I don't know what happened at the end of this chapter, but I liked it so I kept it. Enjoy :P

Chapter 4

"There, I hunted. Are we done?" Bella asked, throwing the body of the druggie she'd just drained into the dumpster Pete opened.

He lit a match and threw it in, before he nodded. "We're done. You're welcome to go sit back in your tree and I'll come find you in two weeks to take you hunting."

She glared at him. "You said you'd leave me alone!"

"Nope, I said I'd follow you and make sure you're taking care of yourself."

"Christ, you're more annoying than an overprotective brother."

"I'm your sire, B. I have a sense of responsibility for you, and it wouldn't sit right for me to just let you waste away in a tree. Come back to the house with me. Char has some clothes for you, and you can take a shower and get the leaves outta your hair."

Bella laughed despite herself. "Jasper better keep his asshole tendencies under lock and key, Pete. I'm not in the mood for his PMS."

"Message received."

He led her to the house at a human jog. The streets were empty, but it wouldn't do to take the chance that they would be seen. As soon as they hit the fields, the two ran at top speed, arriving back at the house within half an hour.

"Bella," Charlotte murmured, sounding oddly relieved.

"You were right, Char. She was sitting in a tree," Pete said as he wrapped his arms around his woman.

"Are you alright, Sugar?" She asked, her eyes taking Bella in carefully.

Bella nodded, shuffling her foot awkwardly against the floor.

"Come on, I've got you some clothes and other bits in the guest room. I'm sure you'll feel better after showering and changing."

Bella nodded again, following behind her as she was led up the stairs. Charlotte showed her to a decent sized bedroom and pointed out the ensuite, telling Bella to take her time and come down when she was ready.

After taking her time in the shower, Bella dressed quickly in jeans and a black tank top, pulling a soft cotton jumper on over the top. She slipped her feet into a pair of black uggs and sat down on the bed.

She didn't know what to do. She knew she could leave again, perhaps go further afield, but what was the point? In the end, they would likely find her, and it would just keep repeating until they got bored of chasing her. After that, she'd be able to sit in a tree, or a cave, or… somewhere in solitude and wait for eternity to finally end.

But was that what she actually wanted?

Was it worth sticking around? Was it worth the risk of being hurt again?

She didn't know.

Knowing that she'd never make the decision sitting alone in the guest bedroom, Bella got up and left the room, edging silently down the stairs. She could hear Peter and Charlotte talking softly on the patio and made her way out to them.

"Hey, Sugar," Charlotte greeted with a smile. "You look better."

"I feel it, thank you," Bella replied quietly. She sat down on the steps, turning to the side so she could look at them.

"So, are you gonna stick around for a while, B?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. We'll see."

"Um… Bella? Can I talk to you, please?"

Jasper was standing in the doorway, watching her cautiously.

"Sure. Talk."

"Alone?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to talk to me alone?" she clarified.

"It's fine, we'll leave you two to it," Pete said before Jasper could reply. "Please don't leave, B."

She nodded briefly to Pete, looking out over the acres of land as Jasper sat down beside her.

"I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you," he whispered. "I was out of order."

"Okay."

His brow furrowed. "That's it?"

"What else am I supposed to say? You admitted you were in the wrong, I accept your apology."

He was silent for a moment before he chuckled. When she glanced at him curiously, he explained.

"You need to understand, I spent over sixty years as Alice's husband. Not once in those sixty years did she ever accept an apology that easily."

Bella snorted. "I'm not Alice. I never will be Alice. If she's what you're looking for in a mate, you've clearly got the wrong girl."

"I know you're not her, Bella. I'm thankful you're not her. How do you feel about me being your mate?"

"You sound like a second rate therapist."

He laughed. "I've majored in psychology a few times."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

"Well, at the risk of sounding like a second rate therapist, how are you feeling about being my mate?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really understand what a mate is or what the bond is that Peter was talking about."

"Do you remember telling me about Paul imprinting?"

She nodded.

"It's more or less the same thing. Peter is of the opinion that I didn't make the connection while we were in Forks because I had my inner vamp on such a tight leash. Now that I've… allowed the monster some breathing room so to speak, the bond formed the way it would normally. Of course, you wanted nothing to do with me then."

"Okay. I guess that means I have to stick around then, huh?"

He smiled. "It'd be good if you could but… I don't want to make you unhappy, Bella. If you can't find happiness here, then I wouldn't want you to stay for my sake."

She shook her head, her hair falling in her face. Pushing it away impatiently, she grumbled, "I care about you. I tried not too but it's not fucking working. I want you to be happy, and... "

"And…" he prompted.

"And I want you to be near me."

He raised a hand to caress her cheek gently. "I want you by my side too, sweetheart."

She leant into his touch before she could stop herself. He moved slightly, tilting her chin up, leaning forward. She was sure he was about to kiss her, when Peter cleared his throat awkwardly from the doorway.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but there's someone on the phone for you, Jazz."

Jasper sighed, but held his hand out for the phone.

"Hello?"

"Jasper?"

Bella froze when she heard the voice on the other end of the line.

"What do you want Alice?"

"I was searching for your future and it disappeared suddenly. I was worried."

He could practically hear the pout in her voice, and he rolled his eyes. "Why would you be searching for my future?"

"We're all moving home. I thought, well, I hoped you'd be coming too."

"Thanks, but no thanks," he snorted. "I'm just fine where I am."

"But… I thought you'd be coming. It won't be the same without you here."

"That's probably a good thing. I've found my mate, Alice. I'm not coming back to the Cullen's."

"That's fantastic news, Jazzy! We should come and see you before we head home! You're with Peter and Charlotte right?"

"That's not a good idea, Alice."

"What? Your mate is jealous because we were married? Tell her there's nothing to worry about, Jazzy, Edward and I are perfectly happy and in love. I pose no threat to her. Oh, please let us come, Jazz, please?"

