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Chapter Five

March

After her first eventful week in Forks, things settled down fairly quickly. The hype around her arrival at the school had died down completely, which was due in large part to the fact that everyone had more or less forgotten about her after Bella's near death experience. Attention had shifted solely to her friend, which Danielle was selfishly grateful for – she was just another student now, no longer a subject of interest, and that was just how she liked it.

Slowly but surely she had gotten used to life in Forks, Washington. The cold wasn't so irritating anymore, the rain wasn't so annoying. She had fallen into a routine and felt significantly more comfortable with this new chapter of her life. As unsure as she had been about everything in the beginning, now that she had been there for over a month, she could appreciate the small town for what it was – a safe, quiet, cozy place where the people were friendly and neighbors looked out for one another. It wasn't a bad place to be at all, and she could admit that she was starting to like being in Forks.

Of course, it helped that she had made some good friends. She and Bella had gotten really close and hung out all the time. Danielle had grown quite fond of the lunch group, especially Angela who she got along with really well – even Jessica and her gossiping had gotten less annoying with time. Danielle had also become pretty good friends with Emmett Cullen. They had a lot in common and always had a good laugh when they were around each other. He was the first person, other than Bella, who Danielle had clicked with and truly considered to be a friend.

But there was one person in particular who stood out above the rest, one person that had a lot to do with her newfound appreciation of her new home. And that person was Jasper Hale.

After the day that Jasper walked her to her mother's bookshop, things definitely changed between them. It had started off slow – they would walk to their English class together, study together during lunch here or there, or maybe squeeze in a quick chat after school if they happened to cross paths. Over time, as they grew more comfortable with each other, they began to see one another more and more. They always sat next to each other in class now, and always walked together in the halls if they were going the same direction. They would visit each other at their lockers if they had time between classes, and they had gotten to the point where they had lunch together several times a week, regardless of whether or not they had anything to study for.

They were definitely friends, there was no question about that now. As rocky as a start as they had gotten off to, things couldn't have been better between them.

Well, that actually wasn't the complete truth. For Danielle, there was a way things could get even better between them. Because if she was to be one hundred percent honest, the more time went on and the more time she spent around him, the more she had come to accept that her feelings toward Jasper weren't just friendly anymore.

Jasper had told her once that he wanted to prove that he was better than the person she had met on her first day of school, and in her eyes, he had achieved that by leaps and bounds. Jasper was a great guy – he was smart, easy to talk to, and, when he let his guard down, actually pretty funny. They didn't necessarily like all the same music, or the same books, or the same movies, but they never struggled to find something to talk about when they were together, and they got along so well it was as if they had known each other for years. Jasper was the person she looked forward to seeing the most every day, someone she thought about on a near constant basis, and she was never happier than she was whenever she was with him.

She had tried to just be his friend, had tried to resist the attraction she had felt for him while he had been proving himself to be better than how he had been upon first meeting. But, in the end, there was just no denying what her heart kept screaming at her.

Danielle had fallen for Jasper, and she had fallen hard.

Jasper had no idea how she really felt, though, and in a way, Danielle was kind of okay with that. As far as she knew, Jasper only saw her as a friend – he never flirted with her or did anything to make her believe that his feelings were more than friendly. Though Tom, her best friend from Texas, had encouraged her to tell Jasper how she felt and see what happened, Danielle wasn't sure that was the right move to make. Things were so good between them, they had come so far. She was afraid that she would ruin their friendship by confessing her feelings, afraid that she would scare Jasper away. And at the end of the day, she'd much rather have Jasper in her life as a friend than not have him in her life at all.

In the end, Danielle had decided to keep her feelings to herself. For now, she was content just to be friends with Jasper and enjoy they easy, comfortable relationship they had formed over the past month or so. She knew there would probably come a time in the future when the truth would come out, but until then, mum was the word as far as she was concerned.

When she and Bella arrived at Forks High on Tuesday, the first day of March, they got there a bit earlier than usual. As they pulled into the parking lot and parked a few spaces over from Mike's car, Danielle's eyes immediately searched the parking lot for the cars Jasper and his siblings always arrived in. Though she saw several kids loitering in the parking lot, she did not see any Cullen's anywhere.

After Bella cut the engine, they climbed out of the truck, collected their bags, then went to join the lunch group, who were all hanging out around Mike's car.

"Morning, everyone," Danielle said with a smile as they approached.

They were greeted by an enthusiastic chorus of 'hey!'s and 'good morning!'s. The guys greeted Danielle with high fives and fist bumps, as per usual, while Jessica and Angela gave her big smiles and friendly hugs. Bella received the same treatment, only Mike decided to throw an arm around her shoulders and pull her into his side as he began chatting away in her ear. Danielle had to resist the urge to laugh when she saw how incredibly uncomfortable Bella looked.

"So, have you heard yet?" Angela asked Danielle, her face shining with excitement.

Danielle frowned with confusion. "Heard what?"

"They finally announced the date for the Spring Fling!" Angela revealed. "It's going to be on March twelfth!"

Danielle cocked an eyebrow. She had no idea what Angela was talking about. "What the heck is the Spring Fling?" she asked uncertainly.

"It's the Spring dance," Jessica piped up, finally focusing her attention on what Danielle and Angela were talking about once Bella deftly ducked out from underneath Mike's arm. "It's a Sadie Hawkins kind of thing, though," she added. "Meaning that it's the girls who ask the boys to the dance."

"Ah. I see," Danielle said, nodding in understanding.

Angela grinned and nudged Danielle with her elbow. "So now that you know, who are you going to ask to go with you?" she asked, wagging her eyebrows knowingly.

The first face – the only face – that flashed through her mind was Jasper's. But the thought of asking Jasper instantly made her nervous, because that sure felt a lot like asking him on a date. And that seemed like dangerous territory to venture into.

