Jasper's Visit

○●○ Jasper's Visit ○●○

"Bella? How long have you been up?" Charlie asked as he walked into the kitchen. It was still dark outside, but Charlie had to get to work. I had woken up in the middle of the night screaming, and I decided to just stay awake. I had been up since two in the morning.

"Not too long." I answered and very slowly sipped my glass of milk. Charlie sighed and looked at me with concern.

"Bells, I'm a little worried about you. You've been so distant, and with the nightmares, maybe it would be best if we called your mom-"

"No!" I blurted. I couldn't leave Forks, not with the chance of the Cullens coming back.

"I don't want you to go, but maybe it would be better for you to go with your mother, just for a while."

"No! I like Forks! I'm not leaving!" I yelled. I wasn't going anywhere. Not now.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. You don't have to go if you don't want to. I just think it might be better if you had a change of scenery is all."

"I'm not leaving." I repeated. Charlie sighed and nodded. He gave up with the conversation and walked into the other room. I could hear him turn on the television and I relaxed a little.

I went to get ready for school to get my mind off of my father's suggestion. I knew that I was far from being my normal self, but I couldn't believe that he actually suggested that I leave.

I walked downstairs and started making some toast for Charlie and I. What would Charlie do for meals if he sent me away? He didn't know how to cook, and I honestly was surprised he survived alone for so long. A faint knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts, and I walked over to answer it. Who would be here so early?

I twisted the doorknob and opened the door. Jasper was standing on the porch close to the wall, trying to stay out of the rain. His golden eyes were soft, which countered his otherwise rigid stance. He was wearing a black jacket, plain jeans and some black boots. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and he stood straight as an arrow.

"Good morning Isabella." He greeted with a nod, his voice like silk. I smiled widely at the vampire standing on my doorstep. I jumped forward and hugged him, unable to contain myself. I was so glad to see him. He stiffened further if that were possible. His cold hand was set on my shoulder and he pushed me backwards gently. I realized that I must be hurting him and I took a step back. I didn't want to bother him with my scent, especially since he had a harder time than the others with his control.

"I'm sorry Jasper, I forgot." I whispered and backed away from him further. He shook his head and smiled just slightly at me.

"It's fine. It's my fault really." He whispered.

"No, I should have known better. I guess I just haven't been around you guys for a while, so I haven't had to worry about that." I said, keeping my words vague incase Charlie accidentally overheard.

"No, it's fine really. No harm done." He assured me. I smiled at him, and he returned it with a small smile of his own.

"You can come in. How have you been?" I asked. He nodded his head, and took a cautious step inside.

"I've been better, but I'm surviving. I'm sure you've suffered much worse. I am really, truly sorry." He sighed.

"It wasn't your fault." I said. He shook his head slightly, and looked down at his shoes for a moment.

"But it was. We could have stayed if it weren't for me." He whispered, peering up at me through his thick eyelashes.

"Did uh.. did Edward tell you that?" I asked with a grimace. Saying his name was still painful.

"We exchanged some heated words on the matter, but no, he didn't specifically say that. He just said that it would be safer for you if we left, but I can only assume that it is my fault. I am the only one who has ever attacked you."

"You didn't attack me, I'm fine." I said. I felt awful that Jasper was blaming himself for all of this.

"I came so close - too close." He sighed. He looked up at me with a blank expression.

"I don't blame you Jasper."

"You should. You are a very kind and forgiving woman, but you should hate me despite that. My lack of control has caused you so many problems." He whispered dejectedly.

"I couldn't hate you. You are like part of my family, Jasper. I could never hate you." I said honestly.

"Thank you Isabella, I needed to hear that." He said and stood up straight once again.

"Just Bella." I corrected. He chuckled quietly to himself.

"That's right, I apologize Bella." He said with another small smile forming on his lips.

"Bells, who are you talking to?" Charlie asked walking into the room.

"Good morning Chief Swan. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Jasper asked in a polite tone.

"Oh, um no. You aren't. How can I help you.. uh-"

"Jasper Hale, sir." He said holding his hand out for Charlie to shake. Charlie shook it hesitantly, and looked over Jasper with a look of confusion. I felt a mild calm feeling wash over me.

"Nice to meet you Jasper." Charlie said, a small smile coming to his face.

"Pleasure is mine, sir." He grinned. Charlie seemed to relax, and forget about his resentment towards the Cullens.

"I thought that your family moved?" Charlie questioned with curiosity instead of hostility like I expected.

"I'm just visiting some relatives. I actually just got a job at the Highschool, so I guess I'll be staying for a while. I was actually wondering if Bella might be willing to give me a ride there." He said casually. I wondered what he would tell Charlie about how he had gotten here without a ride in the first place, but Charlie never asked. I wondered if Jasper's gift had a part to play in Charlie's moment of unawareness. Normally he would be looking for any small hole in his story, but Charlie was completely oblivious to his inconsistencies.

"If that's alright with her." Charlie shrugged.

"Of course." I answered immediately.

"Great." Jasper smiled.

