Now You See Me [Jasper Hale story]

X. More or Less Interesting Battles

"Life's a battlefield, and we remain loyal to those who fight for us; those who'd die for us." - Crystal Woods, Write like no one is reading 

Emmett's girlfriend killed me with arsenal of the most murderous of her murderous glares, when I hugged Emmett, handing him the keys of his Jeep. It was a great drive, for as much as I could tell. The car had a seven-speed gearbox, 285 horsepower, four-wheel drive, and its interior was all covered in leather. Moreover, Emmett turned on the stereo he had installed only a few days ago, and so there, I spent the whole drive intoning Highway to Hell by AC\DC. So no, not even Rosalie Hale had the power to destroy my mood, after what I had experienced.

Nevertheless, I decided to leave Emmett's life to his fate (in which his girlfriend certainly played a major role) and ran up the stairs, slipping into the building of Forks high school. Before I got an opportunity to look around properly however, someone hugged me tightly, singing my name, as if it had been the sweetest compliment in the world.

"Gwyn, you're here! I told Jasper you wouldn't voluntarily miss a day at school, but he wouldn't believe me," Alice graced me with a huge smile, as she pulled away from me. "My, you smell so good today."

"Uhm... thank you," I wasn't sure what to add to her last sentence, therefore, I smiled shyly. "And thank you for sending Emmett to pick me up as well. Seeing his Jeep on the driveway literally brightened my morning."

"I'm glad you enjoyed the trip to school! The Jeep is a real jewel to drive, isn't it?" Alice winked at me, which left me wonder how the hell did she know I was driving. I felt my cheeks heating with wide blush, as my brain started proceeding, when exactly had she managed to talk to Emmett, considering that they hadn't had a phone-call on our way, and that she hadn't seen him after we arrived in school.
Damn, I had to stop suspecting her. Or, to be more accurate, I had to stop suspecting her from something new, when I had already been suspecting her from other, excessively peculiar things. After all, there were a few unpleasant matters I needed to ask her, and now, I had to focus on those.

"Yeah, it is. Alice, I was wondering... are you all right? 'Cause back in the hospital, you seemed uncomfortable about my presence. I mean, I get it – if you don't want to talk to me, you don't have to. It's just that I like you and I don't want to... well, force you into anything."

The girl tilted her head to the left, watching me in confusion.

"Sweetie, if I felt uncomfortable around you, I wouldn't start talking to you three days ago. I like you too, you're my friend, and today, we are going shopping." She clarified, as if nothing had happened. It was time for me to stare at her confusedly. Did she really avoid talking about what happened in the hospital? Had Alice thought, that I'd let her lustful staring at my neck, or the sudden change in her behaviour, go without hunting for explanation? If so, then she was wrong, as a consequence of not knowing me well enough.

"Okay," I murmured quietly, creating a soft smile, which was supposed to give the impression of my being relieved. "Is there any particular reason for our going shopping?"

"Yes!" Squeaking in excitement, Alice entangled her arm with mine. "Bella celebrates her eighteenth birthday on Friday, and I'll be hosting the party in our house. You are cordially invited! But don't bring any conspicuous presents and don't talk about it around Bella yet. I'll have to tell her myself, since she's very displeased with her age."

"What?! How can anyone be displeased with becoming eighteen?" I wondered aloud. "She'll be allowed to own a gun, buy a house, establish own business – shortly, she'll be officially able to do anything I would be sent to borstal for."

"You'll get an opportunity to tell her." Miss Cullen chuckled, releasing my arm. I looked around myself, only to find out that we appeared in front of History classroom, where the first lesson of the day was starting in a few minutes. We agreed on meeting at three, at the front door, before we left for our lessons. I had History, while Alice headed to Biology (rather not to mention how much I wanted to change the subject with her).