Incorrect Twilight Quotes - Tumblr Posts

Jessica: Hey, Bella-

Bella: Edward used to call me Bella.

Jessica: Because it's your fucking name.

Edward Cullen and Eric Yorkie would be low-key besties primarily for their similar interests in under appreciated bugs.

Edward: *sighing* Oh, a snail... effervescent

Eric: *giggling and confused* it’s a fucking worm, right over there with the snail.

If the Cullens adopted a Human!Gen Z Girl

Carlisle *patting her on the head*: Good job on your test, sweetie!

Gen Z *freaking out*: What? What was that? Why did you pet me?

Carlisle, confused: I’m proud of you, that was affection...

Gen Z, even more confused: That was what?! You’re what?!!!

Esme, from upstairs: *strangled sobs*

Eclipse Reimagined

Takes place in New Moon, after they get back from Volterra and the Cullens return to Forks, the voting scene

Warnings: this is rated 17+ for mild language, suggestive references, sexual tension and mature themes, mentions/references of self-harm and suicide (throughout the entire series, not just this particular chapter, later chapters will feature sex)

Summary: After saving Edward from the Volturi, the Cullens are back in Forks and discussing the promise Alice made to Aro. Bella has something very important to say, and there are some big changes because of it. Bella’s POV and basically what this scene should’ve been

Side note: Jasper is NOT a C*nfederate in this fic or any of my other ones that I write him in

Edit: I had to heavily edit and repost this as I realized that the timeline of Bella and Jasper’s relationship was moving too fast. I want this to be a more accurate representation of recovery from depression because this book does focus more on Bella’s relationships with all of the Cullens rather than a romantic relationship. I’ll still feature it, but everything was moving too fast

It was weird, seeing them all again, once the exhaustion and mortal terror had worn off. They we’re all exactly the same, of course, just as I left them. Well, actually, just as they left me. But I was seeing them with different eyes, the last several months altering my perception of them in ways I never imagined.

They were all still beautiful. So beautiful. Heart-achingly beautiful. Carlisle was still the same golden god-like being he was a year ago. Emmett still the modern-day Hercules I’d known him to be. Rosalie was a bit different. While still the ethereal angel I remembered, there was a new kindness in her ochre eyes that I’d never seen directed at me before.

It was this minuscule change that forced the remainder of the rose-colored glasses I had plastered to my face to finally fall, and I noticed all the small details I’d been blind to before.

Carlisle’s innate calm and compassionate aura was compromised, the dark circles under his eyes being his new prominent feature. The golden light that he exuded was dimmed, worry and anxiety coloring him gray. Esme, sweet and motherly, stood at his side, with the unnatural stillness that I’d associated with every vampire but her and Alice.

Speaking of Alice, the waif-like girl was also completely still, but more dazedly, as if recovering from a great shock. So focused on the future when her present was falling apart. Jasper stood a few feet behind her, pointedly not looking at anything at all, but especially not me. It reminded me of the first time I’d ever laid eyes on them on my first day at Forks High. Looking at everything and nothing at all.

Emmett and Rosalie stood closest to me out of them all. Edward was dramatically draped along the stairs parallel from his sire. Emmett had abandoned standing still, practically vibrating with nervous energy, like an oversized puppy. He was wrapped around Rosalie, trying to center himself through her apparent tranquility.

Silent and mostly still as they all were, I took initiative to speak first.

“We all know why we’re here tonight. You all might not know the specifics or details, but my point remains. Alice told Aro that I would become one of you, even insisting she’d change me herself,” I paused, gathering the rest of what I wanted to say and preparing myself for the rest. I couldn’t even utter the word ‘vampire’ despite coming to terms with it and accepting the stupid word.

“I either get turned into a-into a vampire, or I am killed,” I continue, gaining confidence slowly. “I know I have to be turned, but ultimately, it’s your choice if you want me in this family. So I say we put it to a vote.” I already knew the answer but I was hoping I’d be proven wrong.

Both Esme and Emmett looked absolutely shocked, the first real expression I’d seen on either of them. Carlisle audibly sucked in an unneeded breath, but there was no other reaction from him. Alice was seemingly still not paying any mind to the discussion. Jasper looked up suddenly from a very interesting part of the floor and looked directly into my eyes. It occurred to me that I’ve never really made direct eye contact with him. I didn’t bother looking at Edward.

Of course, that didn’t stop him from adding his two cents in anyway.

“No. No. Absolutely not. There will be no vote because there is nothing to discuss. You will not become one of us, Bella. I forbid tarnishing your soul like that,” he spat, leaping from the steps to stand in the center of the lopsided circle we’d all formed.

“This isn’t an independent choice, Edward. I want to hear what they have to say,” I argued, walking around him to stand in front of Carlisle and Esme to make my point. I didn’t say the rest of my thought, that this decision wasn’t really a choice at all anymore, because of Edward.

Emmett didn’t wait for his parents to make their choice before coming up to me and gently taking my hand his huge stony one.

“No way in hell is my answer ever going to be a no. You will be a vampire and this is your family,” he insisted, leaning down to convey his sincerity.