"Well come sit down, you can have something to eat before you go." Charlie suggested. I had never seen him be so nice to a Cullen in all my life, especially not after the incident with James. Jasper's gift really was incredible if it could calm Charlie down.

"No thank you Chief. I've already eaten, but thanks for the offer." Jasper said.

"Should we just go then?" I asked. I wanted to get Jasper by himself so I could ask more questions.

"You'll be really early Bella." Charlie said.

"Not too early, it will be fine." I said. Charlie gave me a skeptical look, but just shrugged his shoulders. If this was Jasper's doing then I would have to thank him.

"Shall we?" Jasper asked tilting his head in the direction of the door. I nodded to him and followed him out. I said goodbye to Charlie before closing the door and walking to my truck, Jasper trailing behind me.

Jasper sat down in the passenger seat, and cracked the window. He looked at me with an apologetic stare.

"Can I leave this open? I think it might help me." He asked quietly.

"Sure. Whatever helps."

He nodded his head. I started my car and we drove down the street. The cold morning air coming from Jasper's window made me shiver. He took off his jacket to reveal a white button-up shirt. He set the jacket next to me.

"You can use that if you need it." He said, and turned his head toward the window.

"Thanks Jasper, are you sure?"

"It doesn't do me any good, so you might as well use it. It's my fault you're cold anyway, it's the least I can do."

"Thank you." I whispered, and put the jacket over my lap like a blanket. It went quiet for a while except for the roar of the engine.

"I assume you have questions." He said breaking the silence. He had his face close to the open window, and he looked pained. It must be hard for him to be so close.

"Tons, actually."

"Fire away." He said quietly.

"Uh.. well first off, are you okay? I mean you fought another vampire. Did you get hurt?" I asked. After all we had gone through to kill James, Laurent must have been pretty hard to kill.

"I'm fine. One little bite is all he managed. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure I'll make a full recovery." He chuckled lightly. He didn't take his eyes off of the woods that were flashing by out the window.

"I didn't scare you, did I?" He questioned.

"No. Why would that scare me? You were helping me."

"I just didn't get the chance to feel your emotions, and I'm curious to how you felt. I generally have a frightening effect on people, so I was just wondering if you were an acception or not. Plus, it would be the natural response to shy away from someone who has made an attempt at killing you." He said, and continued to look out the window with a blank expression.

"You don't scare me. Not at all." I assured him.

"Edward was right, you really don't respond to stressful situations like most people."

"Great, so I'm a freak." I sighed. I hadn't meant to say it outloud, but I was just so comfortable around Jasper. I felt like I could tell him anything. It must have been his gift once again.

"That's not what I meant at all, I find it interesting. Normal people are no fun. You are unique." Jasper said smiling ever so slightly. "And let's not forget that you are sitting next to the biggest freak in Washington." He snickered.

"That must make me an even bigger freak. I hang out with vampires, what could be more freaky than that." I chuckled.

"Being an actual vampire." He stated plainly. "We drink blood, we growl, we sparkle in the sunlight like disco balls.. Do you want me to continue?" He asked with a small grin. I chuckled and shook my head. The car went silent for a while as I came up with more questions.

"How did you know where to find me?"

"I saw your truck on the side of the road, and I followed your scent. Lucky that I did."

"You just decided to follow it? You could have waited for me at my house."

"Well I didn't exactly come for the job, Bella." He said quietly.

"Oh," I whispered. I wasn't sure what more to say to that. I pulled into Forks Highschool, and parked on the far end of the parking lot.

"Why did you start writing out of the blue? Why not just leave me alone like everyone else?" I asked once my truck was turned off.

"Hmm.. well Alice and I.. well we haven't exactly been seeing eye to eye lately. She's been looking all over the place for clues regarding her past. I've tried to help her, but she's been... distant. She wants to do this on her own. Not to mention how miserable she was because she kept seeing you in her visions. I suggested we go back to Forks, but she would never go against Edward. I was feeling rather lonely one day, so I just decided to write to you. I needed to know that I had your forgiveness." He shrugged.

"And the paper swans?" I asked curiously.

"I had a piece of paper and I started folding it, your last name is Swan. There isn't some complex meaning behind them. I just recalled an origami book that I had stumbled across, and decided the swan would be fitting." He shrugged.

"So I was overthinking them?" I chuckled. He smiled slightly and nodded his head.

"I don't really understand why people seem to think that everything I do has a deeper meaning. For an empath I'm pretty straightforward." He chuckled. I smiled and looked out the window for a moment trying to come up with more questions. I watched as students ran inside as the bell rang. We were going to be late, but Jasper didn't seem to mind.

"Librarian's assistant, huh?" I finally asked.

"Yep." He snickered.

"Why do you need a job? You all have money."

"I can't withdraw money from my account, because the others would find out where I am. I'm trying to keep this little trip under the radar. My solution was to open a new account, and make some money for myself."

"They really don't want you to see me, do they?"

"Edward wants you to have a better, vampire free life, and everyone has agreed to go along with that plan. I am here, with you, making sure that doesn't happen. I'd rather nobody find out."

"But Alice-" I began but was cut off.

"Is going to kill me." He finished for me.