battle scars // jasper hale fanfiction

chapter fourteen

I pulled the blanket over me, realizing how cold I was. I shivered slightly and leaned more into what I was laying on, which made me colder. I balled my hands into fists on what I thought was the blanket when I heard a laugh.

I opened my eyes and saw Jasper staring down at me. I looked down at my hands to find them curled up in Jasper's sweater. Before I could move them, Jasper grabbed them and brought them up to his lips, placing a delicate kiss on the palms of my hands before tucking them under the blanket to warm them up.

"Good morning," Jasper said. He sounded like he didn't just wake up.

"You must–" I cut myself off. I cleared my throat to try and speak clearer. "You must be a morning person. You're always awake before me."

"I don't mind," he said sounding like he truly meant it. "It gives me time to just think for a little bit. It's relaxing."

"Well hopefully I didn't do anything in my sleep while you were awake," I said jokingly but stopped when I saw the smile on his face. "Wait. Did I do something in my sleep?"

After a moment, Jasper replied. "I thought you were awake, but you must have been sleeping still because you weren't awake long. About a half-hour after you fell asleep, you woke up and grabbed a slice of pizza from the box on the floor."

My jaw dropped. "What?"

"I don't know. I tried to ask you about it, but you just ignored me and continued eating."

"Oh my gosh," I said embarrassed. I covered my face with my hands in an attempt to hide.

"Hey," Jasper said pulling my hands from my face. "Don't worry about it. I thought it was cute."

My breath caught in my throat. We were so close. If one of us just leaned in . . .

Jasper was the brave one who made the first move and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. He moved to pull away like he was trying to restrain himself, but I grabbed the back of his neck to hold him in place just a second longer.

He raised his hands up to grab mine and flipped us so that he was hovering over me at a speed I didn't think was humanly possible. I was dazed by the kiss and the change in position that I didn't realize Jasper had pulled away.

"We should probably get ready," Jasper said. One of his hands held both of mine while the other held himself up.

I took a couple of breaths trying to ground myself. "We probably should."

Jasper slowly stood up. "I'll pick you up in an hour?"

I nodded with a smile on my face. "Sounds perfect."

Jasper gave me a smile before walking down the stairs.

Hanging out with Jasper after last night was different in a good way. We were more . . . coupley. He wasn't as hesitant about holding my hand or giving me a hug, but there was something that he didn't do. He didn't kiss me after the one we shared this morning.

At lunch, Jasper didn't seem to care that others were at our table. He held my hand and even gave me a hug when I sat down.

I was a little shocked at first. I figured he'd want to wait a little before flaunting us in front of his siblings. Instead, Jasper seemed elated to show his siblings. He seemed like a little kid who finally found a toy he had lost. His smile was contagious.

Alice seemed like she wanted to ask a million questions. She was practically bouncing out of her seat, but she contained herself. It was like she knew she shouldn't ask questions yet, but I knew she'd eventually know every detail.

Edward seemed happy for us as well. His smile seemed to match Jasper's. Maybe he knew how it felt. He remembered the feeling of his first kiss with Bella and just knew that Jasper shared the same feelings.

Bella on the other hand had an odd reaction. I knew she was happy that Jasper and I seemed happy, but she had this look in her eyes. I would almost say it looked like guilt. She looked like she knew something was going to happen–like she knew something I didn't. I tried to ask her about it in class, but she quickly changed the subject.

Maybe there really was something I didn't know . . .