I blink a few times, seeing how Jasper is casually holding the perfume bottle so close to my face. At that distance, I can even notice how the veins and nerves bulge in his hands, extending down his arm, until they disappear into the long sleeve of his shirt, that's raised up to his forearm.
My heart is beating so fast that I cannot understand exactly what would happen if the glass hit me — or realize that Jasper is slowly lowering his hand and examining my face, bringing his other hand up to my face, as if making sure that I'm really okay. He doesn't exactly touch me, just a lock of my red hair. Then he flashes me a calm, serene smile. Yet, somehow… I can tell that he's angry. It's a feeling, an omen feeling that assaults my chest and makes it tighten. Yes, I know he's angry… Infuriated.
This makes my throat suddenly dry.
Only then I notice that Lily was screaming. She runs toward me and holds me by the arms, saying desperately, “Oh, my God…! Letty, are you okay?”
I watch as she casts a warm look at Jasper, with her cheeks in a reddish hue, which I have a hard time telling if it's from the fright, or because of my savior.
“Thank you, Jasper, you… have amazing reflexes…” Lily says.
“Well, I'm good at sports…” Jasper interrupts his words when hears a sarcastic laugh, which draws his eyes — and mine as well.
“Apparently, you're not the only one who's good at something…” Alice says in a sarcastic pitch, tossing her blond hair over her shoulders. “Look at Scarlett, she's so good at seducing men, even the famous playboy is bewitched by her.”
I turn away from Jasper, who was still holding his arm protectively over me. Now I'm looking directly at Alice, with crossed arms and a firm posture.
“Is that all you have to say, Alice? Offend me with these empty words after trying to seriously hurt me?” My voice is steady, which surprises her, since I have always kept quiet, putting up with her bullying without ever fighting back.
“Hah, stop being dramatic!” Alice scorns with a giggle that brings out my anger, “You act all meek, but this is all an act! We can all see behind your nerd mask, Scarlett. I'm sure you're glad that this has worked so well with your plan to seduce Jasper. Because that's what you are, Scarlett... A slut!”
I keep my sharp gaze on Alice, “I didn't plan to seduce anyone.”
“And yet, it all worked out so well…” Alice hums, “Hah, Jasper… you're so innocent! She tried to seduce Bryan yesterday, you were just the consolation prize.”
My expression closes, not sure if I like Alice's tone or the things she's implying.
“That's none of your business, Alice.” Jasper says, and the way her name escaped so naturally from his lips makes me even more upset.
“You seem to be serious about it, but she's not your type.” Alice insists with a wicked, slightly annoyed smile. “Are you expanding the menu? Did you get sick of trying the same thing?”
“Like I said, that's none of your business.” Jasper repeats in the same tone, but I see that he's annoyed too, somehow.
My chest narrows, and I crunch my lips, noticing that, suddenly, Alice has forgotten about my presence and Lily's. This shouldn't cause me any conflicting feelings. Still, I feel my heart hammering painfully.
“Well, it doesn't matter, you'll get tired of that one pretty easily… we both know that… And when that happens, I'll welcome you quite warmly, whenever you want.” Alice smiles at Jasper, as if there's sunshine on her lips.
My stomach twists and squirms as I watch her turn her back with her friends and quickly disappear down the hallway.
When I see Jasper's eyes on me, I take a deep breath.
I didn't realize the air was stuck in my longs.
“Are you okay?” Jasper asks me, even though, just now, he personally made sure that there's nothing wrong… except for this screaming discomfort in my chest, this sudden and annoying hurt in knowing that there's something between him and Alice… Something that's quite obvious, but, for some reason, I don't want to admit or even think that it might be true.
“Yes… Thank you for saving me.” I say with plain dismay, shifting my eyes to the floor, suddenly uncomfortable for facing him so bluntly.
Jasper smiles brightly and makes me melt, even though my whole mind is trying to keep us apart. But just like last night, I'm completely unable to follow through with reason, and I feel my conviction to hate him — or at least, try to hate him, — waver for a moment.
“Well… there's still a little time before the next class…” Jasper breaks my thoughts with his soft-low voice, looking at the clock on his wrist so intently that it makes me feel a little jealous of it.
What the heck am I thinking?
Then Jasper completes, passing his eyes from Lily quickly and landing them on me, “What do you say we get something to eat?”
“Yeah, sure-” Lyly starts…
“No.” I answer at the same time as Lily. My negative ends up coming out faster than a bullet, and probably had the impact of one because Jasper grimaces.
