Author's Notes: To all of those of you waiting for updates on Hideaway and Shards of a Fairytale, they should be up this week! The reason I don't update all the time is because I update stuff as I write and I only write when inspiration hits. So I tend to jump between stories a lot. Hope you like this new.

Special thanks to my beta JenJenSon for doing this story for me!

Disclaimer: I don't own it, don't sue

Scars

Chapter 1

Jasper POV

I had been separate from my old "coven" for a year now. I had joined a few old friends instead for a while. They believed that drinking any blood, human or animal was OK, but killing humans was not and only if the human willingly donated the blood. My control was a great improvement to what it was a few years back. Now I was on my own for a while. I was thinking about heading back to the others. Then a scent caught me. I froze. I knew that scent. I knew her. That scent still haunted me. The day I had attacked Bella was the end of Alice and I. That scent was Bella.

I glanced around but didn't see her, not immediately anyway. Then I spotted her. Dancing with a group of people under the lights. I made my way closer. I probably shouldn't have done, but curiosity really did get the better of me.

I danced with a girl close to her for a moment, debating whether to talk to her. I watched her, she was dancing with another girl...very provocatively. I didn't normally like places like this, I could feel the lust pouring off of every person in the room, the nausea of those who had had one too many, I felt it all. I had learned to turn down my talent, sort of block it out a bit. I still felt everything, but not as strongly and it made being in crowds of people bearable. In fact sometimes I came to bars and clubs to test myself around humans, and my bloodlust had never once slipped up...not yet anyway. I had a few close calls when there had been fights and someone got hurt; I'd have to leave pretty quickly.

I took in the sight of Bella. She was older obviously, but physically hadn't changed much; she was drunk by the look of it, or at least mildly intoxicated. She wore a short dark skirt and a red top that although loose, revealed more than enough skin. It didn't feel as wrong as I would have thought eying up my "brother's" ex-girlfriend. I let my gaze roam over the skin of her back and down the front of her top as she danced, travelling up and down her legs. I suddenly snapped out of my daze as I caught another scent. I looked to another figure in the back on the club. He stood against the wall and his gaze was fixed on Bella. Of course it would be, it would seem she was still a danger magnet. The other vampire looked up at me in acknowledgement but then straight back to Bella not seeming to notice my anger towards him.

Of course Bella had always smelled particularly appetising to vampires but she was also dressed like vampire bait. Red lips and red top on her pale skin just screamed eat me to a vampire and this vampire definitely intended on doing so. I was right near her now and she hadn't noticed me yet. The other vampire had moved toward her now. Him she did notice. I felt for her emotions, panic, hurt, fear and anger.

"Care to dance with me?" he asked. His gaze fixing hers. He was dazzling her. I was just about to snatch her arm and pull her away when her mouth opened.

"No thank you." She said through gritted teeth. I felt the other vampire's shock that his glamour had not worked on her.

"And why is that?" he asked. "Are you sure I cannot convince you?" He tried again, moving closer.

"I don't think you should be in here." She told him. I was now stood right behind her and it wasn't until the other vampire looked at me Bella turned to see me.

"Jasper?" she asked.

"This human is mine I intend on enjoying her myself so I think you'd best back off." I hissed at him.

"I apologise." He said smoothly. "I had no idea she had been marked. Unless of course you haven't marked her yet...then she's free game." I took Bella's hand and held it out for the vamp to see. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Not only marked but fed off of...and you still live?" he smiled cruelly. "I don't know whether you're very lucky or unlucky." He chuckled and stepped back amongst the crowd and was gone.

Bella looked at me, she was scared of me, I could feel it, but there was also relief.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." I told her, throwing her a wave of calm. "I had to make him think you were a human pet or I would have had to fight him." I felt for her feelings but couldn't catch anything for a short while, almost like she was feeling too many different things that she couldn't decide how she felt. Then I felt a huge wave of happiness and love before she threw herself against me.

