I was a heavy heart to carry
My beloved was weighed down
My arms around his neck
My fingers laced to crown

(Heavy In Your Arms by Florence and the Machine)

Her mother, from a very young age, had instilled in Scarlett that a good amount of paranoia was imperative when it came to life in general.

She'd been a firm believer in signs, too. That one could foresee a tragedy if they only looked closely enough.

Even to her younger self, most of the advice her mother would spew seemed like delusional nonsense to Scarlett. But she'd been young and loved her mother, so she'd humored her whenever it came to another 'life lesson'. And looking back on it now, some of it might have been good advice, too.

Until the day came where both of them would bury her father, and with him the light of a thousand suns, any semblance of happiness that might have still lingered snuffed out like a cigarette on wet pavement, replaced by sorrow and fury.

Rage was a powerful monster and it had clawed away at her insides in a battle for dominance, but most of all, it had been a good distraction from the soul-wrenching misery and trauma that had descended upon her like a lightning storm.

Did you see this coming? Why didn't you see this one coming?, she'd screamed over and over again, until her voice gave out from the strain of it.

Needless to say, she vowed to never believe another word her mother had said ever again. Tragedy was wild and unpredictable; nobody could ever foresee it happening, not even the most paranoid person on the planet.

Maybe that's why Scarlett didn't give the foreboding feeling that slithered up her spine as she arrived back at the Walker's house a second thought. She felt uneasy most of the time there anyway.

In retrospect, she would curse herself for ignoring the obvious signs that led up to the day that would rearrange everything. And it was steadily coming closer, as inevitable as death itself.

Maybe Scarlett should have started believing in signs, after all.

The rest of the week went on in a fairly unspectacular manner. Scarlett went to school, half-assed most of her homework like usual, sketched until her fingers ached and continued to build out her new, tentative friendships with some of the Juniors she would sit with at lunch.

Her and Jasper kept their newly mended relationship under wraps for a multitude of reasons and didn't really interact with each other in school except for a few pointed glances and hidden smiles that were enough to send her heart into a sprint. And while it was constricting to stop herself from bounding over to him at any opportunity, it was also freeing not to have hushed whispers and rumors follow her along everywhere she went. Plus, Bella had seemed to accept that Scarlett wasn't going to divulge any information whatsoever and stopped asking any more troubling questions.

But from time to time, Scarlett would find the other girl seemingly lost in her own thoughts, a contemplative glint in her eyes as she studied the Cullens and sometimes, even Scarlett herself. She had the suspicion that Bella was much more intelligent that anyone would give her credit for, her general shyness and sullen silences giving her more of a bland reputation, but she was certainly aware that something else was going on. Scarlett was only glad that she wasn't the one Bella had decided to focus on – that privilege had gone to Edward, who was making good on his promise to stay away from the girl.

While there was still a part of her that felt awful about all of the lies and deception, Scarlett also knew that it was necessary. She couldn't really do much about it anyway, and in her experience, worrying about something she had very little power over was a waste of effort. So, she very politely shoved those thoughts aside in favor of focusing on more pressing matters. Which there was a multitude of.

She was the first to admit that Jasper had always, from minute one, been a distraction. But back then it had been different. Now – knowing what she did – dangerous but also exhilarating ideas had started taking root. Jasper was on her mind more often than not and now, he had also started appearing in her dreams. Mind you, they were definitely good ones, but distracting nonetheless. Separating the things she wanted from the things that were good for her was becoming decidedly more difficult with every charming smile and interaction that left her giddy all over.

Work was, for the first time Scarlett could remember, a weird affair. Leah was around once again and Scarlett had to excuse herself for a cigarette at first glance of her so she wouldn't just pull Leah aside and tell her everything she knew. She kept recounting the promise she had made to Jasper and how fucked things were going to get if she decided to just go around telling everybody who might be in danger all about the existence of the supernatural.

Besides, Leah really seemed finished with Sam this time around and Scarlett didn't feel an ounce of shame at egging her friend on in deleting his entire existence out of her life. That he had disappeared out of town certainly helped and Scarlett found herself wishing more than once that he would just stay gone with his new tart. It would make a many people's lives easier, but especially hers.

The same day, while Scarlett was lazing around, waiting for the end of her shift, she got a message from Jasper telling her that Carlisle had prepared some paperwork and needed her signature to get the emancipation process started. She stared at the words for a long time, fingers hovering over the buttons of her phone, and just imagined what could possibly lie ahead.

