Love At First Sight

Chapter One

Third

Jasper Hale sat against the wall beneath his bedroom window, surrounded by the wreckage of broken furniture.

His back rested against the splintered remains of his bedframe as he stared blankly out at the darkening forest.

"Jasper, you should go feed." Alice's familiar voice drifted through the locked bedroom door.

He didn't move. His eyes remained fixed on the dreary weather outside. "What's the point...?" he whispered.

So quietly that only vampire hearing could have caught it. A second voice answered him. Harsh. Frustrated.

"Because, Jasper! Claire wouldn't want you wasting away like this!" Rosalie. Silence settled over the room once more.

Then came the sound of wood splintering. The bedroom door burst inward. Jasper slowly turned his head.

Rosalie stood in the doorway, fury blazing in her golden eyes. "You are going to feed, Jasper," she growled.

"Even if I have to force-feed you myself." Before he could protest, she grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet.

Claire

I sat high in the trees overlooking Dad's house, hidden amongst the branches as I watched Bella's beat-up Chevy pull into the driveway.

Bella climbed out first. Edward followed. Without a word, he disappeared into the forest.

"Four o'clock on the dot," Dad muttered as Bella stepped inside. "That kid trying to brown-nose me now or something?"

"He has a name." Bella said as she dropped her bag by the door. "Now he's too punctual for you?" Dad was quiet for a moment. Then he sighed.

"Okay... you understand why you're being punished, right?" Bella looked away. "I know. I put you through hell." I snorted from my perch.

That was putting it lightly. "Yeah, you did," Dad replied. "But I have other reasons, for grounding you" Bella frowned.

"What do you mean?" Dad hesitated. "Like...I just want you to get some separation from him" I couldn't help snorting again.