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Chapter Seven
Danielle woke well before her alarm went off on Thursday morning, and though she had never considered herself a morning person, on this particular morning, she was bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Already brimming with excitement at the thought of seeing Jasper much earlier than usual, she jumped out of bed and got ready for school, dressing with far more care than she normally would have. She chose to wear a flattering green top, the one her mother always complimented her on whenever she wore it. It was long sleeved, so it was still warm, but the whole top was covered in lace, which gave it a nice feminine touch. She paired it with her favorite pair of jeans and some cute ballet flats, which she knew wouldn't keep her feet warm and would probably leave her regretting putting them on once she stepped outside into the cold, but oh well. Beauty was pain, right?
Danielle put on a bit more makeup than she normally did, put on a pair of golden, dangly earrings, then pinned back the top half of her red, curly hair into a flattering style. When her eyes landed on the bottle of perfume that her mother had given her for Christmas, she contemplated spritzing some on. In the end, she decided against it – she wanted to look good, but she didn't want to overdo it or seem like she was trying too hard.
It was seven twenty by the time she was finished getting ready, which gave her just enough time to have a quick breakfast before Jasper was due to arrive. She left her bedroom and headed downstairs, practically skipping down to the first floor. But the moment she hit the bottom step, she paused as she was hit with the smell of coffee and bacon. That smell could only mean one thing.
Her mother was still home.
Danielle immediately cringed. Usually her mother left early so that she could get to the bookstore well before official opening time and get everything ready for the day, which meant she was normally gone before Danielle came downstairs for school. There were times, however, when she went in a little later, just so she could have breakfast with Danielle and see her off to school.
Normally Danielle was happy when her mother stayed to hang out with her before she went to school. But why did she have to choose today, of all days, to go into work late? Lynne didn't know that Jasper was coming to pick her up. She believed Danielle was going to school with Bella, just as always. There was no way her mother wouldn't see Jasper when he came to take pick her up, which would undoubtedly lead to a conversation that Danielle wasn't ready to have. As far as her mother knew, Jasper was just her friend from school who occasionally popped into the bookshop, and Danielle had been hoping to keep it that way for a little longer. It wasn't because Lynne was strict about dating, or anything – Danielle just hadn't wanted to bring anything up until she knew, with complete and total certainty, where she and Jasper stood with each other.
Maybe Lynne wasn't planning to stay long, Danielle thought hopefully to herself as she finally started toward the kitchen. Maybe she had just stayed to cook her breakfast and would soon be on her way. Maybe there was still a chance she would leave for work before Jasper arrived.
Danielle walked into the kitchen and found Lynne sitting at the table, her eyes trained on the newspaper she'd retrieved from the driveway. Her plate was empty already, and she seemed to be finishing the last remnants of the coffee in her mug. Knowing that she had already finished breakfast bolstered Danielle's hope that Lynne would be leaving for work soon.
"Morning, Mom," she greeted, trying not to sound too chipper so that her mother wouldn't start to get suspicious of anything.
Lynne looked up from the paper to smile at Danielle. "Morning, sweetie," she greeted at once. But then Lynne did a double take, her eyes finally giving Danielle a good, long look. Her brows quickly shot upward. "Wow. You look even more beautiful than usual today," she complimented with a big smile. "What are you so dolled up for?"
Danielle shrugged nonchalantly. "No reason," she lied. "Just…felt like being fancy today."
Lynne made a sound of understanding. "Well, you look great. I just love that shirt on you," she complimented again.
"Thanks," Danielle said with a smile.
Lynne said that there was a plate of food on the counter waiting for her, so Danielle went to grab it before easing into the seat across from her mother. She took a bite of bacon, her eyes turning to the clock on the microwave. 7:22. She suddenly wished she knew if Jasper was the sort of guy who arrived when he said he would, or if he was one of those who tended to run a few minutes late, just so she could know exactly how much more time she had before he arrived.
Danielle pulled her eyes from the clock to look at her mother, who had gone back to perusing the newspaper. "Thanks for the breakfast," she said.
"You're welcome," Lynne said with a smile.
Danielle took another bite. "I'm surprised you're still here," she said casually. "I thought you'd be gone already."
"I'll be leaving soon, actually," Lynne said. "I just wanted to make you breakfast and catch up on some local news before heading out." Lynne stopped reading for a moment to give Danielle an excited smile. "I found my box of Spring decorations last night. I think I'm gonna go ahead and decorate the shop with it."
Danielle nodded in approval. "I'm sure it'll look really nice. You've always been good at stuff like that," she told her with a smile.
Lynne seemed flattered. "Thank you, sweetie."
Lynne resumed reading, while Danielle continued eating. They sat in silence while Lynne became immersed in an article, and though Danielle didn't outwardly show it, she felt more and more antsy with each minute that ticked by. She was incredibly excited to see Jasper, but she was also a little nervous as to how her mother would react if she was around to see him pick her up. And that was looking more and more like a possibility, since it was now seven twenty-seven and Lynne had not yet made any moves to leave.
Finally, Lynne folded up the newspaper and set it down. She stood from the table and went to the sink to wash her dishes. "I should probably get going. I want to get a jump start on those decorations," Lynne said over the sound of the faucet. "How do you feel about tacos for dinner tonight?"
"Tacos sound great," Danielle said with a nod.
"Excellent," Lynne said. She finished washing her dishes and set then in the strainer to dry, before turning off the water and wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. "I'm gonna go grab that box of decorations from the garage," she said, leaning down to kiss the top of Danielle's head as she walked past. "I'll be right back."
Danielle watched her go, then sighed to herself. As her mother disappear into the garage, she quickly finished her breakfast and went to set her plate in the sink, before glancing at the clock again. Just as she looked, the time changed. 7:30.
The doorbell suddenly rang, making her jump with surprise. Butterflies then swarmed her belly and a huge smile stretched across her face. It was Jasper. It just had to be.
Danielle hurried out of the kitchen, stopping momentarily to check her appearance in the hallway mirror. She then went to the door, pausing once her hand was on the knob to suck in a deep, calming breath. Then, she pulled the door open.
Jasper stood on the doorstep with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He had chosen to wear a navy blue zip-up sweater that complimented his eyes very nicely and made him look incredibly handsome. Then again, he probably could have shown up wearing a garbage bag and she still would have swooned like a woman in a tacky romance novel.
Danielle beamed at him, but Jasper did not smile back just yet. His eyes had gone a little wider than normal as he looked her up and down, his lips pressing together tightly. When his gaze met hers again, his eyes seemed a little darker and there was obvious admiration in his gaze. It was the exact look she had been hoping to put on his face.