Alma's barking voice brought her out of the small daydream she'd concocted and she sent a quick thumbs up back before getting back to the notebook full of numbers in front of her.

And although it was raining and everything was fucking wet, including her as after she'd sprinted to her car, Scarlett couldn't shake the small smile that was etched on her face for the remainder of the evening.

Wednesday dawned and with the anniversary of her father's death only being two days away, Scarlett's mood deteriorated like a black thundercloud that manifested itself over her head, steadily gaining momentum.

Five years seemed like a long time, but whenever the time came close, she inexplicably was transported back into her twelve-year-old self, naïve and innocent, and oh so very sad. She'd go around her business in almost a daze, remembering a time that felt like a different life. She would stand at the line in the grocery store and think five years ago at this time I was sitting in the garden or she'd be laying in bed at night, unable to sleep and think back then, I was waiting on the living room couch, waiting for mom to come back.

It was a vicious circle, a real shit-show if somebody were to ask her.

She hadn't told anyone about it, not even Jasper, and suffered in a sullen silence even Bella would have been envious of. She didn't miss the way his eyes followed her around more than usual though, could feel them boring into her back or into the side of her face, but he left her alone, and for that, she was immensely thankful.

That's why it came as a huge surprise to Scarlett to find him waiting for her at her car after school. She'd been planning to go home, snuggle up to Spike, and go to sleep for an eternity, but if his intense eyes were anything to go by, those plans had just been squashed.

"What's up?" she said, voice tired.

Jasper winced apologetically before he spoke. "There's something I need you for."

And that was how she found herself in the middle of Carlisle's office with Jasper, the former giving her an inviting smile upon seeing her enter. She tried to return it, but it was lackluster if anything.

The room was the definition of sophisticated, dark wood and maroon fabric accentuating hundreds upon hundreds of books neatly stacked inside bookshelves that covered the majority of the walls. A real Monet was hanging on the wall behind Carlisle and Scarlett almost did a double take upon seeing the small inscription in the corner.

"It's good to see you again, Scarlett," Carlisle greeted her warmly, gesturing for her to sit in one of the armchairs stood before his massive beast of a wooden desk.

"Hello, Doc," she said and sat down, eyes falling to a plate filled with brownies sitting right in front of her.

"Care for one?" Carlisle pushed the plate a little closer to her. "My wife made them and she's been dying for someone to test them."

"Sure," she said and grabbed one, taking a generous bite. She wasn't ashamed to admit that her eyes almost rolled into the back of her head at the explosion of chocolate that assaulted her taste buds a second later. "Oh my god," she mumbled around a mouthful of heaven. "They're amazing."

Carlisle chuckled delightfully. "I'm sure she'll be glad to hear that."

"You guys aren't good enough taste testers?"

"Ah," Carlisle said. "We don't have the need to consume regular food. It tastes rather horribly to us, actually."

Scarlett's eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously?" she squawked, turning to look at Jasper who was sat next to her. He shrugged. "That's so sad."

"You haven't told her yet?" Carlisle said to Jasper.

"We haven't had the chance."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be having a lot of time from here on out to do all kinds of talking," Carlisle said with a teasing edge to his voice, the corners of his mouth upturned in what could only be described a secretive smile.

Scarlett quirked a skeptical eyebrow at Jasper, who only rolled his eyes in response, and addressed Carlisle directly this time. "Let's talk about what we're actually here for?"

"Ah yes." Carlisle's face grew a few shades more serious and he handed her a stack of papers. She took them with the hand that was currently not filled with a brownie. "I'll be needing your signature for these. Since you do not have a legal guardian that would agree to you being emancipated, we have to go through the court. In short, we're suing the state to legally make you an adult."

Scarlett scanned the documents in front of her, flipping through the pages. There were a bunch of fancy bureaucratic terms she barely understood and she suddenly found herself a little overwhelmed with the whole ordeal, questioning whether this was the right course of action after all.

Jasper seemed to sense her unease because he leaned forward and put a comforting hand atop hers, cold but at the same time reassuring. She looked up to find his eyes, slightly darker than the last time she'd seen him, and they were tinged with firm determination, the knot in her chest unwinding a little at the sight of them.

"You won't have to do this alone," he told her. "We'll be right there with you."

