A FEW DAYS of unimportant routine followed, all having one thing in common. The millions of calls she would receive from Billy daily. Her phone would start buzzing periodically at nine o'clock sharp and would buzz at even intervals, every hour until just gone eleven at night. She wondered how much his phone bill would come to at the end of the month, not that she really cared anyway. He deserved to have to pay an extortionate phone bill for what he said. A few more days would have to pass before she was ready to even think about picking up the phone. It wasn't easy to get on Athena's bad side but it was damn difficult to get out of it. She spent her days at school or at the Cullen house, avoiding the reservation and all calls at all times.
It happened to be a rarely occurring day when she plodded down from her bedroom just as it turned midday, a day where she did not have anything at all planned. So, she did what she always did when alone. She lit the fire in her fireplace, wanting to have the flames to look at, pulled out her book and put some background television on to dull the many sounds from outside that often broke her reading focus. That was a downfall of vampire life, the constant noisy distractions that had no stop button.
An hour of uninterrupted bliss fell with the approaching of a car, one that she recognised the distinct sound of. The Black vehicle. Athena waited to see if she could hear two sets of heartbeats or only the one, she hoped it would be the one. Luckily, one pair of feet emerged from the still car and made their way up the path to her house - nearly tripping on one of the top steps. Just as he knocked on the door, Athena checked out the window for levels of sunlight. She was unsurprised to find that it was a dark, gloomy day and the clouds hung heavy with rain that so desperately wanted to fall to the earth. She slowly walked to the door, pausing the television as she unlocked it. " Hey Jake, how can I help you?" she smiled, blocking his thoughts from her mind.
He smiled back, nodding as a way to say hello. "I was just wondering what happened with you and Dad, he seems really affected by it," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. It didn't take an empath to see that he was concerned for his Father and Athena, two people that had the weirdest relationship yet it just worked.
Athena sighed, leaning on the edge of her door frame. "Nothing happened really, he just said something that he shouldn't have."
"What did he say?" he asked out of mainly concern but the secrets of the argument were awfully intriguing. He wondered why his father had ended his grounding early after watching the football at Charlie's.
"I cannot tell you that, I'm sorry. It was awful though," Athena replied, hating the crestfallen expression that swallowed some of his feelings. Jake hated being kept in the dark.
"He seems really sorry," he responded softly, not wanting to aggravate her any further and risk jeopardizing the friendship that they shared.
"As he should be," she scoffed, pulling her hair out of the low half-bun she had pulled it into for reading so she had something to focus her irritation into, instead of snapping at Jake. "Did he send you over here?"
"No, not at all," he blurted so quickly that she knew it was the truth. "I just wanted to check that you were okay."
"I'm okay Jake," she laughed softly, reassuring nearly every piece of concern that had fueled his trip off the reservation. Just then, her attention got pulled away from the person on her doorstep to the vampire that strolled up the pathway that headed to her house. As he got closer, she began to wonder why he hadn't driven like usual but paid it no mind once he smiled at her from a few meters away. Jake turned, noticing the sudden change in her expression and grew perplexed as he watched Jasper walk towards the two of them. Jake looked back to Athena, giving her a look that asked the question that swam in his head. "Jasper Hale, a friend from school," she spoke softly, acting as if he would not hear it. Jake nodded and smiled at Jasper as he walked past, only looking down to the floor once he received a cold stare. "Sorry he's not usually moody," she laughed, looking back to Jasper (who had just strolled into her house) with an annoyed scowl.
He chuckled some of the awkwardness away, "So you're okay?"
"One hundred percent okay, just not talking to him at this precise moment in time. But if you need anything you can ask for it," she smiled, standing up straight again.
"Same goes," he responded with a similar smile, catching her very subtle hint immediately. "I'll see you later then?"
"Bye Jake," she smiled, planning to talk to him on the phone later. Even if she wasn't talking to Billy, it didn't stop her from talking to Jake and right now something within her told her that he needed someone to talk to. So, she wanted to be there for him for as long as she could be. As she gently closed the door, Athena swivelled around and fixed the rude intruder to her house with a glare.
