THE ANTIDOTE. open book
"and who is jasper hale"
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VANESSA FOUND IT HARDER TO WAKE THE NEXT MORNING. A dark blanket of clouds hung in the sky blocking any light that tried to worm its way through. If it hadn't been for Bella's alarm beside her there was no way she would have gotten up in time. Charlie had left early for work that morning leaving the two girls to their own devices to get ready and head off to school. It was a drag for Vanessa, still tired from what felt like 20 minutes of sleep, but she knew it was simply because the previous day had exhausted her. Before getting dressed or even brushing her teeth she went down to the kitchen to start a strong pot of coffee that she hoped would be enough to get her through the day without falling asleep.
"You ready?" Vanessa asked Bella after the two girls had finished getting ready. The youngest sat on the counter nursing her cup of coffee in both hands, her lips on the rim of the glass as if she was afraid of being too far from its contents.
Bella bobbed her head. "Ready as I can be," She explained simply as she leaned against the doorway of the room. She was dead set on confronting Edward Cullen, she wanted...no she needed to know what his problem with her was. She had never dealt with anything that this in her entire life, and the fact that this guy who didn't know her and seemed to hate her for nothing was practically eating her alive. The girls locked up the house, while Vanessa filled her thermos up to the brim with the rest of the coffee from the pot, and together they made it towards the school.
"I'm gonna talk to him," Bella finally confessed as they pulled up to the lot. Vanessa turned her head lazily to look at her sister, her coffee still in her hands. She raised a brow in question but said nothing as she let Bella answer her silent inquiry. "Edward Cullen. I'm gonna find out what his problem is."
"You really think that's such a good idea?" Vanessa couldn't help but ask. While she would go to the edge of the Earth to protect and defend her sister she also couldn't deny that the look that Edward Cullen gave them in the previous day had chilled her to the bone. It was a look full of malice and. . . hunger. She knew that if Jasper hadn't shown up she would have tossed the first thing she could find right in Edwards' face, grabbed her sister, and made a run for it. Thinking of the honey-blonde haired boy only put a questioning smile on Vanessa's face. She wasn't sure what it was but the second she realized he was in the office with her she wasn't afraid of Edward anymore. Somewhere deep inside her mind, a subconscious thought, she knew that Edward wouldn't come close to her — not with Jasper standing behind her.
He was like this presence, this protector that loomed around her making her feel safe; warm. It was stupid, she shook the thought off immediately. Jasper Hale wasn't her protector, he wasn't her god-damned guardian angel and this wasn't some fairy tale novel she needed to stop acting like it was. Jasper Hale was just a hot teenage boy who went to the same high school, nothing would come of it. Maybe they'd date but as soon as graduation came around they'd be heading off on different paths and they would never see one another again so what was the point of it all.
"I have to know," Bella told Vanessa knocking her out of her own head, thankfully. She sighed.
"I know just...don't be stupid about it okay?" She all but begged. Bella nodded, her pinky finger stretched out to lace with Vanessa's. "And if something happens find me right away."
"Pinky promise." Vanessa rolled her eyes through a small smile managed to worm its way over her lips at the childish antics that the girls had relied on since childhood. Pinky promises were never to be broken. Vanessa leaned down and kissed her fist while Bella did the same sealing in the promise. They took another moment or two before they jumped out of the truck and headed into the building.
People seemed to be staring at them less which was a marginal upgrade from the previous day and Bella had less trouble remembering people's names and faces. She even went as far as to converse openly with a handful of people without a grimace on her face. Vanessa found Tyler as soon as she could, falling step and step with the boy who tossed his arm over her shoulder as if they had been longtime friends and hadn't just met the previous day. Classes were just as easy for Vanessa as they had been the day before and she managed to get along well with everyone still.
Once again as the lunch bell rang Vanessa awaited Bella's arrival to the building before they both walked in. It was almost like their eyes were magnets and the Cullens table was a hunk of metal as their eyes drew directly towards them when they entered the building. Bella let out a sigh as she noted there were only four sitting at the table where five usually resided. Edward Cullen wasn't there.
