No, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to talk bad about Jasper and I wasn't trying to offend either one of you. I just…sometimes I don't think about the things I say before I say them," she admitted sheepishly.
"Still. I shouldn't have been such a jerk about it," Danielle insisted. "I don't regret sticking up for him, but…I could've handled it a lot better than I did. So, again...I'm sorry," she repeated. "Forgive me?"
"Only if you forgive me for opening my big mouth in the first place," Jessica said with a small, self-deprecating laugh.
"Deal," Danielle readily agreed with a smile. Then she stuck out a hand and raised her brows hopefully. "Friends?"
Jessica nodded and shook her hand. "Friends," she confirmed.
"Great," Danielle said, looking relieved. "I'm glad we talked things out. It was really gonna bug me if I didn't say something."
"I'm glad we did, too," Jessica agreed. "I should probably get going, though," she added, taking a step back. "See you tomorrow?"
"Yep, see you tomorrow," Danielle said with a nod.
Jessica smiled, then waved goodbye and walked away. Danielle sighed once she was alone, feeling much better now that she and Jessica had settled things. At least now she wouldn't spend the rest of the day feeling guilty, and now things wouldn't be super awkward between them going forward. With a smile on her face, she turned and resumed the trek to Bella's truck, ready to meet up with her friend and go home.
She only made it a few steps, however, when her gaze suddenly met someone else's, making her freeze in place.
Jasper was standing about twenty feet away, leaning casually against the red car he and his siblings drove to school, his eyes locked on her. He gave her a small smile when their eyes met, before pushing himself away from the car and starting in her direction. Danielle's heart suddenly began to pound within her chest – was he coming to talk to her? She snuck a glance behind her, just to see if there was someone else that might've caught his attention, but nobody was there. Danielle looked at him gain, watching as he paused to let a group of giggling freshmen pass by. Jasper then resumed walking in her direction, that small smile still playing on the corner of his mouth.
Yes, she decided, he was definitely coming to talk to her.
But then, quite of nowhere, a girl with blonde hair was planting herself in front of Jasper, forcing him to screeching halt. It was Rosalie, and as she crossed her arms and kept herself firmly in Jasper's path, it was obvious her goal was to make sure Jasper couldn't go anywhere. Danielle frowned, watching as Jasper, who looked unhappy now, exchanged a few quick, heated looking words with his twin. Rosalie didn't look like she was going to back down, though. She poked Jasper in the chest, and even though Danielle couldn't hear what was being said, she could tell that Rosalie was angry.
Jasper finally scowled and held his hands up in defeat. He glanced at Danielle one last time, then turned on his heel and strode back to his car, his shoulders tense with annoyance. A strong sense of disappointment washed over Danielle as she watched him yank open the car door, get inside, then slam it closed behind him. She looked at Rosalie, who was giving her a look over her shoulder, then watched as the blonde turned around with a dramatic flick of her hair and went to the same car Jasper had just gotten in, her chin held high. Once she was in the car, the engine started up and the car pulled out of the parking space before speeding away.
Danielle heaved and finally started making her way to Bella's truck, frowning pensively to herself.
She just didn't understand what exactly it was that Rosalie had against her. Sure, Jasper had said that she was protective and not one to trust easily, but the way she was acting went beyond protective in Danielle's eyes. Rosalie had physically stopped him from coming over to talk to her, as if Danielle carried some deadly virus that might spread to Jasper and, in turn, end up killing the whole Cullen family or something. She seemed to be going above and beyond to try to keep Jasper away from her, and she just couldn't help but think that there was more to it than Rosalie just being 'protective'.
Danielle found Bella leaning against the truck, waiting patiently for her to arrive. She raised her brows at Danielle, who tossed her backpack into the bed of the truck with perhaps a bit more force than was necessary.
"Everything okay?" she asked, clearly sensing something was wrong.
Danielle thought about telling Bella what had happened with Jasper and Rosalie, then changed her mind. She didn't want to talk about it right now. "Yeah, fine," she lied. "Let's go," she then urged, already moving to yank open the door to the passenger side and climb in.
