#jalicesecretsanta20
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Spring(ish) Cleaning -- Jalice Secret Santa 2020
@jalicenetwork
Pairing: Jasper/Alice
Summary: It’s that time of the year again, and Jasper doesn’t take it quite as seriously as Alice would like. Fluff! Domestic life!
Disclaimer: I’m not making any money from this nor do I own anything recognizable.
Word count: 1280
Warnings: None
A/n HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! And happy Secret Santa, @alice-cullen-is-an-angel :) I hope you like it <3
“Jasper Whitlock Hale, you get back here right now!”
Jasper squeezes his eyes shut and takes a deep breath before setting his book down on the table. From in front of the TV, Emmett chortles. “Busted.”
With quick movement, Jasper pushes his brother’s head to the floor, then darts up the stairs, dodging Emmett’s retaliatory shove with a full second to spare.
Feeling Alice’s frustration, Jasper puts on what he hopes is a charming smile and hurries up the stairs to their room. “Yes, my love?”
Alice rolls her eyes at her husband’s faked innocence. “You said you were just getting a book.”
The edges of Jasper’s lips twitch. “And I did.”
“You’ve been gone forty-five minutes!”
Jasper rubs the back of his neck with a scarred hand, sheepish. “Well, then I settled down with the book and it got really good, so—”
Alice skips forward and jumps to place a kiss on his nose. “The book will still be here when we’re done.”
Jasper sighs, wanting to put up just a little more of a fight, even though he knows he’s already lost. “The closet will still be here when the book’s done, so…” He trails off under his wife’s death glare.
“You promised we would do this last April. It’s now January first. You know how the humans say—‘new year, new me’, well I say, ‘new year, new clothes’, and new clothes need space so we have to get rid of old clothes. Now sit.” With a measure of strength incongruent for her size, Alice shoves Jasper onto the bed, where he obedient sits with a resigned chuckle. It’s true. He had been putting this off for over nine months. He just hates going through their entire wardrobe—an achingly tedious task that takes hours due to his wife’s love for fashion. Back in the mid-1900s, they only had to do this once every five years or so—clothes weren’t produced as quickly, then, so it really slowed Alice down. Now, she has no limits, and it definitely shows in the size of a walk-in-closet that’s bigger than their actual bedroom, and three storage units scattered across the United States’ northern boarder. So now, Jasper’s least favorite chore occurs at least every eighteen months.
Wonderful.
Alice disappears in the closet and returns within a millisecond, clutching a thick grey button up from Jasper’s section, holding it up for him to see.
“Keep.”
Alice scoffs and quirks an eyebrow, raising the button-up into the light as if that would help Jasper see it through her eyes. “It’s six years old, Jazz.”
Jasper bites back a smile. The shirt is in excellent condition, but the disdain emanating from Alice when she declared the shirt’s age means it clearly has to go. Jasper shrugs, unaffected by parting with the shirt. “Donate, then.”
His wife smiles approvingly, tosses it into a pile, and returns with a nearly identical shirt in deep blue. Though, since this one is only from November, he’s allowed to keep it.
They continue like this for hours, the ‘donate’ pile growing ever larger due to Alice’s strict criteria for keeping an item in their rotation. While Jasper doesn’t enjoy this task, he basks in the one-on-one time with Alice, and mentally chides himself for putting this off for so long. It’s nice, being in their shared space, acting as a husband and wife would. Cleaning out a closet feels very normal, almost human.
He notices Alice taking longer than usual to return with the next item of clothing, and pushes off the bed to investigate. Her emotions hint at amusement, and he’s definitely intrigued. She hears—and mentally sees—him coming, and quickly hides something behind her back, moving to toss it in to the depths of the closet. He’s faster than her though, and locks a hand around her wrist, halting her movement.
“What have you got there?”
Alice gives him his second death glare of the day, though the amusement hasn’t faded. “Nothing. It’s none of your business.”
Jasper raises an eyebrow, slowly snaking his other arm around her back to pull her against him, taking her other wrist in his free hand. He pauses momentarily to enjoy her sharp intake of breath, then continues in his scrutiny. “If it’s in my closet, I’m pretty sure it’s my business.”
“Well, this specific thing isn’t,” Alice shoots back, quite obviously fighting a smile.
He acts on instinct alone, not even giving her second-sight warning before he switches his grip of her wrists to one hand and squeezes lightly, forcing her to drop the object into his free—and waiting—hand. She lunges forward, intending to steal the object back and make a run for it, but Jasper uses his grip to keep her steady, holding the object high out of her reach for both of them to see.
And he dissolves into laughter.
Alice takes advantage of his distraction and extracts herself from his loosened grip, snatching the gaudy hat and holding it in her crossed arms.
“Wha-what is that thing,” Jasper sputters, reaching for the hat. Alice takes a step back, shaking her head resolutely. “No, c’mon, please,” he chortles, raising his hands in mock-surrender. “I’ll be nice, I promise.”
Despite her expression that clearly says she doesn’t believe him, Alice hands back the hat, biting her lip against embarrassed laughter of her own.
Jasper straightens, examining the hat with forced seriousness. “It’s interesting.”
“I got it in Milan,” Alice defends, despite knowing that it won’t help her case against Jasper. Rosalie, maybe, but not her fashion-safe husband. “It’s couture, actually.” At his stuttering laugh of disbelief, Alice nearly stamps her foot. “You just wouldn’t get it!”
“You’re right,” Jasper grins, radiating pure mischief. “I don’t get it. I think it might help if I could see it on.”
“Ohhhh no,” Alice warns, taking a step back. “I’m not giving you any more ammo.”
“Alice,” he coaxes, grinning wickedly. “I’m just a student of fashion trying to better understand the trends of the time. An expert such as yourself wouldn’t deprive me of that, right?”
She knows she won’t win if she’s trapped like this. He’s already got the plan worked out in his mind—back her into a corner and simply take the hat, putting it on her head. So, she tries for her only other option.
She makes a run for it.
Her visions allow her to dodge the arm he throws out in an attempt to stop her, and she makes it into the bedroom. But then he switches to acting on instinct, and it’s all over.
They end up tangled on the bed, laughing wildly as he wrestles the hat from her grip. All too soon he’s won, and he places a soft kiss on her lips before settling the hat firmly on her head, much to her obvious annoyance.
He fights hard to not laugh, but it’s a losing battle.
The hat is somehow as large as a five-tiered cake, which looks absolutely comical on Alice’s four-foot-eleven frame. The extra-wide brim extends way past Alice’s shoulders, plunging the majority of her face into darkness. The hat is a fierce lime green, with bells made of ribbon zig-zagging up to the very top of the hat, upon which, sits an intricate design reminiscent of a bird’s nest.
“You’re beautiful,” he tries, his voice wavering with barely-restrained laughter.
“Donate,” she says firmly, gritting her teeth.
Jasper shakes his head, grinning as he tilts the brim back to see Alice’s less-than amused expression. He fully loses it then, burying his head in the crook of her neck as he shakes with laughter. “Keep.”
A/n Once again, Happy New Year everyone! My requests are open so send me a message if there’s anything you’d like for me to write :) And if you have a moment, it would mean the world to me if you checked out my masterlist! You are all loved, you are strong, and I’m here if you need me <3.
#jalicesecretsanta20#jalicenetwork#jalice#jalice network#jalice 2020#alice cullen#jasper cullen#jasper hale#jasper whitlock hale#alice x jasper#jasper x alice#twilight#jalice fluff#jalice domestic life#twilight fanfiction#twilight renaissance#twilight gapfiller#jalice fanfiction
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Anyone had any doubts Alice was going to have Jasper help her decorate?
SIGNUPS FOR JALICE SECRET SANTA ARE OPEN UNTIL DECEMBER 1ST!
#jalice#alice cullen#jasper hale#twilight#twilight renaissance#the twilight renaissance#mary alice brandon#jasper whitlock#ashley greene#jackson rathbone#jessamine hale#jessamine whitlock#jalicesecretsanta20#jalicesecretsanta#secret santa
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It’s Secret Santa time! I did this drawing for the amazing @beautlilies, and I hope she loves it. I also did a playlist and an associated moodboard.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1IbFWcrZ6GxTJP3eAPqDY7?si=d_VoOf1fQd-JwY8jft4zTA
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Merry Christmas @tragicallywicked! And SURPRISE! I was your Jalice secret Santa! 🥰🎄🙈
Now, let me introduce to you the 15k+ idea that was born last night and that I vomited up and edited in roughly 24 hours. Trust me, it doesn’t read like it’s a hastily-scrapped together fic; I pinky promise. I’m very proud of this fic. Sorry about the whump though. It wasn't unintentional; honest.
Summary: He contemplates telling Peter about Alice’s visits, but something holds him back from doing it. Perhaps because it doesn’t feel like Alice whenever she’s lying on his bedroom floor, curled in an old blanket that’s too small for him but perfectly sized for her, utterly still and silent even while awake. A part of him feels like it would be a betrayal to reveal this side of her to someone even as close to him as Peter is.
After all, Peter is his friend. And Alice is… well, not.
Title: No Friend of Mine
Words: 15,199
Rating: T
Read on: AO3 // or under the cut
He’s not friends with Alice Brandon.
Not really. But in the time it’s taken for him to even properly learn her name—Alice, not Mary-Alice, he hears her cheerfully inform a group of girls making nasty comments one day; comments designed to hurt, and to be overheard—she has apparently decided that Jasper is her friend, and that’s where things become a little confusing.
Maybe she’s just a glutton for punishment. After all, if she wanted an easy time of it, there was an entire list of things she could do to avoid it. That sounded mean, but it was true.
She’s just a weird girl. Plenty of those in the world. No crime about that. About girls who dance in the hallways between classes, or who talk to strangers with the friendliness of someone who’s known them for years. There is nothing wrong with the fact that Alice Brandon wears her hair in bizarre styles or wears clothes that... alright, well maybe that is something that he doesn’t understand, either. Not that he is an expert on fashion, but even Jasper knows her choices are strange.
Alice Brandon being weird doesn’t affect him in the way that it apparently offends most of the students in their tiny school. He can picture her fitting in better at a larger school in a different school district, perhaps. More students always meant more variety, diversity, and cliques. More students would’ve meant that there would have been a whole slew of other weird kids of Alice’s type that she could have hung out with.
But not in Fork’s high.
Which meant the day Alice showed up at his corner of the cafeteria, tray in hand as she grinned over at him and Peter, he felt something in him twist as she sat down beside him, making a remark to Peter he couldn’t quite focus on as he realized that with an absence of overt weirdos at the school, Alice was going to come to the next-best thing. Their little group of ‘misfits’.
He had glanced further down the rectangular table and made quick eye contact with Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, who had also noted the tiny dark-haired girl’s presence, but neither of them made a comment, and Jasper spent the rest of the lunch period wishing she’d sat down next to those two, and not himself and Peter.
It wasn’t to be mean. Truly. But Jasper preferred to go through life (and school) as completely unnoticed as possible. And for the first few weeks Alice Brandon had attended Fork’s high, it seemed that’s all she did: attract attention.
He’s not exactly friends with Alice Brandon.
After all, he knows so little about her. Only that she moved to Washington state about a couple months back with her family. That she’s a sophomore; a year behind both Peter and Jasper. And that she doesn’t need much encouragement, or participation really, when it comes to conversation. Alice can talk about anything and everything at length.
He knows, only because of the way she pronounces certain words, that she’s probably from the South. He knows, because his sister Rosalie has art with her, that she struggles a lot with simple tasks and often misunderstands requests from teachers. And he knows, because adults like to gossip when they don’t think teenagers are around, that the story as to why Alice’s family moved to that town is shrouded in some layer of secrecy.
Even when Bella, on one of the days Alice attempted to unite both ends of their lunch table in one cohesive conversation, had asked her a simple question about her ‘old school’ Alice had ignored the question entirely, before delving into an at-length explanation of the way she’d designed her favorite skirt.
Jasper had stood up and left lunch early that day. It wasn’t that he hated the girl, or even that he dislike her, but she bothered him so fiercely sometimes.
And they definitely weren’t friends.
So when she shows up unannounced at two o’clock in the morning on a Tuesday night, tossing tiny rocks up against his window, he doesn’t understand why.
He whispers down a series of questions at her, too shocked to understand what was going on.
What is she doing there? (She needs somewhere to stay for a few hours.)
Why? (Just because.)
How did she find his house? (School directory.)
Why did she come here? (It’s cold. Please.)
Later, he tells her she’s lucky his parent’s bedroom has windows that face the opposite direction of the house, meaning that they aren’t privy to their first conversation. But he shares a wall with Rosalie, he whispers to her as he leads her up the stairs, so she has to be quiet, he emphasizes the point with a look, as if doubting such a task is within her abilities.
Thankfully, it is possible for Alice Brandon to be quiet.
In fact, she doesn’t say anything that first night after he sneaks her up to his room and lets her curl up with an extra blanket on the floor beside his bed. Jasper isn’t even sure she’s slept; she’d been awake when he’d crawled back into bed, and then still awake when he’d awoken extra early the next morning. And when he explains that he can’t just drive her to school that day without getting in trouble—besides, Rosalie will have a fit (for more reason than one) if he emerges from his bedroom with Alice Brandon behind him—she only nods, asks for a drink of water, and thanks him as she sneaks out the front door, off back toward her house, he assumes.
Lunch that day is the same as any other. Alice’s bright smile greets him and Peter, her voice filling the space where comfortable silence and companionable conversation used to linger, and that’s when he starts paying attention.
To the fact that she rarely, if ever, eats anything. That her clothes, while layered strangely and often mis-matched, barely fit her small frame.
One day, a week after her first appearance at his house, Jasper is walking through the halls when he overhears Lauren Mallory loudly exclaim “God, do you know how to shut the fuck up?” Only to turn and watch Alice’s smile deflate.
He stops in his tracks at the sight because no ones comments have ever affected Alice like this. At least, as far as he’s seen. He even wonders if he should step in and say something, because Lauren isn’t finished with airing her frustrations at the tiny new girl, and each statement is growing more cruel than the last.
Before he can force his feet to move Bella Swan is already there, all stern words and deadly glances as she wraps an arm around the smaller girl and turns her away. Jasper can’t hear what she says but Lauren looks incensed and none of her friends are chiming in to help. And then Bella quickly whisks Alice away and Jasper realizes he’s still standing there, in the middle of the hallway, staring at their retreating forms.
He skips lunch that day, feeling like a coward for forcing shy, introverted Bella of all people to come to the harmless girl’s rescue, while he stood there, watching the scene alongside half a dozen others who happened to overhear the platinum blonde girl’s tirade.
Alice comes to him again that night, another handful of pebbles tossed to his window, but this time she doesn’t speak even when he does lean out his window to ask her questions.
What happened?
Is she alright?
Does she need a place to stay?
She nods at that question, and it’s all the reply Jasper needs before he’s closing the window and tiptoeing down the stairs, guilt and worry dancing around inside his brain.
But Alice is quiet as a mouse as he leads her up into his room. She quickly occupies the same spot on the floor next to Jasper’s bed. Like before, she has brought only a small backpack with her. Whether she owns a phone or not doesn’t occur to him—he’s never seen her use one before, even at lunch—but she never once retrieves anything from the bag.
With the pillow and blanket Jasper tosses her way, she’s curled up and asleep in minutes. This time, it’s Jasper who doesn’t sleep as he lays awake, his attention torn between this small schoolmate of his and his guilty conscience that makes him wonder if today would have gone differently if he’d come to her aid.
But morning comes, Alice leaves, and then when he sees her at school later she’s good as new. Talking and laughing and dancing through the halls like always.
He contemplates telling Peter about Alice’s visits, but something holds him back from doing it. Perhaps because it doesn’t feel like Alice whenever she’s lying on his bedroom floor, curled in an old blanket that’s too small for him but perfectly sized for her, utterly still and silent even while awake. A part of him feels like it would be a betrayal to reveal this side of her to someone even as close to him as Peter is.
After all, Peter is his friend. And Alice is… well, not.
It’s something he wishes he could tell Rosalie about. He loves his sister more than anyone else in this world but she’s too… involved in everything. He knows that she second she finds out it will mean the end of his privacy for the foreseeable future. It doesn’t help that he isn’t entirely sure that Rosalie won’t also say something rude to Alice. Nothing as cruel as Lauren Mallory’s blow-up, but still. Rosalie isn’t typically known for her warmth and consideration when it comes to outsiders…
It’s the night she shows up to his house for the third time, when things begin to change.
Her purple hoodie is pulled up tight over her head when he opens the window to get a good look at her. The material is certainly too thin for the weather she’s out in, but Jasper’s never seen her in anything warmer.
Alice tilts her head up toward him, and when his eyes fall upon her split lip, he doesn’t ask a single question. He almost slams the window shut and moves so fast down the stairs that he knows if he isn’t careful he’ll wake Rosalie and their parents.
She’s waiting on his doorstep when he finally swings the door open, ushering her into the house quickly and quietly.
The instant his bedroom door is closed he flicks his standing fan on it’s highest setting and pushes it close to the door. He’s going to need the white noise to drown out any noise their conversation makes. And he’s going to need her to talk tonight.
“Alice,” his voice is barely more than a whisper, but she ignores him. “Hey, Alice.” And when he ducks down to look her in her eyes, she averts her gaze. “What happened?” His head is swimming with thoughts and ideas and worst-case-scenarios, and as he looks at her face—the split lip, her bleeding cheek, and her swollen eye—he feels worry and fury at war within himself.
These are no ‘accidental’ injuries. Jasper knows with a sinking feeling that running into a doorframe, or tripping on the stairs, didn’t cause this injury.
(His mind is filled with images of the night Rose came home looking similar, and the rage that ignites in his body is hard to reason with.)
“Who did this?” Jasper’s words are slow and careful, but they are not quiet and he doesn’t know if he can be anymore. But Alice doesn’t reply, instead looking anywhere but him, as if she’s embarrassed or ashamed of herself.
But she came here, a voice in his head reminds him. And he doesn’t know if she’s aware of the weight of that—of this trust she apparently has in him—but he is.
He asks her to sit on his bed and then sneaks off to the bathroom in the hall, and then while Alice cleans blood off of her face with a damp rag he tiptoes downstairs to grab an ice pack from the freezer. When he returns she’s already pulled the spare blanket tight around her shoulders, and is lying on the ground.
“Alice,” he says softly, his chest aching at the sight of her, curled up so small on the ground, hurt and quiet. “Get up, I’ve got ice for your face.”
But Alice doesn’t movie, so he’s forced on the ground beside her. It’s when he places a tentative on her shoulder that he realizes she’s shaking with silent sobs. She only curls up tighter at his touch, and Jasper withdraws his hands immediately. He has the thought that maybe he should wake Rosalie, and let her come help. Surely, and despite all of his sister’s prickliness, Rose is better suited for a task like this. Jasper has never been good at comforting people with his words.
“Alice,” he doesn’t know what to say, and has less of an idea of what to do. But eventually she rolls over to face him and reaches out for the ice pack wordlessly. He hands it over and watches, speechless, as she simply presses the ice to her cheek, still not looking up at him.
“Will you tell me what happened?” He asks, feeling as if he already knows the answer, and when she shakes her head and closes her eyes tighter, the pain in Jasper’s chest throbs. “Okay,” he says, because no matter how badly he wants to know, he knows that her showing up here is significant. That there is trust here, despite the fact that Jasper hardly understands why. But it’s trust that seems so fragile that he’s terrified of shattering it if he pushes too hard.
By five o’clock she’s up and moving, and Jasper—who hadn’t slept a wink, instead choosing to lie awake and watch Alice, to make sure she was still breathing as she slept—is requesting that she stay. He offers to play hooky and encourages her to do the same.
She contemplates the offer before nodding to herself. But she leaves anyways, accepting a new ice pack on the way out of the door. She’s gone seconds before his dad is padding through the kitchen, ready to turn on the coffee maker, and Jasper’s heart is palpitating because he doesn’t know what to do.
“You’re up awfully early,” the man grumbles as Jasper wanders into the kitchen. Joseph Hale is a quiet man. A good father, despite how rarely he’s at home due to work. They aren’t alike in many ways other than disposition, but Jasper always enjoys when his father is around. During his absences, his mother often disappears for days at a time, only appearing to change clothes, or argue with Rosalie. With Joseph around Jasper can almost pretend they are a normal, happy family.
His father’s words rip him out of his reverie. “By god… what happened to you?”
Jasper blinks up at his dad before realizing he’s holding the bloody rag Alice used to clean up her face. He blanches at the sight, forgetting he’d even been holding it, and then just shrugs. “Woke up with a nosebleed.”
Joseph shakes his head, frowning as he gestures to the towel. “Your mom’s going to have a fit that you used one of her good towels.”
“I’ll clean it before school.”
Joseph hums, already moving on from this conversation to dig through the cabinets for a bowl for his breakfast. “There should be peroxide under the sink.”
Jasper spends twenty minutes dousing the hand towel with hydrogen peroxide in an attempt to clean Alice’s blood out of the fabric. And by the time the stain is just a faded brown against the cream-colored towel, he can hear Rosalie’s alarm going off.
The drive to school that morning is tense, and the hours leading up to lunch pass by in a blur. Jasper’s mind isn’t focusing on anything, and when Mrs. Chapel calls on him in math class he realizes he hasn’t even pulled his textbook from his backpack.
When lunch rolls around it’s clear to him, as he walks into the cafeteria with a mixture of relief and disappointment, that Alice isn’t there today. He isn’t the only one who has noticed her absence, and as he’s passing through the cafeteria he hears one of Lauren Mallory’s friends make a loud remark.
“Looks like the clown got stuck back at the circus today,” Carson Keys declares loudly enough for Jasper to hear him, three tables away. He turns to look at the dark-haired jackass, knowing that these are the comments they usually reserve for Alice’s eavesdropping ears. But Alice isn’t here today, and Jasper knows why.
And Jasper also knows that there’s a reason he’s never been the victim of any bullying at this school. Despite his misanthropic nature, he isn’t a very easy target. Maybe it’s because he’s one of the taller ones in the school, or maybe its the rumor that circulated last year when he was a sophomore, that he’d killed a senior for messing around with his sister.
But despite the very thorough beating he’d been given, Royce King was still very much alive, despite his swift disappearance from both the school district and social media. The King family had wanted to quiet the ‘incident’ as quickly as they could and had quietly moved somewhere East of Seattle.
The days spent in juvenile court and subsequent six months of house arrest had been worth it, in Jasper’s eyes.
It doesn’t bother Jasper one bit that many of the students are convinced Jasper has killed someone. Anything that keeps people away from him, and prevents others from harming Rose any further, is worth it in his eyes.
Jasper watches as Carson’s joke causes their table to erupt in giggles and head-shakes. Before he knows what he’s doing he’s walking over to the table, a twinge of fury forcing his feet forward.
He goes unnoticed until he picks up one of their textbooks and drops it from shoulder-level. The noise makes a sharp clap that causes the surrounding table to flinch and turn towards the source. Silence seizes most of his classmates as their eyes turn to bore into his form, and Jasper is almost thankful for this awful, unwanted attention. Their unease will certainly make this more effective.
Carson realizes it’s Jasper Hale standing beside him a few seconds after his friends are quiet and staring, and the grin slips off his face so fast it’s almost comical. “Hey Hale,” he says stupidly, and Jasper can almost feel the regret filling the air. “What’s up?”
Jasper doesn’t speak at first, and for a second he wonders if maybe he does have some sort of anger issue like his lawyer suggested, because watching Carson squirm in his seat while his other tough-talking friends are suddenly suspiciously quiet is very, very enjoyable.
He doesn’t issue any threatening quips or waste time with a joke of his own. No, instead Jasper leans in close, forcing Carson to back up a few inches, his eyes wide. “Say it again. Go on.”
Carson of course, doesn’t. Instead looking to his friends for help. It’s Whitney Barnes who chimes in first.
“It’s just a joke,” she says nastily, rolling her eyes at Jasper’s presence as she moves her attention to her phone, lying on the table. “It’s not a big deal.”
Whitney’s dismissal of Jasper’s actions seems to encourage Carson again. He pulls a grin back on his face, “We mean no harm, bro. Mary-Alice is a fun little thing.” He looks back to Jasper but something in his expression makes his smile fall again. “No harm, man,” he’s backpedaling again, lifting his hands up in front of him, as if to claim he doesn’t want any trouble.
It’s only Rosalie’s appearance at his side that keeps him from doing anything he regrets.
He can tell its her immediately by the way she grips the side of his shirt, bunching up the material in his fist and tugging twice. (Something she has done for as long as he can remember.) “C’mon,” her voice is quiet but annoyed. “Old man Bakers is watching.” She speaks, referring to the assistant principal that roams the halls during the student’s ‘free’ periods.
Carson’s face brightens at the appearance of his sister, but before he can open his mouth to say anything mindless, she chimes in. “I don’t want to hear it. Just keep your mouth shut.”
“But I—”
“No. Stop. I have a test next and I’m losing braincells. Shut up.” Rosalie is already walking away, Jasper’s shirt still gripped tightly as she leads him back the way he came. “You too, Miss Perpetual-Understudy.” Rosalie calls over her shoulder to Whitney, hitting the girl where it hurts. Always a very Rosalie thing to do; to say as little as possible while inflicting the most damage she can.
“I don’t know what you’re doing, but stop it,” she grits through her teeth once they’re out of earshot. “If you start a fight at school they’ll slap that ankle monitor back on you before Carson’s dumb face will hit the linoleum.”
It’s an amusing thing to imagine, but he doesn’t want to irritate Rosalie any further, so he just shrugs noncommittally.
“What’s that all about anyways?” She demands as she drags him to her table. It’s still mostly-empty, thankfully. Only Emmett is there yet, and a couple other members of the football team that are nice enough. He likes Emmett for the most part. Most of the guys in school had been afraid of Jasper, and too terrified to get anywhere near Rosalie after last year’s incident. Emmett, on the other hand, had cornered Jasper the day he’d been allowed back at school and thanked him for doing what he didn’t get the chance to.
Jasper tries not to have to many opinions on his sister’s dating life now, but some days he thinks that Emmett wouldn’t be the worst choice if Rosalie decides to reciprocate the big guy’s obvious feelings.
“Nothing,” he speaks quietly as Rose sits in her seat. He knows that she wants him to sit with her and fill her in, but Jasper has never been comfortable around her friends. And he isn’t about to entertain their companionship on today of all days; he’s far too wound up.
“I heard Carson say something rude about that Alice girl,” the boy next to Emmett, whose name Jasper doesn’t know, chimes in. “Loud as shit, of course. But I didn’t hear much else,” he looks up at Jasper and shrugs. “You gotta do what you gotta do man. I would fully support your decision if you clocked him. Morally support, I mean. I can’t physically or I’ll lose my scholarship to UW.”
“No one is getting ‘clocked’,” Rosalie shoots the guy a glare before turning to Jasper and tugging on his shirt again. “Also, if you tried intimidating every person who’s been mean to Alice you’re going to have a long list.” She tugs on his shirt a third time, “sit.”
As Jasper settles into the seat beside his sister, absolutely dreading the next half hour, Emmett chimes in. “She’s a funny girl,” the curly-haired guys speaks, taking an enormous bite of his sandwich, “she told me she’d make me a bracelet the other day because I told her I liked her hair.” The boy next to him snorts and Emmett laughs, “What?” He speaks, mouth full, “like I’m going to say no to a free bracelet?! You’re out of your damn mind.”
“She’s friendly alright,” Rose speaks, turning her gaze back to Jasper. “Don’t know why she likes your prickly ass.”
“I’m not prickly,” Jasper deadpans, accepting the bag of chips Rose shoves into his hands.
Emmett laughs at that one. “Because you’re so warm and cuddly.”
“Em, hush.”
“I’m just playing around. But seriously. I like her. She’s fun.” He takes a sip of soda and fixes Jasper with another look. “Besides, I don’t think she has an easy time of it. My little sister is in her sister Cynthia’s class down at the grade school,” Jasper’s attention perks up at that. Alice has a sister? “According to Jennie, some accident that killed their mom messed Alice’s head up. I think it was a car accident. I’m not sure. It’s really sad though.”
A few members of the table nod at that, a morose feeling falling over them as more of Rosalie’s friends arrive, and then when Daniel Langfield starts telling the story of his uncle’s life-claiming car wreck, Jasper feels his mind wander.
He supposes that’s the day he halfway ‘befriends’ Alice Brandon.
Of course it would be the day she’s not even at school.
If anything he feels less like a friend and more like a protector. Or a guard dog. Like someone willing to do what it takes to keep people off her fucking back, and out of her goddamned business.
Later that night, before he climbs into bed, he rips a piece of notebook paper out of his binder and scribbles a small message on it.
I’m here if you want to talk about it.
He doesn’t see her the following morning, but he slips the note into her locker anyways. It isn’t until he’s walking to his first period class when he realizes he never signed the paper, and up until lunch he kicks himself, feeling much like a weirdo or a creep for delivering such a cryptic, out-of-context note.
But Alice is already waiting for him by the doors of the cafeteria when he finally sees her for the first time that day. She grins up at him, like she always does at school, big and wide, and Jasper is nearly stunned by the fact that she looks completely fine.
Whatever makeup she’s painted her face with that day has made her look entirely normal. But when she chatters at him, walking at his side as they wander across the cafeteria, he notices that her left eye is still a bit swollen, and blinks a bit slower than her right. Her expertly applied lipstick has nearly hidden her fat lip completely.
Peter isn’t there that day. He’d had a dentist appointment and left during the last period, so it’s only them today.
He knows that no one is listening in; if anything, the students of Forks’ High have begun practicing the art of tuning out Alice Brandon’s voice, but he still keeps his voice low when he asks her how she is.
