"No! Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" Alice squeaked to herself as she turned her back to the unconscious boy lying on the floor of the library.
"What have I done!" she panicked. She looked around to see if anyone noticed, and upon finding the library complete empty, bolted out the door to find Jasper.
She needn't look far; Jasper was never far from her side, especially not when she was in distress. And right now, she was certainly in distress. Jasper was quickly making his way to the library in search of her.
"Jasper!" She whispered in a panic. "Jasper, I'm in so much trouble! I need help!"
Jasper grabbed her hand, his eyes were wide as he scanned for trouble.
"What is it Alice?" He asked.
"I knocked him out!" She squeaked again as she led Jasper into the library. "Hold your breath! I don't know if he's bleeding!"
The two quickly and quietly made their way into the library where a classmate of theirs, Micah Carroway, was slowly groaning and stirring from his unconscious state.
He was definitely bleeding. Both the vampire's held their breath and kept their distance. Alice burst into trembling sobs and buried her face in Jasper's chest.
"Oh Jasper!" she cried. "Carlisle is gonna… I know! It's the rule!"
Then Jasper began to panic. Ice seeped down his spine. No. No. He. Would. Not.
"No!" Jasper said picking Alice up and running out of the library.
"Listen to me Alice," he placed her down. "I did this. Not you!"
"No Jasper you cant…" she tried to interrupt, but he cut her off.
"No!" He said in a frightening tone that Alice had never heard before. He was trembling and gripping her by the shoulders. "I did this, ya hear?"
She looked like she was planning to argue again, but Jasper lowered his eyes.
"I can't Alice." he admitted softly. "I can't handle you being punished for this. I WILL fight Carlisle. I can't bear it. I wont allow it. If you refuse me this, we will both have to be punished. Please, let me take the fall for this."
Alice looked deeply into his eyes. She wanted to rebel. She wanted to say no. She wanted to be brave and face the music with their vampire father, but the deep fear, sadness, and anxiety in her mates gaze made that impossible.
"Alice…" Jasper warned and he tightened his already vice like grip on her.
She slowly nodded her head. Jasper sighed in relief and released his hold on her, never having noticed how tightly he had been restraining her.
"Good. Oh my darling, good. Go! If he wakes up, you tell him I did this. He'll agree. No teenage boy wants to admit he was knocked out by a girl." He said turning towards the direction of the office.
"Wait!" He turned back. "Why did I knock him out?"
Alice blanched.
Jasper narrowed his eyes.
"He tried to kiss me." She admitted. "But I obviously handled it." she placed a calming hand on his chest to keep him in place. She knew his protective nature could very easily win when it comes to her; then they would have quite a different catastrophe on their hands.
"I will only agree to this if you promise not to hurt him. Otherwise, I WILL fess up." she warned.
Jasper ran this threat through his mind for a moment before setting his jaw.
"Fine." He said through clenched teeth. "Just go."
Alice nodded and turned back towards the library while Jasper stormed down the hallway towards the office.
The secretary jumped and nearly fell out of her chair when the angry teen burst through the door. Her cup of tea spilled across her desk, soaking multiple documents, and causing the woman to exclaim.
"Young man!" She scolded. "How dare you burst in here like that! Explain yourself!"
"Yes'm." He said calmly and then unleashed the lie about the unconscious boy in the library. His soul prickled a moment at the blatant falsehood, but when faced with the alternative of Alice receiving the standard punishment for fighting, he pushed forward and ignored the guilt.
The secretary stared wide eyed a moment, clearly in shock over the confession.
"Come with me." She said approaching the inner office door. She knocked and waited for the man on the other side to answer, "come in".
The inside of this particular office was one Jasper had never seen. The walls were dark, the lighting dim. Two hardback chairs sat against the leftmost wall while two more comfortable looking leather armchairs faced the principals cluttered desk. There were many different book shelves storing folders, files, and on each surface were decorative items, art, degrees, certificates, and awards the school and Principal had won. Two paddles hung ominously on the wall. One was large and thick with the label, boys, while the other more delicate paddle was labeled, girls. In contrast to the scene of the paddles, a tall, kind faced man sat behind the desk.