"I think we all know who she's going to ask," Eric loudly interjected. Everyone looked at him as he paused dramatically, then he grinned widely. "Me, of course!" he announced grandly.

Danielle and the girls laughed, but Mike and Tyler immediately scoffed and shoved his shoulders. "Yeah right, dude!" Tyler teased. "Why would Dani go with you?"

Eric shoved Tyler back, then jutted his chin into the air. "Because I'm so irresistible of course," he stated, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. He turned a smirk on Danielle, who immediately quirked a brow at him. "You are merely one of many who has fallen for my roguish charm and boyish good looks, milady," he said, stepping forward and sweeping up her hand so he could kiss her knuckles. His antics made her already quirked brow lift even higher. "But you are, by far, the fairest of all my suitors!" he told her with a wink.

Danielle snorted and shook her head. She knew Eric wasn't really interested in her and that he was only joking around. Jessica and Bella were laughing again, while Mike and Tyler continued to roll their eyes and scoff at their friend. But when Danielle glanced at Angela, she realized that her friend didn't seem to be finding this whole situation so funny anymore. Angela had stopped laughing and was frowning a bit, her eyes bouncing back and forth between Danielle and Eric with growing uncertainty. Danielle, who had begun to recently suspect that Angela had a crush on Eric, quickly pulled her hand out of Eric's grasp.

"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news," she said. "But I'm not sure I'm even going to the dance yet. So tell your other suitors that you're still available," she advised him.

Eric immediately threw a hand over his heart, his face one of pain. "Oh, fair lady! How you wound me!" he cried dramatically.

Danielle reached a hand out to pat him on the head. "You'll live," she reassured him with a sweet smile.

"What about you, Bells?" Mike spoke up, his eyes alight with interest as he looked at Bella. "You have anyone in mind?"

Now Jessica, who very obviously had a thing for Mike, was the one to frown. Bella, on the other hand, just shifted on her feet awkwardly and shrugged a shoulder. "Actually, I don't know if I'm gonna go either," she told him. "Dances aren't really my thing."

Mike seemed disappointed. "That's sad to hear," he said. "I hope you change your mind," he then told her earnestly, his tone leaving no doubt in Danielle's mind that he was hoping Bella would eventually ask him to go.

Bella and Danielle shared a discreet look. The expression on Bella's face instantly told Danielle that even if she did end up going, it wouldn't be with Mike Newton. Danielle knew exactly why she didn't why to go with Mike, and that was because she knew Bella's interest lay somewhere else. Bella had not admitted it aloud, but Danielle would bet a good chunk of money that her friend had a small, ever-growing crush on Edward Cullen. There was something in the way she looked at Edward, something in the way that she always seemed to be very much aware of him and everything he did that just seemed so obvious to Danielle. Bella liked Edward, and she had for some time now.

There was one, big, glaring problem, however.

Ever since the accident the month before, Edward had been avoiding Bella like the plague. He never talked to her, barely even acknowledged her. It seemed, for all intents and purposes, like he was doing his best to completely shut her out, though neither Bella, nor Danielle, was entirely sure why he had been behaving this way. They had debated his behavior plenty of times, and there had even been a few times where Danielle had resorted to asking both Jasper and Emmett about Edward's behavior. But she'd only received vague, uninformative answers in return from the two, and to this day, she still didn't know what Edward's deal was.

Danielle had a sneaking suspicion that his determination to ignore Bella had something to do with the accident and the wild accusations that Bella had made in the wake of it. She and Bella had not dared to discuss what had happened the day that Edward had saved Bella's life, simply because they still did not agree on what had really taken place that day. Danielle, however, knew that Bella still believed that Edward had done things that no normal human being should be able to do. She thought that maybe Bella's unwavering belief that Edward was some sort of super-human had just weirded him out, and, therefore, resulted in him trying to keep his distance.

It wasn't much of an excuse, she supposed, but it was the best Danielle could come up with to try to explain everything.

"Okay, the bell for first period should be ringing soon," Angela said, looking at her watch. "I'm gonna head inside."

"I'll come with you," Bella quickly said, already taking a step away from Mike. She looked like she was happy to have any excuse to get out of having to participate in this conversation any further. "Dani?"

Danielle glanced around, searching the lot for the cars the Cullen's drove and hoping that Jasper and his siblings had arrived while she had been talking to her friends, but she couldn't see their cars anywhere, not from where she stood, at least. She finally sighed, then nodded. "Yeah. I'll come with you guys."

Danielle, Bella, and Angela said their goodbyes to the rest of the group and continued on into school. When they walked inside, they found the walls covered in signs announcing the Spring Fling dance. The news had sent the girls in school into a tizzy – as they made their way to their lockers, they saw dozens of girls running about and giggling with excitement.

"This dance is a big deal, huh?" Danielle commented, her eyes turning to Angela.

"Any dance is a big deal around here," Angela told them with a shrug.

Danielle nodded, then raised her brows questioningly. "Are you gonna ask someone to go with you?"

Angela pursed her lips unsurely. "I had been thinking of asking someone," she admitted. "But now I'm not sure if I should."

"If you're talking about Eric, I think you should go for it," Danielle encouraged with a nod, knowing it was what her friend wanted to do, but feeling like she might need a little shove in the right direction.

For a moment Angela seemed surprised that Danielle had read her so easily, then she gave her a look of doubt. "I don't think he wants to go with me," she said with a shake of her head.

Danielle just shrugged. "Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. Guess you won't know for sure unless you ask, huh?" she told her pointedly.

Angela sighed. "Yeah, I guess." She pursed her lips again, then smiled a bit. "I'll think about it."

"Good," Danielle said with satisfaction.