“Why not?” Lily crosses her arms, looking at me serious. “Scarlett, he saved you! How can you be so heartless? Come on, we need to buy him a meal to thank him.”
I crunched my lips, “I don't think paying for a meal is enough to thank him for saving me.”
“I'm fine with a meal as payment.” He's also quick, and his tone even seems amused… Which makes me squint my eyes until I close them again and sigh, defeated.
I guess a meal as a thank you won't be all bad…. “Ok, fine.”
“Great! I know an amazing restaurant here, just outside of campus… you'll love it!” Lily entwines her arm in mine and starts walking, pulling me along discreetly as she walks side by side with Jasper.
All the way to the restaurant, which really is incredibly close, I try not to notice how Lily seems simply more talkative next to Jasper, and how that slightly bothers me, just like a small stone inside my shoe. The problem is that this stone seems much bigger, and it's not poking my feet, but my damn chest.
“So, Jasper… Where did you study before moving to here?” Lily asks, and I sharpen my ears to listen for the answer that's soon to come:
“West College.” Jasper says with a smile, then lays his eyes on me. I find his smile rising a little more as he notices that I'm paying attention to his words.
I clear my throat and look away, pretending not to care about any of this. But… West College? Why did Jasper move into my class, on the other side of town, one day after our… casual night? I can’t stop thinking about it.
Finally, we stopped in front of the small, discreet red brick building, and quickly entered there.
“What do you guys want to eat?” Lily asks as we sit down at an inconspicuous round table next to a big window that allows the sunlight to come in and warm my skin slightly.
Lily is precisely next to me, while Jasper sits across from me. I look at the menu dismissively and order the first thing I see, not paying much attention to my surroundings, only hearing Jasper say with his overly soft tone, “I'll have the same as Scarlett…”
Lily gets up with a promise to go buy the food, leaving us alone in complete silence.
I strain to keep my eyes on the window, trying to ignore Jasper's presence with all my might… However, this effort is in vain because, in the next moment, his voice seems to hum in my ears — and a warmth runs through my skin, just like the night before, when I was naked in his arms.
“Why are you being so cold to me? I was hoping you would be as enthusiastic as you were last night, when you were on top of me… my Reddy.”
I look around in a startle, fearing that someone has heard the explicit and loud — really loud — words Jasper used to refer to last night. I'm so frightened that my heart is beating frantically in my chest, threatening to rip it open and jump out. “H- Hey, shut up!” I grit my teeth, pointing my finger in his direction. “Aren't you ashamed to say… those things?” “Those things were truths, and you did all of them…. I must say, you did them so well that it's etched in my mind.” “Then make an effort to forget them.” I'm harsh, and I know my tone has caused him a certain amount of displeasure, but I don't care. All I want, what I really hope for the most, is to forget what happened yesterday… Forget seeing Bryan with Alice, and the fact that I lost my virginity with a complete stranger. At least, I wish it was really just a stranger, instead of the new student who just transferred into my class. Argh! How unlucky can one person be? “Forget?” He laughs low and leans toward me, causing
For a moment, I thought it was all just an illusion…. After all, it's impossible for humans to growl. Not like that, not with that intensity, as if there were a beast living beneath this skin and muscle, behind that angry countenance and those eyes that glow dangerously.There's no way that this is real…Yeah, there's no way any of it could be real.Yet… Bryan's fingers loosened their grip, and I was able to disentangle myself naturally as I fell back in my chair. And the expression on his face… Bryan is pale, so pale that he looks like a blizzard from a harsh winter day. His eyes are bulging, widened as if he doubts what he saw through it… as if he doubts his sanity as I do.Jasper's looks at me, and that's enough to wake me up… I finally got up from the chair, feeling a little more strength in my legs, and saw that, to my dismay, my movement had also awakened Bryan from his freeze. I’m attempting to leave, but Bryan reaches out to touch my arm again, but he stops midway, a few inche
Girlfriend? I feel my heart skip a beat and then flutter strongly against my chest. A strange feeling of happiness takes over me, and for a moment my lips open, tempted to accept his proposal, even if it's so sudden. But no words dare come out because I swallow them all. Jasper is what any girl would dream of. Tall, muscular, and incredibly handsome. Not only that, his kisses, his touch, his… Well, everything is absurdly perfect. Nothing's lacking, except for his flirty demeanor, which occasionally causes my annoyance to rise. Anyway, he knows how to make a girl blush and melt a heart. But… He's a constant reminder of Bryan's betrayal. A constant reminder of my broken heart. It has been only one day since my months-long relationship was shattered before my eyes. I'm not ready to start a new one, especially with someone I know nothing but the name. Besides… Alice's words are still hammering in my mind. I'm sick of dealing with playboys. That's why, even though my heart aches inexpl