“I’m fine,” she smiles up at him, before she opens her sketchbook and asks him for his input on her current art project.
“Did you get my note?”
She pauses then, smiling down at the still-life on the paper in front of her. Then, she reaches out and grabs the top of his hand, squeezing tightly before releasing it. She doesn’t so much as glance at him while she does this, and in seconds she’s already back to discussing her day.
Jasper knows that he isn’t going to get anything out of her today, and instead he pays attention to her every movement, and every quirk, watching her closely as she explains her current portrait and pulls out colored pencils, slowly working while she prattles on about some anecdote from gym class.
And with each day that passes he finds himself more curious about her. She doesn’t reveal anything during the school day, instead using their lunch period to talk and hum and laugh. He sits at her side, forgoing his music or books to simply watch and listen to her. But as the days pass, her face heals, and Alice reveals nothing.
He knows its only a matter of time before she shows up in his yard at night.
But the next time it happens, he has some warning.
Alice isn’t in school for four days. He hasn’t heard anything from the other students, and why would he? He’s the one she spends most of her time around anyways. If anything, the other students probably assume he knows whether she’s sick or not. By Thursday, even Peter asks him if he knows where she is. Jasper hates how he feels when he wordlessly shakes his head, anxiously picking the bread off the burger in front of him.
It’s Friday when Bella Swan approaches him in the parking lot while he waits for Rosalie. She startles him at first; he’d been sitting in his car listening to music when she tapped on the window. And when he turns the music down and lowers the window, she swiftly apologizes. He just barely takes note of Edward standing a few feet away.
“You haven’t heard from Alice, have you?”
Jasper shakes his head. “No.” He says simply, and then, “I don’t have her number.”
Bella frowns. “She doesn’t have a phone,” she explains, “I’m just…” she straightens back up, folding her arms and she turns back toward Edward. The redhead nods and Bella turns back toward Jasper. “I’m really, really worried.”
“Why?” Jasper shuts the car off then. Something in Bella’s expression causes alarms to go off in his mind, and he’s climbing back out of the old sedan before he can help it. “What makes you say that?”
Bella looks back at Edward again, and the redhead sighs and approaches. “You didn’t hear this from me,” he speaks quietly, looking around to make sure no one overhears. “My dad asked me last night whether I was friends with Alice. And I didn’t even know that he knew who that was. I…” he looked a bit embarrassed then, “I sort of weaseled a little bit of information out of him. But I think something happened to her that put her in the hospital. My dad didn’t say much but, you know how adults get when they want you to befriend someone else or ‘keep an eye’ on them or whatever? It was really weird and… kind of telling.”
“Do you know anything?” Bella asks, and her voice is so pleading, her face filled with so much worry that eventually he starts talking. He tells them about her first visit, and then about her second. And he’s rambling by the time he gets to her third, and most recent visit. It isn’t until he’s talking about her bloodied face and the fact that she cried as quietly as she could, curled up on the floor of his bedroom, when a voice chimes in.
“So that’s where Mom’s good towel went.”
His blood freezes in his veins when he realizes that Rosalie has snuck up behind them, unnoticed. Emmett McCarty is standing behind her, looking nervous at the fact that they have just overheard Jasper’s hurried confession.
Bella looks nervous at their intrusion, and Edward’s face is stern. Rosalie is glaring daggers at her brother, and it’s Emmett that chimes in eventually.
“What can we do?”
When their eyes all drift to Jasper, he feels as if his chest is about to cave in on itself. He doesn’t know how to tell them that he doesn’t know what to do. “Bella says she doesn’t have a phone.”
“Can’t we pull up to her house? Check on her at least?” The concern scrawled across Emmett’s features make him look far less menacing than he usually comes off as—he’s the only one in the Junior class taller than Jasper.
“That’s the last thing we should do,” Rosalie snaps, her words quiet. “The second you try to white-knight your way into whatever situation she’s dealing with, you’ll immediately make it ten times worse for her.” Rose speaks her words with the confidence of someone who truly knows what Alice’s situation is like, and it shuts everyone else up immediately.
There’s silence, then, Edward speaks. “We still don’t know what she’s dealing with. Let’s not assume.”
Rosalie glares at him then. “If your dad was dealing with her at the fucking emergency room, it wasn’t just a check up or a misunderstanding. Don’t be an idiot.”
“I’ll talk to Jennie when I get home,” Emmett offers, referring to his little sister who is classmates with Alice’s sister. “See if Cynthia has said anything at school.”
Bella nods, “Kids see and hear a lot more than people give them credit for.”
Rosalie speaks only to Jasper. “If she comes to you again, that’s a good thing. I can help cover your ass if you need it, but if you push her too much you will drive her away. Whatever you do, don’t go getting yourself arrested again, or I’ll beat you to a pulp.” Then, to everyone else, “If you really want to help her, give her space and mind your business. She’ll either come around, or she won’t. You can’t force it.” She climbs into the passenger seat, “Let’s go, Jasper.”
The drive home is quiet, and painfully awkward. Jasper keeps waiting for Rosalie to snap at him, or for her attitude to catch up, but when she reaches out and grabs a fistful of his shirt, holding it in her hand, he understands.
“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you enough,” she speaks as he turns into their neighborhood, approaching the house. “I wish I had asked for help before it was too late. But,” there’s another patch of silence as he parks in the driveway before she speaks again, “Alice is trusting you with whatever is happening. Don’t take that for granted, and don’t fuck it up. She’ll decide what you can do to help her at her own pace.” Opening the door to the car she stands up as she gathers her things. “Don’t go trying to fuck your life up again. Please.” Then, she slams it and walks toward the house.
Alice doesn’t visit that night, but on Saturday night he’s restless. He picks up his phone and re-reads that day’s text messages. He’s comforted knowing that he isn’t the only person who has been plagued with worry over Alice that day. Bella confesses that she name dropped Alice in conversation with her father—the chief of police—who also pulled something akin to Edward’s dad, requesting his daughter to be nice to the girl and perhaps invite her over sometime.
It is confirmation enough that whatever is happening to Alice was known by both hospital workers and police. This information is enough for Jasper’s concern to turn into something far more nauseating. He’s not even comforted by the involvement of people outside of Alice’s situation, because if what was happening to her was severe enough for the police chief and Doctor Carlisle Cullen to be involved, it wasn’t good.
He’s up late, re-reading Emmett’s most recent texts, explaining that Jennie didn’t see Cynthia on Thursday or Friday, when the first rock knocks against his window.
He doesn’t even rush over to it, instead flinging his bedroom door open and zooming down the stairs as quick as possible—he’s never been so happy for his father to be on a work trip and for his mother to be off and absent once more than he is when he barges through the front door and runs to the side of the house.
The sight of Alice standing beneath his window, preparing to fling another pebble, her face wincing in pain, is both a relief as well as a worry.
She jumps at his sudden appearance, stumbling back as fear flickers across her face. It only takes her a second to realize who is rushing toward her, but by the time recognition calms her, Jasper has already slowed himself.
She’s wearing her purple hoodie again, and her face is black and blue. She reaches up to pull her hood tighter around her face and that’s when Jasper takes note of the pink cast encasing her forearm.
“Alice,” he breathes, approaching slower as he reaches out to her. Thankfully she doesn’t recoil from him and instead walks directly toward him. When she wraps her arms around him, Jasper doesn’t hesitate to hold her close. With her embrace he feels all the tension slowly seep out of him, and it’s when he feels her shivering that he steps back, keeping an arm over her shoulders as he guides her toward the house.
She’s as quiet as she typically is during all of her visits, so Jasper decides to fill the silence instead.
He talks at her mostly, prompting input here and there, but Alice is content to sit quietly on his bed as he rifles through his closet. He eventually finds a winter coat that stopped fitting him before high school and tosses it on the bed beside her. He tells her that it belongs to her now and that he wants to see her wearing it next time she decides to make the trek to his house at night.
He asks her how far she lives, and even when she doesn’t reply he informs her that he has a car, and can pick her up at a moment’s notice if she ever needs him to. He also asks about her phone situation, knowing that she doesn’t have access to a cell phone, but that if she has access to a computer, his phone dings when he gets an email. He can put her email in his contacts so that it rings loudly any time she sends a message his way.
He offers her food, and even when she doesn’t accept (or decline) he disappears for a few minutes, returning with some reheated pizza and a couple of glasses of water.
She accepts the water with a smile, and seeing the light in her eyes, despite how battered her face looks, does something strange to Jasper’s chest.
It’s when he asks her if she’s tired that she finally gives him a response, shaking her head.
“In that case,” he walks over to his desk, unplugging his laptop and carrying it over to the bed, depositing it in front of her. “We can watch a movie.”
He sneaks back into the hallway, and is rifling through the hall closet, retrieving extra pillows and blankets, when Rosalie’s door opens and he freezes, turning toward her with a look akin to a deer caught in headlights.
“Here,” his sister whispers as she tosses something his way, “she can keep these.” Before they can fall to the ground Jasper plucks the cotton pajamas out of the air, nodding toward his sister. With her voice low she then tacks on a threat, “and don’t eat all the pizza. I was saving some for lunch tomorrow.”
He smiles at her as she closes the door softly behind her, trying to decide whether its best to lie to Alice about the blue pajamas or to just tell them they’re a gift from Rosalie.
In reality, he doesn’t need to say anything, because when he presents them to her she smiles up at him, softly thanking him before placing them on the bed beside her.
“I’m serious,” he remarks as he turns the laptop toward him, opening and starting it up. “They’re all yours. They were Rose’s in like, freshman year before she got her growth spurt.”
“I doubt they’ll fit,” Alice’s voice finally rings out clear, and Jasper counts that as a win.
Jasper smirks over at her as he logs into Peter’s Netflix account. “Trust me, I wasn’t the only one who grew nearly half a foot freshman year. The money we spent on clothes that year was a little excessive.”
Alice excuses herself to the hallway bathroom a minute after that, and when she returns, dressed more comfortably now, Jasper smiles. “My uh, parents aren’t home by the way, so you can stay as long as you need.”
She doesn’t reply, but she does climb back into his bed, and when she wraps the old blue blanket around her shoulders—a blanket that Jasper is beginning to view as hers—she scoots herself into the corner of his bed, resting her back against his headboard and pillows.
Jasper is careful to keep his distance as he settles himself beside her, but Alice is quick to scoot closer, and when he asks if she has any suggestions or requests, she simply shakes her head, smiling at the screen, her chin resting atop her knees.
She is asleep twenty minutes into the movie, her head knocking against his shoulder as her exhaustion wins out. Jasper remains still for a while after that, barely paying any attention to the random animated movie, afraid of waking the girl up. Eventually he moves her carefully so that she’s lying down more comfortably. Closing the laptop he moves to place it back on his desk when her hand shoots out, gripping his arm tightly.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he speaks quietly, his heart breaking at the flash of desperation—of fear—in her suddenly-open eyes, depositing the laptop on the ground and climbing back into his bed. It feels strange, to lie down beside this girl that he knows hardly anything about, but when she wraps her good hand around his, Jasper turns toward her, wrapping his fingers tightly around hers, returning the gesture. She is asleep again within minutes.
Multiple times he attempts to remove himself from his own bed. After all, he shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t be staring at this girl as she sleeps, entirely unguarded, her face swollen from what could only be a beating, and for a while he lies there, frozen in both anger and helplessness.
Because Alice is good. A sweet girl with nothing but a smile to offer and friendship to give.
When he wakes up late the following morning, he doesn’t know why he feels sour at her absence. Deep down he knew she wouldn’t be still lying beside him, but in some far off part of his mind, he’d hoped for it.
It’s when he’s sitting up in bed, orienting himself with his surroundings when he hears familiar laughter echoing from Rosalie’s room.
He’s up and in the hallway in seconds.
Rosalie’s door is propped open, and inside of her bedroom there are people. It seems during the few extra hours Jasper stayed unconscious, his sister had invited over company.
Emmett is sitting completely still in the chair of Rosalie’s vanity, far too big for the tiny white furniture, and looking ridiculous as Rosalie leans forward, carefully applying makeup to his large face. Bella Swan stands at her side, holding Rosalie’s iPad in one hand, displaying a picture of whatever look his sister is trying to achieve on the face of Fork’s High’s star linebacker, and in her other hand are a slew of makeup brushes.
Edward is standing closest to the door, recording the entire debacle on his phone while Alice, who is lying across Rosalie’s bed, still clad in her blue pajamas is laughing and laughing and laughing.
It’s such a strange group of people, he realizes abruptly. Jasper is only acquainted with Bella and Edward through the far-off lunch table they all share, since it’s the only corner of the cafeteria that offers an escape from the rowdiness of their classmates. Emmett, of course, he knows through Rosalie, and has always been a friendly, funny guy, but Rosalie has always been careful about who she lets into her social circles. Especially now.
And last Jasper knew his sister couldn’t stand the pretentious red-head in the grade behind them. But if Jasper knows anything, it’s to never underestimate Rosalie Lillian Hale, and quickly he realizes that in the time between her handing off pajamas to him last night, and this morning, she’s carefully calculated this entire thing. From the guests to the activity.
Because the only thing everyone in this room has in common, is Alice.
When she notices him, she sits up, grinning widely at him. The yellowing bruises on her face stick out sorely against her skin that is pink and flushed from laughter, but when she beckons him inside of the room, drawing everyone’s attention from Emmett’s face to Jasper’s presence, he can’t help but smile back.
He carefully turns down the invitation to be ‘next’, and when Rosalie remarks that there are plenty of photos in tucked away albums of their older cousins putting Jasper in makeup and dresses when they were small, the entire room of teenagers look delighted at that information.
“Oh, please tell me you have that album handy,” Alice exclaims, gripping his hand fiercely as she bounces on Rosalie’s bed.
“Hell no.”
“I’ll show you some other time,” Rosalie comments dismissively as she holds Emmett’s jaw tight in her hand. “Now, do we want to go more pink or orange-ish…?”
And that’s how their Sunday begins.
Eventually they make their way from Rosalie’s room into the living room and then soon they’re piling into Jasper’s and Emmett’s cars, after Bella’s stomach had rumbled and Emmett declared that it was time for food. Of course, he took every ounce of makeup off before they left, and Alice changed back into the clothes she’d arrived in the night before.
The day passes so quickly and it’s so fun that Jasper hardly realizes how much he’s enjoying himself until the sun is nearly down and they’re hanging out in the parking lot of the bowling alley they just played in. But Bella has a late shift at Newton’s and Emmett needs to take them back to his car, which is at Rosalie and Jasper’s house. Then Rose declares that she has a paper to finish tonight and suddenly the day is spiraling to a close.
“I’ll see you at home,” she nods at him as she climbs into the passenger seat of Emmett’s Jeep. He simply nods, waving at them as they pull away.
And then it’s just him and Alice left.
He turns toward her after Emmett’s car disappears into the night, only to see her staring after the Jeep, a deep-set frown in her face.
“What do you want to do?” He asks, because he knows it has to be her decision now.
She steps up next to him and grabs his hand tightly, and that’s when Jasper feels her shaking again. He knows it’s not because of the cold; she’s finally wearing the jacket he’d given her the night before. But she’s shaking now and he doesn’t know what to do other than pull her against his side and hold her close.
“We can go back to my house,” he offers firmly, but quietly, as she nestles closely against him, her face pressed into his own coat. “You can stay as long as you want. I mean it.”
She shakes her head after a long moment. “I have to go home.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
She doesn’t answer his question.
Turn by turn directions are all she has to provide for him; she’s still so new to the town that even despite how small it is she only knows her way around when they’re close to the school. So he loops back toward Fork’s High and then Alice begins directing him from there.
They’re only a few streets away—surprisingly close to his house—when she grabs his hand suddenly. “Stop the car.”
Jasper slows the car down to a crawl, pulling it over to the side of the road. He doesn’t see anything that would cause her to erupt in fear like that; they’re still several yards from the next turn, bringing them toward where Alice said her house was.
“Here is fine,” she says in a hurry, unbuckling herself swiftly. When she starts to remove his jacket he reaches out and grabs her arm.
“Alice, that’s for you. Keep it, please.”
“I can’t,” she says desperately as she shimmies her arms out of the sleeves. It takes her a while to yank her left arm, cast and all, out of the jacket, but when she pushes it unceremoniously into his arms, he’s so confused. “Please, understand.”
“I don’t,” he says honestly, a little hurt by her actions, “that’s… that’s fine. Just—” he frowns, “how do you usually get to school? The bus?”
She shakes her head as she lifts her small bag up and throws it over her shoulder. “I walk. It’s fine, I’ll see you in school this week.”
He reaches out again, careful not to grab her broken wrist, and his hand lands softly on her shoulder. “Not tomorrow?”
Alice is anxious now, her eyes looking for something out in the dark, and Jasper hates this. Hates that she comes to him at night but doesn’t let him help. Hates that she does so much talking, but doesn’t reveal anything. Hates that he can’t fix whatever is wrong.
“I’m worried about you,” he eventually says when she flings the door open and moves to depart.
The look she fixes him with then is stern, and Jasper worries that he’s said something wrong.
Alice leans back into the car, and with her good hand she reaches toward him, cupping his cheek warmly, and stunning him into silence. He’s frozen for a few seconds, watching her every move cautiously, and when she smiles up at him, soft and beautiful, any other words he was thinking are suddenly wiped clear.
“Don’t.” And she’s gone in seconds, running off into the dark faster than he can keep up with his eyes.
He doesn’t go directly home afterward. Instead he drives around for a little while. Alice wouldn’t give him her address, and he’s almost nervous to accidentally stumble across her house now, so he steers clear of the residential streets. He’s halfway to La Push when he realizes he needs to go back home, because Rose will be waiting for him.
Rose and Emmett are waiting for him when he returns. It’s something that sort of surprises him, because as far as he knows, his sister has sworn off dating. Not that the two appear to be an item. But again: it’s not a secret that Emmett McCarty loves his sister.
When he walks through the door they’re in the kitchen, and their conversation dies when they note his presence.
“How’d it go?” Emmett asks, frowning from where he sits at the kitchen table across from Rosalie.
Jasper shrugs, turning to walk toward the stairs.
“Jasper,” his sister calls, standing up from the table. “Did something happen?”
“No,” he finally speaks. And it’s true. Nothing happened. No progress in their ‘friendship’. No discoveries on his part. Instead the status quo remains very much unchanged. He still doesn’t know how to help Alice, and she is still unwilling to let him in.
It’s when Rosalie takes note of the small jacket under Jasper’s arm when she finally closes her mouth and nods, turning back to sit back at the table, looking strangely defeated.
He doesn’t sleep well that night, or the next.
The rumors start circulating quickly then. It seems that some senior was at the bowling alley with their parents on the same day they’d taken Alice out on her outing. Word quickly got around that the tiny girl looked like she’d been in a boxing match, bruised and broken and still missing from school.
The worst of the rumors made their way back to him through Edward. Some group of kids in the freshman class were apparently under the impression that her absence and physical state were due to Jasper’s actions. Of course, it is a widely-known fact now that Jasper has a ‘reputation for violence’; whether it’s misplaced or not isn’t for Jasper to decide. But that rumor makes him feel sick to his stomach.
It becomes so bad that, with his dad still away on work and his mom god-knows-where, Jasper stays home from school on Thursday. Rosalie doesn’t even attempt to rouse him out of bed, just accepting his keys and telling him she’ll see him after school.
It’s around noon that he forces himself out of his bedroom. He doesn’t have an appetite so he simply shrugs on his coat, pulls on his boots, and goes for a walk.
He wanders through the neighborhood for a while, down one street, up another, until he finds himself wandering through Tillicum Park. He used to come here more often when he was younger. It was the one place his parents would let him and Rosalie wander off to on their own. And then when he was in middle school a man in a van had pulled up beside some of his classmates and he and Rose had been forbidden from walking there alone after that.
It has been several years since he’s sat on the swings here. And as he wanders toward where he knows the play equipment is, he finds himself freezing in his tracks.
Because there is a little girl sitting by herself on the swings.
He looks around then, but it’s barely one o’clock on a Thursday afternoon, and this girl can’t be any older than seven or eight. He contemplates moving on with his walk—after all, it was barely a decade ago when his mother would shoo him and Rose out the door and off to the park—but something forces him to approach the child.
He doesn’t want to scare the girl, so he gives her a wide berth as he loops around to the front of the swings, approaching from where the kid can see him. And when she looks up at him, Jasper hates that her terrified expression is vaguely familiar to him…
But when she the fear disappears, relief is quick to take it’s place on her face. The girl smiles at him and releases her grip on one of the chains to wave at him. “Hi!” She exclaims, her legs dangling beneath her as the swing sways in the wind.
Jasper looks around then. “Hi there.” He doesn’t even see any cars parked in the lot across the way. “Are your parents around?”
She shakes her head as she starts pumping her little feet, and then she starts going higher and higher on the swing set. “No, my Mommy is dead,” she says matter-of-factly, and Jasper frowns at that.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he says awkwardly, hands in his pockets as he keeps his eyes on the horizon, waiting for someone to come claim this child. Something in him tells him not to wander off. Sure, he doesn’t want to seem like a weirdo creep, talking to alone little girls, but he doesn’t want an actual one to come and snatch this girl up while she’s swinging here, all alone.
“S’okay,” she mumbles sadly as she swings back and forth. “I miss lots of people. And stuff. And my friends, too.”
“Is your dad around?”
“No,” she shakes her head, and a dark, angry look falls across her tiny features. “He’s at home being a jerk.”
“Are you supposed to be at home?”
“Doesn’t matter.” She kicks her legs angrily as she talks, “Not allowed to be at home. And I don’t wanna go to school.”
“You don’t like school?”
She shakes her head, still pouting as she swings back, and forth. “I told the teachers Daddy was being mean and then I got in trouble. And I told them not to say nothing!”
That revelation didn’t sit well with him. “Being mean?”
She’s quiet for a few seconds, her feet ceasing motion as she thinks to herself. Then, she’s pushing and pulling her feet back and forth again. “I’m not supposed to say things to adults, so you should go to your job or something.”
“I don’t have a job,” he offered, “but I didn’t go to school today either.” He looks around once more. “Is there someone I can call to come get you? Someone that’s not your dad?”
The girl shakes her head. “Alice isn’t allowed to. Dad says she has to stay at home so we don’t get in trouble again.”
Jasper’s entire world shifts with those words. “Alice?” He steps closer. That’s when he notices the little girls arms, full of brightly-colored beads, homemade bracelets that Jasper suddenly recognizes. “Is Alice your sister?”
The child nods, and when she pouts again Jasper suddenly realizes why this girl looks so familiar.
There’s a memory somewhere in his mind where Emmett revealed this little girl’s name, but that particular piece of information is out of his reach. “My name is Jasper. What’s yours?”
And then she says, “Cynthia Brandon” confirming his suspicions.
“Is Alice in trouble?” He begins to approach Cynthia then, but then stops and hesitates. Then, he walks to a swing several feet away and sits down on it. “I’m friends with Alice. We go to school together.” He digs around in his pockets then, knowing that he never had the nerve to actually attach it to his key ring, but when Alice had handed him a hand-made keychain a couple of weeks ago, he’d stuffed it into one of his jacket’s many pockets and forgotten about it. He finally wraps his fingers around the beaded thing and sighs in relief. “She made me this.”
The girl leans toward him, frowning as she studies the keychain he holds out toward her. “No,” she shakes her head, “I made that. Alice just takes them to school for her friends. But I definitely made that.” She sounds put-out by the idea that her big sister is stealing all the credit, and Jasper quickly backpedals.
“Oh, it’s very nice. Alice did give it to me though.”
“I know,” and then she’s smiling again as she kicks her feet. “When Daddy gets mad Alice puts me on her bed and lets me listen to all the music and make as many bracelets and keychains as I want while she talks to Daddy.”
“Does…” Jasper hesitates, “Is Alice alright? I’m very worried about her.”
“I’m not allowed to talk to people about what Daddy does.”
Jasper’s frown intensifies. “Because you’ll get in trouble?”
When Cynthia nods Jasper has to bite back a swear. He doesn’t know what to do now. It’s clear that something sinister is at play here, but with a little girl too afraid to say anything, and with Alice also refusing to give any hints as to what happens to her behind closed doors, Jasper is left lost.
But when his phone buzzes in his pocket, an idea strikes him. Retrieving it from his pocket he ignores the random email notification and, as quickly as he can, he types a message to Bella, placing as much urgency in his words as he can in a short text.
He stays there, sitting with Cynthia, chatting idly with the girl about her favorite way to braid and design her tiny pieces of ‘jewelry’, when Chief Swan’s police cruiser pulls up, parking in the lot behind them without the little girl noticing.
“Are you hungry?” Jasper eventually asks the girl, turning his head and nodding toward Bella’s dad when the man begins to approach, a random deputy at his side. “If I got you some food, would you eat it?”
“I’m always hungry,” she whines. “Alice was supposed to go to the market yesterday but then Daddy—” she slaps a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide when she realizes that two policemen are approaching. “Oh, no,” she hops off the swings and scurries closer to Jasper. “Please tell them to go away,” she says in a whisper loud enough for the two cops to overhear.
“Hi Cynthia,” Charlie Swan smiles over at the girl, “how are you today, sweetheart?”
“Going home,” she declares loudly, reaching out and grabbing Jasper’s hand, quickly pulling him after her. “I’m going home now mister police man! Thank you! Goodbye!”
Jasper takes a few steps after the desperate little girl, turning to look at Chief Swan with a confused gaze. ‘What do I do?’ He mouths as the girl begins to drag him toward town.
‘We’ll follow’, Chief Swan mouths back, nodding to where the little girl is heading. Then, he places a hand on his partner’s shoulder and they begin moving back toward where the squad car is parked.
The pizzeria Cynthia drags him into is one he used to frequent as a child. The amount of birthday parties he and Rosalie had attended in the establishment were most likely in the double digits. His grandfather had been best friends with the owner of the place, and for years Jasper and his friends had been allowed to bring their report cards to the restaurant every marking period. Each ‘A’ entitled the kids to one free slice of pizza.
He leads Cynthia into a booth, sitting her in the side facing away from the parking lot. And minutes later when he sees the squad car park at the opposite end of the lot, he pulls his phone out again and starts texting Bella again. Thankfully she’s quick to send him her father’s number and for the first time since his arrest over a year ago, Jasper is willingly talking to a police officer.
He half-focuses on Cynthia as he starts texting Chief Swan every bit of information he has. It isn’t until Marnie—a waitress who has been working at the restaurant for as long as Jasper has been alive—brings them their order, a small cheese pizza to share and two lemonades, that Jasper realizes he has more information than he realizes.
Marnie gives him a serious look, glancing between the cop car and the little girl, and Jasper has to subtly gesture to the older woman that she needs to be quiet. When Cynthia is distracted with emptying more sugar packets into her lemonade, Jasper flashes the woman his phone. When the woman sees ‘Charlie Swan’ on the top she frowns and then nods, before retreating back into the kitchen.
You have to check on her, Jasper emphasizes more than once in his text messages with the Chief of Police of their tiny town. You have to go over there and make sure she’s alright.
It’s nearly two hours later—and Cynthia is stuffed full of pizza, cookies, and one warm brownie sundae—when Chief Swan finally exits his vehicle and approaches the building. Jasper hasn’t heard anything from the man in over an hour, but he knows that they’ve sent a few of his people over to the Brandon residence to perform a wellness check.
Marnie and Steve—the owner’s son, and current manager of the establishment—cleared out the restaurant nearly an hour ago, so after the two policemen step through the door, Steve locks the door behind them and flips the ‘OPEN’ sign to read ‘CLOSED’.
“Hi Cynthia,” Charlie Swan speaks again, and Cynthia turns toward the door and lets out a pitiful whine. “It’s okay. Nothing bad is going to happen. I promise.”
“You can’t promise me that!” She shrieks before ducking beneath the booth and reappearing at Jasper’s side. “Go away! I’ll go home later! Leave me alone!”
Chief Swan leans down to eye level with the little girl, and when she grabs Jasper’s arm, hiding behind it, he doesn’t know what to do. “Well, Cynthia. I’m here to tell you that you aren’t going to be able to go home today. In fact, a good friend of mine is going to come by and talk to you, if that’s alright?”
“I want to go home,” Cynthia’s words began to wobble as tears begin to spring to the surface. “I want Alice. I want to go home.”
“Alice is getting some help right now,” and Chief Swan meets Jasper’s eyes quickly then, before looking away, “but when she feels better you’ll be able to see her, alright?”
“I wanna go home,” she cries, burying herself underneath Jasper’s discarded coat, where she continues to cry. “I wanna go home.”
It isn’t until Edward’s parents show up—somehow Jasper had forgotten all about the slew of foster siblings Edward had when they were young—and Esme Cullen spends a few minutes calmly talking to Cynthia, that the little girl appears more willing to go with them.
When Cynthia is packed away into some random car with a borrowed booster seat Jasper turns toward Chief Swan. “Please tell me she’s alright.”
The man nods, and Jasper feels his shoulders deflate, relief almost suffocating. “I don’t know if I would’ve been able to say that if we’d waited another day or two to check, but their father is in custody and Alice is at the hospital.” The man fixes Jasper with a long look then. “I don’t know why, or how it is that I always find you at the center of these situations,” he remarks, somehow looking down his nose at Jasper, despite the fact he was a shorter man, “but you’re good man, Hale. Just make sure to talk to your parents about this.” He turned to walk away, “And thanks for not going rogue again this time.”
The underlying message was clear: ‘thanks for not trying to kill Mr. Brandon’.
When he walks through his front door an hour later, dragging himself up the stairs with heavy feet, he’s met with an avalanche of people suddenly. And when Rosalie’s arms are wrapped around his neck, he almost feels himself break down then.