Bella nodded and climbed into the cab, taking her place behind the steering wheel. She looked at Danielle for a moment, as if she knew Danielle was lying and was contemplating pressing the issue further. Thankfully, she decided against it in the end and started up the engine. Without another word, they left school and headed home.
"Holy guacamole," Danielle said with awe when she stepped out of her house the next morning.
There was snow and ice absolutely everywhere. All over the yards, piled on top of the houses and cars, falling from the tree limbs overhead. The news the night before had warned that they would get snow, but Danielle hadn't thought there would be this much of it. She gazed around with astonishment as she stepped down onto the walkway, shivering against the cold, her breath forming little clouds every time she exhaled. She finally looked across the street in time to see Bella exiting her house. Just as Danielle had done, Bella froze with surprise as soon as she caught sight of the snowy landscape, her eyes going wide.
"Can you believe this?" Danielle called as she finally began to make her way across the street, walking slow and careful so she wouldn't slip on any patches of ice.
Bella stepped down into her driveway and began to tiptoe her way to the truck to avoid as much ice and snow as possible. "Wow," she said. "I haven't seen snow like this since I was a kid!"
Danielle snorted and shook her head, pulling a face as a lump of snow fell from a tree and landed on her shoulder. "Not even gonna lie, this is kinda obnoxious," she complained, brushing away the snow that had fallen on her, shivering when some of it managed to find its way underneath the collar of her coat.
Bella laughed. "Gotta agree with you on that one," she said.
Danielle finally reached Bella's truck, feeling triumphant when she managed to do so without slipping. Her triumphant ended up being short lived, however, when she unexpectedly stepped on a patch of ice that had blended in with the ground.
"Ah!" she cried out as her feet slipped out from underneath her. She reached out and grabbed hold of the truck, clinging on for dear life so that she wouldn't fall butt first onto the frosty road. After a few seconds she managed to steady herself again, though she did not release her hold on the truck, just in case. She then shot a dirty look at Bella, who was laughing at her as she continued her slow trek down the driveway.
"Oh my god!" Bella said between laughs. "You should see your face right – ah!"
Bella suddenly went falling to the ground, her feet flying out from underneath her and her arms flailing about comically as she slipped on a patch of ice right in the middle of the driveway. She landed on the pavement with an oof, her eyes wide with shock, as if she couldn't believe that had just happened. It was Danielle's turn to laugh now.
"Hah! That's what you get for laughing at me!" she said with a wag of her finger. "That, my friend, is what we call karma."
Bella gave her a grumpy look, then let out a small groan of pain as she began to attempt to stand. Danielle finally stopped laughing as she realized that Bella might actually be hurt and released her hold on the truck, slowly making her way over so she could offer her friend a hand. Bella took it, and with Danielle's help, she was soon on her feet.
"You okay?" Danielle asked with concern, despite the smirk of amusement that still lingered on her lips.
"I think so," she said, rubbing her backside with a wince. She pulled a face, twisting around so she could see the back of her pants. "I look like I wet myself, though," she said, referring to the wet spot on the seat of her pants. "Awesome," she added sarcastically.
"Don't worry about it," Danielle said with a laugh. "I'm sure it'll dry soon."
"I hope so," Bella said with a sigh.
They finally went toward the truck, both of them managing to stay on their feet this time, and climbed into the cab. Once they were en route to school, Danielle kept her hands next to the vents, trying to use the warm air that Bella had turned on to chase away the cold that seemed to seep right down to the bone. She noticed that Bella was driving slower than usual because of all the ice on the road, which she didn't mind – she didn't particularly want to start her day by getting into a wreck.
"I never got to ask," Bella said to break the silence. "How did your talk with Jessica go yesterday?"
Danielle smiled. "It was fine. I apologized, she apologized…all is right in the world again," she said.
"That's good," Bella said. Danielle saw her glance at her from the corner of her eye. "I thought maybe you guys had argued again or something," she said with a shrug. "You seemed upset when you came back to the truck."
Danielle frowned, knowing exactly what Bella was referring to. She had been upset, though she hadn't been upset with Jessica. It was Rosalie and her apparent mission to do her very best to keep her and Jasper away from each other that had been bothering her. And though she had been trying very hard not to think about it, it was still bothering her. She just didn't know why Rosalie was so adamant about interfering, and she was worried that if Rosalie interfered enough times that Jasper would give up altogether just to please her. She and Jasper had only just started becoming friends – it would be disappointing if that friendship ended so quickly.