Vanessa nudged her sister. "Guess you don't get to play Dr. Badass today sis." Bella rolled her eyes though she couldn't deny the pang of disappointment that ran through her at the fact that she wouldn't get to say something to the guy. Though truth be told she probably wouldn't have regardless if he was there or not, she wasn't exactly the out loud in your face kind of girl. Vanessa on the other hand... "Maybe he didn't show up because he knew that if I saw his face I'd introduce it with my fist."
"That's a bit dramatic," Bella huffed looking sideways at her sister in thought. "Besides no violence, I thought we agreed on this yesterday?"
Vanessa pouted playfully. "That's no fun," She chuckled. She knew Bella was right, however, with violence came anger and with anger came all the other emotions she'd worked so hard to control and maintain. It was a battle every single day to not let them get a hold of her, she'd lived a long time letting her emotions run wild and control her and she'd only just gotten them on the right track the last thing she needed was someone like Edward Cullen sending her on an emotional spiral. Tyler called Vanessa over to the table, and together the two girls made their way arm in arm.
Vanessa noticed the way Bellas' eyes kept flickering over to the entrance and with a silent sigh she grabbed her sister's hand. No words of comfort were needed, no explanation necessary but Vanessa knew her sister like the back of her hand and there was something that was driving her nuts about this Edward guy and it wasn't just because of his actions in the day before. Vanessa didn't know what it was but she was going to figure it out. After the lunch bell, Tyler and Vanessa made their way to class talking candidly about Vanessa's car and how she and Jacob got working on it. Their conversation, however, was cut short when the lecture started and Vanessa headed to the back to her assigned seat.
"Hey gorgeous," Vanessa greeted Rosalie who was already sat in her seat, her binder splayed open on the desk. The blonde perked an eyebrow at the girl who got started in pulling out the rest of her items for the class.
"Hello Vanessa," Rosalie greeted back curtly. The previous night in the Cullen household was a mess, to be frank. Edward was nearly going off the rails because Isabella Swan was his blood singer, and Jasper was going just as crazy as he tried, again and again, to rip Edwards head off for nearly losing control so close to his own mate, Vanessa Swan. Rosalie knew that Jasper was already refraining himself, she had no doubt in her mind that if he truly wanted Edward dead no one could stop him in doing so. He just needed to release the pent up anger that had bubbled up inside of him.
Who knew their entire world would go to shit because of two human girls, or more accurately one human girl. Vanessa had been exempt simply because she was Jasper's mate and they'd known as much for years now after Alice got the first vision of her. Jasper who had the hardest time handling human blood must have been blessed by the gods because while Vanessa's blood was entirely divine he didn't have a single impulse to dig his teeth into her neck. In fact, her blood was potent enough that when he was in a crowded room, that she was in as well, all he could smell was her. He couldn't smell anyone else's blood pumping through their veins and that in itself was a miracle.
But it wasn't Vanessa that the Cullens were worried about, they had been planning for her arrival for decades now. Bella had come as a surprise to them all. She was Edwards singer and no one saw it coming within a mile. Edward was just barely strong enough to hold off attacking her, especially while her blood sang loudly to him in small enclosed warm rooms. She was everywhere it seemed, it was as if she wanted to die! Luckily, Jasper's appearance in the front office was enough to deter him away from the twins. He had no doubt that if he tasted a single ounce of Bella's blood that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from turning directly towards Vanessa next.
Jasper would have slaughtered him.
Ripped him to pieces, burnt him into nothing but ash and dust. And Edward couldn't even fight back, not even if he wanted to. The Cullens knew about Jaspers past and what he'd been through, they could see it clear as day on his skin. The sight of the scars were an alarm to any vampire that came close to him, they screamed to retreat to run and hide because surely whoever it was that had endured so many attacks and was still alive was someone you didn't want to mess with. Edward knew it better than anyone given he'd had a first-row seat to Jaspers memories through his thoughts and it was enough to make the vampire subconsciously repel in fear.
Back and forth all throughout the night, the family debated about what they were supposed to do.