Rosalie spoke up after him.

“Bella, I don’t want you to assume I don’t want you in this family or that I would be okay with your death. But vampirism isn’t something we chose, and it isn’t something I wanted for myself. Therefore, I won’t make that choice for you. I’m happy to have you in our family, but I don’t like that vampirism is your only choice,” Rosalie spoke softly, no trace of her usual malice or contempt. She glared at Edward in her last sentence, obviously blaming him.

I nodded, expecting the ‘no’ from her and looked to Alice. Still off in her own mind or her visions, I finally eyed what Jasper’s gaze had been locked on since I’d arrived.

A wave of embarrassment flooded me as the sparkly shards of glass gleamed on the floor near the entrance. The glass fragments from the window I accidentally broke when returning the money Carlisle and Edward had sent me for college. I didn’t regret doing it, it was just embarrassing to remember that my aim was that bad.

At the suddenly fluctuation in my mood, Jasper looked up at me again, taking the chance to voice his opinion.

“I say yes.” Simple, concise, giving nothing away. Jasper.

As if those three words were enchanted, Alice finally snapped out of her trance.

“Of course, obviously yes. I already consider you my sister,” she beamed enthusiastically, a wide smile on her face, as if she’d been part of the conversation all along. I vaguely remembered Edward calling her annoying and couldn’t help but agree for once.

Esme reached out to cradle my face, gaining my attention and pulling me away from Emmett, who’d stood dutifully at my side. She stroked my face lovingly, brushing stray hairs from my eyes and cheeks.

“How could you ever expect us to say no?”

This is what broke the dam that had been building up inside me from the moment I realized that they’d all left and that they weren’t coming back for me, not a single one of them.

My eyes reared up and I pushed her hands away from my face. Why was I giving them the chance to burrow their way back into my life? I was miserable and now they’re here, acting as if nothing happened. Not even an apology. I backed away from all of them, even as Emmett tried to come back to my side, I shoved away, backing up until I hit the foot of the stairs.

Then, I let it all loose. I let myself feel it. After months of telling myself that it was healing. It was gone. Jacob was fixing me. Except he wasn’t. He was taking the edge off, giving me the strength I needed to heal myself, the Sun heating up a frozen tundra of pain. But I was still so cold, still hurting, and I couldn’t turn away from it or ignore it anymore. A sunny day couldn’t change a permanent climate. I’d thought that’s what I’d wanted all along. It’s why I came here tonight, I wanted my family back. But they’d left me. Were they ever my family to begin with?

Jasper gasped and leaned awkwardly away from the onslaught of my emotions, an ocean of everything I’d felt since they left. He seemed physically pained by my mental anguish.

“How could I expect the people who left me to turn me away? Now that’s an interesting question,” I began, voice low and overly calm.

Edward turned and opened his mouth.

“Shut up. Just shut up. It’s my turn. I am going to say my piece and you are all going to fucking listen to me!” I was yelling by the end, it was unnecessary, they could all hear me perfectly if I was mouthing my words.

“How could I assume you’d say no? Hmm? Excellent question, Esme. Let’s start with you, Edward. How could I assume that you, the guy who took me into the woods to break up with me and left me there, could say he didn’t want me in his family?” Bitter sarcasm dripped from my tone, and I glared at someone who I once thought was the love of my life.

“Bella-“ He tried again.

“Nope, still my turn. Nothing to worry about, though, I’m done with you. I only went to Volterra to stop you from doing something stupid, and because I love you. But I’m not in love with you anymore, Edward. I don’t want to be with you. I’m done with your manipulation and controlling,” I stated, standing firm as I watched his perfect face crumple in confusion and distress.

The rest of the Cullens looked at me shocked, Esme looking between Edward and I in disappointment and shock. I laughed with no humor, narrowing my eyes at all of them.

“You all left me. You didn’t want the weak, useless human around to play with anymore, so you took off, not even considering what would happen to me.” I whimpered, letting the sadness over some the rage momentarily, before my gaze landed on Alice, and suddenly, it was back.

“And you, my so-called sister. You want to know what the worst part is? I called you and emailed you every single day, begging you to come back. And then I remembered how your visions worked. Decisions. You knew. You knew this whole time. You knew how I’d end up if you left the way you did, and you let it happen,” I sobbed, the anger triggering my tear ducts.

“Edward, you knew, too. And you did it anyway. You knew I’d end up miserable and basically catatonic and you shattered my heart anyway,” I cried, waves of tears clouding the guilty expression on his mournful face. I didn’t care about sparing his feelings anymore, not after remembering all the times I purposely hurt myself and almost died just to hear his chiding voice.

“What?”

Emmett came at me again, enraged. His large frame shook with each slow step. His once bright butterscotch eyes were black with anger, but I didn’t have it in me to back away.

“Bella, what the hell are you talking about,” Rosalie questions for him, explains what he was asking. As if she didn’t know.

“Are you fucking serious?” They stomped on my heart, tore my entire mentality into shreds and abandoned me just when I felt like I was truly being loved and cared for, and had the gall to act as if they didn’t know.

