Loving The Major - Jasper Hale

We All Have Pasts

Over the years, the three newcomers had settled in well with their new family and their routine. There had of course been a few slip ups or areas where they struggled more but those were getting fewer and farther between.

However, school, unfortunately continued to be a struggle. Alice did fine for the most part, enjoying the whole thing as she had no memories of any similar experiences. But for Jasper and Adeline it was their own personal hell.

For Jasper smelling the scent of human blood all day tested his control constantly. Which was made worse by the fact that his gift forced him to feel his families blood lust as if it was his own. Not to mention the other emotions that came from all the students. All day he was bombarded with every emotion coming from the hormonal teenagers surrounding him and he had to fight the urge to snap all their necks just to get a break from it.

To top it all off, according to Carlisle, they had to act "normal" while at school. Which meant that while he could freely admit that Adeline and him were "dating", he couldn't be with her in all their classes or cuddle with her when either of them was having a bad day. This left both him and Major uneasy and restless. Especially given the fact that in the years since he had found her in that barn the only times they had been apart was when he was out hunting and knew she would be safe at home. It wasn't that he didn't think she couldn't handle herself, he knew she could. But the thought of her alone and surrounded by strangers set his protective instincts off.

Adeline disliked school because of the crowds as well. Although her dislike came from all the years she spent in the barn. She had spent decades alone in that space and had discovered after she was free that she could no longer handle large crowds well. She found them oppressive and unnerving, often becoming overwhelmed by them and the noise of it all after so many years of quiet. Added to that, she didn't like to be touched by strangers. Often times, someone would brush against her and she would have a momentary flashback to Maria lashing out at her which would cause her to flinch away from the person in fear. As such, she spent most of her days tense and clinging to either Jasper or one of her siblings, allowing them to do the interacting for her.

Honestly, the two would have been happier if they could forget about school altogether. Unfortunately though, that was not an option. Their family had been so good to them, taking them in and supporting them as they got better. The least they could do was make an attempt to help blend in. Which meant that they were left to find ways of coping.

Whenever they were together, they would be touching in some way, drawing strength and reassurance from the other. When they couldn't be, Jasper would often use his gift to monitor Adeline's mood, using it as a distraction from all other emotions as well as to reassure himself that she was fine.

Adeline on the other hand, would lose herself in her sketching, blocking out the world whenever possible. Although on truly bad days, she could often be found fiddling with Jasper's medal, the metal grounding her to reality just as it did when she was locked in the barn.

It was on one of these bad days, that her family finally questioned her on the piece of metal that seemed so important to her.

School that day had been hard, but not the worst she had. In fact, it could have even been considered a good one as she had particularly enjoyed that day's art class. What had turned the day sour on her had been the nightmare that woke her up.

She had woken from the nightmare with tears on her cheeks as she bit back a cry of anguish, the image her mind had conjured of Jasper dead on some battle field still at the forefront of her mind. Taking shuddering breaths to calm down, she reached over and grabbed the medal that Jasper ensured always sat on her nightstand. The feeling of the cold metal edges cutting into her palm helping to ground her as she fought back the lingering terror and panic brought on by her dream. The design giving her something to focus on as her eyes traced the familiar edges and grooves she had long since memorized.