"Bella! Breathe. It's ok. You know Jasper. Remember?" Alice said, turning down the music she had turned on while she was working on what to do for Rose's makeover. We were listening to the song 'Better' by Regina Spektor. Alice had just discovered her through one of her friends in Massachusetts and we just had to listen to her, if only to try it out. "You don't need to pass out before he's even seen you. That would be bad luck. Especially with all the work Rose and I put into it," she joked.

"But it might be even more bad luck if you don't get down there and save Jasper from your dad," Rose said.

I nodded in agreement and started out my door. "Aw....our little Bella is growing up!" I heard Alice whisper. I glanced back at her and glared at her. "What?" she asked, raising her hands in a questioning manner. "It's true," she smiled.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get to you later," I muttered. "I'll see you guys later then. Have fun with Emmett, Rose," I said.

"Thanks. You have fun with Jasper, too!" Rose said.

I walked out of my bedroom and down the hallway to the staircase. I stood there for a moment, trying to hear if my dad was talking to Jasper or not. There was a little bit of conversation going on, from what I could make out. I made my way quickly down the stairs, but at a pace where I didn't have to worry about falling.

I turned the corner into the living room and saw Jasper and my dad sitting down. "Hey, Jasper," I said.

He smiled and replied, "Good evening, Bella." My dad cleared his throat.

"So, Dad, what time do I have to be home?" I asked.

"Eleven, at the latest," he said. He looked around. "Where are Alice and Rosalie?"

"Oh, they're getting the rest of their stuff so they can head over to Rose's house to wait on Emmett," I said.

"Oh, ok," Charlie cleared his throat again. Clearly, he was uncomfortable. "Jasper, take good care of her." He looked straight at Jasper.

"Don't worry, sir. I will," Jasper said.

"Bye, Dad. Don't wait up!" I yelled back into the living room as I pushed Jasper to the front hallway to grab my coat.

"Yeah, yeah," I heard him grumble softly.

As we made our way out the front door, I spoke up. "My dad didn't give you the third degree, did he?"

"Oh, no. He was just wondering what our plans are and everything," he said as we reached his car, which was a sporty red BMW.

"Is this your car?" I asked, amazed.

"No, it's Rosalie's. She's just letting me borrow it tonight," he said.

"Wow. It's...wow."

He laughed. "Yeah, I know," he said as he opened my door.

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome." He closed my door and walked around the front of the car to get to the driver's side. He opened the door and slid in. "Ready?"

"I am."

Jasper pulled slowly from the curb and started toward our destination. "So...where are we going?" I asked, curious.

He smiled. "You'll find out in due time."

I groaned. "Please?" He shook his head. "Pretty please?"

He smiled at me. "Let's talk about something else," he said. "How about...school."

"School?"

"Yeah. How are your classes so far?" I stared at him in disbelief. "Mine are good so far. Not too stressful just yet."

I rolled my eyes. "Ok. I'll give up for the time being, but be ready for a surprise attack," I warned. "School is great. I mean, we've only been in school, for what, a week?"

"Yeah, but there must be something worth mentioning?" he questioned.

"I guess..." I said, getting an idea. "For one thing, there are these five new students...and they're pretty mysterious, especially this one guy..." I trailed off, grinning.

"Hmm...that's pretty interesting. A new, mysterious guy, really? Maybe you should be more careful, you know, and get to know him better," he said.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm trying," I smiled.

We stared at each for a brief moment before Jasper turned away and started to slow the car down. "Are we there yet?" He nodded. "Where are we?"

He pointed at the little building we were in front of. It was a restaurant called La Bella Italia, a restaurant rumored to have the best Italian food in the area…and very expensive prices. "Oh, wow, Jasper. You don't have to do this. I mean..." I trailed off.

He looked at me like I was crazy. "Bella. Don't be ridiculous. The food at this place is supposed to be amazing, and you deserve the best." I blushed. "Now, wait here for a minute."

He got out of the car and came around to my side and opened the door. "Madame," he said as he reached his hand out for mine. I giggled and offered my hand. He helped me as I stepped out of the car and onto the pavement.