"Good morning, Jasper," she said, her heart doing a little dance in her chest.
He cleared his throat, then finally seemed to get ahold of himself. "Good morning," Jasper said, though his voice seemed a bit rougher than normal. "You look very lovely today," he then complimented with a lopsided smile.
Danielle flushed happily. "Thank you," she said. She then glanced over her shoulder to see if her mother had come back from the garage yet, which she hadn't. Danielle decided to try to sneak out before Lynne could see Jasper. "Let me just grab my jacket and my backpack, then we can go," she told him quickly.
He nodded, then stayed where he was while she collected her things, watching her move around through the open door. Danielle pulled on her jacket, then grabbed her backpack and quickly slid the straps onto her shoulders. Just as she started to join him outside, however, she heard Lynne walk back into the house.
"Dani?" she called, making Danielle freeze on the spot. "I heard the doorbell ring. Is that Bella?" Lynne appeared in the hallway a moment later, carrying a large box. She stopped the moment she caught sight of Jasper, her brows shooting up to her hairline. "You're not Bella," she said with surprise.
Jasper smiled and shook his head. "No, I'm not," he said. He glanced at Danielle, who just shrugged at him, before looking back to her mother. "Good morning, Ms. Clark. It's nice to see you again," he said politely.
Lynne gave Danielle a look as she stepped closer, one that probably didn't mean much to anyone who didn't know her, but which meant a number of things Danielle. "Same to you, Jasper. Though I admit I'm a bit surprised to see you on my doorstep," she said, giving Danielle another brief look. "Are you taking Dani to school?"
"I am," he confirmed. "I hope you don't mind."
"No, no, I don't," Lynne said quickly. "Though I'm not sure why you needed to do so when she normally goes with Bella."
Danielle wracked her brain, trying to come up with a good excuse as to why Jasper would need to pick her up. Luckily, Jasper was quicker on his feet than she was. "Danielle and I need to speak with one of our teachers about a project we're working on, so we wanted to get to school a bit earlier to speak with him before class," Jasper lied smoothly, sounding very convincing. "I offered to take her to school so as not to inconvenience Bella."
Lynne seemed to buy the excuse. "Ah, I see," she said, nodding her head.
Jasper looked at Danielle again, then took a step toward her mother. "That looks heavy, Ms. Clark," he said, motioning to the box she still held. "I'd be happy to carry it to wherever you were taking it," he offered.
Lynne blinked in surprise again. "Why thank you. That's nice of you to offer." She passed the box to Jasper, who handled it with ease. "I was taking it to my car. The doors are unlocked if you'd like to put it in the backseat."
Jasper nodded, then, without a word, he turned to carry the box to her mother's car. Danielle watched him go, unable to help smiling fondly at how polite and gentlemanly he was being, then turned her gaze back to her mother. When she saw Lynne watching her with crossed arms and a quirked brow, her smile fell and she cringed.
"By the way...Jasper is taking me to school?" she offered lamely.
"You could have told me a little sooner," Lynne hissed. She poked her head outside to glance at Jasper. "I understand why you got all dressed up now," Lynne commented. After staring at Jasper for a few moments, she looked back to Danielle and smirked. "He sure is cute, isn't he?" she said, wiggling her brows. "They didn't look like that when I was in high school."
"Mom," Danielle groaned, covering her face with her hands.
"What?" Lynne asked, clearly not seeing any issue with what she'd said.
Danielle dropped her hands from her face, then shook her head. Both she and her mother looked in the direction Jasper had gone again, and Danielle couldn't help but notice the fact that it seemed to be taking longer than it should have for him to put the box in Lynne's car – Danielle wondered if he was stalling on purpose, so that she and her mother had time to talk.
"Oh, and Mom?" Danielle said quickly to draw Lynne's attention to her. "Now would also probably be a good time to tell you that Jasper and I are going to the Spring Fling dance together on the twelfth."
"Since when?" Lynne asked with surprise.
"Since yesterday," Danielle answered.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Lynne demanded, looking mildly offended by the fact that Danielle hadn't said anything sooner.
Danielle shrugged. "I was going to. I just hadn't gotten around to it yet."
Lynne gave her a look. "First he's taking you to school, now you're going to the dance together? Is there something going on that you haven't told me about?" she asked suspiciously. "Is he your boyfriend?"
"No, he's not," Danielle quickly answered. "Or, at least, I don't think he is," she added with a shrug. "We're just kind of…seeing where things go."
Lynne lifted a brow knowingly. "I thought you weren't interested in him like that?" she accused, referring to the first conversation they'd had about Jasper the day he had come to apologize to her in the bookstore.
"I wasn't at the time," Danielle said with a shrug. "But things have changed. I like him, Mom. I like him a lot," she admitted with a smile. "So just…be nice? Please?"
Lynne huffed. "I'm always nice," she said pointedly.
Danielle glanced at Jasper again and saw that he was making his way back to them. She gave Lynne a look that very clearly said to keep her mouth shut, then smiled at Jasper as he rejoined them. She thought she spied a glint in his eyes when his gaze met hers, but he turned his attention to her mother before she could be sure what it meant.
"The box is safely in your car, Ms. Clark," he said with a nod.
"Thank you, Jasper, that was very kind of you. And thank you for taking Dani to school," she added with a smile. "I hope you didn't have to go too far out of your way to pick her up."
"Not at all, ma'am," Jasper assured her with a shake of his head.
Lynne started to say something else, but Danielle decided that the time to leave had come. She didn't want to give her mother any chance to say anything that might embarrass her. "We should get going," she said quickly, finally stepping out onto the porch so that she stood next to Jasper. "I'll see you tonight, okay, Mom?"
"Alright," Lynne said without putting up a fuss. "Have a good day at school."
Danielle nodded, then looked at Jasper and nodded toward his black, fancy looking car, which was parked at the curb, silently telling him that they should go. "Have a good day, Ms. Clark," he said to her mother, smiling politely again.
"You too, Jasper," Lynne said back.
With that, Danielle and Jasper stepped down from the porch and went to his car. Unsurprisingly, Lynne leaned against the door frame and watched them go. When they reached the car, Jasper stepped ahead of Danielle and opened the passenger side door for her. Danielle gave him a smile and eased into the passenger seat. Jasper shut the door behind her, waved to her mother one last time, then walked around the front of the car and took his place behind the steering wheel.
The moment he shut the door behind him, Danielle's stomach did a somersault and her heart began to pound within her chest. They had never been so completely and totally alone before. Their gazes held for a long moment, though neither one of them said anything yet. Danielle felt positively surrounded by that wonderful piney scent, which seemed to fill up the entire car. She sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly, her nerves crackling with awareness as Jasper stared at her intently. She could've sworn his eyes had gotten darker in the last few moments.