ㅤ— JASPER ROOSEVELT (POV)ㅤWhen my father said that I should go to the Human Word to look for my mate, I confess that I couldn't hold my laugh. The idea seemed ridiculous. I honestly didn't worry about it, since I couldn't imagine the impact that my mate would have on my life… or the consequences of missing her. The effects didn't seem to be a problem until I started feeling them.During my wolf-shape, I noticed some instabilities that, gradually, were also affecting my human form. Small outbursts of anger and lack of control were something that was never really my character. I found out that if a wolf takes too long to find their mate, they will lose control. And to my bad luck, I haven't found mine in eighteen years.Since a wolf who can go crazy at any moment isn't suitable to be the heir to the pack, my father suggested this, which at first, I thought was absurd.But now… I'm really grateful that I listened to him.Especially when Scarlett looks so grumpy looking at her phone. E
My heart is about to fail, I know it. I know because, as I'm turning on my heels and walking quickly down the hallway, I have to swallow the crying and the words that I wish I could shout to the world. I had to swallow the hurt, the disappointment, and this jealousy that's eating me up inside…. A jealousy that shouldn't be here, shouldn't be… I shouldn't feel this, none of this! “Scarlett!” I hear Jasper call my name. Heavens, I'm already able to recognize his voice and each of his sounds even from a distance! But I don't dare look back or stop my quick steps… I don't dare because I know that, even as I swallow all of this, the tears are still threatening to rise to my eyes. I don't have anything to do with this. It doesn't matter if Jasper is with Alice, or with any other girl. It shouldn't matter… Then why am I running away like this? Why am I so, so sad? “Wait!” Suddenly, my wrist is held, and I feel my body freeze in place. I wish I had the strength to disengage myself fro
My lips twitch and for a moment I think about answering that yes, I'll watch this damn Basketball Competition, after all, it's a big event. But then… I remember that they're competing for Alice. I remember Jasper kissing her… And just like that, my courage just shatters.“No, I won't.” I reply quickly, turning my back on her. But I can feel Lily's eyes burning into my skin.“What?” Lily sighs deeply, “Scarlett, you know how important this event is, don't you?”Of course, I do, but…“Are you really not going to watch them? Bryan and Jasper are fighting over you in this competition, you know? Don't be heartless.” Lily says with a sly tone.“Stop saying things like that, Lily. This isn't about me.” I snort, feeling a chill in my stomach because again, the scene I saw between Alice and Jasper returns to my mind, bothering even in my dreams. It's funny how this made me more upset than when I saw Bryan with her at the club.“If it's not about you, who else?” She moves closer to me, placing
Jasper's girlfriend?I can't help but let out a small incredulous laugh because I'm certainly hearing things. Did she say she's Jasper's girlfriend?Maybe my reaction didn't please her because I see her expression shuts even more, with her eyebrows frowning and an angry look taking over her eyes that, now I see, are blue.“Did I say something funny?” She asks snidely, clearly impatient.No, it's not funny… yet I'm about to laugh.It's not funny, not in the least. After all, there's no way it's funny that he asked me to be his girlfriend when he already has one.And Amber? What's his deal with names inspired by colors?Honestly, I don't know if I want to laugh or cry, or just explode, overflowing this anger and conflicting feelings. I don't know how to feel, how to order these thoughts. I'm at a complete loss for words.“Girlfriend?” Lily's voice sounds equally harsh, and I feel like I can finally breathe, thanks to her words.I cast a brief glance at my friend's face, and notice that
I open my lips to answer him, but no sound comes out, although my eyes probably speak for me. And to my relief, the bell rings loudly, rousing everyone from this delight. Jasper points with his head towards the Sport Hall, and puts his hands in the pockets of his baggy pants, while encouraging me to follow him with short steps. I just follow, my eyes locked on the floor, as my feet practically drag. Everyone is heading for the entrance, but just as we reach Lily and Amber, who are staring at each other with not the least bit of a friendly expression, Jasper stops. I stop next to Lily, still at a loss for words. “So… are you going to watch my competition with Bryan?” Jasper's voice is soft, and draws my fearful eyes, which hover over his face again. “Yes, of course we will!” Lily steps forward, with a huge smile on her face. “I hope you'll scream my name very loud…. So, I can hear you cheering for me.” He says with his suggestive tone, his eyes locked on mine — and I can't help b