A/N: JasperxBella!!!!!!! If you don't like that pairing, don't read. Anyhoo, short summary. Takes place when Bella goes to the Cullen's mansion in New Moon, you know, after Edward leaves. It gets AU after that. And... no Jacob! Well, almost no Jacob anyways, I guess. The point is that he's not the one to help Bella cope. Yeah, this idea kinda popped into my head and wouldn't leave. I've been wanting to write a Jasper/Bella fic for awhile but never got any good ideas, so now I've come up with one. Send me nice reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I just stole a few sentences from New Moon. Um... the song, belongs to The Smoking Popes technically... but I used Bayside's cover of it. It's called "Megan". Check it out!

I turned my back on the gaping emptiness and hurried back to my truck. I was anxious to be gone, to get back to the human world.

I was almost to my truck when I heard it. "Bella?"

I froze. I recognized that voice. It wasn't him but... "Jasper?" I turned around slowly. "Am I hallucinating?" That was a stupid question.

He shook his head and that was it. I ran and threw my arms around his neck, relieved that at least one of them stayed. Before I knew it, I was sobbing, soaking Jasper's shirt with tears. I forgot all about what he did on my birthday, about how he'd always avoided me, and how little self-control he had. I was just happy that he stayed.

He didn't seem to have much of a problem as he picked me up wordlessly and carried me into the house, sending out calming waves. He was about to put me on the couch but I clung to him tighter and refused to let go, afraid that this was all my imagination.

So instead, Jasper sat down on the couch with me on his lap, waiting patiently for me to calm down.

With his help, my tears subsided and I was able to choke out, "What are you doing here, Jasper?" I told myself I was dreaming, or imagining all this. But the logical part of me was telling me it wasn't. I'd had so little to do with Jasper that it made little sense for me to be dreaming about him.

He thought for a minute before answering. "It's... a long story. For starters, I decided to come back."

"Why?" I was curious. He was the last of the Cullens (or Hales as the case may be) that I expected to see, if any of them.

His answer shocked me. "I was worried about you, Bella."

Jasper and I had never been very close. He'd always avoided me because he had the least amount of self-control.

The images of my birthday party gone wrong flashed through my mind and I looked into Jasper's eyes. They were a light shade of butterscotch, and he was breathing evenly, not holding his breath, which is how I knew he wasn't having a problem with the smell of my blood. I let out a sigh of relief.

Jasper, sensing my brief moment of fear, smiled and said reassuringly, "Don't worry. My self-control's gotten better. Just don't hurt yourself." The smile disappeared. He looked down and said almost inaudibly, "I want to apologize." He looked up at me. "About your birthday. I should have controlled myself better."

I hugged him. "Jasper, it wasn't your fault. I should have been more careful."

He looked at me, confused. "You're not upset. Why? I'm the reason we left!"

I looked him straight in the eye. I spoke slowly. "It. Wasn't. Your. Fault."

He dropped the subject. We were silent for a full minute. They he cleared his throat and continued with his original story. "So, like I was saying, I was worried about you. I could feel your depression from all the way in Alaska, which is unusual. I normally have to be in at least the same area. That's when I knew you weren't okay."

"So you came back?" I was still a little confused and shocked and he must have interpreted it the wrong way.

"Do you want me to leave?"

I almost went hysterical and clung to him again. "No! Don't go anywhere!" My words were muffled because I had my face buried in his shoulder, but I knew he heard.

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. Shhhh. Calm down Bella."

After I'd calmed down a little, I moved so I was sitting on the couch next to him and asked questions about the rest of the Cullens. Jasper never mentioned him, and I was grateful for that. I found out that he and Alice had broken up (technically they got divorced, I guess). "We're still good friends. Our relationship just wasn't the same. It was a mutual breakup." Alice was currently trying to find out about her past, the life she doesn't remember. Emmett and Rosalie were taking yet another honeymoon, and Carlisle and Esme were somewhere on the East Coast.

While he talked, I just looked at him. I noticed that he looked different. It wasn't his hair. His honey blond hair was still styled the same, he'd always had emo hair (A/N: I've always thought of Jasper having the same hairstyle as Shane Told from Silverstein with longer bangs that actually cover his eye).

I realized it was his clothes that made him look different. He was wearing girls skinny jeans, a slim fitting black Bayside shirt, a pair of Draven slip-ons, and a red Clandestine Industries hoodie, unzipped. He actually looked kind of... cute.

He looked over at me. "What're you looking at?" He asked jokingly.

I shrugged. "You just look a little different. That's all."

He laughed. "You've seen how Alice gets about fashion, right?"

I shuddered and nodded. He continued. "Well, guess what. Alice did all the shopping in the house. At least for the guys. So, that's why I've always looked kind of preppy. I actually just stocked up on new clothes a few weeks ago. 'Cause this is the real me."

"I think you look better like this."

"I think so too."

It was hours later when Jasper realized how late it was. "You should probably get home. Charlie will be worried."

I was about to protest when he smiled and said, "C'mon. I'll drive you home. I won't let you out of my sight."

