Something Just a Little Different (Jasper Hale)

Coffee and Chocolate

"Arri Wills, fancy meeting you here!" Alice gleamed, moving gracefully from her driver's seat to the Arri's door, propping her elbows on the open window and resting her hands gingerly on them.

Arri gave a small smile, "Oh, hey, Alice, yeah, what a coincidence," she returned, giving a small laugh, trying to avoid the piercing hazel gaze of Alice's that always seemed to be a bit too intense.

Alice seemed to notice Arri's uncomfortableness and shifted her look to the book in the passenger seat, "Well, this is the only bookstore in town. And it has a surprisingly good selection," Alice's face broke into a knowing grin, "and I'm not just talking about the books, huh?" She said with a wink, making Arri's face turn a light shade of pink.

Arri gave an awkward laugh, trying to quickly change the subject, "So what are you up to today?" She noticed that Alice had stepped farther away from her window, turning her head toward the cool breeze.

"Oh, I'm not sure what the day might hold," Alice chimed with a sly look on her face, her tone almost sarcastic, a little strained, even. "What are you up to today?"

Arri hesitated slightly, she didn't really want to admit that she was just going to laze around in her pajamas and read all day, but what else could she say? She definitely wasn't going to spout out her near death experience to someone she had just met. So she just told her her plan.

Alice gave a sigh, "That sounds really nice, actually. Just curl up with a good book and relax. Seems like a great stress reliever." Alice said, almost as if she knew about the pent up tension from her earlier experience. Arri noticed that Alice was having to take rather large breaths before she started talking, like she was holding her breath. Arri sniffed the air herself but the only thing she could smell was the coffee. Maybe she doesn't like coffee? Arri thought to herself. 

Again, Arri's face began to burn as she thought back to her early morning experience with the monster cat, but she quickly shook away the feeling. There was no way anyone could know about that. "Yeah, well, moving and a new school can really take its toll," She gave an awkward laugh as she lied, which she was never good at.

Alice's face remained the same, but Arri could swear she saw the girl's eyes change from soft, to accusing. But that was how all the Cullen's were. All too knowing.

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Edward and Jasper both agreed that they shouldn't make any concerns known just yet about Arri Wills. They would of course tell Alice whenever she got back from wherever it is she went, but they didn't even know if the situation was a situation. It could have been just some freak thing that happened. But until they were sure, they were going to keep an eye on the Wills siblings, but not take their concerns Carlisle and Esme.  

"Alice just talked to Arri, she said she didn't seem too shaken up," Jasper spoke, sliding his phone back in his pocket.

"Do you think this kind of thing happens a lot? Because I've seen humans shaken up by a lot less than almost being eaten by a giant cat in the woods." Emmett's voice was sarcastic, but the question posed wasn't too far fetched.  

"Maybe she's in so much shock, she can't feel anything. You know, just kind of functioning on muscle memory?" Rose inquired, but she wasn't really that interested. She didn't like Arri. The girl had only been in town a little over a week and she was already causing problems. And it seemed like she was going to continue to cause problems. Just like Bella had.

Either way, they found it odd that her parents or her brother hadn't insisted on her staying home and resting or visiting the doctor just in case. Which begged the question, did she even tell them? Jasper said she ran back home after her panic attack, but that didn't mean anything.

"Maybe it's the way she smells? Maybe even the animals can smell her blood," Emmett was still trying to brainstorm. With how concerned everyone was, he would never voice that he found the situation curiously intriguing, but he didn't need to voice it to catch a disapproving look from Edward that no one else caught. 

"I would believe that one." Alice had walked into the room, her hair in a recognizable state of slight dishevelment from a hunt. The smell of Arri's chocolate scented blood mixed with the aroma of the coffee she had been drinking was too much for Alice to handle without feeding soon, which worried Edward even more. Alice was one of the best at controlling her urges, especially after having to be around Bella all the time. 

Edward's gaze shifted towards Jasper, who looked like he was concentrating. Glancing into his mind, he saw that Jasper was thinking back to Arri's emotions, during the attack and from the few times he had read them at school. They were thin and almost filtered, not like regular emotions, but when her panic attack struck her, it was like they were amplified ten fold, like they had built up so long, that the stressor made them all flow out at one time.

Neither Edward nor Jasper knew what to make of that knowledge, but Edward was going to keep it in mind the next time he saw her. He made a mental note to try and keep strict tabs on her thoughts while she was in range.

Edward let out a sigh,"Before school we'll all go hunting again. We'll just have to be extra careful and hope there isn't any accidents."