Finally, Jasper pulled his eyes away from hers and faced forward, his hands reaching into his pocket to retrieve his keys before he slipped them into the ignition. Danielle finally felt like she could breathe again once he wasn't staring at her.
"Did you tell Bella I was picking you up this morning?" Jasper finally asked, glancing at the red truck as he pulled away from the curb and started down the street.
"Yeah, I did," Danielle confirmed.
"But you didn't tell your mother," Jasper commented, lifting a brow at her.
Danielle smiled sheepishly. "I didn't think she'd be here when you came to get me," she admitted. "I didn't keep it from her because I was embarrassed or anything," she quickly clarified, just so he wouldn't get the wrong idea. "My mom just tends to get a little…nosey. She would have grilled me for details all night long if I had mentioned we were going to school together today."
Jasper smirked. He didn't seem put off by the fact that she'd kept him a secret from her mother, which was a relief. "Sounds a bit like my mother," he said.
Danielle smiled, then let her eyes wander around the car. The seats were made of leather, the dash had a fancy digital screen for navigation and radio options, and everything was impeccably clean. The car practically screamed EXPENSIVE.
"Nice car," Danielle complimented.
"Thank you," Jasper said back, keeping his eyes on the road as he turned out of her neighborhood.
"You Cullen's sure like your fancy cars, huh?" she commented, thinking of all the flashy cars she had seen them drive to school.
"It's a weakness of ours, I'm afraid," Jasper said with a shrug. He then smirked at her, his eyes dancing with humor. "But don't worry, we're not all flash. We still take the old station wagon when we go on family outings," he joked.
Danielle snickered. "How very suburban of you."
Silence fell between them as they slowed to a stop at a red light. Jasper kept his hands firmly on the steering wheel, but his eyes were on her again, slowly taking in every inch of her face. Danielle flushed under his intense scrutiny and began to drum her fingers against her leg, trying to act calm and casual on the outside, despite the fact that her stomach was still doing flips on the inside.
"You really do look very lovely today, Danielle," Jasper said in a low voice, which made her fingers stop tapping and her eyes fly to his. He gave her another lopsided smile, his head tilting to the side a bit. "Then again, you always look very lovely," he added.
Danielle smiled shyly and cleared her throat. "You're making me blush again," she said, reaching one hand up to push a stray curl away from her face.
Jasper's eyes followed the movement of her hand, then gazed intently into hers again. "Sorry," he said, though he didn't sound remotely apologetic.
The way he was looking at her was quickly turning her brain into mush, which made it very difficult to come up with a response. Luckily, she was saved from having to respond when the car behind them beeped their horn. Jasper blinked, glanced in the rearview mirror, then realized that the light had turned green. He pressed on the accelerator, sending the car back into motion.
Danielle drummed her fingers against her leg again, sneaking a few glances as Jasper as he drove. Anytime his gaze met hers, her heart jumped a little. She decided she needed something to distract herself, otherwise she was just going to sit there and drool over him for the rest of the car ride.
"Mind if I turn on some music?" she asked.
"Help yourself," Jasper said.
Danielle reached toward the screen in the dash and, after taking a moment to study it, she figured out how to turn it on. Almost immediately, the car filled with what sounded like old-timey country music. It wasn't a surprise, seeing as she already knew that Jasper was a fan of older country music – according to what he had once told her, it was pretty much the only kind of music he listened to. Danielle listened to the sounds of banjos and what she was almost certain was someone using a jug as an instrument, then lifted a brow at Jasper.
"Who is this band?" she asked, pretty sure she had never heard their music before.
"An old music group from back in the day," Jasper answered. "Do you like it?"
Danielle listened a little longer. "They're not bad," she admitted. "For a country band, anyway," she added teasingly.
Jasper smirked and shook his head. Unlike Jasper, Danielle wasn't very fond of the genre. "I still don't understand how a girl from Texas doesn't like country music," he mused aloud.
Danielle shrugged. "There's some I can listen to. Johnny Cash is great, and I love me some Dolly Parton," she said. "Today's country is just not appealing to me. The songs are either about something super depressing or something absolutely ridiculous…like people thinking tractors are sexy," she said with a scoff. "It's just silly."
Jasper smirked. "I supposed you've got a point there. I'm not big on today's country either. Or any of today's music for that matter."
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but I don't think they'll be playing this sort of music at the Spring Fling," she said, motioning toward the radio.
"I should think not," Jasper conceded. "The music won't matter much to me, though," he added, before giving her a small smile. "I'm far more interested in the company."
Danielle's heart skipped a beat. "Well, hopefully the company won't disappoint," she told him.
Jasper immediately shook his head. "I'm certain that's not even a possibility," he insisted.
Danielle just smiled broadly, feeling so light and happy that she felt like she was floating on a cloud.
It wasn't much longer before they were pulling in to the Forks High parking lot. Danielle unbuckled her seatbelt and started to get out of the car once Jasper had parked, but he stopped her with a gentle hand on her elbow. Danielle froze, watching as Jasper exited the car and then hurried around to her side of the car. She grinned as he opened the door and ushered her out with a sweep of his hand.
"Always the southern gentleman," Danielle said as she stepped out of the car.
Jasper smirked as he shut the door again. "What can I say? You bring it out of me."
Jasper left Danielle's side for a moment to collect his schoolbag from the backseat. Danielle's eyes followed him for a moment, looking him over with admiration, until she was hit with the distinct feeling of being watched. She pulled her gaze from Jasper to look around…then immediately stiffened.
There were two girls staring at her and Jasper, the both of them looking shocked as they whispered to one another. They were not the only ones either. Everyone within a thirty foot radius was staring, clearly awestruck by the fact that they had just arrived together. Danielle flushed and shifted on her feet, all of the staring and attention suddenly making her feel like she had been transported back to her first day of school.
"What's wrong?" Jasper asked as he reappeared by her side, his schoolbag now hanging from his shoulder.
"Everyone's staring at us," she told him.
Jasper took a moment to glance around, then made a thoughtful noise and nodded his head. "So they are," he mused aloud. He didn't seem to really care that people were staring, though. He merely smirked and then offered his elbow. "Would you care for an escort to class, ma'am?" he asked in a slightly more exaggerated southern drawl.
Danielle forgot about everyone else in an instant and smiled. "I sure would," she said.
She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow, feeling an electric shock shoot up her arm the moment she touched him. Jasper looked down at her for a long moment, his eyes intent as they gazed into hers. Finally, they began making their way up to the school, focusing only on each other and ignoring the rest of their classmates that stared and gaped in their wake.