“Tell us everything,” she mutters quickly against his neck, and that’s when Jasper realizes that Emmett, Edward, and Bella are all standing behind her on the stairs or in the hallway above.
He gets through the story slowly, starting with when he left the house and stopping when he realized that he was talking to Alice’s little sister.
“I’m so glad you texted me when you did,” Bella sighs. “I don’t usually have my phone on me during school, but it’s my Mom’s birthday, so I’ve been waiting on messages from her all day.”
“I knew something was up when Bella ditched English last period,” Edward comments from where he’s leaning back against Rosalie’s wall.
“Bella ditching class at all should be a red flag,” Rosalie remarks from her spot on her bed beside Jasper.
“Your parents have her sister, last I saw,” Jasper turns toward Edward as he speaks, as if hoping the younger boy could provide more information.
Edward nods. “They called a few minutes after I got here. They’re technically still registered as foster parents, so if they can’t get a hold of any other relatives in the area, I’m going to have some foster sisters soon,” he shrugs as if it’s no big deal to him to have Alice and Cynthia moving in. And the idea of Dr. and Mrs. Cullen taking care of the pair of girls is enough for force Jasper to look away from everyone, afraid that he might start getting emotional again.
Jasper stays home from school again the next day, and Rosalie does, too. It doesn’t take long for news to travel through the town of Forks and Jasper knows that if he hears any disrespectful gossip at school, he’ll likely be disappointing Chief Swan much sooner than anticipated.
He tries to visit Alice at the hospital but since there’s an ongoing investigation they turn him away at the front desk.
Joseph Brandon eventually calls one of them—the school must’ve finally gotten a hold of him about their absences—and gets the full story from Rosalie, promising to be home within the day and giving them permission to use the emergency credit card to get a bouquet of flowers sent to Alice’s hospital room.
When Monday rolls around he doesn’t want to go to school, but his father and Rosalie force him out of bed and down the stairs. He’s sort of glad he’s pushed out the door that morning, because when he returns home that afternoon, Mom is back, which means he’s missed out on a huge fight, and he’s relieved that at least it happened while he and Rosalie were at school this time.
The news of the newcomers—John Edgar Brandon and his two daughters—is such hot gossip around town that when Jasper and Rosalie come home one day to their mother’s belongings packed away in a U-haul truck, and some strange man helping her pack, the news doesn’t even make it to his classmates. Because the story of Joseph Hale finally kicking his unfaithful wife to the curb is something that the people of this town have been waiting for him to do for years now.
But the story of the twice-widowed John Edgar Brandon being arrested for abuse, neglect, and suspected murder, easily trumps the news of any simple extra-marital affair. Jasper hates the relief he feels, knowing that his deadbeat mother isn’t going to be the talk of the town, and instead the fact that John Edgar beat his eldest daughter within an inch of her life, is.
He’s been back at school for a full week when he feels his phone buzz in his pocket. It’s nearly the end of the day; the bell is set to go off within minutes and he knows he won’t get a demerit if any teachers see him on his phone at this point on a Friday.
The first message is from Edward.
I told her not to go overboard. But he’s my apology in advance.
The second is from an unknown number.
hi jasper!!!!!!!!!!!!
He pockets the phone with a frown, staring back at the clock on the wall before realizing that his teacher is wrapped up in conversation with a few kids on the opposite side of the classroom. Trying not to be seen he ducks out of the classroom swiftly, pulling his phone out of his pocket to stare at the text message again.
It takes him two more seconds to realize who is texting him and before he can stop himself he’s pressing the ‘call’ button and rushing out the front doors as fast as he can. As he listens to the phone ring on the other end the knot in his throat is so thick that he’s afraid he might choke if he tries to say anything.
“Um,” her voice on the other end of the line sounds like a miracle, and Jasper finds himself clinging to his phone even as he strides into the parking lot, rain pouring down heavily on his head. “Hello?”
“Alice?” He can’t keep his voice from cracking as he makes it to his car, struggling with the keys to open the door and make it inside. “It’s Jasper.”
“I know,” and her voice sounds so small, so unsure that Jasper’s chest hurts hearing it. “Esme and Carlisle got me a phone.”
“That’s amazing,” he finds himself smiling as he talks, slamming the car door shut once he finally manages to climb inside and avoid the downpour. “Is it hard to use?”
“Kind of,” her voice sounds raspier than usual. Whether it’s due to misuse or injury, Jasper is still unsure. He hasn’t heard anything about her physical state, yet. “Edward’s helping me a lot though. Which is nice.” Theres another pause. “He’s nice.”
“He is,” Jasper agrees, leaning his head back against the headrest and closing his eyes. “It’s so good to hear from you, Alice.”
“Jasper,” she sounds sad, then, “I want to apologize.”
“What?” He sits up abruptly, his eyes open again. “Alice, no. You don’t have to apologize for anything.”
“I lied,” she whispers, “so, so much.”
“No, you didn’t. You kept quiet to keep yourself safe,” his words are stern but kind. “That’s different.”
“I’ve made everyone so, so miserable,” and when her voice cracks, Jasper feels something in his chest crack right alongside it. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Alice, listen to me,” clinging to the phone with both hands he finds that he doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t know what to tell this girl and he doesn’t know how to repair something that neither of them are responsible for damaging in the first place.
The entire situation is a mess.
“Are you allowed to have visitors now?” He asks instead. “I’d really like to see you.” There’s a slight pause. “And Cynthia,” he adds on. “I’m not sure if she’s told you about our adventure the other week.”
Alice laughs then, “Yeah. She keeps telling me she likes my tall friend with the pizza.” Jasper smiles at that. “I told her I do, too.” Theres the sound of shuffling on the other line, and then Alice speaks again. “I’m… not sure if I’m allowed…”
“Can you ask?” Then, he realizes what he’s requesting of her, and changes his mind. “I can have Edward ask, I mean.” The idea of asking a parent for permission for anything is something he’s sure Alice has no experience in.
“Um, maybe, yeah. That might be better.” After a slight pause, she sighs into the phone. “I miss you.”
Jasper’s stomach does flips then as he deflates back down into the seat. He can hear the sound of the final bell going off in the background, but he’s too focused on his phone to care. “How about I text Edward, and see if I can come over later?” The idea of inviting himself over to the Cullen household is as bizarre as it is bold, but Jasper doesn’t care. He wants to see Alice, badly. “Maybe I’ll bring some pizza for you and Cynthia.”
Alice giggles at that. “I think she’d really like that. Yeah, okay.”
It isn’t until minutes later when Rosalie wordlessly climbs into the passenger seat that he realizes he’s been crying. She gasps at the sight, leaning forward and grabbing his hand and demanding to know what’s wrong, and only when he wipes his cheeks with the backs of his hands and shakes his head, telling her that Alice is safe and home, does she deflate, pulling him into a hug.
Esme Cullen declines his offer to bring pizza, but is happy enough to see him when he and Rosalie walk through their front door that night. Cynthia is excited to see him and wants to show Jasper her new bedroom, informing him that it’s ‘full of books and shelves’, prompting Rosalie and Jasper to share a strange look with one another and prompting Esme to quickly explain that they were still in the process of packing up her husband’s study to convert into another bedroom for the young girl.
The house is huge—easily one of the biggest homes Jasper has ever seen—and when they eventually reach the kitchen in the back of the house, Alice is already sitting at the table, her eyes wide and smile bright as they cross the room toward her.
“Alice! Alice! Your friends are here!” Cynthia exclaims before climbing into the chair beside her sister.
Alice laughs and looks over at her sister, beaming, “I see that! I’m so happy!”
“Me too!” The girl giggles before hopping down off the chair and running after Esme. “Let’s finish dinner now, please, please!”
Alice looks better than Jasper expected her to, if he’s being honest with himself. One eye is still quite swollen and what used to be her ‘good arm’ is in some type of sling, but her smile is bright and there is color in her cheeks. Judging by the ill-fitting button down Jasper can tell it’s a collarbone fracture, and even though he can’t see her legs, there is a wheelchair resting a few feet behind where she sits.
“Good to see you,” Rose smiles at the small girl, leaning forward to wrap Alice in a light hug. Alice looks delighted at such a reaction from Rosalie, even grinning excitedly over the blonde’s shoulder toward Jasper, and when she lifts her pink cast to give him a thumbs up, he has to refrain from laughing out loud. “I’ll have to drag Emmett by sometime this week. He can’t wait to see you.”
“Oh, please do!” Then, Alice freezes, turning toward where Esme and Cynthia are across the room, “I—I mean, if I’m allowed to.”
Esme’s smile is kind and her words are steady when she calls calmly toward the anxious girl. “Guests are welcome any time before eight PM on school nights and ten PM on weekends. Carlisle and I will let you know beforehand if we have any exceptions on any days.”
And with the gentle setting of boundaries Jasper watches as Alice calms visibly, her shoulders losing their tension as she turns back toward Rosalie and smiles, nodding. “Yeah, I want to see Emmett, too.”
“He might be over sooner than this week,” Edward chimes in as he enters the room, waving his phone toward them. “He and Bella are on their way now, apparently.”
Rosalie manages to look a bit irritated at that. “He didn’t tell me he was coming.”
“I thought you didn’t care what Emmett does with his free time,” Edward speaks knowingly. It takes Jasper several seconds to realize that Edward is teasing his sister. And not only that, Rosalie hasn’t retorted; instead, she’s turning bright red where she stands.
Oh. Well, that was certainly a development.
“I’m glad I planned on having leftovers,” Esme laughs good-naturedly from the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”
Despite the unexpected guests, the dinner at the Cullen household goes like this: He manages to sit himself on Alice’s opposite side and hardly leaves it the entire night. She has difficulty picking up food with her fork, and even despite Esme’s insistence that she can help the girl Jasper insists on doing it. It’s when he realizes that most of the foods he’s scooping onto her utensils are soft, easily chewable things, that he wonders, as he helps her wrap her fingers around her fork again and again, what other unseen injuries she possesses.
Emmett and Rosalie insist on helping Esme clean up dinner, and Edward shows Jasper how to fold and unfold Alice’s wheelchair, before the younger boy helps Alice into it. Jasper feels nauseous as he sees that both of her legs are injured. Her left is in a cast up to her knee, and her right foot is in a black boot.
They’re ushered from the kitchen into a giant living room with a television so big that it makes Jasper wonder how they got it into the house.
As they wait for Emmett and Rosalie to join them Cynthia takes control of the remote as well as the trajectory of their night. Edward groans and Bella shushes him when the little girl announces they’re watching some animated movie Jasper knows nothing about, but after an hour into the film Emmett has declared that it’s his new favorite movie and Cynthia has declared that Emmett is her new favorite person.
They’re halfway through the sequel when the little girl finally passes out, one too many musical numbers zapping her energy. Esme laughs and Emmett remarks that his dance partner has underestimated her endurance as he helps collect the girl and carry her off to bed.
They turn the cartoon off after that and put on something a little more suitable for a group of teenagers. Some mindless comedy that Esme decides to forgo as she prepares to retreat to some other part of the house.
“Dude, your mom kicks ass,” Emmett whispers to Edward after Esme finally leaves them, bowls of freshly popped popcorn and pitchers of juice placed on the coffee table before them all. “What the hell?” He gestures to the TV and the popcorn. “HBO max and the gourmet buttered shit? You’ve been holding out on us, Cullen.”
“Edward’s spoiled,” Bella remarks with a grin as Edward turns to glare at his girlfriend, but when she pokes him in the ribs, causing him to jump nearly a foot in the air, they all laugh. “What? It’s true.”
The movie has barely begun before Jasper feels Alice begin to drift at his side. He turns toward her, hyperaware of her every movement, watching as she begins to nod off slowly, her head dipping and eyes fluttering shut every few seconds.
“Do you want to go to sleep?” He asks quietly enough that no one else hears him over the noise of the surround-sound in the room. But Alice shakes her head stubbornly before sitting up and adjusting the pillows beneath her arm in the sling. Then, she snuggles up close to Jasper’s side and lets out a long sigh.
“Not yet,” she mutters to him, even though her eyes are already fluttering shut again. “I want to stay here, please.”
Jasper barely pays attention to the movie after that. Instead he spends the next hour and a half letting his mind run rampant. His thoughts are so swept up in all things Alice that he hardly notices when the movie has ended and Emmett and Rosalie are standing up and stretching. Emmett starts to talk loudly before Rose smacks his shoulder, gesturing to where Alice is fast asleep at Jasper’s side.
They all slowly disperse after that. Rosalie hitches a ride home with Emmett, and before Edward leaves to drive Bella home he goes and fetches his mother to help Jasper move Alice to bed.
While Esme is unfolding the chair Jasper simply stands, maneuvering Alice into his arms as carefully as possible, all while trying not to jostle her too much. “It’s fine,” he whispers to Esme, shaking his head and gesturing for her to lead the way.
The room that has become Alice’s room is the only bedroom on the main level. Originally a guest room, Esme explains, it didn’t take much to transform it into the type of a room a teenage girl would love. In addition to the new cell phone, there’s a small desktop situated on a new-looking desk in the corner of the room, and there are pink and white twinkle lights cascading across where the walls and ceiling meet. The bedspread is also pink and white, and knowing that they’re Alice’s favorite colors, and that this room was hurriedly designed with her in mind, is enough to force Jasper’s throat to tighten up with emotion again.
The bed is low enough to make it easy for Alice to get in and out with minimal assistance, which means that Jasper has to bend down quite far to gently deposit Alice against the covers. Despite his care, she wakes up the instant his arms are back at his sides, sitting up with a gasp and then a wince, and when she cries out in pain both he and Esme are at her side.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Esme presses a firm hand between her shoulder blades, pressing forward until she’s sitting up straight. “There we go, good. Try not to bend sideways, that-a-girl.”
Gritting her teeth together Alice blinks up at the pair of them, visibly relaxing at the two people in front of her. “I need to pee,” she manages to rasp between pained gasps.
“I’ll go get her chair,” Esme says as she stands back up, swiftly exiting the room.
“Are you alright?”
Alice nods quickly, despite the pain apparent on her face. “Just hurts,” she wheezes as she closes her eyes. Reaching out she grabs for his hand, which Jasper is all-too-happy to give to her. Squeezing it tightly she manages a weak smile. “Thanks.”
“You’ll be alright,” Jasper sighs. And he means those words so wholeheartedly that it makes him emotional. Her injuries would heal, both physical as well as mental. It was so clear, in just the way that the Cullens had quickly outfitted their home to take in the two girls, that they would be safe here, and loved, and cared for.
Everything they hadn’t been afforded before.
“Is it after ten?��� She asks, her eyes looking for the clock on the nightstand behind her. But when she tries to twist to see it and winces, she laughs. “I keep forgetting I can’t do that.”
“It’s nearly ten; 9:48.”
“That means you have to go soon, then.”
He nods as Esme enters the room, wheeling her chair in and helping Alice scoot herself off of the bed and into it. “We’ll be right back,” the kind-hearted woman smiles up at him as she wheels Alice out of the room. “Carlisle will be home any minute now.”
True to her word, the sound of the front door opening and closing brings Jasper’s attention toward the hallway as he watches Carlisle Cullen move carefully through his home.
Upon sight of the teenager standing alone in Alice’s room he approaches with a smile. “Good to see you, Jasper,” and when the older man offers his hand, Jasper takes it firmly, realizing this is the first time he’s actually spoken to Edward’s father. “I heard you all had a fun night.”
“Yes, sir,” Jasper nods, “Dinner, some movies. My sister and I appreciate the hospitality.”
Carlisle smiles warmly. “And you’re both welcome any time. Friends of Edward’s, and of Alice’s, are always welcome here.”
Jasper is taken aback by how much he dislikes that particular statement. Thankfully, Esme and Alice return seconds later, but the idea that he is simply that—a friend to Alice, doesn’t sit right with him.
It’s a ridiculous reaction to have, of course. And he continues to think this even as he helps Carlisle move Alice out of her chair and into her bed. It isn’t until Alice releases her grip on his hand that he realizes the cause of his disdain for the title.
He isn’t friends with Alice Brandon. Not really.
He cares about this tiny girl far, far too much to use the word. And when she smiles up at him almost shyly when Carlisle kindly reminds the two that ten PM is as late as guests can stay, Jasper can’t help the heart palpitations he feels when she turns to the older man and promises she’ll let Jasper leave after she properly says goodnight.
Jasper can see the unamused look Carlisle gives his wife, but Esme is hiding her grin well as she grabs her husband’s hand and drags him from the room, even closing the door behind them both; a luxury that even Jasper’s lenient father never grants to him and Rosalie when they have guests over.
The alarm clock on the bedside table blinks a bright pink 9:57 at him, and he knows his time is nearly up.
Alice reaches over and takes his hand in hers, tugging slightly until he’s sitting on the bed beside her. Carlisle already propped her up on the pillows and blankets she’ll be sleeping on until her collarbone heals, so Jasper has to nearly crawl across the bed until he’s sitting at her side. And even though most of her injuries are now hidden from him with a blanket tossed over her, he knows they’re there. That her bones are broken and her injuries are still too extensive to even properly see all of them. That the state of her body is far worse than it was that night she came to him, lip and cheek bleeding as she quietly sobbed on the floor of his bedroom.
“I have so much I want to say to you,” Alice eventually speaks, her eyes staring at his hand as she grips it tightly. “But I know I don’t have a lot of time, so I think ‘thank you’ is good enough for tonight.” She stares intently down at his hand as she speaks, and Jasper is so hypnotized by the way her eyebrows furrow and her lips pucker when she frowns that he has to force himself to focus on her words. “If you hadn’t found Cynthia that day, and if you didn’t do what you did, I would be lying in a pool of blood in the basement of that house, dead right now.”
The sorrow that fills him, upon hearing those words from her mouth, is something Jasper can’t even begin to properly sort through. So when Alice continues talking, he files that feeling away, knowing he’ll need to process it eventually, but that right now, Alice and her words are what is important.
“I owe you a lot; not just my life. But explanations. And stories and,” Alice swallows and forces herself to look back up at him, “and I owe you. All the answers I have to give.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” he needs to emphasize that before she makes up her mind. “You will never owe me a single thing, Alice.”
“Well, what if I want to volunteer the information? What if I want to tell you every little thing I couldn’t before? Every detail that was dangerous before?”
He stares back into her eyes, realizing for the first time that they’re a deep, dark blue color. “I’ll listen to any little thing you want to tell me, Alice,” he promises as he holds her gaze.
Alice releases his hand then, lifting her hand to his cheek, brushing her thumb against his skin as the palm of her cast presses against his face. “What if I tell you to kiss me?” She whispers, her gaze flickering between his eyes and his lips as she attempts to lean up.
“Are you sure?” He feels himself leaning down before he can even gather her reply, and the second she has enough of a grip on the back of his neck she’s pulling him down toward her.
“Please kiss me,” she whispers against his lips, and when he finally obliges her, she sighs against his mouth. It’s the most beautiful sound Jasper has ever heard.
The kiss is sweet, gentle, and far-too-short, as a sharp knock on the door forces him to draw back quickly, turning at the sound of Carlisle on the other side of the door, reminding them that it was after ten now.
Alice laughs when she hears Esme scold her husband, and then the two voices are far away when Jasper turns back down to look at her. “Oops,” is all he can think to say.
Alice’s laughter fills the room as she reaches up again. And when Jasper kisses her once more before pulling away, Alice sighs against his lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
He presses a kiss to the tip of her nose before nodding. “Tomorrow.”
“If visitors are allowed as late as ten o’clock,” Alice muses softly as Jasper crawls out of the bed. “I wonder how early they’re allowed…”
Jasper laughs, walking over to the side of the bed Alice is on before leaning down, capturing her lips in one final kiss. “I’ll ask on the way out.” And when Alice pulls him closer, deepening the kiss, Jasper scoffs at his own train of thought.
He and Alice Brandon definitely weren’t ‘friends’.
And that was more than enough for Jasper.
#jalicesecretsanta20#twilight fanfiction#Jalice fanfiction#I LOVE THIS SO MUCH ANNA I HOPE YOU LOVE IT TOO!!!!!#twilight saga#its a drama-filled high school human AU so please forgive me for the whump and the sands#SADS*
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Jasper and Alice spend a day away from the family enjoying the comfort of each other's company.
For @toxictwilight from your Jalice Secret Santa. Hope you like it! (Feel free to use if you write anything related(: )
#toxictwilight#jalice#jasper hale#alice cullen#moodboard#mine#jalicesecretsanta20#jalice secret santa#twilight#twilight renaissance#twilight revival
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Surprise! There’s actually a PART TWO to your Secret Santa gift @ubilupus! I didn’t know whether you wanted an AH or canon story, so I wrote BOTH! The two go together, as they both concern Jasper and Alice passing notes at the Law Library at the University of Michigan.
Summary: Jasper’s studying is interrupted. Post-BD.
Title: Apricity
Words: 1,401
Rating: G/K+
Read on: AO3 or FFN
Jasper sat in the grand Reading Room of the Law Library, soaking in the other students’ anxiety and releasing tranquility. It was only a few days before finals at the University of Michigan, and the Reading Room was packed with students eager for a quiet place on campus to study, due to the strict no-talking policy enforced at the Law Library. Jasper had witnessed several students throw out one of their own for a stray cough or cacophonous giggle. Jasper was doing his best to ease the tension in the room and provide a bit of supernatural focus. He himself was very engrossed in his textbook for his torts class. There were so many new cases to read about since the last time Jasper had gone to law school.
When Carlisle had announced his intention to return to medical school himself, the family had quickly decided they would all enroll as students and--as Emmett would say--give it the ole college try. It had been a while since the family had all gone to college together. Renesmee had already gone to college once--on her own, to get the true experience as Edward had explained it (Bella had scoffed at that). The family was spread across the school, in different majors and years. Rosalie was a sophomore majoring in Business, whereas Emmett was a junior majoring in Economics. They were planning an elaborate classroom romance for next semester.
Bella and Edward had decided to start as freshmen like Renesmee, though they had agreed to give her as much space as she needed. Bella had returned to her comfort of English Literature, while Edward set his sights on a degree in Classical Studies. Renesmee had majored in Biology her first go around, and was planning on expanding her knowledge through exploring Biomedical Engineering this time. Jacob had thought it would be funny to attend a rival school--“Cause some things just never die” he had joked with a smug grin--and had instituted a year-long bet on the outcomes of every Michigan vs Michigan State game, no matter the sport. Emmett was thrilled by the idea, and he and Jacob spent many hours cheerfully ribbing the other over their school’s sports team’s various wins and losses. Rosalie and Renesmee, on the other hand, found the whole thing utterly annoying.
Esme had vacillated between several graduate programs, before ultimately selecting a path in social work. She adored her classes and the opportunity to be a GSI and return to her teaching roots, and spent her free time refinishing and reupholstering the antique furniture she had purchased for their new house. And Alice was busying herself as a junior in Art and Design, as well as delighting in telling people that she was Edward’s older sister, enjoying their confusion as they processed the height difference.
Like she knew he was going to think of her--which she probably did--Alice’s honeysuckle and lilac scent suddenly drifted into the Reading Room. Jasper breathed her scent in deeply as it swirled around him like a caress. Alice stood at the far end of the hall, her beauty striking him dumb as always. She was dressed simply, all in black. Her knee-length black coat was unbuttoned, flaring out at her waist, revealing a form-fitting black cashmere dress. It must’ve started to snow outside, for a light dusting of crystalline snowflakes coated her ensemble. Alice shook the snowflakes out of her hair with a gentle flick of her hand. She glided over to him, her high-heeled boots effortlessly silent as only a vampire could be. Jasper held up a finger in warning as she approached his table. Alice gave an inaudible sigh, sinking into the chair across Jasper as he wrote a message to her on his notebook.
What are you doing here? I thought you had claimed the kiln for the next several hours.
There’s going to be a blizzard tonight. Emmett’s planning a snowball fight in the Arb at midnight.
The Arb, formally known as the Arboretum, was a stretch of forest, fields, and flowers protected and cultivated by the University. A river ran through the park, and the acreage was enough that the Cullens could play baseball or any other game without disturbing the other students. Stepping into the Arb was like entering another world and leaving the University far behind. Almost like walking through the wardrobe to Narnia.
I’ll be there.
I know. Alice added a spiral flourish to the ends of her letters. But I was thinking we could head over to the Arb early, just you and me, and scope out the terrain.
Jasper could feel the innuendo through the subtle change in Alice’s emotions. He smirked as he jotted down his response.
I really should finish this reading.
Alice’s emotions turned towards annoyance.
Why? I know that you’re going to pass, whether you stay here and read or come with me. So why not leave this place and have a little fun? You’ve been here for hours.
I like the atmosphere. You should appreciate it, too. It’s very beautiful. Maybe it’ll give you inspiration for one of your finals.
Alice scoffed, but her eyes lifted to the high ceiling with its elaborate design. Jasper felt her appreciation as she took in the stained glass windows, the Gothic arches, the stone and woodwork that evoked a sense of arcane knowledge. He watched the subdued electric light that emanated from the chandeliers reflect and twinkle in her eyes.
See? Stay a while, darlin.
Alice read Jasper’s message with a furrowed brow. She briskly wrote him back.
Why are we even passing notes? We can speak so quietly that no one would ever hear us.
It’s the principle of the thing.
Alice rolled her eyes.
C’mon, Jazz. I’ve been handling clay all afternoon. I’d much rather run my fingers over...marble.
Alice’s dainty fingers danced over Jasper’s thigh. He stifled a groan he knew would get him kicked out of the library, and gingerly removed her hand. He gave an apologetic rub of his thumb across the back of her hand as he drew his back. Alice begrudgingly returned her hands to herself. She propped her elbows on the table, interlaced her fingers, and lowered her chin to sit atop her hands. She batted her dark eyelashes at Jasper and pouted.
Temptress.
Alice laughed silently. She radiated joy, and Jasper could not help softening under her gaze. Even now, decades after their first meeting, Jasper still felt the same sense of awe as he had in that diner in Philadelphia. Alice’s emotions were so wonderfully pure and magnificent; a dazzling light in a sea of darkness. They reminded him every day how lucky he was to have her. How lucky he was that she found him and brought hope and love and purpose back into his life.
Jasper unzipped the bag that sat at his feet, closed his textbook, and deposited it into the bag. Alice raised an eyebrow at the action. She quickly scribbled a message on the notebook before Jasper could pack it away.
So that’s a yes?
You know I can’t say no to you.
Grinning broadly, Alice swept the notebook and pen off the table, clutching them to her chest. She darted out of the library as fast as the human charade would allow. Laughing to himself, Jasper hoisted his bag over one shoulder and followed his wife out into the Quad.
Outside, Alice was gazing at a tree whose branch was curved, heavy with the accumulating snow. Icicles hung from the other branches like teardrop silver necklaces. The fresh snow sparkled prettily, as if thousands of minuscule diamonds were coating the ground.
“You know, maybe I will stay and sketch a while,” she teased. “Nothing like campus in the winter.”
Jasper swept Alice up in his arms, twirling her in a circle as snow flurries fell around them. He brought her close to him and kissed her deeply, her feet dangling in the air. Slowly, Jasper lowered Alice to the ground, but he didn’t break their kiss till her boots nestled in the snow.
“I don’t think so, ma’am,” he said cheekily.
And though the sun was hidden by a grey sky, Jasper could swear he felt its warmth spread through his body as Alice took his hand and skipped down the street.
#jalicesecretsanta20#jalice fanfiction#jalice#my fic recs#twilight fanfiction#ubilupus#twilight renaissance#the twilight saga
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Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer, Twilight Series - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Alice Cullen/Jasper Hale, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Carlisle Cullen/Esme Cullen, Emmett Cullen/Rosalie Hale
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternative Universe - Gifted, Alternative Universe - Human with Powers
Summary:
In a world where part of the population has special Gifts, powers intrinsic of the DNA of each individual, Jasper Whitlock chose to use his for the greater good by joining the Gifted Special Unit after being recruited young, along with his cousin Rosalie Hale. Together, they turned to be top of their class, and then, top level agents inside the institution. Because of that, their boss assigned them their hardest task yet: catch the Soulmate Butcher, a serial killer who wrecked havoc five years ago, and now is back for more. While that in itself is a heavy burden to carry, it turns worse when he discovers who the killer's latest victim might be.
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Hey guys! So this is my present for @jaliceismyotp for the Steggy Secret Santa Exchange promoted by @jalicenetwork!
I’ve been thinking about writing this ever since I read the work of fiction that inspired me to do it, and I’m glad I had the perfect excuse through this event!
Because of the lenght of the plot, and my limited time, unfortunaly I had to divide the story in two parts, the second one hopefully will be out in January.
In addition, this work comes with a playlist on spotify, a second gift to @jaliceismyotp that I hope will make up for my unfinished story XD
Merry belated Christmas to my giftee, and to all of you reading this!
I hope you enjoy my present!
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@claracivry
Christmas Practise
Philadelphia, 1948
I watched the store from across the street — I’d waited for a heavy day of snow, but even then the people of Philly were determined and the place still had a few stragglers. But it was also almost closing — I was running out of time to do what I had to do.
I sucked in a deep, calming breath and held it. I could do this — I laid a successful three-day siege on a neighbouring army with half the number of soldiers. I could buy a simple pine tree.
Maybe I looked strange, marching across the street the way I did. But I knew that would be one of my only tells. After all, my darling had suited me up nice, appropriate for a human given the weather. A pair of trousers, a greatcoat, even a scarf.
But when a beaming woman stepped deliberately into my path, I was genuinely startled and glared at her as I broke my stride to avoid running her over. Already, a hitch in my plans.