“Bella, we left because you broke up with Edward. You said you couldn’t deal with our world anymore, but swore to keep it to yourself,” Jasper said, ducking farther behind Alice and turning around to look out the large windows. His reflection was distorted by my human eyes and the dimness of the lights. Esme came closer to me, acting as if Edward wasn’t there as she skirted around him. Rosalie stayed where she was, eyes focused on Emmett. Carlisle looked lost, confused and distrustful, expressions I’d never seen on him. Alice moved slightly in Edward’s direction, going to comfort him.

“Please, tell us what happened,” Carlisle pleaded, coming out of his stupor.

It never once occurred to me that they didn’t know. I’d always believed that the entire family acted as a unit. I don’t know if it made it more painful for me. As painful as it was to recount it, though, I wanted them to know. I wanted them to know everything I went through and felt. Because even if they were unaware, they still left, never bothered to check in on me or say goodbye. Just because they didn’t have the intention, doesn’t mean they’d hurt me any less. I sighed before retelling the events of the last several months.

“The day you left, Edward walked me out to the woods, away from the path. He told me that more and more people noticed Carlisle’s lack of aging that that you all needed to leave. He made it clear I wasn’t invited along. He said I wasn’t good for him, good enough for him, that vampires’ attentions were so fleeting and that he was sorry he left our relationship go on for so long.

“He left after making me promise to not do anything reckless and promising that it’ll be like he never existed. I tried to follow him at first, but I ended up just getting lost. So I tried to find my way out, but it got dark and I was tired and heartbroken.

“I collapsed, it was cold and I think a part of me hoped to die. Sam Uley found me before pneumonia could really set in. He saved my life,” I finished, the slight silver lining in it all curbing my anger.

“At least those mutts are good for something,” Alice growled, her normally gorgeous face twisted into an ugly grimace.

“Don’t! Don’t call them that. They sacrifice a normal life to protect their tribe and land. They saved my life multiple times, not just when I jumped from that cliff. Remember Laurent and Victoria, who I told you would come back for revenge? Well, I was right. She did come back, and she wants to kill me. The Quileute pack is the only thing that kept me alive. Jacob is the only person who kept me happy and feeling almost complete. It was him, not you. Not any of you. I don’t want to hear a single one of you call those brave boys any sort of derogatory term or insult ever again!” I never imagined myself resenting Alice for any reason, but this was the last straw. Manipulating my future, using me as a human doll, guilting me, I could deal with that. But the pack were my friends and the only ones who were there for me in my time of need. They weren’t. I couldn’t trust the Cullens anymore.

“You know what, I’m not even going to give you the opportunity. I’m done. I’m done wasting my breath on you, trying to be good enough for you. I’ll find some other way to avoid being executed by the Volturi.

“All I wanted was to be loved by someone who didn’t consider me a burden. You said I was family, and familial love is unconditional. But this isn’t love, and I’m tired of having to fight for something I should just receive. I raised my own mother, who neglected me, had me pay the bills and buy our groceries. She completely demolished my room as soon as I left for a craft room. When I met you, I thought ‘this is what love is supposed to look and feel like’ but I was wrong. And I’m not sitting around for it any longer. I’m not listening to your lies.

“Funnily enough, Rosalie is the only one of you I consider trustworthy. Because even though she didn’t like me, disproved of my relationship with Edward, at the very least, she didn’t lie about it. She never promised me a lifetime of family and happiness when it would never happen. All of you did. And I deserve better than that. I do. I deserve better,” I finally finish, having walked to the door. Even to my own ears, my last words sounded untrue. If I’d never received real love, maybe I just didn’t deserve it.

“Wait, Bella, just let us give you a ride. Then you don’t ever have to speak to the likes of me again. I promise that my selfishness and evil won’t ever plague your heart ever again,” Edward blubbered, of course finding any excuse to make this about him.

“No. I’d rather take my chances dying out in the woods by walking than ever getting in your car again,” I answer, not admitting that I was still afraid of his driving. Edward ducked his head shamefully.

I walked out, breathing in the cold night air and trekking down the gravel drive way, happy that it was only cold and not rainy.

It occurred to me not five minutes later that the driveway was a mile long and that I’d be here a while just getting to the main road. Then I’d have to make my way all the way across town just to get to my house. Still, I wouldn’t let go of my pride and call one of them, I meant what I said.

I didn’t care about what they said Edward told them. They still left. I was still miserable and depressed. They automatically believed him, didn’t even question him, or check up on me. Unintentionally or not, it doesn’t change the effect.

Ten minutes later, in the second half of my walk down the driveway and near a thickening in the trees that hid the Cullen mansion, I felt a presence and halted my steps.

“Either you kill me or you fuck off, not many options here and I am not in the mood for anymore bullshit tonight,” I called out into the darkness, not bothering to turn around. Maybe Laurent was lying and Victoria would let her anger get the best of her and kill me quickly.

“How about we do neither and I talk to my younger sister. If you’re still alright with me calling you that?” His hesitant and sad tone made my heart lurch. But I held firm.

“I don’t want a ride, Emmett.”

