#Like no Bella Swan you could just tell your dad you're going to visit your mom and NOT TELL HIM HE'S AN AWFUL AND BORING FATHER

[whumpberry-cookie]

The trope when character A says the most hurtful cruel unhonest bull#it they do NOT mean to character B in order to protect them?

This one, officer.

Straight to jail.

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[ashcal99]

Certain Things : Leah Clearwater III

Chapter Three

"Something about you, It's like an addiction, Hit me with your best shot honey, I've got no reason to doubt you, 'Cause certain things hurt, And you're my only virtue"

Summary: Conner Swan moves to Forks Washington in hopes to help his sister Bella through her breakup with Edward. In hopes to find happiness again. He finds much more.

Warnings: Eventual smut (18+ only), mentions of death, depression, loss, antidepressants, general angst, slow burn, brief mentions of suicidal thoughts

Words: 5.1k

A/N: Comment if I missed any warning or anything plz thnx.

Soundtrack

Previous Chapter

Series Masterlist

——————

January 8th, 2006

Just under two weeks had pasted when Conner finally found the time to head out the rez and see Jacob. He had been busy the past week or so, working his new job at the diner. He had graciously excepted the waiting position offered to him, knowing that if everything went well, he may be able to move into the kitchen eventually. Friday he had gotten his first paycheck, it wasn’t much, but he was now able to pay the teen for his labor.

The small house slowly came into view as his truck rolled down the gravel road, coming to a stop next to the rusty barn that set a few hundred feet away from the house. Immediately, he spotted his sister’s old clunker of a truck, shocked to see she was here as well. He knew she had been getting out of the house more as of late, trying to appease Charlie. She had even gone out to see a movie with one of her friends just a couple days prior. Between Conner working and Bella’s winter break ending, he hadn’t seen much of the teen, but he knew for a fact that she had gone over to Jake’s the previous weekend to get her oil changed. To say he was surprised to see her here was a bit of an understatement, since he wasn’t aware that two teens really spent any time together besides the Quileutes’ visits into town to watch whatever game was on with Charlie.

Opening the truck, he plopped down to the ground, feet crunching the gravel as he stepped into the shed. “Hi…” He drifted off, looking at the two apprehensively. Looking down he saw two rusty motorbikes, Jacob working on one with a wrench while Bella sat by, keeping him engrossed in a conversation. Sending his sister a weary glance, he spoke. “What’s going on?” He asked hesitantly.

Bella sucked in a breath. “Hey, Conner.” She started, awkwardly fiddling with her fingers. “I just saved these two from the junkyard so Jake could fix them." She finished, throwing him a hesitant smile. She hoped the older sibling would handle this information well, considering the reproductions if he ever let it slip to Charlie what she was doing out here.

Conner stared at the girl incredulously. “You’re lucky I’m nice and won’t tell dad. He’d lose his shit if he found out about this.” He chastised the girl. “You know how he feels about these death traps.”

She nodded fervently. “I know, and I promise I’ll be carful. I’ll owe you big time if you keep it to yourself.” She bargained. “Besides, I’ve got a great teacher.” She said nudging the teen beside her, causing a bright blush to creep up his neck. Jacob looked down bashfully, muttering something unintelligible under his breath, continuing to tighten whatever bolt he was working on. Conner raised an eyebrow. Bella was flirting, and it kinda weirded him out. He wasn’t sure if she noticed she was doing it, but Conner quickly chose to ignore it. 

The man reached into his jacket pocket, pulling a few folded bills, and reached towards Jacob, offering him the money. “Let me know if you need more for parts or anything. Charlie’s not very good with cars, so I’m honestly not too sure how much I should be paying you.” He said, dropping the money into the teens tanned palm. 

“This should cover it. I think I know what part needs to be replaced, so I already pulled it from the junk yard, I’ll just need to see what else we might need before I head to the auto store.” He said, pocketing the money. “Let me just finish this one thing up, and I’ll take a look at it.” He finished, sending a grin to the man.

Conner stood, awkwardly teetering on his heels for a moment. ”Well, hope I'm not intruding, but I'm kinda stuck here until Jake fixes my truck, so..." he trailed off.

“Of course not Con. I feel like I’ve barely seen you lately, with you busy with work now.” Bella reassured, Conner sending her a smile in return. 

"Yo, Jake, you in there?!" An unknown voice called, both siblings starting to gather their things to leave. They didn't want to intrude on Jacob's friendships. They would just take a walk or something to pass the time.

Jake put his hand up, stopping the two siblings ”No, it's okay." He paused shooting the two a smile. "It's-It's just my boys." He informed as two unfamiliar faces joined them in the shed.

"Hey Jake." The boy with long dark hair greeted.

"Hey guys-," Jake started, turning to the two teen boys. "This is Bella and her brother Conner." He gestured towards the siblings. "Bella, Conner, that's Quill and Embry." He introduced the new faces. Conner gave a small wave to the two.

Quill sucked in a breath, "So the bike building story's true." He said expectantly, giving Jake a small smirk.

Bella smiled. ”Oh-yeah-I taught him everything he knows." She joked back, earning a snicker from her brother.