They reached Angela's locker a moment later, and after saying a quick goodbye, Angela veered off and Danielle and Bella continued on down the hallway toward their own lockers. Bella glanced back at Angela as they walked, then looked at Danielle questioningly.

"You think Angela likes Eric?" she asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Danielle shot back.

"Not to me," Bella admitted with a shrug. "But you're much better at picking up on stuff like that," she added with a smirk.

They wove their way between students as they made their way closer to their lockers. Danielle saw a pretty girl nervously walk up to a boy she clearly liked, her cheeks so red they looked like they might catch on fire. She was clearly asking him to the dance, and judging by the huge smile that stretched across her face when he responded, Danielle would guess he had said yes. The two hugged, before the girl ran back to her friends, giggling the whole way.

They finally reached their lockers and made quick work of storing away their backpacks, both of them grabbing the books they would need for the next few classes. When they were finished, they shut their lockers and rejoined each other, before heading off in the general direction of their first period classes. It didn't take long for Danielle to notice that Bella was watching her curiously.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Danielle asked, wondering what was on her friend's mind.

Bella pressed her lips together, then raised her brows. "If you end up going to the dance, are you going to ask Jasper to go with you?" she asked quietly.

Danielle looked at her in surprise. Bella, of course, knew exactly how Danielle felt about Jasper. She had been sworn to secrecy though, and rarely brought it up, especially if they were at school. Danielle also tried to avoid yapping Bella's ear off about Jasper if she could, simply because she felt guilty about the fact that things were so easy between her and Jasper, while things were so difficult for Bella and Edward.

Danielle thought about it, then shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I like dances. And I like him," she said with a sigh. "He's the only one I'd want to go with, but…I just don't know," she finished lamely, her expression full of uncertainty. "I don't know if he even wants to go to the dance, let alone go with me."

"Well, to quote someone very wise, you won't know for sure unless you ask, will you?" Bella said, using the exact same words that Danielle had said to Angela only minutes before. Danielle gave her a look, which made Bella smile and shrug. "All I'm saying is that maybe you should give it a shot," she said. "If he says yes, then you guys will go to the dance and probably have a great time. And if he says no, well…" Bella trailed off.

"It's not the end of the world," Danielle finished for her. Even as she said that, she knew if Jasper turned her down that she'd be crushed.

"Exactly," Bella agreed with a nod.

Danielle sighed, then nodded. "I'll think about it," she said, giving the same answer Angela had. "Thanks for the pep talk," she said, flashing Bella a smile.

"Anytime," Bella said.

Danielle finally said her goodbye's to Bella and headed toward her class. Though her stomach always filled with butterflies at the thought of seeing Jasper, the butterflies were twice as fierce now that the Spring Fling dance had gotten thrown into the equation. When Danielle got to class, she took a moment to catch her breath when she saw that Jasper wasn't there yet. She eased into her seat and unpacked her things, then spent the next few minutes anxiously tapping her pencil against her desk, eyes locked on the door. With each student that filtered in, Danielle straightened with anticipation, only to relax again when it wasn't Jasper.

Finally, when just about everyone had arrived and Danielle was starting to wonder whether Jasper was going to show at all, he walked through the door.

Just as always, her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, then began to hammer faster than normal against her ribs. She briefly glanced at Rosalie, who walked in behind him and, without even acknowledging that Danielle was present, went to her seat on the far side of the room. Danielle then turned her eyes back to Jasper. He was wearing dark jeans and a white, V-neck sweater today, and good lord did he look good. Jasper started toward his desk, flashing her a friendly smile. She smiled back at him as he approached, just knowing her cheeks had turned pink already, and told herself to act normal.

Don't be an idiot, Danielle, she told herself. Just play it cool.

"Good morning," Jasper said as he eased into the desk on her left. Then, almost immediately, he frowned. "Why are you so nervous?"

Crap.

Danielle froze and looked at him like a deer caught in headlights. She had noticed over the course of time that Jasper seemed to have the uncanny ability to read her like an open book – one look at her, and he seemed to always know exactly what she was feeling. She had also noticed – though it made absolutely no sense to her – that whenever she was with Jasper, her emotions had the tendency to bounce around so suddenly, it was almost as if they had they had a mind of their own. If she was stressed or worried or in a bad mood, it would all disappear in the blink of an eye and she would suddenly feel calm and relaxed and happy. Danielle had thought it very strange at first, and hadn't been able to tell if it was because Jasper just had that much of an effect on her everyday mood, or if she was just losing her mind.

In the end, she chalked it up to just having wild, hormonal mood swings.

"What makes you think I'm nervous?" Danielle asked evasively.

Jasper gave her a knowing look. "It's written all over your face."

Danielle just shrugged. "Well, I don't know what to tell you. I don't feel nervous. I feel perfectly fine."

She was lying right through her teeth, and as Jasper gave her a long look, she was fairly certain he could tell. Being the wonderful person he was, though, he let it go.

The bell rang and class began, which Danielle was grateful for. She kept her eyes on the teacher and focused extra hard, hoping it might be enough to chase away that nervous feeling that continued to swirl around in her stomach. All throughout class, however, she could feel eyes on her and knew, without even having to look, that Jasper was giving her curious looks. He could clearly sense that she had something on her mind, and he seemed to want to know what that something was.

When the bell rang to send them to second period, Danielle and Jasper packed up their things and stood to leave at the same time. Jasper, just as he usually did, held the door open for her as they left the class, making her smile and nod to him gratefully. Soon enough they were on their way to English, walking side by side.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jasper asked doubtfully. "Has something happened?"

Danielle smiled and shook her head. "Honestly, Jasper, I'm fine," she told him. "I've got a few things on my mind," which wasn't a lie, "but it's nothing to worry about. I promise," she added reassuringly.

