✔ | 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍, jasper hale

ten

All of a sudden, the words Madelline was looking at earlier came into her mind, distracting her from her reading. When she tried to refocus, she knew she was doomed when she realized she has been reading the same paragraph all over again. Deciding to just settle it, for once and for all, she closed her book and turned towards the honey-haired boy beside her. She propped up her elbow on the table and leaned her cheek against her hand.

"Jaz?" She called out. He hummed in response, yet his eyes did not leave the book.

"Can I ask you something?"

This caught Jasper's attention, making him look up in confusion. He slowly nodded his head. "Sure, what is it?"

"This might come out as a weird question and would not make sense at all, but are you a Cold One?"

Jasper's eyebrows quirked up in surprise, amusement written all over his face. "No darling. I may seem like a cold person but I'm not that that emotionless or—"

"No, what I mean is, are you a vampire?"

Jasper halted and looked at her straight in the eyes. He was thankful, for once, that he was a vampire and the ability to sweat was impossible; he knew that if he could, he would have sweat gallons of it already. His fingers begun to fiddle the corners of the page of the book he was reading which didn't escape Madelline's vision.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I weirded you out and I seem rude. I'm not saying that you look like a vampire—"

Jasper shook his head and closed the book he was holding. He looked back at her with a reassuring smile. "No darling, you're good. It's just that... can we talk about it somewhere else?"

"As long as you won't hurt me," Madelline joked. "Just kidding, I know a place."

"I would never hurt you and I do hope you don't think otherwise."

♡

Madelline decided to bring him to the lake she found weeks ago. They placed their things down on the grass as soon as they arrived and removed their shoes. They rolled their pants, just right under their knees and sat down.

"To answer your question, I am a vampire since 1863. I didn't have the same upbringing my siblings had. I was vicious, lethal, and preyed on humans. A different Jasper than you are seeing right now. It all changed when I found Alice by the diner," he said.