The smirk widened across Quill's face. "What about the part where you're his girlfriend?” He asked teasingly.

Awkwardness flowed through the air as Bella stuttered out. "Uh-um, we're friends, you know?" Conner to smirked to himself. He had always found it hilarious seeing his sister so easily flustered. 

Embry let out a a bark of laughter, "Hmm, burn!” He shot at Jake. 

Jake stepped up, quickly trying to ease the tension from the room, shooting back, "Actually, remember, I said she's a girl and a friend." He said desperately. 

Conner stood back and watched the interaction, an amused look adorning his features. The short haired teen's smirk widened as he saw his best friend trying to cover his ass. “Embry, do you remember him making that distinction?” He questioned.

"Nope!" The other quickly shot back, smirking as well.

Figuring he had endured enough embarrassment, Conner decided to stick up for Jake. "So, you guys have girlfriends. That's awesome." He stated enthusiastically, earning snickers from his sister and Jake. Jake's friends looked down in embarrassment, heat creeping onto their cheeks.

"Yeah, right," Jake paused letting out a deep laugh. "Quill's actually taking his cousin to prom." He stated, further embarrassing the boy.

"Yeah, that's still a riot." Giving a fake smile, Quill narrowed his eyes. "You want funny, Black? I'll give you funny." As the words left his mouth, he jumped forwards, taking Jake in a headlock.

Their playful fight earned them laughs from the rest in the room. "I've got five bucks on Quill." Embry said, gesturing towards the two boys.

Bella scoffed. ”You're on." She answered confidently.

“Well, I'm going to go see what Billy's up to-" Conner paused, looking over to the 'fight'. "Don't let them kill each other." He laughed, waving a goodbye to his sister before leaving the shed.

On his way over to the small house, Conner couldn't help but get caught up in the scenery. La push, though being a small dreary town, had always been absolutely beautiful to the man. He had always loved nature and going on hikes, and now that he was in the perfect environment for it, and he knew he would have to take advantage of the opportunity soon. 

Shaking the thoughts away, he continued his trek towards the front door. He knocked lightly on the cracked wooden panel before entering, knowing from previous experience that they left the door unlocked for Billy’s connivence. As he walked into the living room, the man came into view. "Hey Billy! How've you been?" He greeted the man.

Billy looked away from the television towards Conner. ”I've been good, and you?” He asked politely, turning he head to send him a smile. 

Conner smiled in return. “Better.” He assured. Walking to the loveseat sitting against the wall, he sat, sinking his weight into the warn cushion. “I got a waiting job at the diner in town.” He said.

Billy hummed in acknowledgment. “Yeah, Charlie told me last Sunday. He said you’re liking it so far?” He asked.

Conner nodded in agreement. “I honestly would stay doing that instead of finding a job in my field if the money justified it. I enjoy the human interaction.” He admitted. “Get’s my mind off of things.”

Billy sighed. “I know how you feel, son. It’s hard to distract yourself from the pain of loss. It’s pretty damn persistent, unfortunately.” He said solemnly. 

Conner frowned. Sometimes he forgot about the accident that had left Billy unable to walk. He knew Billy had really struggled with the loss of his wife in the beginning, and he wondered if it had ever gotten easier for the man, or if he had just gotten good at hiding it. He reached his hand to the chain around his neck, seeking comfort in the coolness of the rings in his palm. 

He looked towards the man, taking in the view of the wrinkles, thinking he that he looked much older than he was. He supposed pain did that to you. Behind his eyes, he saw that he was tired. Just tired from the consistent reminders of his loss, and he wondered if he himself looked similar. Conner thought he had learned to hide his pain fairly well over the past year, but maybe not. He didn’t want to imagine was his mind would be like without his antidepressants as it was already overwhelming enough. He sighed, shaking the thoughts from his head. Turning his attention to the football game playing on the television, he relaxed into the overly plush couch, letting his mind numb at the sound of cheers and whistles.

Halftime had just started as Jacob stepped back into view. "Sorry to interrupt. I just finished on your truck, Conner. You should have no problem keeping warm now.” He assured the man.

Conner smiled coming to a stand as he clapped a hand on the teen's back. "Thanks Jake.” He said. Bending over, a grabbed his jacket from the sofa, stretching the thick material over his biceps. Muttering a small “Goodbye.” To Billy, he made his was back outside.

He walked back to shed, pulling Bella into a light embrace, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll see you at home. Dinner will be ready at six okay? I’m making lasagna and you better be there.” He said jokingly stern.

Bella gave a small laugh. “Okay. I’ll be there. Promise.” She said.

Conner turned to the two teen boys that remained. “It was nice meeting you two.” He said giving the them a polite smile. 

——————

Back at the Swan residence, Conner finished up preparing their dinner, putting the glass baking dish in the oven. Stepping back, he started to clean the mess he had made. He was almost done drying the now clean dishes, when the doorbell rang. His forehead creased, wondering who it could be, knowing it wasn’t Billy or Jake, considering he had just seen the two. 

