TwiFicMas NYD Edition: Hybrid
Happy New Year my lovelies. I come bearing the late final addition to FicMas. Note to self, make sure you post before you drink champagne this year.
Today I bring something inexplicably popular? Like almost all my requests mentioned it? No one has really been gangbusters about this particular fic before, so I was surprised and very excited that people are looking forward to it.
Hybrid.
We have Jasper's POV of the post-sex night, and we have some outtakes of the fic proper. Some changes have been made to the original snippets posts, so if something is different/changed in this version, it's because I improved on the original.
Happy New Year, stay safe, drink some water, have a snack <3
He shouldn’t have gone home. He realizes that as soon as he sets foot in the front door. It’s his own fault, really. He took a detour to hunt and regretfully stopped to wash Alice’s scent off himself (she smelt like rainwater and flowers, a taste still lingering on his tongue, even after the two deer he had found) before going near the house.
But he gave himself away. The press of her warm skin against his, her pale skin stretched soft and smooth over her ribs and hips; the swell of her breast underneath his palm…
Edward’s bedroom door slams open, and he winces because it’s obvious that his train of thought has been heard, and that the door is now most likely embedded in the wall from the sound it made against the plastic
“What the hell were you thinking?” Edward yelled, as he flew down the stairs. “Do you have no sense at all?”
‘Stay out of my head, Edward.’ The warning is mild but razor-edged. That memory of Alice is his, and his alone; that it’s outrageously disrespectful for his brother to acknowledge what he has seen out-loud when it not only invades his privacy but Alice’s too.
“And let you make decisions that risk us all?” Edward’s eyes were black from anger as he glared at Jasper.
“What on earth has happened?” Esme appeared in the living room, Carlisle behind her looking concerned.
The way she blushed when she saw him nude, the pink staining her cheeks and down to her bare chest, clad only in a tiny pair of panties. But her gaze, her emotions were appreciative and she smiled shyly as he moved back towards the bed, reaching out to cradle her cheek as he kissed her…
“Jasper took a risk that was so… so ridiculous and so dangerous and stupid and unnecessary!” Edward was yelling and pacing, running his hand through his hair in agitation.
“Get out of my head,” Jasper snapped, intensely aware of how much of Alice he had revealed - her body, her scars, all the little pieces that she had entrusted to him; not Edward, and not his family. He wanted to be back at the Brandon house, with his beautiful, sharp, funny girl in his arms - the idea of being in her bed as she slept was so tempting, and such a simple one… She’d been getting better at sleeping with him in the room - her terrors had faded to something manageable when he stayed in her room - but he was still cautious, still preferred to let her sleep peacefully alone.
“You are the one who practically shouted what you’d been doing with her all night the second you got within range of the house,” Edward hissed, and Jasper hissed at him.
“Wait, what?” Emmett emerged from the media room still clutching an xBox controller.
“As if I don’t know exactly what you feel every time Bella is in your line of sight,” Jasper snapped back.
“At least I have some semblance of restraint.” That double-edged insult landed harshly; the scar that Jasper had left on Alice’s throat had healed neatly but it had scarred - a constant reminder of his own weakness.
“No way…?” Emmett was looking between Edward and Jasper.
“No way what?” Rosalie sounded bored, where she was leaning against the door to the garage, having appeared suddenly. “Why is Edward yelling?”
“Hell yeah, bro, high five for sealing the deal!” Emmett was laughing delightedly now, and Jasper grudgingly high-five him.
“Charming,” Rose said sourly. “We’ll never get rid of her now,” she muttered. “Another human pet, that’s just fantastic.”
“Oh my,” Esme bit her lip and was clearly trying not to giggle, looking at Carlisle, who was at a loss at how to deal with the situation before him before glimpsing Edward’s murderous expression. “Edward, you need to calm down.”
“This wasn’t just dangerous, this was pure stupidity! Do you have no self-control?” Edward hissed, his pacing getting faster and faster, until he was past a human speed.
“She still alive?” Emmett asked.
“Yes,” Jasper said, annoyed.
“She have a good time?”
“Emmett!” Esme was visibly laughing now.
“Alice is fine,” Jasper said between gritted teeth.
“So what’s the problem, Eddie?” Emmett shrugged. “Our brother gets some tension relief with a pretty girl, didn’t suck her dry, and the pretty girl has enough vampire in her that she survived to see another day?”
Edward’s fist shot out and cracked against Emmett’s shoulder.
“You could have killed her, and how would we have explained that?” Edward was so angry it felt like something was grating against his skin.
“I do think that this… step in your relationship with Alice was a sensitive one, Jasper,” Carlisle began awkwardly. “And that it would have been one that took some inner consideration… and there was significant risk to consider but I’m sure that you and Alice considered these things. I’m glad that it worked out, and I think that this is a private milestone between you and Alice.”