"Danielle?" Bella asked.
Danielle realized she had gotten lost in her own thoughts and shook her head. "I wasn't upset," she fibbed, hoping to avoid the topic of Rosalie for now. "Everything's fine."
Bella gave her a look, then nodded. "Okay, then," she said, not sounding entirely convinced.
"Are you looking forward to seeing Edward today?" Danielle asked after a brief pause, hoping to change the subject.
"In a way? Yes. But at the same time…no," Bella admitted with a sigh. "After all that stupid babbling I did yesterday, he probably thinks I'm an idiot," she added, shaking her head and looking annoyed with herself. "I'll probably just do something to make an even bigger fool of myself today."
Danielle looked over at her and offered an encouraging smile. "I'm sure he didn't think you were babbling, or that it was stupid. He obviously wanted to know about you, otherwise he wouldn't have asked you anything in the first place," she pointed out. "I think everything will be fine. Don't beat yourself up about it."
Her words seemed to comfort Bella, because some of the tension left her shoulders. She still looked nervous, though.
Eventually they pulled into the school parking lot, where they quickly discovered that most of the parking spaces were already taken. Bella ended up parking next to the curb on the edge of the lot, which meant that when Danielle got out of the truck, she stepped down into wet, sloshy snow. She pulled a face and hurried around the back end the truck so that she could stand on the pavement of the parking lot. She kicked the snow off her shoes, grumbling under her breath when she felt how wet her socks had already gotten.
"It's official. I hate the snow," she complained to Bella, who had gotten out of the truck and was standing by the hood as she rifled through her bag. "My toes feel like they've turned into little toe-sicles."
Bella quirked a brow. "Toe-sicles?" she repeated unsurely.
"They're frozen, and they certainly aren't popsicles," Danielle stated matter-of-factly. "Therefore, they are now toe-sicles."
Bella snort with amusement and shook her head. "I think I'm starting to understand why your mom said you weren't normal," she commented jokingly.
"Ha ha," Danielle responded sarcastically.
Bella suddenly looked at something behind Danielle, her brows raising in what seemed like surprise. She looked back at Danielle, gave her a meaningful look, then pointedly looked back at whatever she had seen. Danielle was sure she was trying to silently convey something to her, but she didn't know what. Frowning, she started to ask Bella what was wrong with her. Before she could, however, a new voice beat her to the punch.
"Good morning, Danielle," said a deep, smooth, very familiar voice.
Danielle whipped around so quickly, she almost slipped on the wet ground. Jasper was standing a few feet away, his backpack hanging from his shoulder and his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He smiled at her politely, his amber eyes locked on her. He looked incredible, and it momentarily rid her of coherent thought.
"Jasper," Danielle said, wondering why she suddenly sounded so breathless. "Hey. How are you?"
Jasper nodded once. "I'm fine, thanks for asking," he said. He glanced at Bella, who was pretending to be interested in the contents of her backpack, but was actually discreetly watching them from the corner of her eye. He looked back to Danielle, then raised his brows. "I was thinking we could walk to class together…if Bella doesn't mind, of course," he added as an afterthought.
She felt instantly happy, her previous worries about Rosalie ruining their budding friendship quickly fading away. Danielle looked at Bella, who told her to go with a silent wave. Danielle then smiled at Jasper and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. That'd be great," she quickly agreed.
Jasper seemed pleased that she had said yes. "After you, then," he said, motioning her along with a grand sweep of his arm.
Danielle shifted her backpack on her shoulder, said goodbye to Bella, then started making her way across the parking lot with Jasper. She snuck a look over at him, one hand reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear. Jasper glanced down at her, the corner if his mouth turning upward. When they'd been around each other the day before, he had seemed cautious and guarded and a little bit nervous, but that didn't seem to be the case today. He seemed much more at ease around her, much more relaxed.
"I finished the book," Jasper finally said.
"Already?" Danielle asked in surprise.
Jasper nodded. "I'm a fast reader," he told her.