"That was rude," she scowled, not exactly radiating happiness.
"He's a wolf," Jasper responded simply as if they had done something awful to offend him in an unforgivable way.
"Not yet he isn't," she snapped, feeling odd levels of anger towards the situation. She didn't know why, maybe she felt overprotective of Jake? She visibly shuddered at the thought.
"Okay I'm sorry, I'll be nicer next time," he apologised, hoping it would help tie together whatever wound he had unknowingly opened. Athena smiled softly, just about forgiving his actions as she sensed there was some other reason as to why he had acted so irrationally.
"So, to what do I owe this visit?" she asked, relocking the door. Keeping both doors in her house locked at all times had become a habit that she could just not shake. Athena didn't know whether it was due to Alice's vision or something greater than that, like a gut feeling that she was in certain danger but the feeling never computed to her head. She did not know whether it was out of fear or not, given that the locking of the door would not stop a vampire in any way shape or form - if anything it would just gode them on even more. Maybe it was something she held from her mortal life?
"I just wanted to see you, is all," he hummed, sitting down next to the cocoon of blankets that she had created on the sofa. She knew that the blankets had no purpose to warm her body yet they made her feel ever so cosy and warm - an odd feeling given her very cold outer surroundings.
"Missed my amazing self that much huh?" she chuckled softly, climbing back into her blanket chair. The action earned a soft chuckle from Jasper which stopped once her phone buzzed against the dark wood coffee table. She sighed and switched it on silent, not wanting to hear the sound anymore.
Jasper raised a brow at the sound, "Billy again?"
"Yeah, he just does not know when to call it a day," she sighed, beginning to feel slightly awful about how she was treating him. Nevertheless, Athena would stick her ground until she actually forgave him. She wasn't one to actively lie in any sort of relationship with anyone and forgiving him now would most certainly be a lie. "You choose the movie," she smiled, handing him the television remote. Jasper scrolled through the multiple streaming services that Athena owned, looking through every movie until he found one that caused a smile to fall onto his face. And of course, it was a western.
They spent the next hour and a half watching the movie. Jasper watched it all the way through, glancing to watch her reaction at some of the bigger reveals that filled most of the movie's screen times. He had only chosen it because he knew it was one of the better cowboy movies that could keep anyone hooked from the very first scene. Athena had long ago ditched the book on her lap, giving the tv screen her full and undivided attention as she watched the story unfold. She felt the anticipation in all the highly-strung parts and the sadness that came after the battle. She wondered why she adored this movie so much, given it came from a genre that she had tried and tested over the years but still hated. Jasper hadn't been inflicting her emotions, she knew that to be true.
"So, Western movies suck?" he smirked with a raised brow as the credits rolled on the screen. Athena just chuckled, feeling awful for making such a comment.
"That one didn't I suppose," she chuckled, bringing her head back up from the comfortable arrangement of pillows she had spent most of the movie in. "Did you wear the entire cowboy outfit like that one?"
"Somewhat similar, minus the cow print," he responded reluctantly, feeling embarrassment that thankfully did not show on his face.
"Oh, I wish I could have seen that," she laughed as she imagined the full picture, cow print trousers included. Athena picked up the remote and flicked it to another movie, picking one that she had been planning on rewatching anyway. . "Now this, this is a good movie," she smiled as she watched the opening credits. Rain began to heavily hammer against the window, making it sound like the glass could shatter under such force. Athena wanted to open a window, to take in the smell but valued the integrity of her books far too much for that.
He chuckled, "Because it's all full of romance?"
"It is not full of romance!" she exclaimed defensively, pulling her attention away from the events of the film.
"Athena, I've seen Alice watch this with Luna. Emmett sometimes watches it too, it's a romance film," he responded, earning a raised brow from her at the Emmett comment.
"I prefer to think of it as a documentary of people's lives. All the happiness, love and humour within it," she shrugged, looking back to the tv. She did not notice that his gaze remained unfettered and fixed on her as he got increasingly perplexed with every passing second.