Jasper still hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded his head. "Alright, if you say so," he conceded.

They walked in silence for a second or two, Danielle looking anywhere but at Jasper while Jasper studied her curiously from the corner of his eye. When they went past a large sign advertising the Spring Fling dance, Danielle, her curiosity getting the better of her, decided to test the waters a bit.

"Did you hear about the dance?" she asked casually, looking up at Jasper now.

Jasper quirked a brow, then nodded slowly. "I have, yes," he confirmed. "In fact, it's all I've heard anyone talking about since I arrived at school today."

Danielle nodded, then raised her brows curiously. "Have you ever gone?" she asked. That's it, Danielle, she mentally encouraged herself. Calm and casual is the game here.

Jasper gave her a wry smile, then shook his head. "No," he answered simply.

"Why not?" Danielle pried. "Did you not get asked or were you just not interested?"

Jasper sighed, and if she wasn't mistaken, he seemed the tiniest bit uncomfortable now. "I've been asked once or twice," he told her, which actually did surprise her a bit. She knew she wasn't the only girl who thought Jasper was attractive, because she saw the way their schoolmates looked at him. But he had believed that everyone else was too intimidated by him to even talk to him, let alone ask him to the dance. "I always said no, though," he continued. "I'm not crazy about dances to begin with," he proceeded to admit. "And I'd imagine going with someone I don't know would only make the whole experience even more uncomfortable."

Any hope Danielle might have had instantly deflated. Jasper didn't like dances. If he hadn't wanted to go to them in the past, she found it hard to believe that he would want to go now…even if it was with a friend.

"That's understandable," Danielle said with a nod, trying very hard to hide her growing disappointment.

Jasper gave her a scrutinizing look, as if she was a puzzle he was trying to figure out. "Are you planning to go?" he asked, still watching her closely.

Danielle shrugged a shoulder. If she didn't go with Jasper, did she even want to go at all? "I don't know yet," she told him. "I do enjoy going to dances, and I think it could be fun. But…yeah, I don't know," she finished unsurely.

Jasper didn't say anything to that, just nodded his understanding.

When they reached their English class, Jasper moved to hold the door open for her again. Danielle walked into the class, followed closely by Jasper, and they both took their seats in the front row. Barely even a second after she sat down, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Frowning uncertainly, she turned around to face the boy who sat behind her, who was named Jordan.

"Sup, Danielle?" he asked with a charming smile.

Danielle quirked a brow. Jordan wasn't a bad looking guy, and from what she could tell, he seemed like he was a decent person. He didn't hold a candle to Jasper, though, not in her eyes anyway. "Erm, hey, Jordan," she said unsurely. She glanced at Jasper, who was frowning at Jordan, his brows furrowed with suspicion. Danielle looked at Jordan again. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you'd heard about the dance," Jordan said, that charming smile never budging.

"Yeah, I have," Danielle said with a nod. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," Jordan said, his shoulders squaring confidently, "I was thinking that maybe you and I could go together," he told her with a slight waggle of his eyebrows.

Danielle blinked at him. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the girl supposed to ask the guy?" she asked him pointedly.

"Well, yeah," Jordan confirmed with a chuckle. "But I think you're a great girl, and I think we'd have a good time together. So I figured I'd take a chance and break the rules a bit." Jordan paused, then raised his eyebrows. "So whaddya say?" he asked. "You wanna be my date?"

Danielle pressed her lips together, then gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Jordan, but…no," she declined as politely as possible.

It was obvious that Jordan had fully expected her to say yes, because the moment she said no, he frowned and looked defensive. "Why not?" he asked, not sounding so charming now. "Have you already asked someone?"

"Well, no – " Danielle started to say.

"Then why not go with me?" Jordan demanded, clearly not about to give up so easily. "We'd have a good time together, I just know it. I mean…at least think about it before you just say no."

Danielle was beginning to rethink her previous assessment of his character. He didn't seem like such a nice guy anymore – now he seemed annoying and rude. "I don't need to think about it," she told him a bit more firmly this time.

"Why?" Jordan countered swiftly.

"Because she already said no," a new voice interjected sharply.

Both Danielle and Jordan turned their gazes to Jasper, and when they saw the look on his face, they both looked at him with wide eyes. Jasper seemed angry and was glaring at Jordan through narrowed eyes. But no, he wasn't just glaring. Danielle was pretty sure that if looks could kill, Jordan would be absolutely done for. Jordan gulped as Jasper continued to glare at him, looking quite afraid now.

"She doesn't want to go to the dance with you," Jasper said through clenched teeth. "Now I suggest you apologize for being rude and then leave her alone," he commanded.

Jordan gulped again, then finally looked back to Danielle. He sputtered over his words for a moment, but finally managed to get some words out. "Sorry, Danielle," he said quickly, shifting uncomfortably under Jasper's glaring.

Danielle pressed her lips together and shrugged. "It's okay," she said, not really knowing what else to say.

She turned forward again as the bell rang to signal the start of class, but instead of looking at the teacher, she glanced at Jasper from the corner of her eye. He looked tense and annoyed and still a bit angry.

Danielle picked up her pencil, opened up her notebook, then wrote 'thank you' on the corner of a piece of paper. Danielle ripped the corner off, then, when the teacher wasn't looking, she reached over and placed it on Jasper's desk. Jasper looked at her in mild surprise, then turned his eyes down to the paper. When he read the simple words of gratitude, the tension instantly left his shoulders. Danielle smiled at him when his eyes lifted to hers again, and she was glad when he managed a smile for her.