"Jasper what are you doing here?" she exclaimed. That was the Bella I remembered, the Bella who loved everyone and brought light into my old family. Shame it hadn't lasted, but that had been on a large part my fault. "Let's go outside, you can tell me everything!" She seemed so excited. Maybe she thought the whole family was here.

I let her take my hand and all but drag me outside. Before she stopped and suddenly she was shy and quiet. She was almost exactly the same girl she had been in Folks nearly three years ago.

"Tell me everything Jasper, where did you all go? What have you been doing? How is Alice? And Esme and Carlisle?" she asked excitedly. Then I felt a huge wave of grief hit me like a brick wall in the face. Even with my talents trying to block out the feeling it had nearly sent me to my knees. "Is he here?" she asked quietly.

"No, I'm here alone." I told her.

"I don't understand..." she said quietly.

"None of our family seemed to take leaving Folks very well." I told her. "We all had different opinions on the way Edward handled things. And what I did...I'm really sorry about that by the way."

"I never blamed you Jasper." She whispered. She looked up at me. "I've replayed it in my head over and over and I've never once blamed you. I cut myself and he was the one who pushed me."

"Trying to protect you from me." I said.

"Jasper tell me...you feel everything that the others feel, yes?" she asked, looking up at me.

"Of course." I replied.

"I saw everyone's faces when I cut myself. Everyone except Carlisle was fighting not to do the very thing you did. You felt that Jasper. If I could see that you most definitely felt that. You were never weaker than they were Jasper." She told me. "Have you slipped up since you've been on your own?"

"No." I said, understanding what it was she was pointing out. Carlisle had tried to point out the very same thing but at the time I had felt too guilty to listen.

"You're stronger than them Jasper. Not just twice as strong but like six times as strong." She said firmly.

I felt a huge weight lifting off of my shoulders. This was the girl I had wronged and she had never even blamed me in the first place.

Bella POV

It was strange being the one to comfort Jasper. It was strange seeing Jasper at all. I was desperately holding my control together to keep from falling apart at the thought of him. I knew Jasper would feel it the moment I gave in so I focused very hard on not even thinking about him.

"Everyone else is fine." He said after a moment of silence. "We all went to Alaska for a while. Edward left nearly the moment we got there." I felt pain the moment his name left his lips but he quickly continued. "Emmett and Rose left a few months later for another honeymoon. They returned a year later. Then I left. I still speak to them from time to time. They're all fine."

"Where did you go? Didn't Alice come with you?" I asked, as we started walking to a bench on the other side of the street.

"No, Alice and I broke up, we had separate paths to follow. I went to join some old friends for a while and then came here by myself. I was actually thinking about where to go next when I spotted you." He finished.

"But I thought Alice said you were each other's destiny." I asked.

"Well...sort of. She just appeared one day. She said I would love her and she would love me. So we did. She told me we would go join Carlisle and his family and we did. I guess she was right I did love her. I do love her still. But she never said we were forever and we weren't. Who knows what the future will bring?"

"I guess you're right. I never thought I'd see you again." I smiled. "I always hoped you would all come back. I mean a lot happened after you left...I just thought Alice would see it but she didn't. No one came. One day I just gave up waiting and left Folks."

"What should she have seen?" he asked. Thoughts of my last memories of Folks filled my head and my control was gone. I could remember the pain of James breaking my leg like it was yesterday but still the pain in my heart was worse, the venom was excruciating but I would take it gladly, I could have died in the water at La Push and been grateful...anything but that...

Jasper POV

The pain I had felt when she thought about Edward was bad, this was insane. It was crippling. She was clutching at her chest as if to stop it ripping open. She could barely breathe. How long had she been holding this kind of pain in? How long had it been pushed to the back of her mind? Most importantly what the hell had happened?

Surely something that caused this...Alice must have seen it...how could she have not seen it?

I pulled Bella against me and held her while she broke down. Although her pain was affecting me so much I was probably clinging to her also. I didn't know humans could feel this much pain. They were such fragile creatures surely it would kill them to feel like this... Maybe it did for some.