“Thank god someone does,” Jasper muttered, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Edward,” Carlisle continued, clearly uncomfortable with the situation he had found himself mediating, “Whilst I understand that you cannot help overhearing thoughts, you do have an ethical and moral obligation towards maintaining the privacy of the mind of others. I understand that you had reasonable concerns about the welfare of your brother and of Alice, but your concerns should have been brought to Jasper privately.”
Edward scowled, without making eye-contact with Carlisle.
“Please,” Rosalie scoffed, “Edward isn’t worried about Alice’s safety or Jasper having an impromptu snack.” She straightened, her irritation about the entire scenario pricking at him. “He’s jealous.”
A growl rumbled through Edward.
“Jealous? Of Jasper and Alice?” Carlisle frowned and Rosalie rolled her eyes.
“He’s jealous that he knows he can’t have sex with Bella because his control isn’t good enough, and Bella’s a normal human. He’s also jealous that his conscience won’t let him. He’s going to want to marry Bella before he even thinks about her naked.”
The rage coming off Edward was thick and heavy now.
“What? Alice’s existence destroyed any argument you had about her choice to have children or that humans and vampires can’t sleep together,” Rosalie said. “You’ve got nothing, Edward. You’re jealous.”
“She’s right,” Emmett shrugged.
“And if Jasper, the weakest of the family can sleep with his girlfriend, Edward’s got to admit that his martyr act is just that - an act.” Rosalie spun on her heel. “Oh, Jasper?”
“Yes, Rosalie?” Jasper sounded tired.
“I still think she’s a brat and I don’t like her.”
“Understood.”
Carlisle sighed as Rosalie disappeared back into the garage, with Emmett trailing after her. Edward was still looking murderous but remained behind. “I don’t know what to say,” he said frankly, looking over at Esme hopefully.
“We wouldn’t be having this conversation if Edward hadn’t lost his temper,” Jasper said, inching towards the stairs. “So, I’d prefer if we could pretend that…”
“Agreed,” Carlisle said with relief. Jasper turned to flee into his room before Esme called out.
“Jasper,” Esme said sweetly.
“Yes, Esme?” He looked down on her from the top of the stairs.
“Remember to use a condom.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Laughter - Emmett’s - echoed through the house at that and Jasper suddenly wondered why he’d had the bright idea to leave Alice’s place at all.
-------
Alice's POV
That first week of high school dragged on endlessly, frankly. It was hard to settle in at this school - I missed Chicago, missed the huge public school I’d come from where I was just another face in a sea of kids. No one really paid attention to whether I was doing my schoolwork or paying attention or even in class.
Not at Forks High. Most of my classes were around twenty students, and every single one of them knew my name, knew that I went by Alice; many of them knew my house, knew Simon from the hospital and the clinic, knew of or had even baby-sat Cynthia. It was disconcerting to be surrounded by people who knew my family better than I did, who could tell me that I had to try my own stepfather’s lemon meringue pie because it was so good, who knew that Cynthia had been obsessed with Snow White in elementary school. I had none of those memories, none of those little pieces of knowledge that normal families grow up with.
It was awkward, to say the least. And there were a few students that made it clear they knew my father and Simon, and they did not approve of two men being married, so I was on their hit list. Maybe it was the fact that I had spent my life in cities and this was a small town, but I was stunned silent to be the target of homophobic abuse because of my parents. And that’s what Simon was, really - one of my parents.
It was still a mind-fuck to have one father, let alone two, after years of considering myself an orphan.
Another thing I quickly noticed was how carefully I was being watched; the blond Cullen - Jasper - hovered at the peripheral of my vision all week. He was absolutely watching me, even following me, around school and I was genuinely curious what he thought he would learn about me this way. My school bag was very carefully curated to look innocent - the box cutter I carried was disguised amongst my art class supplies; the aerosol deodorant was understandable; the most incriminating item was the plastic pink lighter I had buried in a pocket. But smoking? Not illegal. I tried not to stand out with my fashion choices just yet - it was always better to wait and watch before trying anything outrageous. I had done everything I could to be ordinary, and yet Jasper Cullen continued to watch me.
It wasn’t until I made it to the cafeteria on Thursday or Friday that Jasper Cullen made a move directly against me; getting in the queue to snag two sodas and a package of chips, I moved quickly to avoid dealing with the disapproval of the lunch ladies who seemed to think they had the obligation to comment on every single lunch selection made every single day, as if the mains were even slightly palatable. I had been planning on bringing my own food to school to avoid the old bats, but I wasn’t sure how to broach that decision with Dad yet - neither he nor Simon had offered an alternative to eating lunch from the cafeteria.
As I span around, one of my sodas tipped and nearly went flying - except for the quick appearance and save by one Jasper Cullen, who righted my drink smoothly.
“Thanks,” I said in a flat tone. I shouldn’t have even bothered with a tray, I could have put my food in my bag and it would have been fine.
