Pain

Arms & Hands

Laura had begun to drive and was heading towards her house, she had told Jasper no one was home and figured it was a good place to talk in private. "So, the no sunlight" she started, glancing at him for a moment. "You don't like, burst into flames do you?" she asked causing Jasper to chuckle, a sound that made her smile. 
"Thankfully not" he assured her. "We... glimmer, or sparkle I guess" he said awkwardly. 
Laura's brows rose in surprise as she nodded and hummed before finally replying. "Better than burning to death" she answered, causing another light chuckle from the blonde as he nodded in agreement. Pulling into the driveway the pair quickly got out, "I don't need to give you an invite do I?" she grinned as they walked towards the front door. 
"No" Jasper smirked. "And garlic isn't a deterrent, and we can enter churches" he cheekily added. 
"Okay smarty pants, I'm not exactly an expert on this" she replied playfully as she opened the door and stepped inside with Jasper following. "Do you want a drink or anything?" she asked, dropping her bag by the stairs. 
"No thanks, we don't really drink or eat" he informed her. 
"But I gave you cooki..." she trailed off, pausing and giving a nod. "You guys were just being nice to me" she smiled, to which Jasper nodded. Making her way to the couch she sat down and Jasper joined her, sitting down to leave enough of a gap between the two. Laura glanced at the gap and then to him, "Are you still worried you're going to hurt me?"
Jasper pursed his lips and shifted his gaze away from her. She smelt enticing, it was like her blood was calling out to him, but when he looked at her, heard her voice, he didn't want to feed on her, to hurt her. "I don't want to hurt anyone, especially not you. But, your... scent is very hard to ignore"
Laura bit her lip as she eyed him. "My scent, does it make you wanna... bite me?" she asked hesitantly, guessing that she already knew the answer. He kept his gaze off of her as he nodded, almost ashamed. Laura exhaled, "You're a vampire, you're going to want blood" she pointed out the obvious, trying to make him feel less bad about himself for something that was natural to what he was. 

Slowly the blonde looked up at her, he was the one that could sense emotions yet she was the one trying to uplift his. "For a human, you're really something..." he breathly chuckled. She was in no way scared of him or what he had the potential to do, maybe it was because she'd been exposed to a different kind of monster already, or because she had more faith in him than he had in himself. Perhaps it was her confidence in him that was aiding his thirst. 
"Something good I hope" Laura added playfully with a smile. Slowly she scooted towards him, quickly speaking before he had a chance to point out her nearing, "How did you become a vampire?"
"Most of my adoptive siblings were turned by Carlisle, but only because they were near death. I, on the other hand, was 19, youngest major in the Texas calvary" he smiled charmingly at the fact before his expression slowly dropped. "Until I met her, Maria. She turned me. She was creating an army of newborn vampires" he began to explain, "There were constant battles for territory in the south, and she would win them all" he exhaled, as he began to delve emotionally back into the past. "I was her second in command and my ability served her well. I trained her newborns but... she never let them live beyond their first year and it was my job to dispose of them" he guiltily confessed, downcasting his eyes once again. "I could feel everything they felt. I was her puppet... I could feel the pain of my human victims too, that mixed with the newborns, it wasn't a way I wanted to continue living"

I could see the pain on his face as he spoke of his past. I felt bad for him, he had been manipulated by that woman, used as a pawn so that she could win territory, making Jasper do the dirty work and end the lives of those young vampires knowing he would experience their pain. I dreaded the mere thought of having to do what he did and feeling the last few seconds of a fearful vampire's end. 

Laura's eyes were soft as she looked at him. "That sounds awful" she sympathised. "I'm sorry she did that to you" Reaching over she placed her hand on his, it was freezing though she didn't flinch away from it, they both shared a look before Laura gently moved her hand back to her side not wanting to make him feel on edge. "How did you meet the Cullens?"
Looking at her Jasper straightened his posture before answering. "Actually, I met Alice first. She saw me coming of course. She got me into the vegetarian lifestyle, she'd seen visions of us with the Cullens so she'd already begun practicing it" 
Laura smiled lightly, "I'm glad you two met" Her words had taken Jasper by surprise, he expected her to feel awkward that he was talking about his former mate. "I'm sorry about the breakup... was that... because of me?" she asked, feeling she already knew the answer. 
"Although Alice's visions are subject to change, she seemed adamant. I didn't know why until last night when she told me" he answered honestly.
Laura started to push on her knuckles as she looked down at the carpet beneath their feet, "Do you, want to get back together with her?" she fearfully asked, glancing up to his golden eyes momentarily. 
Jasper paused as he fell into thought, before speaking, "I owe everything to Alice, she gave me hope, a life without pain, but... I am okay with us not being together" he admitted. Laura's blue hues remained on him as her distress faltered "I have found other sources of happiness" he smiled, and the brunette followed suit.