I don't know how much time passed, time doesn't mean much to vampires, but Bella started shivering. It was late now or early, I wasn't sure. It would be getting colder in the next few hours and then it would only be a few more hours before I had to leave her anyway it was supposed to be sunny tomorrow. I stood up, taking her with me. I didn't ask, I just did, and I carried her.

"Where do you live?" I asked her. She didn't reply. She just continued to cry like the world was falling around her. "Alright then, mine it is." I said more to myself than to her. I hadn't figured out how to get there yet, I would have to disentangle her from me to put her in the car.

When we got to the car I put her in the seat and belted her in before tugging at the parts of my shirt she had balled up in her fists. It was both worrying and endearing that she had suddenly become so reluctant to let me go.

"I'm not going anywhere, we're just heading to mine." I told her. "You can get cleaned up and get a good night of sleep and we can talk about it in the morning."

I saw her nod. She wasn't in hysterics anymore. She just sobbed quietly looking out of the car window. She didn't even comment on the speed we were going. The houses started to get fewer and farther between and then I pulled off the main roads towards my house. I got out and helped Bella out also. She took my hand and looked up at me suddenly going red and let off little waves of embarrassment.

"Thanks, Jasper." She said. "You didn't have to help me, or bring me here."

"Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I left a little lady out all by herself at night?" I said, letting my southern accent fill my voice. "Come on, let's get you inside."

Bella POV

The house was simple and tidy inside, there wasn't much in the way of personal belongings...in fact the only sign that someone lived there was the guitar in the corner of the living room. I presumed there would be at least clothes upstairs but I wasn't sure I wanted to see his room.

"Sit down." Jasper said, breaking the silence. I stepped into the living room and sat on the couch awkwardly. What now? After the shock and excitement of seeing one of them again now what? Jasper and I were never close we'd barely spoken before they'd left for fear of him slipping up... We'd covered what had happened with the family since they left and then I burst into hysterics at him...now I just felt embarrassed and uncomfortable.

"Here." His voice came again as he handed me a warm cup of chocolate. "Let's get you warmed up you're nearly as cold as me darlin'." I smiled and mumbled a thank you as he sat down next to me.

"Sorry about that." I murmured.

"Emotions are better out than in. Trust me, I'm the expert." He smirked. I glanced nervously at those golden eyes.

"You're not going to give me the twenty questions?" I asked. I just wanted that part over with.

"No." He replied simply. I looked at him waiting for him to elaborate. "Figure if I need to know you'll tell me eventually anyhow." I just nodded, sipping at my hot drink nervously. I felt my legs stop twitching and calmness creep through me.

"No fair." I murmured.

"You need it. Why are you so nervous anyhow?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I told you I'm not askin' if you're not tellin'."

"Aren't most humans nervous when alone with a big scary vampire?" I teased. He narrowed his gaze at me threateningly.

"I'm not going to eat you Bella." He replied. He actually looked quite scary for a moment.

"That's not what you said to the other guy." I grinned. Jasper's stern face twitched before a smirk graced his handsome face.

"If you'd have rather gone home with him be my guest." He said, gesturing to the door.

"Of course not, and in my defence I was telling him to get lost." I pointed out; I leaned back into the couch and closed my eyes. Jasper's calming waves felt good, I hadn't felt so relaxed in a long time.

Find Me Here
Speak To Me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place where I find peace again.

Jasper POV

"Bella as several members of my family have pointed out, you are a danger magnet. Did you think he would just say ok and walk..." I trailed off as I noticed Bella's breathing. She was asleep. "Never mind."

I lifted her off of the couch and carried her upstairs to the bed, all the while ignoring the slight burn growing in my throat. I'd better nip out and hunt before morning...

I left her asleep on the bed while I went to hunt and contemplated what the morning would bring.

Author's Notes: Hope you like it. Review it and let me know. The lyrics at the end are from a song by Lifehouse called Everything xx