Seraph

64

It had been a month, and the Denali had already left. Only the Cullens decided to stay a little bit longer. It was mainly Emmett who insisted on staying to at least knock one of the girls off of the high-score screen. He didn't even care who at that point. He just wanted to beat one. His initials took up every space below them, which he found unacceptable.

The other boys didn't care as much as he did but still accompanied him to play. They would cheer him on from the sidelines now and then as a sign of solidarity, and when they got bored enough, they would play a game, too.

Edward liked it for a bit because he got to focus solely on the game. But once it got repetitive enough, the surrounding thoughts would creep back in. At least the voices weren't too bad, just some teenagers thinking about getting a high score. The occasional group with a girl would think about impressing her with their skills at playing the game.

Jasper wasn't sure how he felt about it. He could feel the excitement, anticipation, and joy; he liked those feelings. But then he would also feel the aggressiveness, disappointment, and occasional anger spikes. Teenagers were moody. At least the negative emotions weren't too bad, but the mood fluctuations were random. It made him feel somewhat bipolar. He tried to stay near Edward since his mood was usually steadily unhappy or mildly annoyed when people surrounded them. He wished Alice had gone with them. He preferred to feel her happiness at all times, but he knew Emmett considered them to be at war with the girls. He had to show his support. At least for a while before he abandoned them for his wife.

He still found it strange to call her that. He liked it. He didn't think they needed the title, though. She was his everything, no matter what she was called. Alice felt the same, he knew. But it was part of their cover. Carlisle talked them into it to help fit in a bit better. There was a whole ceremony and everything with some town folk invited. It was the seventies, and that particular town they were in questioned their family more than others. The ceremony got them to calm down a bit so they could at least finish up their stint in that town for the usual length of time. But as soon as that time limit was reached, they left quickly and ensured the severed ties could never be picked up again. That was just how nervous they were.

Although they were starting from scratch as teens again. He still remembered the ceremony with his wife. They now wore their rings on necklaces around their necks. Even thinking about her now made him realize he was missing her. He began wondering when they would rejoin the others.

"He's getting closer to beating Kate's score," Edward muttered, "Plus, he's getting fed up again already. If he doesn't get it in the next thirty minutes, he calls it a day and heads to the orphanage to lift his spirits. So you'll see her soon."

Jasper's mood became a lot happier after hearing it. If he were Alice, he would be bouncing up and down in excitement. But he was a man of principle. He tried to keep himself disciplined. He would settle for slowly creeping toward the door until he could make a break for it. It was the best he could do.

After hearing his thoughts, Edward chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you," Jasper answered as he began putting his plan into motion to play games closer to the door to wait for Emmett to finish.