battle scars // jasper hale fanfiction

chapter eleven

I woke up with a slight pain in my neck. I felt my head resting on something hard. I must have fallen asleep on the couch last night.

Wait.

If I fell asleep on the couch, what happened with Jasper?

My eyes immediately flung open and were met by his brilliant eyes.

"Morning," he said effortlessly. How can he be this perfect in the morning?

"Morning," I said with sleep present in my voice. I cleared my throat. "We must have fallen asleep while watching the movie. How long have you been up?"

"Not long," he said with a shrug.

Good. Otherwise, I would have felt bad if he had to watch me sleep the whole night.

I looked at the clock to figure out what time it was. I didn't want to be late for school, especially with my presentation today. My heart started to race a little. As if sensing my emotions, I felt a squeeze on my hand. I don't remember Jasper grabbing my hand, which made me wonder how long we have been holding hands. We couldn't possibly have been holding hands all night, right?

"Hey," he prompted me to look into his eyes. When I didn't right away, he gently grabbed my chin. "You're going to do fine today. More than fine. You're gonna kill it."

I stared into his eyes trying to find any hesitation, and there wasn't any. Jasper really believed in me. Maybe I could believe in myself. Hell, I could do anything when I stared into those eyes.

The pause in my response was a little too long. I didn't know what to say, and I forgot any of my previous thoughts.

I noticed he started to lean forward ever so slightly.

"I . . ." I started to say, which made Jasper pause, "should probably get ready."

Jasper looked at the clock and nodded without moving back. "You probably should."

"And you should probably go home," I said with a little more confidence.

"I probably should," he said as he stood up.

He grabbed his bag and walked towards the door. I followed slowly.

"Would you mind," Jasper paused as if to find the words, "if I picked you up and drove you to school? You could practice your presentation on the way."

I smiled, a real smile. One that almost hurts your face. "I wouldn't mind one bit."

"Well then, I'll see you in a little bit," he said right before walking away.

As I got ready for the day, I didn't even think about my presentation. I was too excited to see Jasper again.

I practically skipped down the stairs when I was ready. As soon as I reached the bottom step, the doorbell rang. I grabbed my bag and my coat.

When I opened the door, my heart skipped a beat. God, why does he have to look so . . . perfect?

"Ready?" he asked.

I nodded and shut the door. As I locked the house, I felt a tug on my backpack. Jasper took my bag and put it on his shoulder. I felt a little bad because I have a tendency to bring way too many things around with me, and I know that backpack is heavy.

"Geez, Vi," he said when he was holding the backpack. "How much stuff do you have in here?"

"You never know what you'll need," I tried to explain. "You don't have to carry it. I know it's heavy."

"Well, I don't want you getting hunched shoulders by thirty, so I'll take a turn lugging it around."

I chuckled at his response. Despite him saying it was heavy, he didn't seem to be struggling at all. I know my dad always struggled to hold my bag, but maybe it's just because he's getting older.