Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters. I just like to use them in my fanfics.

A/N: Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and stayed safe. I received word that Wedding Day Jitters has been nominated for top 10 completed stories of December 2013. If you would like to vote for it, please go to twifanfictionrecs dot com. I would really appreciate it! Well, here is the first chapter of my new Bella/Jasper story. I am also working with one of my friends who is a history major with a thesis on the civil war to write a story about Jasper back during the war and the time right after he was turned (as requested by a reader). So be looking for that one as well. That will have notes of Bella/Jasper since I will be writing the story as a journal and you will have glimpses of the present. I hope you like the new story, and please review if you can.

PS... If you would like, I can make this story M rating. I will let you pick. Keep as T, or make it spicier than my others?

Prologue

A brunette girl had been running around the park on a bright sunny day with her friends, but now that the sun had started to set, everyone was going home and that should have included her; however, something had caught her eye and she started to skip in the opposite direction from her home. Her mother wouldn't mind if she was a little late. The girl was more responsible than her mother at times, although, she did love the older woman. Renee was just a little scattered sometimes, and Bella had to sometimes be the adult… even if she was only ten.

Pausing for a moment when she lost sight of what had caught her eye; Bella found it again and started chasing after it even faster. It was a small white kitten and the little girl wanted it, or at least wanted to pet it. Just as she was about to grab it, it darted off in another direction like hell itself was on its heels. Bella had never seen anything move that fast and there was no way she would be able to catch it now. "Drat!" She grumbled as she fisted her hands and stomped her foot in a small tantrum.

As she whimpered briefly for her loss, she looked around at her surroundings and realized she had no clue where she was. Bella was far from the park and this was not her neighborhood, and what's worse is that she had been so focused on the kitten that she had not paid attention to her surroundings. That wasn't like her at all. Looking around the street lights were already on and it was past twilight. What was she going to do now? Renee would be freaking out if she didn't get home soon.

"Sorry about that. I think your cat heard me and I scared it," a figure stepped out of the shadows of the bushes and approached the child.

Narrowing her eyes on the stranger, Bella knew she shouldn't talk to him or even acknowledge him. She should run the other way, but there was something in his golden eyes that made her feel warm and fuzzy… safe. "It wasn't my cat. I was just following it because I wanted to pet it, and now I don't know where I am. Do you know how to get back to the park from here? I need to get home," she explained. She should be afraid, but she wasn't and offered the man a beaming smile, "I'm Bella Swan and I'm 10. Who are you?"

"Well, you can call me JW. That is what some of my longtime friends call me, and I think I can get you back to the park," the man grinned at the forwardness of this little girl. Most people were intimidated by him or his kind, some would even run like the cat had, but not this little slip of a girl. No, she was bold and friendly, and it seemed she wasn't scared at all. It was odd, but at the same time it made him feel weirdly happy. He wasn't exactly sure where the park was, and yet, he was sure he could find it easily following the scent she had left trailing in her wake.

"You're tall and you talk funny!" Bella proclaimed with a giggle, but then she realized what she said and she didn't want her new friend to get mad, "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

The stranger chuckled, "It's quite alright, Bella. I talk funny because I'm from the great state of Texas; and I'm tall… well my dad was tall, so I guess that's why."

"So everyone in Texas talks like you?" She tried to mimic his accent and received laugh in reply. It made her ecstatic when she was able to make him laugh.

"I wouldn't say all, but a good number do darlin'."

"I want to go so I can hear people talk funny! So if you are from Texas, what are you doing here?"

"I'm on vacation with some friends and I needed to meet with someone, but he never arrived," he explained and looked up, "Let's get you back to the park before it gets too much later. Your parents are going to start to worry if they haven't already."

"Oh, it's just me and mom. My dad lives in Forks, Washington. I'm supposed to go see him, but I really don't want to. It's kind of blah up there. I have more fun here with my friends."

Forks, Washington… that was a town not many people knew about and one that he was very familiar with. Smiling down at the girl as he took her hand and led her towards the park, he said, "Maybe one day I will see you up there. It isn't so bad you know. I have been there myself, but was only passing through." Indeed, when he and his companion had met up with the family they melded into, he had passed through Forks for less than a day. It didn't seem too bad and with the cloud cover, it allowed him to remain outdoors even during the day… unlike Phoenix, AZ. There was talk of maybe returning one day, but he wasn't sure when or if that would actually happen.

"Really? You like it up there?"

"I do."

"Are you going to be here tomorrow?"

"Probably not, my friends and I are leaving in about an hour."

"Oh," she was disappointed at hearing that, but he was big and she was little and he didn't live there like she did, "Hey JW, why is your hand so cold?"

"I have a circulation problem."

"Oh," she removed her hand from his and blew on her hands before quickly rubbing them together to create friction. When Bella thought her hands were ready, she grabbed the stranger's large hand with both of her smaller ones, "I'll help you warm them up."

Using his other hand, JW patted her head and smiled. She was a wonder and a bit on the precocious side, but that was alright with him. There was something about her, and he knew she was special. Something told him after tonight, he would be seeing her again at some point, but he didn't know when or how long it would be before it happened.

Once they got to the park, he squatted down next to her, "Do you know how to get home from here, or do you need my help?"

"I can get home from here. It is only a block away. Thank you for helping me," she grinned and then quickly kissed his cheek before running off, her giggling voice following her, "I hope I see you again one day JW." She left him squatting there blinking as she quickly ran towards her house.

JW snorted with laughter as he watched her form getting smaller and smaller as she left him behind and made her way to her home. She was definitely not like other people he had met, and he found himself hoping that his feeling was real and that he would indeed see her again, as was her wish.

Bella stormed into the house and was immediately embraced by her frantic mother, "Bella, where have you been?"

"Sorry mom. I followed a kitten and then got a little lost, but I'm home now. I found my way," the girl tried to sooth her mother as she kept the secret of her new friend, JW, from her mother. She knew Renee wouldn't like hearing that she had talked to a stranger, held his hand, and depended on him to help her home. If she thought her mother was freaking out now, she could only imagine what would happen if the older woman heard about that, and it wasn't a pretty thought.

Pushing her daughter away from her, Renee inspected her daughter from head to toe to make sure she was truly alright. When she was satisfied, she shook her head and allowed it to drop on Bella's shoulder, "Please don't worry mommy like that."

"I won't."

"Well, come on. I have dinner ready," she grabbed her daughter's hand and pulled her towards the table, "Bella why is your hand cold?"

"Huh, oh, I was playing on the monkey bars and they were a little cool. Come on mom. I'm hungry."

Renee smiled at her daughter and all thoughts of cold hands, tardiness, and worry flew out the window. Bella was at home and safe and that is where she would always be, and there was nothing to worry about. Besides if anyone could take care of herself, it was her little ten year old.

The stranger Bella had met earlier made his way back to his friends with a smile on his face, unable to get the small girl out of his head. When he reached them though, he frowned and explained, "He was a no show. Let's move on." No one questioned what had taken him so long or where he had been, they just listened to him and followed his lead. However, questions would have been raised if one of their other coven mates had been with them. Thankfully, it was only four of them and he would worry about the mind reader later. It wasn't like there was a danger or anything, but he felt like he wanted to keep his Bella away from the other man, and he wasn't sure why.

"Everything ok Jazz?" A short brunette woman asked. She had been his travelling companion when they met up with the coven they called family now. In fact, she had been the one to find him several years ago.

"Yah. Let's just go," JW said with one last look over his shoulder and together the small group left Phoenix and Bella behind; but this was just the beginning of their entanglement with each other.