Skin & Bones ↠ Jasper Hale ✓

01 | Progress

Eyes still shut, she stepped forward onto the scale. Seconds passed, but it felt like years. Carlisle hummed to himself, though she couldn't quite pick up what that hum meant. Was it a good reaction? A bad one?

"Well?"

"You'll have to open your eyes and see for yourself, Rory," instructed Carlisle, a hint of enthusiasm dripping off of his voice that sent off a rush of adrenaline through her body.

Her tongue swiped across her lips, suspense rising. Then, she opened her big, brown eyes, which resulted in an ear-piercing squeal of felicity.

- - -

Elation coursed throughout the frail girl's veins as she sped out of the hospital. She stood at the steps of the building, her brown eyes searching the area around her. It didn't take her long to spot her target: a honey blond-haired man who appeared to be waiting for her. The grin that had already been plastered across her face only seemed to grow as she scurried down toward him. She skipped steps, nearly falling flat on her face had her friend not been there to catch her.

"I did it!" shouted Lorelai, squealing gleefully. "Jazz, I did it! 92 pounds!"

His topaz eyes widened, a matching smile adorning his hauntingly beautiful features. "Oh, my God," mumbled Jasper. "Oh, my God!" He extended his arms, pulling them around the girl and spinning her around dramatically. "92 pounds!"

"92 pounds!" cheered Lorelai. She was sure the two were earning strange looks, especially since they were shouting about Lorelai's weight, but they didn't seem to care. Lorelai finally broke her streak by hitting 92 pounds. To say she was proud of her progress was an extreme understatement. "I told you I could do it!"

Safely placing the teenager onto the ground once more, Jasper made a quiet scoffing sound. "I think it was the other way around, Rory," he teased, his Southern accent somewhat more prominent as he spoke.

The two walked side-by-side. Lorelai was incredibly thankful for Jasper and the bond the two had. She considered him to be her best friend, her person. No one "got" Lorelai more than Jasper did, and vise-versa.

Lorelai glanced over at Jasper. "Are you sure you're okay with missing school?" wondered Lorelai after a moment. "I mean, I don't want Carlisle or Esme thinking that I'm, like, a bad influence on you."

Jasper shook his head. "Nonsense," he countered. "They love you and Bella. Why else would they volunteer to throw Bella a birthday party?"

Lorelai gave Jasper a look. "That probably had something to do with Alice coercing them into letting her throw it," pointed out the brunette. She pulled her jacket closer to her body as the fall winds began to pick up. She smiled mischievously to herself as thought settled in her mind. "I can't wait for Bella to open her present."

The vampire shot a curious look at the human. "Should I be concerned?" he wondered.

Lorelai giggled to herself. "You'll see," she sang.

○ ○ ○

"Red, lacy lingerie... You got your little sister red, lacy lingerie."

Lorelai proudly laughed to herself, observing her little sister's bright red cheeks as Bella opened the gift in front of the rest of the Cullens that evening. The home around them was absolutely extravagant. Candles were placed all around the living room of the Cullen household—on window sills, on tables, everywhere. Fairy lights were strung along the tops of the walls, the faint light casting a shadow on their faces. Balloons reached to the gods and a beautifully decorated cake sat just in the corner of the living room.

"We're sorry about this," Carlisle had apologized to Bella upon entering the room just moments before. "We tried to reign Alice in."

It made Lorelai wonder what else Alice had been planning on doing in regards to Bella's birthday bash had the others not restricted entirely. She was a bit worried about Bella, knowing that the girl wasn't a fan of big parties; however, so far, Bella seemed to be doing okay.

Lorelai glanced at Jasper, a small grin on her face. "What kind of cool, big sister would I be if I didn't get her something hot for her 18th birthday?" she wondered. "My baby sister's legal!"

Bella shot her sister a murderous glare, to which Lorelai just winked at her. A flash caught Lorelai's attention. The Swan siblings looked over to see Alice holding a handheld camera, a gift from Charlie.

"I found it in your bag," Alice explained to Bella. "You mind?"

Bella shrugged her shoulders, glancing over at Edward who had been talking to Emmett.

"Dating an older woman. Hot," Emmett whispered, causing Lorelai to snort with laughter whereas Bella conversely frowned and looked away. "What?"

Rolling her eyes, Rosalie stepped forward and handed Bella a small, silver box. "It's a necklace," Rosalie muttered. "Alice picked it out."

Clearing her throat, Esme walked forward. "I think a congratulations are in order," she announced, looking into Lorelai's eyes. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart."

It had taken Lorelai less than a few seconds to put the pieces together. She glanced at Carlisle, who had been smiling softly at the girl. "So much for patient confidentiality," she joked. She leaned into Esme's embrace as the motherly woman hugged her. "Thanks, guys. Really, it means a lot."

Lorelai tensed slightly, feeling a cold hand take hers. She looked to her side to see Jasper. She smiled gently at him before catching Bella ask Emmett, "Did you forget the present at the store or something, Em?"

The older sister watched at the box in Bella's hands, curious. "Nah, I already installed it in the truck," Emmett pridefully declared. "Finally a decent sound system for that piece of—"

"Hey, don't hate the truck," Bella defended, slowly coming out of her shell. A quiet roar of laughter rumbled from the Cullens and Lorelai, excluding Rosalie. She just cracked the smallest of smiles.

"Open Esme and Carlisle's," Alice urged, passing a small envelope to Bella.

"Just a little something to brighten your day," added Carlisle while Esme teased, "Yes, you've been looking kind of pale lately."

Lorelai opened her mouth to crack a joke in addition to what Carlisle and Esme said when suddenly, she felt Jasper squeeze her hand tightly. It was tight enough for Lorelai to feel the bones in her hand quite literally snap, causing the girl to wince in pain.

"Dammit!"

Lorelai wasn't necessarily sure what had happened. All she knew was that Bella was being shoved, or rather thrown, into a wall and her hand was in serious pain. With the blink of an eye, Rosalie had pried Jasper off of Lorelai before tugging the scrawny brunette off to the side.

"Are you okay?" Rosalie immediately asked, her pale hands sitting on top of Lorelai's shoulders. "Don't turn around."

Lorelai nodded, her eyes falling on Bella's figure as she laid on the ground. Droplets of blood had stained the carpet and the paper that had been masking Bella's gift. She scoffed. How the hell does a paper cut cause someone to bleed that much?

"Bella," worriedly murmured Lorelai. Her head whipped around, seeing Jasper with a crazed look in his eyes. Edward and Emmett had been fighting to hold him back before pulling him outside. It was then when the girl put the pieces together. Bella's blood had triggered Jasper. Lorelai shook her head. "Oh, Jazz."

Alice went outside, following the boys she viewed as brothers. Carlisle was on the floor beside Bella, observing the girl's injuries that came from the paper cut, as well as being thrown into a glass table.

"Well, damn," mumbled Lorelai. "Happy birthday, Bella."

Revised: January 5th, 2020