We walked into the restaurant and up to the hostess stand. "Reservations under Hale, please," Jasper said.

The hostess nodded her head and checked. "This way, sir." We followed her to a corner booth and sat down. "My name is Fran, and I will be your waitress tonight. What would you like to drink?"

Jasper looked at me. "Water for me, please," I said.

"Two waters," he said. The waitress nodded. "Now, Bella. What would you like to eat?"

I looked over the menu for a minute before deciding upon something. "Um…how about the prosciutto tortellini?"

Jasper looked down at his own menu. "That actually sounds really good. I think I'll get the same, and could you bring a basket of breadsticks, please?"

"Sure thing, hon," the waitress said, winking at him. How could she? I mean, seriously.

We sat there in silence, looking at everything around us but each other. After a few minutes, Jasper spoke up. "Bella…umm…did you have a good day today?"

I laughed. "Yeah, I guess I did, if you count being Bella Barbie for Alice and Rosalie being part of a good day. Ugh," I grimaced.

"You don't like the whole made-up aspect of being a girl?" he grinned. We paused our conversation for a minute while Fran put a basket of breadsticks in front of us.

I looked at him like he was crazy. "Not even. I prefer to not draw attention to myself, actually."

"That's impossible."

"What do you mean?"

"You're beautiful, Bella," he stated simply.

"No, I'm not, Jasper," I said blushing. I looked down at the table. "I mean, I know that I'm pretty, I guess, but not beautiful."

"Bella. Look at me." He paused. "Please?" I looked up to his face. "You don't see yourself clearly. You are so much more than pretty."

He opened his mouth to say something else but our waitress came back with our food. She placed our steaming plates in front of us with a flourish. "Enjoy, you two," she said with a smile.

"Thank you," we said in unison.

We started eating and silence filled the air around us, being interrupted only by the beautiful classical music being played by the string quartet in one the alcoves near us. The whole atmosphere was almost magical, except for the awkward silence that consumed the rest of meal.

We both finished our meals at the same time and Jasper spoke up first. "Would you like dessert, Bella?"

I looked at him and said, "Uh…"

"I was thinking that if you do, we could go by the ice cream parlor and get some ice cream…or if you don't want to…" he trailed off.

"I would love some ice cream, Jasper."

He smiled and said, "Ok, let me get the check and then we can go." He looked for the waitress and she noticed, so she came over.

"Can I help you, sweetie?" she asked warmly.

"Yes. May we please get our check?" Jasper asked.

"Sure thing. Are you two sure you don't want any dessert?"

"No, thank you," he said.

"Ok. I'll be right back then. I hope you two had a great time here tonight," she said with a smile.

"We did, thank you," I said.

She left and Jasper looked at me. "Did you have a good time, Bella?"

"Yes, Jasper. Thank you so much for tonight," I smiled.

"Well, the night's not over yet," he grinned. Fran brought our check to us and Jasper paid for it. We stood up, put our jackets on, and headed outside toward the car.

Jasper followed me to my side of the car and opened the door for me. "Thank you," I murmured.

He walked over to his side, got inside, and started the car. "So, this sounds really dumb, but do you know of anyplace close that has ice cream?"

"Sure. Dawson's Parlor has the best ice cream ever," I said, now excited. "You just follow this road, down to the stop light. Turn left, follow it to Potter Street, and then turn right on Witter Avenue. It'll be on your left." He nodded his head. "You're going to flip. Dawson's is famous for their ice cream," I said with a smile on my face.

Jasper grinned. "I'm glad then." He followed my directions and soon we were pulling into the parking lot of Dawson's. I was practically jumping up and down in my seat; I was so excited.

"Wow, you must really love ice cream," Jasper laughed.

I nodded my head. "Yeah. One summer I worked here and so I got free ice cream every day, and there was this one day that I decided to mix things up and get a Triple-Decker Hot Fudge Sundae. It ended very badly. I was practically bouncing off the walls. My best friend Jill was with me at the time and videotaped most of it. Especially at the end of the night…that's when I crashed."

"Crashed how?"

