This is my first fic! I've been reading for a very long time and wanted to take a shot at writing, so here it is! I hope if anyone comes across this y'all like it, and just a quick reminder this will be a Jasper and Bella pairing fic.

Here goes nothing!

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Chapter One

Surprise!

Bella:

I looked around, taking note of the unusually empty corner tables. The bar was usually much busier, even on a Thursday night, but I guess everyone just had people to see and places to be. It didn't bother me much, as only the tables on the very fringe remained empty, saving me from the torture of a slow night, and I still saw plenty of my favorite regulars waving at me from their seats. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Isaac motioning for me to come over, so I quickly wove through the crowd to reach the bar. I arrived to Isaac finishing up what looked like a Jack and Coke, and I placed my hands on the worn walnut bartop, waiting for whatever message he needed to convey. His bright green eyes shot me a playful look at the same time his mouth turned up into a telltale half-smirk, and his head bobbed to the left towards a group of five blonde girls with 'Delta Delta Delta!' plastered on the front of their very, very tight neon shirts. Three of them had their mouths glued to their companion's ears, but the two in the very front had their eyes dead set on Isaac, meanwhile, he continued looking dutifully oblivious while pouring out a generous shot of patron for a gentleman seated across the bar to his right. However, the girls were not deterred, and one of the girls in the front with blue eyeshadow that matched the blinding hue of her v-neck decided to take a more… direct approach, leaning against the bar with her hands on her cheeks, using the mass of her arms to make the deep cut of her shirt reveal far more than it was designed to. I mean, I had to admire her tenacity: It takes guts to be that bold before Isaac lays any shots on the counter. They all started waving, perfectly in synch, as if they had a hive mind connecting them, and honestly, it was rather creepy. Maybe it's the loner ingrained in me, but sorority girls seem like a completely separate species. How can someone be so peppy? Most of them are pretty nice though, so that's something. I roughly snapped out of my train of thought as I heard a familiar deep voice yell my name.

A caramel hand waved in front of my eyes, "Hey Isa! I could really use your help hot stuff." Isaac said, gesturing towards the pack of blondes.

"Sorry Ike, I was distracted by your group of adoring fans. As much as I understand the hesitance, you do know those Girls Gone Wild extras are in fact paying customers, right?"

As I rounded the corner of the bar to stand beside him, he laughed, "Oh shut up, it's not my fault I'm such a babe, I can't help it, it just seeps out of my pores." I rolled my eyes and began walking towards the waving neon pack, quickly committing their faces to memory. That was one of my best survival techniques, I never forget a face, and I make a point of analyzing everyone I come into contact with.

Upon closer inspection, the girl with the neon blue shirt and matching eye shadow seemed to be the leader. Her big, round eyes were a startling baby blue, framed by an impressive set of lashes that seemed to give her an air of innocence. I knew from experience that impression could be way off, but something about her ashy blonde hair pulled into high pigtails and her open body language told me this was probably not one of those times. However, her mascara seemed smudged around the edges of her eyes and the other girls of the group seemed to be forming a protective barrier around her. Interesting. A girl with almond-shaped brown eyes to her left placed her arm on Blue Girl's arm and combed her own dishwater blonde hair off of her neon green 'Delta!' shirt, clearly trying to put the 'goods' on display. Internally I sighed, some girls really need to remember their tan lines, because that shirt hit a touch too low and showed the contrast of her browned collarbones with the pale flesh of her upper breast. Her upturned nose was turned towards the three girls in the back, still deep in a whispered conversation. Their identical hot pink shirts and bleach blonde hair made it difficult to discern their individual features, but the differences in their face shape were good enough for me.

Once I reached their side of the bar, realization seemed to set in that they weren't getting the hot raven-haired bartender, but instead his sidekick, and they all looked rather disappointed. I clapped my hands to get their attention, "Alright ladies, what're you drinking?"

The girl in the blue spoke up, "Can I have like, a cosmo? Is that like, okay?"

I glanced around at her companions, who were shooting her looks of pity behind her back. The girl in green chimed in, "Of course a cosmo is totally okay Ashley! But we are here to like, cheer you up! So let's like, do some shots instead!"