There was a quick pulse of panic when she met my yellow eyes, but the veneer of ‘professionalism’ fell over her in the next moment. That almost-emotion stemming from the surety of routine and the dull duty of a job to fulfill, no matter how unsavoury. It was something I encountered often — the unflappability of many waitresses that have crossed my path. Maybe I did frighten them, but so had many patrons before, and it wouldn’t shake them.
“I’m guessing you’re looking for a good pine?” the woman asked, pasting on a big smile that I didn’t need to check was fake — didn’t need vampiric vision to see it didn’t reach her eyes.
But it didn’t need to, I just needed her to leave me alone. “Yes,” I grunted, letting out precious air from my lungs. But she’s undeterred, unfortunately stead-fast in her job.
“Well we have a great selection here!” the woman chirps, “There’s even still a few Douglas Firs left, what kind of pocket change are we working with?”
I shook my head, taking a step to the side of her, “Not looking for any help,” I mumbled, but the woman continued to beam and stepped with me.
“Come on now! Tis not the season to be sour!’ the woman gave me a wink, and to my growing discomfort, I felt the faint brush of desire from her.
Nuts — some women really looked for trouble. “Look, I’ll even give it to you straight, I’ll find the trunk with the shortest needles,” she added in a purr.
I felt a flicker of irritation within me, as I knew I’d need something more to shake her off. “My baby wants a short tree,” I managed, glaring openly at the silly thing, “she’s little but she’ll want to put the star on top herself.”
The smile on her face became brittle but it didn’t shatter — surprising fortitude. “Well — a baby, how sweet,” she walked to a scraggly, thin hunk of kindling. “Here’s one of our best, white pine,” she said as she watched me shuffle over to the overgrown splinter as I eyed it dubiously.
“Too thin,” I said with the last bit of my air. I pursed my lips — knowing I didn’t have the stamina to breathe again in such close quarters with a human. I’d only been at this practise for a short eight months. Had to drain two stray dogs — and a horse that was certainly no stray — just to drive to the tree lot.
But this woman had no clue of all the trouble I’d been to, she just smiled widely. “Well, babies don’t know no different! Just switch her rattle for a jolly old bulb!” she said gayly and I let the opportunity she neatly presented me with slip away.
I took a couple steps to a much lusher tree, and leaned into it. I pressed my face, and most importantly my nose, past the needles, until I ran the risk of scratching my nose on the trunk. In the most safety I could manage, I risked quickly sucking in another deep breath. My gambit paid off — I inhaled nothing but the smell of fresh pine.
Pulling away satisfied, I glanced at the sales woman, who stared at me in open confusion. Her eyes flicker downward, and I glance down at myself and see what had caught her attention. In my haste to embrace the tree, I’d caught the flap of my jacket against a branch, rendering me slightly askew. At least enough for the woman to see the swell of my breast underneath the boxy suit and below the ample shoulder padding. She glances into my face again, a mixture of fear and disgust welling up inside of her, throbbing out and brushing against me.
I managed a grimace in her direction as I made my way further into the trees and away from her. As I passed by one of the lights on the lot, there must have been something either in my expression or deep in her gut that sent that spike of real fear through her. It made her cringe back from me, finally.
I turned to throw a, “I’ll choose my own tree, girlfriend,” over my shoulder as I went.
It was a genuine relief that she didn’t try to follow after me. I knew I’d rather eat her, and my darling had advised me that the best way to approach abstinence would be to ignore temptation entirely.
That woman had been much too much temptation indeed — and not in the way she clearly wanted to be. At least until she realised she was talking to one of her own sex, if not her own species.
But alone it was easy to pick a squat tree with a conical shape and green needles. With an upturn of my chin, I caught the eye of a rougher-looking man. He seemed to have something of a perfunctory manner, and I needed to get this done quickly. He stuck his thumbs in his pockets as he sidled over to me.
I nodded to the tree.
“Your dime might be a bit too thin for that one, son,” he grunted. I could have laughed at the overt suspicion, if I could have afforded to. Older than this man by at least two generations, and certainly no-one’s son, yet he was none the wiser.
But as it were, I had to get this over quickly. My long years had honed me enough that forgoing breathing bothered me less than a vampire used to a peaceful existence. It was an old trick to keep from letting hunger distract you in a battle. But that didn’t mean I liked it.
I simply withdrew a few notes from my pocket and handed them on to him, thankful for the gloves he wore, as I hadn’t bothered with any.
He seemed happy to accept the cash, and offered to help me ‘pin my prize’ to my car. But I waved him off, saying nothing as I gripped the trunk at the base, flipped the tree gently to its side, and started dragging.
“You’d give the strongman shows a run for their money!” he called out after me, but I really couldn’t spare a comment.
It was agony, the burn of thirst clashed against my full belly. My physical fullness wasn’t fooling my mind. Like filling up an empty stomach on a gallon or two of water instead of a meal — the rest of me still knew exactly what I needed. I felt sick with the want — no, the need.
But I managed it. I was quick with lashing the tree to the car and I let myself sigh once as I drove away.
The hotel had a valet that knew better than to try and speak to me, usually. But today, the skittish little man balked at the tree I was hauling.
“Sir — ma’am!” he yelped, “You can’t bring it inside!”
I growled in frustration. This was not part of the plan, and not something I really anticipated. I slowly climbed out of the car, and sent a small ripple of fear through the man, amplifying what he was already feeling speaking to me.
After all, an undead bulldagger probably wasn’t the most respectable guest for such an upscale type of place. I was mostly dressed as a respectable man, except for the slightly womanly hat. My darling picked it out for me as especially flattering. She vaguely assured me that she was sure the strangeness of the get up would hide the inhumanity of the woman wearing it.
I thought about what my darling would do, and how she’d manage this tricky type of human interaction.
I grinned to myself as I reached into my pocket and flicked out a few notes. The valet grabs at them as they flutter across his chest. “W-we could get you a much nicer tree!” he declares eagerly as he gazes at the messy fistful of bills.
But I shake my head. “I’ll handle this,” I tell him curtly, wishing I’d taken a larger breath in the car.
“Ma’am!” he hisses quickly as I reach up to untie the ropes, “you’ll have to drive it down to the back door!”
It was another trial.
But I did as he instructed, driving down to something like a loading dock around back. It was slightly easier with his specific plan — slip some money to the head garcon, be led behind the kitchens to the larger service elevator to my floor. After having me wrap the tree in a large tablecloth for the needles.
Darling had to choose the penthouse.
Luckily, the garcon didn’t offer to help haul the tree more than once, obviously not willing to be any closer to me than I was to him, and was blissfully silent in the elevator. Though being in an enclosed space with me and my quickly-blackening eyes was obviously affecting him, not to mention how much it was affecting me. I could see a bead of sweat make its way down his cheek and was glad that I could hold my breath, no matter how uncomfortable. Even in his current state I knew I would find him a tasty meal.
He murmurs a ‘sir’ as I step out of the elevator, dragging the wrapped tree to the second front door.
When I finally made it inside, I huffed out a short sigh of relief. Inside, it smelt very vaguely of some maid, but more overwhelmingly, of my sweet mate. She made a good effort to cover most of the penthouse to ensure the smell of a human wouldn’t tempt me, with the double benefit of her scent calming me down.
I dragged the tree further inside, and to the bucket I’d prepared myself, packed with earth to stand it in. I realised I wasn’t alone when I heard the faint little giggle, and ignored it as I realised the squat little tree would look incredibly ridiculous in our huge apartment.
She sprinted from the bedroom, leapt off the couch, and I turned and caught her in my arms like my little bride as she grins at me. “You did it!” Alice declared, taking my face in both her hands and pressing our foreheads together, “I’m so proud,” she coos, kissing my nose.
I let the pride swelling in her chest swell in mine, and jerked my head up quickly to nip at her chin. “I thought you’d be later,” I was a little put-out that she'd been waiting, as it made me feel a little baby-sat, “I wanted to surprise you.”
She laughs lightly, smacking my shoulder as she clambers out of my arms and whips my coat and my suit jacket off my shoulders. She herself still wore her fur-trimmed red coat, that she had instructed me was definitely outside wear for humans — but I was far from qualified to comment. Alice had to show me everything about fashion, to her intense delight.
“Oh, you know I can’t be surprised!” she reminds me, skipping over to hang my clothes up, and again I felt that little bubble of feeling in her, warm and tender.
It had taken me awhile to understand it, and even longer for me to explain to her exactly what emotion I’d been trying to pin-point. It was something paired with the pure love that she radiated towards me. It was affection, something inside of love that became apparent to me later. It had taken me a while to become accustomed to it — now it enfolded me as sure as the sunset swallowed and enveloped by the night. Instead of bowling me over entirely.
But that little bubble was the sweet satisfaction of a smaller, nicer vision of hers coming true. It was nearly always minor, domestic. The first time I took her hand, held open a door for her, tried to hold an umbrella over her without crushing the handle (that had been a soggy failure). I wondered how often Alice had seen herself hanging my coat tonight, and for a moment, I ached for the long decades she’d anticipated it. But I knew she couldn’t be lonely now that I was with her and in the next instant I scooped her into my arms again and kissed her forehead.
“You spoke to the woman at the tree lot,” she says and kisses me squarely on the mouth, “the man at the tree lot,” she darts another sweet kiss to my waiting lips, “the valet,” another, “and the waiter!” she presses up close to me, opening her mouth against mine and her fingers slide through my hair, as the kiss lasts a long, slow moment.
When we pull apart, she snuggles closer into my neck and points over to a few boxes that smelt slightly damp from the snow. “You also forgot decorations in your careful little plan,” she whispers in my ear, and I feel slightly better about the oversight when she seals it with one last kiss.
I walk us over to the boxes and sit her on top of one, before staring at the tree. This was the real test, as I unwrap the cloth and reveal that I’d gripped a few of the branches too hard, leaving it pockmarked. I frown lightly to myself, and Alice does too.
“It’s a little puny,” she says with a wide shrug, but I only wrinkle my nose at her slightly.
“I wanted you to be able to reach the top with no trouble,” I explain, gratified by her genuine delight, the way her face lights up. She mustn’t have been watching me that closely.
She props her chin in my hand and watches as I pull the cloth away from the tree entirely. “Want to help me make sure I don’t make wood pulp?” I ask her, but she only shakes her head.
“I’m sure you can do it!” she chirps and her faith in me is not necessarily reassuring.
“Have you actually Seen me do it?” I press her, and she waves a hand to the tree.
“Not yet,” she says meaningfully and it forces a small chuckle out of me.
Carefully, I hoist the tree in my hands, line the stump with the bucket, and push it upright, hoping the tree would sink into the dirt with its own weight.
No such luck entirely and I frown as I’m forced to lightly as possible twist the trunk further in. I let out a short curse as the trunk begins to splinter in my hands, and then Alice steps in.
“That was very good!” she assures me as she presses the trunk straight into the earth and begins to pack the dirt tightly. She’s much better able to judge the amount of force needed to set the tree straight, and it’s a relief when we both draw back.
She nods once with satisfaction, and claps the dirt from her own hands.
It looks a little like a child’s toy, against the long windows behind it, but Alice is perfectly pleased, so I must be too.
“Merry Christmas, my love,” she tells me, wrapping her arms around my waist and putting her chin between my breasts, as I grin down at her and echo the same words. “This is going to be good practise — all our family are going to be so impressed by the way you won’t even break a single bulb!” She chirps, and I incline my head, feeling something bittersweet at her projections of the future. Another vision that she anticipated. I didn’t need it, this family she knew we would have — everything was perfect now. I only needed her, not the complication of another group of vampires — and such a strange one at that.
But I knew I’d meet them, and do my best to join them, as that was what she wanted. As though I’d let some of the bitterness slip out, Alice looks at me with a small smirk. “Well, this Christmas will be just about us, and how good you’re getting at not ripping any of my night gowns,” she adds with a wink.
I grin toothily, as she goes and reaches behind the plain brown boxes, revealing the sleek flat, white box of her current favourite department store — I spotted specifically the ribbon used in the lingerie department.
With a flick of her fingers, she flips the lid off of the box — revealing nothing but crumpled white tissue. She meets my gaze and raises one brow, smiling slowly as I glance over her little red coat. Looks like I would be allowed to unwrap one present a little early.
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Red Solstices and Equinoxes
@zaricats! Hello, love! It’s your Secret Santa. I’m so so sorry this is late but I thought I had queued this up to be posted, but it turns out it had been sitting in my drafts the whole time!
Metallic. Sticky. Red.
Jasper hated its scent. Its texture. Its color.
Yet all he saw was red.
No matter how hard he scrubbed at his skin, tore at his sleeves, clawed at his scars-- it just wouldn’t wash out.
To Peter and Charlotte, he must seem mad with the almost obsessive way he’d pause in front of the river to drench himself from head to toe. But they don’t understand. He could wash all he wanted, but the water stayed clear and his palms stayed red.
Peter. Soft-hearted, pacifist Peter. A Peter that he had offered pity towards now looks at him with the same look of pity. It was Peter who first offered to find him a fresh set of clothes. Darker sleeves to trick his eyes into believing the stains on himself were less visible. Perhaps a pair of blue pants to replace the dusty brown ones that reminded him so much of dried blood.
“There are tears on your old tunic,” Peter’s eyes flickered towards the crescent crisscrossing marks peeking from Jasper’s sleeves “...a new shirt could help cover…”
But the urge to rinse himself persists, new clothes or otherwise. He resists the impulse when the two are around-- if not for the off chance he can break the habit, then as a meek attempt to soothe the creases on Peter’s brows. He’d only been caught once, by Charlotte, who had come home early from a hunt. She didn’t spare him a word, only studying his miserable, water-logged form with the same look of apprehension she’d always given.
Unlike her partner, Charlotte regarded him with weariness. Even without his attunement to emotions, he’d noticed her eyes betray a cautiousness that eludes Peter. Caution. Discomfort. Resentment. It’s subtle, as most things are with Charlotte, but it comes off of her in waves. Sometimes he wondered how much of that stems from her personal convictions and how much of it actually comes from his negativity pervading their space.
So he opened his mouth. To say what, he wasn’t quite sure. Jasper wasn’t one for small talk, but it was an attempt. An experimental hand to build a bridge. He didn’t need her to be his friend, but at the very least he could be cordial.
She’d disappeared back into the forest before he could ask about the weather.
***
On days where the invisible stains are particularly dark, he thought of her.
Of the ways she had looked at him with the reds of her eyes and decided that she wanted him painted in the same hues.
Of the ways she had stepped away from the canvases of red the newborns had created with their insatiable thirst.
Of the ways his senses were overwhelmed with red when she offered him the simplest of acknowledgements.
Attempting to love her was like attempting to love a solstice. Overwhelming. Everything about her was intense. Her winters came in the form of leadership. Unyielding. Calculative. Frosty. His senses felt nothing from her the first time she showed him how to dispose of newborns and they felt nothing still when she ordered him to dispose of her sisters.
Her summers were fueled by anger. He felt it often when their numbers were few and she still stepped onto the battlefield. It was impossible, for him at least, to lose her in the heat of battle. The newborns may be senseless in their thirst and the crashing tsunamis of bloodlust overwhelms his gift, but her ruthlessness was a scorching beacon against the crowds.
She always took more than she gave. She's fond of him, that-- at the very least-- he knows. Sometimes he dares to think of them as partners, but never equals.
Sometimes, he catches glimpses of a different season to her altogether. Not quite winter, not quite summer, but a solstice all the same. There are moments-- bursts of melancholy. Of anguish. Of loss. He catches her, when she believes she's alone, cradling herself with her intensity as she mourns for an equal. An equal that she gave just much as she took from. An equal that she freely gave affection to, not as a reward, but simply because she wanted to. An equal that she didn't feel the need to hide her pains and anguish from.
An equal that wasn't him. That would never be him.
Perhaps the red she had doused him in hadn't been intentional. Perhaps her red smears on him were merely a consequence of a bigger plan. Perhaps he hadn't even meant enough for her to even decide she wanted him in red.
He wonders if he could ever forgive her, but maybe Maria never needed nor cared if he doesn't.
***
Today's stains… weren't as invisible as they used to be.
He's kneeling, palms pressed against the floor of an alleyway as red drips from his lips. More red pools at his side, creeping against his fingers as they flow from the still-warm body of-- he doesn't know.
He had been doing so well. So well. He was adjusting quicker to the diet than she had seen in her visions. Those were her own words. He had heard her and felt pride then.
Now... Now, he couldn't remember.
She'd only left his side for a few minutes. All he had to do was stay put while she pickpocketed enough coins to afford two train tickets to the next state over. Their superhuman abilities carried them this far, but the soles of their shoes had reached their limits.
He wasn't fond of the idea of splitting up, but being 6'3 definitely placed him at a disadvantage against her 4'10 in terms of stealth.
He wondered if she saw him feed. Preemptively that is. That maybe she was too far away to stop him. Or maybe this had been such a split second decision that her gift just wasn't fast enough to foresee.
For a sickening moment, he wondered if she'd seen and simply left.
Jasper knows he's a difficult person to be around, especially with how much his pessimism tended to seep out of him. Peter and Charlotte can attest first hand. It wouldn't surprise him if she, in her seemingly endless patience with him, just had enough when he suddenly relapsed.
No, he wouldn't be surprised.
But it still stung all the same.
More so than it would Peter, who welcomed him out of pity. More so than it would Maria, who he had at least known where he had stood with her.
But Alice. That was the name she had given him. Alice. No last name. She couldn’t remember a last name to give.
Sweet Alice. Playful Alice. The Alice that pulled at his wrists as she charged through streets. The Alice that promised a future in a coven of golden eyes. The Alice that floods his gift with an emotion that he can’t quite place yet.
The Alice that, he's come to realize, made his chest feel lighter than it's been for decades.
He didn't have the gall to call her his, but he's entertained the thought of existing next to her enough to believe he’d follow her anywhere.
If she’d have him. If she’d still want him.
A hand. Small, tentative, soothing. It lightly traces against his shoulder before resting against his arm.
It's her.
He doesn't look at her. Doesn't chance looking towards her eyes. There's a shame that wells up inside of him. One that berates him for succumbing to red when hers have been black for days. She's thirsty. Far more than he was. He could feel her thirst almost as well as his own.
But there's something else that overpowers that. Concern.
He feels her gently brush the stains on his cheek, wiping them the best she could with the inside of her sleeves. She’s so small. Oh so small against him, but somehow she manages to wrap him completely. A reassurance. An admonishment.
But not a rejection.
Slowly, she nudges him to his feet, carefully wrapping him in the same cardigan to cover the violent residue of his meal.
For a split second, he thinks of how silly he looks with his lanky build jutting from her clothes. His shoulders could easily split the ratty fabric into pieces, but surprisingly, it holds.
Before they leave the alleyway, he notices her pause in front of the corpse. There's a flash of something behind her eyes and he thinks she's about to take a drink herself when she bends down, but she leaves the body without further injury. She does, however, fish out a wallet and pocket a few bills before tucking it back to its owner.
***
They’ve booked a room at the furthest motel they could find. It’s seedy, with yellow edges and an owner with even yellower teeth. The room key was handed to them without any questions.
They’d rinsed his bloodied clothes the best they could in the tub, and he watches as the brown seeps from the fabric out to the waters. He hopes it doesn’t leave much of a stain. He’s had enough of those for a while.
She finds ratty bathrobes in the closet for him to wear while they wait for his clothes to dry. It’s coarse against his skin, and he doubts it feels comfortable against her legs, but she lets him rest against her thighs anyways.
They had started out on opposite ends of the single bed, but somehow wound up with his head buried against her lap. She strokes slow circles against his scalp, washing over him with an emotion that’s so uniquely Alice. What she sees in him, he’s yet to understand. He thinks she offers him more than he could ever offer her.
Her fingers trail across his face before he could pursue that train of thought further, smoothing over the frown that was starting to crease over his brows. She coaxes him to look at her. To meet her eyes.
She’s only ever seen him in blacks and gold. He wonders if she’ll hate this color on him just as much as he does.
Her response came in the form of two soft brushes against his eyelids that worked down to his lips. They don't have to talk about what had happened right that moment, but somehow, he thinks they're going to be okay.
***
If Maria is a solstice, then Alice is an equinox.
It’s comfortable. It’s mild. It’s balanced.
His time with Alice, despite spanning two decades now, was still only a blip in comparison to the seven he had spent under Maria. She never took more than she gave, though he thinks she could be far more greedy and he’d feel all the same. Whatever she wants-- whatever he has, she can have. Maybe it’s how healthy she makes him feel that he doesn’t find the need to be so calculative.
Equinoxes always feel shorter than solstices because of their mild temperatures and evenly split days whereas solstices seem to drag on with how long their days/nights are. He's been trying to love Maria far longer than he has loved Alice, but he believes that’s going to change in several decades. He hopes so. He knows so.
She's sitting in front of her vanity in their shared bedroom. There’s a philosophical book resting against his thigh, but it's long been abandoned. He watches her back, studying the way her hair bounces with each movement.
She hmms at her reflection and turns to look at him. A look of pride as she waits for him to notice her handiwork.
She's used the lipstick Rosalie's gifted her. It’s a stark pop of red against her pale skin.
He sets his book aside and walks up to her. To rest his chin against her shoulder as she wraps her arms around his. She presses a kiss onto his chin, directly where one of his old scars laid, leaving a splotch of color against his head.
He finds that… maybe he doesn't dislike red so much after all.
Word count: 2008
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JALICE SECRET SANTA 2020
↳ the holiday, a jess & alice christmas story
part (1/2) gift to @goldeneyedgirl | @lexiewrites
Almost everything ever written about love is true. Shakespeare said, “Journeys end when lovers meet.” What an extraordinary thought. It was Shakespeare who also said, “Love is blind”. For some, quite inexplicably… love fades. For others, love is simply lost. But then, of course, love can also be found even if just for the night—or a lifetime.
@jalicenetwork
Be careful clicking read more this is 18k long and NSFW.
READ IT ON AO3
Merry Christmas, Lexie! I hope you enjoy this long ass fic which I spent the whole month teasing you about it without saying it was for you just to check if I would not make a whole MESS of your gift! I hope you enjoy this little Jess/Alice holiday love and that you're having a wonderful holiday season yourself! Happy Holidays! ♡
THE HOLIDAY
——
Almost everything ever written about love is true. Shakespeare said, “Journeys end when lovers meet.” What an extraordinary thought. It was Shakespeare who also said, “Love is blind”. For some, quite inexplicably… love fades. For others, love is simply lost. But then, of course, love can also be found even if just for the night.
——
“Will you tell me the truth?” When Alice asked, there was no flicker of emotion in her voice. Her eyes darted to the man with dark blond hair beside her as he stared out into traffic, avoiding her gaze. “James,” she tried again, “I want the truth.”
Practicality had always been a key asset to Alice Cullen’s life. At work, it aided her to always be on time and deliver what was required of her. In her personal life, it meant that she didn’t sugarcoat anything. Some called her harsh, or cold-hearted, but it was simply who she was—or had learned to be.
Her fiancé James was a stunning looking man. Tall, blond, slender. Truly attractive to the eye. And Alice had once been madly in love with him, as he had been for her. But that love wasn’t there anymore. The spark, their attraction, it was all gone. Alice had been so driven by him the first time around, so blinded to his flaws—that were now what surfaced to tear them apart.
James had been having an affair. He never really confessed to it but Alice had been picking up on the signs for a while now. The red blur she found on his collar once, the late work hours, the grins and giggles when he was texting someone, their distance in bed both physically and emotionally… They never had sex anymore, not like before. When it happened it was mechanical, more as a necessity to get off—which Alice never really did—than anything else.
If she was to be honest with herself, Alice never looked at James and said to herself that he was the man of her life. She always found such notions to be childish, whimsical. He would be a nice man to settle with, to share a comfortable life—after all they also worked in the same area. But he was not a charming prince coming to her rescue and she was no damsel in distress. Alice was a practical woman. And right now, as she tried to make him confess, that showed through.
What unfolded the misery of their night had been a phone call. They were all to have dinner in Downtown Los Angeles when James stepped out to the bathroom and left his phone behind. The name Victoria read on the screen along with the picture of his red-wild-haired secretary. Alice knew Victoria, they had met plenty of times, so what harm could it have been to pick up the call and let her know that James had just stepped out?
“Are you coming to see me later? I miss you, James,” it was the first words she said, even before Alice could say hello. She stood there, struck by the realization that her fears were, in fact, concrete. She couldn’t move, or cry—Alice never really cried—, she just stood there in silence.
They had dinner as if nothing had happened. To James, in fact, it hadn’t. Alice had hung up the call and pretended she hadn’t heard a thing. His chatting over the three course meal was like a background noise. All she could really think about was just how stupid she had been about this whole relationship. How many times she had turned the eye on the evidence right in her face.
Alice couldn’t go any longer that way, but she still waited for them to get in the car.
“Victoria called,” she told him. “She asked if you’ll be seeing her later. She also said that she misses you.” The diminishing tone in her voice took James by surprise but he was really taken aback by her coldness. Alice had never denied she was a distant woman, not true to her emotions for the most part, and although James knew that it still shocked him that she wasn’t crying or screaming. She was barely moving, even.
“I—” he tried to say, but no words really formed. Instead he stared ahead for a long time.
Alice couldn’t tell if he was avoiding the whole thing or if she had simply gone mad. She decided it was the first option so her words demanded the truth.
Nothing came. Just more silence.
It was painful to realize what silence meant, but she still didn’t cry. She was relieved even. Alice worried that if James had tried to lie, or even just apologize, she would have caved. Because Alice knew she would. Not because she loved James, but for her own fear of being alone.
“Did you sleep with her?” Alice tried one more time.
“She wasn’t important.”
So he had.
“Was she better than me?”
“Why does that matter?”
“Answer it, James,” she complained.
“She’s different,” he confessed.
Alice let that sink into her stomach as it twisted inside her. She mouthed something but no words came out and James stared at her for a moment.
“I don’t understand you,” he grunted under his breath. That made her eye him, vile.
“You don’t understand me?” Alice groaned angrily, looking ahead as they moved in traffic.
“I really don’t,” he rampaged on all that had been stuck inside then, unable to hold back, “you have no emotions, like ever. You’re here finding out that I cheated on you and you won’t scream or cry.”
“Oh, so you want me to be suffering for your mistakes now?” Alice mocked, rolling her eyes angrily.
“That’s not what I’m saying, but you could shed a tear or two. You know what it’s like to sleep next to you? Or worse, to sleep with you?” His words were piercing to the point Alice herself questioned how she was not more upset with him.
“Do enlighten me, James.”
“It’s like sleeping with a corpse.” He spit the words out and they actually made Alice gasp.
“Stop the car.”
“What?”
“Stop the fucking car, James.”
“We’re in the middle of the freeway.” He looked back at her and the road, confused.
“Get off on the next exit. Now.”
As angry as she had become with that last drop, Alice couldn’t cry. She didn’t feel hurt, she felt breathless—but that wasn’t really an emotion. She wanted to scream but that wouldn’t be her wise and controlled self either. James had single handedly humiliated her and shred her to pieces, but Alice felt somehow she had been expecting exactly that from him.
When he took the exit and parked the car on the first possible street, Alice hopped off the car with her purse.
“Where are you going? Alice, be reasonable—”
“I’ll send your things through Emmett.” She slammed the door and marched to a nearby bar, not waiting to watch as he took off.
Alice didn’t stick around in the bar, instead she called an Uber and headed home. Even though they had separate places—something she was always particular about—she could bet that James had gone to Victoria’s house so there was no fear of running into him there.
She was—like Alice had been so used to—all alone.
The next morning the lingering tightness in her chest was still there when her assistant, Bella Swan, woke her up. Alice liked to be on time for things, her schedule was quite busy as a fashion editor, and she was on the verge of finishing up a project. The piece had been handed in and approved, she just needed to do the final tweaks on the design before she embarked onto the next project.
Alice had been awarded for her work, she was a name to be known in Los Angeles, and she knew this much had always intimidated men. In her relationship—or previous one—it was a toxic emotion that tore them apart from the inside out. James not only didn’t appreciate it, but he also never encouraged and went as far as telling Alice he didn’t see the appeal in what she had done.
It was one of the few fights they had, but it had been significant enough for Alice to consider that they wouldn’t work together. If last night was any proof that she had been right all along, Alice’s only regret was not trusting her gut before.
“Heard about you and James.” Bella handed her the coffee with a concerned look. Most of the time she was professional and kept those thoughts to herself, but she still cared about Alice, and she made a point to show it when necessary.
“He’s blabbling about it already?” Alice rolled her eyes, sipping on the mug as she sat by her table.
“He asked Emmett to get his things, Edythe and I were there,” Bella clarified. “We weren’t gossiping or anything.” Alice gave her a nod before putting the mug down, eyeing the computer screen for the designs.
“It’s fine really. He slept with Victoria,” Alice stressed the name because she remembered how Bella didn’t get along with the redhead, and she watched the brunette before her twitch.
“That bitch,” Bella grunted softly. “You know I never had anything against James, it’s Edythe that never liked him. But I could never stand Victoria.”
“Yeah well, turns out you were both right.” Alice sighed, distraught. She should have listened to both her sister and Bella.
Edythe Cullen was Alice’s older sister. They had the closest friendship growing up and often shared things in adult life, but Alice drew the line when it came to her relationships. Alice liked to keep things separate, she already thought it was complicated that her sister’s girlfriend was her employee. But Bella really made her life easier and neater, and didn’t go gossiping to Edythe when things happened, so Alice had nothing to complain about.
It was Emmett McCarty, their cousin, that had introduced Alice to James. The two were friends from college and he had thought they’d make a good match, given how practical and straightforward the used-to-be-couple was. He was wrong, but Alice gave him some credit for trying.