I felt better, knowing that Jasper wasn't going anywhere, at least for now.

We walked outside and I remembered that I had left my truck running. "Shit," I muttered.

I climbed into the passenger seat and Jasper took the wheel. He didn't drive even close to the high speeds the rest of his family did. He probably knew about my fear of speed and actually kept to the speed limit.

He looked at me. "So, how have you been?"

I knew it was pointless to lie. "I've been better," I replied, my hand subconsciously moving to my stomach, holding myself together as the hole got bigger.

He looked away. "Sorry, that was a stupid question."

I asked a question of my own. "How long have you been here?"

"I came back last month. I've been keeping an eye on you to make sure you don't do anything stupid."

I winced. He was referring to the few times I had considered cutting myself, or even suicide.

We reached my house. I hesitated, my hand on the door handle.

Jasper, sensing my hesitation and guessing what I was about to ask, said, "I'll be in your room. Remember, I'm not going anywhere." He smiled at me. "Now go inside. Charlie's worried sick."

I walked inside and Charlie immediately asked, "Bella? That you?"

"Yeah dad. It's me," I called back, walking into the kitchen to make dinner.

Charlie walked in just as I was boiling water for spaghetti. "Where have you been, Bella?"

I hesitated. "Out." Now wasn't really the time to tell him about Jasper's return. I doubt he even remembered Jasper, seeing as how Alice and... him were the only one of the Cullens to really ever stop by.

"Where?" He persisted.

"La Push," I lied.

Charlie got off my case after that. We ate dinner in silence and then afterwards, I escaped upstairs to my room.

Jasper was there, just like he said he would be, sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room. "Told you I'd stay," he said with a smile. He'd obviously sensed the doubt I had while I was eating dinner.

I sat down on my bed, cross-legged. "I'm sorry for ever doubting you."

"It's okay. I could see why you would."

After that we just sat in comfortable silence for a while before I realized I should probably start my homework.

I got English and History out of the way quickly but then I had to deal with calculus. It was by far my worst subject, but Jasper was there to help me work our most of the problems. By the time I was done with everything, it was almost ten o'clock and I was suppressing a yawn.

"Maybe you should go to sleep," Jasper suggested.

"Yeah. I should." I grabbed my pajamas and toiletries before heading to the bathroom.

I took a quick shower, changed into my pajamas, and brushed my teeth. After brushing my damp hair out, I made my way back to my bedroom.

Jasper was still sitting in the rocking chair, reading my battered copy of Wuthering Heighhts. He looked up when he heard the door close and broke into a grin.

I smiled back. I wasn't surprised that he liked that book. Jasper read a lot.

I yawned again and made my way to the bed. I turned around. "Hey Jasper?"

"Yeah, Bella?"

"Can I have a goodnight hug?"

"Sure." He stood up with arms open.

I walked into his open arms and wrapped my arms around his neck.

We hugged for awhile before I pulled back. "Thanks."

"No problem." He smiled again.

I climbed into bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Even with Jasper there, the nightmare still came.

I remember waking up to myself screaming. I sat up, breathing hard, trying to calm down. I looked around the room frantically for Jasper. He was right next to the bed.

"Bella, what's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

"N-Nightmare," I stammered. He sent a calming wave towards me. It helped very little.

"Wanna talk about it?"

I shook my head but ended up telling him about the recurring nightmare.

"And I wake up screaming every night. Charlie doesn't even bother checking in on me anymore. He's used to it," I finished.

Jasper sat down on the edge of my bed and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

I shook my head. "Probably not. I'm not gonna be able to get back to sleep tonight though."

He thought for a minute. "Does music help you sleep?"

"Sometimes," I answered, remembering how he used to hum my lullaby at night. I winced at the memory.

"Do you want me to sing you to sleep?"

I thought about it seriously. I figured it wouldn't bring back any memories. Jasper's into different music than him anyway. Eventually I nodded and leaned back against the pillows.

He sent another wave of calm towards me and this time it actually helped.

After I was settled, Jasper closed his eyes, thinking of a song. His eyes never opened as he started singing softly. "Butter on a summer day when she's around. I was on the tracks when the gates came down. When suddenly I recognized those bloodshot rear view mirror eyes as mine."

I was right. There were no memories. I was captivated by the sound of Jasper's voice. It was amazing. Even more amazing than his.

"And I almost drove away. But Megan I... had a feeling that you would be on that train. So I just waited there for you."

By the second verse, "Caught a ride to another town where the air was clean. And the sun never goes down. Everyone was standing in a line between the landing and the stairs...", I was asleep. Jasper stood up to go sit in the rocking chair.

I grabbed his wrist before he could move. "Don't go anywhere. Stay with me," I mumbled.

He hesitated before lying down next to me and wrapping his arms around my waist cautiously. I rolled over and rested my head on his chest before falling into a deep sleep. Jasper kissed my forehead and I heard him say under his breath, "I love you, Bella."

I was so out of it I was sure I was dreaming.