Pick up and move? No, they couldn't. Rosalie hated moving towns so shortly, and there was no way that Jasper was leaving Vanessa. If they moved he would stay and what explanation would there be for that?
Kill Bella? That was Rosalie's solution. Carlisle and Esme hated the idea of being part of the death of a young girl who's sister and father would be devastated by the loss. And though Jasper jumped on immediately with the plan, though Alice was swift to remind him how hurt his own mate would be by losing her sister, and how harmful it would be to their relationship when she found out they had been the ones to cause her death.
Act as if nothing happened? Edward could barely handle his thirst and he doubted he could do much better the next time he saw Isabella Swan. Her simply being alive threatened his entire life and families well being and for being a guy who could hear and see all, he felt like he knew nothing. Especially due to the fact that he couldn't even hear the mind of the girl he'd been inching at slaughtering in Biology.
Edward leaving? That was the plan they'd settled on. He'd go up to Alaska to visit some family friends while he took some time to calm down and reevaluate the situation and where to go. He'd left the family multiple times over the years, everyone had and maybe he was long overdue to a trip overseas. The family could tell people he went for a semester abroad to keep them at bay. They'd figure something out and if they didn't then Edward would. But in the meantime, he'd take a short trip to clear his mind.
Meanwhile leaving the rest of the family to deal with the mess and the after-effects. Such as answering questions. "What's up with your brother?" Vanessa couldn't help but ask the blonde beauty as the teacher finished his lecture and sent the kids to do their work solo.
Rosalie didn't look up from her page. "Which one?" She sighed.
Vanessa huffed a laugh. "All of them," she muttered, "But for now let's talk about Edward? He scared the hell out of my sister, and seeing as he's not here today I'd like you to relay a message."
"Do I look like a mailman?"
"No, but you'd make a fine one," Vanessa sent her a cheeky grin and even the blonde had a hard time not smiling back. Vanessa was downright efficacious. Even Rosalie had a hard time denying her. Though just as quickly as her grin appeared it slipped into a hardened gaze that seemed horrifically contrasted to a second before.
"Just tell him if he treats my sister the way he did yesterday again, I will make his life an absolute living hell. One way or another I will find his weakness and attack it. He may be bigger and stronger but I'm angrier and meaner. And when I need to be I can be quite resourceful so if he doesn't want those pretty little family secrets of yours spilling out to the world you and your siblings will put him on a god damned leash the next time he's in class with my sister."
She was obviously just guessing and winging it as she threatened the auburn-haired boy to his sister. She didn't know what secret the Cullens had, but it was an easy deduction given how reclusive they were and the fact that literally, every family had secrets. She was just hoping they had a big enough one to warrant her threat. Though it wasn't much of a threat given Vanessa would go to the ends of hell for her sister. For a long time in their childhood, time after time that Renee had all but abandoned them, all the two Swan girls had were each other. They watched each other's backs and Vanessa would be damned if some wannabe Tom Ford model made her sister feel bad at school, a place where she should be comfortable.
Rosalie tried to keep her face passive but as the small human threatened her brother with seriousness and will so strong it — dare-say, frightened her a bit. To say she was taken aback by the girls sudden flipped facade was the understatement of the century and yet all Rosalie did was a nod. "Noted. I'll pass on the message."
Vanessa nodded. "Great, thank you. Now, do you think you can do me another favor and help me with question five? I'm so lost."Rosalie rolled her topaz eyes, yet still, she reached over and pulled Vanessa's desk to her own.
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By the time Psychology rolled around Vanessa was able to put the thought of the Cullens and the Hales out of her mind. She and Tyler had been talking in between each break about his relationship problems, apparently, Lauren had been distant recently and Tyler wasn't sure what his move should be. The two chatted like lifelong friends while Bella stood to the side, happy and content to not be involved while she flicked through her book, her thoughts not on the story but rather on a copper-haired male who wasn't in attendance today.