After English, Jasper walked with her to her History class. Though they passed several signs advertising the Spring Fling, they didn't discuss the dance, nor that little incident with Jordan, any further. Once Jasper had gone his own way and Danielle was seated at her desk in her third period class, she rested her chin on her hand and stared distractedly at a map hanging on one of the walls of the classroom.

She couldn't stop thinking about Jasper and the way he had jumped to her defense when Jordan had been pestering her about the dance.

Danielle didn't really know what to make of Jasper's reaction to Jordan asking her out. She supposed it made sense that he would have her back – they were friends, after all, and friends looked out for one another. Why wouldn't Jasper save her from the unwanted attention Jordan had shown? Then again, Jasper had seemed really unhappy about the whole thing, more so than she would have expected him to be. But why exactly had he been so upset? Was it because he didn't like how persistent Jordan had been, or was it because he just didn't like that Jordan had asked her out to begin with?

A large hand suddenly waved in front of her face, making her blink in surprise. Emmett had arrived, only she'd been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed.

"Ah, she is still alive," he mused aloud teasingly. Emmett raised his brows with curiosity. "Any reason you were comatose just now?"

Danielle sighed. "I was just…thinking," she told him.

Emmett blinked at her. "Thinking about…?" he prompted, motioning for her to elaborate with a wave of his hand.

Danielle debated whether she should tell Emmett what had just happened or not, then finally decided to give it a shot. After all, Emmett was Jasper's brother – who would have better insight to the inner workings of Jasper's mind than him?

"A guy in my last class asked me to go to the dance with him," she told Emmett.

Emmett pulled a face. "You mean that stupid Spring Fling thing?" he asked. Clearly he wasn't a fan of school dances either. After Danielle nodded in confirmation, Emmett gave her a curious look. "What did you say?"

"I told him no," she said. "He didn't take the rejection very well, though, and kinda turned into a jerk about it."

Emmett frowned immediately. "What?" He paused, then cracked his knuckles menacingly. "Alright. I want a name and a description of what he looks like," he told her seriously, looking like he was ready to go and kick someone's ass. "Nobody, I repeat, nobody, is allowed to be a jerk to one of my friends. Only I'm allowed to be a jerk to my friends," he added with a firm nod.

Danielle was touched by his protectiveness, but quickly shook her head. "Pump the brakes there, buddy," she said. "I'm not gonna let you get suspended from school because you decided to scare the crap out of someone." Emmett scoffed, as if the thought of getting suspended didn't bother him in the slightest. "Besides, Jasper already handled it," she reassured him.

Emmett smirked now, one brow lifting higher than the other. "He did, huh? Good."

Emmett definitely seemed pleased, but Danielle still didn't know what to think of it all. "To be honest, I'm kinda surprised by how…defensive he got," she admitted. "The way Jasper was looking at him, I thought Jordan was gonna burst into flame right then and there." Danielle shook her head. "The whole thing seemed to really upset him."

"Well, I'm not surprised," Emmett stated matter-of-factly. "Jasper's usually a pretty level headed guy, but when it comes to people he really cares about, he doesn't tolerate anyone messing with them."

Danielle blinked. "Wait, what?" she asked, unsure if she'd heard him correctly.

Emmett didn't seem to understand why she was confused. "Jasper's protective of the people who are important to him," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "Always has been."

Danielle felt her heart thump hard in her chest. "And…and I fall under the category of people who are important to him?" she asked in complete shock, pointing toward herself with uncertainty. "Jasper cares about me?"

Emmett gave her a disbelieving look, as if he was stunned that she hadn't already known this. "C'mon, Dani. You're smarter than that," he shot at her with a meaningful look.

Danielle turned her eyes forward as the bell rang. But even as the teacher started talking, she didn't pay any attention. All she could hear in her head was the conversation she had just had with Emmett. And as she thought about what he had just said, the flame of hope that had been extinguished earlier suddenly surged back to life.

She had always been pretty good at being able to tell when other people liked each other, but she could admit that she had the tendency to be a bit oblivious when it came to someone liking her. All this time she had really, truly believed that Jasper only viewed her as a friend…but now the things that Emmett had said were making her wonder if maybe she had been wrong. What if there was more to all this than she had realized? What if, a small voice in her voice said hopefully, she had underestimated Jasper's feelings for her?

Could it be? Was it possible that Jasper felt the same way that she did?

By the time Danielle made it to Spanish, she was practically bursting with the need to tell Bella all about the events of the day. She did not get a chance to do so before the bell rang, nor did she dare try to discuss it once class had started. But as soon as Spanish was over and they were headed toward the cafeteria, she told Bella everything, from her talk with Jasper between classes, to Jasper coming to her defense when Jordan asked her to the dance, and, lastly, what Emmett had told her during history.

"So wait," Bella interjected. "What does that mean? Does that mean Jasper likes you? As in, likes you likes you?"

Danielle shrugged helplessly. "I have no idea," she said. "He's never really acted like he does."

"Are you sure about that?" Bella asked skeptically. "Because you guys spend a lot of time together, and I've never even seen him look at another girl since you came into the picture," she pointed out.

Danielle pressed her lips together as they walked. Part of her really, really wanted to believe that she had been wrong. Wanted to believe that Jasper did like her and that there was a chance that their friendship might someday grow into something more. But another, much larger, part of her was afraid to get her hopes up.

"Just because he's protective of me doesn't mean he sees me as anything more than a friend," she countered. "I can think of a dozen times where Tom did the exact same thing Jasper did, and it was never because he liked me. It was because we were friends and he was looking out for me," she explained.

"Okay…but think about how you and Tom are with each other and compare it to how you and Jasper are together," Bella countered. "Is it the same?"

Danielle knew the answer without even having to think about it. She and Tom were like brother and sister, and had been since day one. She and Jasper, however, well…that was a much different story.