"I know that this must be hard for you, but it'll be over before you know it and you'll be free to go about your life in whichever way you see fit," Carlisle added.

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you," she said sincerely, grabbing an expensive looking pen from where it sat next to the pile of papers so she could start signing each of them off.

For whatever reason, taking this step was a lot harder than she would have believed it to be. Yes, the system sucked and yes, she wanted out of it, but until a few days ago her exit from it had still been lingering in the somewhat distant future, something she still had time to prepare herself for. Now, she had been thrust into it a lot faster than she was comfortable with and the idea of living by herself, being on her own essentially, was a scary one. She'd seen it happen to many other foster children who'd been completely out of the loop once it came to fending for themselves. A broken system was still a system. It provided shelter and other things that one might take for granted and without it, many young adults were positively lost. Nobody had ever taught them how to survive in a society that had inherently rejected them.

Scarlett decided then and there that she wouldn't be one of those children. She wouldn't let herself rot away any more in the presence of abusive foster homes and she'd learn how to survive on her own, obstacles of life be damned.

Someone had once told her that if you want something, you have to do so something you've never done before. And she would.

With a steady grip, she signed the last of the papers and handed them back to Carlisle, who took them from her with a reassuring smile. In reality, they were light as a feather, but Scarlett felt as if they contained the weight of the world in that moment.

"Very good," he said, rearranging the stack of paper neatly and tucking it away into a thick, brown envelope. "There's one more thing we need to talk about."

Scarlett suddenly felt as if she were in the middle of a business meeting, sitting across from a perfectly polished man like Carlisle with his crisp dress shirt and meticulously styled hair. Needless to say, she felt entirely out of place with her ripped baggy jeans and too large sweater.

"Okay?" She fiddled with the bracelet on her left wrist, a Christmas gift from Alma.

"In order for this to work, you're going to have to prove that you'll be able to fully support yourself. Meaning, you need a place to live and an albeit small, but steady income."

"I have a job," she said. "I'm not making a fortune, but I think I'd be able to make ends meet if I took a few extra shifts. The apartment situation on the other hand…"

"Is a little more difficult," Carlisle supplied with a nod. "I've already thought about that. There's a place on the other side of town. Esme knows the landlady through some of the charity work she does and I'm sure she'd be willing to take you in if we put in a good word and promise to vouch for you."

Scarlett opened her mouth to object, but Jasper beat her to it.

"Don't say you can't take the money because you will," he insisted in a hard tone that left little room for argument.

"Actually, Mr. Know It All, I was going to say something else," she said snidely, crossing her arms for added effect. She turned back to Carlisle, who'd folded his arms on the desk before him and was watching them with barely concealed amusement. "I've been thinking, and while it's true that I absolutely hate the idea of taking money that's not mine, it's the truth that I need it. I have a couple hundred bucks stored away, but that's not going to be enough." She took a deep breath before continuing. "You've already suggested that you'd consider helping me out, so what if I just pay you back in installments? With interest of course."

Carlisle huffed out a small laugh. "No need for the interest, Scarlett. We'd be willing to help you out either way, but if that is the way that is most comfortable to you, then we'll go with it."

She slumped back in her seat, relieved. "Great. That's awesome."

"I'll be getting on this immediately," Carlisle announced with a wave of the brown envelope that contained her future. "Feel free to help yourself to some more of those," he said, nodding to the brownies before standing up.

"Thanks again, Doc," Scarlett said, standing up to meet his eyes levelly.

"It's no- "

"No really," she interrupted him. "It means a lot to me… No one's ever done something like this for me before. If I'd known you to be this kind of a person, I wouldn't have been such a wench the first time we met. Well, maybe not immediately because of the whole y'know," Scarlett waved her arms around, "vampirey stuff, but still." Carlisle's amused smile made her realize that she was rambling like an idiot and she cleared her throat before continuing in a now more serious voice, "But anyway. Thank you."

"It's my pleasure, Scarlett." Carlisle laid a hand on her shoulder. "But you should thank Jasper here, it was all his idea," he said gently, nodding at his adopted son.

She turned around to find Jasper already watching her and the sight of him in all his handsome glory did something positively illegal to her insides. Oh, I will, she thought, hoping to everything that was holy that Edward wasn't around to witness the indecency going on inside her head right now. She bit the inside of her cheek to ground herself a little.

