Jukebox ✬ Jasper Hale

↢ 5 ↣

     Six o'clock rolls around quickly, like a wave during high tide sweeping the shore. I'm not terrified of Jasper, because it's all just my imagination, but there's a little part of me from our real encounter that tells me to be careful. Whatever Jasper does, whether it's a soft smile or a lift in the air, there's still something to be wary of. 

     Despite the dream-turned-nightmare, I'm enthusiastic, impatient almost to meet up with him because Mother of God, it's dance lessons with a gorgeous guy who likes my company. The sun is out today, further increasing my good mood. Who could imagine that I would be able to be in the arms of a handsome model, dancing to swing music in a beautiful flower field, who equally appreciated and enjoyed my music taste? 

     It seems too good to be true, but there's nothing from stopping me from skipping down the dirt path like Dorothy down the Yellow Brick Road. The warm sunshine on my face, the soft grass at my feet, the singing of birds up in the trees ahead...It's my kind of heaven. 

     Pacing around the clearing, I mentally prepare myself for the excitement ahead. I'm even dancing horribly to my music, avid to be taught how to actually dance by Jasper. After a playlist finishes, I check my watch, and dishearteningly, it reads: 6:21.  My smile drops for a second, but I shrug off the light disappointment and continue to wait, assuring myself with excuses about how he's probably lost. 

     I grow tired of moving my limbs wildly in the air and making a fool out of myself in front of the animals, and I stretch out on the flower beds. I look at the time again and I stare wearily at the 7:00 turning into 7:01 into 7:02 and so on. Since it's summer, the sun has yet to set, but my enthusiasm ticks down when the clock ticks on, light or night. 

     My phone gives off the 10% battery notification, and I realize it's time to head home. 8:00 has been long gone, and my mom calls telling me to come home since it's too late to be lounging in the woods now. 

     I sit up and stare fixedly on the beautiful sunset leaking through the trees. It's a special sight, and I have a feeling it'd be a lot more special if my dance teacher was here, like a sappy scene from a rom-com. The moon sits on the horizon on the walk home, its melancholy crescent reminiscent of the discontentment from earlier. 

     I walk home and up to the porch, imagining Jasper and I saying goodbye to one another, setting up another date for another lesson. Is it wrong to feel so letdown? 

     I step in, noticing Mom and Charlie discussing serious topics in the kitchen. They beckon me to join, and I do so slowly.

     "Delilah, we have some news," Mom says, tone a bit sterner than usual. 

     "Okay?" I wonder if I'm in trouble, or if they're in a rough patch and moving in wasn't such a good idea. 

     "Don't worry," she says, "its good news." 

     "Okay?" I repeat, still unsure of what's happening. 

     "It'll be fun! You can make your first friend here in Forks." 

     "Let me guess... Bella's coming for a visit?" 

     Charlie nods and speaks up, "Sorta. She's staying here until she graduates." 

     "Well, okay." 

     "You're fine with this?" Mom asks. 

     "Of course, why wouldn't I be? She seems...cool. Plus, she might be my sister soon, so I should make nice with her." 

     The words sound more sarcastic that I mean them to be, but they are fueled by mild anger and displeasure from Jasper's no-show. 

     "Delilah, don't be like that." Mom says in a scolding voice. 

     "I'm not, Mom. It's really great that I can meet her. I'm just tired right now." 

     She chews on her bottom lip, unsure if I really mean it. I head to my room before she can press more, and in a matter of seconds, I can hear Charlie comforting her over my cynical behavior. 

     I collapse onto my bed with a heavy sigh, worn down by hours spent anxiously waiting for someone, who made the plans, that never showed, and now, news that Bella will be living with us. I didn't even have time to settle in, and it's already changing. I can see the edge of her bed from my perspective, and I think about what it's like to finally have a sibling. Will she be extroverted and friendly? Or more like me, introverted and awkward? Will we share clothes and gossip until three in the morning about the awful people at school and cute boys? Will we get along or fight? Will we stick up for each other like siblings always do in movies? Will we learn how to understand each other without so much as a single glance? Will we become dependent on one another? 

     I think about the possibilities of Bella and I as good sisters and the best partners in crime, close enemies and even closer friends, like cats and dogs that play fight and end up falling asleep together. 

     Suddenly, the idea of living with her doesn't seem so bad after all. 

---

Jasper is a little ooc at the moment, but no worries; he'll be back to his cold, handsome self soon. 

But aww Delilah wants sisterly love with Bella! That's so cute, honestly.