Jessica and Angela suddenly stepped into view and spotted them almost immediately. "Hey, girls!" Jessica said enthusiastically, before the two quickly came to join them on their trek to the cafeteria. Danielle shot Bella a quick, silent look, one that clearly said she didn't want to discuss Jasper any further now that they weren't alone. Bella just nodded, and with that they put the conversation on hold.

As soon as they entered the cafeteria, the four of them made a beeline for the lunch line to get food. Jessica did most of the talking, going on and on about the dance and how excited she was. "You two should really consider going," she insisted with a nod. "Think of all the fun we'll have! We can all go as a group and go to dinner and take pictures! The whole nine yards! And of course, going to a dance means shopping for dresses," she said with a clap of excitement. "Can anyone say girl's day out?!"

Angela and Jessica soon began to excitedly debate where they would go to look for dresses. As for Danielle and Bella, they just shared another look behind Jessica's back. Bella didn't look even remotely excited about the idea of dress shopping or going to the dance. Danielle just shrugged at her friend with indecision.

After they had gotten their lunches, the four of them started in the direction of the lunch tables. Danielle glanced around, searching for a familiar head of blonde hair, then smiled when she spotted Jasper sitting at the table they always claimed whenever they sat together. He had been watching her expectantly, clearly waiting for her to notice him, then flashed a lopsided smile when their eyes met.

Danielle immediately felt nervous again, even more nervous than she had been that morning thanks to what Emmett had told her in history. That wasn't going to stop her from sitting with him, though. She smiled back and started to say goodbye to her friends so she could join him. Before she could get a word out, however, an arm dropped around her shoulders, catching her quite by surprise. She glanced up at the person attached to the arm, quirking a brow when she realized it was Mike.

"Well, would ya lookee here," he said with a broad grin. His eyes lingered on Bella a little longer than was probably necessary as he looked at each of them. "All my favorite girls in the same place!"

Danielle tried to ignore the look Jessica was now directing at her. She glanced at Jasper, who was watching her with a frown now, then peered up at Mike. "Er, what's up Mike?" she asked unsurely. Mike being a little on the touchy-feely side wasn't anything new, but he usually reserved this sort of attention for Bella or Jessica.

"We all have something very important to discuss," he said. "I have two words for you." He paused dramatically, then said, "La Push."

Jessica and Angela immediately made sounds of excitement, while Danielle and Bella looked at each other in bewilderment. "La what?" Bella asked uncertainly.

Mike began to lead everyone toward the table the lunch group always sat at, and since he still had his arm around Danielle's shoulders, she had no choice but to go with him. She glanced helplessly at Jasper, who was watching them go to the other table, his frown deepening more and more by the second. She tried to catch his eye and beg him to come and rescue her, but he didn't pick up on her silent pleas for help – he was too busy glaring at the back of Mike's head. Mike, of course, was totally oblivious to the look he was getting.

"La Push is a town on the Quileute reservation," Angela quickly explained. "There's a beach out there we go to every now and again. It's really pretty and nature-y and it's an awesome spot for whale watching."

"And it's a great place to catch some waves," Mike interjected excitedly. "So I already talked it over with the guys, and we're heading out this Saturday. You ladies in?" he asked eagerly.

Jessica and Angela immediately agreed to go. Danielle took a second to think it over, then nodded. She hadn't been to a beach in a while and was curious to see what this La Push place was like. "Yeah, sure. I'm in," she said. "Sounds like fun."

"Excellent!" Mike said happily. He then turned hopeful eyes on Bella. "How about you, Bells? You coming too?"

Bella glanced at Danielle, then nodded. "Sure. Count me in too."

Mike finally removed his arm from Danielle's shoulders so he could throw his arms up in celebration. "Alright! That's what I'm talking about! La Push, baby! It's on!"

They all shook their heads and laughed as Mike hurried off to tell Eric and Tyler the news, looking a bit like a kid on Christmas morning. Bella, Jessica, and Angela then followed him to their lunch table, but Danielle, who was eager to get to Jasper now that she was free to go, hung back.

"Hey, guys?" she called, making the three girls look back at her. "I'm gonna go – "

But the words died on her lips. Because when she looked back at her and Jasper's table, she saw that it was empty. Frowning now, she glanced toward the Cullen table to see if he was there instead. He wasn't. Jasper was gone, had left the cafeteria completely. Only his siblings were at the Cullen table, and Emmett, she noticed, was giving her a look that she couldn't quite decipher. She thought it looked a bit like disappointment, though.

An uneasy feeling entered her body, and suddenly she couldn't shake the feeling that she had done something wrong. For a moment she considered going to look for Jasper, but then she decided against it. Sighing heavily, she turned back to her friends, who were watching her unsurely.

"Never mind," she told them with a forced smile.

Then she followed them to the table and sat down to have lunch.

Danielle thought about Jasper nonstop for the rest of the day, which wasn't really anything new. The only difference now was that instead of her usual happy, love-struck thoughts, her mind was full of nothing but worry and unease.

The whole lunch situation kept hanging over her head, and the more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that she had definitely messed up. Jasper had wanted to have lunch with her, but she had gotten sidetracked by Mike and it had obviously given Jasper the wrong idea about what was going on. He probably thought that she had purposefully ditched him, which hadn't been the case at all. And the fact that Mike had cozied up to her? If what Emmett had said was true, and if, by some miracle, Jasper did have more than friendly feelings for her, she could see why he had reacted the way he had. From her point of view, it had been innocent – she knew that Mike only saw her as a friend and that his actions had not had any sort of intent behind them. But to the outside perspective, it would have definitely looked like something else.

Danielle cursed herself over and over again. She had gone about everything the wrong way. Why hadn't she pushed Mike away? Why hadn't she done something to signal to Jasper that she would be coming to sit with him? Now Jasper was probably angry with her, and she didn't blame him one bit, because she was angry at herself too.