Jasper must have felt the spike in her emotions because his eyebrows rose into his head for a second, and Scarlett felt absolutely busted. But then he smiled, all genuine and sweet, lighting up his clean-cut features like the sun did to morning dew on a crisp winter morning. Scarlett didn't expect it to happen – that swooping, spinning, crashing inside her chest, but it did, and she could do nothing but let it wash over her.

Carlisle left them to it with another calm smile and the promise to notify her as soon as something new came up. Scarlett mumbled another "thank you" in his general direction, but didn't take her eyes off Jasper.

Her earlier excitement over taking that big step was dwindling down quickly and left her in a more somber mood as reality slowly started creeping back into her mind. Jasper's brows furrowed and he took a step closer so he could tower over her, eyes alight with concern.

"What's going on?"

"The usual."

He gave her a dry look. "You don't think you're making a mistake, do you?" he said, a little quieter.

"No," she said, vehemently shaking her head. "Well, I don't know. All I know is that things are about to change and it's something I'll have to get used to. But I'm pretty sure that's a good thing."

"So, what's bothering you, then?"

Scarlett heaved a big sigh and cursed Jasper's ability to read her and her emotions so easily.

"Look, I… there's an anniversary coming up and I'll probably be a pretty unpleasant person to be around these next couple of days. It's not personal, I just…"

"You need space."

She looked up at him, surprised. "Yeah," she whispered, wringing her hands.

Jasper untangled them with his own and ran his thumbs over her knuckles in a comforting manner. Scarlett bit her lip to stop a content little sigh from escaping and followed the movement of his elegant fingers with her eyes. She didn't know where this newfound willingness to touch had come from, but she certainly wasn't complaining.

"I know this might come across as a little insensitive, but can I say that I'm relieved?"

She caught his thumb with her own. "What about?"

"I keep thinking that you might change your mind about… all this. About me. I know this hasn't been easy for you," he explained, ducking his head so he could look her in the eyes.

"I can't promise you anything," Scarlett shrugged. "Not yet, anyway. It's been crazy, to say the least and I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about running away at least a dozen times, but," she paused for a second to find the right words, "as crazy as it might sound, when I'm with you, things are different. Better. It's hard to explain."

"I get it. You shouldn't have to make a decision right away. I meant it when I said I wanted to move at a pace that's comfortable for you."

"That's awfully empathetic of you," she joked, the ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"I'll be whatever you need me to," he shrugged in a tone so nonchalant, Scarlett huffed out a small, incredulous laugh. "What?" he said, following the way she bit her lip with his eyes.

"You keep saying all of these meaningful things, and you've done so much for me. I just don't know how to feel about it," she mused.

And she really didn't. One moment it was all good, the reminder that there was someone out there who seemed to care for her a heartwarming notice to keep away the sting of disappointment and loneliness. But there was more to it, too. Wariness about Jasper's intentions, the fear of abandonment, and most importantly, the thing about the vampirism. She was reasonably sure she wasn't actually ready to deal with all of it right at this moment. It was just a clusterfuck of emotion, really.

"It's like you said: We'll figure it out together," Jasper said optimistically, holding her hands just a little bit tighter. "I'm scared too," he admitted after a moment of silence, much quieter than before. "I've never done any of this, interacted with a human on such a level. Everybody keeps telling me it's a recipe for disaster, but I'm inclined to disagree. Not when we both agree that this is worth the trouble. We do, right?" He looked so incredibly insecure as he gazed down at her in that moment, Scarlett could have broken out into giggles from that look alone, something akin to a pout in full on effect on his handsome features.

"Yes," she said with a small laugh as his face relaxed back into something calmer. "You haven't eaten me yet, so that's definitely a success."

"Don't even joke about that," Jasper said in a hard voice, prompting another laugh out of her.

It was obvious that topic was a sensitive one for Jasper and Scarlett wasn't out to antagonize him, so she swallowed the smart comment on her tongue and only rolled her eyes. They fell silent after that, each of them probably lost to their own chaotic thoughts when a yawn decided to rip its way out of Scarlett.

"Sorry," she said with a hand in front of her mouth. "Haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately."

"I'll take you home," he said, letting go of their joined hand and moving into the direction of the door, before turning back to her with a sheepish smile. "Do you maybe have another moment?"

"Sure, why?"

"There's somebody who would like to meet you."