Before she went to bed she had called Emmett as well, she imagined after James already had. She understood now why he had sounded so sympathetic and not nearly as surprised as Alice had expected. She adored Emmett, growing up the giant boy was always the funniest to play with. Edythe was Emmett’s age but she was too closed up in her own little world while Emmett and Alice had been the playful ones. While Edythe had her head stuck inside a book, Alice and Emmett would be pranking people during Thanksgiving dinners.
She felt better after speaking to Emmett and he had actually got something stuck in her mind.
“You need a vacation, you know,” Emmett had told her over the phone. “When was the last time you had one?”
She couldn’t really remember it. “I don’t know, I don’t have time for that.”
“Well, make some, Al. You need a break… Time to heal you know?” His voice was always kind, caring.
“I wouldn’t even know where to go all alone.” But the idea had definitely stuck with her when she went to the empty bed. As alone as she was, it was a more pleasant feeling than the last months she forced herself to lay besides James. There was calm, and relief.
Bella brought over a bagel sandwich that was Alice’s favorite—everything bagel, cream cheese, Canadian bacon, avocado and tomatoes—and she only indulged on that calorie bomb when extremely needed. Alice was grateful that Bella had judged that as being a good time for such. A breakup was surely an excuse for someone to get some comfort food in.
“Thanks,” Alice muttered. Bella gave her a quick sympathetic nod and took a seat across from her on the table.
“When you finish I wanna go over next week’s schedule. There’s some meetings that I need to confirm,” she told Alice, adjusting the reading glasses on her face.
“Actually—” Alice paused, considering again the possibility Emmett had suggested the night before. “I want you to clear my schedule until New Years.”
“Oh.” Bella looked extremely surprised, not even making an effort to hide the jaw dropped gaze. “You never break for the holidays.”
“I know, but now I will.”
“All right.” Bella nodded quickly, making notes. “Should I set up anything with your family?”
Alice chuckled at that because her family also included Edythe and Bella’s in-laws, so she could imagine that there were plans on the making already. But she shook her head.
“I do want you to send them gift-cards, please. I’ll call mom later and let her know. But I’m going to travel,” Alice said, leaving Bella even more confused.
“W—Where?”
“I don’t know yet. I want to go somewhere new—and far.” Alice turned to her screen, opening a map of the globe on Google, and said, “Got any suggestions?”
“Maybe Europe? They have really nice hotels.”
“I don’t know if I want to go to one,” Alice twisted her face.
“I have these friends that did this house exchange thing,” Bella told her, making Alice frown. “It’s very safe, all go through the site. It’s like Airbnb, except you go to their house and they come to yours.”
“That’s brand new to me.” Alice frowned as she typed it in on the search bar, finding it surprisingly fast.
Bella knew her queue when Alice’s eyes were focused on the screen and she responded to her question with a simple nod, so she excused herself to go cancel the calendar for the next few weeks—two to be precise—as it would be a whole lot of work for her, too.
Alice browsed the pages until she landed on a small town, not too far from London, called Guildford. She had picked England for the language—she knew French and Italian as well, but heading to France by herself seemed too depressing, and stopping by Italy and not visiting her father’s Italian cousins would be considered extremely rude by them. She wasn’t even spending the holidays with her own family, she didn’t want to be dragged into the weird cousin’s lair.
Guildford seemed quiet and cozy enough and the cottage picture looked like the most welcoming place she had ever seen. It was not nearly as close to the mansion she lived in, but the white snow covering the garden and the rustic looks might be just the change Alice needed in her life.
The listing read beautifully too, like it had been written by an artist:
Christmas in the countryside. A fairy tale English cottage set in tranquil country garden. Snuggle up by the old brick fireplace and enjoy a glowing fire and a cup of cocoa. An enchanting oasis in a quiet English town forty minutes from exciting London.
Alice immediately clicked to chat with the owner. She had never done this, not even rented an Airbnb, let alone exchange houses with a stranger, so she wasn’t sure how to begin with it.
But Alice was practical so she imagined it had to come handy as she typed.
Alice: I’m interested in renting your house. Is it still available?
Alice: I’m wondering if your house is available this Christmas, because if it is, you could be a real lifesaver. I know it’s ridiculously late to be asking, but if you’re interested please contact me.
After a quick check on the time differences in both countries, she imagined the owner might be asleep, but to her surprise a message popped up.
Rosalie: I’m very interested, but the cottage is really only available for home exchange.
Rosalie: Where are you?
She quickly typed back.
Alice: Los Angeles.
Rosalie: I’ve never been, but always wanted to go. I’m Rose, by the way. I’m very laid back. Very neat, healthy, a journalist, single.
Alice: I’m Alice. I work in fashion, very organized too. Pretty much a loner, loser and complicated wreck.
Rosalie: Hi.
Alice: Hey.
There was an endearing smile that settled across Alice’s lips. She didn’t know the stranger, but she felt comfortable talking to her. The feeling that maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all lingered, it felt promising and Alice could work with that.
They chatted about the space and the towns briefly, Rosalie asking her own questions about Alice’s place but surprisingly never asking to see it. Alice liked that, and gave her a feeling that Rosalie was this fierce and spirited woman, with a will for new adventures. She needed that sort of encouragement, to get her out of her comfort zone.
But one thing still lingered. Alice didn’t want to just go to another town to find herself involved with a foreigner just to forget her ex and make her life all the more complicated. So she questioned Rose if her town had any men. Surely there must be some, but Alice figured Rosalie would understand that, if she was asking, she was trying to mention the single and eligible men. If Rosalie told her there were plenty, Alice would have to dismiss the beautiful cottage and go venture new places—which would be a shame since she was truly liking the place and Rosalie.
The response made her beam.
Rosalie: Honestly? Zero.
Alice: When can I come?
The next day Alice was boarding first class to London. Bella had arranged her schedule, sent her family gift-cards in her name, as well as bought Alice some books to read on the flight—that she ditched for yet another fashion magazine. She had complained to Bella that she never read books anymore and it was kind of her assistant, and friend, to select three different titles for her to try—she was also thankful that none of them had been romances. The murder mystery title by some writer she hadn’t heard about sounded interesting, set near the nineteen-twenties—which Alice greatly liked the sense of fashion—and with some hints of supernatural in it. Alice didn’t get it right away, but she told herself to read that one first, when she made it to the cottage.
She wasn’t planning to hang out at bars or any of the sort, she wanted to give herself time to be on her own. To read a good book by the fireplace, to soak up on a bath, and to take a stroll with the dog Rosalie had mentioned that she had—even though she said Alice didn’t have to worry about the pup because her sister could swing by to take the pet off her hands, she had told Rosalie it would be no trouble to look after it pup, if anything it made for good distraction.
It wasn’t a big and elaborate vacation plan, but it was a plan and she wanted to roll with that. Alice was dying to just relax for a while. She figured if she isolated herself enough to deal with her own internal issues, that lump in her throat and the tightness on her chest that had been driving her nuts would fade, that the claustrophobic loneliness would go away.
——
London was glacial for someone like Alice, who had just flown from the so warm Southern California weather. She definitely hadn’t packed for that—Alice didn’t even think she had clothes at home for that kind of weather. She didn’t travel much outside the States, if she was being honest. Alice had been to the Caribbean a few times but never to Europe, let alone Europe during the winter. But upon her arrival, when she texted Rosalie about a good place to find stores in London, Rosalie had so kindly said Alice could borrow her coats if she needed to.
The two women had been exchanging messages all along and Alice was confident this vacation was something she would like to repeat eventually—perhaps not during the winter. But Rosalie had proven to be the nicest host and they even chit-chatted about cool things Alice could do around London.
She was exhausted and jet-lagged when she arrived though, so Alice took up Rosalie's offer to borrow the coats and headed straight to the cozy cottage awaiting for her.
The place was lovely really and Rose had left a welcome basket for Alice on the dinner table—which made her feel bad for not having left one for her new penpal. It wasn’t too big, the fireplace right next to two comfortable couches and the kitchen right across from the living area. Between the two, a small flight of stairs led to the top floor where a bedroom and an office shared space, two doors led to a small closet and a bathroom. It was like a tiny dollhouse, that Alice seemed to fit right in with her short stature and delicate features.
It was a habit that she had to unpack and organize everything and once that was done, she crashed on the bed, unable to hold back until later in the night. She could catch up with the timezone another time, she figured, since she was on vacation anyway.
At nine o’clock at night she was up and on full alert so she drove to the nearest shop, got herself some groceries, liquor and anything she could snack on during the night; she knew it would be a sleepless one.
She took a bath, drank wine, and even cooked—something she hadn’t done for herself in ages—at the end of the night. It was around one in the morning when she cozied up again on the bed, bored to death. It was like the book was flashing her a sign and Alice hopped to grab the murder mystery on her purse, settling back to read it. Alice couldn’t remember the last time she laid down before bedtime and just read a book, snuggled under the covers, with a cup of tea on the nightstand. For a brief moment, all felt heavenly.
Alice didn’t really recall exactly when she managed to fall asleep, especially how interesting the book was getting around the end of chapter two, but she had at last managed to shut her eyes and actually rest—the book and tea having done a miracle to the woman, she was really beginning to understand the appeal that the British had over tea, it could really relax somebody. The cover set Rosalie had put out for her was also very good, it was like lying down on a cloud. Nothing could disturb her. That was until she heard the loud banging on the door.
Startled, Alice jumped out of bed, the dog running downstairs immediately too, barking at the noise. She quickly grabbed her robe and wrapped it around herself, nearly flying over the stairs when she missed one step.
“Rose! Open up! I need to use the loo,” the female voice called from outside, making Alice turn on the lights to the living room.
She stood by the stairs though, shouting, “Who is this?”
“Bloody hell, I’m freezing out here, Rosalie Hale. Open the door before I pee myself and freeze to death,” the woman shouted back with nervousness in her tone. “I’m going to tell ‘ma about this, Rose!”
Alice realized then, with those words, that the woman could only be Rosalie’s sister, so she rushed to the door and unlocked it. She was met by a towering blonde with a puzzled gaze.
“You’re not Rose,” she told Alice, in sheer confusion.
“No, I’m a friend of hers. We’re doing this house exchange thing. Did she not tell you?” If they were sisters, wouldn’t that be something one would tell their sibling? “Who are you?”
“Oh, bullocks! That must have been what she was calling me about yesterday,” the blond lamented and then her face twisted. “Listen, I know it is very strange, but could I use the loo?”
“Yeah, yeah, sure.” Alice nodded quickly, opening up the door and getting out of the blond’s way. She rushed inside straight to the bathroom and Alice closed the door still in complete confusion.
She went on to sit on the couch and was joined by the pup that hopped on her lap. Alice petted him gently, waiting for the sister to return. She had suspected that the woman was drunk, given the hour and the bathroom urgency, but the last thing Alice had in mind was to take care of someone’s intoxicated sister on her getaway holiday.
When the blond stumbled back into the room, Alice chuckled though, watching as her suspicions confirmed themselves. She cursed under her breath, looking back at the floor as if it had any fault on the fact that she was under the influence of alcohol and tripping on herself.
“Listen, I’m so sorry, I had no idea Rose wouldn’t be here,” she told her, coming to throw herself comfortably on the other couch. Alice sat up straight, stiff on her seat, she didn’t want the woman to get comfortable there. “I’m Jessamine, Rose’s sister. We’re twins.” She chuckled, sighing a little. “Not identical, though.”
Alice hadn’t actually seen Rosalie’s face, as they hadn’t crossed paths on the exchange, so she wouldn’t be able to tell. Instead, she just nodded.
“So, house exchange you said?” Jessamine wondered and Alice just agreed quietly again. “Where is she, anyways?”
“You should really pick up your sister’s calls,” Alice pointed out and the blond chuckled in agreement. “But she’s in my house in Los Angeles.”
“How long is she going to be there?” Jessamine seemed genuinely surprised now.
“Two weeks.”
“And you here?”
Alice nodded again.
“That’s wild!”
Even with the jet lag and the time it was likely too early in Los Angeles, Alice was feeling the wine she had before—along with the sleeping pill—began to sink in more. She was also exhausted with the flight so the last thing she wanted was to be chit-chatting with the stranger.
“Jessamine you said, right?”
“Yeah, but call me Jess, please,” she smiled sideways and for a brief second Alice was slightly taken—she had a very remarkable smile, quite charming.
“Jess,” she gave the blond a smile back, emphasizing the nickname kindly. “I actually just flew in today and I’m very tired.”
Realizing her words, Jessamine was quick to get on her feet.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m here talking my heart out, I didn’t mean to bug you. It must have been a very long flight, indeed.” She was quick and apologetical, looking around for her coat that she had discarded along the way in, as she had headed to the bathroom before.
Alice almost felt bad, hearing her tone and how lost she felt. She certainly looked very tipsy.
“You are not driving, are you?”
“No, no,” Jess said quickly, cheering when she found her jacket. “Normally I crash at Rose’s on days like this so I don’t actually have my car. But I’ll just get an Uber!”
“Oh, nonsense.” Alice shook her head. “You can crash on the couch!”
“I do not want to bother you—Oh, how rude of me, I didn’t even ask your name.” Jessamine finally stopped the excited rampage she had been on since barging in and smiled with defeat.
“Alice. I’m Alice Cullen,” she chuckled—in fact very amused with the energy of the blond—and extended her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Alice,” Jess took her hand, and Alice was surprised by the electricity of the touch. “Jessamine Hale. Just Jess will be fine though.”
“Yeah, you said it,” Alice said with amusement, grinning because Jess was clearly drunk. Was this what, the third introduction?
For what seemed like a long moment, their hands lingered there, connected in the air. Alice only noticed just how much taller Jess was—not that it was too difficult considering just how short Alice was. She hadn’t met such a striking woman before. Her eyes were deep green and her cheek had a slight dimple that seemed to go along so well with her squared jaw and thin lips.The blond messy curls falling to her shoulders making her look like a lioness.
Alice was the first to pull back her hand, feeling her cheeks burn when she realized that she had been staring at the other woman for far too long—longer than what was socially acceptable, or comfortable. Jessamine didn’t seem to mind though, as the smile continued settled across her lips.
“Are you sure I won’t bother you?” she asked Alice then, who shook her head vehemently.
“Just point me to the directions of the extra bedding,” Alice assured her.
“Oh, don’t worry, I can get around with that. Rose normally just lets me in and hops back in bed.” she laughed, walking past Alice to a wardrobe by the staircase, grabbing a set of sheets, blanket and pillow that was perfectly tucked away for her. “I promise I’ll be out before you even notice.”
Alice doubted it, she would rather wake sooner than later.
“You don’t have to rush out, really. Don’t worry,” Alice assured her, making her way to the stairs.
“He really likes you, huh,” Jess pointed out when she saw Rose’s dog following after Alice.
“Normally that’s not the case?”
“Definitely not, this little feral beast is quite difficult. I had had a hard time with him when Rosalie first rescued the pet a few years ago.”
“I guess I’m lucky then!” Alice grinned, heading back to the bedroom.
“Thank you, Alice,” Jess said and saw the brunette stop on her path to look back and nod.
For a short second they exchanged a gaze and both shared a smile.
“Night, Jess.”
“Goodnight, Alice,” Jess said watching as Alice turned off the lights and disappeared to the second floor.
Alice accommodated back on the bed, bringing the pup up there with her, and stared at the ceiling for what felt like the longest time. Alice figured that her sleep might be gone, but there was no strength in her to actually get herself up to read or do something, she felt exhausted.
When she closed her eyes, trying to force herself to sleep, the blond’s smile uninvitedly invaded her mind.
——
It was way past ten in the morning when Alice finally woke up, surprising even herself with the hour. Normally, she’d be up and ready to work out at about eight thirty in the morning, with a coffee mug in hand and ready to work. Alice loved to work. Fashion had been a strong part of her life thanks to her mother, Esme.
While Edythe had her own classic style, that didn’t diverge much from monochromatic sets of jeans and tees, Alice always went all out with her wardrobe. It had changed along the years, progressing from princess dresses when she was a kid to a bit of grunge when she was a teenager until she settled into a minimalist boho with a lot of impact—which meant she dressed some pretty expensive brands, although not specifically designer, with simple pieces and bold accessories.
Building a statement more than a style itself was what fashion was really about and Alice had made that name for herself for those assertive choices she made when she dressed. It was the kind of attention that she liked to draw. Studying trends was the reason she was so excited to ser foot in Europe for the first time.
Even though her father had family in Italy and she was deeply engaged in an international industry, Alice always stayed around New York and Miami fashion week—aside from Los Angeles, of course. A small city near London may not seem like the perfect source of inspiration to all people, but Alice thought it might just be the change she needed in her life to make something brand new and different.
Of course, there was a part of Alice that kept reminding her that she was there to relax and not work—and that part had Bella’s voice, since her assistant had repeatedly reminded Alice about actually taking a vacation and relaxing on the ride to the airport.
Climbing down to the bottom floor, still in her pajamas, Alice was surprised to find the sheets and blankets all neatly folded on top of the couch and Jess by the stove pouring herself a cup of tea. She stepped into the kitchen to join the other woman.
“Hi,” Alice announced her presence, a shy smile set across her lips.
Jessamine turned on her heels, a slight surprise in her eyes.
“Good morning,” she said as she sipped on her tea. “I didn’t expect you to be up so early.”
“I could say the same,” Alice commented with a grin, as she got past the blonde to try and work the coffee machine on the counter.
“About that, I must apologize! I was not my best self last night. Completely uncalled for to barge into here like this,” Jess told Alice with the most apologetic smile. When she gazed over to her, Alice noticed how much more sober she seemed now. There was a contained aura in her that she hadn’t noticed the night before with all the tripping and smirking.
“Ah, that’s all right. You didn’t know Rose wouldn’t be here.” Alice seemed to be having a hard time figuring out the coffee maker, pushing buttons that wouldn’t work. Maybe it didn’t, she thought to herself, maybe all the British did was drink tea and the coffee makers were just for looks.
She didn’t notice when Jessamine stepped closer, silently, hovering over Alice to reach out for something. She was at a loss for words when she turned to gaze at the blonde that was right there, in front of her.
Jess was much taller than her, Alice had noticed that the night before, but now, with her standing so close, it felt impressively more. Her eyes darted up to find Jessamine’s green orbs smirking down at her, as if they were reading something in Alice’s soul that she did not know.
When Jess simply connected the plug to the wall, Alice felt awfully foolish and flustered. Both for thinking Jessamine was stripping the depths of her soul, for some reason, and because she hadn’t thought to plug in the device.
“Normally they require power to work.” Jess teased, walking away to resume drinking her tea.
Alice let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding, nodding quickly as an attempt to make the blush go away. She looked around for mugs, opening and closing cabinets, and again Jess surprised her by emerging close to her with a cup in hand.
She moved so damn quietly, like a lioness—with the mass of beautiful, curly, blonde hair. Alice had no clue what had gotten into her, but something about the other woman’s energy made her jumpy, bringing a torturous turning to her stomach.
“Thanks,” Alice managed to murmur, letting out another captive breath.
“Mhmhm,” Jess nodded, at last sitting at the dinner table.
It was better that way, knowing where the blonde was standing so she wouldn’t go on surprising Alice with her presence, and lack of respect for others’s personal spaces. With all the cliches about British people, she had guessed they would be all distant and cold, without the fervor one would find in Southern California or other warm central-American countries. But Jess was surprisingly different.
Not only the way she had managed to barge into Alice’s bubble, but how her gaze was so deep—even the night before when she had been drunk.
“So how long are you staying, Alice?” She broke the silence, making Alice gaze her over the shoulder. She knew Jess had been watching her, even with her back turned Alice had felt the eyes observing her movements so closely.
“Two weeks,” Alice told her, even after being under the impression they had gone over that the night before.
“Right! You mentioned she’s spending Christmas there.” Jessamine looked distant for a second, as if her mind had wandered into something important, and Alice was able to catch it when she turned around at last with a coffee in her hands.
“Does she often travel during the Holidays?”
Jess shook her head and Alice wondered if what she saw was worry in her eyes.
“I should probably give her a call later,” Jess concluded quietly.
“You said you two are twins?”
Jess nodded and the frown was replaced by a smile.
“She’s the pretty one,” Jess chuckled. It made Alice wonder what Rosalie looked like because Jessamine was a breathtaking woman already—such a different beauty but all the more striking.
“What does that make you then?” Alice wondered with amusement.
“The brains of the family. Truly, I am the smartest one.” They both laughed at that.
A buzzing on the counter interrupted the moment and Alice was quick to pick up look at the screen where the name Charlotte was written. She realized then how that was not her phone because she didn’t know any Charlotte.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to look.” Alice handed her the phone as quickly as she had taken it.
Jessamine eyed the phone and smiled awkwardly, which immediately made Alice all the more worried how she had invaded the other woman’s privacy like that.
“It’s all right,” Jess nodded. “I’m going to take this one outside.” Clearing her throat, the blonde didn’t wait for a response or avail, going out to pick up the call.
Alice shook off the strange feeling she got, that tightness back on her chest. For a moment she just observed Jessamine from the window, giggling at something over the phone. It was like yet another whole different woman. The night before she had been tipsy and chatty, now she was this contained tall beauty and, outside on the phone, with whoever that was, Jessamine looked her most beautiful—smiling in such clear and sheer happiness.
Forcing herself to look away from the private moment, Alice heated up some toast and buttered it to go along with the simple breakfast. She was never a breakfast kind of person simply because she had no will to cook—and no time for it. Sure, now on a vacation Alice supposed she could do so, but her culinary skills were very limited. She was relying heavily on the nearby places to eat for the next few days.
Jessamine returned tapping her foot on the welcome mat, removing the excess of snow on her boots.
“Listen, I must head out, duty calls.” She made a pause on collecting her jacket to look up at Alice. “But thank you so much for last night. I bloody need to get my act straight and pick up Rose’s calls.”
“You do.” Alice could laugh at that, eyeing over the coffee mug she was sipping on. “And it was no problem really. I wouldn’t have let you drive, you seemed pretty tipsy.”
“Again, I am truly sorry you had to see that.” Her grin was genuine, even when contained. “It was nice meeting you Alice.”
There was a little shiver that ran down Alice’s spine when she heard her name said so politely, Jessamine’s voice had this deep and melodic tune that she hadn’t really noticed the night before, likely for how sleepy she was.
“Nice meeting you too, Jess,” Alice nodded and leaned against the kitchen counter. She watched as Jess reached for the door knob and then hesitated.
“I’m going to be down the street at the pub tonight, with some friends, you should come by if you’re not too busy.”
During the time they exchanged a gaze, right after the invitation, Alice surprised and Jessamine simply smiling enchantedly, something seemed to have struck the brunette. She remembered a few years ago when Edythe had invited her then college friend Bella Swan out on a date. Alice had known her entire life her sister’s preferences, even before it was revealed and welcomed by their family, but she had never seen her in action until then, pursuing someone.
There had been a spark in Edythe’s gaze that Alice hadn’t seen before. She knew for a fact that her sister had been interested in Bella, but that moment was just different than the flirting she did before. And maybe this was a mistaken sensation, she could be wildly wrong, but Alice saw that same drive in Jessamine.
Her words just sounded so charming somehow, more alluring.
But perhaps she was overthinking it. She hadn’t the faintest clue if Jessamine was, in fact, into women, and she wasn’t about to make an embarrassment of herself and ask that.
Instead, Alice nodded. “I’d love to.”
She could have said, sure or of course, but she chose to unintentionally lead her on by saying she would love to. Was she flirting with this woman now? What had come over her?
When Edythe officially came out to their family, their parents had accepted it fully, as if it was always something they knew. They weren’t just supportive, they truly embraced the cause. One too many times Alice had laughed at an embarrassed Edythe over their parent’s joining in on Pride parades—not because she didn’t want them too, Edythe always did smile endearingly at that, it was simply because she always felt more embarrassed by the fervor that Esme and Carlisle adored their family.
They had asked Alice, a while after Edythe came out, if she felt the same way as her older sister did. Alice wasn’t much younger, but she was still in her pre-teens and when she remembered the occasion quite clearly. “I don’t know,” Alice had told them back then. It was something she never gave too much thought. She dated a boy during high school and a couple guys in college, and then James for the past three years.
She never really thought of dating a woman because the opportunity never presented itself. It wasn’t like there was a line of them flirting with her—like they did to Edythe—so Alice just didn’t even consider it a possibility for herself.
Sure, she would look at a woman sometimes and find her stunning—like she had thought of Jessamine—but everyone did, at least everyone she knew had no problem acknowledging others were attractive.
“Wonderful!” Jessamine’s delightful cheer broke Alice’s internal thought and the brunette nodded, as if she had been asked something. “I’ll see you later, Alice.”
“See you, Jess.”
Left alone in the cottage, Alice told herself she was simply overthinking this. She had no idea if Jess was hiting on her and it was ludicrous to even consider that when the two had spoken so briefly in such odd moments. Alice preferred to admit to herself a more plausible idea that Jess actually felt bad for her being alone there and she wanted to be welcoming.
During the rest of the day Alice tried to push the thoughts out of her mind, busying with being a typical tourist instead. She drove to London, visited the Big Ben along with a few sightseeing locations. London was huge and there was much to see still, but she managed to spend a nice afternoon that ended with shopping.
Alice was fascinated with the stores and the different fashion trends all other the big city, so different from the little she had glimpsed from Guildford where she had been staying. At some point between hopping between thrift stores and designer ones, Alice bought an outfit to wear that night.
It was just a bar and she figured there was nothing to it, but Alice didn’t want to just stroll there in jeans, old long sleeves she had brought, winter boots and Rosalie’s jackets—as much as she had appreciated them before, they simply didn’t fit Alice’s style and she also didn’t want to abuse her host’s hospitality. Instead she bought stockings, with the thickest and coziest fabric she’d even seen stockings be made, a dark wine dress, the trendiest trench coat she could find and heeled ankle boots—which she wasn’t sure was the best idea considering how wet the city seemed to be. The forecast was also predicting snow for that night, so Alice hoped she could manage the heels.
Normally wouldn’t be a problem, she was always in heels; being a 4’10 woman didn’t strike such an imposing look. But the snow did complicate things. Jessamine was also one of the tallest people Alice had ever met, Alice was guessing somewhere around 6 feet, so she didn’t want to just be walking next to the giant beauty looking like the shortest person in the room.
When she did walk into the pub later that evening, Alice felt confident and recharged by the big city atmosphere. Jessamine was nowhere to be found, Alice would have spotted the mass of hair from a mile away, so she took a seat at a high table. Ordering a wine and sitting back on the high stool, Alice’s eyes darted anxiously around the room, hoping that she would have missed the blonde. But she really wasn’t there.
They hadn’t exchanged numbers so Alice considered Jess might have changed plans, perhaps gotten better ones. It would be strange being stood up by a stranger on a non-date. But she wasn’t.
Jessamine walked into the pub by herself, removing her jacket to reveal a very simple combination—that made Alice immediately feel overdressed—of jeans, a [British band] tee and scarf. Alice immediately wondered how it was possible for a person to wear a t-shirt in that type of weather. She, personally, had been slightly shivery with the long sleeved dress and wool tights combo. Sure, Jess had a heavy coat over the tee, but it was still not that many layers—she imagined one would get used to living in such harsh weather.
As simple as she was, Jess still looked absolutely breathtaking. It was like there was this quality to her presence and her looks that made her a walking magnet for Alice’s attention.
When Jess finally spotted her and their gazes crossed, Alice shyly waved with a fluttering heart at the blonde’s smile and approach. She walked straight up to Alice, not thinking twice when she leaned over and pressed cheek against Alice’s in a social but very personal manner. It took the brunette by complete surprise, again with the invasion of privacy. What was with this woman and getting so close to Alice?
She couldn’t really say that she disliked it, as a matter of fact it made her pulse rush straight to her cheeks—especially the one she had so casually pressed her chilly skin again. Jessamine’s touch might have been absurdly cold, but it lit a fire in Alice—one she wasn’t quite sure how to deal with yet.
“You came.” Jess broke the silence in a cheery tone, taking the stool next to Alice and waving at the waitress.
“Were you expecting me not to?” Alice rose a brow at Jessamine, quizzically.
“I was hoping you would come, actually.” Her voice came out far too casual and confident at the same time, and Alice was reminded of her earlier gut feeling about the woman. “But I wasn’t quite sure you would.”
“Well, it would be rude not to after I said I would.” Alice shrugged and then, in a quick pause, she realized it might have come out rude by itself. “Not that I didn’t want to—I wanted to come!”
Jessamine laughed gently, nodding at Alice.
“I’m glad. That’s why you’re traveling, right? See new places, meet new people, forget someone.”
That last part got Alice quickly alert. “Did Rose say something?”
Again, Jessamine’s delightful grin caught her off guard. “No, not really. But now I’m guessing I got it right.”
“Well, not to forget anyone, he wasn’t really that important,” Alice explained, feeling a little awkward to be talking about her ex with someone she did not know. “I just wanted some change, I guess.”
“Change is good.” Jess smiled, eyeing what Alice was drinking. “And we should begin with what you’re drinking.”
“What’s wrong with wine?” Alice wondered puzzled.
“For one, it’s white.” Jess gave a look around for the waiter that hadn’t stopped by to get her order. “Secondly, this is a pub. Do you prefer a mixed drink or beer?”
“Which one is the best, in your opinion?”
“Beer, for sure.” Jess chuckled. Alice was even more sure now that Jessamine might be a lesbian. She was definitely fitting the stereotype. But the thought of it made Alice curse herself for immediately jumping to conclusions. It was especially inconsiderate of her considering her own sister did not really fit any of the stereotypes—except the Tumblr lesbian, perhaps, engaged in aesthetics, books and introspective posting.
“I’ll have what you’re having, then.”
“Don’t go anywhere,” Jess told her, reaching out to touch Alice’s arm.