“Okay, then I’ll walk with you. If Victoria and Laurent are still after you, I can’t let your friends have all the fun,” he chirped jovially, his usual good mood restored.

“It’s just Victoria, actually. The wolves got Laurent after he tried to kill me,” I explained. I meant what I said, but most of my anger was targeted at Edward and Alice. While I was still ticked off at the rest, Emmett made it hard to be mad at him.

“Awh! I mean, I’m glad you’re okay, but I hated that I missed out on that!” I knew what he was doing, but all my suffering would be for nothing if I just forgave him. Even if I was never directly mad a Emmett specifically, he still believed Edward’s lies and left me to suffer.

“Did you really think I was scared of you?” The million dollar question.

“No, not really. But everyone was freaked out over your birthday. Jasper was having a vampire aneurysm. And Rosie was eager to leave, explore and get out of high-school. She’s very happy that you trust her, by the way,” he stage-whispers. I could hear the guilt in his voice, though.

“Emmett, I would never ask you to choose between Rosalie, your mate, and me. That’s not fair,” I assuage. I was still most definitely upset that he left but I can’t blame him for circumstances out of his control.

“I know, but still. It’s not like they could’ve stopped me or forced me to go. I chose to. I left you, a person I love very much, behind because I let everyone get the better of me. I’ll never forgive myself for that.”

“I can’t forgive you for leaving, for your part in making me feel the way I did. I can say I do, and for a moment, I may even feel like I do. But it wouldn’t be real, and it wouldn’t last. If you want forgiveness, it’ll take time, and work. From both of us. But, I can forgive you for conforming to the rest of them, though. I can do that,” I tell him thickly. I don’t know what I wanted from the Cullens, but if I wanted anything, it had to be a two-way effort, and I wasn’t alone in that anymore.

“Thank you.” The relief in his voice was thick and if he were capable, I’d think he was tearing up a little.

“So you gonna walk me all the way home?” We walked in companionable silence for a while before I had to ask.

“There are definitely faster ways to, but yes. Guarding it, too. Need to keep away Victoria and get away from Edward’s mopey ass,” he replied, throwing faux punches in the air.

“Could you keep away Edward, too? It creeps me out how he could so easily get into my room when I’m asleep and unaware. I always hated when he would watch me, but when we were dating, I thought it was cute. But it’s not. It’s creepy and slightly perverted. Please, don’t let him get into my house,” I beg. For most of those seven months, I did nothing but replay the memories of my entire relationship with Edward. Over time, the glow of them faded to reveal just how disproportionate and toxic we were to each other.

“What?!” A new voice.

Jasper stalked out of the shadows, an expression of rage painting his heavenly face. It was the same look Emmett had on his face earlier, when I mentioned how I was doing when they were gone. Only much, much scarier.

“Edward did what?” His voice was much calmer now, sensing and probably misreading my apprehension and fear. Even after everything that’s happened, I wasn’t afraid of Jasper.

“Hey, Jas, where’d you come from?” Emmett proved that most vampires had the attention span of a goldfish.

“I had the same idea as you; make sure Bella got home safe. What did Edward do?” Jasper disproved that vampires had the attention span of a goldfish.

“Before and during our relationship, Edward would sneak into my room at night and watch me sleep. Said he was protecting me and thought I was fascinating. It’s a lot creepier to me now than it was then,” I explain. Emmett and Jasper exchange a look.

“We knew he went to your house every night but we just thought he was watching out for your property, not inside of it. That’s all kinds of messed up. Don’t you worry, sugar, no one will be bothering your slumber tonight as long as me and Emmett are around,” Jasper declared, slapping a hand on Emmett’s shoulder.

A strange warmth filled me at the nickname and I shivered, playing it off by acting like I was colder than I was. It was pretty cold, now that I thought about it, and the ice statues on either side of me weren’t helping all that much.

After a few minutes, Emmett’s innate impatience got the best of him.

“Can’t we just run you home, Bell? This walking business will take forever,” he complained, shuffling around and kicking up rocks because of the excess energy.

“I was under the impression that vampires don’t really notice the passage of time,” I quip, leaning towards Jasper to avoid the dirt Emmett was kicking up.

“Well, those vampires have never been around you. Besides, it’s too cold for you to be walking around at this time of night,” Jasper retorts, leaning away from me. Probably for his own control.

“Spent the last year avoiding gruesome death only to be taken out by hypothermia,” I deadpanned, rolling my eyes.

The silence after my joke was near deafening and I realized that I’d made that joke in the wrong company. Jacob and Quil would’ve laughed, but the vampires who were paranoid over my safety might find my dark sense of humor less than amusing. Especially since they got back only months after nearly killing me themselves.

Jasper was flexing his hands, seemingly unconsciously, and had his face turned away from me. Eyes trained on the forest, he probably saw it all perfectly, despite the darkness. Emmett was staring at the stars, a near serene look upon his face. I could tell he didn’t find my joke all that funny, but he wasn’t upset by it. Not like Jasper clearly was, for whatever reason.

