Chapter song- Remember the Name by Ed Sheeran
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"What were you thinking? In what moment did it occur to you that walking alone in this area was a good idea?! Oh wait, I can read your mind. You weren't thinking." I was still on the ground with tears streaming down my face as Edward paced frantically around the alley. He continued to talk and sass me, but I began to ignore him.
How couldn't I of seen that? Visions had been bombarding me ever since I'd arrived in Forks yet they hadn't shown me this? I slowly crawled up to a sitting position, wincing as I realized the extent of my bruises.
Pale hands gestured hopelessly around me in the moonlight. "I'm sorry you're hurt." He didn't seem very sorry.
"What the hell are you doing here? You were about to kill us!" I accused. Edward took a step back from me.
"Those visions you get." He gave me a creeped out look, "You're not crazy, are you?"
I wrapped shaking arms around myself as I glared at him. "Didn't you just say you can read my mind?" What a hypocrite.
Whatever Edward was about to say, I would never know.
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Jasper sped along the highway with fury clinging to his gut. The sun had finally gone down, and so his dumbass brother had taken off like a lunatic. Towards Port Angeles with his eyes pitch black.
He'd refused to hunt today since Bella's blood was making him feed more often. Edward's pride was going to get a human, most likely Bella, killed.
There was no way Jasper was letting Edward near a city that hungry. He squeezed his hand on the accelerator until he was on the exit, arcing his way into the streets.
Tracking was hardly a gift of his, but he was amazed to spot Bella on the street near a Bath and Body Works. Angela Weber stood close to the girl, talking quietly to her with a concerned look on her face. So his brother had followed the Swan sisters here. Gut clenching at Mary's absence, he went on foot to catch their scent trail while trying to remain inconspicuous from the two girls. He drew his hood up over his head.
Too many scents almost completely obscured Bella's unique scent, but he barely managed to track it back to where he could catch Mary's. He followed it quickly until Edward's scent merged with her own. If Jasper had been angry before, he was beyond thought now.
He went past human speed until he reached an alley and saw Edward over a hunched, tiny form on the ground. Her spiky hair answered any doubts that Jasper may of had.
He heard Mary say something angrily to Edward, but he could hardly hear at that point. He flung his brother across the alley and was succeeding in almost slamming his hand into his chest cavity. But the damn mind reader had always been his most difficult adversary. He spun out of the way.
Edward was evading his attacks with a minimalistic, annoying precision. "It's not what you think, Jasper. Listen to her." His voice was pleading.
He finally got a hold of the redhead. He'd always been stronger than him, just not as fast. He grappled with him while trying to grab hold of his head. Jasper didn't even notice the growls spilling from his chest.
Suddenly a shrill scream froze Jasper in the middle of his attempts at dismantling Edward into tiny pieces. He was thrown off but he was already moving. He assumed a protective crouch in front of Mary, quickly assessing damage on her. She was seriously scuffed up with several rips in her shirt. Her shoulder looked scrapped and was bleeding slightly and it looked like she'd been crying. While he assessed her, he also kept an eye on Edward.
She was also glaring at him. "Quit growling!"
Why was she mad at him? Also, did she scream just to get his attention? Her anger assaulted his senses in droves. He quit growling with some serious effort. Unfortunately, Edward took that as a sign that he could approach so the growls started again as he hugged Mary tight to his body. "Mine." He made his warning explicit.
A tiny hand grabbed at his face. "Would you listen to me?" He ignored her.
Edward rolled his eyes at him. "I'm going home." He announced. He sprinted out of the alley before Jasper could continue his attack.
It took a few minutes before Jasper was sure that the threat was gone. Only then did his attention fully go to Mary. He looked down at her. "Where did he hurt you, sweetheart?"
Venom rushed to his mouth when he realized just how good Mary smelled, yet he was surprised that his hunger hadn't come to full force when he'd been attempting to end Edward's sad existence as a ginger virgin.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you , Jazz!" His little witch shoved on his shoulders. "He saved my life."
Oh. Jasper felt a little bit like an asshole. He didn't let it keep him down long. "Who did this to you then?" He felt his body tighten with violence.
A dark pause passed and it seemed as though all of Mary's courage dissipated. "A bunch of guys... they dragged me into this alley."
Jasper drew in a deep, unnecessary breath while he shoved all of his violent plans to the side as he silently began to memorize the scents lingering in the alley. "Are you all right?" He asked. It made him so angry that fear and anger were coming from the most vibrant person he'd ever met.
"I will be all right." Mary looked down at herself and then her dusty hands. "Can you help me out with this? I really don't want to be seen like this." Her voice cracked on the last word and it was obvious that she was still in shock.
He kept rigid control over himself as he handed his jacket over to her. Jesus. He'd be lucky that a cop wouldn't stop them. "You got any other clothes you could wear?"
Mary nodded and held up an equally dusty shopping bag. Carefully, Jasper helped her to stand. He remembered the nearest public restroom and half carried her there while trying to make it appear as though she was just clinging to his arm.
As she changed, he tried not to appear too creepy right next to the woman's restroom.
"Jasper!" A familiar voice called out. Bella ran up to him unsurprisingly unsteady with her wide brown eyes scared. "Have you seen Mary?"
A much more graceful Angela followed behind. She hung back warily at the sight of him.