Ashley turned to the girl in the green and steeled her features in determination. "Emma, you're right! Brittany, Carly, Rachel," she looked towards the girls clad in neon pink, "we are gonna like, kick me out of this funk tonight! I can do so much better than Brad anyway!" She finished with a pageant worthy smile and was met with the enthusiastic cheers of her group.

I laughed. "Who needs men anyway ladies, I say you kick em all to the curb! One Fireball each then?" They all nodded enthusiastically and passed the order along to a very grumpy Ike, who had clearly wanted me to take care of them from start to finish. Tough luck, I have work to do. I looked out across the seating area and busied myself picking up the slack from the other waiters. I grabbed and made drinks, delivered food, and saw to the bills until I realized Farah was not at the host's table as usual and a line was beginning to form. I switched gears and sat a couple groups until I heard a familiar exhale behind me.

I heard a smoky voice say, "God Iz, you're a lifesaver. Without you here picking up the slack this fine establishment would surely burn to the ground."

I looked up at Farah's tall frame and saw her full lips were brushed with a red lipstick that contrasted perfectly with her skin. "You know Larry's is like home to me Farah, you don't need to thank me at all," I replied, cursing myself for the display of vulnerability. Her warm brown eyes softened.

"I know Iz, but seriously, you are one of the best waitresses I ever hired. It was a risk hiring you, but I could see the kindness in your heart then as clearly as I can see it now." She placed her hands on the curve of her hips.

I coughed and grew uncomfortable. Even though Farah was probably the person who knew me best, that really wasn't saying much. It was better for everyone if I kept to myself, and we were very rapidly approaching a level of conversation that would make that impossible. "Whatever you say, Farah. I'm going to go help Stephanie, table four needs more waters."

Farah sighed. "Alright Iz, but just so you know, I might need your wonderful assistance in hiding a body tonight."

I laughed, Farah was gorgeous, with a tall curvy frame, and legs that went on for days, so naturally, she often received some comments. "Unwanted suitors again?"

She let out a dramatic sigh, "Yes. I may not get as many as you, but since I've started wearing my natural hair again I've gotten more 'exotic' comments. I swear to god if another middle-aged white man asks me to be his Nubian princess I'm going to jail."

I snorted, "Like I would let that happen. I'd set you up so you could go on the run, I've got connections."

I meant it as a joke but Farah looked thoughtful. "I bet you do Iz... I bet you do," she murmured. I realized I had said too much, even if it was a joke, and let out a forced laugh as I waved and went back to help out. I was right, Stephanie had needed waters, and I went to the kitchen to grab them. As I exited the kitchen, I carried the tray of eight waters towards a grateful looking Stephanie. Then all the warmth went out of the room.

My world narrowed to a pinprick. My heart began hammering in my chest and my thoughts were going a mile a minute. It was like someone sucked the air out of my lungs, and I was left gasping for breath. This wasn't my usual panic attack, and that only caused me to panic more. I didn't have any idea what could cause such a reaction except… No. I felt like I had just been doused in ice water as I scanned the restaurant. I tried to stop my mind from jumping to that conclusion but when I looked up I saw a group of three individuals with skin so pale it was almost glowing ethereally by the door. Farah smiled at them and grabbed them each a menu, and the hairs on my neck stood up. My brain completely shut down, and belatedly, I noticed they were all wearing sunglasses. My brain was clouded by shock but my instincts told me all I needed to know: those were vampires. They were here, in my bar, probably to kill me.

The room was spinning so fast I momentarily lost my grip of the tray, causing all the water glasses to shatter on the floor, and all the attention in the room to land on me. I couldn't hear anything, I could feel Stephanie cleaning the mess up at my feet and I could kind of see it in my periphery, but mostly my eyes were trained on the vampires at the door. Excellent, they all were looking dead at me. My brain finally kicked into gear and I ran. I just sprinted out of the back door at the end of the hall, my critical thinking being pushed away by mind-numbing fear. How the fuck did they find me? My legs kept moving as I frantically put thoughts of Ike and Farah being torn apart piece by piece by a blur of red hair out of my mind, but I couldn't. This was all my fault. I was gasping for air when I finally reached it. It was my "special spot". At the end of this alley, nearly three blocks away from the bar, there was a picnic table. My strength was wavering, so I sat down on the weathered picnic bench and stared up at the moon above me. I could smell the dew on the grass and the blooming lavender I planted last year and thought to myself that honestly, this wouldn't be the worst place to die. I heard one set of footsteps on the gravel behind me and I prayed to some divine entity that after I died, everyone would still be alright.