Esme Cullen was everything Scarlett would have wished for in a mother when she was a little girl. Calm and sweet, with a smile that held so much warmth it would have been enough to melt away anybody's tears. She was extraordinarily beautiful like the rest of her family, but unlike Alice and Rosalie, she was less like shooting star and more like a starry night sky, a more modest sort of beautiful that mirrored her gentle nature. That didn't mean Scarlett wasn't jealous, though. Because she definitely was.

She was hovering in the doorway to the kitchen as Jasper and Scarlett arrived and she immediately swept the unassuming girl up in a delicate hug that was surprising but not unwelcome.

The kitchen was alight with all sorts of sweet smells like chocolate and cinnamon and with the added flowery scent of the woman's hair, Scarlett's experienced something close to a sensory overload. Esme pulled back a little and took her in for a moment, a beaming smile that reminded Scarlett a lot of Alice firmly in place. There was a small mole near the left corner of her mouth.

"It's so nice to finally meet you," she greeted Scarlett, voice a pleasant chime that translated delight. "I've heard so many things about you."

"Only good ones I hope?" Scarlett said with a nervous laugh, stepping back from the woman that served as adopted mother to five ambivalent vampires.

Esme's eyes twinkled smugly. "Of course," she said, turning to Jasper. "She really is a pretty one."

Her stomach gave a small, childish flutter.

Scarlett glanced over her shoulder to find Jasper's mouth screwed up in a grimace that could only be described as annoyed and she snorted at the way it also radiated something close to embarrassment. Not for the first time, she wished that he had the ability to blush so she could see the familiar dusting of pink she experienced more often than not grace his high cheekbones for once.

"Is that so?" she said in a teasing voice as Jasper leaned against one of the kitchen counters, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Way to go, Esme," he grumbled.

"I'm only being honest," the woman chirped with a shrug. "I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I've heard that you're a fan of my brownies," she told Scarlett. "Would you like to take some home with you?"

Scarlett's eyes fell to the kitchen island behind Esme and to her surprise, the entire space was filled with mountains upon mountains of chocolatey treats, all packed up neatly in dozens of tupperwares.

"I would love to?" she said in a high pitch, only weirded out a little by the whole ordeal. Carlisle had said they didn't actually eat, right?"

Esme seemed delighted and immediately made to prepare her a bag, while Jasper shot Scarlett a fondly exasperated look.

They were out of the door a few minutes later, Scarlett holding a not so small paper bag filled to the brim with brownies she couldn't wait to devour as soon as she got back, Jasper leading her out at a rather fast pace, hand glued to the small of her back.

"Thanks again," Scarlett threw over her shoulder at a beaming Esme. She'd made Scarlett promise to come back soon for more taste testing and an impromptu art session before letting them leave, something the younger girl had been quick to agree to. Art and sweet stuff? Sign her the fuck up.

Jasper, on the other hand, had been less than pleased as it seemed. "Sorry," he said to her as they arrived at her car. "I told her not to overwhelm you with all that stuff. She means well."

"Don't worry about it, she's sweet," Scarlett said with a shake of her head. "But I have to ask: Why'd she make a shit-ton of brownies?"

Jasper laughed at her crass choice of words. "She's making lunchables for a charity she's been working with."

He only quirked an eyebrow at the stunned silence that followed, unceremoniously getting into the driver's seat and leaving behind a floored Scarlett.

Fucking vampires were really making it hard for her to dislike them.

Mind reeling from another unnecessary argument with Tom that had ended with Scarlett barely avoiding getting her ass beat, she fell into a fitful slumber that was plagued by nightmares yet again.

For the first time in years, her mother had begun to make a regular appearance in her dreams again and Scarlett was more than unsettled by it. Maybe it had something to do with the anniversary of her father's death, but her mother's face she hadn't seen since she was twelve was a grim reminder that no matter how things were looking up in real life, she wasn't safe from her disastrous past in any way.

The thing that was perhaps most disturbing was a flash of black hair and red eyes that was so nerve-wracking, it catapulted Scarlett right out of sleep and into a sobbing mess on the floor.

Shivers still wrecking her small frame, she got up on wobbly legs and pulled her curtains shut to pacify the paranoia she'd felt upon waking up.

She could have sworn there'd been something right in front of her window.

The anniversary of her father's death fell on a Friday that year, and any joy she might have felt at the beginning of the weekend was nonexistent that day. Any semblance of joy, really.