Rushing to see who it was, he tossed the damp dish towel over his shoulder, unlocking the door, and swinging it open. There stood a petite girl, long brunette waves, cascading over her shoulder’s. She looked just about as confused to see him as him seeing her. 

Conner raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you?” He asked curiously. 

The girl blinked, looking the man up and down quickly. “Um- yeah. I’m looking for Bella Swan? I don’t have the wrong house do I?” She asked, suddenly not too sure. 

Conner clicked his tongue in understanding. So she was Bella’s friend. “You must be Jessica? I’m Conner, Bella’s older brother.” He confirmed. 

The teen gawked at the man, looking him up and down incredulously. “Bella didn’t tell me she had a brother.” She started, sounding a pit peeved by the fact. “She left her coat in my car on Friday when we went to the movies.” She continued holding the heap of fabric out for the man to take. He reached forwards, taking the coat from the girl, his fingers brushing hers lightly. She blushed taking a wave of hair in her figures, twisting it flirtatiously. 

Something about the way she was eyeing him made Conner wildly uncomfortable. She was practically undressing him with her eyes, and he held back the urge to recoil and slam the door in her face. He figured he should try being polite, in hopes to not scare off one of Bella’s only friends in the town. 

He coughed awkwardly, attempting to shake the unease in his chest. “Well…” He started , scratching the back of his neck. Jessica’s eyes flashed to his flexing bicep, practically drooling at the sight. “I’ll make sure to give it to her when she gets home.” He continued, gripping the handle of the door tighter. 

The buzzer for the oven, went off in the next room. Literally saved by the bell, he sighed in relief. “It was nice to meet you Jessica, but I have to get dinner out of the oven, so if you’d please excuse me.” He said, not giving the teen a chance to reply, before shutting and locking the door in her face. 

On the other side of the door, Jessica huffed. She was annoyed at Bella for withholding such important information from her. There weren’t very many attractive guys in town, especially as hot as Conner. She turned, deciding in that moment that she would start putting more effort into seeing Bella outside of school. After Friday night’s stunt, she was sure that was the last time she would go out with the girl, but now she had something to gain. Even if she had to deal with her running off and taking rides with creepy men.

——————

January 16th, 2006

Bella’s mood had improved in the week that followed. It seemed as if spending more time with Jake had started to heal the gaping hole in her heart. Unfortunately, the nightmares seemed to be relentless, as the consistently haunted the teen almost on a nightly basis. 

Conner woke one particularly horrible night, to the sounds of his sister’s tormented screams reverberating across the house. He sat, rubbing the sleep form his eyes, stumbling to the teen’s room.

Bella’s screams pierced his ears as he entered the room. Reaching to quickly switch the bedside lamp on, he hurried to her side, attempting to shake her awake. Her eyes shot open, darting around the room panicked. "You're alright, Bells. You're okay." He reassured, lightly shushing her. She let out a sigh of relief, laying eyes on her brother. The nightmares were over. She was okay now. As okay as she was going to be anyway. Cold tears streamed down her face, trying to brush the wetness from her cheeks. Bella sat up, grabbing a glass of water from the side table, taking a slow sip. 

Conner clutched the dream catcher hanging from the bed frame as she continued to sip at the water. "I thought this thing was starting to work," he paused, resting  it back against the headboard. "...but I guess not." 

Letting out a sigh, he continued. "I do know what it's like, you know. When Mia died. I had a hell of a time. Imagined doing all kinds of stupid shit, just to stop the pain.” He confessed, gripping the two rings hanging from his neck. 

Bella looked away feeling a pang of guilt hearing his words. Conner let out a heavy sigh as he questioned. "Can I ask you something?" Earning a nod from the teen, he continued. "Hanging out with Jake...that seems to take your mind off of things for a bit, doesn't it?” He asked, tilting his head slightly.

Bella nodded lightly in response, waiting for him to continue. "You know, sometimes... you gotta learn to live what's good for you. You know what I mean? I think Jake's good for you Bells." He smiled sadly at the teen. Bella looked into the eyes of her brother, seeing how tired he was. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too. She saw the waves of sorrow behind his big blue eyes. She hoped that he could find someone like Jake was to her. Someone to patch his holes and help him heal. Only time would tell, but until then, she would be there for him. She wouldn’t let the past repeat itself. Not again. 

Clearing his throat quickly, he stood up and moved towards the door. "Okay... Go back to bed, I love you." Hearing a mumble of 'I love you too' from the girl, he made his way back to his bed, plopping down on the springy mattress. He let his head rest on the plush pillow, letting sleep engulf him once again.

——————

February 3rd, 2006

The month of January passed by in blur, Conner having picked up as many shifts as possible at the dinner. He had been working so many hours the past few weeks, he had saved enough money finally for a decent bed frame and even  some new tires for his tuck. It had been pretty icy on the roads as of late, and Conner knew it was just a matter of time before the he started having issues with keeping control of the steering wheel. 

It was a Friday night, and normally, he would be excited for the weekend, getting to spend time with his dad watching football games, but the Super Bowl was scheduled for that Sunday, so it meant no Friday night football. The Seahawks were set to play against the Steelers, so he had that to look forward to, but for now, he dreaded this day. Bella had asked him the week prior to join her and some friends to see a movie, and he had reluctantly agreed. 

