Hey everyone. I read a JasperxBella story yesterday and felt that pull again to do another story. I've missed doing them as Jasper is my favorite character in Twilight and I love writing him.

For a quick bit. In this story Bella is human (for now), Edward and the rest of the family are gone. So it picks up from where he left in New Moon.

I'm not entirely sure on the direction it will go, but we will enjoy it together and see where it goes. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Life for me at one point had been so simple. I was the daughter of Charlie Swan and Renee Dwyer. I was clumsy, intelligent, shy, awkward and an adult before I was a teenager. I kept to myself and watched life happen around me, not really wanting to join in.

It was the adult in me that made such drastic changes to my life. I saw the guilt and sadness in my mother's eyes when her husband would leave her for a trip because she couldn't accompany him. She was stuck with me, unable to follow her heart and dreams. I left my mother and moved to that tiny godforsaken place called Forks to be with my father.

It was there where my life fell apart, where everything inside of me died. It was a simple decision really. Who would give up the opportunity to have a piece of heaven? I tried but I couldn't. I was so young, so naïve.

The first time I looked at him I fell, and hard. My teenage mind won out over the adult and flirted with the notion of a future between myself and my angel, Edward.

He was everything you could ever want. Where most boys were hormone driven, rude and reckless; Edward was the opposite. He cared for my comfort, he never crossed the line sexually, he was the epitome of a gentlemen. The truth was that he cared for me too much.

He was my life, the reason I was able to breath and he was the reason for my now unbearable misery.

He was gone, they all were. They did it for me, to give me a chance at a normal life. They would never know now that they were gone that my life had gotten so far from normal.

It was sick how I waited for them to just show up in the cafeteria, how I would drive to their old house just to make sure that I didn't imagine their existence. I laughed morbidly to myself at that thought. Their existence and proof. They were vampires.

Most days I tried to block it out, the painful memories of a family that I loved so much. It wasn't just Edward that I missed. I was deeply mourning the loss of the family as well. Honestly I even missed Rosalie and her constant disdain for me.

I clutched my arm to my chest and pulled over onto the side of the road. Thinking of them always hurt. It was like having your insides torn out and then shoved roughly back in to remind you that they had been taken out.

The days after their departure had been sheer hell for me. I screamed, I cried, I begged for them to come back. My mother came out to see me, but I couldn't talk to her. I just wanted to be alone. There was no comfort left to me now.

Time passed for me slowly. The progression of days and months were torturous and weighed down heavily on my chest, making it difficult for me to breath on most days. Charlie sold my truck almost immediately after they left. I normally would have protested, but I didn't care. It only held memories, the good and the bad. The day after it had been sold there was a shiny, almost new gray SUV in the trucks normal spot.

Two weeks later my father put the house up for sale saying that we could both use a change of scenery. It sold less than a month later and we moved into a townhouse in Port Angeles. It was quite a drive for both of us, but it made it easier not being in the old house.

With the move I was tempted to change schools, but my traitor mind wouldn't let go of him. It made me tell my father no about a new high school, saying without consulting my heart that I had friends at Forks High School and that I wanted to finish out my education there. It was my penance for loving someone who was so far above me, someone who needed so much more than I was. There was nothing I could do about it though. I was only human, much to my detriment.

"Bells, do you want to concentrate to pull back onto the road?" Charlie asked me quietly.

At some point he had gotten used to this new me. I was afraid to be touched, I didn't like to talk and there were moments where I lost all control of my letting them wash over me and drown me.

He placed his hand softly on my shoulder to try and shake me out of it. I looked over at him and noticed for the first time in months that he looked older and more importantly tired; because of me. What had been laugh lines a few months ago turned to deep lines of worry. Where his body used to overfill his clothing they were now lose thanks to my refusal to cook. I don't think he blamed me, he only worried that his daughter was lost to him, that she wasn't his little girl. The child that he loved so much was broken in so many places and he couldn't fix it with a hug or a sit on his lap.

I shook my head, clearing out the misery and pulled back onto the road. "Sorry Dad. Lost my track of thought." I smiled sheepishly at him, knowing he wouldn't press for details. He knew exactly what I had been thinking.

"So," he started. "Graduation eh? You're no longer a kid, you're a full fledge adult now."