She didn't know why that day in particular was so difficult for her, because the loss of her father was hard on any day, but there was something about this godforsaken date that just consumed her with grief.

She resembled a disconnected version of herself for the majority of the day, either snapping at people or ignoring them completely and by the time lunch rolled around, most people had elected to stay away from her, not that they got close to her on a regular day, but everybody seemed to have gotten the message blinking over her head in neon lights: stay the fuck away from me.

Jasper, aside from the occasional worried glance, kept his promise and stayed away and Scarlett could wholeheartedly say that him respecting her wishes event though he looked anything but happy or comfortable with it, made her like him ten times more. God bless gorgeous vampires that minded their own business when it came down to it.

She spent lunch alone in a secluded corner outside, smoking four cigarettes in a row while freezing her ass off, and left in the middle of her last period on some bullshit excuse of a stomachache. Ignoring Mr. Wilson's recommendation to go see the nurse, she took off in the direction of the parking lot where a less than pleasant surprise was already waiting for her.

It was a pure coincidence that she even noticed it, but after a cursory glance into the direction of her rickety old tires, Scarlett noticed that they were considerably less round than they were supposed to be. She bent down to check and sure enough, some asshole had poked half a dozen generous holes into each of them, leaving them completely deflated and useless. A small note had been tucked between one of her windshield wipers. She snatched the piece of paper with so much force, it almost ripped clean through the middle.

This is much more hilarious than you could ever be.

"Fucking – shit – fuck!" she stammered in a broken voice and threw the paper to the ground. For added effect, she stomped on it a couple of times until it resembled a dirty, ripped up mosaic.

Sucking in a long breath, shaking hands balled into fists, Scarlett glanced at the now useless piece of metal in front of her and like a tsunami wiping out everything in its way, the chains on her barely contained emotions burst.

She hadn't cried yet today, a record if she did say so herself, but now a few frustrated were welling up in her tired eyes until everything she could see was a fog of grey and green, asphalt and trees blurring together.

"Fuck," she swore again, this time in a muttered whisper as she rested her head in her hands and closed her eyes against the onslaught of tears.

It was beyond petty and any other day she'd have mustered up all of the rage she possessed and punched that asshole straight in the face, but today she only felt defeated. Her much needed escape had just been taken away from her and she was this close to just curling up on her backseat and wallowing in misery.

"Hey," a voice sounded up from behind and Scarlett stood up straight, quickly wiping away any trace of wetness on her face, annoyed that somebody had witnessed her moment of weakness.

It was David, all blue eyed and handsome, gym bag slung over his shoulder. He was watching her with a wary look, hovering a few feet away from her and shuffling his feet. Any attraction she might have held for him at one point was gone and all she was left with was a mix of annoyance and apathy.

She heaved a big sigh before speaking to make sure that her voice was steady. "What do you want?"

"I told him not to do it," David said, nodding at her deflated tires. "It was a stupid fucking idea."

Scarlett gave a bitter bark of laughter. "Well, thanks for stopping him then."

"I tried," David shrugged, taking a few steps closer. "You alright?"

"Fucking peachy." She pulled out her pack of cigarettes, offering one to David as well. He took it with a nod of thanks. It was a new pack she'd stolen from Tom this morning, a strong brand she wanted to get rid of as quickly as possible. She'd only taken it to be petty, anyway.

They didn't say anything for a moment as the cold air around them filled with swirling rings of smoke and Scarlett was about to snap at him again to ask why the hell he was hanging around when David spoke.

"So, listen," he began. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

She raised a brow.

"We haven't seen each other in a long time."

"And?" she said with narrowed eyes.

"Just wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime."

She studied the slope of his nose for a moment and took another generous drag before answering. It was pretty clear what he meant by 'hanging out'. "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"We've been having some problems. I didn't think that was something that bothered you," he said, completely shameless.

"It does bother me, actually," Scarlett retorted a little angrily. "I'm not a homewrecker."

"You wouldn't be wrecking anything, believe me," David insisted, stepping into her space with a determined look in his eyes. "Come on, we used to have a lot of fun, didn't we?"

"Debatable," Scarlett huffed, putting some space back between them by taking a few steps back. "Look, I'm not interested, alright?"

The charming smile disappeared from David's face and he frowned. "I see. So, you're still hung up on Cullen, huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said. You should just move on, he's a fucking weirdo anyway."