He never was a huge fan of going to the movie theater, much preferring to watch them in the comfort of his own home. However, seeing his utter lack of a social life, he had agreed to the join the group. In fact he had been looking forward to spending time with people closer to his age, even if they were a few years younger. Only later did he find out Jessica Stanley would be one of the teens tagging along. He had managed to avoid the girl since their awkward meeting the month previous, but now he had roped himself into spending a whole night with her. Backing out wasn't really an option considering that he had no valid excuse, so it was settled. It was going to be a very long night.

To add to the awkwardness, the only other people joining would be Jake and Mike. He wasn’t sure if his sister was blind or if she just chose to ignore the inevitable tension between the two, but it was painfully obvious that both boys were completely infatuated with the girl. 

He had met Mike just a couple days prior when Bella had forgotten her lunch at home. He dropped off some food from the diner on his break, and had seen the love struck gaze of the boy. Bella being completely unfazed by the attention, it was clear to him that this was no new occurrence. 

Bella let out an exasperated sigh as her brother pulled the truck into the small packed parking lot. Judging by the look on her face, she seemed to be dreading the night almost as much as he had been. This made him wonder why she had made the plans in the first place, figuring she most likely did it to appease Charlie. “You know, if you didn’t want to go, you could’ve just stayed home.” He muttered. 

Glancing to the front doors of the theater, he spotted Jessica. Sucking in a sudden breath, he continued. “On second though, let’s go back now before they see us.” He spoke, Jake spotting the truck, sending the siblings a wave.

 Bella saw this, sighing, she said. “Too late for that.”

Walking towards the ticketing booth he leaned his head down to her ear. “I didn't know Jessica would be joining us when I first agreed to go." He whispered to the teen, sending a playful glare in her direction. 

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. She kinda just invited herself when she found out that you were going." She spoke, a grimace grazing her features. "She tends to jump on any attractive guy she sees.” She continued.

A smirk formed on the man’s mouth, "Oh, so I'm attractive am I?" He teased, earning a light punch in the arm.

"Don't be too flattered, she's into Mike." It was her turn to smirk now.

The older let out a puff of air, rolling his eyes. "Oh god, this night is more complicated than I thought." He said. Teenagers were so complex and dramatic. What had he gotten himself in to? Bella looked over, slightly confused at her brother's last statement, silently asking him for an explanation. Conner ignored the look, not wanting to get open that can of worms at the moment. 

Suddenly, Jessica popped up beside him. "Hi Conner." She chirped, a grin plastered on her face. Gently cupping her hand on his opposite shoulder and pushing her body against the man's arm, definitely more than necessary, she gave him a very uncomfortable side hug. Uncomfortable for him at least.

Conner flinched away from the contact as his left eye began to twitch in annoyance. This was going to be the longest night of his life. He muttered a 'hello' back to the teen as he awkwardly tried to escape the embrace.

Looking up, he caught a glimpse of the tall boy with long brown hair, and saw this as good of an excuse as any to quickly flee from the overbearing teen. Jacob to the rescue. He thanked god for his height as his long strides rid him of the girl, her not being able to keep up with his fast pace. He clapped his hand on the Quileute's back, silently thanking him for momentarily freeing him.

Bella caught Jake’s attention as she walked up to the two, Mike and Jessica trailing behind her. "So I guess Jess and I will go get our tickets real quick, Mike already got his." Conner sent the girl a look of pure gratitude, knowing she was trying her best to keep Jessica away from him as long as possible. He looked over to the girl, the way she fluttered her eyelashes while trying her best to make her cleavage as prominent as humanly possible making Conner sick to his stomach.

Bella set off for the ticketing booth, Jessica reluctantly following. "So, 'Face Punch' huh? You like action movies?" Conner asked, quirking an eyebrow at Mike. He definitely did not look like someone that would spend his free time watching movies like this.

The teen blinked awkwardly. "Um, not really." He answered shortly, pursing his lips.

"I heard it sucks. Bad." The youngest stated, attempting to contribute to the conversation. So his suspicions were confirmed, they were both just here for Bella.

The blonde turned to Jake. ”Hey are you even old enough to see this movie?" He asked. "I mean, you know, without, like, adult supervision?" He added accusingly.

"Right, yeah." Jacob let out an irritated puff of air. "Well Bella's buying my ticket for me." He defended.

"She's buying it, okay” Mike said shortly.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the group that wasn’t broken until Bella returned. "Angela has the stomach flu and Eric's taking care of her, so I guess it's just us.” She said trailing off awkwardly.

Mumbles traveled around the group. Conner had a strong feeling Erica felt fine. He had to give the two props for coming up with a decent excuse as to not join them.

——————

Put your gun down!

Put your gun down or I'm gonna blow your freakin' head off!

So who ever had told Jacob that Face Punch was a horrible movie was absolutely correct. The movie pretty much consisted only of yelling and gore. Conner wondered if Bella had been strategic when picking the film.

Both of You! Put both of your guns down or I'm gonna blow both of your freakin' heads off!