"Alice -"

"Oh, pish, we're coming anyway. I'm sure your mate will love us, Jazz."

Before he could refute that, she put the phone down, leaving him with silence. He glanced at Bella, who was sitting a little away from him on the steps, leaning against Peter, who had a comforting arm around her.

"I'm going to have a bonfire," Bella muttered, glaring into the distance. She looked up at Peter. "See what you did by bringing me back here? You just killed two vampires."

Peter laughed. "You wanna burn em up, B, we'll help ya. I got no problem."

Bella looked at Jasper, who was watching her cautiously. Her gaze softened slightly at the guilty look on his face.

"I don't blame you. I know Alice does what Alice wants to do. Just… don't ask me to be nice to them, Jasper."

"I wouldn't ever dream of it," he assured her, his lips tilting up. "And… if you really want them dead… I won't help, but I won't try and convince you otherwise."

Bella sighed. "I won't kill em. I might not leave them whole, but I won't kill em."

Bella walked around the property, sticking to the boundary lines. She was itching to run, but knew it wasn't fair on the others. The impending doom of Alice and Edward's arrival was weighing heavily on her, especially since she knew now that the two would be here within a few hours.

Rather than call again, Alice had texted Jasper when they got near. She hadn't answered every time Jasper tried to call to convince her not to come.

"Bella? Bella!"

She turned to see a frantic Jasper running towards her. He swept her into his arms in a crushing hug that would have cracked a few bones had she still been human.

"What's wrong?" she asked, stroking his back.

"I thought you'd left," he replied, his face buried in her neck. "I thought you'd run."

"I told Peter I was going for a walk," she replied quietly. "I made sure to stay in the boundary lines so nobody would worry."

He sighed into her hair. "I'm sorry for freaking out," he murmured. "I just… with Alice and Edward… I guess I'm a little tense."

Bella snorted. "You've been coiled tighter than a fucking spring since she called you, Jasper. Do you miss her?"

"What?" He looked at her a little wide eyed. "No, of course not. I just… I'm worried about you seeing Edward, okay? He was your first love, he's stronger than I ever was -"

"Bullshit," she interrupted. "Edward may have been my first love, but he is not and has never been stronger than you. He's a whiny child who never had the chance to grow up. He lives in a dream world where only his opinion counts. You can't compare yourself to him, because there is no comparison, Jasper. You're the better man without even trying."

"Bella…" He trailed off, pulling away from her so he could look at her. Without another word, he pressed his lips to hers, his hand moving up rest in her hair as the other moved down to rest on her ass.

She kissed him back immediately, sucking his lower lip into her mouth before biting lightly. When he moaned, she smirked against his lips before she opened them slightly to allow his tongue entrance. He pulled her closer still even as he pushed her back against a tree.

"Jay," she moaned as he trailed kisses across her jaw and down her neck, nipping at the hard skin on her collarbone.

"I've never been called Jay before," he murmured. "I like it."

She lost track of time as they kissed, but Peter's voice broke the silence around them and they parted reluctantly.

"Bella? Jasper?"

"We're over here, Pete," Jasper called, as they walked back towards the house, holding hands.

Peter looked over the two of them with a knowing smirk. "Uh, huh. Do any of my tree's need replacing?"

"What do you want, fucking cock-blocker?" Bella asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

Peter howled with laughter, shaking his head at her. "You are fantastic and I love you. The terrible twosome will be here in a few minutes. I thought you'd rather be comfortable when they get here instead of screwing against a tree."

"You thought correctly," Bella admitted. "You're forgiven. Where's Char?"

She popped her head out of the back door. "Here, Sugar, what's up?"

"Just checking you're around," Bella replied as they all sat down on the porch. "I've a feeling if anyone can talk me out of murder, it's probably going to be you."

Charlotte snorted. "For those two? I'll help you build the fire."

"Good Lord, don't tempt me."

They listened as a car pulled up the driveway, then as footsteps approached the house. Knocking sounded on the door but they ignored it. Bella was still holding a futile hope that they'd give up and go away.

"Anyone home?"

Her entire body clenched when she heard Alice's voice, and she turned her head slightly just in time to see the two of them walk around the back of the house.

"Just say the word, B, and I'll get the wood," Peter offered, not attempting to keep his voice down.

"I'll find a lighter," Charlotte offered, smirking.

Jasper sent them both a warning look before he stroked Bella's hand comfortingly. He was sitting in front of her and had yet to turn and greet the invaders.

"Are you okay, Baby?"

Bella nodded. She looked back over his shoulder to where Alice and Edward stood frozen, staring at her in shock.

"D'ya think if they stand there long enough, we'll be able to make snow men out of them in the winter?" she asked, glancing at Peter.

He snorted. "We could, then we could melt them with a blowtorch."

"If they're still at my house in the winter, they'll need to be scared of more than a blowtorch," Charlotte muttered, staring at the two with dislike.

Bella laughed, rolling her eyes at Jasper who seemed to relax at the sound.

"Bella?"

"Nope."

Edward frowned, taking a step closer. "Bella, how are you -"

"I told you nope," Bella replied with a sneer. "You don't get to talk to me. Talk to Jasper, he's who you came to visit."

"But Bella," Alice whined.

"Nope."

Peter and Charlotte chuckled.

Edward seemed to remember his manners then, and said, "Jasper, Charlotte, Peter, it's good to see the three of you."

"Nope," chimed Peter and Charlotte together, before they along with Bella fell back into laughter. Jasper shook his head at them but couldn't stop himself from chuckling.

"Now, really, this is ridiculous," Edward complained.

Jasper finally turned to look at him, tilting his head slightly. Shaking his hair out of his face, he replied, "Nope."