Taking a large risk, I swung my hand over to “accidentally” brush my fingers along the back of Jasper’s hand apologetically. He flexed his fingers once again in response, surprised by the gesture and batting my attempt at reconciliation away. Not entirely forgiven then. I flushed at the reminder that vampires weren’t nearly as physically affectionate as the wolves I’d been keeping company with.

After a pregnant and awkward pause, Jasper spoke.

“I’m gonna got back to the house and get my car. It’s too cold out here for you, Bella, and you’re clearly exhausted. I’ll be right back,” he declared without looking at me. He sprinted off into the trees, headed in the general direction of the house.

Me and Emmett stopped walking but didn’t talk. Jasper was right, though, it was freezing out here and I was so tired, of everything. Mentally and physically. I pulled my thin sweater tighter against me and tried to keep my teeth from chattering now that the initial spurt of adrenaline I’d had had run it’s course.

“He still blames himself, you know. That thing you said, about vampires not feeling the effects of time, it doesn’t apply to Jasper, at least not when it comes to you,” Emmett commented, staring off into the area where Jasper had disappeared. He’d been waiting to say this and waited until Jasper was out of earshot to do so.

“He didn’t want to leave, after your birthday. He felt like he owed you an apology and more. He wanted to stay behind, but when Edward had come back the next day, saying that you were afraid and had broken up with him, it’s like something had been drained out of him. For the first few months, this awful grief surrounded him constantly, the guilt overwhelmed me and everyone else. It’s why me and Rosie got married again, so that we’d have an excuse to leave.

“We got back to the main family a few days before Edward had taken off to Volterra. We got the news that you’d killed yourself and that Edward was going to the brothers to do the same. Oh god, that was the worst feeling! Not only dealing with my own grief, but Jasper was enhancing and emitting everything he was feeling. Sent me flat on my back, it was that painful.” Emmett winced, apparently caught up in the memory of that day.

I’d never really thought about my relationship with Jasper. He was Edward’s handsome older brother, my best friend’s husband, the Cullen I knew the least about. Edward had always insisted that I be cautious around Jasper, or even preferring that I avoided him at all costs. He was new to the vegetarian diet, had the worst control, the most slips, the most dangerous of them all. And Jasper had done nothing to correct these notions, to my understanding. We were hardly ever in the same room, we never spoke outside that time in Phoenix, and while he didn’t hold the same disdain for me that Rosalie had, I could tell that it took him a while to accept my presence in their lives.

“I never knew. I know that night wasn’t his fault, I was never mad at him. I certainly never blamed him for anything that happened after, he has to know that,” I insist. I thought it was obvious. I was the clumsy little human who got a paper cut in front of a bunch of vampires. And, besides, Edward was the one who threw me into a wall, where I fell onto a glass table. If anything, he did the real damage, not Jasper.

“Nope. Jasper couldn’t deal with it at all. He took philosophy classes, forced himself to be around human blood and resist, even got CPR certified. It really ate at him. He became a regular Carlisle. Just a few months after we left, he divorced Alice.”

“I’m sorry, he what?!” I had no idea. While they weren’t standing as close to each other as Carlisle and Esme or Rosalie and Emmett, I’d never really seen them being particularly affectionate, so I didn’t think anything was amiss. I did know that he loved her very much, that was obvious. It never occurred to me that they’d ever split up, I didn’t think that could happen in vampire relationships.

“Alice was finding out more about herself, her life before vampirism, but she was still so focused on the present and the future. Jasper couldn’t let go of what happened, he couldn’t let go of the past. He couldn’t take her being all over the country, blaming him for us leaving but never addressing the issue. One night on one of her rare visits, he’d delivered the papers and took off on a hunting trip. When he’s gotten back, she was gone and the papers were all filled in,” Emmett told me, answering my unspoken question.

I couldn’t help but feel as if this were my fault. They were all together and happy before I’d come along and ruined things with my humanness. Maybe once I became a vampire, everything would right itself. Only difference between this time and the last time I’d had this fantasy was that this time I wouldn’t be with Edward. Everything else would go back to the way it was, and Jasper and Alice would be back together without me ruining it.

There wasn’t much satisfaction in that thought like I hoped there would be.

Bright headlights lit up the path ahead and the purring of an engine filled the air. A black impala pulled up beside Emmett and I, with Jasper inside, fiddling with the controls of the heater. The chilly temperatures combined with the warmth inside the car caused a thick fog of condensation to build up on the windows and windshield.

Emmett went the passenger door and yanked it open, only to have Jasper hold his hand out to stop him.

“Heater’s warmest in the front seat, Bella needs to warm up so you’re sitting in the back,” he ordered, leaving no room for argument.

“Oh, c’mon, man. I was raised better than that. I was just opening the door for her, is all,” Emmett whined, tugging it open again for me to climb into the seat.

Emmett clambered into the back as I shivered from the rapid shift in temperatures. Jasper frowned and went to once again mess with the heater before a wrapped my hand around his long fingers.

“I’m fine, just adjusting. Body regulation is an unfortunate side affect of mortality,” I joked, this one earning the smallest upward lift of his full lips.