"You know, the sugar rush and crash thing. Where you have so much sugar that you burn it off and then you pass out at the end of the night because it was too much for you? That was only the first time, though. Jill and I designated the Fridays this past summer as Ice Cream Fridays. We would come up here and get a Triple-Decker, and then we would go back to one of our houses and party all night," I smiled, remembering how great the past summer had been.

"That sounds like fun," Jasper smiled. I just nodded. "Do you mind if we get our ice cream and head down the street to those benches? That way we could talk?"

"Sure. That's no problem."

We got out of the car and walked inside the ice cream parlor. Jasper was amazed at how many different flavors that Dawson's offered. He had trouble at first, but the man behind the counter offered his opinion on the Peanut Butter Explosion and Jasper tried it. He loved it instantly, so he ordered it while I stuck with the Birthday Cake Surprise. After Jasper paid for our ice cream, we headed outside and toward the wooden benches that he had seen earlier.

"So, Bella…"

"So, Jasper…"

"I'm sorry about that back at the restaurant. I just wanted to let you know how beautiful I think you are."

I blushed. Great. I'm probably not that beautiful now. I probably look like a tomato now. "Thanks," I whispered.

"Anyway, let's talk about something else," he said, sensing my discomfort. "Are you planning on going to the football game on Friday?"

"I think Alice wanted to. I mean, Emmett's going to be there, so I think he wanted us all to come see him show off," I grinned.

"That's great. We should all ride together, you know, to carpool."

"That sounds great. We could all meet up at my house, since Alice and Rosalie will already be there, and we can leave from there?" I asked.

Jasper nodded. "It's a date." We sat there in silence, comfortable silence this time, and ate the rest of our ice cream. "Are you ready to go home now?"

I nodded. "Thanks," I said as Jasper offered me his hand as we walked back to his car, which was one block away. He helped me into the car, then went over to his side and climbed in. He started the car, but before he pulled away from the parking lot he reached over and took my hand in his own. He seemed to ask with his eyes if it was ok, raising our entwined hands. I nodded. He grinned as he directed the car from Dawson's and toward home.

Nearly twenty minutes later and we were pulling up in front of his house. Jasper turned the car off and walked over to my side. Opening the door and taking my hand again, Jasper led the way as we walked in silence to my front door and stood on the door step for a moment before either of us said anything. "Bella," he started.

"Yes?"

"I had an incredible time, and I was hoping that you did, too."

"I did, Jasper. I had a wonderful time. Thank you so much."

His lips twitched as he leaned in. My heart stopped in my throat as I contemplated what was about to happen. I was about to receive a kiss. My first kiss. I didn't know if I was ready or not, but Jasper was leaning closer and closer. I guess my brain made up my mind because, before I knew it, I was turning my head slightly so that Jasper's lips brushed the side of my cheek rather than my lips. He pulled his face away from my own and I started fake-coughing so it wouldn't be so awkward.

"Are you ok, Bella?" Jasper asked, concerned.

I waved it off. "Oh, I'm fine. I must have swallowed wrong. I'm sorry." I felt so guilty about lying to him, but I couldn't help it. I wasn't sure if I was ready to be kissed. "Really, Jasper. I'm fine." I stood up on my tiptoes so I could place a kiss on his left cheek. "Thank you for such a great time. I'll see you tomorrow?" He only nodded as I turned around and opened the door. "Night," I said, wiggling the fingers on my right hand.

"Night, Bella," he said as he made his way back to his house.

I closed the door as he left and walked through the living room. Charlie was asleep on the couch, with the T.V. playing in the background. I walked over to him and shook his shoulder. "Dad," I said. "Dad, you need to get up and go to your room."

He grunted and opened his eyes. "Bells. Wha-what's going on?"

"Dad. It's 11:00 and you're asleep on the couch. You need to go upstairs to your own bed before you hurt your neck, OK?"

He only nodded as he got up off the couch and made his way upstairs. I heard his bedroom door shut as I made my own way up to my room. I turned the light on and closed the door as I made my way in the room. There were still all sorts of beauty products and clothing all over my bed from earlier, but I just pushed everything off onto the floor before I collapsed on my comfy bed.