Her first three classes of the day went by quickly and without anything significant happening. She snuck looks and shared smiles with Jasper in her first two periods, and walked with him between classes, just as she always did. Rosalie gave her dirty looks all through Calculus, which she ignored, and Emmett chatted her ear off as much as he could during third period, which earned them a scolding and another threat of being separated by the teacher. In general, it was a fairly normal day, only it was about a thousand times more enjoyable simply because of how great of a mood Jasper had put her in.
Things finally took a turn for the interesting when Danielle got to her fourth period Spanish class and saw Bella for the first time that day.
"Hey," Danielle greeted as she sat down next to her. The last time they had seen each other Bella had been in a foul mood, but she seemed better now.
"Hey," Bella said back, smiling. "How has your day been?" she asked knowingly. Her tone made it clear that she was asking how her morning ride with Jasper had gone.
Danielle couldn't have wiped the smile from her face if she tried. "It's been great," she said with a nod. "How about yours? Anything to report?"
Bella suddenly shifted in her seat, her expression a combination of excited, but also uncertain. "Actually, yeah," she said, leaning closer. "Edward and I talked again this morning," she revealed. "He wants to drive me to Seattle next week.
Danielle looked at her with shock. "Seriously?" Bella nodded. "What did you say?"
"I told him yes," Bella said.
Danielle's brows shot upward. "What happened to not wanting anything to do with him?"
Bella just shrugged sheepishly. "Things changed," she said. "I mean, he's still confusing and annoying and I have no idea what's going on in his head, but…I don't know. After some of the things he said this morning, I feel like there might be something there. And I really want to figure out what that something is," Bella told her.
Danielle nodded in understanding, knowing exactly how Bella felt because it was how she had felt about Jasper when they first started becoming friends. She started to ask just what exactly Edward had said, but before she had the chance, the bell rang signaling that it was time for class to start and for their conversation about Edward Cullen to stop.
All during class the day before, her eagerness to see Jasper in lunch had resulted in Danielle fidgeting in her seat and watching the clock like a hawk. Today, however, it was Bella's turn to shift around with impatience and eyeball the clock like it had all the answers to life's most pressing questions. She wiggled her foot and tapped her pencil against the top of her desk, her eyes turning to the clock every two seconds as she blatantly ignored their teacher. After a while it began to make Danielle feel a little anxious, so much so that she finally caught her friends eye and mouthed the word, Relax. Bella stopped fidgeting at once, flashing a small smile of apology.
When the bell rang and it was time for lunch, Bella was the one to jump out of her seat and hurry for the door. Danielle followed her, but because she was taller and had longer legs, it wasn't any trouble for her to keep up with Bella's quick pace as they started off toward the cafeteria.
"Is this what I've been like these past few days?" Danielle asked with amusement.
Bella scoffed at her. "Past few days?" she echoed incredulously. "Dani, this is how you've been since the day you and Jasper became friends," she then corrected.
Danielle started to argue that that wasn't true and that Bella was exaggerating, but then she stopped herself, because as she thought back over the past handful of weeks, she realized that her friend was right. She had always been eager to see Jasper, even back when they'd only first started becoming friends, even before she had realized her own feelings for him.
"Hey, guys!" a new voice interjected, bringing Danielle out of her own thoughts and back to the present. Angela and Jessica had just appeared, and both had looks of interest on their faces as they began walking with her and Bella.
"Dani, is it true?" Angela asked eagerly.
Danielle's brows furrowed. "Is what true?" she asked uncertainly.
"Did Jasper Hale bring you to school today?" Angela persisted.
Danielle shared a quick look with Bella, then nodded. "Yes, he did," she confirmed, which made Angela and Jessica grin at each other. "How did you guys know?" Danielle asked curiously.
"Are you kidding? This school thrives on gossip!" Jessica shot back with a snort, and she would certainly know that, since she was usually the one to spread gossip in the first place. "Rumors about you and Jasper are spreading like wildfire."
Danielle pursed her lips unsurely, not surprised to hear that rumors were going around but still not super happy about it. "Do I even want to know what people are saying?" she asked with trepidation.
"It's pretty harmless," Angela said reassuringly. "Everyone just pretty much seems to think that you guys are boyfriend and girlfriend now."
"Are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend now?" Jessica immediately asked, the question practically exploding out of her in her eagerness to know.
Danielle, who wondered how many more times she was going to get asked this question, shook her head. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but no, we're not," she answered truthfully.
Angela and Jessica looked disappointed. "Oh. You're just friends then?" Angela asked.
Danielle thought about it, then shrugged. "Well…no. I suppose we're more than just that."
Both of her friends looked confused now. "So…then what's going on?" Jessica asked, clearly not understanding.
Danielle hesitated, not entirely sure how much she wanted to reveal. If it had just been her and Angela talking about this, she would have told her the truth. But Jessica was there, and Danielle had a feeling that anything she said to her would likely wind up becoming public knowledge to the school. And since she didn't want a bunch of strangers knowing her and Jasper's business, she thought maybe it would be better if she didn't say anything at all.
Danielle started to wrack her brain, trying to come up with an excuse to get out of having to tell them without offending anyone. Luckily, in the next moment, Bella came to the rescue. She nudged Danielle in the side, then pointed toward something up ahead of them. Danielle followed her gaze toward the cafeteria, which was now in sight, then grinned when she realized that Jasper was waiting for her by the entrance. The other girls looked to see what had caught her attention, then raised their brows at her.
"Why don't you guys go on without me?" Danielle suggested.
Though Jessica looked like she wanted to stay and see what happened, she finally gave in after Angela gave her a pointed look. Her three friends continued on after that, giving Jasper not so discreet looks as they went past him, and disappeared into the cafeteria. Danielle smiled widely and made her way over to Jasper, who gave her a lopsided smile as she approached.
"Hey, you," Danielle said as she stopped in front of him.
"Hello yourself," he greeted in return. He glanced at the door that her friends had just walked through, then lifted an amused brow at her. "Lunchtime gossip?" he asked.
Danielle gaped a bit. "How did you know?" she asked with surprise. "There's no way you could have heard us talking from here!"
Jasper just shrugged casually. "I could tell by the looks on your faces," he said matter-of-factly.
Danielle narrowed her eyes at him, but then shrugged in acceptance. Jasper was good at reading people, so she supposed it made sense. "They were gossiping. I was listening," she made sure to point out. "Apparently you and I are the talk of the town today."
Jasper didn't look too surprised to hear it. "It's high school. People will always talk," he told her.