He relaxed back into his seat but didn’t start driving or move his hand away from mine. I didn’t move my hand either, challenging him even though his fingers felt like popsicles. Jasper looked between me and our joined hands rapidly, as if unable to process the contact. Once it dawned on to him that his hand was still in mine, he yanked it away as if on fire and put the car into drive.

Pulling up to my house, I turned to give my goodbyes to Emmett only to see that he wasn’t in the car anymore. My door lurched open and next thing I knew, I was being cradled in Emmett’s strong grip and being transported to the tree under my bedroom window. Even from outside, I could hear Charlie’s loud snores.

Suddenly a hard force launched itself into us.

Emmett growled and put himself between me and our attacker only for us both to realize it was just Jasper. He had a near feral look on his face and was trying to wrench me from Emmett, if his hands burrowing under Emmett’s arms to lock on my arm and hip were anything to go by.

“What the shit, Jazz?! What the hell are you doing?” Emmett exclaimed quietly.

“What are you doing. She’s not a football Emmett, she could get hurt and you’re not careful enough to get her into that room without damaging her or the house,” he hissed, still trying to gently pry me away from Emmett.

“I am always careful with Bella. She’s never gotten hurt with me around,” he boasted. Jasper glared and Emmett realized his mistake but kept his hold on me.

“If you two want to sit and argue about how to get me into my house without actually getting me into my house, I’m more than happy to let you and just walk through the front door. I’m freezing and sleepy, and you two ice sculptures aren’t helping,” I stated, getting annoyed.

Emmett relinquished his grasp on me and stepped aside, holding his hands up in surrender with a sheepish expression on his face. He leaned up against the house and watched the darkness for any threats, already taking to his new guardian role. I hoped it would be enough to keep Edward away. At this point, I was more worried about him than Victoria.

Jasper held onto me though, and hauled me closer in his embrace. He then pulled me up against his body so that our fronts were touching and launched us both onto a branch just below my window. I tried to think about gross and dirty things to keep from thinking about how I could feel every part of his hard body pressed tightly against my soft one. Emmett climbed onto the branch closest to the opening and just as I began to worry about the excess weight breaking the tree, he opened the window for me and Jasper to get through.

Jasper carefully deposited me onto my bed and Emmett collected every blanket in my room to tuck me in with. I could barely breathe but didn’t have to heart to criticize his efforts. After kissing my forehead and wishing me goodnight, he sprang from the window to a tree at the edge of my property to keep watch for the night.

Jasper hang back, standing at the farthest end of my room from me. After Emmett’s departure, he crept up to my side and shifted the blankets more comfortably around me with a soft smile on his face. He leaned down near my face and brushed a few stray hairs from my cheekbones. An errant thought floated in my mind but I squashed it before I could truly ponder it.

“Goodnight, sugar,” Jasper breathed before straightening and making his way to my window.

“Jasper, hold on,” I whispered, alert to my father’s slumber and not wanting to risk him waking up.

Jasper turned around and made a single stride to stand at the edge of my bed.

“I was mad at you, too, when you all left me,” I started. He nodded forlornly and looked down at my covers.

“I mean, we weren’t close, but you were my family, too. I missed all of you, but I was so mad that you were all so cowardly as to not even say goodbye,” I continued, needing him to understand.

Jasper’s face whipped up in surprise, analyzing every twitch in my expression for any insincerity.

“That night wasn’t your fault at all. It was nothing to me. I don’t want you to blame yourself for something out of your control,” I concluded.

“Except it was. Bella, I’ve been with the Cullens for many decades now. At that point, I should’ve had a better grasp on my control, at least enough to not ruin your birthday,” Jasper groaned, running a hand through his hair.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure my birthday party was ruined by Edward throwing me into a glass table,” I remarked, trying to lighten the mood before bitterly adding, “my birthday itself was ruined by having a birthday party at all.” Even after all these months, I couldn’t get rid of the ire I’d felt at Alice and Edward for guilting and forcing me into having a birthday party.

“Not me going after you like a rabid dog. Surprising,” he mumbled flatly.

“Jasper, did it ever occur to you that you maybe didn’t attack me because of your lack of control, but Edward’s. He told me once that you can take in his bloodlust as your own. Doing that for months on end, then having to prevent him along with an entire room full of hungry vampires from killing me is quite a feat. No one can rightfully blame you for cracking after trying to protect everyone else. If anything, you’re the reason I’ve survived this long,” I conclude, resisting the urge to call him closer for a hug I know he’s not ready for. The wolves helped a lot with making me more comfortable with physical contact and affection so it became a habit to have a cuddle buddy.

The look of light that covered his features was near blinding. As if seeing the world anew for the first time. It had never once occurred to him that a lapse in control could be anything other than his fault. I doubt having Edward and Rosalie around, two people who actively hated vampirism, helped Jasper’s self-esteem much. A wide smile graced his mouth as he processed this. It made me happy to see it, he rarely expressed emotion in my presence, ironically.

Jasper sighed aloud happily and gave my foot a light squeeze. Coming closer he leaned into me, closer than ever before.

