a Twilight's End

Thanks for reviewing, LondonMarie. Alice is jealous, but the poor girl cares about Jasper's wellbeing a bit more than her own.


Jasper



I had to find her. I wanted to talk to her more, get to know her. It wasn't letting Sasha get close to me if she did most of the talking, right? Alice said she

wanted me to do what I wanted, but I couldn't help but notice how pained she had looked when she had said it. All thoughts of Alice were driven out of my mind, though, when I caught sight of Sasha at her locker. She was wearing a white sweater and pale pink skirt made of some gauzy material; it should have clashed with her hair but instead it just served to make her skin glow.

I sidled up to her...well, my own version of sidling, anyway. Anyone surrounding Sasha's locker would have been hard-pressed to notice me approaching, had they been paying attention. It's a good atmosphere to be a supernatural being, amongst teenagers: they're always so wrapped up in themselves most of the time. I tapped her lightly on the shoulder, and the girl nearly jumped a mile into the air. I stepped back, flustered. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." Sasha composed herself, recognition dawning on her face when she finally caught sight of me. "Jasper," she said, a little breathily. "It's alright, you didn't mean to." She flashed a wan smile and bent to pick up her books. Before she could get the chance, I had them scooped up in my arms and was depositing them into her open locker. "Thanks," she said, looking more than a little surprised.

"I have fast reflexes," I explained lamely. Sasha nodded politely. "I can see that." She turned her attention back to her books, and I almost turned to leave when she spoke. "Are you...going to do something to me...or something?" Now it was my turn to look startled. "What? What do you mean?" Sasha sighed and turned toward me, closing her locker as she did so. I suddenly realized how petite she was; she had to tilt her head up quite a bit to meet my gaze. She was even shorter than Alice, and they both had a similar build and demeanor. "I mean, is this some sort of joke amongst the...popular kids? A prank? Why else would someone like you pay attention to someone like me? Especially with those girls I saw you sitting with...they're all gorgeous. Why me?" She averted her eyes from mine as she spoke these words, obviously embarassed. I took a step toward her, wanting to reach out and touch her. "Why you? Because...you're beautiful. And interesting. I saw you the moment you entered my field of vision. And I couldn't take my eyes off you after that. Sasha, do you want to know how many girls I approach on a routine basis?"

Her eyes met mine, but she said nothing. "Zero," I whispered. "Always zero. Until you." She exhaled a little breath, and I knew she had been holding it. I would have been too, had I had breath to hold. "Jasper?"

"Yes?" At that second, the bell rang.

"I like you." With that, she turned and hurried off to her class. I slumped against the lockers. Was this going to go too far?



Edward





I stepped out from the empty classroom and strode over to where Jasper stood, looking exhausted for the first time in...I wasn't sure when. "She's volatile," I told him casually. Jasper shook his head, breaking out of his thoughts. "What? Who is?"

"Sasha. She has a lot going on up there." Jasper started to walk down the hall, toward where I wasn't sure. Jasper didn't enjoy sitting in class when he had other things on his mind. "I could tell tell you why she was so startled before, so mistrustful," I called after him. I needn't speak loudly, or at all. My voice was just above a whisper, but he heard me. He turned around. "Don't tell me, Edward. She will. When she's ready."

I took a few steps toward him. "I'm not sure if she can, actually," I mused. "It's a hard thing to talk about. At any rate, I feel slightly bad that I know about it in the first place. The last thing the girl needs is having her mind invaded. I couldn't help it though, it was very loud and clear." I glanced curiously at Jasper. "Why didn't you make her feel more calm?" Jasper halted in his tracks. "It didn't occur to me," he said over his shoulder.



Sasha



My head was positively whirring as I entered English class. I took an empty seat toward the front, plopping my textbook unceremoniously upon the fake wood grain top of the desk. I leaned against my elbows and held my face in my hands. Jasper...Jasper really does find me beautiful, and interesting, and worth actually talking to. The only time that ever happened was when...was when someone didn't really mean it. Somehow, though I begged myself not to, I believed him. I believed this beautiful boy was actually into me. And he was beautiful, Jasper, in a strange sort of way. I could see myself developing a very big crush on him...like I wasn't already.

A girl strode into the room and took the empty seat beside me. I could feel her staring at me. "Hey, new girl." I glanced at her. I could tell by her expression and her stature this was the simple archetype of the 'mean girl', as it were. "I have a name. It's Sasha," I replied boldly. I was not in the mood to be a meek doormat. The girl only looked disconcerted for a second. "Oh, right. I'm Lauren." She smirked at me. "It seems new girls are the only ones around here with any chance to snag one of the Cullens." I stared back at her curiously. "The who?"

Lauren rolled her eyes. "The family of supermodel-esque recluses? They sit alone together? One of them actually deigned to speak to you? Is any of this ringing a bell?," she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. I straightened in my seat. "Are you talking about Jasper?" Lauren tapped her manicured fingers impatiently on the desk top. "No," she said, her voice clipped, "I'm talking about the Easter bunny." She rolled her eyes once more and turned her attention to the teacher who had just entered the room. I flipped open my blank notebook and took out a pen, but I barely took in any of the lesson. I now had a snippy girl to deal with in one of my classes, Jasper to think about, and my homelife was even more atrocious now that we were in Forks. Living here was just going to be lovely.