The principal was, pen in hand, signing page after page of some official looking papers, when the secretary led Jasper through and gestured for him to sit in an armchair.
"This young man has a rather startling confession to make." she said. "I'll be dealing with the logistics of his confession while you deal with him!"
As she left, the principal put down his paperwork and smiled. Out of all the administrators the Cullens had dealt with over the years, Principal Miller was their favorite. He'd never set out to demand respect for his authority. He was kind, with a calm and gentle voice, and actively worked to earn respect from his student body. He listened and didn't jump to conclusions.
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." Miller said when the secretary had closed the door. "You're one of the Cullens right?"
"Jasper, sir."
"Yes! Jasper." He folded his hands on his desk and leaned forward to give his full attention to the confession. "Go ahead!"
"Well, sir," Jasper gulped. "Alice and I were in the library. She was sitting, reading while I was looking for some books when a boy came up and tried to force a kiss on her. She pushed him away, but that wasn't good enough for me. I lost my temper and punched him in the face."
Jasper looked up to gage the reaction from the kindly man sitting across from him. The man was chewing slightly on his bottom lip to keep from interrupting. When it was clear Jasper had concluded his quick confession, Miller stood up.
"I see." He said with clear disappointment. "Is he ok?"
"I don't know, sir. I knocked him out. And upon realizing my error, brought myself directly here."
The principal moved towards a shelf full of folders and pulled out one labeled Disciplinary Forms - 57/58. He flipped through several pages before pulling one out and examining it. He laid the paper down on his desk, returned the folder to its spot, and cleared his throat.
"Jasper, I am indeed sorry to hear about this."
He began rummaging through a separate folder and pulled out a second paper.
"I am even more sorry to inform you, that your father has refused school discipline on your forms. Which means I'll have to give him a call to come and join us for this conversation."
He handed Jasper the paper and a pen.
"Please fill out this form and describe the incident again while I ring him."
Jasper nodded and took the papers, feeling incredibly thankful that so far his lie had not been detected.
The principal flipped through a weeldex on the desk before finding a card labeled Cullen. He placed it on his desk and started dialing the listed number.
There was no answer.
"He's probably at work, sir. You might need to try the hospital. GH - 1 - 7473"
The principal thanked him and dialed the number, this time a young woman answered the phone.
"General Hospital, how can I direct your call?"
"Dr. Cullen please, if you don't mind."
"One moment please"
The line went silent for a moment. Miller pointed out some information Jasper needed to fill in while he waited. Finally after several minutes, the familiar voice of the good doctor emitted from the receiver.
"This is Carlisle." He answered.
Jasper groaned as he heard the story being repeated for a third time that afternoon.
"I am deeply sorry you are having to deal with this." Carlisle responded sadly. "I'll be there immediately to check on the boy and collect my son."
"It's no big deal Dr. Cullen. These things happen."
"Could I speak with Jasper before I hang up?" Carlisle asked. "Is he nearby?"
"Yes certainly!" The man answered as he handed the receiver across the desk. Jasper had to lean forward across the desk to get it to his ear.
"Hey dad." He said.
"What happened son…"
The time had come to seal his fate. If he uttered the words he was required to utter, he will have lied to Carlisle, his coven leader, but more importantly, his adopted eternal father. But the alternative is to allow Alice to suffer the consequences of knocking out a human. Carlisle had strict rules against fighting, especially with humans. He would not be able to bear her being subjected to it.
"Son?" The line had been quiet for too long.
Jasper let out a long sigh.
"He tried to kiss Alice…." He responded. Not technically a lie.
The line crackled for a moment. Then,
"Alright then. I'll be there momentarily…. I'm really disappointed son…."
Click.