“Goodnight, sweet Bella. Have good dreams and thank you,” he beamed, his nose brushing mine.

I blinked and he was gone. I stayed up the rest of the night with heated cheeks and confused thoughts.

*******

Going to school after not getting any sleep in a week was a self-inflicted punishment that I kicked myself over the entire day. I know that Charlie would’ve let me stay home to sleep in, but that would mean that he’d also stay home to keep an eye on me and I didn’t want to deal with that.

I didn’t see Emmett or Jasper when I’d woken up or on my way to school.

Edward and Alice, as reportedly the only Cullen siblings that were still in school, were reinstated as students and were back in class. The both of them manipulated their schedules to be with me in most of my classes, much to my chagrin.

In almost every class, I had to deal with Alice’s chattering of already planned weekends that I hadn’t agreed to, or worse, Edward’s self-involved “apologies” and him attempting to get back together with me. It was a migraine to deal with, and I regretted just not dealing with Charlie’s staring.

To make matters worse, me clearly being on the outs with Edward stirred up all kinds of shit with my human friends. Except for Angela, the godsend who I was tempted to kiss on the mouth. She was concerned, of course, but because of me looking like roadkill that had been carbon frozen to study.

Mike was particularly talkative to me today, chatting my ear off with a bunch of things I had no interest in, like wrestling and race car driving. As annoying as this was, it was just as irritating to be on the end of Jessica’s third degree, firing question after question about my absence and the Cullens sudden reappearance in Forks. I suspected it was mostly to keep me from talking to Mike. I had no doubt that all of my words would be twisted and recited to Lauren Mallory and then to the entire school. I didn’t care much, but it was more unwanted attention and all I wanted to do was sleep.

Thankfully, due to me zoning out every few minutes, the school day went by somewhat quickly. As I walked to my truck, alone, I was surprised to see a tall presence leaning against the driver’s side door. Jasper gazed as me with a new sense of warmth, similar to Rosalie’s from last night, and shook his blond hair out from rain that had collected in the strands.

He greeted me with a smile and a nod, taking my backpack and shouldering it himself. His dark navy long-sleeved v-neck stretched out attractively across his broad chest and I realized I’d never seen him in anything other than corduroys and designer pull overs. A pair of heavy duty boots replaced his loafers, I noticed joyfully. For the first time since I had first gotten to Forks, Jasper didn’t look so stiff and uncomfortable. Those classes must have done wonders for him.

“What’s got you in a good mood all the sudden? You looked like you were about to collapse back there,” Jasper noted amusedly.

“I’d suggest spending a day with nosy teenagers after a week of no sleep but seems like you already do,” I jested, putting all my weight onto my truck for support. “New wardrobe?”

“Uh, yeah, needed a change,” he answered awkwardly. I remembered that he didn’t know I knew about his divorce. “So, besides the obvious, how was school?”

“Same old, same old, but worse. After my change, if I ever decide to take up the non-vegetarian diet, Jessica and Mike are at top of my list,” I muttered darkly, not even having the energy to smile mockingly like I would’ve done otherwise.

“Luckily for them, we’ll probably have to leave after your change. It would be interesting to see you both remember this moment and commit to it long enough to act on it,” he laughed. He had a nice voice, deep and rich, the slight accent was uncharacteristically warm from what I knew of vampires.

His face shifted into a pissed off frown. He looked at something behind my head, glaring at whatever intrusion that had interrupted our conversation.

“What is it?” I ask, turning to find out about what he was glaring daggers at.

Edward stood across the lot at his Volvo with Alice at his side. How I ever found him and his sedan attractive is something I will forever be ashamed of.

“It seems like your dear ex isn’t so happy with our little jokes,” he clarified, leaning down to speak into my ear directly.

This seemed to upset Edward even more and he slammed a hand onto the roof of his vehicle and climbed in. Alice looked over at us critically before following his lead and they sped out the parking lot.

“Oh yeah, I had to deal with them tag teaming me all day. I only had one class without them today and that was lunch. Well, they were in the lunch room, but I didn’t sit with then,” I babbled.

“Lunch isn’t technically a period, but I’ll talk to Esme and Carlisle about it. They’re more concerned with your safety and happiness at the moment than Edward’s dramatic ass,” Jasper offered.

“You all really didn’t know, did you?” I inquired, peering up at him through my lashes.

“No. If I had I would’ve been on my knees, groveling for your forgiveness. After kicking Edward’s ass for hurting you like that. No way to treat a lady, especially not you,” he drawled, accent thickening with guilt.

I put a hand on his bicep, forcing him to meet my gaze. “Jasper Hale, I will tell you this only once. It is not your responsibility to make up for Edward’s actions. Only he can do that, not that I’d ever forgive him, even if he managed it. You have a much higher chance of being forgiven,” I say teasingly

“Your forgiveness is currently my sole focus in life besides this whole Victoria business,” he responds sadly. I pursed my lips, trying to alleviate his bad mood, but at the same time, I knew he needed to do what I did. Work through it on his own, with me and others supporting him on the sidelines. It would be hard for Jasper to work through years, decades, of mistrust and over precaution. It wasn’t an overnight process, especially not for a vampire.