"Yeah, seems like it," Danielle commented. "So what's the next endeavor then?"
"I was thinking about getting one of those biographies you mentioned," Jasper said, motioning for her to lead the way when their path led them through two cars that had parked very close together, which meant they had to walk single file for a moment.
"Okay," Danielle said, squeezing through the two cars while Jasper trailed behind her. "Just come by the shop this weekend and I'll hook you up," she said, looking back at him with a smile.
Jasper nodded. "Deal."
Danielle grinned, then turned her eyes forward as she squeezed between the two cars. Almost immediately, she spotted the lunch group hanging out by Mike's car, which was only a couple of spaces over. Mike, Angela, Jessica, and Eric were all standing around chatting, and though they didn't notice her at first, Eric soon looked over and spotted her.
"Danielle! Hey!" he called, waving to her enthusiastically.
Danielle waved back, but didn't make any move to join them as she waited for Jasper to catch up.
"Come here!" Angela called with a smile. "Come hang out!"
But then Jasper was by her side again, and in an instant the group realized they were together. Angela and Jessica shared a look, while the guys stared at the both of them with shock. Danielle looked up at Jasper, who raised his brows at her, then smiled at the group.
"See you guys at lunch," Danielle called.
Angela was the one to respond. "Yeah. See ya," she said.
Danielle and Jasper kept walking, slowly making their way closer to the school. A number of students were staring at them now, most of them whispering to each other as they watched the two pass by. Danielle didn't really care, though. She was far more interested in Jasper and the fact that he was close enough for her to smell that wonderful, piney scent on his clothes again.
"You can go be with your friends if you want to," Jasper told her after a moment or two, his expression a bit difficult to read. "I'd understand if you'd rather be with them."
Danielle immediately shook her head. She wasn't going anywhere. "I'm fine right where I am," she reassured him.
Something flashed through Jasper's eyes when she said that, and a smile immediately spread across his face. Danielle smiled back, practically able to feel how pleased Jasper was to know that she preferred to spend time with him.
Jasper finally looked forward, then frowned a bit when he spotted something in the distance. "Let's go this way," he said, motioning for her to veer off to the left.
Danielle looked at him in confusion, but did as he had suggested. Her eyes swept the parking lot as they walked, searching for whatever had made Jasper want to change direction, until she finally spotted them. All of Jasper's siblings were hanging out on the far side of the lot, not far from the stairs that led up to the school. Emmett and Alice were looking at her and Jasper with interest, while Rosalie, unsurprisingly, had her arms crossed tightly over her chest and was glaring straight at her. As for Edward, he didn't seem to care that Danielle and Jasper were together. He was staring at something in the distance – when she followed his gaze, she was not surprised to see that he was watching Bella, who was still by her truck on the other side of the lot.
"Any reason we're avoiding your family?" she asked knowingly.
"Several, actually," Jasper answered.
Danielle quirked a brow at the vague answer and started to ask if he cared to elaborate on that one.
But she never got the chance. Because in the next moment, a loud, horrible squealing sound filled the parking lot, bringing everything to a standstill. Danielle and Jasper paused and turned around, both frowning with confusion, but it didn't take long to find out what the source of the commotion was.
A van had hit a patch of ice and had lost control – the loud squealing sound was the sound of its tires skidding across the wet, icy pavement as it careened across the parking lot.
Danielle's heart fell into her stomach, watching with growing alarm as people screamed and ran out of the way of the out of control van, fleeing for safety. It was all happening so fast. Someone was going to get hit. Someone was going to hurt.
That was when she saw what laid in the path of the van. It was headed right toward a red truck parked by the curb on the far side of the lot. It was headed straight for Bella's truck. And Bella, she saw with complete horror, was still there. Standing right by her truck. Watching with terror as the van careened in her direction. Frozen in place.
She was going to be crushed. She was going to be killed.
"Oh my God," Danielle said, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it might explode through her ribs. She didn't think. She just started running. She couldn't just stand there while her friend died. She had to do something. "Bella!" she screamed. "BELLA!"
But it was too late. The squealing continued, so loud it was almost deafening. More people screamed as they realized exactly what was about to happen. Then the van collided with Bella's truck with a resounding BOOM.
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