Yeah, Conner could confidently say that he was not a fan.

Alright, let's do this!

Gunshots echoed around the theater, the sounds emitting out of the large speakers bolted to the walls. God, this movie was terrible. Mike seemed to agree as he stumbled out of his seat and up the isle, muttering. "Okay, I think I'm gonna throw up.”

Conner felt a bit sick himself, although it wasn’t exactly caused by the movie. Gore had never really bothered him at all. No. What was currently making his stomach turn was the teenage girl clutching to his arm with her head snuggled against him. 

While Conner didn't want to be a dick and tell her to fuck off, but the subtle hints he had been dropping all night didn't seem to be helping him in the slightest. The girl didn't even seem fazed by his attempts at all.

He thanked whatever higher power there was in the universe when he saw Bella and Jacob stand to follow after Mike. Finally he had an excuse to leave the tight grip of his sister's friend. Once again, Conner widened his strides in attempt to lose the teen for at least a moment of free air.

"What a marshmallow." Jacob snickered as Conner caught up to the two teens. "You should hold out for someone with a stronger stomach. Someone who laughs at the gore that makes weaker men vomit.”He continued.  

While Conner agreed, it was also painfully obvious to everyone but Bella that Jacob was trying to put himself ahead of Mike in whatever imaginary competition that they were in, his little sister being the ‘prize’.

Bella looked up at the boy.”Yeah, I'll keep my eyes open for that." Bella snickered lightly. "I feel bad. He probably has that flu that's..." She paused twisting around the corner near the stairs, her hand falling out of Jacob's grasp that Conner had just noticed. "...going around.” She finished.

"What? I can't hold your hand?” Jake asked offended.

Conner took the start of this conversation as a sign to stay out of it. He did not want to get involved in whatever boy drama Bella chose to be a part of. He sighed, as he went to lean against the wall between the bathroom and theater doors. Just as his back hit the wall, Jessica popped out of the theater door and hurried over to him.

"No of course you can." Bella reassured. Conner felt slightly bad about listening in on their conversation, but as much as he didn't want to be a part of the drama, he couldn't help but be curious of how this would pan out. "I just think it means something really different to you. So…" Bella continued.

Jake sucked in a breath. ”Okay, tell me something. You like me, right?" Conner's ears perked up. He definitely wanted to hear this answer. "And you think I'm sorta beautiful?" When the hell had Bella said that? If he wasn't listening before, he definitely was now, that was for sure. Consider his interest peaked.

"Jake, please, don't do this." She muttered. Jessica, hearing that bit of conversation between the two, slipped silently into the restroom, wispering something about freshening up to Conner.

"Why?" Jacob questioned. Conner was thinking the same thing. He knew Bella liked Jacob, he could tell. The two siblings were too close for the fact to go unnoticed by him.

Bella’s words came out in a rush. "Because you're about to ruin everything," She said, pausing for a moment."and... I need you." At this point Conner was just wondering to himself why she was making this so difficult for herself. She let out a sigh.

"Well I've got loads of time." Jake answered. "I'm not gonna give up.”

"I don't want you to." She shot back. "but, it's just because I don't want you to go anywhere." That was a load of bullshit and Conner knew it. No matter how hard she tried to convince everyone else and maybe even herself, his sister had real feelings for the younger teen and he knew it.

"It's- It's really selfish." She continued. "You know, I'm not like a car that you can fix up. I'm never gonna run right." As much as this saddened the older brother to hear her confess, he couldn't help wonder if that part was true. For her sake, he hoped not.

"It's because of him, right?" Conner could only assume that the 'him' Jacob was referring to was Edward. While Conner had only ever met the guy the one time, not really getting to speak to him at all, he knew that if he ever had the chance to see him again, he would kick his ass. He had broken his little sister's heart, and he wasn’t happy about it. "Look, I know what he did to you." Did he? "But, Bella, I would never do that. I would never hurt you. I promise. I won't let you down. You can count on me." He ended. 

Mike emerged from the doorframe of the restroom. "Well..." He started awkwardly. Conner pushed himself off of the wall, deciding it was time to join the group down the hall. 

"I need to go home." Jacob glared at the blonde expectantly. "I'm- I was feeling sick before the movie, okay?" Yeah sure.

Jacob's glare only intensified. "What is your problem?" Mike asked, throwing his hands in the air exasperatedly.

"Right now?" Jacob asked. "You are my problem." he stood up, answering his own question. "Felling sick?" He started again. "Maybe you should go to the hospital. Do you want me to put you in the hospital?” He threatened.

“Woah, Jake. The movie's over, calm down." Conner interjected, seeing Jake's anger.

"Jake, you're really hot." Bella said suddenly, causing both her brother and Mike to raise an eyebrow. What the fuck? "Like, you feel like you have a fever. Are you okay?" She added.

"I don't know what's happening." He said, confused momentarily. "I gotta go.” Then, before anyone knew it, he had stormed out into the parking lot.

It was uncomfortably silent for a moment, Jessica coming out of the bathroom looking, if possible, more confused than all of them, not hearing any part of the previous conversation.