"I know. I'd just rather not have the entire school all up in our business," she said, shooting a slightly sour look when a group went walking past them and she saw that each of them was blatantly staring at her and Jasper.
"Well, as annoying as it is, there is a silver lining here," Jasper said, drawing her attention back to him.
"And what's that?"
"Maybe now I won't have to keep fighting off the competition," he told her with a smirk.
Danielle gave him a look. "Jasper, you never had any competition to begin with," she told him point blank.
The smile he gave her in return made her knees feel a little unstable. "Good to know," he said, sounding very pleased indeed.
Danielle sucked in a breath to get herself back in order, then decided to steer the conversation elsewhere. "Bella had some interesting news for me concerning Edward," she revealed, raising her eyebrows at him. "Apparently they're talking again and they're even planning to go to Seattle together the night of the dance," she said.
Jasper's brows rose. "Is that so?" he asked. "I knew he was going to talk to Bella today, but I didn't know about Seattle. That's…interesting," he mused aloud.
Danielle smiled at him and took a step closer, her eyebrows inching upward knowingly. "So you did talk to him about Bella?" she asked. Even though he had told her he would the day before, she hadn't known if he had meant it or if he'd just been telling her that so she would drop the subject.
Jasper shrugged a shoulder. "You asked me to talk to him, so I talked to him," he answered simply. "I won't tell you what was said because that goes against brotherly protocols, but I will say that things should be…different between Bella and Edward now."
Danielle was glad to hear it, and hoped that this change would be for the better, not the worse. "Thank you for doing that, Jasper. I think I speak for Bella and myself when I say that it's greatly appreciated," she said sincerely. Jasper just smiled humbly and inclined his head. "Now, quick question," she continued, her lips pulling into a mischievous smirk now. Jasper's expression seemed to turn a bit wary, as if he wasn't sure what she was up to. "What else will you do just because I ask you to?"
Jasper chuckled and shook his head. "I supposed that depends," he said. He narrowed his eyes at her then, his lips pulling into that lopsided smile that she loved to see. "But I will say that there's something about you that makes it almost impossible to refuse you."
"That's very good to know," Danielle said with a nod, already stowing that little piece of information away for future use.
Jasper cocked an eyebrow at her. "I feel as though I just made a mistake by telling you that," he admitted.
Danielle shrugged innocently. "Maybe you did, maybe you didn't. Only time will tell, I guess," she answered aloofly. When Jasper just gave her a look, she laughed and then motioned toward the cafeteria. "Let's go get some food. I'm starving."
They finally walked into the cafeteria and headed for the lunch line to buy food. She could faintly hear whispering and noticed some people staring, but she couldn't find it in herself to care anymore. She focused all of her attention on Jasper as they grabbed their lunches and made small talk with one another.
Once they both had trays full of food, they paid the lunch lady and started to head toward the table they usually sat at when they ate together. Danielle stopped with surprise, however, when she realized that the table was occupied. Her surprise increased even more when she realized that the people occupying said table were none other than Edward and Bella.
"Well, would you look at that," Jasper commented, having just noticed the same thing she had. He looked down at her and raised his brows. "Did I not say things would be different?"
Danielle nodded, but that didn't stop her from frowning with annoyance. As glad as she was to see that Bella and Edward finally seemed to be trying to talk things out and find some sort of common ground with each other, she was not happy about the fact that they had taken her and Jasper's table. In the back of her mind she knew it was silly of her to be so annoyed, but this was the last day she would spend with Jasper before he went hiking and she wanted to eat with him in privacy. Her eyes swept the cafeteria, but every other table was taken. She sighed heavily, then gave Jasper a disgruntled look.
"Shouldn't you be happy that they're talking?" Jasper asked pointedly.
"I am," Danielle said. "But did they have to take our table?" she then asked grumpily.
Jasper smirked. "They can borrow it for a day. We'll just find another place to sit," he said with a reassuring nod.
They both looked around again, trying to decide which option was best. Eating outside was out of the question, because it had started raining literally the second after she and Jasper had stepped inside the school that morning, and it hadn't let up even the slightest bit since. She saw Jasper eyeing the table that his siblings were sitting at, but then saw his face fill with doubt as he looked at his twin, Rosalie. Danielle already knew she wouldn't dare suggest sitting with them – Emmett and Alice would be fine to hang out with, but Rosalie? She'd probably try to stab Danielle with a plastic spork for even thinking about it.
She finally looked at the table the lunch group was at. Most of the table kept looking at Edward and Bella, and though the majority of them were just looking on with curiosity, Mike looked pretty upset about it. Danielle sighed, then raised her brows at Jasper. "You feeling brave enough to eat lunch with my friends?" she asked, fully expecting him to say no.
Jasper looked at the group she was referring to, took a second to think about it, then slowly nodded. "Alright," he said, though he didn't sound over the moon about the idea.
"We don't have to," she said quickly. "I can eat with them and you can eat with your brother and sisters if you want," she added with a shrug, not wanting to force him into doing anything he didn't want to.
"No," Jasper said at once. "We'll eat with your friends. It'll be…fine."
Danielle nodded. "Okay."
They started making their way over to the lunch group, who were all still shooting glances at Bella and Edward and whispering to one another. Finally, Eric looked up, and when he saw Danielle and Jasper walking toward them, his eyes went wide with surprise. He smacked the nearest person to get their attention, and that person just so happened to be Tyler. Tyler looked at Eric with a confused frown, then also looked shocked when Eric pointed them out and he saw that they were approaching.
"Hey, guys," Danielle said to catch the attention of the rest of the table. Everyone looked at her with friendly smiles, then went wide eyed when they saw Jasper standing next to her. "Mind if we join you?" she asked, motioning toward Jasper. "Our table kinda got hijacked by Bella and Edward."
Everyone was quiet for a moment. Finally, Angela recovered. "Er, yeah! Of course!" she said, before pushing against Eric's shoulder. "Scoot over and make some room."
There was a loud scraping sound of chairs moving across tile as everyone shifted around to make room for her and Jasper. Danielle started to sit in a chair that would put her sitting between Jasper and Angela, but when she noticed that that would put him sitting between her and Jessica, she discreetly motioned for him to take her original seat, so that he would be sitting next to Angela instead. She figured that if he had to be next to someone he didn't know, the very sweet and friendly and non-gossipy Angela would be the safest bet.
They settled in, and the fact that Jasper looked stiff and awkward did not escape her notice. "Jasper, this is Angela, Eric, Tyler, Mike, and Jessica," she introduced, pointing to each person as she said their name. He gave them a pinched smile and inclined his head. "Guys, this is Jasper."
"Hi, Jasper," Angela said with a friendly smile. "It's nice to meet you."