“Glad to help,” he said in a low voice, staring at me with an indecipherable look that made me feel warm, his nostrils flaring infinitesimally - enough for me to feel uncomfortable. Vampires were always fantastically creepy about their sense of smell, their focus on scents, and I should have known better than to expect that vampires in high school would have managed to repress that. The idea that he was… mapping me, learning what I smelt like, made me shudder internally.
The thing was, I knew this irritating vampire. I knew exactly how his voice sounded when it said my name; I knew the look in his eyes as he gently cradled my face.
I knew the way he felt against me, skin to skin, his name spilling from my own mouth like a plea.
And it felt… too much. So much. I didn’t want to deal with vampires. I didn’t want to deal with a stalker. I didn’t want him to smell me and follow me and watch me. I couldn’t. Something as simple as a vampire watching me felt like the last straw, the thing that would break me.
Especially when it was the one person I had been seeing and dreaming about for so long. It made my mind race that, after so many years of seeing him as a comfort and prize and a good thing, he could be what ruined everything.
I nodded once, and headed to my corner table. If nothing else, I had my sketchbook on me and my headphones. Headphones - even ones held together with tape and determination - are a universal sign for ‘leave me alone’.
//
Simon decided that to maximise familial bonding was required during my first couple of weeks in Forks, and that manifested in being gently encouraged to do my homework at the kitchen table whilst he prepared dinner.
I had noticed that Simon seemed to flit between his love of cooking and his love of home design; I couldn’t identify half of the contents of the fridge, and most of them were clearly homemade and elaborate. There was almost always something cooking, and it was reassuring - the warmth, the smell, the activity… I found myself gravitating towards the kitchen whenever I ventured out of my room.
Which was why I found myself at the kitchen table with my Algebra book opened in front of me as I tried to focus on schoolwork and not the fact that Jasper had had the audacity to kiss me and then not attend school the next day. It had been the first sunny day I had witnessed in Forks, but surely he could have just pulled his hood up and sucked it up instead of leaving me to stress for a full day. I was too nervous to even consider checking my phone.
I certainly wasn’t expecting Cynthia to burst in through the back door with Dad behind her, and pointing at me going, “Alice.”
“What?” I looked up, disorientated (Jasper had smelt like leather and fresh air and salt pressed up close to me…) before looking down at my work and realising I was holding my pen upside down, and the most recent equation I had attempted slanted down the page.
Oops.
“Is it true,” Cynthia began with all the gravitas of a lawyer in a court room, dropping her backpack in the door and appearing next to me at the table, “that you and one Jasper Hale were spotted making out in Rosalie Hale’s convertible?”
I gaped at her. Those middle schoolers were sneaky, gossipy little shits who were embellishing the story for dramatic value. Who had seen us through the tinted windows of the Land Rover? I really loathed small towns.
Both Dad and Simon were watching me in a way that was supposed to be casual but was actually very invested in my answer. I was still trying to work out what had happened on Tuesday afternoon, I hadn’t even spoken to Jasper… I certainly didn’t want to tell my family anything until I was certain of where I - where we - stood.
“Bold of you to assume Rosalie Hale wouldn’t hit me with her convertible if I looked at it wrong,” I managed. “You and your friends need to take up creative writing.”
Cynthia deflated. “It didn’t happen?” she asked, looking disappointed. I saw my father visibly relax out of the corner of my eye. “Jenna swore…”
“Me making out with Jasper in the back of Rosalie’s car? She loves that car more than anything on this planet, there’s no way anyone would get within a foot of it,” I said, turning back to my homework and hoped that the truth wasn’t written all over my face.
“UGH.” Cynthia huffed, taking her proffered backpack. “This was the most exciting thing to happen since Bella Swan and Edward Cullen!” she called back as she stomped up the stairs.
“Then you need to get a new hobby!” I called back, closing my schoolbooks and gathering them up. Maybe I could brave my phone and see if I had any messages. I wasn’t entirely sure what would be worse - if Jasper had left me some kind of text or voicemail, or if he hadn’t. I wasn’t sure the next time we saw each other could be in the high school parking lot.
Dad and Simon were quietly conversing behind the kitchen counter, as I snagged an apple from the fruit bowl as I walked out. “Are you not at all terrified by the stuff she hears at school? Because they cannot be doing much studying with all the gossip.” Biting into my apple, I headed towards the stairs, pausing only when I heard Simon laugh.
“She’s good, alright,” he said.
“Who? Alice?” Dad sounded confused.
“Your eldest daughter just shut down all possibility that she was ever in Rosalie Hale’s very expensive car,” Simon continued.
“Yes?”
“I did not hear a single word denying that she and Jasper weren’t … involved.”
Shit.
“Oh. Oh.”
Wincing, I headed straight to my room, to where my phone was plugged in on the nightstand.
With three unread messages waiting for me.
All of them from Jasper.
Double shit.
Taking a deep breath, praying for some kind of miracle, I opened them.