"That dude is weird." Mike stated exasperatedly.

Next Chapter

[strangest-loser]

Twilight Rewrite

Fire in my Blood ~ Jasper Hale x OC ~ Book One: Chapter Four

Chapter One / Chapter Two / Chapter Three

The following morning Charlie let Alessia off school for being sick without question because she never took the day off. Anyone who knew Alessia knew that she was allergic to the concept of skipping school but after everything she heard the night before her highschool attendance record wasn't exactly her top priority. She felt bad asking her dad to let her stay home after his friend turned up dead but she knew he needed answers. Sleeping in till noon was helpful, and a hot shower and a visit to Bella's room saw Alessia getting into Bella's truck (who got a ride from Jessica that morning to talk about running off yesterday) and driving into the woods.

A feeling deep in her gut told her that going back to the reservation was a mistake after what happened, but if there was a threat to her life then she wasn't about to sit by while a gang of mutts decided to try a human snack. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

The slam of the car door is what brought Billy Black to his front door to see an extremely pissed 17 year old with fire in her eyes and a blue book in her hands marching towards his doorstep. "Inside. Now!"

"I know everything so I want you to tell me exactly what is happening and what the hell it has to do with me." Came her calm voice over the kitchen table but after her calm was met with silence she slammed the book down on the table causing Billy to jump in his seat and for the calm in her voice to die.

"BILLY BLACK FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YOU HAVE KNOWN ME ALL MY LIFE AND NOW YOUR BOYS ARE TRYING TO KILL ME SO YOU BETTER TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON!" Alessia's voice was raised and her cheeks were tracked with tears, the girl who was usually so very brave was at the moment completely terrified. His face remained stoic but Alessia could see the guilt that was in his eyes, but right now she didn't give a damn how he felt.

"You shouldn't even be here Alessia, you should be in school or at home," began his excuse before the girl cut him off again "That's not what I asked now answer my goddamn question. Who is it anyway? You send Jake to kill me? Or Quill or Embry or Leah?" She paused at the look that crossed Billy's face. "... Was it Sam?"

His face told all and Alessia felt rage boil through her arteries and flow around her body, Uley was gonna get it. Alessia stood up so sharply that her chair scraped the floor before slamming to the floor as she made for the door with Billy Black chasing her out of the house. "Alessia no! It's not safe for you here anymore." His cries were met with Alessia falling still and without turning to see him answered in a strong voice. "You knew that it was him who tried to murder me in the woods last year, and you did nothing. You watched as they dragged my bleeding body out of the woods and you sat and comforted my father as they stitched my torso back together." Alessia lifted her shirt to show five prominent scars in the shape of claws run the length of her stomach, a wound that ran the span of her entire upper body and occasionally poked out of the neckline of her shirts. By now she was screaming. "YOU SAT IN MY HOME WHILE I SPENT OVER A YEAR TRYING TO RECOVER FROM THE WORST TRAUMA OF MY LIFE AND YOU PRETENDED TO CARE, I WAS FIFTEEN BILLY! BUT TWO WEEKS LATER YOU HAD THE AUDACITY TO SIT AT MY KITCHEN TABLE EATING MY BIRTHDAY CAKE LIKE YOU WERE FAMILY!"

By now the tears streaming Alessia's cheeks matched the ones on Billy's own, but she didn't care.

"You aren't my uncle Billy, you're a monster."

With nothing said after that Alessia reached toward her neck to grip a small necklace, the one gifted to her by the man before her, a wolf, ironic really. "You told me this would protect me," she spat out before ripping the thing off her neck and throwing it into the mud, "But you were a fucking liar."

The last thing Alessia spoke before turning to her truck again hurt him the most.

"If I ever catch you trying to lie to me or my family again... I'll kill you myself."

Jasper was stood in the driveway of the Swan house when the truck pulled back into the home. A look of understanding graced his face as he followed Alessia into the house and sat with her on the floor of her bedroom. "Are they trying to kill me because of your family?" Her broken voice portrayed that she didn't want it to be true and it was clear that this would be the last time she ever spoke about that tribe in such a way, because one of Alessia's character faults was she could be tolerant of people who hurt her but once you lost her trust you would never get it back, and the Quileute's had betrayed her.

Jasper was silent as he tried to find an answer for her. "You have a special connection to each one of us, both you and Bella." That made Alessia's eyes snap up to meet his face, "Does she know?" She was answered with a nod. It made sense really that she was hanging out with Edward so much now. The thought made her laugh "You know she is a little bit obsessed with Edward right?" Jasper laughed right back with her explaining just how much everyone wanted to murder Edward the next time he brings the girl up in conversation. The silence allowed Alessia a moment to contemplate before she nodded "I approve, never thought I would need to approve of any of Bella's boyfriends but I approve, to be honest I didn't know if I would ever see her again to need to."

The rest of their afternoon was lazy and fun until the brunette eventually roped the boy beside her into helping her study which didn't last too long until another bout of jokes and playful arguments broke through their productivity. Procrastination was clearly going to be a bad habit they shared.

