Jukebox ✬ Jasper Hale

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     While I get dragged to their lunch table by Mike and Eric, my eyes dart to the corner where the Cullens sat yesterday. Only Rosalie and Emmett are present, whispering to one another, secretive and elusive. I figured Jasper and Alice weren't here because well...couple things.

     "Hey," I briefly speak to Bella as she anxiously watches the Cullens' table. She mumbles something unintelligible as she sits down next to me. I look down at the cafeteria food and poke it around, gagging at the chicken strips that are clearly too rubbery to be actual meat.

     "So, Lila, why'd you move from San Francisco to Washington?" Mike pries about my old life again, and I reluctantly and restlessly answer.

     "My mom wanted to." I give a half-assed response and swallow the lump in my throat.

     "Why?"

     "Our apartment building burned down, and she decided a change of scenery would be nice." The partial truth still hurts to be brought up to someone who barely knows me.

     "Oh." Mike shuts up awkwardly for a minute before lamely adding, "Sorry."

     "It's okay. You didn't know." I smile to play nice, to ease the tension. Mike drops it, and instead, asks Eric about the yearbook. With the attention finally off me, I excuse myself to go to the bathroom, needing a breather from the nearly disastrous conversation. A few groups mill outside in the quad, but it is mostly deserted when I walk through it. I remember seeing a restroom near my Spanish class and head there. I manage to find it and splash some cold water on my face to calm myself down. Halfway while patting my skin dry, a voice booms in the hallway, scaring me to death. 

     "You talked to her?!" An angry voice with a familiar accent yells, probably unaware of my presence. 

     "Relax, Jasper. I only introduced myself to her." A high-pitched, girlish voice rings in the corridor as well. 

     "Alice! The last thing I need is you associating yourself with her!" Jasper is exasperated and furious, and I flinch at his words. 

     "Why not? I told you, everything will work out if only you would talk to her! Why don't you believe me?" An equally frustrated Alice argues. 

     "You know why! Her scent contaminates every inch of this damn school! Even now, her scent is incredibly strong! It's! So! Damn! Irritating!" I hear the sound of metal being slammed, and I assume Jasper has kicked a locker or two. 

      Alice tries to calm him down. "You just need to continue controlling it." 

     "Control?! I can barely control myself around those who get near me! I sit 5 feet from Delilah, and you're telling me to have a little self-restraint?!" 

     "Please, Jasper. If you start talking to her, you'll learn how. You know, the longer you ignore her, the more resentment she'll hold."

     "You think I can focus on that when I'm spending every second putting all of my willpower into resisting the urge to kill her?!" he spats. My brows furrow, and I wonder why Jasper wants to kill me so vehemently. I do my best not to make a sound as I start to panic, almost hyperventilating. 

      "You won't!" Alice asserts. 

      "How do you know?" Jasper scoffs. "After spending only an hour with her, I had to make another two rounds before I was able to calm down, and I had already went once before I met her!" Another loud crash echoes. I manage to quiet myself and listen intently, still not understanding what the couple is fighting about. 

      "I know, Jasper," she answers sternly. "I've seen it in a vision, but it won't come true if you refuse to talk to her!" 

     "I won't! Not for her future or ours!" 

     "You're being selfish!"

     "I'm not being selfish; I'm being cautious!" 

     Alice exhales deeply. "I'm done with this, for now. I have things to fix." I can feel the venom in her voice, and footsteps indicate her exit. Jasper mutters something I can't hear and hits the lockers again. Soon, he's gone with a slam of the door, and I sigh in relief. That was an extremely uncomfortable discussion to overhear. I turn on the faucet to wash my sweaty hands, breathing heavily from the fight. I shut the water off and stare at my exhausted reflection. What was it about me that made Jasper so livid and wrathful? The bathroom door flies open and there stands Alice, who I had assumed already left. 

     "A-Alice," I blurt out, startled. 

     "So, you overheard, I suppose?" Her lips curve upward, but her eyes narrow almost menacingly at me. 

     "I didn't mean to! I was in here, and you two started fighting!" I hurry to explain myself and end up giving a vague description. 

     "So you listened the entire time instead of leaving?"

     "You would have noticed!" I protest weakly. 

     "Well, now you know why Jasper won't talk to you," Alice smiles bitterly. 

     "But...I don't understand...He wants to...kill me? Why?" I ask desperately. 

     "Hm, I don't know."

     "But you clearly do!" I cry out, and her glare quickly silences me. 

     "It's nothing important," she says fiercely and I gulp. 

     "I can't just forget this." 

     "No, but you will keep your mouth shut, won't you?" Alice grins at me, friendly and warmly, but utterly intimidatingly. I nod and she pats my shoulder before leaving. "Good. Just what I expect from a friend." 

---

Just to clarify: Alice isn't mean - she's forceful.

And damn, shit went down this chapter.

Anyways, thanks for reading! ♡