"You are something different," he eventually chuckled, not filtering the comment in his brain before saying it. It was as if some ulterior force wanted her to know that.
"In a good way I hope," she responded with a slightly concerned quirk of her eyebrow.
"Of course," he replied softly, which pleased her well enough. They watched the rest of the movie, talking in between some of the less interesting parts. Jasper found that the story wasn't so terrible to follow and it improved once he started to see it from her perspective. As the movie and their conversation reached an end, he felt compelled to finally let her in on the secret he had been keeping. "Oh, by the way, I bought the motorcycle."
Her head snapped in his direction and she exclaimed, "Why are we still here!" Athena hopped up from the sofa, ran to unlock her door then ran outside out of pure excitement.
He frowned vampire speeding to the door. "Athena it's raining!"
"That makes it all the more magical Jasper!" she exclaimed with a breathy tone to her voice.
He fought the urge to run out in the rain with her, "At least put a coat or something on, for the humans?" It was the smarter idea, given that they would not be wearing helmets also.
"Alright," she shrugged before running back into the house. She pulled on the first coat she found, which happened to be a dark green one and pulled the hood over her hair. "Come on!" she pressed, tugging him outside by use of his sleeve. He laughed quietly as he followed her, matching her suspiciously quick footsteps. Athena stopped walking when she saw the motorbike, just zooming into every single little detail of the metal.
Jasper walked forward and sat on the bike, looking back up at her once he had sorted everything out. "Hop on," he smiled. She wasted no time and got onto the back of the bike, finding the entire two-wheeled vehicle thing odd. How different could it be from riding a horse? "You might want to hold on," he smirked, glancing back at her over his shoulder.
"Overused line Hale," she chuckled softly before wrapping her arms around his middle - not holding on as tight as a human would have. It was more so that she wouldn't fall off, not that she was complaining about the predicament in the slightest. She rested her chin on his shoulder as he started the bike up, pulling off the curb as they glided through the rain.
By the time they reached the main road, the heavy rain had soaked them through. Athena just grinned the entire way, enjoying the winds that made the strands of her hair fly backwards as she watched the trees pass at speeds she could only get to at a full-fledged run. They reached the open road, one that lacked curves and Jasper only sped the bike up - adding to the grin on her face. He raised a brow in confusion when her hands slipped from his middle but didn't dare look back, in fear of crashing into one of the other cars on the road that looked at them as if they were insane. Athena slowly edged back, keeping her hands fixed on the edge of the seat as she pulled her knees up underneath her. She hooked the back of her feet onto the very back of the seat, making sure she had some grip that would stop her from falling before she knelt up. It took a second for her balance to catch up with the speeding vehicle but once it had, she let her entire body relax as she tilt her head back. She outstretched her hands and immediately felt laughter spilling from her throat, she felt the breeze trickle between her fingers as she fluttered her arms up in the air - letting the water droplets run off her hands. The breeze moved even her wet hair under her hood, blowing her face with such delightful smells of the drinking forest that she couldn't help but breathe them in. Having read so many books with this exact situation in, she could never have imagined that it felt this amazing and freeing to just be. "I love the revenge motorbike!" she laughed just as a drop of water fell down her nose.
"The revenge motorbike?" he chuckled, turning his head in her direction as the road became straight enough that it would not be dangerous. As soon as his gaze fell onto her, it seemed that everything just stopped. All he could feel was what she felt, all he could see was the grin that tugged her face so effortlessly yet so gorgeously. Even the rain, which would make anyone look like a drowned rat, had such an exemplifying effect on her beauty that he could not help but be simply beguiled by her.
"Watch the road!" she laughed loudly, having noticed his staring a second after she stopped looking up to the heavens. This, this was one of the experiences she wanted before her afterlife came to an end. Somehow making it feel like she was flying, the rain just added to the entire experience -amplifying the certain beauties that shimmered in the brighter parts of the clouds. Jumping never felt as close to flying as she wanted it to be, this however did the job. It came just in time.
But how could he focus on the boring tarmac when something so magnificent lingered just centimetres behind him.