Jasper went home just after three and it wasn't long till Bella walked through the door after school, walking up the stairs and into her bedroom. The door closed itself behind her making her jump and turn to see her big sister blocking the exit with a fake expression of anger. "Is there something you aren't telling me Bells?"

The suprised and guilty look and the stuttering is what broke her into giggles.

"you are the least subtle person I know, your 'I have a secret' vibe is literally visible from the moon, so spill" once again Bella floundered for an answer and managed to settle on "you wouldn't believe me."

"oh you mean I wouldn't believe you that Edward was a Vampire?"

"Wait you knew?"

"yeah I mean he isn't subtle either you two should really work on that."

Making her way out of the room she paused and turned around to speak again "oh yeah we're going to the Cullen's tomorrow afternoon so be ready, also tell Edward I'm gonna start putting a lock on that window." She may have approved but she still had to be the older sister, "vampire or not Bella you're still too young to have boys in your room."

That night the house was silent as Alessia lay awake properly processing what she had found out. She was incredibly close friends with a family of vampires and the Native American reserve that she basically grew up on was infested with wolves. This whole situation was absolutely insane and Alessia couldn't be sure that she wasn't drugged last night, but the more she began to think about it the more it started to make sense. She had known the Cullen's for two years now and during that time she always tried to ignore other people who tried to tell her that they were a weird family, how strange it was that they were never at school on the only sunny days of the year, and how they all looked like models, or how they never even spoke to anyone that wasn't Alessia. Thinking back to it now that is a little weird but she always defended the Cullens. Their looks she just blamed on the glorious gene pools they were clearly scooped out of and the people who pointed this out were often just jealous, and knowing Carlisle personally Alessia absolutely believed that he and Esme would drag everyone away to do outdoor activities in the nice weather, but the last accusation was always the weirdest one for Alessia, why did they only speak to her?

She began to focus more closely on the idea of their physicalities. Alice first, she was tiny and beautiful but her pale skin and golden eyes matched her whole families to a T, which was still definitely odd considering that they were all meant to be adopted from different families. Not to mention their skin was always lifelessly cold...

"You stupid idiot", she scolded herself digging her face under her pillow, "They couldn't have made it more obvious is they started giving out pamphlets, some profiler you are." The only thought running through her mind when she drifted off to sleep was 'how could I not have known?'

Seeing Alice's car pull up outside her driveway was what prompted Alessia to bid her father goodbye and jump into the back seat. Bella informed her that morning that she would be getting a ride with Edward which just prompted Alessia to laugh her ass off until Bella hit her with a pillow and banished her from her room. "I think we may need to set some boundaries with Edward and Bella, they are getting out of hand, I have to keep the key to her bedroom window in my pocket at night." She said draping herself across the two seats in front of her letting her head become level with Alice and Jasper. Their knowing smiled prompted them all to laugh until Alice told Alessia to sit back and put her seatbelt on because 'you can still die Alessia!'

The drive was content and filled with mindless chatter between the trio as they pulled up to a beautiful modern house, completely isolated, that caused Alessia's mouth to drop and her eyebrows to lift, "you guys hid this from me for way too long." The front doors opened to let the trio in and Alice skipped up the stairs in front of her brother and her friend disappearing out of sight. It was then that Alessia let her stomach tighten and her nervous energy started to fill the room. As if he knew something was wrong Jasper held her hand and sent her a questioning look that she just answered with a sigh, "I just don't want things to be different between us all now." As if the universe was wrapping her up in the softest blanket imaginable Alessia was suddenly filled with calm and it was so relaxing that she almost lost her footing as her knees buckled slightly, it was like the weight of the world was suddenly lifted from her shoulders and she could breathe again. It was a good feeling but it definitely wasn't natural so she looked to her side to see the level of concentration that Jasper held while looking at her and she didn't know how she just knew this was him, he was trying to make her feel better. A grateful smile crossed her face and before her overthinking mind got in her was she lifted herself into her tiptoes and pressed a gentle kiss on the blonde's cheek whispering a small "thank you" before letting her fingers slip from his grasp and begin to follow Alice's path up the stairs.

Esme was the first person to greet Alessia as she walked into the kitchen and she was gifted with another one of the motherly hugs that she always craved and looking over Esme's shoulder she exchanged a smile with Carlisle who was cooking over the burner. "That smells amazing for someone who doesn't eat Doc."

Rosalie strode into the room to greet the brunette next and before too long Emmet joined them and everyone sat around the room to talk about the secret that had been revealed to the girl sitting at the kitchen island while Carlisle and Esme cooked the Swan sisters food.

"So I know that you are all vampires, it's pretty obvious now that I know the facts, Jasper said that I am somehow weirdly connected to this but I didn't want to know anything more until I had you all here, you are like my family and I wanted you all to get to explain." She noted the warm look that was mirrored at her mention of family and continued her questioning. "Carlisle you were the lead surgeon when I was attacked by those wolves right?" After a nod she continues her question, "How did you manage that in your condition? I mean it must have taken incredible self control."