I held my head in my hands and sighed out, "Do you think in exchange for the years of simmering torture you could make it quick? You can desecrate my corpse all you want, just snap my neck or something first."

I heard a howl of laughter. I still hadn't turned to face the vampire in the alley behind me, but I could hear it gasping for unneeded breath. In response, I just muttered, "I guess that's a wash."

The vampire laughed harder briefly, before apparently realizing the gravity of the situation and composing himself. "That's quite a mouth you've got on ya Little Bird. Bravest shit I've heard in a long time, that's for sure. You definitely gave old Petey a good laugh, but rest assured, I ain't gone do nothin' to hurt ya."

I laughed, but it sounded forced. "So what are you going to do, leave me alone? See, I know you're not about to do that, seeing as it's against the Big Bad Vamp code, so are you and your sidekicks just gonna keep me around for shits and giggles until I get boring and my fragile body is all worn out, or just kill me?"

I turned around just in time to watch his handsome face go from smiling to concerned and vaguely offended. He sat there for a minute, giving me a once over, and I admired his features. He had sandy blonde hair and a slim build, and was, like all vamps, ridiculously handsome, but that wasn't what my eyes latched on to. They were stuck on his red eyes, a color so deep and so vibrant it almost looked backlit in the moonlight. His handsome features were obscured by the deep frown that marred his face, so I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow to indicate that I would in fact, like more of a response. Is there a gene in the venom that makes vamps allergic to giving humans literally any information? All my experience said yes.

"Well Sugar Plum, I don't reckon I know, but lemme tell ya a couple of things. First, I ain't got sidekicks. All I got is my brother and my lovely wife, so get that straight before Petey has to deal with some very pissed off companions, particularly the missus. Second, unless you're secretly a criminal or a druggie, you're not on the menu, and I ain't no sadist so don't mention whatever your idea of 'play' is again. My knower is tellin' me to keep ya close and protect ya, so that's the plan right now. Are ya doin' alright? Are ya fine if I call on over the family?"

I kept quiet about the criminal part for now and replied, "I'm just peachy. Nothing gets me in a good mood like being held hostage by a stranger and his friends that could kill me at any second," He just laughed and shrugged. "To be fair though, given my history this could've gone a lot worse, so I guess I should be at least a little bit grateful you aren't gonna torture me and leave me for dead."

His features relaxed back into an easy smirk, and he laughed. "That's a pretty low bar, but you know what? I'll take it. For the record, you seem like your goin' to be pretty good company, especially if ya keep saying sweet things like that."

I reluctantly smiled at him and leaned back against the table. Petey, or whatever his name is, didn't seem half bad as far as vampire captors go. Although, I probably should wait to say that until after I meet his vampire "family", seeing as I've kind of had some rotten luck with those in the past. I was pulled from my thoughts as I saw two shadows approaching from the mouth of the alley.

"Thank y'all for using human speed, Little Bird here seems a little skittish," Petey said, nodding towards the figures.

A melodic high pitched voice chides, "Peter I thought we said no nicknames. Ya know ya can't get attached. What if we have to get rid of her?"

Peter cast a glare towards the silhouette. "Damn it, Char, I said she's skittish. No jokes, I mean it, Little Bird has clearly been through some rough shit. Don't worry sweet thing, Char is just jokin' I promise."

As they neared the garden, a familiar deep voice chuckled "Look at you Pete, gettin' all protective. She's a human, and you've known her for five seconds."

As they rounded the final corner and stepped out of the shadows into the moonlight, the melodic voice that apparently belonged to Char softly said, "Sugar Plum, please excuse my manners, I didn't mean to frighten you. And please excuse my husband, he seems to have skipped right past the introductions and into the pet names. What's your name?"

As their features finally came into view, my eyes widened to the size of saucers before I briefly schooled my features back to indifference.

"Her name is Bella."