While Bella struggled to get Edward out of her mind, Vanessa had no problem getting the boys out of her system---that is until she walked into Psychology. There he was, in all his glory looking like something out of a fresh fucking catalog. Leaned back in his chair, his eyes dead set on her like he was reeling her in as if she were the catch of the day. Despite the fluttering erupting in her stomach Vanessa kept her cool. Head held high, shoulders back she made her way down the aisle of the classroom.
Unlike yesterday when she turned towards the empty table, she turned towards Jaspers double desk. "Is this seat taken?" She asked, confidently.
His eyes that hadn't left her own since the second she entered the classroom narrowed only ever so slightly, not in an unmannerly order but rather questioningly, as if he didn't see this moment coming. He hadn't expected her to come to him this time, not like he did yesterday. The corner of his lips pulled up into a small smirk, the notion of a triumphant smile.
"It is taken," He explained watching in his own amusement as Vanessa's eyes grew. He put her out of her misery. "By you." He reached over and pulled the chair out for her to sit. Her eyes flickered to the floor as her own smile grew on her face, she tossed her bag down on the ground and took the welcoming seat.
Her heart thumped at the proximity and oddly enough she could feel a kind of coolness radiating off him, which seemed to relax her nerves a bit. "Thank you."
Anything for you darlin'. "You're welcome."
Vanessa's eyes turned to look at him one last time, words ready to jump off her tongue through the second the lecture started she realized she had no idea what she was going to say to him. She had no thoughts running through her head, and yet all the thoughts in the world. It was as if her body was running on autopilot whenever she was next to him as if her subconscious instincts took over in his presence and it was something she wasn't able to explain. The weirdest part of it all was that it felt so right. To be next to him, to speak to him, to yearn for him.
She was going insane. She must have been. Surely, if she told anyone what she was feeling for a guy she met just yesterday they would toss her in the nearest psych ward. This wasn't a crush, and to be honest she wasn't sure if she wanted to find out the answers.
Yet, then again she had to know.
"You're from Arizona?" Jasper questioned as if he didn't already know the answer as the students were sent off to the computer lab to do research for their upcoming essay.
"Yes. Why?" She looked up at him as they walked down the hall, her neck craning to see his transfixing eyes that she seemed to always find herself back to.
"Grand Canyon."
Vanessa snorted at the simple answer. "Nice deduction."
"Have you ever been?" He wondered thoughtfully, his own eyes seemed to be glued on her as he ignored the pointed look from their classmates. Never had they seen Jasper willfully speak to someone else. For the most part, with his lack of control, he stayed far from the other students then again he knew that even if his bloodlust wasn't a problem he wouldn't talk to anyone anyways. But Vanessa...Vanessa, he would talk to until his face went blue--and being a vampire that'd never happen.
This small slip of a girl with blue eyes so big they seemed to take up her face. The girl that would have caught his attention regardless if they had seen her coming. The brunette that had him hanging on every word and kept him on his toes. His mate. He wanted to know everything there was to know about her, and her travels were one of them.
"Hmm," She hummed in thought before nodding. "I was just a kid and it was very short after we moved to Arizona that my mom packed Bella and me into her Subaru for a trip. I don't remember much, but I do remember getting violently car sick on the way." She laughed softly at the memory. "Bella was crying the entire time because she was so grossed out, but still she held my hand and rubbed my back despite her revulsion." Her face lightened immensely as she thought about her sister and while her emotions were clear as day on her face, what Jasper felt was so much more powerful.
The love the girl had for her big sister was strong enough to bring venom to his eyes. He loved his siblings, don't get him wrong. Alice was his best friend, she'd been there for him since the beginning always seeing the good in him. And Rosalie was the closest thing he'd had to a true sister, and his brothers were equally as great. But this love, it was one from a bond created at childhood, one that he used to have when he was human. Vanessa's love for her sister reminded Jasper heavily of his own love for his own sister back in the 1800s. He didn't remember much of her, in fact, it always caused migraines to try to see through his fuzzy human memories but time after time he tried to remember what his little sister looked like, all he could remember was her blonde hair. Maybe that's why he and Rosalie bonded so well, she subconsciously reminded him of his own blood-related sister.
