DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognise belongs to Ms. S. Meyer.

Hello, *cowers* Lostmidtranslation here, on location and cowering in a corner. Please don't kill me. I'm pretty sad that it's been so long since i've updated. I feel rotten. I've been busy and ill and uninspired. HOWEVER. This is back, and hopefully, totally *bangin* .

And I want you to tell me if you liked this. Please, please, please let me know. If you're annoyed at the gap between updates, please let me know, JUST REVIEW! Hahaha ...

-x-

I could taste blood. I could taste blood. I could taste blood.

I tried to suppress it. I tried to look at her. I tried to focus on her. Her fingers, bent up in pain. The blood on her hand. The blood.

"Graye?" She coughed and looked at me, pale and wide eyed. "How badly does it hurt?"

"Not a lot." She lied easily, but I didn't call her on it. I could see it in her eyes and I knew if I said anything, she would probably blame herself. Her eyes flickered away from me, out of the now open window, and she refused to look at me. Five minutes before we pulled up into Forks, I pulled over and waited for her to look at me. The silence was practically murder, and my head was screaming at me to talk to her.

"Talk to me-"

"I'm alright, Jasper." She lied again, and this time I knew it - her words were punctuated by a wave of fear and anxiety through her chest, and straight into mine.

"Graye, you're scared." She blinked twice and looked at me, "I can feel it, and I don't know what's making it happen." I leaned over and took her hand, the one that still had blood on it. Swallowing back the venom, I looked into her eyes and smiled slightly, "I want to stop it from happening."

"They want to kill me, Jasper. The second you're strong enough not to hurt me, even when I'm bleeding-"

"I won't let them hurt you, Graye-"

"I know you don't want to let them, but…there's only one of you." She looked at me, turned to me, touched my cheek and ran her fingers up the side of my face. I leaned into the comfortable, searing warmth and she smiled sadly. "And there's quite a few of them… and the last time I attempted to defend myself against one of them… I ended up with this-" She displayed the bruise on her wrist which Emmett had inflicted only a day before.

"I know, I know, but they won't. I'm sure of it-" I said, and her gaze softened. "I want you to trust me, Graye, I'd never hurt you intentionally, I'd never take you somewhere I wouldn't go-"

"I know." She nodded and I leaned over towards her, desperate to kiss her just so she could feel how much I needed her to believe me. She leaned back and away and scrubbed at her lips before she would look at me though.

"Wha-"

"Blood on my lips," She grinned, "I don't want you to kill me because I kissed you."

"I like your logic…" My lips slipped across her face, from her cheek to her lips anyway, and she bit back a groan in her chest as she let me in, her fingers reaching up to slide into my hair.

I pulled away reluctantly two minutes later, her fingers lingered in her hair and she licked her lips slightly as she pulled away, staring into my eyes.

"What?" I felt self-conscious all of a sudden - it was strange as well, because I hadn't felt like this in perhaps seventy years, and it made me feel so… human and new.

"D-did your eyes used to be green?"

"Sorry?" How did she know that? I'd never even told Edward or Alice my eyes were green-

"Did they used to be green?" She said with a little more confidence that time, "You can see… in your eyes, just tiny like, remnants of it." I swallowed out of habit and looked at her, really looked at her. I could see every little scar on her face - she had one just above her left eye, one more about six millimetres from her hairline, and one just by her ear.

"Nobody's ever noticed that, ever." She smiled at me as I spoke and blushed heavily, her blood flushing me with its scent. Our faces were only an inch or so apart, but, as she blushed, I leaned forward slightly, our noses touched and she gasped slightly. Cinnamon and nutmeg washed over me and my stomach clenched in the nicest of ways. Smiling lightly, she pulled away and looked away, at the floor. "Nobody - not even my family."

"Well… I'm glad I-"

"Thank you." I leaned over and pressed my lips lightly to hers. "I-"

"Not a problem." She grinned at me and happily accepted another kiss. Her fingers reluctantly moved from my shirt after a few moments, then she looked away and reached to the radio, settling on a station which played the sort of simple, easy music that allowed her to relax slightly.

"Shall we go?"

"Yes." She squeaked a couple of seconds later. "Lets go."

I gunned the engine and revved it a little, just because I knew it would piss Edward off. Her lips curved into a slight smile and she rested her head back on the rest, shut her eyes and let out a long, happy breath.

"Listen, Graye, when we get to the house, would you stand beside me on my left?" I said just before we turned up our driveway. "I don't think they'll try anything, but my right side is strongest." She nodded silently, and I felt a slight fear beginning to bubble up in my chest. She smiled at me, trying to keep herself tied down to one emotion. I felt a bubble of serenity burst through the fear as her eyes locked with mine and she smiled.

We turned into the gravel driveway and she tensed as she glanced out of the window.

"What is it?"

"I saw someone." I knew they'd be down the drive, waiting for us.

"Who do you think it was?" I said.

"I-they were blonde, I think." She swallowed and looked down at the car mat, staring at the weave. Her face went bright pink and her scent washed over me, and I was stunned. Not because I wanted to kill her. Not because I wanted her blood.

Because I didn't fret about it. That was what stunned me as I pulled up on the driveway and saw Carlisle standing on the front porch with Esme. They'd both sensed us coming, Esme was looking at Graye through the windshield and smiling.

I braked and let out a breath I didn't need to hold.

"Graye?" She didn't move for a second. "Graye?"

"I'm scared." She muttered, and in that moment, without even reaching out to take her emotions and make them change, I knew in my heart that I couldn't do it anymore. I was hurting her, and I had told myself… I had promised myself I would keep her safe.

I reached my hand out to hers and I took it, just sitting there beside her. We didn't speak for all of five minutes, she just held my hand, and I held hers, trying to comfort her before I put her through the hardest part of her life so far.

"I won't make you do anything. I'll…" I'll try and protect you. But I won't tell you that to your face. If I break a promise, it'll be to myself.

I wanted to be the Romeo to her Juliet… No, I needed to be that to her. I swallowed hard and captured her lips with my own, then stepped from the car and into the rare sunlight that was creeping through the trees.I stepped forward, and then felt someone take my hand.

Sparkling met satin-soft as she slid her slim fingers into mine. She squeezed my hand.

"I won't make you do this alone."

~...~

-x-

A/N: SO.

One – Please review. You're all fantastic and I love ALL of my readers. PLEASE review so I know you love me too!

Two – If you want to know what i've "really" been doing all the way through this gap, check out the harry potter fics i've got up and am updating regularly - "For Who You Are" (in-progress) and "Swing,Swing" (Now complete, from about 6 weeks ago) *eep*

Three- Stick around – Please. I'll be back with more – how could I leave you like this!?

Now, remember the following: I LOVE YOU ALL (but not in a creepy way)

Love ya

xxxx