It was such a simple gesture, but it electrified Alice. She had no idea what had gotten over her around Jess. It was as if she was a whole new person, lost inside those deep green eyes.
She tried to shake those thoughts away, quickly checking her phone. It was bursting with notifications from people wondering just where Alice had gone. Aside from her family and Bella, she hadn’t told another soul about the trip. But like everything in Los Angeles, word got around quickly.
Alice ignored all the demanding messages to open a chat with her sister.
Alice: How do you know a woman is gay?
It didn’t take the other too long to respond, which Alice was grateful for.
Edythe: It’s usually pretty obvious to me
Edythe: … Why? Who is?
Alice: This girl I met here in England. I’m not sure she’s being friendly or hitting on me?
Edythe: I heard the British are not friendly.
Alice had to laugh, knowing it was such an American conception. She shook her head and typed back.
Alice: I guess I’ll find out.
Edythe: Lemme know when you do.
She had no time to respond as Jessamine returned to the table carrying two large beers and Alice pushed the phone into her purse, smiling at the blonde.
“The house brew,” Jess announced, handing her one of the glasses. “My friends are not here yet but we can get started. Cheers!”
Alice laughed, clicking their glasses together. “Cheers!”
Jess took a long gulp and Alice watched, trying to follow her rhythm by doing the same. Alice was lightweight, and short, so she realized quickly that even if she tried, she would not be able to keep with Jess.
“Whoa, how many ounces in this? It’s like, huge.”
Jess laughed. “Blimey, you Americans with your measurements. I have no clue in ounces, but it has a liter.”
“That’s a lot of beer, Jess.” Alice gasped but with amusement.
“Ah, that’s nothing. I drink at least two,” she told her casually, followed by a soft shrug. “It’s very chilly tonight, you’ll burn it real fast.”
“It is very cold! And you’re in a tee.” Alice pointed out, at last finding the gap to comment on the blonde’s choice in clothing.
“And you’re in a dress.” Jess accused playfully, sipping some more of the glass. “Very gorgeous, in fact.” Alice flustered, realizing how Jessamine had, in fact, noticed. “But us Brits, we’re just used to the weather. Not like you yankees.”
Alice laughed soundly and the bickering. She never had anything against the British—Alice actually found their accent extremely charming—but it was shockingly impressive how they liked to pick at the Americans.
“I’ll have you know we have pretty heavy weathers all over the country!” Alice had no idea why she was defending her country to the woman, but centuries of patriotism spoke louder for her.
“In Southern California? That’s not what I learned in geography.” Jess taunted.
“Well, not in SoCal—unless you drive up to the mountains, but even then is not guaranteed,” Alice explained, sipping on the beer.
“Have you ever seen snow before?”
“Actually, not really.” Alice bit her lip, watching the shock in Jessamine’s face.
“Bloody hell, that’s wild,” Jess chuckled, taking another gulp on the beer. “If we’re lucky, you may catch it tonight! And not just the half-ass melted puddles. There’s going to be a real fall tonight.”
Alice nodded, “Yeah, I read about it. I’m actually hoping to see it.”
“It’s not that fun living with snow up to your knees, but for a vacation I guess it should be a fun experience.” Jessamine smiled and went on, “I personally don’t know what’s like to not have a white Christmas.”
“California gets to sixty-five at this time of the year, tops.”
“There you go again with yankee measurements,” Jess teased, both of them laughing. “What’s that in Celsius?”
“Oh, I have no idea.” Alice chuckled.
Jessamine was already halfway through her beer when her phone buzzed. She read over a text as Alice’s eyes finally had a chance to look at the woman without being noticed. The light wasn’t any better than the night before with just a few bulbs lit up, but the advantage was way better than this morning where Jess was either too far or with her eyes on Alice. No, she decided this was a perfect setting to look at her.
Her leonine hair cascaded over her shoulders, beautiful golden curls molding her squared jaw and dimpled cheeks. Her nose was long and sharp, the lips thin lines constantly tilting up more to one side than the other in a very attractive side smirk dancing on her mouth. The eyes were the deepest green Alice had ever seen. And then there was her body. Jessamine was so ridiculously tall—or perhaps it was just Alice that was short—and not just any kind of tall. Her legs long, her figure slender. She didn’t have that many curves aside from a very pompous chest.
Alice couldn’t deny how extremely attractive she was, but there was also this energy coming from her. She guessed it had to be the niceness, the way her eyes smiled at her—a wild idea, but one that Alice definitely felt drawn to—it made her feel lost and confused.
It wasn’t a feeling that she was used to, being so unsure of her emotions. Alice had a grip of her own life, she could track down everything that happened with her, decipher and understand it. But with Jessamine she felt utterly out of control. It was frustrating. Was she only being friendly or is she actually flirting? Was Jessamine even into girls, or was Alice simply finding herself attracted to women? Or was she simply attracted to this woman?
Her heart nearly dropped when Jessamine suddenly gazed her with a smile like she knew what Alice was feeling. She couldn’t explain it, obviously it was impossible that Jess could know. Alice hadn’t voiced anything out loud, but something in the blonde’s grin made the brunette question whether or not she had said something without noticing. She hadn’t and yet Jess knew.
“Sorry about that,” Jessamine interrupted the turmoil inside Alice, putting her phone away. “Turns out my friends can’t make it.”
“Oh?” Alice felt the blush return to her cheeks with the realization that it would be just the two of them.
Jessamine seemed to notice that too, because she laughed with amusement. “Is that a problem, Alice?”
“No, not at all.” Alice shook her head so promptly, eyes wide with worry that she had offended Jessamine somehow. “I just—I’m worried I’ll bore you to death!”
The sound of her laugh, Alice decided perhaps way too fast, it was one of the most captivating sounds she had ever heard.
“I find that quite impossible.”
Alice hadn’t noticed when Jess’s glass was so close to end, but, as she watched her chug down the last sip, she as if she was falling behind and reached for her own glass to take a long swing of it.
“You don’t have to keep up, Alice, don’t worry,” Jess mused and Alice felt a challenge in her tone. “You seem quite the light weight.”
“I can handle my booze,” Alice retorted amusedly. Jessamine hadn’t really verbally challenged her, but the competitive spirit inside her told Alice to go for it, so she took a final gulp on the beer.
“I guess I’ll get us another then,” Jess said as she picked the beer mugs. “I must say, you are really surprising, Alice.”
She didn’t leave her any room to respond, walking away to the bar to refill them, those last words leaving a fuzzy feeling on the pitch of her stomach. Or was it just the beer? No, Alice decided it was definitely butterflies. She liked that Jessamine found her surprising. She wanted to be that—surprising, different, new. Alice was bored of her dull old self, her unhappy and pathetic self.
——
The snow began falling heavy sometime around one in the morning. By then Jessamine and Alice had had one too many drinks at the pub, but Jess had managed to get them out of there before it was complete chaos. They were walking back to the cottage where Alice had invited Jessamine to stay, on the couch—although she had not said to Jessamine that was where she would be staying, Alice was assuming the blonde knew. They had been chatty and at times even slightly flirty throughout the night, but she had chosen to read it as mere drunk banter.
Alice still had no clue of Jessamine’s preferences and she wasn’t about to bluntly ask it—or worse, make a move on her. There hadn’t been a moment Alice felt there was an opening for such talk. They had talked about life and work, but not romantic involvements. She actually had appreciated the light talk as it served to get her mind off all those wild thoughts roaming her mind.
She had found out that Jessamine worked as a book editor so most of her work was done from home. Alice had loved to picture Jess in a house with tall bookshelves, filled with titles, sitting by a couch while she read some new author’s manuscript. Alice adored that Jessamine was into books—even though Alice hadn’t been reading many in the past years—because she thought it fit her personality so well.
They chatted about the genres that were her favorites and Alice mentioned the murder mystery she had begun reading the night before, and that she would show it to her once they were back in the cottage.
At some point in the night Jess had managed to turn the conversation around and Alice told her about being a fashion designer in Los Angeles, and how her dream was to launch a collection of her own instead of just working for other people. Alice realized then how she had never shared that with anyone and Jess’s reception to it made her heart skip for a moment. It was silly, but Alice felt happy that the woman enjoyed the idea—and that she had complimented her style after that.
It was a night for many discoveries, as Alice couldn’t really recall the last night she had such a great talk with someone—even with James when they started dating, it was never like this—and to feel so connected about the little things.
When, halfway to the cottage, the snowflakes began falling over them, the night seemed like it couldn’t get any better.
“It’s snowing!” Alice beamed like a happy child, looking up to the night sky.
“Your first snow.” Jess grinned, her eyes falling on Alice instead, who was in sheer joy.
“It feels so soft,” she giggled. She was feeling more than tipsy but not drunk enough to feel sick, so it was a sublime bliss when the chilly drops fell over her cheeks. “Don’t you just love it?”
Alice’s eyes fell back on Jessamine and Jess was definitely staring at her, shamelessly now, her gaze so admiring and so soft at Alice. She was taken by the intensity that her look struck on her, it was amused but somehow serious, decisive. When Jess took a few steps forward, her hands reaching for Alice’s cheek, she felt her heart about to burst against her chest.
“You’ve got some on your lashes,” Jess whispered, her cold fingers brushing against Alice’s temple. Her touch was so soft that she almost closed her eyes to the sensation, but they were too alert on the blonde, gazing at her green orbs.
Jessamine didn’t flinch, her smile so large as Alice turned completely red, and she just brushed her fingertips over her cheeks. Such a small gesture and so potent, lighting up a fire inside Alice. She felt like she could remove her coat and it would still be too warm inside her, even after Jess broke away.
“C’mon, Alice, I’m freezing my arse off. Cottage is just up there,” Jess said playfully, looking utterly satisfied with Alice’s reaction.
She led the way, looking briefly over her shoulders to see if Alice would follow, which she did with some delay, skipping to keep up with the long legged beauty.
Back in the house, Jess went immediately to light up the fireplace while Alice seemed to be burning up inside. She stripped her coat and the high heel ankle boots, tossing both inside the closet by the entrance. Tiptoeing to the living room—grateful for the wool stockings to be warm against the cold floor—she found a spot on the largest couch to sink into. Jess turned around and they both smiled—the blonde at the sight and the brunette at her.
“Do you want tea?” Jess asked and Alice shook her head. She couldn’t voice what she really wanted, not when her coherent thoughts were blurred by alcohol. It would not be reasonable to say she had this unfounded want to kiss her, not when they had just met. But at least she was sober just enough to think that saying that would be a bad idea.
“If you want—”
“No, no, I’m fine,” Jess was quick to say and suddenly Alice spotted some nervousness. Maybe Jess wanted to sleep and Alice was taking up the couch.
“Do you want to sleep?” She got up too quickly and felt alcohol sinking in her system, her brain protesting the sudden movement.
“Alice, I’m all right.” Jess held her waist when Alice looked like she was about to fall, but it was the closeness that took her breath away.
Now without her heels, Alice was again way shorter than Jess and she had to look up to meet her gaze—not the best for either of their necks.
“Let’s sit,” Jess suggested and guided Alice back. She searched around for a blanket and when she joined Alice on the couch it was to cover them both. “How’s that?”
“Perfect,” Alice brought her legs up, cozying up under the covers. It wasn’t until Jessamine’s knee pressed against hers that she realized how close they sat. Her heart was racing again and she was beginning to feel like a silly teenager, tiptoeing around feelings.
“Tonight was fun,” Jess told her, bringing Alice back to now.
“It really was. I hadn’t laughed this much in forever.”
“That’s a shame.” Jess did the bold thing and reached to hold Alice’s hand. “You have a great laugh, you should always be laughing.”
It was the way she said it that made Alice realize how she really was attracted to this woman. And she suspected now, with them cuddled under the covers and holding hands, that the sentiment was mutual.
“So is yours, you know,” Alice told her quietly.
Silence settled in, their gaze focused on each other. Alice bit on her lower lip as she watched when the switch turned between them, Jessamine’s eyes falling on Alice’s lips before her gaze met hers again. They were sitting so close that it didn’t take much, all she had to do was bend over slightly and their lips met.
The small sigh escaping Alice’s lips was of sheer content, a sentiment of belonging she hadn’t felt before. Jessamine cradled her head dragging her in and Alice allowed it, willingly, as her tongue slid in to meet hers. It wasn’t hurried—but it was sure deep—Jess was tasting her like a sweet cherry, delighting in every inch of Alice’s mouth. She tasted delicious, so soft and sweet, Alice decided mentally. Jess was different from everything she had experienced, not because she was a woman but because of her giving and loving way. How she cared, it was obvious. Jess fingers gentle against her scalp, the knee that softly rubbed against Alice’s.
All made her feel bold, a hand sprawling against Jessamine’s thigh, feeling the cold jeans and the frustration that took over because she wanted skin instead. Alice had never been too touchy, or eager for contact, but the way Jessamine’s lips pressed down her jaw and her neck made her feel anxious with anticipation. They were gentle lips, brushing against her skin, but the teeth that nibbled her jugular were rougher, they lit up fires Alice didn’t know she had inside her.
Her hands perched inside Jess’s blonde curls, not tugging at them just yet, but dragging her back to her lips. This time it wasn’t soft or gentle, the intensity of it made Jess hover over Alice who laid back on the couch taking Jess on top of her, their fingertips creeping everywhere they could reach. Alice let her fingers under Jessamine’s shirt, feeling her sides, touching up her stomach.
Alice had never touched a woman that way, so lewd, and the welcoming silky skin pressed against her own was chilly. She had no time to doubt or question herself as Jessamine hooked her knee to raise one of her legs and hook it around her frame. Jess’s body pressing down against Alice, pushing her to the couch, granted her a sigh. It wasn’t so much that she enjoyed the pressure only, but the way that Jess’s hand dotted on her legs with caresses and grips.
Jessamine ran her hand further, under her dress, looking for the ends of the pantyhose so she could pull the wool out of their way. Alice wasn’t like Jess who had legs for days, so it wasn’t a hard array to get rid of them. She wasn’t prepared for the slow kisses the blonde traced up her leg, taking longer to press her lips on Alice’s thighs and take her breath away. They were hurried and anxious for more skin, more touch, but they were still taking their time to explore each other.
Lifting her dress, Jesse traced the kisses up her stomach only to realize the dress would present more complicated.
“Where’s the uh—?” She looked up and Alice nearly lost it, drawn by the lust in her gaze like it was a rope of emotion tying around her. Alice wanted to pull her up and devour her lips, but she half sat up instead, pulling the zipper down.
Jess assisted her, discarding the dress over her shoulders. Alice wasn’t wearing a bra—the velvety fabric too tight against her skin to have allowed her such—and Jess traced from her belly button to her breasts. They were nothing particular, not large and not too flat, but Jess’s attention and devotion were all toward them with gentle palms and bold thumbs brushing her nipples.
Alice sighed. She couldn’t remember the last time she had gotten such attention. Sex didn’t normally involve foreplay—it was one and done—and she enjoyed how Jess was worshiping her body, replacing her fingers with her lips at some point. It made her lose her senses, her head tilting back as the groan got stuck in her throat—which Jess noticed, but didn’t comment. Instead she seemed more willing to help Alice just let go and give into pleasure, her teeth lightly nibbling her nipple.s
Alice’s fingers tangled again on blonde locks, tugging them this time. Alice was briefly aware how Jess was still fully dressed. She wanted to feel her too, press their bodies close together. She dragged her lips back to hers, kissing her so deep and hard Jess gasped in surprise.
She drove her fingers anxiously to her tee, pulling it, and Jess got the message, removing the fabric. Alice had never removed another woman’s bra, but she had enough practice throughout her lifetime to just easily unhook Jess’s, tossing it to the side—where a noise of something cracking followed. Jess grinned against Alice’s lips as she pulled her small figure on her lap.
Alice straddled her, arching her body against Jess, the friction of their skins making her sigh. Women were so soft, so deliciously alluring, she had never considered it before and she had no clue as to why. Jess’s hands running up her spine, her breasts pressed against hers, it was heavenly.
Jessamine moved them again, setting Alice back against the couch while her body hovered hers, a hand trailing down her body. Alice couldn’t hold in the moan when Jess touched her, over the fabric of the panties, feeling the warmth she emanated for her.
“When was the last time you were touched?” Jessamine wondered out loud, her voice hoarse and eyes dark, watching Alice’s every reaction to every small circling her fingers did over her center.
Her squirming under Jess answered the question—too long.
Jessamine decided to move down then, dragging Alice’s panties down until she was lying there, sprawled and naked in front of her. Alice met her gaze, watching Jess’s delay to contemplate the sight that was the brunette, hot and surrounded.
Spreading her knees, Jess high dived between her legs, kissing and biting her thighs before her tongue met her center and Alice at last let out the moan that had been trapped in her throat.
She was an eager lover, delving into her center, tongue spreading her further open with absurd need and desire. Jess liked to give, almost as if making Alice scream was her own personal undoing. And Alice gave it to her, hands gripping her locks and the couch pillows, hips thrusting back against Jessamine’s mouth. Every lapping of her center, every suck on her clit, all making Alice louder each time.
When Jess pushed her long fingers inside her, Alice was nearly undone, and then Jess curled her fingers just the right way that sent Alice off a high cliff—Jess’s name on her lips as she lost all coherent thought.
Jess was still kissing her thighs and planting kisses on her mound when Alice came back to her senses, breathless. She couldn’t remember the last time she had an orgasm, let alone such a good one. Her eyes darted down to meet Jess’s and Alice just giggled—she never did such a thing.
“Wow,” Alice managed out, biting her lip.
Jessamine didn’t say anything, she simply chuckled, moving on top of Alice again. The kiss was tender this time, still filled with the laziness of Alice’s climax. Alice could taste herself on Jess’s lip and she could feel the lewd desire still pouring from the blonde. Alice’s fingers traced her stomach and stopped at her jeans.
“Take them off,” Alice’s tone was bossy and Jess obliged, stripping off the remaining pieces of clothes.
She was still on top of her when Alice reached to touch her this time, massaging her center. She may have never had sex with a woman, but Alice was not naive and she knew how she liked to be touched. Following her gut, she massaged Jess’s clit and the approval came as a little sigh.
When their lips met again it was like fervor took over them, an uncontrollable passion that Alice had been locking away without knowing. She massaged and pinched her until Jess wasn’t able to hold her weight on top of Alice anymore. Then she slipped her fingers in and thrust, strong small curls of her delicate fingers.
Alice broke from the kiss to look at Jess when the blonde crashed, eyes shut tight and body shuddering on top of her. What a sight she was, Alice gasped in awe of her undoing. She waited until Jess was watching her, and maybe the alcohol still in her system or the cloud of lust surrounding them, but Alice waited before she brought her fingers to her lips to lick them—to taste Jess.
“Fuck,” Jess groaned low as she watched Alice. “That’s hot.” Their grins filled up the room. Jess was shaky as their mouths met again, exploring Alice’s mouth slowly, like she had on that first kiss.
They seemed to have moved so fast, but when Alice gazed over Jess’s shoulder to the clock, it was way past three. The lethargic bliss of sex, the alcohol beginning to wear off and the lateness made her yawn, and Jess followed.
“Wanna go to bed with me, or is that not—?” Alice couldn’t finish, as Jess was already standing and pulling her up. What she wasn’t expecting was to be swung into Jess’s arms when the blonde lifted both her thighs.
Alice grinned, holding onto her like dear life, her legs wrapped tight around her waist as she leaned to peck her lips.
They rolled onto the mattress, under the thick duvet, and Alice sighed in sheer content when Jess held an arm around her waist, cuddling her from behind, her long body so tightly pressed against hers the perfect shelter. Alice was drifting quickly and she couldn’t stop to panic over the fact they were cuddling—and how she never really cuddled her partners. Instead, she let herself fall asleep in her arms like the world was free of any worries. It was just them on a snowy night, utterly hammered and blinded by delicious sex.
——
Alice was alone when she woke up, the warm sheets covering her unable to mask the coldness of the empty spot beside her. Jess had left. She shouldn’t be so surprised, or disappointed. They’d had drinks, they’d had sex, she had left. It was no different from some previous encounters Alice had—except she could now add “women also leaving in the morning” to the list. The regret and defeat made her not want to leave the bed, she wanted to sink into the duvet and never leave again. But she forced herself out.
Stepping on the chilly floor, Alice tiptoed naked to the bathroom to run the tub. She smelled of Jessamine everywhere on her skin and as much as she wanted the scent and her touch to linger, the day was dreadfully cold and she wanted to sink in her problems—since it was far too early to do so with a glass of wine.
She searched the cabinets for some oils or scents to pour in the water, anything that would aid picking up her broken ego, but all there was were Rose’s liquid soaps and skincare products. It would have to be just warm water and the faint memory of the night before.
“I hope the bath is for the both of us.”
When Alice turned around Jess was leaning against the doorframe, watching her with a foolish grin. Alice jumped, startled, which made Jessamine chuckle.
“Oh, God, you scared me,” Alice gasped, bringing her hand to her chest hoping it would slow down her heart. But looking up to the sight of Jess wearing nothing but her robe only made Alice’s heart beat faster.
“Were you expecting someone else?” Jess mused, that enchanting smile crossing her lips.
“No, I just thought you had left—” Alice cut herself off, feeling silly for having thought that, especially with the sight of Jess wearing her robe. It made her quickly realize how she was bare to the bone, which perhaps explained Jessamine’s grin. There was really no point in covering herself now, but Alice still flustered.
“Did you want me to? I can go…” Jess gestured with her thumb that she could simply leave and Alice quickly shook her head, she surely wanted Jess to stay.
“No, no—stay,” Alice said quietly, biting her lower lip.
Jess smiled what Alice thought could be the most stunning smile she had ever seen her entire life. It took all the courage in her to walk up to her and undo the ties of the robe and pull the fabric down.
“The bath was just for me, but I would love it if you joined,” she whispered, eyes gazing up at Jess’s wry smile.
Alice watched her smile grow as she tried to stand on her tiptoes to meet Jess’s lips. She obliged, meeting Alice halfway, bending down to greet the kiss with eagerness. No heels, no questioning their emotions, completely naked in each other’s arms. They looked like an erotic renaissance painting. The tall and the short one, blonde and brunette, two women diving into passion and lust.
The bathroom was a mess when they finished, water having overflowed with their eagerness to give each other some more of that sublime pleasure. They were no longer drunk, except for the inebriation that came with being one another. But they had not yet talked about the night before—or that morning, their sex drive being stronger than any words. As they slipped downstairs to eat something, Jessamine in a bathrobe and Alice with a towel around her slim figure, they were bound to talk.
“Breakfast is cold,” Jessamine said as she turned the stove to reheat the toast. Alice sat at the table, watching her decide whether or not the ham needed the same treatment. “Do you eat meat?”
“Yeah, meat’s all right,” Alice wondered with a frown, what was it that Jess was cooking up.
“How about eggs, how do you like them?”
“Just sunny side up,” she shrugged. “What is that you’re making?”
“English breakfast. Well, not a full one since you didn’t have tomatoes or beans and some other things, in the fridge.” Jessamine flipped the toasts and looked over her shoulder with a smile. “Essentially just toast, egg and ham then.”
Alice could settle for that. She normally had a smoothie or something lighter, but Jess was cooking and she was enjoying that sight. James had never cooked for her. She didn’t want to be comparing the two, as they were utterly different people, but it was a thought she couldn’t shake off. Jessamine barely knew her that well and there she was, making her come first thing in the morning and cooking her food.
It wasn’t a usual feeling for her, Alice had grown used to not being fully liked. Her relationships had either been casual or never lasted. It was a nice change how Jess dotted on her with very small things—like grabbing her beer, or sneaking kisses to her neck and cooking.
She never thought the cooking would be this remarkably important, but it turned out Alice enjoyed it a lot.
“Sounds delicious,” she told Jess, smiling largely. “Can I help?”
“Ah, well, it’s pretty much done. I was going to bring it upstairs when I heard the tub running and you know what happened after.” Jess shot her a smirk that made Alice glad to be seated. That explained though why she hadn’t found Jess in the morning. Alice felt even sillier for being so distressed before when she hadn’t even bothered to look before jumping to conclusions. “If you can boil us the water for tea, that would be lovely. Unless you want coffee.”
Normally Alice would always go for coffee, but she was in a mood for trying new things.
“I can go for tea.”
“Wonderful.” Jess pointed at the kettle and Alice prompted herself up.
They moved in a little dance in the small kitchen, Jess reaching over Alice for plates, while she snuck under Jess’s arm to fill up the water. At some given point, both done with their tasks, Alice found herself trapped between Jessamine and the counter—a position she found she quite enjoyed. She smirked down at the brunette before lifting her up to the counter, their heights at a much bigger advantage now.
Jess kissed her slow, the taste of her a delicious drug Alice was growing slowly addicted to. She spread her hands on Alice’s thighs to tug her closer and deepen the kiss. Short legs hooking tight on the tall woman, fingers tugging at blonde locks, Alice was quickly feeling heated up again.
When they stopped for air, neither of them pulled back, Alice’s forehead resting against Jess’s.
“Breakfast is going to get cold again,” Alice whispered before she initiated another kiss and ignited another heated fire between them.
It would have gone cold again, as Jessamine’s hand was already slipping between Alice’s legs even with the kettle screaming by them, but the buzzing of the phone interrupted them, both groaning in discontent.
“I think it’s mine,” Jess whispered against Alice’s lips.
“Let it ring…”
“It could be important, actually,” she pulled back but not without reluctance. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s all right,” Alice nodded trying to catch her breath.
When Jess pulled back, Alice hopped off the counter and took the water off the stove, serving them two cups. She took them to the table, sitting by her plate, but her ears got quickly alert to the conversation. She had called someone darling and the realization that this someone could be a woman Jessamine saw, like she had seen Alice the night before, suddenly sunk in. People did that all the time, had a one night stand—especially if they knew that there was no commitment involved because the person lived across the globe.
Alice tried to not think too much of it, maybe it was nothing, she could simply be overthinking it. She had no right or reason to be upset, they fucked and that was it.
“Don’t worry, Leah, I’ll be home soon,” Jess said on the phone before she hung up.
Her expression was clearly changed when she came back to the table and Alice felt her heart sink even further.
“Alice, I’m so sorry, I actually have to run,” Jessamine sounded apologetically and Alice just nodded.
“I get it,” she sighed, her disappointment quite clear.
Jess opened her mouth to say something but nothing really came out. Instead she walked up to Alice and leaned over to kiss her.
“I—I hope you enjoy the breakfast.” Jess smiled when she pulled back, watching Alice nod again. Alice’s smile was clearly fake, but it seemed Jessamine was in too much of a hurry to notice.
She only slowed down by the door, looking back at Alice before she went out.
“I loved meeting you, Alice.” Her whisper was almost inaudible, but Alice heard her from across the room and the parting smile they exchanged was sad.
After Jessamine was gone, Alice cleaned up the kitchen, saving to eat Jess’s plate later or the next day. After breakfast she cleaned the living room. Over the center table with a broken vase was Jessamine’s bra that Alice had so eagerly tossed aside the night before. Alice folded the piece and set it neatly on the table, removing the broken vase pieces.
The thought that crossed her mind made Alice curse under her breath. Jessamine had sneaked away and she could just simply leave it there—it was her sister’s house after all—instead of trying to return it.
Still, she called up Rosalie.
“Hi, Rose,” she said cheerily on the phone.
“Alice, so good to hear from you! How’s England treating you? I hope you’re enjoying everything there,” Rose said, excitedly as well.
“Oh, everything is great! The cottage is so nice, and I visited the city the other day.”
“I hope it isn’t too lonesome? Listen, if you want I can call up my sister and she can show you around,” she suggested, making Alice clear her throat.
“She actually stopped by, yeah.”
“That’s wonderful you made acquaintances already.” Rose sounded relieved and Alice grinned nervously.
“She actually forgot something of hers here and I don’t really have her number—”
“I’ll text you! If you would rather, actually, I can send the address as well. She’s right in London, not far from there.”
“Oh, sure, thank you!” Alice wasn’t sure she could just show up there, if it would be barging into the other woman’s space, but perhaps she could text and mention the bra. “How are you liking Los Angeles?”
“I’m loving it here! I met your cousin.” There was a long pause and it seemed both were waiting for the other to continue.
“Emmett?”
“Yeah! He came to pick your ex’s things…”
“Thank God,” Alice laughed, at least she could be relieved James’s things wouldn’t be there when she returned. “He’s really amazing, Emmett.”
“He really is. He was showing me around,” Rose cleared her throat and for some reason Alice felt that it meant the same thing as when she did it about Jess.
“I’m happy you two are having fun!” Alice grinned. “I don’t want to keep you from it!”
“Nonsense, I’m loving chatting with you,” Rose laughed lightly and Alice nodded at it—even though Rosalie couldn’t really see it.
“Me too, Rose!”
They chatted for over half an hour until Rose had to go meet Emmett, like they had arranged to do. Alice was faced with her own turmoil after the call was over. Should she text or call Jessamine? Should she show up at her door? She felt the second might be crossing a boundary too strongly. She didn’t want to be that kind of woman, so she went with the first option.
Alice: Hi, it’s Alice. Rose gave me your number.
Alice: I hope I’m not intruding or anything, it’s just that you forgot your bra here. Should I leave it somewhere? I don’t know if you would want your sister to find it here. Then again you do crash here a lot, so that might have been a silly thought.
She felt stupid, like she couldn’t properly text anymore. Alice had always been so sure of things, so certain and direct. And with Jessamine she didn’t know hot to act, kept circling around like a foolish teen. The messages were sent though, trying to further explain herself would only make it worse.
Jess: Hey!
Jess: Well, I’m not going to be in the area until next week, I think. But maybe if you’re in London we can meet up.