"You as well," Jasper said politely in return.
Danielle saw him glance toward the table his siblings sat at. She followed his gaze and saw that all three were looking at Jasper like lobsters had just started crawling out of his ears. They had gotten used to the idea of Jasper sitting with her at lunch, but they obviously had not expected to ever see him sit with her friends. The same could be said for the rest of the students at lunch, too. Their peers seemed unsure what was more interesting to gossip about – the fact that Bella and Edward were sitting together, or the fact that Jasper had agreed to sit at a table full of people he'd never spoken to before.
"So," Jessica said after a few moments to break the momentary silence that had fallen over the table. Danielle cringed, hoping and praying she wouldn't say something off-putting. "What's going on with Edward and Bella?" she asked, her eyes jumping back and forth between Danielle and Jasper.
Danielle spoke up so that Jasper wouldn't have to answer. "I'm not too sure," she answered honestly. "I know they have a class together, though," she said, before looking at Mike. He kept glaring in Edward's direction. "Aren't you in class with them too, Mike?" she asked.
Mike nodded. "Yeah. They're lab partners in our biology class, but I hardly ever see them talking to each other. I didn't think they were even friends," he said with a frown.
"I didn't know you paid such close attention," Jessica commented, her tone just the tiniest bit frosty.
Danielle and Jasper shared a look with each other, then looked at Mike again when he quickly spoke up. "I don't," he said defensively. Danielle could tell he was lying, and she was certain everyone else at the table could tell, too.
"How about we not talk about Edward and Bella?" Angela suggested, looking pointedly at Jessica and Mike. Jessica gave Mike a long look, then sighed and took a bite of food. "So, Jasper," Angela said, which made Jasper shift his attention to her. "Did Dani happen to tell you about our beach trip this weekend?"
"She did," Jasper confirmed.
"Will you be joining us?" she asked curiously.
The rest of the group seemed interested to know, too, though Danielle thought the guys didn't look particularly thrilled with the thought of Jasper tagging along. "Unfortunately, no," he answered, which made the guys relax. "I'm going hiking with my brothers. I'll be gone all weekend," he informed her.
"Oh," Angela said, nodding in understanding. "Well, it's too bad you couldn't come, but hiking with your brothers sounds like a lot of fun too," she added with a smile.
"It usually is," Jasper said with a nod.
"Where do you like to go hiking?" Angela asked with interest.
Jasper began telling Angela about different places he and his family had gone to on recent hiking trips. Angela listened with rapt attention, nodding her head and asking questions at the appropriate moments. Danielle smiled as she watched them talk, recognizing the fact that Angela seemed to be going out of her way to make Jasper feel welcome, just as she had done with Danielle the very first time she had sat with them at lunch time. It appeared to be working, too. Jasper still didn't look nearly as relaxed as he did whenever they were alone together, but he didn't seem as tense as he had when they'd first sat down, either.
"So, Dani," Jessica eventually said to catch her attention. "Have you made any decisions about whether or not you're going to the dance yet?"
Danielle glanced at Jasper, who had heard the question and was looking at her. "Actually, yes," she said. She glanced at Jasper again, silently asking if it was alright if she announced that they were going together. After Jasper nodded, she turned back to Jessica with a smile. "Jasper and I are going together."
Jessica and Angela both gasped and then grinned with excitement. "Oh my gosh, you guys have to come with us then!" Jessica gushed.
"Us?" Danielle asked.
"Mike is my date," Jessica said, pointing to Mike, who was still watching Edward and Bella like a hawk. "And Eric is Angela's date," she said next, which made Danielle grin at Angela. The girl blushed a bit, but still smiled happily. "We're all going together. You guys should totally join us!"
Danielle instantly knew she wasn't sold on the idea of her and Jasper being part of a group for the Spring Fling, but she didn't outright say no, either. She instead looked at Jasper to try to see what his reaction to the invitation was, but all he did was shrug very unhelpfully in response. Typical guy, she thought to herself, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at him.
"I don't know, Jessica," she finally said. "We haven't really talked about what we want to do yet. How about you let us think about it?" she asked.
Jessica, who had obviously expected her to say yes, looked a bit taken aback at first. But then she smiled and quickly nodded. "Yeah, yeah, sure. You guys talk about it and then get back to us! No biggie!"
Danielle just nodded, gave Jasper a look, then ate some more of her food.
The rest of lunch wasn't quite as awkward as she had thought it would be, which was a relief. Mike eventually stopped watching Edward and Bella and started talking to the guys about the beach trip, while Jessica proceeded to yap Danielle's ear off about the dance and all of the plans they had for it already, including a trip to Port Angeles to go dress shipping, which Danielle was promptly invited to. Jasper didn't say much, seemingly more content to listen to the conversation around him rather than actually contribute, but Danielle hadn't really expected that he would. He spoke if anyone asked him a direct question, but other than that, he stayed quiet.
When the bell rang, they quickly said goodbye to the lunch group and went to throw their trash away. Danielle hesitated for a moment, wondering if there was any way that she could catch Bella before class, but when she saw that Bella was still talking to Edward, she thought it better to leave them be. She'd get all the details later in gym.
Danielle and Jasper left the cafeteria and headed for her locker. As they walked she flashed him a look of apology. She felt bad, because she felt like she had just put him through a mild form of torture by making him sit with her friends. "I'm sorry," she said. "Sitting with them was a bad idea. I shouldn't have made you do that."
Jasper gave her a look. "You didn't make me do anything," he reminded her. "And it wasn't that bad," he added. "Jessica talks a lot – " Danielle snickered at that. " – but Angela was friendly and the rest were fine."
"I'm convinced that Angela is an angel sent from heaven," she stated fondly. "As for Jessica, however…she's nice, but she can be a little much sometimes," Danielle admitted with a heave.
"I gathered that much," he said with a smirk.
They reached her locker and Danielle quickly put in the combination to open it up. Jasper waited for the person next to her to move out of the way, then leaned against their locker once they were gone.
"So then what would you like to do about the dance?" Jasper asked, looking at her curiously. "Do you want to join their group?"
Danielle frowned unsurely. "Do you?"
"They're your friends," Jasper said with a shrug. "If you want to go with them, then we'll go with them."
Danielle gave him a look. "It's not just about what I want, Jasper. It's about what we both want," she said firmly. "You tell me what you want to do," she insisted.
Jasper hesitated. "The truth?" Danielle nodded encouragingly. "I don't want to be with anyone else that night but you," he admitted.
Danielle smiled widely. "Good…because I don't wanna be with anyone else either. I want it to just be me and you."
Jasper sighed with relief. "Good."
