Us ○ Jasper Hale 1

The Valient Immortal Returns

"He's here!" Alice squeals and I watch from my seat on the counter as Edward walks through the door. Esme is the first to hug him and welcome him home, Jasper's a little sour about Edward leaving so I nudge him to go welcome him home. I remain sitting on the counter as I fiddle with my ring, letting the family welcome Edward home. I look up just as Edward walks over and I hop off the counter, giving him a big hug.

"Welcome home." I smile to him and he ruffles my hair. I know he wants to know about Bella, but I'm gonna wait a little bit, no one else needs to hear about her first thing. Edward nods at this thought process before I make my way to Jasper, linking arms with him.

"Shall we then?" I ask in the midst of silence. Rosalie was already out of the door and honking the horn for us to hurry up.

"Have a good day kids." Esme smiles and gives each of us a hug.

"See you when I get home." Carlisle smiles to all of us and I follow Jasper out of the house and into Edward's car today, Alice up front and Jasper next to me.

"So?" Edward asks, looking to me in the mirror and ripping away from the house, as if excited to go to school. Or to see a certain nuisance.

"She's too curious, too smart. Like, ten time's worse than my worst." I tell him, clasping onto Jasper's hand.

"All she ever asks me about is you, and she wants to know why we don't go to school when it's sunny, she doesn't buy the camping thing." I admit.

Edward sighs and I feel Jasper tensing up the closer we get to school. We finally pull up and Edward is the first to jump out of the car. I groan and cuddle into Jasper.

"I feel like exploding." Why? Because in some stupid way, I blame myself for her curiosity and the danger she's put the Cullen's in.

"Everything'll be all right." Jasper assures and strokes my cheek. I take a deep breath and he kisses my forehead before we get out of the car and join the rest of Jasper's siblings.

"We're your family too, stop separating yourself." Edward mumbles, looking for Bella while reading my thoughts. I look around too, seeing her truck turn into the parking lot. I look back at Edward and he locks on.

"Would I be a terrible friend if-?"

"Sister." Rosalie cuts me off and we all look at her as she folds her arms across her chest.

"What?" I ask.

"You're my sister... Saying you're a "friend" is insulting, what, you don't want to be in this family? You should've thought of that before you stepped foot in our house." She spits with before linking her arm with Emmett's and sauntering off.

"Let's get to class." Jasper smiles, projecting his happiness onto me, putting an extra pep to my step, which amused him further.

We were just about to get to the steps when Jasper freezes completely, his happiness falling and being replaced with something I've never felt before. It was as poisonous as Mercury and addictive like heroine.

Blood Lust.

Jasper hadn't stopped projecting and I don't think he realizes it. I shut it out as best I could, but my heart was beating fast as I watched his eyes go black.

"Let's get going yeah?" I suggest, stepping closer to him, knowing full well I couldn't stop him from anything. It's like he can't even hear me.

"Jasper, Honey, look at me." I plead and I felt the growl building in his throat, his posture changing into one of an animal ready to pounce at a moment's notice. Still projecting, something snaps in me too. I felt strong, untouchable. Invisible.

"Jasper Whitlock." I growl in a strong, low voice. It was then that his eyes snapped to me. "Take a hike." I spit to him and just as quickly as it came, it disappeared but I still felt a fire in me. I hear him hiss and he jerks his arm back from where I had been grabbing his arm. I look in shock as his marble skin sizzles and smokes, a burn mark in the shape of my hand trying to heal itself.

It snapped him out of his feeding state and I watch as his eyes sadden, the projection gone and I watch as he quickly makes his way to the woods.

"Are you okay!?" Alice gasps, everyone running over to me but all I could do was look at my hands.

I look straight up at a worried and just as confused Edward.

"You see that?" I ask him, replaying what had just happened over and over again in my mind. I move towards him and he tenses up. I try remembering the fire I felt in my veins, like red hot anger. I reach out to touch his offered hand and I watch as we touch... nothing.

"That's weird... I could've sworn I..." I trail off, not having the confidence to finish.

"I saw him. He was going to-"

"I know." I cut Alice off, looking around at everyone, "I felt it." I admit, looking at my hands and I could feel their eyes on me, "Does it always feel like that?" I whisper before I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look up into Rosalie's eyes and she offers a small nod before looking to everyone and handing me the keys to the Jeep.

"Take the day. Look after him." She says before guiding everyone away from me. I take a slow, deep breath before walking back to the Jeep and jumping in. I send a text to Jasper's phone, letting him know I'm heading out to Port Angeles. I make eye contact with Bella and she stares at me warily. I pull out of the parking space and drive up next to her, rolling down the window.

"Something on your mind Swan?" I ask with a small smirk but no amusement in my tone.

"... Everything okay with you and Jasper?" She asks, eyeing me as if she were onto me. If she only knew the half of it.

"We had a fight." I sigh, staring straight ahead of me. "He wants to go to college across country but we promised after high school we were going to move in together." I lie and look back at her, the suspicion being replaced with awkward pity.

"O-Oh. I'm s-sorry." She mumbles and I nod, void of emotion.

"I'm heading out, I don't want to deal with it." I breathe and run my hand through my hair. "See you tomorrow, Swan." What a wonderful birthday this is turning out to be.

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