The other thing he remembers of her despite her hair was that love. The same on Vanessa had for Bella.
"She seems like a great sister," He noted.
Vanessa grinned as they entered the computer lab. "She is, always has been. I honestly don't know what I'd do without her." Jasper felt a pang of guilt, just the night before he was offering to kill said girl just to be rid of her without any problems. He had no idea what kind of pain that'd inflict onto his own mate. He would never intentionally harm Vanessa, even his darker self wouldn't allow it. "And what about Rosalie? Must be nice to have a real twin. Bella and I are Irish Twins so we don't get the cool twin powers and telepathy you guess gain from sharing a womb," She joked and even Jasper let out a side chuckle as they took the far computers in the back of the room, one sitting by the other.
Jasper hated having to lie to his own mate. The one he was supposed to be with for the rest of his life, yet at the very moment, it was a necessary evil. He'd tell her the truth, one day soon. "She's the greatest friend I could ever ask for, gets on my nerves from time to time but I understand that's to be expected with siblings."
"Yes, that is one unfortunate adverse effect." Talking to Jasper was like breathing after she got passed the butterflies having a field day in her stomach. Though she'd only just barely noticed a soothing calmness come about her when she got particularly antsy and nervous. They talked and talked and it seemed like neither of the pair got much work done but they didn't mind.
They discussed how Vanessa liked it there in Forks, which she did. She explained to him that she was happy to form a stronger bond with her father, one that she was unable to make do to the distance between them. She told him all about her friends from Arizona and was pleased to find that Jasper was all but unaffected by the fact that Vanessa had dated a member of the same sex. She was extra pleased when he did make any lewd remarks about the relationship like many other boys their age had. Jasper explained to Vanessa that he and Rosalie were adopted and taken in by Esme, who was their aunt after their parents died in a car accident when they were children. He very gently told her that Esme was unable to bear children which is why she and her husband, Dr. Cullen were more than happy to take in children in need. They talked until the bell rang signaling the end of class, and even then they continued as Jasper walked Vanessa to her locker.
"You know for a guy who doesn't talk to anyone, you're quite the chatterbox," She noted with a sly eye as she placed her textbooks into her locker. Jasper leaned up against the one beside her, his eyes hanging heavy on her and the beauty of who she was. He didn't think he could pull his eyes away from her even if he wanted to--which he didn't.
"Only for you darlin'."He smirked down at her pleased with the effect it had on her. Vanessa's cheeks turned a soft pink and she couldn't fight off the corner of her lips pulling upwards.
"I bet you say that to all the girls," she rolled her eyes as she closed her locker, finished with everything she needed for the night's load of homework. He looked at her like she was the one who put the sun in the sky each morning and pulled the light on the moon and the stars. Like she herself was the sun, the very center of the universe and in a way she was. Jaspers universe, his world, and she was it.
"No," He shook his head. "I don't." Topaz eyes staring into the blue it was as if the entire world melting away right then and there. No school, or teens running through the hallway, nothing but the two of them in that very moment. She could hear anything but her heartbeat and neither could he, seeing only one another.
"V, you ready?" Bella asked breaking the connection between the two once more. Jasper gave Vanessa a small smile, one that felt like a secret, one that was specially reserved for her, and with a small nod, he walked right passed the sisters and down the hall leaving a heavy feeling in Vanessa's chest. She no longer felt calm and at ease, and her normal bout of uneasiness came back to her being. "V?" Bella pressed.
"Oh, yeah yeah," Vanessa nodded. "I'm ready." Ready to go to Jakes and work on her car, hopefully keeping her hands and mind busy would keep her thoughts away from Jasper Hale. She was a lovestruck teenager, such a cliche. She shouldn't be so utterly caught up by a boy she's only really spoken to that day. And as much as she told herself she'd keep him out of her mind, even she knew that she was lying to herself and there wasn't much she could do about that.
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ahh i really struggled w/ this chapter for some reason which is why its taken to long but all of your comments have really pushed me to keep going so thank you!! and let me know what you thought!
--endlesslywhtlck