That was when the mood changed slightly and Rosalie piped up from her place next to Emmet "Alessia there's a reason we don't befriend humans, with the exception of Carlisle we can all find it difficult sometimes to be around humans because of the way they smell, we can hear their heartbeat and smell their blood through their skin and it can be hard for us to control ourselves around human blood when we are hungry, it's like drugs to us."

Alessia let her head fall into a slow nod before looking up and asking the million dollar question. "So how am I any different, why are you always able to spend time with me and how were you able to operate on me with that much blood present?"

This is when the entire family looked over the girls shoulder causing her to look back at the blonde boy stood in the doorway behind her, Jasper lifted his eyes to meet hers and after seeing her miniscule nod, her physical cue to say 'it's okay, I want you to tell me' he let the words slide into the room in his southern drawl.

"Darlin', your blood has no scent, we can't smell it at all."

The admission brought a confused laugh out of Alessia before she noticed the silence that surrounded her, "wait, you guys are serious?" Carlisle turned off the stovetop and walked around the kitchen island to stand in front of the teenager, "Alessia you blood can't be smelled by anyone in this family, we can smell other things, your vanilla shampoo, you perfume, but other than that it's like if we were smelling another vampire."

The shock was clearly evident on her face and the shock seemed to melt into an overwhelmed emotion because before she could fully wrap her mind around it she felt a soft cold hand slip into hers and begin to pull her away from the kitchen, her mind pulled away from her racing thoughts to focus on the short, pixie-like girl who brought her out onto a balcony facing the dense forest that the house was situated in the middle of.

"you guys really live in the most beautiful place," she spoke softly letting her hand fall out of Alice's grip to wind her arm around her waist in a hug that eased the thoughts racing through her mind. Another pair of hands sat on her shoulders as the door closed behind them and Jasper let out a laugh, "you looked like a goldfish in there." His laughter only increased when the brunette faked outrage and smacked him on the chest. "Oh yeah? When is the last time I told you the details of the reason I didn't want to murder you?"

"ouch Alessia, you wound me."

"oh whatever, get over it"

Alice smiled fondly at the two her eyes glazing over and her body stopping still as her mind flickered with images that she had never seen before.

~

A bright sunlit hotel room with a record player

Mirrors in front of a fire

Running through the woods

Flame red hair and pure white snow

An open field

The warm sun

A sparkling smile

A beautiful bride

~

Her focus was brought back to the present by the duo in front of her laughing and talking again.

"I'm bitter and complicated, it's one of my charms," Alessia answered whatever question Jasper asked that Alice wasn't paying attention to.

"I don't think you know what either of those words mean, or how to count."

Alice stepped in with her own giggle that emulated music and started pulling Alessia towards the balcony's edge, "ever climbed a tree before?"

The girl in question's face dropped before she tried to slowly back away from her friend who was now smiling at her like a mad woman, "no no no absolutely not, when I die it's gonna be when someone 'Julius Ceasers' me in the back after I inevitably betray them, not because two vampires thought it would be funny to push me out of their favourite pine tree." Her rant was followed by Alice's amused scoff and tightening grip as Jasper grabbed hold of Alessia's waist before hoisting her over the balcony's railing and onto the nearest branch ripping a tiny squeal out of the girl who would deny she ever made the sound for the rest of time, "Come on, this will be fun."

"You are not my favourite person today."

"He is never your favourite person, I am." Alice quipped before stepping from the railing onto the branch before her and when Jasper joined them in the tree both siblings gripped their friend securely, to let her know they wouldn't let her fall as they lead her through the trees talking as they spent time walking from branch to branch their laughter echoing through the woods.

After the trio spent an hour traipsing through the treetops Alice veered them off to a branch that lead them back onto the balcony and in through the double glass doors to see Edward and Bella had joined the kitchen posse and Alessia sat down just in time for Edward to point out that Bella had already eaten before she got here and lead the girl in question out of the room and up the stairs while Bella scrambled to explain herself, but before they could disappear from earshot Alessia managed to call out her annoying big sister spiel to "use protection" and "keep the door open", she even broke out the old "leave 6 inches for the holy spirit!" Which caused everyone in the room to chuckle at her clear distaste for the thought of Edward taking her baby sister away to what she assumed to be his bedroom to "corrupt her".

With the remaining Cullen's and Swan girl left in the kitchen Alessia clapped her hands together which pulled Esme's slightly hurt gaze (though she would never show it) onto her as she let her big smile grace her face,

"What's for lunch mommy Esme, I'm absolutely starving."

~ A/N ~

Hello my dudes,

We are over halfway through the first part of my Twilight Rewrite and I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying it .

I was compelled to write this after re-watching the movies and realising how much better they would be if Edward and Bella's relationship wasn't so goddamn creepy... But this book isn't about them 😊

This is about my own OC and her relationships with the other various side characters that were done so dirty when the movies gave them the emotional characteristics of a foam board.

Also I adore Jasper and as much as I love him and Alice together in the movies he is my man crush monday and I wanted to give them the 'siblings-who-are-best-friends-and-would -literally-die-for-each-other-ride-or-die-my -dude' relationship.

So yeah, enjoy the rest of the story and I hope you all enjoy,

Aoife Xx

~

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