By the time the final bell rang, Danielle had come to the decision that she needed to find Jasper and explain what had happened. She did not want him to be upset with her, and she definitely didn't want him to go home and spend the entire night thinking that she had blown him off for Mike freaking Newton. When their gym teacher dismissed them for the day, she hurried to the locker room and changed out of her gym clothes lightning fast, then grabbed her things and started toward the door without waiting for Bella.

"I'll meet you at the truck, okay?" she called over her shoulder. "I've got something to take care of."

Bella seemed a bit confused, but nodded anyway. "Okay."

Danielle left without another word, marching with quick, determined steps in the direction of Jasper's locker, hoping very much to be able to catch him before he met up with his siblings. She pushed through the crowd, moving as fast as she could, her heart thumping hard in her chest. She didn't know what she was going to say to him, but she knew, no matter what, that she had to set the record straight. She just hoped that he would be willing to listen.

Finally, Jasper's locker came into sight, and by the working of some higher power, he was there. He was shoving various books into his schoolbag, completely ignoring the people around him, the small scowl on his lips hinting that he wasn't in a great mood. Danielle paused for a moment, sucked in a deep breath, then lifted her chin and went over to him. Don't be a chicken, she said to herself internally. Just talk to him.

When she was only a few feet away, he suddenly looked at her, as if he had been able to sense that she was there. Her stomach jumped, but she kept walking toward him until she was finally by his side.

"Hey," Danielle said carefully.

Jasper's expression was difficult to read. He seemed a bit stiff, a bit more guarded than usual. "Hello," he said evenly.

Danielle decided there was no use beating around the bush. "I'm sorry about earlier," she told him sincerely. "I wasn't trying to blow you off, I promise. I was about to come sit with you, but then Mike showed up and started blabbing about some beach trip him and the other guys planned for this weekend. I tried to get to you as fast as I could, but by the time I finally got away, you were gone," Danielle explained in a rush. "I'm really sorry, Jasper. Honestly."

Danielle gave him a pleading look, silently begging him to understand. Jasper's expression quickly softened and his shoulders relaxed. "It's alright, Danielle," he said, giving her a small smile. "You don't have to apologize for spending time with your friends."

"But you're my friend, too," she reminded him pointedly. "And trust me, between hearing the guys brag about who was the better surfer and Jessica talking nonstop about how she wanted to do her hair for the dance, I would have much rather spent my lunch with you," she admitted with a laugh.

Jasper smiled, though whether it was with amusement or satisfaction, she couldn't tell. Either way, she took it as a good sign. "Sounds like torture," he commented with a hint of teasing.

Danielle smiled. "You're not wrong," she shot back. Lunch had felt like torture, what with Jasper being gone and her being convinced he was angry at her. She looked at him for a moment, then tilted her head questioningly. "So…are you mad at me?"

Jasper shook his head. "No, I'm not," he said, and she knew he was telling the truth.

Danielle breathed a sigh of relief. "You have no idea how glad I am to hear that," she said, grinning broadly now.

"Actually, I think I might," he responded cryptically. Danielle frowned with slight confusion as Jasper shut his locker and slung his bag over his shoulder. Before she could ask him what he had meant by that, however, he turned to her and raised his brows curiously. "Are you headed to Bella's truck?"

Danielle nodded. "I just have to stop by my locker first," she said.

Jasper made a sound of understanding. "I'll walk with you."

Danielle grinned again. "Okay," she readily accepted.

They started down the hallway, which was already a lot less crowded now that students were filtering out for the day. As anxious and unsure as Danielle had been since lunch, she felt much better now that she knew things were alright between her and Jasper. She couldn't help but look up at him as they walked, giving him a small smile when their eyes met. He smiled back, then cleared his throat.

"So what's this beach trip you mentioned?" he asked conversationally.

Danielle shrugged. "I guess there's a beach nearby that has really good waves for surfing and really good whale watching," she said. "It's somewhere in a place called La Push?"

His eyes lit with recognition. "Ah, I see," Jasper said, nodding slowly. "And you're going?"

"Yeah," Danielle confirmed "I haven't seen a beach in a while. Plus the other girls are going. I think it'll be fun…or, at least, I hope it'll be fun," she added with a smirk.

"I'm sure it will be," Jasper told her.

When they reached her locker, Danielle quickly put in the combination and pulled it open. Jasper leaned against the locker next to hers, his amber eyes glancing around for a moment, before he turned his gaze back to her. Danielle glanced at him from the corner of her eye, very much aware of the fact that he was watching her and doing her best not to blush because of it. She grabbed her backpack and started stuffing it with the notebooks and textbooks she would need for homework that night.

"You know," Jasper said casually, making her glance at him again. "When I saw Mike come up to you at lunch, I thought maybe he was going to ask you to the dance, too."

At first, Danielle was a little surprised by what he had said. Then she snorted and gave him a look. "I'd be very surprised if he did," she told him.

"Why's that?" Jasper asked.

"Because I'm pretty sure he's got a thing for Bella," she said matter-of-factly. "And by pretty sure, I mean he definitely does."

Jasper quirked a brow. "And you're alright with that?" he asked slowly.

Danielle stopped what she was doing and gave him a disbelieving look. He wasn't actually asking her what she thought he was, was he? "Are you kidding?" she asked with a scoff. "I couldn't be more alright with that. I mean, I guess I kinda feel bad for Bella because she's not super comfortable with all the attention he gives her. But if someone has to be the apple of Mike's eye, then better her than me," she said with a shake of her head.

Jasper smirked in response to that, looking a bit amused. But she thought she saw a gleam in his amber eyes, one that hinted that it pleased him to know that she didn't like Mike that way.

