Collarbones || J.W.H.

Chapter Five

January 31st, 2005

Camila sat there, frozen in shock, silent for what seemed like a century to Jasper. He found himself once again wishing that he had Edward's power. To his delight, she didn't look horrified, just shocked. But he wouldn't push it this time, wouldn't push her to speak before she was ready, because her whole future hung on this one moment. His whole future with her.

Finally, she spoke. "W-who makes the decision to change that future?" She asked, voice croaking on its way out. It was the only thing she could think to ask. Every other thought had become muddled in her mind.

Jasper blinked, looking down at their intertwined fingers. "You." He said simply, pausing before he continued. It was only fair to give her the full warning of what this could mean. "It wouldn't be the easy solution though. It's excruciatingly painful, changing. You would loose everything you have now. Your parents, your friends, everyone would need to think that you had died." He explained gravely, hanging his head in shame. Suddenly, he felt wrong having this conversation. Ashamed that he was even suggesting making her give up everything. It felt selfish, because, in truth, it was.

Surprising even herself, his explanation didn't hurt. She had spent so long preparing herself to have to say goodbye, that maybe it would be worth it to start new. Either way, she would lose them and they would lose her. What scared her is what this would mean for her and the Cullens. She knew that Alice expected a friendship to form between them. More importantly, she knew that forever with Jasper didn't seem bad in the slightest, maybe even nice. Maybe, just maybe, she would be able to act on her feelings for him after all. Maybe breaking that promise she had made to herself wouldn't be so bad after all.

That thought stopped her in her tracks though. What if Jasper didn't feel that same pull towards her that she felt towards him? The last thing that she wanted to do was be a burden on him. A burden that lasted for an eternity no less. "I'll have to think on that." She decided, gulping as the thought of making that enteral decision settled in the pit of her stomach.

"Of course. Take all the time you need." Jasper said. He had expected as much. He couldn't expect her to make that decision in that moment. She had only just found out that Vampires existed and now there he was, asking her what she wanted to do with eternity. As much as the suspense was killing him, he knew that he would be willing to wait as long as it would take for her to make that choice. The prize would be well worth the wait.

Camila shook her head, trying to push the overwhelming information from her mind if even for a moment. So much had been said in the last hour that she was beginning to have a migraine, the dull pain throbbing more and more by the second. "I'm going to go grab some water." She croaked out, her throat suddenly feeling as dry as a desert. She reluctantly let her grip on his hand loosen as she pushed herself to the edge of the mattress. Willing her sore muscles to pull her to a stand, she took a few steps towards the door into the living room.

The room blurred for a moment, her mind going fuzzy with dizziness suddenly. Stars shot around her vision as her knees began to buckle. Before she had time to process what was happening, before she had time to try and catch herself from falling, ice cold hands were on her. One on her waist, keeping her upright. The other gently cupping the base of her head and the back of her neck, long fingers sprawled across the space, keeping her head steady.

"Woah." She said blinking rapidly. She was almost certain that it wasn't just the dizziness that had made him a blur of speed. "How did you get over here so quickly?" She asked, confusion clear on her face.

Sending her a soft smile, he answered. "It's a vampire thing." He said simply.

"Ohh." She said, nodding in understanding. She guessed there was a lot more to understand than she had realized. The whole thing had happened so quickly, she was just now getting the time to process his touch. Blood rushed to her cheeks, and she hoped the embarrassment that she felt, she would be able to blame on the near fainting as well as the blush. "Sorry, I think I just stool up too quick." She said, feeling as if the heat in her cheeks would never go away.