Paradigm Shift

Suspicion

Jasmine had grown suspicious of the three men that she had become close to over the past few months. At first, she thought she was just imagining it. That her mind was just over sensitive from being messed around so much by Damien, but then the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that there was more to these three men than met the eye. The first thing that made her suspicious was when she had first met them. When she had introduced herself, Dean seemed to act strangely. He froze, and the way he looked at her made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. He seemed to stare straight into her soul and, for a moment, her conscience told her to distance herself from him. Then he seemed to snap out of it and smiled at her, and she was suddenly aware of just how handsome he was. The second thing that made her suspicious was that whenever she touched one of them, they were always freezing cold. She herself was sensitive to cold, but they were a lot colder than she was and it just didn't make sense. She knew something was going on and the more time she spent with them, the more she noticed...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

* * *
Dean

The next morning, Jasmine and I made use of the basement gym while Roman and Seth attempted to give us some privacy. I was grateful and pleased when I sensed she was completely at ease in my company. She seemed nervous while approaching the treadmill, but that was to be expected after the fall she had at the performance center.

"I never got the chance to thank you for taking care of me. After I hit my head" 

"It was nothing" I answered.

"Still. I appreciated it" she continued.

I took my shirt off and poured some water over my head, shaking off the excess the same way a dog would after getting a bath. Jasmine laughed at me and I realised it was quickly becoming my favourite sound.

"You're very weird" she said. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"All the time" I answered. "So, when are you and I gonna go for a drink?"

''Are you trying to ask me out on a date?'' She laughed

"It can be a date if you want it to be" I replied

She smiled at me "If it's a date, does that mean you're paying?" 

I smiled. "Sure. I'll pay"

"Then it's a date" she replied 

I took her out to dinner that night, and I tried to look presentable. When we arrived at the Italian restaurant I had chosen, they escorted us to our seats. They placed a basket of breadsticks in front of us, and Jasmine gave the waitress her drink order. When the waitress asked me what I wanted to drink, I could hear her thoughts clearly. 

'oh wow. I wonder If..she's no...she's probably his sister...but...oh, he's so...fine.' 

The waitress was only young, probably in her late teens, and I couldn't find it in myself to be dismissive with her. I ordered a water and offered her a smile before she left.

"You should be careful with that smile of yours" Jasmine said. "It's a lethal weapon"

"What
?" I asked.

Jasmine shook her head at my apparent unawareness. "She likes you"

"That might be, but everyone in this place is staring at you" I replied

"You're wrong" she argued. "It's you they are looking at." 

The waitress returned with our drinks, and Jasmine ordered a lasagne while I opted for the seafood platter. 

I had learnt why vampires preferred an omnivore diet. Cooked food tasted wrong. Liquids were more forgiving. Being around so many people eating was actually making me feel nauseous. 

Jasmine frowned. "I can't remember telling you that Italian food was my favourite"

She hadn't. I'd read her mind "Lucky guess I suppose"

She seemed unconvinced as she stared at me. If I could see the inner workings of her brain, there would probably be cogs turning.

"You, Seth and Roman are three of the most confusing men I've ever met"

The food arrived, and I forgot myself, quickly and effortlessly snapping open the shells to get to the meat inside. 

Jasmine raised her eyebrows as she watched me

"How so?" I asked.

She took a bite of her lasagne before answering, "I'm not sure what it is yet...but there is definitely something different about the three of you"

"Different how? 

"I can't describe it" she answered. "It's just a gut feeling, I suppose." 

"Do you want dessert?" I asked, eager to change the subject.

She had barely finished her main

"Are you a secret feeder?" She asked.

I laughed "Don't be ridiculous"

We finished our drinks, and I took care of the bill, ignoring the note inside with the waitress's number on it. As we stepped outside, it had begun to rain and Jasmine shivered as goosebumps spread across her arms. I shrugged off my leather jacket and placed it over her shoulders. She put her arms through the sleeves and looked up at me as she lifted her arms up. The sleeves were too long for her and seeing her look so small, wrapped up in my clothes, made me feel warm inside. We made our way back to my car and as I drove us back to the house, I could feel Jasmine's curiosity peek once again.

"Dean, can I ask you something?"

I grew nervous as I sensed she was going to ask me something I couldn't answer. "Go ahead"

"That wasn't a lucky guess back there, was it?"

Damn it. I knew I should've said that "Of course it was"

"I've noticed things. Things that can't be explained" Jasmine voiced.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well, for example. If Roman injured his eye during SmackDown, how is it perfectly fine now?"

I hadn't thought about Roman's eye. He had injured it during Fridays SmackDown taping, and it had healed as soon as he got backstage. Of course, she'd noticed. It had only been two days. I did not know what to say to her.

"Dean?" Jasmine pushed. "Please tell me I'm not imagining all this"

"You're not imagining it" I relented "but...I...we can't talk about it"

"Why not?" She asked

"Because it's not just my secret to tell" I answered

We arrived back at the house before she could ask anymore questions and she returned my jacket before making her way upstairs. She didn't come back down for the rest of the night.