Turning Page - A Jasper Hale story

Chapter Nine

Jude's face crumbled into a grimace and her hands rose to block her ears as a loud rumble approached her car. A bright orange, yet rather rusted, truck had pulled into the space beside her, but she could not see who the driver of the unfamiliar vehicle was as the truck bed obstructed her view. 

From the corner of her eye, she saw the Cullens look over to the truck before looking away, Rosalie turning her nose up. Jude laughed, it was becoming very obvious Rosalie felt she was too good for the town.

Jude had assumed the family had not seen her car pull in as they had not waved, owing their distraction to the truck beside her. But of course they had seen her - Jasper had been anticipating her arrival from the moment he had stepped foot out of the Jeep they had elected to bring this morning. 

As Jude willed for them to look over towards her, she felt those all too familiar shivers run down her spine as Jasper's honey-like eyes met her green ones and his signature smirk appeared on his lips. The rest of his family, Edward noticeably missing, turned to look too. 

Although all too quickly, their gases turned to something just to Jude's left. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to come up with what could have captivated their attention so quickly and intensely.

A knock at her window caused her to jump, a small shriek forcing it's way past her lips. Bella Swan stood, waving sheepishly, an apologetic smile on her face.

"Oh, hi Bella! Nice truck, I like it," Jude grinned sincerely as she got out of her car. Bella pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her hands and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, murmuring a 'thanks.'

"How did your first day go? I'm sorry I was ill yesterday," Jude pressed, trying to achieve some form of conversation from the girl. She knew Bella was probably nervous and her absence yesterday won't have helped that matter.

"It was... fine. Erm, you know... fine," Bella grimaced, something clearly playing on her mind. Jude smiled sympathetically. She was sure Bella would tell her in her own time, she hoped that the newest addition to Forks would trust her quickly.

"It's just this boy that sat next to me in Bio yesterday..." Bella divulged, eyebrows furrowing and eyes avoiding Jude's as she realised what she had said. She wasn't sure where that had come from.

"Oh, I hope he didn't say anything out of pocket Bella. I promise you, everyone in town in lovely - we're just not used to having new people... and, well, we've had a few of you guys recently - what with the Cullens moving here a few months ago."

Bella's eyes snapped to Jude's.

"Well, it was Edward Cullen..."

Jude felt her jaw drop, and then open and close as she stuttered for an answer.

"H-He's struggling with moving, I-I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it Bella. He's really sweet, so are his siblings..." Jude looked over her shoulder to where the rest of the Cullen family were watching her intently. Even Rosalie looked at her with a sense of affection - Jude was the only human in Forks that had stood up for their family, and for that she felt gratitude.

Bella nodded as Jude turned to look back at her. Bella had noticed the way the siblings had looked at Jude. Curiosity swelled in her stomach. 

Jessica had mentioned the day before that Jude was friends with the strange family but Bella had not believed them. Yes, Jude was sweet, but the family looked like they kept to themselves. So why had they chosen to befriend Jude?

"What's your first class?" Jude asked, wanting to change the subject to take some heat off Edward. She knew she'd have to have a word with him when she saw him, regardless. How could he have been so rude when he had been in Bella's position only months ago?

Bella sighed, pulling out her schedule, "English, with Mr Mason."

Jude couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips - "you'll be with Mike and Eric then, I presume?"

Bella nodded grimacing.

"Do they always stare that much?"

***

As always, Jasper dutifully collected Jude and her books from each of her classes and escorted her to the next. He had grown to depend on the joy that radiated from her and he could feel it grow stronger as she walked beside him. 

She dared herself to graze her hand across his as they walked side by side, unsure of where her courage had come from. She hoped that he would not pull his hand away as she did so.

She bit her lip nervously. 

Jasper smirked as he felt the waves of emotion radiate from her.

And then her petite hand brushed against his.

He gasped quietly, sure that Jude wouldn't be able to hear him. 

Her touch, even such a slight one, had set his entire body on fire. He felt warm for the first time in over a century. He was almost sure his still heart had began beating again. He could feel the draft coming from the broken window they had walked past and it made made him shiver. Nobody else's emotions could infiltrate his mind in this moment. H was solely focussed on the small human girl that walked beside him.

His eyes scanned her face as she began to blush. He was stunned. He could feel heat blossoming in his cheeks, turning them red - just as red as Jude's.

Before he could stop himself, he grasped her hand in his own.

Jude noted that he no longer felt cold, and that his hand felt perfectly warm. 

She sighed a breath of relief, and Jasper smiled as he heard it. 

Both of them, totally oblivious to the stares of the other students around them, continued their journey to Jude's next class hand in hand.