Danielle smiled, then grabbed her book for physics and shut her locker. "Well, now that that's settled, you should get going," she said.
Jasper frowned with confusion. "You don't want me to walk you to Physics?"
"Oh, I do," she said, which confused him even further. "But I know I made you late to class yesterday, and I won't have you being late again today. That's that and I don't wanna hear any arguments," she said matter-of-factly. "So you get going, mister," she concluded sternly.
Jasper smirked and pushed off of the locker he'd been leaning against. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a little bit bossy?" he asked.
"Yep," she said without hesitation, which made him smirk. She smiled at him, then took a step in the direction of her class. "I'll see you after school, okay?"
"I'll be waiting for you here," Jasper confirmed.
Danielle nodded, then turned to head for her Physics class. She was not surprised when she glanced back and was Jasper watching her go. She just gave him another smile, then continued on to class.
After Physics, Danielle hurried to the girl's locker room so that she would have plenty of time to talk to Bella before class started. She wanted to know how her lunch with Edward had gone and whether or not she had anymore clarification as to where they stood. But when she walked into the locker room, Bella wasn't there, and though she lingered for several minutes after changing, her friend still didn't show. Finally the coach told them all to get into the gymnasium, and as the bell rang to signal the start of class, it became clear to Danielle that Bella wasn't coming. Danielle was confused, because she didn't understand why Bella had suddenly disappeared, but she was also concerned. She hoped that her friend was alright and that nothing had happened to her.
After Gym, Danielle changed back into her regular clothes and went to her locker. She found Jasper waiting for her there, as promised, and though she was still worried about Bella, just seeing Jasper made her feel better.
"Hey," she said, offering a smile as she reached him.
Jasper frowned at once. "Is everything okay?" he asked, instantly picking up on the fact that something was off.
Danielle sighed and shrugged as she leaned a shoulder against the lockers. "Bella wasn't in gym. She never skips, though. It's got me a little worried that maybe something happened to her."
"Something did happen, actually," Jasper said, which made her frown at once. "Bella got sick in her Biology class. They were doing blood testing and she got a little faint. Edward ended up driving her home so that she could spend the rest of the day resting."
Danielle didn't know what surprised her more, that Edward had driven Bella home or that Jasper knew exactly what had happened to her friend, despite not having any classes with her. "Edward drove Bella home?" she repeated with interest. Jasper nodded in confirmation. "Wow." She then cocked her head curiously. "How did you know what happened to Bella?" she asked curiously.
"Edward told me," he said. "He came back to pick up Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice. Alice is going to drive Bella's truck back to her house, and since I'll already be there dropping you off, I'm going to drive Alice back home after she returns the truck," he then explained.
"Oh, okay," Danielle said.
She could have pointed out that all of this would have been much easier if she just drove the truck back to Bella's herself, instead of making Alice go out of her way to do it. But then she remembered that if she drove Bella's truck, then she wouldn't be able to ride with Jasper. And considering the fact that she wouldn't be seeing him tomorrow – or the rest of the weekend, for that matter – she was not a fan of any plan that meant spending less time with him. If the Cullen's wanted to go about things the hard way, then fine. She'd happily play along if it meant being with Jasper just a little bit longer.
After she opened her locker and filled her backpack with the things she needed to take back home with her, she and Jasper headed out of the school. They paused once they were outside though, taking a moment to stand under the protective roofing of the school and stare out at the parking lot. It hadn't stopped raining yet. In fact, it seemed like it was raining even harder. Kids were running to their cars, laughing and shrieking as they tried – and failed – to avoid getting drenched.
Danielle looked up at Jasper, who cocked a brow at her. "Shall we make a run for it?"
Danielle nodded, then, together, they dashed out toward the parking lot.
Within seconds they were both drenched from head to toe, but Danielle didn't mind. She laughed as they ran through the thick sheets of rain, smiling at Jasper with delight as they dodged in between students and cars. Her ballet flats were certainly not ideal footwear for weather like this – they had hardly any traction against the slick pavement and kept threatening to slip off her feet, which made it hard to keep up with him. Jasper seemed to notice she was struggling and slowed down a bit, his hand reaching for hers. Danielle happily slipped her hand into his, feeling a spark shoot up her arm the moment she touched him. They ran the rest of the way to the car hand in hand.
Jasper helped her into the car once they reached it, then slammed the door shut and hurried around to his own side. Danielle pushed her wet hair away from her face, breathing hard from their sprint across the parking lot, every inch of her clothing completely drenched from the rain. As Jasper sat down in the driver's sat and closed his door, she looked over at him, then felt her heart jump in her chest.
Jasper was gorgeous. She had thought so from day one. But right now, as he sat there smiling at her, with his drenched clothes and his hair sticking to his forehead and his skin glistening from the rain…there were no words in the world that did him justice.
Danielle cleared her throat and looked away, wondering when it had gotten so hot in Jasper's car. When she looked back at Jasper, his smile had faded and he was giving her a look that made a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold rain travel down her spine.
"Our clothes are soaked," she said, feeling the sudden and urgent need to break the silence. "Your seats are gonna get ruined."
"I don't care," he said. There was no ignoring the huskiness of his voice, and it made Danielle shiver again. "Cold?" he asked.
She should've said yes, just so he wouldn't know how much he was effecting her, but her mouth had other plans. "No," she told him honestly, gulping a bit as she stared into his eyes.
Jasper's eyes went a bit darker and she saw his chest heave as he sucked in a deep breath. Finally, after a long moment, he cleared his throat and tore his eyes from hers, his hands smoothly retrieving his keys and sticking them into the ignition. Danielle pressed her lips together tightly and buckled her seatbelt, her hands shaking a bit. She quickly folded them together in her lap so Jasper wouldn't see, then turned her eyes to the window as he put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking space.
Unlike that morning, when they had spent the drive chatting and listening to music, they drove along in complete silence. There was something different in the air now, something that made it hard for Danielle to relax and even harder for her to think of anything to say. She felt acutely aware of every little thing he did, from moving his hand to turn on his blinker to smoothly turning the steering wheel to even just breathing. All of her senses were tuned into him, and the longer she sat there, looking at his handsome face and feeling engulfed by the intoxicating scent of pine and rainwater, the harder it was to keep her head on straight. He was making her feel things that she never had felt before, things that made her want to touch him and kiss him and be as close to him as she possibly could.
Jasper's grip on the steering wheel suddenly tightened and he stepped a little harder on the gas, making the car lurch forward even faster. It was enough of a surprise to pull Danielle back from the path her thoughts had just travelled down. She shook her head and sucked in a few steadying breaths, keeping her eyes on the window now as the world flew by in a blur of grey and green.