Jasper leaned conspicuously into Bella's ear. "There was an accident. She's all right, but I think she'd rather go home soon." Mary's sister nodded with a grim look.
Mary then bust out of the bathroom with the new clothes on and with a much calmer exterior. She still wore Jasper's jacket, which should've looked ridiculous, but he couldn't help the feeling of adoration at the sight.
A blush hit her face when she saw Bella, but it was quickly replaced by a grin. "Hi guys!" She waved her ridiculously dainty hand at her three companions.
"Where'd you head off to?" Angela spoke up curiously.
The little female grabbed his hand and squeezed. The vampire stared down at her in surprise, but gauging Mary's emotional state, Jasper allowed her to take the reigns on the question.
"I saw Jasper in one of the stores we were passing and wanted to say hi." She explained calmly. "You guys were stopped looking at something so I thought that there was enough time. I'm so sorry if I made you worry!"
The earnest, sheepish expression on Mary's face seemed to almost instantly win Angela over. "Well that's all right. I'm glad you're okay!"
"Maybe it's time to go." Bella said hesitantly. Angela's expression instantly fell.
"We don't have to go!" Mary protested quickly.
Silence enveloped the group when Jasper decided to take matters into his own hands. Mary had bruises, physical and emotional, to hide from Angela, but she didn't want to interrupt her sister's good time. So he would make sure it all happened.
He sent calm to all three girls. "Mary and I were actually hoping to catch dinner and a movie. Is it cool that I take her home, Bella?"
A pleading stare from both Mary and Jasper quickly placated Bella. "Sure." She sighed. She turned and caught Angela's hand into her own. "Let's go."
Angela blushed and dazedly walked away with Bella leading her. Mary's jaw popped open. "I never thought she'd be so bold."
He couldn't help but agree.
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"She's getting a helluva lot more confident with the more time she spends with that girl." Jasper agreed while looking after the pair with thoughtful eyes. His honey eyes entrapped me into a daze.
"You don't care that my sister is gay?" I asked surprised.
He snorted while absentmindedly rubbing his thumb on the top of my hand. "Who cares about that anymore?"
"Bella can sense age." I answered sensibly. "She tells me that you and your family feel old. Plus I've had some visions of you nagging me about our ages." I glared at him preemptively.
Jasper held his free hand out in surrender. "Look darling, getting mad at me over something I haven't done yet isn't fair. Also, judging your sister on something like that when I'm a vampire seems a bit petty."
It was the first time that he'd spoken what Bella and I had figured out weeks ago. It also gave me a great sense of our future shifting in a fundamental twist.
I smiled up at him as we began walking toward wherever Jasper wanted. It was away from where I was attacked, thank goodness. "Good, because I would've dumped you if even one negative syllable about Bella was uttered."
He smirked without saying anything. Finally, we arrived in front of a barbecue place. My stomach rumbled furiously at the sight while I stared down at my feet. "You traitor." I whispered to it. I felt Jasper shake with silent laughter next to me.
"C'mon." He let go of my hand and opened the door. Like a Southern gentleman.
It made me realize, as much as I wanted our future, how little I knew about him. "Where are you from?"
Jasper chuckled. "The town doesn't have a name anymore, but southern Texas."
I couldn't help a exuberant squeal while the hostess gave me an odd look. We walked to the back of the restaurant near a window. The dim sky, which had been a dusky purple since we'd gotten to the city, was now fading to twilight. "Do you know how to ride a horse? I love horses!" The words were out of my mouth before I could control them.
He gave me a bewildered look. "I thought you knew everything, girl. Make your damn mind up."
The hostess left us after an audible gulp of seeing Jasper's arms flexed against the table as he leaned towards me. It was hard not to feel like a total boss once I realized that he only had eyes for me. The restaurant lighting hit his jawline which caused me to trace it without thinking with my pointer finger.
He was so pale that he made me look tan. It wasn't difficult to see that he had definitely seen work in his life. Tiny ridges of skin, nearly imperceivable particles of texture, peaked my interest. He caught my hand abruptly from my investigation. "Don't." He murmured dangerously.
Jasper had transformed into a hardened man within an instant. However, his gentle grip on my hand and my gut instinct destroyed any fear I might possibly of had.
"What changed? Why are you letting me near you now?" I couldn't help my words.
He looked guilty at that instant and I could've nearly slapped myself for putting any ideas in his head. "I was close to giving in on my own," He admitted slowly, "but my idiotic brother seems determined to fall off of the bandwagon with you Swan girls."
"Bandwagon?"
His face twisted until I could suddenly see the man who'd been close to ripping his own brother into pieces. "You know exactly what I mean. Your sister's blood drives Edward more wild and more out of control than I've ever seen him. Logic won't work with him."
"So you want to protect us? Why?" I knew why, but I wanted to hear the words.
Jasper leaned back away from the table. His honey blonde hair suddenly fell back from his face, highlighting his eyes that were clearly checking me out. His mouth drew into a savage smile that sent a shiver of straight desire through me. "Don't try playing with me, sweetie. You know you're mine."
We both heard menus being placed down discretely before a waitress scurried away as if something caught fire.
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Sorry for being late! I'll be on vacation soon and will make up for it! Things are really about to slow down with me so it shouldn't be a problem
Thanks for reading!
-rednight73