I laughed half heartedly. Tonight I was graduating from high school, saying good bye to my childhood and embracing life as an adult. I was graduating well. Not at the very top of my class, but high enough that I was able to get into any school that I wanted. My parents were proud and had bragged to anyone that would listen about how amazing their daughter was. When they went on that tirade I always rolled my eyes and walked away.

I had made the decision that before starting school I was going to take a year to travel. My parents pulled together and were funding it. Plane tickets to wherever I choose to go, hotel accommodations in each city I explored, and a credit card for emergencies. Luckily I had plenty of money saved from my part time job at Newtons and the small inheritance I had received from my uncle. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough that I would be able to indulge as long as I didn't go overboard. I couldn't exactly say that I was excited to go, but I knew that I needed to get away. I was leaving in three days and all I needed was to graduate and finish packing.

I pulled into the small parking lot of the high school and slid smoothly into a spot.

"You ready for this?" Charlie asked, extending his hand out towards the small football stadium that would hold the ceremonies.

I shrugged my shoulders. Of course I wasn't ready for it. I knew that the moment I would walk across the podium to receive my diploma I would fall over and break my nose on the hard ground.

"I guess so." I answered him quietly.

Forty five minutes later we were lined up and ready to walk down to the field to our seats. I couldn't see my father in the crowd so I decided to concentrate on not running into the girl in front of me. Poor thing wouldn't stand a chance if I was to crash into her. I giggled, but instantly thought of Alice and her natural grace. My thoughts sobered up quickly and turned dark again.

I took my seat and watched Ben Cheney walk up to the podium to start his Valedictorian speech. I saw Jessica Stanley sitting a seat down from me with tears falling down her face as he spoke.

"Wow! Seniors!" Ben started quietly, obviously amazed that we had made it this far. He was right. I couldn't believe that I made it this far. "My classmates, my friends. Today we leave behind our childhoods and move on into the world. Our education here at Forks High school has prepared us to...."

I drowned out what he was saying and sifted through my memories of the school and my time here. I had been happy at one point for a few months. I acted like a teenager, young and in love. I gossiped with the girls, I was carefree. The only downside was that it wasn't a full experience for me. I vividly remembered my junior year and the first part of my senior year. How could I forget it? I was surrounded by a family, I was with Edward. It was painted in my mind with outstanding colors and perfect clarity. The rest though, after they had gone was a blur. The images were faded, torn in some parts and gone completely in others.

"So, today we say goodbye to friends but hopefully not forever." Ben finished.

I stood and clapped along with the rest of my classmates. After order was restored Principal Greene took his place and started calling names. I sat down, relieved that this torture would be over soon. I was ready to lock this place in the back of my mind.

I received my diploma and made my way back to stand with the rest of my classmates.

"I wish each and every one of you health and prosperity in the rest of your lives." Principal Greene announced before the sky was littered with flying caps. I didn't bother throwing mine. I knew that my dad would like to keep it as a memento.

After receiving numerous hugs from friends that I hadn't spoken to in months I made my way over to my father. He pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you baby." His voice thick with emotion. I hoped that he wouldn't cry. "Let's go out to celebrate. Anywhere you want to go to dinner. It's on me." He smiled down at me.

"Sure thing Dad." I said trying to sound excited. If he wanted the truth I really just wanted to go home and go to bed. I wanted sleep to take away the pain that had been dredged up tonight. "Somewhere..."

My voice trailed off as I saw a figure standing on the edge of the field with a camera in his hand. I pulled back from my father stunned to see him. I looked at the man again, sure that my mind was playing tricks on me.

I didn't think, I just ran. I knew that he would flee that he wouldn't want to see me, but I had to try. My legs were screaming in protest and the heels of my shoes were sinking into the mud with each step.

I could tell that the man was ready to bolt, that he knew I had seen him. I don't know what happened but suddenly my body gave me an extra burst of speed and I was standing in front of him before he could run from me.

I took him in. Even from a few feet away I could smell that sweet, comforting scent that I had lost months ago. My eyes drank in his pale marble skin, his charcoal trousers and cream sweater. My sight moved up from his body to his face. I swear if I wasn't on drugs I would think I was hallucinating. His features were perfect,almost like they were carved from stone.

I could barely make myself think, tears were threatening to spill over onto my cheeks and my voice was gone. A sob was holding it back in my throat.

I was in his arms in a flash, holding onto him like my life depended on it. The video camera fell to the ground as his strong arms folded around me. He was here. A Cullen was here. I wasn't crazy.

"Jasper."