They reached her house faster than she anticipated, and she couldn't decide whether she should be sad or relieved because of that. She didn't want to say goodbye to him, but the atmosphere in the car was proving to be too much for her nerves to handle. She needed to get some fresh air again, needed to clear her mind and get herself back in order.
Jasper pulled into the driveway, then shut off the ignition. He turned his head to look at her for the first time since they'd left the school. His eyes were intense, burning. She couldn't breathe, couldn't look away.
"I'll get your door," he said, his tone gravelly.
The words barely registered, but she still nodded. "O-Okay."
Jasper stared at her for a second longer, then got out of the car and walked around the front so that he could open her door. It was actually a relief to step out in the rain again – the cold raindrops felt good against her heated skin, and once she was out in the open air, she felt like she could breathe again. Jasper shut the door once she was out, then motioned for her to lead the way. She led him to her front porch, not bothering to hurry since they were both already soaked from the rain, very much aware of the fact that Jasper was right behind her. Once they were on the porch and finally shielded from the rain, she turned back around to face him.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "You know, for picking me up and taking me home."
Jasper didn't blink as he stared at her. "It was my pleasure," he told her steadily.
Danielle shifted on her feet, then cleared her throat. "When are you and your brothers leaving?"
"Tomorrow morning," he answered. "We should be back Sunday night."
Danielle nodded her understanding. "You'll be safe, right?" she asked. "You're not gonna do anything crazy like…dangle off cliffs or wrestle bears or anything like that?"
Jasper finally smiled, though his eyes had not lost an ounce of their intensity. "Nothing crazy. Just a weekend of hiking and camping and good ol' fashioned bonding time."
"Good," Danielle said with a sigh.
"You'll be safe too, won't you?" Jasper asked, his brows raising a tick. "You won't be doing anything too extreme on your little beach outing?"
Danielle shook her head. "I probably won't even get in the water," she said reassuringly. "I'll just hang out on the beach and eat some food. I might even do a bit of hiking of my own."
"Good," Jasper said with satisfaction.
Danielle hesitated for a moment, then gave him a small smile. "I'll miss you," she told him truthfully.
Jasper exhaled slowly through his nose. "I'll miss you, too," he said quietly.
Jasper looked at her for a moment, then took a step closer to her, so that there was less than a foot of space between them. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached a hand up to her face. Her breath caught in her throat as his fingers found a wet curl that had worked it's way free of her hairdo and tucked it behind her ear. His fingertips then trailed down her cheek and travelled the length of her neck, so feather light that she barely even felt it. Her eyes fluttered for a moment and she licked her lips unconsciously. The movement made Jasper's eyes drop to her mouth, his gaze almost hungry now.
"Jasper?" she whispered, feeling amazed that she was even capable of still forming words.
"Yes?" he asked. She was still very aware of the fact that his fingers were still touching her neck.
"Are you going to kiss me?" Danielle asked him.
His eyes darkened considerably. "I probably shouldn't." he said.
Danielle blinked at him in confusion. "Why not?" she asked breathlessly, moving a fraction closer to him. He looked like he couldn't decide if he should bolt, or if he should grab her and kiss her senseless. She was hoping for the latter of the two options.
Jasper gulped. "Because if I do, I might not be able to control myself," he admitted.
Heat shot through her at those words. "That's a bad thing?" she asked dumbly.
"Very bad," Jasper said.
But he still hadn't moved away from her, and the longer he stood there staring at her like that, the more her lips tingled with the desire to kiss his. "What if I don't care?" she asked.
"You should care," Jasper insisted.
"Well, I don't," Danielle insisted. Then, in a moment of bravery, she said, "Kiss me, Jasper. I want you to kiss me."
Jasper growled in response, his chest heaving again. He stepped even closer and planted his hands on either side of her neck, his eyes smoldering as he stared into hers.
Danielle was suddenly hit with a wave of desire so strong and so powerful that her knees buckled. The only reason she stayed upright was because Jasper dropped one hand from her neck and wrapped an arm around her waist so that he could hold her up. She was blown away, completely confused by the rampant desire that had just hit her, so much so that she hardly knew which way was up and which way was down. All she could focus on, the only thing that made any sense, was Jasper. She was pressed against his chest now, and he was leaning closer, his eyes dark, his grip on her tight, looking for all the world like he absolutely was going to kiss her. Danielle closed her eyes and tilted her head back, her heart hammering in her chest as she waited for the moment when his lips would meet hers.
And then, quite out of nowhere, he let her go. Danielle stumbled forward and opened her eyes again, only to see that Jasper had taken a few big steps backward and was now standing on the edge of the porch, his face set in a mask of pure frustration. He gulped and raked a hand through his wet hair, shaking his head as he looked at her. He almost looked like he was in physical pain.
"Jasper, what – ?"
"I can't," he interrupted, his voice still husky. "I just…can't, Danielle." Hurt rushed through her at his words and it must have shown on her face, because he quickly shook his head. "It's not you. You've done nothing wrong," he insisted firmly, his eyes pleading with her to understand. "It's just…too soon. It's too dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Danielle echoed unsurely. "What do you mean?"
Jasper didn't answer though. "I just…need more time."
Danielle still couldn't grasp onto one coherent thought. All she could think about was how Jasper wasn't making any sense, how her lips were dying to kiss his, and how her body was still on fire and desperate to feel his touch again. What about kissing her was so dangerous? Why was he so freaked out? What was going on?
She might have asked him, but at that exact moment, a familiar red truck came driving into view. Danielle watched as it came to a halt in front of Bella's house, then watched as Alice Cullen jumped out of the cab, her eyes turned in their direction. She looked mildly concerned, but did not take any steps to come near them. Jasper glanced back at her, nodded once, then turned back to Danielle. He looked as though he didn't want to go, but he took another step backward regardless.
"I need to go now, or I'll never leave," Jasper said.
"But, Jasper – " Danielle started to say, taking a step in his direction.
He held up a hand to stop her, which made her freeze. "I really need to go," he insisted. "I'll see you when I get back, alright?"
Danielle, who realized that there was nothing she could do or say to make him stay, finally nodded. "Okay."
Jasper looked at her for a long moment, then finally turned to leave. Danielle stepped up to the edge of the porch as he walked away, watching as he cast one last look in her direction before getting back in his car. He then started the engine and pulled out of the driveway, pausing for a moment once he had pulled up next to his sister. Alice gave her a look over the top of the car, then finally climbed inside. Jasper drove off after that, leaving Danielle to stand there and watch the retreating tail lights of his car until they disappeared, feeling more confused than she had ever felt in her entire life
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