That statement rubbed her the wrong way, a steady onslaught of rage beginning to bubble up inside of her. "That's a little rich, coming from you. Weren't you just offering me an opportunity to hook up even though you're in a relationship?" she snapped.

The atmosphere had shifted, both of them preparing for a fight if the way David's lips tightened and him squaring his shoulders was anything to go by. "Just because you're bitter doesn't mean you have to be a bitch about it."

He was so fucking wrong about everything, it was almost comical. She laughed mockingly. "Whatever. Just leave me the fuck alone."

"Geez, fine," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. But the sneer on his face clearly showed that he wasn't done yet. "I should have known that you're not worth the trouble. Girls with daddy issues never are."

The blood in her veins turned to ice and she stared at him with wide eyes, a scalding rage pushing itself to the front. She was frozen to the spot, shaking with barely contained fury. "What did you just say?" she hissed dangerously.

David's smirk widened, the realization that he'd gotten to her with that one obviously feeling like a victory to him. "It's obvious. What'd he do, hm? Didn't come to your school play? Went to get a pack of cigarettes and never came back?"

His mocking voice sounded far away all of a sudden, the rushing of blood in her ears overpowering everything. She didn't even take a moment to think about it, she just sprang into action, fists balled, and hoped that she could get a few hits in before he ultimately dropped her on her ass. A part of her was glad for the opportunity to let out some frustration, practically itching for a way to distract herself from some of the emotional baggage in favor of physical pain.

But before she could rain down on him, there was a flash of gold, too fast for her eyes to perceive, and a subsequent thud like a body hitting something with a nasty sort of force. Scarlett blinked, too surprised to do anything else, and her eyes grew impossibly wide at the sight of Jasper pinning David to the side of her car, forearm braced against his throat. David was gaping, looking just as shocked as Scarlett felt and it took him a couple of moments to realize the predicament he was in.

"I believe she told you to leave her alone," Jasper's voice rang out, deep and menacing, and the alarm bells in Scarlett's head screamed danger, danger!

She couldn't see Jasper's thunderous expression but from the way David gulped, she could imagine it pretty well. It was extremely satisfying to see David cowering like the little worm he was and while a part of her wished that she'd have been the one to bring about that expression on his face, another one was singing with glee.

Jasper's broad shoulders were squared and while he was less bulky than David, a little leaner, there was no doubt in anybody's mind right there that he could beat him to a bloody pulp if he wanted to.

David was slowly beginning to recover from the shock and he started struggling against Jasper's bruising grip, with little to no avail. Eyebrows drawing together, he ground out, "What the fuck, man. Let me go."

"I'm going to need you to apologize first," Jasper hissed, turning his head into Scarlett's direction. Their eyes met and Scarlett balked at the way his weren't the usual golden color, but rather a deep brown, almost black even.

They were alight with a fierce protectiveness, though, and her insides warmed at the sight. On some fucked up level, it was intoxicating to see him like this, all wild hair and dominating posture. There was a tug somewhere in her belly, and almost as if she were on autopilot, she moved closer. Jasper seemed to take her reaction as a confirmation to keep going, because he tightened his grip and pushed David back against the car with another dull thud.

"Come on, dude," David huffed. "She's not fucking worth it."

Wrong choice of words. Jasper sneered, his teeth showing menacingly. He readjusted his arm so it was beginning to cut off David's air supply. The other boys' eyes grew panicked and he began struggling in earnest. "Stop," he croaked out.

"Last chance. Apologize."

At the sight of David's fear-stricken expression, Scarlett herself had begun to grow a little wary of the whole situation and she contemplated stepping in when David decided that giving in was the smart decision to make.

"I'm sorry," he wheezed into her direction, fingers digging into Jasper's forearms with enough force to bruise, expect that it didn't work that way with him. They weren't even making a dent.

Jasper let go of him as fast as he'd appeared, taking a few steps back. David sagged against the car in obvious relief, a multitude of emotions washing over his face almost as if he didn't know how to feel about all of this. In the end, he settled on petty defiance. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he snapped, rubbing at the splotchy redness on his neck.

Eyes narrowed, Jasper took another threatening step forward. Scarlett reached him before he could get to David again and wrapped a trembling hand around his wrist. "Jasper," she whispered. With a pleading look in her eyes, she shook her head. "It's not worth it."

