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AS RORY PINNED the last piece of her wavy hair back in a half-up, half-down style, she felt familiar cold yet gentle fingers on the nape of her neck. She looked behind her in the mirror to see the golden eyes belonging to the man she loved.
It was the day of Bella's surprise birthday party and it had taken everything within Rory to not ruin the surprise and pop over next door to wish Bella happy birthday. She had taken the day and most of the night to reflect on her future. She had reached a decision, knowing she wouldn't regret it or it's consequences. It was time to stop running away from her impeding future and embrace it because she didn't have more time to change it.
Jasper grinned at their reflection softly, briefly pressing a kiss to her exposed neck, where a golden chain now dangled a tiny, dime sized pendant with the Cullen crest surrounded by rubies. The pendant matched Jasper's own black leather cuff sans the jewels.
She couldn't hold back her surprised gasp. "It's beautiful."
It was an official symbol that Rory was indeed apart of the Cullen clan, despite being human.
Jasper kept his gaze on her in the mirror. "Yes, you are."
She turned around fully to kiss him furiously. His hand automatically held her face like a piece of glass and he bent over, while she entangled her hands through his blond curls and craned her neck to kiss him, gripping him as close as possible. She was channeling all the frustrations and fears in the kiss that had emerged since her fight with her mother the previous night.
Jasper pulled away, sensing through the intensity of the kiss that Rory was upset over something. He still couldn't read her emotions as he could other people, but he knew her well enough to know that something was the matter with his girl. "What's wrong?"
She sighed, a small part of her felt warm and tingly for how she didn't have to say a word for Jasper to know she was upset, he just knew her so well. "After you left yesterday, my mom and I got into an argument." She lowered her gaze as her mind ran through the intense discussion once more.
He tilted her head up towards his. "About me?"
"No—well, kind of. It was about my future," she said the word sarcastically. "How I'm holding myself back from opportunities and I shouldn't tie myself down before I've experienced the world and all this crap..."
He mulled over her words. "She's not entirely wrong," Jasper said slowly while Rory's eyes widened in confusion. He rubbed her warm, soft cheek with his thumb soothingly. "You of all people deserve to have the full human experience, sweetheart, which means college and careers and all that. I fully support whatever you want to do in life and whatever it takes for you to get there. I'll be by your side every step of the way whether you leave tomorrow or in three months or in ten years."
