Rock and Roll Rebel

Chapter 2

He sat down at her table at lunch, startling Jessica, Mike, Eric, and Angela. He claimed the seat right next to her. "Afternoon, Bella."

"Hey Jasper," she gaped. Where the hell had he come from?

He only smirked. "Ladies. Gentlemen," he nodded to everyone else, who were still staring. "Mind if I join you?" There was a mischievous glint in his amber eyes.

"Um, yeah," Jessica fumbled, recovering herself quickly and flashing a flirtatious grin. "Sure. Totally."

Bella moved her bag from where it had been resting on the table beside her. Jasper propped his elbows on the table. "Thanks, darlin'," he winked.

Jessica and Angela went back to talking about prom, while Eric and Mike were arguing about the newest video gaming system. Bella turned to Jasper. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Having lunch."

"You don't have any food. Besides, don't you usually sit with your siblings?"

"Not hungry, but I can't have you talkin' history without me," he shrugged. "And as I'm sure you've noticed, my siblings ain't around today. Sorry to disappoint you ma'am, but you'll have to settle for lil' ol' me."

"I'm not," Bella stammered, trying to save face but failing drastically, "why would I be disappointed?"

"There's that pretty blush again," Jasper chuckled. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were sweet on my brother."

"That's... That is ridiculous."

"Of course," he nodded, the same smirk reappearing as he gazed at her, golden eyes taking her in from head to toe. It made her shiver unexpectedly, but not in a way that was totally unpleasant. And she found, she couldn't look away.

He was the one to look away first, and that's when Bella realized Jessica had been trying to get her attention. "Sorry," Bella said, mentally shaking herself as she turned her attention to the rest of the table and decidedly off the brooding guy beside her. "Sorry."

Jessica pressed her lips into an annoyed line. Bella briefly wondered how long she'd been trying to talk to her. "Are you in or out?"

"Uh," Bella wracked her brain as to what the hell she might be talking about, when she happened to glance over at Angela, who was motioning that she needed to be 'in'. Crossing her fingers, Bella said, "In?"

"Good. Angela and I will pick you up at nine on Saturday. Seattle has the best dress shops, and we'll need to be there early."

Shopping. For dresses. Fuck.

The bell rang, and Bella stood as they all filed out of the cafeteria. Jasper was staring at her again. She threw her hands up. "What now?"

"Blue," he nodded, slinging his backpack over one shoulder. "It'd look real pretty on you."

With that, he walked away, leaving Bella annoyed and confused. She glanced toward the usual Cullen table. Maybe on Monday Edward would be back. If nothing else, at least that way Jasper would have somewhere else to sit.