Alice was surprised with the quick response, but she couldn’t read if there was enthusiasm or not and cursed herself for not having called instead—she hated text messages.
Alice: I’m actually planning to go sightseeing tomorrow, I could drop it off with you.
Jess: Yeah, just text me when you’re in the area!
Alice: Will do.
It felt better in the end, being brief and short, distant.
When she curled in bed later that night, with her copy of Blood In The Shoe—the murder mystery she had been reading—, Alice had Jessamine’s scent surrounding her, the smell of her stuck in the sheets and the duvet and it seemed to involve Alice like a string of calmness as she read. The characters were so particularly peculiar on the tale—the girl so direct and so bold felt like her own self, she liked that feisty suspect of the murder—even if she questioned whether or not the woman was in fact a murderer.
Those types of stories could really capture Alice, she had a thing for mystery and the thought of it made her close the book at the end of chapter three. As eager as she was for finding out the end, Alice’s mind kept drifting off to the tall blonde that had driven her wild the night before—and funnily enough the detective in the story was also a tall blond. Maybe that was what made her think of Jessamine.
Alice avoided getting involved at all costs, it was simply something she didn’t allow herself to do. When she was a teenager she had and it only resulted in tears and heartbreak. She had dated this boy who had replaced her for someone else, and not just anybody, her best friend at the time. Alice had never cried so much. Now when she looked back at it, it had been such a silly array. But Alice promised she would never cry because of love ever again, or for anyone.
It became well known that she was an ice queen in relationships, never giving herself in, always a step back in emotional involvement, all for her own good. And she was happy that way, at least it was easier. Not getting attached and always being ready for it to end meant she didn’t get to feel like crap again. It should be easier, but it wasn’t. She might not cry, but Alice could still feel things, after all she was only human. Avoiding and locking it away just meant she didn’t have to deal with it.
Somehow, it felt different when it came to Jessamine.
——
The next day Alice visited some spots she had wanted to see in London, but Buckingham Palace still remained. It was about to get dark and she still hadn’t heard back from Jessamine to do the drop off. Alice had texted her earlier in the day to let her know she was around, but there was no answer. She had the address but she didn’t want to simply show up there, Alice just felt it would be all too strange. But she hated driving on the wrong side of the road, and doing so at night would be scary and dreadful.
Alice told herself she would leave it at the door and simply write a note explaining why she left there and how she had the address. Something simple like: Rose gave me the address, had to run. Maybe add how nice it was that they had met—no, that would be too foolish. The simple note would do. Except she didn’t have a paper, or a pen. She would have to explain it to Jess herself.
Braving through the open gate and charming front yard, Alice rang the bell and regretted it the following second.
Placing the bag on the ground, she turned to simply leave before Jess could see her. She would leave a text explaining after and hoped that would be better. But before she could give more than three steps, the door cracked open.
“Alice?”
She stopped on her track, cursing under her breath before she turned around with a smile.
“Hi—”
“Hey… What are—”
Before Jess could even ask, Alice cut her off to begin explaining.
“I’m so sorry, I really don’t mean to barge in. I hate the freaking wrong sided road and I had to head home before it got too dark. Rose gave me your address and I was just going to drop with a note, but I had no pen or paper so I figured I would give it to you. But then it sunk on me how absurd and ridiculous would be when you opened the door to see me and thought would be better to just leave there and text you later and now—Oh well, now this is much worse than I had foreseen it,” she rambled and Jessamine could only give her a wry smile—that didn’t help Alice’s trail of thought at all—looking down at the bag on the floor.
She picked it up, seeing the bra inside it made Jess smile. Alice hoped foolishly that it was because of the memory of their night, even though she felt it might be for how ridiculous she had just sounded.
“Thank you for bringing it. I’m sorry I didn’t return your text, it was really a god awful day,” Jess apologized. Before she could go on though, a head popped at the door. A child.
Alice was immediately shocked and then a second little girl, even younger than the other, appeared.
“Mommy, who’s that?”
It all happened too fast in Alice’s mind, as she pictured Jessamine with a husband and a family, a true housewife, having escapades with women she found at bars—or at her twin’s house. Alice felt her stomach turn, thinking she was someone’s affair. How stupid she had been!
“That’s a friend of mine, Leah,” Jess told the youngest one and Alice immediately recalled the phone call she had in the morning that made her rush out.
Alice was still staring at the children in awe when the oldest poked Jess’s leg.
“Alice, this is Charlotte and Leah, my daughters. Girls, this is mommy’s friend Alice.” Jessamine looked at Alice, apologetically.
“Nice meeting you Alice, would you like to come in?” Charlotte, the oldest, said so kindly and smiled.
“Oh—I—” This was totally outside Alice’s realm so she looked up to Jessamine for approval. She nodded promptly. “Sure, thank you, Charlotte.”
The three made way and Alice stepped into something that looked right out of a wild dream. Jess helped Alice with her coat as the girls ran into the living room. When they were briefly left alone, Alice eyed Jessamine with shocked inquisition, eyes quickly darting around looking for a husband.
“W-i-d-o-w,” Jessamine spelled so that it wouldn’t be easily caught by the distracted girls. Alice stopped on her track and looked at Jess like she had been punched on the stomach—it was worse. Not for the little affair they had, of course, but the fact Jessamine had lost someone she loved enough to build a family, it just made her feel so bad for her.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Jess,” Alice mumbled as Jessamine trailed off.
“It’s quite all right now. Maria passed five years ago,” Jess said, seeing how Alice looked like she was slapped on the face again. “I’m a lesbian, you know that right?” She was amusedly chuckling.
“Yeah, I figured as much, I just—” Alice looked over her shoulder to where the girls were playing.
Before Jessamine could explain it though, they came running to meet the two adults.
“Mommy, she’s so pretty,” Leah said, looking at Alice in awe.
“Oh, thank you.”
“I quite agree,” Jess said and the little comment made Alice blush.
“You look like my doll,” Charlotte added with a giggle, taking Alice’s hand and dragging her along. “Let me show her to you.”
“All right.” Alice looked at Jess briefly, chuckling as she followed the girls.
Alice sat with them for the longest time, being shown every single toy and even helping them pick outfits for the barbies. The girls were absolutely astonished by Alice’s ease to play with them, and they adored her sense of style for the dolls—so different their mother normally had.
It was after dinner—which Alice had watched from a far as Jessamine cooked for them—a delicious pasta that made a mess out of Jess trying to help Leah eat, the girls invited Alice to see the tent they had in their room. It was Alice’s turn to be in awe of the beauty of it, as the four of them laid inside it—Jess and Alice in the middle, the girls on the sides.
“It’s so beautiful,” Alice told the girls.
Paper cup stars, fairy lights, and pictures hung from the sheer fabrics that covered the ceiling, forming a made-up gigantic tent, filled with pillows, blankets and stuffed animals.
“Mommy made it with us,” Charlotte told her.
“I love it. Your mommy is very talented.”
“Us too!” Leah squealed, making all of them laugh.
“You too, yes.” Alice nodded.
They were still grinning when Jess reached for Alice’s hadn’t between them, and their gaze met.
“Alice?”
“Mhm?” She looked over at Charlotte.
“If you want to sleep over I can let you borrow my pillow,” the oldest girl told her, making her smile largely.
“Thank you, Charlotte, that’s very sweet.” Alice smiled at her, nodding. “Maybe another time.”
Later, when the girls were asleep and Alice and Jess could finally talk, they took the conversation to Jessamine’s study. It was quiet for a while and Alice looked at the endless titles on the bookshelf for what seemed like minutes. Jess waited until they felt ready to ask the right answers.
“You were married then.” Alice started, leaning against the bookshelf and watching Jess, who sat across the room.
“Yes, for four years.” Jess didn’t seem filled with sadness and sorrow and Alice imagined it might be because the passing wasn’t recent. “Maria died when Leah was still a baby, since then it’s just been the three of us.”
“I’m so sorry, Jess,” she said sincerely.
“I don’t normally tell people this on first dates. It’s difficult being a single mom, let alone a lesbian single mom of two. So I tend to separate things,” Jess explained and Alice nodded quickly.
“I completely get it. I didn’t want to barge in,” Alice sounded apologetically and her eyes were sincere.
“You didn’t… You were a hit.” Jess laughed. “That’s just my way of protecting them, I don’t really date. On weekends, when they go to my in-laws, I get to be just Jess and not the mom of two who has to work and balance bake offs and recitals and work.”
“You’re a rockstar for doing all this, honestly.” Alice couldn’t picture herself doing half of what she imagined Jess had to do. “It must be difficult.”
“Sometimes it is, but I wouldn’t change a thing.” Jess stood from her seat and went to the bar she kept hidden in one to the cabinets, getting each of them a dose of bourbon.
Alice took the cup willingly, it had been a lot of information in one night. Jess was standing closer now and her scent was intoxicating, more than the strong alcohol. She sipped the liquor, but her eyes were on the blonde—and hers had never left Alice’s.
“I shouldn’t probably drink much, I still have a long drive,” Alice remembered, but it was more an excuse. She didn’t trust herself drunk next to Jessamine. And that entire array was just too complicated, and Alice wasn’t sure she was ready for complicated, they barely knew each other after all.
“I’m not letting you drive home, Alice.” Jessamine seemed serious and Alice chuckled.
“We both know I was merely panicking earlier, I can definitely drive this late, I just have to be more careful,” she rambled on while Jess put her cup down.
She missed the gaze Jess was giving her because of her rant, but it was impossible for her not to stop when she stood right in front of her, trapping Alice against the shelf. Jess’s hand snaked up her neck to sprawl on Alice’s scalp, planting one of her legs between Alice’s when she took a step closer to her, this time literally pressing her against the furniture.
“That’s not the reason you’re staying tonight.” Jess’s voice was hoarse, her hot breath against Alice’s lips when she leaned over. Alice basked on it, like her air was what she needed to survive. And then their mouths crashed and she realized she didn’t need to breathe, all she needed was to kiss Jess.
Alice felt sore the next morning when she woke up on Jessamine’s bed, her limbs worn out from what they had done all night long—as if it was the last one. Jess was nowhere to be found under the comfortable duvet, but Alice decided to wait this time. And her award came bringing them a tray with deliciously smelling food.
“Morning.” Alice stretched, smiling and yawning still in sheer bliss.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Jess said cheekily, kicking the door shut for lack of free hands. Alice realized it might be late, and was alarmed to look at the clock. It was noon.
“Oh, fuck—Rose’s dog, and God, what will your daughter’s think?”
“Don’t worry, the girls are at school already, the bus took them earlier. And I called up Rose’s neighbor to walk up the pup,” Jess explained, setting down the tray. “Figured you needed sleep.”
“Wow. You also cooked breakfast, again.” Alice pointed out, looking at the food on the tray.
“American breakfast this time.” Jessamine motioned the pancakes with a chuckle as Alice beamed.
“The other was amazing too.”
“I get it, this is a taste from home.”
Alice nodded, even though she didn’t really miss home, this was nice, she enjoyed it. She took a bite of the pancakes and a sip of the juice, sighing in content.
“This is delicious, Jess! Thanks,” she said with a mouthful, too excited and hungry to mind, but giving her an apologetically smile for it. Jessamine just shook her head with amusement, leaning to peck her lips.
“I was thinking maybe we could see the city? As much as I’d like to keep you in bed as long as I can, I figured you might want to go sightseeing?”
Alice blushed heavily with the little comment, but gave Jess a nod.
“I’ve seen some things, but I still have a few spots to cover.”
“We’ll go there. Where to first?”
“Buckingham Palace!” Alice’s eyes lit up immediately, making Jessamine laugh.
“Such a yankee.” Jess rolled her eyes dramatically.
“God Save the Queen.” Alice teased just to make Jess squirm.
“Jesus Christ, don’t make me regret this, Alice.” she laughed though, leaning over to kiss her. Alice returned it eagerly, realizing they hadn’t kissed yet—and it had been something was secretly anxious for.
“Well, if you keep kissing me like this you may just change my mind.”
“Good to know,” Jess whispered and because of that, she kissed Alice again, only deeper this time.
They did leave the room to explore the city, but not before Jessamine put the tray aside so she could roll on top of Alice to make her scream like they hadn’t been able to the night before.
——
“So I was your first?” Jessamine blinked in sheer surprise then, but the smile creeping on her lips was enchanting. “I mean, you didn’t strike me as a lesbian, but sometimes women have adventures.”
“Nope, no adventures. I am pretty boring.” Alice grinned, leaning back against Jessamine.
“You’re anything but boring,” Jess said quietly, making Alice look up to her.
It was Christmas Eve and Jessamine had invited Alice to spend it with them—which was great because spending it alone was something Alice had been dreading. It had been the most lovely night, too. Jessamine had cooked, Alice had brought dessert, and the girls had arranged a stocking to hang up for Alice.
The two women had spent most of the time in a friendly manner, with the exception of some longer looks here and there. But now that Charlotte and Leah were tucked in, Alice didn’t hesitate on leaning in to kiss Jess.
It had been two weeks that they had been like this. Kisses, dates, sleepless nights in each other’s arms. All the problems she had had back home seemed to have vanished. But now that she was leaving the next day, she didn’t know how to deal with the fact Jess would be across the globe and that they would likely be moving on from their winter adventure.
They hadn’t talked about the departure, at all, but Jessamine knew she was leaving soon.
“Well, maybe not in London.” Alice chuckled, a sigh escaping her lips when she sheltered against the blonde again.
“I have a wild thought.”
“Hm?”
Jess waited a few moments until Alice had to pull back and look at her.
“Why don’t you stay for New Years? I mean, what’s another week…” Jessamine was always confident and sure of things, but Alice noticed how hurried and nervous she sounded when the words were said out loud.
“Oh—”
As much as Alice would love to stay, she had her work and her life back in Los Angeles. Aside from the fact that Rosalie would be returning to England soon and she would have nowhere to stay any longer—not that she couldn’t arrange that though, Alice surely had the means for that.
“I understand if you can’t,” Jess trailed off. “I thought it was worth the shot.”
“I’d love to stay, Jess. I don’t think I can, though.” Alice’s heart broke seeing the expression in her face, but Jess still nodded.
“I get it, I really do.” The way Jess pulled back to stand up from the couch was what broke Alice even more. All of the sudden it was like the lump of her throat that Alice had when she flew to Europe was back again, that tightness in her gut.
She watched Jess busy with collecting the appetizers and some cuts, heading to the kitchen in silence. There was no doubt she was upset and Alice felt helpless. She had no clue what to do, but she didn’t want to see Jess that way.
Alice met a teary Jessamine in the kitchen.
“Jess—”
“I’m sorry, I’m always like this.” She wiped her cheeks, sniffling. “I cry over everything. Good book, good movie, goodbyes…”
Her eyes were big and green because of the tears and when Alice met her gaze, it was like her heart skipped a beat. She came closer to Jess, cupping her cheeks and pulling her down to kiss her. There was no hurry and no lust, but it was pouring with the most sublime sentiment. Slow and calm, like a farewell.
Jess gripped onto Alice tighter, pulling her closer, almost possessively. When they parted for air, her fist was clinging onto the fabric of Alice’s dress and she didn’t want to let her go.
“Will you come say goodbye to me tomorrow?”
She could see it broke Jess a little more to nod, and Alice felt like a monster for hurting her that way.
“Thank you,” Alice whispered and tiptoed to kiss her again.
——
“I never cry.” Alice sobbed, buried into Jessamine’s embrace, tugging the blonde tightly against to her. “Oh, I’m so stupid.”
“Shh, it’s all right, Alice,” Jess said soothingly, her hand running up and down her spine. “It’s completely fine to cry.”
“You don’t get it.” She pulled back to look up at Jess. Alice was a mess, swollen eyes, red nose, cheeks completely wet. “I never cry, Jess, over anything. Books, movies, goodbyes…” She copied the words from the night before, making Jess chuckle.
“Should I be worried?” Jess taunted, brushing a thumb over her cheek.
“Possibly.” Alice gasped, an amused grin over the tears. “I’m crying now. Because I don’t want to go, I want to stay… With you.”
Jessamine was surprised, but she was smiling, so Alice took it as a good sign to continue talking.
“I never get involved, I don’t let myself because I don’t want to get hurt. And I let my guard down with you because… I don’t even know why! It’s completely wild to me, but here I am, crying like an idiot because I want to spend New Year’s with you.”
“Then stay, Alice,” Jess said simply and Alice wished it was indeed that easy.
“Rose is arriving tomorrow, I would have to get a hotel.”
“Or you could just stay with me. I have a spare room if you’re worried about your privacy.” Again, Jess said it as if it was no big of a deal. Alice doubted if she stayed that she would be using the guest room that much.
“I have work in Los Angeles.”
“It’s the week between Christmas and New Year, your employees will be glad you’re taking one more week off.” Jess chuckled, cupping both her cheeks this time and tilting Alice’s head up to her. “Go on, ask the final question so I can convince you to stay.”
Alice wasn’t sure her final question was the same as Jessamine’s, but the look in the blonde’s eyes told her that maybe they were thinking the exact same thing. Alice still hesitated, inspecting her green eyes.
“What about after, Jess?”
“Well, I’m falling deeply in love with you, Alice. So we’ll definitely have to figure that out.”
If her heart could stop, Alice imagined that it would have, right then and there. But, for once in her life, she felt sincerely the same way.
“You are?” She asked, blinking tears again.
“Yes.” Jess sounded so truthful, her thumbs caressing Alice’s jaw.
“And do you think we can figure this out?”
“It depends…”
“On what?” Alice wondered, frowning slightly.”
“Whether you feel the same way or not?” Jess wondered and this time Alice smiled.
She didn’t answer at start, pulling Jessamine to a kiss instead. Her mouth so anxiously devouring her tall blonde, tugging her coat to drag her down more into the dance.
“I’m falling in love with you too, Jess.”
“Then we can definitely figure that out.”
And they would, in a week or so, once the year had ended and their hearts had been forever laced together.
——
“So that’s how you and grammy met, grandma?” The teenager boy sitting beside Alice looked up to her, a smile on his dimpled cheeks. She nodded at him.
Her short black hair was beginning to fade to a lighter color, the roots and some locks turning to white. Her face carried the wrinkles time brought, but she was still a breathtaking beauty Jess had met all those years ago.
Across the room, Jess walked in with a girl the same age as the boy—a precise female copy of him—carrying plates of food. A couple other family members following behind them—their mom Charlotte and their father Peter, aunt Leah, Rose and Emmett, Edythe and Bella, all bringing something.
“Food is ready,” Jess said, her wry smile meeting her wife’s across the room.
“Are you ready?” Alice asked the boy, who nodded.
Alice went to join Jessamine’s side, who leaned to kiss her cheek.
“Merry Christmas, love,” Jess whispered in her ear. Alice turned so their lips met briefly.
“Merry Christmas, darling.”
They both looked at their family, so big and happy.
“Thank you for a wonderful life, Jess.”
“You’re welcome, ma’am.”
Want to also personally thank @irrelevanttous and @beautlilies for all the hard work on correcting, giving me tips and helping me review this long ass work. Pardon if some things might have missed my eye, but they deserve ALL THE PRAISE for putting up with my bad grammar and inventing words that do not exist. Thank you, ladies! ♡
#jalice#jalicesecretsanta20#alice cullen#jasper hale#twilight#twilight fanfiction#twilight renaissance#twilight fanart#the twilight renaissance#mary alice brandon#jasper whitlock#mine#jalicesecretsanta#secret santa#merrychristmaslexie
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Alice sure is ready for the Holidays, but are you?!
SIGNUPS FOR JALICE SECRET SANTA ARE OPEN UNTIL DECEMBER 1ST!
#jalice#alice cullen#jasper hale#twilight#twilight fanfiction#twilight renaissance#twilight fanart#the twilight renaissance#mary alice brandon#jasper whitlock#ashley greene#jackson rathbone#jessamine hale#jessamine whitlock#jalicesecretsanta20#jalicesecretsanta#secret santa
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@geriatricsloth this is my entry for the Jalice secret Santa! Apologies for the weirdness lol
https://archiveofourown.org/works/28557003
Today, we are going to back to civil war times to talk about the very mysterious and murky disappearance of Jasper Whitlock, a man whose convulse life story may not be over yet.
"Wait, may not be over? But didn't you say if from the civil war?
Wh - what are we talking here?"
"Let's put it this way, I don't think Buffy and Jasper would get along."
"Wh- Vampires!?!?"
Our story begins in Texas, in 1863, in the middle of Civil War. Jasper Whitlock is the youngest major in the Texas Cavalry, having reached that rank at the age of 19. Soldiers that served under and with him, describe him as quote "an excellent strategist, loyal and extremely charismatic" end quote. In fact, some people claim that it was that "charisma" that got him to that rank.
"What people are saying is that maybe that charisma was manipulation or mind control of some kind."
"Oh?"
"I mean some other time, I get making a kid Major."
"Maybe he's the nephew of some lady you like."
"Or maybe you think the kid has potential.”
“But at war?You want someone who will be very good."
"And how was that kid so good? Furthermore, how did he convince a bunch of older soldiers of it?”
“t is - it is a bit funky.”
“Funky?”
“Well, forgive me for not knowing the slang from the
"1860s! Four score and funky ago?”
Jasper is on the way to the top, to becoming one of the big names of the war,when one day, after evacuating a column of women and children, he vanishes on the way back to his camp. The people on the cavalry search for him for days, but found no trace. Some of the soldiers he served with say that his disappearance was a "devastating loss", as they were counting on him for his original and out of the box strategies.
“So he was this super soldier with like Jedi mind powers”
“Yep”
“And he vanished on the way back home? Not even on a fight?”
“And he clearly knew how to defend himself, I mean that wa what he made a living of.”
“Weird.”
“It gets weirder.”
While in most of our episodes vanished people are never seen again, this is not the case of Major Whitlock. In the year after his disappearance, many people claimed to have seen glimpse of him. The most detailed account is from thirty two years later, from a soldier that served under him, Julius Buckley, who says, quote “Saw major Whitlock at the market today. He was as young as the day he disappeared, accompanied by some Mexican woman. He seemed in pain” end quote.
“Was that a g-g-ghost?”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“Well, honestly, this guy didn’t seem that easy to kill.”
“Accounts do say that he was always helping out.”
“Hmm”
“Maybe some starving dude saw his uniform and decided,hey, this outfit is sure gonna get me some nice soup.”
“The story of the Jedi soldier who died for soup”
(wheeze)
Let’s Jump to 1948, when a man fitting Whitlock’s description-
“Wait, 1948? The dude would be, what, a hundred?”
“A hundred and four years old. But wait, it gets... juicier.”
A man fitting Major Whitlock’s description, just the age he was when he vanished. was seen in several locations with who looked like mental hospital escapee Alice Brandon.
“A mental - what?”
“And get this, this girl was institutionalized by her family because...”
“This is gonna be strange. I can smell it.”
“she apparently had premonitions. And it spooked her family.”
Alice Brandon was reported speaking to the man, who had a Texas accent, and referring to him as Jasper.
“But it can’t be the same guy, right?”
Here’s a sketch of Major Whitlock from the war and here’s a picture of who seem to be Whitlock and Brandon coming out of the movies in 1963.
“Holy shit that’s the same guy!”
(wheeze) “Are you a believer?”
“saint Obi Wan Kenobi that’s some Twlight zone shit!”
“Yes! I believe!”
Lately there hadn’t been as many incidents where they had been sighted, although, there’s some records of a couple of foster kids of a doctor also called Alice and Jasper who seem to bear a striking resemblance to Brandon and Whitlock, and who had been involved in some incidents.
“And this doctor that is supposed to be their foster dad”
“You don’t tell me. He weird too?”
“There’s records of a doctor fitting his description all the way back to the middle ages.”
“Ryan, you’re making this up!”
“I’m not! We should do an episode on him, too, cos there’s stuff there.”
Now that we have the puzzling facts, let’s go to the theories.
“This should be good.”
Theory #1
Is that Jasper was taken by that mysterious woman and the people that have been seen later, like Brandon’s companion, are simply people who bear a striking similarity. Jasper was quite a popular name back in the day, and this could just be a family saga from Texas who all look quite remarkably like the lost Major.
“I don’t buy this though. They’re too similar.”
“Yeah, me neither. Not weird enough.”
Theory #2
Is that neither Major Whitlock nor Miss Brandon are human. We have previously mentioned that they both seemed to have some sort of psychic power, and the pictures, testimonials and records all seem to indicate that they haven’t aged in a century.
“So what do you think, vampire?”
“Or they could be from an alien species that just doesn’t age.”
“Seriously?”
“They could! Here was a crash in the middle ages and they got stranded an are now looking for each other and now pretending to be a family.”
“Hmmmmm.....”
“Human people don’t have actual premonitions, Shane.”
“Still...”
“Ageless aliens. I’m calling it.”
Whether they are vampires pretending to be foster children, or simply the offspring of the first Jasper and Alice, named after their ancestors, it seemed that for now... their case will remain... Unsolved.
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i was meant for you - nateheywood
i was meant for you by @zaricats for @daphmckinnon (i hope you like it!!)
general audiences
no archive warnings apply
m/f
alice cullen/jasper hale
summary
Alice hadn’t hesitated to spill everything about herself to Jasper when they’d met, a stark contrast to his tight-lipped reserve. He knew the ins and outs of Alice, and that meant that he knew the ins and outs of her visions.
Or, at least, he’d thought he did.
-
Or, Alice has a vision that leaves her near comatose as she rides it out. Jasper... does his best, given the situation.
language: english
words: 1,566
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Blinding Lights
@gatsby-holmes Happy holiday’s!! Tis I your secret Santa!! Hope the season is treating you well, please enjoy this holiday themed meet cute I have written for you <3
Read On Ao3
Read On FFN
When the moving truck pulled into the driveway of the house next door Jasper's stomach tensed. He'd been living in the dilapidated neighborhood for several years now. Save for Peter and his wife, who lived just down the street, there were no other residents. It was peaceful, quiet- just the way the man liked it. A family living right next door, though? Who knows what that would mean. Kids, pets, parties, all sorts of disruptions. No, Jasper liked things the way they were with just him and his dog Major.
Fortunately, the first two months after the neighbors had moved in had been relatively quiet. He occasionally saw a man out in the backyard, and a small woman hopping into her car. Jasper never introduced himself or looked too closely into their daily comings and goings. The most interaction he'd had with any of them was an occasional polite wave when he was out walking Major.
Of course, nothing good ever lasted, and the problems began the day after Thanksgiving. What started small, as a brightly lit Christmas tree that shone in Jasper's eyes as he pulled into his driveway, quickly evolved into a bigger problem. By the first of December, the couple, or at least he assumed they were a couple, had decked the home in quite an impressive light show. Inflatables were scattered strategically throughout the front yard as well as the roof. Multicolored lights and garland were strung across the gutters, wrapped around the windows, and wrapped around the porch columns. Nutcracker statues nearly rivaling Jasper's impressive height stood at either side of the staircase leading up to the house, and finally, a gigantic wreath hung on the front door.
The holiday display was impressive; even Jasper, who adamantly hated Christmas, found the setup endearing, at least at first. At a certain point, it had gotten out of hand; the extensive collection of lights were too much for his curtains shining into his bedroom at night, rendering sleep extremely difficult. Not wanting to be one of those annoying neighbors who complained, he'd made an honest attempt to deal with it, even going so far as to borrow a sleeping mask from Charlotte up the street.
But it only got worse; such an over the top display was bound to attract attention. By the fourth of December, the townsfolk had begun driving through the neighborhood at all hours of the night, stopping on Jasper's street stare in awe at what new elements had recently been added to his neighbor's lights display. By the seventh, it had caught the news's attention, and consequently, viewers from all over the area began to make the journey to his once quiet neighborhood.
After a week of tossing and turning, he'd decided enough was enough and made his way over to the house with the intentions of politely but clearly asking these people to at least unplug the decorations after a reasonable hour. So on the next Saturday afternoon, he pulled on a jacket and crossed the grass divide between the two homes. He knocked on the door, careful to avoid the delicate wreath hanging from the door, and waited, mentally running through the carefully thought out speech he'd constructed that morning.
When the door opened, he was momentarily confused as there didn't appear to be anyone standing there until he chanced a look down. The woman he'd seen on occasion in passing stood in the doorway looking up at him with wide, curious eyes that gave him pause. It was unexpected, to say the least, the way the words got caught in his throat or how his heart stalled in his chest. He'd planned this encounter out perfectly, yet here he stood blindsided, unable to get a word out. Meanwhile, the woman just stood there, patiently, with her head cocked to the side in question.
"Can I help you, sir?" She finally broke the silence bringing Jasper crashing back to the reality of the situation.
"Oh... I uh..." The words came stumbling out as he tried to concoct some explanation for his presence on the woman's porch, having decided he no longer felt like complaining. "I'm Jasper," The words came out more smoothly as he finally settled on an excuse. "I live next door and wanted to come by and introduce myself."
"Oh!" The woman seemed to relax, a bright, captivating smile spreading across her face that caused her eyes to light up more beautifully than any of the numerous lights adorning her home. "I'm Alice. Would you like to come inside? I was just taking a cocoa break; I'd love someone to chat with."
He wanted to say no, to retreat home and devise a new plan for dealing with the lights but found himself nodding dumbly as he followed the woman into her home. The interior, he noted as she led him to the kitchen, was just as thoroughly decorated as the exterior. Lights anywhere they could feasibly be strung, an enormous tree covered in so many ornaments Jasper thought it may topple over if even one more was added. Holiday-themed knick-knacks were sat upon every surface and a collection of elaborately decorated gifts overflowed from beneath the tree.