Danielle finally finished filling her backpack and closed her locker. The two of them started toward the exit, walking in comfortable silence. When they reached the door, Jasper, being the southern gentleman that he was, pulled it open and gestured her through, just as he always did every single time they went through any doorway together. Danielle smiled broadly as she went past him. There were a lot of reasons why she liked Jasper so much, but the fact that he was still such a southern gentleman, despite the many years that had passed since he had lived in the south, was one of the things that she found most attractive about him.

They walked to the parking lot, which was already emptying out as students went home for the day. Not so far away, she could see Jasper's siblings hanging out by their car, clearly waiting for Jasper. A little further into the parking lot, she could see Bella waiting by the truck. Bella had a book out and appeared to be reading something, but she kept glancing in the direction of the Cullen's …or, more specifically, in Edward's direction. Edward wasn't paying any attention to her, though, which wasn't much of a surprise considering he always pretended like she wasn't there.

"I should probably go," Jasper said, drawing Danielle's attention to him. "They're looking a little impatient," he added, nodding in the direction of his siblings.

Danielle nodded her understanding. "Okay," she said. "I'll see you in the morning."

Jasper nodded. Then, with one last smile, he turned to leave.

Danielle watched him go, sighing to herself. But then something suddenly came over her. Maybe it was because she had been thinking about the dance all day, maybe it was because of her conversation with Emmett, or maybe it was just because the lunch situation had been handled and she now knew that she and Jasper were perfectly fine. Whatever the reason, she suddenly felt a surge of courage. She wanted to ask Jasper to the Spring Fling. And there seemed no better time to do it than now, while she still had the nerve to do it.

It was now or never. Time to be brave and hope that she wasn't about to make a catastrophic mistake.

"Hey, Jasper?" she called out to him, shifting on her feet nervously.

Jasper stopped at the sound of her voice and turned back around to face her, his brows raising questioningly. "Yes?" he asked.

Danielle gulped, then walked toward him. You can do this, Danielle, she told herself internally. Just go for it. "I don't know exactly how to ask what I'm about to ask, so I'm just gonna come out with it." She paused for a moment, then, when Jasper gave her an expectant look, she sucked in a deep breath and laid all her cards on the table. "Will you go to the Spring Fling with me?" she asked in a rush.

Jasper's eyebrows shot up so high, they nearly disappeared into his hairline. Clearly he hadn't been expecting her to ask him to the dance, and the fact that she had had caught him off guard. "What?" he asked, almost in disbelief.

Danielle felt her moment of bravery begin to rapidly slip away. "I'd…like to go to the dance with you?" she said, uncertainty evident in her tone now. "I know you said you don't like dances and that they're awkward and stuff, and yeah, maybe they are," she said, waving a hand around wildly as she spoke. "But we get along really well and I like being around you and I think it'd be fun. You're the only person I wanna go with. It doesn't have to be a big deal, we can just…go and have fun and…yeah."

Danielle realized two things in that moment. The first thing she realized was that she was rambling, which made her quickly shut her mouth before she could say anything else. The second thing she realized was that Jasper hadn't said anything – all he was doing was staring back at her like she'd sprouted another head. As a few torturously long, silent seconds ticked by, Danielle began to fear the worst. She had been wrong. Any minute now Jasper was going to call her an idiot and tell her how she had never stood a chance, then she'd have no choice but to crawl into the nearest hole and die a slow, miserable death.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Jasper sighed and raked a hand through his hair, something she had never seen him do before. "Look, I, uh…" He seemed to struggle to find the right words to say. "I don't know if that's a good idea," he finally said.

It was all her fears confirmed. Feeling a bit like she'd just been punched in the gut, Danielle pressed her lips together and nodded. "Oh…okay," she said quietly, her eyes turning down to her shoes.

Jasper heaved again, which made her look up. "Danielle – "

"It's fine, Jasper," she interrupted gently, making him fall silent again. She didn't want to hear his reasons for saying no, didn't want to hear him say, out loud, that he just didn't feel that way about her. Right now, all she wanted was to preserve whatever pride she had left and get away from him before he saw just how badly his rejection was affecting her. "You don't have to explain. I totally get it," she told him, her tone perhaps a little too understanding.

"But – " Jasper started to say again.

"I should go," she interrupted again, taking two big steps away, fully preparing to dart past him and make a run for it. "Bella's waiting for me."

"Danielle, wait," Jasper said, taking a step toward her, his tone and expression pleading.

Danielle shook her head and held up a hand to stop him. Jasper instantly froze. "I really need to go," she repeated, unable to meet his gaze. "I'll, uh…I'll see you around, okay?"

With that being said, Danielle brushed past him and quickly began to walk away, trying not to acknowledge the lump that had formed in her throat. She heard Jasper make a sound of frustration behind her, but she didn't stop. She kept going forward, keeping her head down, ignoring the Cullen's when she walked past them, ignoring anyone who even looked in her direction. When she reached Bella, her friend took one look at the expression on her face and immediately stood straighter with concern.

"Dani? Are you alright?" she asked, glancing briefly in Jasper's direction before turning worried eyes on her. "What happened?"

Danielle didn't even bother trying to fake anything. "I don't wanna talk about it," she said. "Let's just get out of here. Please?"

Bella slowly nodded. "Yeah, okay," she agreed.

They quickly got into the truck, and before long, they were pulling out of the school parking lot. Danielle said nothing to Bella, just rested her forehead against the cool glass of the passenger side window, watching the world rush by and hating herself more and more with each passing second.

She had ruined everything, she was sure of it. Things had been so good, and now, because she had decided to throw caution to the wind, things were never going to be the same between her and Jasper.

How could she have been so stupid?

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