Suddenly, his melancholy changed to irritation as he once again peered to a spot behind my head. A quick surveillance revealed all my human friends standing around Tyler’s car in a shocked trance. All their eyes were focused on only Jasper and I. With the exception of Angela, who was really living up to her name, they all had expressions of disproval and judgment. Notably, Jessica and Mike looked upset, though I’m sure it was for opposite reasons.

“Oh good, I can hear tomorrow’s gossip now. ‘Bella Swan, depressed catatonic is now making her way through the Cullen men after their sudden return’. Ugh,” I moaned, turning back to Jasper.

“Don’t worry too much about it. It’s just petty high school jealousy, and at most, it’ll last for a few more weeks. But if it bothers you that much, then tell them something, Bella,” Jasper urges kindly before moving to toss my backpack through the open front window of my car. Not surprisingly, I didn’t see Jasper’s vehicle around anywhere, he must have ran here.

“I forgot to ask, what are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy, you are most definitely the best part of my awful day, but I’m curious,” I asserted.

“Taking you home. I was worried Edward would try something so I showed up to ward him off. I’ll ask next time though, I was just really worried,” he divulged, wiggling his eyebrows goofily.

It pleased me that he was both telling me the truth and letting me decide how I wanted to go about the situation with Edward. It was so different than how Edward himself had treated me in our relationship that it was a relief that Jasper cared about my input. I cringed inwardly thinking about how those standards were scraping the bottom of the barrel and how much they mattered to me because of Edward’s backwards thinking.

“Thank you, l appreciate it. I think I can handle him, but today wasn’t in my favor so I’m grateful you showed up,” I said.

“It’s no problem. Let’s get you home,” he suggested, pulling open my door, letting me into the driver’s seat without comment. Another thing Edward never did. He always had something to say or criticize and he almost never let me drive. It was infuriating and I’m happy I don’t have to deal with it anymore.

The drive over to my house had initially started off awkwardly before fading off into a more companionable silence as I got over the shock of being in such close proximity of the elusive Hale brother. In my head, I just kept comparing him to Jacob, or Emmett. The two were actually quite similar if I didn’t look at the whole “mortal enemies” aspect of their biology. They both knew all the best ways to make me laugh and neither of them could stand silence when it came to hanging out with friends. They were both the closest things I had to brothers. While I’ve never exactly seen Jasper a brother, a fact made even more prominent by me breaking things off with Edward, it was obvious that he would become a more involved fixture in my life.

Jasper himself seemed to be lost in thought, looking very out of place in my truck. Edward was just small enough to not be too uncomfortable with the lack of space in the cab, but both Jasper and Emmett are significantly bigger than Edward is. Jacob complains about it all the time. To my own self admonishment, I was hoping that Jasper would focus more on his bodily discomfort rather than torture himself with my scent.

When we pulled up to my driveway, I noticed that Charlie’s car was absent from the driveway, thankfully. Maybe if I invited Jasper inside, we can get to know each other as people, rather than my boyfriend’s dangerous older brother talking to his little brother’s nuisance human girlfriend. I knew it would be a long road, and I still hadn’t completely forgiven the Cullens for their departure, but learning about what happened on their side of those seven months made me realize something. The Cullens weren’t a single unit. They weren’t angels or gods. They were none of the things I had convinced myself they were as I dealt with my own self-consciousness. They were all each just people. Extraordinary and inhuman, but still people. And I didn’t really know anything about any of them.

Much to my horror, though, as I turned to invite Jasper in, I found him gone. As if he’d never been there at all.

Edward: I can't forget about her. Bella. What a beautiful, lovely girl. I can feel it, the deep love in my heart for her. My heart's belongs to her now! She's like an obsession to me, she's making me crazy!

Rosalie: Leave her out of this! It's not Bella's fault! You were already a lunatic before you met her.

Carlisle : Stefan! Vladimir! It's nice to see you two.

Stefan : You poor thing. What kind of life do you have...

Vladimir :...if seeing us brings you joy?

Aro before Sulpicia: Brother? Do you think there will be someone who will tolerate my mood swings?

Marcus: Tolerate? I'm going to say a toast for that person if they are still alive. It is more than enough if they survive your mood swings, don't be greedy.

I didn't fight myself to the top of the food chain for to be a vegetarian.

- Caius of the Volturi, after Carlisle invited him to go hunt with him for the first and last time.

Emmett : I love arguing with you.

Edward : Why?

Emmett : Because you remind me of a wild turkey. Even your voice sounds like one.

Edward : I think I fell in love.

Rosalie : Poor fool... what did that person do to deserve such cruel punishment?

Vladimir : Are we really that unbearable together?

Stefan : Yes, we are. But if it comfrots you, we're also unbearable when we're separated.

"The sooner you die, the longer you stay dead."

- Marcus of the Volturi, at some point in his life.

Stefan : Hey? Our relationship isn't a relationship of interest, is it?

Vladimir : Tell me how much we have benefited so far from knowing each other?

Stefan : True