Fairly obvious that I don't own these two. Enjoy

In hindsight he should have ignored her.

"Ah excuse me," she mumbled voice soft. "I need to ask you something." She stood there with her textbook in her arms, held almost as a shield as her eyes fell to the floor. Jasper could detect the nervousness wafting off of her as she stood there, biting her bottom lip. Bella Swan was an attractive girl- not beautiful but not horribly ugly either and she had a sort of pleasing air about her. He could see why Edward liked her. But what he could not see was why Bella was talking to him. Her anxiety could be from being near him (though Jasper doubted it. The two had hardly spoken to each other, hardly seen each other. Jasper preferred not to get involved in the lives of his foster siblings unless he absolutely had too) or the more logical reason being this was about Edward.

Jasper said nothing as he looked at her and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her anxiety growing. "It's about Edward," Bella began and stopped. The people around them were pushing past them: some slightly knocking into her, others only were gaining bruises when they tried the same thing with him. The final bell rang as their classmates began to disappear, drifting off to their respective classes, leaving the two of them alone. Jasper watched as she bit even harder on her lip; the action was kind of cute, though not in the least bit safe. "I need you to gi-"

"If you bite any harder you'll bleed," he interrupted and Bella gave a tiny smile.

"Sorry," she whispered and cleared her throat as she opened the notebook. Occasionally she would look up at him, as if expecting Jasper to say something. He did not. He stood there before her, hands at his sides, waiting. Jasper had learned that people (be they human or vampire) would try to fill in the silence with something, anything. A trait from our time as humans, he mused to himself as she pulled out a sheet of paper with something scribbled on it in black ink. "This is a note," Bella said as she folded it into a neat little square. "I want you to give it to Edward."

"No."

Bella blinked as if she couldn't quite believe Jasper's refusal. "Why?" she asked and now confusion was swirled in the mass of anxiety that surrounded her.

Jasper raised one eyebrow. Could she really not understand why he would refuse to play messenger? Judging by the shocked look on her face and her confusing emotions, the answer was clearly yes. Jasper sighed. "I will not be a part of anything that will cause Edward harm, be it physical or emotional. If you have something important to say, then say it to his face," he replied calmly and took a step back from her. A clear sign that he would not do this, if his words did not affect her.

He could see her hand starting to tremble as she gripped the note tighter. "Please," Bella whispered. "Please Jasper? Edward…he told me the other day he watches me in my sleep." Her voice sounded strained, even to his own ears. "What else has he seen? Me in the shower? Is that why my truck hardly works now, so I have to get a ride from him? It's…unnerving. I can't face him."

Edward stalking? Well, the auburn haired vampire could be a little…"obsessive" concerning certain things. Like his foolish notion that he was a monster. Or his ideal of justice by killing only criminals, those who deserved it, all those years ago. The main differences between Jasper and the lucky bastard was that Edward could turn "off" his power to speak to feed on humans if he wanted too. Committing to animal blood had been easy for Edward. Jasper however, had to deal with the constant influx of emotions until the very last beat of their heart.

"Please Jasper? Just…give this to him."

She offered him the note again: worry now that he would not take it. That Jasper would let Edward confront her by herself. He reached forward against his will, fingertips brushing against her own as he took the note. He heard the sharp intake of breath as she felt his skin before Jasper placed the small note in his pocket. The two of them stared at each other in silence. "Are you…" Bella trailed off.

"No. Disappointed."

Bella nodded. "I'm sorry about this Jasper," she whispered. "I really am."

Jasper shrugged. "You're already late to biology," he said in a fashioned, bored tone. "Edward is waiting."

Bella nodded and turned away. Jasper watched her leave, hands clutching the notebook, shoes tapping against the waxed floor as her hair flowed behind her. She had the air of a shy puppy as she ran towards class, disappearing around the corner. Bella was cute but not his type. His thumb rubbed against the note, feeling the slight creases in the paper.

In hindsight, he should have ignored her. It would have made everything that happened later much easier to handle. But it was only when she was gone that a thought occurred to Jasper: why in the world did Bella Swan come to him?