As much she might have enjoyed the idea of David getting smacked around a little, she did feel like he'd been scared enough for one day. Everything beyond this point was only going to get them in trouble.

Jasper ground his teeth together, obviously contemplating her words before he nodded. "You stay away from her," he told David. "You don't talk to her, you don't look at her and you tell your shithead friends to do the same. Or I'll make sure of it."

The threat in his voice was clear enough and while David looked like he wanted to protest, he wasn't stupid enough to misunderstand that there would be hell to pay if he didn't listen. He grabbed his gym bag from where he'd dropped it on the floor earlier. "Fucking weirdos," he muttered before walking away without any semblance of pride. He looked back multiple times and eventually disappeared.

Scarlett stood frozen to the spot, Jasper breathing heavily next to her. His fists were balled and he still looked furious, almost as if he had changed his mind and was this close to following David. She tightened her grip around his wrist and tugged him closer.

"Well," she sighed. "That was an obvious display of testosterone if I've ever seen one."

He closed his eyes and his brows furrowed. Shaking his head to get rid of the rage induzed haze he'd been in, he ground out a, "I'm sorry- "

"It's fine," Scarlett cut in, rubbing a soothing thumb over his suspiciously absent pulse point. "I didn't mind it. Thank you."

Now that the craziness was over, the buzz of adrenaline inside of Scarlett was slowly dwindling down, leaving her to be a weird sort of melancholic. She glanced at her useless car once more and just like before David had showed up, a few tears sprang involuntarily appeared. She was sad and angry, and more than anything, plain tired.

Jasper's face softened and he took her face in his hands, so gentle with those hands that had proven mere moments ago that they could cause pain on a whim. Her eyes fluttered shut at the coolness of them and she heaved a large sigh, close to nuzzling into his touch.

"It's okay," he breathed. "I've got you."

There was a lump in her throat, constricting Scarlett from answering so she only nodded her head in response. A few tears had managed to escape and were running down her cheeks, hitting Jasper's caressing hands.

She didn't know why, and in hindsight she'd be extremely embarrassed about it, but his closeness and the way in which he was holding her allowed her to just let go for a short moment. She nuzzled into the crook of his collarbone and wrapped her still shaking arms around his neck, inhaling in his sweet scent and just breathed for what felt like an eternity. The eventual hiccup would escape her and whenever it did, Jasper shushed her and ran a comforting hand over the small of her back.

She cried for her father and for the inevitability of his loss, for everything that had led her up to this moment and it felt different, more freeing with Jasper standing there and gathering some of the sadness up in his hands so he could squash it immediately. He was the rock and she the wave, crashing against him with all of the force of years of pent up grief and just like she'd always known him to be, he stood there, steadfast and calm and just took it.

"Can I?" he whispered against the crown of her head and she immediately knew what he meant, nodding her approval.

A moment later a familiar coolness seeped into her bones, snuffing out the fire licking at her insides. It felt like Jasper and she welcomed it without any hesitation, breathing in the soothing calmness he'd wrapped up in.

By the end of it, Scarlett's eyes were puffy and her throat felt uncomfortably dry. When she felt like she could breathe again, she slowly untangled herself from the man in front of her and wiped at her runny nose with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, meeting his eyes.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yeah," she croaked, running a hand through her hair.

His eyes were darting around the parking lot and he looked like he was deciding whether he should leave or not, her words from a few days ago probably ringing in his head. The thought of him just disappearing was so unbearable though, she'd have done anything to stop it.

"Let's get out of here," she blurted, not willing to let go of his hand.

Jasper smiled a small, hesitant smile and dragged her along to his car. All the way there, Scarlett only focused on the coolness of his touch and how it felt like somebody had injected her with a sedative, nursing all the poison from her veins.

A/N: I love protective Jasper so much, truly a king. I just realized that I've written somwhat of a Slow Burn, though I'm not if it could be classified as that with all the recent fluff, but still, there's more coming and it's going to be even better than this, I can promise y'all that.

Writing this has given so much joy and every day I wake up with new ideas, waiting to write them down. It's been a great journey so far and thank you guys so much for coming along.

I've been watching way too much Twilight tiktoks in my free time (I'm an adult, I promise) and I can only recommend you do the same, some of them are fucking hilarious.

But anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this one and don't forget to let me know what you think!

Thanks so much!