"You must really enjoy the holiday's," Jasper commented as he took the seat Alice indicated to at a round table only large enough to fit two chairs tucked away in the corner of the room. The corner of the woman's mouth raised in a slight smile as she pulled a Santa mug from the cupboard and placed it on the counter next to the snowman counterpart she'd already laid out for herself.
"Yes," She responded after a moment of contemplation, speaking with her back turned as she poured the dark chocolaty drink into the mugs. She placed the coffee pot she'd used to prepare the cocoa back into its place before continuing. "I love any reason to celebrate, but Christmas is my favorite." Finally turning around with two cups of hot chocolate, complete with marshmallows, sprinkles of nutmeg, and a cinnamon stick. "But Christmas is my absolute favorite."
Jasper gave the woman a moment to take her seat and slide one of the mugs over to him before responding. "Why is that if you don't mind me asking?"
"Well, despite being a self-proclaimed summer girl," She opened with a half-smile, chuckling lightly. "There's something almost magical about December. All of the different holidays coinciding in one month, people going out of their way to find the perfect gifts and grand gestures for the people they care about most. I like all the lights glittering against the snow, all of it, you know. It makes me feel like a little kid again, full of wonder like I can forget about all my grownup problems even if it's only for a month."
"I guess I've never looked at it that way," Jasper responded, taking a sip of his cocoa contemplating her words.
"I did notice your own decorations are a bit lacking; I assume you're not a big holiday person?"
"Not really my thing."
"Well, tell me about yourself then. What is your thing, Jasper?"
The conversation flowed freely from there, both parties chatting comfortably, getting to know the other over multiple cups of hot chocolate and an eventual plate of Christmas cookies. It wasn't until the door opened and the man Jasper had seen on occasion walked in the front door home from a day out that they realized just how much time had passed. Alice quickly introduced him as her brother Emmett, a relief he didn't quite understand washing over him at the information. The sky was now dark, and Jasper decided he had probably imposed on the woman quite long enough and bid Alice and her brother goodbye.
Realizing he hadn't brought up the lights' issue, he hopped into his truck still parked in the driveway and headed to Target for some blackout curtains. In a last-second spur of the moment decision, he also tossed a couple boxes of Christmas lights into the cart to hang up the next day.
---
It wasn't an unusual occurrence for Jasper to get mail belonging to someone else. Occasionally Peter and Charlotte's Amazon orders would find themselves in his mailbox, just as often the absent-minded postal worker who tended to the neighborhood's delivery needs would end up gracing Jasper's sole neighbors with his packages. So he shouldn't have frozen in place upon discovering two letters addressed to Alice and Emmett Cullen when he opened the mailbox perched at the front of his yard.
Usually, when this happened with Peter or Charlotte's mail, he would sigh and inform Major that their morning walk had been extended slightly as he crossed the street to make the short single block trek to correct the error. This time, however, he stood staring at the two thin red envelopes with neatly handwritten cursive addressing them to his new neighbors.
However, it wasn't long before Major began to whine at the man's feet to indicate to his owner that the basset hound was ready for breakfast, promoting Jasper to finally look away from the mail, bundle it up with his own and bring his dog inside.
As Jasper measured out Major's morning meal, a thought crossed his mind. Those red envelopes currently sitting on the table next to the door in his entryway were more than likely holiday cards. That thought lead to yet another impulsive idea on Jasper's part.
After feeding his beloved dog and making sure the canine had plenty of water, Jasper made his way back outside, this time hopping into his truck and made his way, so a small local gift shop that he knew from talking to his sister had an excellent selection of cards.
A short drive, Jasper had arrived on the main street only a few blocks from his home. He parked in front of the small store and took a breath before entering the building before he could question what had gotten into him. Inside, the building was decorated for the holidays, and quite a few of the folks he knew from town were presently perusing the cramped aisles filled with knick-knacks of all themes and sizes.
Keeping his eyes down, Jasper made his way to the back of the shop where an entire wall was dedicated to cards, over half of which at this time of year were holiday-themed. The number of options was overwhelming, causing the man to stand in contemplation, looking over the various designs as he tried to decipher just what was appropriate to purchase for the situation. There wasn't exactly a tab that read 'for your cute but strange new neighbor you've only talked to once but would very much like to get to know.'
He was so caught up in the seemingly endless supply of Christmas cards that he didn't notice when a brunette of medium height snuck up on him with a "Hey Jasper."
The man jumped slightly before turning his head to see Bella Swan smirking up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Need help?" She asked with an amused tone.
"What do you know about holiday cards?"
"Since when do you do anything for the holidays?" Bella's expression quickly morphed from amusement to utter shock. It was no secret that Jasper wasn't a holiday guy; he didn't decorate, didn't exchange gifts, and definitely didn't send out cards.
"I mean," The woman continued without skipping a beat, seemingly unphased by the blush slowly creeping up Jasper's cheeks or his deer in the headlights' expression. "Edythe told me you had lights up, but I guess I just assumed she was messing with me."
"I don't do the holidays, I just... put up some lights and want to send one card. That's it."
"Oookaay." The skeptical Bella drug the word out, still in disbelief. "So, who's the girl?"
"Who said there was a..."
"Don't even try Whitlock." She cut him off with a glare.
"Fine," The man sighed in defeat, allowing his shoulders to sag slightly; having learned long ago just how stubborn Isabella Swan could be, he didn't particularly want to enter into a losing argument. "It's my new neighbor."
"The one on the news with the lights display?"
"That would be the one."
"Huh, I figured you'd be ready to kill her not standing here fretting about overpriced gift cards."
"What can I say, I'm full of surprises today. Got any thoughts on this? I'm kind of out of my element here."
Bella didn't hesitate, going directly for a card on one of the higher racks that she handed to him confidently. It was a dark parchment shade of brown with layers of colored cardboard forming a holiday tree. Flipping it open to the inside, the only text read 'Happy Holidays."
"It's perfect," Jasper commented, looking up at Bella with a half-smile.
"I know; want me to ring you up?"
"Lead the way, Miss Swan." Jasper gestured to the counter near the middle of the shop with his free hand and a little bow.
If he also picked up a hand knitted snowman plush that would fit in nicely with the collection he'd seen on the back of Alice's couch on their way to the checkout area well, that was between himself and Bella, who rang up his selections with a knowing smirk.
Jasper took the small paper sack that his friend had placed the items into and exited the store ignoring her comment of "Go get em' tiger," complemented by finger guns. The drive back home may have been short, but it was plenty of time for the man to begin questioning his decisions.
Bella may have been encouraging, but what if this was weird? The card was one thing; he was relatively confident that giving a card to your neighbor was normal. At least, in the countless Hallmark movies, he'd endured with his sister, that seemed to be something people did. But the gift? Was that too much? In the end, the plush remained in the bag on his table when he gathered up the cards mistakenly left in his mailbox, now paired with the new envelope with Alice's name messily scrawled across the front.
---
After the holiday cards incident, Jasper had only had a handful of encounters with his new neighbor, and yet he frequently struggled to stop himself from thinking about the odd yet charming woman. It didn't help that his home was beginning to fill up with reminders of Alice. From the now wrapped snowman plushie he'd still yet to give the woman, to the undecorated Christmas tree she'd somehow talked him into buying, to the plate of home-baked cookies sitting on his counter pushed back against the wall where Major wouldn't be able to reach.
Today was the day he'd intended to decorate his tree with ornaments and lights purchased the previous day. Alice had shown up on his doorstep, an increasingly frequent occurrence, with the claim that her car wouldn't start and she needed to pick up some things from the gift shop on main street. Having long since come to terms with his strange inability to say no to the woman, Jasper had acquiesced and given her a ride. That trip had ended with his buying plenty of supplies to decorate the tree. After all, helping him shop had put a smile on Alice's face, and he might as well do something with that tree if it was going to take up space in his living room.
He was carrying the box of new decorations from his kitchen where they'd been stored over the past few days while he was busy at work to his living room when he happened to glance out his window. Alice was standing in the middle of the street, hands on her hips biting her bottom lip with a look of determination on her face that Jasper, even in the short amount of time he'd known the woman had come to know, meant chaos as she stared intently at her front yard.
He could have continued about his day and ignored whatever scheme she was up to this time. He honestly tried repeating to himself to stay out of it as he dropped the box on his couch. Yet, with a deep sigh, as he threw his hands in the air, he exited the house to join Alice in the street.
"There's no snow." She spoke clearly and matter of factly without his prompting as soon as Jasper took his place beside her.
"Come again?"
"There. Is. No. Snow." She looked up at him with her eyebrows knitted together. "There is a week until Christmas, and there's no snow."
"Don't get much of the white stuff down here, ma'am."
"It's got to be perfect," She gestured to her elaborate lights display. "And it won't be perfect without snow."
Jasper didn't like the slight pang he felt in his chest at the dejected look that was beginning to settle across the woman's face. In the short time he'd known Alice, he'd come to realize she was a fixer. In her world, there were no problems, only solutions. Unfortunately, even Alice couldn't control the weather. He knew in that moment that he had to do the impossible. He had to somehow procure snow in Texas all because seeing Alice look so sad was quite possibly the worst sight he could fathom.
He stood with her until she gave and returned inside before following suit to his own home. The tree could wait, he decided as he sat down at his laptop and got to researching. A few hours and one costly Amazon order of instant snow later, he had a plan.
His plan came into action three days later with the help of Peter and Emmett. The instant snow had been converted from a fine sandlike powder into a snowy substance that now covered not only the entirety of the front yard but was spread carefully over the house and abundant decorations creating a picture-perfect holiday scene.
It had taken hours, the vast majority of Alice's eight-hour workday. But Jasper decided it was well worth it to see the delighted look of disbelief and wonder on Alice's face when she returned home. He definitely couldn't complain about the bone-crushing hug she gave him in thanks.
---
Christmas Eve found Jasper alone at home, settled into his favorite chair, having finally gotten off the phone with an apologetic Rosalie. His sister, the only family he had, called to wish him a Merry Christmas and to inform her brother that she would be unable to make it home for the holiday.
"Well, buddy," Jasper looked down at Major, who lay dozing curled up at the man's feet. "Looks like it's just going to be the two of us this year." He'd only just turned on the T.V. and begun browsing Netflix for something to watch when a knock sounded at his front door.
Jasper exchanged a confused look with Major before rising from his chair to see who could possibly be visiting at such a late hour on Christmas Eve. To his delight, when he swung open the door, Alice was standing on his porch with a soft smile.
"Hi, Jasper!" She exclaimed. "I saw your light on and thought you might be home."
"What can I do for you, Miss Alice?"
"Well, I'm sort of having a little party over at my place. Knowing you, I figured you probably didn't have any plans, and frankly, that's just not acceptable. So. You should come join the festivities."
"I appreciate that, Alice, but I planned on having a quiet evening at home."
"I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Of course you aren't, and I supposed you're not leaving that spot without me, are you."
"You catch on quick, Whitlock. Now hurry up."
Shaking his head at just how ridiculous his life had become in only one short month, Jasper shot a quick glance toward his living room to ensure Major was okay. He followed Alice out of the house, grabbing the wrapped gift he'd purchased the woman from the table by the door as an afterthought.
The house was filled with people having a wonderful time drinking cider, enjoying the numerous wonderful cookies Alice had prepared, and exchanging gifts with friends. He hadn't thought it possible, but the woman had somehow managed to cram even more decorations into her home since the last time he'd visited. Thanks to Alice's impeccable eye for design, what would have looked cluttered and tacky was majestic and beautiful.
"So," Alice asked him, stopping under an archway that parted the living room from a hallway. "What do you have there?"
"Oh, I uh... I picked up a gift... for you." Jasper blushed awkwardly, stuttering over his words once faced with the reality of actually giving the plushie to the woman. "Is that weird? I'm sorry if that's weird."
"Jasper?"
"Yeah?"
"You're an idiot."
"I... what?" That had been the last thing he'd expected, but as he followed her gaze up to the ceiling above their heads, suddenly many things clicked into place upon seeing a small bunch of mistletoe tied together with a red ribbon hanging from the ceiling.
"I physically can not be any more obvious at this point. Now, are you going to kiss me and finally ask me out or not?"
When, after a month of dancing around his crush, Jasper's lips finally met Alice's, he decided that maybe, just maybe, Christmas wasn't all that bad.
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The Perfect End to an Awful Year
this is my gif for the secret Jalice santa 2020 event! i’m sorry to have kept you waiting! it’s for @randomdemi
you have all the fanfiction here
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Life isn't fair, life doesn't care about your money or your skin color. Especially in 2020, this year when a mysterious disease ruins everyone's plans. But if you ask Alice Cullen how it was at the end of that cursed year, she'll tell you that everything was as perfect as it could be.
Yes, because Alice, at the height of her 20 years had hoped that the disease would go away during the summer. She had hoped so hard that she had made plans for the winter. And this is the reason why there were 6 cars parked in front of her childhood house on December 31st. If there was one thing well known about Alice Cullen it was her love of organization. She had arranged everything to make the celebration of this December 31st memorable. She even started doing it in July. This is how little Alice found dresses and suits for all of her closest guests and sent them out on December 1st.
The rest on A03
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Happy New Year! Here is my Secret Santa gift for @ubilupus! I hope you enjoy!
Summary: Alice Brandon has a massive crush on law student Jasper Whitlock. The only problem? She’s never actually spoken to him out loud. AH/AU
Title: Apricity
Words: 3,450
Rating: G/K+
Read on: AO3 or FFN
The snow fell in feather-light flakes in the crisp winter air. Alice chewed her lip as she gazed at the historic building across the street, almost mystical in the snowfall. She walked back and forth by the bus stop, hesitating to cross the street. A dark blue bus pulled up to the stop, its sign flashing yellow. Several students descended and the driver waited to see if Alice would board. She shook her head, shaking flakes out of her pixie-cut. The driver shrugged, closed the door, and drove off.
“What are you doing?”
Alice jumped at the voice. Sharp yet sweet, like a slice of key lime pie, with just a hint of caramel smoothness. She turned and plastered a huge smile on her face.
“Oh, hey, Rosalie!”
Rosalie Hale was one of Alice’s closest friends. The two had met freshman year signing up to assist with one of the many student theatre groups on campus. Rosalie, a Business major, wanted to get involved in marketing and Alice, who was studying Art and Design, was interested in assisting with designing posters or helping to paint sets.
“Don’t ‘hey, Rosalie,” me,” Rosalie retorted. “This is the third time this week I’ve caught you loitering out by the Law Quad.”
“Is it?”
“C’mon, Alice, something’s going on with you. And don’t just say you’re trying to plan out where to take grad photos because I know it’s something more than that.”
Alice quickly shut her mouth. That had been the excuse she was about to give. Everyone knew the Law Quad was in high demand for graduating seniors. In a few months, once the majority of winter was behind them and the temperature rose above freezing, Alice knew there’d be people crowding for the perfect cap and gown shot.
But that wasn’t the reason she’d spent more hours than she could count recently, wrapped up in her warmest--yet still fashionable--winter clothes and staring longingly at the gray stone arches. Alice heaved a sigh, her breath forming a tiny cloud in the wintry air.
“Okay. Fine. C’mon.”
Alice adjusted the strap of her cross-body bag and swung her scarf over her shoulder before leading Rosalie across the street. The two of them wandered into the Law Quad, looking more like Hogwarts at Christmas than it had any right to. Snow dusted the tops of the stone towers and turrets and coated the rooftops. Icicles hung from the mature trees like crystals. Students meandered through the Quad, ducking in and out of the grand arches, crossing pathways lined by Victorian-style street lamps. When they reached the door to the Law Library, Alice hesitated.
“Just don’t get me kicked out, okay?” The Law Library was notorious for having a strict no-talking policy.
“I won’t make a peep,” Rosalie said, her ruby lips curling into an intrigued grin.
They walked into the Reading Room, and no matter how many times Alice stepped foot inside there, she was always struck by its grandiose beauty and ambiance. The room was large and open, with a 10 story ceiling surrounded by beautiful stained glass windows bearing the seals of great universities around the world. The ceiling itself was intricately designed with squares of floral-like designs sculpted in gold. The Reading Room was illuminated with soft light from elegant two-tiered chandeliers, stylized to look like candles. Wooden shelves filled with legal books lined the long hall, interspersed with elaborate doorways and stonework. With finals fast approaching, students from all across campus crowded the oversized tables with curved reading lights, their books and notes stacked high. Anxious, academic energy crackled in the air. Alice walked down the aisle, Rosalie trailing at her side, until she came upon the third table from the back on the left. There, like he had been every day this week, sat a god.
A golden-haired young man with storm cloud eyes. Sculpted cheekbones and lips that Alice just knew were soft and kissable. A few strands of curly blond hair fell in front of his face as he pored over a thick tome, and the man pushed them out of his way with a flick of his long fingers. He was dressed in a knitted black sweater that complemented his tanned skin and accentuated his lean figure. His long legs were stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles.
Alice delicately pulled out the chair across from him, and slid into it as silently as she could manage. As she sat down, the man looked up from his book. His face lit up, eyes sparkling and lips stretching into a heart-stopping smile. Alice’s heart fluttered, and she returned his smile with an uncharacteristically shy grin. She opened up her bag and pulled out the textbook she kept in there for this exact purpose. She flipped through the pages until she came across the midnight blue bookmark denoting the last chapter she’d attempted to slog through. But before she could even attempt to read the first sentence, a crumpled piece of paper landed in front of her. Alice opened the note with excited fingers, her eyes eager for the words scrawled inside.
Art history again?
Alice’s mouth twitched. She scribbled a response on the paper, folded it up neatly, and passed it back across the table.
Yeah. My last final. I’ve been really slacking on the reading.
Maybe you know more than you think. You’ve been reading that book every time you’ve been in here.
Alice bit her lip. Had she done that? She’d meant to rotate her books, her excuses to be in his presence.
I keep getting distracted by the architecture. It’s just so beautiful in here.
It is. But if it keeps pulling your focus away from your studying, maybe you should try one of the less decorated spots on campus. Like Starbucks.
He shot her a smirk as he watched her read his words.
Never. I like the view here too much.
Me too.
Rosalie surreptitiously watched the exchange from a table across the aisle, quirking an eyebrow when Alice flushed scarlet and covered her mouth to hold in a giggle. She narrowed her eyes further as the note passing spanned a whole page. Then a second. Then a third. She didn’t think either of the two had touched their books in a while. Pursing her lips, Rosalie rose to her feet and sauntered back over to Alice’s table. Alice didn’t even notice her approach, she was too engrossed in whatever she was writing. Rosalie tapped her on the shoulder and crossed her arms. Alice gave her a sheepish grin, hurriedly wrote one final message, and passed the note to the blond-haired guy. He glanced it over, and the good-natured smile seemingly glued to his face fell ever so slightly. He gave Alice a wave as she stood, returned her book to her bag, and hoisted it over her shoulder. Alice returned his wave with her own, then tripped over her feet as Rosalie grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her to the exit.
As soon as they were back outside, Rosalie spun on Alice.
“Okay, spill. Who was that guy?”
Alice’s voice took on a dreamy tone. “Jasper Whitlock, first year law student. He’s originally from Texas and he went to Rice, majored in Political Science and History. He’s got a younger brother who’s studying Engineering at Rice now, and a little sister who’s in her senior year of high school. He likes horseback riding, Mexican food, and horror movies.”
“Wow, Alice, did you stalk the guy?”
A rosy blush colored Alice’s cheeks. “No. We passed notes. And then I Facebook stalked him.”
Rosalie snorted. “You’re crushing on him hard.”
“Except I haven’t said a word to him!” Alice cried, dragging her hands over her face. “I came to the Law Library to sketch last week--you know how I feel about Gothic architecture--and he was just there! Sitting at that table all gorgeous and studious. I don’t know how I worked up the nerve to pass him that first note, I swear my hands were shaking the whole time. But I’ve never actually spoken with him, like, words out loud, you know?”
“And he’s never tried to follow you out of the library to actually speak with you?”
“Nope.”
“Hm. He loses a few points for that. But maybe he’s just shy.”
“How could anyone that looks like that be shy? He probably just doesn’t like me.”
“Oh, he likes you, Alice. Trust me.”
“You don’t know that.” Alice whined.
“Did you not see the look he gave you? Like you were the sun and he was a mere flower. He bloomed in your presence. And practically wilted when you left.”
“I don’t know, Rose...”
Rosalie spun on her heels to stop and face Alice. She reached down to place her perfectly manicured hands atop Alice’s shoulders.
“Alright. Here’s what we’re gonna do. Tomorrow, we’re gonna dress you up and make you look so goddamn gorgeous, that he’ll follow you outta there like a little lovesick puppy.”
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Early the next morning--earlier than Alice would’ve liked--Rosalie was in her apartment, clucking her tongue as she parsed through Alice’s wardrobe. Alice sat on the edge of her bed, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Rosalie had roped their friend Bella into the scheme, and the brunette was sitting next to Alice, almost as tired as she was, her head falling onto Alice’s shoulder every now and then.
“You owe me Starbucks for this,” Bella mumbled.
“Yeah, Rose,” Alice agreed. “Jasper doesn’t usually make it into the Law Library until after 11.”
“Which means we only have four hours to get you looking jaw-droppingly sexy,” answered Rosalie. She picked out a black dress that was way too short given the current temperatures, shook her head, and returned it to the closet.
“At least she’s keeping in mind the weather,” Bella muttered under her breath.
Bella was the most practical out of the three girls. She and Alice had met in their first year English class and had become fast friends. It had taken some time for Bella and Rosalie to warm up to each other--Bella had a knee-jerk response to anyone involved in a sorority. But after Rosalie had chewed out a sleaze-ball who’d attempted to run his hand up Bella’s skirt while the three were out dancing one night, the two had forged a tight bond.
“Okay, how about this,” said Rosalie as she held up two hangers. In one hand was a black pencil skirt. In the other was a silk purple blouse with a deep V-neck. It was long-sleeved with bunching at the wrist. “Some tights, your black pumps and--”
“I’ll look like a librarian,”
“A sexy librarian,” Rosalie corrected, but she returned the items to the closet.
“We’re trying to get this Jasper’s attention, right?” asked Bella.
Alice nodded.
“Well then, what do we know about him? What does he like?”
“Ooh, good idea Bella. Alice, has Jasper ever looked at you more than usual or in a different way? And what were you wearing when he did?”
“Um, not that I can remember...”
“Does he have a favorite color?” Bella offered.
Alice straightened, like a jolt of electricity had run through her body. Her eyes sparkled and she grinned with exuberance. She hopped off the bed and rushed over to her closet, pushing aside dresses and sweaters with ferocity until she found what she was looking for. She pulled the emerald green sweater dress out of the closet and held it out in front of her proudly. Though unassuming on the hanger, it clung to her body like a second skin. It had a scooped neckline, which artfully showed off her delicate collarbones, and an intricate knitted design.
“Green,” she said with a joyful smile.
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“Girls, I don’t know if I can do this,” said Alice, clutching the front of her black peacoat with white knuckles.
“Alice, you look beautiful,” Rosalie assured her.
“Yeah, it’s going to be fine! You’ve got this!” Bella encouraged.
Once the emerald dress had been decided upon, Alice had spent the next few hours under Rosalie’s direct care. She’d picked out a pair of black leggings, as well as a pair of black booties, plus the black peacoat with silver buttons to complete the look. Bella had chosen the knitted white beret style hat that hung loosely off the back of Alice’s head, displaying her dark hair with contrast. Alice’s hair normally stuck out in all directions, but Rosalie had coaxed the energetic strands into becoming tendrils. Rosalie was an artist with makeup, and had accentuated Alice’s features without overpowering her. Black eyeliner and mascara heightened Alice’s doe-like eyes, and the silver eyeshadow shimmered with every blink. Alice’s cheekbones were highlighted and dusted with a soft pink blush. Alice had always thought her lips were small--just like the rest of her--but Rosalie had worked her magic and now the lips, painted cherry-red, appeared pouty and full. Bella had talked Alice through exactly what she was going to say to Jasper, filling her up with self-confidence. She gave advice to Alice on how to win over Jasper with her words, not just her looks.
Now, the three of them were standing in front of the entrance to the Law Library. Alice’s knees knocked together. Rosalie and Bella were on either side of her, practically pushing her in.
“You know, I think I might be coming down with something, I’ve been standing in the cold too long, maybe I should go home and we could try this another day--”
“Uh-uh, no way!” Rosalie stopped Alice from running away and turned her right back towards the Law Library. “We did not give up valuable finals studying time for you to back out now. You are going to go in there, and you are not coming back out until you have a date!”
Rosalie shoved Alice forward, causing the shorter girl to almost trip. Alice recovered and gathered herself with a determined puff of air. She brushed a stray curl out of her eyes, rolled her shoulders back, and strode into the Law Library with as much confidence as she could muster.
As expected, Jasper was there, seated at his usual spot. He was surrounded by piles of books, and hunched over a thick notebook. He looked very focused and very hot. Alice closed her eyes, thought back on everything Rosalie and Bella had said to her that morning, and began to walk towards Jasper’s table.
He heard her approach--the clicks of her black boots echoed in the silent hall--and glanced up from his notebook. At first, he gave her his usual genteel grin, but then Alice watched his eyes widen and his lips part as he took in her appearance. Alice slowly undid the buttons of her coat, feigning nonchalance as best she could. She shrugged the coat off her shoulders, and Jasper gasped. The big reveal, Rosalie had called it.
Alice slowly sunk into the chair, smoothing her dress as she sat down. Gracefully, she extracted the small notebook and ballpoint pen she’d hidden in her coat pocket. Her heart was beating a mile a minute but she forced herself to appear calm as she placed the notebook on the table, flipped open the metallic golden cover, and began to write out the words she, Rosalie, and Bella had planned.
I’ve really enjoyed our chats over the last week, but I’d much prefer to actually speak in person. I like you a lot, Jasper, and I want to get to know you better. Grab a coffee with me?
With a final flourish of her pen, Alice tore out the sheet of paper, folded it, and tossed it over to Jasper, who hadn’t taken his eyes off of her since she sat down. The note landed in the center of his notebook.
Jasper blinked dumbly at the sound of the paper hitting his book. He glanced away from Alice and nimbly unfolded the note. He smiled as he began to read it, and Alice’s heart skipped a beat. But then an odd expression came over his face. His smile fell. His jaw dropped. His eyes became pitying, disbelieving.
Alice felt her heart sink into her stomach.
He didn’t like her.
Feeling tears well up in her eyes, Alice haphazardly threw on her coat and hastily stuffed her notebook and pen back into her pockets. Biting her lip, she ran out of the Law Library as fast as she could.
She burst out into the Quad, her face stinging in the cold. Rosalie and Bella were waiting by the door for her, but she ran past them, ignoring their perplexed faces and questioning calls. She couldn’t talk to them right now. She wanted to run back home and hide under her comforter, forgetting every foolish action she’d taken today.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she muttered under her breath.
“Hey, Alice, wait!”
Alice turned as a charmingly accented voice with just a hint a twang called her name. Jasper was running after her, his unbuttoned coat flying open in the wind. Alice tried to hide her gape as she took in Jasper. She knew he was tall, but she hadn’t realized he was quite this tall. He towered over her by over a foot at least. Alice sniffed and wiped away the few tears that had fallen.
“It’s okay, Jasper, you don’t have to humor me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I saw how you looked at me in there. It’s clear you don’t like me the way that I like you. And that’s fine! I’m fine! I--”
“Alice, what?”
“--really, you don’t need to let me down easy or anything, I got it, and--”
“Alice.” Jasper’s tone became more pleading. “I was just a little taken aback, is all. You surprised me.”
Alice’s breath caught. “I...surprised you?”
The edges of Jasper’s lips turned up. “Yeah. I’ve been working up the nerve to ask you out all week and you beat me to it.”
Alice’s mouth fell open. Her brain was a mess of white noise as she attempted to process his words
“You...you like me?”
It was Jasper’s turn to blush.
“But you never...I mean...all this time...and the way you are I...” Alice stammered.
“My apologies for not speaking up sooner. But I’ve never,” Jasper hesitated, “I’ve never felt like this before. The words we shared on those scraps of paper weren’t much, but they meant everything to me. I’ve actually been coming to the Law Library every day, hoping you’d return,” he added with a bashful grin.
Alice gave a little start. He’d been doing that, too?
“I’m not good at expressing my feelings,” Jasper continued, running his fingers through his long blond locks, “but I felt a connection with you right away. I just didn’t know how to deal with it, cause it’s been so long since I’ve felt anything close to that. I’ve had some pretty messed up relationships in the past,” he said with a sheepish shrug of his shoulders.
“I don’t understand,” said Alice. “If you felt like this, why didn’t you say anything? Why did I have to do all this,” she motioned to her outfit, “to get you to come outside with me?”
“I came outside cause I could tell I’d upset you. And that ain’t right. I only ever want to see you smile.”
Alice flushed. Jasper took a slow step closer to her. Alice was struck again by his imposing stature. He had to duck and push snowy branches out of his way to get to where Alice was standing. And yet, with the way he was gazing at her, Alice didn’t feel small at all. In fact, she felt terribly emboldened by his adoring look.
“So it’s not cause I look amazingly sexy?” Alice teased.
Jasper chuckled. “You look beautiful today, really you do. But I think you look beautiful every day.”
Alice giggled, and her cheeks turned pink with new warmth. “So about that coffee,” she said, a hint of coyness slipping into her tone.
Jasper smiled sweetly. “I’d like that, ma’am.”
He took her hand, and Alice was surprised to find how well hers fit in his. Like they were made for each other, despite the height difference. Warmth raced through her body as he interlaced their fingers and gently ran his thumb over her skin. Alice hummed contentedly, and nestled into Jasper’s side. Another perfect fit.
#jalicesecretsanta20#jalice fanfiction#jalice#my fic#twilight fanfiction#ubilupus#twilight renaissance#the twilight saga
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